Cissnei

Cissnei, known as Shuriken (Female) (name given by players) in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, is a playable female Turk from Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- and supporting character in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. As her name in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- implies, her chosen weapon is a large shuriken, called Rekka, that returns to its wielder when thrown and can be augmented with Materia.

Initially an additional player character first appearing in Episode 18 of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Shuriken (Female) reappears as a prominent support character in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- where she is named, albeit admittedly it is not her real name, and further characterization. Shuriken (Female) is the only playable Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- Turk to be seen in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.

Appearance
Cissnei has shoulder-length wavy red hair and brown eyes. Cissnei wears the standard Turk uniform of a white shirt, a black suit with a black tie, a pair of black fingerless gloves and a pair of black boots with black shoelaces. In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, during a break period in Costa del Sol, Cissnei wears a white and yellow swimsuit.

Personality
Cissnei is strong of body and mind, and takes it upon herself to look after the other Turks, especially the junior members. She is perceived as quiet and motivated by her job. Cissnei is reserved and keeps her poise thus keeping relations at a professional level. Cissnei is loyal to the Shinra Electric Power Company and the Turks in particular. Having been raised by them, she came to realize that while the company has done questionable things, they have brought progress to the lives of countless people and thus supports the company.

Story
As a young girl, Cissnei was discovered in an orphanage, and raised to become a Turk. Encouraged to believe everyone is a potential enemy, she took her training seriously and became the youngest member ever to join the Turks. Her colleagues reformed her life views, particularly her paranoia, allowing her to realize not everyone is against her.

The Genesis War
Cissnei is in Midgar during an attack launched by Genesis Copies, along with Reno, Rude, and Tseng. Soon after her first meeting with SOLDIER member Zack Fair, she faces off against a Genesis Copy, but Zack defeats the Copy before it had a chance to finish Cissnei off. She reveals to Zack that when she was little, she wanted to have wings, and to her they symbolize freedom. During a Digital Mind Wave scene, Cissnei encounters Zack in Midgar upper plate trying to locate Dr. Hollander, and suggests splitting up to look for him.

When Zack returns to Shinra Headquarters, Cissnei is a topic of conversation among 2nd and 3rd Class SOLDIER members trying to decide the hottest woman in Midgar. Zack can choose between Aerith, Cissnei and himself as his answer. If he chooses Cissnei the 2nd Class SOLDIER will remark she looks good in the black suit.

Cissnei accompanies Zack to Costa Del Sol during his vacation to secretly keep an eye on him, as Zack has just lost his mentor, Angeal Hewley, and Shinra is unsure of his loyalty to the company. During the holiday Genesis Copies emerge from the waters and attack, Zack fending them off with a parasol. She arrives in Junon with Zack and Tseng, and leaves Zack to deal with the Copies while she and Tseng move to a higher level. Zack finds Cissnei and discovers he has a fan club. Although Zack doesn't know it, Cissnei is a member and provides information under the codename, "Black Suit". When Hollander has been cornered, Cissnei and Tseng run past Zack attempting to stop him from being flown away by Genesis Copies, but they are too late and Dr. Hollander escapes.

Combating AVALANCHE
With the Player Turk rendered comatose due to injuries and Mako poisoning and the Turks' former leader Veld having deserted to pursue his daughter, Tseng is promoted the leader of the Turks and instructed to link with the Turks' secondary division to bolster numbers. Three years after the destruction the Corel reactor, Cissnei and Katana (Male), having been brought over from the secondary division, stand by in witness as the comatose Player Turk awakens.

Pursuing two research samples that had escaped from the Nibelheim Mansion, Cissnei finds herself in competition with the Shinra army to locate them. While searching the Nibelheim forest, she questions why the Turks are hunting the subjects whom they were partially responsible for imprisoning in the mansion four years ago.

Coming across the escapees on the beach, Cissnei discovers they are the former SOLDIER member Zack and a former Shinra infantryman Cloud Strife. Conflicted, Cissnei attempts to do her duty and capture Zack, but after seeing the extent of damage Shinra's experiments have done to Cloud, she reports Zack is no longer in the forest and lets him go, handing him keys to a motorcycle with a sidecar (presumably hers) to assist in his escape. Cissnei returns to Nibelheim to investigate the mansion where Veld is found poring through the mansion's archives.

Conflict with Shinra
Cissnei meets Zack in Gongaga and tells him that Angeal has been sighted, and that she left the Turks for a while, but would return to them soon. Cissnei compliments Zack's parents worry he will never find a wife. Cissnei explains she was raised by Shinra and as Zack prepares to leave, he asks her to keep his parents company, saying they will probably ask her to join the family, but she states it already happened. As Zack shouts "Cissnei" as she leaves, she tells him that is not her real name.

When the fugitives Zack and Cloud are relocated, the Turks, although now near-fugitives themselves, attempt a Priority-S retrieval attempt. After the final orders from Tseng, Cissnei joins her coworkers in the search, citing she had yet to tell Zack her real name and thus must find and save him. The rescue mission fails as Cissnei and the other Turks are unable to get to the fugitive pair before the Shinra military does.

It is hinted, though not directly stated, that she kept her promise to Zack in looking after his parents. During AVALANCHE's search for Sephiroth, if Tifa and Aeris are in Cloud's party during the Gongaga visit, Zack's parents state there was another girl who used to visit a lot, but that she hadn't been by in some time. It can be assumed this "other girl" is Cissnei.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Each Turk has a weapon particular to him or her. In Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- weapon upgrades can be purchased using RP (Rank Points) gained from completing missions. The weapon's attacks can take on elemental attributes by slotting appropriate Materia into the weapon.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Zack gains Cissnei in his Digital Mind Wave after meeting her partway through chapter 4. Lining up three of Cissnei's icons during a modulating phase lets Zack use her Limit Break, Lucky Stars, that makes all attacks critical hits for a period of time. Emotion Gauge increases in accordance to the Level of Lucky Stars.

Creation and Development
Cissnei first appeared in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- as one of the myriad unnamed Turk members the player could choose. Her role is expanded on in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- where she is the only Turk who had previously only appeared in Before Crisis to appear. As the player can name Cissnei in Before Crisis, she never reveals her true name to Zack.

During development of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, "Tian" was considered as an alternate codename for Cissnei.

While any of the Player Turks can be chosen for Episode 19 and pursue Zack and Cloud as they escape the Nibelheim Mansion, the Turk whose encounter with them is considered canon is Cissnei, due to events in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.

Voice
In the English release of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Cissnei is voiced by. She is voiced by in the Japanese release.

On the Way to a Smile
While not specified by name, many of the Turks who had gone into hiding following the battle against Zirconiade reappear during the events of Final Fantasy VII as specified in the chapter, Case of Shinra. During Meteorfall, the Turks and Veld return to assist in the evacuation of Midgar and, following the Meteor's destruction, the Turks return to the lives they had obtained in their exile, but also work to gather intelligence on the current state of the Planet from their respective locations; sending the information to Veld who in turn offers it to Tseng when required.

Etymology
Cissnei may be derived from cisne.

Trivia

 * In Special Episode Reno, Cissnei's assignment to keep surveillance on Zack is first revealed.