Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII

Warnings: Slight Language

Mindless Babble:

Elena stood in front of the door, trying to remove the smile from her face. In the past months, she and Tseng had noticed how Ashii no longer reported to Tseng but to Rufus. The president had also been the one to assign her missions, not bothering to tell the rest of them what they were. Tseng had wanted to put the little upstart in her place and Elena had been only too happy to help.

Schooling her face into a mask of concern, she lightly rapped on the door before opening it. As she had expected, the young woman had stripped to her blouse and the leggings she wore under her slacks to help her stay warm on her bike. Ashii gasped as she spun around, clutching her blouse closed.

Elena held up her hands. "Don't worry. We're all women here."

Ashii glared at the other woman. "What do you want?" The senior Turk had never made a social call before.

"I heard that you had come back from your latest mission a little worse for wear. I thought I'd stop and see if I could help?"

"Why?"

The beautiful woman looked hurt. "I know we really haven't had the chance to get to know each other but I want to change that. Why don't you catch a shower and I'll treat you to a cup of coffee. It looks like you could use a good, strong shot of the stuff."

In truth, Ashii really looked like she needed something stronger. Her clothes were ripped and tattered, revealing a multitude of small wounds. There were dark circles under her eyes and her short hair looked like it hadn't seen a brush in days and was tied up in a sloppy top knot. Her whole body trembled and seemed on the verge of a complete shut down.

"The women showers are closed for repairs," the Ashii replied.

"Oh, I had forgotten," Elena lied, feigning surprise. She knew that the showers were closed. She had been the one to put the fake sign up. She appeared to think for a moment before saying, "How about this: You use the mens shower to get cleaned up and I'll guard the door?"

Ashii eyed the other woman suspiciously. "You would do that for me?"

Elena grinned. "Of course! Think of it as a peace offering."

"Alright," Ashii said gathering her clothes. Even though the voice of common sense was screaming at her, she followed the blond out of her office and towards the locker rooms.

Meanwhile, Tseng listened as Rude and Reno made their way down the hall. He had been waiting for the pair to return from their mission which, ironically, had been given to them based on Ashii's reports. Tseng held one such report and had to begrudgingly admit the girl did her job well.

He waited for a few more seconds, before turning the corner, pretending to be engrossed in the report. He held a steaming cup of coffee in front of him at such an angle that when it impacted, the scalding liquid was dumped down the front of Reno's shirt. The redhead yelped and pulled his shirt from his reddened skin.

"Damn it, Reno! Watch where you're going!" Tseng yelled at his subordinate.

"ME? You're the one that was too engrossed to notice the two people walking towards you, yo!"

Tseng shrugged. "What can I say? Your girlfriend's got a gift for getting good intel."

"She's not my girlfriend," Reno muttered, halfheartedly. Over the past few days, the feeling that he knew the girl had haunted him. There was something that drew him to her as much as he tried to resist it.

"Well, you have a spare shirt in your locker don't you?" Tseng asked, ignoring the comment. Reno nodded. "Then go change. I'll show Rude the intel Ashii gathered and he can fill you in later."

Reno nodded and stalked away, heading towards the locker rooms. Rude had a feeling that he should follow, but his boss insisted otherwise. "Reno's a big boy now, even if he doesn't act it. I'm sure he can get a clean shirt on his own. I want your opinion of this side note that Ashii put in this report."

Hot water cascaded through chocolate colored hair, taking the shampoo foam with it. Ashii's back arched so the water didn't touch the rest of her body. She straightened and stepped back into the steady stream, rinsing the soap from her skin, reveling in the cleansing of her body, ignoring the way the water turned red.

The five showers were gathered in a small, tiled area with one head opposite the entry and two on either side. Ashii had chosen one of the showers closest to the entrance thinking that it might be a bit cleaner (This was a mens shower after all). A bench just outside the entrance held her personal belongings

As she was turning around to turn off the water, a slight movement from the corner of her eye caught Ashii's attention. Moving on pure instinct, she lunged for her clothing withdrawing a small knife. When her brain finally caught up with her, she realized that her hand was holding the blade to a surprised Turks throat.

"Reno!" Ashii pulled back, startled, frightened and confused. Her actions were too abrupt and she lost her balance on the wet floor. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of her head on the wall. It never came.

She opened her eyes and stopped breathing. Reno had reached behind her and caught her shoulders with one arm and her waist with the other. Her back rested against his knee which was bent to help support her weight. The man's face was inches from her own, liquid blue eyes locked into a gaze with her own dark eyes.

Reality took that moment to remind the young woman that she was still completely naked. She let out a very girlish, therefore very un-Ashii like, squeak and nearly leaped out of the embrace. She grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her and avoiding looking at Reno, her face burning.

"I'm sor...sorry," she stammered out. "The woman's showers are broken and Elena said that I could use the men's and she would guard the door and..and... " The woman was even more horrified by the tears that started to run down her face. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Reno asked, trying to keep the tremor of shock out of his voice. His brain suddenly made the connections. "Aw, fuck! We were set up!"

Ashii turned her head to face him, the pain of the betrayal taking the place of her embarrassment. She noticed the stain on Reno's shirt and realized that what he said was true. She dropped her gaze to the floor. "Then then I owe you an even bigger apology. I dragged you into this " Her voice hitched and she again closed her eyes, trying to deal with the torrent of emotions going through her body. "I'm so sorry you had to see this."

Reno understood what she was talking about. Ashii didn't possess the elegant body that Elena did, or her classic beauty. What she had was a small, muscular body that had been honed and formed by countless battles and a struggle to find enough food to survive. Whereas Elena's pure skin had always been healed by untainted potions and remained pristine, this woman's skin was a pattern of scars that were healed naturally. In other words, nothing at all like the type of woman Reno would normal go for.

Without knowing why, Reno wrapped his arms around Ashii, feeling her trembling body against his chest. He was surprised by how thin she was; he could feel the back of her ribs and spine even through the towel as she stiffened in shock. He was also surprised by how familiar it felt to have this woman in his arms. He rested his chin on her damp hair.

"Damn, I need a drink, yo. And you're coming with me."

Ashii turned so she could look at the Turk. "But what about Tseng? I'm supposed to give him a report... "

Reno gently set a slender finger against the woman's red lips. "Then he shouldn't have tried to pull this shit. Now get dressed while I get my other shirt."

"Ummm...I don't think anyplace would let me in with these clothes," Ashii said, holding up her torn and bloodied blouse. "The mission didn't go quite as planed... "

"Hmm...I guess you're right." He stalked to his locker and pulled out his clean (well, cleaner) shirt. Tossing it to the girl, he continued, "Wear this. We'll stop off at your apartment."

While Ashii dried off, Reno turned away from her and pulled out his phone, hitting the speed dial. "Yo, Rude. I'm taking Ashii home...Yes, now...Well if you want to know that, ask that shit head across from you...Yeah, don't expect me back tonight. Later."

Reno snapped his phone closed and turned back to the young woman. He grinned as he said, "My shirt has never looked better, yo!"

Ashii turned her face away from her fellow Turk, a light blush creeping into her cheeks. The shirt was huge on her, covering her torso and half way down her thighs. She had had to roll up the sleeves and, to her chagrin, found that the top two buttons on the front were missing. She gathered her belongings, and, keeping what was salvageable, threw the rest of it away.

"Come on, we'll take my car." Reno noticed the girl's uncertainty and added, "Just think of it this way, those pricks will think that their little prank worked."

"Didn't it?" Ashii didn't look at the man that walked next to her. "The point of that 'prank' was to completely humiliate me, reminding me of my place with the Turks."

Reno stopped and faced the woman. One hand cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. "I don't know what Rufus had been putting you through and I really don't think I can ask, but you are an equal to all of us. There is no rank in the Turks. If they can't accept the fact that you have a talent that attracted the attention of the President, then that's their problem. You are a Turk, Ashii. Be proud of that."

Dark eyes widened in surprise. That was the most Reno had ever said to her since joining. And he really seemed to mean it. While she still felt betrayed and hurt, his words touched her. Together, they walked in a comfortable silence to the underground parking lot.

Reno stood in the small bedroom staring at nothing. Literally. There was a bed with black sheets and matching comforter, a dark wood dresser and a desk with a computer on it. The living room had been the same with a grey couch, small coffee table and a TV that sat on what appeared to be an end table. No pictures, no plants, no mementos. Nothing to say the woman even existed.

The redhead looked in the closet. "Do you even own anything that's not black or related to work?"

Ashii stepped from the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom a towel wrapped around her torso and another on top of her head. By the time they had reached her apartment, Ashii had been shivering so badly, Reno had wondered if she was having a seizure. He had insisted that she take a shower to warm up.

"I like black," she stated simply.

"You also like living the life of a monk?"

Ashii looked confused for a moment until Reno waved his hand at her furnishings or, rather, the lace thereof. She smiled. "There's nothing else I need."

"So? You could get stuff that you don't need but liked anyway." The Turk pulled a short, sleeveless dress from the closet. Like the rest of the clothing, it was black with no embellishments.

"But then after I died, some poor soul would have to figure out what to do with it."

Reno looked at the woman. "You know, most Turks have a god complex instead of a death wish "

Ashii shrugged as she took the dress from him. "I don't have a death wish. It is truth. We are all born to die." She returned to the bathroom, leaving Reno standing in her bedroom completely confused as to how this woman became a Turk.