I Want To Be A Turk!
Chapter 52 – Change
At the first spark of awareness, his mind started thinking again, though sluggish like an old machine being cranked back into gear. Haato tried to move his fingers but couldn't. Every part of him felt cramped and tight. As he forced his fingers to move again, he groaned at the resistance and how they cracked when he wriggled them.
He felt a ringing in his ears as he heard the sounds of a gasp, then the voice of Cassie. "Did you see that just now?"
"Yes. It was slight, but he did move." Haato heard Rod speak beside her.
"O-i!" Cassie dragged her vowels, and Haato made a mental note to himself to tell her how annoying that sounded. "Ha-a-a-a-a-toooo!"
"H-Hey!" Rod exclaimed. "Keep it down!"
Cassie ignored him. "Ha-a-tooo!" Haato groaned again, this time to shut Cassie up. "No way…" She stared at the bed. "He really woke up."
Haato forced his eyes to open, but squinted at the brightness of the room. He saw Cassie's mouth wide open and Rod's jaw dropping as well. "I knew it!" Rod grinned. "Told ya that he'll wake up!" The way Cassie rolled her eyes at him told Haato that it was definitely not the case.
"What a way to start my day…" Haato spoke in a dry raspy voice. Cassie hastily poured a glass of water for Haato. Haato's lips made contact with the fresh water, wondering why his body felt so foreign to everything around him. His mouth was so dry that he had to 'introduce' the water into his mouth sip by sip, before his tongue felt used to the sudden moisture.
Haato downed the rest of the water as Rod leaned against the wall beside him. "Good to see you alive!" He smirked.
"Where…"
"You're in the hospital, Floor 10." Cassie answered before he could finish. "You returned from the Corel reactor, but you were badly injured and fell into a coma."
"Badly injured…" Haato frowned. The last he remembered was being lifted up and thrown out of darkness. "Co… ma…?"
"Three years." Rod deadpanned. "You were asleep for freaking three years, Haato."
Haato widened his eyes. Three years? He glanced at the calendar, dating 3rd of June, and made calculations in his head. It's Year 0006 now? What the heck was I doing? "That long…" His sluggish body could not even coordinate well enough to express his shock. No wonder he felt so disoriented to his surroundings.
"We've been taking turns visiting you, but you weren't waking up." Rod shook his head. "We were seriously worried that you would never come out it." When Cassie nudged him for saying such things, he stared at her. "What?"
Cassie shook her head. "It's a miracle, all right." She took Haato's cup and poured another for him. "You were exposed to low levels of mako radiation, but it doesn't seem to have affected you." She pointed to something on the table. "Or maybe it's this materia that protected you."
As he turned to what she was pointing, he saw a shiny Materia on his katana. This is Shears' Materia. Someone must've thought that he wanted the Materia by his side during his coma; they've found an empty Materia slot on his beloved katana and equipped Shear's Materia in it.
"We found it lying on the ground beside you." Cassie picked up the katana, inspecting the Materia with the crystal pyramid inside. Haato suspected that she'd probably done that many times while he was in coma, but didn't voice out his opinion. "It's an unusual materia, isn't it?" She said, passing the katana to him.
Haato took the katana, smiling because the feel of the katana seemed to be the only thing most familiar to his touch. He tried to recall the events that happened while he and Shears were trapped in the lower part of the Corel Mako Reactor.
Shears saved me back there. He said he was leaving Elfé to me and then… Shears…
He looked at Cassie. "This materia belongs to someone who saved my life." He said.
"Then you should take good care of it!" Cassie grinned. "Don't let it go around recklessly! That aside, how are you feeling?"
Haato frowned and tried to stretch his legs. "I'm not really sure…"
"That's understandable. Wait here." The shotgun specialist instructed. "I'll call a doctor right now." Rod nodded at Cassie, and said that he'll inform Tseng and the rest of the Turks.
It didn't take too long before everyone knew that Haato was woken up. Neither did it take long for the rest of the Turks to gather at Haato's bedside, since all they needed to do is to take the elevator down to Floor 10.
When the doors of the infirmary opened again, the doctor was just finishing up his last bit of checkup on Haato. Luckily, the doctor declared Haato free of any Mako poisoning and with a few days of rest, he'll be able to be discharged. The first person he saw was Leia. Leia walked in and Haato marveled how even after three years, she did not change at all. She was still as beautiful as when he first approached her at the Sector 8 train station under a Turk recruitment drive.
Leia walked toward the bedside of Haato. "You are awake." She said monotonously.
And still as distant as when he first started making advances at her.
"Yeah." Haato smiled. "It's been a while. You look as beautiful as I remembered."
It amused Haato to see how Leia pulled her lips into a thin line every time he flirted with her. He knows that Leia thought him to be a brainless idiot having a penchant for girls. Only Haato knows how he truly feels towards her.
"The rest will be on their way down soon." As she said those words, the doors opened again, now showing Cissnei, Rod, Cassie and Mason.
"Yo!" Mason ran over to Haato and gave him a bear hug. "You're alive!" The martial artist cried happily.
"Urgh. Save your tears for someone else." Haato returned the hug and swiftly pushed the brunette away, grinning. As more people walked in through the doors, Haato couldn't help but realise how much he'd missed the Turks. Even though Haato felt as if the time he went unconscious was merely a few hours and not years, his heart ached at the sight of his comrades.
"Where's Meia?" He scanned the large group of Turks, but found the little ebony-haired girl missing.
"She's away on assignment." Replied Tseng. Haato frowned at the sight of Tseng. Something's changed about him, it seemed that Tseng has grown a lot in the past three years because his countenance looked more mature and roughed up, as if the past three years forced him to mature even more. "She'll be back in a few days time." Haato nodded to acknowledge.
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about Leia?" Cassie nudged Leia. "She was the one who visited you the most in the three years!" The Turks laughed.
"I am merely visiting Haato because I hope that he'll recover fast." Leia said, unfazed by the teasing. "At all times we Turks need to be battle-ready."
"Sheesh, Leia!" Jasper rolled his eyes. "I don't remember taking care of a colleague through the night, being battle-Ow!" He yelled when Leia kicked his shin. "What was that for? If you didn't care, you wouldn't be the first one out of the lounge when you heard that Haato's awake!" Leia folded her arms and Alana pulled Jasper to the back to prevent him from saying more.
Haato grinned. "Really, Leia?" Leia stared back at him, as if challenging him to intentionally say something stupid. He did. "Maybe someday I can return you the favour… You know? Go out for dinner or something."
"It's good to see you awake, Haato." Tseng interrupted before Leia could respond.
"… We were worried." Rude piped in, taking out his sunglasses to wipe them.
Reno grinned and patted Haato's back, not caring if Haato groaned at the impact. "You sure are lucky." He shrugged when KK exclaimed that he'll injure Haato.
Straightening himself on the bed, Haato turned to Tseng. "Tseng, sir. Shears told me about AVALANCHE. It seems as if Fuhito plans to use Elfé to destroy the world."
"We gathered that much." Tseng nodded.
"Don't underestimate our intelligence network." Reno grinned while Rod briefly explained to Haato that most of them were involved in it.
Rude slipped the sunglasses against his nose. "But… AVALANCHE hasn't been active since then."
"They've gone dormant?" He frowned. That's not right, not when they looked so confident of their plans back in the Corel Reactor. "What happened to Elfé?"
"We're looking for her as well." Tseng answered.
"Then she's still with Fuhito…" He looked at the creases on his blanket thoughtfully. "I wonder if AVALANCHE's ceased their actions for good..." He wondered aloud.
"We're keeping tabs on the situation."
"What about Veld?" Haato argued, wincing as he felt the soreness in his lower back. "Didn't he get Elfé back?" At his words, suddenly the Turks fell silent. Haato knew then that he was about to hear something dreadful.
It was Reno who broke the silence. "Veld's been missing ever since that incident, yo. We're carrying out a search for him too."
"…as part of our orders…" Rude added.
Haato looked at Tseng questioningly. "An order from the President." He folded his arms, and stared at him. "We are to kill Veld on sight."
The realization hit harder than Haato thought. When they told Veld to chase after Elfe, Haato knew that the consequences would be dire. However, this was not what he had expected. "We're going to assassinate Veld?"
"I know, bro!" Mason replied. "It was hard for us to take but that's what we're doing now."
"Kido and Meia are actually in Corel, searching again for clues that can bring us to Veld…" Katherine trailed off when she saw Alana's knowing look. "We can always talk about this again!" She said brightly. "For now, you should get some-"
Her words were cut off as she stepped on her own foot. With a yell, she tumbled onto the floor, sending a metal tray and a box of tissue paper with her.
"Are you alright?" Cissnei asked concernedly.
Haato snickered. "You should get a bed next to me, Katherine. But if your clumsiness is contagious, I'll quarantine you." She pouted as the rest of the Turks laughed.
"Some things haven't changed, Haato." Leia smiled. "Don't think too much about whether you've missed out."
"Indeed." Haato smiled back. He took a deep breath, not caring if the air stank of the perspiration of the Turks, or the nasty disinfectant in the infirmary.
It feels good to be alive.
6th June 0006
Surprising even to the patient himself, Haato recovered speedily. The doctor discharged him just three days after he woke up. He gathered his belongings and stuffed them in a bag. Someone must have consistently brought new clothings for him in the years that he was asleep. The last thing that he picked up was his katana, where Shears' Materia glinted at him from his weapon.
Shears… Haato thought again, feeling a tinge of loss for the man who saved his life. I hope you're alive and alright somewhere. You are still the best man to save Elfe.
Looking up, he spotted Leia standing by the door. "I'm here to bring you back." Said Leia professionally. With a slightly more caring tone, she asked, "Are you feeling alright?"
"Never been better." Haato grinned. "The doctor relieved me of full-time physiotherapy, what can be better than that?"
"You'd best go back regularly and consistently for the follow up physiotherapy sessions." Leia said, reaching out to take Haato's duffel bag.
Haato obediently handed her the bag and stretched his arms a little. "I'm just glad to be out of this place." He grinned. "I want to be back in action!" Nodding, the martial artist led Haato out of the infirmary and into the glass elevator. "Damn!" Haato exclaimed as he stared out of the glass windows. "This place changed a lot!"
He was referring to the layout of the Shinra Building, because there had been a major change. The company has swapped its previous bluish-white lights for white lights instead. And that was just the minor changes. Not only did the floorings and walls change in colour, they were filled with new number labels (indicating the levels) and arrow stickers. The shocking discovery was that walls and rooms have been removed or added. Haato felt extremely disoriented at the new place and wondered aloud how he slept through all that racket in the past three years.
"The renovation didn't take too long." Leia explained simply. "You should see the lobby, though. The entire exhibition room is gone. Now, all our vehicle displays are sprawled across the lobby."
When the lift doors opened, Haato was glad to see that the Turk floors did not change too much. Just a short distance ahead, Haato noticed a girl with long, dark hair. Although she was short in stature, her posture showed confidence and security. She was sitting in the lounge, reading, but her face was obscured by the book that she was holding.
Haato nudged Leia. "Who's that chick?" He asked, pointing in the lounge.
Leia craned her neck to see where he was pointing. "Oh. That is Meia."
"Meia?" Haato pressed his hands against the glass window to take a better look. "She DID turn out to be a bee-youu-tee!"
"… She's alright." Replied Leia stiffly.
The katana user caught the slight discontent in the martial artist's tone. "Oh?" He smirked, turning to face Leia. "Is someone jealous because I don't care for her anymore?"
"Say stupid things like that and I'll throw you back into comatose."
"Okay!" Haato said, lifting his hands in mock surrender. "Okay…" He said smilingly.
Then, the girl's head shot up and she stared out of the window into the corridor. Her jaw dropped when she saw his face. Closing her book, the girl ran out of the lounge.
"Brother Haato!" Meia exclaimed, throwing her arms around Haato. "You're awake!" She grinned. "I meant to find you as soon as I came back but uh…" She stuck her tongue out sheepishly. "I was distracted by my book!" She squeezed Haato's shoulder affectionately. "Welcome back, Brother Haato, or I guess I should call you just Haato now." She grinned.
"Haato, is it?" The katana Turk raised his eyebrows at her. "Someone's all grown up now, no longer calling us Brother and Sister so-and-so?" Meia laughed and said that she stopped using them for a year or so. "How old are you, little Meia?"
Meia narrowed her eyes at him, though she was smiling. "Little Meia is 18 years old this year! Turning 19 in 6 months' time!"
Haato whistled. "That's a lot you've grown…" He looked at Meia again. "You look beautiful, Meia." He grinned. "Be careful that I don't start coming after you."
The girl blushed at his words. "Don't jest me, Haato. But thanks for the compliment." Her smile grew into a cheeky grin. "Let me know when you've decided to give up on Leia for me." She joked. Long were the days when she would be so painfully shy whenever Haato flirted with her. Haato found himself missing those days when she was a lot younger and easier to bully. Nevertheless, he smiled to himself. This change in her was fresh and it wasn't a bad thing anyway.
"How was the trip to Corel?" Leia asked seriously.
Meia giggled at the realization that Leia was disregarding her last statement. "No leads at all." Meia shook her head. "It's not as if we can find any, it's been a long while since Brother Veld was there…"She sighed. "On the other hand, Kido and I were most unwelcome in Corel." She gestured. "Ever since they moved slightly further north nearer to Mount Corel, they've been more secluded than ever."
"Remember to tell Tseng about all these."
"No worries." Meia held Haato's hand and swung it playfully. "Be sure to rest up, Haato!" She grinned. "Now that you're awake, I believe that you're just in time for more action!"
Haato groaned. "Gimme a break, I just recovered from a coma!"
"I'm going to pop by Tseng's desk, so I'll see you around!" Meia waved to the two of them and almost bounced towards the elevator.
Haato smirked. "She's changed."
"The last time you saw her, she was a 15 year old child who was much shorter in stature…" Leia tried to recall Meia's appearance three years ago. "And hair length I guess."
"I mean, she really has grown up." Haato emphasized, smiling at Leia, as if he took part in Meia's metamorphosis. "I bet the guys in town must be hounding after her." He paused and looked at Leia. "Like how they did when we went for your very first mission."
Leia flushed. Indeed, years ago when she was a rookie Turk, she was tasked to patrol Midgar Sector 8… Her invigilator, Haato, had to step in to intervene because the men of Midgar flocked towards her to ask for her phone number. "You can express your interest to Meia, if you like." She replied coolly. "But she probably wouldn't give a hoot about you. She's still hung up on Reno."
The katana Turk gaped at Leia. "No joke? I didn't want to ask him the other day but… They are still-"
"They've reconciled, if that's what you're asking." Leia answered. "And that's the way it has been the past few years."
They've reached the elevator and entered it. "What do you mean by that?" Asked Haato as the doors closed.
"They're talking to each other." Explained Leia. "But they are just friends."
"What's with them?" Haato frowned and hobbled out of the elevator with some help from Leia.
"I don't know. Not that anyone around cared too much to ask, not with everything else happening at the same time."
Haato stopped in his tracks and pondered aloud. "Meia… changed." Haato scratched his head. "I can't pinpoint exactly what the change is but… She has changed."
Leia raised an eyebrow at him. "I've heard you said it the first time." She said.
"It's not just the physical change. It's more like… Meia's not quite like her. She's a more mature now, isn't she?"
"There have been many things happening. I suppose the change all started from Reno. Meia has been more mature and professional in her work. Her temper is better because she has learnt to reason with her temper. Not that she is able to hide her emotions well like the rest, but she is better. I'd say her mentality finally caught up with her, because she doesn't really have child-like thoughts anymore. Didn't you see the way she responded to you?"
Haato nodded, remembering how Meia merely smiled and played along with Haato's light-hearted advances. "I miss her innocent self." He sighed. "But…" He stopped Leia because she was going start walking again. "But I miss you more."
"Haato…"
"No, Leia, listen to me." Haato said seriously. "Stop thinking that I'm just being playful with you. I'm dead serious about you."
Leia knocked his head lightly with her knuckles. "Don't say silly things, Haato." She said softly. She pointed to the pantry. "I'm sure you can return to your room by yourself, right?" She nodded at him to prompt him to agree.
"… Right." Haato mumbled.
"Good…" Leia nodded, a bit too many times. "I'll see you at dinner, then." With that, she walked into the pantry and Haato heard her climbing the stairs up to the female Turk residences.
Haato hobbled his way back to his room, sighing.
15 December 0006
In the Turks Lounge, Meia stared at the Turks around her in surprise. "Wha-"
"Happy nineteenth Birthday, Meia!" The Turks chorused.
Meia's face brightened. In the fluster of the events that happened the past few months, Meia was so troubled that she'd forgotten that it was her birthday. "I'm nineteen…" She murmured. "I feel old." She pouted.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Cassie frowned. "You're still in your teens!"
Rod laughed. "Cassie is already 25!" He groaned when Cassie hit his stomach with her shotgun. "I'm speaking the truth! You ain't getting younger!" He grumbled.
"Whatever it is," Leia interrupted. "We don't have much time to waste. Sorry Meia," She said, smoothing the hair on the girl's head. "We can't celebrate your birthday for long. As you can tell, not everyone is here too." She gestured around her.
"It's fine, I'm not a child anymore!" Meia insisted with a blush of embarrassment. Years ago, when she was a child, the Turks were so caught up in searching for AVALANCHE that they've completely forgotten about her birthday. Not that Meia raised a tantrum but when the Turks returned, they realized that the immature girl was childishly ignoring everyone. "I can't believe I was so immature then." She covered her face and groaned.
Mason laughed. "You had a mind of a child, no doubt. Everyone didn't blame you."
Alana walked towards Meia and held out a box for her. "A present from us." Explained the blonde. "I think you'll like it very much."
Meia beamed. "Thank you! Sister Alana, Sister Leia, Sister Cassie, Brother Haato, Brother Jasper, Brother Rod and Brother Mason!" She rattled with a cheeky grin on her face.
"Argh!" Groaned Cassie. "It's been a while since I heard that!" She covered her ears dramatically. "Stop it!" Everyone laughed at her exaggerated actions.
"Shall we cut the cake?" Jasper clapped his hands excitedly. Meia beamed with equal enthusiasm and took the slice of cake and knife that they'd passed her.
As she cut the cake, Mason asked, "What is your birthday wish this year?"
"My birthday wish?" Meia looked at Mason, and at the Turks around her. As her gaze fell upon Haato, who was sitting in an armchair not too far away, she gave a cheeky smile. "I want to know what is the meaning of 'getting laid'."
There was stony silence, except Haato, who cracked up. But Meia knew that Haato probably didn't remember. She still did.
"Not a very appropriate thing to say, little Meia." Leia shook her head.
Mason stammered. "Who… Who taught you that?"
Meia pointed at the katana-user. Everyone chorused in annoyance. "HAATO!"
"When in Gaia's history did that even happen?" Cassie laughed.
"Whoa! Whoa! Watch it!" Haato raised his hands in surrender. "Guy who just recovered from coma, hello?"
"That was six months ago…" Leia narrowed her eyes at him.
Flustered, Haato looked at Meia. "When did I ever say that to you?" He grinned. "You're not even legal till today."
"HAATO!"
"6 years ago!" Meia replied happily. "You know… in the pantry room?" She grinned. "Alana gave you the last chance to redeem yourself and you…" Meia hesitated and chose her words carefully. "You mentioned something about not getting laid." She shrugged. "Brother Reno said I could only use it when I turn sixteen but since Haato was in coma, I thought it's better that I ask him now that he's awake."
Alana reddened, now remembering the event clearly (A/N: Still don't remember? Refer to Chapter 2).
At last, the memory returned and his face broke into understanding. "Damn." Haato grinned at Meia. "Your memory is sick. That did ring a bell."
"What happened?" Asked Mason and Rod.
"It's nothing important." Cut in Alana, her face flushed.
"Oh I remember! I was talking about Alan-poooh" He choked as Alana walked behind him and rapped his head loudly with her gun.
"Enough, Haato." She said threateningly. "I'm not going to give you any chance to say anything."
"Fine, fine…" Haato grumbled. "Well, little Meia." He grinned at her. "One day good ol' Brother Haato can show you the meaning of getting laid."
Meia rolled her eyes. Haato's teasing always sent her blushing, but that was a long time ago. "I know what it is, Haato." She shook her head at him, though she was grinning.
"You won't be able to touch her, anyway." Deadpanned Leia.
"Pedo Reno will get to you before you can even unbuckle your belt." Cassie snorted, and everyone laughed at the old joke.
Meia smiled at her comrades around her and involuntarily thought of the mentioned someone else who was not present…
If you haven't realised by now, I've been making a ton of references to my older chapters. A lot of flashbacks and random explanations using events that happened years ago... Meia's little 'prank' about asking about 'getting laid' was an idea that i thought of at the same time when I was writing Chapter 2. I had already decided back then that after Reno told Meia that she could only know the meaning of 'getting laid' when she turns 16, Meia would really ask that question on her 16th birthday. But as luck would have it, I realised that her 16th birthday will happen while Haato is in coma so... that scene was out off until now. It's really a joy to see that the things that I've planned since May 2011 (but couldn't write because my story is not developed) are finally rolling out on print!
To those who haven't figured it out by now, the renovations of Shinra HQ is changed such that now it looks how it should look like in FF7. After all, there has been a change in the interior of the Shinra Building since Crisis Core to FF7.
Indeed, there was a time skip of three years, just like how they did for Before Crisis. Events from here kinda feel like I'm speeding through the story, but I assure you that the story wouldn't lose (too much of) flavor!
Thank you for supporting the story! Please read and review!
