Melting Ice
By: Kelceyias and Ian Shinra
"Oh boy oh boy,
do I feel like a rookie, what if I didn't make the Turks?" A young girl
about seventeen muttered to herself as she paced outside the office of the
leader of the Turks. Red hair stopped short above her shoulders with bits of
black around the ends. The girl ran a hand through her hair worriedly, brushing
it from her mahogany eyes. "Kelceyias Celces Kassadeemya?" a
secretary rushed up to her, "Mr. Reno will see you now."
"Thank you," Celces nodded, and made her way to his office.
Reno kicked
back in his black leather chair and put his feet up on the desk. In typical
Reno fashion there was a beer on his desk and a fridge in one corner.
"Hmm...I wonder what are new recruit is going to be like," he
wondered to himself. There was a knock on the door and a girl stepped in. She
was about seventeen Reno guessed, and he was rarely ever wrong in that
category. He smiled, "Ahh, so you must be the new recruit."
Celces eyes
fell on the beer can on his desk, '...hmm.... wonder if I can steal that from
him..' she thought to herself and grinned, "I must be. So... you're the
boss, huh? I kinda expected someone a little less.... sloppy." she
replied, referring to his suit. She looked around, not finding a seat, she sat
on the edge of his desk, "So, when do I start, anyway?" she swiped
the beer can up and took a drink.
Reno was a little taken aback by her
boldness, but he was quite pleased all the same. "Ya know," he said,
"You remind me of myself, I like it." He got up, walked over to the
fridge, and got himself another beer. "But don't go thinkin' that you've
got what it takes just yet," he continued, "You've passed the first
test but I wanna see if your all talk or if you can really back up that confident
front eh? And believe me, once your on the team, there ain't no goin' back, no
quiting. You follow your orders without question. Oh shit, I'm startin' to
sound like them suits upstairs. I've gotta stop hanging around the
higher-ups," he went on. "A Turk is a fighter first and foremost, but
believe me, it's a rewarding job," he finished with a cocky grin.
"Now how 'bout you and me go out for a drink later?"
'Heh, he thinks I'm
just talk.' Celces thought to herself, amused. "Well," she laughed,
"I don't know, when I go for a drink things get pretty...hmm... scary you
could say. But why not? And trust me, there's more to this slum girl
than meets the eye." Cel downed the rest of the beer in one
drink and threw an address on Reno's desk, "Sector 7. Tifa's 7th
Heaven, best bar in town. You can find me there when I'm not here. See you
tomorrow..." she paused for a minute, thinking up a name. Celces was well
known for her giving of nicknames, finally she decided upon one,
"Reen." She yawned and wondered out of the office, heading for her
new room in the building and then to the bar.
"Reen
huh?" he thought as she exited. "Tifa's Seventh Heaven? I've heard of
that. I don't mind scary though," he added with a grin. Sure, he could get
pretty scary too. "She seems like the right type person for the job. It's
rare to find that these days. He sunk back in his chair and grabbed another
beer, remembering how she'd snatched his earlier. "and bold too," he
said. "Just like myself." And with that he laid his head back in the
chair and turned on the T.V.
That night Celces sighed as she plopped into her usual seat at the 7th Heaven,
the usual creeps were abroad, dying for a fight. They didn't want to tempt her
tonight. As she waited for her new boss to show up, one of the over grown
brutes stumbled drunkenly up to her, "Hey babe, wanna spend a night out
with a REAL man?" "No..." There was a loud shriek, followed by a
crash as Cel sent the man flying across the room with a broken nose. "Hey
Tifa, the usual, kay?" she said, taking her seat again.
Reno walked into the bar, instantly
familiar with the atmosphere, and plopped down beside Cel. He smiled longingly
at the bartender, prompting an annoyed glare. Tifa automatically began the long
process of Reno's self-proclaimed special. He noticed a man in one corner of
the bar gazing at Celces, rubbing his broken nose. Reno chuckled while making a
mental note to not push Cel. He tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the
man, "that your handiwork?" he said with a grin. "Maybe it
is," Celces replied, laughing, "Hey Tifa, how's that boyfriend of
yours doing?" Tifa blushed, "We're just friends... but since I
found him at the train station, he's all right," she replied, handing Reno
his drink. "Oh, I see... What took you so long, Reen?" Celces turned
her head to the side. "So long?"
Reno asked. "The higher ups at Shinra wanted a chat, that's all. So how's
life?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink. I really think you got what it
takes for Shinra," he added, nodding to the man with the broken nose.
"And Tifa, you have a boyfriend? Just gonna dump me on the side of the
road?" he said with a cocky smile.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Tifa exclaimed,
"and you never left the side of the road. I damn sure wouldn't let you in
my car!" Celces laughed, "Easy Tifa. You really shouldn't tick her
off, Reen. As for life? It sucks…" Cel paused to sip her drink, "What
it takes... You could say that... But then so would every slum girl. I'm from
gang territory, better known as Sector 3. Of course I wasnt there all my
life... Hmm," she mused, "But you'll never know about that. Shinra
can dig and dig, you'll never find anything on my background you know
that?" She was a little more than drunk now, "So, what made you join
up with Shinra? I'll tell you my reasons, some day." Cel blew a strand of
unkept hair from her eyes and downed the rest of her drink in one shot.
"Oh Tifa, you know I was
just kiddin," Reno said, smiling playfully at the ruffled bartender,
prompting a glare that would've melted ice. Reno sunk back a little, not
particularly upset by being blown off, but rather just digesting what he had
just heard. Never find out about your past eh? He thought to himself, you can't
hide from Shinra. I've tried. They probably already know more than you do.
"Why'd I join Shinra?" he said, a melancholy tone coming in to his
voice, "Lotsa reasons. Some good, some not so good," he downed the
rest of his drink and turned to look her right in the eye, "My reasons are
mine alone. Understood?" And with that he stood up and walked swiftly out
of the bar in a very uncharacteristic fashion.
"Shit,"
Celces cursed silently to herself, there went another chance at having a
friend, oh well. Couldn't hide from Shinra? Its not so hard, she thought to herself,
It only involves losing every friend and loved one you've ever had… Celces
threw some cash on the counter and left the room. Darkness clouded around her as she made her way 'home'. Reno
walked out of the bar into the cold, deep blue of falling twlight. He tore a
cig angrily from his jeans and lit it, a tiny point of light in an ocean of
blue darkness. Shit, why'd i go an screw that up? he thought to himself. I
always do that, always. What is it about me!? He kicked a stone in the dark
path and then stopped, contemplating whether he should go back. Nah, she's
probably mad at me now anyway he thought and turned to face
the squalls of black between him and his home.
Celces made her way down the street in a haze, as she neared the Shinra
building there came and old familiar voice. "That's the bitch!" the
guy from the bar. She turned to see him and two others advancing toward
her. "Hey, babe. Why'd you go and hurt our friend here huh? Now
we're gonna have to bust you up." Celces eyes turned a deep haunting
red; she was in no mood for this! "What the fu..." the second
man didn't finish his statement. Claws dug into his stomach and that was the
end of it. "Sh't she's not human!" the thug with the broken nose came
at her with a knife. She swung at him at the same time he came at her with the
knife. A slash, blood, her fist made contacted. Snap. A broken neck. The third
man turned in horror to run. Fangs, claws, blood red eyes. He was
dead. Celces stood there again now, blood streaming from her
shoulder. She looked coldly at the bodies then stormed her way into
the Shinra building. When she climbed into the elevator she had to
lean against the wall for support. Blood smeared everywhere. 'Who gives a
damn?' she thought to herself, 'they can just buy a whole new elevator.' She
slammed through the door to her apartment and stood in silence for a minute.
Then she screamed, violently she slammed the lamp from her bedside table. A
crash. 'Why me? Why was I brought into this hell? Why... why can't I keep a friend?'
A tear feel. Followed by another. She slid down the wall onto the floor,
hugging her knees, as tears flooded her eyes. For the first time in ten years,
she cried. Reno threw open the door to his room and flopped down on his bed. He
just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to form thoughts out of the
storms in his head. He felt really bad, really guilty. Maybe I oughta go
apologize, he thought to himself. Reno apologizes? That wasn't like him. But he
did feel awfully bad. Then he remembered he didn't know where her room was.
Tomarrow I apologize. Yeah. Tomarrow. He yawned, and soon fell asleep.
