Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, and I do not earn money for writing this fic. Makes me wonder why I do it... Reviews..?

A new Turk?!

The Turk Trainee

There was an invisible cloud of doom circling around a certain lunch deliverer that cold winter day. Whether it was a cloud of evil, sadness, gloom, anger or sulkiness was being discussed quietly among those who found it interesting enough to speak of. The subject was, however, getting old; Rimm had been like that all week, since the weekend she'd had off duty. Most of the employees that saw the state she was in, believed she'd had an extremely good taste of freedom during said weekend, only to be unwillingly pulled back to Shinra HQ and then be drowned in work again. But seriously, her job couldn't be that hard.

Sephiroth hadn't been there for the whole week because he had finished his paperwork and locked his office - so that no more could be given to him. For this reason, Rimm did not get a chance at all to apologize for sneaking into the library and troubling him so. And with people like him, she couldn't exactly ask someone for his phone number. They would get the wrong idea. They'd think she had fallen for him, and they'd think she did everything she could to bother him and crave attention from him. That was not the case.

He was tall, yes. He was handsome, yes. She did have eyes, so she knew. He was the only person on the planet with natural silver hair. No one else than Sephiroth could carry those leather clothes and look good with them. His jade eyes were the only orbs that could be described as burning. The flames, though not red or orange, did indeed seem to burn when she watched them. It was as if some kind of energy was constantly running in his orbs. Or intelligence.

Feeling one of her brows twitch, Rimm narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on the handle of the empty lunch trolley.

Her destination was the glass lift. Then the kitchen. Then home to the super-small closet that Shinra so leisurely dubbed 'apartment'. The rent she paid suggested something far more luxurious. At least she had somewhere to live and sleep. At least try to sleep. That had been close to impossible the last days. She'd had only a few hours of sleep in days, and even though she rested a lot, lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll - more than she bothered paying attention to.

Reno was in the lounge with the other Turks, including a newbie, when Rimm passed through.

"Hey, Rimm! Over here!" the redhead exclaimed, acting oblivious to the invisible, yet very much present atmosphere of gloom shrouding her. She stopped and looked in their direction, her eyes like daggers.

But then she glanced at Kurai, and something about him seemed to surprise her. His white hair..? Maybe? Either way, she looked shocked.

"Hm? Who is she?" the white-haired man next to him spoke.

Casually tilting his head back and looking at the lunch deliverer closely, the man made no signs of wanting to go over there to say hello and ask her the question. Reno held back a twitch as the newbie arched two brows at the silently fuming woman. For some seconds he watched her, giving no signs of acknowledging the small group that had gathered to wish him welcome. The man saw only her. There were quite a few secretaries, some who had already fallen for the guy. Reno didn't really like him. In fact, he intended to use Rimm to escape from this troublesome situation. He'd present her to Kurai, then sneak away. With the two of them talking(or maybe fighting?), and with the other employees that had gathered around pretty close to them, Reno could sneak off without Tseng or Elena holding him back. They wouldn't interrupt Rimm or Kurai by calling Reno back, nor push people aside to fetch him.

"You comin'?" Reno asked and waved a hand for Rimm to come closer. She made a big deal of looking towards the glass elevators, then back at him, and at the elevators again. Then she yielded and mechanically brought her empty trolley over. She walked slowly, not bothering to hide her frown, not even when she stopped next to them.

"Kurai, this is Rimm. Rimm, Kurai." After that short introduction, Reno waited for them to speak, so he could leave.

At this, Kurai's eyes visibly widened, then narrowed as if in disbelief, but then he got a hold on himself and calmed his expression. Rimm stared at him, stiff as a stick, her anger and annoyance vivid.

Kurai, trying to smooth over his reaction seconds ago, looked at her with half-shut eyes and raised eyebrows, and had his thumbs in his pockets. To tell the truth, he looked quite slouched; His jacket was open, save for a single button. His shirt was untucked. Just like Reno's. That was one of the things that bothered the redhead. Kurai's hair color was even more eye-catching than his own red locks. Even the man's eyebrows were white. If he were pale, they would barely be visible at all - but his skin carried a slightly red, yet natural tan that even made his white eyelashes look fairly okay. Which was another reason Reno didn't like the guy. His hairstyle looked very much like Zack's, only shorter. It stood straight up. Still, it didn't smell of hair gel or spray. It didn't smell a thing. How could hair stand up like that at all times? Was it genetic? Was it a wig? If that was the case, did he dye his eyebrows and eyelashes every day?

"It seems to me as if you want to return home. Are your children waiting, perhaps?" Kurai asked, smirking. It didn't take much effort to see Rimm's mouth and nose twitch.
"I don't have kids." Her voice was low. He could hear she struggled not to be impolite.

"...I see. Do they no longer keep you company?"

Indirectly, though not at all discreetly, he was saying that she looked old. That was a sensitive matter - on a few occasions she had told Reno she was simply tired. She still managed an overly fake smile while purposely grinding her teeth. Finding this the best time to move away, Reno stepped back as discreetly as possible.

"I am pleased to meet you, Kurai." The words were spoken with a voice colder than most of them had ever heard her use before. The Turk trainee's smirk grew.
"You will be delivering lunch to me, too, isn't that correct? What is for lunch tomorrow?" He was testing her.

Of some reason, it seemed as if they were fighting a very private battle.

For a minute she stood there, watching him with only partially hidden annoyance that seemed to be gradually turning into extreme dislike. Being the lunch deliverer did not mean she automatically knew what the cooks were planning for lunch tomorrow. She had already been on the verge of breakdown for days, or at least that was how she had looked. What bothered her, no one knew for sure. But they were not stupid enough to fool around with her. Sure, she was not particularly violent or strong(though they had yet to see her fight at all), but she had other things to use for her defense.

Like a sharp tongue.

"For you, Cow-Ray, yesterday's crust remains with pork ass." The words were spoken monotonously, in a way that she had most likely picked up from Tseng or Sephiroth when they were busy and did not want to be interrupted. Her face was lethargic, except for her frown and the dangerous glint in her metal eyes. Kurai's brow twitched, but he kept his calm perfectly.

"Thank you. And while I'm still at it, you do look good when angry." He said it just to annoy her.

Now in the door leading out of the room, Reno could have sworn he felt Rimm's solidified malice trying to stop him from leaving - as if trying to get revenge on him for introducing her to the young, but white-haired man.

"Since you indirectly, and with sissy words, claim to be one hundred times better than me, I only have verbal attacks at my disposal. If you said those things on purpose, and if I ever become strong enough to take you on, I will replace your eyes with your balls before you can say the 'S' in 'sorry'."
Those were only words, but nonetheless words that caused reactions bordering physical pain. Reno's opinion. Rimm almost seemed to know this guy. The words worked better on some than others, obviously. Kurai's smirk intensified to a sloped grin. As if just to annoy Reno(who was now oddly curious as to what would happen between the two persons), Kurai's teeth were whiter than his hair.

"What a colorful choice of words. It fits you," he said, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Oh? You like older women?" Rimm countered, looking at him with wide eyes, faking surprise.

"I did not mean to say you were old," he said casually, now smirking confidently again.

Then Reno decided it was safe to leave and exited the room successfully, without being stopped. He was looking forward to a moment without the formal-speech, white-hair dude-person.

The next day, after delivering lunch(once again, Sephiroth was not there for her to apologize to), Rimm stomped off to Reno's office. Once there, she slammed a hand on the door frame and looked down on the man slouching behind the desk. Rude was there also.

"Snow-... Kurai has been on my back constantly." Her voice sounded as malevolent as her eyes looked. Thanks to her beanie, shadows were cast on her eyes(which now had tiny pupils), making her look more intimidating than she was. She wore black, loose fitting jeans and a red, long-armed sweatshirt for the occasion.

"Snow-what?"

Rimm grit her teeth and sighed loudly.

"Ariel, answer this question; Why aren't you Turks taking care of the guy? He has stuck to me all day, just to hear my 'snug remarks'!" Now she sounded more annoyed than angry, she knew, but perhaps by toning down her evil expression and voice like this, Reno might listen.

"He said that? Snug remarks? ...Wait, Ariel?"
"Keep him away from me," she said, pointing at Reno to emphasize her point.
"But I don't like the guy."

"Then why is he a Turk trainee? Can't you vote him out or something?"

"...His strong points are strength, intelligence and speed. The combination... is rare," Rude explained. Reno shot a glare at him.
"Tsch. Strength, intelligence and speed. Initials S, I, S. That's 'sis'... no, sissy. Sissy. That'll be his nickname. Roger that?"

Rimm sighed annoyedly - again - and let her head drop. That nickname would do no good.

Having nothing more to say, she turned around and left without a word. While walking down the hall, she mentally slapped herself for almost calling Kurai Snow White. Why was it that she associated the people she met with people from fairytales? Reno as Ariel... Sephiroth as Rapunzel. And now Kurai as Princess (or rather Prince, but she would never call him that) Snow White. The only logical explanation was her mother's bedtime stories. Rimm was just stupid for remembering those storied instead of the things she learned in school and such. Who else could she categorize as princesses? She should stop while still playing safe. Anyway, she should revert back to the original nick-name she had given him - Cow-Ray. It was much better. More befitting by far.

It was what she had been calling him since the very first time they had met.

In Gongaga.
Cow-Ray-Ass.
The overly smart, adult-like, perverted little boy who had been the very first kid she had met who had the personality like an adult man. And the biggest pain and torture in the world.

As if on cue, someone breathed in her ear. The cold breath made her elbow snap out behind her of reflex, but she hit nothing. Instead, someone seized her arm and pulled her back.

"Good evening." Kurai's lame catchphrase. So annoying that it gave her the goosebumps and her nose wrinkled more than what was strictly necessary. He used it even if it was morning - she had learned to know it.
Then she couldn't resist.

"Princess Snow White? I thought you had to attend tea-serving classes. Have you decided not to join the prom committee after all?"

"...I am joining the Turks."

He looked her square in the eyes - for she had turned to face him - and then she looked down to her elbow, which was still in his grip. She had never been too good at looking into others' eyes. Thus, to keep her mind occupied, she tried prying off his hand. He was strong, but she had something he hadn't - nails. Though they were a little short, he was forced to use his free hand to pry her free hand off. For a second, a very short moment, she considered kicking him. But Tseng and the others wouldn't like that. What could she do? Should she just say 'please' and leave after all? Would she have to beg him to make him stay away?

"Let go," she muttered. It was worth a try.
"Why?" he questioned, clearly already testing her. Again.

"Because... there are probably ten secretaries willing to hang around you on each of the seventy floors in this building. That makes seven hundred curvy, tan, beautiful, seductive, willing women with short skirts and see-though blouses."

She hoped it'd work. He loosened his grip, but tightened it when she tried freeing herself again. If only she wasn't so tired and annoyed... If she'd had more sleep the last week, she would have been able to wring out of his grip and (hopefully) escape him afterward. But judging from the rumors, his stamina was as just good as his speed. It was depressing, to say the least. There they were, standing in an empty corridor, wasting time on something that could only be described as stupid and useless.

"That is good," he said. Although she didn't watch his face, she could almost hear him smirk.
"But what good is seven hundred when one outright rejects every attempt I make at approaching her?" he inquired, his tone playful, but somehow cold at the same time.

"...What the heck do you see in me? I don't have any money. I don't look as good as the secretaries." That was the truth. He was just fooling around, trying out his skills with her before trying to get closer to the big deals.

"Precisely, and that is what makes you unique." To be quite frank, his 'compliments' only made her cringe.

Please, let go.
...No, she would never say that. Not even with a strong ironic touch to it.

Instead, she looked up, trying to hold his eyes. As she guessed, she couldn't hold his reddish brown gaze for too long, and averted her eyes to his shoulder. He wore a cheerful smirk. At some point, he had seized both of her arms at her elbows. Seeing nothing else to do, Rimm looked past him. Then, as convincing as absolutely possible, she pretended seeing someone coming closer. Of no apparent reason(or because she had been thinking of apologizing to him and thanking him for saving her from Hojo in the library), her mind pictured Sephiroth. Feigning surprise, but not too much, she let her eyes widen and instantly lowered her head so she watched the floor. Consequently, she hunched her shoulders. At this point, the image in her mind was strong enough to make her trapped arms tremble, and her pulse was definitely faster than usual. This was the extent of her guilt. She was sure of it.

"...Hm?" She felt Kurai loosen his grip to look over his shoulder.

Then she jerked out of his grip. Resisting her childish, stupid, foolish urge to stick out her tongue at him, Rimm managed a quite funny-looking fast strut and quickly scurried away. She doubted Kurai would follow her. After all, she had just fooled him. It wouldn't be 'honorable' to follow her since this was her win. At least so she guessed. Glancing over her shoulder, she expected seeing a frown, or at least narrowed eyes. But she was meet with a pleased smile. Not wanting to lose her calm, she narrowed her eyes and felt the corner of her lips turn down.

"Goodbye, sissy." She simply couldn't resist using the nickname Reno had come up with. Even though it was bad and bland. Perhaps she had seen to many movies.

Hearing her muttered words echo in her mind like Kurai's own lame catchphrase, she placed a hand on her beanie and pulled it down until it nearly covered her eyes completely.

"Rimm? Hey, is that you?"

Hearing that voice, Rimm stopped walking and jerked around on the spot. She had just left the Shinra HQ. The owner of that voice was Zack. Suddenly all her worries were pushed away to a distant corner of her mind. Relieved, she managed a faint smile as she hurried over to the Soldier. He was standing by a a monstrous bike, wearing dirty clothes and a stunningly white grin, as always, and seemed ready to go any minute.

"Zack, long time, no see!" At that, he sighed wearily and smiled sheepishly.
"Well, I usually work late, so we usually dont meet. And I have a girlfriend now, ya know, so I'm not here too often in the morning," he said, his smile not faltering.

"Really? Who is your girlfriend?" Rimm asked, flashing a genuine, lopsided smirk, wondering who was lucky enough to get her hands on the funny, kind and understanding Zack. Somehow, he had an ability to make her happy by just being around - and she was sure she wasn't the only one. An almost motherly feeling took hold of her, but she quickly shook it off. It couldn't be helped. She had, after all, spent time with Zack back in Gongaga. Why was it that she had met so many young boys in the past? Zack, Sephiroth and Kurai. Even though the latter was a little older and still appeared somewhat young.

"Her name's Aerith," he willingly replied, his smile growing warmer and wider, until he was grinning again. Perhaps she was more than just a girlfriend to him? She hoped Aerith was as kind as Zack. If she ignored the 'motherly feeling' of hers, she could easily call him a brother. She didn't have one, but she was sure that was how it felt.

"That's a nice name. Somehow, she sounds really kind - I'm happy for you," Rimm said, managing a honest smile despite her tiredness and earlier inconveniences.

Zack let his elbows rest on the handwheel of his motorbike and supported his head with his hands. A dreamy expression was gradually making it through to the surface of his face. This was why she and the others hadn't seen him in a while, but what about Sephiroth? Had Zack and Sephiroth perhaps went on a double date that resulted in both of them finding someone who could possibly become the women of their lives? Or was Sephiroth just tagging along with Zack so he wouldn't have to return to Shinra for a while? ...Perhaps he was avoiding her. Working only at night, to avoid lunch. He didn't want to hear her excuses for being in the library, and wanted (without words) to stop their friendship.

Her suspicions and roaming thoughts were obviously showing on her face, because Zack suddenly looked worried.

"Huh? Rimm? Why is your face wilting?" he asked surprisedly. It sounded like he was wondering if he had totally not noticed that she was down form the beginning.
"You okay? D' something happen?" he continued, searching her face.

"I'm tired, that's all... No, wait. There's an annoying guy bothering me. A Turk trainee. So, for now I'll just go home," she said, forcing half a smile on her face while stepping back. With a wave of her hand she left, trying not to think too much of Zack's confused, yet unmistakably... prankish expression.

The next day, Rimm was more than ready to engage in a verbal fight with Kurai. Thanks to lack of sleep again, she'd had plenty of time to come up with phrases to knock him off. She just hoped she'd remember them long enough to use them. She hadn't delivered lunch yet; She was early for once. An hour had yet to pass before she'd have to start strolling around with the food. At the moment, she had just finished a trip to the restroom to wipe her nose. It had been so cold outside that when she left her apartment and went outside, her newly showered hair had frozen to ice. Thus, with tinkling ice hair, she had arrived at Shinra without her hair having dried.

"Rimm, good evening." The utterance of her name stirred the more boisterous fighter in her. And the ma still said good evening. In the morning.
"Cow-Ray-Asshole," she replied, her voice as normal as possible.

"How are you?" he asked, politely. It was annoying to no end - it made it look like she was the bad person, since she was the one who used the bad words.
"I just lightened my burdens in there. I don't feel anything at all." Her voice was still normal, and she used her thumb to point over her shoulder to the restroom door. Then she started to leave.

"Are you sure?" he tried again. Rimm stopped and turned to him with a slightly concentrated look on her face. A spur-of-the-moment quote formed in her mind.
"Well, my ass certainly feels lighter after visiting the restroom. Does that count?" That struck him speechless for a moment, and hopefully disgusted as well(which was absolutely her intention), and she scurried away. Perhaps rudeness was the way to go about to avoid the guy.

Either way, that start was good.

R.R.

You're not offended, right? And you got the joke? There is a picture of Kurai on my DeviantArt page. You can find a link to it on my FanFic profile.
AND! (-shifty eyes-) ...Uh, all reviews are greatly appreciated - constructive criticism too. :)