"sigh of relief* yay frist chapter is done!!! I am so honored to invite you all back to the sequal!! I hope to make this one just as good as the last. I know its a lot to expect but i'm going to push myself so that it comes true. I also plan on continuing listing th music that has inspired me to write each chapter and for this one it was "You're so Real" by matchbox 20...i just couldn't help but think about shazz's and reno's relationship when i heard it.
Anywho...i hope you enjoy this story! Love ya dears!!
"Uh oh, someone has been a naughty girl!"
Shazz quickly wiped the tears from her eyes that her conversation with Cloud had left her. She nervously began to scan the wooded area because the voice sounded too familiar. She also felt a sharp pain in her stomach. All the while she had been thinking she made a smart move by taking Cloud away from the house, but she must have underestimated the suits in the house.
The young woman slowly moved towards the center of the enclosure as her eyes continued to search the tree tops. Suddenly she heard a thud behind her as if something had fallen from the sky. Shazz quickly turned around and in the midst of her 180; she tripped over her own feet and landed hard on the ground.
"Ow ow ow" Shazz whined as she rubbed her backside
"Nice job Shazz. As graceful as ever I see."
Shazz opened her eyes and glared up at the man standing above her. He was wearing an unkempt black suit, had brilliant red hair that was tied back in the ponytail, blue eyes sparkling with mischief, and a devilish smile that spread across his lips. "Dammit Reno! You're like a freaking cat!"
"Meow" Was the Turk's reply that was followed by him rolling his tongue to imitate a purr.
Shazz picked herself up off the ground and brushed the dirt off her dress. "How long have you been listening?" She asked clearly not amused.
Reno to a second think about his answer. "Uhhhh…I would say…only from the time he came here to the time he left."
The girl rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. Her lips pouted as she stared at the ground. "You're not going to tell Rufus are you?"
"Why Shazz?" Reno's blue eyes became filled with false anguish as he tried to lay a guilt trip upon the poor girl. "I'm hurt that you would think me so evil as to go and get you in trouble."
"No, you're just evil enough to use this as blackmail so what do you want?"
Reno couldn't help but laugh. Shazz always had his number. "Well since you caught me, I'll cut to the chase. Since you're so close to our buddy Cloud, perhaps you can use some of your pull to get the stubborn guy on our side."
Shazz shook her head and her expression was dripping with sarcasm. "Please Reno, I'm not even on your side and besides, if a master of bullshit such as yourself can't even convince him, I don't have a prayer."
The Turk's eyebrows furrowed and his teeth began to grind. "If you are so brave to run your pretty little mouth off to me, then you should have no problem using it to defend yourself to Rufus."
The look on Shazz's face almost made Reno regret what he had said. There was no denying the pain that was etched in her brown eyes. "You know what, do whatever you want. If you feel that you have to tell Rufus then I'll deal with the consequences. I mean, what more could he possibly do to me." Shazz turned away from him and walked out of the pine alcove. The sun seemed to swallow her up as she left the safety of the branches.
Reno scratched the back of his head and let out a frustrated sigh. He plopped down on the same boulder that was leaning against a tree. "Tseng, what am I supposed to do with her?" His mind started to drift back to the day he, Tseng, and Elena were sent to investigate Sephiroth's wake.
The dark and misty crater that was left behind made it hard for Reno to make a safe landing. Diligently he hovered above the ground so that Tseng and Elena could repel themselves down. Before Tseng left he had gone over to Reno and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Reno, if anything should happen to me, I want you to go and get Shazz. Do you remember where she is?"
"Of course, I've flown you there plenty of times." He said as he looked at his superior curiously. The way Tseng acting was odd. Usually matters such as this weren't of concern before a mission, but he was adamant about this one.
"I need you take care of her until either Cloud or myself are able to come for her. Promise me you'll do this."
"No problem. I got it."
Tseng nodded his head and went back to continue on with the mission.
As Reno was surveying the area, he started receiving panicked calls from Elena. Tseng must have had a sixth sense for danger because Reno could hear gun fire over the radio. He immediately lowered the helicopter into the void but the polluted fog made impossible for him to see a damn thing.
"Reno! Go! Get out of here!" came Tseng's voice over the radio. "You must get…" That was last thing Reno heard before static took over the air waves.
"Tseng! Tseng can you here me!" There was no answer. Reno reluctantly steered the helicopter out of the crater and radioed the president to report the current situation.
"Understood" said Rufus on the other line "Reno return to the lodge ASAP."
"No can do sir. I have to make a detour to pick up an old acquaintance."
"Is it Miss. Heart?"
Reno was taken aback by the president's response. "Sir, how did you…"
"I've always known that she was alive and that she was being cared for by Tseng. I just never knew where she was."
"Yeah but, if you wanted to you could have…"
"Reno when you retrieve the girl, bring her here. I will make all the necessary arrangements." The transmission ended after that statement.
When Reno had reached the hidden cabin, Shazz was as welcoming as ever. She was always excited for any human contact. Reno explained the situation to her and she immediately packed her things and left with him. On the ride back she was very compliant and also volunteered to help out in anyway she could. She said she just wanted to make sure Tseng came back safely.
It wasn't until they arrived back at the lodge that things started to change. Reno opened the front door for her and he started to walk off. "If you'll just follow me, I'll show you around the place so you won't get lost." Reno stopped and noticed that he wasn't be followed.
He turned around and found Shazz frozen in the doorway. Her body was trembling and her eyes were fixated on something in the distance. Reno followed the direction of her gaze to the far side of the room where Rude was standing by the side of the President.
Shazz was acting like she has just seen a ghost, and who could blame her. Rufus was supposed to be dead and the white sheet he used to cover himself with wasn't helping his situation at all.
Rufus moved his chair across the room and stopped at a respectable distance in front of the frightened girl. "Shazz, when Reno informed me that you would be staying with us, I made sure to have a room prepared for you." Rufus's tone was hesitant but gentle when he spoke to her. It surprised Reno. He had never heard the president use that tone with anyone. "If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. My home is yours."
The silence in the room was deafening. Shazz was still shaking and she tried her best to not let her fear show. "If you're expecting a thank you from me, you can forget it!" Her words cut through the quiet like razor blades.
Rude and Reno were both stunned at the harsh way Shazz spoke to their superior. "Hey" Reno shouted "You can't speak to the president…"
Rufus held up a hand to silence him. "It is alright Reno. Why don't you go get the rest of Shazz's belongings and Rude, would you show Miss. Heart to her room?"
As soon as Shazz was completely moved into her new room, she locked herself in. Rufus must have anticipated that this would happen because he made sure her room was equipped with its own bathroom. To make matters worse, she was refusing to eat or drink.
Reno came down the stairs and slammed a tray of food on the kitchen counter.
"She's still not eating?" asked Rufus as he rolled in from the other room.
"No disrespect sir, but why can't we just call Cloud and have him take her. It's obvious she hates it here."
Rufus was sitting in the door way with a calm demeanor. "I can't have her go with Cloud just yet. From what I've heard, the boy is incapable of taking care of himself let alone another person. No, it's best that she stay here."
"Yeah right"
Reno thought to himself "At the rate things are going now, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning her back.""Reno" The red head snapped out of his sulking and turned to face Rufus "why don't you try bringing her food again, and this time, be nice."
"Whatever you say." Reno trudged back up the stairs and knocked on her door. As usually he heard no response out of Shazz. He sighed and mentally prepared himself to be nice. "Shazz, I know you don't like it here, but I promised Tseng I would take care of you so you have nothing to worry about. I know he would be upset if anything were to happen to you and right now your path of self destruction isn't helping. Now, just open the door and have something to eat…please."
He heard the chain on her door being unlatched and the dead bolt being unlocked. The door opened and the look on her face was not very inviting. "If you really wanted to help me, you wouldn't have brought me here. Away from Rufus is the best place for me." she said coldly.
"Look Shazz, I don't know what is going on between you and Rufus and honestly, I would rather it stay none of my business. The bottom line is that my job is to protect you so that when Tseng returns, he finds you alive and that means I won't get my ass kicked. So just do us both a solid and eat your food and deal with it!" He shoved the tray into her hands and turned back to stomp back down the stairs. "That was nice wasn't it? She shouldn't be that upset. I did say please."
Shazz did stop locking herself up in her room, but her attitude didn't change much. She refused to be in the same room with Rufus alone and every moment spent with Reno was an argument in the making. The only person she got along with was Rude and that was because they had a silent understanding of one another. He didn't bother her if she didn't bother him.
Reno sat on the rock mulling over these past events, trying to figure out what had happened to Shazz that caused her to build up all these walls. The bitterness between Shazz and Rufus was always the elephant in the room that no one was allowed to talk about.
Suddenly Reno leapt up off the rock as if something had bit him. He had it figured out and all he need was for Shazz to validate it.
"Shazz!" He yelled as he raced out of the thicket. The sunlight came fast and he was blinded for a moment but he kept running. He was squinting as he eyes slowly began to adjust to the light. "Shazz!" he called out over and over until he spotted her standing on the little steel bridge that overlooked the waterfalls.
The young woman heard her name being called but she was reluctant to acknowledge the person calling it. Reno ran up to her and was panting heavily and as much as she didn't want to talk to him, it was heard to ignore the heavy breathing. "What the hell do you want now?!"
"I just…wanted to…ask you…a question?" He said between breaths
Shazz tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, out with it!"
"What you told Cloud about what happened between you and Rufus, is that true?"
Shazz was surprised at first, but that soon melted into suspicion. "What does it matter to you?"
Reno took a moment to contemplate his answer. Why did it matter to him? As far as he was concerned Shazz had been nothing but a burden to him since she had arrived. He had never really forgiven her for pulling out a wad of his hair and she sure hadn't forgiven him for pumping her with a near lethal dose of morphine.
It had been a constant rivalry between them and it seemed that Shazz was always winning. Reno was always the smartass that left people speechless with his off the wall comments. It was different with Shazz, not only did she take his bullshit; she would dish it out ten times as worse. He hated it, and he hated her. It wasn't out of bitterness or anything. He just couldn't wrap his head around her. It was so frustrating how much of a wall she had built up and he never understood why.
"I just want an explanation that's all," Reno said to a girl that wasn't even looking at him. "I've tried, for Tseng's sake, to make sure you are safe and all you ever give me is attitude. I don't understand why the site of the president gets you so angry and if what you told Cloud is true, why must you take this out on me?"
Shazz finally looked up at him and her eyes studied him intently. Shazz wasn't sure if the hot headed Turk was being serious, because in all honesty, she didn't have reference to go by. She had never seen Reno serious.
The young woman sighed as she rested her elbows on the banister of the bridge. She looked out over the rocky cliffs and a soft cool breeze made strands of her hair take flight. She sighed deeply as she took the chance to open up to him. "What if it was true Reno? What would you do? Do you actually think that the truth would change anything between us?"
"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. I know I'm not the most sensitive guy in the world but I'm not without feelings. Try me?" Reno folded his arms behind his head and leaned up against the railing next to Shazz.
This time Shazz couldn't help but smile a little. That was probably the most profound thing that Reno has ever said. That made it easier for her take Reno seriously. "Yes, everything I told Cloud about Rufus is true and if it wasn't for Tseng, who knows what would have happened to me. I'm trying to move on but when ever I look at Rufus my stomach gets sick and all I can see is that cold hard stare he gave me that night."
Reno lowered his arms to his side and his eyes became downcast. Yet again Shazz left him speechless, but not in the way he was used to. What could he say to the person who was violated by the man he took orders from? To him, Shazz had every right to hate him. "Shazz…I…I'm sorry."
This made Shazz raise and eyebrow as a crooked smile danced on her lips. "You're sorry? Huh…I never thought I would here such words being uttered by you."
"I wouldn't buy into the apology that much," said Reno has her returned the same crooked smile "I still hate you, but just a little less now."
Shazz couldn't help but laugh a little. "Gee thanks, I'm glad to see that things won't change that much between us. I can't tell you how glad I am that this didn't turn into some sappy after school special. I'm tired or crying today."
Reno's arms folded behind his head again and his eyes drifted up towards the blue sky. "Nope, I don't foresee anything changing between us. You will always be the biggest pain in my ass and that honor will remain yours forever."
A the corners of Shazz's mouth curled up menacingly as her browns made their way over to his piercing blues. "As much as I appreciate the title, I can't take all the credit. I highly doubt that I'm the only cause of that pain in your ass." She winked at him and a faint pinky hue came and went out the Turk's cheeks.
"Oh, that was a low blow there sugar and for that, I'm going to tell Rufus on you." Reno took off running towards the lodge without a moment's hesitation.
"NO!! DAMMIT RENO!!" yelled the frustrated brunette as he tore off after him. It would be hard for Shazz to loose the red head since she could hear his mocking laughter from a mile away.