Chapter 10: New Rookie

Aven had spent the rest of that day locked in her bedroom. She didn't leave for anything, not even for meals. For those remaining hours, she went over her time spent with Justin, from when she met him all the way up to her ending his life. She replayed it in her mind, letting the reality of it sink in. How foolish she had been. She thought she understood what she was signing up for. She never would have imagined she would be forced to kill someone she had come close to viewing as a friend. Tseng had warned her, and so had Reno. He had known about Justin's involvement. Why hadn't he told her?

By the time night fell, she was so tired from thinking she eventually passed out in her uniform. When morning came, she was awoken by a buzzing in her pocket. Wiping up crust from her eyes, she sat up in her bed and answered her phone with a dry and croaky 'hello'.

"Wow squirt you sound like you've got a frog in your throat or something." It was Reno and for some reason his voice only made her feel better.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep much last night," she murmured after claring her throat. "What's up?"

"We got a few things for you squirt," he answered easily. "Just come on out."

"I don't really think I should yet," she muttered sadly.

"You'll be glad you did," he told her in a sing song voice.

She sighed knowing that no matter how many times she told him no he was still going to bug her until she said yes. "Fine..." Slowly she pulled herself out of bed closing her phone as she went. She felt terrible and disgusting as she hadn't changed in over 24 hours.

Not wanting anyone to see her in the state she was in, she quickly took a shower and changed back into her suit. Once that was done she went to her door and pulled it open, squinting when the bright lights of the hallway hit her.

Immediately she felt someone grab her in a headlock and pull her tightly against them. "There's our new rookie!"

"Gah! Reno, wha… leggo!" Aven sputtered in surprise, struggling in his hold.

"I gotta tell ya, Squirt, ya had me worried a little, but I knew you'd pull through in the end," he said jovially as one of his hands ruffled her hair

"That's great, now LET GO." When Reno released and gave her a chance to breath, she noticed Rude was there also, holding what appeared to be two garment bags. "What are those?"

"You're new uniform," he told her.

"I got something for you too," Reno said holding a box in one hand and a thin billfold in the other.

Aven's eyes widened and she took the items from him. When she flipped open the billfold, she saw a card with her name and picture on it. It looked like the one she already had, accept instead of TRAINEE, the word ROOKIE was stamped on it. "So then, is this…?" she asked as she began opening the box.

"Yup, you're very own Turk PHS," Reno said with a nod. "I'll be sure to show you how it works later."

"You mean...I made it?" she asked in surprise looking at her new phone and ID.

"Yep, congrats squirt," Reno said slapping his hand on her back.

She coughed from the blow and had to take a moment before she straightened back up. "Thanks, I'm actually really surprised I made it," she told them honestly.

Rude silently handed her the garment bags and she took them mumbling her gratitude, not sure what to do next.

"Go ahead and get changed," Reno told her. "We'll wait."

Aven looked at him and then to Rude who nodded. So she retreated back into her room and changed uniforms. She took a quick look at herself in the mirror. The black suit made more of a difference than she would have first believed. It offset her eyes and hair a lot more, and she had to admit she felt more professional. After a short time of admiring, she slipped her new ID and phone into her pockets before exiting her room again. Reno and Rude were waiting, as promised.

"Not bad," Reno said giving her a look over.

Rude however stepped forward and did a quick adjustment of her tie. When she looked up at him, he nodded his approval.

"So, what now?" she asked looking between the two.

"What, you think a new suit and phone are all you get?" he asked in amusement. "Come on, we got a whole party for ya."

Aven didn't know what to say to this as he and Rude steered her away from her room and over to the TK. "Hey guys, guess who's finally left her room," he announced shoving her into the room.

"Uh...thanks," she murmured nervously as she looked around the room. She was surprised to see that Tseng, Haruto and even Veld were there. Over in the kitchen stood a young female Turk about her own age with auburn hair and a warm smile.

Upon her entrance, Veld stood from his seat and approached her. "Congratulations, Aven," he said, extending his good arm. "I look forward to seeing your skills on the field."

"Th-thank you very much," Aven stuttered, humbly allowing her hand to be firmly grasped by his. Then before she forgot she added, "Sir." She glanced around again, a little confused. "Um, if you don't mind me asking… is this normal?"

Half the people in the room laughed/chuckled. Veld was one of them. "I assure you, young lady, this is quite normal. Granted this is one of our more recent traditions."

"I-I see," she stuttered feeling rather honored. "I won't let you down."

"Haha, yeah we know you won't squirt," Reno laughed draping an arm around her shoulders once more. "Oh yeah, since you're now official you can meet the last member of the group." She looked up at him, her eyes widening in expectance as he gestured towards the other female. "This is Cissnei. She's actually as old as you are and your new neighbor."

"Wait seriously?" she asked looking back at him.

"Yeah, I guess we didn't mention it before but you get a new room too."

"You always did have a problem with the particulars, Reno," the young female stated before stepping forward, a friendly smile gracing her lips. "It's nice to finally meet you, Aven."

Aven blinked a few times as she stared at Cissnei before a wide grin spread across her face. "It's nice to meet you too! I didn't know there were other female Turks," she said getting all excited. "It's good to know I'm not the only one."

Cissnei let out a small laugh. "Yes, well, right now you and I are the only ones."

Aven was a little surprised at that, and for some reason it also made her feel a little more privileged to be there. "So… this is everyone?" she asked, glancing once more "There isn't anyone out on missions or anything?"

"Everyone is present and accounted for," Tseng assured her.

"But… that can't be," Aven insisted. "There has to be one more. I know, I met him."

This raised a few questioning stares. "Did you get a name?" Haruto inquired.

"Well, no…" she admitted. "But he was a really big guy! And he looked kind of scary, but he was actually really nice. And he had eyes like mine."

After her quick description, she looked around the room trying to see if it rang a bell with any of them only to find them all exchanging awkward glances. Even Rude was shifting uncomfortably. After a moment, she opened her mouth to say something else but Veld beat her to it.

"Aven, the one you described was a man by the name of Alistair who was a very talented Turk," he explained.

"You said was," she murmured feeling the lump return to her throat. "Why did you say...?"

"Because he ain't around anymore," Reno cut in. His voice sounded slightly harsh and uncaring, but without his smirk she could tell it bothered him too. "He died on a pretty high scale mission."

"Oh...I see," she replied staring at the ground now. This congratulatory party of hers really took a down turn and she knew it was her fault. She shouldn't have brought him up, but she'd really wanted to know...especially after his promise.

"Alright, what the hell people?" Reno spoke up after a few moments of bleak silence. "We're supposed to be celebrating here. Let's see some smiles, dammit. Cissnei, get the cake out, Rude you can light the candles, Haru, you didn't forget the booze, did you?"

"I brought the champagne, if that's what you're referring to," the swordsman replied.

It was like magic, everyone got back with the program, with Cissnei pulling a cake out of the freezer while Rude got out a lighter from one of the drawers. Even Tseng was pitching in by getting out glasses for everyone while Haruto got out plates and silverware.

Aven wanted to do something to help, but Reno just steered her over to the table where Cissnei set the cake down. The candles on the cake spelled out WELCOME and Aven couldn't help but grin stupidly as a bunch of emotions swelled up inside her.

Once she was sat down and the champagne was passed around to everyone, except Aven, Reno came up behind her and smacked her on the back again. "Well, blow em out, Rookie."

Aven looked at the candles for a moment before taking a large breath and blowing as hard as she could. The flames on the candles flickered and went out. But when she stopped blowing they reappeared and she got a rather confused look on her face. Since they were still lit, she blew again until she saw them fizzle out only to have them relight.

"Reno , I told you to get the normal stuff," Cissnei scolded as Aven tried yet again only to have them come back just as strong.

Reno meanwhile was laughing at Aven's perplexed expression as she continued trying to blow the candles out, only to become frustrated when they kept coming back.

"Gets em every time," he chuckled, only to receive a smack on the back of the head from Rude.

"Gah, screw this," Aven muttered. "Blizzard!" In seconds all the candles were frozen over, the flames effectively extinguished.

"Well, that is one way to do it," Haruto said in what sounded like approval.

"Alright then," Cissnei said with a smile. "Aven, you get the first piece."

Rude handed her the cake cutter and Aven took a moment to decide before cutting herself off a corner piece.

She gratefully accepted her piece and waited until everyone had one before taking a bite. It was a bit cold from her ice attack before but it tasted really good. "Mmm..." she sighed and wiggled a little bit in her joy.

"Well, here's the official welcome to the group, Rookie," Reno laughed as he held up his glass and the others followed suit. Then he drained his glass while the others simply sipped theirs' and Aven just smiled.

"Thanks guys, it's great to be a Turk," she said and laughed a little bit. Honestly, she'd never seen anyone gather like this; not for her anyway. It made her feel like she could do anything, as long as she had them.

After the party was over and everyone had their fill of cake and champagne, they each dispersed one by one to return to their duties. After once more congratulating her on her success, Tseng gave Reno a key as well as the order to show Aven to her new room. The pale haired girl followed the red head down one of the adjoining corriders. When he reached her new room he unlocked it and held it open for her.

"Go on, get a gander at your new place."

Aven was a little surprised at the small show of chivalry, but she took the offer and stepped through the door.

Inside she saw a large room with a big black couch in the center pointing at a 45 inch screen against the wall. The floors were covered in a soft off white carpet that matched the bare white walls and a single empty bookshelf against the far wall. Its maple frame sat squarely between two doors at the end of the room, the one on the left pointed towards the room next door, and the one on the right pointed towards the back wall.

She headed towards these doors and opened the left one, finding a large bathroom. Immediately to her left was a mirror and a counter with twin sinks that stretched to the other side of the room. On her right was a toilet that sat next to a tub large enough to fully stretch out in that had a shower head as well. And on the opposite wall from where she stood, was another door.

"That leads next door," Reno explained coming up behind her. "Which means you and your neighbor are sharing the bathroom. I don't think you should worry about it too much as she usually isn't here anyway."

Aven nodded silently once more as she moved away from the bathroom and headed for the door on the right of the bookshelf. In here she found a small wooden dresser painted white up against the right wall, a closet complete with hangers inserted in the far wall, and a queen sized bed sat with its head up against the left one.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, did you want me to show you how your PHS works?" Reno asked suddenly remembering.

"Uh, yes please," she answered turning to face him. He held out his hand and she placed her new PHS in his palm.

He took the phone and showed her the basic functions that she'd be required to know including her list of all their numbers just in case, the voicemail and the alarm. He also showed her a few of his favorite funtions; the camera, the texts, and a small game.

"Honestly, the only stuff you'll need to worry about is calls and the alarm," he told her once he'd finished and handed it back. "As for the rest of it, you can play around with it and see what you like. If you have any questions just ask Rude or me, we'll show ya."

"Thanks Reno," she murmured slipping the phone into her pocket. "And thanks for the training. It was a pain but it helped me get to this point."

Reno grinned. "Heh, I knew you'd thank me one day. I just didn't think it would come so soon."

"Why do you always have to be a jerk about everything?" Aven asked with a small frown.

"Who knows? I guess he must've have rubbed off on me," Reno murmured, shaking his head, eyes gazing down to the floor.

Aven stared at him questioningly, not understanding what he meant or who he was talking about. Without asking for permission he took a seat on her bed. He was wearing that expression again. No trace of a smirk, instead it was serious and brooding. She had to admit, it made him look really cool, but as annoying as it was she liked his smirk better.

"What's up?" she asked, sitting down on the bed with him.

"Well, when I brought you in I never once thought you'd be bringing him up," he answered honestly. "Who'd've thought you knew that old man."

"Were you...close?" she asked slowly not sure how to approach the topic.

"Naw, not really," he told her with a small laugh. "He's the one that trained me up before I became a Turk though."

"Really? I guess he did a good job," she told him with a warm smile. "Cause you're awesome."

At the comment, his smirk returned and he ruffled her hair a bit. "So, how is it you know him?"

"Well, I met up with him a few years ago and tried to convince him that I was Turk material," she told him sheepishly. "He basically told me I was too young. He did promise that a Turk would come get me after the war was over to recruit me."

"Heh, guess he must've saw somethin' in ya, kinda like I did."

Aven flushed appreciatively at the compliment. After a few more minutes of relaxed silence, Reno got up from the bed. "Well, if there ain't anymore questions, I'll get out of your hair. Ya might wanna think about moving your stuff over here. Then after I'd suggest getting some sleep."

"Yeah, okay," Aven said getting up and walking with him to the door.

As Reno began walking down the hall, he suddenly paused. "Hey, Squirt, do me a favor. Don't break down on me." He glanced back over his shoulder to look at her. "You're my candidate after all."

"I can't promise I won't," she told him honestly. "But even if I do, I'll always bounce back. I can't quit being a Turk after only just making it after all."

"Good enough," he chuckled before heading out the door. He was sure, she'd be just fine.

The very next morning, she awoke to her phone going off. She answered it quickly and woke up instantly when she heard Tseng's voice on the other line. He told her quite plainly that he needed her to be in his office within the next ten minutes before hanging up. Surprised by the sudden command, she lept to her feet and changed into her new uniform before sprinting off towards his office. When she finally arrived, she was completely winded and leaned on her legs trying to catch her breath.

"Perfect timing," Tseng greeted as she burst through the door. "I was just about to call you for being late."

"S-sorry," she panted. "It took a bit longer to change than normal."

"It happens but try not to get distracted," Tseng told her. "Now, your orders are simple: patrol Sector 8. If you see anything suspicious or unusual report immediately. This is a traditional exercise for all incoming Turks, however I want you to treat it seriously. A mission is still a mission."

Aven nodded enthusiastically but still keeping a sense of professionalism. "Yes, sir. You can count on me."

"Very good," he said. "Now are you fully equipped and prepared?"

After running through a check of her weaponry and the materia she had equipped Tseng gave her the go-ahead to head down to the sector and begin her mission. "Report in once you're finished covering the entire sector."

"Yes sir," Aven replied saluting before heading to the door. Before she left, she turned to back to him. "Um, what type of things should I be looking for?"

"For now, keep your eyes and ears open for any possible threats to the company," Tseng answered calmly. "Especially keep your eyes open for Wutains."

"Because we're at war right?" she guessed enthusiastically. He nodded silently and she smiled. "Sounds good. I won't miss anything." With that, she quickly left the room and headed for the elevator hitting the button for the first floor. The doors opened up about halfway down and Reno marched inside. "Hi, Reno," she greeted warmly.

"Hey rookie," he replied taking the look of her in. "On your way out for your mission?"

"Yep, sector 8 patrol," Aven replied resisting the urge to dance around in her excitement. "I can't wait to get started."

"Heh, let's hope that enthusiasm lasts," he said with a chuckle.

"So where are you headed off to?" she asked as the elevator reached the ground floor.

"I'm meeting Rude at the bar for a few drinks," Reno told her as they walked through the downstairs lobby. The secretary at the front desk waved at him with a wide smile on her face, and he in return gave a casual lift of his arm in brief acknowledgement.

Aven noticed this but didn't think too much of it. Once they were outside she turned to him. "Well, I'll see you later then."

Reno smiled and nodded. "Right, have fun, rookie."

She grinned widely at him before taking off down the street towards sector 8.

Reno watched her take off and smirked after her before turning around and heading for the bar with his hands behind his head. He was sure she'd be bored in no time and wishing she had something else to do. In no time he reached the bar and located Rude already sitting at the bar getting his drink. "Hey there pal, getting started without me?" he asked taking a seat next to the bald Turk.

Rude shrugged his shoulders and moments later the bartender came by and set two mugs of beer in front of them.

"Aw, you're too kind, partner," Reno said grabbing his beer and taking a long pull.

Rude snorted. "I knew you'd be late. You're never on time unless it involves work or women."

"So I'm a fashionably late kinda guy," Reno said with a grin. "And that ain't true about the women. Sometimes it's good to leave 'em hanging for a bit. Makes 'em a little more accommodating."

Rude didn't say anything in response but took a drink from his beer mug. He honestly didn't understand why Reno, or any guy for that manner could get with women they'd only known for a short period of time. Rude couldn't ever bring himself to be with a female unless there was a high level of mutual trust. The nicest thing Rude could say was that the kid wasn't a complete man whore; on the contrary. He was choosy about the women he was with, but he flirted shamelessly and without discrimination.

As if reading the man's thoughts, Reno piped up, "Don't be judgin' now," he said leaning back in his chair. "Not all of us can be perfect gentlemen like you, ya know."

Rude nodded signaling that he knew. "Just leave the new one alone," he muttered.

"What, you mean the squirt?" Reno asked looking over at his partner. Rude nodded once. "Don't worry about that, she's just a kid. Plus, she's way underage. Unless she really starts to grow in the next few years I won't bug her at all."

Rude sighed, but he knew that was about as good as he was going to get from the red head. He at least knew that until she was 18 he'd pretty much leave her alone.

Reno took another long drink, emptying his glass. "Speaking of the rookie, she's on her first patrol mission tonight." He stared up at the ceiling. "Man, I remember back when we had to do that. Tseng scheduled me for three in the freakin' morning. Nothin' goes on at that hour, boring as hell."

Rude remembered his first mission too, and like Reno said, nothing particularly interesting happened. It was just your routine patrol, one of the many that would follow in their line of work.

"I'll bet within the hour she's gonna get bored too," Reno commented out loud.

Rude doubted this, something about the white haired girl was extremely different and he was sure she'd hold her excitement for every mission no matter what. He found himself watching the redhead down several mugs of beer within an hour and after his seventh mug, he pulled out his PHS. Rude raised a questioning glance at Reno who had it flipped open and was typing away on it.

"The rookie's probably bored out of her mind...I'll help liven it up a bit," he laughed as he ordered another beer.

Over in sector 8, Aven was busy strolling up and down each street keeping her eyes out for anything suspicious. She had to admit, the patrol had lost some of its luster within the first hour, but it was still her first mission and she couldn't be happier. She was doing what she'd wanted to do since she was a kid and nothing was going to dampen her joy.

Her phone went off and she quickly reached into her pocket, wondering if it was Tseng checking on her progress. When she flipped it open she was surprised to find instead it was a mail message. She clicked the button to open it and read.

"Hey, squirt. How's the mission going? Starting to feel bored yet? You got sent out at a pretty decent hour. Makes me wonder if Tseng's got a soft spot for ya. Lol."

Aven stared at the last part of the message in confusion. What did 'lol' even mean? Why was he even messaging her? Surely she wasn't allowed to casually exchange messages while on the job.

She sighed shaking her head before closing her phone and putting it away. She continued to roam not really finding anything of interest along the way. Ten minutes later she heard her PHS go off again. She quickly took it out and sighed when she saw it was another written message.

"Heh, did you know Rude's head pretty much glows in the dark if you throw the right kind of alcohol on it. He looks pretty shitfaced though. You should see it."

Aven groaned and put the phone away but she had to forcefully keep herself from laughing. What on earth was he doing to come up with an idea like Rude's head glowing?

"He must be really drunk," she thought shaking her head as she kept on with her patrol.

Not five minutes later she got another message. For goodness sake, she thought pulling the phone out again.

"Rude and I just made a bet on who can drink more. Send me luck. I need a new watch."

Aven sighed and finally sent him a message back.

"I hope Rude wins. Now stop texting me while I'm on my mission."

She shut her phone and put it back in her pocket for the last time. Maybe he'd finally get the hint.

Her hopes were dashed when seconds later her phone went off again. She decided to ignore it this time and continued to go through her patrol. Within the next 20 minutes she was sure her phone had gone off at least 45 times. She'd lost count at 20. There was no way he could possibly be that bored. So she took out her phone and looked at the messages. "60 missed messages" flashed on the front of her phone. She groaned and went to the last one.

"Heh, I won but Rude got an admirer...he's a really big looker. He makes Rude look tiny."

She couldn't help it, she started laughing at that and sent a text back. "Is he really that big?"

Seconds later she got a response. "Yeah...he's dwarfing Rude and making him look like a kid in comparison."

Aven laughed again. "That's awesome. Send me a picture." She waited with baited breath until his message came back. When it did, she erupted with laughter.

Poor Rude she thought clicking out of the message and shutting the phone again. Though she had to admit she wasn't terribly surprised. He was rather handsome. She wondered what he would look like with hair. She tried imagining it but nothing she pictured looked right. Baldness suited Rude just fine.

Once she was done with the patrol, she phoned Tseng. "Sir, I'm done patrolling," she reported. "I didn't find anything weird or suspicious. Everything's clear."

"Very good," Tseng answered. "In that case you are free to return to HQ and retire for the night if you so wish."

"Thank you sir," she said and was about to hang up when a thought occurred to her. "Sir...is there any possible way to turn off your text messages without turning off the phone?"

The line was silent for a few moments before Tseng asked. "Reno?"

Aven nodded but realized he couldn't see her so she added a yes. "He sent me over 60 messages in a 2 hour time period."

"Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about receiving messages, but I will talk to him," Tseng promised. "He has a tendency to do the same to me. I just ignore it and erase them all when I get the chance."

"Thanks for the advice sir," Aven said. She said her goodbyes and hung up before heading back to HQ. She thought about trying out his idea about just ignoring them all, but later when she was home she would inevitably read them all.

CM: Well, after the previous chapter of depression, we thought some fluff was in order. So Aven's now an official Turk. However, many hardships are still to come, as she ingrains herself further into their world.