Thanks to demonoftheblackflames for my first review! Alright, here is chapter 3!
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Morning broke through the windows and Reno blinked against the bright light. He turned his head and realized Merina was next to hem, and leapt nearly 10 feet to get out of bed. "Oh crap… I fell asleep here… Dammit…" He grumbled.
Merina stirred, stretching a little as she woke. "Mmm… Your bed is so comfortable…" She said.
"Yeah… uh.." Reno wasn't sure what to say.
Merina moved to sit up in bed, but fell back against the pillows in pain.
"You really shouldn't move by yourself. I'll help you…" Reno walked back over to the bed and propped Merina up against some pillows so she could sit up.
"Thank you." She said.
"Yeah… I'm gonna take a shower and then make breakfast… I hope you like cereal…" Reno left the room, praying she hadn't noticed his "Morning Visitor."
Reno closed the bathroom door behind him. "What did I get myself into?" he grumbled as he undressed. He threw all the clothes in a pile on the floor, took down his ponytail, and jumped in the shower. The warm water felt good on his skin, and he took his time washing off.
By the time Reno finished, the bathroom was full of steam, and it was hard for Reno to see. As he stepped out of the shower, he began to slip, but luckily, caught the edge of the sink in time to steady himself. He toweled off quickly, then wrapped the towel around his waist and headed back to the bedroom, forgetting for a moment who was in there.
Merina grinned when he came in. "Oooh…:" she teased.
Reno flushed red, and, without turning around, quickly grabbed a suit out of the closet and left the room the change.
Embarrassed yet again, Reno dressed and set to cleaning up the kitchen and getting some cereal. By now, the heat of the day was already starting to press in on the house, and Reno went to the thermostat to turn on the AC.
Merina waited patiently for Reno, amused by his constant clumsiness… Still, she worried she would be found here.. and worried for Reno's safety if she was…
Shinra Inc was after her… she knew too much about a secret project they had going on…
In thinking about this… she realized something… She knew who Reno was. She remembered now. He was a Turk… or as rumor had it, a former Turk. He had seemingly left after some incident with his family… it was kind of hush-hush... but she'd heard about it.
When Reno came in, she asked him "Reno… why did you... Leave the Turks?"
Surprised by the question, Reno didn't answer right away. He thought a moment. "If I tell you… then you have to tell me why there are people after you…"
"Okay… I guess… I could… " she sighed, regretting her request now… but the damage was done.
"Okay, so… Me and Rude were doin this mission… and then… we were supposed to… I was supposed to…" Reno paused and took a deep breath. He was visibly shaken… upset, and holding back emotion. He hadn't talked about what happened with anyone. Maybe Cloud and the rest would welcome him more because of it.. but he couldn't tell them.. not just yet.
"Reno?" Merina said, reaching a hand out to place it on his wrist.
"They wanted us to… to kill this whole town… all the women and children… all because… because they were… because one person in the town had… had seen something they weren't supposed to." Reno grasped the sheets in a tight fist, so tight, in fact, that his knuckles were white. "We refused… well… I refused. So they… they…" he was fighting back tears now. "They killed my family. My parents, my cousins, my Aunt and uncle… everyone. They're all just… just gone…" Reno sat there, silent now, brooding in a mix of anger and sorrow.
Merina stared down at her lap. "Reno…"
Reno pulled himself together and looked up at Merina. "So now it's your turn. Why did someone try to kill you?"
Merina bit her lip. "I'm the only one left, Reno…"
Reno looked up at her, fire and curiosity in his eyes.
"They sent someone else. They… killed everyone, but I ran away. I ran and ran, but they found me. They attacked me in that alley, and they thought I was dead… and I thought I was going to die…" she started to cry.
There was a knock on the door, and then he just walked in. It was Cloud.
"You made her cry?" he said, more a statement than a question.
"No! We were… talking. She told me what happened to her and"
"Tifa said no stress." Cloud interrupted.
"But I"
"I swear, Reno. You fuck everything up." Cloud said angrily.
"I…" Reno started to protest, but changed his mind. "I know."
Cloud paused. "What?"
"I know… that's why I… oh forget it." Reno got up to walk away.
"You should tell him…" Merina spoke up weakly.
"Tell me what, Reno?" Cloud said.
"I.. Uh…"
"Reno saved me twice." Merina spoke up.
Both Reno and Cloud were silent. Reno gave her a pleading look not to say anything, but she did.
"My town… they... the Turks... killed everyone… but I got away. I ran here, and they attacked me… left me there…"
Cloud looked at her, still puzzled and very intrigued.
"That was supposed to be Reno's mission. Reno and Rude… they're famous for their explosives… if they had come we all would have…"
Reno looked away as Cloud shot him a piercing look. "So you have a conscience after all…" he said.
"It didn't help, did it?" Reno couldn't hold the tears back anymore, and his voice was full of anger. "They killed them all… al those women and children! And they came back and they killed… my family… my mother, my father… my little sister…" tears were flowing down his cheeks. He picked up his weapon "URYA!" he slammed it into the wall, plaster going everywhere. "I'll kill every last one of those Shinra Dogs!"
"Welcome to the Club." Cloud mumbled. "I picked up my bike already… from that shop. He put the money back in your account. He owed me a favor."
Cloud left, and Reno collapsed in a heap on the floor, staring blankly into space.