My Road

Disclaimer:

I do not own Final Fantasy 7, It’s original characters, places, etc. Nor do I make any money from this fanfiction. The only things that are mine are my own original added characters. And the situations or new places added to flesh out my own story.

Warnings:

Fighting… and thinking… nothing harmful.


My Road

~Chapter 14~


The following day… Reno was not awoken to aching pains… Because Reno didn’t wake up, he’d not been able to sleep. From being up late the night before… to not waking up once he had gone to sleep, till the afternoon. He was anxious, nervous, and sick feeling. The direction that his life was going wasn’t what he’d dreamed it to be. Yes, he was still young, no, he wasn’t giving up. He’d be stringer, and be SOMEONE one day.


The night and early morning hours had allowed for Reno to sort through his thoughts, as well as sort through his belongings, scant though they may be. He tossed some of the belongings, clothes mainly. He kept what he had on and one change, his long coat, the gloves. He didn’t need anything else, he was starting over. The food would be useful for him, or someone he’d meet along the way surely. And he tossed the old knife, keeping only ‘Shiva’ the knife Talc had gifted him.


He would most definitely hold onto his mother’s necklace. He picked up the sparkling crystal. The chain it was on was old. Maybe he could replace it one day. He lifted the necklace up if he put it on he wouldn’t have to worry about losing it. It would also be closer to him for now. Maybe his mother would be closer to him that way.


When people were sure to be up and around working now, he rose up stretching his muscles like he used to. With all that had gone on emotionally and physically just lately… he was aching all over again. Sore, tight, and stressed feeling throughout every muscle in his young body, had it really only been days since he had seen Talc? Reno looked up as a different sort of ache overwhelmed his chest. Just another part of him was missing now.


He finished repacking the slightly lighter contents of his bag. And started to move towards where Kit was, But the feline like creature was one step ahead of him. Kit was stretching out gracefully, flexing his paws and yawning. All ready for their latest adventure.


“Come on, yo…” Reno motioned to the cat with a beckoning gesture. “Another adventure, we got some haggling to do… if we even make it that far yeah?” He talked to the Cuahl like the creature could answer him, or confirm anything as being the right move to make.


Reno looked around to the somewhat unfamiliar surroundings. This wasn’t their home; Nothing would feel like home to him anymore. In fact even his original home was feeling further and further away with each passing day, feeling colder and fainter in the memories. Was it even any warmth that was associated with it? He had to think hard right now. The emotional upheaval the other day with that little girl, and her almost prophetic-like statements had lifted a weight from him, but in turn lifted a lot of the memories he was hanging so tight to before. Thinking now, that his mother was around him and part of the planet as she’d deserved put him at ease… but also allowed him to let go.


Reno shivered subconsciously, suddenly feeling a slight chill to the damp musty air of the lower plate. He looked up to the dim air around him, to the bottom side of the upper plate that loomed over the slums so menacingly. The normally soothing hum of the inner workings of Midgar only gave him a sense of foreboding today.


“I need to get out of here…” He said in an almost whisper. He looked around suddenly feeling a bit frantic… He didn’t want to be here. This sector scared him in a deep way that was unreadable even to his own keep senses. He’d never felt this cold dread before. It was unfathomable for his young mind.


Reno took off in a quick pace towards the train, simply allowing his own fearful alertness to be felt by his faithful companion. Kit would know, he almost always could sense Reno, and sometimes Reno could sense the feline as well. In this moment here and now… with such a longing to id himself of this cold dread, Reno simply had to run for it per se. He could only have faith in the bond that Kit shared with him, to know what to do.


They made their way very quickly to the train station, Reno donning his gloves as he went up to board, and throwing his long coat on over his shoulders. Kit would blend in to the shadows, or use what magic he knew to slink onto the train with the boy. Reno cold only pray to Gaia herself that the train was mostly empty today as it had been for his arrival.


No such luck. Reno felt yet another cold fear wash over him as he stood in the somewhat busy train. There were so many more people than he was used to dealing with on it. He felt a pang of regret for leaving so suddenly rather than watching for the right time to leave. But his fate was sealed for now; he’d boarded the train bound for the lower numbered sectors. He was here, he didn’t know where Kit was, or if he was safe. There were probably a dozen people on this particular car of the trail and Reno panicked internally, he felt honed in, and trapped.


The sweat began to trickle from his temple down his cheek, and also in the small of his back. The back of his mind tingles in a sense of regret. Had he made a wrong decision? He’d never felt that cold dread which he had felt while within the sector they had stayed at for a couple of days. It was sudden, like a panic attack. And now… ugh Gaia… He held his breath before letting out the air slowly and refilling his lungs again just as slowly… Deep breath in… again… and again, out slowly… He could do this.


Until they hit the next station Reno remained focused solely on his breathing but as some people exited the car and one or two joined back on, he realized that he was being careless. He needed to stay alert to the people… were they a threat? Also his surroundings, where was safe. He looked around then placing his back to a wall a few feet from the door he lowered his eyes to the floor while remaining cool looking and alert with his mind. Keep your cool, he reminded himself. Breathe slowly… stay vigilant. His own safety and possibly Kit’s relied on his senses completely right now.


After the sector 3 station, Reno was finally alone on the train, though for the last 2 sectors there had only been one or two people, boarding or exiting. Reno still felt he could breathe better and feel so much more relieved now. Also, he could mentally prepare himself for meeting with this man. He fingered the card in one of his pockets again and thought aloud the words on it that he’d memorized. “Protégé Host Investor, Communications; Eyes Shut, Nightly Manor, sector 2.” What it meant, he had no clue. He only knew it was fond in sector 2… in a place called nightly manor…. “Hmm. Why does this not taste well to me?”


He glanced around again for the 5th or 6th time since the car had emptied. Where was Kit? And just as if the Feline sensed his question he was suddenly beside Reno. “Kit?! You have some neat ability… wish I could do that, Yo…” He reached down and stroked the cat’s ears. But before they knew it they’d reached their destination. Kit slinked back into the shadows becoming unseen to most and only slightly sensed by Reno, as the boy-almost a man… disembarked off the train.


The first thing that hit Reno was the smell. Rot… Flesh… And Blood. The area was far darker than most of the sectors he’d ever been in, he’d never been here before. It was quiet, eerily so. Dank and tepid, not cold, not hot… moisture floated in the stale air like it wanted to reach out and caress your flesh, bringing with it the parasitic scents of death.


Reno’s eyes stayed wide open, he hardly blinked. There wasn’t even a station manager or guard at the station. There were torn and stained papers on an old abused board next to the boarding door. And there were cigarette butts everywhere. Reno had never seen so much garbage. Maybe they didn’t have a work crew in this sector?


Suddenly Reno was hit with images in a flashback of being a boy of eight and coming home covered in mud, filth and who knows what else from working so early in his life at one of the sectors dirtiest jobs. He’d put his body through such work abuse at such a young age, its no wonder that he didn’t hurt more now than he did. Almost reflexively Reno flexed his arm and leg muscles as the images of his first home’s street and filth were washed away by the eroded and horrendous state of the ones that surrounded him as he stepped further from the train station. No wonder no one was on that train bound for here aside from himself.


Reno tried to breathe as shallowly as possible, the air so acrid that it hurt as he took his breaths in. His eyes narrowed as he looked around at the shallowly build and barely standing buildings. They too were dark and grungy and grey looking. He noted two or three slimy looking men strolling about on the street.


Almost as if on cue the man closest to Reno looked up at the young boy and his face turned to a feral grin as he eyed the boy as if he were meat. Reno swallowed the lump of fear that was forming in his throat. He needed to come across as sure, and strong, and in control. He could not look like a piece of young prey… He’d been treated as such long enough. And this piece of slime that was now motioning for a second man to follow him was coming Reno’s way. He held his breath for a second trying to figure out how he could come across as being someone with the upper hand. The senses he was reading off of these two men… made his whole body recoil from the direction it was heading almost instinctively. They were NOT good news.


Reno cringed inwardly as they came within 10 feet of his self. He stopped in his tracks, and holding his head as high as he could he tipped it sideways a notch and gave his own grin to the men. “So Fella’s ya gonna help a wandering soul, Yo?” He asked while letting his eyelids drop as if he was at total ease in the situation.


“Wanderin’ fella’ eh?” The one man glanced to the 2nd one. They exchanged a knowing glance and the 1st one turned back to Reno. “Yeah, we can ‘elp ya’” His grin turned into a predatory smile.


Oh Gaia… not again, Reno inwardly cringed again. It was hard to keep up a façade with people so blatantly ready to pounce on him, and air so chokingly raw, thick, and pungent that Reno could hardly breathe let alone keep his senses open. So Reno took another shallow breath in and went for the kill verbally. This would make or break his situation. “Well guys, I’m a lookin fer a nightly manor… you wouldn’t happen ta know where I might find one eh?” His Slum’s accent and slur came back full force in thin situation.


The two men exchanged another look and then laughed outright. The first one stopped short and set a glare suddenly at Reno’s face rather than looking his body over like a butcher would. “Nightly manor huh…. We don’ take to kindly ta strangers settin der’ noses in our shit, now ya ere?” And the two fanned further apart to Reno’s sides almost.


Reno’s senses prickled almost like shards of ice. They meant to kill him then and there… he knew it and felt a sense of calm settle almost as thick as the air’s stench was. He let one side of his mouth stay in his own feral grin and the other stayed firmly straight. His fingers flexed reflexively. His stance shifted wider unconsciously, his feet shifting to the balls of them slightly, his toes curling into the imaginary dirt rather than the soul of his shoes. And his eyes drifted shut for the briefest of seconds.


He could have verbally counted as he knew when these predators would make their first move. His arms spun with his body as he flipped out of the way of the first attack, only then opening his eyes to the unsurprising glint of a very long knife in the first man’s hands. The second man took that moment to drop kick at Reno. But once again Reno hopped and swung a little away to avoid it. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You boys are no fun!” And he ran at the first one surprising the cocky bastard and missing the edge of that long blade only to jump and swing a kick to the side of the man’s head.


Reno Turned just as the second man was running at his back with both fists balled together to Reno on the back of the neck. And with a slight grin again he spun lightening quick to dislodge the 2nd man’s swing. Both men regrouped and shifted again to fan out on either side of the unarmed boy. They ground they’re teeth, not laughing anymore, but also seeing this situation as most likely a lucky shot for the boy.


The first man dove at Reno again, but at the same time the second joined him from the other side. They both had their arms raised in a car room brawl type of position. But the one still had the dangerously long knife in one of his hands. One reached out to grab Reno’s arm from the side. Reno managed to yank away in time swinging his hand out straight to hit at the man’s face.


The three managed to kick, hit, and punch back and forth in a brief and fast fight but Reno’s moves weren’t quick enough in avoiding all of the knife thrusts. The blade bit into his arm twice and this time I thrust into his side by his ribs. Reno bit back a slight yelp, as the blade twisted under the skin and ripped out the side creating painful tear. Sensing the sudden weakness the 2nd man lunged for Reno’s hand and yanked them behind his back. But Reno still wasn’t down. He yanked down with his body and flipped his legs up and out almost toppling the 2nd man holding him and knocking the 1st one with his left foot to the man’s chin.


The first man spit out some blood and possibly a tooth when he recovered and wiped at his chin with his shirt sleeve. “You skanky shithead yer messin wid the wrong fella’s… Hold ‘im I’m gonna carve ‘im good, he’l be beggin fer death” The man spat at his cohort, that had stumbled a bit but regained a hold of Reno’s arms, yanking them even harder up behind the boy.


Reno swore he felt something pop, as he cringed at the pain of his arms being wrenched so hard behind him. He figured his shoulder must’ve popped out of place, and painfully at that. He tried flailing his legs again, despite the shooting pain it caused in his side wound, and his arms now. That didn’t work this time, the 2nd man was wise to that move. Then he tried throwing his head back with all his might, He grinned inwardly as a pain flashed at the back of his skull as it connected with flesh and he heard a sickening crunch.


“THAT SHITHEAD! GET im good! He damned gone and busted my nose. Twat…” The 2nd man ground out from behind, and wrenched his arms harder, if that was even possible.


Reno’s eyes grew large… there wasn’t any way out of this now. Shit... busted over by scum, worse and lower than himself.


Reno silently prayed for himself to either pass out from bloodloss or just have an out of body experience or something. The 1st man slowly made his way in from of Reno, being wary of his legs and head now. The man touched the knifetip under Reno’s chin and trailed it down the boys throat leaving a shallow line of blood the whole way, he deepened it at it met the edge of Reno’s shirt.


The man in front of Reno opened his mouth like he was going to say something when the knife was dropped and the man’s mouth gaped open in shock. Instead of words a loud curse fell out of the man’s mouth and he spun around only to be knocked to the ground with a line of slits to his face. Then his body spasm’d and seized before blood spilled out of his mouth and he lay still.


“Good Gaia, what the He…” The man behind Reno didn’t have a chance to say anything before he too fell to the ground, this time only fainting from the looks of it. He had four pronounced bruise points on his throat that were slightly bloody. Something grabbed his throat? But didn’t kill him?


Reno suddenly reached out with his senses… friend or foe, friend or foe… And with a chirp, a warm softness brushed against his arm. Looking down with a tremble in his entire body he could’ve shouted for joy with what he saw. A very concerned Kit looked up at him from lying on the ground in front of the second body, licking his chops.


Reno just decided to drop beside his friend and bury his face into the side of his coat and cling to him like a lifeline. He silently thanked the large feline. But in the back of him mind, wondered how he’d developed these new ability’s.


“We make an inseparable team, you n me Kit… we do.” Reno mumbled with his cheek still leaned against the Cuahl. He mindlessly stoked the thick fur coat of the animal, more in a soothing motion for himself than for Kit.


The sound of someone walking up in front of them and kicking a clump of dirt startled him out of his gentle revelry. He looked up to see a man in a long black coat open over a light silver suit, his shirt left open on the top, and the man wore dark and slim sunglasses. But Reno knew it was the same guy, his hair was even the same, and the stance he took, the way he squared his shoulders. And the feeling of danger, darkness, and mystery emanated off of him.


“You know, I honestly wasn’t 100% sure if I was correct in choosing you, but watching how you fought quite well and handled yourself even when you thought you were overpowered really sealed the fact in my mind. You did well, boy. And your friend” He motioned towards Kit. “I take it, that this is most likely a packaged deal?”


Reno looked dumbstruck his eyes widened and his hand stilled. He stood up and slightly in front of Kit. He’d been caught off guard, yet could quickly recover. Straightening his spine and squaring his shoulders he looked at the man as strongly as he could muster. “Yes sir… Kit is with me, and if you want me… then you get him. You don’t want him… then you don’t get me.”


“I see” the man stated quietly. Then looked down at Reno’s scuffed up and worn shoes. “You really are in poor shape. But you will fit in perfectly, the young ones will trust you, you are one of them.”He looked back up at Reno’s face and pulled his glasses off so that he could be read completely through his eyes. “Are you ready to sell your soul, boy…?”

~~~End Chapter~~~

A/N:

I know… I know.. this took wayyy longer to get out than I intended. I would much rather be getting out 2 chap’s at least a week…. Instead of one. But. At least here we are J