Author's Notes: Okay, we're getting involved enough with the Turks and the plot enough that I thought I'd take a time-out and explain a couple of things. First of all, I really, especially right now, wish that I could get my hands on Before Crisis. It's all about the Turks, but it's also all a cell-phone game in Japan. So, pretty much all I've taken from it is names and descriptions. So I thought I'd give a quick thank you to the Final Fantasy Compendium, without which I would be utterly stuck. They can be found at .com. They have info about all the games (except Crisis Core, since it's not out in English yet), and an organized layout ao it's easy to find stuff. Anyway, enough babble. For anyone who was itching to see Kyo and Tera get into it, they do a bit here.

Disclaimer:I've thought about leaving this off, since it's a chapter, not a whole new story, but with my luck, Square-Enix would find this chapter, and I'd be in trouble. So… I lay claim to the Valentine family (outside of Vincent, of course), and no one else. I wouldn't want Hojo if you offered him to me anyway.

Since her workout with Reno had been immediately before the new arrangements had been made, Kyo knew she wouldn't have to face Sephiroth for a few days yet. Verdot was not about to let all of the Turks drop out of practicing with her, so it was only Reno and some of the busier or worst-overmatched trainees. Reno, however, would soon wish he was still sparring with Kyoko, because Verdot, to emphasize his punishment, had replaced her with a harder opponent. "Just because I saved him from the respective wraths of you and Sephiroth, that doesn't mean I don't want him to feel the same pain," he had remarked to Vincent.

But, for the next couple of days, Kyo had her regular workouts with Rude and both of the Turks called Martial Arts. Since either of the latter two could flatten Sephiroth, there hadn't been a chance of them dropping out. As the calm, professional kick mistress had said to Kyo, "It's nice having a challenge who is not Mako-enhanced."

After a satisfactory couple of bouts with Rude, Kyoko actually had time to go home and rest before doing anything else, so that's what she did. Harumi, knowing that Kyo was going to do this, and because the relationship between Kyo and Tera had gotten so much worse lately, had anticipated her. "Hi! I have lunch for us," the black-haired girl greeted when her wary sister came in.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that. It's not like Rude wore me out too bad to make a salad."

"I know, but I also know that Dad usually does something like that, and he's not here right now. Besides, I made enough for Saru and me, too." Haru winked. "So don't go getting all noble on me, k?"

Kyoko laughed, and grabbed some drinks. The two of them went up to Kyo's room, which was the gathering place for the older children. "Hi," Saru said, already there. "How was today?"

"Normal, since Rude is more or less totally opposite from his partner. No sight of Sephiroth or Hojo all day. Rude even told me what Verdot decided to do about Reno, but, I dunno…"

Masaru pouted. "Oh, come on, Kyo. That's not fair!"

"Tell, tell," his twin urged.

But before Kyo could, they heard a cleared throat. Tera was standing in the doorway, blue eyes cold. "Telling them more stories about how Shinra's 'not that bad'?" she said. "Perhaps you're to have tea with the President tomorrow, so he can introduce you to Hojo, who will turn out to like knitting?" This was so preposterous that both twins snorted.

Kyo merely replied, "Actually I saw the good doctor yesterday, though we didn't speak. Verdot did some clever verbal fencing to place me out of his reach." When she was pushed to her limit, she gained Vincent's dispassionate calm under fire. Her tone showed a bit more asperity, though, as she added, "I judge the Shinra as I was taught as a child to judge everyone: equally, by individual standards. Tseng and Verdot are very strict, but fair. For example, instead of dealing with me, Reno now has to practice with a SOLDIER Second Class. Even Father could not ask for a better or harsher punishment."

"True," Vincent agreed. He had arrived with his trademark silence, and added, "I'll have to thank Sephiroth for making that possible. From what Verdot says about your skills, it's well past time that one of us came to see you spar in person. When is your first workout with the General?"

"Thursday, a bit after my physical." Kyoko winced, then added, "Just so you know, Tseng told me that Hojo has Sephiroth scheduled for an appointment at the same time as my physical so he might be more…" She hunted for a diplomatic word.

"Brutal?" Saru suggested. "No worries, big sister. He'll be unarmed."

Vincent chuckled. "I was aware of that, Kyoko. I was hoping my presence would allay some of that."

Tera snorted. "You're coddling her, Vincent. What if she has to face a SOLDIER in a rage in reality one day?"

"This is her first combat encounter with him; if something that serious was going to happen, we'd know already," her husband replied to the latter part of the statement. "If I know Hojo, he's already scheduled Sephiroth to have 'tests' every day before he faces Kyo."

Kyo nodded. "Verdot put me out of reach, so that would be his only way of monitoring me without being able to 'test' me. Poor Sephiroth; I wonder if there's any way to lighten some of that?" Eyes widened all around as they realized she was serious. "Oh, come on. Would any of you want to see Hojo at all, much less twice as often?"

Saru shuddered and shook his head, and Tera gave her oldest a look that had knives in it. Vincent, however, smiled proudly. "You're right. From what I've heard, despite Hojo and his temper, the General is a good, honorable person. I'm like you: I wouldn't wish Hojo on anyone."

"Someone ought to do something unpleasant about him," Harumi muttered, and Kyoko laughed, then sobered as something occurred to her.

"Oh, right." She glanced at her mother, sighed and took the drop. "Verdot has me listed in personnel under Mom's maiden name, just as an extra precaution." She winced at the derisive noise Tera made, and added, "It isn't much, but he was worried that the name 'Valentine' would set Hojo right off."

"He's pursued me as well," Tera said sardonically. "How do you know my name wouldn't have the same effect?"

"Because it didn't. Verdot 'introduced' me to Sephiroth with Hojo present. Since that was yesterday, and Hojo saw me sparring with Tseng, he'd know he had to move immediately. If he'd made the connection, he certainly knows who you're married to."

"You'd better hope so," the Scout Captain replied. They stared at each other for a frozen minute, then Tera spun and left. Vincent opened his mouth, possibly to respond to the sadness in his daughter's face, but she shook her head and waved him off.

"I'm going to be the end of their marriage if Dad doesn't stop taking my side all the time," she told the twins, thinking, Just like I was the beginning.

KV

Hojo had, in fact, already rearranged Sephiroth's schedule to suit himself. "You can blame Verdot for this, boy," he said. "If he'd let me test that new girl, you wouldn't have to go through this as often."

The silver-haired man gritted his teeth. He didn't blame Verdot, or even Kyoko for this. That rested on the same hunched shoulders as it had his whole life. "Verdot is constrained by the wishes of the girl's mentors, as well as the knowledge that she is possibly Mako-sensitive. He would not wish to anger any patrons."

Hojo snorted. "Her sensitivity is a reason I wish to study her. Those aberrations tend to have very interesting abilities, many of them drawn straight from the Planet. Gast once theorized that it was this that made them susceptible to the processed Mako." If it wasn't for the fact that he had grown up around this kind of talk, and had thus learned to control himself, Sephiroth would have slapped the skinny little egomaniac. Seph himself was more of an "aberration" than Kyoko, and, even if she wasn't totally human, that was probably totally Hojo's fault.

None of this surfaced in his voice when he said, "She has shown little indication of this before, apart from being almost supernaturally fast."

"She could be hiding it; she probably is." Hojo waved him off. "Begone. You are not suited to this sort of postulating."

Turning on his heel before he did something that would get him in trouble, the SOLDIER left. Angeal saw him slam the door behind him and said, "He been pushing your buttons again?"

"When doesn't he?" As usual, the senior SOLDIER's presence in itself was soothing. "The man thinks first of himself, second of his 'experiments,' and of absolutely nothing else. There's only so much of being treated like a stupid but well-trained dog that one can take."

"Come on down to my office and have a drink. I wanted to talk to you anyway. If possible, little to none of it will deal with Hojo." Seph agreed readily; if anyone would understand how much Hojo's attitude galled him and, more importantly, why it did, it would be Angeal, who sometimes feared that he was a monster himself.

"I should have talked to you about this sooner," he admitted to his friend. "I have a 'situation' going on with one of Vincent Valentine's children…"