You guys enjoy the break over Easter? I didn't. I had a haystack of a lot of homework over the holidays. ;)

I don't own anything, anyone or anywhere you recognise. Sapphire, along with a few others who'll crop up every now and then, are mine.

But, I did get an Easter egg. First time in years-how sad is that? These past couple years, all I get are a couple of Cream eggs...and one I got for myself! How pathetic, right?

Still, once again, I've been watching the movies. Watched this one with Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson and Kim from Scrubs, but I couldn't tell you what it was called. It would've been great, had I not missed the last fifteen minutes!

And, yet again, it was another movie that reminded me of Prison Break. Is that show the font of all great movies, or did I just like it far too much?

Anyway, everyone; you are welcome. I'm hitting you with a two-part chapter! Because Shinra's Letter Day is just that important, apparently, to deserve something twice as long. Annnd...to my fellow Doctor Who fanatics, I issue a challenge!

Somewhere in this two-parter I have tucked in nicely a direct quote from Doctor Who. For the first person who spots it, I shall have to think up a suitable reward for aforementioned Whovian. Happy searching!

And so you don't forget about the little challenge by the second part, I'll put it up as quickly as I can. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! Lots'a work, I'm sure you understand.

Oh, and as I told one of my beloved reviewers, more of this guy!

11 - The Argument of Letter Day; Part I

"SOLDIER Merowian?" I stared with wide eyes at the 'Materia Training' teacher, the young, kooky Second Class SOLDIER, who returned my stare with a similarly confused look as the doctors clicked my bed into place and swiftly departed.

The man's arm was in a sling, and he wore a considerably more casual outfit than I had last seen him in; a pair of bright green, flashy shorts that went to his knee (showing off curiously hairless legs) and a zipped up waistcoat over a white t-shirt.

Meanwhile, I was feeling considerably out of place, still in my Cadet uniform, and still quite uncomfortable. The Cadet uniform wasn't actually all that bad, though, compared to the SOLDIER uniforms with all those belts...because we didn't go out for missions, but still had to look identifiable around HQ, we had to wear teal-y grey turtlenecks over white shirts, dark blue trousers, a dark red-brown belt and sturdy but comfortable white shoes as I had on, though sometimes we were given boots to wear instead.

As well as that, I had my helmet as firmly jammed on my head as always, same dark blue as the trousers, and the inches of thick white bandage over my right knee. Merowian's intelligent, bright eyes quickly darted over my appearance, before staring at me, made smaller by his grin. "Why, if it isn't Chocobo-fast Cobalt!" he greeted in delight, and I cringed as soon as I realised that the nickname was sticking.

I looked over at the SOLDIER whose grin never wavered, and I heaved a small sigh. "Hello, sir. Uh...can I ask, what happened to your arm?" I enquired. While knowing the man was fun, I didn't really know how he was about proper conduct. The last thing I wanted was to get in trouble, and make myself more of a bull's-eye for the Materia prodigy.

He gave a small smirk, and I figured that the man, like what was turning into a surprising amount of higher-ups in Shinra, cared little for formalities. "Well, in my first Cadet class one student got a little over-excited, and I got myself a souvenir in the form of a Cadet using a Fire Materia on my arm." Merowian raised his arm to draw attention to it, and I sucked in a breath in sympathy. "Also, you know, there was a fairly rowdy group of Cadets not too long ago who thought it would be a great idea to jump on their teacher and thrash about wildly...these Cadets these days, where do they get them from, huh?"

"Street corners, mostly; outcasts of civilised society," I joked, and my teacher grinned in acknowledgement, one shoulder giving a small jerk upwards in mirth as he subdued a laugh. "Still, it's not like SOLDIER is much better."

Merowian turned his head and narrowed his eyes at me. "We are the civilised society. Only we are kind enough to accept you ragamuffins, unlike so many others," the Second Class played along, with a toss of his head and an overly-exaggerated pompous accent. I laughed a second later, failing in keeping my amusement under wraps, and the man asked a little while later, "How did you wind up in here anyway, Chocobo?"

Despite my resentment, the nickname seemed to be sticking, which was sad. I could only hope Merowian would keep it to himself, at best. "That would be a result of training with Commander Rhapsodos." At the SOLDIERs puzzled look, I elaborated, "He took me on as a one-on-one student for SOLDIER."

Merowian's eyes lit up at this new information, and I got the feeling like I could've just done something quite wrong. "Really? Oh, well, even Rhapsodos is civilised; more so than you petulant Cadets!" he reverted back to his posh voice, and I shook my head with a roll of my eyes.

"...Rhapsodos...is not civilised. We are talking about two different Genesis Rhapsodos', that's what we're doing," I summed up, nodding to reassure myself.

Merowian was quick to rebuke, despite his grin that told me he was delighted to keep playing around like this, "Rhapsodos is civilised...and honourable! For Rhapsodos is an honourable man; so are they all, all honourable men."

And as my 'Materia Training' teacher with the sling on his arm howled with stomach-clenching laughter, not only did I feel as though I was out of the loop for something not extremely hilarious, and not only that this statement was probably some sort of jab at or reference to Genesis' appreciation for LOVELESS, but I also knew that this night in the infirmary was looking liable to being one of the longest nights of my life.

...

If it wasn't obvious, I didn't even get a chance to try out and sleep in my new position, lying flat on the floor with my right foot propped up on the bed, because Merowian was talking all night. I figured he was on some sort of medication; he had to be, otherwise I really wasn't looking forward to my next Materia class with the man.

Surprisingly, I was let out at eight o'clock the next morning with little fussing about my knee. The nurses tending to me did seem a little confused about the sleeping position I had adopted, though. They advised me to use a crutch, and told me not to strain myself; to sit down if it was hurting even slightly (and every opportunity I got) and don't travel too far around the Shinra building, and to make sure that I was either near some people or I had a way of getting in touch with someone.

Yawning slightly, I accepted all this fussing, pretending to listen, and when I got out, I made a plan for myself for the day; it was weird, having a day off like this. After they spoke with Merowian - and I presumed the man was looking to get him some, because they were giggling like schoolgirls - they told me not to attend any classes, because of my sprained knee.

I didn't even know you could sprain a knee, and I didn't know I'd get off classes at all for it (we only had 'Introduction to Weaponry' and 'Strategy and Tactics' classes today, so they weren't overly active) so it was a weird and sudden thing to have to plan out my day without being cornered by certain people...like Genesis.

So naturally, my plan for the day consisted mostly of cornering certain people like Genesis. Hey, it was my day off, I was going to pester people and enjoy it like I should.

But after hobbling about on crutches for forty-five minutes, and finding no one anywhere, I got depressed and started to head for the canteen. It was a short break and a ten-minute limp before I arrived, so it was nine or after it by the time I reached my destination.

No one was down here either. Which was confusing; I hadn't been this late before, so I figured the place was just deserted in the mornings because I had a habit of rising early. Nine was a relatively acceptable time, wasn't it?

Apparently not. I hobbled up, retrieved myself a pancake and settled down at one of the tables, tucking in to the sugary treat.

It had been heated before, but was now unpleasantly cool. I didn't mind cold pancakes, I liked them hot, but between the two I detested. I ate about a quarter of the pancake, licked off all the sugar (only because no one was around) and threw it in the bin, shaking my head sadly. "What a waste..." I mumbled to myself plaintively.

"Well, would you look who it is!"

I looked up in surprise at a new arrival to the cafeteria, and grinned happily, as a fellow Cadet I recognised sat down beside me. "Hey there, Jacko!" I welcomed, grinning at Jack Riley.

The gunman smiled back, pushing a hand through his bouncy dark-brown curls, before offering the other hand to me; I shook it heartily. "I didn't get to tell you before, good job with the whole 'decoy' thing with Merowian," he complimented.

"Ah, no trouble," I answered bashfully. "It was Rensky's plan; that man is genius, right?"

Jack chuckled. "He sure is, and I'll make sure to let him know you think so when I next see him." There was a short pause, as the Cadet looked around a little, and I noticed there was some surprise when he spoke next, "Merowian wasn't too bad, was he?"

I blinked, nonplussed. "I don't follow," I informed him, my eyebrows disappeared as they rose above the rim of my helmet. He gestured to the right of me, at my crutch.

"The rest of us didn't really get any lasting damage, just a tiny burn, and you were on the top. You were down before we jumped him, did you twist your ankle or something?" he asked me, his brow furrowed in slight concern.

I shook my head with a small smile. "Naw, actually, this was caused by someone else. I had training with Commander Rhapsodos yesterday, and...well, he isn't exactly the most lenient tutor."

Jack leaned back in his seat, his hazel eyes suddenly alight with curiosity, one hand tapping the table every so often. "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that. How did you and Zack manage to get individual training with Commanders Rhapsodos and Hewley?" he questioned, a small smile pulling at the side of his mouth.

"It's my understanding..." I trailed off, scratching the back of my neck as I thought how to reply, "That it's a sort-of experiment for them. I think they want to see how much faster a Cadet advances with individual tutelage on top of Cadet training."

"Aah," the curly-haired Cadet nodded slowly in enlightenment. He adjusted the strap on his shoulder, which I was just now noticing lead to his rifle, which seemed cleaner than the first time I'd seen it. It seemed like so long ago now, even if it was only a few weeks. "Pretty sweet gig you got yourself there. The one time anyone would actually like to be a guinea pig." Jack winked with a grin.

I grinned back, and decided to change the topic of discussion. "Uh, where have you been this morning?"

One of Jack's eyebrows slowly rose as he stared at me. "Uh...practicing my shooting," he replied slowly, as though I was dense, and he gestured to the gun visible over his shoulder.

I grimaced. "Forget that I asked that," I pleaded, making the Cadet chortle in amusement. I took that as a yes, and continued my inquiries. "I was in the infirmary last night, and you're the first person I've seen since being released at least an hour ago. Do you know where everyone else is?"

His eyebrows raised lazily as he swung back in his chair, his feet keeping himself balanced there. "Uh, Coby, everyone's on their day off. Why would they be awake right now?" he answered with another question, and I recoiled in surprise.

"'On their day off'? What are you talking about, Jack?"

Jack looked pityingly at me. "It must be quiet in that infirmary you were staying at, because today's all anyone's been talking about. Four times each year Shinra get in letters from the homes of all their employees. Today's Letter Day!"

My hand, previously resting on my crutch, clenched it quite suddenly. "Letters? From home?" I echoed, and Jack sent me a weird look.

"What, all you can do today is be a parrot?" he mocked, and I fixed him with an unimpressed stare. The Cadet grinned, completely unaffected. "Yes! We're all getting letters from home! Everyone's really excited to hear from their folks, even me, and I've barely been gone from them a month!"

I looked at the excitable gunner with total seriousness. "Do you know how Shinra get these letters?" I asked, my voice quite a lot lower, despite that it wasn't a private topic, and that there was no one but us in the room.

Jack raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Coby, I would presume that they get sent to Shinra? They make sure all our relatives know about today, so no one's disappointed. But hey, you never know, Turks could hold our families at gunpoint to make sure they write a letter to us, I don't know for sure, man."

"Your sarcasm isn't helping matters," I told him shortly, my arms folded and me pouting. Jack grinned.

"Pish posh. Why do you need to know anyhow, Coby? You afraid your parents didn't hear - because it's doubtful that they didn't, you know. Everyone loves Letter Day, I even remember some news people talking about it last year on the news," he reassured, but I was not in the least concerned about that.

I was more concerned that people might've gone to my house, knocked on the door and asked for some letters to send to their child fighting for Shinra. Considering that no one would be there, I wasn't feeling especially comfortable right about now.

And when I asked Jack a question, his response didn't fill me with confidence; "Everyone gets their letter, Coby. Parents, siblings, cousins, friends all write one letter to be sent to us here, and the only person who doesn't have any of those outside Shinra is General Sephiroth, or so the legend goes."

I had the feeling that he wouldn't be the only one this year, not by a long shot. Unless if I could come up with some sort of crazy, elaborate and stupid plan that just might work, I had the distinct feeling that the Turks would be visiting me in the cafeteria again.

"I've got to head on," Jack excused himself, hopping to his feet. "Me and a few friends are planning a day in Midgar before we get our letters, and I'm going to get my money gathered. See you around, Coby." The Cadet punched my shoulder in farewell, leaving too suddenly for me to give my own goodbyes.

Crazy plan...I needed to make myself a thinking room.

...

In a miraculous turn of events, I found myself back in the same lounge room that I had seen Reno for the first time, when he was only dressed in a towel in the 'Turk Towel incident'. I remembered thinking that the room looked comfortable, and that's all I needed for a thinking room, so after hobbling down many corridors and pressing many elevator buttons, after about an hour and a half, I found myself with my feet up in the Turks' lounge room.

It was surprisingly nice, being here. The walls were painted in all sorts of soft but bright colours in a cool, modern fashion, the TV was huge and surrounded by speakers (not that I was watching anything, for fear that Reno would come out of somewhere and actually kill me this time) and the sofas and armchairs were made of top-notch materials so that whenever I first sat down on this sofa, I felt like I was going to be enveloped totally and eaten by it.

Staring at the bright wall, the most colourful thing I figured I'd seen in Midgar (excluding things such as Reno's hair, of course) turned out to be a great way to help me think, and I must've been sitting there for fifteen minutes or more before somebody entered from a different door than Reno had previously.

And of course, it was Reno himself; by the time I'd brought myself out of my reverie enough to glance at the Turk, he was returning my stare with a disbelieving one, head tilted at an angle and his mouth in a small 'o'. As I half-expected, he was not well-dressed; instead of his usual slapdash Turk uniform of a dark suit, always without a tie, his shirt never tucked into his trousers and a stain on the shirt, now he just wore a black t-shirt and trousers.

It was astonishing how, in spite of the change, the man still looked as intimidating as ever. The top-half anyway; the only reason I hadn't yet wet myself from fear, the only reason he wasn't as scary as a Turk even slightly any more, was simply because he wore nothing on his feet.

There was something adorable and so human about his bare feet and little toes that made me forget that I once feared this man. I knew that he could throw my head at doors and give me brain damage; I knew he could spin me like a ragdoll and send me staggering away from him with a small shove; I knew his training enabled him to be capable of killing me in at least one-hundred different ways. But that was the last time I ever feared Reno the Turk.

He didn't say anything, so I spoke first. "Hi," I greeted simply, raising a hand in his direction.

Reno's eyes flickered from me, to the crutch resting against the sofa beside me, to me, to the wall where I was now looking, and back to me again. "...Hey," he welcomed after a pause, and walked to the fridge, fishing out a can of some drink. He collapsed down next to me a few seconds later, cracked open his can, and a very strong smell of whatever the drink was filled my nostrils. After a moment, he tilted the can towards me. "Want some?"

I raised an uncertain eyebrow at him. "How do I know it's not poisoned?" I enquired, only half-joking. I was quite wary of that smell.

With a weird look at me, and without a moment's hesitation, he threw back his head and drank a healthy portion. I took it from him then, still unsure but without any alternative option.

I took a cautious sip from the foul-smelling can - and instantly regretted it. The drink tasted as foul as it smelled, my unprepared taste buds got the shock of their lives, and I could feel them burning, along with anything else the liquid touched.

I choked painfully and instinctively spat it all out, putting the can on the table in front of us. Reno fell back against the couch and howled with raucous laughter as I coughed out as much of the horrible taste and smell I could, eventually scraping my tongue against my arm and sleeve. It didn't work.

"Gah, that's awful! Blech, ugh..." I complained, muffled by my arm. The humoured Turk put a hand to his forehead, still mindlessly giggling. I got up and limped towards the kitchen area and started washing my mouth out with water; it didn't really help, but I was just grateful that I hadn't swallowed any of...whatever that was.

Reno shook his head, weak from the laughter and letting out a chuckle every so often. "What, you've never had alcohol before, yo?" he questioned lightly, picking up the can and taking another swig.

I stared at him with wide eyes. "Uh, no! And with good reason, apparently! Yuck, never let me have any of that again..." I trailed off, straightening up from the sink, noticing Reno staring at me intently, despite taking a deep swig of the drink. I cringed, scrunching up my nose. "You hold your liquor so well, yet you can't be old enough to be that used to alcohol," I said sceptically, beginning the trek back to the sofa, hobbling on my bad leg.

An eyebrow raised at me mockingly. "Heh, you're cute, kiddo," Reno teased me, poking me in the side when I collapsed next to him. I could feel my face turn red, and I shuffled as inconspicuously as I could away from him, very uncomfortable. "No mummy or daddy of mine told me alcohol was bad, unlike for you, and a lot of where I grew up wasn't exactly law-abiding, unlike for you," he explained with a small, defensive sneer, turning away to take another drink from the can.

I raised an eyebrow at him, suddenly and strangely feeling sorry for Reno. It was weird because, at the mention of my parents, I had grown so used to becoming very upset and quiet, and then spending a few hours thinking on my own. But now, I only felt pity, because Reno had seemingly experienced little, or none, of this.

Had I overcome my grief, finally? I was oddly pleased.

I slowly reached out a hand to the Turk whose back was turned, but as I caught sight of my hand, I realised; I was supposed to be a boy. No boy I know would reach out a hand to comfort an unhappy person; they'd punch them on the arm, or tease them a little to lift their spirits. But I couldn't imagine teasing or physically assaulting Reno, not when he looked so vulnerable.

No matter how easy I could act like a guy, I just wasn't. Maternal instincts forbade me to kick the guy when he was down, not when I could see he was suffering...

Of course, Reno was a Turk. This could all be an act; after all, the Turks seemed to have shown even the slightest interest in me. Sure, just because I accidentally found Tseng's office instead of Angeal's, but it was somewhat undeniable now that even a small amount of interest had been stirred.

...Should I have drunk from that can? DNA and all that...and Tseng was, so people say, devilishly smart...

Ugh, I was just being paranoid. Get over yourself, Sapphire!

I pulled back my hand, feeling like a pat on the shoulder was a little too personal for the man who usually spent his time shouting at me or hating my guts, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to comfort him. "I'm sorry to hear that, Reno," I murmured, trying to sound as tough as I could as I did so, and he turned to look at me, his eyes narrowed. I could see the slight suspicion, but I couldn't stop myself from continuing, "Kids don't always have to rely on their parents when they're young - you turned out alright, anyway."

And as the Turk stared at me, I slowly rose from the sofa, grabbed my crutch, and hobbled out of the room, to the silent sound of my mental chant to myself...

You're a fool; you're a fool; an idiot, stupid fool...

The only consolation I had, was that I'd come up with a plan.

When Genesis woke up that morning, he knew it was going to be a bad day.

It was just something about this day, everyone all cheerful and nostalgic and thinking fondly of the past and people back home, that grinded on his gears. The happiness wasn't a bad thing, of course it wasn't; everyone deserves to be happy.

But it was the reason they were happy; hearing from people 'back home', talking about things that concerned people in the past - Genesis was a strong believer in living in the present, and it irritated him that people in the same unit as him would hear from relatives they saw so rarely and were a part of the past, and laugh and be happy.

This was the present. Either laugh and be cheerful about what was currently happening, or don't, because there was little point in looking to the past like this.

...Of course, that was little more than a cover-up. The true reason for his hatred of Letter Day came a few hours later, in the form of a small red envelope with his name written on the front in loopy, cursive writing.

When Angeal handed him the letter, Genesis felt a sudden blast of fury, and felt a strong impulse to set fire to the envelope, or at least simply bin it. However, he simply decided to read whatever they had written for him, if only to mock them for the rest of the day. Plus he knew Angeal would be very unhappy with him if he tossed it without a second thought.

So, with a laboured sigh, the SOLDIER Commander took the envelope, tore it open and quickly scanned through what his foster parents back in Banora had written to him.

Angeal's eyes were positively glowing with joy, so obviously he had already read his own letter. And as Genesis scrunched up his own letter from home in a leather-coated fist and skilfully tossed it into a paper bin on the other side of the room, his eyebrows low over his eyes and a scowl on his face, it was evident that he too had read his letter from home.

Angeal was disappointed at his childhood friend's incapability of accepting affection from the people who took him in, but because he knew not to expect any differently, it had a smaller-than-usual affect on the caring SOLDIER. He simply brushed off Genesis' anger, and decided that he should take his leave from Genesis.

Although he knew inside that leaving his friend angry like this was not the kindest thing to do, and Angeal found himself feeling somewhat selfish in admitting it to himself, but he did not want one of his favourite days in the year to be ruined by his friend's foul mood.

Still, if that was the only reason, no doubt Angeal would've remained with Genesis, despite his misery. However, Angeal also had other duties to attend to; Zack had previously agreed to having a training session on this day, so he needed to prepare for that. Angeal also wanted to find some of his friends in Shinra to find out about their lives at home, and he also wanted to spend a little time with Sephiroth, to ensure that the General was not too sorely affected by both the day and by Genesis' destructive mood.

After all that was done, he could - and most likely would - spend the rest of the day with Genesis as the redhead rampaged about various topics of his current day-to-day life. It didn't bother him as much as he anticipated.

So as Genesis sat in his office and glared at nothing, Angeal hastily made to leave the room, his own crisp-white envelope clutched in his hand and ready to be removed and read through at least three more times in the next hour or so. But to Angeal's surprise, after he pushed open the door and stepped out into the hallway...

A bobbing blue-headed Cadet rushed to meet him, right foot raised just off the ground and a crutch keeping his balance. Angeal's slightly widened eyes flickered over the Cadet, and his right leg - the knee of which was tightly and densely wrapped in white bandages. Angeal cocked an eyebrow as Cobalt looked up to his face, and enquired, "Am I to presume that you trained with Genesis yesterday?"

The boy's cheeks turned pink, and he ducked his head, face hidden by his helmet. "I was in the infirmary all night," he quietly admitted, causing Angeal to laugh in carefree amusement. The Commander strongly patted Cobalt's shoulder a few times, and his blue eyes rose to see Angeal's smile.

"Have you received your letter from home yet, Blue?" he asked lightly, and blinked in faint surprise as the young Cadet took a strange reaction to the question.

Suddenly much more animated, the boy grinned sheepishly, bounced a little on his one good foot and raised a hand to scratch at the back of his head. "I just found out this was Letter Day no time ago, so I haven't been down to reception to get my own letter just yet." The boy winked cheekily as he continued, "I just decided I'd guilt-trip my tutor for my injury before I'd get it, so I can have something to cheer me up after I'm forced to do five-hundred squats on one leg."

While Cobalt tittered weakly at his half-hearted joke, Angeal's brow furrowed. "That's not such a good idea, Blue. Genesis is in a lousy mood today, as with all Letter Days...you should probably avoid him," the caring Commander advised. Cobalt's eyebrows raised in some surprise.

"Really? Well, I should cheer him up then!" the Cadet enthused with a grin, making to go forward into Genesis' office that Angeal had just left. Angeal stopped him with a steady hand at the centre of his chest pushing him back slightly. It had a bit more of a drastic affect than he had anticipated; Cobalt practically jumped back, though seemed to make it look as calm as was physically possible.

"If you want, you can wait here and I'll go get your letter for you. I could help you back to your room without you having any accidents as well, if you need me to," the First Class SOLDIER offered, but Cobalt eagerly shook his head in refusal of his proposal.

"No, no, I'll keep Genesis company. And you don't have to go down to collect my letter for me Angeal; I mean, I'm pretty sure my parents don't know about Letter Day, and Sapphire's not the type to sit down and write something meaningful, so I doubt I got anything anyway," he explained his shake of the head, and with a little smile and no more words, he shoved the door open with his crutch and hopped in.

Meanwhile, Angeal was frowning in clear displeasure. Blue was not expecting a letter from his family? There must've been a misunderstanding.

Angeal had met Sapphire. Physically met her, a good few days before he met Cobalt. He had spent at least half an hour of non-stop talking with the free-spirited young woman over a cup of tea, and he had enjoyed every moment as she simply jabbered on and on about whatever new random thought sprung into her head.

And despite her general hyperactivity, it seemed to be equally balanced with her care for her twin brother. She had shown both encouragement and concern when they had discussed Cobalt joining Shinra as SOLDIER, both of which were a testament to how close the twins were. Sapphire also seemed to hold a high-enough value for recording precious moments, given that she had taken and given him a hastily-taken picture of the two of them grinning over the tea, just to commemorate the day. Eccentric and odd, it may have seemed, but it was an extremely nice sentiment.

She didn't seem the type to miss an opportunity to write to her brother, not really. And Angeal figured that she must've got that from somewhere; at least one of the Amell parents must've placed an emphasis on the importance of remembering certain events.

Therefore, it was understandable that the Commander would feel sceptical about Blue's disbelief about getting a letter from home.

So as Blue somewhat filled in for his position by keeping Genesis company for the next little while (Angeal was unsure how long he could expect the two to put up with each other) Angeal decided that a good thing for him to do would be to go to the ground floor, talk to the woman behind the counter responsible for the letters, and ask about letters for a Cadet named Cobalt Amell.

After a few minutes of waiting after she had disappeared into the back room, with Angeal tapping his fingers on the desk with a serious expression as he stared at the receptionist, quickly flicking through the stack of envelopes left, he was not surprised and quite delighted as she emerged from the room, equipped with a dazzling smile and a brown envelope with a lot of ink on both sides.

"As you requested, Angeal!" the woman seemed surprisingly enthusiastic, considering this was likely what she had been doing all day. "A letter to a Cadet Cobalt Amell, written to him by Saphie with a smiley face."

The dark-haired SOLDIER couldn't restrain his grin, as he examined the envelope, coated in little notes from various people and cute little doodles that Angeal found himself physically pressed to decipher. He thanked the receptionist, and started towards the lifts, the envelope held tightly yet delicately in his strong, capable hands.

Close by, hidden in the shadows, a lively redhead visibly slumped his suited shoulders. "Looks like this little snatch 'n' grab mission's gone belly-up, yo. We ain't getting that envelope now," he complained quietly to a small microphone hidden in his suit.

A voice spoke into his ear something extremely quiet, causing the Turk to cringe.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand, yo. See you in five."

...Well? The quote from Doctor Who? Did you find it? Or will it be in the next part? I'm just evil. ;)

grandshadowseal: Nice to be welcomed? D'awwh, well, I try to be hospitable. You're a reviewer! You hold a little place in my heart all to yourself! :D

Ahh, yay! Someone nearby, that's fantastic! And yeah, I think that's about right, some time around that anyway. Pretty sure I was asleep at your time, though...Man oh man, who wakes up in the middle of the early morning like that? Seek medical help, my friend! ;)

Sapphire, sleep a day away, with a perfectly reasonable excuse? Not only would she never be so wise as to think up such a genius plan, it didn't occur to me either! So nah, Sapphire's going to have to cope. Heh heh...

And as for the letter, we must have confidence! Sapphy will have to think of something to wriggle herself out of more awkwardness. Poor girl. The fact that she's the main character in a story with one of the genres being 'Humour' dictates that she must never be at peace.

...I'm a terrible person...but that's a good thing. :D

AnonyMouse: Woohoo! A new review! Sweetness! ;)

I could never take it as an insult, my friend! Feedback is one of the most important reasons for me writing this! And you, bad at articulating? That 'slightly-cumbersome tete-a-tete greatness' description you used earlier for describing the interactions with Cobalt and Genesis is one of the best descriptions of anything I've ever heard. Plus that whole chocolate milk thing for Sephiroth and Cobalt was awesome. Need I say more?

...Why am I boosting your ego? Hello?! :D

Oh, the letter? No problems! Coby's got it sorted...Yeah, completely sorted. Just wait 'til Part II. Ooh... I'm getting good at this suspense stuff! Dramatic build-ups, cliffhangers, teasers, foreshadowing...You think I should change the genre to Drama? Scary!

Ah, yeah, Genesis is fine, sure. Genesis' mood is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. Since when are people getting far too much snow in March, I ask you?! There will be more from Genesis' mood swings, I assure you.

...And I can't begin to tell you how weirdly satisfying it is to have corrupted someone in such a way. Spread the word! Sparky's Disease has gone international! Muahahahahahahahahahahaa!

Oh, and here I thought I was being too dark and dramatic with that bit about Hojo. I suppose not. And I shame myself by being completely uninformed (keep in mind, I only watched Advent Children a few weeks ago-any other knowledge of this amazing collection I only know from Wiki reading) but I presume you're referencing that Hojo turns into some kind of zombie-ghost? Perhaps more reading is in order... *covers face in embarrassment*

Ahh, and normality is restored. Thank you very much for another lovely review! :D

Kyoichi Amaya: Yay, a new reader! Thank you so much for that! Oh, and also, thanks for that. We Pikachus like to know we're appreciated. ;)

WhiteWerefox: Good to see you again! Many thanks for that! ;)

Haha, I loved your speculations for what you thought this chapter should be! As much as I would've loved to devote another chapter to Sapphire's noticeably odd sleeping arrangements *points to 'Sapphire's Shinra Shenanigans' story* this chapter needed to be about setting up for the next chapter, which should be covered and dripping with exciting drama and stuff! OOH SCARY! XD

...Every chapter really does have a reference to the toilet, don't they? But no! No, I don't like that! I don't want that to be what people take away from this story! No! No more mentions of the bathroom for a long time! Nope, who said something about the toilet? :D

...But you like it? Aw, geez! Now what do I do? XD

D'awwwh, that's cute! But while night time may be writing time in my head, that time is supposed to be for sleeping, so you can give a long, loving review next chapter! Hee hee, I kid, I kid; long or short, reviews never fail to make my day, so thank you VERY much!

Plus, I love that word you used, 'Readership'. It could just be the Lord of the Rings funk I'm going through right now, but all I can think of is Lord Elrond's line, "Very well. You shall be the Readership of the Pixel." ;)

Everyone, thank you so much for all your reviews-I hope I convey to you just how delighted I am to hear from you all! And now that I know people are actually liking this story (20 reviews in 10 chapters-YES!) my curiosity about the elaborate and fantastic - and to me, mostly unknown - story of Final Fantasy VII is not the only reason I'm writing it! Thank you all!

Also, my sincerest thanks go out to AnonyMouse (Thank you for being awesome, my friend!) and SakiWatari (Hi there, newcomer! Glad to see you enjoyed it!) for their reviews for chapter two of 'Sapphire's Shinra Shenanigans', because for some reason I don't even know myself, I don't reply to reviews in it. Don't ask me, sometimes I just decide things.

...Phew! These reply sections are getting longer and longer-AAH! It makes me so happy to get this kind of interest! Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading about Sapphire's mishaps!