Mix: Chapter Three: FOUND.

"No!"

"Why not?"

"I said, no!"

"You didn't say WHY!"

"It's not mine!"

"You're babysitting it, in a sense. If you're babysitting, you don't just ignore the child, do you?"

"Reno, that's not a good argument,"

Reno slid the silver disc into the CD player. The whirring sound of the cheap machine was Cloud's cue to lob a ball of paper at the red haired boy's head.

"I said not to listen to it..." He growled in the tone of one that doesn't truly mind.

"Well, I am! Besides, wouldn't you enjoy listening to something stimulating while you work?" Reno replied, hitting play. A half-dead, half-robotic woman started singing about how much she wanted 'your soul'. Reno quickly pressed 'next'.

"...What was that?"

"I'm sure the next song will be better..."

Sure enough, a fast paced song came on, sung by a man with a voice that made his somewhat punkish songs sound more upbeat.

Hey pretty face I'll spin you out of control
we're gonna dance dance dance till the end of the show

"Hey, this song's okay!" Reno announced happily.

Slow dance take a chance with me
Take off your pants with me

"Urgh..." Cloud made a strange face at this line.

"Suck it up, strifey-boy. There are worse songs in the world."

They listened to some songs in silence, sans the sounds of Cloud's pen occasionally scratching at paper, and the music of course.

Fell in love with the girl at the rock show

She said "what?" and I told her that I didn't know

She's so cool, gonna sneak in through her window

Everything's better when she's around

I can't wait til her parents go out of town

I fell in love with the girl at the rock show

-

I've got my finger on the trigger oh,
Heartbeats are effervescent life,
We sigh and sink into the river bed,
Stay asleep.

Zack was slowly trundling along the well-worn carpet of the hallway, 'lost' poster scrunched in one hand when he heard a noise through one of the cadet rooms's thin walls.

I know this song... where have I heard it?

My CD!

Zack grinned widely. Eureka. Leaning against the cheap cream plasterboard, he listened for the next song that he knew would come...

And I read about the afterlife,
but I never really lived
and I've read about the afterlife
but I've never really lived

No doubt about it, this is my CD, he mused in the lull created by the song's end. With the ceasing of the music, he could hear the voices of those in the room. Now standing in front of the door and prepared to knock at any moment, Zack listened in on his second conversation today. Better not make it a habit.

"...Been two days. No-one's come for it?"

"Nope. It's sad..."

"Get over it, Strife. There are millions of people in this world; you can't look after each and every one of them. I swear, growing up in a town with a population of less than fifty has really affected your logic circuits."

"Circuits? I'm not a robot."

"Sometimes I think you are. So damn smart and all."

"...Right. Why hasn't the next track come on yet?"

"Hmm... well, it says it's playing..." A resounding 'THWACK!' sound reverberated around the area, quickly followed by a song, playing from around the middle of a track.

Your face different now
So much different than the rest
I love girl God knows I love you
But you know that I know best

"That's better. It was the speakers, again."

"They're probably broken in the first place because you hit them all the time."

"No, they're broken because it's a cheap-ass system."

"...1967... Was that the year that ShinRa was founded?"

"No idea..."

"Shit. I knew this... I had it written down! Goddamnit, why's this happen to me?"

"Let me guess, spazzy has your notes?"

"Yeah, Harley took them with him"

"Well, my essay is a five-minute piece of trash, I'm no use. Sorry. Oh, and I have to go out now, okay?"

An annoyed half-sigh, half-growl could be heard.

"Woah there! You're not rabid, are you?"

"Harr Dee Harr. No, just annoyed. I missed the last assessment when the chucked me in therapy for the Harley incident. Goddamnit, I don't need therapy!"

"I don't know, you're pretty insane."

"Thanks for your vote of confidence."

"Nooo problem."

"...Didn't you have to go somewhere?"

"Trying ta get rid of me, Ne?"

"... You're very, very distracting."

"Are you trying to say I'm sexy?"

"NO."

"Aww come on, you can admit it!"

"Reno?"

"Hai?"

"Drop dead."

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!"

"That's not why I hate you."

"I'm scarred, strife."

"Reno-"

"Cutting, strife, it cuts deep."

"Reno-"

"But as much as I would love to talk about my sexiness and your denial thereof, I must depart!"

"Finally."

"Oh strife, do you long for my departure?"

"I long for your departure from the Planet..."

"I'm going to cry, Strife, I'm going to cry."

"Reno."

"Mm?"

"Go away. I have an essay to write."

"Fiine."

The door slid open. Zack was greeted with the image of a scruffy redhead, while aforementioned redhead saw a crazy man with weird black spiky hair standing at his front door, one hand up in a 'knock' motion, and grinning like a loon.

"Uh, hi?"

-

More conversation! I love writing it, so relaxing. And, I spotted a plothole which was: why is Reno Cloud's roomie? Wouldn't he recognize him? Uh, well, blame... Hojo.

Yeah.

It's all Hojo's fault. Let's just say he gets to experiment on Turks as well, if minorly, and erased all memory of Cloud from Reno's mind, or some other convoluted explanation, because I love Reno to death and really wanted him in my fic.

What else? ARRRGH EVERYWHERE IS SOLD OUT OF AC! Soooo unfair... and also... KH2 does not seem to be out yet 

SONGS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:

All I know about the first song I mentioned is that it's probably called 'we want your soul'.

2. Slow dance by Unwritten law (my fave band:D)

3. The rock show, Blink 182

4. Breathe underwater by Emanuel

5. Saturday, fall out boy.

6. God knows I love you kid, Lorene drive.