Reno did everything he could to slow down or piss off the man leading him. He dragged his feet, he said anything and everything that popped into his head, he made crude comments about what the man's mother must have looked like, he even briefly considered going completely limp so that the man would have to drag him. He figured that wouldn't be a good idea though as the man would probably shoot him and walk away if he pushed his luck too far so he stuck with the little things. During the car ride there he played with the electric windows and idly kicked the drivers seat from behind. The man stayed stony faced and stoic and Reno was close to begging him for a response. Reno wanted nothing more than to see that his efforts to annoy were working. The reactions were half the fun.
Rude stayed just as stoic as the man that was trying to put up with Reno. Rude felt a little bad for him as Reno complained about the tightness of his cuffs and then proceeded to make several comments about the man's mother, something Rude felt Reno should be sensitive about considering what had just happened to Rude's mother but then again, Reno had never been known for his tact. Rude wasn't even sure Reno knew what he was saying. He could tell it was making everyone in the car uncomfortable and he could sense that the Soldiers with him wanted nothing more than to be away from the scene Reno was making in the back seat. It almost made him laugh.
"Sir." One of the Soldiers addressed the man sitting with Reno.
"Yes?" Rude could see the man's pained expression in the rearview mirror in front of him.
"Can you shut him up?" Rude worked hard to keep his expression neutral as laughter bubbled in his chest.
"That's rude yo! Here I am tr-" Reno was only able to get half of his sentence out before the suited man elbowed him in the face, knocking him out cold. Rude whipped around and glared at the man as Reno slumped forward.
"That's better. We usually drag our less willing recruits in unconscious anyways." The man straightened his suit and met Rude's glare with an even gaze. "Do you have a problem with this?"
"Obviously." Rude turned around to face the front of the car and glared at the man through the rearview mirror.
"You'll live with it. It's better than what I've done before to recruits." The man grimaced slightly and gazed back at Rude through the mirror. Rude kept glaring at the man until the car stopped.
The first thing Rude noticed was the sunlight. He had never been above plate before and sunlight was usually dimmed in the slums. He squinted and tried to hide his discomfort as Reno was pulled out of the car by one of the Soldiers and flung unceremoniously over a shoulder. The dark haired man led them into the building silently and the going was faster this time as Reno wasn't purposefully slowing things down.
"New recruits there Tseng?" A fat man in green approached the suited man.
"Not for you Heidegger." Tseng sighed as Heidegger began to size up Reno and Rude.
"Veld wants them? I can't see much potential in the redhead for Soldier or the Turks. The bald one though, he might make a decent Soldier." Rude scowled as he was looked over like a piece of meat.
"They've got too much potential to waste in Soldier." Tseng tried to deter Heideggers attention as Rude shifted uncomfortably.
"Tseng you think too little of Soldier." Heidegger turned his gaze from Rude to the unconscious Reno.
"And you think to much of them." Tseng motioned for the group to continue walking.
"I'll be having a talk with Veld about this you know that right?" Heidegger laughed and Rude fought his natural urge to cringe at the grating sound as he was led into an elevator.
"Didn't you just get a boat full of new recruits from Costa Del Sol? I'm pretty sure you can make due without these two." Tseng allowed the elevator doors to shut in Heideggers face.
"Do you really not like Soldier sir?" The Soldier holding Reno asked tentatively.
"I'm fine with Soldier, I just don't like Heidegger." Tseng gave the boy a small smile as the elevator doors opened.
Tseng led them down a hallway and entered a spacious office. A small brunette sat at a desk and talked unenthusiastically into a telephone as she typed on a computer.
"Elise, is Veld in?" Tseng rapped his knuckles on the desk to get the attention of the brunette.
"One moment please," She spoke into the phone before putting down the receiver. "Sorry sir, what did you need?"
"Is Veld in?" Tseng was polite and Rude wondered which side of him was an act, the hostile side, or the polite one.
"Yes he is I'll let him know you're here." Elise simpered as she pushed a button on her desk. "Sir, Tseng's here." The door to the office opened and a somber man stood by to let them enter.
"It's safe to assume there were only a few problems?" Veld sat at his desk as Rude was steered into a chair across from him by Tseng.
"Yes." Tseng turned to the Soldiers, "You are dismissed. We can handle it from here." They stood at attention and clicked their heels together with a loud, "Sir!" Before departing.
"So why is he unconscious?" Veld leaned back in his chair.
Tseng sighed, "He's extremely annoying sir."
Veld laughed, "I thought you could handle annoying?"
"There is a breaking point sir." Tseng leaned on the back of the chair Reno was slumped in.
"I'm assuming you're Rude?" Veld turned his attention away from Tseng.
"Yes." Rude nodded. "Why are we here?"
"Straight to the point then. We want you two to be a part of the Turks." Veld folded his hands on his desk.
"Why us?" Rude sat straight as a board in his chair.
"We think you have potential. We've been after Reno for years now because of his speed and quick thinking and you've got enough brains and muscle to make it far as a Turk." Veld spoke with a smile.
Rude snorted lightly. "Quick thinking?"
Veld laughed, "Hard to believe I know but he's fast. He figured out exactly how to piss Tseng off and I haven't really got that down yet and I've been trying for years to figure out exactly how to do that. He managed to stab one of our Turks through the hand when he was about ten and that is a feat no matter how old you are."
"What happened to the man he stabbed?" Rude couldn't help but ask.
"He's dead now. The rust on the knife poisoned his blood." Veld spoke as if he explained things like this everyday.
Reno began to stir. "Whasfgheng?"
"Articulate isn't he?" Veld laughed, "How hard did you hit him Tseng?"
"Hard enough." Tseng frowned lightly.
Reno groaned and held his head in his hands. "Whathefu-?" He stopped as he stared through half lidded eyes at the office and then snapped his head up as a few wires in his brain clicked. "Where the hell am I?"
"Shinra." Rude grunted as he saw Tseng's hands tighten on the back of Reno's chair.
Reno scowled and rubbed his face, "Where's the bastard that hit me?"
"Behind you." Tseng growled and Reno turned around to glare at him.
"That was uncalled for yo!" Reno turned to Veld, "You his boss?"
"Yes I am." Veld was still smiling.
"You should teach him some manners yo." Reno slumped back in his chair.
"I think you'll be needing to learn some first." Tseng glowered down at Reno.
"I'm not the one hittin' people yo. My ma may not've taught me much but she did teach me not ta hit and ta play nicely." Reno smirked up at Tseng.
Tseng clenched his hands and Reno could see the whites of his knuckles. He smiled at Tseng's reaction which only incensed the other man more.
"Before we get into the 'your mom' jokes I suggest we get the business matters out of the way first yes?" Veld smiled and Reno whipped his head back around to face him so fast Rude was surprised it didn't hurt him.
"Come on yo I love a good 'your mom' joke! Besides your suit here already made me agree ta work here." Reno raised an eyebrow at Veld.
"Tseng may have made you agree to work here but we have a few formalities we need to get through." Veld smiled and Reno couldn't tell if he was being patronized or pitied.
"I'm assuming you can read Reno?" Tseng's sneering voice pissed Reno off.
"I can read yo! Being from the slums doesn't automatically make you a freakin' idiot alright?" Reno snarled, looking up at Tseng. "Yo, boss-man, can we get these frickin' cuffs off?" Reno snapped his head back towards Veld and Rude wondered again just how Reno could do that without getting whiplash.
"I think so. Tseng, if you would do the honors?" Veld missed the angry look Tseng shot at him as he began digging through his desk for papers.
"About time." Reno huffed as he rubbed his wrists.
"Thanks." Rude grunted as his cuffs were removed.
Reno stretched out in his chair, "So what formalities are you talking about boss-man?"
"It's Veld Reno." Veld lowered his eyebrows slightly as he slid the papers across the desk.
"Sorry Veld." Reno crossed his legs in front of him and rested laced his fingers behind his head.
"Forgiven." Veld replaced his warm smile as he began explaining the papers. "This is your contract, to be terminated upon your death only. You realize that you don't leave Shinra, ever. If you do manage to escape then all records that you ever existed are wiped to save the company the embarrassment and you're still hunted down. those who manage to get away never truly get away."
"Sounds a lot like Corneo's deal." Reno chuckled dryly.
"Corneo's deal is laid back compared to Shinra's." Tseng crossed his arms and stood beside Rude's chair.
"He's right. In Corneo's you at least had the luxury of death if you were caught doing something wrong. Here, we have much more practical and lasting methods of teaching you a lesson." Veld laced his fingers in front of him and gave them both a hard stare, all hints of a smile gone. "Trust me, you don't want to get in trouble here."
"Understood." Rude nodded.
"While you are employed here Shinra will cover a good portion of your living expenses. Power bills, water bills, housing in general is taken care of. Food and extra things you get to take care of yourself. Your pay is determined by your rank and your rank is determined by your skill level. The better you are the more you get paid, pretty simple." Veld replaced his warm smile. "We will train you, mostly Tseng and other the other Turks actually. I'm a bit too busy with paperwork to do much outside the office."
"Sounds like a plan yo." Reno finished signing the paper with a flick of his wrist and tossed the pen to Rude.
"Once you're done signing Tseng will get you two set up and introduce you to the other Turks." Veld smirked and added, "By the way, Tseng is going to make sure you get hell in training. You best learn to address him and anyone else above you in rank as sir or ma'am."
"Alrighty then." Reno gave Tseng a cocky grin and bowed mockingly, "After you ma'am."
Rude couldn't help but laugh as Tseng decked Reno in the back of the head as he passed. He could've sworn he saw Tseng smile too, but he shook it off as his imagination.
Tseng led them down the hallway as he began to explain how training was going to work. Reno only half-listened as they walked. He was busy marveling at the cleanliness of the building. A cleanliness that he knew he would have to fix or he would go crazy. Stark white was definitely not his favorite color scheme.
Tseng was thoroughly annoyed by the obnoxious red-head and he knew it would take some work to get used to him but he also knew the recruit had skill. Even if Reno hadn't noticed his natural skill it didn't escape Tseng. Tseng spent most of his missions looking for Soldier recruits so he had a good idea of what a capable person looked like and even though Reno was hell-bent on pissing him off he would make damn sure he reached his potential. Even if he had to beat the obnoxious right out of him.
Tseng was pleased with Rude though. The bald man was silent and attentive. He knew Reno wasn't listening to a word he said but he also knew that Rude would fill him in on things the second he got the chance. Tseng could tell that if he pointed Rude in the right direction he wouldn't have to worry about the job getting done.
Tseng led them into the gym where several Turks were working out. Once he walked in all motion ceased and everyone stopped their workouts to meet the new recruits. Reno surveyed the room and its occupants openly while Rude did the same.
"Who're the newbs Tseng?" A spiky haired brunette asked as he wiped his hands off on his shorts.
"They're Reno and Rude. Feel free to introduce yourselves before we start breaking our beginners in." Tseng walked off to what Reno assumed was a changing room as several Turks walked in to introduce themselves.
"I'm Jareth. It's been a while since we've had fresh meat. I'm just glad I don't have to be called a rookie anymore." The brunette smiled widely and stuck out a hand to Rude. Rude shook it firmly and then shoved his hands back in his pockets while Jareth offered his hand to Reno.
"You're still gonna be a rookie Jareth." A girl with long gray hair said as she slapped Jareth playfully on the shoulder before throwing Reno a grin. "I'm Nasira. pleased to meet you two. Which one of you pissed off Tseng? He's usually not so eager to beat on the rookies."
Reno gave her a salute, "That would be me doll."
"Cocky as hell aren't you?" Jareth laughed, "I'd never have the balls to piss off the commander or to call Nasira anything but Nasira."
"He hasn't learned that Nasira will rip the balls off anything that looks at her cross-eyed yet." A man with jet black hair and a square jaw laughed as he clapped Rude on the shoulder. "You friend is gonna become good friends with pain if he doesn't learn to keep his tongue in his head."
"He and pain are already pretty good friends. They make sure to have a weekly visit." Rude smiled as he shook hands.
"Good thing I can't go cross-eyed then isn't it?" Reno gave a cheeky grin as he demonstrated his inability to cross his eyes.
"I like you, you're a smart ass. Names Gareth, welcome to the group of men who love to piss off Nasira and Ellie." A man with a large black tattoo on his face threw an arm around Nasira's shoulders as he spoke. She shoved him off quickly.
"My name is Eliza, not Ellie! How many times do I have to say that?" A woman with long sandy blonde hair punched Gareth in the stomach as she spoke. "Don't listen to Gareth, he'll get you in trouble."
"I think he can find trouble without Gareth's help." Tseng had changed into shorts and a t-shirt and the second he walked in the room went quiet.
"Ya know, I have never seen a room get quiet so fast. Yo are you a total buzz-kill or somethin' Tseng?" Reno placed his hands on his hips and Rude face-palmed.
"You'll learn soon enough." Tseng smiled wickedly and Reno felt his confidence slide just a little. "We'll finish introductions later. There's too many of you to do so efficiently now. I'll get these two something to wear during their workout session today and then we'll get started." Tseng motioned with his hand for them to follow. Rude complied immediately and Reno huffed and shoved his hands into his pockets before following.
Tseng led them into what Reno had thought was a changing room. To his surprise it was also a sauna, a shower room, a bathroom, and a locker room. And it was obvious that this one was for men and Reno wondered if the women's room was the same. He decided he'd have to sneak in later and find out.
Tseng led them down a row of lockers until they reached two on the end labeled with their names. Reno pulled clothes out of the locker and noticed they were all his size. "I'm pretty sure you weren't gonna give us a chance to say no were ya? How the hell did ya get my shirt size?"
"No, you would have eventually said yes. We can be persuasive as hell when we want to be. As for the clothes, we guessed." Reno was doubtful that they could have guessed their sizes so perfectly.
They got changed, Reno just stripping and throwing on the new clothes, Rude choosing the more modest way by changing in a stall. Once they were done, Tseng slightly unnerved by Reno's brazen behavior, they went back to the gym room where everyone was gathered around a ring in the middle of the room.
"So how we gonna do this yo?" Reno asked as he cracked his knuckles with a smirk.
"You're going to get in the ring, fight whoever I send at you, get your ass kicked, and hopefully learn a lesson about respect for your comrades. That's what you're going to do." Tseng pushed Reno into the ring as he talked.
"Jeez what the hell's gonna happen to Rude then?" Reno stretched his back and almost laughed at the grimace on Ellie's face as it made several cracking noises. He was going to have fun making that noise around her later.
"Rude gets to laugh his ass off at you for a while and then he gets similar treatment, except he probably won't have to learn as much as you will." Tseng grinned as he spoke, earning an eye-roll from Reno.
"Harsh yo!" Reno stuck his tongue out at Tseng.
"You just keep proving my point Reno." Tseng shook his head. "Brandon, get up there."
A man with black hair and glasses climbed into the ring obediently and Reno grinned happily. He loved a good fight and he hadn't had a decent brawl in a while. The last time he had fought with anyone before his earlier scuffle with Tseng was when he had insulted Rude's lack of hair. He made a personal memo to himself later that if he should ever feel the urge to do so again he should be out of reach and preferably out of the room altogether. He also noted that 'chrome dome' was not going to be Rude's nickname, no matter how much he wanted it to be.
Reno took up his fighting stance and barely had time to dodge the first kick that was sent his way. He quickly got into his fighting groove as he had to dodge blow after blow and he soon became confident enough to counter with a few of his own. Reno's smile got wider and wider as they struggled to hit each other and he noticed that Brandon was starting to sweat while he was still feeling good and dry. After a while he decided he should probably figure out how to end this soon or he wouldn't have any energy left to fight anyone else. He dodged a powerful kick aimed at his face and then swept Brandon's other leg out from under him, causing Brandon to fall on his back. Reno placed his knee in Brandon's chest and fought to pin his arms down. He grunted as one of Brandon's flailing legs hit him in the back of the head and then gagged as the other hooked around his throat and forced him down to the floor. He rolled to get free of the hold Brandon's flexible legs had on his neck and found that he was effectively pinned down. Whichever way he thrashed his throat met resistance and he soon gave up.
"That's enough Brandon, you can let him breath now." Reno could hear the laughter in Tseng's all too smug voice.
"Yes sir." Brandon released a gasping and sputtering Reno and went too retrieve the glasses that Reno had so cheekily pulled off his face earlier. Reno had at least had the sense to throw them to the side of the ring where they wouldn't be stepped on.
Reno sat up, massaging his neck and regaining his breathing. "Pride comes before the fall Reno." Tseng stood on the side of the ring with his arms folded.
"Pride can come along for the ride yo. I'm pretty sure pride is enough of an adrenaline junkie that the fall would make him happy." Reno stood back up and rolled his neck.
"Nasira, would you like to get him back for calling you a doll? Tseng smirked.
"Sounds fun." Nasira grinned as she climbed into the ring.
"Bring it on babe!" Reno grinned as he took his stance again.
"Gareth's right, you are a cocky bastard." Nasira grinned, "Don't worry, we can fix that."
"I've heard that before and I'm pretty sure I'll hear it again. You guys just love finding things to fix yo." Reno's smile got wider as she took her stance across from him.
Nasira grinned and began bouncing on the balls of her feet as she circled Reno. He walked almost lazily around her as she circled. She threw a punch and he ducked it easily, laughing as he did. He saw anger cross her features as she started throwing punches, desperate to land one on him. "Slippery bastard!" She yelled as Reno dodged a well aimed kick and blew a raspberry. Her next kick caught him in the side and he felt the air rush out of his lungs as he staggered. She took advantage of his momentary weakness and landed another three punches on him. He threw a hand out to catch her wrist but instead caught hair. He pulled and she swung around with a small pained cry. He put her in a sleeper hold and she reached her hands up to scratch at his arms and face.
"Give?" He panted as he struggled to keep his hold.
"Never!" Nasira gasped as she grabbed a handful of Reno's hair and pulled.
"That don't work babe. I've had enough people pull my hair that it don't hurt anymore." Reno grinned as he felt a few hairs part painlessly with his scalp.
She struggled for a while longer, scratching long lines in Reno's face and arm as she did. Tseng finally called for an end. "You're done Nasira. Let her go Reno."
"Sure thing." Reno quickly let go and straightened his pony tail, noting with distaste that several bright red hairs were caught in Nasira's fingers. Nasira fell on all fours and gasped for air. "You okay?" Reno asked as he moved to help her up.
"Just peachy." She growled, shunning his help and clambering out of the ring.
"Matt, show him how it's done." Tseng retained his stoic expression as he watched Nasira rub her throat beside him. He hadn't expected Reno to win and had been looking forward to watching the red-head have his ass handed to him again.
The Turk with black hair and a square jaw sauntered into the ring. Reno gulped, Matt was twice his size and could easily break him in half and use him to stir his coffee.
"No offense Reno, but I plan on kicking your ass." Matt laughed, "I haven't got much hair for you to pull so you're going to have to try something else."
"I'm not above kneeing ya in the nards yo." Reno panted and laughed as he wiped off the small layer of sweat building on his brow.
"That's what a cup is for numb-nuts." Matt laughed cracked his knuckles, which caused Ellie to grimace again. A sight Reno decided he greatly enjoyed.
"I'll figure something out." Reno smirked and took up his fighting stance weakly.
"There's no chance in hell you're going to beat me Reno." Matt teased as he circled.
"Good thing we aren't in hell then." Reno grinned as he threw all his force into a kick.
Matt caught Reno's foot and pulled up, causing Reno to loose his balance and fall flat on his back. Reno rolled and got to his feet quickly but Matt still managed to snag his arm and pull him into a hold similar to what he had used on Nasira. Reno went limp and let all his weight rest in Matt's arms which threw him off balance. Reno then threw his legs back and kicked Matt in the shins as he fell. Matt landed on top of Reno and ground his face into the matt, earning a muffled stream of curses from Reno as he struggled to get out from under the larger man.
"Give rookie?" Matt taunted as he pushed Reno's face deeper into the matt.
"Fshnigndgarbnargin!" Reno continued his unrelenting stream of curses into the matt.
"I'll take that as a no." Matt laughed and pulled Reno's arm behind his back.
"Augh! I give dammit! Don't you listen?" Reno screamed as his face was freed from the matt.
"Sorry pal, sounded like gibberish to me." Matt got off of Reno and laughed as he helped the red-head up.
"Everything is going to sound like gibberish when there's about fifty colorful swears thrown in." Tseng chuckled as Reno leaned against the edge of the ring and panted.
"Yo that swearing was frickin' necessary yo! I couldn't breathe!" Reno leaned his face against the pole holding up the rope barrier that surrounded the ring.
"That was the point." Matt laughed as he sauntered out of the ring.
"Who's next?" Reno gasped as he stood up and stretched with his hands above his head.
"You haven't had enough yet?" Tseng raised an eyebrow. He had expected Reno to give up, not ask for more punishment.
"Course not, that would make your day." Reno laughed shakily as he regained his breath.
"Alright then. Gareth, get in there." Tseng kept his face neutral but inside he was beaming as he watched Reno struggle to breathe. He enjoyed every minute of the payback he was having his Turks inflict for him. Reno would learn not to talk about his mother that way.
Authors Note: Heehee, yay Reno getting beat up! I love writing fight scenes, they're just fun. Make me feel like I'm actually doing something. Read and review if you please!