A/N: This took me 3 hours to write. Why? Because I kept slacking off.

Anyway, this is basically an experiment for my 'Shinra operatives are assholes, Reno is a sadistic prick when alone, and Tseng is just a dick all the time' theory. I sorta just wanted to write murder, too, though.

This could turn into a full length story, but I'll only do that if I get enough reviews... Let's say... 10, before summer vacation. Yeah, long period of time, but people just don't review.

Great story to write on Christmas, right? Murder is totally Christmasy.

"Heh."

Thin lips pulled up into a smirk, face down and obscured both by shadow and blood red hair. The night around him was cold, unforgiving...just like he was on the inside. His breath came out in clouds as he carefully made his way through the city, on his way to his latest solo operation. Almost gleefully he grasped his weapon tighter, hoping he would be able to take his time with his target.

Reno frowned. There was, of course, always the possibility that he would have to be quick. The gun he had tucked away in his jacket was a now familiar weight, at least on missions such as this one.

It wasn't often Reno got a solo mission like this. Most of his superiors seemed to think he couldn't handle assassination jobs, Rufus especially. Oh, if only they knew...

Again he smirked and let out a small chuckle. He shook his head, obviously amused by whatever thought had entered his mind.

"I'd probably never get another solo job if they knew..."

But he put the thoughts aside and, still smirking, found his target. His smirk grew as he stalked behind the man. This would be so easy, it wasn't even relatively amusing to the redhead.

The man eventually led Reno to a house, which Reno managed to enter without the man noticing. He knew this was the man's home. He knew the man lived alone, and he knew he'd have plenty of time. His amused smirk turned viscious. He continued to lurk around the corner, just waiting.

The man turned the corner to enter his living room, and was immediately struck hard enough to send him flying backwards. As the man picked himself up, Reno stalked over to him. He stared in fear at the redhead, who was smirking so evilly he knew that this wasn't a robbery.

Almost before the thought went through his head, Reno grabbed him by the hair and pulled him the rest of the way to his feet. He was easily thrown into the living room from the spot, and he felt throbbing pain from the impacts already. But Reno just continued to smirk as he followed the man at a leisurely pace, his baton coming out and twirling between his fingers. When he reached the man, he only pulled back his hand and let it fly, cracking the man upside the head with his weapon.

Again he hit him, but the man got up and ran past him. Reno growled slightly as the man made for the front door. His gun was out and aimed at the man's calf before he really registered it. He pulled the trigger, watching in satisfaction as the man crumpled to the floor.

Again he stalked slowly to the man, going past him towards the door before turning casually, as if to address the man formally. He pulled back one leg and barely held back the force of the kick he delivered. Even careful as he was not to use full strength on him, the kick sent the obviously older man flying.

He smacked again into an unforgiving wall in the hallway, at the foot of his stairs. He knew he wouldn't get past the redhead a second time, and so decided to try and crawl up the stairs.

Reno let him. It didn't matter where the man tried to go, Reno would follow. He would mess with the man until he got bored, and then he would put an end to him. He smiled calmly and ascended the steps in the same manner, following the man silently again. He slid past him without him noticing.

The man turned to look for Reno, feeling relief wash through him when he saw the redhead was nowhere in sight.

As if to punish him for his foolishness, Reno raised his baton again and hit the man in the back of the head with a smile. The man tumbled forward, and again Reno picked him up by his hair. This time he didn't throw his target. He forced him back towards the stairs. With every step, Reno smirked wider because, with every step, his target released a pitiful whimpering noise. Whether it was because of his injured leg or because of the vice grip Reno had on his hair, Reno didn't really care to be picky about it. When they reached the steps, Reno released the hair in his hand, and his target managed to catch himself.

Reno took a step back, raised his baton, and unleashed five quick cracks to his target's head. The man toppled forward, sliding down the stairs on his stomach and hitting his head on each step. He crumpled at the bottom and whimpered pathetically.

Reno grinned like Satan himself, sadistic glee coursing through his body as he descended the steps. He didn't bother to step over the body, instead stepping right on him and earning a loud yelp. He turned and kicked the man quite a few times in the ribs, repeating the action without pause. Every time he heard a rib crack he barked a laugh.

"...Please...Whoever you are...just get it over with already..." The man begged.

"No can do, mister." Reno chided lightly, "I'm not finished with you yet."

Fear shone clearly through the man's eyes, intensifying at Reno's comment. He whimpered even more as Reno leaned down and put his face just inches from the man's.

"I'm gonna enjoy every second of this...Try to be a good little subject, won't you?"

If it weren't for fear of what might be done to him for it, the man would've spit in Reno's face. So instead he just stayed still.

"Good boy." Reno said, smiling sarcastically.

He didn't waste time in grabbing the man up by his hair yet again and tossing him face first into a wall. Reno was done biding his time and letting his target have time to recover, so he crossed to where the man was starting to slide down the wall and, using his hair as a handle yet again, bashed his head into the wall.

He continued to do so for some time before tossing the now heavily bleeding man onto the floor. The wall was splattered with blood in the place where he'd repeatedly hit the man's head. Reno brought his baton into the air and rained blows on the man's head until he decided he was done.

The man was still alive, but his head was definitely messed up as he couldn't quite seem to place exactly where Reno was.

Reno sat back with a smirk until the man managed to focus on him. He brought his baton to his mouth and licked off some of the blood, if only to see the reaction.

The man gagged. "You're... You're demented!"

"Thank you." Reno grinned. "But I'm getting bored...Say your prayers."

He didn't even give the man a chance to do so before lunging forward and ending the man's life with a solid blow from the base of his baton. Blood splattered from the impact point on his temple, and Reno watched with his sadistic satisfaction as the lights faded from his target's eyes.

Grinning, he left the house and made his way back toward Shinra HQ, twirling his baton and whistling merrily to himself. At the thought of the awkward questions he might get about why he was so brutal, he slid into a public restroom and cracked himself in the face a few times with his baton, and bashed his head against the counter, breaking his own nose. He looked at himself in the mirror and was satisfied by what he saw, if not by the pain.

So he continued on his way to HQ. When he got there, Tseng was upon him in a second.

"Reno!" He, for once, looked worried.

"I'm fine. You should see the other guy...oh, wait, you will..." Reno replied.

"What did you do?"

"Well, let's just say I didn't take his bashing my head into one of his stairs very well, and he died with a whole lot of blunt force trauma to his head." Reno fidgeted.

It wasn't that it made him uncomfortable, but Tseng's glare was unnerving.

"So you actually killed him?"

"Yep."

"You're sure?"

"I watched the light fade from his eyes. Does that count as 'sure'?" Reno asked flatly.

Tseng nodded. "I suppose. Good work, Reno."

And the rest of the night went by in a flash. Reno, the second he got home, laughed like a maniac for hours on end. He always felt adrenalized after missions like that where he didn't have to play 'funny guy' for everyone.

He fell asleep with a sadistic grin that was still in place when he woke up the next morning.