Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 53: Determination

The weekend seemed to go by in a blur… probably due largely to the fact that Reno had stayed in bed until nearly one in the afternoon on Saturday. He’d gotten up just long enough to eat something, and then had planted himself listlessly on the couch for the remainder of the afternoon. He simply had no energy. All he wanted to do was sleep.

He did feel much better on Sunday, however, and began to wonder if maybe he’d legitimately been sick the past few days without realizing it. He’d just thought it was that Ifrit-forsaken materia practice that was kicking his ass to the curb, but maybe the truth was that he’d managed to come down with something.

Whatever it was, by Sunday evening, he felt better than he had all week.

“You seem to have found your appetite again,” Tseng commented over dinner, as the redhead helped himself to a seventh slice of pizza. He swallowed the large bite he’d taken.

“Never lost it… I was just more tired than I was hungry ’til now. Finally feel like I’m not about to fall asleep as soon as I get up.”

“Good… because you’re going to be busy when you get to Junon. From what I understand, Remy has started to move furniture around.”

Reno paused in his assault on his dinner.

“Oh… great. Heavy lifting. My favorite.” He shook his head slightly. “Not to sound lazy or anything, but… don’t you think Rude might be a little better at that kinda shit? I mean… the guy can literally benchpress me. And he has before.”

“Reno, I think even Veld’s thirteen year old daughter could benchpress your weight, meager as it is…” the Turk lieutenant laughed. The redhead glared back in response… and then grabbed another slice.

Tseng was right, of course… especially since Reno was fairly sure he’d lost a pound or three. Between the training and the meals skipped due to falling asleep, it was a pretty safe bet. He was just glad he hadn’t had any cause to pay a visit to Medical… because Ward would’ve torn him a new one for not “taking care of himself”. And then she probably would have yelled at Tseng, too, for not making sure he was taking care of himself.

And frankly, that was the last thing he wanted. Rodney was a dick, but for whatever reason, his words on Friday had stuck with the younger rookie. The idea that Rodney was a better version of him wasn’t all that farfetched, when he thought about it. They were both EMR fighters… both had a talent for strategy… Rodney was already specializing in field command, and the more Reno learned, the more that’s where he saw himself eventually heading…

What if that really was why he’d been selected? As a backup in case Reno failed as a first rookie. He wasn’t about to give his mentor a reason to put that backup plan in motion.

“Something on your mind?” Tseng asked, and Reno suddenly realized just how long he’d been silent. He quickly shook his head and mentally kicked himself. He was doing it again. Assuming the worst without anything to back it up with.

“Nah… Not really,” he replied. “So… you really think Vir can help me out?”

“If she can’t, I doubt there’s anyone who can,” Tseng said, teasingly. “The Materia Corps doesn’t accept just anyone. They’re quite an elite group.”

“That why we don’t have anyone in the Turks who uses materia? I mean… as a main weapon?”

“That, and Soldier. Between the Materia Corps and Soldier, most people who show a talent for materia use and have what it takes to be a Turk get recruited long before we find them… and in a few cases, lured away from us. Unfortunately, we don’t tend to have as much luck doing the same… as Viridia can attest. I quite thoroughly failed in attempting to recruit her away from Junon.”

“Viridia was gonna be a Turk?” Reno asked, but Tseng shook his head.

“Veld wanted her to join. She was having none of it. She has always been staunchly devoted to the military. It’s how we met, actually. Veld couldn’t convince her and thought I might be more… persuasive. I was not… though we did become very close.”

Reno snickered. “Are you serious? Veld sent you in to seduce her over to our side?”

“It was hardly an order,” Tseng replied, stiffly. “Though I do admittedly suspect that was the outcome he had hoped for.”

The redhead grinned. “Fuck, Tseng… the more I hear about your sordid love life the more impressed I get…” he teased. The senior Turk merely rolled his eyes.

---

Monday found Reno on an early morning ground transport to Junon. The helicopter was otherwise engaged, turning what would have been a forty-five minute flight into a nearly three hour drive… in the back of a truck that the redhead was beginning to suspect had lost it’s shock absorbers a couple miles back.

“Ah, the open road…” Kai sighed, leaning back against a large wooden crate.

“Tch… what road? We’ve been bouncin’ over nothin’ but dirt and rocks for an hour now.”

“At least you’re not on a chocobo…” she snickered.

“Shut up, Kai.”

The senior Turk laughed and draped an arm around the rookie. “Oh, come on… you walked right into that one, baby Turkling.”

“Whatever. And why are we stuck ridin’ with the cargo, anyway?”

“The life of a Turk isn’t always a glamorous one,” she replied, still grinning. “Just be glad it’s finally starting to get warmer. This really would’ve sucked a month ago.”

“Yeah… I guess we got that goin’ for us at least. Hey, I never asked. How exactly do ya get into Junon from the ground, anyway?”

“Oh, that’s right. You’ve only ever flown in, haven’t you? There’s an elevator. Takes you straight from Lower Junon up to the base up top. We’ll have to go through town to get to it… but Lower Junon’s not real big. It won’t take long. If we get there with some time to spare, I’ll show you around a little.”

“So’s Lower Junon part of the base, too? Like… do people from up top live there when they’re not on duty?”

Kai shook her head. “Oh, hell, no. Downstairs is entirely civilian. It was a fishing village back in the day, until the base got built and drove most of the fish out of the bay. Mostly full of old-timers who didn’t want to move out when Shinra came in, and their families.”

“That where you grew up?” he prodded, curious.

“Yep. Just me ‘n my Pop… ’til he died when I was sixteen. He was one of the few who still went out on the boats hoping to catch something. One spring, he went out and a bad storm came up outta nowhere. He… didn’t come back.”

“… Oh. Sorry.” He kinda of wished he hadn’t asked. He hated even the thought of talking about his mom. He hadn’t intended to bring up that same issue with Kai. To his surprise, though, the senior Turk barked a short laugh and elbowed him gently in the ribs.

“Don’t be. It’s not a sore subject with me. I miss him ‘n all, but… shit happens. He’s gone. I try and remember all the good times we had instead of just how I lost him.”

“… Wish I could do that,” he said quietly, and then cringed. It had slipped out before he could stop it, and he really didn’t want to get into that. Kai smiled and pulled him in closer against her side.

“You’ll get there one day, baby Turkling. Trust me.” She squeezed him one more time and then grinned. “So since you’re probably dying to change the subject now… What’s all this I hear about you hanging out with Tseng’s… friend… when you’re not on duty?”

“Ugh… Materia training,” he groaned, grateful she wasn’t going to push him to talk about anything he didn’t want to. He glanced up at the older Turk. “What’s the fuckin’ secret to that shit, anyway? I can’t get it to do anything.”

Kai shrugged. “Don’t know what to tell ya, kiddo. On the rare occasion I actually use it, it just sort of does what I want it to. Not really sure how else to explain it. Why? You looking to make it a regular part of your arsenal?”

“Not really,” the redhead replied. “But it’d be nice not to be a total failure. I mean it. It doesn’t do shit for me. Might as well be tryin’ to cast spells with a fuckin’ rock.”

“Technically, it is a rock,” she snickered, and then paused. “Or a mineral maybe? I always forget what the difference is exactly.”

“Tch… you’re a huge help, Kai…” Reno snarked, and leaned forward, hands on his ankles as he allowed his arms to take some of his weight while he arched his back. Sitting in one place for so long drove him nuts. He needed to move.

“Hey, you need information on camping or fishing or hunting or blade sharpening or annoying the crap out of baby Turklings… I’m your girl. You want to talk materia, talk to Shay. He’s about as close to an expert as we’ve got,” she said, snickering in response. “Anyway… Viridia’ll probably have some answers for you. And even if she doesn’t, it’s not like it’s a requirement or anything. Don’t worry so much. You really need to relax once in awhile.”

The rookie rolled his eyes. That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one who was being out-classed at every turn by the new guy. It might not have been strictly necessary for him to learn to use materia, but he was gonna fucking do it just to prove that he could… no matter what it took.

---

Junon looked absolutely massive from the ground. Not on the same scale as Midgar, of course… but looking out at the military base as the truck finally wound its way out of the mountains, it was still pretty impressive. Especially the giant cannon that stuck out over the water.

As they drew closer, Reno could just make out the shapes of buildings on the ground, sheltered by the huge runways that had been built high above them.

“So… it’s kinda like the Slums, huh?” he observed as their transport slowed and turned onto a small gravel road that lead into town.

“Not exactly,” Kai replied. “People here aren’t here because they have to be. They’re here because they want to be.”

He understood what she meant as they drove under the shadow of base. The town was nothing like the Slums. The buildings were older and a few were in need of repair… but they weren’t falling down and rotting away like so many were beneath Midgar. A chilly breeze blew in from the direction of the sea, bringing with it fresh air and the faint scent of salt. A small group of children ran past them, laughing as they turned down the main road. The truck, however, went in the opposite direction, off towards a large metal door that seemed to be built right into the rock.

“That’s the elevator,” the senior Turk said, pointing. “They’ll unload the cargo, and then we’ll ride up to the base with it.”

The Turk stopped and the Turks hopped out. The large door was guarded, but not heavily. Just a pair of guards from the Junon infantry, if Reno had correctly recognized their uniforms.

“Hey, you guys gonna be at this for awhile?” Kai asked as their driver and his passenger climbed out.

“Should only take us ten or fifteen minutes to unload,” one of them gruffly replied. The Turk nodded.

“Okay, then. Come on, baby Turkling… Let me show you a little of my hometown,” she said with a grin. She guided him back in the direction they’d come from and only the main street. It was still fairly early, but not so early that the shops weren’t open for the day, and Reno could definitely smell something baking down one of the small side streets. They passed that, however and continued on.

“That’s where I grew up,” Kai said, pointing out a little cottage tucked back beneath a set of supports. “It’s a shop now… but yeah. Home, sweet home.”

They rounded a corner and Reno found himself at the top of a steep flight of stone stairs leading down to the beach. He trailed the senior Turk down and soon they were standing on a somewhat rocky shoreline, still in the shadow of the military base. More large supports were anchored to the seafloor out in the bay, holding up the runways above them, and waves crashed against them where they met the water.

“… Whoa… Cool,” the redhead breathed, “Wish I coulda lived on a beach growin’ up.”

Kai snorted softly in laughter. “Yeah… it’s not really so great. At least not here. We got rocks instead of sand, water’s freezing cold until about midsummer, plus the tide tends to carry anything they dump up top directly into the bay so it’s not exactly the cleanest, either. Now if we were talking Costa del Sol or Mideel or even Wutai beaches, I might agree with ya…”

Reno walked up to the water’s edge. It didn’t look so bad to him. But then, back in the Slums, if you could see more than a few inches into what passed for ponds down there, it’s was pretty fucking clean. Here, he could see all the way to the bottom until the seabed abruptly dropped off into darkness several yards offshore.

They wandered around a bit more, with Kai pointing out the various sights every now and then. Junon, Reno quickly decided, was pretty nice. Kind of on the quiet side for his taste, but he could understand why the residents hadn’t wanted to leave their little village. Finally, though, it was time to head up to the base. He followed her back to the elevator, where the men who’d brought them there were just finishing loading the last of the cargo onto the platform. The pair of Turks stepped aboard, and moments later several warning lights flashed and they began their ascent.

Remy was there to meet them when they arrived, looking impatient.

“Finally,” she said as they walked up to her. “I’ve been waiting for you two all morning.”

“Aww… We missed you, too, Remy…” Kai sniggered.

---

Reno grunted as he hefted a chair onto the large stack of furniture he was building inside one of the elevators. Why the goddamn storage building was so fucking far away from the administration building was anyone’s guess, but it was going on noon, and he felt as though all he’d been doing since their arrival was running back and forth with one load after another.

Remy had tagged every last piece of office equipment she wanted moved, and then left the rookie and Kai to do all the heavy lifting. Kai had taken the relatively easy job of hauling shit off the elevator. It was the redhead who was stuck dragging shit across the open area between the two buildings, into the foyer, and finally cramming as much as possible into the elevator car. He wedged a filing cabinet in and finally called it quits. He wasn’t getting anything else in there for this trip. He pulled the wedge that was holding the doors open and hit the button for floor three. Then he unclipped the radio from his belt and pressed the switch on the side.

“Comin’ up…” he said, somewhat out of breath.

“Took you long enough…” Kai’s voice responded.

“Hey, anytime you wanna come down ‘n switch places with me, just let me know. I’d be more than happy to let you haul shit outta that fuckin’ storage shed for awhile.”

He didn’t receive an answer to that. With a sigh, he grabbed the little cart he’d been using to move the heavier items and headed back to the storage depot. It wouldn’t take Kai long to unload, and she’d be expecting the next batch to be ready as soon as possible. Thankfully there wasn’t that much more. Just two or three more trips… Probably three, since one of the items on his list was a huge wooden desk. He doubted that, once he got it loaded, the cart would hold anything else. Assuming he could even get it on there without help. The damn thing looked like it weighed a ton.

“Hey! Reno!” a voice called to him just as he reached the door to the depot. He turned and saw a uniformed figure hurrying toward him. It took him a moment to realize that it was Viridia. He sighed in relief, grateful for the excuse to take a break and waved.

“Hey, Vir… Long time no see.”

“I was hoping I’d run into you,” she said when she reached him, smiling. “Tseng says you’re having some trouble with materia training.”

“Tch… to put it mildly.”

“Well, don’t worry. We’ll fix that. My duty shift ends at six… so how about we meet up in the cafeteria around then, have a little supper, and jump right into it?”

“Heh… Assumin’ I’m not crushed to death under all this furniture before then, sounds good.”

“Great,” she replied. “I wish I had time to catch up, but I’ve got to get up to the control room. We’re running security drills this afternoon,” she said, already turning to leave. “Stay out of trouble!”

“When have I ever been in trouble?!” he called after her with a grin. He thought he heard a faint laugh, but before he could be sure, the radio crackled.

“We can see you down there, baby Turkling. Quit flirting with Tseng’s girlfriend and move your ass. We’ve been ready for the next load for ages!”

“For fuck’s sake, Kai… Give me a minute, will ya? I’m workin’ on it,” he radioed back.

---

Reno groaned softly as he rubbed his aching back. It had taken all day to get everything Remy wanted for the new offices, and he was feeling every last filing cabinet in his spine. Kai drifted past him and clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him over.

“Wimp,” she teased. Reno glared at her.

“Ya know… I was the one movin’ everything around all day. All you ‘n Remy did was point where you wanted shit.”

“Hey, I helped you move that desk.”

“Tch… yeah. After I got it into the elevator. And back out again.”

“Well, look on the bright side,” Kai replied, “Since we got so much done today, tomorrow won’t be nearly as strenuous.”

The redhead snorted softly. “Whatever. I’m gonna go eat.”

“Doing anything after? I could show you around Junon a little more. There’s no way you’ve seen the whole base yet…”

“Thanks,” said Reno, “but I’m meetin’ Vir so she can show me what the fuck I’m doin’ wrong with this whole materia bullshit. And then I’m goin’ to bed and not movin’ ’til eight a.m. tomorrow.”

Kai laughed, and waved him off, disappearing into her quarters. The rookie stretched his arms over his head until his shoulder cracked, and yawned, wondering if it was ever going to stop doing that. He didn’t really mind it… it wasn’t as if the healed injury still hurt or anything. It was just kind of weird. With a dismissive shrug, he turned and headed for the elevator, and from there, made his way to the base’s cafeteria and grabbed a tray.

Viridia was already there, waiting for him. She waved him over, and when a few of the soldiers glared at him for cutting in line, she glared right back at them until they backed down. He smirked slightly.

“Why do I get the feelin’ that if I tried doin’ that myself I’d be in a hell of a lot of trouble?”

“Because you’re not a complete idiot,” she chuckled. “I really shouldn’t have done that, but I’ve got patrol duty later… so I only have a couple of hours to work with you tonight.”

Reno grinned as they made their way through the line and food was systematically spooned onto his tray. Mashed potatoes and gravy… some sort of processed beef patty that would have made Rude cringe just looking at it… steamed vegetables… a hot roll… and milk. He followed Vir across the room to one of the less crowded tables near the far wall and took a seat.

“Alright… So why don’t you tell me exactly what you’re having an issue with.”

The redhead bit into the roll, and shook his head.

“The issue is that I can’t get it to do anything,” he replied once he’d swallowed.

“Meaning?” Viridia prodded.

“Meaning… I can’t get it to do anything. Tseng’s had us all usin’ fire materia. I can’t get so much as a spark outta the stuff. I can… ya know… feel the materia. Like, how it’s warm and kinda alive. I just can’t make it work,” he said, stumbling slightly as he tried to explain something that he didn’t fully understand himself. “Best I can do is every once in awhile it’ll glow a little brighter when I try ‘n cast somethin’.”

When he finished, Viridia was frowning slightly.

“What?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing. Just thinking. Okay… here’s what I think. Elemental magic is probably the easiest of all magics to use in general, but it can be finicky for some people. If you’re not in tune with the element you’re working with, sometimes it’s harder to cast. A novice can wear themselves out just trying, and not actually get anywhere. So the first thing we’ll do is try some other kinds of materia and see if you’ve got an affinity for one element over another. Fire just… might not be your strongest element.”

The redhead groaned for what had to have been the hundredth time that day. “You mean I’ve been killin’ myself all week long… all ’cause fuckin’ fire materia doesn’t like me?”

Viridia laughed quietly at the young Turk’s obvious frustration. “Well… it’s possible that’s the issue. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time and it’ll be easy enough to find out one way or the other.”

Reno relaxed and dug into his dinner in earnest. It just figured he’d be unlucky enough to get stuck with a type of materia that hated him. But now that he knewthat was a thing, it was just a matter of finding one that did like him. Problem solved. He’d be kicking Rodney’s ass in the practice hall in no time.

---

Fire, obviously, was a no-go… but Vir had asked him to give it a try just so she could see his technique on a type he was already familiar with. Ice didn’t work any better for him. When they got to Earth materia, the redhead grinned excitedly as the ground trembled faintly… until he saw that it was only one of the large Gelnika-class airplanes landing on a nearby runway. Viridia had tried admirably not to laugh at his reaction to the discovery.

She handed him a new sphere, and with a frustrated sigh, the redhead rolled it gently between his fingers as he tried to determine the element. This one was easy. He felt the little prickles of electricity in this fingertips almost immediately.

“Lightning, huh?” he said, snapping it into his wristlet. Viridia smiled.

“Well… you certainly don’t have a problem with identification.”

Reno shrugged and looked out towards the target she’d set up for him a short distance away, focusing on it. The materia flared unexpectedly bright, causing him to lose his concentration. He stared at it for a moment and then looked up in surprise.

“Well… Now we’re getting somewhere,” said Viridia, “Give it another try.”

The redhead nodded and focused on the target again, this time ignoring the bright flash of light from the crystalline orb.

The next thing he knew he was on the ground, twitching in a painful spasm.

“Reno!” he heard his instructor cry, alarmed. Thankfully, it didn’t last long. He sat up slowly, dazed.

“… What the fuck just happened?” he finally asked. By then, Viridia was kneeling beside him, carefully looking him over, checking for injuries.

“You missed your target,” she replied, once she was satisfied he was unhurt, and helped him to his feet again. “It rebounded on you.”

“Tch… well, that was pleasant,” he muttered. “It just figures… first spell I manage to cast, and I fuckin’ hit myself with it.”

Vir chuckled softly. “You wouldn’t be the first person to do that. Try again… and this time, keep your attention fixed on where you want the spell to hit.”

He hesitated for a moment, not entirely wanting to risk a repeat of what had just happened… but he knew he had to keep at it. He’d promised himself he was going to get this… no matter what it took. And if it took electrocuting himself a few more times before he got the hang of it, that was just how it was going to have to be. He took a slightly shaky breath and tried to cast the lightning spell again.

Nothing. Not so much as a flare from the depths of the materia.

“Oh, come on!” he groaned. Viridia’s hand rested themselves on his shoulders, massaging them gently.

“Don’t get so discouraged. It takes practice. And honestly, given that it’s not reacting, I think you’ve probably had about enough for one session. Let’s call it a night.”

“But I’m so close!”

Vir turned him around to face her. “Reno… I know you want to keep going, but you can’t just push through exhaustion when it comes to materia. People have a finite amount of mana that they can tap into. Once it’s used up, you have to give it time to replenish itself. If you don’t, you just end up wearing yourself out completely. We’ll start again tomorrow. Okay?”

His shoulders sagged slightly. He did vaguely recall Shay saying something along the same lines back in Midgar. It kind of fit in with what Cissnei had told him, as well. In retrospect, he probably should have been paying a little more attention to that lesson.

“… ‘kay.” He suddenly grinned as a new realization hit him. “Hey… I actually did it, though!”

Viridia only laughed softly and started walking him back towards the administration building.

---

Unfortunately, the progress he’d made during that first lesson was about all the progress he made the entire week. At the best of times, he managed an extremely weak lightning spell that hit its intended target about one in five tries. The rest of the time, he missed completely… or ended up shocking the ever living fuck out of himself instead.

But most of the time, he couldn’t even do that much, and the materia simply sat there like an oversized marble.

They’d gone through the entire repertoire of basic magic materia… and even a few of the more obscure types out of sheer desperation. Lightning seemed to be the only one that reacted to him, and even then, it wasn’t much of a reaction. Worse still, Reno could feel it taking a toll on him about halfway through the week, even though Viridia was careful not to let him push himself to the point of exhaustion. Still, the familiar fatigue he’d had all of last week was creeping back in.

When he met with her again on Friday, he didn’t much like the expression she was wearing.

“So… what’s on the schedule for tonight?” he asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer. He could see it in her eyes. Vir thought he was a waste of her time.

She sighed and shook her head.

“Reno, I’m sorry, but… I just don’t think you have an affinity for magic.”

“Bullshit. I just need to keep workin’ on it,” he replied, defiantly, and Viridia looked away for a moment.

“Maybe. Sometimes, if a person is determined enough, they can build their mana reserves and their stamina up to the point that they can eventually use materia. But it takes years… not weeks. Not months. Years. And even then, there’s no guarantee that you’ll ever progress any farther than being able to cast low level spells.”

The redhead unconsciously took a step away from her, shaking his head. He couldn’t be that hopeless. That… weak. Could he?

What the hell was wrong with him that he didn’t have it in him to be able to do this?!

“Reno… Can I ask you something?” Vir queried, looking over at the rookie. He raised his eyes to her and nodded. “Why do you want this so badly? From what I hear, you have plenty of other talents… and the Turks aren’t exactly known for their mastery of materia anyway. What’s got you so focused on learning this one particular skill?”

Reno swallowed thickly and looked down at his feet.

“I… just don’t want to disappoint Tseng.”

Viridia smiled slightly and walked over to him, gently placing a finger under his chin and lifting his face back up.

“You’d have to do a lot more than just be lousy with materia to disappoint him. Listen… I’ll talk to Tseng for you, and explain what’s going on, alright? It’s not your fault. At all. Some people just… don’t link well with materia.”

Reno shook his head. “Don’t. I’ll tell him myself,” he replied, in a resigned voice. Viridia softly ruffled his hair.

“Alright. You tell him. And don’t worry… Like I said, Tseng won’t be disappointed. He knows damn well that no one can be good at everything.”

A quiet voice in the back of his head snorted derisively and muttered ‘Try telling that to Rodney…’. Reno, however, simply kept quiet and nodded. Viridia walked him back to his quarters and bid him goodnight before heading off to the barracks on the other side of the base. The rookie shut the door behind her and leaned back against it, staring blankly into his darkened room for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to tell his mentor when he returned home.

At last he came to a decision. Viridia may have been a materia expert… one of the Shinra military’s elite Materia Corps… but she didn’t know him. He’d tell Tseng, alright. But not yet. He wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Rodney show him up that easily. He’d tell him… but only once he was absolutely sure he couldn’t do it.

~end chapter 53~