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    Reno had only been seven when his father left one evening. He had just snuck out, a bag in each hand, as his only son watched silently out of his second story window. Reno thought he was only going on a trip, but dad never came back.

    For the next year Reno's mother, a bright eyed, red headed woman named Mina, struggled with two jobs to keep the family living comfortably. It was Reno's job during those days to care for his baby sister, Trini. To do so he had to drop out of school. The face that Reno hated school only made that condition very tolerable.

    Just when things seemed their lowest, Reno's uncle Kingsley, his father's older brother, told Mina about a new city that had just been built on the eastern continent. The real estate was cheap, and he himself had just brought a house too big for one. He invited Reno's family to come live with him, promising that Shinra would make sure no one suffered in their city. Having no where else to turn but further into poverty and floating on the dreams spun by Shinra and their magical city called Midgar, Reno's mother packed up their few possessions and moved them across the planet....

    Reno had never met his uncle before. Kingsley was a tall, well built man with dark hair and eyes. He treated both women with the highest respect, but he always made a point to exclude Reno. He showed the boy no affection, he simply put him to work. Mina wanted her son to go back to school, but Kingsley wouldn't allow it. He insisted that Reno had learned enough to get by and his place was to help around the house with manual labor. Reno hated his uncle.

    Mina got a job in an item shop in Sector 5, the next sector over from where the family lived. The towns had names, but no one bothered with them. They were all too busy trying to jump start their lives. Kingsley worked for a weapons shop in Sector 7, so he was gone most of the day, much to Reno's relief. The young fiery haired boy spent his days tending to the house and his sister. Life wasn't so bad when Kingsley was gone. It was when he returned that the nightmare began....
 
 

    "Reno? Why is the sky blue?" Trini, now five, asked her twelve year old brother. She was looking at her favorite picture book, a brightly illustrated story about a chocobo named Boko.

    Reno shrugged and pushed a strand of his straggly red hair out of his eyes. "I dunno. What's it matter? You don't see none of the sky in Midgar anyway."

    The little girl sighed and went back to her story.

    Reno went over to the window and peered out. The neighborhood boys were gathering together for a game of basketball, something that had become a daily ritual. Reno was seldom allowed to join in, and even though he wasn't much good he still enjoyed a game or two. "Maybe he'll let me play today," Reno muttered absently as the game began.

    "He'll be home soon," Trini reminded him. "You should pretend to be busy."

    The young boy spun and glanced at the clock. Sure enough Kingsley was due home any minute. His eyes darted around the room. What could he pretend to be doing?

    He heard the door creep open. Damn! Too late! Reno quickly conjured up a few reasons why he wasn't working. To his surprise it wasn't the tall, muscular uncle who stepped into the room, but his small, thin mother who looked tired and pale behind her smile. "Hi, I'm home early."

    "Mommy!" Trini cried, leaping off the floor to grab her mother round her waist.

    Reno just stared. His mother was never home early. "What happened, mom?"

    Mina looked over at him, a sad look in her blue eyes. "I can't fool you, huh, Reno?" She sighed, still smiling. "I was fired."

    Reno frowned. He knew business at the store wasn't going well, but he never thought his mother would get fired. Now what was going to happen? They needed every penny to squeeze by and with momma's job gone...what would *he* say? "What will you tell him?"

    Mina took Trini onto her lap as she sat down on the couch. "Don't worry about it, Reno." She picked up the chocobo book and began to look at the pictures with her daughter.

    Reno's stomach crunched into a hard knot of worry. He wondered how she could stay so calm as the time just ticked on by...and they waited.

    "Hello? Reno? Where the hell are ya?" It was Kingsley's coming home call. Reno felt his stomach churn tighter as he heard the footsteps coming closer. "Reno?!" Kingsley marched into the room, eyes already marched into the room, eyes already focused in a glare at Reno. "Reno, what did I tell you about--" he stopped abruptly when he noticed Mina. "Mina? What are you doing home?"

    The woman did not look up as she replied, "I was fired today."

    There was a second of terrible silence.

    "What?" he hissed.

    Mina put Trini down and pulled herself to her feet. "I was fired," she repeated.

    "Fired?!" he bellowed, taking two steps towards the frail woman. "How were you fired?"

    She didn't flinch as she explained, "they just didn't have the money to pay me anymore."

    Kingsley growled as he ran his fingers through his hair.

    Reno felt he had to leave before he threw up. His stomach grew tighter and tighter by the second. "Can I go outside and play basketball?" he yelled.

    He got contradicting answers.

    "Yes," said his mother.

    "No," said his uncle.

    The adults glared at each other.

    "Why can't he go out?" Mina demanded, suddenly aggressive.

    "I need him to do work here," Kingsley snapped.

    "You never let him do anything!" Mina cried out.

    "There's no time, Mina! Now that you've no job, Reno's got more work to do!"

    "I'm his mother, and if I say he can go out and play, he can!"

    "This is *my* house!" growled Kingsley, "and everyone lives by my rules!"

    "He's only twelve!"

    "He has responsibility! We can't have him doing anything he wants!"

    "It's a god damn game of basketball, Kingsley!"

    Reno ran into the bathroom. He couldn't hold it down anymore.

    "Don't you dare talk back to me in my own house, woman!"

    The last thing Reno heard before passing out was the stinging sound of flesh hitting flesh and his mother's cry of pain.

    He woke up in his own bed to see his mother standing over him, gently caressing his forehead.

    "Hi, Reno. How do you feel?"

    Considering he had just had an anxiety attack, surprisingly fine. "Mom....how are you?"

    Mina pushed some of Reno's shaggy red hair away from his eyes. "What are you talking about, honey?"

    "...I heard him hit you," Reno said quietly.

    She didn't meet her son's eyes. "It's all right, Reno. I sometimes forget that this is your uncle's house. We just live in it."

    "Can't we move?" Reno asked.

    Mina leaned over to gently kiss her son on the forehead. "Don't worry, dear. Someday you'll be able to do whatever you want."

    She left the room, and Reno squeezed his eyes shut. There was no way Kingsley would get away with hitting his mother ever again.

    He fell asleep and dreamed of all the things he could do one day......

    Two years had not made any substantial chance to Reno's life. He continued to stay home to watch a now seven year old Trini. He remained isolated, indoors, waiting for the day when he could be free of his overbearing uncle and could go outside and play basketball, if that's what he truly wanted. Anything he wanted. Anything...

    Mina was trying to find work. For two years she had been searching for a permanent job. She filled in certain positions from time to time, and although it helped the family get by, Kingsley was not thrilled with putting in extra hours to cover for her lack of a permanent position. Reno, of course, didn't mind at all. It meant his uncle came home later, and Reno saw less of him.

    "Reno, have you ever seen a chocobo?" Trini asked as she flipped through a glossary of animals.

    "No," Reno replied. He sat slouched on the couch besides her, bored out of his mind. Mina was out on a job today, and he wasn't sure who would get home first, his mother or his worst nightmare.

    "You ever seen a Touch Me?" she asked.

    Reno jumped, sitting up straight. "A what?" he looked at the picture. "Who the hell named that thing?" he grimaced. "That's nasty."

    Trini was confused. "Huh?"

    Reno sighed. "Never mind." Just as he was about to slump down again he heard a door open. In the next second he was on his feet.

    It was his mother. The boy thankfully let out the breath he had been holding. "Hey."

    Mina was reading a piece of paper. "Hi, Reno."

    "Ooh! The mail!" Trini popped out of her seat. "Anything for me?"

    "No dear," Mina said gently, tapping the child on the head. "Just bills." She gave her daughter a very tired smiled and Trini went back to her animal book.

    Reno began to ask, "can I go out--" but he was cut off by the slamming of the front door.

    Kingsley dragged his body into the room and dropped what he had been carrying. Reno noticed his mother hid the papers she had behind her back, but it was too late to hide. "Are those the bills?" his voice was gruff and exhausted.

    She cleared her throat. "Yes," she answered, bringing them out front. "Yes they are." Mina hesitated before handing them over.

    Kingsley handed them over, his  face growing redder and redder like a time bomb waiting to explode. "Did you see this heating bill?"

    "....I did, yes."

    Kingsley looked up, a dull fire burning in his eyes. "How are we supposed to pay for this?"

    Mina started moving backwards and her hand began shaking. "I--I don't know..."

    "You lazy bitch!" the uncle roared slamming his fist against the wall. "You don't *want* to find a job! You would rather stay home with your useless kids than help me out around here!"

    "That's not true!" Mina shot back. She glared strongly at her oppressor. "And don't you dare say that about my kids again!"

    "Don't tell me what I can't do in my own god damn house!" Kingsley rushed forward, shoving Mina against the wall.

    "No!" Reno cried, rushing over to his mom's aid. "Leave her alone!" The young boy was no match for Kingsley and the older man kicked the child into the opposite wall. "Call the police! Call the police!" Reno yelped. "Trini!"

    The child scampered off.

    "No!" bellowed Kingsley. "Dammit!" He smacked Mina across the face three times, while she screamed and cried. He then took hold of her shoulders and rammed her head against the wall until her crying and shouting stopped. Kingsley dropped her like a hot potato and backed up in shock. The frail woman's body slumped to the floor like an abandoned doll. She was dead.

    The red haired boy rushed to his mother's side. "Mom! Mom! Wake up!" He could feel the tears stinging his eyes as he shook her fragile, limp shoulders. "Mom!" A tear ran down his thin face as he turned around to face the murderer. "You killed her!"

    Kingsley held up his hands. "I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" The man was shaking in horror.

    Trini peeked back into the room and Reno pointed at her as he said, "just wait till the police get here! They'll haul your sorry ass into jail! And I'll testify against ya too!" He glared at his mother's killer with a sort of grin on his face.

    Something gleamed in Kingsley's hand. A knife. "Not if you're dead too," declared the uncle as he rushed forward slashing Reno twice on the cheeks before the child ducked to the floor and rolled away.

    "Come 'ere, Reno," the older man taunted. "Come 'ere and fight like the man you wanna be."

    The child sat crouched on the floor like a gorilla, his weight being supported by his knuckles. His teeth clenched together, he glared pure hatred at Kingsley before unexpectedly rushing forward. With one swift kick in the right spot, Kingsley groaned and staggered, dropping the knife which Reno grabbed eagerly.

    "No, Reno, let's just----ugh!" the murderer groaned in pain as Reno stuck the knife into his chest.

    Reno's eyes were like lasers as his hateful gaze tore Kingsley apart. "That's for my mother," Reno hissed through his teeth. He then pushed the blade in deeper and turned it. "And that's for me."

    His uncle's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the floor, dead. Reno sighed a breath of relief, as he too sagged to the floor.

    Trini hesitated before coming in too. "Reno....what happened to mommy?"

    Reno closed his eyes and felt warm blooding running down his face from where his uncle had cut him. His hands were also stained with the blood of the man he killed. His eyes opened.

    "Your face, Reno," Trini said, kneeling besides him. "Do you think it will scar?"

    "Maybe," replied the boy. And maybe my face isn't the only thing that's been scarred today.

    The police had arrived, documented the scene, and cleaned it up. No one doubted Reno's story of self defense, but he was brought into Shinra Headquarters anyway. They took Trini somewhere else. Reno wondered if they wanted a statement or something. He didn't really care, he was just glad they had been kind enough to bandage his damaged face.

    I wonder what will happen to me now, Reno thought sadly. Me and Trini haven't got no other family, and I'm not old enough to take care of her by myself.

    The door opened then, and a man with long black hair and a blue suit stepped inside. "Hello, Reno. My name is Tseng, and I am a Turk."

    A Turk? Reno had heard about that organization before. The Turks did all kinds of stuff for Shinra. "Hey," he replied.

    "Reno, I heard what happened with your uncle," Tseng paced as he spoke, but stopped to face the boy when he added, "that was very brave of you."

    "Thanks."

    Tseng picked up the pacing again. "Now, Reno, you are most likely thinking about where to go from here when your mother is dead and you're not old enough to take of yourself."

    The child nodded. "Yes, sir, I have, sir."

    "What if I told you that if you became a Turk you wouldn't need to worry anymore. That the company, Shinra Inc, would take care of you?"

    "Wow," Reno breathed.

    The Turk stopped his pacing and faced the boy. "I am offering you a chance to join the Turks, Reno. Your actions against your uncle have more than qualified you. As long as you are willing to do anything and everything that is asked of you, a position is yours." Tseng paused and carefully asked, "Are you willing, Reno?"

    The boy nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! Anything!" But his smile faded a moment. "Wait...what about my sister?"

    "She'll have to live in an orphanage. I'm sorry, Reno, but you're not old enough to care for her yourself."

    Reno nodded sadly. "Could I at least talk to her first?"

    "That can be arranged," Tseng agreed. He licked his lips before he asked, "does this mean you wish to join the Turks? That you are willing to under go the training and to follow any order no matter your own feelings?"

    Reno nodded firmly. "Yes, sir."

    And it was at that moment Reno felt his life was really beginning.

    "You're going away, Reno?" Trini asked, her eyes wet with tears, "like mommy?"

    Reno shook his head. "No, not like mommy. Not forever. Just for awhile. I have to work so that I can come back and get you."

    Her blue eyes lit up. "You mean you'll come back?"

    The boy nodded firmly. "Of course."

    The little girl hesitated a moment before she threw her arms around her brother and held him tight. "I'll miss you, Reno."

    Reno felt tears threaten to flow, but he wouldn't let them come. Turks don't cry...."I'll miss you too." The new Turk drew away from his sister and brushed off his uniform: blue suit, white shirt, blue tie, all neatly pressed. "Don't wait for me now," he instructed. "You go have fun."

    Trini grinned. "You too, Reno. Go play some basketball."

    Heh. Go play some basketball. Reno left the orphanage with a big smile on his face. For the first time in his life he was free. 'Someday you'll be able to do whatever you want', his mother had told him. Someday was now, and Reno was planning on doing anything and everything he could get away with. After all, life was short, and he had thirteen wasted years behind him. Had to make the rest count. Besides, that's the way momma would have wanted it.