The hospital doors slammed open so hard that the nurse behind the desk had been two seconds away from hitting the panic button. When she saw the two intimidating men in suits burst through, she knew exactly what they were there for. Or who. When two of Shinra's Turks had been admitted into their care the entire hospital was abuzz with the pressure (after all, Rufus Shinra was not a man you wanted on your bad side).
"Where are they?" Demanded the shorter of the two.
His red hair was unkept and his shirt was untucked, he lacked the sophistication she had come to expect from a Turk, it was almost as though he had rolled out of bed and come straight here. She almost would have thought that was the case if it wasn't for the larger man, he was a good head taller than his partner but looked about twice as put together. His suit was buttoned, tie straight, and bald head gleaming under the fluorescent lights.
"We are here for Tseng and Elena. We have been told they are well enough to receive visitors?" The bald man said, it seems as though he was the more polite of the two as well. He still unnerved her though, hard as she tried she couldn't see past the sunglasses he wore.
"Ah, yes. A doctor will be with you shortly" she responded nicely.
Reno amused himself by pacing in the waiting area, looking a bit like a rabid dog that just might bite if you got too close. Rude sat, but the constant bounce of his left knee gave away his concern.
It had been one week since Vincent Valentine had dumped Tseng and Elena back on their doorstep, and one week of the two being in critical condition. Reno was a Turk first and foremost, his duty was to his job, but it took everything in him not to go after the two the instant they had been forced to leave them behind. The Turks were his family, and if there was one good thing you could say about Reno it was that he was protective of his family.
He and Rude had considered the fact that they may not have made it of course. That idea had only become more realistic after their bloody ID cards were delivered to Rufus.
As worried as he had been about Tseng he had to admit he was just a little more concerned about their newest member. Elena had been through interrogation resistance training just like all of them, but there was still a feeling of insecurity in his gut. He wasn't sure what he was more afraid of, her telling the Remnants what they wanted to know, or refusing to do so.
Right as Reno was about to give up on waiting for a doctor and exploring the hospital corridors in search of his teammates himself, a balding man with thick glasses and a white coat stepped into the room.
"We have visitors here for Tseng and Elena?" He asked, looking at the clipboard in his hand.
"That would be us" Rude said, standing before Reno could get a word in.
"Excellent. Come with me, I'll take you to see Tseng first since he is the only one currently awake." The doctor said, ignoring the look Reno and Rude exchanged as he led them down the hallway. They hadn't walked very far before he abruptly stopped in front of a doorway, knocking softly before cracking it open. He couldn't even get a word out before Reno was pushing past him, closely followed by his partner.
"Tseng!" He said, a hint of relief in his voice to see his boss up and at it.
Truth be told, Tseng didn't look great. He had a mass of bandages covering his body, the bulk of which seemed to be around his head. Reno could see some of the blood leaking through. The Wutaian was gaunt and looked as though he had lost a lot of weight. His cheekbones stood out and he looked smaller than usual in his hospital gown. But there he was, smiling softly and sitting up in bed.
"Reno. Rude. I'm happy to see you both." He croaked out, his voice hoarse (Reno didn't have to ask to know it had been from the amount of screaming he had been doing).
He could hear the hidden meaning behind his words. Tseng hadn't thought he would ever see them again. He thought he was going to die before he got the chance. Reno tried not to think about it as he pulled a chair up next to the bed, straddling it backwards.
"How're ya feeling boss?" The redhead asked as Rude grunted a greeting behind him.
"I've been better. I've also been worse. How have things been with the President?" He answered.
Reno rolled his eyes. Leave it to Tseng to get right back to business.
"Things have been fine. We are just happy to see you alive and kicking" Rude answered for him. Tseng nodded before a crease formed on his brow.
"Have you gone to see Elena yet? How is she? I've been stuck here all week and haven't been able to see her." The leader of the Turks asked.
"That was our next stop. The doctor said something about her being asleep." Again, Rude was the one to answer Tseng's question.
"I don't blame her. They wouldn't let me sleep because of my head injury, and now I can't seem to get enough of it."
"How bad is it?" Reno piped up
"I had a concussion, but nothing I couldn't handle. It was just a matter of letting my body heal." Tseng replied.
It was then that Reno paid a little closer attention to his boss. Looking past the malnourishment and bandages he could see little telltale signs of his time with the Remnants. His nail beds were visible, each nail having been pulling out of his hand. His nose looked as though it had been cracked back into place, and the bulk underneath his hospital gown suggested some padding and gauze surrounding a larger wound on his stomach.
Tseng noticed him staring and drew his attention away from it.
"They were rougher on Elena. They figured she was more susceptible to their tortures, and when that didn't work they tried to use her to make me talk." He said in a low voice.
Reno felt his normally solid stomach lurch. He could handle violence and gore, but there was something about seeing the people he cared about in such a state that made him wish he hadn't eaten quite so much breakfast.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you to see Elena." Tseng spoke again.
"Sure thing boss, is there anything we can do to help?" Reno assured him.
Their boss looked uncomfortable as he answered.
"Unfortunately as of right now I have to get around by wheelchair. I won't have to be in it for much longer, but I may need some assistance getting across the hall."
Reno understood why Tseng was so uncomfortable. Here he was, leader of the Turks, the one responsible for all of them, a proud man, and he had to resort to being pushed around like a child.
With some help from a nurse that had been walking by the hallway, the three maneuvered Tseng into his wheelchair. Reno noticed the burns on his legs then, frowning but staying quiet.
Elena's room was right across the hallway, and when the three men entered to visit their comrade Reno's breath caught.
Tseng hadn't been lying when he said they had been rougher on Elena. The biggest laceration on her face was a cut bandaged near her lip, but her left eye was black and blue and bruises littered her collarbone, arms and legs. She looked just as gaunt as Tseng, and to see it on a woman who was already fairly tiny to begin with made Reno's chest hurt a little. Her breathing was labored and she was hooked up to some IV drip next to her bedside. There were splints on some of her fingers and her eyebrow had been split open by a hit to the face.
A quick glance at his superior showed Tseng shutting his eyes, brow furrowed as he took in his partner.
"Lena? Hey Laney can you hear me?" Reno asked, approaching her bedside. His voice sounded pathetic and childlike even to his ears and he cleared his throat before he spoke again.
"Hey rookie, everything is gonna be okay now, ya hear?"
As he got closer he froze. The bruises on her wrists almost looked like fingerprints. And the bruises on her neck weren't quite bruises either. Reno knew exactly what they were. He had put his fair share on other girls' necks.
He whirled around with an intense stare to look at Tseng. His blue eyes were wild as he waited for the man to confirm or deny his assumption.
Tseng made eye contact with him, and Reno had his answer when he closed his eyes again and looked away. His eyes scrunched closed in such a way that it was apparent he was fighting back a million different emotions.
"I should have said something." Tseng announced quietly, his voice filled with contempt.
It was then that Reno knew why Tseng couldn't look at her. Why he asked about her almost immediately. It was guilt the senior Turk was feeling, guilt for not stopping what happened.
"They would have done it anyways." Reno said, his voice as quiet as either of the other men had ever heard it. He hadn't broken his eyes away from Tseng's face.
Rude was looking back and forth between them, trying to figure out the reason for his partner's sudden intensity and his boss's guilt.
"Which one was it?" Reno asked, his voice so cold it would have even sent a chill down Vincent Valentine's spine.
"Loz." Tseng replied, finally meeting Reno's gaze. The men shared a look and Reno could see the quiet rage stewing behind those brown eyes. Reno's was a little more apparent than that.
Something clicked, and Rude suddenly caught on. Taking in the placement of the bruises and what they meant.
"Hold on, they-" He asked a little more loudly than he should have.
"Guys?…" A small voice sounded from the bed.
All three men turned to look back at the woman laying there. Her voice was cracking and hoarse but she was awake, blinking slowly as she took them in.
"Tseng, are you all right?" She asked.
"Yes. Just fine." He responded, their voices sounding rough as they conversed.
"Hey Laney." Reno said, sitting at her side. The burning violence disappeared from his eyes as he looked on their newest member.
Rude walked to her other side and gave her a small smile, taking off his sunglasses so he could look her in the eyes.
"Thanks for being here…" She said and Reno and Rude nodded.
That was all the conversation they got out of her before she was asleep again. Reno suspected whatever was in her IV was making her tired.
It was quiet between the four Turks for a while before Reno broke the silence.
"Once you guys are back up and at it, we are going to make them hurt. Badly." He said darkly, side eyeing Elena as he did so.
Rude grunted his agreement and Tseng nodded his head.
Because Reno was protective of his family. They wouldn't get away with hurting Tseng and Elena. He would make damn sure of that.