CH 4
Sephiroth held KiyoYume's face in his hands firmly but gently. He looked into each eye carefully. She tried to focus on his materializing wing. She didn't want to look him in the face.
"Are you dizzy?"
"No."
"Does your head hurt?"
"No."
"Is your eyesight blurred?"
"No."
He moved his hands down her neck, his fingers feeling along her vertebra for anything out of place. She winced as his palm bumped a bloody spot on her tunic. Sephiroth pulled away the tunic with his index finger to get a better look.
"Are these teeth marks?"
KiyoYume looked away.
"Are they?" he pressed.
She voice was weak, as if she were ashamed of the answer, but she did answer: "Yes."
"Mmm," came his indifferent response. Sephiroth then felt along her arms and legs. He paid special attention to her back, her wrists, and her ankles, searching for any fractures or breaks. His fingers were experienced but unkind. At last he stood up and looked down at the pitiful sight before him. The angel sat on the floor, leaning against the wall for support. Her dull white hair fell in wisps around her face and in front of her now closed eyes. Her feathered wings failed to lay neatly behind her and her breathing came in deep but shuddering draws and exhales. He was merciless.
"Can you stand?"
KiyoYume opened her eyes, blinked, and looked up at him. She then slowly but dutifully climbed to her feet by aid of the wall.
"It seems aside from a few scrapes and bruises most of the damage is mental. You'll be fine." Sephiroth lead KiyoYume to the nearest couch where he had laid the Masamune and gloves earlier. He now took off his coat and laid it next to the sword.
He went to the nearest bathroom and laid out several clean towels and a new clean tunic. He turned on the hot water and let it run while he went back through the apartment for KiyoYume. He led her back to the bathroom and shut the door behind them.
The angel didn't move, expecting him to say something and leave, but after several seconds of stillness Sephiroth advanced and attempted to peel away the bloody tunic. She batted his hands away and backed to the wall; her accusing eyes displaying a mixture of confusion and fear.
"Be sensible. I'm just going to mend the damage." A dangerous irritation laced Sephiroth's voice. The angel ceded her clothing and climbed into the tub without a word. Sephiroth washed her wounds with a gentleness that surprised her. 'What has changed?' she kept thinking to herself.
"Nothing," Sephiroth's reply broke the stifling quiet; "You are a tool. A valuable one, but a tool none-the-less. However you can be of no use to me in such a state of mental disarray. It is important to keep all of one's tools and assets in top condition. I would treat a sword or a book no differently."
This didn't come as much of a surprise to KiyoYume, but it did hurt. Though her mind was wondering and she wasn't paying that much attention to him anyway. She sat in the tub, staring numbly at the wall. Sephiroth wasn't sure if she was in shock from what he said, or from earlier events. In truth, she was not in his reality.
KiyoYume stood before the All Father. He was speaking to her, but she could not make out his words. The other gods were standing behind him, looking at her earnestly. Some of them were speaking as well. The angle could not understand them either.
"I can't hear you!" She cried urgently, "I can't hear you!" over and over again. Still they spoke.
Sephiroth hauled her out of the now Luke-Warm water and wrapped her in a towel. She blinked her eyes and looked at him as if she had just woken and was seeing him for the first time in many days. Sephiroth paused, caught up completely by her eyes, KiyoYume suffering the same. They stood, eyes locked. KiyoYume blinked again, turning her head away as she did, breaking the link. She still could not bear his gaze.
"It must be because I'm forsaken," she mumbled, "That is why I cannot hear them." Sephiroth drained the water from the tub and left her to change.
Not only is my angel a miserable heap of self-loathing sorrow and forsakenness, but now she's delusional. Surely she wasn't always like this. Surely not all angels are like this... if they are, its no wonder the Planet is going to hell. I wonder if it has something to do with what Hojo did to her? I should consult Reno.
A slow, sly smile spread across his face as a plan began to take shape. He knew the Turks wouldn't dare return to the apartment. So long as KiyoYume stayed here she would be safe; and KiyoYume was in no condition to go anywhere, so he wouldn't have to worry about that. Sephiroth picked up his gloves and put them on, followed by his trench coat.
KiyoYume walked into the room tying the waist of a robe shut.
'Are you leaving?' Her thoughts were not troubled, but more a desire not to be left out of the loop. She seemed to know Sephiroth had scared the Turks off and they would not be back.
"I have business to attend to." He met her eyes briefly, picked up the Masamune, and left.
KiyoYume went into the kitchen. She found the glasses and set one on the counter. She then opened the ice box. Its contents were sparse, but what was there was fresh. She took out the milk, poured herself a glass, and returned it to the ice-box. She stood in the kitchen along time, sipping her glass of milk. When she had finished, she rinsed her glass and left it in the sink. She then found a guest bedroom and crawled into bed and fell asleep.
Sephiroth counted the steps. He would be bypassing all security by taking the back way into Shinra Inc. How utterly stupid, yet convenient, to leave the back door wide open.
Reno's secretary would still be in, he was fairly certain of that. Not that Reno needed a secretary. He answered directly to Hojo, but due to his deep aversion to paper work, Hojo set someone up to do it for him. Sephiroth had it on good authority that she did more than paper work for Reno.
Sephiroth stopped. This was his floor. He opened the door and peaked into the room. It was late and so only the most dedicated Shinra employees were still around. Sephiroth kept to the shadows, remaining unseen. He drew close to her desk, approaching from her back, and waited. People filtered out slowly, but the secretary remained at her desk working slowly, checking the time on her watch every so often. When at last she was alone, save for the guards, she stood up and stretched. She was tall and lithe with blonde hair wrapped tightly in a bun. She let it down and the curly waves fell just past her shoulders.
Sephiroth's hand moved from his Masamune to a holster at his waste. He drew out his gun and adjusted the silencer. Three quick shots and the patrolling guards were down. The secretary looked around, suddenly alarmed. What had she just heard? Her eyes darted around nervously. She sat back down after a few moments, still wary of the shadows.
Sephiroth put the gun away for the moment and drew his sword. Guns were such a waste of technique; this however was necessary, it was all part of the plan. He drew the Masamune and walked up behind the secretary. He slipped it in front of her. She gasped, and stood, but before she could do anything else he pressed the blade to her neck and slipped his free arm around her waist, pulling her slightly toward him, keeping her off balance and under his control.
"It won't do you any good. No one's around to hear you."
"What do you want?" her voice quivered.
"Information."
"I don't know much! I only work for Shinra indirectly, and Hojo doesn't tell me anything... I only file paperwork."
"I don't care about them at the moment. What can you tell me about Reno?" Sephiroth felt her body go rigid. He could almost hear her teeth grinding as she locked her jaw. He'd hit home. Sephiroth made sure she could feel the cold metal against the warm skin of her neck.
"I... Anything, but don't kill me please."
"Where does Reno live?"
"I don't.... I don't know, I've... I can't remember."
"You're lying."
"I... we... he lives on the plate, of course, and he lives above sector 4, and," she spoke quickly, and brokenly, fear making her jittery, "It's a pretty low key apartment, so as not to arouse suspicion, not leased by Shinra... and Hojo, Hojo set the deal up! I don't know anymore, talk to him."
"I'm not interested in Hojo. Tell me more about Reno."
"Umm... he lives... he lives on the west side of the building. In the basement, it's a sub-floor no one is supposed to know about."
"Good."
"Please let me go... I don't want to die, please, please," she backed up and pressed herself against Sephiroth, moving as far away from the blade as she could get. "I'll do anything, anything." She tried to twist her head to see behind her to peer up at Sephiroth through her lashes. She couldn't make out his face, though she could see the soft glow from his Mako eyes, everything else was shrouded in shadow. "Reno doesn't keep me around for nothing."
Sephiroth's lips twitched in slight amusement at her desperation. He leaned close and whispered into her ear, his hot breath causing her to shiver. "I have no need or desire for that which you offer." He applied still more pressure to the blade and a bead of blood began to pool onto the metal.
"But I..." She faltered, realizing that she was completely at his mercy, mercy being one of the things Sephiroth did not often exercise. Her eyes slowly scanned the room in a last desperate attempt to find help. Her vision was blurred by the new forming tears, but she was sure no one was there. She felt his breath leave her neck. The sword left next, followed by the sound of it's sheathing. There was the click of a gun being cocked, and the cold metal of its barrel against the back of her head. She closed her eyes, whispered "Oh, God..."
KiyoYume winced in her sleep as if someone had stabbed her.
An hour later Sephiroth returned to find her resting peacefully. He poured himself a glass of red wine and drank it as he cleaned his blade. He then changed and went to sleep.
The next morning he woke early. On his way to the kitchen he saw KiyoYume staring out the apartment window at the city. She had a glass of warm milk in her hands.
Have you eaten?
She shook her head. "Angels don't really need to eat. We are sustained by the energy of the planet."
Sephiroth nodded and continued on into the kitchen. He fixed himself a small breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. When he had finished he showered. After showering he dressed and set upon his paper work.
KiyoYume sat on a couch and watched him. He sat in a straight-backed wooden chair and worked diligently on his report to Hojo. He set a good pace and kept it for quite a while. The only noise in the apartment was the sound of Sephiroth's pen scratching against the paper as he explained away Strife's disappearance in his sharp, clear handwriting, broken occasionally by the sound of shuffling pages.
KiyoYume tensed and looked at the door as the stillness was broken by a loud knock. She hurried off to another room as Sephiroth stood and walked across the room and opened the door.
"President Shinra." He said by means of greeting.
"Ah... Sephiroth, we need to talk to you. It is very important."
Sephiroth made no move to open the door any wider or let President Shinra and his host of body guards in. Shinra fidgeted nervously.
"Perhaps we might come in? Such things should not be talked about in the open."
Sephiroth raised his eyebrows to display curiosity. He let them inside. Shinra sat as his body guards posted themselves by the door.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Sephiroth asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby bookcase. It was impossible to tell if he was being casual or cruel.
"That's not quite funny as it should be." Shinra started, "We think that we were assaulted last night by some radical group from the slums. How they ever got in we don't know, but there has been a horrible murder. Well, a massacre really. We thought you might recognize the style."
"So you want me to come and look at it?"
"Yes."
Sephiroth made something akin to a sigh and walked into the other room and retrieved his trench coat and his Masamune. KiyoYume was no where in sight. Good. He was sure she wouldn't have to worry about her while he was out.
He returned to find Shinra thumbing through a book. Sephiroth cleared his throat and Shinra almost dropped the book he was holding. After several seconds of fumbling with it he managed to put it back on the shelf. He smiled weakly at Sephiroth.
"Sorry, everyone around the office is kinda edgy."
"Shall we?" Sephiroth gestured to the door.
They left the apartment and about 15 minutes later arrived at the Shinra Inc. building.
"Look here," Shinra pointed to a security camera, "They used Thunder Materia to short out all the cameras, so we don't even have a clue as to what they look like."
After ascending to one of the upper floors and passing through the yellow tape and guard patrol they were met with a gruesome sight.
Paperwork was scattered, chairs had been thrown across the room, desks had been tipped over. The floors three patrolling guards had been shot in the head, killed instantly. Blood splatter covered the walls and furniture. There were smears and handprints everywhere, trails of blood lead to hacked off body parts which were spread throughout the office. The walls displayed hundreds of bullet holes. Marked on one wall in green spray paint that ran, mixing with the red blood, were the words: "Avenge the Planet; Down with Shinra!" As a grand finale the severed head of Reno's secretary was hanging from the ceiling.
Aware of Shinra's scrutinizing eyes, Sephiroth kept a grim expression. He paid careful attention to severed limbs and critically observed paper work, and blood splatter. He then came to the severed head. The woman's pretty blonde hair was splattered with blood. In the back of her skull was a bullet hole. President Shinra looked away.
After several moments of silence the president cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.
"Well?"
"It seems to me you are indeed dealing with a band of radicals. Take for instance the graffiti on the wall there." He paused and pointed to a limb lying close by, "And then there are factors like these: see the way the limb was removed from the body? It was shot until it was more or less perforated and then simply torn off."
"What about the cameras? Such a killer certainly wouldn't have the skill to take them out with materia... would they?"
Sephiroth thought about that for a moment. "Some of the troops receive specialized training before entering combat during the Wutain war. It is possible you have an angry veteran who's joined a band of fanatics. They'd willingly accept him due to the fact he could give them valuable information on building layouts, Shinra tactics, and of course, bring specialized training to the group that could come in handy at times such as these.
"I would suggest you replace the cameras as soon as possible, double the guards, and send word of this attack to all Shinra related buildings across the continent."
Shinra nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you Sephiroth."
Sephiroth shifted his weigh and crossed his arms. "And Shinra, Sir. I strongly recommend you pay more attention to the back door. Its practically an invitation for terrorist groups such as these. It's a wonder we haven't been attacked sooner."
"Ahh, of course, Sephiroth, I'll get right on it..."
"Will you be needing me for anything else then? I'm off duty for the next few days."
"Of course, I'm sorry, I'd forgotten. No, go home and rest up, and when you come back we'll discuss further improvements, eh?"
Sephiroth nodded and took his leave. On his way down one of the halls to the elevators he encountered Reno. They locked eyes. Sephiroth gave him only a second of acknowledgement, just long enough to make sure Reno knew the message was meant for him. The demon smoldered as Sephiroth walked past.
KiyoYume sat on the couch, facing the back, peering over the top. Her wings hung off the end, not quite touching the floor. She was staring intently at the door. Sephiroth entered. He paid her no attention. He changed out of his trench coat, gloves, boots, and had put his Masamune away. He then sat back down at his desk and resumed his work.
"Why did you do it?" came the angel's soft voice. Sephiroth paused in his work. He set the pen down and turned around the face her. She met his gaze with her own demure, lucid eyes, which after a short while she turned towards the window.
"Reno now knows that there are repercussions for his actions." Sephiroth went back to his paperwork. How could this man be so undisturbed by the shedding of innocent blood, especially when it was avoidable?! KiyoYume focused all her attention out window; she didn't want to think about that now. She wanted to be outside, to be close to nature again. It'd been so long.
No.
KiyoYume glanced back at Sephiroth. He had not even skipped a beat, or slowed in his work.
You are to stay here.
'What shall I do for the remainder of the day then?'
Make yourself useful, but stay out of the way.
KiyoYume sighed and got up; meandering through the apartment, looking through the books on the shelves. The only thing she could think of would be to catch herself up on how the people of this modern world thought. What had become of her race anyway? Why were there no more Cetra? She hadn't felt any since she had come to this world, even before Hojo had found her. She at last found what she was looking for: Cetra, and other ancient beings of the Planet: 4th Edition.
KiyoYume went back to the room in which Sephiroth was still hard at work at his desk. She felt inexplicably safe when she was near him, even if he didn't seem to care much for her personally. He may as well hate her, but he would keep her safe because he could use her to further his own ends, and that gave the angel a strong sense of security, however disturbing. Comfort was another matter all together.
KiyoYume sighed and opened the book.
"Chapter One: What were the Cetra? ..."
Most of the book was a great deal of speculation and some of it was entirely made up. Hardly anything was accurate or true, which was a shame, because the history of the Cetra was so very interesting. Fighting Demons born of corrupt life stream, praising and coming into contact with the gods, being able to work magic without the aid of materia...
After Sephiroth had finished his paperwork and filed everything away he headed back into the kitchen for a brief lunch. When he had finished he went back out into the main room to observe the angel. She was seated on the couch and had not moved in a very long while. She was absorbed in a rather large book, the look on her face shifting from amusement to sorrow or disgust every once in a while.
"What are you reading?"
"History." The angel answered without looking up as she turned a page.
Sephiroth scoffed, "History?"
"Mainly what your people think the Cetra were and what happened to them. I'm just now getting the Wutain War. It's such a shame the last great peoples on the earth were put down, my people... But not without a great deal of help from you, though, as I understand it." She glanced up at him from over the top of her book, her eyes accusing. She would have mustered up malice, or even hate, had she been looking at anyone else.
Sephiroth brushed her comment aside. His questions would be answered first, and then hers, if he even felt like it at all. He didn't have to justify, much less confirm or negate himself to this creature.
"So what did happen the Cetra?" he pursued his original topic of interest.
KiyoYume closed the book and after a moment looked up at Sephiroth, "They found the promised land."
Well concealed in a dark alley across from the Shinra building Sephiroth waited patiently. He could wait all night if he had to. But he knew that would not be necessary. The Sense materia glowed softly in his hands. His prey would be coming out of those doors at any moment. He tensed his muscles and relaxed them.
There was always that primitive rush of adrenaline and excitement when he hunted. Such an invigorating, primordial feeling, it was almost liberating. He watched the doors with attentive predatory eyes. The materia flickered again. He crouched in the shadows and continued to wait. Not long now at all.
Reno pushed open the door and strode out of the building and onto the walkway. 'What a long day' he thought as he walked toward the train station. His secretary had been murdered he knew for certain, as a warning. Sephiroth was not happy, and Reno knew this, but he had not expected the repercussions to be so sudden or sever. The rest of the day had been spent in mild paranoia and great tension. He was not feeling well; what he needed was a drink.
Reno headed toward the train station, and ultimately toward his favorite bar.
He had no earthly idea why this angel was so important to Hojo. She was just some lowly angel anyway, well, not that lowly. She had been promised to Tseng. Gods only knew why. Although she was unusually empathetic, her abilities in that area being stronger than most other angels, there was nothing particularly special about her. She was a nobody: just your ordinary angel, born of common breeding stalk. Not a spec of royalty or nobility in her. She was an odd ball anyway. But there was something about this one. She had to be more than she seemed.
Hojo was furious that he'd lost her and Sephiroth was even more so that she'd been found and... tampered with. A sly smile spread across Reno's face as he savored the memory. Although Sephiroth probably did not yet understand the specific importance of her to Hojo, he knew it had to be something important to have been guarded so carefully. It didn't matter, she was now broken and would be of no further use. But at least he'd enjoyed breaking her. It wasn't something he got to do often.
Reno stopped, cocked his head to the side and listened. He shook it and kept walking. 'It is only my imagination, too much stress for one day. There is no one following me,' he reassured himself. But... there it was again; the feeling that he was being watched and followed. He shivered and turned around. It's nothing he told himself again.
To prove it to himself he walked back the way he had come a bit. Reno looked down the nearest alley, nothing. He cautiously approached a group of trashcans, and then proceeded to kick them all over. Nothing. He turned and headed back toward the bar... toward sweet liquor.
He let his thoughts drift back to KiyoYume again. The angel hadn't been bad looking. She was a pretty, lithe, little creature, the gods had sculpted her well. Reno licked his lips and savored the memory. His hands moving across her smooth flesh, her terrified cries, the broken look in her eyes, the sweet, sweet taste of her mouth...
A screech and a loud crunch interrupted Reno's thoughts. A nearby mailing post had been crumpled... He looked around. No one, but he was at the train station.
Soon a soft rumble could be heard from down the tracks and the train pulled into view shortly after. Once it stopped and the doors opened he got on, but not after scanning the area behind him. The station was deserted, he was completely alone.
He stepped into the train and took a seat near the front of the car. There was no around save a stack of old newspapers someone had left on a seat nearby. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as the train pulled away from the station noisily. The rough swaying motion made it impossible to actually sleep or get anywhere near, but his eyes were so tired.
There was a muffled crash inside the car. He snapped his head up and opened his eyes, looking around. The stack of newspapers had been knocked over somehow and now lay scattered about the floor of the train car. Reno looked around suspiciously. There was no one in the car, and with the white plastic benches against the walls, there was no where for anyone to hide. He kept his eyes open for several more minutes before finally giving up and closing them again. Soon... soon he would be at the bar.
He felt the lights go out. The scanning; such a pathetic attempt on Shinra's part to weed out intruders. It wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later someone would get through.
The hair on Reno's neck began to stand up. He opened his eyes. It was total darkness save for the occasional flashing of the red scanning lights. There... directly on the other side of the car, was the glow of Mako eyes, soft aqua green. Only when the red lights flashed on Reno could see Sephiroth sitting there, a smug grin on his face. Reno began to sweat. And then, the lights stopped, and the regular florescents tried to come back on, flickering. With each spell of darkness, Sephiroth was there, and in the light he was gone. At last, they stayed on, the white light giving the car a bleak and empty look. Reno blinked and looked around nervously. No trace of anyone. "God do I need a drink."
Reno swung his head back and downed the liquor. He set the glass back on the counter with a loud 'thunk' and ran a hand through his hair, pushing the red mess out of his face. He always felt better when he drank. A slender teenager on the other side of the counter with large breasts and long brown hair tied loosely back in a pony tale walked over to where he was sitting. She whipped her hands on her apron.
"Another refill sir?"
"Damn straight." Though Reno had has several drinks already, he was not in the least bit tipsy. He inspected the young waitress carefully through his bangs.
"You're new here aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Of all the places in Midgar a babe like you could get a job at, you work at this low-life bar?"
"Well sir, I just arrived here from Nibelheim. It was about the only place that would hire a small town girl like me. Besides," she paused wistfully, "I need the experience. Some day I'm going open up a bar of my own."
Reno raised his eyebrows as he sipped his alcohol. "What's your name?"
"Tifa, Tifa Lockheart."
Reno downed the rest of this glass and set it back on the counter.
"You poor good liquor, better get that damn bar opened soon. Here, fill 'er up again. What are you going to call the place?"
Tifa smiled, as she leaned back on the counter and looked up at the ceiling. "Tifa's Seventh Heaven."
"I'll drink to that." Reno held his glass out to be filled.
"Thank you." Tifa filled his glass yet again. Reno downed it in one swallow and set the glass down. "Well babe, I'm gonna scram." He fished through his pockets for a moment and then set down a small pile of gil on the counter. "That should cover the cost, and there's a little something extra for you there. Put it towards your Seventh Heaven. I'll be sure to stop by when its up and running, but only if you promise to serve me personally..." Reno licked his lips, "you and no one else." He then winked at her.
Tifa was slightly taken aback by all this, and she looked down at the money on the counter. "Of course, sir." She looked up to thank him but he was already gone.
Reno stuffed his hands into his pockets and craned his head back to look at the sky. A large dark metal plate took the place of the sky. He swayed a bit on his feet and quickly looked back at the ground. After a moment he moved on.
Reno was trying to decide who to hate tonight, Hojo or the rest of the bastard gods on the other side of the ethereal when a near by trash can tipped over. Probably nothing, he told himself and hurried on by the alley. He would not allow himself to think he had seen the glow of Mako eyes down the alley.
The lights on the posts suddenly flickered and went out. The hair on Reno's neck prickled. A shadow rushed across the street in front of him. Reno took his hands out of his pockets and reached for his taser stick. He drew it and moved his arm in a quick downward motion, the stick expanding. His eyes darted around nervously. Reno felt a rush of wind to his back and spun around to face nothing.
Reno took off down the street at a slow jog, the alcohol affecting his balance. The sooner he could get home the better. That place was protected. Surely Sephiroth could not break Hojo's enchantments, Reno thought, He can't there's no way, besides, Hojo is a freaking god!
Reno stopped running and looked around. He swayed on his feet, and took a step forward to brace himself. Where was he? He must have taken a wrong turn, for he was at the end of a dead end alley. Old boxes and newspapers littered the ground. An old wino lay huddled in a corner, asleep. One hand clutched a brown paper sack protectively.
There was the scrape of metal being drug against the brick wall and the sound of wing beats. It was too dark for Reno to see exactly where above him Sephiroth was, but he knew he was close. Reno swore under his breath and adjusted his stance and his grip on his weapon.
"Alright you bastard!" Reno shouted into the darkness, turning to face the dead end wall where he had last heard the wing-beats. "Either leave me the hell alone, or tell me what you want!"
"Very brave words, Reno."
The Turk spun around to see Sephiroth walking down the alley toward him, his eyes glowing coldly in the dim light. Sephiroth moved his hand away from his body and the glint of light on steel could be seen. Reno swallowed. The Masamune... Sephiroth meant business. Reno backed up, but there was no where left to go.
"Let's talk." Sephiroth's voice was calm and smooth.
"Couldn't we go to a bar or something; I could buy you a drink..." Reno offered nervously.
"Mm, you really need to break that addiction. No, I would prefer to talk here," In the blink of an eye Sephiroth had leveled his sword and rushed at Reno. He kept his face voice of emotion as he pushed with his whole body. The sword forced its way through Reno and wall behind him. Reno screamed as Sephiroth continued to push the sword through him. Sephiroth stopped and backed away when there was about 6 inches between Reno's gut and the hilt guard.
"Here, I am in charge."
Reno shrieked and tried to tug the blade out of stomach, but it wouldn't budge.
"What do you know about the angel? What value is she to Hojo?"
Reno spat at Sephiroth. "Bastard! I don't know anything."
Sephiroth stepped forward and took hold of Reno by the shoulders. He jerked Reno to right in a quick rough motion and Reno cried out in pain. Reno was now tilted slightly to the right.
"I'll try again." Sephiroth stepped back and crossed his arms. "What do you know about the angel?"
Reno grit his teeth. He could taste blood in his mouth. "She was... a project of some sort."
"Good. What type of experimentation?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Sephiroth jerked Reno again. He was at almost a 45 degree angle now.
"Ahhhhrgh, alright!!! It was something to do with Cetra... and perfecting them."
"Hojo is not capable of perfection. Only corruption." Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward.
"To hear it from the boss it was perfection."
"What agents did he use?"
"Chaos... and... Jenova." Reno tried to block out the pain. He wasn't going to tell him anything he couldn't learn from the angel. It would all be wasted time on Sephiroth's part. Blood tickled down from the corner of his mouth.
"Hmmm... and was he successful?" If the angel had been corrupted with Jenova Sephiroth would have to destroy her.
"Ooooh yesss." Reno hissed. "Very successful."
Sephiroth eyed the Turk. "You are lying." He reached out and twisted Reno on the blade again. Reno screeched as he struggled to keep his feet on the ground, with which he now being turned parallel. Suddenly all his weight was on the blade and his feet were off the ground. He shook involuntarily from the pain. He could feel his insides being shredded yet the blade did not cut completely through him.
"Damn you, and damn your sword." Reno cried.
"Does it hurt yet?" Sephiroth mocked. Reno shrieked in response. "Good. Now, tell me what I want to know or I'll get angry."
"The... the experiments failed," the Turk panted, "damn angel rejected all of the doses. Hojo decided to get better before he permanently damaged her, so he put her... aside for... a bit."
"Interesting. Now... what is Hojo working on currently?"
"Go to... hell."
Sephiroth shook his head and twisted Reno until he was upside down. Blood began to drip off the blade and onto Reno's face.
The alley was quiet save for Reno's labored breathing and the occasional splat of the blood landing on his face.
"Sephiroth... I swear to you... I do not know what Hojo is working on. He will not even tell Tseng."
"Mmm." Sephiroth crossed his arms again. "What else?"
"He is... calling back the scientists." Reno caved, "Stationed... around the planet." Reno's sentences were broken as he panted, struggling for air. "You must have... really pissed him off... when you took her. He doesn't want you... to gain any progress with her. So he's, calling everyone back... to Midgar. And then... they'll be under high security." Reno was torn for a second between begging and taunting. His malevolent side won. "It looks to be that you.... are screwed."
Sephiroth crouched down and looked Reno in the eye.
"Thank you, its been a pleasure." He stood and jerked the blade out of the wall and Reno tumbled down onto the pavement; curling up in a miserable heap.
Sephiroth whipped off the blade of the Masamune. He walked down the end of the alley and disappeared from Reno's view.
Reno groaned and tried to curl up further. He wouldn't die, for it took more than that to kill a demon, but in the mean time Reno was not sure he could maintain consciousness.
The old wino who had been sleeping suddenly stretched, coughed, and took a long drink from the bottle. Through the darkness of the alley he could make out Reno's form, curled up against the wall, moaning in pain. "Poor guy," muttered the Wino as he stiffly got to his feet, "He must have had a really rough go of things today." The wino shuffled over and squatted down by the Turk and poked him gently in the shoulder. Reno looked up warily. The wino thought a moment longer and then handed him the brown paper bag and the bottle within.
"You look like you could use a drink."