Corrupting an Angel

Reno walked into Tseng's office the day after an eventful night of testing a prospective new addition to the Turks. He would certainly have some explaining to do as to how he ended up with his right arm in a sling. Entering the office right behind him was the rookie in question. Reno fought back the pain in his abused body and bowed courteously before his superior.

"Kochira wa Elena Clarke desu," Reno gestured his good hand towards the rookie beside him as he took a step back.

Tseng stood up behind his desk and nodded towards the blonde haired woman. He extended a hand out to her. She grasped it firmly from across the desk and bowed deeply to him. "Yoroshiku o-negai itashimasu!" she said in almost such a hasty rush of words, it nearly came out wrong.

Tseng's eyes narrowed as he smiled. "She's multi-lingual, too," he said in English.

Elena straightened up and looked him in the eye, his brown irises clear as water and deep as an ocean. She could not help staring, as a wave washed through her body, carrying with it the sands of undying infatuation. She needed to not be nervous around him despite her deep feelings for the stunningly handsome Wutai native.

"She's the one that nearly got me killed, sir," said Reno, massaging his sore shoulder.

"And the next Turk, I presume?"

Reno nodded. "I strongly recommend her, sir."

Tseng took a step in Reno's direction and lightly punched his good arm. "Cut the formalities, Reno. I'm sure Elena's already gotten to see just what kind of slob you really are." He looked back at the new recruit, who was apparently on the verge of giggling. "And you, young lady…what have you done to my dear friend over here? He wasn't broken when I lent him to you…" he teased mildly.

Elena looked around, trying to pick up on signs of how to react. It seemed the mood should be much lighter than the formalities she had in mind, yet she strongly felt the need to show respect.

"It's a long story, sir…" she finally said.

"So…?" Tseng paced back to his seat. "We've got time. Pull up some chairs, my friends, and tell me all about it. Reno…?"

"She exceeded my expectations," the veteran stated. "Allow me…"

= = = =
Flashback…

Reno shyly scratched the back of his neck. "Uh…Turks training is usually extremely gender-specific. And by that I mean…male gender."

"So?" Elena asked. "Have you never had female Turk before?"

"There was one other, but she was before me. Somewhat nasty, though, and a bit strange. It was around the time that you and I first met that she was killed for being a traitor."

"Oh, yes…" she pressed her body into his as she felt his arm hold her around the back. "My cafeteria grunt…who kicked Rufus Shinra's behind in the Tekken Ball tournament."

Reno laughed lightly, still holding her. "Oh yeah… Only that very same Rufus Shinra is the one who signs my paychecks, so I wouldn't keep gloating about that incident." He let go of her, his 5 years of having been a Turk was already erasing his capacity to act like a lover. That innocent boy who cleaned up in the cafeteria was now a force to be reckoned with. Did he dare corrupt this one?

"Is he going to make me partake in such a silly contest as well?"

"Nah… He did that to bust my chops. And Tseng's, 'cuz at the time Ruffie was an immature brat. Well, not much has changed, but…"

Elena just giggled, an instinct within her all ready to get flirty, despite the fact that she would really rather be with Tseng, despite the fact that he acted like he didn't even remember her from those years ago when they first met unexpectedly.

"To the gym, girlfriend," Reno said dryly, clapping her hard on the shoulder. "I'm not going easy on you even though you're a girl."

"I wouldn't want you to," she replied, shoving her air of self-sufficiency in his face.

Elena went into the ladies' locker room to change into shorts and a tank top. When she entered the main gym, which the Turks had sanctioned for themselves, she found Reno slouched in a long lounge chair munching on nacho chips.

"Uh…okay," he said, his mouth full of partially chewed nachos. "Let me see you stretch out before we begin."

"See me!?" she echoed. "You sound like you're deliberately gonna look on with some kind of interest."

Reno exchanged the chip bag for his soda pop. "Elena, I'm trying to see what kind of skills and potential you have. It's important that a Turk be fit and always ready for action, and that includes stretching out to avoid the potential for injuries."

Elena shoved her hands onto her hips. "You should talk…!"

Reno ignored her and let her begin her warm ups. Afterwards, he immediately made her run around the perimeter of the gym until he told her to stop. And he didn't tell her that until he'd finished the entire bag of nachos.

"Good," he said, meeting her along the track. "Now, sprint for me."

"Wha--!?" she panted, desperately needing to take a moment to come down from the extensive jogging she'd just endured.

"The enemy isn't gonna wait for you to catch your breath," he said, standing less than a body width away from her. He reached for the sides of her midsection and in one swift move, pulled her tank top and sports bra off.

Elena gasped, and Reno ran off, holding her clothing high in his hand. She instinctually sprinted off after him, one hand across her chest to cover up what she could. Reno was a very fast runner, as his long legs allowed him to outpace her. Finally, knowing she'd never catch him, Reno slowed and came to a halt on the track, holding out her clothes in easy grasp.

Instead of taking her clothes, Elena pounced him to the floor and slapped his face hard enough to leave a mark. She snatched her clothes back and wriggled into them, her back turned to him. Reno just smiled, rubbing his burning cheek, satisfied that it had all been worth it for the one good view.

"That was uncalled for!" she yelled at him, turning around after getting fully clothed.

"You sounded like you needed motivation to do that sprint."

"Hrmph…!"

So, the drills continued with climbing, rolling and taking falls, avoiding punches, counterattacking, and other endurance tests. He finally let her go for the day but advised her to return bright and early.

Since he had the liberty to test, drill, and train her in any way he saw fit, Reno decided to challenge her to a Tekken Ball game. Only he intended to do it the exact same way Tseng had done it with him.

Elena was last out of the locker room and into the private Tekken Ball court. She stopped suddenly, half way onto the play field, drawing in a sharp breath. Reno turned his body to face her, and her horror was confirmed.

"Don't be bashful," said Reno, completely nude from head to foot.

Elena stuttered, unable to say a word.

"Eyes up here, Elena…" he said, making a hand gesture until her eyes rose up to meet his. He could see sweat breaking out across her forehead. He walked closer to her, one hand blocking the view that had distracted her.

"Is…is that what you meant…when you said about Tseng…?"

"Yep," Reno said, standing close enough to her that she would have to tilt her head down to look. He kept her gaze in his eyes. "It's a great disciplinary tool. Who's to say that some day you won't be asked to abduct or kill a guy who's completely naked. We do it this way so you learn not to be distracted by it. And trust me, the slobs of the slums aren't the best clothed individuals in the first place."

"You've--seen--Tseng's…" she said very staccato.

"Enough to compare, but I also took the discipline lessons seriously. By the time we were done playing, I'd forgotten all about it. And the next time we played, we both played in the buff."

Elena visibly froze up, more sweat forming on her brow. "You…don't expect me to…?"

"I won't force you. At least not now. But you really should. Some fights I've gotten into, I've had some of my clothes ripped off. Sven was once hit with gasoline, and his pants caught fire, so he had to strip them off. As a Turk, you encounter scenarios that you're gonna end up a little more exposed than you'd prefer, and you absolutely can not let yourself pay it any mind."

"Oh…" Elena squeaked, swallowing hard.

"Honestly, as a woman, Elena…" Reno touched her lightly trembling shoulders to try to comfort her. "Some guys can't keep their hands to themselves. Survival depends on your being able to ignore their advances and groping so that you can neutralize them fast and effectively."

"Oh…" she said again, the nearness to his naked form sending her mind a ton of mixed signals.

"Um… If it makes you feel any better before we start the game, I'll let you steal your curiosity look."

"Wha--?"

One of Reno's hands traveled down her arm and to the palm of her hand. He pulled it forward to himself and placed it nearby his gender. Her arm tensed up suddenly, telling him he had to let her go on her own.

"Go on. You'll probably feel better if you get it out of you. Go ahead and look all you want. I don't mind."

Elena's chin slowly tipped downward, and her eyes followed. She felt very odd doing it, but part of her feminine genetic make up drove her along, its curiosity dying to be appeased.

"Come on! Don't be shy!" he pushed her shoulders downward to make her look. "Feel it if you want."

She looked as if she'd never seen one before. She certainly didn't know how it compared to others', but she found herself wondering just what it would be like to be looking at Tseng at such an angle. Her fingers came up and lightly touched Reno's intimate flesh. As if shocked back to reality, she withdrew suddenly and stood back up.

"There. You're okay now," Reno said.

Elena swallowed hard. "Then, I supposed it would only be fair to…"

"No!" Reno said sharply, stopping her from lifting up her shirt. "No offense, but all women look the same up there. Besides, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." Which was ironic considering what he'd just let her do with his own "front and center."

Reno turned back around and walked to his end of the court.

"Shall we play, then? Just remember what you're supposed to ignore, okay? I don't want you taking a hit in your pretty little face just because you were caught staring."

"I--I really don't know how to play this game…"

"You've played volley ball, right? Well, this is a technologically enhanced version of the game, one-on-one. The ball comes to you no matter what angle it's hit off at, and the harder you hit it, the more 'points' the computer gives it. If it strikes me without my counterattacking it, I lose hit points. We'll have to get you a player card, but for now I have you entered into a default Level One. I'm at level 31 right now, but don't worry. The system makes up for it by assigning different levels of hit points and damage points. So? Shall we?"

Elena nodded. Being across court made the view much smaller, and she really needed to do her best in order to win a confirmed position among the Turks.

The next day was weapons. He had her load, shoot, and reload all sorts of guns. Pistols…rifles… shotguns…automatics and semi-automatics, and even a six-shooter. After she showed her surprisingly thorough expertise with firearms, they moved on to archery with long bows and crossbows. They moved to hand-to-hand combat using knives and blunt objects. He drilled her on how to conceal a hand weapon, how to use one, and how to disarm an opponent. He'd let her get away with so much, but then pop a surprise on her, which she was unable to free herself from.

"Don't worry. You haven't failed," he said. "You just need more training. It's no big deal."

Elena tried not to seem to resentful, since she knew darn well that Reno had been a Turk for several years and had had that time to perfect his techniques, plus learn many others.

The next day was driving. The training area was a parking lot with wet pavement and traffic cones.

Reno sat in the passenger's seat next to her. "Take the corners as fast as you can. Your target is getting away from you."

Elena tightened the last of the 4-point restraint belts. "Shouldn't we have crash helmets or anything?"

Reno shrugged casually. "Why? Do you intend to wreck us? Besides, you need motivation to keep in control at all times."

Elena took off to tackle the course. All the while, Reno mocked her, but all in the name of motivation.

"You drive like a girl, Elena…" he trailed off.

She slid the car around a very tight hairpin turn, skidding the back wheels and accelerating out of it. She did her best to ignore his insults, something she'd gotten lots of practice doing over the past few days.

As the vehicle rocked back and forth on its shocks as they swerved rapidly through the line of cones, Reno made a deliberate show of yawning loudly. He didn't let his guard down as he knew the open-span bridge was coming up. Elena screamed as the car careened over a short gap from one ramp to the other.

"Keep going, girl," he said. "At this rate you're gonna come close to, if not beat, the course record."

Elena's heart skipped, and she drew a sharp breath. "R-Really!?"

At that, the car got away from her, fishtailing several times on the wet surface. "Hands off the wheel and relax!" Reno screamed to her, swatting his hand at her arms to get her to let go of the steering wheel.

"Relax!?"

The front of the car slammed into a concrete barrier, and the airbags popped open in front of them. It was over in a second. Reno reached over and held her right hand.

"A little last-minute crash course in taking a head-on collision."

"Very funny…" said Elena, unlatching the quick-release on her seat belts. They climbed out through the side windows and surveyed the wreck.

"That's okay," said Reno. "They'll just withhold your first twenty paychecks."

"What!?"

"Just kidding," he clapped her hard on the back. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Tomorrow, assuming your not sore from that, we'll run the motorcycles, okay?"

"Motorcycles!?"

"No more one-word answers, Elena," he grinned slyly. "Turks need to know how to drive every kind of vehicle. So which is it gonna be tomorrow? Do I have to teach you how to balance on two wheels, or are we going to have a mock chase on the freeway?"

Elena paused, her back to him. She turned halfway around. "I'm gonna kick your ass!" she said, then walked away.

"Ooooh!!" Reno tugged the front of his trousers up.

On his own time, he went to a crowded part of town, entering a place he frequented often in order to get a well-deserved full body massage to help him be in shape for the next day. A little extra money handed over, and the ladies made sure he really felt good before leaving.

The next day, they got out the sleek motorcycles. Reno was dressed in a full leather racing suit.

"Whoo-hoo…" said Elena. "Don't you look sexy in that!?"

"Don't say that Elena… These pants can be tight enough on their own. Besides, did you or did you not see me at my sexiest in the Tekken Ball arena a few days ago?"

Elena blushed.

"Come on. I've got a racing jacket for you. I trust you're as good as you say on these machines, but I don't want you getting hurt in case something goes wrong."

"Ha! Did I not say I'd kick your butt?"

"I'm not holding anything back with you. I want this to be as real and serious as possible. I'm really gonna be looking for you to impress me, though."

Elena shrugged into the leather jacket. "No problem. I come from a military family, and I was riding dirtbikes by the time I was five."

Reno straddled his motorcycle and fired the electronic ignition. "Cat and mouse Elena. Whoever's up front is the mouse." He put his helmet on, being sure to tuck his thin ponytail beneath the collar of his tight racing jacket.

The machines were the fastest of their type, developed for Shinra use only and not sold to the general public. There wasn't much traffic in Midgar at the late hour. The few other cars that were around seemed to be more like stationary obstacles to swerve around. They couldn't mimic the test on a closed course, as the Turks were occasionally up against such pursuits in real situations with real traffic and bystanders.

They stayed together much of the time, occasionally switching who was up front by cornering to the inside around bends. Some roadways were unfinished, thus abandoned by other motorists. Reno took the lead to jump his bike over one incomplete highway ramp to the other. Elena fearlessly followed, her experience with dirtbike jumping giving her the confidence.

To throw her for a loop, Reno gripped the brakes firmly, the built-in ABS system keeping the wheels from locking. He fought the forces of rapid deceleration. Elena steered around him and hit the brakes hard, turning around rapidly in order to continue the chase as Reno took off again in the opposite direction.

"Damn, she's good…" he said, looking over his shoulder. They flew off an entrance ramp and back onto the main highway. Reno could see tractor trailer head lights in his mirrors, but there was a lone light behind him still that was separate, meaning Elena was still on his tail.

He let her pass him at one point just so he could watch her driving and evasive maneuver technique. It was good experience to be the chaser as well as the chasee. She also seemed to know her way around the city fairly well. She tried him through ground-level roads as well as the elevated freeway which was in various stages of completion.

An extended, sweeping S curve veered to the left then back to the right, and Elena knew it was time for a fast turn-around. Cones and barriers up ahead signified that the freeway terminated, and the view beyond was nothing but the rolling hills and plains outside the boarders of the city. She kicked out the back end, halting the bike with the well-known Akira Slide maneuver.

Reno needed just a little more reaction time to steer his bike to the side to avoid hitting hers, but then he realized just how urgently he was running out of freeway. He deliberately dropped the bike and threw himself from it. A hail of sparks trailed the machine along its fatal plunge over the edge of the incomplete highway.

Reno's body crashed into Elena's bike, sending them both tumbling down. Neither saw it as Reno's machine skidded off the tarmac and dropped out of sight, careening down to the earth far below the upper level of the city.

Elena was the first out from underneath the bike. She hastened to get her helmet off. "Reno!?" she was hesitant to touch him at first.

Reno moved slowly, the shock of having nearly been involved in the fatal drop consumed his mind. He took the extra time to remind himself that he was safe on solid ground. Reno groaned and popped open the visor to his helmet.

"I'm fine, Elena. Aaaah…!!" he winced upon trying to move his right shoulder.

"Reno! You're hurt!"

"Ugh… Just my arm," he groaned, his other hand undoing the buckle to his helmet. Elena kept both hands on him, holding his right arm steady and supporting his back to help him sit up. Reno immediately winced again and gripped his shoulder.

"Here…" Elena said, undoing the front of Reno's jacket before he could protest. She reached in and felt his shoulder joint, inflicting more pain. "Hold still…" she said, gripping his arm with the other hand. He motioned to protest and possibly even shove her away, but before he could, she rotated his arm in order to pop the dislocated shoulder joint back into the socket. "There… That needed to be done right away."

Reno looked exhausted from the activity plus now the pain. His shoulder still hurt when he tried to test move it, but as a whole it did feel a little better. "How'd you know…?"

"I sort of have extensive knowledge of first aid and CPR, you know. Perhaps a little extra 'plus' for me?"

Reno just eyed her. "You seem well qualified, despite some rough edges about other things. But, we all go through that. Aaaaah!!"

She held his arm steady. "Now, here…I'm not done with you!" She thoroughly assessed his condition and used their belts to firmly bind his injured arm to his side.

Reno just groaned when she was all done. "Thanks…" he said weakly, cradling his tended-to arm.

She rubbed a soothing hand across his upper back, the sensation only faintly noticed through the heavy leather racing suit.

"You still need to see a doctor," she said. He closed his eyes. She pulled his ponytail out from under his collar then pet her hand down the back of his hair.

Reno's next groan indicated more pleasure than pain. "Mmmm…If I wasn't hurting so bad, I'd make love to you right now…"

"That's now why you're looking for a female Turk, are you?" she scolded mildly.

Reno smiled and laughed lightly. "No, no. I'm just looking for the most qualified prospect. As far as who I take to bed…let's just say that there's a lot more to the Turk brotherhood than most people know."

= = = =
Back to the present…

"Well,..." said Tseng. "That explains your rather beat-up condition."

Reno smiled weakly. "She's very good at many things, including tending to the wounded in the field."

"She still looks like she needs to be broken in a little," Tseng said, his eyes studying her made her back tickle in a flare up of excitement. "Such a shame to corrupt an angel…" his soft hand touched her under her chin. He was only a few inches taller than she was, so she didn't have to tilt her head up far to look into those dark, yet placid, eyes.

"She's an angel who can hold her own," Reno added.

"Yes. I knew she looked familiar. Did I not have to save you personally from that horny little pest, Rufus? That was years ago, though."

"Yes, Tseng-sama," she bowed to him as he let go of her chin. "If he weren't the Vice President at the time, I would've…" She thought it was best to trail off there.

Tseng laughed. "Well, perhaps I'll see if I can get that little runt into the Tekken arena with you. It's about the only legal way to beat him up." They exchanged smiles. "Very well, Reno. We'll take her upon your recommendation."

"Congratulations," Reno said, touching her shoulder. She gently touched his right hand enough to get him to loosely curl his fingers around hers.