Rude woke up the next morning tired and sore. He and Reno had stayed up far too late talking about what had happened that day and he regretted it, but only a little. He sat up to find that he hadn't even bothered to get into bed and had just fallen asleep on the couch. He was pleased to note that his muscles weren't sore and he mentally tipped his hat to Gareth for teaching Reno how to pull the kinks out of his back. Rude lowered his feet to the floor and stepped on something squishy. He immediately yanked his feet back onto the couch as Reno grunted and rolled over, kicking absently in his sleep. Rude smiled and placed his feet in the now empty space. He grabbed Reno's shoulder and shook it gently and barely ducked a fist aimed for his face. He swore loudly and held Reno's wrists in his hand. "What the hell Reno!" Reno's eyes snapped open as he struggled against Rude's hold. He stared at Rude and then stopped moving. Rude watched and almost saw the cogs in Reno's sleep fogged brain fitting together.
"What'd I do?" Reno asked as he saw the anger and concern in Rude's eyes.
"Tried to knock me out that's what." Rude let go of Reno's hands and sat back on the couch.
"I'm sorry." Reno sat up and buried his head in his hands.
"Another nightmare?" Rude felt his anger dissipate as he watched Reno shake on the floor.
"Same nightmare actually." Reno laughed nervously. "You have any bad dreams about that?"
Rude sighed and stared at his hands, "Yeah, I do."
"Wanna tell me about it?" Reno got up and sat on the couch.
"It was horrible." Rude held his hands in front of him as if they were something he had never seen before. "In the dream my hands were soaked in their blood. All three of them. I couldn't get it off and everything I touched got covered in blood but no one else noticed. I tried to tell you about it but you just laughed and then you stabbed me and ran away."
"I stabbed you and ran away? Hell Rude if I had the guts to stab you I'd at least stick around to make sure someone knew it was me!" Reno laughed and threw and arm around Rude's shoulder. "Why do you dream about your hands being coated in blood?"
"Because I killed them Reno!" Rude stood up and clenched his fists. "It's my fault they're dead!"
"Chase and Arty deserved it Rude and if you hadn't killed them I would've!" Reno stood up and put a hand on Rude's shoulder.
"Fay didn't deserve it." Rude's fists were clenched so tightly Reno could see the white of his knuckles.
"How the hell is Fay's death your fault!? If anyone is to blame it's me! I made you work at Corneo's, I got us involved with Chase and Arty in the first place, hell it's my fault we're here!" Reno sighed. "There's no way in hell it's your fault."
Rude turned to face Reno. "You want me to blame you?"
"Yo if you're gonna blame anyone it should be me. Chase and Arty may have killed her but if it wasn't for me making you work at Corneo's she'd still be alive." Reno pulled his hand off Rude's shoulder.
But I'd still be getting raped by Corneo everyday. Rude sighed and decided to keep that thought to himself. "Reno, it's pointless to blame anyone."
"It might be pointless, but it's gonna happen yo." Reno crossed his arms in front of his chest with a sigh.
"We should go get ready for today's training." Rude gave Reno a weak smile. "We shouldn't worry to much about this stuff."
"You just can't wait to see me get my ass kicked can you?" Reno laughed and went towards the door.
"I'm not doing much better Reno." Rude chuckled.
"Yeah but Tseng actually likes you." Reno paused at the door, "Ya know, I think he's trying to beat some sense into me." Reno grinned.
"Many have tried and all have failed." Rude grinned back.
"I'll make sure he does too." Reno opened the door and left.
Just make sure you don't get killed trying to piss him off. Rude shook his head as he went to take a shower.
Tseng tapped his foot impatiently as Reno fell to the floor yet again. "Are you even trying?"
Reno stood up and brushed himself off. "Of course I'm trying yo! I'm not a fucking monkey alright? I can't climb that fucking rope first try."
"This is your fiftieth try Reno." Tseng huffed angrily as Reno grabbed onto the rope again.
"Well once I reach a hundred you should let me know." Reno grinned as he began pulling himself up the rope. Tseng had told him that in the next month they would have him strong enough to get to the top and he planned to make it there within the week. Just so he could shove it in Tseng's face. At the moment though he was looking like a fool as he scrambled up the rope as fast as he could.
"It's not about speed Reno." Tseng sighed as Reno fell again.
Reno panted and stayed on the floor, glaring at the rope. "If I can get enough momentum going I can make it." He knew if he could just move a little faster he would be at the top already.
"And if you build your arm muscles up enough you can go faster." Tseng stared down at Reno before prodding his arm with his shoe. "At the moment these little twigs aren't going to do you any good."
"Shove off yo! My arms are not twigs!" Reno snapped as he sat back up, batting Tseng's shoe away with his hand.
"Are too!" Reno heard Rude yell from across the gym.
"Shut up yo! I don't see you climbing this thing!" Reno yelled back.
"That's because Rude needs a different type of training than you do Reno. You focus on speed, Rude focuses on brute force. We have to work with you differently." Tseng rolled his eyes as he heard Rude laugh from across the room.
"And climbing this rope if gonna make me faster eh? I think you just like giving me rope burn yo." Reno huffed as he stood back up and grabbed the rope again.
"If you would admit defeat and let me work with you on something else you wouldn't have rope burns." Tseng sighed as Reno began pulling himself up the rope again.
"And if I listened to you you would be a happy camper." Reno grunted as he struggled up the rope, "Not part of my plan boss."
"You torturing yourself doesn't hurt me in the slightest Reno." Tseng frowned as Reno's ascent started to slow.
"Yo that frown is telling me different things Mr. Denial." Reno panted as sweat dripped down his face.
"How did you know I was frowning?" Tseng blurted before he could stop himself.
"Because I can hear it in your voice yo." Reno grinned as he got higher on the rope.
Tseng huffed, "This is the part where you fall every time."
"I'm not going to fall this time!" Reno growled as he struggled to put one hand over the other.
"Hey Nasira! I bet you ten bucks the rookie falls again." Reno growled as he heard Gareth's laughing voice.
"No thanks. I already know he's going to." Nasira laughed back.
"Shut up guys!" Reno snapped. "I can make it!"
"No you can't!" Gareth laughed. "You're going to hurt like hell when you fall again."
"Why the hell do I have an ass if I'm not going to fall on it?" Reno laughed as he saw the top of the rope come into view. It was only a twenty foot rope but to Reno if felt like it was miles long.
"Give the rookie a break Gareth. If I recall correctly you fell after about five feet." Reno grinned as he heard Matt come to his defense.
Reno moved to put his left arm higher on the rope and realized he couldn't move. He panicked and tried to let go but found that his hands had a death grip on the rope and refused to follow his commands.
"What's the matter Reno?" Tseng sounded annoyed.
"I can't move!" Reno called back in a panicked tone.
"What do you mean you can't move?" Tseng tried not to laugh.
"I mean I can't fucking move!" Reno was starting to freak out and Tseng could tell.
"Let go of the rope Reno." Tseng sighed and crossed his arms.
"I can't! My hands won't move!" Reno's body shook violently.
Tseng sighed angrily. "You would get stuck. Didn't I tell you you couldn't make it?"
"Just get me down!" Reno could feel panicked tears creeping out the corners of his eyes.
"Alright." Tseng huffed and grabbed the bottom of the rope.
"What are you gonna do?" Reno tried to control his panicked breathing as he felt the rope move.
"Shake you off." Tseng stated matter-of-factly as he began to pull on the rope.
"Hurry up and do it then!" Reno felt the rope begin to move back and forth.
"Calm down." Tseng rolled his eyes as he shook the rope harder.
Reno felt himself swing along with the rope and didn't feel his hands loosen at all. "It's not working!"
Tseng sighed, "Who wants to go up and get him?"
"Not it!" Jareth laughed.
"Me neither." Eliza quickly distanced herself from the group.
"I nominate Gareth." Matt laughed.
"Why me!?" Gareth whined.
"Because if he doesn't fall somehow you loose your bet with Nasira." Matt pushed Gareth towards the rope.
"But she didn't agree to it!' Gareth protested.
"I'm agreeing now." Nasira laughed, "Either he falls or you owe me ten bucks."
"Dammit." Gareth sighed before grabbing the rope. "Hang tight red."
"I don't want to be hanging on! That's the issue jack ass!" Reno growled as he heard laughter below him.
"Shut up and don't fall on me alright?" Gareth grunted as he pulled himself closer to Reno.
"Yo if I could fall on you I would but my arms have different ideas." Reno growled.
Gareth laughed as he reached Reno. "You would manage to make a fool of yourself wouldn't you?"
"Shut up and get me down." Reno frowned as his arms and legs shook violently.
Gareth grabbed Reno's leg and pulled. Reno's leg remained firmly wrapped around the rope as Gareth pulled himself up with it. "Jeez Reno talk about a death grip."
"Watch where you're puttin' your hands yo!" Reno growled as Gareth climbed higher.
Gareth chuckled, "This is why we listen when Tseng says to stop."
"Just get me down!" Reno growled angrily as Gareth started to pry his fingers apart.
"Ya know Reno, if you were gripping any tighter I'd have to break your fingers to get you off. You need to trust Tseng. He knows what he's doing alright?" Gareth loosed one of Reno's hands and moved to the other one. "You're gonna drop like a rock rookie." Gareth chuckled.
"I don't care I just want down!" Reno whimpered.
"Your wish is my command red." Gareth grinned and pulled Reno's hand off the rope and pushed him off before climbing down.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Reno hit the ground with a thud. "Fuck that hurt!"
"Serves you right." Tseng said as he hovered over Reno.
"I still can't move." Reno whimpered as he tried to flex his arms.
"Give it a minute, you just over exerted yourself." Tseng frowned.
Reno frowned as Tseng walked away, "Yo you're just gonna leave me here?"
"I can't exactly do much for you and even if I could I wouldn't. You need to learn a lesson here. If you had listened to me instead of trying to prove something you wouldn't be laying on the floor whining." Tseng frowned before walking away.
Gareth slipped down the rope. "You're gonna hurt like hell tomorrow Reno."
"Tell me something I don't know." Reno grimaced as he moved his fingers gently.
"Rope burn?" Gareth squatted down beside Reno.
"I think so." Reno whimpered as he began to extend his legs.
Gareth sighed and shook his head. "He's not gonna take it easy on you once you can get up. He's going to train you, rope burn or not."
"I know I can handle it." Reno huffed.
Gareth frowned, "I hope you're right 'cause if you continue like this you're gonna get yourself killed. Don't think I'm just saying this, my best friend went out this way. Didn't want to listen to anybody, refused to take orders seriously and he thought he could do everything by himself and didn't need help. Wanna know what happened to him?"
"What?" Reno asked.
"We were on mission, a fairly fucking simple mission at that. One we all should have walked away from. But he didn't follow orders and got himself shot. Had he done what Tseng had said like the rest of us, he would be here right now." Gareth stared at Reno before shaking his head and pushing Reno's arms down.
Reno cried out in pain, "What the hell yo!"
"You look so damned pathetic laying with your arms and legs in the air." Gareth shoved Reno's legs down, earning another pained yelp from Reno.
Reno sat up gingerly, every muscle in his body protesting the movement, "You have no idea how much that hurts yo!"
"You think you're the first one to overdo it?" Gareth laughed. "Reno every single one of us has been in the position where we've tried too hard. You just managed to reach that level earlier than most."
"I'm not going to give up on anything. I'm gonna be the best damned Turk you'll ever see." Reno groaned as he flexed his arms and legs.
Gareth reached over and ruffled Reno's hair, "Follow orders and you will be."
Reno rearranged his hair with a huff as Gareth walked away. He looked across the gym to see Rude sparring with Matt and he smiled as Rude was thrown to the floor.
"Come on Reno, get off the floor." Tseng stood in front of him with his arms folded.
"Sure thing boss." Reno gave a sloppy salute and slowly got off the floor. Might as well start following orders now then.
"Let's go start what we should have started an hour ago." Tseng beckoned him with a flick of his head before walking towards a small ring in the corner of the gym. Tseng heard Reno whine pathetically as his cramping muscles tried to buckle under him. He shook his head and continued walking. "You sure picked a good way to break yourself in Reno. I hope you don't make this a habit."
"Well boss, if you knew anything about me you'd know I'm a creature of habit." Reno chuckled and forced his tired body to follow Tseng.
Rude sighed as he watched Brandon throw Reno to the floor over and over again. Tseng was trying to tell Reno what to do and he seemed to be making at least some effort to obey but he had worn himself out trying to climb that damned rope and he really didn't have a chance in hell to beat Brandon at anything. Hell Reno wasn't even able to stand up straight anymore. He was almost bent double while he was listening to Tseng after he picked himself off the floor and Rude could see the blood flowing from the blisters on his hands. Tseng had told Reno that he should hit the shower and give up hours ago and continued to suggest that he stop but Reno was too damn stubborn to leave. Matt and Rude had stopped sparring a long time ago and now they were just waiting for Reno to drop.
"Reno you need to keep your elbows in." Tseng was leaning against the ropes as he directed the fight.
"Sir can we stop? He's bleeding all over the place." Brandon grimaced at the small red stains that were on his shirt where Reno had hit him, "This shirt is toast as it is."
"No! I need to get this down." Reno panted as he leaned against the ropes.
"You can learn more tomorrow Reno. Enthusiasm is good to a point and you passed that point a few hours ago. Fact is you can barely stand anymore and you've got rope burns all over you and you're starting to bleed all over the place." Tseng rubbed his temples as he resisted the urge to order Matt to throw the rookie into the shower room as blood dripped onto the mat.
"But," Reno panted as he tried to stand up straighter, "I can do it Tseng!"
"Reno." Rude grunted.
Reno looked at his friend and shook his head. "Fine. Tomorrow."
Tseng sighed with relief, "Go clean yourself up and don't get anymore blood on the floor if you can help it."
"Sure thing." Reno slipped out of the ring haphazardly.
Rude walked over and threw one of Reno's arms over his shoulder and helped him to the shower room. Reno allowed Rude to support part of his weight and Rude took it slow so he didn't hurt his already damaged friend more. As they passed the rope Rude saw Reno glare at the thing and he laughed. "It's not the ropes fault you know."
"I'm blaming it anyways." Reno said with a frown.
"Want some advice?" Rude asked as he pulled Reno along.
"Sure, whatcha got for me?" Reno sniggered.
"Listen to people." Rude grinned as Reno snorted.
"You have no idea how many times I've heard that today." Reno shook from exhaustion and Rude chuckled.
"I believe you've heard it seventeen times today." Rude pushed open the door to the showers.
"Eighteen. You missed one." Reno grinned as he was led through the door.