Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 85: Decisions Made

Reno, for several moments, was quite speechless. Of all the things he’d expected to hear from the senior Turk… that wasn’t one of them. It took several attempts before he finally found his voice again.

“The fuck dya mean you’re not comin’ back with me?” he demanded, suddenly angry, “Veld sent me to find you ‘n bring you home. I had to haul my ass out here in between blizzards on a chocobo – which ate my phone, by the way – while freezin’ said ass off, and then track you down on the side of a fucking mountain to do that. You’re damn well comin’ back with me.”

But all of that wasn’t what he was really angry about. Kai was talking like she was just planning to stay out here, picking up odd jobs for the locals or some shit, indefinitely. Like she was planning to abandon the Turks. Abandon him. And while, he supposed, that was her right… it pissed him off. They were supposed to be a family. You didn’t permanently fuck off to the great outdoors and just throw away family.

Kai shook her head. “No. I’m not,” she repeated. “Look… it’s freezing out here and there’s another round of snow coming. Let’s finish this, and then we can have a nice long talk over lunch and a beer or three… or maybe something a little stronger… at the pub.”

“But –” Reno began, just as the wind whipped up again, sending a shudder down his spine as it chilled him. “Tch… fine. But you’re buyin’.”

He didn’t mind the snow. Hell, he loved the snow. The sub-arctic temperatures that often came along with it, on the other hand… those he could do without. To be honest, he really didn’t want to stand out here any longer than he had to, and he had a feeling this was going to be a long, drawn out conversation.

So… he did the only thing he really could do. He helped Kai restrain and hoist the two still-living chocobo rustlers onto the back of the large male, and grabbed the reins of the gold.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Kai said with a slight smirk, as she took the reins from him and swung herself up onto its back, “This one’s mine.”

The redhead rolled his eyes, but walked over to the smaller white chocobo instead. She immediately snapped at his outstretched hand as he reached for her bridle.

“Don’t even start with me, asshole. I’m not in any kinda mood for your shit right now,” he growled, awkwardly climbing onto the bird. He heard a soft laugh from Kai’s direction, and without even bothering to look at her, added, “Don’t you start with me either, Kai. I fucking hate these stupid things. You know I hate them. Quit laughin’.”

---

“You’re really not comin’ back?” he asked, picking at the food on his plate. The menu was small, but the food the little pub served was tasty… he just didn’t have much of an appetite at the moment. “Like… ever?”

Kai sighed and looked down at her own plate.

“I… I’ll eventually go back to Midgar. Probably in the spring. It’s been my home for years, and I don’t think I could ever be happy leaving it for good. But I don’t think I can go back to Shinra,” she replied.

“So… what? You’re just gonna stick around here bein’ a merc?” the redhead said with a slightly disbelieving snort.

“For now…” Kai replied with a faint chuckle that didn’t sound particularly genuine, “I mean… it’s easy money. And the people around here could use the help. They’re kind of on their own out here.”

“You’re not even gonna come back for Chirstmas?” he queried, glancing up at her, a somewhat pleading look in his eyes. Kai blinked in surprise and then sighed, smiling faintly.

“I’ll… think about it, okay?”

That was a no if ever he’d heard one.

They’d been talking for well over two hours by now. Reno had tried every argument… made every effort at reasoning with her… hell, he’d stopped just short of outright begging her to come back with him. But, it seemed, her mind was made up. She was really was leaving the Turks. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she was the first. Other than Turks who just got too old for the work and retired, that is… He’d certainly never heard of a Turk opting to leave in the prime of their career. But then, he’d also never thought to ask. He supposed that now was as good a time as any.

“Can you just… do this? Just decide that you’re not a Turk anymore?” he inquired.

“Unless Veld decides to have me terminated as a security risk… I don’t see why not…” she shrugged. “We’re not their property, Baby Turkling. The Company doesn’t own us. Some of the executives might act like they do, but they don’t. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.” She smirked slightly, and added, “Especially that spoiled little shit, Rufus. You keep him in line and don’t let him go throwing his weight around.”

Reno snorted a vaguely amused laugh. “Yeah… like he really listens to me.”

“But he does,” Kai insisted, “Maybe begrudgingly… but he listens, and you know it. That’s something that’s going to come in handy when you’re ready for your promotion.”

Reno huffed, but didn’t argue the point.

“You sure there’s nothin’ I can say to make you change your mind?” he finally just asked. Kai shook her head.

“Sorry. I’ve made my decision. I need to do what’s best for the team… and what’s best for me. And this is it. I’ll contact Veld with a formal resignation after the holidays, but… go ahead and let him know to expect it, okay?”

Reno scowled down at his plate, and pushed it aside. He wasn’t hungry anymore.

“I’m sorry, Baby Turkling. I know it’s not what you wanted to hear,” Kai said, softly. The redhead looked up at her, now openly glaring at her.

“Ya know what? No… It’s not what I wanted to hear,” he said, the reins on his temper slipping a bit. He couldn’t help it. “This is total bullshit, Kai. Ya make a few mistakes ‘n you fuckin’ run away? What the hell?”

“Reno… I just…” she began, only to pause, and run her fingers through her hair. At last she slowly exhaled and looked him in the eye. “I can’t do this anymore. Watching my family get hurt. Watching them die. It’s killing me… Just a little bit at a time, but it’s killing me. And it’s even worse when it’s something that I did that brought it about. I never would have been able to forgive myself if you hadn’t been so lucky in Costa del Sol. I don’t think Tseng would’ve forgiven me, either.”

The younger Turk blinked, caught thoroughly unprepared for such an admission… and by the tear that was now making its way down the woman’s cheek.

“Kai…” he breathed, shakily. She hurriedly wiped her eyes with the back of one hand, and turned her attention back on her lunch.

“I’m sorry,” she said, barely above a whisper. “That’s just how it is.”

They ate in silence for a few more minutes before she finally composed herself and spoke again.

“You should probably get going soon, unless you’re planning on getting a room for the night. The afternoon ferry to Junon leaves in about fifteen minutes, and with the weather getting as bad as it is, there probably won’t be an evening ferry.”

“… Yeah…” Reno responded, unhappily, as he shoved the last few remaining bites on his plate into his mouth and swallowed harshly.

“I’ll walk you over,” Kai said, with a sad smile. They paid their bill and got up, pulling on coats and gloves, and walked out into what was now the beginnings of a pretty nasty storm. The wind pelted them relentlessly from the east, flinging snow directly into their faces as they trudged towards the docks. As he looked out at the ocean, he could see the waves roiling violently in the little harbor… and much worse farther out.

“You comin’ aboard?!” an old dockhand shouted over the gale, and Reno nodded. “Hurry it up then… we’re castin’ off right on the hour ‘n not a second later. With this storm, this is gonna be the last run of the day… so I hope you ain’t planning on comin’ back tonight!”

With that, he trundled off down the dock to see to his preparations for departure. Reno turned to Kai.

“Pretty sure I know what the answer’s gonna be… but I’m still gonna ask one last time. You’re sure you won’t come with me?”

“I’m sure,” she replied, and then leaned in close to him, and kissed him on the cheek. “Take care of yourself… Baby Turkling.”

He hesitated a moment longer, not really ready to go quite yet… but he didn’t have a choice. The boat was leaving, with or without him. At last, he hugged her goodbye, and scurried up the gangplank, onto the rocking deck of the ferry. He stayed there as the three-man crew cast off from the dock, watching Kai’s figure grow smaller and smaller as the craft left the harbor, only turning to take shelter below deck after he could no longer make her out between the distance and the flying snow.

---

A sharp, determined knock, signaled that Esme had, indeed, braved the weather to bring him sustenance and company, and Tseng found himself equal parts annoyed and grateful for the visit. He hurried over and opened the door, only to be greeted by a chill-inducing gust of wind.

“Oh, it’s as cold as the kiss of Shiva out there!” the woman declared, shivering as she hustled inside. Much to Tseng’s surprise, she was resolutely followed into his apartment by her daughter, who was clutching a large basket in mitten-covered hands. The teenager quickly shut the door behind her, banishing the cold to the street, and turned to him, smiling warmly.

“Hi, Tseng!” Felicia said, brightly, “Are you feeling any better?”

“Considerably,” he replied, ushering the pair into the living room. Which was true. He’d dropped off for a short nap earlier in the afternoon, and found that what remained of his fever had finally broken when he awoke. Now that his body temperature was back to a more reasonable level, and he didn’t find himself alternating between shivering and sweating to death every few minutes, he really was feeling much better. Right on cue, Esme’s hand shot out and landed squarely on his forehead.

“Hmmm…” she hummed, somewhat suspiciously, “Well, you feel about normal, anyway. Let’s make sure you stay that way. We brought you lunch. And dinner, since this dratted storm just seems to go on and on…”

She took took the basket from her daughter, swapping it for her coat, and made her way into the kitchen with it. Felicia giggled quietly as she took off her own coat and draped them both over the wall hooks by the door.

“Mom’s convinced you’ve been working all day and ‘neglecting your health, as usual‘,” she said, playfully mimicking her mother.

“Hmph. Even if I’d wanted to get some work done, I have,in fact, been asleep most of the morning… Which, frankly, is unfortunate, given the number of requisitions I need to fill out before the office shuts down for the holiday. Plus, now Reno needs a new phone.”

“Again?!” she snickered. Tseng smiled and nodded. “What happened to this one?”

The Turk lieutenant gave a dramatic sigh. “Apparently, a chocobo ate it.”

Felicia dissolved into laughter. “No, really… what did he do to it this time?”

“I’m being perfectly serious,” Tseng replied, as straight-faced as his many years of practice allowed. True though it may have been, it really was ridiculous enough that even he had difficulty accepting it… particularly given that this was at least the second time he was aware of that one of his protege’s phones had met such an unfortunate fate. It really rather defied belief. “When have you ever known me to joke about work matters?”

Felicia continued to giggle as she settled herself in the armchair in the living room while Tseng made himself comfortable on the couch.

“Um… Tseng? Is… Reno coming to the Christmas party this year?”

The senior Turk raised a curious eyebrow.

“I assume so. He hasn’t mentioned any other plans to me, at any rate. Why?” he queried. The fifteen year old flushed bright red and quickly backpedaled.

“O-oh, no reason… I… just wanted to know,” she replied. Tseng couldn’t help but smirk slightly. It seemed that, in spite of her taking more of an interest in boys her own age of late, Felicia’s little crush on his protege hadn’t been entirely extinguished after all.

“He’s too old for you, you know…” the Wutaiian Turk teased her. Her cheeks went even redder at the comment.

“Tseng!” she hissed in a scandalized voice, eyes darting to the kitchen where Esme was setting out his lunch. Tseng chuckled, knowing that the woman was well aware of her daughter’s fondness for the redhead. She was hardly subtle about it, after all.

“Well, he is…” he shrugged, “He’ll be twenty one in just a few months, in fact.”

“I don’tlike him like that…” she declared – albeit not very convincingly – arms crossed defiantly over her chest, “I just… think he’s nice.”

“Ah… my mistake, then,” Tseng said, still smiling lightly. Felicia simply rolled her eyes at him in that way that only a teenager can manage. Felicia was very much like his sister had been at that age… though she tended to be rather more shy than Mayu ever was. Mayu, too, had gone a bit boy-crazy for a year or two in her early teens – much to their father’s dismay – and Tseng had heard about every last one of her crushes during that time period. His little sister had always told him everything. There had never been any secrets between them.

Expect for the one that had cost her her life.

Tseng quickly forced that thought from his mind lest it settle in and take root. Thankfully, he was saved from his memories dragging him back down that particular road by Esme’s appearance in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Well, come on, then… You need to eat, and we’re not leaving until you do!”

The Turk lieutenant glanced over at Felicia and feigned a put-upon sigh, which drew a quiet laugh from her, before hoisting himself to his feet and making his way out to the table… for what he was certain was – again – going to be entirely too much food.

---

“Well… I have bad news, and I have worse news.”

Reno cracked his neck and glanced up at the familiar figure striding into the empty administration building office he’d made himself comfortable in for the time being. He’d arrived in Junon without much issue… but like the ferry, the helicopters weren’t planning on going anywhere until the weather settled down a little. He’d been killing time while waiting for his ride back to Midgar by scanning through the afternoon’s news reports on Junon’s intranet.

Viridia’s expression contradicted the seriousness of her declaration. She was definitely forcing back a grin.

“Sounds promising…” he replied, “What’s the bad news?”

“Flights are grounded until 0500 tomorrow morning due to the weather. Unless you want to walk back to Midgar in this blizzard, you’re stuck here until then. At least.”

“At least?” he said with a faint groan.

“It’s going to depend on whether or not the storm system swings south as predicted, or just parks itself over top of us for awhile like the last one did,” the security officer shrugged.

“Great…” Reno sighed. That meant there was a chance that he’d be snowed in here all day tomorrow with nothing to do, and a whole stack of pre-holiday work piling up back at the office. “I’m almost afraid to ask… but what’s the worse news?”

Viridia smirked. “A lot of people are caught in the same situation. We just had a big personnel transfer come in this morning. They were only supposed to be here a few hours and then ship out to their new postings this afternoon, but they can’t… which means quarters are going to be tight tonight.”

“I’m gonna be sleepin’ under a desk, aren’t I…?” the redhead deadpanned, and the woman laughed.

“Not quite that tight. But the only place I do have to put you is in the bunkhouse next to the number three female barracks.”

“Why’s that bad news?” Reno shot back, one slender eyebrow rising in interest. He could think of much less convenient places to sleep on base.

“Because I know damn well what happens when you get within fifty feet of the Hades-be-damned female barracks, you little horn-dog,” Viridia replied, with a disapproving frown. Reno couldn’t help but laugh at the response.

“Ah, come on, Vir… I’m not that bad.”

“If either I or my security personnel have to haul you out of there at two in the morning again –”

“Okay, okay…” the Turk laughed, raising his hands in surrender. “Message received.”

“Good,” Viridia responded with a nod, “Now that that’s out of the way… how did your assignment go? Any luck?”

At his somewhat questioning look, she smirked and added, “What do you expect when you use my base to relay messages back to Midgar? I know everything that goes on here. So… did you find Kai?”

Reno sighed and leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him.

“Yeah… I did. But it didn’t exactly work out the way I’d hoped…” he said, shaking his head. Viridia exhaled loudly and pulled up a chair.

“I don’t like the sound of that…”

“Tch… neither did I. She’s not comin’ back. I mean… she’s comin’ back to Midgar. Eventually. But she’s leavin’ the Turks, ‘n now I gotta figure out how the hell I’m gonna tell Tseng.”

“Oh…” Viridia breathed, understandingly. “That’s… almost worse than not finding her at all, isn’t it?”

Reno glanced up at her. “You’re really makin’ me feel better here, Vir. Thanks,” he sarcastically replied. She smiled somewhat sheepishly.

“Sorry. I just… know how worried Tseng’s been. Those two have have been friends for years. She’s known him even longer than I have. He’s going to be so upset when he finds out…”

“And again… you’re really makin’ me feel so much better about tellin’ him…” the redhead muttered, annoyed. He groaned and let his head drop onto the desk, face first. “Got any openings in security? I come pre-trained ‘n everything…”

Viridia chuckled. “Reno, no offense, but… as much as I like and respect you, I don’t think I could handle having you under my command. I’m still trying to figure out how Tseng hasn’t lost his mind yet,” she said teasingly, patting him on the back. The redhead snorted a faint laugh.

“Yeah, fair enough,” he snickered, sitting up. “Man… this is really gonna suck. And I got no way outta tellin’ him, either. I mean… I guess I could report to Veld first ‘n let him do it, but… I’d feel like a dick.”

“Well… Sometimes being –”

“Yeah, yeah… I know. Sometimes bein’ a leader sucks,” Reno sighed, not having to try too hard to guess where that statement was going. He seemed to be getting that a lot lately. Not specifically that his eventual promotion would suck… but that it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk by any means, and that it was just something he was going to have to learn to deal with.

“I was going to say that sometimes being in command means having be the one to break the bad news… but… you’re not entirely wrong,” Viridia said, giving him a friendly smile. She got to her feet. “Come on. You can’t hide out in here forever. Why don’t we head down to the mess hall before half the base lines up for dinner? I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your rookies’ training progress anyway. It’ll take your mind off Kai.”

He had to admit… he was getting a little hungry. It had been hours since lunch… and discussing something other than the senior Turk’s disappearing act, even if it was being done over mess hall cuisine, did sound marginally better than sitting around sulking.

“Long as they’re not servin’ those Ifrit-forsaken ration packets they had over at Fort Condor…” he replied, getting up from his chair, “Those things are nasty even by my standards…”

---

By the next morning, Tseng was his old self again. For the most part, anyway. He’d improved steadily over the course of the afternoon yesterday, and though he was still sniffling and sneezing regularly, the fever and chills, as well as the all-encompassing fatigue, had yet to return.

Which was why when he woke at his usual hour and didn’t feel the need to immediately go back to sleep, he’d deemed himself well enough to return to work. Veld had merely shaken his head when he spotted his protege walking down the hallway, and called him into his office.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“I’m over the worst of it, I think,” Tseng replied with a slight shrug.

“Hmph. Well… at least try and take it easy today. Esme will almost certainly blame me if you end up relapsing,” Veld said, somewhat jokingly. “I heard from Reno earlier. He’s in Junon at the moment. Apparently it’s still snowing and flights have been grounded since yesterday afternoon… but it’s looking like he’ll probably be able to get out of there before noon.”

“Junon?” Tseng queried, curiously, and frowned. “Then he didn’t find her, I take it.”

“I didn’t get a full report from him directly. Just a brief update from the communications officer relaying the message,” the Turk leader answered, “I think, for Chirstmas, we need to find him a PHS that even he can’t destroy or lose, because this little game of messenger is becoming increasingly irritating.”

Tseng chuckled softly. “I would happily gift him such a phone, no matter what the expense, if I thought one actually existed.”

“Maybe we could have one implanted…” Veld jokingly suggested, prompting a laugh from the younger Turk. “Well… in any case, I’m glad you’re back. I was starting to worry what I was going to do with the rookies today. Remy and Rude have an assignment in Sector 1 that’s likely to keep them busy all morning, and I have a meeting with the Board regarding the executive Christmas party… which, I’m sure, will also take all morning, knowing President Shinra.”

Tseng groaned. “Don’t tell me they want the Turks to make an… appearance… again this year…”

“I sincerely hope not,” Veld replied, with equal distaste. “If they do, neither you nor Reno will be attending. I think you both earned a reprieve from such tasks last year. I’ve already told Esme to make sure to spoil you both at our party to make up for missing the last one.”

“I’m sure Reno will enjoy that… though I think I’ve already had my annual dose of being thoroughly spoiled by your wife…” he chuckled, “In fact, I may not have to eat for the remainder of the week on account.”

Veld laughed but didn’t comment on the statement, instead moving on to a new topic.

“Oh… that reminds me. I wanted to warn you. You may want to avoid the cafeteria this afternoon,” he said. Tseng raised an eyebrow.

“Why?” he hesitantly asked, “… Aside from the usual reasons, that is…”

“They’ve decided that for the last couple of weeks before the holiday, they’ll be having themed menus. Today is ‘Christmas in Wutai’,” Veld said with a smirk. Tseng blinked.

“… What in Leviathan’s name would that entail?” he asked, somewhat baffled. Christmas wasn’t really a thing in Wutai. Very few of his fellow countrymen even acknowledged it, let alone celebrated it. Even in Midgar, the portion of the local Wutaiian population who hadn’t been born and raised in the city really only took notice of the holiday due to its popularity among the other denizens. As far that went, Tseng himself only joined in the festivities for the sake of those he cared about, and to spend time with them. It didn’t hold any other particular meaning to him, personally. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what a “Chirstmas in Wutai” menu – especially one masterminded by the Shinra Building Cafeteria – would consist of.

“I don’t know…” Veld replied, “… but I did hear the words ‘peppermint sushi’ when I arrived this morning and thought it best to advise you to steer clear.”

The Wutaiian Turk grimaced in disgust.

“I appreciate it, sir…”

Their conversation was interrupted before any further discussion of the lunch menu could be had, however, by a tentative knock on the door.

“Yes? Come in,” Veld called out. A moment later Liam poked his head into the room.

“Er… sorry for the interruption, sir, but the Vice President is in the office and he’s looking for Reno. He wasn’t in his office and I’ve checked the rest of headquarters, too. So… I’m assuming he’s still on assignment out of town? And… um…”

Tseng smirked slightly. “And you’d prefer not to inform the Vice President of that?”

“Yes, sir…” the eldest rookie admitted, somewhat embarrassed, “He… didn’t seem to be in the best of moods when he got here.”

“I’ll handle him,” Tseng said, receiving a nod of acknowledged from his mentor. He hurried to follow the rookie out into the hallway, and down to the lounge, where he found the Shinra heir waiting impatiently. It seemed that, if any of the other Turks had arrived yet this morning, all but Petra had opted to make themselves scarce. Including Liam, Tseng noted, as he turned to dismiss him and found he’d already disappeared.

“Good morning, sir…” the Turk lieutenant greeted the young man. Rufus pulled his gaze away from Petra, with whom he seemed to be having a remarkably friendly conversation for someone who was allegedly “in a bad mood” and looked over at him in surprise.

“Tseng… I was told you were ill,” he said, sounding faintly surprised.

“I was. But it was just a particularly aggressive cold. The same one I seem to come down with every winter. I’m perfectly fit for duty.”

“Good… I’m glad to hear it,” the executive stated, “I have an unexpected lunch meeting this afternoon and require an escort. It’s barely a block away, but Father is still rather perturbed about what happened the last time I had business outside of company headquarters. He insisted,” he explained, rolling his eyes dramatically.

Tseng nodded. “I’d be happy to accompany you, as Reno is currently unavailable.”

“Actually, there’s no need,” Rufus replied, causing Tseng’s eyebrows to shoot upward. He nodded towards Petra, “She will be accompanying me.”

“As you wish,” Tseng replied, surprised. It was not just rare for Rufus to agree to an escort besides Reno or himself… since the war with Wutai, it was almost unheard of.

“Where is that useless protege of yours, anyway? Shouldn’t he be here by now?” Rufus asked, not bothering with an explanation for his new security preference… which Tseng easily noted was entirely intentional, and he vaguely wondered what sort of game the vice president was playing now.

“He’s in Junon. And it seems he’s stuck there until the weather clears enough for him to fly back. Probably not until later this morning.”

Rufus smirked and glanced at his watch.

“The perfect excuse for him to slack off,” he said with a roll of his eyes, and then turned, addressing Petra, “The meeting is at two thirty. Report to my office by a quarter past.”

“Yes, sir,” the young Turk responded.

“As much as I’d love to stay and chat, I have what I expect will be a ridiculously long and utterly mind-numbing board meeting to attend,” he said, shaking his head slightly, “Father wants to discuss plans for the executive Christmas party.”

“You have my sympathy, sir,” the Wutaiian Turk chuckled, as the young executive took his leave. When he was gone, Tseng curiously turned to Petra with a faint smile. “How did you manage that?”

“Sir?” she asked, a somewhat puzzled look on her face.

“We all know exactly how selective the vice president is about his security,” he said, with a teasing smile, “I’m just a little surprised he’s adding to his list of… shall we say ‘acceptable individuals’… without any prompting. Or feats of heroism. Reno had to save him from falling through thin ice before he began to even consider him competent… and from several more dangerous situations before he began to tolerate him.”

Petra giggled softly.

“Reno told me that story,” she said, grinning. “But to be honest… I don’t really know what everyone seems to have against the vice president. I think he’s actually very nice under all that aristocracy. And personally, I think that’s all an act to begin with.”

Tseng smiled and shook his head. “I… wouldn’t say it’s all an act. Perhaps somewhere on the order of sixty percent of it. Good luck, then. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your report when you return…” he said, and somewhat mischievously added, “… if only to find out whether or not you managed to survive the ordeal.”

---

At nearly three in the afternoon, a military cargo helicopter briefly touched down on the snow-covered roof of Shinra Company Headquarters. It lingered there just long enough to drop off a lone passenger, and then lifted off again, disappearing into the cloudy sky once more.

Reno breathed a quiet sigh of relief at being home again and quickly made his way inside, stepping aboard the elevator and pressing the button for the fifty-eighth floor.

He’d been stuck in Junon a lot longer than he thought he would be. In fact, when the helicopters were still grounded at noon, he’d been half convinced that he’d be spending another night on the military base. Thankfully, about an hour ago, there was a lull in the storm, and the skies had cleared long enough for a few priority flights to take off. Viridia had pulled some strings to make sure he was on the one headed for Midgar.

He hadn’t been gone all that long, but it felt strangely good to be home. He was looking forward to, what was hopefully going to be, a quiet couple of hours before he could knock off for the day.

His evening… he was less looking forward to. The redhead was planning on making his report to Veld, and then requesting that he be able to bring Tseng – whom he assumed was still home sick – up to date. Like he’d told Vir… he would have felt like a dick if he just let the Commander handle breaking the news. He was the one who’d been sent to find Kai, and he was the one who’d failed to bring her back with him. Tseng deserved to hear it from him directly.

At least he’d have a couple more hours before he’d have to do it, though.

As he stepped off of the elevator and into the hallway of Turk headquarters, he was so lost in his own thoughts, that he was very nearly bowled over by a pair of rookies.

“Whoa!” he gasped as Liam and Ryu very nearly collided with him in their rush for the elevator. “What’s the hurry?”

“Oh, hey, Reno! Didn’t realize you were back,” Liam greeted him, “Sorry about that… We have time booked in SOLDIER’s VR facility for materia practice. But we only have an hour, and we don’t want to waste any of it.”

“Heh… yeah, okay… get goin’ then,” he snickered. The pair scurried aboard the elevator. “And try not to kill each other, huh?” he called after them.

“I’ve arranged for a friend of mine in SOLDIER to supervise,” a voice behind him stated, and Reno jumped in surprise, “I think they’ll be fine.”

The redhead spun on his heel to face the source of the familiar voice, eyes wide.

“Boss! You’re… already back at the office…” he said upon spotting Tseng standing behind him. His mentor cocked an eyebrow.

“You sound less than thrilled about that…”

So much for his “couple of hours” of reprieve. If Tseng was here, he had no doubt that he’d be sitting in on his debriefing with Veld. Reno shook his head.

“It’s not that…” he sighed. “I just… uh… I got some… kinda not so great news to share.”

The Turk lieutenant frowned slightly and gestured in the direction of Veld’s office. Reno quickly fell into step beside him.

“I’m already aware that you rerouted to Junon ahead of schedule. I assume you had no luck locating Kai…” he replied, as they arrived at the door, and he knocked.

“… Yeah. ‘Bout that. That’s not entirely accurate…” the redhead replied.

~end chapter 85~