Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 93: Visits and Victories

Tseng stepped from the train, shuddering at the sudden return of the cold. He had never much enjoyed wintry weather – and he had his doubts that it would ever start to grow on him – but at least down here, he wasn’t forced to navigate mounds of snow and icy sidewalks. The Sector 5 station was surprisingly bustling this early in the morning… though perhaps he should have expected that. After all, not every resident of Midgar was fortunate enough to be given an entire week off for the holidays. It was a perk very few employers could afford. Most of the city’s denizens would be returning to work today, and those who lived in the slums were no exception.

He navigated his way over towards a support column and waited for the tide of departures to board the train he’d just exited. When the mass exodus to the Plate finally subsided, and the train’s whistle sounded, he quickly made his way out of the station.

Sector 5 was… perhaps the nicest of the Slums. It didn’t have the money that Wall Market had… not by a long shot. But the people who lived here were cut from a different cloth. They didn’t seem to have the same every man for himself mentality that was common in many of the other sectors. Most of them were welcoming and kind, and took a certain amount of pride in the community they’d built. The last time he was here had been last spring, during the floods, and he’d seen that community come together to help those driven out of their homes by the water.

Truth be told, he didn’t really get down below much at all these days. So much of his time was taken up by training his rookies. And training his successor. But this was a visit that was somewhat overdue, and now that he did have the time, he was going to make it. It had been far too long.

He still felt some amount of guilt over the situation. Not so much for the choice he’d made, but for the continuous lies that were necessary to ensure his promise was kept. Until the day he’d made it, there was nothing he’d intentionally kept from his mentor… but if Veld ever found out about this it would mean, at the very minimum, having to go back on his word. It would probably mean a great deal more trouble for him, professionally, as well… but he was significantly less concerned about that.

The Turk lieutenant made his way through the sector, and was keenly aware that he was being watched. Though not in uniform… not even in clothes that would mark him immediately as a Plate dweller, he was enough of an aberration to stand out. They didn’t recognize him, and that was enough to make him a curiosity. For the most part, he simply ignored the uncertain stares, and continued on, past the little market place and the cafe, past the cluster of small homes, and the children playing.

The house he was looking for was sequestered off on its own, and as he approached it, he couldn’t help but think, as he always did, that it looked strangely out of place in the Slums. The structure would have been more at home somewhere in the quiet countryside, than tucked away beneath an entire city. And yet, there it stood, surrounded by clear water that had long since frozen over and the vestiges of the flowers that had bloomed all spring and summer.

He steeled himself slightly as he approached the door. His arrival the last time he’d come here wasn’t exactly met with great enthusiasm… particularly after the girl’s adoptive mother had learned who he was. Since then, he had, in general, kept away from their home, only looking in on her charge from a distance, and refraining from getting too close. Tseng raised his hand to knock, but before his knuckles could even make contact with the wood, the door opened, and he was greeted by a small figure with an uncertain expression on her face. Tseng smile slightly and lowered his arm.

“Hello, Aerith.”

---

Reno darted behind cover, his breathing labored from the flat-out run he’d just made across the open area in a desperate attempt to avoid being hit again. He’d escaped successfully, but only just barely, and his pursuers were still out there, just waiting for him to show himself. As he caught his breath, he quickly knelt down to reload.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” a teasing voice sing-songed from a short distance away. It was accompanied by a loud giggle and hushed words. The redhead flattened himself against the trunk of the tree he was using to hide himself, straining to hear any sound the might give away their approach.

The distinctive crunch of boots on the snow reached his ears a moment later, and he grinned to himself as he darted to the left, leaving his cover and aiming a volley of shots at the source of the noise. The first of his targets squealed and dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack, and her partner tried to fire back, but in her own surprise, missed him by a wide margin. Just as he was taking aim at her, however, something wet and heavy splattered against the side of his head.

“Fuck!” the senior Turk yelped, as snow and icy water dripped down the collar of his winter coat. “Dammit, Rude, I thought we agreed no headshots!” he shouted, annoyed by the sudden discomfort. His friend chuckled softly.

“I never agreed to anything,” he replied, and hurled a second snowball at the younger man.

“Get him!” Petra suddenly shouted, and Reno had just enough time to spot her and Zephyr advancing on him once more before he was pelted with even more packed snow.

“N-no, wait! I – ,” he began, only to be pegged in the head yet again, this time from somewhere behind him. And then came his ultimate downfall, as he realized that he’d been expertly herded right into an ambush. He was surrounded. Liam and Ryu were closing in on him from behind, and Victor and Sykes were advancing from his right. Rude stood, grinning evilly to his left, and the frontward assault by Petra and Zephyr started up again without hesitation. Having no other alternative, and no escape route, all he could do was drop to his knees in the snow and shield himself as best he could with his arms, as he groaned in abject defeat. His end came swiftly and without mercy.

When it was finally over, he found himself, almost literally, buried in a mound of snow.

“Okay, fine… you win…” he muttered, shooting Rude a glare. “Tch… Fuckin’ cheat. Six against one is not fair.”

“You were the one who made the rules…” Rude laughed, teasingly, as he hauled the younger Turk out of the man-made snowdrift he’d wound up in.

“… Shut up,” the redhead replied, rolling his eyes.

“Just consider it payback for what you did to poor Liam at the Christmas party,” Sykes snickered. The redhead blinked.

“Tch… his hangover was not my fault. He’s the one who kept drinkin’…” he said, folding his arms over his chest in defiance. He smirked at the younger Turk. “… ‘Sides… I’da thought he’ve learned his lesson the first time he got that drunk.”

Liam somewhat sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, grinning faintly.

“I… guess I kind of forgot just how awful it felt…”

Rude snorted in laughter and shook his head, as he brushed some of the snow off of his partner. “Alright… who’s the target for the next round?” he asked, eagerly.

This had been their second run-through. Victor had gone first, and ended up in much the same state Reno was presently. When the redhead had first suggested the game, it was really more for fun than for actual training… but it was proving surprisingly useful for that as well. It was largely just hide and seek… with snowballs and ambushes, and only one guy hiding at a time. And it was quickly proving to be a blast!

The younger Turks among them had needed a day’s worth of recovery time after the Christmas party, first, though. Liam, in particular, had been in bad shape the following morning… but just about everyone had had a little too much fun the night before. Even Tseng had looked a bit out of sorts for a short while, though he’d recovered far sooner than some of the others.

Reno had invited him to this little meet-up as well, of course, but his mentor had already made plans for the day, apparently. He hadn’t said what, nor had he been forthcoming when asked directly… which led Reno to believe that he’d was presently in Junon, most likely sharing a bed with a certain security officer, and had wanted to avoid the usual teasing. Remy, meanwhile, had simply given him a straight no, and said she was not about to spend her time off half frozen, and Veld already left for Kalm, along with the rest of his family, to see Esme’s parents and grandparents for a few days. Everyone else, however, had been eager for a little outdoor fun.

Even Ryu, who, Reno had noticed, was starting to come out of his shell a bit lately and was joining in on the more social side of the team on occasion.

“I volunteer Sykes!” Liam proclaimed, grinning at his friend. Reno laughed softly.

“Seriously? The way Sykes moves, we’re liable to never even find the bastard, let alone take him down,” he snickered, and then shrugged, “But hey, if you guys want a challenge, who am I to stop ya?”

“I say we take a break,” Ryu opined, shaking his head. “It’s freezing out here, and besides… it’s almost lunchtime.”

Reno grinned and glanced over at Rude. “Kid does have a point… I could definitely go for somethin’ to eat right about now…”

“Hmph… When can’t you go for something to eat?” Rude teased back, reaching over and ruffling his friend’s hair. Reno rolled his eyes.

“Tch… oh yeah? ‘kay, hands up, who wants lunch?” he asked, addressing the assembled Turks. Ryu’s hand shot up immediately, and he was soon joined by Petra and Zephyr… and a moment after Zephyr, Liam. Only Victor, Sykes, and Rude seemed to be in the mood to hold off on food in favor of hurling more snow at one another. The redhead’s grin widened, as he added his own hand to the vote. “Looks like that’s five votes for lunch, pal. Majority rules.”

Reno crossed his arms smugly over his chest, daring his friend to contradict him when food was involved. Rude snorted softly but only shook his head and smirked.

“Hands up, who thinks Reno should buy us lunch?” he retorted, raising his own. Six additional hands immediately shot into the air, accompanied by a ripple of laughter. Rude returned the younger Turk’s grin. “Majority rules.”

The redhead sighed. “Assholes…” he snickered.

---

The young girl cocked her head slightly to one side, regarding the Turk for a moment, before smiling warmly.

“Hello, Mr. Tseng…” she replied. Tseng was a little surprised by the welcoming tone in her voice. After all, the last time he’d spoken to her, he’d come here to take her back to Shinra… and although, in the end, he’d promised to let her stay, a part of him had expected her to be far more wary of his sudden reappearance than she seemed to be.

“You don’t seem concerned to see me,” he noted. Aerith laughed softly.

“I always see you when you come to check on me,” she asserted, “But you’ve never stopped to say hi before…”

The Turk blinked, shocked by the knowledge that his stealthy surveillance… apparently wasn’t nearly as stealthy as he believed it to be. He chuckled quietly, mostly to himself. In retrospect, he probably should have expected it. The girl was, after all, an Ancient. And while he wasn’t certain he believed all of the legends surrounding her people, he knew perfectly well that she had a far deeper connection to the Planet than most. It would seem that the Planet had a habit of telling her when she was being watched. He couldn’t help but approve, all things considered.

“Forgive my past rudeness. I only wanted to make sure you were safe. I didn’t wish to bother you… or your mother,” he said, with a faint smile, “But it has been quite some time since we spoke. I thought I should remedy that.”

“Mom says I shouldn’t trust you, you know…” Aerith stated, as she reached for a small coat hanging on a peg near the door. She pulled it on and stepped outside, joining him on the little covered porch and closing the door behind her. “She says that the Turks are all liars and scoundrels, and just terrible people.”

Tseng couldn’t help but snicker quietly at the matter of fact way in which the young girl made such a bold claim directly to his face.

“I take it you don’t agree?” he prodded, as she set off down the front path. He fell into step beside her, and couldn’t help but think she was something of an old soul. A child still, certainly, but with a wisdom far beyond her scant years.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person. I do think you probably do a lot of bad things… but I don’t think you’re bad.” She paused a moment, and looked up at him, with a somewhat mischievous smirk. “At least… not all bad.”

She set off again, not waiting for a response. Tseng snorted a faint laugh.

“To be perfectly honest… you’re probably right about that,” he admitted, “Out of curiosity, just where is it we’re off to?”

“You’ll see…” she replied, not missing a step.

If he’d thought people had been curious about him before, having obtained the company of the girl brought far more eyes to bear on his presence than had his arrival. Aerith didn’t appear to notice – or if she did, she simply chose to ignore the stares – but Tseng certainly did. It was more than slightly disconcerting to be under such a microscope. In his line of work, he actively tried to avoid such attention. If life in Midgar was a play, then the Turks were the city’s stagehands, working behind the scenes and only appearing when absolutely unavoidable… and even then, trying hard not to be noticed. Aerith, it seemed, had more of a central role, at least in her own little part of the city.

From what Tseng had observed, the girl was friendly, outgoing, and helpful towards nearly everyone, and so nearly everyone in Sector 5 knew and liked her. More than one person greeted her warmly as they walked, unhurried, through the residential part of the sector, while side-eyeing the Turk suspiciously, and Aerith answered each one of them in return. Eventually, the pair reached the train station, and Tseng half thought that she’d only been escorting him back where he’d come from… but she continued on.

He recognized the route almost immediately, even before the crumbling facade of the little church came into view. They’d used this location as a staging area for the Sectors 3 and 4 evacuation last spring. In fact, some of the tents and empty supply crates from that operation still remained, abandoned among the other other debris that had collected over the years.

It was, in fact, the church itself they were headed for, as became apparent when Aerith happily bounded up the steps and, with some effort, pulled the one of the heavy wooden doors open. She turned back, as though to make sure he was still following her, and slipped inside. Tseng followed, curious as to why she would bring him here.

“I like this place,” Aerith said, as if in answer to his unasked question.

“I can see why,” the Turk replied, gazing around the massive open space. Certainly, the building had seen better days… but even with its dilapidated roof and aging stone walls that had given way in some places, leaving parts of the nave open to the outside, it had a certain beauty to it. Aerith made her way towards the far end of the room and stopped, crouching down near a broken section of flooring where bright yellow flowers were blooming. Curious, Tseng joined her.

“The flowers like it here, too,” she said, happily, “They bloom all year long… even in the winter.”

“Do they?” the Turk asked, surprised to hear it. Not much at all grew in the slums. The ground had largely been stripped of its fertility by the mako reactors, years ago. But, he supposed, there were always exceptions. The large garden of flowers at her own house, for example… and he’d seen what had appeared to be much smaller vegetable gardens in Sector 4 last spring, though they’d likely been washed away by the flood waters. Aerith reached out and almost reverently stroked the petals of one of the flowers.

“I’ll have to go back someday, won’t I,” she said. It wasn’t a question. Tseng sighed softly, and briefly considered lying to her… but he had a feeling she would know if he did.

“If they find you… yes. I don’t know how long I can prevent that from happening,” he answered truthfully, “But I will do so for as long as I am able.”

“But I don’t even know where the Promised Land is!” she protested, looking at him with an annoyed expression. “They want me to tell them, but I don’t know!”

“… I’m sorry, Aerith,” Tseng replied, “I wish I could give you a more peaceful life.”

The girl huffed in irritation, but eventually shook her head.

“You’d get in a lot of trouble for not telling them where I am if they found out, wouldn’t you?” she noted.

“Probably. Not that I’m unaccustomed to trouble. It tends to follow me,” he said, vaguely amused by her concern, “Particularly over the last four years or so.”

She glanced up at him and smiled slightly, taking on a mock-offended air.

“I don’t cause any trouble!” she stated, teasingly. Tseng chuckled softly.

“No… but another child who came under my supervision four years ago does on occasion… which usually leaves me to clean up the carnage. Though, thankfully, he’s improved greatly in that regard since I first met him.”

Aerith giggled and turned back to her flowers. She gently plucked one from the patch and held it out to him. Tseng dutifully accepted the bloom.

“You were hurting back then. You seem happier now,” she said.

“I… suppose I am,” Tseng said.

“It still hurts, though…” she added, frowning slightly. There was that insight again… that instinctive empathetic understanding that had drawn him into making this promise to shield her from Shinra in the first place. Tseng glanced down at the flower in his hand.

“Some pain never truly goes away… It only becomes more bearable with time.” He shook his head slightly, not wanting to dwell on such memories, and instead reached into his jacket. “I have something for you, Aerith. A Christmas gift… though I suppose at this point it’s a little late.”

Tseng drew out the slim little box wrapped in red and silver paper and offered it to the girl. She smiled at him and accepted it, carefully unwrapping the box, and pulling out the gift inside.

It was just a simple little thing, really. A tiny, silver flower charm on a leather cord. He hadn’t even intended to bring her anything when he’d planned this trip… but it had caught his eye while he’d been out shopping for his Turks. Tseng wasn’t sure why, beyond recalling from his clandestine observations of her that Aerith loved her flowers. It was only well after the fact that he’d realized the charm was in the shape of a cherry blossom… his sister’s favorite. And given that she was part of the reason he’d taken on the burden of shielding the girl from Shinra, it had felt somehow… appropriate.

Aerith giggled softly.

“It’s so pretty! Thank you, Mr. Tseng!”

---

Reno yawned and stretched out on Rude’s couch, beer in one hand, Christmas cookie in the other. The bald Turk’s apartment had been closest to where they’d conducted their “winter assault training”… and so, by default, that’s where they’d gone to warm up and get something to eat. At the moment, they were parked in the living room, waiting on the pizza delivery… which Rude had protested until the redhead had reminded him that they’d all voted he pay for their lunch. It was only fair he got to choose the menu.

Reno’d ordered one with pineapple and jalapeños just to rub it in, too… though he still didn’t get why his friend thought pineapple and pizza didn’t mix. Personally, he thought it made for a great pizza topping.

“Worn out already, sir?” a voice teased. A moment later, Victor joined the group assembled in the living room. Reno smirked.

“Nah… just conservin’ energy ’til the food gets here, ‘n listenin’ to the women gossip…” he replied, grinning.

“Hey!” Zephyr protested, looking up from the conversation she’d been having with Petra and Sykes, “It’s not just the women…”

Reno snickered loudly and sat up, making room for Victor.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Hope you fuckers are ready for round three… ’cause soon as I get fed, I’m kickin’ your asses for makin’ me buy.”

Sykes returned the grin. “You can certainly try, sir…” he said, raising his own beer in salute. Reno shook his head and turned back to the rookie as he was taking a seat.

“So… your family’s from Corel, right? What’s Christmas like back home?” he asked, conversationally. Victor shrugged.

“Well, to be fair, I lived in Junon for so long, it’s more my hometown than Corel is anymore… and my family all moved to Costa del Sol to get away from the cold, anyway,” Victor answered.

“Heh… Now there’s a place I wouldn’t mind spendin’ the winter…” Reno snickered.

“Oh, please…” Rude snorted as he made his way into the room, trailed by Liam and Ryu and bearing a tray of mugs. “If you had to go an entire winter without seeing snow, you’d lose your mind.”

The redhead was about to protest, but before he could, someone knocked at the door, and he, instead, leapt to his feet.

“Finally!” he shouted, grinning widely as he hurried over to answer the summons. Less than two minutes later, the pizza had been paid for, and deposited on the table in the little dining space off the kitchen. He started opening boxes. “Okay… so who wants pineapple and jalapeños, and who wants boring old regular stuff?”

“I’ll stick to the boring ones,” Ryu said, dryly, as he accepted a plate from Rude and stepped over to the improvised buffet.

“Heh… more for me, then…” Reno happily replied.

“Hmph… It all makes sense now,” Rude teased, “You order the grossest combination you can think of just so that no one else wants any…”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you guys just don’t know what good food is…” the redhead grinned.

“Don’t you mean it’s not our fault you inhale food so fast you don’t actually taste it?” the bald Turk laughed, “For the hundredth time… pineapple does not belong within ten miles of a pizza, let alone on one.”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Liam laughingly egged the pair on, drawing loud snickers from the other assembled Turks. Reno’s grin widened.

“Okay, that’s it. We’re settlin’ this once and for all. You ‘n me, downstairs, right now. Three snowballs each, most hits wins. Loser quits buggin’ the winner about pizza toppings for a whole year.”

“Hmph… You’re on,” Rude replied.

The redhead laughed and started pulling on his boots and coat, and was out the door before the others could follow suit. By the time they had all joined him, he’d already assembled the “ammunition” for them both, and marked out a space for their “duel”. Rude shook his head as he stepped out into the little courtyard of his apartment complex, and picked up one of the snowballs.

“You sure you want to go through with this?” he challenged.

“Hell yes, I do…” Reno crowed back in response. He glanced over at the others. “Who’s keepin’ score?”

“I will, sir,” Zephyr replied, giggling. The redhead turned back to Rude and smirked.

“… ‘kay. Count of three?” he asked, and the other Turk nodded.

“One…” Reno reached down and picked up his first two snowballs.

“Two…” He took aim.

“THREE!” Rude suddenly shouted, launching the frosty projectile directly at the younger man. Reno did his damnedest to move out of the way, but the premature volley had taken him by surprise and the snowball impacted his shoulder with a solid splat!

The redhead growled in annoyance and retaliated in kind, aiming to Rude’s right. The other Turk had expected a direct assault and instinctively moved… directly into it’s path. By the time he realized it, it was too late.

“That’s what ya get for cheatin’, pal!” Reno laughed, and then had to duck as a return shot almost nailed him in the face. His second shot flew wide on account, as he’d been preparing to hit his friend with a double-tap, and had been a split second from launching the second snowball. He scrambled for his last remaining projectile, and moments later found himself facing down the older Turk.

“Hmph… not bad,” Rude commented, “But I’m still going to take you down.”

“Oh yeah?” the redhead replied with a bark of laughter, “I’d like ta see ya try.”

For several seconds, neither Turk moved. They simply stared one another down, fingers clenched around their respective final shots.

“Whatcha waitin’ for, Rude?” Reno goaded him.

“Could ask you the same thing,” Rude chuckled.

The redhead exhaled slowly, his breath crystallizing immediately in the icy air, as he planned his attack. Rude was nowhere near as fast as he was… but his aim was better. He’d be expecting a direct assault this time, after his more predictive attack before. Which meant that the best course of action was the do the exact same thing again.

Of course… he might expect that,too.

The redhead flashed his friend a grin and pretended to dive to his left, aiming for the older Turk’s right side once more… but just before he released the snowball, he darted back to the right, and launched it directly at Rude’s left shoulder. He grinned as he saw him fall for his feint and move to his left… only to realize too late what had happened, finding himself in the snowball’s path again and unable to redirect his motion in time.

Unfortunately for Reno… Rude didn’t bother to try. Instead, he let loose one final snowball a mere second before the one aimed at him made impact. By that point, Reno was still halfway into the process of diving to his right, and couldn’t stop his own momentum. A moment after he hit Rude, Rude’s retaliatory shot smacked into his face.

Reno hit the ground with a soft groan, and wiped the snow out of his eyes.

“Umm… So, is that a tie?” Liam’s voice queried, and both fallen Turks could only laugh.

~end chapter 93~