"Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Zack begged. "Brother, please. There's still time to stop!" Itachi paid him no mind, pulling his chokutō from their mother's stomach. Zack made an aborted attempt to step forward and grab her falling body, but slipped in the blood of his father, hands twitching at the helplessness of it all. His mother fell to the the floor in a slump like so much garbage. "You're not the monster they say you are! Don't prove them right! Please, Itachi! Big bro, please!"

Itachi turned away, sweeping his sword out to the side to fling the excess blood from his blade. He showed his back to Zack, looking at the wall, confident that no attack would be forthcoming. "Hn. Monsters us all, foolish little brother." Itachi turned his head back towards Zack, looking down at him out of the corner of blood-red eyes, and it froze Zack in place—by fear, anger, hurt; he didn't know.

Faster than his eyes could catch, Itachi took his sword and ran him through, twisting the sword so it tore painfully at his gut. Zack jerked, grabbing at the blade of the sword with his bare hands, slicing his hands down to the bone in the attempt to pull the sword out of himself.

Then inexplicably, Itachi's slender form rippled into one that was muscular and broad, and he could feel the sword grow longer and curve, cutting deeper, lifting him from the ground. He recognized the Wutaian hilt. The Masamune.

Zack looked up, wide-eyed, expecting to see silver hair, but it was black instead. He coughed, and blood splattered on a familiar face with one outspread wing, another smaller one underneath hanging limp. White feathers drifted down all around him, like some sick hanami, only with feathers instead of cherry blossoms. The wing stretched out, curving itself around him in a sick pantomime of protectiveness.

Angeal shook his head and gave a deep sigh. "You made me a promise, Zack. Can't you see the suffering all around you?"

Aerith, being stabbed from above and behind by Sephiroth. Shin-Ra troopers firing on Cloud as the blond knelt protectively over Zack's body. His mom and dad in Gongaga, lying facedown in a puddle of their own blood as Zack looked up with a dark smirk, flames surrounding his home burning, burning, Nibelheim burning, Konoha burning ash so thick it blocked the sun black flames eating him alive—

You're dead, is what he wanted to say, but he was choking in his own blood. It stained his teeth. He jerked back, the ratatat of bullets riddling his body as he kicked, desperate to get away, Angeal lifted Masamune and Zack slid down the sword, inching forward slowly so they were mere inches from one another.

He whispered, "What are you going to do about it?"

Zack jolted straight up out of bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He wiped his mouth, leaned over the edge of the raised bed, and retched violently before falling hard back on the mattress. He rubbed at his eyes with the palm of his hand, the taste of bile strong in his mouth.

"Angeal," he muttered. He took deep slow breaths, closing his eyes for a long moment, hands behind his head. Then he went and fetched a towel and cleaned up his mess. He laid back down, staring at the ceiling.

He couldn't sleep.

Zack sighed and rolled over, looking at the blank white wall. How had the kid he used to be lived in a place like this? No wonder he was obsessed with revenge and brooded a lot. It had no color, no life, and it was driving him to think. He didn't like to do that too much these days. Because then he wound up with thoughts like, maybe if he and Aerith and Cloud had been reincarnated, Angeal was out there too.

What did it all mean anyway? Was he Zack Fair, or Uchiha Sasuke? Aerith and Cloud seemed to have no problems staying themselves, figuring out which one they were. And what had happened after he died….Both of them seemed to shrug it off, but to them the crisis had only been the beginning.

They'd seen the world end and a new order come from it. To Zack, Migar had been a shining beacon of hope, the end of a journey, not a crushed ruin. Maybe he just couldn't understand the enormity of what had happened.

And Cloud, my living legacy...Zack worked his jaw. Truer than he knew. More than he had ever meant.

Sephiroth. The Remnants. JENOVA's memetic legacy. Angeal and Genesis copies. How was Zack really any different from them? Who knew what Hojo had injected them with, and J-Cells resonated, or S-Cells, or whatever. That's what Angeal and Hollander had said.

And Cloud's broken identity—Zack leaned forward, over the edge of the bed, head in his hands. Between the cell resonance and his last desperate grab for life, some part of him had latched on to Cloud. He hadn't meant to. He hadn't even known until Aerith had told him. "Cloud acted so much like you!"

It wasn't an act. It was so much more than that. Zack was remembering. Places he had never been, people he had never known, clear as his own memories. And it was still bleeding over in this life for some reason. The nightmares were only a small part of it. He was barely keeping himself together, whoever he was. He shuddered.

Wasn't reincarnation supposed to be a fresh start?

And yet, even with his memories, Zack was nothing. Just a puppy. Overeager and stupid. No help to anyone. He'd given Cloud a burden he should have never have had to bear. Hell, he'd killed Angeal himself, unable to help the hurting any other way.

And he wanted to "save" Itachi? He knew full well you couldn't save someone who didn't want to be saved. The boy he'd been was on fast track to become just like his brother. Monsters making monsters. Only luck had saved him from going down that path.

Was this even real? He felt himself disconnect, like he was floating away from his body, like he wasn't himself. The room spun, and he fought it down with a rising sense of panic.

Cloud, he thought desperately, and dressed himself, slotting his sword on his back. He slipped silently into the Konoha night, taking the shortest route between his home and Cloud's. Not many people were out at this time, though he did meet a few of the chuunin patrols who barely even gave him a glance as he passed. It wasn't a new thing for Uchiha Sasuke to be out and about at night. Insomnia was an old friend. He just usually had nowhere else to go. Most of the time he'd find himself passed out in the middle of a training ground.

Soon enough, he'd reached Cloud's apartment, climbing the outside of the building and knocking directly on his window, shifting from foot to foot. It took a long minute, but a sleep-mussed Cloud came and opened the window. He had on a sleeping cap with big wide eyes and a little round nose and teeth on the rim that made it look like it was biting his head.

It made him look like a total dork. It was adorable, and brightened his mood a little bit. "Cloudy!" Zack sing-songed, but his heart wasn't in it. Cloud seemed to pick up on it right away, and gestured for him to come in, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. It made him look a lot younger than he was.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been all that old when Shin-Ra had him either. Boy, they sure liked them young. Too young. Child soldiers in this life, impressionable and perfect for brainwashing. Monsters making monsters. He shuddered again at the reminder.

"Zack?" Cloud asked, frowning, knocking him out of his thoughts. Zack leaned over, pulled off Cloud's cap, and ruffled his hair, dropping his hand when Cloud pulled away scowling. Cloud was alive, Cloud was here, Cloud wasn't catatonic and listless, staring up at the sky with dull blue eyes, shining green with mako. But it wasn't real it was just a dream a dream within a dream Shin-ra made monsters it wasn't real he wasn't real how could it be real if he closed his eyes and opened them again it would disappear the smell of the Wastes thick in his nose and the copper tang of blood and the acrid burn of mako—

"Zack?" Cloud asked again, fully awake now, deep concern in his tone. "You're shaking. Zack, open your eyes. Look at me."

He didn't remember closing them. Zack looked down at his hands. His hands were trembling violently; he felt faint; he felt like he was going to throw up again. He thought he'd had this under control. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He couldn't speak. He just shook. Any minute now he was going to fly apart into a million pieces, any minute all this would disappear—

Then Zack felt arms wrap around him, pulling him close, anchoring him, grounding him. He leaned into them, resting his head on Cloud's shoulder and wrapping his arms around him tightly in return. He took a deep breath and let it out. Cloud was touching him. If he was touching him, then this had to be real. It had to. This wasn't some fever dream. Even he at his most touch-starved had never deluded himself into thinking touch was real.

Zack opened his eyes, and he was back in Cloud's messy apartment. Ramen cups were stacked everywhere, while motivational posters dotted the walls, pinned into place with battered sets of kunai and shuriken.

"Zack, you with me?" Cloud said, pulling away, hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah, Cloudy, I'm here," Zack said. "Just don't let go. I don't think I'm all here just yet." He grabbed Cloud's forearm and held on as if to reassure himself that he was still there. "Just a nightmare I haven't managed to shake off all the way just yet."

Cloud nodded, and kept a hand on his shoulder as Zack gathered himself up. But there was something in Cloud's eyes, something that he recognized, something that he'd been seeing a lot lately, something that wasn't there before his death.

Then it dawned on him: it was guilt. Cloud thought he was hiding it pretty well, but hey, Zack was a pretty perceptive guy, regardless of what people thought about him. Cloud…didn't need to feel guilty. Not about Zack's death, or his nightmares, or Hojo, or anything. It wasn't his fault. It was Shin-Ra's. Hell, it was the Turks', or the man that shot him in the head. Cloud was just a poor trooper in the wrong place at the wrong time. Zack hadn't been able to protect him like he should have. Hell, he'd arguably made it worse. Some hero.

Zack let out a great heaving sigh. "Hey Raincloud. How many times have I got to tell you none of this was your fault?"

"Zack, I—"

"None of it, Cloud. What is with you two? First Aerith, and now you. I made my own choices. No need to play the guilt game. No one ever wins that one. It just makes everyone feel like shit."

Cloud just stared at him, his face caught with emotion Zack couldn't place. "I said I'd live out both our lives. I didn't forget. I couldn't! How could I? It was the last thing—"

Zack flinched, hard. "I shouldn't have asked it of you," A noise like static buzzed in his ears. He got up, made to leave. He couldn't stand it another second; his nerves were scraped raw. His last desperate hope to live, to exist ruined Cloud's life and Cloud was the one who felt guilty?

"Zack—"

Zack waved him off. "Don't!" He snapped. Immediately guilty at the way Cloud froze, he said in a near whisper, "Just don't, alright?"

Cloud stood up then. "Fine," he said. "But at least stay the rest of the night. It's a long walk back, and it's late."

Zack warred with himself for a long moment before giving in. "Fine." He flopped down on the couch, crossed his arms.

"Fine." Cloud made a quick stop to the bed in the corner for a duvet and a pillow and tossed them at Zack, who caught it with his face. There was quite a bit of force behind it too.

"Fine!" Zack said as he laid down, tucked the pillow under his head and rolled the sheet around him turning his back to Cloud.

He felt Cloud's eyes on his back. "You might want to try taking your own advice, Zack," he heard Cloud mutter.

Zack didn't answer. He stayed tense until Cloud's breathing settled, but soon the rhythm of Cloud's deep breaths lulled him to sleep.

By the time the next morning came, Zack had resolutely decided to ignore the events of the previous evening. He hadn't been feeling like himself, the nightmare had made everything worse, and he should have just kept it to himself instead of bothering Cloud. He didn't know what had come over him.

He perched over the edge of Cloud's futon. "Cloud," he said. Cloud didn't move. "Clouuuud," he said again, drawing out his name. Nothing but the twitch of his nose. Zack cast his eyes about the room for something he could use and found a piece of string.

He crept back to Cloud and dangled it over his nose. A feather would work better, but hey: you worked with what you had.

Cloud sneezed. "Stop it, Denzel," he slurred, slapping at it half-heartedly. With those whiskers and that scrunched up nose, he looked like a little kitten. Zack smothered a giggle, tickling his nose again with the string. This time, one blue eye popped open and grabbed it away from him, rolling away in a huff.

"About time you got up! You've been asleep forever!"

Cloud just grunted.

"I want to spar," Zack said. "SOLDIER rules."

Cloud blinked. "Right now?" He looked out the window where the sun hadn't even risen yet. "Don't we have training today anyway?" he asked.

"Yeah," Zack said, scratching the back of his head. "But Kakashi's going to be late as always, and I don't think I've had this much down time in like, ever man. It's fun and all, but I want another big mission. I'm so bored!" Zack whined. "He hasn't let us do any more fun stuff. Kakashi's treating us like glass!"

Cloud shot him a knowing look. "I wonder why," he said flatly. Zack refused to look away. "So you want to ditch training to train. Are you sure you're all right?"

Zack waved him off, grinning wide. "I'm fine. Everyone needs a day now and again, right?"

Cloud hmmed it over for a moment, hand on his chin. "Yeah, I guess we could do that," he said slowly.

Zack clapped his hands together, looking out the window where it was still dark outside. "We got plenty of time. Kakashi usually doesn't get to the training ground until like, twelve."

Cloud slid a pair of torn orange pants on, forgoing the jacket for a black mesh shirt over a tank. "You sure you're up for it?"

"Chyeah," Zack snorted. "When am I not?" They stood there awkwardly for a moment, in a way it hadn't been since they'd become friends. Zack still felt terrible for snapping at him; he handled it in the typical Zack fashion, though, and bulldozed right over it, grabbing Cloud's hand and yanking him out the window.

"SOLDIER rules?" Cloud asked, readying the ōdachi Zack had found buried in his clan's junk. Seriously, there was like a whole heap of stuff that was just sitting and collecting dust. It wasn't a Buster but it would do for now. Cloud had looked at it with distaste, but had accepted it without a word. It was well-made, but positively tiny compared to Princess.

Zack nodded before touching his toes, then standing and cracking his neck. "SOLDIER rules. No limits," Zack began.

"No fatalities," Cloud added.

"And minimal property damage!" They said together, grinning.

"Other than that, anything goes!" Zack said.

"You're on!" Cloud said.

But they didn't start immediately. Instead, they stared at each over the dusty training ground, sizing one another up. They had never sparred using kenjutsu, so this was going to be an interesting experience.

Faster than the eye could see, Cloud leaped forward using chakra to boost his jump. He leapt over Zack's head, but Zack was more than ready for him. He lifted Princess up and caught Cloud's blade in the indention, causing the ōdachi to wobble as they pressed swords against one another, straining. Sparks flew from the friction.

Zack let off first, twisting his sword and letting it go slack just long enough he could slide down Cloud's smaller blade. The swords caught at the hilt, but Zack lifted his blade and knocked Cloud's sword away, giving him time to back up and regroup.

Or so he thought. He'd only taken a couple of steps back before Cloud was on him again. Zack barely brought Princess up in time as their blades met again. Cloud was faster and didn't have to compensate for being shorter than his sword. The ōdachi was also pounds lighter than Princess.

Still, his swordplay was a work of art; Cloud's blade flashed like quicksilver in the early morning dawn as their blades clashed again and again. He'd come a long way from the trooper he was, and Zack recognised elements of his own style in there. Cloud was truly proficient: even with a subpar blade and and a body that lacked the training, he knew what he was doing.

But so did Zack. He had a greater a wide sweep of his sword, he swiped at Cloud's legs just as he finished his own slash, causing Cloud to jump instead of following through, giving Zack enough time to run up a tree. He stopped about midway up, holding on to the trunk with just the chakra channelled to his feet.

"So that's how you want to play it, huh?" Cloud said from the ground, looking up, one corner of his mouth tugging up. "Scaredy-cat!"

"And proud of it!" Zack shouted. "Whatever works!" He felt alive, he felt here in the moment as Cloud used chakra to boost his jump again, landing slightly above Zack, who immediately turned and locked blades with him again before Cloud could get him in the back. They struggled briefly, opponents' swords dangerously close. "Give up?" he said, right in Cloud's face. Woo, that morning breath.

"You wish!" Cloud returned. They clashed again and again, fighting for the surface of the tree like they were playing King of the Mountain. Zack was winning; Cloud had to keep running corkscrews around the tree just to stay away from Princess's dangerous edge, when all the sudden, about a dozen more Clouds popped up in existence. Cloud didn't even say the name of his technique. He must have been practicing, Zack thought.

"You didn't!" Zack pouted. One of the Clouds tossed an extra sword to Cloud, giving him double blades. "You did!" He said, voice tinged with disbelief.

Cloud just shrugged. "All's fair in love and war."

Zack just laughed and held the sword above his head, swinging downward. Cloud caught it in the crux of his swords, before he had to scramble to hold the thin blade in a block as one of the swords poofed out of existence. Cloud frowned. "Not as useful as I thought," Cloud muttered. He spawned some more clones and had them leap towards Zack in a zerg rush. Zack destroyed some of them but there were too many; they leaped on top of him, pushing him back.

Zack had had enough. He swung Princess open in a wide circle, gathered up chakra in his throat. He held two fingers in front of his mouth, took a deep breath, and then released it all at once. Fire caught the mass of clones, incinerating them all, leaving Zack standing on a somewhat sooty tree.

But Cloud had used his clones as a distraction, and was nowhere to be found. Zack scanned the training ground. Nothing. "Oh it's ON!" Zack said, and he leaped down. "Now who's the coward!" he shouted. Still no Cloud, though. He channelled chakra to his eyes, using the sharingan to pinpoint the chakra residue. Cloud was using it to enhance himself and to keep to the trees, so with these eyes he could see the small aura of chakra use.

Cloud was heading in the direction of Konoha proper. Like that was going to stop him. If he broke through the trees on the left he could dart in that alley and catch him. So that's what he did, using chakra himself to up his speed, dropping down in front of a surprised Cloud just as he entered the main thoroughfare.

This early in the morning, the streets were still empty, so Cloud used an abandoned cart as a springboard and hopped up the walls to the roof, alternating between the walls of each building. Tag it was.

Zack followed, only to have to dodge a quick strike of the sword as soon as his head popped over the roof. He jumped to the next building, standing sideways against gravity, holding his sword out to Cloud one-handed. He used his other hand to give Cloud a cheeky little "come here" wave.

Cloud narrowed his eyes and leapt after Zack, swinging his sword down. Zack dodged to the side, barely; it cut a lock of his hair. It also gouged a hole into the building they were standing on, but not enough to damage the structural integrity.

"Oops," Cloud muttered sheepishly, but they were off, leaping from building, clashing blades so fast it was impossible for a civilian to see. Flourish and parry, rinse and repeat. Zack was having the time of his life, and by the broader than usual smile on Cloud's face, so was he.

Zack leapt for him again, only to be interrupted by "WOW, Boss! That's so cool! Can you teach me?"

Cloud paused, sheathing his sword, and Zack snapped Princess to his harness with a sigh. There was a little black-haired boy looking up at Cloud with stars in his eyes. Cloud furrowed his brow and said, "Konohamaru?"

The little boy gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah! You promised you'd play ninja with me when you got back!" He kicked the dirt. "I know you've been busy, so I thought I'd find you! Look! I've been practising!" He held his hands in a cross seal.

"No don't—" Cloud warned, but it was too late.

"Sexy Technique!" An attractive brunette posed seductively, the most intimate parts of her naked body covered by the barest hint of smoke. She leaned over, squeezing her breasts together, and blew them a kiss.

"Oh man," Cloud said, face red. He had his hand over his eyes and was pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'd completely forgotten about that."

"Uh, does it bother anyone else that kid is like, six?" Zack said. "Anybody?"

She poofed back into Konohamaru. Planet, that was wrong on so many levels. "So what do you think, sensei? I've been doing much better!"

Zack blinked, then did a t-motion with his hands, gesticulating wildly. "Wait wait wait, timeout. 'Sensei?' Are you telling me you taught that kid that, Cloudy?"

"Kuraudi?" Konohamaru repeated, puzzled.

"Yeah," Cloud admitted. To the kid he said, "Don't pay any attention to that idiot. I never do."

"Bwahahahaha!" Zack burst forth as he doubled over with laughter.

"I don't see what's so funny," Cloud said petulantly, crossing his arms.

"Uh, Boss," Konohamaru said as he sidled over to Cloud. Zack was still laughing. "Who's that weird guy?"

"'Weird guy?' Hahahaha!" Zack said, his laughter intensifying.

Cloud rubbed his forehead. "That would be my teammate, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Oh," Konohamaru said, looking at him like he was crazy. "Want to ditch him to play ninja, Boss?"

"I'm afraid I promised him a spar," Cloud said with a sigh. "Without diligent practice, I can't become Hokage. If I slack in my training, it'll just be easy pickings for you. I can't let it the hat go without a fight, you know." Konohamaru looked really down, so Cloud knelt down, put his hands on his shoulders, and added, "Tell you what: team practice should be over by three or four today. Why don't you meet me over by Ichiraku's around four, and we'll play ninja then, alright?"

"Yeah! Alright!" Konohamaru nodded, grinning wide, and ran off.

By then, Zack's laughter had died down. "You know, you're pretty good with kids," Zack said. "I'm surprised."

"Maybe," Cloud said. "If it weren't for Marlene and Barrett, I wouldn't even known what to do with Denzel. Even then, it was Tifa taking care of them for the most part."

"Sounds like you miss them," Zack observed.

"Yeah," Cloud said. "Now come on, we have a spar to finish, yeah?" He was avoiding the subject. Zack let it lie. It was the least he could do.

"Alright. Let's do this!" And just like that, they were clashing swords like they hadn't been interrupted. Zack moved to disable Cloud's arm, but Cloud beat him to it, jumping up and springing off another building, taking back the high ground.

Tiles broke. Holes were punched in walls. Here and there long gouges marked the buildings where Cloud had dodged Princess. Once, they accidently broke a window much to the ire of the man inside.

They clashed again and again until they met in Konohagakure proper, in the middle of the market. "Uh," Zack said, a little hesitant. That was a lot of people, most of them civilians.

"C'mon, Midgar was busier than this on a good day," Cloud said. "No jutsu."

"I don't know," Zack said doubtfully. Cloud's sword coming at his head didn't give him much time to think about it though. And he went to block it. They circled around the market, avoiding the open stalls and people and staying close to the alleys and buildings.

Surprisingly enough, the people didn't even give them a second glance.

After the small break, Zack had caught most of his breath, but without mako, Princess was heavy to wield after such a long time, and so when Cloud got past his guard, unthinkingly he channelled mana into the blade to cast a spell.

Except Zack forgot it was chakra, not mana. Princess handled it just fine, but the heat of the strange fire-lightning shattered Cloud's ōdachi, sending Cloud flying through the building behind them and shrapnel everywhere.

It was quiet for a few moments before a loud female voice interrupted. "All right! Whoever broke the dango shop is gonna pay!"