Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or Oh My Goddess

Warnings: slight Blood

Mindless Babble: I came up with this idea for the Reno Fan Club Contest on Deviant Art. The contest was to explain how Reno got his marks. I didn't win but I still wanted to post this here.

"Hey, Reno? You want to catch a beer with me tonight?"

"Sorry, not tonight," came the surprisingly happy reply.

Rude stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at his partner. Deep blue eyes that sparkled with mirth peered through the shock of red hair that perpetually hung in his face. The usual smirk had been replaced with a genuinely joyful smile, the red marks under each eye riding a bit higher on pale cheeks.

"My mom came by for a visit," Reno answered the unspoken question.

The dark eyes that were hidden behind dark shades opened wide in surprise. "Doesn't she live pretty far away?"

Reno nodded. "Yep, that's why I have to turn down your offer."

A grin lit up the dark skinned man's face. "No problem! Maybe I could meet her before she leaves?"

Reno laughed. "I'll see what I can do. I'm sure she'd love to meet the guy that keeps pulling my ass outta the fire all the time!"

Rude returned the laugh. "Hey, just don't stay up too late. The President has something planed tomorrow for those Avalanche jerks that blew up the reactor the other day."

"Yeah, I know. I can't wait to tell my mom that I get to be at the center of it too!"

Rude chuckled at the excitement in his partner's voice. He shook his head and said, "Well then get going! Have fun tonight!"

Reno waved to his best friend as they parted ways, saying "I will! Have a beer for me, will ya?"

The familiar smell of cherry blossoms brought a smile to thin lips as Reno opened the door to his apartment. Standing in the living room, dusting the entertainment center, was a woman of heavenly beauty. Hair, the color of coffee and cream, cascaded from a high ponytail to a shapely waist. When she turned to see who had entered, eyes that shone like sapphires lit up in joy, full lips breaking into a grin that seemed to light up the whole room. The blue triangles under each eye and the diamond shape on her forehead contrasted with the fairness of her soft skin. The duster dropped and blue and white fabric fluttered around slender legs as she raced to embrace the Turk; a hug he readily returned.

"Reno!"

He rolled his eyes at the way she squealed his name. "Hi, Mom."

They broke apart after a few minutes and the woman smiled at her son. "I've made some dinner so come and tell me about what you've been up to lately while we eat."

Reno grinned as the smell of his favorite meal reached his nose. "Sounds good, but you didn't need to do that."

"But I enjoy cooking, especially if it makes you happy!" his mom answered truthfully

Reno shook his head as he sat down at his now cleared off table. "And you really didn't need to clean my apartment, either."

"But it really needed it!" Her laughter sounded like water rushing over river rocks. "So tell me about your job."

"I work for a power company the pretty much runs the government too. I'm part of the Executive Department Investigation Section," he said proudly and then shyly added, "Though everyone just calls us Turks."

Blue eyes opened wide as she set a plate of food in front of her son. "My goodness! That sounds so important!"

Reno nodded enthusiastically. "It is! We protect the people of Midgard. In fact, the President has a plan to take care of a bunch of the rebels that destroyed a reactor, causing a lot of deaths and damage. And I get to be the lead on this one; not Tseng!"

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!'

Reno basked in the glow of his mom's pride for a few minutes before asking about his father and his two aunts.

"Oh, they're fine. Still working on getting all the bugs out of the main system. I guess they're almost done because they insisted that I come visit you."

"Well, I'm glad they did! I don't get to see you that much since I left."

After that they just talked until a yawn reminded Reno that he needed to get some sleep. His mom insisted that he take a warm shower while she washed the dishes. Knowing better then to argue with her, Reno did as he was told. After he dried off he put on a pair of (freshly laundered) sleeping pants and crawled into the (clean and made) bed, falling into a deep sleep with the strands of his mother's lullaby guiding him.

Meanwhile, Rude was finishing up his last beer (the one he promised he'd drink for Reno) when she walked in. The woman was tall with a body that moved with the grace of a jungle cat. Her silver hair (reminiscent of a notorious general) contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. The oceans of her eyes took in every detail of the less then classy bar until they settled upon the Turk. Every male in the room noticed that her skin tight black dress had slits up both sides all the way to the hip, revealing a pair of toned flawless legs as she sashayed towards Rude. She sat down next to him and ordered saki.

"Your partner will need you tomorrow more then he ever thought he would."

"Excuse me?" Rude asked. He knew he was slightly drunk but not enough to be confused by a simple statement like that.

The woman turned her head to face him. "Your partner. He'll need you by his side so that he'll have someone to support him when almost everything he loves is taken from him in one fell swoop. He needs to be reminded that he is still loved by his family despite what happens."

Rude scowled at the exotic woman. "Why are you telling me this?"

The woman downed her drink in one gulp before standing and leaning over to kiss the startled Turk on the cheek. She whispered in his ear, "Don't ignore advice from a goddess."

Suddenly she was gone leaving a very confused Rude staring at an empty glass that once held rice wine.

The world was falling around him as he tumbled through space. Chunks of debris ricocheted off of one another as they raced towards the ground; gravity giving them speed. Fire lit up the sky in a roaring wave. Terror clouded his mind letting only one coherent thought repeated itself in his head.

This wasn't supposed to happen this way.

Then there was only the darkness.

"Reno, wake up."

The voice was familiar and the man struggled to open his eyes. Finally prying them open, he realized it was his mother that had spoken. She was dressed in her ceremonial garb and her face was unreadable.

"Mom?"

"You know that I am not your true mother?"

Reno nodded as he sat up, glancing at his surroundings. Not much to see actually; an endless sea of white. A dream. "My blood mother died giving birth to me in the slums. You heard my cries and rescued me. Then you adopted me and gave me the Emblem and the marks." He pointed first to the perfect circle on his forehead that his hair always covered and then to the triangles on his cheeks. "Grandpa told me about it last year."

"But you do understand that I loved you as much as I would my own son?"

"I figured that was why you gave me the Emblem of Protection." Emblems were something most gods and goddesses were born with. Reno's adopted mother had begged her father for the right to give Reno that particular power. He had granted her request (he was a big softy when it came to his daughter) but on the condition that Reno would live out his mortal life before being granted the status of a true god. Until that time, Reno would be a mortal god. It was that power that had protected him and helped him to reach the status of second in command of the Turks.

A sad smile touched pink lips. "Then you will understand why this is so hard for me to do."

"What? I… I don't understand, Mom. What's going on?" Reno unexpectedly felt as if his life was being drained from his being. Pain flared throughout his body and he screamed.

"I, Belldandy, Goddess First Class, do hereby banish you from the Realm of Asgard. Further more, the powers bestowed upon you with the granting of the Emblem of Protection are henceforth revoked. The Emblem is to be taken away but the God Marks will remain to serve as a reminder of your crime."

"What crime? I don't understand! Tell me what I did!" Reno could no longer see through the tears of pain and sorrow. His body was aflame in agony and he could feel the warm blood rushing from his corporal form. His mind was a blur of loss, betrayal and confusion. "Why?"

Belldandy, the second of the Norn sisters, started to reach out to the spirit form in front of her but pulled back. "I'm so sorry Reno. But you are no longer my son. Goodbye..."

It was the pain filled scream that led Rude to his best friend. Reno was half buried in the rubble with seemingly more blood on the outside of his body then on the inside. The tattered remains of his cobalt suit sticking to pale skin, turning darker with blood. Rude was shocked to see that the redhead was still alive much less conscious.

As soon as he reached his partner, slender arms encircled him, clinging to the larger man. "I've lost them… I'll never see them again! Why, Rude; what happened?"

Though the dark sunglasses hid them, worried eyes noticed the blood trickling from the pale lips. "The plate fell."

Eyes that were glazed over in shock stared up at Rude. "But… that wasn't supposed to happen… Tseng …"

"I know, Partner. I don't understand what went wrong either, but I'm pretty sure we're not going to like the answers."

"Rude?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I still've my 'mblem on 'orehead?" Reno was struggling to stay awake despite the blood loss but his speech was becoming slurred. The only part Rude actually understood was the last word.

"It looks like your face is the only part of you that's not marked up; well except for those tats you have under your eyes…"

For some reason, that only caused Reno to burst into tears. " 't's true… 'orsaken… they're gone…"

Rude pulled the smaller man closer to his chest, glancing up as help in the form of Tseng and the rookie, Elena, ran up to them. "No. Your family is right here."