What's Done is Done

by Infamousplot

A birthday fic written for Fear the Silly People. Axel is on a mission in Midgar with orders to eliminate any witnesses. But when his cousin Reno shows up, unaware of who he is, will Axel be able to bring himself to kill his cousin? Family, for Fear XD

Happy birthdy Fear the Silly People! This is a fic I wrote for Fear's birthday, which was on the 5th, so this is belated... ;; It's based off of her story Oh Gawd (which you should read and review because it shall be awesome and she has to update EVENTUALLY XD). I'm sorry it took so long to update it! T.T

I hope you had a great birthday Fear! Thnx for being such an awesome friend! Luv ya XD

Xemnas's orders had been clear –If anyone is to spot you, you know what to do. Hah. Of course he knew what to do. Axel wasn't worried, though. Why should he be? You don't get to be the Organization's number one assassin by being a clumsy idiot. Axel knew he could get into that world, conduct Xemnas (and Saix's) research, and get out without any of the residents even knowing he'd been there in the first place. And if he was spotted, well… That would be easy enough.

At least, that's what Axel came to Midgar thinking. Those thoughts didn't change until he showed up.

The building was pretty old. According to Saix, some place called Shinra used to keep its files or something here, until their old leader left. Or something. He hadn't really been listening all that well, after all, but he figured it would matter. All he had to do was find the right file, download it for Saix, and RTC ASAP. Finding the building hadn't been all that hard –there weren't that many ruined buildings lying around –and the computer he needed the files from wasn't even too old. Downloading the info had been a little difficult for Axel, since he wasn't a technologically advanced mind (or anything else math/numbers related), but once he'd figured it out (you had to drag the folder to the little CD icon) it was all home free. "And I'll be home in time for diner." He chuckled, pocketing the CD. If only it could have been that easy.

If only he hadn't walked in. Axel was convinced that his life would have gone SO much better if it hadn't been for him.

Axel had just pulled his hood up, and was preparing to open up a Dark Portal, when the voice sounded from behind him.

"Hey!" Jolting, the Nobody turned around, fixing a faceless glare from beneath his hood. At the entrance, there stood a red headed man, wielding a long metal rod. Axel frowned, mentally repeating every curse word he knew. Of COURSE, someone had to show up. Why couldn't he have waited until AFTER I was done here to come check the place out? He wondered, sizing the man up. He looked to be around the same size as Axel, probably close to the same age too. Axel sighed. Sometimes being the Organization's number one assassin kinda sucked. Taking out innocent bystanders had to be the worst part of his job. Without a heart, it didn't really matter to him who had to be cut down, but still… This guy hadn't really done anything. He'd just showed up at the wrong time. Oh well… Occupational hazard, I guess. "Who are you?" The man called, in a voice that struck Axel as unnervingly familiar. In fact, when Axel paid attention, he realized that that wasn't the only familiar thing about the man.

Shock of red hair, blue eyes, unkempt outfit… Damn, he looked familiar. And his voice… Axel frowned beneath his hood, staring at the man, unable to look away. He felt he couldn't do anything until he solved this odd and nagging case of déjà vu. And then it hit him. Like a bowling ball, in fact. Or an anvil.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my freakin God, it can't be. It can't be. It can NOT be- Axel begged in his mind, watching as the man leapt down from the crumbling windowsill.

"What the hell do you think you're doin' yo?" Axel cringed. Oh God, it is- Axel balked.

Reno. Axel suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Reno? The Reno? Reno, his cousin who he hadn't seen since the day he'd slammed his door in his cousin's face and told him to go to Hell? That Reno?

"I repeat: What the hell do you think you're doing?" Reno asked, in a voice that Axel now recognized far too well. Crap. CRAP. Why did it have to be Reno?

Mind churning wildly, Axel's thoughts tumbled over one another in a frantic race. He had to kill Reno. But… Reno, Reno was his cousin. He couldn't kill his cousin, right? Sure, Reno was an asshole 90% of the time, and was never around for another 5%, but that didn't mean he should die, right? After all, he'd looked up to Reno when they were younger… Still, that was years ago. A whole other lifetime ago, really. Quarrels and anything else didn't really matter any more. All that mattered was the mission. The mission came first, and all that jazz. But… Could he really kill Reno? Reno was a jerk, yes, and he'd treated him like crap when they were younger, sure, but… Did he really deserve to die?

What felt like ages in Axel's mind really only took about three second in reality, and by the time he realized how quickly Reno was advancing, his thoughts had boiled down to one thing: the mission comes first. Flames crackling through his veins, their was a burst of sparks, and his chakrams came flaming to life in his grip. Axel had to admit, with or without a heart, he really did enjoy the look of shock on his cousin's face as his weapons materialized.

"Huh. So that's how it's gonna be?" Reno chuckled, pulling up his rod and twisting a small knob on the side. "Fine by me, yo!" He grinned, just as electricity began to dance along the top of the prod. Without hesitation, the red heads flew at one another, weapons aimed.

Axel was the first to strike. Once Reno was in a decent range (far enough away not to be able to strike back), Axel fired his right chakram. The disk sailed through the air, hitting its bewildered mark straight on. Reno cried out as the spiky thing smashed against his chest, the flames licking at his shirt as he shoved it away. Chest burning –but not on fire –Reno fell back.

In Reno's defense, the only reason Axel had such an advantage at the moment was because he had the element of surprise. Reno… Well, Reno had a cattle prod. At least, as far as Axel knew.

I can't really kill him, right? Axel thought frantically, summoning his chakram back to him. Reno had a dazed look on his face, but he was quickly regaining composure, and footing. Almost immediately, Reno was back on his feet and racing at Axel with frightening agility. Sighing –Axel hated close combat –he leapt out of the way and took off toward the nearest exit –a window. He'd rather fight out in the open, where he had a better chance at firing some range attacks. Reno, who was really just doing was Tseng had told him, had no choice but to follow him.

I can't kill Reno, can I? Axel scrabbled his way up the piles of rubble and into the window, leaping from the crumbling ledge the next building with somewhat ease. I mean… I know he's been a jerk but… I dunno, maybe he's matured? I mean, anyone can change, right? He tried to convince himself. Looking back as he pulled himself up onto the roof, he saw Reno take a stumbling leap and fall a few feet before grappling for a grip. If this were an anime, Axel probably would have been sweat dropping by now.

"I-I-I meant to do that yo!" Reno shouted defensively. Despite the fact it wasn't an anime, Axel still had black lines streaking over his hanging head. He hasn't changed at all! He all but sobbed in his mind. Reno was currently dragging himself up the side of the building, and Axel used this opportunity to gain some distance, mind still churning all the way…

SWITCH IN POV

Reno pulled himself over the building, expecting some sort of attack, but he was surprised to see that his assailant –whoever the heck he was –had already hightailed it, and was sprinting across the roof, making a beeline for the next one. Sighing, he heaved himself up and took after him (?).

How, he wondered as he sailed from this building to the next –an impressive leap even for himself –had he managed to get himself into this? He'd just been minding his own business back at the office before Tseng had come in with orders.

"There have been reports of strange sightings at the old Shinra building." Tseng had told him flatly, in his 'no-nonsense' tone. "White figures that appear and disappear randomly, and strange sounds coming from inside the building." Reno had laughed when Tseng had told him this, unable to believe he was being serious.

"You mean ghosts?" He grinned.

"That's what people have been calling them." Tseng muttered, sighing. "Anyway, my guess is that it's probably just some kids fooling around and pulling pranks." Reno yawned, kicking his feet up on the desk and leaning back.

"So, why are you telling me all this?" He asked lazily.

"I want you to go and investigate." At this, Reno nearly fell backwards in his chair.

"Say what?" He asked, all but glaring at his boss. He could almost see the ghost of a smile playing on Tseng's lips.

"Even if it is just kids, we don't want them running around in one of our old buildings. Besides, if they get hurt, someone could sue." Reno sighed, and pouted almost like a child.

"Fine." He muttered. "Can I take Rude with me, yo?" He asked hopefully.

"No. Rude is busy." Tseng replied flatly, turning to leave.

"Doing what?"

"Whatever it is Rudes do." Tseng shrugged, again with the tiny ghost smile. Reno grumbled.

"And what exactly do Rudes do, yo?" Again, Tseng shrugged.

"My guess would be, whatever Rudes do best."

"Which is…?" Reno probed.

"Beats me. Now get to work." And with that, Tseng had left, leaving Reno to go investigate ghosts. Hoo-rah. Sometimes, dedicating his life to Shinra felt like a waste of time, but in the end he couldn't say he didn't like working for Shinra. After all, life in Shinra was pretty exciting when it wasn't so dead boring.

He hadn't expected to see much of anything. Nobody hung around the old Shinra building anymore. People thought it would be bad luck.

"Ghost my ass. I bet Tseng just told me all the crap to get me out of his-" As Reno approached the building, he fell silent, and felt his blood drain from his face.

Standing at the edge of the building –or more floating –was a strange white figure, long, thin, and (Oh my God) faceless. The creature –a ghost?- looked at him through nonexistent eyes, then turned and –Oh my GOD –floated through the wall. Reno stood there, gaping, staring at the place where the white thing had stood only moments ago. That… It couldn't have been… Could it?

"N-No way, yo." He muttered to himself, trying to shake it off. "There's no such thing as ghosts. I'm… I'm just paranoid! Yeah, that must be it. All of Tseng's ghost talk must be getting to my head." Taking a breath in, Reno walked briskly toward the building –which was old and creaking and a hazard to your life just to stand near it. He couldn't help the small smile that tugged on his lips as he stared at the old thing. "Man, this sure brings back memories, yo." Tugging himself up the building (with his Spidey powers) Reno paused half-way up when he heard a sound come from the inside.

It's probably just some kids playing around, like Tseng said. He assured himself, leaping up onto the window, where he sat in silence for a moment. Crap.

That wasn't a kid down there. Squinting, Reno could make out a tall figure moving around in the shadows, though he couldn't tell exactly what it was. It had a human figure, but it was too dark to tell.

"Hey!" When he'd called out, the figure had froze, and then whipped around to face him. It made a step forward, and Reno had finally been able to figure out that it was someone wearing a cloak. A rather long and intricate cloak, he might have added. They had their hood up, and beneath the shadows he couldn't see any sign of a face, yet he could still sense the glare that was fixed on him.

He'd been startled when the figure had summoned their weapons, and even more so when they'd attacked him, and now he was pursuing them across the roofs, watching as the cloaked person pulled off leaps and dodges that were remarkably similar to his own. I don't know why, but for some reason this person –whoever he is –seems… Kind of familiar. Reno knew how stupid that was, considering he hadn't seen the person's face or even heard them talk, but he just couldn't shake this nagging feeling. He settled for attacking.

"Yaaaaaah!" The figure looked up, just in time to see Reno smashing down on top of him. He'd set his Electro-Mag Rod to stun, and as soon as it had plunged into the cloak, he reached to switch it to kill. It may have seemed like a rather hasty method, and probably a bit ruthless, but Reno didn't feel like prolonging the battle much longer. Besides, once he got going in fights like this, it was hard to stop him.

Reno had in mind that the battle would end here and now, as his hand fell upon the settings dial. If it had ended there, than the rest of this saga would have been rather anti-climatic (plus, we wouldn't have Kingdom Hearts Days or II). Luckily, it didn't.

Axel's thought when the rod struck him was (well, one, OW, and two) "What's he gonna do?" That was, until the rod sent waves of electricity pulsing through his body. Then the only thing he could process was "Oh damn oh damn oh damn."

Fixing a murderous gaze from beneath his hood, Axel watched as Reno spun a tiny dial on the side of the prod, though he couldn't make out what it said. Not waiting to find out, he pulled out a chakram and smashed his cousin upside the face with it. Reno lost his balance and toppled off, giving him just enough time to shake off the shock and head for the next available roof. Beneath them, he could hear cries and shouts, and he could almost feel it as they pointed at them. Crap. Xemnas told me to eliminate anyone who saw me, but… Dangit, how am I supposed to weed out everyone who saw me? This was getting really bad, really fast. And of course, it's Reno's fault. How typical. Remembering the loud thock it had made when his chakram had slammed Reno's head, the image of his chakram whizzing straight through it came –unwillingly- to his mind, and he immediately felt guilty (but also a little tempted…). Still, Reno had been plenty ready to kill him back there… But, then again, Reno didn't know it was his kid-cousin he was attacking.

Hah. Like it would make a difference. Convincing himself that, either way, Reno wouldn't hesitate to attack, Axel turned to glare at his cousin, and then leapt to a different building, trying to lead him away from the crowds. The less they saw of him, the better, and then all of this could die down into a rumor. Xemnas would understand. There was no way one of him could cut down an entire town (and, he didn't really want to end up killing that many people…). As expected, Reno followed, looking uber pissed, and carrying a slight chakram-shaped burn on his cheek.

What was he going to do? Axel knew he couldn't just leave this world without a fight. Knowing what a loud mouth Reno was, there was no way he could just open up a portal and disappear. Reno would tell everyone who would listen, and eventually word would reach the ears of witnesses, and then those words would reach the ears of his superiors… Axel shuddered at the thought. Xemnas would turn him into a Dusk for sure if he screwed up that big. And knowing Reno, he might just end up following him into the Corridor. Axel shuddered again. There's no way I want Reno to turn into a heartless. I don't care how big a jerk he was, there's no way I'd put him through that, Axel told himself firmly. His mind paused to think, and he grimaced. And sure as hell I don't want to deal with his Nobody! God, now there was a terrifying thought. Sighing, Axel glanced back at his cousin with a twinge of guilt in his memory's heart. It looked like the only option he had was to kill Reno. It was the only way he could keep him quiet.

"Will you slow down, yo!" Reno screeched behind him, hopping from one building to the next with a rather irritated look on his face. Axel chagrinned, wishing he could have just disappeared back in that stupid building. Sure, Reno would say something, but it would fade pretty fast, right? Now he was going to have to kill him.

I thought having a heart meant you weren't supposed to care about these things anymore… He thought sadly, bounding down an iron terrace and landing clumsily on the ground, not waiting for Reno to follow before taking off again.

"Get back here and fight like a man!" He shouted, slamming down only feet behind him, his rod missing by mere inches. Axel actually heard the electricity crackling as it clipped by his ear. Swearing loudly, he sprinted off, leading his cousin away from the town. There was a large field in the distance, open and wide and vacant of any innocent bystanders. One death was enough for today. Reno's death was more than enough. Why did he feel so sick thinking about it? Reno was a jerk. He had made his life a living hell when they were kids, tormented him and bullied him… But, he was still his cousin. They were family. And family didn't kill family, right?

I don't have a heart! I shouldn't even care about this crap! He screamed inwardly. God, why was he being so stupid? He didn't have a heart. Killing Reno wouldn't hurt at all! Trying to prove this to himself, he stopped short, turning to face the oncoming threat. Reno was fast, Axel had to give him that. And he had amazing accuracy. He leapt at Axel, prod aimed straight for where his heart should have been.

Axel held out a chakram, catching Reno's rod mid-stab and stopping him in his tracks.

Both red heads stood there panting heavily, glaring at one another with vicious intensity. Reno tried to pull back, only to find that his rod was caught. Axel felt himself grinning as he tore it out of his grip, tossing it away. Reno watched in what Axel guessed was shock as his weapon sailed away, and then in more shock as a chakram slammed into his neck, knocking him down and pinning him there.

The sharp edges poked against Reno's neck. Points dug into the dirt, holding him down, as well as Axel's weight. He held a flaming weapon up, straight over his cousin's neck, a maniacal grin on his face. Reno stared up at him, into the darkness of his hood, trying to see his face, but unable to make it out. He looked scared. No, he looked terrified. Axel almost laughed- until he remembered who this was.

This was Reno. His cousin. His family, the only one he had left. Choking, Axel faltered, his arm beginning to shake. He couldn't do this. He had to though, didn't he? But… How could he? How could he kill Reno?

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Both cousins dropped a sweat as a shrill beeping sound cut through the suspended atmosphere. Axel looked over at his wrist, where his limited edition Mickey Mouse watch sat, alarming him of the time.

"Crap!" He hissed, realizing how late he was. Reno stared at it incredulously. Talk about saved by the bell! Heaving himself off of his bewildered cousin, Axel turned briskly and walked away.

"Wh-What the hell was that, yo!" He cried, staggering to his feet as Axel opened a dark portal. He turned to face his cousin, watching him closely beneath his hood.

"Consider yourself lucky, yo." He snarled, chest aching as he stepped through the portal.

"H-hey!" Reno cried, sprinting toward him. "Where- What –Where do you think you're –" He slowed as the portal crackled away, disappearing before his eyes, and taking the cloaked figure with it. "Going-" Without so much as a 'poof', it was gone, like it had never even been there in the first place. "-Yo?" He squeaked, sinking to his knees.

"What… What was that?" He wondered quietly, looking down at his hands, which were shaking. He'd almost died. The realization hit him like a wrecking ball. Clutching his head, he wailed.

"GYAAAAH!" He screamed. "He-He-He almost KILLED me!" That guy –whoever the hell he was –had nearly killed him! He would have killed him, too, if it hadn't been for… Well, who knows what. Sighing, and still shaking, Reno slid to the ground, staring up at the sky.

"Those throwing circles he had… Were kinda like Lea's Frisbees…" Reno paused, mind churning slowly as he tried to process what had just happened. "His voice… Was kinda like Lea's too…" Head throbbing, Reno let out another scream. "Gah! Not déjà vu!" He wailed, and finally, his brain shut down, allowing him to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness…

Reno had been unconscious in the middle of that field for a little over an hour before Rude was finally sent out to look for him. He woke up a little while after Rude had heaved him over his shoulder to drag him back to Shinra. He fell asleep several minutes after waking up.

He didn't wake up again until he'd been placed on his desk and smacked roughly awake by Elena.

"Waaah! I didn't do it!" Was the first thing he shouted as he awoke from dreams, most of them recounting his battle, but some involving other random things that only a Reno would think up.

Panting, the Shinra employee rubbed his eyes sleepily, and the blurry trio standing before him came into focus. Elena was glaring at him with crossed arms, Tseng looked like he'd rather not be there, and Rude … Well, you could never really be sure with Rude…

"Reno? Are you alright?" Tseng asked, though he didn't sound particularly concerned. More like annoyed. Reno stifled a yawn, sliding off his desk and nodding.

"Yeah," He stretched, wincing a little. "I think so."

"What happened to you?" Elena scoffed, tugging at a charred corner of his jacket. "You look like you got in a fight with a bonfire."

"And lost." Rude added in, earning a scowl from Rude.

"I was not fighting a bonfire yo." He growled, "I got attacked by some dude, yo!" The three Turks exchanged wary glances, knowing that Reno had a habit of coming up with tall tales.

"Oh really?" Tseng mused, and Reno nodded vigorously, searching for some paper.

"Uh huh. Here, I'll show ya." Grabbing a pencil from the mug on his desk, he quickly scrawled out a drawing of his attacker. It took him about fifteen seconds to finish the sketch. Showing it to his fellow Turks, the group stared at the image for about a minute before Rude finally responded to it.

"Well… That's a very good picture of a lamppost, Reno." The others chuckled, and Reno gasped.

"It's not a lamppost yo! It's a person!" While Reno may have taken pride in his artistry skills, in reality, the picture drawn was nothing more than a thick pole with a black oval on top and lines drawn for arms and legs, as well as a spiky circle in each hand (which was just five lines drawn at the end of the arm).

"It sure looks like a lamppost." Tseng noted. Elena frowned, examining it closely.

"It can't be a lamppost guys. See? It's got arms." She pointed out.

"What's with the circle at the top?"

"That's his head." Reno grunted. "He was wearing a hood, so I couldn't see the face." Quickly, Reno scrawled a large question mark inside of his poorly drawn hood.

"Uh… Why is the lamppost… Holding little tiny suns?" Rude wondered aloud.

"It's not a lamppost!" Reno screamed defensively. "And those aren't suns. They're spiky throwing circles." He crossed his arms indignantly, receiving many odd looks from his fellow Turks.

"… "Spiky throwing circles"?" Reno nodded.

"Yup. Spiky throwing circles. Of doom." He added on the last bit hastily, ignoring everyone's eyebrows as they shot up.

"… O~kay… And, what's with the squiggly lines all around the outside?"

"They aren't squiggly lines yo! That's fire!" Reno crowed, exasperated by his friends' lack of imagination.

"Wait, so the lamppost was on fire?" Rude asked, once again confused.

"No! And for the last time yo, it was not a lamppost!" Reno was quickly losing his temper.

"So… The lamppost wasn't on fire." Tseng deducted.

"Ye- No- Gah!" Facepalming in fury, Reno sighed. "No. The guy was not on fire. He caught his throwing circles on fire and then threw them at me." He explained, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world –and to him, it was. After all, he knew he'd been attacked by some dude in a black cloak, not a walking lamppost.

"Wait, how do you know it was a guy?" Elena cried.

"Yeah. I thought you said they had a hood on." Rude added.

"Look, I heard his voice, alright yo? I know it was a dude." Reno sighed. "I thought it was a girl at first though…" He muttered, almost as an afterthought.

"Why?" Tseng asked the question everyone had been thinking.

"Cuz he had hips yo." Reno grinned. The room was silent once more. One thought was running through everyone's mind, though no one had the nerve to say it just yet.

"Alright, alright." Elena sighed, holding up the picture. "Let's get this straight. You were attacked by some guy, who was not a lamppost,"

"Uh huh."

"He had "spiky throwing circles"," Reno nodded.

"Which he caught on fire and threw at you." The concluded. Reno nodded again.

"Yup." Elena sized him up, then frowned.

"And you weren't drunk?" Reno nodded. Everyone exchanged exasperated glances. "Right."

"Hey! D-Don't say it like that, yo!" Reno cried as the others filed out of the room, muttering things about how he was surely drunk or under the influence of who knew what.

"Stupid drunk red heads." Elena scowled.

"I thought we agreed that, as funny as it was, we needed to take Reno off of the crack because it was "a hazard to his health", Rude." Tseng frowned. Rude shrugged helplessly.

"There's nothing I can do sir. He takes it willingly now." All three sighed, ignoring Reno's furious cries behind them.

"Look at the bright side. At least with him around, there's never a dull moment." And so ended another typical day for the Turks…

"So, how did your mission go?" Saix asked calmly. Axel looked up, pulling down his hood and grinning lazily toward his friend, a difficult task after what had happened.

"Meh. Nothing out of the ordinary." He shrugged, tossing the flash drive over to Saix.

"No one saw you… Right?" Saix's tone sounded almost threatening, and axel really wasn't in the mood to put up with his crap right now. A part of him wanted to tell him about his cousin, but he knew if he did, he'd be turned into a dusk for letting him go… Or they'd kill Reno themselves. Sighing, he settled for glaring at Saix, hoping he might get the message across.

"No one saw me." He growled. Saix seemed to accept this, for he nodded and turned away. "Why do you need this stuff so bad, anyway?" He asked, before Saix could leave. Saix paused, not looking back.

"Don't ask me. Ask the Superior." He shrugged, and with that, he was gone. Axel watched as his friend walked away, and unwillingly, his mind wandered back to Reno.

What would I have done if I'd had the chance? Would I really have killed him? I had the opportunity, but… I mean… What would I have done, really? Axel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. There was no point in looking back. What was done, was done. Reno was still alive, and Axel wouldn't need to put up with him any more.

What's done is done…

June's lies
And the truth in front of my eyes
Are put away in sepia tones
Nestling close to one another,
Warmth;
I don't understand those things anymore

"You'll be fine on your own… right?"
You said, forcing it upon me
And then you said goodbye
If it's going to be that kind of consolation
Then I should be tired of hearing it by now

Endlessly ringing;
The merciless memories
Seem to have no intention of forgiving me
If I close my eyes
They will only grow
Surrounding me at a distance
You laugh

Will the rain
Ever stop, I wonder?
For a pretty long time now
It's been cold
Why does the rain
Choose me?
Why does it choose me
Who has nowhere to escape to?

Time intrudes
On the new morning
I finally found
The direction I face
Is not the future
I kept chasing after the past

You, who gave me
A new start by your consolations
And the hateful
And cowardly me
It's about time…
Fumbling,
My troubles spill down
My tired cheeks

Eyes that don't want to know the past
And fingers that can wash it all away
Scars healat a gentle pace;
At an unreachable distance
That seems to be within reach

Will the rain
Ever stop, I wonder?
For a pretty long time now
It's been cold
Why does the rain
Choose me?
I wonder if it's ok to let it cover me

The rain
Keeps on falling today as well
Knowing no end
While we
Quietly
Nestle together under the umbrella I hold…

There is was! I hope you liked it Fear! Sorry it took so long ;;

Yay Reno! XD

~Ip