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: Lots of angst ... dark... abuse... hurt.... etc... Oh and Death..... poor poor reno.

Note:

I have a muse!!! *claps* we can all thank Shining Sunny! She helped me re-vamp a situation that changed in this chapter... helping my whole story in the future to hopefully flow way better. Reno does not have a mysterious sister... he has a mysterious aunt!

Thank you Shining Sunny! *hugs*



My Road

~Chapter 3~


Reno awoke to a hard slap to the side of his face the next morning. At first it took him a second to realize what had happened and why. But the minute his eyes focused on the taller darker figure that stood over his pallet he understood. Then last night came back. The tingle of fear and sadness, but it was overshadowed by the lovely song and the time in his mother’s arms after dinner.


"Get up wit' ya... you have work ta do. And say goodbye to your mother. She's goin' to work today too." He ended with a smug tone to his voice, and sauntered out the front door. Knowing that Reno would do what he was told, and he'd already had his talk with Reno's mother.


Reno gently rubbed his face and stood up reaching for his pants that he'd lain on the floor folded last night before dinner. He pulled the shirt off over his head, and slid the suspenders up onto his shoulder. What had his father meant by that, his mother couldn’t work, aside from the small mending jobs and helping the ill? She was too frail.


Reno then finally looked up to his parents pallet and noticed the seemingly smaller than normal dim outline of his mother. She sat quietly and had all of her clothes on but was staring at the back wall of their little home like there was something interesting on it.


"Hey mam' Mornin' How are you feelin today Mam'?" He tentatively approached her, but when he got closer to her he could hear her humming under her breath. "Mam'... Mommy!..." He said more desperately. And like a light her eyes widened and she turned gently to him with tear streaked cheeks.


Mother never cried. No matter how many bruises and cuts she had... she never cried. But here she was. Some of the streaks were still damp. There was only one welted up mark on her side of the face and a bit of a crack to the side of her lip.


Reno didn’t know what to do. Seeing his mother in this state left him with unshed tears in his own eyes. But he quickly turned and busied himself grabbing the small cup of water from the stove his mother must have left there last night after dinner and grabbing the corner of their blanket he reached to wipe at her cheeks.


Re'nocia looked at her son. And fresh tears came to her eyes as she touched his hand that was trying to care for her. This should be her, nursing his wounds even if they were only internal for this day. And here she was... Frailer than ever, sitting like a broken doll on the pallet she had awoke on, covered on her thighs in blood and cum. Hurting like the worst beating in the world. But really it was... She stopped thinking that way and looked straight into Reno’s eyes... She had to have seen the signs... How could she protect him? Knowing where she was going... would she ever come back tonight?...


"Mam'... Please... What is it" A much older than 8 sounding young man, asked her.


"Dearest lil' one" her dry and cracking voice struggled to start. She cleared her throat and touched his face. "Wear your clothes to bed!"


"What!?" Reno asked. The comment was so strange... What is wrong with Mother...?


"From now on.... jus' do as I say. Wear your clothes... even the pants to bed. And work as long as you have to. Don' make yer father angry. Don' let yerself find yerself near the traffickers. And most importantly, never give up! Home... is always... inside your soul. And I'm always there too, no matter what." Re'nocia... seamed to suddenly pick up in the pace of her thoughts. Her eyes kept drifting to the door. And like the last will to live in a caged animal her body reanimated.


"Mam' yer scarin' me, yo!" Reno said quietly "Mommy please... jus' I'll work taday like father wants and you'l be fine like always... an’ I will too" He tried to shrug.


Re'nocia's hands shot out and she hushed him. "Listen To Me!" She almost hissed. "You have an Aunt. She's a little older than you... She's on the other side of the slums... but up in sector 7... Or at least she will be when you seek her out. Are you listening!?"


Reno couldn’t do anything except nod his head and clench his fists in fear. His mother had never laid a firm hand on him like this, nor, ever spoken in such a firm way before. He knew what she was saying was important though. So his widened eyes blinked slowly, their unspoken agreement.


"Her last name is Faremis... even your father don' know that. So just remember that. Not her first name.... it don' matter. She knows about you, but if anything ever happens to me... EVER! Ya’ hear me... you find her, ok?... now look at me, my little 'force'...I Love ya'" She stopped.


Reno had allowed his gaze to falter and the unshed tears were ready to break. What did all this mean? But when his mothers soft hand touched his chin and tipped his face up to hers. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead as she had numerous times in the past. Maybe this was all some mix up. Maybe father had just really upset her for a change. Yeah, that was it.


Reno allowed his special grin to light up his face. "I love ya Mam' and maybe ...” He looked behind him... hearing his father’s footsteps coming "..I'll try for rations from the place at the end of the line today... the one by the ramp. Maybe ya can make your stew again Mam'!" He rubbed his nose against hers and she then kissed it.


"You be good now, right! And work as hard as possible. Make your father proud." Re'nocia's whole attitude seemed different, when she finished so brightly.


Reno realized why when he heard the growl behind him.


"Get yer Ass on the move NOW!!!" His father bellowed from the doorway.


"I love ya' my lil one. Be good now..." His mother said and gently turned him towards the door. She pasted a smile on her face that she hoped had mirrored his previous grin only moments before, even though inside, she was crumbling. It was out of her hands. Her fate would come to take her away in a short time. She needed to finish something before that time.

~later that day~

Reno walked along the street that he'd just finished. He and two other young men older than himself had been assigned to this stretch today. It was as he hoped they'd finish right next to the ramp that went to the better sections of the sector they were in. And the rations there were usually a little more substantial. If he was lucky they'd keep up this pace and he'd have some more food for his mother. That'd light up her face again.


The buildup had been unusually deep today while they were cleaning the side gutters. The drainage had been more polluted than normal. He'd heard talk from the older boys of something to do with Shinra's activity as of recently being real big success with the SOLDIER program, and something about the Turks working over the SOLDIERS. This was all new info to him, though to others it was just part of life. He was trying to listen and learn more as a young man with more responsibilities did.


His Mother had told him to work long and hard, and to make his father proud. That meant taking on more responsibility. He'd be a man soon. Maybe sooner than most... so he needed to learn to understand and think like one. He'd need to be smarter and smoother to make up for his age and his strength.


Thinking of strength made his thoughts drift to a comment his mother made during one discussion a while ago and made him grin. She’d told him his strength lay in his hair. ... He had such vibrant red hair. His mother hair was red... but more of a dark burgundy. Whereas his father’s was a softer, more honey red... like strawberry blond with light brown mixed in. But the one mention of family from his mother had been that his red hair spoke of his lineage... and that they were all vibrant people with vibrant hair. That was when she started calling him her little 'force' the force to be reckoned with. Yeah... Sure. Right now he was the pipsqueak that stood out yet worked his little hands right off.


Reno shook his head. They needed to move on... there was still over a hundred feet to go. He needed to really stick with it to make it to ration hand out in the afternoon. It'd be their last hand out of the day. But he really wanted to make it because either way it'd be better than nothing.... which is what he'd have if he didn’t hurry. He'd miss any chance at all.


~that evening~


Reno could barely contain his excitement. The man at the rations counter had taken pity on him being as young as he was already doing a man's work, though it wasn’t unheard of... it was still unwished for.


He palmed the paper wrapped package that he'd been handed with some meat scraps for a change and some more potatoes like they'd had yesterday. As well as a freeze dried package of some grain mix. His Mother would be able to make one substantial stew, gruel mixture. His little boy, mouth watered at the thought.


He made his way up towards the hut that was their home, but quickly slowed his gait, that wasn’t right... What was the delivery man doing at their home? And an empty Cart... Reno's face suddenly upturned into his big grin. A delivery! What was it, wood, or food? Did his father finally find them a table? Maybe mother wasn’t right in worrying at all.


He let his mind wander over all the infinite possibilities that an 8 year old raised in the slums could possibly come up with. All of them Wonderful!


He came closer to his front doorway and heard more than one man's voice which was to be expected with the cart. But when he turned into the doorway he saw three men. And one of them was his father. But the other two he'd never seen before.


"Father!.." He began, forgetting his place. "What did we get...." He was cut off with a swift punch to the face.


"Shut up... can’t you see what yer yappin' does!?" His father shouted, seemingly more than just angry. He'd never seen his father quite so upset. "Show yer' mother some respect!" His father nodded to the men who picked up a very stained, burlap covered load between the two of them.


Reno was completely confused. Mother?... he didn’t see his mother!? What did his father mean? The men grunted and shifted the long awkward package between them. And from the side of the burlap covering, a bloody and bruised arm fell down to hang as they dragged the mass. The arm looked long and thin, almost boney. NO!? Reno's eyes went wide. No, it couldn’t be....


"Mam'!? no... NO... Let me see!!!" He ran stricken, to the mass that the men carried and ripping the burlap covering back. He reached in and felt warm liquid and then soft mass. It was still warm, he yanked the cloth further and made out burgundy colored hair and arched and sculpted light pink lips. Warm... she was still warm.


His vision blackened and then wavered back into view as he struggled to stand up. His father loomed over him with his fist clenched. And his eyes looked like they were burning, burning in furry, in rage, and in scorn. "YOU!? You...." He hissed. "She went to work and THIS! thisss.. is how they return her. sayin' she was too distracted, wasnt doin' her job. Couldn’t take the punishment!.. THIS! is YOUR fault!... don' you DARE touch her!" His father screamed like a monster.


Reno was barely aware of his father’s rants though... All his vision of field could see or his ears could hear was the men re-shifting their 'package' and dumping it into the cart. The shape that was now swimming in his direct field of vision as the men drifted out of the door with the cart was dark, dark and evil. It was wretched. This man, his father tried to block him, the person he was supposed to look up to. He made his mother go. Why did she come back like this? No... She hadn’t come back.


Reno suddenly found his feet and shoved past the thing that was blocking him from his mother. He ran like death itself was behind him rather than in front of their house moving away. He screamed inaudible syllables to the men that had the duty of pushing the cart along the filth littered path from their home.


When his mouth finally made words he moaned them. "Nooo... Leave her homeeee... please...." But the men shoved him backwards onto the litter. He didn’t even feel the cuts to his hands as he pushed back up from the ground that was littered with debris, and tried to run after them again. "The lifestream..... Mam'... said everyone goes... let her go there... don' take her..." He was making a bit more sense now as anger rather than sorrow tainted his words.


One of the men stepped back from the cart to him and leaned down into his face. He smelled of smoke, dirt, and something bitter.


When he spoke it was heavily slurred in the local slum accent. "Kid, ya don’ know crap do ya’... s'not like dat’ ate'ol... down ere' we don’ go back... naw..." He rolled a stub of a cigar in his hand "we all 'recycled, after ate’ol.. yeh'!!" And with that, he guffawed his way back to the cart leaving a completely stunned Reno, retching onto the path.


He had not eaten since last night. So as he retched, all that came up, was bile that burned his throat and eventually tasted of blood. He fell forward on his hands and knees and watched as the cart containing the last warm vestige of his childhood disappeared around the falling down wreckage of the neighborhood that he knew. No tears came. His soul was wracked with silent dry sobs. That would have led to more throwing up had he anything left in him. He thought about what had been said and felt a burst of renewed strength.


Dashing past the pile of bile he had left on the path he ran to the doorway of his home and without a single glance inside he reached down to the paper package that only minutes before, had been precious to him. And streaked off with all the speed he had in his little body. He ran the direction of the back of his home, the opposite way that the death cart had gone. He streaked until he made it to the end of his neighborhood where one chute of waste went downward into Gaia's heart and with the last of his strength; he threw the paper wrapped, food ration package.


Reno stumbled a few steps backwards before he felt his vision floating again. Mother... what do I do now...

~~~End Chapter 3~~~

A/N:

I'll give a cookie to the first person who can tell me who Reno's ‘AUNT’(was sister.... and the cookie has been given!) is...without looking it up. And now with the revamp it runs more accurately within the games timeline! Yay! More on her soon.

I know... not a pretty chapter. But hey... you were warned... this story is mainly categorized as angst for a reason. I don’t want to seam sick or anything. But I like poetic storylines...in how it works out in the end. And, I also use writing as an outlet. So here ya be!

Expect more tomorrow.... yes... more angst. It doesn’t brighten up for a few chapters as least.


Again.. I apologize for grammar and punctuation mistakes... I try to catch ‘em... please read and review!

Ps: I did a spell and grammar check with a program I finally figured out how to use a little... but if you see any other mistakes... please feel free to tell me! Thanks!