Author's Note: In this chapter, the anitRemnants are finally reunited and Noir disobeys me in order to make inappropriate comments.

LEGACY

"See this man? He's our big brother. But in our happy flock, he's what you'd call a black sheep." ~ Kadaj

Cloud had stopped shaking by the time he reached Genesis' office, but the nausea had yet to fully abate. Clutching his stomach, he shuffled into the office and collapsed on the loveseat. The cool leather was sweet relief on his face. Across the room, the clacking of typing halted.

"Cloud?" Genesis sounded slightly alarmed. "Are you okay?"

"No."

"What's the matter with you?"

Shifting onto his back, Cloud draped his arm over his eyes. "My mouth is going to get me killed one of these days."

"Why? What did you do?"

"I talked to Noir."

"About what?"

"I asked him about what happened three years ago."

"Oh?" The tone of Genesis' voice tightened. "And what did he tell you?"

"He refused to tell me."

Noir hadn't outright refused him, though, and Cloud almost wished he'd pressed the matter further instead of asking about Eve. The way Noir responded made it sound like his version of the events would've been different from Genesis'. Despite himself, Cloud was still curious.

The sound of leather creaking preceded the footsteps as Genesis padded across the carpet and the couch dipped down near Cloud's hip. He peeked out from under his arm to look up at Genesis.

"Why did you want to ask him?" Genesis asked. There wasn't anger in his eyes... but there was something else.

Cloud shrugged half-heartedly. "I just wanted to hear what he thought about it. Maybe there was a reason behind why he did what he did?"

Snorting, Genesis looked away. "Do you think anything Noir does is reasonable?"

"Well, no..." Cloud's throat itched as Noir's phantom hands crept back around it. "But..."

"There's nothing else to discuss," Genesis snapped. "We both said everything we had to say three years ago. Whatever you're looking for isn't there. It's over, Cloud."

"Yeah... I guess so," Cloud said quietly. "Did you know Noir blinded his younger brother?"

Genesis glanced back over at him and nodded.

"Did Noir tell you?"

"I was there when it happened," Genesis said. "I was on an errand for my mother in town when I saw Noir hit him."

Cloud furrowed his brow in confusion. Eve said it happened when he was six years old. Genesis couldn't possibly have been there, unless— "Noir and Eve grew up in Banora, too?"

"The Décès family was always odd. They moved into the village when Noir was just a baby, but their, father, Jack, didn't spend much time in Banora. I guess he was some sort of self-sanctioned explorer. Then one day, he just left. No one has seen him since."

"So they grew up without their father?" It felt odd for Cloud to have that of all things in common with them.

"It seemed to be the general consensus that Jack Décès had a few screws loose, so perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing. Not," Genesis chuckled dryly, "that their mother was any better. There were rumors that she was a witch."

Cloud's eyes widened and he propped himself up on his elbows. "A-A witch?"

"The rumors were unfounded, of course, but people still talked." Genesis' eyes grew distant, as if submersed in memory. "We all heard Eve scream, but I was the only on who ran over to help. Noir took off when he saw me coming. I never knew why he did it."

But I know, don't I? Cloud thought. Noir had told him. "He said he was jealous of something Eve had."

Genesis pinned him with a shocked stare. "You asked him?"

"Believe me, it wasn't one of my brightest ideas. But, yeah. I did."

Shaking his head, Genesis sighed. "Noir, you really are a piece of work. What brought this up?"

"Eve told me while we were in class today. When Noir pulled me aside afterward, I guess curiosity just got the better of me."

"What did you get pulled aside for?"

Cloud couldn't fight off the grin that threatened to swallow his face. If anyone would appreciate him bending Noir's rules, it would be Genesis. "I might have exhibited some questionable conduct during Noir's challenge today."

Genesis raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Cloud relayed to him the events of the day, from Noir's Capture the Flag announcement to him being hauled off to jail to him deciding to break out to Cure's bizarre usefulness to ultimately winning the game. "My sword broke while I was fighting with Jadak, though, and that's why I was captured. I had to finish the rest of the game without it."

"Your sword broke?" Genesis looked skeptical. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"I have no idea! Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Pulling the hilt out from underneath his belt, Cloud thrust it at his mentor. "I don't know what happened; I was fighting with it, then all of a sudden, my blade was gone."

Genesis accepted the hilt and turned it over in his hands, narrowing his eyes as he pulled his glove off to run his finger over the tiny bit of the tang that was still visible. "Someone cut this."

"I know. Jadak hit my sword and it went flying—"

"No. I mean, someone pulled your sword apart and cut into the tang, then put it all back together again. See how clean the break is on this side?"

Cloud peered over Genesis' shoulder, examining the hilt more closely. Sure enough, the right half of the tang was perfectly flat, while the left half was twisted and uneven. "Damn it, why?" he groaned. "I don't want to keep losing points for things that aren't even my fault."

Genesis handed the hilt back to Cloud. "Show this to Noir and tell him that someone has been tampering with your things. If he still insists on docking points, tell him I'm willing to bring the matter to Director Lazard, if necessary." He rose from the couch and went over to the desk, pulling out a small change purse from one of the drawers and plopping it on a stack of papers. "Then take this and go buy yourself a lock. If Jadak happens to be a locksmith, start keeping your equipment in here, because all of this nonsense is absolute bullshit."

"Thank you, sir," Cloud said softly. He absently rolled the broken hilt back and forth between his hands. "You know, I'm not sure it's Jadak anymore. He seemed just as surprised as I did when my sword snapped, and when I talked to Zol in jail, he didn't know anything about what had been happening."

Folding his arms across his chest, Genesis sat back against the front of his desk. "Would Jadak have acted on his own without telling Zol?"

"Never. The three of them have never even been apart before," Cloud said. "If Jadak was planning something, Zol and Yuza would know about it."

"Then I suppose the next step would be to talk to Yuza about it. Is there anyone else in your class that might want to sabotage you?"

Cloud stared down at his lap. He didn't want to believe anyone else in his class had it out for him, but Belle's warning not to trust anyone floated to the forefront of his mind. Belle, who remained closed off to everyone but Renata, Vivien, who, despite his camaraderie, wanted to win at any cost, and Eve, who kept his motives wrapped tightly in mystery. "I don't want to believe it, but..."

"Keep a weather eye, Cloud," Genesis said. "The games we play here can be deadly."

Paying Noir another visit so soon after having his life threatened didn't seem particularly appealing, so Cloud opted to go out and buy the lock first. It made sense; if someone was getting into his locker and messing with his stuff, he should just get a lock. It was so obvious, he wished he'd thought of it sooner. Like, way sooner.

A walk through the city turned out to be just what he needed to clear his head. By the time he returned to the ShinRa building, he was almost in a good mood again. As he was disinclined to ruin is mood, Cloud decided to put off visiting Noir a little bit longer and go look for Yuza instead. He deposited his new lime green lock in his room, hiding it underneath his pillow just for good measure, then stepped back out into the hallway.

"Cloud!"

Cloud turned to see Belle several doors down, padding towards him. He'd already changed into his pajamas—an oversized white t-shirt and moogle-print shorts—even though it was still early in the afternoon. His stuffed moogle was clutched tightly to his chest.

"Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head. "I was just going to look for a friend."

"Belle will not keep you long." He leaned his cheek on the top of the moogle's head. "We wish to apologize."

"What for?"

"We knew your sword was damaged and we did not say anything. We sought to take advantage of you, and that was wrong." Belle raised his eyes to meet Cloud's, imploring. "Will you forgive us?"

"H-How did you know?" Cloud asked, stunned. Did Belle know who was sabotaging him?

"When we picked up Cloud's sword before class, we could tell something was... not right. Cloud noticed it too, didn't he?"

Cloud nodded slowly.

"We are glad Cloud's team won, otherwise we would have been guilty, thinking we caused Cloud to lose."

"I-It's okay," he forced out. "I... I forgive you."

Belle regarded him with a steady gaze, gently stroking the soft fur of his moogle's tummy. "You are a good person," he murmured. "We told you not to trust anyone, but... we would like to earn your trust."

That irritating little voice Cloud was beginning to despise balked, reminding him that Belle had just admitted to taking advantage of him. But while it was true Belle hadn't mentioned anything about his sword, would there have been anything Cloud could have done if he had? It was too late for him to get a new sword, and if he'd swapped out his materia for something offensive, he wouldn't have been able to survive Belle's Gravity attack. Even if things hadn't gone as planned, everything had worked out in the end. Besides that, Belle wasn't asking to be trusted immediately. He was only asking for a second chance to prove himself.

"Okay," Cloud said. "Then you can start by answering me honestly: do you know who's been messing with my stuff?"

Belle shook his head. "We do not."

"Do you have any idea who it might be?"

"If Belle had to speculate... he might suggest that you closely examine your peers. We believe the answer will lie in what Cloud does not know, rather than what he already knows. But this is simply Belle's opinion."

It certainly wasn't a bad suggestion; he'd only know everyone, except Jadak and Zol, for a week. "Yeah... thanks. Maybe, um..." Cloud shuffled awkwardly. "Maybe we can train together sometime after class?"

A hint of a smile flashed onto Belle's face. "We would like that."

"Your saboteur sounds like an idiot. It isn't Jadak."

The tips of Cloud's ears heated up in embarrassment under Yuza's condescending stare. "I-I d-didn't think it was..."

"Besides that, if Jadak were planning any sort of revenge against you, he would have told Zol and I," Yuza said. "A week is far too long for him to hold his tongue, let alone act on his own."

"That's what I thought when Zol told me he didn't know. But, I mean..." Cloud shrugged helplessly. "You have to understand why I thought it was him."

Yuza smiled, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "You're fun to antagonize."

Glowering, Cloud swatted his hand away. "It's not funny," he muttered. The elevator shuddered to a halt, signaling they had arrived at their destination. "I've been losing points left and right because my instructor is an absolute ass—"

"I like to think I'm a little more than my ass."

All of the color drained from Cloud's face. Noir leaned against the retracted elevator door, preventing it from closing again.

"Although, I've been told I have a rather pleasing figure." Noir tilted his head. "But that's not what you meant, is it?"

"S-Sir, I—"

Before Cloud could stammer out the rest of an apology, Noir crooked a finger and beckoned him over. Head hanging, Cloud shuffled over to his instructor to await his imminent doom.

Noir pinched the longest chunk of Cloud's bangs between his fingers and gently tugged on it. Then he smiled. "Perhaps I deserved that." Releasing Cloud's hair, he stepped into the elevator.

"That was your instructor?" Yuza asked, once they were safely in the hallway with the elevator doors closed behind them.

Cloud nodded shakily.

"Hmm. Interesting guy."

They walked in silence back to the dorms. Yuza did not ask any questions of the encounter, which Cloud was glad for; he really didn't feel like explaining. Jadak was lounging on his bed, reading a book, but bolted upright at the sight of his older brother.

"Yuza?" Jadak's eyes narrowed to little blue slits as he glanced between Cloud and his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Cloud's had a bad week," Yuza said. "We're going to do something about it."

Jadak jumped to his feet. "Why the hell should I care?"

"Because." Yuza harshly jabbed Jadak in the breastbone to force him back on the bed. "He's our brother, too. Stay here—I'm getting Zol."

The last remnant of Cloud's courage promptly shriveled up and died at the withering glare Jadak sent him the moment Yuza was out of the room. "Just because you're my brother doesn't mean I have to like you," he growled.

Cloud wanted to point out that they weren't really brothers, but he didn't dare open his mouth. A minute later, Yuza returned with Zol in tow. Cloud fought the urge to dive underneath the bed.

"Cloud, if you would please tell Jadak what you told me?" Yuza prompted.

"Uh-um, well..." Cloud stumbled through an explanation of the different pranks that had occurred throughout the week, resulting in his lateness, and what Genesis had discovered about his sword. "S-So that's why my sword snapped when we were fighting. At f-first, I thought it was y-you doing it, but..."

"If I were going to pull stuff like that on you, you would know, Brother."

"That's what I thought..." Cloud pulled his knees a little tighter to his chest, as if he could somehow back further into the corner on his bed. "But since it's not you, I don't know who it is."

"Do you have any suspects?" Yuza asked.

"I guess Belle, Renata, Vivien, and Eve are all a little suspicious... And Noir." Cloud wrapped his arms around his legs. "Especially Noir."

"Those four are the guys you've been hanging out with lately?" Jadak pulled a face. "I never liked them."

"Vivien asked me some weird questions earlier this week," Zol said, looking embarrassed.

Jadak looked horrified. "I hope you didn't answer him!"

"I told him I had to go water my plants. It's okay that I lied, right?"

"Yes, it's fine. Do me a favor, eh? Don't talk to Vivien anymore." Jadak huffed out a sigh and glanced back over at Cloud. "Honestly, I don't know how you put up with him. Unless you're into that sort of thing."

"He's not like that all the time..."

That was a lie.

Luckily, Yuza saved him from having to come up with a better answer by changing the subject. "So, your orientation was on Sunday, and then you found your uniform in the trash on Monday. Did you know any of the aforementioned individuals prior to the incident?"

Zol gave Yuza a funny look. "You sound like a detective.

"I'm a Turk."

Cloud shook his head. "No, I didn't know any of them..." He rewound through the events of orientation, wracking his brain for anything unusual. "Oh! There was one thing—Noir asked if I was 'Commander Rhapsodos' cadet.' Everyone in line would have heard that. Vivien asked me about it after class, and I told him he'd been training me."

"That narrows things down a bit. Our suspect is either jealous of you for having a SOLDIER mentor—" Yuza glanced at Jadak. "—or they have a grudge against Genesis Rhapsodos."

"I don't know who that would be, though."

"Gaia, are you completely helpless?" Jadak snapped. "That means we find out. You dig around for dirt on your little buddies; Zol and I will watch your back to make sure nothing terrible happens to you. We'll report to each other if we find out anything."

Cloud blinked a few times, unsure if he'd heard right. "Y-You're seriously going to help me?"

"Years ago, I swore that the three of us would make SOLDIER together," Jadak said. "With Yuza joining the Turks, we're one short. Since you're our brother too, that responsibility is now yours. And I'll be damned if I let one of my brothers fail."

They... really see me... as their brother?

"So, Cloud?" Jadak extended a hand. "What do you say?"

It took Cloud until nearly nine o'clock that evening to work up enough gumption to trek back down to Noir's office to confront him about his broken sword. Jadak made fun of him for a good five minutes about being scared, but Jadak hadn't been nearly strangled. Sure, Noir seemed amicable enough even after Cloud had inadvertently insulted him in the elevator, but he didn't want to push his luck.

He stopped a few meters down the hall from the locker room entrance. What was twenty points in the grand scheme of things, really? His life was far more important. All he had to do was stick his shiny new lock on his locker and the problem would be solved. No more broken equipment. No more tardiness. No more pink spray paint.

Cloud glanced down at his broken sword hilt. "Do I really have to?"

The hilt said nothing.

"Ugh."

His indecision was brought to a sudden halt, however, when he saw the locker room door slide open.

Someone had to have been sneaking into there after hours in order to tamper with his things. There was a chance whoever came through that door was the culprit. Cloud's heart rate doubled. His first instinct was to hide, but the hallway was empty and the entrance to the training room was too far for him to reach in time. He would have to face whoever it was head-on. He didn't even dare to breathe as the shadowy figure emerged.

It was Vivien.

A/N: I'm sorry! I wasn't intending on ending on another cliffhanger, but how could I resist? In the next chapter, we'll have to ask Vivien what he was up to... Also, I'm not sorry for making Eve and Noir's father another Pandora Hearts reference.

Thank you for reading!

RegenesisX