Written by: Psycho!Demyx is Hearted

Word count: 1,166

Disclaimer: Me no own. Square Enix do.

My take on Reno's origins. We know he came from the slums, so I thought, 'Hey, why don't I write a Reno story from before Rude came along?' It's just a one shot, so it won't be expanded upon.

"Reno, come on, we have to get out of here!" a young girl, probably no older than thirteen, called out to Reno. She had long red hair pulled back into a braid.

"I know, but we're kinda trapped," he called back, dragging his younger sister with him. Reno was a lanky teenager, probably no older than fifteen, and had crimson hair long enough to be in the way if it wasn't pulled back. He looked like an older male version of the girl next to him. "Rey, go hide in the box, kay?"

"Kay."

She managed to get into the box before the people who were following them found them. The men following them were huge and determined to catch the two kids, and neither of the Sinclair orphans knew why.

"Whadda ya freaks want with us?" Reno narrowed his eyes, calculating the odds as to how he and his little sister would get out of this one.

Reno knew that the police would be of no help. Who in their right mind would help a couple of slum orphans with slightly glowing green eyes? The people who knew who their mother was wouldn't take them in. Rika Sinclair had enough medical skills to make people come to her when they needed it, but none of them trusted her all that much.

"That… is sad. Four grown men attacking a young teenager," said a calm voice. Six pairs of eyes looked over at the person. It was a young male, probably in his early twenties and clearly Wutian.

Reno narrowed his eyes again. 'What's a…Turk doing out in the slums?!' It might not have been obvious to the men, but it was obvious to Reno. It was obvious in the way the man held himself, and Reno knew he would have to fight to get at least Reyna out of there.

"This brat owes us, stay out of it," one of the men said to the man.

The man just looked at the thug and simply stated, "It might be a good idea for you to get out of my face." The silence after spoke volumes.

Afterwards, Reno would be able to tell you that one of his attackers was the first to throw a punch, but after that, it was a brawl. Reno was sure he ended up with a black eye and broken nose.

"Reyna, c'mon out…the Turk shouldn't hurt us." Reyna came out of the box she was hiding in and ran over to Reno.

She checked him over for injuries and when asked if his nose was broken, she nodded.

As they were heading to leave, the Turk asked, "How did you know I was a Turk, kid?"

"Ya don' look like the rest of us. You're… cleaner, better dressed. And ya held yourself like ya didn't care what they did to ya, yo. Ya looked like the Turk we saw a while ago." Reno's reply was clear. What he said next was unexpected. "Wadda ya want from us, yo? Turks is always after somethin'. A Turk wouldn't help a slum brat 'less he wanted somethin' from 'im."

"Some information. I'm searching for Rika Sinclair or her children." He paused. "Do either of you know where I can find her or them?"

"She's dead, and you're lookin' at 'em," Reno said. "Mum died a couple years ago, when that flu came through." Reno gave the Turk a solemn look. "She was a good healer, but she couldn't heal herself."

The Turk sighed. "My name's Tseng, kids. What're yours?"

"She's Reyna. I'm Reno." Reno studied the Turk-Tseng before him. "Why're ya starin', yo?"

"I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to explain to my boss that the woman he's looking for is dead, and that her kids look nothing like her. Except for the eyes." Tseng knelt down it the mud and junk that was on the ground and put a hand on both of their shoulders. "I saw a picture of her once. Her eyes were just like yours. Very expressive and had hidden depths. I feel for your loss."

"You didn't know her." It was the first time Reyna had spoken in front of Tseng. "How could you feel for us if you didn't know her?" There were tears in her eyes, but she didn't shed them.

"One of my team did. She said that your mother was a good med for living in the slums. She had gotten hurt and your mother was there and helped out." Tseng sighed again. "Listen, would you like to come with me? Reno, you've got the makings of a good Turk, and Reyna, I bet we could find something for you to do."

The two looked at each other and Reno nodded. "Really?"

"Really, but my boss will probably want the two of you to stay with me. Is that okay with you two?" Tseng asked the two.

"Yeah, it's okay." Reno said. Reyna just nodded.

'She's a quiet one; I'll have to watch out for her.' Tseng stood up and said, "Well, I guess the two of you should come with me. I have to meet my partner outside a bar called the Seventh Heaven." Tseng blanched as he realized he didn't know where that bar was.

Reyna grinned in realization and pulled on Reno's shortish ponytail. He noticed she wanted to tell him something and put his ear down by her mouth. He listened and grinned at Tseng when she told him what she had figured out.

"What?" The children's grins slightly disturbed Tseng. "What's with the grins?"

"I'm bettin that ya don't know where the bar actually is, do ya?" Reno asked cheekily. Reyna had to fight off sniggers when Tseng rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Rey, he has no clue."

"And you do?" Tseng gave Reno and Reyna a light glare.

"Yes. We do. We know someone there. They're nice." Reyna's small voice was unexpected to say the least. Reno must not have been expecting her to answer because he jumped at least six inches and fell back into the mud and junk.

Reyna had an unusually quiet voice. It always marveled Reno how she could change her speech to match their surroundings. Right now she was using Tseng's clear speech against him.

She pulled on her brother's hand and grabbed Tseng's wrist. "Come on. It's not far."

That's how I met Tseng an' became a Turk. Funny, huh? A slum brat like me became one of the best assassins on the planet. Rey, well, she went on to become a SOLDIER. An' a First Class SOLDIER at that. She did real well until she was sent to Wutai and was killed. Me, well, you know all about that. I was eventually partnered with Rude an' bodyguard to Rufus. Now, I've got to go and figure out what we're gonna do about Yazoo. Ya see, he survived that blast. His brother must have protected him. Later, yo!