Hey. Remember me? Yeah, I live. I know, it's a shock after all this time. I've learned recently that I am incredibly slow when it comes to writing anymore. Sorry about that.
So I don't really have a valid excuse for this being so late, and in fact the only thing I can offer you is that, at the time I was beginning the writing for this chapter, I received a review that advised me to better flesh out my backstories rather than simply alluding to them as I had done in another fic, aaaand as usual, it got out of hand -_- So now we have a massive chapter that's bigger than the first two put together, but as this all works into the FFVII universe that I seem to be crafting for myself, I found that I couldn't actually take any of it out. So, have some flashbacks!
Sephiroth paused. He knew he was stalling, but he couldn't seem to help it. He glanced over at the girl to see her spinning around a tree at the edge of the copse they had found themselves next to. Her deep brown eyes were no longer dull, her nap having returned to them their usual brightness, and they focused on his own each time she came around the trunk facing him. Though he was still not fond of children, Sephiroth found himself more and more at ease with this one as the day wore on, for though she was clingy when tired and screamed terribly when frightened, she was generally a rather quiet thing, merely observing the world around her and speaking when necessary instead of chattering incessantly about everything and nothing all at once. He shifted his gaze to the landscape, surveying the small hills that rolled away to the north of him and his charge, then turning and peering into the spaces between the trees as though he could will a monster into appearing from within their midst.
This is ridiculous, he thought irritatedly when he realized what he was doing. Just call him. Still, he took a breath before punching in the number on the PHS. He hesitated again, his thumb suspended in the air above the call button. It was the only number he knew - well, the only useful number, though in his current situation, he couldn't be certain it still qualified as such. Just do it, he thought again, and again did not press the button. "What good will it do me?" he muttered to himself, contemplating closing the phone. "I doubt there will be anything he can do from Midgar. Besides which, he's... him. It's not worth it." He glanced at the little girl again. She was still spinning around the tree, her eyes now slightly narrowed when they found his, as though she wondered why he was still doing nothing. It was a good question, and so when Sephiroth could find no real answer, he drew in another breath and pushed the green button, fully expecting the conversation to be annoying and pointless. Any higher expectations, and he knew he would be disappointed.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri- "Yo," came the voice on the other end. "Who are ya' and whaddaya want?"
Sephiroth tried not to flinch. "Reno. It's me." A round of raucous laughter came instantly through the speaker, so loud that he considered ending the call, hang the help. He had never been extremely fond of the red-headed Turk, truth be told, although their current relationship was vastly improved from what it had been at the beginning. They had met almost two years prior, when Sephiroth was still a Third and Reno was little more than a mouthy, skinny teen that Veld had snatched up off the streets of the Midgar slums, for reasons then unfathomable to most. He was the youngest non-lifetimer to have joined the Department, and he had made very sure that everyone knew it, starting with the only person he had found who was anywhere close to him in age - namely, Sephiroth.
The familiar acrid smell of burning food - if it could be called such - was sadly present when Sephiroth entered the mess hall. Fighting down the desire to walk back out, knowing that he had to eat something, he grabbed a plate and tried not to think too much about what was on it as he made his way to the small table in the corner and sat down. He was, however, unable to help noticing from the texture and the way the meat jiggled when he attempted to stab it with his fork that it was most likely chimera. Again. And chimera was still not edible. With a poorly concealed growl, Sephiroth pushed the meat to the edge of the plate and went after the vegetables instead. At least no one had ever reported getting a disease from those... yet.
"Yo," said a relatively high-pitched and completely unfamiliar voice. There was no time to wonder who it belonged to, for he was already plopping into the seat across from Sephiroth, flashing him a grin. "You mind?" he asked as he slung his feet up onto the table and leaned back in his chair, clearly not caring to wait for an answer. Indignation flooded him - who on the Planet was this? - but again, he had no time to react, for the other boy was already running his mouth again, looking entirely too smug for Sephiroth's liking. "Name's Reno," he declared, pausing for just long enough to grin obnoxiously again. "Who're you, kid?" He didn't even try this time, which turned out to be just as well. "Doesn't really matter," Reno went on, waving his hand dismissively. "I got no doubt I'll have all the dirt on everyone in this building before the week's out, yo." Yet another grin, this one slightly wolfish. "After all, I'm in the Department of Administrative Research."
Wonder of wonders, Reno seemed to be finished talking for the moment, as he was waiting for some sort of reaction. The smirk slid off his face and was replaced by a frown when the one he recieved was not what he had been expecting, for Sephiroth had made no effort to disguise the contempt in his voice as he replied, "So you're the new Turk." He put his feet back down and stood for a brief moment, only long enough to turn his chair around and straddle it, resting his chest on the back and putting his arms down rather forcefully on the table. "Yo, you got a problem, kid?" he growled. Had he been an animal, the fur on the back of his neck would no doubt have been standing straight up.
Sephiroth, contrastingly, was completely calm, though he did narrow his eyes a bit at the red-haired intruder. "You," he said simply, then watched as the other boy sputtered, blue eyes lighting up with fury. He slammed his hands down as he jumped to his feet, his chair making a scraping sound against the floor as he shoved it out of his way.
"Just who do you think you are?" Reno demanded, raising his voice though he had been far from quiet before. In the sudden hush that had fallen over the normally buzzing room, he seemed even louder, and while he appeared slightly disconcerted by the way all eyes were now on the two of them, Sephiroth was holding back a smirk. This was more like it, for though he'd never been comfortable with all the attention that people gave to him alone, he rather enjoyed the thought of them watching him deal with this irritating newcomer.
He stood up from his own seat, never once breaking eye contact with Reno. The lanky red-head was slightly taller than he, but that mattered little; he was still looming over him and enjoying every tension-filled second. "On the contrary," he said quietly, knowing that everyone could still hear him and that a low volume would cause further squirming on Reno's part. "I believe the question is precisely who you think you are." Sephiroth waited until the teen opened his mouth to respond before he continued, delighting in the shade of red his face was taking on. "You are clearly of the opinion that you are someone important. Allow me to be the first to inform you that you are not. You are very new in this company. That makes you the low dog on the totem pole, so to speak. You are above no one, and you are especially not above me. As for who I am... You will no doubt have heard my name before." He paused, just for a moment. "I am Sephiroth."
For the first time in recorded history, it was so quiet in the mess hall that the sound of a pin dropping would have seemed like an explosion, and would likely have had everyone panicking as though it were. Sephiroth waited for the inevitable reaction of fear and respect from Reno - but something was wrong. It wasn't happening. In fact, was he... was he grinning again?! "Sephiroth, huh?" he repeated, a wide smile indeed on his face once more. " 'The' Sephiroth, right? Heh. How old're you?"
It was far too intense a struggle not to blink, but Sephiroth managed. What in the Planet's name...? "Thirteen," he answered, unsure of how to reply other than truthfully. Something was very wrong about this, a thought he was only more certain of when Reno laughed good-naturedly.
"Heh, imagine that. I'm older than you! Turned sixteen just a few days ago. Heheh." He stepped leisurely around the table and slung an arm around Sephiroth's shoulders. The silver-haired boy froze solid. "I like you," Reno said with another smirk. "You got guts. 'S'no wonder everybody's talkin' about ya like you're the best thing since sliced bread. I- oh, hey boss man."
Sephiroth glanced over in the direction Reno was looking, and sure enough, there stood Veld, the young Wutaian Turk Tseng flanking him. The Director raised an eyebrow at their proximity and position, but said nothing, instead gesturing for Reno to follow him and turning to leave the room. "Hey, I gotta get," Reno said in an explanatory tone, as though Sephiroth hadn't understood the implication. "I'll see ya 'round though." He started off after Veld and Tseng, stopping to flash Sephiroth one last grin and throw his hand up. "Later, yo." Then he was scurrying off after them, leaving Sephiroth to wonder WHAT IN GAIA'S NAME had just happened.
The next few months had been a confusing and trying time for Sephiroth. Several days a week, Reno would 'swing by' the mess hall and drop himself into the chair opposite the silver-haired boy, proceeding to chatter through the entirety of the alotted time for lunch. Sephiroth was largely at a loss for what to do, for he was most certainly not allowed to dispose of the new Turk, and, after seeing him in action, was forced into a grudging respect for his annoying companion's skills. Though he was loathe to admit it, Reno was good. Veld had not made a mistake.
"...appears to be more powerful than most. There have been a few civilian casualties because of it."
Sephiroth brought his wandering attention back to the speaker, some infantryman who'd been down in the slums for whatever reason and run across a monster that was stronger than it should have been. Naturally, Shinra was going to send someone to get rid of it, that someone of course being himself. As a SOLDIER Third Class, Sephiroth was just low enough in the pecking order that he was the first choice for the jobs no one really wanted to do. He bit back a growl as the man behind the desk pretended to deliberate over who to send down to the slums. At last, though, he could stall no more, and gave the order. Sephiroth nodded briskly and swept out of the room with a quick 'Yes sir', trying not to growl about the glint of amusement in his superior's eyes. He was puropsely dragging that out to annoy me, he seethed silently, pressing the button on the elevator harder than need be. They all do things like that, all the time. They think because they're older than I am they can get away with it. Sephiroth clenched his hand into a fist as an image of Hojo flitted into his mind, the worst of them all. They'll regret pushing me, he promised, and headed for the train that would take him below the Plate at a swift pace.
In short order he had arrived at the monster's reported location and was walking slowly through the ever-present gloom of the slums, hand resting on his sword's hilt. The pollution of Midgar was thicker here, having no sky to drift off into. Sephiroth was doing his best not to breathe any more deeply than necessary. Though multiple missions below the Plate were slowly acclimatizing him to the smog, he was still far less than comfortable, and inhaling more than a small quantity of the air usually saw him struggling not to cough. He frowned slightly at a strange sound. The monsters down here were as grimy and unpleasant as the air, and usually so were-
He leapt forward and rolled away from the fist sailing through the air towards his head, landing in a crouch with his sword unsheathed. -the people, he finished his thought as the rest of the gang sauntered around the corner from within an alley. The boy who'd tried to punch him scurried to them, making a rude face in an attempt to cover the fear in his eyes. Sephiroth's excellent hearing and related ability to dodge attacks had a tendency to unnerve his allies in training, and he was slightly pleased to know that they were not the only ones he had such an effect on. His feeling of satisfaction was short-lived, for the apparent leader of the gang did not seem remotely concerned. Sephiroth flicked his gaze over the group, counting. Eight teenage boys, all noticably older than he himself and, though they were doubtless nowhere near so powerful, each of them save the first attacker appeared to be armed, albeit crudely in a few of their cases. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. Now what? The Shinra logo was very visible on his uniform, and he could not simply go about killing people, no matter whose idea the confrontation had been. He as yet had little experience against people not wielding swords of their own, and even less with people who had not gone through the SOLDIER enhancement process - against these slum boys, he would be far too strong. An errant blow could kill them, as could too much force behind a well-planned strike. Can I take them all down without killing them? he wondered, his forehead creasing ever so slightly as he contemplated how best to approach the situation. He had only seconds to think, for the gang suddenly rushed him at a gesture from their leader, whose eyes were fixed on the Shinra insignia and burning with poorly concealed rage.
Sephiroth again rolled out of the way, springing up to his feet this time at the end and swiping at them with his sword, his intent to threaten rather than injure. However, the slum boys were more agile than he had anticipated, and better at working as a unit than a majority of the SOLDIERs he knew, and none of them seemed concerned at all as they first jumped out of his range, then swarmed him. The boy throwing punches leapt forward at his right side while his sword was still in motion to the left, and Sephiroth had to twist himself awkwardly to bring his sword back around and swing it in his direction. He bent his skinny body backwards in a rather impressive show of flexibility, leaving Sephiroth to growl as he was forced again to make an awkward move and slap a club-wielding boy with the flat of his blade, then to leap backwards himself. The other five were still coming, their various weapons held aloft, and Sephiroth, finding himself encircled with a wall at his back, snarled fiercely, holding his right arm out as though he were going to cast a spell. The gang members faltered, several of them stepping away from him while others simply halted their approach. Materia was not something they wanted to face, an assumtpion Sephiroth had made and was glad to see proven correct. They did not have to know that he currently carried none. The eldest teenager pushed through them, anger at the logo on his shirt granting him the fearlessness to meet Sephiroth's glowing eyes.
"What're you doin' here, lapdog?" he demanded in a voice like ice, drawing himself up to his full height. "Get off our turf if you wanna live."
Sephiroth was far from intimidated and merely copied him, a bit irritated when he was shorter. "Wrong. If you want to live, you will get out of my way. I have business here, and I will suffer no interference." An empty threat, but again, they didn't have to know that. He narrowed his eyes. "Leave now and you will not be harmed." He saw several of the younger boys shifting uncomfortably, pointedly not looking at his face. He had heard a few of the rumors the common people spread about SOLDIERs and sumrised that they had as well, and believed them. Demons... Indeed. But, if he could turn their ignorance to his advantage, he certainly would. He was still unsure of whether he could incapacitate them all without causing them severe injury or death.
He stepped to the side as a dart flew towards him, fired by one of the boys that had stepped back. Another followed it, and Sephiroth side-stepped again, anger bubbling up inside of him as the boy with the club began to move forward, looking rather angry himself. Sephiroth readied his sword, resolved that he would attempt to avoid their deaths. He tensed as the boy took another step forward - and leapt as far away as he could from the bullet that struck the ground in front of him and ricocheted off the concrete.
"You wanna step back, man," said a familiar voice, and Sephiroth could not help swinging his head in its direction. Reno, dressed in the blue suit indicative of the Turks and seeming somehow smaller for it, stood there with his handgun smoking and a strangely dangerous look about him, his usual lightness gone from his eyes. "I didn't have to miss." The gang members stared at him in disbelief, most likely because of his accent, which was nearly identical to theirs. Reno hopped down from the pile of rubble he'd been standing on and approached them all, the levity he had thus far always possessed gone even from his gait. "Now, get outta here, or I'll make ya." Not a one of them made a move, and Reno's expression hardened further. "Just remember you asked for this," he said seriously, and Sephiroth, who had been completely forgotten, lunged for the boy with the club, knocking it out of his grasp and planting a fist firmly in his stomach. His yelp of pain reminded the others of Sephiroth's presence, and the battle was begun.
Sephiroth whirled around to face the martial artist, who was again after him, and rather than dodging threw up his hand and caught the fist coming for him. Shock and no small amount of fear registered on the boy's face, followed by a look of intense pain as his arm was seized and twisted. Sephiroth forced him to the ground and brought the hilt of his sword down on his head relatively gently; with his strength, the blow was more than enough to render him unconscious, but should not cause any permanent damage. A bizarre sizzling sound pervaded the air, and Sephiroth glanced over to see Reno jabbing at the dart-blower with the one of Turks' odd electrical rods. A screech came from his target as it made contact, and he crumpled, twitching. Reno stepped over him and brought his gun up, aiming it at the boy holding the dagger that had been standing behind him. He screamed in terror, dropping to his knees, and Reno immediately brought a knee up to his chin with enough force to knock him out. Sephiroth jumped over the two fallen bodies and slammed his shoulder into the leader, who appeared to be trying to run, knocking him off balance. He seized the gangster's short brown hair with his right hand and yanked on it, eliciting a yell, and moved a step ahead of him to bring his left elbow back into his gut. Releasing his grip, he turned so that he faced the now doubled-over brunette and put a perfectly aimed punch right on his chin, not even bothering to watch as he joined the other four on the ground. In the time that had taken, Reno had already taken down another, leaving only two standing - for a few seconds.
As the last of the gang members collapsed, Sephiroth sheathed his largely unused sword and turned to look at his unexpected comrade. An incongruous expression of disgust, boredom, and what appeared to be pity was on Reno's face as he regarded the fallen teenagers, but it vanished when he looked up to meet Sephiroth's gaze, replaced by his normal grin. "Hey, Seph. What're you doing down here?"
Sephiroth resisted the urge to rebuke him for the shortened version of his name, knowing from experience that it simply made things worse. "What are you doing?" he countered.
Reno holstered his handgun and put his other weapon, powered down, through a loop at his waist that appeared to be for that sole purpose. "Had a job," he answered with a shrug of one shoulder. "Just was finishin' up when I heard some fightin'. Lucky you I was still here," he smirked, appearing delighted when Sephiroth deigned to roll his eyes. He leaned his neck to the side, letting out a contented sigh when it cracked in a way that made Sephiroth want to cringe. "So really, now, what's your business in the slums?"
"Monster extermination," Sephiroth replied. "Apparently there is a large and unusually powerful-"
"That thing?!" Reno exclaimed, cutting him off. He looked Sephiroth up and down appreciatively. "You must be good if they sent you down here alone for it. Guess Shinra PR's not always a lie, huh?"
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "It cannot be so strong. An infantryman attempted to fight it earlier in the day-"
Reno interrupted again, this time with a snort. "He lied," the red-head informed him, contempt in his voice. "I saw 'im while I was lookin' for my target. Whatever he rattled off to the suits at Shinra, the truth of it's that he saw it - took one look - and turned tail the other direction. 'Course, can't say I woulda done anything different, but I wouldn't have gone and tried to make myself sound better when I told people about it. Better to make the monster sound bigger and scarier, and if it turns out it wasn't, well, I only saw it for a few seconds anyway," he said with another shrug.
Not one for pointless chatting, Sephiroth turned to walk away. So it was stronger than he had been led to believe. It made little difference. He would still be more than capable of taking it out. "Yo!" Reno exclaimed, appearing on Sephiroth's right seconds later with a scowl on his face. "I was talkin' to you!"
"And I was finished with you," Sephiroth replied coolly, pointedly not smiling when Reno began to splutter. "Your assistance, while completely unnecessary, was appreciated. You may return to th-"
"Oh-ho-ho, no," the older teen growled, yet again cutting him off. "No no no. I wanna see this. I'm taggin' along. I'm not stupid enough to interfere," he added when Sephiroth made to protest, apparently being aware of what he was about to say. "It's your mission. I'm just here to watch, 'cause I wasn't expected to be done with my own mission yet, and if I go back early I'll just have to work on my report that much sooner." A shiver traveled through the entirety of his lanky form, making him appear almost snake-like for a moment. Despite himself, Sephiroth looked on in interest, wondering how Reno had done it. Surely that wasn't normal. "I hate doin' those reports. Why can't we just tell 'em what happened and that be the end of it? But no, everything's gotta be on paper and written out in triplicate! Worst part of the whole job, I tell ya."
Not for the first time, Sephiroth's face morphed into a frown as Reno continued to jabber. He talks too much, he decided for the umpteenth time, wishing that the Turk were one of Shinra's robots and thus had an off switch. As Sephiroth contemplated the pros and cons of humans being equipped with such things, he was suddenly aware of Reno's voice dying away, and cast him a glance. The serious manner he had possessed during the confrontation with the street thugs had made a vehement return, killing off all the immaturity he had regained afterwards. His hand rested surreptitiously on his gun, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice, and his formerly audible footsteps had faded away into silence that a ninja would be proud of. Sephiroth, though his own boots made little sound against the concrete, made it a point to copy Reno's silence, creeping along beside him and scanning the surroundings for whatever had prompted the change in his demeanor. A scuffling noise met his ears, and Sephiroth cast his gaze in its direction. A rat - large, but certainly not a threat - poked its head up from behind a pile of trash, squeaking at him. Sephiroth glared at it until it disappeared. Was that all it had been? He doubted it, for Reno was still on high-alert, and he himself could not shake the odd sensation that he was being observed.
The quiet was undisturbed for several more moments as the Turk and SOLDIER slipped down the streets, peering cautiously into alleys and dark corners. Then, abruptly, there came a hideous mixture of a screech and a roar, and the two Shinra employees leapt out of the way as Sephiroth's target monster came barreling toward them. Reno's expression when Sephiroth caught sight of his face was grim and not insignificantly disgusted. It was little wonder as Sephiroth beheld the monster himself. Somehow, one of the odd specter-like monsters that usually made its home in the 'Train Graveyard' in Sector 7 seemed to have fused itself with at least two other species of creature - wings, claws and beaks protruded grotesquely from its form, and Sephiroth wondered as he drew his blade how this had been possible. The conglomeration of monsters let out a screech and attacked him; he slashed at the nearest wing, and though he failed to sever it, it was cut, and a glowing substance dripped from the wound in place of blood. Mako, Sephiroth realized, feeling rather grim himself. These monsters must have wandered too close to a reactor. Direct contact with the unprocessed mako would have been painful, but not necessarily fatal, and there was no way of knowing what could come of it. Mutation, apparently.
Sephiroth did not want to fight with this abomination any longer than he needed to, so he settled into the most familiar offensive stance he knew. Many times he used these missions as an opportunity to practice new techniques, as he was in less danger against beasts than from his fellow SOLDIERs, who tended to regard him bitterly for his skills. Today was not going to be one of those days. As the thing came toward him again, he rushed at it, cutting deeply into the center of its body as he went past - or, he attempted to. Sephiroth stumbled slightly when his sword did not drag through flesh, instead passing through the air unhindered. He hissed as he righted himself and turned back to face it. Its main body was a specter, and they were immune to weaponry. Only materia could harm them, and Sephiroth had none of his own, the pieces he usually trained with belonging to the Company. Perhaps if I wound enough of its other pieces, it will die regardless, he thought with a small amount of hope. In any case, it was the best idea he had at this point, and he leapt at it again, bringing his sword down on one of the awkwardly positioned claws. The steel sliced through the flesh, and the severed piece fell to the ground, mako gushing from the vein within to pool on the ground. He immediately brought the sword up and hacked at the other wing, cutting through tendons and leaving it hanging useless. The beast did not seem to be affected other than roaring at him again in fury, and he tried not to make a face. Armed as he was, he would not be able to complete his mission, which would leave him with no choice but to retreat and leave the slum dwellers to continue falling prey to this hideous mix of monsters. He almost gasped in surprise as it copied him and rushed forward with more speed than it had thus far exhibited; Sephiroth jumped away, trying to cut off another piece of its wing even as he retreated, but failed, and backed up. His back hit a wall. Wonderful, he thought with a snarl.
It turned after him, reaching out to rake him with its remaining claws, and Sephiroth tensed. Nowhere to go, too many to parry, he had no- The thing staggered back, uninjured but startled by the bullet that sailed in between its eyes. "Seph! Catch!" Reno shouted, holding something up. Sephiroth tossed his useless sword down and rolled on his shoulder beneath the floating creature, springing back up and snatching the thrown item out of the air. The green orb came to life in his hand as he immediately turned back to face the monster, calling upon the strength of the Fire materia. It responded eagerly; this was a fairly leveled-up piece of materia, and though it took no small amount of effort, Sephiroth was able to control the power and focus it into a Fire 2 spell. The flames burst forth, encompassing the now screaming mutant. It tried to come for him again, but he dodged to the side and sent another spell at it, gritting his teeth. He felt his energy draining from him as the materia took it to power the flames, but stood firm, casting a regular Fire spell at it even as it lay the ground, its solid body parts preventing it from sinking through the concrete and escaping. It was still screaming, and screaming meant it was still alive. At last, the shrieks faded into silence, and the specter portion disappeared in a wisp of smoke, the other pieces having long since burned up to nothing.
Sephiroth drew in a deep breath, fighting hard not to cough from the combination of pollution and the stench of the burnt monster flesh. He heard Reno's footsteps approaching his position and swiftly but calmly strode away to reclaim his sword. He could feel the older boy's eyes on him as he picked it up, sliding it back into its sheath. I don't want to say it, he admitted to himself, hesitant to turn around. But... Sephiroth breathed in again, then made his way back to his red-haired companion. "Thank you," he said, and the words tasted bitter. He held out the materia, but Reno pushed his hand away, simply shaking his head. Again he put his gun away, and nodded in the direction of the train station, beginning to walk away. Sephiroth fell into step beside him without a word, putting his hands in his pockets. A few minutes passed without a single word from Reno, and Sephiroth began to feel uncomfortable. Reno was always talking. For him to be so quiet was... unnerving, and though he wondered if there was something wrong with him, Sephiroth found himself attempting to make conversation with the strangely taciturn boy. "Where did you get the materia?" he asked, glancing over at him.
"Why didn't you bring any?" Reno countered, sounding unremarkably like his usual self. His tone was accusatory, and Sephiroth was slightly taken aback. Had he done something wrong?
"I don't have any materia," he answered, watching Reno's eyebrows shoot up. "I am allowed to practice with the orbs they have in the SOLDIER training facilities, but they are not to leave those rooms." He jumped when Reno suddenly slung an arm around his shoulders and steered him onto a different path. Shoving the familiar sense of panic to the back of his mind, Sephiroth wriggled away and planted himself firmly where he stood. "What-?" he started to demand.
"That's crap, man," Reno spat, strangely vehement. "They can't send you out here like that. Sector 6 isn't far from here. There's a materia shop there."
"I don't have any gil," Sephiroth said, feeling rather awkward. Reno shook his head and pulled a strange-looking wallet out of his pocket, tossing it up once and catching it with his free hand.
"S'alright. I have... some extra."
Silence reigned for just a moment until Sephiroth couldn't help stating the fact. "That's not your wallet."
"Nope," was the clipped reply.
"...Reno. Where did you get that? And where did you get the materia?" He was quiet for so long that Sephiroth had resigned himself to the fact that he would get no reply when Reno at last spoke up.
"My target had 'em." He lifted his eyes to meet Sephiroth's, and the silver-haired boy was discomfited to see them looking so dull, devoid of all their luster and life. "But I figured he didn't need 'em anymore. Good thing, too. You really were lucky I was out here." He turned away, shoulders slightly hunched, and started walking again. "Shop's this way."
"You were sent here to assassinate someone," Sephiroth stated. Reno shot him a venomous look.
"Yeah, well, s'not like you've never offed anyone," he said defensively, and Sephiroth could see the pain in his face. For the first time, Reno was not simply that annoying Turk. Looking at him now, Sephiroth realized that he was really not that old, and was not yet hardened enough for the sort of life he would have now. The notion was reinforced as a flicker of doubt and perhaps a bit of fear passed through his expression. "...Or haven't you?" he asked, his voice unintentionally soft.
Sephiroth looked away, back to surveying their surroundings. They'd killed one monster, but that didn't mean there weren't more. "Somewhat."
Reno gave him a strange look. "What is that supposed to mean? How do you 'somewhat' kill somebody?"
"I thought you were going to have all of my information before the first week was out," Sephiroth shot back, but without malice. He could not seem to summon up any harshness. A sound that was not quite a laugh came from Reno's mouth.
"Turns out you're classified," he said. "So how 'bout fill me in?"
"I don't remember it," Sephiroth replied, still not looking at him. "I was told it happened, but I have no memory of the event."
Reno was looking disturbed, and stepped away a bit. "Why not?"
Sephiroth tried out the motion the red-head seemed to be so fond of, shrugging one shoulder. "I was in the lab. The Professor had given me an injection. I do not know what it was, only that he has not used it again. All I know of the situation is that there was a man there before I was given the shot, and when it wore off, he was dead, and I was saturated in his blood."
At this statement, Sephiroth expected Reno to leave, or at the very least be frightened. Instead, he was frowning in what looked like concern. "How long ago was this?"
"I was six."
Reno's eyes widened. "Six years old?!" he repeated, his voice raising. "You- You were just a little kid?!" Then he was laughing, a mirthless and almost teary sound. "Man, and I thought I was messed up! Dangit... That's some serious stuff, there."
Sephiroth glanced at him, wondering what the emotion he was feeling was. Most people would probably say that he felt bad for Reno, but 'bad' was not a sufficiently specific word. Concern, perhaps, or pity? "Was this the first time you've killed?" he asked quietly. Reno shook his head.
"No," he answered, looking up at the lights affixed to the bottom of the Plate - the poor substitute for sunlight the slums were provided. "I got into the Turks for a reason. First time I've done it for money, though. It... it don't feel right." He chuckled at himself then, and when he looked back at Sephiroth, there was something of his old self in him again, although his smile was somewhat strained. "I'll get used to it, though. I did it before. Now c'mon, let's get you some materia you can actually keep. It'll all be new, and it probably ain't gonna be what you're used to - everyone knows Shinra keeps the best for themselves - but at least you'll have it. I ain't always gonna be here for ya, kid, 'specially seein' as how you're a SOLDIER and I'm a Turk. You gotta be able to fend for yourself."
A disgruntled sigh left the silver-haired boy as he trailed after the red-head, and he made it loud enough for him to hear. Reno's laughter and his grin were back with a vengeance. "You got a problem, kid?" he asked, and when Sephiroth shot him a dark look, he cackled. "Kid, kid, kid, kid, kid..."
Sephiroth was even less certain of how he should behave around Reno after that day in the slums. On the one hand, he was still horribly annoying, and thus not likable. On the other, he had proven capable of sobering up, focusing on what needed done, and doing it well, which led Sephiroth to have a small amount of respect for the loud teenager. However, he had seen Reno when he was emotionally weak, and had shared a detail of his own life when asked for it. The Turk seemed to be under the impression that, because of this, they were now friends or some such nonsense - a notion Sephiroth did his utmost to destroy at every opportunity, but Reno appeared incapable of taking the hint and refused to stop acting so chummy with him. Thus, Sephiroth was thoroughly and understandably unhappy when a mission arose that required cooperation between their two departments.
"...going to take both SOLDIER strength and Turk intelligence to complete this mission," the director was saying as Sephiroth slipped into the room. None of the other SOLDIERs seemed to see him as he silently joined their ranks, and the speaker's attention was elsewhere as he continued to outline the mission. He dared to hope that he had not been noticed - a hope that was thoroughly dashed when the man standing in front of them turned and locked eyes with him, a storm raging in his own. "Sephiroth," he barked, and all eyes were instantly on the inwardly cringing Third. "So nice of you to come and join us," the man snarled. "Where were you that took precedence over your mission, SOLDIER?"
Sephiroth met his gaze calmly, shoving his emotions down as he was used to doing. "The lab, sir," he answered in as even a voice as he could manage. The muscles in his arms were jumping and he could not make them stop, his legs were beginning to try and shake, and his heart rate was far too high for the simple trip to the briefing room. Whatever new chemical or substance had been stabbed into him before he was allowed to leave was not agreeing with his body. "The Professor... was convinced he was more important."
The collective look of horror and disgust sent his way from all those present made it clear to him that he was excused his lateness, and indeed there was no more said on the subject as the man in charge proceeded to ignore him and continue with the briefing. "You will each be given a helmet equipped with a communication device," he went on, holding one up and handing it to the First nearest him. "As most of you are already aware," he said, his eyes flicking over Sephiroth again, narrowing slightly when he took note of the twitching in his upper arms, "the targets are numerous enough that you will all be focusing on one specifically selected for you. This operation is too delicate to be giving any one of you generalized information or instructions; thus you will be paired with a member of the Turks who will cooperate solely with you on your individual facet of the overall mission. Your partner will tell you where to go and what to do upon arrival. It is vital that you obey your instructions to the letter. There is no room for failure. Gather your equipment and report to the indicated starting point."
The other SOLDIERs moved instantly to obey, but Sephiroth hung back, seeing the director making a beeline for him. "There is no room for failure," he repeated, lowering his voice so that - had they not been in a room full of men with enhanced hearing - only Sephiroth would be able to hear. "I need to know now if you aren't well enough to carry out your part of the mission. Is there going to be a problem?" he asked, eyeing him critically.
"No, sir," Sephiroth said, wondering if he was lying. "The effect is subsiding." That was certainly a lie. If anything the muscle spasms were worsening, but unless the nature of them went through some drastic change that left them painful or able to otherwise incapacitate, they should only be a mild inconvenience. After a moment more of scrutiny, the man nodded and walked away, and Sephiroth went towards the others, eyeing the one helmet left on the table.
"No," came the voice of one of the Seconds, loud and harsh, and several people glanced his way in time to see him yank his helmet off and shove it into Sephiroth's hands as he attempted to walk past. "You deal with that," he growled, and snatched the only other option away.
A snicker came from the mouth of another Second as he watched the other storm away. He looked at Sephiroth for a moment before following, and the youngest SOLDIER was unable to decide whether pity or amusement had been the dominant emotion conveyed in that look. Somewhat dreading the reason this helmet had been discarded, he pulled it on with slight difficulty, due both to his Hojo-induced twitching and the samurai-style ponytail holding his lengthy hair out of the way.
"Yo! What in the-"
"No!" Sephiroth said reflexively, suddenly understanding why the Second had roared the word. It would have to be Reno, wouldn't it? he thought sourly as the other boy blurted out a surpised-sounding "Seph?!" His grin was audible as he immediately began to chatter some uselessness about them being partnered and a few choice words about the first man to put the helmet on. Sephiroth largely ignored him as he fell into step behind the others, also falling into the now-familiar state of half-listening that he usually assumed when conversing with Reno, hearing the things he said but not paying them any real attention.
A sudden exclamation of "Whoah!" that seemed to be laden with concern caught Sephiroth's notice, and he came back to full awareness, frowning slightly. "Seph, man, what's going with you? You alright?"
"What do you mean?" he asked quietly, testing whether Reno would be able to hear him. He had already noted gratefully that the volume of the speaker was low enough to be comfortable, even despite Reno's tendency for speaking loudly.
"Shinra tech's somethin', I'll tell ya. Some kinda monitor thing in there showin' me your vitals and stuff on this other screen here so I can talk you through somethin' if y' get stressed out on the mission," Reno explained, and like his smile, Sephiroth could practically hear his frown. "According to this thing, your heart's going way too fast, you're running a temperature, and... and I dunno what this one means," he said. Sephiroth pictured him raking a hand through his hair, looking stressed himself. "What's happenin'?"
They had entered the weapons room. Sephiroth took a steadying breath as he retrieved the sword he normally used and strapped on the harness that would hold it on his back. The shaking in his legs was more noticable standing still; while he was moving he could almost ignore it. His arms were no longer twitching, but there was a strange prickling feeling spreading slowly throughout them that did not make him feel very sure of himself. Reno's question hung in the air between them, and Sephiroth could not answer for a moment, wondering the same thing himself. At last, as he again joined the pack to travel down the hallways of the building to their designated starting point, he told Reno the only thing he knew for sure- "I was in the labs before this. I am not entirely certain." -which was that he had no idea.
Contrary to the exclamations and jabber that he expected, Reno's only response was a sound that could have been either a groan or a growl. "Man, seriously?" he muttered, sounding concerned again. "You sure you oughta be doin' this?"
"I am capable of carrying out my mission, Reno," he answered shortly, walking a little faster. He was trailing behind the rest. "So perhaps you should start telling me the details."
A sigh came from the other end of the connection, but the red-head complied, his slang style of speaking being partially overtaken by the professional manner all Turks eventually developed. "The situation is complicated. Someone - we're not entirely sure who - has got their hands on some tech they ought not have. It's experimental stuff from the Weapons Department that's meant to replicate the effects of a Barrier spell, but on a larger scale and without the need for continuous casts. All this sucker needs is electricity, and they got themselves a shield that'll keep out a fair bit of stuff. Most of you guys are gonna be takin' out the guards that are posted around the place - before you say it, yeah, normally that's Turk stuff, but these guys are weird. Stronger than they should be. That's why we need you SOLDIERs out there doing the actual fighting."
Sephiroth rounded the corner to find the others assembling in a straight line, and gathered that they had reached their destination. "I'm at the starting point," he informed his informant, taking his place next to the other Third on the mission and ignoring his attempt at a friendly smile. "You said 'most', Reno. What is my task?"
"You," the Turk replied with heavy emphasis, "are the little guy on this mission, and before you go gettin' your feathers ruffled, that makes you important. These others here ain't too subtle, but you know how to sneak, and that's what we need. You're takin' out the generators so the rest of 'em can storm the place, though I'm sure you'll get your chance at that too. Soon as the First in charge takes off, go out the door to your left and head east; I'll tell ya where to go once you're moving." Less than a minute later, the highest ranking SOLDIER left the group, and Sephiroth immediately followed suit, walking swiftly in his designated direction, what little could be seen of the sinking sun at his back. "Alright," Reno resumed, and Sephiroth got a mental image of the lanky Turk leaning back in his chair with his feet on his desk, arms behind his head. "That bunch of alleys comin' up? You're turning down the third on the right. After that you wanna go about... Well, nevermind. I'll tell you when to stop."
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, but soon smoothed his expression, doing as he was instructed and making his way down the narrow and unimpressive alleyway until he received the order to halt. "Right there," Reno piped up. "Stop. Okay, now, look around you - there's a false wall somewhere; should be on your left. Get lookin' for it."
"How do you know that?" Sephiroth questioned as he began his search, deciding after a brief moment of consideration that he was allowed to be curious.
"I'm psychic," he replied immediately, and Sephiroth rolled his eyes. Should have seen that coming. Reno chuckled a bit then, making him wonder for just a second if it might be true, before supplying him with a real answer. "Like I said, Shinra tech's really something. I'm not sure yet how exactly they've got it set up, but over on this screen here I've got the original blueprints of each Sector of Midgar, with all the alterations we know about glowing a different color to show when they were made. I've done a little bit of digging, and the best I can tell, there's something like an infrared system, maybe working with a radar or sonar or somethin', that's constantly looking at the city. Someone digs through all the pictures and updates changes on the main computer, and thanks to all that we have a full, comprehensive view of Midgar, complete with notes on doors that look like walls."
And there it was, making a hollow sound when Sephiroth hit it with his fist to double check. "And you say you don't know yet?" he asked sardonically as he forced the camouflaged door open. "Turks."
"Yeah, yeah," Reno said, and it was a testament to how much time they had spent around one another, albeit usually unwillingly in Sephiroth's case, that the silver-haired teen knew how the other was waving his hand around in the air and what face he was making as he did so. "Back to your mission, kid. Sit down before you try to go through that door, 'cause there's nothing to stand on. It's a drop to a hidden corridor, and I'm not absolutely sure how far it is, so brace yourself. Might be a rough landing."
Sephiroth nodded to himself and scooted towards the opening, pondering how best to go about it. Then, deciding that he'd either make it or he wouldn't, he pushed off the ledge and let himself fall, bracing for the impact and preparing to drop into a roll to save his legs. An involuntary gasp left his mouth when he hit the ground and was unable to complete that shoulder-roll, his already shaking legs giving out on him. Sephiroth crumpled to the floor, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to sit up and glaring at his traitorous limbs.
"Y'alright?" Reno was quick to ask, no doubt furrowing his brows. "What's with the gasp?"
"Fine," Sephiroth grumbled. "I wasn't prepared for the landing well enough. I fell."
"You hurt?"
"No, Reno," he growled, climbing unsteadily to his feet. "Now tell me what to do next."
Reno made an irritated sound. "Don't get cheeky with me, kid. Walk a couple steps to the right for me so the sensor can show me which way you're facing." Sephiroth obeyed, clenching his hands into tight fists when his steps were wobbly. " 'Kay, kid. About face and keep walking until you find a ladder on your right. It'll take you down almost to the where the slums meet the Plate. I'll tell you how to get to the generators from there."
Sephiroth silently turned on his heel and walked swiftly in the designated direction, hands still fisted at his sides. "Why do these tunnels exist?" he asked after a few moments, feeling almost desperate for something to distract him from the difficulty he shouldn't have had making his way down the corridor. "Were they in the city's original design, or made over the years?" He found the ladder and climbed down carefully, then continued on through the tunnel.
"If I've got my colors right, looks like they were drilled out of the plates some time after they were put up and a good while before they got the trains running up and down between the Upper Plate and the slums." The sound of rapid clicking came through the speaker, and Sephiroth gathered that Reno was pulling something up on one of his computer screens. "Yeah, these old schematics I'm lookin' at say that these tunnels were the only way to get from one place to the other back in the day - and mean back in the day! Shinra HQ wasn't even built yet when they made these things! They had workers comin' up from the slums (which weren't remotely slummy if this picture in here's right) to work on it, and they needed a way to get back and forth. Hope those things are still structurally sound and whatever, they haven't been used in over 50 years..."
"This one seems - agh! - fine," he tried to note, but a sharp pain shot up his right leg in mid-speech, and he nearly fell as his knee tried to buckle, barely righting himself and going on through the tunnel.
Reno whistled lowly on the other end, and Sephiroth braced himself for another lecture on how he shouldn't be out there and blah blah blah, but nothing ever came save the next round of instructions. "You're gonna go on for another... eeh, sixty, seventy feet? Then you'll see some more ladders - or at least something to climb, they don't look like much, tell ya' the truth. Anyways, climb up the one with the rungs broken off. The others are in decent shape, but you want the one that looks a little rough. That oughta take you to where the enemy's keeping their generators."
"What's up there?" Sephiroth asked when Reno stopped talking, definitely at the point of desperate now - his right arm had abruptly given up the ghost and gone almost completely numb, his sword arm was on pins and needles and trembling on top of it, and the random jumping had now traveled to his shoulders and upper back muscles; he shuddered to think what would happen if his shaking legs met the same fate. I'd be totally incapacitated, he realized with a jolt, and for the first time, fear began to creep into the dark corners of his mind, menacing whispers of what could go wrong echoing in his ears. He had never been so glad - had never been glad period - to hear Reno start talking again.
"There's a... don't call me weird for saying it's a layer like in a cake, 'cause that's all I've got to describe it with. Anyway, there's a layer just under where the plates connect that's only accessible by the ladder you're gonna be taking and some old freight elevators that don't work anymore and'd prob'ly fall straight down to the bottom of the slums if ya' poked one. It's pretty much hollowed out, like the space you'd put for that layer of cream filling in our imaginary cake. The construction crews used to store building supplies there, then get 'em where they needed 'em by using the elevators. They had to be turned on every morning, though, and the control panel's up there in the room you're going to, so somebody had to climb up there and get things started up in the mornin's. Anyway, none of this stuff's been used for literally half a century, and it's a nice big space, so these goons we're up against figured it'd be a good spot to stash their junk. Just don't ask me how they got it there, 'cause those rust-bucket elevators shouldn't be workin', and this ladder..."
Sephiroth made a noise of agreement, as the ladder in question had just come into view. The Third could feel his face pulling into a worried frown. The steel rungs, looking like nothing so much as staples in the huge column that supported this Plate, were broken off as Reno had said, and those few that remained whole did not look to be exactly stable. With his body having such a violent reaction to the experimental drug, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to climb all the way up. Still, he had to try, he supposed, and walked over to the pillar.
"Alright, now all ya gotta do's shimmy on up there and take out the generators, and you're home free." Reno went on talking about nothing in particular while Sephiroth climbed up the aged ladder, making unnaturally slow progress, but then, he was only able to use his left arm, and with each impact of his right foot against the next highest rung, pain lanced up his leg. He gritted his teeth. Just a little more. Almost done. Just a little more. Fortunately for the young SOLDIER, the ladder didn't go on half as long as it had looked like it would, and he found himself clambering into the control room/storage area in short order, gladly leaving the treacherous climb behind him.
Just as he'd been told, the enemy's Barrier generators sat before him in neat rows, humming loudly. "And all I need to do is destroy them, right?"
"Yep, just slice 'em up and get on back to HQ so a real doctor can check you out."
Sephiroth pretended he hadn't heard the last remark, and tried to push himself to his feet - after climbing into the room, he had simply rolled away from the edge, then lay on his back to rest, his hearbeat hammering worryingly in his ears. "Okay," he said, then hissed - he'd gotten himself up to a crouch, but his left leg abruptly collapsed when he tried to push himself to a standing position. Through the headset, Reno exhaled harshly.
"I mean it, Seph. When you get back here, the first place you're goin' is the infirmary. My monitor's been goin' nuts at me for the past fifteen minutes, but I don't know what it means other than you're in trouble. ...Seph?" he added when he failed to answer, busy forcing his body to cooperate.
"Yeah," he panted, finally up. "Yeah, that - agh! - sounds like a... mph... a good idea..." Slowly, Sephiroth reached back and drew his sword, comforted by the familiar ring of the blade against its sheath, then drew in a deep breath. With his right arm dangling limply by his side and his left boot dragging uselessly against the concrete, he shambled, zombie-like, to the closest generator, gritting his teeth as he raised his weapon and struck. The sharp edge of the blade cut neatly through the device, which thankfully did not explode, and he turned laboriously to the next one.
"Talk to me, Seph! Are you alright? Seph! Answer me, man!"
Two more met their demise in the time it took Reno to speak, but there were twelve more that needed destroyed; dutifully, Sephiroth struck them down, moving as little as possible for fear that his remaining leg - now feeling as though it were made of fire rather than flesh - would not last. Then, with Reno's screeching still in his ears, he did fall, a pitiful sound that was almost a cry leaving him as he made contact with the ground. Five left.
"Sephiroth! Answer me! Are you alright?! Sephiroth! Come on! SEPH!"
"M'alive," he managed, words slurring as his tongue, too, became heavy. Abandoning his sword, he dragged himself, one-handed, across the floor, to a sort of drop-off, a groove in the floor, that he hoped would shield him from what he was about to do. "Gimme a minnit..." Coming to the edge, he breathed in deep, and angled himself so that he could lean against some big machine that was there, using his remaining strength to raise his hand up, aiming at the last few generators.
"...Seph? What are you doin'?" Reno's voice was low and apprehensive. So, he was probably getting some indication of the drop in his energy. "Sephiroth... Seriously, what- NO! Seph, stop! Sephirooooth!"
The Fire spell hit its mark, and as the explosions began, he pushed off the old contraption and fell into what was essentially a ditch, turning his face into the floor and curling his good arm beneath his body. Even over the ruckus of the generators exploding, he could hear Reno screaming his name, his voice sounding frantic and terrified. Sephiroth wanted to answer, if only to shut him up, but there was a heavy blackness pressing down on him, warm and dark, like a curtain of velvet, and though he knew he should be afraid of it, he just couldn't think of why when it was wrapping itself around him, relaxing his battered body and covering his mind with a blanket of peace. Sighing contentedly, Sephiroth surrendered to the persistent black and slipped under.
...
"...oth...phi...th..."
"...ephi...iroth..."
"...Seph...iroth...Sephiroth. Sephiroth."
Silver lashes fluttered. He had a vague awareness of being cold and stiff, and of a monotonous beeping from somewhere on his left.
"Sephiroth?"
Reno's voice. He couldn't suppress a groan.
"Seph? Hey, man, are you awake?"
"Yeah," he tried to answer, but his mouth wouldn't make the word, preoccupied with feeling cottony and dry, and his tongue was apparently asleep on the job. He settled instead for a nod of his head, and Reno let out a ragged sigh.
"Thank Gaia." One of the Turk's hands settled on his shoulder. "You scared me half to death, man. I really thought we'd lost ya there for a minute."
It was more difficult than it had any right to be, but he forced his eyes to open, upon which they took their sweet time bringing the red-head into focus, but at last, Reno was revealed, his already thin face looking gaunt and his pale skin now akin to paper. His lips cracked and bled from dryness when he quirked them up into a wry grin. "You just gotta get everybody's attention, don't ya?"
His voice was a hoarse whisper, but at least it was there this time. "Where are we?"
"Infirmary," he answered, reaching a hand up to drag down his face. Reno was visibly shaking, now that he was able to look. "You've been in here for nearly a week. ...That is, we've been in here for nearly a week..." Before he could speak, the hand on his shoulder gave it a too-firm squeeze. "And don't even start tryin' to tell me off for it; I'm your best friend, of course I'm here."
Sephiroth - yes, that was his name, his brain reminded him - tried not to shift away awkwardly. Apparently, Reno either existed in another universe than he, or... "Really?" his mouth said, having reached a state of wakefulness sufficient to operate without his commands, and he hated the childish smallness of the word as soon as he heard it. Reno snorted, the sound barely escaping without turning into the sob it wanted to be, and did not dignify him with a response. "What happened?" he asked, again desperate to hear the red-head's voice. Yes, he remembered the mission up to a point, but after he got to the generators, it was a haze of pain and noise.
Reno sighed shakily and turned away from him, but acquiesced. "You got the mission done, I'll give you that, but really, you almost died, Seph. Whatever that was that Hojo gave you, you had a major allergic reaction. 'Course, he won't say what it was supposed to do, but from the way it started attacking your muscles, Veld's bettin' it supposed to give you an extra boost of strength without giving you another mako injection. So, the adverse effect was that it started to shut you down, one muscle group at a time, starting with your arms and your legs, and slowly movin' in towards your heart..." He dragged in another ragged breath. "After you used that materia I got you to blow up the last few generators - which, by the way, was about the dumbest thing I have ever known anybody to do - I lost radio contact with you, and Veld lemme take a coupla the boys with me to come get you. Don't gimme that look, we've been over this: best friend's job. Anyway, so we hightailed it to your layer of the cake, and I found ya 'bout half-dead in that weird ditch in the floor, covered in crap from the explosions and barely breathin'. I really don't know how I dragged you outta there; you weigh a solid ton. But... somehow, I did. The rest of the SOLDIERS were already done trashin' the enemy's little fort, and they came to help us. It was kinda like a human chain; they used their coats and shirts to make a rope, then a bunch of 'em jumped on, and they handed you up until you were outta the tunnel and that big guy with the brown hair and blue eyes ran you back here to Shinra while I stepped on heads climbin' out to follow him."
He waited quietly for Reno to continue, but he seemed to be talked out for the moment. Just as well. He'd been wondering if he was ever going to stop and breathe. "Then...?" he prompted at last, and the Turk nodded slowly, as if to himself. "Then, I came up here and waved my gun around until they let me in to see you. They were all runnin' around like crazy, yellin' and just generally freakin' out about how bad'a shape you were in, and what they could even use to counteract the crap in your system. Veld and Tseng came in, I assumed to drag me out, but they just took my weapons and gave me a pillow n' a blanket with my mission report forms. I filled that out all three times, and they still weren't done with you, but by the time the other SOLDIERS and half the Turks had stopped by to see how you were doin', they took their masks off and told me they'd stopped the breakdown, but the rest was up to you. So, I got my pillow and my blanket and, uh..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck as a blush lit up his too-pale cheeks. "I, uh, curled up over here about halfway under your bed and slept for a coupla days. Then, I woke up, went through the building and stole a pot of coffee from every office, aaand I've been here waitin' on ya since."
Sephiroth quietly absorbed the information and said nothing, though Reno had looked back at him, expecting a reaction. Out of nowhere, a shudder passed through the silver-haired boy, and Reno immediately fumbled for the blankets at the foot of the bed, cursing when his bloodless, shaking hands could not unfold them. Muttering angrily, he reached down and snatched his own blanket off the floor, then offered it with a sheepish expression on his face. His arms protested loudly, but Sephiroth made them take it. Even if it did smell like Reno, the microplush his superiors had been kind enough to leave him would be softer and warmer than the scratchy infirmary fare. "Thank you," he said, putting real gratefulness in the words, but the Turk shrugged it off, waving a hand in the air.
"My job," he reiterated, and an easy silence followed, as Reno got up to get a drink of water from the jug near the wall and Sephiroth got comfortable under the blanket. Soon enough, he could feel that velvety darkness pressing down on him again. He yawned, and Reno stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "A'ight, well, I'll get on outta here and let ya sleep, now that I know you're okay an' all that. Lemme know when you're back on your feet and we'll hang out sometime; maybe grab lunch or somethin'. Anyway, see ya."
With that, he stuffed the pillow under his arm, picked a pot of coffee out of the pile under the water jug that was somehow still warm, and shuffled out the door, looking even more disheveled now that Sephiroth could see all of him at once. Then he was gone, out of his sight, and he found himself yawning again. Mission completed, death defied... Friend made, added a voice in the back of his mind, and a small smile appeared on his face for all that he tried to stop it. In any case, I've earned a nap. So thinking, he burrowed further under the blanket and let the darkness overtake him once more.
After that incident, Sephiroth had been much less irritated by Reno's tendency to bug him at inopportune moments, and though he privately considered the Turk to be about the closest thing he had to a friend, their relationship in the public eye was that of himself tolerating Reno even as the red-head went out of his way to get on his nerves. And really, that was mostly 'what they had going on', to use another of Angeal's odd turns of phrase. The only real difference was that Sephiroth was less strict about physical contact (which, by nature, Reno did more of when he wasn't allowed to) and actually struck up the occasional conversation. However, after the generator fiasco, the SOLDIER had gone out of his way not to require any more help, from anyone, thus his reluctance to make the call.
Speaking of, Sephiroth pulled himself out of his reverie and focused on the warped, tinny sound of Reno's voice through the PHS's speaker. "Seph, man! When'd you get a phone and why didn't I know about it?" Before he could say anything, the red-head was talking again. Not caring that the child could see him do so, Sephiroth facepalmed somewhat violently. The girl blinked at him with her big brown eyes when he pulled his hand away from his own and they met. "Hold up, ain't you over in Wutai right now, kid? Whaddaya ya doin' callin' me from a warzone?" He seemed to actually be waiting on an answer to that, and Sephiroth took his opportunity to speak.
"The phone isn't mine; I got it off a dead trooper. Reno, I... I need some help, and you're the only person I trust."
A disturbing noise echoed over the line, and Sephiroth cringed, recognizing well the sound of Reno cracking his knuckles. "Well, you've come to the right place! Whatcha need?"
"If I send you a picture of someone, can you run it through the database and identify them?"
"Pfft, I thought ya had a challenge for me! Send it on through."
Pulling the phone away from his ear, the SOLDIER aimed it at his young companion, who again merely blinked curiously after the shutter clicked. As he keyed in the commands that would deliver the image to Reno, Sephiroth mused that, for once, he was almost glad of Shinra's obsessive information-gathering habits - when the negotiations with Wutai had been in their early stages, Shinra had requested census records from the past year or so, supposedly so that if it came to war, noncombatants would be clearly listed and spared. Surprisingly, the Emperor and his advisers had consented, and as far as Sephiroth was aware, the Company had actually kept its word. Aside from the wreckage he'd found earlier, all-civilian villages had been kept well away from, battles taking place only where there were trained warriors to fight, and while some of those had been destroyed, Wutai's losses were still relatively small.
Rapid clacking came from Reno's end, the sound of his keyboard as he typed whatever he was typing, then silence. "Got her. Mujakina Airashi, age 6, only living family of Mujakina Mikoto, both former residents of Hisano." He paused. "...Why was that village burnt to the ground?"
"I wondered the same thing," Sephiroth replied. "You don't know either?"
The red-head made a disgusted noise. "Keeps comin' up as classified, but I'll find out whether they want me to or not."
He nodded although he knew the Turk couldn't see him. "Good. Now where am I supposed to take her?"
More typing commenced. "Uh... Hey, turn the phone over and open the back cover; there's a red button in there I need you to push so's I can tell ya where to go." Sephiroth didn't reply, but obeyed, easily locating and pressing the designated button. A beep emitted from the phone, and he looked at it curiously. "Alright, so you're..." Reno began, then barked out a laugh. "Kid, how'd you even get there? The rest of your squad's on the other side of the island! Good thing you called when you did. If you'd kept goin', you woulda found the coastline before you found civilization."
Sephiroth tried not to look as shocked as he felt. Had they really been heading toward the end of the island? As soon as he got back he was going to see to it that those maps were updated. "So where do I need to go then, Reno?"
"Southwest to start," came the answer, along with more clicking from the keyboard. "I don't know how fast you're traveling, but if you head that direction, you should start finding some signs of human habitation before too awful long. Mikoto, the girl's mother, and the rest of the townsfolk are all bein' escorted to one of the bigger civilian settlements. You ever been to Meiso?"
He breathed out slightly in relief at the familiar name. "I haven't been there before, but I remember where it is from the charts and maps I've studied. It's north from Zetsubo, right?"
"Yep!" Reno said with an audible grin. "S'long as you can find your way there you oughta be fine. Like I said, just head southwest for a while, and you should find some signs from where the townspeople are being herded across the countryside. I'm bettin' that phone battery won't last long enough for you to call me again, but I'll keep track of you with the locator for as long as it lasts and try to text you course corrections if you get off track."
Sephiroth gestured to Airashi to get back in the bag; she hastened to obey, clearly ready to get on the road again. He took a breath, finding that the words were still hard to say. "Thanks, Reno."
"See ya, Seph," was all he said before the line went dead. The SOLDIER returned the phone to his pants pocket and retrieved his breathing backpack, which squealed with laughter when it was picked up and swung around so he could put it on. "I am going to take you back to your mother now," he informed the child, and she chattered back something that he didn't bother trying to translate; it was too much, too fast, and anyway, what he did catch seemed centered around food. He cut her off by promising that they'd stop and eat as soon as he found some indication that they were on the right track. Airashi seemed pleased with this arrangement, and the two (well, just him, really) set off down the road, the little girl singing quietly to herself to pass the time.
Oh hey look, we found what this story's actually about again! Yay us! Let me know what you thought, even if it was just a bunch of flashbacks for the most part ;) Thank you guys so much for reading; I love you all!
