As they walked along there was a low rumble of thunder in the distance. Clouds were rolling in, preparing to cover the setting sun.
"Uh…sir?" Jonathan asked.
"Call me Reno."
"Reno, why'd you pick me? There were way more qualified people there."
"True, but you were the only one I liked. The rest were too weak, ugly, or cocky."
Jonathan was silent as he pondered Reno's unusual and bluntly honest answer.
"So, Jonathan, got a shorter name?"
"…My friends call me Johnny."
"Johnny. Perfect." Reno grinned.
The redhead led Johnny onto the elevator and they headed to "upper-upper" Junon. This is where most of Shin-Ra's high-ranking employees lived when in Junon.
"You get to live with me." Reno said. "Elena gets her own place because she's a chick and Rude…well I guess he gets his own place now too. He did live with Tseng, that was our boss, but Tseng got killed by Sephiroth. Shame that is. Tseng was one of the best."
"So…you're in charge now?" Johnny asked.
"Yup. I'm the boss. Rude is third in command and Elena fourth. You're the green rookie."
More thunder rumbled as the storm moved closer. Reno led Johnny to a small condo that was squished in between more condos.
"The room upstairs is yours." He said, tossing a key to Johnny. "That's your door key. Don't lose it. If you do the cost to make a new one comes out of your pay check."
"Okay."
"Well…you go get all settled and shit I'll order us some supper. You like Wutai Food?"
Johnny nodded. "Yes."
"What do you like?"
"Glazed veggies, rice, dumplings, things like that."
"Okay then."
Reno flipped his cell open and called a restaurant. Johnny made his way upstairs and found his bedroom. It was a dull blue color and furnished with only a bed, nightstand, desk, and dresser. But then again he supposed the Turks didn't stay at home very much so there was no need for personal touches. The brunette unpacked his clothes, putting them in the dresser and closet. He didn't have much else, only a picture of his family which he placed on his nightstand. The man walked to his window and looked out. He could see nearly everything from his window. The storm clouds rolling in over the sea were closer now and he saw a bolt of lightning streak across them. Wondering if any of the houses on "upper-upper" Junon had ever been struck by lightning Johnny made his way downstairs. Reno was sitting at the island in the small kitchen reading a magazine. He nodded to the stool beside him when he noticed Johnny.
"Food will be here in twenty minutes. Do you smoke?" The redhead asked.
"No."
"Do you mind if I smoke?"
"No."
Reno took a cigarette from his pack and put it between his lips, lighting it. He took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke through his nose. Johnny resisted the urge to touch his own nose. That looked…painful.
"So...uhm…do we have a mission to go on?"
"Not yet. I have to train you first. Speaking of that…training begins tomorrow morning at five fucking AM." The redhead groaned. "Stupid training rules. They're murder on a slack-ass such as myself."
Johnny didn't reply. He was almost perplexed by Reno's attitude. It didn't really fit in with the vision of the Turks he'd had.
But then again Reno could be one of those types that isn't serious until work needs to be done.
Reno didn't seem to notice Johnny was lost in thought and he continued to puff away on his cigarette. Neither man talked until the doorbell rang.
"Supper is on me." Reno said, standing up to answer the door.
Reno paid for the food and brought it back to the island. He opened the paper bag and removed each carton.
"Smells fresh...for once." The redhead remarked.
Johnny opened the carton of dumplings and speared one with the chopsticks that came with the food. Reno opened a carton of noodles and dug in with a fork he got from a kitchen drawer.
"So what does training entail?" Johnny asked around a mouthful of dumpling.
"Weight training, running, obstacle course, weapons training, martial arts training, vehicle and driving training, swimming, climbing, parachuting, rappelling…there's more but I don't remember. I'll have to refresh my memory when we start."
"Wow. That is… a lot of training."
"Yeah well…we do a lot of shit." Reno replied. "But if Elena can do it you can do it."
"What do you mean?"
"Elena was Rufus' secretary before she was promoted to Turks." Reno answered. "They only promoted her because I was injured and they were desperate. At first I was pretty miffed but Elena completed all the training fair and square so she deserves her spot on the Turks."
"When do I get to meet the others?"
"Tomorrow." Reno stood and walked over to his fridge. "Want a beer?"
"Sure."
The man got two beers from his fridge and sat down again, sliding one bottle over to Johnny.
"Thanks."
Johnny opened his beer and had a sip. Despite the fact that it wasn't home cooked this was the best meal he'd had since joining with the Shin-Ra. Usually the soldiers were fed cold macaroni and cheese with lukewarm water to drink.
"So uhm…now that everyone knows that Mako is bad what do you think is going to happen to Shin-Ra?" The brunette asked.
Reno sighed softly and took a sip of his beer. "I wouldn't worry too much. Rufus is shrewd. He's already looking into other power sources to find and control. The public won't stay mad at him for long. However…Cloud and his entourage might be a problem. Not that I blame them of course. Shin-Ra fucked them over many times. I'm just not looking forward to fighting them."
"Maybe they'll decide to go into hiding…" Johnny suggested.
"That's a possibility I guess. But since they're the heroes of the world I can't really see 'em doing that either. I'm just hoping they think Rufus has learned his lesson and decide to try and live an as normal life as possible."
The two men finished off their meal and beers in silence. Once supper was over Reno threw the food cartons away and recycled the beer bottles. Outside rain began to tap against the front windows and thunder rumbled. Reno got another beer out of the fridge and looked at the clock.
"Almost seven-thirty. If I were you I would consider going to bed soon so you can get up and train."
Johnny nodded and Reno took his beer into his bedroom. The redhead sat cross-legged on his bed and turned the TV on. The brunette watched the storm for a few minutes before going upstairs. He had a quick shower then went to bed. Johnny slept rather well during the night, only being awakened once in a while by a particularly loud thunder.
-----------------------------------
The storm was long gone by five AM but everything was still damp, chilly, and smelled of rain. Reno moaned in near agony as his alarm clock woke him up.
"Stupid training rules…" He muttered, punching the button down.
With a huge yawn the redhead rolled out of bed and changed into clean underwear. He put his usual Turks' suit on and shuffled his way to the kitchen. He was quite surprised to see Johnny standing at the stove making breakfast.
"You didn't have much in the way of food but I did my best." He said, glancing over his shoulder at Reno.
"Coffee." The man replied.
"It just finished brewing." Johnny responded, motioning to the coffee machine.
Reno shuffled over and poured himself a mug of coffee then went to sit on his stool.
"Stupid five AM…" He muttered, sipping his coffee.
Johnny chuckled lightly and served his boss a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast. Johnny added a fruit salad onto his own breakfast to give him energy to train. The brunette wolfed down his breakfast in record time but it took Reno three cups of coffee before he could even pick up his fork.
Bloody eager recruits…
Reno slowly ate his breakfast and they were on their way out the door by 5:30. The redhead led the newest Turks to the training facility and went inside. There were a few Second Class Soldiers on the obstacle course but that was it.
"Well okay then…" Reno stretched and cracked his knuckles. "Let's get started then."
I discovered that I get writer's block a lot… XD