Blue Destiny

The constant blaring noise issued by the alarm clock finally dragged Shingo out of his dreamy haze. When he realized the blinking numbers read 5:45, he threw the covers off his body and jumped out of bed. He had fifteen minutes to get to the gym. Slightly frantic, he was not sure what he should wear or what to bring. He took several deep breaths to level his head and pushed his index finger and thumb against his temple. Training, that's what they were doing.

Not sure if he should find some other clothes or wear his uniform, Shingo looked at the heap at his feet. Tseng's emphasis on how important image was to the organization coupled with the fact that Shingo was not even sure he had any other clothes made him decide to wear the same uniform again. Sifting through his clothes, he found a long tangled heap of gauze and wound it tightly around his chest. He picked up his slightly wrinkled shirt off the floor and quickly tossed it on before climbing into his pants. Grabbing his jacket and tie, he wandered to the kitchen where he saw his toothbrush and toothpaste sitting on the table. He was grateful that someone somewhere decided they were things he would need when he or she was moving his stuff. Quickly grabbing them, he dashed to the bathroom.

While rhythmically moving the toothbrush up and down, he carefully watched himself in the mirror, his head cocked to one side. He knew without a doubt that his brother would be proud of him and how far he had come from his first days of SOLDIER being the smallest, shortest, and weakest of the group. Now he commanded the respect of everyone in SOLDIER. His happy thoughts drifted away as he thought of how he had gotten tangled into Shinra.

Rinsing his mouth cleared his thoughts, and he went back to the kitchen, quickly grabbing his weapons and armor. First he slid the Shinra Alpha onto his arm and then placed the pistol at his waist. For a moment he considered bringing his knives, but he decided they most likely were not necessary. Tucking his sword under his arm, he walked out the door while allocating his materia. Outside he bumped into Rude carrying a bagel slathered with cream cheese in his gloved hands. They nodded to each other and silently made their way to the elevator.

"Did you eat?" Rude asked when the doors of the elevator slid shut. Shingo shook his head. He offered the new Turk half of his bagel, and the blonde took it without question. In mid chew he wondered if it were a good idea if they were going to physical training. It would be better to be hungry than to vomit if they did too much strenuous work. He shrugged. It didn't matter now.

When they arrived to the gym, it was empty of people except for Tseng. There were several training gyms on the floor, and Shingo was surprised that it was empty before realizing they had most likely reserved this one. Whenever he had gone to training sessions, the rooms were always crammed with people at all hours of the day. It felt strange knowing the entire gym was for their exclusive use. The weight of becoming a Turk was even heavier.

He dumped his sword and pistol on the ground and walked over to the mat where Tseng was conversing with Rude, the latter absentmindedly licking a bit of cream cheese off the side of his mouth. Tseng was looking at his watch as Shingo neared, "Elena's late," he said impatiently. Shingo checked his own watch. 6:02.

Elena came running in with a half-eaten slice of toast in her hand and her mouth full. "I'm sorry!" She exclaimed as she bowed her apologies to Tseng. "The mess hall was backed up on food, and this was all I could get. I didn't want to go through a day of work without anything to eat, but I didn't realize it would take so long. I'm so so so sorry!"

"This morning we're working on hand-to-hand combat," Tseng said turning his back on Elena and walking towards the mat. Shingo glanced at Elena and saw the disappointed expression in her face. "Shingo you'll work with Rude, Elena you're with me."

Shingo put down his armor and knives before meeting Rude on the mat. SOLDIER training had included hand-to-hand combat, but his superiors had spent little time on it with him. Before he joined SOLDIER, Shingo had done some martial arts training. He knew when his brother joined SOLDIER that he wanted to be prepared to join if the opportunity ever presented itself. Before he arrived in Midgar, he had spent two years training with a martial arts master in his hometown.

Rude already had his fists raised and without warning moved in for a punch. His eyes were fixed on him as Shingo immediately side stepped and raised his arms. The position alone brought back memories of his training. Martial arts had always been good for him because size was not always an asset. A smaller person could take down a giant if he knew what he was doing. They moved around the mat as Rude continued on the offensive, throwing in jabs and punches while Shingo danced away and blocked.

"Go on the offensive," Rude barked impatiently.

Following his command, Shingo went for the stomach, landing a punch before Rude made him dart away with a swipe close to his head. Rude was surprised at his speed, which was remarkably fast but logical for his small size. His footwork was decent, but he wasn't going after his opponent with the strength he wanted. Distracted by his analysis, Rude was taken by surprise when Shingo moved his right leg back as if to retreat and landed a punch to his head with his left fist.

It took a moment for the older Turk to shake his head and refocus on his target. Rude intensified his attack, but Shingo ducked down and swept his legs out from under him. Before he could capitalize on his opponent's position, Rude grabbed the leg Shingo had put his weight on and dragged him down too. Not recovering from the fall, Shingo let Rude get the better of him. Quickly, Rude was bearing down on top of his opponent, and Shingo did nothing as Rude grabbed his throat signaling he would have been dead.

Rude stood up and extended a hand to help Shingo up. Dusting off his skewed uniform, Shingo heaved a sigh. "You're fast," Rude began, "but you need to work on your reaction time. Overall your combat is good. Strength is definitely an area you need a lot more work." Shingo's head was still spinning as he tried to take in Rude's words. He nodded gathering his breath back. "We'll start again from when you swept me down."

Slightly bewildered at how fast his training was going, Shingo tried his hardest to digest all of Rude's advice. The senior Turk went through the mistakes Shingo had made when Rude was on the ground. The amount of detail Rude described in each step surprised Shingo even further. From there, Rude explained what he should have done instead. Shingo attributed some of his surprise with not ever hearing Rude say so many words at once and before yesterday he had never heard him speak.

"Your speed is definitely one of your best assets, and it'll easily transfer to other forms of combat," he said when they were taking a water break. "Instead of not working on it because you're already good at it, you should make it better." He paused a moment thinking and adjusted his sunglasses, "Your technique is excellent," Shingo wasn't sure if he detected a bit of awe, "but strength will help you finish a battle faster. The stronger you are, the less stamina you'll need in a fight."

Shingo nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Can I wear something different next time?" He loosened his tie a little.

"When you fight, you'll fight in your uniform," Tseng said, coming over to where Rude was perched on a chair with Shingo leaning against the wall. He did have a point. "You'll have a fresh supply of uniforms in your room when you get back."

Elena sat down on the floor next to Rude, drenched in sweat as she picked up a water bottle and rested her head on the wall for a moment. Shingo checked his watch. It was already 11. He wasn't quite sure where the time had gone.

"Well, I think we'll break for lunch now," Tseng noticed Shingo looking at his watch. "We can meet in my office around 1 before we begin security training."

Elena led Shingo out of the gym leaving Tseng and Rude behind. As soon as the doors shut, Elena let out a groan. "My god I took a beating!" She exclaimed as they made their way to the elevator. She rubbed a sore shoulder. "How was Rude?"

"I learned a lot," Shingo rested against the wall as they waited for the elevator. He threw some punches in the air. Rude certainly knew what he was doing as far as hand-to-hand combat was concerned, and it elevated Shingo's respect for him. That and how he had managed never to have his sunglasses slide off during their bouts. "My body is a little worn out though," he sighed closing his eyes. Elena nodded in agreement.

The elevator came and they went up to their apartments. Shingo was not surprised to see his apartment nearly as empty as it was before. On the table, heaped with the mess he had left earlier sat a stack of fresh uniforms. He picked them up and dumped them on the floor in his bedroom.

Looking around at his unmade bed, he was curious if he would get a chance to go shopping for furniture or anything for that matter. A dresser was something he needed or hangers to hang up his uniform. The ones he had used during in SOLDIER had gone missing. Worrying about his apartment made him realize that it had been a long time since he had a place to call his own. He frowned a little at the thought. It had been a long time since he had been home. He sighed a little and began peeling off his dirty clothes wondering if he had time for a shower.

Examining the kitchen table again revealed that whoever had collecting his belongings from his previous quarters grabbed the rest of his toiletries and two towels. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a picture of his family lying down on the table. He picked up the frame looking at himself 7 years younger, just before his brother left for SOLDIER. For a moment he stared at the old picture and heaved a sigh before placing it on top of the towels. Walking back to the bedroom, he carefully placed it on the nightstand next to his alarm clock and ducked into the bathroom for a quick shower.

When he had finished showering and changing, he was knocking on Elena's door. It was 12 wasn't it? Shingo checked his watch again. 12:15! Why wasn't Elena ready?

Rude stepped into the hall. "Are you going to eat?" he asked taking in the scene before him.

"We're going to the mess hall as soon as Elena gets out here. She's going to be late once again," he knocked furiously once more.

Watching the frantic Turk amused the senior. "You don't have to eat at the mess hall now that you are a Turk. I'll show you where to eat. It's faster."

"Shingo! Stop that!" Elena cried as she flung open the door straightening her tie. "I told you I was coming."

The blonde boy frowned. "You didn't, and you're late again! I don't want to be late on your account." The two fumed at each other.

"I'm going to eat now," Rude declared and made his way to the elevator. Glaring at Elena, Shingo rushed to follow. The woman huffed a sigh and made sure her door was closed before following the other two.

After lunch in the officer's hall, the three went together to Tseng's office. It had been an awkward meal for Rude because he was not used to their company yet. Not only that, Elena ignored Shingo the entire time, and he did the same in return creating an uncomfortable silence. Sharing their company, Rude felt the emptiness of Reno's absence. Over the years, he had become accustomed to his perpetual company and mutual friendship. When they entered Tseng's office, he was surprised to see the person of his thoughts sitting on a couch pressing his hand to his bandaged forehead. Two folders sat precariously in his lap ready to slide off any moment.

Tseng looked up from the files on his desk at the rest of the team entering. "There's been a change of plans." Shingo and Elena followed Rude's lead and sat down on a couch as Tseng stood. "It's short of notice, but President Shinra wants us to follow Sephiroth. He was recently spotted in the valley between Kalm and the Midgar Marshes. We think he might be heading to Junon, and we're going to move there to continue our pursuit of him and AVALANCHE. We will be leaving at midnight tonight.

"In other news, as you can see, Reno has been released from the infirmary," Tseng continued.

"They shoved me out the door half fixed. The least they could do is give me something for this headache!" Reno snarled and sunk deeper in the sofa. His forehead was well bandaged along with his upper right arm, and his wrinkled half-buttoned shirt revealed thick gauze covering his midsection. He glared at the two newest Turks, and they were taken aback. "You guys got a bunch of nobodies to replace me."

Tseng ignored his words. "Reno will be helping you with light duty training until he is in better health. We'll continue your training in Junon, and Elena, you have your first mission."

Startled at Tseng's words, Elena did not initially react until he was waving a folder in front of her face. Shingo was also surprised. A wave of envy passed through him. Why wasn't he picked? He calmed himself after a moment. They probably didn't need all of the Turks for a simple mission. "You will go with Rude directly to the Mithril Mines to investigate whether or not Sephiroth has passed through. If we encounter him, you are to engage him. Shingo, Reno, and I will proceed to Junon where Heidegger will brief us on the situation there. I will meet you in the Mithril Mines later.

"Security training is optional for you Elena so you can get ready for your mission. Shingo, Reno and Rude will go through basic security training and information with you now. Let me know if you have any questions. Elena, you stay here while I go over the details with you. The rest of you are dismissed."

Reno motioned for Rude to help him up, and the silent Turk extended a hand pulling him off the couch. Shingo stood at the door and watched Elena as she pulled a chair up to Tseng's desk. He could see the nervousness in her expression, but Rude and Reno walked by him so he saw no more. "We're just going down the hall kid. Don't worry about your girlfriend," Reno limped down the hall favoring his right leg.

"She's not my girlfriend," Shingo with surprise and a hint of anger. The thought had never even occurred to him.

"Yeah, yeah that's what they all say."

Shingo fumed a little on the inside. If he were to have a girlfriend and he never would, it certainly would never ever be Elena, and this Turk, even though he was his senior, had no business in his relationship with Elena. He tried to settle the angry emotions inside of him. Although he had just met Reno, Shingo was already unhappy working with him.

A few doors down the hall, Rude opened a door that was obviously the security room monitoring all the cameras in the tower. Reno briefly explained all of the workings of the cameras and how to cycle through them. Every few seconds the images on the cameras would change. Slightly engrossed with the world going on in the screens, Shingo didn't notice Reno leaving until Rude nudged him. Reno led Shingo to a smaller room with four blank screens and video controls. Quickly explaining that the equipment was used for watching any video given to them, he demonstrated how to work the machine and how to review old footage. Afterwards, they left to an empty office where the two senior Turks explained passwords and security procedures.

Rude provided Shingo a folder of basic procedures, but made him memorize lists of passwords, which Reno shredded as soon as Shingo knew them to their liking. An hour or two later, they returned to Tseng's office, which was now empty to activate him for security clearances.

By the time they were finished, Shingo's head was whirling as he mentally reviewed the passwords. He let Reno and Rude guide him back to their apartments. "Hey kid," Reno called as Shingo was opening his door. "We're going to the bar to celebrate that I'm still alive. Do you want to go?"

He nodded tentatively still wary of Reno's cocky behavior. "Good," Reno said and disappeared into his room.

Shingo stepped into his own room and shut the door. He noticed a black duffel bag perched on top of the rest of his belongings on the kitchen table. Frowning, he realized he had not sorted through everything earlier. He took the empty bag and dropped it on the floor. Over the years, he collected very few belonging. The only things he had brought from home when he left was the photograph of his family and his father's watch.

He had just become accustomed to his apartment, and they were leaving again. Dropping the manila folder Reno had given him on the table, he went into his bedroom to collect the stack of clean uniforms. When he returned, he heard a knocking on his door and went to answer it.

Elena was standing on the other side, her face slightly flushed. "Tseng and I are going to eat at the officer's mess. Do you want to come?"

Shingo studied her face for a moment. "Dinner?" he asked, watching for her reaction. She colored further and he frowned. "Elena…" he began.

"Just dinner," she said with a reassuring smile.

He wasn't sure if Elena was getting herself into trouble. Feeling the weight of his clothes in his hand, he realized that he did not have time to sit around in the officer hall. He was worried about leaving Elena alone with pre-mission giddiness. He remembered his fist mission as SOLDIER First Class, and he had spent the entire day before the mission bursting with a mix of excitement and nervousness. He sighed. "I have to finish packing. Bring me back something."

Elena grinned, "Okay!"

Shingo turned from the door but paused for a moment. "Elena," he called after her. She turned to look at him. Unsure of what to say, Shingo felt flustered. "Never mind. I forgot." With that he turned and disappeared into his room and the door slid shut.

Sighing once again, he walked over to the empty duffel bag and dropped his neatly folded uniforms into the bag. The top few slid precariously threatening to fall off the pile. Refocusing his efforts on packing, he stuffed his toiletries into the bag. Going back to his bedroom, he picked up the picture of his family, and he carefully wrapped it with his towels before putting it on top of his uniforms. The rest of the bag he filled with his extra weapons. Just as he was zipping up the bag, he heard a knock on the door.

He opened it to find Elena and Tseng bearing plates of food. Shingo quickly grabbed one from Elena before she dropped it. "I had it, I had it," Elena frowned as she used two hands to carry the other plate.

"You're done already?" Shingo asked as he set it cleaner table.

"I wasn't too hungry," Elena shrugged as she took a seat at the table, pushing aside his folder and sunglasses. Shingo looked at his watch. 6:18. He wasn't sure where he had gotten the notion that he wouldn't have time to pack.

Tseng put down the plate he was carrying. "Elena, midnight. Don't be late," he said as he left.

Elena frowned at the closing door. "Am I always that late?" she asked.

"Yes," Shingo said before diving into the plates of food.

She watched unimpressed as Shingo demolished the food on the plates. Having been friends for 5 years now, she had grown accustomed to his enormous appetite and how quickly the youngest Turk could eat. She remembered Rude's surprise during lunch although she had spent it fuming at Shingo.

Idly pulling at her hair, Elena thought of how she had lost her appetite while eating with Tseng. She had felt a tangle of nervousness about her upcoming mission. The promotion to Turk was a huge honor but the weight of what she had to live up to constantly haunted her. When Tseng explained it in detail, the scouting did not seem too difficult, but the idea of engaging Sephiroth in battle twisted knots in her stomach. She hoped she did not have to fight with Sephiroth. No amount of training could ever prepare her for that.

Shingo stacked the empty plates on top of one another and sat back in his chair. "Nervous?" he asked, reading Elena's thoughts.

She nodded in reply. "I hope we don't encounter Sephiroth."

"I hope so too," he said opening the manila folder Elena had moved. "If you guys do, we're going to need promote more Turks."

"You have no faith!" Elena laughed. Shingo smiled in response. "I doubt anyone could survive a battle with Sephiroth," she mused aloud.

Shingo's smile melted into a frown. "I think someone did once…" he began not liking where his thoughts were going. Before he could stop the flood of memories, their weight came pressing down on him. He struggled for words. "In the Mako Reactor…"

Elena could see the memories passing through his mind. Concerned, she put her hand on top of his. "Don't worry about it," she said trying to sound as comforting as possible.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Shingo stood, smoothing his hair a little to help ground himself once more. On the other side of the door, Reno stood toying with his sunglasses with his left hand leaning against the doorframe. Rude waited in the hall behind him staring off at the elevators, and Tseng was not too far off with his hands in his pockets. "You two lovebirds ready?" Reno asked.

"Lovebirds?" Elena fumed. "Absolutely not," she finished firmly, using her most threatening glare on the injured red head.

Shingo's eyes threatened to set Reno on fire for a moment before he took a breath to calm his nerves. A smirk appeared on Reno's face. Willing himself to ignore the red head's words, Shingo said "Yeah, just a moment," and ducked back into his apartment to grab his gun and sunglasses, sliding the latter on top of his head before leaving.

The senior Turks lead the new ones to the elevator and out of Shinra Headquarters. It had been a while since either Shingo or Elena had left the tower having spent the past few weeks preparing for the test for to become Turks. As soon as they left the building, Shingo turned to look back at his home from an angle he did not often see. The marvel of glass and steel winked back at him reflecting the city lights. He sighed and frowned remembering that they were leaving that night, and he would be calling Junon home.

The bar they arrived at was only a few blocks away from the tower. Once they entered, a hush fell upon he customers mostly Shinra employees. Rude walked over to a round booth occupied by a few low-level managers. At his arrival, they scampered out of the booth and left the bar fearing more harassment. Nodding to Rude as he passed, Tseng took a seat at the center of the booth, the leather creaking. Rude and Reno sat closest to Tseng. Elena chose to sit next to Rude leaving Shingo beside Reno.

When they were settled, life returned to the bar as conversation trickled to life once more. A smiling brunette came to the table, but her eyes revealed her nervousness. "What'll y'all have to drink?" she asked, standing next to Shingo.

"A round of beer and hurry it up!" Reno yelled startling the waitress. She rushed away as fast as she could without being disrespectful. He settled back into the booth and silence descended on the table. Shingo frowned at the thought of drinking alcohol, but he did not want to be impolite.

Uneasy of the silent Turks, the nearby tables emptied leaving the bar mostly empty. The once bubbling happy hour had died into an early closing time. The waitress painted a smile on her face once more as she danced back to the table balancing a tray laden with bottles. "Extras from the owner," she said as cheerfully as possible and reached over Shingo to hand Tseng a bottle.

"A glass," Tseng said softly, crossing his arms.

Startled, the waitress nearly knocked over the bottle she was placing before Reno. "Of course," she remembered to smile as she disappeared once more. Slightly out breath, the waitress returned carrying five glasses and poured their beers into them trying to hide her shaking hands. Satisfied they needed nothing more for the time being, she went to stand behind by the bar and let out a long sigh of relief.

Tseng raised his glass and the others followed suit. "To Reno," he said, " and to our newest members." They clinked their glasses together.

-end chp. 2

Some notes if you're curious:

I simply replaced the existing story in my profile. A few people had set alerts to notify them of updates so out of deference I didn't delete the original. Most of the reviews are really quite old, but there's nothing that was not already told by the summary. Sadly you can't delete the reviews, but I hope they don't confuse you too much. I found so many mistakes and thought of a lot of new ideas that made the original is pretty outdated. Rather than working with what I originally wrote, I'm rewriting everything. The story is still the same, but the details are very different.

I'm testing out a new system of writing, which is interesting considering I haven't written anything except for papers in a very long time. I've been holding off on posting new chapters until I have finished the next one so I can make sure things remain fairly consistent. I find it easier to work with my imagination rather than panicking about continuity.

If you have some issues with this being Usagi centered or lacking in the adventure or romance it is categorized under, I ask you the bear with me. There is a lot in this story that has yet to unfold, and I hope you put your trust in me to lead you on a journey.

In reference to my other works, I don't really think I'll be continuing or finishing most of my stories, but I am particularly fond of this story and Dawn River. If you are interested in some of the others, I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. This one will probably be regularly updated at least through the end of the month because I am on break. Blue Destiny has definitely set off a flood of ideas, but otherwise, school is really too busy to have time for constant writing.

If you would like to post a review, that would be greatly appreciated. It has been a long time since I've put together any amount of fanfiction so I'm definitely interested in new voices, thoughts, and seeing how the world has changed in my absence.

Although I love your input, I hope you are understanding when I cannot accommodate every plot twist and pairing. I have planned out quite a bit of this story so it won't be easy to make every desire a reality. Right now, I am a woman with a plan, a computer, and a drive, but I definitely have an ear open to the reader's words.

We'll see how this adventures goes. I really would appreciate some insight into your thoughts as you read, but of course it is optional. I hope you spend a moment or two to leave a few words. I send my love to whoever has read even this much.