I'm a Turk, I'll Live

Chapter 3

An intruder at Shinra Inc. brings his grudge for the Turks against one of them—Reno. After their first encounter, Reno is forced to pull his life back together by his only friend, Rude. But…that enemy is still out there. Though Reno survived this time, that doesn't mean he or the others will in the future…

--

Atavistic Angst

--

Rude released a small sigh, turning his gaze from the water-stained window towards his bed. Reno lay unmoving, tucked under several thick layers of blankets. He had been that way ever since he had taken a chilled shower almost half an hour ago.

Rude's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene yet again. He shook his head; Reno's vibrant red hair, pallid face…the black of Rude's bed-set…everything just seemed to be so contrasting, so wrong…

Thunder cracked in the distance, breaking Rude out of his trance. Reno stirred as well, his face warping into a clearly distressed expression. He mumbled something, twitching and writhing in his sleep for a moment—until Rude placed a large hand on his partner's shoulder.

"Reno," Rude said in a stern voice; the smaller male opened his eyes instantly.

He winced a little, looking up at Rude. "Huh…?" he said sleepily, already attempting to sit up. Unfortunately for him, Rude's hand (still on his shoulder) forced him back down. "Rest," came the gentler reply, "I only woke you because you looked like you were having a nightmare."

Instantly Reno had a grin on his face, but Rude had known the redhead long enough to see it had been forced. "Me?" Reno asked a second later, "A nightmare? Nah…"

It was obvious that Reno was lying, but Rude decided not to press the matter. Instead, he simply nodded. "Just get back to sleep. You look—"

"—Like shit," Reno interrupted, " I feel like it, too…"

He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes as he snuggled back under Rude's comforters. "But…thanks, anyway." He mumbled.

"For what?" Rude asked, being unable to repress the question.

"Everything, I guess…Picking me up, letting me stay here, for not getting mad at me, helping me patch myself up, for…hell, for even keeping my clothes here all those times we had late nights an' I didn't wanna go home…"

Reno yawned, and Rude just sighed. "Go to sleep, Reno, I get it."

"Yeah, well…just…thanks, anyway…"

"You're welcome," was the bald man's reply as he rose from his chair. Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Reno cracked an eye. "Where ya goin'…?"

Rude tossed a quick look at the clock on his bed stand. "It's six. I thought I'd make dinner now."

Reno feigned interest. "Oh, you cook?"

"Don't you?" Rude asked. Reno opened his mouth to say something in response, but Rude cut him off, "Never mind. Just get some rest now and I'll wake you up to eat, later."

"…You sure?"

"You don't listen very well," Rude said, his patience failing for a split second until he looked over his shoulder to his partner's pouting face.

"Never was my strong point. Hey…where'd you put my goggles?" Reno asked, sitting up.

"Rude heaved another sigh, "Reno," he warned.

"I can't see!" Reno protested, pushing his thick bangs out of his eyes with a heavily bandaged hand.

"You're sleeping, why would you need to see?"

"I…" Reno paused, a look of defeat crossing his features, "I guess you're right. Sorry…"

Rude didn't respond; there was silence. Reno buried himself, head and all under Rude's comforters and the taller Turk stepped out of the bedroom, turning off the light and closing the door behind him as he left.

He headed for the kitchen, though had no intention of cooking at the moment. Instead he pulled out his PHS and dialed a number swiftly.

The cellular device had barely even rung once before it was picked up.

"Rude?"

"Elena."

"Why didn't you call earlier?" Elena said, practically screaming.

"I've been busy."

"Did you find him?" the blonde asked hurriedly.

"Yeah. About two, maybe three hours ago."

"How is his condition?" Came a deeper voice—Tseng obviously. Rude realized he had been on speakerphone and cleared his throat. "It's…bad. Tseng, take me off speaker."

Rude hadn't had to explain why, Tseng immediately switched from speakerphone and responded with a quick, "Done."

Elena complained in the background, and Rude could make out a few muffled words from Rufus before Tseng hissed for them both to quiet down. On the other line there was the sound of a door closing, followed by silence.

"Rude?"

"Apologies, Sir."

"No problem. So…"

"Reno…took a beating, I'll say that."

"I'd assumed, by the way you're acting, but…he's taken a lot in the past few years…surely it wasn't—"

"Don't even say 'that bad'," Rude said, "It was worse than just bad."

Tseng was quiet for a brief moment before he managed, "How so…?"

"Had his physical wounds been all he'd received I'd say he'd be up in about a week—a week and a half at most, but…there was more than just a few flesh wounds…"

Tseng's words came slower than before, "What do you mean…?"

"We're dealing with a pretty sick guy here, Tseng. Reno didn't just geta beating. His assault was takena few steps further."

There was a long silence between the two Turks as Tseng tried to make sense of what Rude had just said.

More than flesh wounds...not just a beating...a few steps further...

Suddenly everything clicked in Tseng's mind, and as calmly as he could he inquired, "Is he in a hospital? Has he had medical examination? There wasn't internal damage, was there?"

"Reno wouldn't let me take him to the hospital."

"But Rude—what if he—"

"Then it's his fault…not ours. I promised I wasn't going to force him into anything. If you want to come down here and get him proper medical treatment, do it yourself; I want no part in it."

Tseng again was silent on the other line. "Where is he staying? At his apartment?"

"No. With me. There are a few issues about his living quarters that prevented him from staying there tonight."

"I see…I…we'll drop by after we make sure the president is one-hundred percent safe."

"We?"

"I was going to bring Elena…"

"…No. Have her stay with the president. I've already broken my promise and told you about this little incident. The last thing we need is for all of Shinra to know about this incident…about what that kid's just had to go through…it's best to keep this as confidential as possible."

"Rude…you know everything's got to go on record…"

"Just keep this quiet for a while—it's all he asked."

"…I suppose," Tseng finally said with a sigh, "he deserves that much at least. I still plan to drop by later, though. There are things we'll need to discuss that are best said in person…"

"I understand," Rude said simply.

"Goodbye, then," Tseng said before the line went dead. Rude clicked his own cellular device closed, placing it in his front pocket.

--

"Where is he?" Tseng questioned, as he stepped inside Rude's abode.

The Turk had arrived, to Rude's astonishment, a mere half-hour after the initial phone conversation.

"My room," Rude said as he stood up from his couch.

"He's awake?"

The hairless male shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said before turning and heading towards his room, gesturing for his superior to follow.

--

Tseng stepped out of the room, a grimace evident on his features. He closed the door quietly behind him and raised his gaze to meet Rude's. "Rude… I don't think I need to tell you, but…I really think he should get a professional to check him out…"

Rude took a long breath. " I know…all I did earlier was give him a few of my strongest potions, but…I know that's probably not enough. As concerned as I am for him, though…I'm still leaving this up to him…"

Tseng nodded. " I understand. At least…try to persuade him. Don't hesitate to remind him that we have our own private clinical staff at Shin-ra. As soon as we send out the message to head to Building B now that A needs repair we can have someone look at him…"

"I'll mention it. But if word gets around…?"

"It won't," Tseng assured, "I personally hired all of our clinical staff. They're sworn to confidentiality; I trust them all."

Rude nodded, turning away from his bedroom and heading towards his living room. "Again, I'll mention it," he said as he took a seat, gesturing for his superior to do the same.

"Please do." The raven-haired male sighed, as he followed Rude into his living room and took a seat across from him. "So…may I inquire what the issues were that prevented him from staying at his apartment?"

"Of course," Rude said, "It's because he doesn't actually have an apartment anymore."

Tseng frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently it burned down about two weeks ago."

"Really? Why didn't he tell anyone?"

Rude shrugged. "I'm not sure. I just found out about it when I picked him up."

"Well…where has he been staying?" Tseng questioned, leaning forward in his seat.

"I asked earlier, but he wouldn't say."

"I guess that's not the most pressing matter, anyway," Tseng said, "His assailant, first of all, do we know who it is…?"

Rude shook his head. "He was familiar, I know, but I can't place it. I didn't get a good look at him, anyway. I was…honestly more concerned about Reno at the moment." A look of disappointment crossed Tseng's features, and Rude quickly added, "Though he did have silver hair."

"A rarity," the other Turk murmured. "We'll keep a look out. Anything else of importance?"

"He's got a grudge against Shin-ra. You'll have to be even more careful when it comes to the president, now."

"Naturally." There was a long moment of silence before Tseng said anything. His face lowered, he murmured half under his breath, "I can only give him three days, Rude…"

Rude barely heard Tseng even speak, much less was he able to make out the words. "What?"

Tseng raised his voice slightly, "I can only give Reno three days off duty…and you only one. After tomorrow, we'll need you back."

Rude wanted to protest—there was absolutely no way Reno would be up and functioning properly in only three days.

"I…see," was all that he managed to say. "Reno won't—"

"Won't be in top condition, I know. We just need him there—Rufus and Elena will get suspicious if he's not back, though. I've never given him more than three days unless he was hospitalized."

"I suppose…" Rude admitted, "But you'll take it easy on him…?"

"Naturally, " Tseng repeated, "He just has to be there; he won't be required to do anything—I'll see to that."

Rude sighed and looked out the window. Rain still continued to pelt the glass, thunder still rattled across the remains of Midgar and Edge. "…Understood."

Err…yes, I understand that this update was very far belated, and for that I do apologize. We took vacation, then I procrastinated, then I realized I had no idea how I wanted to go about writing this chapter, and, well, one thing didn't lead to another so I only just now got a chance to type this. I still don't like it as much as I feel I should (it seems…. poor in quality, to me) so…yeah. Sorry if you don't like. My beta said it was fine as it was, but you know how beta-readers can be. Speaking of which, I'm actually considering getting another one, so if anyone is interested, send me a PM or an email (my address is still liaroftheages at hotmail dot com). And also, I realized that I had not entirely considered the options I had with this story, so now I'm wondering—who should this mysterious silver haired man be? So many options…I want my readers opinions! Should it be someone we know? Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo…Sephiroth? Or should I, being my creative self, create an original character. I don't really want to make it an original character, but, eh…it's all good if that's what my dear readers want to see. So, again my lovelies, if you have any suggestions, I want you to know that I CRAVE them. Please send a message my way if you have any comments or suggestions WHAT SO EVER! Anyway, I feel like I'm digressing, so I'll end my little author's notes here. Thank you for reading and I do hope you will forgive me for my late update. I'll update again before 12th of August, so look foreword to the next chapter!