Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square Enix and no financial profit is sought from this work.
Warnings: language, violence, blood, death and yaoi
Chapter Eight: Scars
Reno was walking towards the company vehicle garage in the back of the ShinRa building, tired and ten minutes late. As the resistance movement had managed to slip past them the day before, his and Rude's field work had been put to halt for the day, and after turning in the report the General wanted, they'd been free for the rest of the day and Reno had done nothing but slept once he got home after the office hours. But one night's worth of sound sleep was not enough to make up for sleep deprivation for four days, and he had even been woken from his much needed sleep in the late evening with a call from the office, informing him about a change in plans.
He had been groggy, not to mention a little annoyed, when answering the phone, so Reno hadn't caught all the details, but the situation was that instead of meeting Rude in the slums of the Seventh, like the original plan was, he and his partner would start in the morning from the ShinRa building, where they'd be joined by Zack and Sephiroth. Apparently it had been requested by the General himself, to Reno's great surprise.
When Reno reached the garage and opened the door, he spotted three people standing by the motorcycles. One of them he quickly recognized as Rude and the other as Zack, but the third man didn't look like Sephiroth. Like the missing General, the man was taller than the other two, but he was wearing dark jeans and a dull gray coat with the hood pulled over his head, looking nothing like the victorious fighter in leather that the Turk had been expecting. Only when Reno walked closer to the men, and saw the green glow from the stranger's eyes, and heard a familiar cold voice, he recognized the man.
Completely ignoring the comment about him being late, Reno asked, surprised: "General Sephiroth?"
Before the man even had the chance to answer, Zack piped up: "Yes. We figured that sending Seph down there looking like he usually does could cause troubles, so I made him a disguise. What do you think?"
After the Wutai war, Sephiroth's fame rivalled those of the most famous movie stars in Midgar, so disguising the man made sense. If word got around in the slums that The Great Sephiroth was down there, searching for something, the resistance movement would certainly relocate or stay completely hidden, and that would further complicate their job.
Reno took a closer look at Sephiroth, who for the most part looked like any random man from the streets. His hair, which was one of his most distinguishable features, had been tucked under the long coat and the hood of it was shadowing his face well enough. Even his long sword had been wrapped in dark fabric. The weapon itself wasn't even nearly as well known as its wielder, but a blade that long alone could draw a lot of attention, so it was a good precaution.
"Seems good. But, there's one thing," Reno said and lifted a hand to his hair, pulling out his sunglasses from the red mess of his hair and handed them out to Sephiroth. Besides his long silvery hair, Sephiroth's Mako green eyes were what made him stand out. Reno didn't know if SOLDIERs became unconsciously ignorant towards the glow of their eyes, or any other reason why Zack had failed to shield them when playing dress-up with the General. "Wear these. Yer eyes'll give ya away if people get close."
Nodding, Sephiroth took the glasses and put them on. "Now that all of us have finally arrived, we need to move. I and Zack are joining another shift in Sector Five at 1500, and I'd like to get some work done before that," Sephiroth said as he turned around and got on the bike reserved for him for the day.
"You're welcome," Reno muttered under his breath at the SOLDIER's back. Yawning, he then signed out his bike and followed the other three out of the garage.
For easier individual mobility, they rode motorcycles to the Sector Seven slums and after arriving to their destination near the central pillar, they hid their expensive ShinRa-built bikes under the railway structures and continued on foot, to appear less suspicious.
"There's no use for all four of us to move together. We will split into two groups to better cover up the area, one Turk and a SOLDIER in a group, so we'll have the expertise of both," Sephiroth said, once they gathered up in front of their bikes after hiding them.
"I call Zack," Reno said as he stepped next to his friend, though the pairs must've been clear to all of them once the General had voiced his plan.
"No. You're coming with me, Reno," Sephiroth answered to the Turk's great surprise. "We should try to make the groups equal in terms of strength and experience. Rude is the senior one in Turks and I in SOLDIER, so that determines the group formation."
It was a sensible way of doing things, but Reno wasn't thrilled with the outcome. Even after a well-deserved and peaceful night of sleep, he was against being left alone with Sephiroth. With his coldness and mad determination, the General was the most boring and slaving man to have as a partner in a tiring mission like this. Also, even if time had passed since it, Reno was still annoyed at Sephiroth about the accusations the man had thrown at him the day before. But, joining the Turks in the search like this must've made Sephiroth realise that he had been wrong in the matter, and that was at least something. Maybe as close to an apology Reno could ever get with the man.
"Fine," Reno replied, knowing that even if he wanted to, he was in no position to decline an order from the General.
"We will move diagonally through the sector, starting from the walls and moving towards the middle of the sector. Zack and Rude, you take the North side, we will take the South. If one group finds something, they'll contact the other. I and Zack need to leave for the Fifth at 1450. We most likely can't have the whole area searched by then, so after we leave, you Turks are free to continue as you please. Any questions?" Sephiroth ended his string of commands.
As none arose, the group split in two and headed to their assigned directions. The area close to the central pillar was scarcely populated due to the rumble of the passing trains and the downpour of dirty water that cascaded down from the plate on rainy days, so it was quickly searched and soon Reno and Sephiroth were reaching the densely built area of the slums and passing more people who, to their relief, were completely ignorant to the SOLDIER's presence.
Reno also felt a little twisted pride when leading the disguised Sephiroth down the streets and small alleyways. No matter what annoyance he was currently feeling towards the man, the fact that he was a living legend and an accomplished war hero never left his mind, and to have a man of the General's status following him, made Reno feel proud of his actions, even if everyone in ShinRa knew that Turks were more talented in investigating than SOLDERs were.
The Turk's proud thoughts soon came to a halt together with his steps when he realized his pant pockets were unusually empty. Frantically, he tapped his hands over his body, checking all the pockets hidden in his blue suit. "Aw, hell no," Reno swore, when he didn't find the familiar shape.
"What?" Sephiroth asked behind him.
"I forgot my PHS at the bike," Reno said, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
Sephiroth let out an annoyed sigh. "How could you forget it? Contacting the other group is important now when we're split up."
"Oh, shut up." Reno retorted and spun around to look at the man behind him. It was an extremely impolite way to talk to his superior, but Reno didn't like the tone of his voice, especially after the incident the day before, which still made him easily irritable. Also, lashing out at Sephiroth was easier when the man didn't look his intimidating self. "I'm tired, 'kay? Have been fo' days. That makes a brain forgetful," he defended his mishap, and added: "I'll go get the damn thing."
"Can't we manage with mine?" Sephiroth asked as Reno walked past him.
"No," Reno replied, not turning to look at him. "Ya never know which one Zack an' Rude will call, an' then we don't have time to waste. Besides, I can't have it stolen. I'll be back in twenty minutes."
Reno broke into a jog, cursing his mistake and tired mind. While the Turks never had any confidential company info saved in their PHS, the numbers alone were precious information and shouldn't be left to the hands of wrong people. The redhead knew from experience that the slums had all kinds of people lurking around, looking for things to steal and profit from. So even if they had hidden their bikes well, someone could still come across them and his PHS in the hidden compartment during the day.
Reno was so absorbed in his reprimanding thoughts that he failed to notice the hand grabbing for his shoulder from one of the small alleyways until he was yanked back into it. Suddenly, there were two sets of hands on him, strongly pinning his arms to his back. Just as Reno was about to turn his head around to look at his attackers, a familiar man with slanted eyes and black shoulder-length hair stepped in front of him.
"Eiji," Reno murmured in surprise at the leader of the resistance movement.
"Long time no see, Reno," the man replied and reached to remove Reno's nightstick from his belt, "If that even is your real name."
Eiji's voice was tight with anger he was trying to restrain, which made Reno's stomach twist in anxiety. With the removal of his weapon along with the way the two men, Jawei and Leroy, as Reno noted looking over his shoulders, were forcefully gripping his arms, it was clear that the men weren't happy to meet their lost comrade. Obviously they had figured out his betrayal... And Reno had cemented it by wearing his Turk uniform, which luckily many didn't connect to the ShinRa, as very few people outside of the company even knew of the department's existence. But even in his un-kept fashion the dark blue suit was more upscale than his undercover persona was supposed to afford. So any lies and pretence of still being part of the movement were useless and would probably give him even more harm in the hands of the three strongest men in the whole movement.
"I have heard that you have been searching for us with another blue-suit after the massacre in the Sector Two base, where you mysteriously disappeared," Eiji said, and when Reno stood silent, not admitting a thing, the Wuitaiese man continued: "The way the poor men and women were brutally killed points to the direction that they were killed by no else but SOLDIERs. It makes me sick that we had a disgusting ShinRa rat like you among us!" There was a short pause after the angry spat, and then Eiji snorted: "But I have to admit you were a damn good actor, the story about your family fooled us all. Was it scripted by the ShinRa or did you come up with it yourself?"
Reno had been silently watching Eiji and evaluating the dangerousness of the situation. He was now unarmed and outnumbered, not to mention immobilised. Even in the morning sun the alleyway was dark because of the shade of the plate above and the lack of streetlights, they were also close to the main pillar so the traffic of people was almost nonexistent. Reno had little to no chance of walking away unharmed should things ignite and a fight to start, but the degrading comment at his family made him snap. "I didn't lie about that!"
"Oh. You didn't?" Eiji asked, genuinely surprised. But then his face turned into a sneer of despise. "So you're just a deceptive back-stabber with no honor?"
At that comment, Reno's whole being flared with anger. He wasn't still completely over the guilt of his decision to become a Turk, but he liked to believe that, just like Zack had said, his family was happy that he got himself out of the slums. Instinctively, Reno lunged towards Eiji, but was kept still by his captors. Unable to inflict physical damage to the man, Reno spat on his face and growled: "Fuck you, ya piece o' shit! At least I made somethin' out of my life."
That was what pushed Eiji's anger over the edge. He switched on the electricity in Reno's nightstick and hit him hard with it, the shocks followed by a strong kick to his stomach, which effectively knocked the air out of Reno and he slumped down in the arms of the men holding him, gasping for breath.
"Take him deeper in the alley." Reno could hear Eiji say to his accomplices, and the two men started dragging him.
Soon Reno was dropped on his knees on the ground, his arms still held captive. His lungs were burning painfully and his head felt dizzy in the lack of oxygen. Reno tried to calm down the panic rising in him as he focused on breathing, but the shallow breaths he was able to draw where whiny and weak and it made him more alarmed.
"You know, Reno, there was an old tradition in Wutai about marking traitors, so people would know to avoid them. The tradition was abandoned about eighty years ago, though, because it was thought to be cruel and that people deserve another chance. Generally I agree, but in your case," Eiji said, and Reno had never heard anyone address him with such venom in their voice before, "I'll make an exception."
Reno heard his nightstick falling to the ground and he lifted his eyes to look up at Eiji, still gasping for breath. The man was holding a knife in his hand. He said something in Wutaiese to Jawei, who then gripped handful of Reno's hair and pulled him to face Eiji.
"I recommend you to stay very still. You wouldn't want to lose an eye," Eiji said seriously, and unable to move, Reno waited with cold dread what was going to happen.
Eiji lifted up the knife and slashed it at Reno's face, right above his left cheek bone. The action was quick but painful as Reno could feel the sharp knife cutting deep into his flesh and he let out a scream, barely audible with his damaged lungs and diaphragm. Right after Eiji was done cutting the left side of his face, he brought the knife down on Reno's right cheek bone as well, making an identical cut there and sending more blood streaming down the redhead's face. After the second cut, Reno was released and instinctively he brought his hands to the aching cuts on his face, smearing blood into his eyes. His heart was pounding, his whole body shaking with adrenaline, fear and anger, and he was still trying to catch his breath. Then, over the loud thumping of his heart, he could hear someone yelling his name.
"Reno!"
The injured Turk lifted his head up and dropped his hands from his eyes to see a tall figure running towards them, unwrapping a long sword.
'Sephiroth,' Reno thought in relief as Jawei and Leroy left his sides to attack the disguised SOLDIER with Eiji.
Reno spotted his nightstick laying an arm's reach from him and he grabbed it and tried to stand up and join the fight. His legs wouldn't support his weight though, and Reno fell back on his knees. Then he heard the Wutaiese men gasp in horror with a word he didn't understand and he looked up to see Sephiroth land to the ground from a jump up to the air to evade their attacks, the hood falling off his face and his silver hair escaping the confines of his coat. All the men in the battle froze for few seconds until Sephiroth attacked them, cutting a dazed Leroy in his upper torso. Reno took a deep, shaky breath and tried to push himself up again, but failed. Cursing his weak body, Reno listed to the decreasing sounds of the battle near him, trying to fill his lungs with air and every now and then get up on his shaky legs.
Reno turned to look at the fight just in time to see Jawei fall to the ground, where his two comrades already laid deadly still. Sephiroth slashed his sword through the air in one swift motion, shaking the blood off from it. Then he strode over to Reno, who noted that his sunglasses had fallen off in the fight, too.
"Where are you hurt?" The silver-haired man hastily asked as he knelt next to Reno.
"Stomach an'-" Reno replied, gesturing to his bloody face.
"Any broken bones?"
Reno shook his head, an action that made him feel quite dizzy.
"Good. Do you have a Restore materia?"
"No," Reno said, opting for talking again, even if he didn't like how weak his voice sounded.
"Potions?"
"No."
Sephiroth sighed, frustrated. "You should always equip yourself suitable for battles."
"Ya don't have any?" Reno asked, too dizzy and breathless to react to the tone and reprimanding like he normally would have. He was on a mission with two insanely powerful SOLDIERs; he shouldn't have bothered with combat or materia!
"I equip myself suitably, and I hardly need them," Sephiroth replied evenly, reaching for his PHS from his coat pocket. He dialled a number and waited for the other end to pick up.
"Zack," he said when his second-in-command answered his call, "Do you or Rude have Restore materia? Reno is injured." A pause, then: "Good. Where are you? How fast can you get it here?" Another pause, during which he eyed Reno critically. "I see. We're close to the bikes; it'll be faster if we ride there."
Without a goodbye, Sephiroth disconnected the call and turned to look at Reno. "You heard me, right? Can you get up?"
"I can try," Reno replied and tried to push himself on his feet again, now with more determination than before. He almost made it up, but his shaking knees gave in the end.
Luckily, Sephiroth was there to catch the swearing Turk before he fell to the ground again. "Looks like I'll have to carry you," the silver haired man said and lifted Reno into his arms.
Sephiroth carried Reno in front of him, one arm around his ribcage and other in the back of his knees. Reno associated the position to carrying women, damsels in distress, and it made him feel slightly embarrassed. He'd have preferred to be carried over the SOLDIER's shoulders, but it would've made breathing even more difficult to him, and Sephiroth was smart enough to see that.
Trying to stand up had made him feel even dizzier than before, and Reno could feel his mind slipping as they made their way to the bikes. Groggily, he was aware of Sephiroth lowering him down on the motorcycle, and telling him to sit up, and then he could feel Sephiroth getting on the bike behind him, steadying the disoriented Turk against his body with one hand. There was a loud roar of the engine and soon they were moving, the unsteady soil under the tires making the ride more uncomfortable than on the plate. But soon, Reno couldn't feel the slight bouncing of the bike, as his world went completely dark and silent.
A/N: So... four years without an update, eh? Time certainly can fly. I could make up excuses about life and other fandoms, but it wouldn't matter. I'm just incredibly sorry I ended up abandoning this fic, without never really meaning to.
Huge thanks goes to all the people who kept reading and reviewing the story, even in my absence! I can honestly say it's because of you that I picked it up again, as every review that dropped in my inbox was a guilty bang on my conscience that urged me to continue the fic. Hopefully typing down the next chapter won't take four years...