Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 47: Look Who’s Coming to Dinner…

“You’re absolutely sure nothin’s missin’?” Reno asked again.

“Not from what I can see, sir. And I checked every room, just in case,” Sykes replied. The senior Turk shook his head. Well… if the Zenshou really were after something and not just hanging out, watching the parade, it certainly didn’t seem to be at the hotel…

“Okay… I’ll let Tseng know. Head back to your post.”

“Yes, sir,” the rookie acknowledged, and the the call was swiftly ended. Reno tucked his PHS back into his jacket, and hurried over to relay the message.

“All clear back at the hotel, Boss,” he said, resuming his place next to Tseng. The parade had reached the end of the line, and the President was about to take the little makeshift stage that had been erected overnight in front of the massive airship that had brought him to Wutai. That, of course, had been all the executive’s idea… The image of President Shinra addressing the people of Wutai with the technological marvel that was the Highwind in the background was just too good to pass up.

Thankfully, Rufus was merely in the VIP section of the audience for this… which meant that Reno and Tseng were there, as well, rather than stuck on stage like Veld and Remy were. The younger Shinra’s mood had not improved much over the course of the parade route, but for the time being, he seemed content to keep his complaints to himself.

“It was, admittedly, something of a long shot. President Shinra’s gift is more symbolic than anything else. It would have no great value on the black market.”

“So what are they doin’ here, then?” the redhead mused.

“Perhaps they have another target in mind. Or perhaps they are merely observing for the sake of intelligence gathering. We’ll keep an eye on them, regardless.”

The sound of applause filled the air, and Reno suddenly realized that, while they’d been discussing the uninvited guests, the President had made his way on stage. The two Turks took their seats on either side of Rufus as the din finally began to subside, not farfrom where Lord Godo was seated.

“Well. This should be about as entertaining as watching paint dry…” the young executive muttered under his breath.

---

Petulant as he was, Reno had to admit, the brat had been right. Twice he’d had to elbow the vice president awake during his father’s speech – which had gone on for nearly an hour in the increasingly hot sun of late morning – and at least once he’d caught himself drifting off, as well. He’d finally had to tune the man out entirely and focus his attention elsewhere lest he end up getting reprimanded for napping on the job.

But once the show was over, things got very busy very quickly. The crowd wandered off, back to the festival, and the Turks reconvened at the imperial residence in preparation for lunch and the afternoon tour. Kai and Rude were, noticeably, the last to arrive, and when the pair finally did reappear, the latter looked decidedly annoyed.

“Soooo… goin’ by the look on your face, I’m gonna guess that you didn’t find out what the Zenshou are up to…” Reno commented, approaching his friend. Rude scowled in response.

“I was made. Didn’t realize it ’til I’d been following the son of a bitch for over an hour. He had to have been there just to draw our attention away from other operatives.”

“Ouch…” the redhead cringed. There was nothing worse that getting one-upped by a target on the job… except maybe getting on-upped by a target and wasting more than an hour of your morning. Rude sighed and shook his head.

“The bastard even had the nerve to smile and wave to me after he lead me halfway across town to the docks…” he groaned, “Then he hopped a passing speedboat and took off down the coast.”

“Geez… talk about rubbin’ it in…” Reno chuckled, “Although… if these guys weren’t causin’ us so much hassle, I’d be tempted to admit I kinda like their style.”

“Hmph…” was the only response he got from his fellow Turk.

“… What they hell are they after?” Reno wondered aloud, more to himself than to anyone else. Rude shrugged.

“Your guess is as good a mine. We didn’t bring anything with us that’d be considered rare or valuable enough to pique their interest. And we know they’re in it for the money. They’re thieves.”

“… What about kidnappers?” the redhead ventured. “I mean… stealin’ a person’s not so different from stealin’ a weapon. Maybe they’re after the President or Rufus for the ransom money.”

“Seems like a weird way to go about it, if that’s what they’re up to. They have to know how tight security around the executives is going to be for something like this trip. They’d have an easier time nabbing one of them in Midgar… not that that would be easy by any stretch of the imagination, either.”

“Okay… what about the reactor, then? Somethin’ there?”

“Well, sure, there’s plenty of classified tech up at the reactor,” Kai cut in, joining the discussion uninvited. “But the good stuff’s going to be bolted down and hard to carry. Why mess with it while half the damn Shinra Army’s in town? Um… hey, so… where’s Veld?”

“Gettin’ ready for the city tour with Tseng… Why?”

Kai sighed, and Reno couldn’t help but notice that she looked extremely embarrassed.

“I… think I might’ve got my wallet lifted. I don’t know if it disappeared during the parade or if I lost it sometime before it started, but it’s entirely possible that some asshole pickpocket’s got the eight hundred gil I was going to spend on souvenirs… along with my company credentials,” she muttered, unhappily.

“Man… neither one of you guys are havin’ a good day,” the redhead snickered, “Ya know what? Get the hell away from me before your bad luck rubs off… I got enough of my own most days.”

Kai smirked and before Reno could figure out what she was up to, she’d slipped around behind him and grabbed him around the waist, pressing herself tightly against him and nuzzling her cheek into his back, just below his shoulder blades.

“… I didn’t mean that it literally rubs off…” the redhead added, rolling his eyes, “Quit dry-humpin’ me, already. I thought I wasn’t your type.”

The comment managed to get a quiet laugh out of Rude, despite his currently irritated mood and he moved to get the senior Turk away from his friend. He picked her up and physically pulled her off of the redhead, and then held her, her feet dangling uselessly a couple of inches off the ground.

“Come on, Kai… You’re just stalling, now. Let’s go find Veld so you can tell him about your ID.”

“You know… I can see why Reno hates it when you do this to him,” she muttered. Both of her fellow Turks snickered as Rude obligingly set her down again.

“Careful, Kai… This asshole’s not above throwin’ a person in the nearest body of water just for the hell of it,” Reno teased. “Anyway… Last I saw Veld ‘n Tseng, they were over by that Pagoda thing. When ya find ’em tell ’em I went to go make sure the rookies haven’t passed out yet from either the heat or starvation.”

Rude nodded, and then hoisted Kai off of her feet again, tucking the diminutive Turk under one arm and walking off with her. The redhead snickered loudly as she squirmed ineffectively in the larger Turk’s grasp.

“Not funny, Rude!” she growled, but her protests went ignored.

Reno grinned and shook his head before turning and heading off to find the trio of rookies.

---

“Okay, dammit… You’ve had your fun,” Kai grumbled, “This isn’t cute anymore. Put me the hell down.”

Rude laughed and finally relinquished his hold on the senior Turk. She straightened herself out and glared at him, arms crossed over her chest.

“You know…” she added, “I think I liked you better back when you were that shy, quiet, eager to please little kid we found in the recruitment program.”

Rude merely smiled in response and started walking towards the Pagoda of the Five Gods. Kai fell into step beside him a moment later. The sun was well and truly up… which made sense, given that it was going on noon. The president and vice president, by now, would have retired to the imperial residence for a private lunch with Lord Godo and his daughter, leaving the Turks largely to their own devices. Kai suddenly chuckled quietly to herself.

“But, to be fair, you’re not the only one who’s come a long way,” she mused. “So… what do you think? Is my little Baby Turkling up to the challenge?”

Rude glanced over at her and silently raised an eyebrow. The senior Turk rolled her eyes.

“Oh, please… don’t give me that mystified look. You know damn well what I’m talking about, because you know as well as I do that Tseng’s flagged him to take over for him when Veld retires. You know every other goddamn thing that goes on in our offices. I’m sure you figured that one out.”

The bald Turk snorted softly in amusement and shook his head.

“Reno’ll make a terrific second in command… soon as he realizes that himself.”

Now, apparently, it was Kai’s turn to cock a questioning eyebrow.

“He doesn’t think he can do it?” she asked, sounding somewhat surprised. Rude grinned slightly.

“He doesn’t even think he’s being considered… Thinks it’s gonna be either Remy or you, because you’re so much more experienced than he is.”

Kai stopped short and stared at him, her mouth hanging slightly open. “Wait… Tseng still hasn’t told him?! Oh, for Shiva’s sake… I’d thought for sure he’d have clued him in by now.”

“Nope,” Rude replied, shaking his head in the negative, “Not as far as I’ve heard, anyway. But thanks for confirming my suspicions about Reno being the new Second.”

“Ugh… I swear that man isn’t going to tell him until about five minutes before he expects my Baby Turkling to accept the promotion…”

“Probably for the best, really. Reno’d freak out if he found out any sooner,” Rude said, teasingly. Though he wasn’t really that convinced he was that far off in regards to his friend’s reaction to finally finding out. The redhead was so utterly dismissive of the idea that even with all the evidence that it was eventually going to happen staring him in the face, Rude had a feeling it was going to come as a shock. As far as Rude could tell, Reno just… truly didn’t believe he was even in the running, let alone the heir-apparent.

Rude himself hadn’t pressed the issue. Or, rather, he’d largely stopped pressing the issue. He’d eventually come to the conclusion that, if Tseng wasn’t coming right out and informing the redhead of his plans, then their must have been a reason. And knowing Reno, it was likely because, if he did know, he’d obsess over it and worry about it to the point that he talked himself out of accepting. Rude had decided that he’d leave it alone until Tseng decided that his friend was ready to hear it.

Of course… that didn’t mean he couldn’t still sneak in the occasional comment or two about how well he’d do in the role, even if Reno did always dismiss it out of hand. A little encouragement never hurt.

“Hey, Kai…” he added, smirking unabashedly as they approached the Pagoda and spotted the two most senior members of the team in quiet discussion. “You do realize that you can’t keep calling him that once he’s officially your superior, right?”

A wide smile split the woman’s face. “Of course I know that… Why do you think I’m getting it in as much as possible while I still can?”

“Hmph…” Rude chuckled. They made their way over, and Tseng glanced up at the pair.

“Where’s Reno?” he asked.

“Went to feed and water the Turklings…” Kai replied, still grinning. Tseng eyed her curiously, but simply shook his head at her oddly happy demeanor.

“For Leviathan’s sake, Kai… They’re not pets,” he said, though Rude plainly heard a trace of laughter in his voice. “Did you have any luck finding out what our… friends… are up to?”

Rude bit back a groan. The brief conversation had largely forced the more immediate business of the Zenshou from his mind momentarily.

“No, sir… The one I was following was a decoy. I didn’t realize it until he’d led me all the way to the docks,” he replied, and then as he noticed the shorter Turk somewhat hiding behind his much larger frame, “And Kai lost her credentials. Maybe stolen.”

Veld frowned and stepped forward.

“When? During the parade?”

Kai shot Rude an annoyed glare. “Snitch,” she muttered, before turning to the Turk leader, “I’m not sure exactly, sir. I know I had everything last night before I left to check out the festival. But when needed my wallet after the parade today, it was missing. I… got back to the hotel kind of late last night. I think I had it then, but I couldn’t swear to it. And Reno paid for breakfast this morning, so…”

“Kai…” Tseng sighed, somewhat exasperated.

“I know, I know… I should have checked sooner. I just wasn’t thinking about it.”

“Remy and I will remain with the President and Vice President. Tseng… go and inform the Junon personnel and SOLDIER of the situation. In person. Just on the chance that this is more than a simple case of a particularly lucky pickpocket, I want to keep electronic communication to a minimum.”

“Yes, sir,” the Turk lieutenant replied, before hurrying off to do as he was bade.

“As for you,” Veld continued, looking directly at Kai, “Retrace your steps, and see if you can locate your ID. I’d much prefer it to have simply been misplaced than stolen.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Rude… get out of the sun for a bit, get some food, and then see if you can pick up the Zenshou’s trail again. You might find it useful to put the rookies to work, as well. And let Reno know to keep an eye out for Kai’s credentials while your at it. Titan knows he’s rather frighteningly adept at simply stumbling onto things by pure chance.”

“Yes, sir,” Rude answered, nodding.

---

Liam shut his eyes, relaxing for the moment in the shade of a wide awning that shielded a handful of tables from the worst of the afternoon sun. He picked up the glass of ice water that had been set in front of him and raised it to his forehead, pressing the deliciously cool glass against his skin.

“How’s the headache?” Petra asked.

“Still there… but a lot better than it was. At least I don’t feel like I’m going to be sick every time I move anymore. I don’t know what was in that stuff Reno gave me, but he was right. It worked really well.”

“Heh… Trust me. You’re better off not knowin’, kid.”

All three of the rookies jumped, startled by the unexpected interjection, as the aforementioned redhead took a seat at their table.

“You guys order yet?” he asked, grinning.

“Just drinks, sir,” said Sykes.

“Great… I’m starvin’,” Reno said, reaching for the menu. “Soooo… Still alive, huh?” he added, glancing teasingly over at Liam.

“I think so, sir…” the youngest rookie replied, snickering softly. “Well… either that or someone finally put me out of my misery and I’m just haunting the place now.”

“Don’t be a smartass,” the senior Turk said, rolling his eyes. He smirked slightly. “That’s my job.”

“Sir, are all of the President’s speeches so… er…” Petra began, before trailing off awkwardly.

“Boring?” Reno supplied, with a laugh, “… Yeah, pretty much. This was actually one of his shorter speeches. Consider yourselves lucky. I once had to sit through one that went on for over two hours… and apparently that’s not even his record. Heh… I think even Rufus was gettin’ fed up with it today, though. ‘Course he wasn’t in the best of moods to begin with.”

“Why not?” Petra queried, looking vaguely concerned. Reno shrugged.

“Not sure. Tseng said somethin’ about an argument with the President… but he didn’t have the details. All I know is that somethin’ definitely crawled up the V.P.’s ass this mornin’ ‘n he wasn’t exactly a happy camper when we went to get him for the parade. So… Turtle’s Paradise still packed wall to wall, I take it?”

“Yeah,” Sykes said, a bit dejectedly. Reno had figured as much. He’d expected them to be there, rather than at the little cafe across from the hotel… It was sheer luck that he’d spotted them sitting outside on his way to the world famous bar.

“Eh… Don’t worry, kid. We got plenty of opportunities before we head home. I’m sure we’ll get in there eventually.”

“Yeah, well… I think I’ll just stay out of the bars from now on,” Liam groaned.

“Probably a good idea.”

The rookie quite literally squeaked, he inhaled such a sharp gasp at the proclamation that had come out of nowhere. Reno laughed, and turned his grin on the Turk now standing directly behind the youngest rookie.

“Nice timing, partner…” he snickered, as Rude, too, took a seat at the table. “You tryin’ to give the poor kid a heart attack or what?”

Rude grinned slightly. “Just following orders.”

“Veld ordered you to give the kid a heart attack?” the redhead shot back, feigning shock, “Man, he must really be ticked about him gettin’ drunk last night…”

The bald Turk playfully smacked his friend on the back of the head.

“Don’t be a smartass.”

“I thought that was his job…” Sykes quietly sniggered, which triggered badly disguised laughter from the other two rookies at the table as well. Reno rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment, opting instead to go back to studying the menu.

“Veld told me to take a break and get something to eat before I head back out to look for the Zenshou. Also told me to commandeer the rookies for the search.”

“They’re all yours,” the redhead shrugged, “Try ‘n bring ’em back in one piece, huh?”

Rude snorted softly. “Veld also wants you to keep an eye peeled for Kai’s company ID. He’s hoping it was just misplaced or dropped… not stolen. Kai’s out backtracking over everywhere she’s been this morning.”

“Heh… finally. Someone besides me fucked up…” Reno laughed.

“Sir?” Liam asked, curiously raising an eyebrow, but the senior Turk only shook his head.

“Nothin’…” he chuckled.

“Nothin’, he says…” Rude snickered. “When Reno was a rookie, if something went horribly wrong, you could almost count on him being involved somehow.”

“Hey!” the redhead replied, indignantly. “That’s…” He paused when his friend shot him a knowing look, and shook his head, laughing. “Yeah, okay, that’s totally accurate…”

“I’m sorry, sir… but I have a very hard time believing that…” Petra giggled. The other two rookies nodded their agreement.

Reno grinned sheepishly, but dropped the matter. Somehow, he hadn’t realized just how much the younger Turks seemed to look up to him. Sure, he knew they respected him… even liked him on a personal level. But somewhere along the line he’d apparently become something of a role model to them, too. It was… oddly disconcerting. That was more Tseng’s department than his. Rude smirked in his general direction and elbowed him teasingly under the table. The redhead merely rolled his eyes.

“So… sounds like you guys are gonna be busy this afternoon. Guess we better get some food ordered…”

---

Whether the rookies were busy or not, Reno didn’t have the chance to find out… because almost as soon as he returned from lunch, the tour of the city was ready to get underway, and he found himself back at work, keeping an eye on Rufus while Lord Godo went on and on about the many historical sites in the Wutaiian capitol.

To be fair… a lot of it was actually pretty interesting. It wasn’t often that Reno got the chance to play tourist while on duty, and even though a large share of his attention was focused on potential threats, he found himself enjoying the tour, as well. The first stop, of course, had been the Pagoda of the Five Gods. He’d seen it from the outside several times by now, but had been pleasantly surprised when they’d been led inside to meet the first floor’s Master.

Then had come the imperial gardens. The market place. The river. The Temple of Da-Chou. And, naturally, there had been a viewing of carvings on the sacred mountain. It had been a lot of information to take in, and Reno had found himself wishing that he had more time to just… see everything… without being rushed along on a whirlwind tour of the place. It would have been pretty cool to be able to take his time, and really enjoy it. He was pretty sure Tseng would have been more than happy to play tour guide, given the opportunity.

Maybe tonight, after the formalities were out of the way, and Rufus and the President were safely tucked away back at the hotel, he’d see if his mentor was up to heading back out. It was, admittedly, asking kind of a lot, given that they had to be up early again tomorrow, but Tseng had certainly seemed to relish showing him around the festival last night.

For now, though, he’d have to be content. And besides… in an hour or so, they’d be having dinner with Lord Godo. Not just the President and Rufus, but their entire entourage. The Turks, the representatives of SOLDIER… the Highwind’s pilot and copilot… even some of the higher ranking members of the Shinra army that had accompanied them. And on the Wutaiian side of things, Godo had his own list of guests, apparently. The dinner was going to be close to forty people when all was said and done.

He was… a little nervous about that, truth be told. Though, hopefully, with all those other people there, no one would actually notice if his table manners weren’t perfect or if he fucked up with the damn chopsticks.

The redhead glanced over at Rufus as they made their way back towards the imperial residence near the Pagoda. He had chilled out a little over the course of the afternoon… but Reno hadn’t missed the annoyed glare he’d shot at his father the moment his back was turned. Whatever it was they’d fought about, the brat definitely wasn’t over it. Tseng seemed to have noticed, as well, and was making a point of keeping his charge separated from the elder Shinra as much as possible. It wasn’t likely that Rufus would go out of his way to start something in the middle of the tour… He valued his reputation far too much for that. But if something set him off? Well… why take the chance?

Up ahead, Reno could see the top of the Pagoda over the smaller buildings of the city, and he was glad to be back. It had been a long day… and a long time since lunch. Fuck the chopsticks. He was getting hungry.

---

Rufus breathed a quiet sigh of relief, grateful that the day was nearly over, as he leaned back against the the cushions piled near the indoor spring. He hadn’t realized it on their initial visit to the imperial residence, but this was no mere man-made water garden. It was natural spring that the whole house had simply been built around. Quite the unique feature… He approved wholeheartedly.

He wondered if the brightly-colored koi fish that swam languidly beneath the surface were also natural tenants of the tranquil little pool, or if they’d been intentionally introduced. He was not usually fond of living decorations. His father had, when he was much younger, been an avid collector of fish himself. They were never regarded as pets, however. They existed solely to look pretty alongside the opulence of the family manor… until the trend had fallen out of fashion and they’d been disposed of.

This was a bit different. These fish seemed to come and go as they pleased through the little opening at the base of the far wall. Earlier, he’d seen Godo’s daughter sprinkling food of some sort into the water, resulting in a few moments of frenzied splashing as the fish had devoured it.

It was quite likely that, even if they did not originally live here, at the very least they stayed of their own free will for the easy meals and the protection afforded to them by the structure itself.

Yuffie.

That was the girl’s name. It was one that he had, as of last night, come to despise… though it was certainly no fault of hers. No, it was his father’s. For Ramuh’s sake, the girl couldn’t possibly have been more than eleven or so… If that. He’d be twenty-four this coming winter. Nevermind the fact that he had been excruciatingly clear some time ago that he would not stand for being married off at his father’s whim, the very thought of an… arrangement… of any kind between himself and the emperor’s daughter was outright disgusting, and he had not been shy in informing his father of such. He didn’t give a damn if it was postponed until she was no longer a child. No amount of time would change the fact that she was barely half his age.

That sort of thing may have been his father’s preference… but it wasn’t his.

He sighed heavily to himself. He was going to have to do something about this. And he had a sneaking suspicion that ‘something’ would ultimately have to be acquiring a female companion before his father attempted, yet again, to acquire one for him. His choices were so ridiculously limited, however. One would think that when one had been named Midgar’s most eligible bachelor three years running, the simple task of finding a suitable companion wouldn’t be exceptionally difficult. The truth, however, was that it was nearly impossible.

Nearly all of the women he met feel into one of two categories: idiots with no mind of their own, and gold-diggers. More than a few managed to fit neatly into both categories at once. He wasn’t interested in being used for his position and money. If – and frankly, that was quite a big if at the moment – he opted to marry, it was going to be to someone who was his equal intellectually… someone who didn’t care about his fortune… and most importantly, someone who saw him as more than just a ticket into Midgar’s upper crust society and an easy life.

He was half-convinced no such woman actually existed. If she did, he certainly had yet to meet her.

And frankly, that didn’t upset him nearly as much as it seemed to upset his father. Rufus was no stranger to being alone. For most of his life, he’d actively held all but a select few at arms length. He didn’t have need of excessive amounts of companionship.

“E-excuse me, sir…” a voice somewhat hesitantly broke in on his internal monologue. The vice president tore his gaze away from the pool, annoyed at having been interrupted.

“Yes?” he snapped, with perhaps a bit more venom than was warranted, and then silently chastised himself for the unnecessary outburst. That had been quite unprofessional, particularly given that he was an invited guest. Thankfully, it was only one of Tseng’s minions, and not a messenger from Lord Godo. One of the newer ones. He vaguely recalled having met her once before. She’d been part of his security, along with the Slum Rat, on a planning trip to Junon.

“I’m very sorry to interrupt, sir… but Reno sent me to tell you that they’ll begin seating us for dinner in ten minutes.”

Rufus dismissively waved a hand at both the apology and the summons. He disliked formal dinners. The conversation was always dull, and the company was seldom any less so. At least the food would be of high quality tonight, though. And perhaps it wouldn’t be wholly disagreeable with Tseng and the Slum Rat there. If he were lucky, the idiotic redhead would do something so thoroughly uncouth they could call it an early evening.

He sighed and got to his feet, casting once final glance at the fish, still swimming, unperturbed, in their little pool.

“Lovely creatures, aren’t they?” he commented, dropping his earlier annoyed tone. After all, she wasn’t the focal point of his ire, and though he could hardly admit to it, he didn’t actually mind being in the company of the Turks, for the most part. The majority of them were intelligent, hardworking, and dedicated employees. And then there was the Slum Rat, who was all of that, and obnoxious on a level that Rufus had hardly believed possible before meeting him.

“They are very pretty…” the young Turk answered, somewhat nervously. Several of the fish swam up to the surface, peering up at her, their mouths open. She reached into the little feeder box mounted on the railing and tossed in a handful of food.

“And quite intelligent, apparently,” Rufus replied. He stood beside the young woman, watching them eat for a moment.

“Oh? I didn’t know that, sir. How smart are they?” she said.

“I would say exceptionally so. They’ve already got you trained to feed them on command.” The Shinra heir smirked slightly and turned towards the doors that led to the the large banquet room, leaving the Turk in slightly stunned silence.

A moment later, he heard quiet, unsuccessfully repressed giggling from behind him.

---

“Man… I don’t know what they’re feedin’ us, but I can already smell it…” Reno said, grinning as he hurried over to Tseng. His mentor chuckled softly and closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply.

“… It is rather alluring, isn’t it?” he replied.

“Ah… Tseng’s one weakness,” Veld commented, teasingly, as he and Remy made their way over to them. “Or maybe it’s more accurately classified as an addiction.”

“Since when’s the boss addicted to food?” Reno asked, “I kinda thought that was me…”

Veld grinned knowingly.

“Oh, not just any food. Food from home. I very nearly considered to putting him in rehab as a rookie, as much as he spent at Wutaiian restaurants back then. He had withdrawal symptoms if he went more than a day or two without miso soup…”

Tseng rolled his eyes. “I was certainly not that bad,” he sighed, and then smirked slightly, “Besides which… I don’t even particularly like miso soup. I much prefer a nice bowl of ramen. Preferably with a little pork and maybe an egg.”

“Ugh… Stop it, Boss. You’re killin’ me, here. I’m already starvin’…” the redhead groaned.

“Hmph… why does that not surprise me?” a familiar voice sneered. Tseng chuckled softly as Rufus emerged from the other room and headed in their direction, Petra close on his tail. “I assume my father is waiting for me in the sitting room?”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng replied. Rufus nodded, and continued on, disappearing through another door. The Turk lieutenant glanced over at Reno raised an eyebrow.

“You sent a rookie to get him?” he queried. The redhead laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well… I figured they gotta learn to wrangle ‘im sooner or later.”

“Did he give you any trouble?” Tseng asked, turning to Petra. The rookie giggled softly.

“Not at all, sir… He was actually very charming.”

Reno stared at her with an exaggerated expression of shock. “… Did you seriously just describe Rufus Shinra as ‘charming’?”

That comment drew a laugh from Tseng as well, and he placed an arm over the younger Turk’s shoulders.

“Don’t tease her. You know perfectly well that Rufus can be quite personable when he wants to be,” his mentor replied, “Hopefully, this means that his mood has finally improved.”

Reno grinned and nodded to Petra. “Good job, rookie. You survived a one-on-one encounter with the brat.”

“And since you’re already running errands, go and tell the others that if they don’t acknowledge my message in the next sixty seconds and get in here, they’ll be eating back at the hotel. I believe they’re out in the courtyard,” Veld added as several of Godo’s guests began to make their way through the foyer and into the banquet room.

“Yes, sir!” Petra replied, smiling, and hurried off to gather up the rest of the team.

As she slipped out the door, another trio of guests stepped inside. An older gentleman with a rather severe look on his face, and a woman that Reno took to be his wife. They were accompanied by a young man, perhaps a few years older than Tseng, who’s left arm was missing from the elbow down. At first, Reno thought nothing of them… though he was slightly surprised when none of them so much as acknowledged the presence of the Turks. Since he’d arrived, the people had been nothing but friendly towards them. He was going to write it off as them being some stuck up, wealthy family Godo had invited as a matter of protocol… until he turned around to mention his observations to Tseng.

His mentor had gone noticeably pale.

“Boss?” he prodded, concerned.

“Tseng… I’m sorry. I had no idea they’d be here. It must have been a last minute addition to the guest list,” Veld hurriedly said, steadying him. Reno looked over at Remy, who seemed just as mystified as he was.

“Who are they?” Reno finally just asked. Tseng swallowed sharply.

“Hisao. My eldest brother,” he breathed, somewhat shakily, “And… my mother and father…”

~end chapter 47~