Nana's angel 2
All of a sudden Reno felt very cold and just a tad bit scared / of course otherwise it wouldn't be professional/. So he looked nervously around the room, after closing the file. Two details had stuck inside his head and were eating away at him. Was he really that stupid to actually think he could work with and trust one of the silver-head sickos? The image of the dead man was still glued to the back of his eyelids. The guy's eyes had been taken out… his neck was broken… And the second thing- Yazoo, smiling, like he just ate an ice-cream or something… But those eyes of his…
The Turk nearly jumped when he saw two glowing green orbs floating in the darkness of the room's corner. They were nearly as cold as the voice that came from the figure, who stepped a bit towards Reno's chair :
- What are you so wound up about? You watch a scary movie or something?
- Something… Yeah… - Reno shook out of it a bit, annoyed with the slightly mocking tone. – So you find your sister, yo?
- No…
The redhead felt his usual boldness come back to him. Fuck if he was gonna be scared of some picture of a wacky smile. So he summoned his best condescending tone and tried a bit of reason.
- Listen, Yazoo… She's killing people, she has to be stopped….
- I know that! – the remnant suddenly cried out. – I fucking know that, that's why I told you I didn't find my sister… Just some kind of monster in her empty shell!
If Reno wasn't so freaked out over the sudden outburst, he probably would have noticed the hurt look that flashed across Yazoo's features for just a second, for should it have been seen, it could have seriously shook the doubts about the remnant being a psycho out of the redhead's mind. Or was it an act?
Yazoo went over to the sofa and sunk down on it, head in his hands. He had a throbbing headache. When he closed his eyes, he could swear that the throbbing turned to a sound. Yes… the sound of small feet marching on the tiled floor of the hallway on the lower levels at Nibelheim, where the training grounds were. They were going back to the barracks now, marching like good little soldiers, when all of a sudden there was a feral growl and the sound of something huge hitting the steel door on their right. Through the small barred window of the cell could be seen a monstrous disfigured face… The children stopped and stumbled backwards to the wall opposite the door.
- Keep moving, soldiers! – was the cold order from the front, as Hollander completely ignored the shocked and scared looks of the children.
Yazoo remembered that his body refused to move then. He couldn't understand what was happening to him, he couldn't identify the feeling. He just stood there, staring at the horrible creature still growling from behind the barred little window. That was until a hand clasped his and he was pulled up the corridor. He looked up and was met by the soft and caring gaze of two red eyes with slit pupils, and heard that sweet voice of his sister Nana:
- Come on, little brother, Nana will save you from the monster.
"Little brother". The two words floated through his mind and his memories wandered even further back. There were so many colours, there were lights, there was a flow of something, something that soothed him and he was at ease… It felt so good, so … warm… But then there was a crash and he felt his young body trashing with pain… It was dark, so very dark… And all of his muscles were overtaken by painful spasms… He vaguely registered some voices through the tremors :
- Well, that's the last one for today. Throw him in with the rest, if he survives till tomorrow, S2 351 will be the last of this series. Destroy the other pods.
They took his shaking form to a room, that seemed even darker they the one he'd left. They threw him not too gently on the concrete floor. The pain was so strong, he just felt he should do something, he felt the whole fucking world should know that he was hurt, but it just never came… His voice… His eyes remained wide open, he felt them heat up, they felt weird, but no tears came. And what were tears anyways? He didn't know. He didn't know where he was, it all felt so strange… The calm was gone, and he so wanted it back! Then all of a sudden he was in someone's arms, and he saw two huge red eyes, stained with tears and a voice said :
- Look, Loz, we have a new baby brother… But he's hurt… Come here, little one, Nana will take care of you…
And the warmth and calm were back again…
- Houston, do you read me? Earth to Yazoo… You ok, yo?
Yazoo was abruptly shaken from his memories by two strong hands rocking his shoulders back and forth. His eyes shot open so fast, Reno stumbled a bit back.
- You with me, yo? – the Turk tried again when he saw the empty far away look returning to overtake the young man again.
- It was all because of her you know… - was the muffled reply. Reno kneeled in front of the remnant who had his head hung low. - She was that one safety net we had in that hellish place… Our anchor back to reality when insanity came knocking… With her stories about Mother, and the Good place… When all this time our real mother was her… - Yazoo lifted his eyes a bit and met the blue gaze of one Turk, who almost looked worried… They stayed like that for a bit, both wondering what exactly was going on with them. The Turk was wondering if he ever saw a face with more hurt and pain painted on it, with no tears coming. Yazoo was wondering how he got to feel just the slightest bit of his beloved calm when he was around the redhead, just enough to make him spill his heart out. And that was a first. The remnant tilted his head all of a sudden, resolution firm in his gaze as he stood up from the sofa. – I have to find her… talk to her… I owe her that much and yet so much more…
- Wait! – Reno called after staring for a bit after the young man who was walking for the door. Yazoo stopped and looked over his shoulder. – Hollander… Hollander is alive, and he's after Nana… He knows you're here too…
- So? All the better for me if I get to finally kill the bastard. – was the calm and ever self-confident reply.
Reno allowed himself a smile. He didn't even think about it this time, just let himself feel relieved that Yazoo was back to his normal self again. The Turk then walked to one of the drawers near the computer and pulled out a wooden casing.
- Nothing, just thought you would appreciate my gift, yo. – he winked at the raised eyebrow he received from the remnant and walked over to him. – Though I was kinda saving this for your birthday or something…
- Don't have one… A birthday that is… - Yazoo shrugged. – ShinRa wasn't big on throwing parties for little alien mutants.
The young silver-head received the case and opened it. Then his jaw dropped when he saw what was inside.
- Heh, thought you might like that, yo. Those are them new models… Satin Nightmares. Longer bullet chambers for more speed, longer top side swords, carries more bullets, which means less recharging… - Reno paused and his smile grew when he heard the gasp come from Yazoo, when he picked the two pieces in both his hands, case falling forgotten to the floor. – Plus, I allowed myself a tiny modification…
The remnants' eyes grew even larger, if possible, when he saw the engraving on the barrels. "Yazoo's right hand", "Yazoo's left hand"… Then he hung his head low once again, and whispered :
- Thank you… I…
- Stop right there, yo… No need to thank me… It was just a crazy idea of mine. If not for the spur of the moment, I probably wouldn't have given them to you at all anytime soon. Just don't get yourself killed… we still need to work some more cases, right?
Yazoo nodded, and turned to the door again, stashing his new treasures in the inner pockets of his leather jacket. "Hn, interesting, he thought, maybe this Turk can be of some use, after all…".
Her heart was pounding in her chest. The only word floating through her mind was "fuck" repeated over and over again. How did she get herself into that mess? What did that weird woman want with her anyways? She met that strangely muscular yet good-looking female outside of town. The next thing she knew, she was hit on the head hard and swung over a strong shoulder to be dragged off to Gaia-knew where… When she woke up in something that looked like a cell, she noticed her red hair was now white and the skin behind her ear burnt, as though it had just been tattooed or something… Then the huge metal door swung on her hinges with a mind-numbing shriek and that crazy bitch told her to run. Well, duh, of course she'd run and run she did. She vaguely noticed the words that the other woman was crying out to her behind her back. Something about some mother and some good place.
"Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…". She hated the feeling of dread that she felt, she hated the way she felt like some sick hunter's prey. She sped up, like that'd do any good. She had no idea where she was, all the white trees glowing eerily around her looked exactly the same. She blinked away some of the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, and just then, she hit something. She thought it was another tree, but it was actually a flat chest, covered in a black shirt and an open leather jacket. She jumped to the side, when she lifted her eyes up and saw two glowing green orbs, surrounded by long black hair and a silver fringe. However, a long-fingered hand in biker gloves wrapped itself around hers, to prevent her from running. The beautiful tall man faced away from her, holding her hand, but his face was hidden by long tresses cascading to the middle of his back. She felt strange around this creature, as if it was taking away all of her fear and feeling of dread, calming her.
- Hey, you some kind of angel or something? – she said, a bit breathless from all the running and the run-in with the young man.
The guy started to turn his head to her, and his hair began to turn silver, almost white. She stood shell-shocked as he saw the huge green eyes stare at her with catlike pupils. She opened her mouth to scream, but was stopped by a hand to her lips. His other hand wrapped itself around her waist, preventing her from moving. He stared her down with those strange eyes, and his pupils dilated a bit, like a cat, about to attack and he muttered in a low voice, not at all matching his lean posture "Charm". All of a sudden, she felt very dizzy, everything else disappeared, all that was left was him and her, floating in colorful nothingness. She felt completely helpless but for some deranged reason that didn't scare her at all… Quite the contrary, it felt so good, to be held by that creature, to have her gaze locked with those huge glowing orbs. She wasn't afraid, she was in bliss, she felt so comfortable with this strange man, she never wanted this moment to stop… She… loved him… All rational thought was banished from her head, and all she could see, feel, hear was this boy, whose voice resonated through her whole being as he said in an even lower, bass toned voice :
- You got lost in the woods… You got scared… You will never come here again, nor will you talk to strangers. Ever. Again.
- I'll never… come here again… never talk to… strangers… again… - she echoed, fascinated by that deep voice and those glowing orbs. What was he doing to her? – Will I ever see you again… I… I love you…
- How could you? You never saw me… You will forget about me. Never come here again! Now run, go find shelter in the city.
And just like that, her feet carried her away from him, in spite of her will. When the eye-contact broke, she forgot she ever saw that perfect angel.
Yazoo leaned a bit against a nearby tree, and pressed a hand to his temple. He had a splitting headache. It had been so long since he used that technique on someone. It nearly drained him. "Focus", he hissed through clenched teeth and took a deep breath to calm himself and concentrate on his senses. Good thing, too because there was a knife flying in his direction and he barely jumped to the side before the shiny steel pierced the tree he was just leaning against.
- Where is my monster, Yazoo? – he heard his sister growl at him with red eyes glowing with insanity.
- Why thank you, sister – he smiled a cynical grin at her. – It's just us monsters here now.
- Oh, I see – Nana replied with an evil grin of her own. – You used the 3rd level of Allure on her, didn't you? Charm, was it? Pretty hardcore stuff, huh? Tell me, brother, does it hurt like it used to?
- What is it to you if it does? It's not like you care…
- Poor little Yazoo, does it hurt to be beat at your own game? After all, not caring is your specialty. – she laughed, throwing her head back. - Poor, cold little Yazoo, so good at reading other people, yet so lost in his own frozen heart…
- Shut up! – he barked, boiling with anger. – It's not true! I cared… about you!
- Ooh, past tense… Though I seriously doubt that, little brother. You left me alone in this freak show world, didn't you?
- It wasn't my idea to get separated! Kira said…
- Oh sure, blame it on Kira, why don't you, because you're otherwise so good at following orders! – she lashed out at him, but he was ready this time, dodging her outstretched hand and hitting her square in the face.
- So it's my fault, is it? – he growled at her, as they were circling each other like two hungry wolves. – So it's my fault and you go kill innocent people? Has Deepground gotten so much to your head?
- Everything made sense there… - she said, hiding for a moment behind her long white tresses. – We were who we were supposed to be. Hunters! – she went for him again.
Seeing clearly that she wasn't going to listen to him, he did the only thing he could under the circumstances. He blocked everything out, but the sensation of turning himself into a weapon, No conscience, no feeling, just calm… With two swift kicks, he broke her knees and saw her fall to the ground with blank eyes. But his cold stupor broke to pieces, when he saw the tears fall from her eyes. He kneeled next to her and took her head in his lap.
- Please, little brother… - she sobbed. – Don't let the monsters get me.
Just then the distant sound of helicopters approaching fast caught his attention. It was Hollander. He felt a huge burning lump in his throat, when he realized the gravity of the situation. Her knees were broken, and his head was still throbbing from the charm spell, making him dizzy and weak.
- I … I'm not strong enough now… I can't carry you…
- Please, Yazoo… Don't let them get me… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, little brother… - she cried harder, and her speech broke. – You're Nana's pretty little angel, right? You can make it all better…
He let his head hang low. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, the things he said to Reno before he left… But his sister didn't bring him the necessary calm and warmth to formulate the words. They got lost, like his voice was, 16 years ago, when Nana had his head in her lap, after they took him out of the mako container. He simply couldn't bring himself to speak about how sorry he was, about how much he loved his sister, how he always envied her for being able to cry, and be emotional… But the thoughts faded, when he tried to speak… He growled, exasperated, and took a deep breath. His eyes became dull again, and he said coldly :
- Tell me about the Good place, Nana… - and he stared off between the trees. He simply couldn't look at her right now.
- It's great there… you know – she smiled as her own eyes became distant. – Mother's there, and there is no early morning trai…
Snap. That was all it took. He snapped her neck just like that. And that sound broke him completely. He saw the green sparks flying around him, from where his sister's body was beginning to fade from existence. There was a burning, throbbing pain in his chest that drove him insane, because it could never find an outlet in tears… So he did the only thing he could. He threw his head back and screamed, or more howled at the universe. All that anger, guilt, frustration… It flew on the wings of the night air, and invaded the whole forest, and still resonated in the wind, even after he had gotten up and began to run towards the city…
Reno was pacing nervously around the living room, when he heard the swoosh of the curtains, as if the night wind had just touched them But he knew better now. So he simply stopped in the middle of the room and waited for the figure to come out of the shadows. Yazoo walked into the faint light of the hallway and stood next to Reno, facing the other direction, as if he was about to just pass him by.
- Nana is dead… I thought you should know… - came that low voice, but the Turk noticed how hollow and pained it sounded. Realization hit him and he gasped.
- I'm very sorry, yo…
- So am I, Turk, so am I… - he was hiding behind his hair again. Never a good sign, the redhead thought. It meant he was shutting the world out again. Reno was pretty sure who had killed Nana, but he couldn't find it in him to bust the remnant's chops about this. Plus the kid looked really broken up over it, in his own way, which meant locking himself inside his head. But not this time.
The Turk turned around and stood in front of the silver-head, and all of a sudden pulled him into a hug. Yazoo's eyes widened in shock, as he felt one of the hands leave his waist to stroke over his back in a soothing manner. The calm was back again… How strange…
- You gonna be alright, yo?
- Ask me again tomorrow, ok? – he said automatically, still a bit surprised.
And just like that, Reno let him go and told him good night and to take care. "How very, very strange", Yazoo thought, when a smile made its way to his lips, without him wishing for it, as he stood on the window sill, right before disappearing into the night.