On the Trail of the Man with the Buster Sword
A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129
A short-fic attempt to answer the question "What did happen to Kunsel after Crisis Core?"
Rated T for Language.
I do not own any characters from Final Fantasy VII, nor do I own the game or any of it's spinoffs, All characters, trademarks, and so on and so forth are copyright by Square-Enix. I'm just doing this for fun.
It was sweltering out in the Midgar wastes. Summers were always hot outside the city and it didn't help that the season was always hottest as it drew to a close. It was even less forgiving to those who chose to forgo the freedom of lighter clothing in favor of full SOLDIER uniforms. Kunsel hadn't really thought much of it when he'd left Midgar some time ago, but it was too late to go back. That and it was also impossible because he had disregarded the new SOLDIER director's orders not to leave headquarters. At this point, he was beyond caring.
It had been a year since the first report of escaped specimens from Nibelheim, and yet somehow, in spite of only working through second hand information he had managed to keep a rough idea of everywhere Zack had gone. The rolled up world map in his backpack full of scrawled notes and holes from pushpins stood as testament to his dedication.
It frustrated him that he had to do it that way though. Why had Zack never answered his mail? Was it because he had doubted his intentions? Kunsel felt he could kind of understand, given what he had heard in his investigations of the goings on in the science department, and the internal struggles with the Turks, but even so, situations like these were supposed to be the kind where you asked for help in the first place. Did Zack really think that he would have ever turned his back on him when he was in need? The very idea made him angry, even as the rational part of his mind interjected that specimens in science labs probably weren't allowed to have PHS's. That was still no excuse. There were ways to get in contact with people.
And then there was that rumor from the army. He didn't want it to be true. Not after he'd painstakingly charted Zack's progress halfway across the planet, hopefully so that when the opportune moment arose, he could find him. He had been about ready to leave Shinra anyway. After all the crap the company had put him and his comrades through he'd had enough, what with the war, the mass defections, Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth, and then there were the rumors that the Turks were on the cusp of openly rebelling against the company over their director, Veld, and his terrorist daughter? Worse, even more men had started disappearing from the SOLDIER ranks recently. Although the popular explanation had become black ops missions as of late, Kunsel had started hearing rumors of this Shinra project called Deep Ground. He wasn't sure if paranoia had been getting the better of him recently, but he couldn't help but feel there had been someone watching him the last time he'd gone digging for information among the troopers.
The Deep Ground rumors had not helped when he'd started noticing that more and more SOLDIER MIA cases were happening to people who were close to him. Luxiere had been one of the most recent. This fiasco with Zack had just been the final straw on top of an entire hay bale of back breaking issues.
Kunsel accelerated his motorcycle slightly without realizing it as he internally cursed. Now was not the time to think about things like that. He had the coordinates for where the skirmish had allegedly occurred. That rumor had been all through the gossip mill. He was probably already too late, but even so, he had to know for sure. He'd go crazy if he didn't confirm it.
The cliff was up ahead, just as that corporal from the infantry had said, and Kunsel slowed to a halt, killed the engine and parked it before shouldering his pack and walking up the path, noting the marks of tire treads and the marks made by many pairs of combat boots. It had been maybe… slightly less than a week, he guessed, since they had been here, judging by the changes wrought by the blowing dirt and long-dried mud.
It had rained the day they'd been here; otherwise, many of the prints would have long disappeared by now. There was also a furrow in the ground that was fresher than the other tracks that also trailed its way up the incline over top of the older prints, almost like something had been dragged away from the scene. However, he didn't know what it was so he turned his attention to what he could identify for now.
He continued the long walk up the path, mentally tracking the ghosts of the infantrymen by the marks from their boots marching up the hill. As he walked, he saw where they halted and changed their stance. Some of them kneeling and others standing with their feet planted firmly. Aiming their rifles at something or someone, it looked like. Kunsel continued examining the tracks with a careful eye, as the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach began to rise again, and he bit his lip as he moved to the cliff side, seeing a set of fresher marks over those of the infantrymen leading from a direction off to his right.
After moving around a rock, he saw something else that he had expected, but hoped he'd be wrong about. Here, there were marks left by two pairs of SOLDIER issue boots. One of which was slightly larger than the other. They had to be Zack's, but the others were lighter, as though the other, smaller man had been dragged here, and his boots had caught on the ground a couple of times but had never carried his full weight.
Kunsel also saw a gash where Zack had knelt and his Buster Sword had sunk in the dirt. It was old but it was deep enough in the dried mud that it couldn't be obscured by the man he had deposited here. Kunsel could tell. Though he didn't know who it was, he knew enough through the rumors that Zack had someone with him. His condition didn't look promising though, if the fact that he'd been dragged was any indication.
He turned his attention back to the fresh marks that had led him behind the rock. Now that he looked closer, he could clearly see that they were evidence of someone crawling through the mud. As Kunsel followed it, he looked around and noticed that there were more and more signs that bodies had been lying around here. A lot of them. They had been absorbed by the Lifestream a long time ago, but their outlines where they had sunk into the mud on that rainy day stood out to Kunsel with the clarity of a hundred warning sirens. He then saw more of the treads from Zack's boots and from their positioning, and the depth of the marks in the ground, he could tell the other SOLDIER had taken a lot of different sword stances with a heavy weapon. He'd been fighting for his life here. In his mind, Kunsel calculated the swing that went with each stance, almost hypnotized by dread as his mind's eye recreated the desperation the man had obviously been feeling to be willing to take on so many.
He suddenly snapped out of his daze as he noticed that the crawl marks from Zack's companion had stopped, and the man had been kneeling by the imprint left by a body in the mud. Kunzel's heart caught in his throat when he noticed the imprint left by the weight of a gigantic sword by the spot where the prone man's right arm had been. It had been made when the man carrying the sword had clearly fallen over. Furthermore, as Kunsel drew closer, he saw that the ground around the depression left by the fall was riddled with bullets, forming a neat outline of the man's chest in a splatter painted of holes.
Even though it was slightly obscured on the right side by the other man's marks where he had knelt, Kunsel now knew. Didn't even need the corpse; which had also long ago been claimed by the Lifestream; to know. No one could have survived that at point blank range.
It was true.
Zack was gone…
Kunsel had never been the type to openly express himself, but as he felt the anguish and frustration well up inside him, the pent up anxiety that he'd felt for the last five years, as he'd spent ages first trying to contact Zack, wondering where he was, and then hearing about the escape, and then trying to find all the info he could so he could go out looking himself once he had a good enough bead on his location… The guilt that he hadn't left five years ago and gone to Nibelheim right off to find out what was wrong… The rage at the science department for doing this to his friend, his disgust at the Turks for standing by and doing nothing, at Shinra and his SOLDIER comrades for allowing it to happen, and himself because he hadn't really known the truth until it was far, far too late… All of these emotions that he had kept in check for so long needed some kind of release.
In a smooth and deliberate movement, Kunsel reached up and removed his helmet, anger ablaze in his glowing hazel eyes, and as his wild dust brown hair now blew freely in the wind, he held the helmet high over his head, and chucked it as far as he could. It bounced with the force of a SOLDIER's strength as it hit the edge of the cliff with a loud thunk before it clanked down the side. The noise echoed loudly as it caught on the rocks below, and the man above the precipice fought back the tears that were threatening to fall down his face.
He didn't know how long he had stood there, warring with his emotions, but the sun was starting to lean in a westerly direction when he finally looked up to take note of it, and that was when he noticed the furrow again. On the way up, he hadn't known what to make of it, but now that he had the Buster Sword's imprint to compare it to, he saw what it was. Someone had dragged Zack's sword away. Someone who could barely lift it. He knelt down by the tracks, and now that he knew what it was, he saw under and around these fresh marks, the smaller set of boot prints.
The other man was walking? How? Hadn't Zack needed to drag him here? Kunsel tamped down on his emotions as he forced his ability to reason back to the forefront of his mind. Hope flared as he stood and followed the trail left by the Buster Sword back down the hill. He may not have been able to save Zack but maybe there was still someone left to find. Something to justify all of his efforts. To prove to him that in the end, even if he too was gunned down in the wastes one day, that his hard work hadn't all been in vain.
He followed the furrow as it passed his motorcycle and went around the cliff until he saw far, far away the miles of towering wastes, and though he couldn't see the walls from down here, he could see Midgar off in the distance. He stopped, realizing with a grimace that after a week, the trail would probably be a lot harder to follow, especially after the point where his quarry was no longer dragging the heavy sword through wet mud that would easily leave a trail. But even so, he had to try.
Resolutely, he walked back to his motorcycle and after checking the fuel gauge as well as his supplies, he walked it past the cliff. After seating himself on it a few feet away from the line of marks, he cranked it and slowly pushed the bike forward. He sped up, but only to the point where his eyes could still catch the tell-tale signs that the Buster had left behind.
He had a feeling he knew where the man was headed though. As he glanced up, eyes squinting against the wind, he could see the Shinra skyscraper sticking up in the sky in the distance, pointing the way forward like the needle of a compass. The marks were also pointed straight for Midgar, and Kunsel really hoped that he'd be able to catch the man dragging Zack's sword before he got there. Not likely, with a weeklong lead, but he would try.
It was about an hour or so later when Kunsel found the trail was starting to become softer, and the deep furrow left by the Buster Sword in the mud had become a thinner scrape left in dry dirt. At that point, the path was no longer ridiculously clear, and Kunsel had to stop his motorcycle and begin the process of walking it along a few feet, scanning the area for the trail, and then walking it a little further. After that, it took considerably longer to track the man. Several hours in, he was a bit closer to Midgar. It seemed that at one point, his target had keeled over for a bit under a rock. Kunsel could only guess that it had been to sleep, before he continued the journey.
He had started to notice that the man's trail had become a little erratic, taking a turn to the left for a while, before suddenly taking another zigzag back right. It was confusing. Was the man ill? Probably, if Zack had been dragging him before, and it hadn't been a more crippling physical injury.
As he walked the bike further, he began to notice that the sun was creeping closer to the horizon and started contemplating what he would do. He wanted to continue searching after sunset, but as it was, he probably wouldn't be able to even with his SOLDIER enhanced senses. If the man was wavering like this; even if time was of the essence; it might do more harm than good if he lost his trail in the dark. Kunsel continued following the trail until he saw the first stars begin to peek out over the horizon, and as the light began to die, he made camp and pulled out a can of field rations for dinner.
He didn't dare make a fire, though he had the necessary equipment. He was tough enough that he wasn't too worried about the local fauna, and he didn't want to risk attracting their attention or Shinra's. Even so, when he lay down on top of his bedroll under the rainfly he'd secured between his motorcycle and a dirt overhang, he placed his sword beside him, ready to be used, just in case.
Glancing overhead at the stars, he at last allowed the full brunt of the day sweep over him. This morning, he had finally walked out of Shinra headquarters, pack on his back, without so much as a goodbye for his fellow SOLDIERs or anyone else for that matter, and had taken a motorcycle out of the garage on his way out. He had looked in on Aerith, though for her safety, he hadn't told her where he was going. He had been planning this day for months, though he hadn't known until the rumors had sprung up that it would be today. If only they had been better rumors.
He felt his breath catch in his throat and he sat up on his bedroll before scooting out under the stars to lean against the rock. Finally, he closed his eyes as the tears leaked down his face and he silently surrendered himself to the emotions he had almost succumbed to on the cliff where Zack had died. He would allow himself to grieve now. No one was watching, and he had no reason at the moment not to lose himself in the feelings that he'd painstakingly hidden from his comrades for the last few years.
"Damn it, Zack," he cursed at the sky overhead during a moment when he felt more anger than grief. "Why did all this have to happen?" There was no answer to his question.
The next morning, after tidying up his campsite, Kunsel continued his trek back towards Midgar, noting that the marks from the Buster Sword and the footprints were continuing to sway erratically. However, after passing a small oasis with a pond of water that miraculously seemed to be clean, he saw the prints begin to have more purpose in their direction, though the man had not quickened his pace. Thanks to his own diligence, Kunsel couldn't help but think he at least gained a day on his quarry by that point, maybe two. Even walking the motorcycle, he was still sure he was going way faster than the man who could barely lift Zack's sword.
Another day went by as he continued his search and he was about a day from Midgar's walls when he saw something change. That afternoon, as he'd been walking, the marks from the Buster Sword suddenly stopped, leaving instead, firmly planted marks from the man's boots. This left Kunsel flabbergasted. In the man's weakened condition, there was no way he should be able to sling the Buster Sword over his shoulder like this. What was going on? He'd barely been capable of it not that long ago.
After going a little further, he saw something else that stunned him even more. It was starting to get dark again and he was within a half a day from Midgar when he saw what looked like sword marks on the ground, and prints from a monster. The gashes matched the Buster Sword for sure. Perhaps this had been what had spurred the man to carry the Buster Sword in such a way? Whatever the attacker was had either fled or been claimed by the Lifestream, but even so, the marks on the ground, where Buster had cleaved the earth, were obvious. It was amazing the man had managed to handle the sword at all in a fight, inexperienced or not. As he knelt by the marks, he saw a single right pauldron from a SOLDIER 1st Class uniform discarded nearby. It might have fallen off of the person as he'd fought.
That night, he camped behind a hill so as to avoid being in sight of the city walls. He didn't want to risk being spotted, and the next morning, he took some time out before he left to change out of his SOLDIER uniform and into civilian clothes. He had no desire to go back into the city containing the post he'd deserted, but now it looked like he had no choice. His fears about reentering the city were confirmed when he found himself at the entrance to the slums of Sector 8, but since he was prepared for it now, he took a last deep breath of the clean air outside the gate, and resolutely walked in. It was going to be a lot harder now though, even if he had gained a few days on his quarry. Muddy footprints were a lot harder to come by in a city that was primarily paved in hard concrete, reinforced steel, and asphalt.
At first he had tried searching for any word of a First Class SOLDIER in the Sector 8 slums, and while there were some reports of a man in a SOLDIER uniform who had collapsed in a heap behind a restaurant after blearily ordering food and mumbling something about looking for work, these were vague and rather sketchy at best. Some parts of it might have been embellished considering that the source had been drunk. A week had passed since he'd returned to Midgar. Summer had ended the day he'd crossed into the city and Kunsel started making use of the various inns around Midgar. He never stayed in one place long lest he be discovered by people he didn't want to find him. He had also expanded his search to the neighboring sectors in order to see if he could gather any rumors from there.
There had been reports of a man with a really big sword in the slums under the Sector One plate but that had led to nothing. Another report of a man in a SOLDIER uniform with a really big sword had resulted in a rather nerve-wracking experience in Sector 3 where he'd nearly run afoul of someone he recognized from work. That had been a close call, and Kunsel had only barely gotten out of that one without being noticed. He'd been lucky no one recognized him without his helmet. After that, he had been even more cautious in his search.
Another week passed, and it was getting well into October now. With no idea what the man had looked like, and a height estimate of "shorter than Zack," there was not much to go on. That parameter could probably apply to 90% of Midgar's population. By now Kunsel was finally starting to admit to himself that trying to find the man with Zack's sword was like trying to find a materia in a bag of marbles, but even so, he refused to give up. No bodies had yet appeared to indicate he had died and the man was apparently functioning well enough to order a meal now and then. In spite of the mountain of time-consuming false leads, he'd managed to track rumors of the man's progress through half of Midgar before he'd spontaneously turned around and started trailing back towards Sector 8. The theme throughout all of them had been the same, the man was apparently hunting for mercenary work, though no one specified whether he had gotten any.
By the end of the next week, Kunsel had followed his trail through Sector 7 and into Sector 6. At one point, he thought he'd caught a glimpse of a short man with a huge sword and a shock of blonde hair, way off in the distance, but there had been a lot of people around. The next time Kunsel had looked, the man was gone, like he'd never been there in the first place.
He'd had to start being much more careful about his own safety in the meantime, having taken to wearing a pair of cheap sunglasses when collecting information. After that close call a few days ago when someone had apparently mentioned his eyes to a Shinra trooper in Sector 8, he'd had to call off the search for a while until the chaos died down.
It had been nearly three weeks now and he was beginning to wonder if it wasn't time to go. The last rumors in Sector 6 had led to a very embarrassing dead end near the Honey Bee Inn, which had involved running for the hills after discovering that one of his leads on a "giant sword" had not been what he was looking for at all. As he sat on the train back to Sector 7, he shivered at the memory which he then attempted to repress with all his mental fortitude. He had checked Sector 5 yesterday, though he had resolutely stayed well away from Aerith during his survey of the area. He couldn't risk seeing her right now, even if the Turks were in disarray. Not now that he'd seen a couple of wanted posters out for his arrest.
He sighed as he stepped off the train onto the station at Sector 7, having come to a decision. He had his own safety to consider and it was becoming too dangerous looking for a man who was thought to be dead when he himself was now wanted dead or alive. As guilty as he felt for leaving Zack's friend, if things continued like this… he didn't want to finish the thought.
He was about to head down the steps of the train platform, resolved to walk back to Sector 8 to retrieve his motorcycle from where he had stashed it, get some supplies and leave Midgar for good, when something caught his eye to his right. A man was seated by the steps to the train platform. By Kunsel's reckoning he had a slight build when standing up and he had a head of spiky blonde hair you could see from a mile away. But the thing that attracted his attention the most was the giant sword across the man's knees. He was several cars down when he saw it, but there was no mistaking the sword or the worn SOLDIER uniform. He had found the man he was looking for, though now that he looked at him, he had to be at most a couple of years younger than himself.
He was about to turn around and approach the sitting figure when he saw something that made him turn away. An MP had wandered up to investigate the blonde and was nudging him, trying to rouse him. Kunsel dared not approach. He didn't want to get caught and maybe the trooper would go away. Men got intoxicated in the slums all the time right? It was nothing that should attract attention.
Kunsel eased over to a newspaper stand on the pretense of perusing the stacks, pointedly watching the goings on through a reflection in one of it's chrome fittings until the MP departed. He was about to turn around once the coast was clear, but that was when the second person appeared.
A girl who had been watching the station suddenly approached the blonde and he heard her ask him "Are you all right?"
The man with Zack's sword seemed confused for a moment and then Kunsel heard him speak. "Uh… Tifa?" It was a soft and quiet voice, and Tifa stepped back in surprise before recognizing the man as he stood up.
"Oh, Cloud!" She looked happy, but also somewhat shocked.
Kunsel handed the newspaper vendor some gil and edged closer, but stayed far enough away so that he could look like he was just reading the paper he'd picked up. And that's when he heard something strange.
The blonde looked at Tifa and answered her "That's right. I'm Cloud." Almost like he hadn't been sure. Kunsel raised an eyebrow but continued to listen.
Tifa also appeared concerned, but continued anyway. "Is it really you, Cloud? I never thought I'd find you here!"
Cloud's posture suddenly became straighter as he answered her. "Yeah, it's been a while." He flashed a cocky grin that gave Kunsel heart burn. Zack used to do that too, he remembered.
Tifa looked the blonde over before asking "What happened to you? You don't look well."
Cloud shrugged it off. "…Yeah? It's nothing, I'm okay."
Kunsel had been evaluating Cloud over his newspaper, and he would testify in front of a military court that the man looked anything but okay, The small tremors that wracked Cloud's body as Tifa turned her back on him while thinking about something stood out as exhibit A to him. He didn't know what had gone on in Nibelheim, or in the year since Cloud had apparently escaped with Zack, but something here was beyond wrong.
Tifa seemed to have noticed too but was determined not to point it out, instead asking "How long has it been?"
Another tremor, this one not quite as long, and then Cloud answered automatically "Five years." Kunsel was relieved to hear that. Apparently the kid's memory wasn't terribly off even if he was lying through his teeth about being okay. It matched up perfectly in his mind with the Nibelheim incident and that explained neatly why he knew Zack in the first place. Tifa still looked worried so Cloud asked "What is it?"
Tifa shook her head and simply answered "…it's really been a long time."
Cloud nodded. "Yeah."
Tifa smiled and took hold of his hand. "Let's get you inside. You look like a wreck."
Cloud took the Buster Sword in his hands and the two left the train station, talking quietly. Kunsel didn't want to intrude so he decided to just follow them for now. He had a feeling that Cloud would be all right if this girl was a friend of his. He decided he would see the man safely to where he would be staying. If only to ease his own mind and so that he could say he had fulfilled the responsibility he'd given himself.
It was a few minutes later when they arrived at a bar called Seventh Heaven, and after some more time passed, Kunsel decided he'd go inside and get something to celebrate, and hopefully take a little time to talk to Cloud. He knew it might be painful, but he wanted to talk to the guy, just to know. And though he didn't want to hurt him by remembrance of the truth, he wanted to know about Nibelheim. After living on rumors for so long, he had to know. Unfortunately, when he walked inside, Cloud was nowhere to be seen. Instead, what he saw was Tifa working away at the bar, mixing a drink for one of the other patrons.
Warily, Kunsel removed his sunglasses, so he wouldn't stand out, well... as much, and then quietly took a seat at the opposite end of the bar from all the others, lowering his eyes so that no one would catch the glow in them. He took note of Tifa's expression, and it was one of concern but at the same time, there were traces of hope lingering in her eyes.
After finishing with one of the other costumers, she walked over to where he sat and asked the age old question "Hi there, what can I get you?"
Kunsel thought for a moment before smiling and saying "Well, what do you recommend?"
Tifa looked at him warily, but pointed out one of her specialties. Kunsel didn't catch most of what was in it. He heard something about dumbapple juice in there somewhere, but he wasn't paying attention. He had other things on his mind. Tifa mixed the drink and handed it to him and a smile spread across his lips as he sipped at it quietly. After a while, most of the bar patrons left, and Kunsel decided to initiate conversation with Tifa. He decided on a polite and indirect approach. Knowing how dangerous getting too deep with anything related to Shinra was, he had no desire to involve Cloud's friend more than necessary.
"I saw you helping that man out there at the train station, I thought that was really nice of you," he said casually.
"He was a friend, I couldn't just leave him out there," she said quietly, although he could taste the suspicion in her voice. Suspicion? Why? What did she have to hide?
"Well, I didn't realize that, it's always nice to see friends get back together. Is he all right? He didn't look so good when I saw him." Kunsel tried to keep his voice calm and friendly. He didn't want to scare Tifa anymore than she already seemed to be.
"He's asleep right now," she said. "He looked really tired."
"Ah," Kunsel acknowledged, deciding on a change of topic. He still had not looked directly at her. "Where are you two from anyway? You don't talk like a Midgar native."
Tifa let out a sigh as though the question hurt her, and Kunsel regretted asking at first, but then she turned to clean one of the beer taps before answering softly "Nibelheim."
"Oh," Kunsel said, though it wasn't a surprise to him at all. He weighed his options. He didn't want to make her freak out, but he really wanted to know and he was on a schedule. Finally he decided there was nothing for it but to be frank about it. Beating about the bush wouldn't help matters. He really looked up at her now, and there was no way she could have lost sight of the mako glowing green in his eyes, but before she could gasp, he gently asked the million dollar question. "Were you there? When it happened?"
Tifa looked very nervous now and so he took a deep breath and prepared to retreat. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask, it's just, there was someone I knew who disappeared for a long time. The last time I heard from him, that was where he was, and it was right before Sephiroth was reported dead."
"Are you…" Tifa looked completely frightened now. "SOLDIER?"
Kunsel shook his head. "I used to be."
Tifa didn't look like she believed him and so he hurried on before she could say anything, holding up his hands in a peaceful gesture. "B-but I'll be leaving soon. I don't want to be any trouble."
Now Tifa looked very confused.
Kunsel took a breath and went on as calmly as he could, hoping he wasn't about to be kicked out of the bar for this. "Please, I... I just want to know what happened," he begged.
Tifa shook her head before answering. "I really don't want to talk about it... but" she looked at his face and saw his pained expression. He couldn't hide it anymore; the helmet was gone. Finally, she relented, pouring herself a small glass of water as she began. "They were going to inspect the reactor… Zack and Sephiroth. I was their guide…"
The tale she told him was a nightmare made real, and Kunsel was glad they were alone so no one could eavesdrop as she spoke in a halting voice of how the town had burned and how she'd run at Sephiroth in her rage before being slashed to the ground and seeing Zack run to fight Sephiroth himself. That was where her memory stopped until she awoke in the care of her martial arts teacher.
"The thing is, Cloud said some things as we were coming here… I was sure he wasn't there, but he's talking as though he was. I don't know what to do."
Kunsel looked at her thoughtfully. "Well, this is probably the best place for him. You look like you're making a living, and you both ought to be all right. I'm sure he'll be okay." He gave her a relaxed smile, intending to be comforting before looking at the clock and quietly cursing as he saw what time it was. If he didn't hurry he'd miss the curfew at the Sector 8 gate and he wanted out of Midgar before it got too dark.
He downed the remains of his glass. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Thank you for telling me what happened, Tifa. I really appreciate it. Though if you see any MP's around, I'd prefer it if they didn't know I was here."
"They won't find out from me," she promised, "And thank you, for what you said about Cloud," she answered. "Will you… come back sometime?"
"I'd like to. Might be hard. I don't know if you heard, but SOLDIER is a lot like the Turks in terms of their retirement policies. I wouldn't even have been here as long as I have if I wasn't looking for something."
"Be careful then," Tifa said as he stood and walked to the door.
Kunsel paused at the door for a moment, his hand resting on the doorknob. After a moment, he said quietly "Take care of him."
"What?" Tifa asked.
"I… I mean… take care…" With that, he opened the door and walked resolutely out of the bar and never set foot in Sector 7 again. Soon after, he found his motorcycle and upon getting beyond the city walls, he gunned the accelerator. With luck, he would be able to hop a boat to Costa Del Sol. He had contemplated the idea of staying to keep an eye on the friend Zack had died for, but after meeting Tifa, he felt she could do a much better job seeing as she had actually known him growing up. Being a wanted fugitive, he might shine undue attention on the bar which had seemed like a pretty comfortable place to call home.
Maybe he'd come back in a few years when all this insanity had blown over, and then talk to Cloud, when he was well, and he'd had the chance to heal from the trauma Kunsel suspected he had suffered. Maybe by then, the man would even be ready to show him that he had rightfully inherited the Buster Sword. Until then, he thought, he didn't mind traveling a little while. Maybe he'd start by retracing Zack's steps and checking out Nibelheim for himself. He still had the map. After that? Who knew? He'd heard Mideel was nice this time of year. If he was satisfied with his answers, maybe he'd go there. Kunsel adjusted his sunglasses. The wind ruffled his hair as his motorcycle flew across the wastes, heading east, towards Kalm and the mountains.
The End