Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FFVII characters, places, etc.
Chapter 36: Tattoos
Rude's heartbeat had finally stopped hammering against his chest sometime late in the night. His pulse still throbbed against the burns on his arm but at least the all consuming temper that had overcome him in Karasuma's presence had abated. Reno was asleep for his shift in the usual tangle of blankets and splayed limbs, his breathing soft and even punctured by the occasional incoherent murmur.
It was a risky gamble defying Karasuma rather than attempting to mollify him with half promises. Negotiations were even less his strong suit than Reno's and he wondered if this was some lesson Verdot had been waiting to teach them. Either way he and Reno would have to watch their backs every minute they lingered.
Memories began stirring so Rude got up to pace quietly around the room. He didn't dare leave sleeping Reno unattended or he would have gone out to enjoy the sound of rain on the veranda's overhang. Instead he circled with silent steps, flexing the fingers of his burned arm idly. This would make writing his next letter to Beatrice difficult. Except now he'd have to find someone else to tell him Wutai myths and fairytales. Kaede was dead…
Damp air swept across his face as he opened the shoji. Rubbing the back of his neck he searched the dark for anything out of place. His eyes adjusted quickly to the shapes of the garden, the pale paper of other shoji, and the faint glimmer of light from one or two lit candles in other closed rooms. The Yatsuba estate was familiar enough but in the last day it had become repulsive. He was about to close the shoji again when Reno shuffled out grinding sleep from his eyes before folding into a seat on the veranda.
"Brain won't turn off yo," he grumbled as he searched Rude's jacket for the last Junon Jezebel cigarette. Rude sat next to him and they watched the rain. Between the smoking ember and the familiar light of Reno's green eyes studying the dark next to him Rude felt calmness descend. They would make it through this like they made it through everything else; flying by the seat of their pants. His heart might ache but Rude would survive to fight another day, accept another mission, and send another letter back to the Plates for Beatrice.
Dawn found them still sitting outside after outlasting both the dark and the rain. Reno's hair glistened with dew as he remained unusually still. His thoughts were busy deciding how to respond to Karasuma now and utterly destroy him later, an occupation that had engaged Rude as well. He set aside this work as he spotted Hiromi approaching them in another elaborate kimono.
"Hey OJ, is Hokuto still with the family?" Reno inquired without looking up. She tilted her head to one side as her brows knit.
"He is," she nodded. "I can take you to him later. For now your presence is required in the great hall. I believe Karasuma-sama has found the man for which you search."
"We will be right there toots," Reno nodded rolling his shoulders. "I am going to change unless you would like to dress me," he added when she hesitated. She lowered her head and bit her lip, eyes dark with some thought that brought color to her cheeks, and then departed.
"Who's Hokuto?" Rude asked following him back into the room.
"I really want a bath yo," Reno sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "You remember I told you about running into the Yatsuba family and them testin' me?" Rude nodded. "Hokuto is the guy they made me fight. I thought he was a bear man. I hadn't thought about him in years and then tea shop girl said what she said and here we were at the Yatsubas," he trailed off with a shrug.
They dressed quickly and Rude doggedly fixed Reno's tie, never mind in about two minutes he would pull it looser and unfasten the buttons at the top of his shirt. Habit was the only thing that kept his hands from shaking and his temper from snapping. As they approached the great hall he passed his old friend a succor before he could search himself for a cigarette he didn't have any more.
"Thanks hubby," Reno shot him a grin before they entered the main hall.
Karasuma worked fast. Roughed up but still functioning sat a man somewhere between thirty and forty with his hands bound behind him and his jacket ripped away to expose the coils of a serpentine dragon. The creased, red, grinning face of a demon took the place of the dragon's head. Karasuma stood next to his bound captive with an iron hair pin clenched in one hand. He looked none too pleased.
"I have asked Li He why you might be interested in this pin. He replied that he had taken it from an urchin girl. Explain to me why this good man is suffering for such a minor infraction. What interest does the Shin-Ra have in him?"
"That is our concern," Rude answered. "But finding him is the token we required and now I will go and make sure your demands of Materia and machinery are met and talk to my superiors about your representation and share in company's dealings."
Karasuma looked distrustful. His eyes shot between the hair pin and Li He. At length he extended the pin and cracked the back of Li He's head to send him into unconsciousness. Offering the ornament Rude plucked it from his palm and turned it over. The petals on the plum flower matched his memories of the burn on Sumire's forehead. A back corner of his mind wondered if she was alive or dead.
"Thank you," Rude nodded, pocketing the trinket and hauling Li He over his shoulders. "We will go now."
"Return soon," Karasuma growled.
"Did we need to stop?" Rude asked softly of Reno as they moved swiftly towards their bikes.
"Oh he'll still be here," Reno smiled cheerfully. "Let's take him back to HQ and see what we can find out. Lyn will owe us yo," he rubbed his hands together. Rude almost smiled at the sinister delight in his companion's eyes.
It was uncomfortable riding back and worrying about his extra charge but Rude managed to work the disheveled streets behind Reno, mud and gathered rain water flung everywhere in their passage. He could feel the line of dirt that had gathered and stuck all the way up the back of his jacket by the time their crumbling HQ appeared, swarmed with enlisted soldiers hurrying to rebuild it.
"Reno! Rude!" Hammond called. He appeared from an upstairs window as they parked.
"Did ya miss me?" Reno called back waving. Rude slung the still unconscious yakuza over his shoulders.
"I've got a message for you! Miss Mjolner wants you to contact her immediately!"
"Lyn's calling me!" Reno shuddered and rubbed his arms. "Bye!"
"Reno!" Hammond protested as the red head shot into the building amidst a swirl of activity.
"We'll be up," Rude assured flustered Hammond. The radio attendant gave him a relieved nod before ducking back inside.
Reno was talking to a cluster of other Turks including Tyco, bandaged and pale. Money changed hands and Reno almost kissed the invalid as Tyco handed over a carton of Sol Sunbursts. Tucking the precious cargo under his arm – Rude would sequester at least half away so Reno couldn't smoke them all in the next week – Reno waved Rude after him.
Lyn was in a back room whistling as she hosed the concrete floors down around a bloody chair. She'd laid the concrete herself when they'd first claimed the building and was even handy enough to install the drain system that took the sullied water out into a gutter. Rude felt his insides still as he entered her interrogation room, tamping down his unease as the old scars on his chest tingled.
"How's the hunt going?" Reno asked cheerfully as he lit up. Lyn glanced back at them before lifting the hose to clean a spray of blood from the wall.
"He's a slippery bastard Red," she replied with a shake of her head. "Gives them just enough to know how to contact him and it's different each time. He knows they're compromised every time I try and follow up."
"I think we've found one that might know a little bit more. Or at least he's involved at a different level," Reno beamed. Lyn looked at Rude's burden and motioned at the chair in the center of the room. She leaned towards Reno and he gave her a pull on the Sunburst before she continued cleaning up the stains of her last interrogation.
"You should go get that arm looked at," Reno suggested once Rude had set Li He down. "And I think Mullaney wants to talk to ya stud."
"You sure?"
"I got things here," Reno nodded as he removed his jacket with a flourish so he could roll up his sleeves like Lyn. She smiled crookedly watching him and gave their new target a squirt with the hose. He started awake, blinking sluggishly.
"Nice tattoo," Lyn complimented. Rude closed the door.
Hammond was back downstairs beneath the table where his equipment sat trying to convince two wires they belonged together. He didn't look up until his mission was accomplished and then he managed to bang his head against the table.
"Aw crap," he hunched over holding the affected spot. "Here. She's been blowing up my lines all day," he pushed a headset towards Rude. Flipping a few dials he lifted another mike. "Mjolner, Rude's on."
"Is Reno okay?" was her first startling question into the headset.
"Are there side effects?" Rude asked as his mind clicked over into gear again.
"Verdot contacted me asking about that Summon Materia. When he said it was used successfully once but fell apart I didn't know if it meant Lyn's boy clone fell apart too." She breathed a sigh of relief and seemed to sink into a chair. "Not that I care but what was it? What element?"
"Wind," Rude supplied. "Manifested in something like a tiger."
"He is full of wind," Mullaney agreed. "I heard Sa Gong was attacked. How bad?"
"City's in ruins. Not much left. Still trailing Godo?"
"Godo's army all met up at a canyon and we're in another siege," she answered with what sounded like a shrug in her voice. "They're more desperate this time and Seph's sure the Empress will be here any day."
"Probably a few days yet. There were a lot of dead Imperials," Rude answered. Mullaney made a grating sound in her throat, perhaps an agreement.
"Did they send anyone? Seph asked Grim to send men."
"I'll ask."
"What kind of intelligence network are you? You don't know anything," Mullaney complained before launching into a reminiscence on the good old days under some previous Turk director's watch. As Rude listened his back and shoulders relaxed and a knot unclenched in his gut. "Back when the Turks were a real force there would have been Blues all over the city. I'll talk to my uncle about the budget because this really is just unacceptable."
Rude couldn't help his smile as she continued on in this grumbling vein. He could picture her pacing in her work room or fussing over some small gadget, her ponytail swaying. But she was alive and well fretting over his safety.
"Watch yourself Mullaney. There's a rat here. Could be one with you too."
"Can't you people manage anything over there?" she growled. "Why aren't you out looking? Get off the radio! Report back once he's found!"
"Yes ma'am," Rude smiled wider as she clicked off halfway through shouting an order at Simmons. Hammond was back under the table hissing a curse as he sucked on a burned thumb. "Thanks Hammond."
"She hasn't been that annoying since the Captain gave in and let her come with his part of the army," Hammond sat up so he could look up at the stoic Turk. "'Course I miss her touch with this hunk of junk. Signal never fails but it only ever really worked for her. She's good. Really good with this kind of stuff."
Rude gave him a nod as Hammond blew out an exasperated sigh. He looked over the consul before levering himself up into the vacated chair.
"She must really like you," Hammond remarked as Rude turned to go. He hesitated in almost a flinch. "She's not like that for just anybody. And you don't just smile for anyone either."
"Oh?" Rude quirked an eyebrow as he pointedly turned away.
"Especially after this attack I think you should maybe, ah..." Hammond's unusual daring seemed to desert him as Rude began leaving. "I mean, lots of us died. You never know who's really gonna miss us...sir..."
Wise words Rude reflected as he recalled Kaede arguing over moon cakes with Reno. Mullaney appeared unbidden in his thoughts pulling him through a crowd to go and look for Reno and Sephiroth. Shaking her out of his mind Rude made for the infirmary set up a few buildings away.
A snub nosed nurse with bloody bandages around her sweaty forehead unbound his arm before hurrying off shouting about needing more disinfectant. Rude sat on the windowsill where she'd placed him patiently. He watched white clad bodies hustle or wounded men limp through the halls with grim faces. Their eyes were hollow and deep lines had formed around their mouths or across their foreheads.
"That will keep you out of training for a while I think," Grim sighed as he levered himself onto the sill next to Rude. He looked tired and much aged. Rude turned his arm over examining the blistered skin.
"Briefly," he conceded.
"The woman has been working at something. Her interrogation room is noisy and she is always having to clean it," the Lieutenant observed offhand.
"She'll have her answers," Rude shrugged. Grim made a grunt as distaste flashed across his face. He folded his arms over his chest surveying the wounded surrounding them. "Have you sent reinforcements to the Captain?"
"Yes. What could be spared as we hunt the Empress. She moves fast to join her husband. If luck holds we'll have her in one of the passes between here and there. I go shortly to lead the assault. Hammond will mind things, as always."
"Good luck."
"And to you. Perhaps when I come back your arm will be well. We will resume your practice then. There is something different in your face and I think it will be to your advantage." Rude had no answer to that. He rubbed the stubble on his chin wondering if Beatrice would recognize him. Grim clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. It becomes you," the Lieutenant offered a rare smile as the nurse returned.
"You shouldn't be up and moving, Lieutenant or otherwise," she stared him down with two brown eyes like frozen earth.
"I will see if I can run the battle from a rickshaw," Grim promised. She put one hand on his thigh as Grim moved to stand and brought him pale faced down onto the sill again with the slightest squeeze. Leaning towards him she raised her eyebrows.
"I didn't waste all that stitch work for you to tear it open again. Nevermind the blood you lost the muscles are barely capable of holding your weight. It'll fail you too fast for what you've a mind to do out there."
In a swift movement Grim removed her hand and settled her on Rude's lap. The Turk was no less shocked than the nurse at their sudden proximity.
"You should concern yourself with this patient," Grim advised before departing with a slight limp. Rude and the nurse sat in mutual shock until she delicately cleared her throat. He set a hand on her back as she put her feet on the ground. After a bit of red cheeked fussing over her rumpled, sweat stained uniform she began a liberal application of disinfectant on his wounded arm.
"Next time I'll sew him into the bed frame," she threatened as she blushed again.
"Thanks," Rude grunted as he examined the fresh bandages.
"Sure," she nodded rolling his sleeve back down. "I don't think it'll scar too bad, maybe some discoloration. If you're worried about it though you might go the route of lots of other soldiers. They've gotten tattoos. I never thought I'd get to be an expert during the war."
"Tattoos?" Rude looked up at her. Her fingers touched his jaw and she shifted his face to check a scab along one side of his scalp.
"Yeah. Lots of you boys have 'em. I'm surprised you don't really. Must be new to Wutai."
"Have you seen any of a bird?"
"Sure. Birds are a big theme here in Wutai. The prettiest I ever saw was Lieutenant Grim's. He's got a big one, a red and gold phoenix with beautiful eyes in the tail going all down his back. I got a rare chance to see it when I was stitching him up, not that that was all there was to look at," she gave him a coy wink as the color drained from Rude's face.
"Eyes in its tail?" Rude repeated. She nodded as the smile ran away from her face. "Thank you," he stood, leaned down, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." Leaving her bewildered he took off at a run angling straight for the interrogation room.
"Hammond, has Grim left?" he burst into the main hall. Hammond yelped as he jerked around and caught his funny bone on the corner of a consul.
"Yeah, just missed him," Hammond grit out. "Left maybe twenty minutes back with his men. Heading off the Empress."
"Get me Mullaney," Rude demanded as he took the headset. Hammond flipped a few switches and fussed with a dial.
"What?" Mullaney sounded like she was shouting across the room.
"Mullaney pick up now. Grim's on his way with reinforcements."
"Good," she grunted over the sound of her fussing with the headset. "Why does that sound like a bad thing when you say it?"
"Tell Sephiroth to watch him when he gets there. Keep him in check and close," Rude instructed.
"Close or taken care of?" she demanded.
"Close and quiet. He doesn't leave. We'll be there. And Mullaney,"
"What?"
"Don't do this yourself. I would..." he hesitated looking away from Hammond's slack expression. "Tell the Captain and stay out of harm's way."
"There's no time for this!" her voice went up an octave. "There are bigger things at stake! Simmons! Man the fort!" The line went dead as Rude sent up what he knew was a useless prayer. Mullaney's neck was as good as cut if she thought it would help Sephiroth.
"What's happening?" Hammond's hand closed around Rude's arm with surprising strength. His dark eyes were desperate, brows pinched in denial.
"Mind things here," Rude shook his head breaking free.
"Not the Lieutenant!" Hammond argued catching Rude's other arm now. "No!" Rude couldn't offer him any consolation. "No!" Hammond cried again as if repetition could undo the truth. The communications expert dropped into his seat as Rude took off towards the interrogation room.
Pushing the door open he saw Lyn look up from cleaning her hands and Reno smoking on a stool in one corner. Their victim was unconscious and bloody, slouched before them.
"Dead end," she sighed with a shake of her head.
"What?" Reno stood up. Blood made a delicate spray up the left side of his jacket, flecks drying on his cheek.
"Grim. He's got the tattoo, the bird with the eyes. A nurse saw it when she patched him up," Rude reported. Something went cold in Lyn's face as Reno muttered a swear.
"Did you tell anyone?" Lyn inquired.
"I passed word to Mullaney to have the Captain detain him but I didn't give her more information than that," Rude answered. "He's already left. Hammond was there. He assumes the worst."
"I'll go tell Verdot," Reno turned to leave.
"No," Lyn stopped him. Both boys turned to stare at her. She tossed her hand towel on the floor. "Verdot cares about the results and that is what we'll bring him. Bai Yan and the Empress in the same place. Life is wonderful. You've got five minutes to meet me at the bikes. This goes no further than it already has." Lyn strolled past them as she lit a cigarette.
"I think the last time she dragged us along with her we got used as bait," Reno observed idly.
"We're always bait," Rude reminded him.
"Are you good with this one yo? You and Grim are almost close."
"There's only one person in Wutai I wouldn't kill for the Shin-Ra," Rude shook his head.
"So much for feeding Mullaney to Ifrit in pieces," Reno grumbled as he avoided looking at Rude directly. "Lyn's gonna feed us to Ifrit if we don't hurry yo."