Author's Note: Two weeks. Thanks for the patience. Look out for language, thanks.

Disclaimer: The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine, particularly in this chapter.

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A Walk In Andante

21 – Heroic Spy

Sakusen was the ordinary fifteen-year-old teenager with issues against his parents and deep loyal ties with his two best friends, Kitsuna and Reino. He called himself a punk-Goth, although he didn't go as far as wear only black. His clothes were all dark. They were either deep dark blue or flat out black. He loved high turtlenecks; they shielded his face from wandering eyes.

See, he had the looks. And he wanted to hide them. He wasn't the kind of guy to pull attention onto himself.

"…in a few weeks so I'd say we practice bashing each other a bit," Kitsuna was saying as the three of them walked down a Twilight Town street. Kitsuna was a pretty skinny girl and she always tied her silver hair back in a ponytail. Once in a while, she'd huff and blow her bangs out of her face. She, too, was of the gothic sort and loved studs; her jacket, her belt, and her tight dark jeans all were adorned with silver studs.

She was pretty, Sakusen admitted that. But she wasn't just a pretty face. She knew how to beat ass.

"I'll take all of ya down! In one minute. Watch!" Reino crowed. The tallest amongst them, he was a big-boned teenager with flaming red hair that he fashioned into spikes with what he said was school glue stolen from school. He wore earrings and a red and black sweater with a collar. He also had studs on his dark blue jeans. This guy was a pure punker kid. Sakusen loved his trains of thought and 'no holds back' attitude.

In short, all three of them were punks. What made them love being punks even more were the looks older people were giving them. Sakusen loved making his parents mad with his appearance and attitude.

"Oh puh-leeze," Kitsuna scoffed. "That's a load of air you're walking on. I'll kick your ass in no time at all."

"What are you talking about? Last time you couldn't get a hit on me!"

"That's because Sakusen practically broke every bone in my body! I was so sore I was blue and black all over!"

"Well that I can testify for. Ya poor babe."

"Oh no, don't you-get off of me, you great lump!" Kitsuna yelped while Reino enveloped her in a bear hug. "I said no public display of affection, you damn bear! Off!"

"Methinks she likes it," Reino whispered to Sakusen loudly and with a wink. He laughed, while Kitsuna started trying to get her foot wedged into Reino's crotch, to be blunt.

"Either that or you're willing to lose your boys," Sakusen informed him. "Watch out."

Reino jumped back and let Kitsuna go. She stood up straight and dusted at her clothes.

"Next time, I will hurt your balls."

"You said that last time, remember?" Reino teased. Kitsuna sighed, rolled her violet eyes, and looked to Sakusen for help. He shrugged.

"Don't look at me."

"I am looking at you."

"Well, whichever way that goes, I can't help you."

"Did I ask?"

"You were going to, right?"

"…I hate you."

"And I love you both, yes, I heard that enough times," Sakusen replied automatically. "Now, c'mon. Maybe the sandlot's free for once."

"For once," Reino snorted. "I swear, those two are like trysting there."

"That's only you, you poor deprived little boy-"

"Hey! I, for one, do have the charms! You just never see them at work," Reino retorted.

"Reino, if you had charms all the girls in Twilight Town would be following you right now," Kitsuna snorted. "Now, about those two-"

"Well…I did see the redhead tag along with the brunette somewhere else. Maybe the sandlot is vacant for once," Sakusen interrupted hopefully.

"Yes, maybe," Kitsuna muttered. Then she turned her head slightly and said, "Well, what's Seifer up to?"

"Where?" Reino demanded loudly. Sakusen shushed him. He had seen the scar-faced teenager, too.

Up ahead, Seifer seemed caught in an intensely heated conversation with a man dressed wholly in black. Well, the man looked like he was dressed in black; Sakusen noticed that whenever the man moved, even very slightly, the coat he was wearing fuzzed around the edges. If the man kept moving, it would have been hard to define his outline and, ultimately, his movements.

"I've seen him around before," Reino spoke in hushed tones. "He's never where people are. Whenever there's a mass of them, he'd be at the outskirts. Then he'd just…disappear. Poof! Into thin air. I swear, this guy's a weirdo."

Kitsuna nodded.

"Hey, I'm gonna check it out. Wait back here, okay?" Sakusen suddenly blurted. He had an abrupt desire, a need to know what Seifer was involved in.

"Oh sure, run off and play heroic spy, why don't you," Kitsuna began sarcastically.

"Hey, no more from you," Sakusen retorted rather cheerfully. He then turned and began walking quickly but casually in the direction of Seifer and the man.

"…keep watching. When the time is right, I will alert you and you will strike."

"I won't keep watching if I don't know what's in it for me!"

"I told you already, fool. You do as told and you'll get out of it with your life."

"You said it's not guaranteed."

"Nothing is guaranteed, Seifer. You have to make it guarantee. I'm just here to help you along. Both of us want to stop the holocaust, am I right?"

"I still want to know how you knew about this 'holocaust' of yours-"

"That is my area. Your area is to keep an eye on the key players and make sure things go as planned. We know these two have huge parts to play in this. Just how huge it is is up to you. Find out, Seifer. Don't screw this over."

"Don't tell me what to do," Seifer snapped when it was apparent the man had ended the conversation.

In the blink of an eye, the man grabbed Seifer by the throat and thrust him against the rosy red bricks of the building nearest to him. While Seifer choked and clawed at the hand that was crushing his larynx, the man brought his hooded face close and hissed, "Don't question my damn authority, you son of a bitch! You will do as I say and you will get out of this alive. You know too much already and if you try to back out now…you'll regret it. Understand?"

A bubbling noise deep in Seifer's throat seemed to serve as answer enough. The man loosened his hand, then pulled back as Seifer slumped to the floor, gasping and choking for air. He held his throat, rubbed it, tried to catch his breath while glaring at the other man.

"You seem to understand enough," the man's voice smirked. Then he turned and walked across the street. Sakusen, his ears ringing with the horrid words, his eyes replaying Seifer's brush with death, watched as the cloaked man looked both ways and across at Seifer before entering an alley. Sakusen inched ahead towards where the little dark passage was but he had a feeling that mysterious man wasn't going to be there.

Actually he hoped the man wasn't there. If he caught the man doing something he doubt anybody should do, Sakusen was in big trouble. That man had just owned Seifer.

Sakusen didn't want to bother having his larynx nearly crushed, and so he turned around and began walking back to Kitsuna and Reino, who were both no doubt waiting for him to relay to them everything he's heard.

But a holocaust? What holocaust?

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Author's Endnote: Sorry but this chapter deals rather strictly with the storyline, not some "la-la land of teenagers in shit". Reviews, anything. Thanks.