"Tomoko.. Tomoko."

"Who.wha?"

"Suki, your destiny will take hold of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your destiny and fate shall be revealed in time. But for now, hold onto what you cherish for you might not have it forever."

"Who are you?"

"I am the Mother."

"What mother?"

"The Mother of the World. Gaia. The Planet. The energy of the Lifestream."

"The planet? Are you kidding me?"

"You will find the truth soon. But heed my warning, for you will regret it."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Tomoko, Tomoko. Wake up sweety."

"What?"

I groaned. My head was pounding and a bright light was hurting my eyes. My vision was a blur before my eyes adjusted and I saw Simon.

"Where am I?"

"At your tree," he answered. He helped me sit up and gave a bottle of water.

"What happened?" I asked. The last thing that I remembered was that patient.

"Well, a patient freaked out and he attacked you."

"I know that part. What happened after?"

"You were exposed to his blood."

"And?"

"His blood was contaminated with Mako."

"So do I have Mako poisoning?"

"We're not sure, but I doubt it."

I sat in silence and touched the spot on my chest. It was still hot to touch, but the pain had subsided.

"Let me see that," Simon said.

"What? No!" I answered, turning red. There certainly would be a scar, but it was on my chest! I wouldn't show that to anyone! Especially not a male.

"Aww, come on. I'm not going to say anything," he whined.

"I said no," I snapped. I got up slowly and walked towards the pond. Cupping my hands, I scooped some water and plastered it over my scar. The water evaporated and I felt a hot searing pain.

"Oww! Shit!"

"I told you to let me see it. You never listen to me."

"Ok, jeez."

I took my hand away from the scar and let Simon examine it. As he daintily touched my scar, I blushed. He took a bandage from his bag and lightly pressed it on my scar.

"Sorry to interrupt here."

I turned at the strangely familiar voice. Standing at the entrance of the tunnel was who else but Reno.

"Reno?! What the hell are you doing here?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I just wanted to drop by and say hi. Didn't know you were in the middle of something," he said sarcastically.

"I think you have the wrong idea," Simon answered, getting up.

"Oh no, I have exactly the right idea."

"No, we're just friends," Simon said, getting irritated.

"Yeah, and friends check out each other's *cough*?"

"Reno, cut it out. I was hurt that's all. You're not even supposed to be here. I did not give you permission to come here. What if your fellow Turks followed you here?" I said.

"What? He works for the Turks? Tomoko, how many times have I told you not to associate with Shin-Ra?"

"Hey, are you dissing my job?"

"No, I'm.."

"I happen to like my job."

"I'm not.."

"You don't like it? Well, too bad."

"SHUT UP!!" I finally yelled. It was getting so annoying, them two arguing. "Ok. Reno, this is Simon. My FRIEND. Not my boyfriend, not my husband. My FRIEND."

"Well, technically, he's your boy friend, because he's a boy and your.."

"He's a FRIEND. Simon, Reno is a Turk and it wasn't my fault that he's here. He was turned into a frog and all I did was help him. I didn't know he worked for Shin-Ra." "Actually, you kissed me," Reno said.

"You WHAT?!" Simon yelled.

"She kissed me," Reno said again.

"He was a frog and he needed a Maiden's Kiss to cure him," I said quietly. I could tell that Simon was getting pissed at me.

"How many timed do I have to tell you? Men like to take advantage of young girls like you."

"Hey, I wasn't taking advantage of her. I was a FROG, for god's sake!"

"Both of you just please SHUT UP!!!" I yelled. "You're so immature! Reno was just being helped by me and I was being helped by Simon. That's it, case is closed and when did you two become so protective of me? I barely know you Reno and Simon, you know very well that I can take care of myself." I glared at both of them and they began to mumble and stammer. "Now if you'll excuse me, will you both please leave?"

They both walked out, but Simon lingered for a moment before crawling out the tunnel after Reno. I picked up my Naginata and strapped it to my back. I touched the moss and ivy on the tree walls before I crawled out the tunnel with some difficulty. When I was out, I headed straight for the hidden bamboo forest west of my tree. I practiced my Jutsu there every morning when the sun rose, but lately I had neglected to exercise my muscles.

The bamboo in the hidden forest was extremely thick and hard, but my Naginata is still able to cut through it. I walked to my normal training spot, but decided to go to a different part of the forest. Bamboo leaves fluttered around me as I walked through the thick forest. Finally picking the spot I was satisfied with, I unsheathed my blade and began my daily routine. A few slashes here, a few there and I had a circle around me of neatly cut bamboo stalks. Checking my blade for dullness or any damage done to it, I heard applauding behind a bush. Quickly turning around with my weapon out, I saw a Wutainese man with long, straight black hair accompanied with an extremely tall bad man. They were wearing blue suits and a red tie. Shin-Ra.

"I knew Reno had somewhere to go, but I didn't know that following him would lead us to such a valuable addition to the Turks. You are Tomoko, correct? I've heard Reno mention you a few times," the Wutainese man said.

"Yes. What do you want?"

"I have an offer for you," he said.

"What kind of offer?" I asked, suspicious.

"I would like to offer you a seat in the Turks," he replied.

"What? Are you crazy?!" I said.

"Is it the danger of the job? The salary?"

"No, no."

"If it's the danger, it's obvious that with your skills, you have nothing to be afraid of. If it's the salary, don't worry, you'll get about 100,000 gil a month plus an extra 20,000 for other odd jobs that you do for other companies besides Shin-Ra."

I squeaked at all the money. My father would probably work for 3 years before he actually earned 100,00 gil. The extra income would be good for the Haven, but I wasn't sure if Simon would agree to me taking this job. But, it was better to not lose the chance and quit later.

"Fine, I'll take the job. Under one condition."

"Yes?"

"Every last Saturday and Sunday of the month, I must return here to tend to some business and I won't be wearing your uniforms. I'll be wearing my own clothes."

"Yes, of course. We'll fly you back to Shin-Ra HQ and you'll receive your contract there. Follow me."

He walked back through out the bamboo forest and into a clearing where a large helicopter was. In the helicopter was Reno.

"Hey, Tseng, what took you so long? Too much to drink before we came here?" He caught sight of me and choked on the cookie he was eating. "What.Why is she here?"

"I've hired her into the Turks."

Reno's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds like a fish before finally speaking.

"So, that's it. No test? You just here and you hire her?"

"No, she passed her test just before," Tseng answered.

"But, you were taking a piss," Reno said. Tseng sighed and shook his head. He climbed into the helicopter and motioned for the bald guy and me to follow. I climbed in and took a seat next to Reno and Tseng. The helicopter took flight and I breathed deeply, this was the first time that I had been in the air. The helicopter flew off into the night and I slowly fell asleep on the leather seats.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AN: WOO-HOO!! Tests are finally over! I finally have time to write. Tomoko has become a Turk. What's in store for her? Review this chapter and I just might write the next one quicker!

Disclaimer: Ooo.just in case Squaresoft sees I don't have one and decides to sue me. I don't own Final Fantasy or any of its characters.