It's about noon when I wake up. Slowly, I sit up, wincing when my head begins to throb. Reno looks up from his phone to raise an eyebrow, smug.

"Hangover?"

"Must be." I frown, pressing the heel of my hand to my forehead to relieve the pressure. "But I didn't drink that much."

"Gettin' out of practice." He swings his legs out of his bed and heads into the bathroom, returning with a glass of water. "Here. I'll getcha a pill or two."

I sit up and take the cup, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, you're so nice. Makes me wonder what you want." Reno rolls his eyes.

"Just feel bad for you. Haven't been feeling good for a while."

"Yeah…" I sigh, gratefully taking the painkillers from him and throwing them into the back of my mouth. Thirsty, I chug the rest of the water down. Reno waits, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"These're my pants," he grumbles, tugging at the thin material on my legs.

"Not anymore."

"Thieving bitch." Lacing his fingers behind his head, he falls back onto the mattress with a soft bounce. "Have any more dreams?"

"Yeah, finally a different one."

"Yeah?" Reno props himself up on his elbows, eyes as bright as always. "Care to share?"

"Only if you put a shirt on."

"Why? Am I distracting you?"

"Re." I roll my eyes and throw the blankets over him. "Didn't fit the mood."

"Was it a bad one?"

"Not as bad as usual, but…" I shrug, looking over at the window. "Not exactly pleasant."

"So…?"

"I beat a group of kids to death with a rock," I admit with a sigh. He frowns, blinking up at me as he tries to comprehend my abrupt storytelling. "They tried to steal my stuff, and that voice told me to kill them, so I did. Bashed their heads in and walked back home like nothing happened."

"Damn."

"Tseng freaked out. Can't blame him." I pick at a loose thread in the sheets, shaking my head. "I was only ten."

"Ten? Holy shit, Kat." Reno goes quiet when I don't answer, slowly sitting up. I don't have the heart to tell him to put the covers back on, my heart stinging with every beat. What kind of monster am I?

"Maybe… I should let Marx take them away."

"What? No." Reno shakes his head, twisting his legs up onto the bed and crossing them. "No."

"Why?" I scowl up at him, sick to my stomach. "Reno, I'm fucked up beyond comprehension. I don't even know if that's the first time I killed people without a second fucking thought. It's disgusting. I don't want to know who I am anymore."

"… You're serious?"

"I think so? I don't know." Frustrated, I shake my head, pushing my hair out of my face. "It's too much."

"Well…" Reno frowns, running his fingers back and forth across my knee rapidly. "I know it's selfish, but how can you expect everyone to just forget with you? I can't live pretending like I don't know anything."

"Re, I can't live pretending this is okay."

"You don't have to. That's who you were, Kat, not who you are."

"Who's to say who I am?" I argue. "You've never even known the real me. Doesn't that scare you?"

Reno shrugs, forcing himself to look at me. "Not really."

"It should. I don't know what will happen if that voice comes back in full force like it used to. Whoever it is isn't very forgiving."

"Well, then, I'll just have to make sure you won't have to forgive me for anything."

"Reno, this is serious."

"I'm being serious."

"Are you?"

"Kitty," he scoffs, laughing. "I ain't leavin' you in the dust because you're problematic. You've always been the biggest pain in my ass."

"Wow, thanks. I'm honored." I can tell he's tired of the depressing conversation I'm trying to push, so I give up, reaching forward and taking his hand off my knee. With a wink, I press a kiss to his knuckles. "You've been the biggest pain in my ass, too."

"Cute," he snorts, pulling his hand away.

"So…." I throw the sheets back and stand, stretching and trying to ignore the shooting pains that echo around my skull. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Turtle's Paradise." Reno gets to his feet and pulls his crumpled clothes off the floor. "Shoulda brought another uniform…"

"Yeah, me too. Feels wrong to wear anything else anymore." I follow suit, quick to tug on my clothes. "Are Rude and Elena awake yet?"

"That even a question?" Reno raises an eyebrow, buttoning up his shirt. "Probably went for a run at the asscrack of dawn. 'lena said she wanted to get some sun today, too."

"Hm."

It's not long before we're drawn together at the bar like flies to a corpse. I clink my glass against Rude's and toss the drink back with a grimace. My skin's coated in a thin, sticky film of sweat, both from the alcohol and the heat of the day. Reno crosses his legs, shoes off and hands clutching his ankles as he leans back, stretching. Giggling when he belts out a line of the song that's quietly playing over the speakers, Elena loosens a button on her jacket and sinks further into her cushion on the floor. I take Reno's shot for him, trying not to relive the whole "You're mine, Kitty Kat" ordeal.

"I needed this," Elena admits with a satisfied sighed. Rude nods, his bald head beaded with sweat. He glances up at the paddled fans that spin at a lazy speed on the ceiling.

"Wish it was cooler."

"Just pretend it's a sauna," Reno murmurs, closing his eyes and motioning for the bartender to refill his glass. "Sweatin' all the drinks off."

I raise an eyebrow, leaning back on my palms. "I don't think that's advised." Chuckling, Reno peeks open an eye.

"Sweetheart, nothing I do is advised."

"Uh huh."

"Y-you?!" Elena leaps to her feet, nearly toppling over. She grabs hold of Rude's shoulder to catch herself, red in the face as she stares at the door. "How'd you get here?!"

I turn to see Cid Highwind, Tifa, and Barret in the doorway of the bar, looking just as surprised as us. Elena continues to sputter and I sigh, shooting Reno a look. He doesn't seem to notice, staring hard at his glass. It's almost like he's pouting.

"Nevermind that!" Elena stumbles over the floor cushions and reaches for her gun. The trio of Avalanche members eyes her, unfazed. Cid looks ready to laugh. "I guess it's fate that brought us here together. Get ready to die!"

Reno sighs, setting his glass down on the table. "Elena, you talk too much."

"W-what?!" Elena turns to stare at him in disbelief. "Reno—"

"What are we doing way out here in the middle of nowhere?" he demands, staring right back. I stifle a smile, glancing at Rude. He shakes his head, refusing to look back at Avalanche. Oh, right. Tifa's here.

"Taking a vacation and resting up from work," Elena answers in an exceptionally matter-of-fact tone. She really doesn't get it.

"And now our vacation's ruined."

"B-but—"

"Even the booze tastes bad now," he huffs, sliding the glass my way. I roll my eyes, taking a drink and shooting Cid a wink.

"Poor Re Re," I mutter into the cup, taking a long drink.

"… Sorry." Elena steps back and slowly sinks back onto her cushion, sulking.

"Drink up, Rude," Reno continues, throwing his head back as he rambles. Not quite drunk, but definitely not sober. "How long've we been a team? Bein' a Turk's shit at times, but all in all, I'm glad I did it."

"Oh boy, he's getting sentimental," I tease. He shoves my shoulder, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, Kitty. Jus' sayin', I got to meet a buncha wingnuts like you, Rudie."

"Round?" a worker asks, holding up another platter of glasses. Gods, our bill's gonna be enormous.

"Hell yeah."

"To the Turks!" Elena chirps, trying to lift the mood. I glance back to see that Avalanche is continuing to stare, quite interested in this little slice of Shinra they never get to see.

"And Reno," Rude adds under his breath. Reno winks at his partner, clinking their glasses together and tossing the drink back.

Elena turns back to Avalanche. "You're lucky alright. Get outta my sight! Next time I see you, I won't be so nice."

"Shut up, Lenie." Reno raises an eyebrow, grinning at me. "You haven't had enough, Kitty. More for everyone!"

"Slow down, Re," I laugh, shaking my head. "I'll take you up on that a little later."

Not five minutes later, a young soldier bursts through the door, doubled over and gasping for air. His blue uniform is nearly blinding in the neutral colors of the bar. This isn't gonna end well. Reno looks bummed again already.

"He is here!" he cries. "We've finally found the Don! Get the Turks here for backup!"

Elena springs to her feet, still a little unsteady, and hurries toward him. Reno heaves a depressed sigh, shaking his head.

"… What a drag."

"W-what was that?" the soldier asks, confused.

"We're off duty right now. Can't save your sorry asses."

"We know you're off duty, but—"

"If you knew, you shouldn't have bothered us. Lookin' at you's makin' me sober."

"But you all have orders from HQ to look for him too!" None of us reply and he huffs, standing straighter. "Alright, fine! We'll get him without any help from the Turks, you'll see!" He runs through the exit, but returns moments later. "And don't think HQ won't hear about this!"

"Wait!" Elena cries, steadying herself on Rude's back again. Huffing, she turns back to Reno. "Reno, do you think that was really such a good idea? I mean, is that the way a professional—a Turk—would act?"

I snort, choking on my drink. Reno laughs, thumping a hand down on my back. It only makes me cough harder, eyes watering from the burning in my nose.

"Elena, don't misunderstand. Those who sacrifice themselves for a job aren't professionals. Those're just idiots."

"I applaud your wisdom," Rude mutters, sending another grin across Reno's face.

"Rude?" Elena squeaks, genuinely upset.

"…"

"Well, I don't buy that! Goodbye!" Elena marches out the door, face red and filled with determination. She looks like an angry toddler.

"Relax." Reno leans his elbows forward onto the table, eyeing Rude as he watches her go. "She's not a child. Let 'er have her way."

"Yeah, well, she can't go alone. She'll do something stupid." I stand, straightening my shirt. "You guys have fun."

"No, not you," Reno groans, slumping.

"Spend some one-on-one time with your partner," I laugh, patting his back as I step past. "Me 'n Elena'll kick that perv's ass. Sound good?"

"Whatever," he grumbles, pouting again.

"So moody," I scoff, shooting Rude a wave and hurrying out the door. Definitely not sober. "Elena, wait up!"

"I'm going after him no matter what!" she snaps, scowling at me over her shoulder.

"I'm coming with!"

Finally, she stops, blinking at me. "Wait, you are? Why?"

"Well, someone's gotta help you make a name for yourself."

She smiles at that, nodding and leading the way toward the pagoda across town. The bumpy stone path is littered with tall grass and vibrant flowers. Tourist shops are wide open, calling for us to look at their wares. Some stop once they realize we're Shinra. I take a deep breath of the clean air, unfazed. That was Tseng and Taavi's first falling out—Shinra versus Wutai.

"He's in here," Elena says, motioning for me to follow her into a crawlspace. Down here? How would he fit?

"Let's get this asshole," I huff, ducking under the frame and straightening once we're inside the dark room.

Before we can get far, an arm crushes my body back into someone much stronger and a hand clamps down over my mouth. By instinct, I grab hold of the arm and bite down on the palm. For a moment, it leaves and I start to yell for Elena only to see that a tall man in black's holding her down, too. The next time the hand returns, there's a cloth. Everything screams for me to hold my breath, but he hits me hard enough to knock the wind from my lungs, forcing me to gasp for air. Oh gods…

"Get me down!"

Startled, I open my eyes, completely disoriented when I see nothing but blue. For a moment, I don't understand. But, upon realizing I'm looking at the skyline of Wutai and I can't move my arms or legs, I see that I'm hung far over Wutai. What?

"Two Turkies and a princess. So hard to choose!"

"Oh gods…" Elena groans, waking slowly.

"Gross-ness!" a girl squeals. I turn my head to see a young woman tied to my right, squirming against her bonds and scowling at the Don through the short hair that's stuck to her sweaty face. Why does she look so familiar?

"Is this that statue in the mountains?" I ask Elena.

Corneo answers me instead, wiggling his fat body in delight. "Of course it is, chickie! A smart lady!"

"Ew." I crinkled my nose. "I'll accept anything except chickie."

"Fiesty!" he cries, giggling with childish glee. Elena and I exchange disgusted looks. "I know who my next wifey will be!" With a twirl and a twist of his curled, blonde mustache, the Don spreads his arms wide and draws them together to point his fingers at me. "This firecracker of a lady!"

"Ew!" the girl shrieks.

I roll my eyes. "Gross."

"Stop right there!" a woman cries. I turn my head to see the Avalanche trio heading down one side of the statue to stand on its hand. "Let them go!"

"Not you again!" the Don cries, stumbling backward. "I'd only just picked—"

"Lay off, perv," I snap, getting a headache from all his squealing.

"Tifa, I'm so sorry!" the girl whines, squirming. "Let me down!" Oh, right. It's Yuffie.

"Not so fast!" Don Corneo raises his fat palms as Avalanche begins to draw their weapons. "You want me to drop them?" He pulls a switch from his pocket and presses a button before tossing it over the cliff. Slowly, we begin to turn upside down. "Whoopsie!"

"You're fucking joking," I huff, trying my hardest to keep my shirt from rolling up over my face.

"Hey!" Yuffie protests. "Not cool!"

"You have a tramp stamp?!" Elena cries.

"We don't talk about it," I snap, feeling my faces start to get red. Whether it's from embarrassment or from hanging over Wutai by my ankles, I'll never know.

"It's a dragon, Kat," she hisses.

"Yeah, I'm fully fuckin' aware."

"Is it Leviathan?"

"Does it matter?"

"I don't—"

A slender wyvern swoops down toward the Don when he opens his arms, turning to face Avalanche. What, is that his pet? Cid almost kills the thing with one swing of his spear. Tifa raises her fists and rushes in to give it the same beating she gave me weeks ago. I'm so invested in watching them trash the pathetic creature that I almost don't see Reno and Rude watching on the other side of the statue's head, smugly waiting for Avalanche to do the hard work for them. This is their vacation, after all. I can't help but smile, shaking my head. Should've known they'd come for us.

It's not long before the wyvern swoops away, sending the Don tumbling over the edge of the statue's hand. He just barely catches himself on the edge with a cry, dangling hundreds of feet over the city. Reno takes that as his cue, jumping the gap and resting his rod on his shoulder with that haughty look he wears so well plastered on his face. Hardly sparing us a glance, he turns and crushes the Don's fingers beneath his shoe, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got a question for ya, Don, since you can't seem to keep your eyes off my girl." Stupid fucker, I think as I struggle to suppress a smile. "Why're we stopping you? A: We hate you; B: we care about the ninja; C: we're bored."

"Uh… Uh…" Corneo begins to sweat, eyes flickering between mine and Reno's as if I suddenly have an obligation to save him because he chose me to be his next plaything. I raise an eyebrow, waiting. "The first one."

Reno's lips twist into a menacing smile and he twists the toe of his shoe, twisting the Don's fingers for good measure. "Wrong." With a kick, he sends the fat fucker falling to his death. I cringe when his scream stops echoing up toward us. Satisfied, Reno turns back to face Avalanche. "The answer?"

"Because it's our job," Rude finishes, glancing up at me.

"Aw, thanks guys!" Elena chirps with a smile.

Yuffie starts to squirm again, whining. "Let me down!"

Reno cocks his head to the side, grinning up at me. "Been a while since I've seen that one, babe."

"Shut up."

"Help me get the brat down, Teef," Cid says, dropping his spear onto the stone and shedding his denim jacket. Everything halts when Reno's phone rings. He answers it with a sigh, staring out at the horizon.

"Yeah, whatever. You bet. Mhm." When he hangs up, he looks back at Rude. "We've got new orders to find Avalanche." Tifa raises her fists on instinct. "But," Reno continues, "we're on vacation."

"My head's gonna explode!" Yuffie sobs.

"Shut up or I'll fucking skewer ya!" Cid snaps.

"A little help?" I plead.

Reno shakes his head, nodding toward Elena. "We're gettin' her down first to stay outta their way."

"Re!" He ignores me and I slump back against the wall. "I hate you."

Reno and Rude have a hard time getting Elena down, so Cid winds up being the person to help me down, with some assistance from Tifa. The pilot offers a cigarette and we puff away as we watch Reno struggle to undo Elena's rope.

"Goin' alright with you guys?" I ask, making a point of refusing to look at Tifa or Barret.

"Good as it can. Heard about Cloud?"

"Yeah. Sucks."

"Yeah." Cid chuckles, shaking his head. "Good luck to y'all. Looks like those numbskulls might need your help."

"Don't they always?" I sigh, stomping on the butt of the smoke and shoving my hands into my pockets. I'll let them suffer a little longer.