Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 55: Irreplaceable

‘Further discussion’ seemed to have been put on hold for the moment, Reno mused to himself as Tseng’s car sped down the freeway toward headquarters the following morning. It hadn’t happened after dinner… though to be fair, the rookie had barely been able to keep his eyes open by then. It hadn’t happened during breakfast. And it didn’t seem to be happening now, either. He wasn’t sure what Tseng was waiting for exactly… and he kind of just wanted to get it over with and take whatever punishment he had coming.

He just hoped it wasn’t what he was beginning to think he deserved.

He wondered if everyone else knew how pathetically weak he was by now. Rodney probably had it figured out the second he collapsed… and he’d probably be gloating about how much better he was – at everything – all day. And the worst part was, he’d be absolutely right. Reno was nowhere near as good as the newly promoted rookies. Maybe Rodney really would make a better protege for Tseng than he would.

The redhead was still deeply lost in his own thoughts as they arrived at the Shinra Building, following Tseng inside automatically. For perhaps the first time since he’d become a Turk, he was dreading setting foot in headquarters. Everyone had to know by now. It was humiliating. And he didn’t even have Rude to run interference for him. Today was going to suck.

So engrossed was he in his own internal musings that Reno didn’t even notice where they were until he was unexpectedly greeted by fingers snapping loudly directly in front of his face. He was jarred rather rudely back to his surroundings.

“Are yeh awake, or are yeh sleepwalking?” Dr. Ward asked. Reno blinked in surprised and glanced around, suddenly realizing that he was back in Medical… not Turk headquarters.

“The latter, I suspect,” Tseng replied for him.

“… Sorry,” the rookie mumbled, slightly embarrassed. He hadn’t realized he’d been that zoned out.

“Hmph… Sleepwalk over here, then. Let’s have a look at yeh,” Dr. Ward said, and headed off toward one of the nearby exam partitions. Reno obediently followed her, and rolled his eyes when she pointed to the scale.

“Seriously?” he groaned. Ward merely crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently. Reno sighed. “Yeah, yeah… I’m goin’…”

He stepped onto the little platform and waited while the doctor nudged the little weights over until the bar balanced evenly. He heard her make a small noise of displeasure.

“Eleven and a half pounds yeh’ve lost since the last time I weighed yeh…” she said, shaking her head as she noted it down in his chart, and he had to admit… he was a little shocked. He’d thought two. Three at the most. It had only been a couple of weeks…

He put up with several more minutes of poking, prodding, and general invasion of his personal space before Ward was finally satisfied and turned him back over to to his mentor.

“I’m putting him on a partial medical restriction until his weight comes back up,” she declared. “No field work, reduced training schedule, and absolutely nomateria practice until I clear him. And so help me, if I find out that yer idea of ‘reduced training’ includes that Shiva-forsaken gauntlet of yers –”

“I can assure you, it will not,” Tseng quickly cut her off.

“Hmph…” she snorted, before turning back to her patient, “And as fer yeh… No more skipped meals, or I’ll have yeh on full restriction so fast yer head’ll spin. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the redhead sheepishly replied.

“Good.” She slipped a hand into the pocket of her lab coat, and withdrew a purple sucker, pressing it into his hand with a faint smile. “Now get ta work, the both of yeh.”

Reno hurried to follow Tseng as he started back towards the elevator, staring down at the candy. Normally, something like that wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in his hands. Today, though… a treat just didn’t seem warranted. The doors closed behind the pair and the car started upwards.

“Either there exists a flavor of candy you actually dislike… which I find next to impossible to believe… or there’s something on your mind,” Tseng stated as they passed the twentieth floor. Reno sighed heavily and glanced up at the senior Turk.

“Aren’t you ever gonna say anything about what happened?”

“As it happens… yes. Though I would prefer to begin that discussion somewhere more comfortable than the elevator.” The elevator chimed and the doors slid open, revealing a very deserted-looking Turk headquarters. Reno blinked in surprise, wondering where the hell everyone was. It wasn’t until they reached Tseng’s office and he spotted the little clock on his wall that he realized it was only just now seven forty-five. Apparently they’d left a little early today.

“Sit down, Reno,” Tseng said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. The rookie did so, and cocked his head slightly in confusion when the Turk lieutenant sat down beside him, rather than behind his desk.

“… So how much trouble am I in?” the redhead asked.

“Beyond what Ward will do to you should you fail to follow her orders? None,” he stated, calmly.

“Huh?” Reno stared at him, mystified. Tseng snorted a faint laugh.

“I’m not sure on what grounds I could justifiably punish someone for working too hard,” he replied, “Though I think we do need to have a little talk about why you felt the need to push yourself to the point of collapse. Particularly after Viridia informed you that you wouldn’t benefit from further training. I’ll be perfectly honest with you… the reason I’ve waited until now to have this conversation with you – aside from the fact that you were half asleep last night – is because I was still somewhat angry with you for needlessly scaring me half to death.”

Reno looked away, dropping his gaze to his hands in his lap, but said nothing, leaving Tseng to prompt him for a reply.

“Viridia told me you were worried about disappointing me. Why?”

The rookie swallowed sharply and glanced up momentarily.

“Because…” he said quietly. “You’ve done so much for me. And all I ever seem to do is drive you nuts. And now we got Cissnei… and Rodney… and…” He exhaled slowly collecting himself a bit. “They’re so much better than me. I just… wanted to show you that I could do better and that it wasn’t a mistake makin’ me a Turk… and that…”

He cut himself off, not sure if he dared question what Tseng intentions were for Rodney and him.

“And that… what?” Tseng prodded. It took Reno a moment to find his voice again.

“And that you didn’t need to replace me.”

“Where in the nine hells did you ever get the idea that I wanted to replace you?” the Turk lieutenant asked, and if his present level of anxiety hadn’t been quite so high, Reno might very well have laughed at the incredulous look on his mentor’s face.

“… From Rodney? I guess.”

Tseng roughly pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment.

“Would you mind elaborating?” he said with a barely repressed sigh, and Reno honestly couldn’t tell if Tseng’s obvious frustration was with him or his fellow rookie.

“It’s just… Rodney’s like… a better me. He’s got all the same skills I do. Just… better. Plus he’s fuckin’ great with materia, and the one goddamn spell I can cast backfires ‘n hits me half the time. Face it, boss… he’d make a better protege than I ever could. I… didn’t wanna get replaced.”

Tseng wordlessly stood and walked around his desk, opening a drawer digging through it for a moment. He returned to his seat a moment later with a thick file in his hand, which he passed over to the rookie.

“… What’s this?” Reno asked, flipping though it. The folder was as thick as his upper arm, crammed full of notes, photos, maps, and more. He saw his own name more than once as he skimmed through it. The photos, too, were of familiar people and places… The Lonely Dragon, his neighborhood, Lira, Kel… and himself, as well.

“All of the information I collected on you before going to Veld and requesting that I be allowed to recruit you. Reno… you were not selected on a whim. I watched you for nearly a year, because I had to be absolutely certain I was making the right choice, and because I knew I would have to justify that choice to my own mentor. A second in command trains many rookies over the course of their career… but I can only ever have one first rookie. You are not replaceable.”

Reno continued to flip through the pages of his file, occasionally pausing to read a note or study a photo before moving on. It wasn’t just his strengths that had been documented. Weaknesses had been noted down as well, along with seemingly every bad habit and vice he possessed. Tseng might as well have been living next door to him all that time. And he’d never even noticed.

“As for Rodney,” Tseng continued, “You’re right. He does possess many – though most certainly not all – of the same talents as you do, and that is indeed one of the reasons I chose him for promotion. Frankly… I thought we could do with more Turks like you.”

“So… you don’t care that I can’t use materia?”

Tseng shook his head. “Of our entire team, Shayand I are the only ones who generally bother with it at all. And even then, it’s a secondary weapon… at best. Personally, I tend to use it more as a tool. Lighting campfires, for example. We only cover it in training because it would be foolish not to ensure that rookies have a basic understanding of it.” He eyed the clock for a moment. “The others should be arriving shortly.”

The redhead groaned and leaned back in his chair.

“Great… Today oughta be fun. I s’pose everyone already knows exactly how big an idiot I am.”

“Unless they’ve been talking to Viridia without my knowledge, all they’re aware of is that you suffered a minor training accident. With the exception of Veld, of course. And quite probably Tres, as very little seems to get by him. You may inform them of the more intimate details if you wish, but I’m entirely content leaving it at that. I suspect that all they’re really interested in is knowing that you’ve recovered.”

Reno breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Sure… Rodney was probably never going to let him live down falling flat on his face in the middle of training, but… fuck him. Rodney could go suck a dick. He wasn’t going to let that smarmy son of a bitch get to him anymore. If he’d just ignored him in the first place, none of this would have ever happened.

“There is one thing I’m going to order you… and every other rookie under my care, for that matter… to do from now on, however.”

“… What?” the redhead asked, somewhat warily.

“To tell me if training is taking too substantial a toll on you instead of attempting to ignore it. You don’t get stronger by allowing yourself to become weaker.”

“… Yeah,” Reno admitted somewhat chagrined. “Um… speakin’ of which, can I ask a question?”

“Of course…”

“… What exactly is a ‘partial medical restriction’, anyway? I mean… what am I gonna do all day? It’s not gonna be like when I hurt my shoulder… is it?” he asked, dreading the answer. That injury had sucked. He couldn’t do much of anything but sit behind a desk all day. He was nearly out of his mind by the time Ward had finally declared him fit for duty. Tseng chuckled softly.

“Oh… I think I can find something slightly less tedious than paperwork to keep you occupied…” he replied.

---

“Reno!” Cissnei called after him as everyone was exiting the morning briefing a short while later. She hurried to catch up to him. “Are you okay?”

“Hey… Yeah, I’m fine. Just kinda overdid it’s all.”

“Oh… good. I was really worried. Tseng didn’t tell us much of anything yesterday, and you were still downstairs in Medical when I left for the night. You didn’t get stuck staying there, did you?”

Reno shook his head. “Nah… Tseng took me home. I was still pretty out of it at the time, but I’m good now. Stuck on medical restriction, though. And… I’m pretty much done with materia. Definitely not for me.”

“Hmph… Figured as much,” a new voice piped up, and Reno turned slightly, mentally groaning as he spotted Rodney making his way towards them. “It’s for the best, really. Why waste your time on something you’re terrible at?”

The redhead grinned. “My thoughts exactly. No sense in killin’ myself tryin’ to learn shit I’m just gonna suck at anyway. I got better things to spend my time on.”

His grin widened slightly when the other rookie’s expression made it very clear that that wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Rodney asked, a vague challenge in his tone.

“Like practicing for his pilot’s certification,” Tseng stated, and both of the new rookies jumped violently at his sudden appearance behind them. Reno had to smother a laugh. Finally… someone other then him getting scared out of his mind by the Turk lieutenant’s unnaturally silent movements. Kai joined them moments later and wasn’t quite so generous, snickering loudly at their reaction. Tseng ignored her. “You two will be joining me for our usual practice this morning. Reno… go with Kai.”

“Sweet!” the redhead replied, still grinning. No materia practice and unscheduled time in the air? He could get to like this whole medical restriction thing. Tseng nodded and exited with the pair, leaving Reno in the hands of Kai. She paused for a moment, and then circled him, looking him over, and then gave him a gentle shove from behind.

“The fuck are you doin’ now?” Reno asked, slightly annoyed.

“Just making sure you’re not going to pass out on me mid-flight,” she teased. The rookie rolled his eyes, and Kai laughed. “Hey… I’m glad you’re feeling better, baby Turkling.”

“Are you ever gonna quit callin’ me that?” he sighed, irritated.

“Nope,” Kai said with a grin, “Ready to get started?”

---

The remainder of the week was practically a vacation for Reno. His time in the training hall had been trimmed back substantially, and replaced with range practice, more time in the helicopter, sitting in on a couple of interrogations with Tres, and being tapped as a runner for paperwork bound for other departments. By the weekend, he was feeling like his old self again, though Ward still wouldn’t clear him for duty owing to his need to regain at least six more pounds. Hopefully, the weekend would help with that. As much as he’d enjoyed briefly being able to take it easy after feeling like complete crap day after day… he kinda wanted to get back to work for real.

But that was for Monday. Right now, he was looking forward two glorious days of doing absolutely nothing but sitting around, eating and watching TV. He’d just settled in on the couch with a bowl of cereal when Tseng finally made his way down the hallway, and did a double-take as he spotted the redhead on his way to the kitchen. He glanced over at the clock.

“It… is Saturday, isn’t it?” the Turk lieutenant asked, bemused by the rookie being up so early on a weekend. Reno snorted in laughter, and swallowed a mouthful of marshmallow bits and puffed rice.

“I was hungry. And you know what the Doc said ’bout eatin’…”

“Ah…” was the only response. He heard the sound of running water and a moment later that of the stove clicking on, as, he assumed, Tseng put water for his tea on to boil. Reno lifted the television remote and turned it on, taking another bite as he scanned through the channels, looking for cartoons. He didn’t care if they were meant for little kids. He still enjoyed them… especially on a Saturday morning. And it was nice to finally be able to watch them properly. When he was a kid, reception in the slums was shitty at the best of times. It had vastly improved over the years, but it still wasn’t as good as it was topside.

Tseng stepped out into the room, and a moment later, sat down beside his protege on the couch, leaning back with a quiet sigh.

“Just so you know… you’ll have the apartment to yourself next week. Veld has informed me that it’s my turn to head off for a shift in Junon.”

Reno snickered softly. “Heh… Thanks for the advance notice. Gives me more time to get the party invites sent out. Who’s goin’ with ya?”

“Rodney,” Tseng replied, “And Cissnei will be going the following week with Veld. He wants to review the progress that’s been made on the new outpost personally.” He paused for a moment, apparently hesitating, but finally continued. “I… have an assignment for you while I’m gone. Beyond not throwing parties in my absence. I suppose I could have wanted until Monday morning before I left to discuss it with you, but I didn’t want to spring it on you last minute. I’m not entirely certain you’ll find it agreeable.”

“Heh… So you thought you’d ruin my whole weekend instead?” he teased. Tseng chuckled in response.

“Consider it retribution for nearly giving me a heart attack last week.”

Reno finished off his cereal with a faint snicker. “Yeah, okay… I kinda had that comin’. So what’s this god-awful assignment you got for me?”

“As you’ve not yet been cleared for full duty, I’d like you to help with the training of a company employee in need of basic self-defense skills and instruction in firearms. He’s a novice at… essentially everything, so it may be somewhat frustrating at first. For both of you. But I think you’ll find he’s a fast learner.”

Reno cast him a somewhat puzzled look. “Since when do the Turks go around trainin’ random employees?”

“We don’t. This is a special case. One which I have spoken to Veld about at great length, and which required approval from the President.”

“Uh… not that I don’t think it’s awesome you’d trust me with somethin’ like that, but… seriously. Why me?”

Tseng laughed softly. “For one… because I’ve watched you during practice, and you’re quite naturally gifted when it comes to instruction. You taught Rude that new throw very efficiently a few weeks ago. For another… as I won’t be here to work with him myself, I’d prefer he begin with someone he’s acquainted with.”

Reno groaned in realization. Special treatment from Tseng? Presidential approval required? And it was someone he knew personally… ? It could really only be one person.

“… Please tell me it’s not Rufus.”

“To do that, I would have to lie to you,” Tseng stated, smirking.

“Come on, boss… Rufus fuckin’ hates me,” the redhead moaned. That, he knew, wasn’t entirely true. Rufus had actually been… not friendly, but at least decent… in the few interactions they’d had since their little adventure in Kalm. But he still wasn’t convinced they could be alone together in a room for more than five minutes without one of them strangling the other. Throw in live ammunition and…

Reno sighed. “I don’t really have a choice here, do I?”

“It’s either this, or desk duty until Medical clears you. And I know how fond you are of paperwork.” He flashed the rookie a notably smug-looking smile.

“Tch… When you take revenge, you really go all out, don’t you?”

“I was joking about that, you know,” Tseng chuckled, “I think you’ll do well at this task… and Rufus does need the training. He is now the second most powerful man in Midgar. That, unfortunately, makes him an even greater target than he always has been. We Turks are sworn to protect company executives, but… there’s always the possibility that trouble will turn up when we’re not nearby. I want Rufus to be able to protect himself should he ever need to.”

Reno briefly thought back to that day in Kalm, when Rufus had very nearly fallen through the ice instead of him… and the ‘brawl’ that had preceded his unexpected swim.

“Yeah… well… I guess I can’t exactly argue the fact that he’s complete shit in a fight. Asshole can’t throw a punch to save his life.”

“I’ll take that to mean that you’re agreeing to do it,” his mentor replied, and stood up. He glanced over at the television and shook his head, before softly ruffling the rookie’s hair. “I’ll leave you to your cartoons for now, then.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the redhead muttered, ducking out from under his mentor’s hand. Seriously… he knew red hair was kind of unusual, but did everyone have to try and pet him like that?

He lifted his cereal bowl to his lips and drained it of the leftover overly-sweet milk. He supposed hanging out with Rufus wouldn’t be so bad. After all, it was only a week… and surely they wouldn’t be stuck together the whole day, every day. Besides which… he felt an unexpected surge of pride at the prospect of Tseng leaving this to him while he was out of town. He was just rookie himself, and he was being asked to help train the vice president of Shinra Company. That was a whole new level of responsibility for him.

And it was way better than paperwork.

~end chapter 55~