Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me...however much I may like it to. I own no characters, places etc. etc. so please don't sue me! I'm a nice person :)

Author's Note: Chapter Six...PLEASE review as I really enjoy reading your views and they inspire me to get better! It would make me very very happy! Anyway stop reading this and get on with reading the fic! Hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter Six: Missions of Remembrance

The young Turk rocked back and forth gently, upon the firm, toughened heels of the ever so slightly scuffed boots, the laces which entwined their way through the eye-lock metallic holes, were pulled tight for surety, but still loosened in his own personal style, and even the footwear's blackened leather shape, which came all the way up to the beginnings of his knee, seemed to look ever so 'Reno' in their informal creases.

His shoes were not the only part of his uniform to have been changed for the mission; his trousers had been replaced with a thickened pair of almost darkened khaki combats, the material much rougher against his skin, than his normally silky smooth pinstripes, his once suited upper half had also been transformed, and instead of his usual crispy, loose shirt and tailored blue jacket, he now wore a pale, white t-shirt, whose tight fitting cotton clung to every contour of his slender, yet toned physique, whilst the strangely light folds of blackened leather from his trench coat, hung freely down about his lower calf.

The change in clothing didn't usually bother him, after all, he'd often had to change for missions before, and not always into the most flattering of pieces, but it had always been for purposes of disguise rather than for actual physical need, and seeing as the red head still hadn't been informed, as of yet, where this new mission was located, the unexpected, roughened threads, were doing nothing for his hidden batch of nervous uncertainty, which had been brewing slowly ever since Tseng had first mentioned the job, and the secrecy which surrounded it, stopping even him, the player and participant, from being informed of the details.

But of course...it was not his place to question either his superior or his work...and even thinking about the possibility of doing so was not something a Turk did...

As he stood there, upon the highest most platform of Shin-Ra HQ; the roof, the red head seemingly managed to cut himself off completely and transport himself to his own space of secluded silence, as if some invisible, impenetrable barrier had been built up around him, and even when the heavy, unfeathered helicopter propellers started to spin against their metal frame, causing previously non-existent wind to be produced like newly created ripples upon a glass lake surface, it had no affect upon him, his form remaining rooted, whilst his mind stayed focused as it wandered back to the events of the previous night.

* Flashback *

The car's rumbling engine was the only thing that sounded about the cushioned interior of the otherwise metallic chassis, which was thrumming like a violin string, being played with the perfect amount of swiftly pressured motions, as the red head shifted his gaze from the steering wheel, to the view being enhanced up by vehicle's set of head lights.

Tifa's form was even more motionless as it lay, lazily slumped against the soft, pliable seat, her restraint when coming to movement, or speech, seamlessly effortless in its control, as neither her mind, nor body wished to carry out either action of communication with the young Turk sitting so closely beside her.

Not a word had been spoken between them since the brunette had left him on the balcony, where he had proceeded to stay, for a good portion of the evening, before eventually returning back, into the wealth drenched ballroom, in which he had soon proceeded to find and follow his female guest out from, and into the moonlit car-park.

She hadn't asked him to take her home, but the single look of hollow, distrusting hurt that she had given him upon their re-acquaintance had told him without any doubt, that she wanted and would be going home, and seeing as she had not driven their herself, he was the only party guest, whom was able to take her back.

He didn't mind of course, quite the opposite in fact, but the atmosphere had changed between them, from one of friendly warmth, to uncomfortable quiet, and with her last words still so fresh in his mind, the journey was always going to be painful to endure, in the non-physical sense.

Reno pulled on the handbrake as he brought the vehicle to a slowed stop in front of the brunette's bar, on top of which was housed a beautiful flat, in which the young woman was no doubt desperate to lock herself within, wanting to hide away from the world, the evening's events and of course, him.

As she clicked open the car door, the red head was sure her head had wavered in its movements, as though flickering between making the decision on a spoken farewell, but that moment soon passed and she exited the confined space, purposely closing him off from her, with the softest push against the outside metallic material, in some last, ditch attempt at mercy.

And then he was gone, leaving only the reverberations of wheel friction and heated engines echoing around the twilight air, knowing he would not see her again, until the mission's safe completion.

* End of Flashback *

''Reno.''

The deep, emotionless voice of his towering, bald partner was enough to snap the young Turk out from his brooding stance and back to the reality of roaring flight transportation, and cold roof air, to which he responded with a concealed shiver and a confirming nod to the man responsible for his resurfacing.

Rude's unseen gaze, seemingly pierced through his shade eye-wear, and as he spoke, his voice glinted with his trademark stability, ''It's time to go.''

With another silent nod, the red head began the short, let endlessly lingering journey to the helicopter, which for once, he wouldn't be flying, and before he could even adapt to the, air storm force, of the twirling propellers, Reno found himself within the air-craft, and once again within his own barricades of personal solitude.

Reno gave the smallest groan of annoyance as he wrestled with the hard, plastic like material which coated the back seats of the air-craft.

With all the money Shin-Ra has, you'd think they'd try and build these things to some level of comfortability...

He gave another fruitless wriggle before allowing his tired, bothersome limbs to slump down upon the seat's surface, which reminded him of being at school for some reason, the many unwanted, unneeded lessons he had been forced to endure upon awkwardly stiff, mass produced and synthetically bobble ridden chairs, somewhat likeable to his current predicament.

They'd been in flight for thirty minutes now, and already the red head was beginning to grow restless, especially after being informed by Rude, that they would, in fact, be travelling for at least another five hours, and even then they'd only be stopping for a few hours over-night at a half way point, from which they would then be departing from at approximately the third hour after midnight, and then be proceeding to travel, by foot, to the mission's location that neither, as of yet, had been made aware of.

There was no denying that the idea of being stuck in the back of a helicopter for hours with no entertainment or comfortable seating, sleeping at some random outpost, which again, no doubt wouldn't be the most cosy of places, and then walking to some remote and probably either extremely dangerous or incredibly barren location, was not exactly what the red head would describe as 'agreeable'.

Though, of course he was not about to complain, and it wasn't as if he hadn't endured previous missions with similar requirements before, but the protective barrier around the whole thing made him feel more than a tad uneasy, and as each second ticked by, he grew more and more unsure of whether he actually wanted to know where they were going, or anything about the mission at all, for that matter.

The way the passenger seating had been designed, resulted with both Reno and his perfectly bald partner facing one another, their only views being either each other's forms or the blank, dull grey metallic materiel of the air-craft's interior wall.

The red head's mouth gave a slightly numbed pang, as his jaw seemingly began to ache in some sort of retaliation at being clenched so tightly in its currently closed state.

True, he hadn't uttered a word since the journey's beginning, through both lack of willingly conversational company, and during those starting moments, even he hadn't been in the mood for talking, but now, with the muted whipping coming from the propellers above, and the reverberations rippling from the floor below, it seemed like the perfect time to start with the yapping.

He took one swift glance at the boringly ordered pilots, before turning his aquamarine gaze back the view opposite, quickly observing his still, motionless partner, whose shades made it almost impossible to tell whether or not he was actually even awake.

Hm...Maybe Rude will be up for some conversation...

The young Turk shot a small sort of half wave at his partner, as if to check he was still in the conscious reality of the alert, to which he did indeed receive a response, in the form of a slight swift in shoulder movements.

He paused hesitantly before speaking, ''So Rude...what you doing?''

Reno cringed immediately, and only continued to do so when he viewed the look upon his partner's face, the bald clearly mystified as to why he'd been asked such a stupid question.

Ok, maybe not...

The red head gave a short chuckle of embarrassment, and ran five distractingly nervous fingers through the spiky top portion of his flame red locks, before turning away, so quickly it was almost comic.

After the passing of a few more minutes, a definitively weary sigh escaped from the young Turk's lips, like a silent wisp, and soon he found himself allowing his upper half to splay itself across the seat's surface, whilst his legs propped themselves up upon a neighbouring edge, which was placed at the perfect distance, for him to lay, in some sense, comfortably.

As he stared up at the new view, which was equally as dulling as the previous had been, Reno began to feel his lids grow ever so slightly heavy as their resistance to close became weakened, and although he wasn't about to allow sleep to claim him, he did let himself become immersed in a strange state of complete, controlled calm, the kind where you can choose what you dream.

The young brunette scowled at the red headed Turk leaning against her newly polished bar top, a sickeningly charming smile playing across his ever so roguish features.

''What do I have to do to impress you Tifa?''

She cocked an eyebrow in unimpressed amusement and drew herself ever so slightly closer to the young male, who was eyeing her with daring anticipation, ''How about...go a day without drinking and looking up other females skirts?'' Her voice had been lined with anything but friendly play, and Reno was unable to hide the flash of disappointment within his aquamarine eyes, though of course this was quickly brushed away with his tone of response, which was one of mock contemplation.

''Hm...That's a pretty big ask...'' A beautifully mischievous smile graced his thin, pale lips as he proceeded to eye the young bartender's form, before allowing his gaze to fall upon her chest, ''Can I look down other females tops?''

Tifa quickly folded her arms, in some sort of vain attempt at keeping her dignity, whilst her eyebrows contorted, her expression heavy with unamused annoyance, 'No.''

''Jealous?'' The red head flashed a small smirk before taking a swill of the burning amber liquid left within his tumbler.

The young bartender leant in closer as she spoke, a mock expression of adoration playing upon her lips as she spoke, though the words and her tone didn't match up, as though the purring whisper in which she spoke was to counterbalance the rather harsh truth, ''No...just disgusted.''

Obviously not picking up on her meaning, Reno eyed her once again, though this time as if studying her with consideration, ''I can look up your skirt if you'd like? Or down you top, either way, I'm happy to do it, if it'll make you feel better.''

Before he could drain the remnants from the glass object grasped within his slender fingers, he caught sight of a pale, yet rather painful looking fist coming towards him, on a perfectly aligned path to collide with his smooth jaw.

The red head's eyes drew open in one swift motion, whilst his stomach gave a throbbing, forceful lurch, as a brief occurrence of air turbulence caused the helicopter to give a sudden jerk.

The outpost building wasn't quite as bad as he had expected, though that being said, it that wasn't exactly brilliant either; its aesthetic appearance was somewhat dull and although it didn't look old, or worn down, it did look as though it had been made by Chobocos on Crack, and that was a most unsettling thought, but apart from the lack of skill that had gone into its construction, the interior did have all the basic necessities, a couple of beds, a workable kitchen area, and most unbelievably, an en suite, which was a white, pristine palace compared to the rest of the building.

He wasn't sure whether it was actually owned by Shin-Ra or had just been 'evacuated' of its previous residents by the company, for their own 'personal' use, but either way, it would be his last moderately home-like stop before he would have to start roughing it, on a mission which he'd been informed could take weeks, if not months to complete.

With that thought in mind, the red head decided to make the most of his short stay there and before his bald partner could even air any such bid for it, Reno had dashed past him and into the shower room, his form's action merely a flash of red against the otherwise cream coloured wall, and before long, his scarred, stiff body was getting coated in silky, reflective trails of clear, soft water, which cascaded like a miniaturised waterfall, the piece of bathing equipment seemingly hovering above at the perfect height, and whilst the lukewarm water dripped over his closed features, the young Turk, once again, allowed his mind to wander back.

''Reno...what is this? I'm not sure I should be allowing a Turk to blindfold me...''

''Oh stop ya' moaning...we're nearly there...ok...just a little further...''

The red head had his palms held tightly across his young, female friend's crimson-tinted eyes in an attempt to block out all lightened view as he directed her across the room and through the open door, which led into her kitchen.

''Ta da!'' Reno revealed his labourings to her in one quick motion, though it took the brunette's eyes a few seconds to adjust with the brightness radiating from the room's working bulbs, though when her vision finally did return, her previously clamped eyes widened in a shocked befuddlement, whilst her mouth gaped ever so slightly, words seemingly unable to be created quite yet.

He took the dazed silence as his cue to explain, and did so with a grin of child-like pride, and a tone which was evidently heightened in excitement, ''Well, the other day, I was thinking about how you're always slaving away in that bar of yours, and you never really get anything in return, so I thought that you deserved a treat...thus, dinner! Cooked by yours truly!''

She flashed him a nervous, but not uncomfortable smile of gratitude, before edging closer to one of the plates, and proceeding to seemingly subjugate the food-stuff placed upon it, to a number of unknown tests, involving various sniffs and a variety of pokes.

Reno's brow furrowed in confusion, ''What are you doing?''

''Nothing...''

He cocked an eyebrow at her, clearly displaying to the young brunette his unsatifaction at her quite plainly, untruthful answer.

She gave him a quick glance before returning to her observations, ''I was just checking...''

''Checking what?''

''You know...that it was safe...''

The red head's face flared up with an undoubted expression of insulted outrage, ''Safe...safe! Of course it's safe!''

A soft, pinkish hue played across the young woman's otherwise pale cheeks, ''I just...don't want to get food poisoning...that's all...''

''That's all...'' His repeat had been spoken in a tone of exasperated disappointment, likeable to a parent who has asked their son to explain why all his sister's dolls have been found underneath his bed, completely bald and missing several plastic limbs, and in return received some pitiful excuse, like 'Sephiroth made me do it!'.

''Oh Reno...'' Tifa's lips parted in a sad sort of smile, clearly feeling guilty over her rather insensitive actions, ''I'm sorry...this was really nice of you...''

The brunette sighed and took a few, quick steps towards him, proceeding to wrap her arms around his waist, so her hands clasped together against his suited back, ''Thank you.''

If she had been in a position to view the young Turk's face, she would have been no doubt surprised at the glinting flecks of pure joy, which glowed within his aquamarine eyes like tiny fireflies.

Though of course a moment like this could only last so long, especially with Reno around, and before she could even register what was happening, the young brunette found the entire left side of her face being hit by a lump of smooth mashed potato.

As her crimson-tinted gaze shot up to meet the red head's, she found him to be smirking innocently, yet with underlying hints of his trademark cheekiness, and when he spoke, he had to fight hard to hold back the series of giggles that were desperately bubbling within his throat, ''See... it's perfectly safe...''

A few moments of silence pasted as Tifa glared at him with unforgiving eyes, though it vanished as quickly as the starchy food-stuff had come into contact with her face, and soon she was backing away towards the table, hand outstretched towards her own plate, and a mischievous smirk that could rival even Yuffie's best...

The young Turk's backtrack was interrupted by a slow, steady knock upon the room's thin, pale door, proceeded by the deep tone of his bald partner, his voice seeping through the wooden frame like rain upon soil, ''Reno, I'm going to get some food...did you want anything?''

He only hesitated for a the briefest of seconds, before calling back, ''Yeah sure, just get me whatever you're having...''

Reno was quick in finishing up and soon he was re-dressed, now feeling much fresher and brighter, his previous aches, having been seemingly washed away, leaving behind just a rejuvenated sense of serenity.

As the young Turk leant back upon one of the single, slightly to soft mattresses, which lay upon the wooden framed bed, he allowed his finger to tap gently upon the surface of his upheld, currently bent knee, whilst his other hand lay upon his lap, holding the small communication device within his five slender fingers.

After spending a couple minutes musing, he lifted the mobile screen into view and proceeded to scroll down the contact list, the small bar soon highlighting the wanted number, which he wasted no time in dialling, the muted tone somewhat comforting in the barren atmosphere.

The ringing seemed to last for an unmoving eternity, and although when it did finally stop, he was indeed graced with her voice, it wasn't exactly what he'd been hoping for.

''Hello, this is Tifa Lockhart, I'm currently out at the-''

He pressed down upon the mobile's small red button and swiftly pulled the receiver back to its previous position, neither wanting or needing to hear the rest of her answer-phone message.

The thought of leaving one for her wasn't an option, not really anyway, what would he say? He couldn't exactly mention the mission, both out of secrecy and her undesirable hatred for the whole thing, though he could, of course, just tell her he was sorry, plead with her, beg with the answering machine to be given another chance to prove to her that she could trust him.

Reno glanced back at the mobile still held within his hand, She'd probably just delete it anyway...

Quickly putting the device atop the cabin beside him, the young Turk curled slightly to one side and allowed his lids to drop completely, in the hope that sleep would block out the sense of isolation and regret, which was burning through his veins like some uncontrollable disease .

''Tifa...?'' His voiced echoed around the space with such soft delicacy it was almost like a bird in flight, though his tone had seemed somewhat less so in it's confused desperation.

The image laid out in front of him, so similar in its context to something he had seen once before, yet also utterly different in its arena.

Both he and the young woman were seemingly stood within one of the larger laboratories of Shin-Ra HQ, either one placed on opposite sides of the room, and although the distance didn't look overly long, it seemed to the red head as though they were miles apart.

The young brunette seemed to tremble ever so slightly as a chill brushed over the room from an unknown source, and as the two locked gaze with one another, she managed to choke out a few harshened words, ''Reno...how could you...''

His face began to numb, as he shook his head in confusion, ''What do you mean...what have I done?''

Tifa's eyes narrowed slightly as a few tears overspilled and trickled down untouched cheeks, whilst her crimson-tinted Irises flared with an previously subdued anger, ''You allowed...you allowed this to...''

She stopped as a sharp gasp of pain escaped past her wavering lips, and only then did Reno notice the two, firm hands clasped around the brunette's slender neck, the pressure against her throat becoming tighter and tighter...and the shadowy, featureless red head whom stood behind her seemed growingly intend on continuing.

''TIFA!''

Reno bolted straight across the room, crashing into lab tables and stools alike, and as he grew closer and closer to the two distant forms, he lifted a glass container and smashed it, purposely taking one of the glinting shards in his hand.

He was only metres away when a deep, somewhat familiar voice echoed behind him, ''Reno! Stop!''

Out of nowhere a strong, firm hand clamped down upon his shoulder, forcing him to an unwanted stop, and in confused anger, Reno spun around within his unknown assailant's hold, and with one definitive thrust, he plunged the large, broken splinter of glass through the form's thin clothing and into soft, breakable flesh.

The young Turk shot up from the dampened mattress, and found himself staring into a pair of familiar shades, whose surrounding facial muscles seemed to be shaking unnaturally, and before he could even attempt any kind of movement or speech, Reno's mind drew his focus down to the sharp, grasping pain within his left hand, and the warm, wet, darkened liquid that trailed from his fingers, and down the skin of his elbow, where it seemingly pooled, eventually falling in droplets upon the dry, worn material of his combats.

A/N= Sorry for the wait peeps, I've been held up with various things that needed doing, and when ever I've been writing I keep getting distracted...I swear my concentration level is pretty much non-existent...But anyway, on to the chapter...

I know this is quite a heavy, serious chapter, much like the previous one actually... but don't worry I am still keeping Reno humorous, just he's not feeling so funny at the moment XD Plus I'm trying to make him ever so slightly more mature, and elaborate on him as a character, after all he isn't all happy smiles and cheekiness (-However much I'd love him to be ;)-)

But don't worry, the next chapter will be lighter (not overly so, but enough)!