Observations and Nothing More

After meeting Tseng for the first time, I'm finding that I can't tear myself away from the curiosity I've developed over him. I convince myself it's because he's a Turk and because he invaded my space when and where he wasn't welcome. But there's something unusual about him and the more I learn about him, the more I realize he's someone completely different from who he allows everyone to see.

For over a month now, I've been following him, watching him, forever in the shadows and constantly wondering what the relation between him and the man he killed was about. But unfortunately, he hasn't done anything similar or even mentioned anything about it to anyone. He almost appeared to care about him, but what he did contradicted the thought just as quickly as it came to me.

I doubt I should expect any other kind of behaviour from a Turk though, and to question it is probably irrelevant. From everything I've learned about them after awakening from a thirty-year slumber, they're not the same ilk as we were when I used to be one. They're no longer as interested in investigation and exposing corruption as much as they are in covering everything up and being corrupted.

He left Kalm before the sun rose the next day and travelled to the old Junon site where he spent nearly a week on business before he met up with his partner, Elena.

Nothing of concern caught my attention while he was there and it seemed like a typical Turk assignment, given what's left of Shinra. He spent his days going through whatever archives were salvageable and spent his evenings in solitude.

So far, from what I've learned, he follows a soulless routine and lives an empty life, reminding me more of myself as each day passes. He doesn't socialize with anyone outside of work except for a lengthy phone call that he makes every evening, and when he left Junon to travel to several of the abandoned Mako reactors with Elena, he behaved very much the same.

Much to my surprise though, they're not up to anything suspicious. They're mostly ensuring the reactors are shut down and that no Mako leaks are present. And typically, they collect anything unusual that they come across, most of it being unidentified forms of Materia and rare deposits formed from residual Mako.

He never joins his partner for a drink, even though I'm starting to get the feeling she'd like him to since she goes out of her way to impress the man and eagerly follows every order he gives her while he does nothing to show that he appreciates it.

But he treats her to a meal at the end of every stay. He makes it clear that he's only thanking her though, and that it's nothing more than a simple act of his appreciation for her hard work.

At this point, I'm not sure if he's aware that she goes out of her way to try and look more attractive to him. I'm not even sure if he notices the subtle flirting or any of her other efforts she makes since the only time he appeared to notice her was when he seemed to approve of a certain perfume she was wearing. But other than the brief compliment that came out in a manner of disguise—"What scent is that?"—He pays her no mind.

I've come to recognize that his indulgences lay in taste and scent. He likes his sweets, rich and full meals, expensive and subtle colognes, and lightly scented shampoos and soaps. He prefers a bath over a shower and keeps himself neatly groomed. Every evening, he orders a different dessert as if he wants to try them all but he only allows himself one reward an evening, and I've yet to see him break from that routine.

He also does the same thing he did when he was back in Kalm. He inspects the platter and cutlery, which I'm beginning to believe is a habit brought on by possible assassination attempts, and then he turns the plate a quarter turn and indulges as if he's deprived.

If he isn't satisfied with what he ordered, he'll return it and exchange it for something else while telling the server everything that was wrong with it, and he doesn't bother to hold back. Then he'll behave as if his entire evening has been ruined and he'll sourly find something to pick at over the day's work, even if there's nothing to pick at. He's only done that once so far though. But I wouldn't be surprised if it's typical of him, and in a strange sort of way, it was nice to see him affected by something regardless of how petty it was.

Other than that, his expression rarely changes. It's like he's trained himself so well to be closed and secretive that he's almost forgotten how to be anything else. But after a month, I'm starting to recognize his subtle moods and I'm starting to wonder if the man is capable of losing his temper or if he even has one, and I'm starting to entertain the thought of what it would be like even though I'm not really sure why I'd want to see it.

It might be because he appears unfazed by almost everything that happens around him. He acts as if he's seen it all and there's nothing left to shock or impress him, and for some reason, I'm not so convinced that it's true.

At times, I can't help but wonder if he's aware of my presence and I find myself thinking that I'm doing something wrong and that I should go. There's no reason for me to be watching him, and whenever he's outside or near a window, he has a tendency to take a look around as if he either knows or senses that he's being watched. But he never seems to focus on any spot for too long and I wonder if maybe he's just trained himself to be wary of his surroundings by a form of necessary habit.

During the rare nights that he leaves the curtains to his windows open, I've come to discover that he's not as hard as he pretends to be. He sleeps on his sides, curled up and with his knees pulled in, suggesting that he has a problem with his back. Sometimes he grimaces and wraps his arms under his knees to pull his legs farther into his chest as if it's the only way he can seek comfort, and he has a tendency to sleep unsettled, waking up frequently and it makes me wonder how long it's been since he's had a decent night's sleep.

He rarely sleeps on his back, and when he does, he stuffs pillows under his knees, which I'm guessing is to alleviate any pressure he might be putting on his back. He seems to be uncomfortable if his body is straight for too long, and some mornings, he literally crawls out of bed as if he's in pain and has trouble straightening up. But he's quick to hide it if there's someone present or at his door, and he never gives away the slightest of hints that there's anything wrong with him.

He's trained, whether by circumstance or pride, I'm unsure, and I'm beginning to wonder if his pain has something to do with when Sephiroth stabbed him when he was at the Temple of the Ancients.

He wears black pyjamas, cotton and pressed, long sleeves, and keeps them buttoned all the way to the top. Not even the ghosts or the darkness gets to see what he hides underneath, and I'm reminded of how he clings to the neck of his robe every night after he takes his bath and opens the windows for fresh air. For some reason, I'm beginning to think that modesty has nothing to do with his apparent, dare I say, insecurity.

When he returns to the outskirts of Edge after making a few other business related stops with Elena, he makes his way to what appears to be a small farm. It doesn't take me long to discover that it's not really a farm and that it's the location Rufus has chosen to reside in, along with his Turks. It's a well-planned disguise and I can see how it keeps their location and presence well-concealed.

I can't help but find myself wondering who the mastermind behind such an idea was, or if it was a collective brainstorm they all had during a slow night at Healin. I'm also not really sure why I'm interested in finding out.

Near the centre, there's a small building they use for their offices where they share most of their resources and space. Scattered about the rest of the land are a few other buildings used for various purposes. Research is conducted in some of them while others are set aside for the handful of employees Rufus managed to gather under his employment.

There's even a stretch of land used for farming and stables where dual horns and chocobos are held, bred, and even sold along with their eggs, making it seem like nothing more than an ordinary farm that's profited over the hardships of the times to passers-by. And I don't doubt for a second that Shinra is using it as a genuine monetary resource, given the number of regular farm-workers that appear to be employed as well, and Shinra has never been one to turn down a profitable opportunity no matter how meagre it may seem.

They keep their heavy machinery and equipment concealed from the public eye by keeping it in the large stables near the back of the farm, and from the looks of things, they even set up a small testing ground for their weapons that are surrounded by tall grass and sparse trees to hide the evidence.

They do their training in an area they dug out and covered with an inconspicuous mess of rotting and moss-covered wood which is constantly tended to. But it serves its purpose. No one would ever know or even suspect that there was something functional or dangerous underneath.

The relationship between the Turks appears to be one that's evolved and they work together to strive for the same goals. But they all live separate lives outside of work and the only two that seem to socialize when they're off the clock is the bald Turk and the redhead.

But for some reason, I care very little about what they're doing or what they're up to at this point, and the moment I see my point of interest open his office window, I put most of my focus on the reason I'm here in the first place.

Unlike when they're out on the field, their relationships are shuffled. Reno, who's seen mostly with his partner—Rude—in the public eye, spends most of his time around Tseng when they're working in the offices. He's the most sociable of them all and probably the friendliest. But I wouldn't trust him as far as he could be thrown. There's something conniving about him and he's sharp, even though he pretends to be lazy and I can't help but think he knows I'm here sometimes.

I can only assume the reason they pair up the way they do on the field is because they like to keep a balance of skill and ongoing training by keeping the superior ranks with the lesser ones.

I also can't seem to figure out the relationship between Reno and Tseng. They frequently engage in silent conversation, mostly looks that they both understand. It's like they know each other too well. They share private jokes that no one else catches onto, and at times, there seems to be a digging between the two of them—prying, though subtle—which almost contradicts the illusion that they know each other at all.

But it's another day, and on this day, Reno spends most of the morning tinkering with the machines he seems to be fond of. He does it with the help of his partner while they leave Elena to go over the more menial tasks that are the typical pitfalls of being the rookie before he retires to his and Tseng's office near the end of the day.

He walks in with his EMR slung over his shoulder and grumbles about something, which is routine for him, and Tseng ignores him while he goes over the papers Rufus wanted him to look over earlier that day.

The younger man speaks with a lazy drawl and can't be bothered finishing his words off. Nor can he bother being professional when he mutters out, "Hey Man," and sits on the corner of Tseng's desk. Then he pulls something out of his EMR and sticks his tongue on it, briefly, so he can grumble like he always does about how much better everything worked when they were using Mako to power everything.

"You know how Rufus feels about that option" Tseng calmly replies. He doesn't bother to acknowledge him beyond that, as far as I can tell. And as a result, the redhead sprawls onto the surface of Tseng's desk with his chest exposed and adjusts the goggle-style sunglasses he wears under his hairline, more for a fashion statement than as a function is my assumption, and he grunts to get his attention.

"This cell is dead already," he mutters. Then he tosses it onto Tseng's papers, and as I've come to expect, Tseng doesn't react. He just pushes it aside without looking up and continues to read, "Jus fuckin loaded it, an it's dead."

"Was it charged?"

"No. Was I supposed ta charge it?" the redhead sarcastically asks as if he's offended by Tseng's suggestion that he'd be dumb enough to overlook something so simple. Then he sits up and jumps to his feet in a limber movement and taps on Tseng's desk with the device, "Thought it was supposed ta jus work, like magic."

With a sigh, Tseng is well-aware of the obvious mockery and grabs the cell to stick his own tongue on it to see if his second-in-command is exaggerating or being forthright. Then he quirks his brow and tosses it back at the man without looking at him and states, "You know we're working on getting a team together to research alternate options."

"Yeah, jus tired'a waitin," the man sighs out before he walks over to one of the cupboards and digs around for a handful of tools. When he appears to be satisfied with what he's found, he slumps down in the chair at his own desk and starts taking his EMR apart.

"What are you doing?"

"Fixin it."

The redhead's voice carries a slight crackle to it like he might have been a smoker at one time. Or it could be because he spends a lot of his time in the pubs during his time off and is overexposed to the damaging environment of other people's bad habits. His chuckle always sounds conniving and dark, like the one he's expressing right now while he focuses on the mess he's making and starts digging through the inner workings of his device.

"It's not broken."

"Yeah, yeah," Reno mutters as he picks up one of the pieces and inspects it. Then he snickers when he says, "Well it is now," and adds, "Willin ta fix ya up next. But I ain't interested in cleanin up the mess afterwards."

"You'd never get within a foot of me, Reno."

"Heh, Everyone sleeps ya know."

"With one eye open when you're around."

They like to play like this. They do it often—a battle of their wits and brawn. It's a constant test for them to see who can out-best the other by making idle threats containing high amounts of testosterone even though they both know neither of them would ever carry them out.

And after Tseng's comment that comes out distant-sounding and unconcerned, he lets out a tired sigh. Then he opens his laptop to enter the data from the papers he's been going over while the redhead pulls something out of his pocket and holds it against the dismantled loading chamber and readjusts it to make it line up.

"Do I even want to know what you're doing?"

"No."

"Hm."

With nothing more than a sideways glance, Tseng continues with his entries and then sits back after he's gone through two of the pages and adjusts his blazer as if he's decided it's time to take a break. Then he reaches into his top-right drawer and pulls out a package before he places it on his desk and pulls out a cookie while the redhead talks to him without taking his attention away from the task he's focused on.

"Where'd ya get those?"

"Elena."

"She make 'em?"

"Yes. But I've had better."

"Heh, heard that one before…"

With a sly grin, Tseng folds his hands across his abdomen and turns his chair so he can watch the other man better. He runs his eyes over him in curious study, which is something he does quite often as if he's gauging him or silently mocking his appearance. Then he turns his attention over to what the man's doing and contently watches for a few moments more.

He's the exact opposite of Tseng. Pierced ear, flaming red hair, long, down to his tailbone, always tied back with a little girl's elastic and spiked around the top of his head in a jagged mess. His appearance is loud and he's outspoken.

Everything about him is like a fashion statement, even the half-moon tattoos framing the bottom and outer edges of his eyes that appear to cover up the scars they're overtop. He even goes so far as to refuse to wear a tie, unlike the rest of them. He never finishes doing his shirt up or even bothers to tuck it in, and he leaves his blazer open as if he's in too much of a hurry or simply overslept and didn't have time to tend to his appearance. His clothes are creased, oversized, and always stained from the machines he works on.

He walks with a sway and advertises his sex-appeal as if he's open for invitation by anyone who's willing. But like Tseng, I've yet to see him with anyone. He carries a high energy and fights like a rabid animal when he's in combat. But he's relaxed and laid back when he's in what he calls 'Peace-mode,' giving him an advantage by being deceptive.

He only carries one weapon and prefers to use the casts of his natural abilities or materia while saving his physical skills combined with his EMR for when he's recharging his own energies. He seems messy, the way that he fights. But it's only because he's too quick for anyone to really see what he's doing.

"I give up," Tseng finally tells him as he continues to calmly sit there and watch what he's doing, but it's obvious that his curiosity has gotten the best of him, "You're trying something new… something you've devised on your own."

Reno is too focused to look up and simply mutters in a taunting melody, "So far, so good."

"I want to know what it is."

"Only if ya give me a cookie."

With another smirk, Tseng reaches over and pulls one out. Then he looks sideways at it while still facing Reno and toys with it. He turns it with his first two fingers as if he's contemplating giving up something of worth before he turns his attention back to the redhead and stares at him with that glint of his and offers it for the information, "This one?"

For a moment, the redhead holds his mysterious object in his hand and stares at it while facing forward and resting his elbows on his desk with the object held at eye level. Then he turns his attention to Tseng, who's tauntingly waving the cookie at him like it's something forbidden, rare, and highly coveted. But he'll part with it if it's worth it.

They share a moment of silent understanding, both sets of eyes intent on the other in a language I've come to discover the two of them have mastered with one another. Then the redhead snaps the object into the concealment of his palm and takes a cautious look around like he's up to something he shouldn't be.

Then he quickly nods and looks out the partially open window while scanning the area, making me feel like shrinking back as his teal eyes that almost appear yellow-green in the strong light—sickly and serpentine—quickly and sharply point to the abandoned building I'm in as if he knows I'm here.

After that, he grins as if he's got a secret and steps quickly across the unpolished wooden floor to sit on the arm of Tseng's chair. Then Tseng rests his hand on the man's hip as if there's nowhere else to put it and unconsciously moves his thumb in a quick sweep while the redhead whispers something into his ear and Tseng approvingly smiles.

"Are you sure that will work?" he asks him in a softer and quieter tone, uncharacteristic of the usual deep and hard tone he speaks in. Then he looks at his co-worker and they both lock eyes in a conniving and secretive manner.

"Dunno," the other man mutters as he takes the cookie from Tseng's hand while he keeps his eyes locked with his and over-grabs for the reward, having to work his way up to his superior's fingers for the prize, "But I'm willin ta find out."

"You impress me sometimes."

"'At's why I'm yer second-in-command," the redhead chortles once he has the prize in his hand. Then he pushes himself up and pats Tseng on the shoulder in a carefree manner and takes a bite.

"I thought you were my second-in-command because you passed the academy with honours and proved yourself on the field."

"Well, that too," Reno playfully answers. Then with a slight sneer, he swallows his bite back as if he's having trouble with it and blurts out, "This tastes like shit," and tosses the rest of the cookie into the trash by Tseng's desk while muttering and wiping his mouth in disgust, "Can't believe ya ate that Man."

"Mm."

I can't help but think that after Reno's reaction and comment, that Tseng only ate the original cookie to his own deranged amusement. It might have to do with the fact that he brushes them off his desk so they fall into his trash, suggesting that he agrees with the redhead. He could have done that earlier and chose not to. He doesn't laugh though, and he doesn't even smile, never giving away his true thoughts or intentions.

While Reno returns to redesigning his EMR with something he's probably not supposed to be using, Tseng returns to his paperwork and continues to go over it. I've learned that they're content to work silently and alongside one another, and they often compliment the other's habits with a much-needed contrast that seems to not only alleviate Tseng's mood, but it also seems to ground Reno.

They're still very different people though, and they'll banter back and forth in a form of pass-time and play. But they're both respectful, allowing each other the space they need to get their work done and even lending a helping hand when needed.

And when Tseng is finally done with his chore, he sits back and pulls a silver object he's been toying with since the day I first saw him from his pocket and spends a private moment with it as the redhead continues to work silently at his desk.

Nothing more than a sideways glance escapes his second-in-command when Tseng sits forward to run his fingers over it. Then he lets out a sigh and opens the cameo-like object as if he's ensuring whatever's inside is still there and intact. He's been doing this off and on since I've been watching him. But I've yet to see what it is.

The redhead seems to know though, or at least he seems to know about its existence. But he never says anything about it. Instead, he always pays a quick respect by raising his brow and then he continues with whatever he's doing at the time.

And like always, it's closed quickly when the female and Reno's partner arrive as if it's not for them to see. Then it's quickly hidden in his pocket while he asks Elena how her day went and then grills her about her poor performance over the day's work. Apparently, she made a mistake in her paperwork and she was lucky he caught it before Rufus had a chance to see it, and he doesn't want to see something like that happen again.

She typically apologizes as if she doesn't really know what else to do or say, and she's about to try and explain herself. But he cuts her off and makes it clear he won't hear anything of it. All the while, she keeps turning her attention over to Reno as if she's hoping he'll defend her like he sometimes does. But this time, he keeps his attention on his EMR and is refusing to acknowledge her, causing her to take a deep and frustrated breath before she leaves with Rude sympathetically following her.

Their interactions strike me as nothing more than a typical Turk-driven environment, and even though Reno did and said nothing while everyone was present, he wastes no time to defend her the moment she leaves, leaving me with little wonder over how or why he's in the position he's in.

"That was kind'a, uncalled fer, ya know," the redhead comments when the door is closed and he feels he can freely state his opinion without anyone overhearing him. He keeps his attention on his EMR though, and he doesn't bother to look at his superior as he makes his comment. Then he finally looks at the bag of cookies, obviously sitting in the trash and adds with a slight frown, "She did'n mess up on purpose."

"Mistakes are never made on purpose," Tseng answers, coldly and unaffected by everyone's reactions, "But that doesn't make them any less of a mistake."

"Whatever. She would'a caught it an fixed it if ya did'n snatch it from her like ya did this mornin," Reno comments before he finishes reassembling his EMR and secures the last piece while standing up, "She works hard an ya know she would'a made sure it was perfect before she handed it ta ya. She goes out of her way ta try an make ya happy."

"I don't train people to make me happy," Tseng calmly defends without looking up and remaining resolute in his justification.

"No shit," the redhead mutters as he taps his EMR on his shoulder and makes no attempt to keep his opinions to himself, "Would be kind'a hard ta train 'em in a task as impossible as that."

Then he walks up to the man's desk and hits the switch on his EMR to spark up the papers on his superior's desk, knowing all the data's already been entered before he's rewarded with a genuine, "Impressive," from Tseng, along with a quirked brow as he observes the success of Reno's secretive project before he turns in his seat and looks up at the man while sitting back, "It works."

"Apparently so."