Reno came back to Healin, his fists sore, the skin at the knucles broken. Their heads were harder than they appeared. He had been out in the night skulking, moving around quietly and terrorizing people for information in darkened alleys and beating the hell out of those mysterious Deep Ground Soldier things people that had mysteriously shown up. Just when the world was saved it had to get itself right back into trouble. Only it seemed this time the WRO were heavily invovled.
Reno had the bad feeling that this was going to take a lot longer to sort out than last time. Well Geostigma had been around for a year, building up to the epic battles and the 'Reunion' with little more than a couple of cells. Jenova's fricking head was long gone by now and yet the pscyhos coveted it like it was God. She'd been in stasis for two thousand years for crikey's sake! Although apparantly she made for interesting conversation. Good thing Kadaj and his brothers forced Cloud to be invovled otherwise they'd be in big trouble. This didn't feel like that either. It didn't feel like three Remnants hoping to be one again or whatever. It felt more calculated than that.
"All the way there and back again," Reno muttered as Rude stepped through the door. "Avoiding the WRO and running into a second deployment,"
"You loved it," Rude commented, removing his gloves.
Reno turned and grinned at him. "Besides point," He grabbed a pad and jotted down at they knew and left it on the table. A formal report would wait until they'd cleaned up - or until Rude decided to file it. Rude it seemed had decided not to wait and had already left. Reno shrugged and got a bottle of beer from the kitchen.
-- Edited by Public Enemies on Thursday 9th of July 2009 07:36:16 PM
De Nam had been quietly mulling over the new information at the small table when the other two returned from their missions. He longed to be out on the field himself, but he knew it was a risk and a liability so he stayed in the background. He had been busy as of late considering the Deep Ground Soldiers were rearing their ugly heads in the world.
His eyes casually glanced up as Reno entered the small kitchen. He could hear that Rude had arrived as well, but he could not his bald comrade at the moment. It was typical of Reno to go for a cold beer after an exhausting job. He could not blame the man, sitting at the table all day almost tempted him to get smashed to have something more exciting to do. Nothing was better than trying to make sense of reports when one was slightly buzzed.
De Nam finally set the reports down on the table to regard the other more fully. He knocked his knuckles against the hardwood to gain the redhead's attention. His grey violet eyes glanced at Reno with a slight amusement at the other's almost predictable ritual. Granted Reno was not an easy person to predict in the first place, you did pick up on some of his quirky habits.
De Nam took up his white board and wrote down on it once he was sure the other was paying attention. 'How did it go? Judging by the beer, it was fairly strenuous.'
Reno looked over when the rapping caught his attention. "Hey slinky," He greeted De Nam with one of the nicknames he regularly bestowed on his teammates ranging from nice and affectionate to mean spirited depending on how he felt at the time - and whether that person was irritating him. Being practically a mute De Nam had a way of popping up out of nowhere when you least expected him. At least, that was how it felt to Reno. Then again, Tseng managed to appear from thin air on a regular basis too. Was it just him?
Reno chuckled. "Perhaps I just fancied one, yo" There was an inflection at the end of the sentence, a rising of the voice as if he intended to ask it rather than state it but changed his mind. He set the beer under the table and gave his knucles a quick run under the cold water. The slight stinging was a small twisted comfort to the Turk. In a way it reminded him he could still feel pain.
Heavily, with as little grace as he could manage he sat down next to his fellow Turk. Reno pitied him. He himself would go insane without being able to speak. Must be horrible.
"Wasn't so bad. More crowded than we expected though. The WRO were right on the case so we had to keep out of their way. Seems to be their fight, yo" Reno shrugged and took a swig of beer. He couldn't keep the grin from creeping up his cheeks.
"It was good though. After so long and the Remnants didn't really satisfy. Not when you're getting your butt kicked," Reno said. He cracked his knuckles. "So we spied and picked off stray DG's when we could. The WRO thought the coast was clear and got slack so we got the second sneaky deployment all to ourselves!" Reno said satisfied. "Reeve seems to be dragging Valentine into the mess but I can't be sure about the others. Though, when one of them needs help the others aren't going to be that far behind,"
He would never admit it but he admired them for that. They came together under strange and stressed circumstances and now three years later they hadn't simply cut the ties and gone their separate ways. "Who would have thought," Reno started. "that we'd be allies with Avalanche,"
Reno shook his head. "How 'bout you? You ready to smash your skull in, yo?"
De Nam did not budge when the other sat beside him. He was far accustomed to Reno's friendly ways. He was a people person after all and always there to crack a joke or some flirtatious invite. There would be something really wrong with the other if neither of the two were satisfied during a day. Reno definitely brought a light hearted feeling to the serious jobs the Turks had to undertake. He was grateful for that.
Of course having to work alongside Avalanche was a strange thing to De Nam, indeed. After all those months tolling away at making sure the faction did not destroy Midgar. However, Valentine and the others were different from the original group, and that was enough for him. It still sounded weird on the tongue though or rather in his mind.
He wrote down some words on his board, 'At least with their assistance, there is less paperwork on me and more on Reeve.'
The Deep Ground Soldiers definitely had everyone in a stir up but, at least with the WRO handling most of it all, the paperwork was lessened on his end. That did not make his job at gathering information any easier though. Sometimes it did feel though as if he were doing enough paperwork for two Turks, but it gave him something to occupy his time with. He did want to be on the field, though.
He erased his board before replying to the Turk with a slight smirk added in, 'Not yet. More that I suffer from cabin fever from sitting inside all day while the rest of you have all the fun.'
"Trapped," Reno muttered darkly suppressing a shudder. If there was anything the red headed loud mouthed Turk hated it was being trapped. It wasn't so much claustrophobia since it wasn't actually the itty bitty space that he minded at all. It was the inability to get out that was the issue. Reno shook his head. Too many dark places in his head. Sometimes it seemed like every corner heard a cobweb that had long fossilized into place and each was a prelude to something darker.
Nope. He didn't like to think about it.
"Yes less paperwork is a very good thing. A very very good thing," Reno commented. "One day paperwork will rise up and gobble us down whole. There'll be nothing left. That would make for an interesting investigation," Gobbled by paperwork...where'd they all go? Reno chuckled to himself.
Reno glanced a sly look at De Nam. "Well these guys like to operate from afar. Got lots of snipers. Would be nice to brush up on using my gun I guess. You know me. I'm not that tired," Reno mused. "It's been ages since I've used a gun," He hinted.
He didn't sleep. He couldn't really and when he did the dark crept up on him. The past should stay where it belongs but it did like to reach out every so often and grab him by the ponytail. Reno had tried to sleep long in the past but would end up fidgiting and rearranging the entire appartment. Being Partners, he and Rude shared on together - it had disturbed the large man to find his slight redheaded comrade rearranging the furniture at 5 in the morning. It had been an awkward moment. Reno had thought the room looked better that way.
De Nam smiled a bit at the joke. He would laugh if the sound would not sound so awkward to them. He did look forward to less paperwork than what he was normally used to. It would make his life that much easier. Maybe he could finally get out behind these walls. He would only need to persuade another Turk to take him along. He could certainly do that, couldn't he?
He listened in as Reno spoke of his experience with guns. There was a possible hint in his direction to teach the man about them again. Guns were his specialty and De Nam believed himself to be second to none in this area of dual wielding. Snipers did not stand a chance against two bullets flying straight for their brain case. He would not mind reminding Reno a thing or two about them. It would at least get him away from the paperwork for a bit.
He wrote down his reply on the whiteboard to the redhead, 'I could help remind you of a few pointers, if you wished.'
De Nam had been growing restless in the past few moons. His trigger finger was almost itching to be used once more for a purpose. Tseng would often humor him for a little target practice when his leader wasn't preoccupied with something else. He looked forward to this.
"Laugh!" Reno exclaimed. "I don't mind," Reno wasn't bothered about the fact De Nam's voice came out all funny and like weird. It was a part of who he was now and he shouldn't have to hide that - not with them. The Turks were family to each other, their strongest allies and comrades, if they could not be themselves with each other then their trust would break down and they'd no longer be able to work together as securely as they did. What use was a Turk if the others weren't comfortable in his presence? "Unless...you were being polite," Reno said with a pout.
"Yes!" Reno exlcaimed. He had thought Nam would agree but wasn't entirely sure. A request by a senior officer was drummed into the newbies as being essential to be followed through but that was back in the old days. He had been asking as a friend. If need be he could have asked Tseng or Elena but Elena would have ratted him out to Tseng and Tseng wouldn't have been pleased he was a little rusty. It was that and he felt his favourite little researcher deserved a break to have some fun.
Reno nodded. "Pointers yes. Yuppers that's what I need yo. When do you want to start Slinky? Rude should be out the shower by now - he's super fast. Got no hair you see. I try to tease him about it but it's like talking to a wall. Although more enjoyable. Walls don't give off an air of exhasperation. He thinks I don't notice. He likes to roll his eyes when he thinks I'm not paying attention," Reno grinned pleased with himself. He hadn't even realised he was blabbering.
"So after I shower? Where are the others anyways?"
-- Edited by Public Enemies on Wednesday 15th of July 2009 11:49:12 PM
De Nam let out a soft chuckle. It was broken and a bit raspy, but could not be mistaken for anything else. He however swiftly stifled the sound and went back to his usual expression. It was a little cold looking by appearances. It was hardened from the many years in the slums and perfecting the art of 'the glare.'
De Nam listened to Reno go on. Sometimes he wondered if the man liked hearing himself talk, but he liked that about Reno. He was one of the few that made sure this place was never boring or quiet. Maybe he could blame it on the small amount of alcohol he was consuming? Alcohol after all did wonders for loosening nerves. Either way De Nam did not care. Reno was... after all... Reno.
'Rude is an interesting character.' De Nam wrote down then erased, 'Tseng is out with Rufus to see Reeve. Elena went to restock the limited supply of food in the pantry. The others are out scouting for more information on the Deep Ground Soldiers.' De Nam was left to hold down the fort at Healen. He knew there was another Turk about, but he had not seen him emerge.
He erased the board, 'After you shower will be fine. I am not sure how well I would enjoy fresh body odor over whatever soap scent you use.' Of course the last comment was all meant in jest.
Reno frowned when De Nam stifled his laugh. It then occured to Reno that the other may feel sensitive about it - he knew he would. So he decided not to push the subject realising it would probably make De Nam uncomfortable and although they had known each other a long time they weren't as close as he and Rude - or even he and Tseng. He was beating Elena though.
Reno knew that look. That hardened, emotionless expression and the steely glint in the eye were all to familiar to Reno. Slum living made for tough and interesting characters.
"Yes! Rude is. Sensitive eyes you know. He doesn't like to talk about it. Although I have a feeling he's using that as a ruse to wear the sunglassess all the time because they make him look cool. Snappy dresser, yo," Reno commented. Rude was practically everything he wasn't himself: tidy, clean, impeccable dresser, almost always silent... They made for a great team.
"Heeeyyyy! I smell fresh as a daisy, yo!" Reno retorted at De Nam's jest. "Although since a daisy is a weed I'm not entirely sure that's a compliment," He added with a frown. "After my shower it is!"
Reno looked at his watch. "Three, two, one..." Then Rude walked through the door. Reno grinned triumphantly. "I'll be back in 15, yo,"
De Nam smiled slightly at the commentary of the daises. Reno made a good point. Reno was like a weed but one you did not wish to get rid of. If that were the case, he would doubt that Rude hung around him as much as he did. Reno also had shed some light on the most reserved Turk of the bunch. Not many understood or even knew Rude that well, but Reno did.
De Nam nodded at Reno and looked up as Rude walked into the room. It was strange when you spoke of him, he showed up. It made some of the newer recruits often wonder if Rude was really a summon creature and that is why he did not talk. Of course that was far from the truth. He got up from the table fastening his board to his side. He brushed past Rude into the next room.
While Reno took his shower, De Nam ventured to his quarters to gather his extra gun and the ammunition. He did not have much use to carry around both when at base. He was deadly enough with just one. When that task was done he ventured to the common area to wait on Reno to finish his shower.
Rude looked around the now empty room. Rude took the leaving of his fellow Turks in his stride however. It seemed at times the only one persistant enough to talk to him for any great length of time was his occasionally overbearing and highly excitable partner who's suicidal tendency had always bothered him, but at least, the redhead usually listened. Usually. Today he had far too much fun beating up the Deep Ground soldiers but who could blame him? Rude was finally glad he wouldn't be bouncing off the walls quite so much.
The room was empty and silent. A God send after hours with his vibrant partner. Rude grabbed a beer and sat down at the table and mused to himself for a while. He'd have to write the report soon - there was no way Reno was going to do it.
Meanwhile Reno stripped off and got into the shower. His long red tresses spread over his toned back and his wet hair clung to his face. He pushed the hair back of his face and looked down at his slim body. There was a large bruise on his thigh, a deep horrible purple where one of the DG dog things had managed to bite him but not break the skin. Reno had decided it had lost its teeth or something weird like that but it was probably because he had smashed it over the head before it got the chance. Curiously he prodded it causing a pained groan to leak from his lips. It hadn't helped that a couple of DG's had managed to smash it while he was fighting.
Bring on the migraine.
It was then Reno wondered if his eyes were brighter than normal before shrugging his shoulders. He didn't care. Reno washed his scarred body, careful of the sensitive bruise and the scar or two left by Strife and his buddies. Even now those ones were still sore sometimes. He washed his hair and quickly blew it dry. After getting dressed he slotted on his goggles to hold back his half dry hair and grabbed his gun before venturing down into the kitchen.
"Nam and I are gonna train for a bit," He told Rude. "The guy is going mental in here day in day out. See ya later," he said before going to the main area.
"Miss me?" Reno asked Nam with a smirk and a twinkle in his eyes.
-- Edited by Public Enemies on Monday 20th of July 2009 12:40:46 PM
De Nam waited in the common space twirling his guns in his hands while he waited. He was not rusty even after all this time. His two friends as he referred to them as felt right in his hands. They did not feel like guns so much as an extension of his own hands. He often had his target in sight and dead before they had time to aim. De Nam prided himself in this ability. Maybe he could convince Tseng to let him go out on a mission with a more talkative member of the group? That would be a possibility.
De Nam could hear Rude moving around in the kitchen, but decided to stay in the common room since he was focusing on his guns. At least he was satisfied with the outcome of not feeling awkward with them. It was like riding a bike, once you knew how it never really left you.
When Reno walked back into the room, De Nam turned to face him. He smirked a little bit at the comment but otherwise kept himself quiet. He motioned to his guns and then motioned back to Reno to indicate he was ready to go. Silently, he lead the way to the shooting range that had been arranged outside. It was nothing special just something for them to practice on or something to do when they were bored.
The targets were spaced out at even intervals. Said targets were nothing more than rocks with larger red circles painted on them. Of course there were a few graffiti images courtesy of one drunk night at Healen, but no one bother to cover them up anymore. It was a part of Turk antics and everyone had grown accustomed to that.
De Nam immediately took out his gun and shot at the target, hitting it dead on and very quickly at that. At least he had not lost his touch at all. He set his guns down and took out his board, scribbling something on it. He flipped it over when he was finished and showed it to Reno.
Reno pouted after De Nam. He guessed he was lucky he got a reaction at all. His mood quickly changed from that of mild annoyance to amusement. He always had loved a challenge. Reno thought of life itself, as one giagantic challenge punctuated sporadically with miniture trials to keep the juices flowing. If he had believed in fate, he would have blamed all the monumentous piles of evil paperwork on it.
No Reno didn't believe in fate, or coincidences. He did however believe in inevitability. Like someday he'd die and so would the other Turks. Some day the Planet would die and there'd be nothing left. History was doomed to repeat itself with some alterations the second time around. Avalanche were proof of that.
The training ground was graffitied, but Reno thought it looked better that way. Far more entertaining than grey lumps of rocks with targets on them. Much, much more entertaining. Reno snickered when he caught sight of a drawing on the far right. It still amused him to know that Rude had drew that one.
Reno whistled appreciatively at De Nam's skills. "Sweet!" Reno cried. "Oh I dunno," Reno said in reply to Nam. He rubbed the back of his messy hair musingly. "That last time I used a gun...was...not long after training so that's...more than... thirteen years?"
Reno took his own standard gun, which of course, wasn't as efficient or good as De Nam's aimed and shot at the Target. "Hmm," He hummed as it just hit the target. "I guess aiming," He said after a pause, flashing a grin at the other Turk. "I always was better at combat,"
De Nam watched as the other fired off a round into the target. Well hitting the target was better than missing it all together. He knew some people couldn't hit the side of a barn if they tried to. Thirteen years was certainly a long time to be out of practice, but Reno was someone he could work with on this.
Aiming was something De Nam found second nature since his fast draw techniques demanded that of him. That also made it more difficult to explain it to someone. This time he ran through the motions more slowly, emphasizing what he was doing. He knew Reno was a bright man and an observant one at that. He would pick up on the small things De Nam did to aim before firing.
He placed his guns on the small table in front of them before walking over to help Reno with his next shot. De Nam liked to compare this to training a toddler to ride a bike, except this was much more deadly and no longer child's play.
Since his days in the slums, personal space was something De Nam invaded more so than others. He was used to it. Lifting up Reno's arm, he guided his fellow Turk's arm into place. It was a simple beginner position, lining your arm up with your line of sight. He guided the other's hands into the right position, compensating for the fact his arm was slightly lower than his actual eyes. He made sure both of the other's eyes were wide open. With a nod and a slight smirk, he gently let his hands fall back from Reno's. It was okay for him to try it now.
Reno hadn't exactly tried when he fired that shot. He was sure he wasn't as bad as that but a little training really couldn't hurt and, well, he was trying to do the nice thing. Reno wasn't the most considerate of people, so he thought he should be getting points for what he was doing. Although, when it came to shooting, it may have been pride preventing him from realising he really was that bad.
"I never liked guns," Reno stated but probably not for the reason one would immediately assume. Guns screamed danger and defence. They were immediately intimidating and threatening and altogether mechanical. The upside was they were efficient, swift and devastating. No, Reno liked his EMR best because it was a defensive weapon. It told of defence, meekness, fragility, a dislike of violence and more importantly inspired underestimation. And true, to Reno's more sadistic side, it was good for beating people to bloody pulps. Reno always had been violent, but he had grown up in the vicious, poorest parts of the slums. If you didn't kill, you were dead. Simple.
Reno tried to remain professional while Nam scrutinised him and moulded him into the correct position. He couldn't help but notice the size of his hands, or the length of his fingers. It was lucky that the touch wasn't excessive enough, or intimate enough to distract his attention.
Being from the slums Reno couldn't help but tense a little at the invasion. Most close contact in his life, if it was pleasurable company was being beaten up and fighting. However he did trust De Nam and had forced himself to relax enough to notice certain qualities about the other male. Another reason he suggested training together: Nam was hot.
In concentration Reno ended up sticking his tongue out slightly from between his lips. There was a mischevious twinkle in his eye. Reno adjusted his wrist on his own, accounting for the pull of gravity and how it would affect the trajectory and shot. It was at the edge of the centre at the bottom. Reno frowned doing math in his head - it wasn't something he was particularly good at so the frown ended up a scowl.
"Learning from the best!" He exclaimed a minute later. "When the Sephiroth thing was over the first time, Elena dragged me to the nearest firing range and demanded to know if she was better than Gun," Reno stated. "I was still pretty irritated with a lot of things...She kneed me one,"
Reno grinned at De Nam. "So I made her do my paperwork for three weeks. Boss still wanted to see reports," Reno rolled his eyes. "She wasn't going to do it but then, she had forgotten," She had thought Rude had been seccond in command. It was easy to see how she could think that. Tseng probably decided not to correct her just to see how long it'd take her to realise.
(Yup! Why do you think I suggested Gun practice? ^_~ XD) (Gun is Elena's sister right? That's who I mean. Player A I think?)
(Sorry for the slow response. Life got in the way for a bit there. I apologize. You are correct Gun is Elena's sister.)
De Nam always had guns at his disposal while he lived in the slums. It was only natural that he leaned towards them. Of course there was the occasional steel pipe laying around that you could have used as a weapon, but you had to be quicker than the other guy. That is what forced him to have his quickdraw down to an art. He enjoyed the power and speed that he got out of a gun. It made battles more impersonal. When he first started killing for his employers that made his job more bearable at night until it all became numb. He made a sound in the back of his throat similar to a scuff at the mention of not liking guns. He was not going to hold that against Reno at all means.
De Nam did not let Reno's pleasurable appearance go unnoticed by his trained eye. As a Turk he tried to repress any urges he had towards either sex in the way of his libido. It was something hard to do when you had Reno around. Reno knew he was attractive and had no problem flaunting that about him. Reno was a free spirit among the world. That appealed to the gunman who had seen a fair share of controlled existences in his lifetime.
The gunman watched the redhead closely as he prepared for his next shot. In reality he was secretly looking over the features of Reno's face. It was hard not to ignore that region of the man when he had his tongue sticking out. It wasn't until the other fired his gun that De Nam came back into reality. He nodded at the target in his fashion of telling Reno he did well.
De Nam took up his board to write down a response about Elena. He was not too fond of her, but he did not dislike her either. She was frequently absentminded, but he tended to blame that on her young age. 'Sometimes I wonder how she got past the preliminaries.' He was not making a crack at her skill so much as her forgetful nature. As he finished his thoughts on Elena something else came to mind. If he was going to make this amusing instead of just target practice... He smirked a bit to himself. He scribbled another message to Reno. 'So instead of this being just a practice session how about we make a wager?' De Nam suggested, erasing the board to continue the thought, 'If you can hit the center of all the targets in one go around then I shall owe you something and if you don't then you owe me something.' He tilted his head to Reno wondering if he would take him up on the offer.
They were both from the Slums except their paths careered along two different roads until they joined the Turks. For Reno, sometimes it felt inevitable that he joined such an elite group - but that could just be his ego talking - since he revelled in violence and blood. At least he had. It had been a while now since he had walked the darkest paths of life. Boss man wanted them to lighten up, toe the line for the time being. To be honest it kind of sucked. Reno hadn't been able to hit anything that squealed in a good long time. The sudden and abrupt appearance of Deep Ground was certainly doing wonderful favours for his moral. He was getting the claustraphobic feeling of cabin fever. He wasn't designed to sit behind a desk and look up books and the internet. If what happened to Nam happened to him he'd have ceased to have a purpose. He wasn't any use when it came to the written words and filing reports and such. (So much so that at some point Tseng grew frustrated with his 'jargon' and stood over him to ensure he didn't write things like ' the situation got a little sticky, but things were funky in the end' with side notes off (yo, those dudes have no dress sense at all. You should have seen 'em,)
Reno chuckled at the huffy noise. "Sure they are efficient, clean, deadly..." Reno didn't bother to finish the sentence. While he wasn't (unless under abnormal circumstances or he was deathly bored) a danger to his fellow Turks Reno was by no means a kitten. He [I]liked[/I] beating people up. It was one of his endearing qualities.
"Me too," Reno said. "You know she came running up to us and said excitedly 'They're here, they're actually here!'," Reno rolled his eyes. "She's good, takes her work seriously but even I know when to keep my trap shut," Needless to say thinking about that time brought back that little bit of resentment he felt towards her. It wasn't her fault but she still had replaced him when he was out of commission. Stupid Chocobo with his stupid big dumb mega ton sword.
The proposal was...intruiging. It certainly was more fun than say, just grabbing his tie and planting a kiss on him, although that scenario was also pleasing to Reno's mind. He tried not to dwell on that option for too long since it would ruin the fun, the anticipation...wait....
"As long as it isn't paperwork," Reno said with a smile that suggested Nam would have to watch his back - or his front - for painful consequences at forcing him to do anything paperwork related. He wouldn't trick him like that would he? He's a Turk so who knows right? A tiny part of him was wondering why he was bothering although he'd never back down from a challenge, it was just, Nam was going to win anyway. Reno smiked to himself. Of course, losing, didn't have to mean [I]losing[/I] if you got his meaning.
