Lost, Alone and Found.
Author's note: Not much to say, really, except that I only own the names of Reno's family. The rest belongs to Square Enix.
CH2: Orphaned.
Eight years had passed since Reno's birth, and boy was the child a handful. Reno loved to play and cause a bit of trouble, but in the Slums, there wasn't anything that dangerous other than the gangs and thugs, and the ShinRa army, not to mention the Division of the Investigation Department-everyone calls them the Turks-, but everyone was learned into fighing to defend themselves. Reno loved the thrill for the boy at his age.
He was also a bit intelligent for his age, already knowing how dangerous the world was thanks to his time outside home, and he had learned how to defend himself. Though Reno was never told of his family's past, and he didn't mind. He was certain that both of his parents were born in the similiar way he was, unaware of his father's background.
They still worked in the garage, despite how little money they have, but Reno didn't mind. He wasn't one of those kids who wanted to be showered in toys, games and ect., getting a gift at all was rare, but he was fine with that. He knew how hard it was for his parents, and appreciated that they were alive at all.
He did also help when they needed it, even though he complained, but did so none the less. Okay, so his mom was fussing over him, and his dad was tough, but they still loved him, and he loved them in return.
However, today, everything was about to change. It's been a week since his eighth birthday, and Reno came out of the living room since their home only had one bedroom, and he usually slept on the couch, which was just fine. To his surprise, his parents were in the kitchen as he entered to make himself something to eat.
"Morning." Reno greeted.
"Good morning, sweetheart." Alana greeted her son. "How'd you sleep?"
The eight year old shrugged, "The same." before going to the fridge to find something to eat. As he looked, he said, "I had another dream last night."
"What kind of dream?" Richard asked his son, curious.
"Flying a helicopter again, and seeing the world." Reno replied as he made a triumpthed, 'Aha!' as he found the milk before going to the cupboard to find cereal, poured both contents into a bowl, mixed them up with a spoon before joining his parents to the table.
Richard and Alana both sighed. Ever since Reno was two, the boy had seen one of the ShinRa choppers flying in the air, which was a rare sight in the slums, and since then, Reno had dreamed of flying and even piloting one. It was one of his favorite dreams. Discovering the world was another, as he loved action and adventure. They haven't told him about Richard's life in Mideel or that the grandfather Reno will never know had died at the lake.
Maybe now was the time to tell him the truth. After all, none of them ever told Reno about their lives.
"Reno," Richard began, causing the youngest redhead to pause in his eating, and look at his father. "We need to talk."
Reno blinked, suddenly feeling unsettled. He had a knack for getting into trouble, but for the last month, he managed to stay out of it. What did he do now? He knew his father's tone; it meant business. "Am I in trouble?" he asked.
"No, sweetheart." Alana said, holding the boy's hand into her own. "There's something we need to tell you. It's about us."
Fear began to fill up Reno as he asked, "You're gonna throw me out?"
"Reno, don't be stupid. It's nothing like that." Richard sighed. Seeing how his son was getting a bit paranoid, he suggested, "Alright, we'll talk about this later, okay? Don't worry, we won't throw you out. Let's just say...it's a family conversation."
Shockingly, Reno didn't feel any better. He slumped in his chair, unable to feel comfortable at this. His parents wouldn't throw him out, would they? But maybe they're trying to say that they're running so low on money that it's best that he went somewhere else.
"Can I...go to the park?" Reno asked, trying not to let his emotions show.
"If it'll make you feel better." Richard nodded, before standing up and approached the young boy, getting him to stand up as well, and the father embraced his son. "I love you, son."
Unable to resist, Reno hugged his father back as tightly as he could in his skinny form, replying, "Love you too, dad." while Richard also ruffed Reno's spiky-messy redhair. Alan then stood up and hugged both her husband and their only son, as she loved them just as much.
Once Reno is freed, smiled, feeling a bit better, and mentally scolded himself for being stupid. His family wouldn't even dare in throwing him out. After saying that he'll be back later, Reno had a shower, got dressed and then raced out of the house for another day to play. Richard sighed, and admitted to Alana, "Now I know how my father felt in trying to raise me."
"It's not easy in being a parent." Alana agreed with a smile.
"Reno's a great kid." Richard thought. "Trouble, but, great. I couldn't ask for a better son."
As Reno ran towards sector 6 where the park always was, he slowed down as, by passing through sector 5, he noticed someone walking down the path around the corner, and seemed to be on business, because Reno recongised the black suit; it was a Turk uniform. He heard about the Turks-they were very dangerous. Though there was something else about the Turk. Reno noticed that the body shape was straight, though a tad short, at the height of a teenager, black hair tied up in a short ponytail.
Despite the dangers and risking his life, curiousity got the better of the eight year old, and so, Reno decided to follow the Turk, since he wanted a better look of the guy more than wanting to know what was going on. He'll get into serious trouble, but it's worth it. As silently as he could, Reno slipped through the path without being noticed. He had to hide a few times when the Turk turned around to make sure he wasn't being followed.
Finally, both of them reached their destination, and Reno blinked when he saw that the Turk had arrived at a house-an actual house, not like the one he lived in or any other houses in Midgar. Hiding in a box nearby, Reno waited so that the Turk could return from his mission, what mission, Reno didn't know, nor that he wanted to know. All he wanted was to see what the black haired Turk looked like.
He didn't hear clearly on what was going on, but it seemed that there was someone yelling. But Reno made sure that he didn't pay attention. He knew that if one knew the entire thing about the Turks, that person is good as dead. Deep in his thoughts, Reno didn't notice a young six year old girl with brown hair running away, passing him.
It seemed that the Turk decided to give up for today, because Reno noticed him coming out, and his blue eyes widened in how different this person was. The Turk was a young man, possibly no older than thirteen years old, which was a great surprise, but what also caught Reno off-guard was that the young man had features that told that he wasn't from Midgar, but somewhere else, brown-almost black eyes, and a weird red dot on his forehead.
Now that Reno had seen what the guy looked like, he had to wait until the Turk left far enough for him to make his way to the park and then head off home. All he had to do was be silent for a bit longer.
Unfortunately, the Turk had other ideas, because he paused in just passing the box Reno was hiding, then turned his head to look at it. Reno's blue eyes widened, fear entering his heart as he realised that the Turk must've found out he was followed.
He was proved right, because the Turk, named Tseng, who was Wutaiian and had just recently been brought into the Turks by the director himself, approached the box, and opened up the lid, just as Reno gasped and tried to back away as far as he could, now scared as he had been caught. How did this guy know? Reno had been quiet. Was his soft breathing that loud?
Tseng looked at the boy and saw how terrified the child was, even if he looked five years younger than himself. In his training, he would've just shoot the child, but Reno was so young, so small. Besides, he had to question him on how much he knew about Aerith, the girl whom he tried to being back to ShinRa, but she refused and denied about herself. She was two years younger than the boy Tseng was confronting now, and this boy was normal, save for the unnatural bright red hair that strikingly gone well with his young aqua-blue eyes.
"Who are you?" Tseng spoke in his wutaiian accent, though he can speak and understand english.
While noting the strange accent he never heard before, Reno swallowed nervously and replied, "R-Reno."
'Reno?' Tseng thought. Even the boy's name was unusual. You didn't get many people with red-hair and a name that clearly came from somewhere else, even if the boy was clearly born and raise in the slums of Midgar. The child's clothing gave out that much detail.
Deciding to worry about that later, the Turk questioned, "Why did you follow me?"
"I-I only got curious and I just wanted to know what you looked like." Reno admitted truthfully. Better to tell the truth than make up an excuse. "I mean, you don't come from here, right?"
"Why do you say that?" asked Tseng.
"Cuz you look totally different." Reno answered, "I've never seen anybody with a dot on their heads or faces like yours before."
The Wutaiian Turk had to admit, the child was clever. However, the boy didn't know about Wutai, Tseng saw that. The fact that Reno followed him just because he was curious on what Tseng himself looked like gave him a pause. If anyone knew that he was a Turk, it could mean serious trouble for the ShinRa company. Even more so if the boy knew about his mission to retrieve Aerith.
On the otherhand, Reno was the first person to confront him, and had managed to hide without getting into trouble. Besides, he was only a boy.
"What else did you want?" Tseng eventually inquired.
Reno gulped again, more scared and worried. He was terrified of the idea of getting killed. What would his parents say if he didn't come home at all? At this he regretted in following the Turk, and just looked down, tears starting to form, but he tried not to cry.
"All I wanted was to see what ya looked like, then head to the park and have fun. I was on my way there when I noticed you and got curious." Reno answered.
So he was an ordinary boy who was doing a usual daily route when Reno had noticed Tseng earlier, and so, the child's curiousity got the better of him, and now the young redhead regretted it, because Tseng could see that the boy was on the verge of crying. Reno didn't want to die, Tseng could see that. The redhead was only a child.
Besides, Reno had a mother and father waiting for him at home.
Making his decision, Tseng said, "Reno, if you promise not to reveal our meeting to anyone, I will let you go."
Surprised, Reno looked up at Tseng, asking, "Really?" as he had expected to get killed.
"If you swear that you will never mention this to anyone." Tseng said more firmly.
Deciding that he wanted to live more than anything else, Reno quickly nodded and said, "That's a promise."
Mentally sastified with the answer, Tseng helped Reno out of the box and nodded. "Stay out of trouble. The next time we meet, you may not be getting away that easily."
"I didn't wanna meet a Turk anyway. I just wanted to know what you looked like." Reno replied. "I don't want anything to do with ShinRa."
It was a good choice for now, as Reno didn't seem to have any problems with the company, which was a good sign. Finally, Tseng introduced himself and said, "Tseng, of the Turks. We may meet again someday." then he walked away to return to HQ.
Seeing how close he was in getting killed, Reno sighed in relief at the close call. "That was close." he muttered to himself. He had promised himself to keep his promise he made to the man who spared his life for now. Reno didn't want to die. There was still so much he wanted to do when he grew up.
As he came out of the path and was about to head over to Sector 6 again, Reno checked the timing of the sky that was still visible in the construction of Midgar, his eyes widened that the sky was turning a shade of pink, becoming darker blue. Which meant that the sun was setting.
"Crap!" He exclaimed. "How the hell did it get so late already!?" deciding to forget the park, Reno turned and made a mad dash to return home. He had now make up a story to his parents, but he'd rather lie than be home late.
While Reno was out, his parents unaware of what he was actually doing today, Richard and Alana had just gotten home from a small grocery shopping on what they could afford.
But the two of them couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
"I have to go and pick up Reno." Richard said.
"Please hurry." Alana replied, "I'm worried about our baby."
Agreeing, Richard quickly went to the front door, only to hear someone knock on it, making him and Alana both frozen stiff. Who would visit them? The bad feeling getting worse, Richard backed away and returned to the kitchen.
"Alana, head over to any window." Richard whispered. His wife nodded and both of them slowly went over, only to freeze and gasp in horror, as a tall, bulky man with dark skin, black short hair and a sinister smile was standing there, having just climbed through. Behind the couple came more men, armed with bombs and knifes, and the front door was broken down and more men arrived, trapping the Sinclairs.
"Who the hell are you people?" Richard demanded, holding onto his wife protectively, not willing to lose his family. He still had to find his son, and prayed that he was safe.
The dark skinned man, who clearly was the leader, instead just said, "I'm looking for your little boy, of course. He'll become part of my team to destroy ShinRa."
"You can't have my baby!" Alana screamed in horror.
"Give him to me now." The leader sternly demanded.
Richard instead glared at him, and said vemonessly, "Get, the hell out, of my house. And leave my son alone."
"Sa'luk, what should we do with these two stupid people?" A short brown-haired man with a beard asked to the dark-skinned leader named Sa'luk.
Sa'luk glanced at the couple, the husband glaring daggers at him, and the wife fearfully dreading to protect her son who cleary wasn't home right now. Finally, the dark-skinned man made his decision. "Kill him, and blow this garbage up, then search for the boy, and bring him to me!"
He then walked out, just as Richard screamed to not anyone in this room, but to someone outside who was nowhere near home right now. "RENO!"
But it was too late, as another man aims his gun and shot him into the chest, close to his heart, and Richard gasped in pain as he collasped onto the floor.
"RICK!" Alana screamed in terror as she bend to be with her beloved husband, tears falling. "Darling, stay with me! D-Don't leave me! Don't leave Reno!" she begged while sobbing.
The serial killer-group then decided to make things easier and left the house, while leaving the remote controlled bombs in the house, and while Alana continued to beg Rick to recover, the couple had no chance in escaping or realising that their fate had been already sealed.
In the matter of second, the bombs blew up the house, along with the Sinclair couple, and while Alana screamed and her final thoughts where her baby son's, Richard's final thoughts were, 'Reno...I'm sorry...I wish I could've...told you sooner...I failed as a father...I...I wish I...didn't run away...I love you and your mother...my son...please...please just...survive.'
Feeling the ground suddenly shake, and almost losing his balance, Reno ended up bending on his knees, as a loud boom filled the air, and Reno covered his ears to block the noise. Suddenly the small quake stopped, and as he stood up again, he had a terrible feeling, and knew that something was wrong.
Worried for his family, Reno ran faster, wanting to get home. 'Please let mom and dad be okay!' Reno thought to himself.
Suddenly as he neared his home, he could smell the smoke and see it as well, his fears becoming more and more clear, but he refused to believe that was true. He then skid to a stop, as around the corner, he heard an unfamiliar voice shout in sheer anger, "YOU F***ING IDIOTS! Where's the boy!?"
Already realising that whoever it was, the unknown man was looking for him, Reno became even more scared. Seeing a ladder near a building which was close to home, Reno ran towards it, and as fast as he could, climbed up without looking down. He had practiced in climbing up even the most awkward places, and foudn that he was actually quite good at it, so he kept on doing it for he figured that it would one day save his life. Now's a good time to see if it's true.
Reno could hear the man and apparently his lackies approaching, and he forced himself to go faster, not wanting to get captured. Finally, he made it to the top and crouched low on the roof, praying that his head hair wouldn't even make him noticed. He didn't even dare in looking who these people were. He just wanted to get home.
"Sa'luk, the boy wasn't home." said the short-beard man as he and the group followed the furious Sa'luk around the corner, unaware that the boy they were seeking was on the roof, hiding. "The kid could be anywhere."
Sa'luk turned around far too quickly with a death look, and demanded in the most dangerous tone that not even the Turks could come close. "I want that child. His skills are far too good to be found out by ShinRa. When the time comes and the company is finished, I shall truly enjoy killing him, and all others who still followed ShinRa. I shall take down any other leaders in the world. FIND ME THE BOY NOW!" he shouted the last five words.
Fearing to get killed by their leader, the men quickly saluted and split up to look all over Midgar, while Sa'luk just walked away, stomping his way to find the child himself.
Reno couldn't believe what he was hearing. He just witnessed a gang that was far worse than he ever heard, a gang that wanted to take down the most powerful company in the world, a gang who were terrorists and is willing to kill anyone, even in the rest of the world. Worse part, they were after him, wanted him to be part of that horrible gang, as he realised someone must've seen what he could do, but he mainly used his skills to survive out in the streets until he returns home.
Once he knew that the men were gone, Reno slowly climbed back down, and continued towards home. But when he turned to the corner, he screamed in sheer horror and agony, as the home he had grew up in was nothing but rubble, patches of fire still flickering.
Tears forming, Reno quickly raced over to the rubble, desperate to find his parents, praying that they're still alive. He didn't care if his clothes got dirty, all he wanted was to find his mother and father. He threw away some of the rubble, screaming for his parents to answer him. He tried to think of another scenario that they went out shopping and were still out, maybe just coming home, having heard the explosion and were running here to return. Reno wanted to have them calling his name behind him, so he could turn and run up to them, hugging his mother, crying, saying how scared he was.
But his hopes were crushed, as finally, he felt a human skin underneath, and Reno's fears were coming true. Pushing away the heavy metal, Reno again screamed. All blown, torn and burnt, were Reno's parents, covered in blood, and from what Reno could see, his father was shot first before those bastard of a group blew up his home and killed the only family he ever had in his life.
Heartbroken, sorrowed, angered and in agonizing mental pain, Reno broke down into several sobs, his tears falling, screaming and asking on why they had to die, why had those bastard had to kill them and leave him all alone, screaming for them to come back, screaming that he was sorry, and at one moment, wished that he wasn't born.
Just then, Reno's parents began to glow in green lights, dissolving into tiny particles, and he realised that what his mother told him was true; the Lifestream was real, and now they were returning to the planet. They were gone, and they were not coming back.
Reno deeply wished it was all a nightmare, so he could just wake up screaming, crying, and his mother to approach him, to comfort him and tell him it was only a dream.
But it was all real. At this moment, Reno Sinclair was all on his own; no home, no family. He was now dubbed as an orphan-a slum rat.
I cried when I wrote this part. So now Reno's life in the streets is made, but don't worry, it's not the end here. I might consider in posting the next chapter after I posted this one, so, review and keep up to date.