"The hell?"

A loud thump sends a rumbling jolt through the door and knocks me forward. I blink away the bleariness of sleep, not entirely sure where I am for a moment until I see the glass wall of the shower across the room and feel the cold tule beneath my legs. Oh shit. Quickly, I get to my feet and the door flies open to reveal Reno, who stares back with an eyebrow raised.

"Did I interrupt something?"

"Uh, no." I yawn, looking at my face in the mirror and wincing my neck aches at the sudden turn.

"Were you sleeping?"

"Maybe."

"I always knew you were like a dog," he teases, standing behind me and making a face in the mirror. "Always sleepin' on the floor and barkin' at strangers."

"Yeah, sounds like me," I huff, heading back to the roof and closing the door behind me so he can pee in peace. Rude is nowhere to be seen and Elena's already dressed, ready to hit the skies and head back to Shinra HQ.

"Hey." She greets me with a smile despite the bruises on her nose from my elbow. I fall onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling and forcing myself to keep my eyes open.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

"Yeah?" I frown, lifting my head enough to see her. Reno steps out of the bathroom and I crinkle my nose. "You did not wash your hands."

"Nope," he grins, reaching toward my face. I cringe away from him.

"Ew. Get your penis fingers away from me."

"Mm, penis fingers."

Rude pauses in the doorway, not entirely sure what he's walked in on. Laughing, Reno taps my cheek and jumps back into his bed.

Elena clears her throat to redirect my attention. "Because there aren't many reasons for people to fall asleep on the bathroom floor."

"I didn't feel good," I lie, shrugging. Reno scoffs.

"Since when are you a lightweight?"

"Might be all the travel."

"Well, you better get used to it."

"I will."

We make it back to Shinra before noon, and left with little to do and no orders but to wait for Tseng and Rufus, we separate, heading to the executive wing of apartments. Reno lets me inside and I collapse on the couch, still tired.

"I'm not stayin' long," he warns, heading to his room to change. I shrug.

"That's fine. I'll bother Rude."

I stare hard at the blank television, wondering why Shinra built living quarters to begin with. Because the Turks are called back and forth so much? What about the ones that have other parts of their lives? I sigh, shaking my head. Most of the people that work for the Turks have no one else and they want nothing more than to forget. Then there are those like Elena that had nothing to lose but their dignity. A good life, a good upbringing, and a little friendly competition. Makes me sick. How can any normal person do this shit?

"Okay." Reno heads out of the hall in a suit I can't guarantee is clean, but it's cleaner than his other one. I stand, about to tease him about being a grown child, but the look on his face is serious.

"What's up?"

"Nothin', it's just…" He sighs, scratching at the back of his head and resting a hand on his hip. "Look, I wasn't gonna say anything, but…" Shrugging, he crosses his arms, watching me for my reaction. "I was awake last night when you woke up. You feelin' okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answer quickly, nervously chewing on my cheek. "I really just wasn't feeling good."

"You were throwing yourself around that bed," he points out, frowning.

"Didn't feel—"

"Good. Yeah, I got that." He shakes his head, flicking his wrist to extend his rod before contracting it again, a nervous tick. "This have anything to do with Rude?"

"Rude?"

"Y'know. What you talked to him about?"

"Reno, I told you—"

"Yeah, you lied to me," he snaps, jamming the rod back into his pocket and scowling at me. Shit. "Asked Rude about it. Said it was about you, not shitty fuckin' drama."

"It was about my drama."

"Okay, well, why can't I know?"

"Because." I huff, shaking my head. "Reno, if I'm not telling you, it's for a good reason, okay?"

"What, you're gonna protect me?" he mocks, heading toward the door.

"Reno—"

"Whatever, man. I gotta go."

"… Right."

I sigh and follow him into the hall, watching him walk off with his hands jammed in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. Shaking my head, I head a few doors down to Rude's place, guilty. I'm sorry. I wish I knew what it was I'm supposed to keep from you. He opens the door with a frown, shaking his head when I wordlessly step inside and plant my ass on his couch. Thankfully, he tucked Elixir away before opening the door.

"Did you need something?" he asks.

"… You remember what Marx said? About memories?"

"I remember what you said."

"Yeah." I sink lower in my seat, pressing my back into the couch cushions. "I got a really big one back last night. More like a dream than one of those little flashbacks." I shiver, goosebumps prickling up across my skin. "Rude, it was awful." He sighs, sitting a few seats down and resting his elbows on his knees.

"What was it?"

"I think… a hospital? I was thirteen, I know that much. And I wasn't allowed to memorize names or faces because 'they' said so." I rub my face with my hands. "Gods, I sound crazy."

"It was a memory?"

"Yes. I'm a hundred percent sure." Shaking my head, I rest my hands in my lap and force myself to take a deep breath. "They put me in a room with Tseng and he was ticked. He said their names and it changed me somehow—"

"Whose names?"

"My family. He started with my mother and then…" I press my lips together. "That doesn't matter. I completely lost it. I was choking him and screaming about gauging his eyes out and painting the walls with his blood… Rude, it makes me sick that that could be real."

"…" He frowns, touching his glasses. In the silence, Elixir yips and yaps, fraying our nerves. "You should stay away from him."

"Who?"

"Marx." He sits up, watching me through the dark lenses over his eyes. "Have you learned anything about him?"

"Sometimes I see him holding me down or hugging me… One time he kissed me." I crinkle my nose, shuddering with realization. Gods… "Fuck… Rude, I was only a kid. He was a grown-ass man…" My heart begins to pump harder and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin. Disgusted, I look up at him. "He said he loved me… Were we…? Did he…?" Rude nods, turning his gaze down to the floor.

"There was a considerable amount of charges against him that were dropped about ten years ago."

"For being a pedo?"

"For a lot of things."

"How do you know?"

"Tseng told me."

"What else did he say?" I demand, scooting forward on my seat to get closer. He shakes his head. "Rude, please. I need—"

"That's all I know, Kat."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

He stands to quiet his rat dog and I slump lower in my seat. Ten years… that's when he first erased my memories, right? I close my eyes, searching for answers. I could ask Marx, but know what he did… Ew. Who else could I ask? Tseng? That's a no-go. Marx is gross and I don't even know that woman was or where she is. Hojo. I sit upright. Holy chocobos. Hojo.

Just as I realize my next lead, the door swings open and Reno announces is presence, looking much calmer than when he left. He flings something in my direction and I flinch, squeezing my eyes shut when I catch it.

"What is this?" I frown, staring at it. "Oh shit!"

"Figured you could use somethin' better to fight with," he teases. "Same model as mine, so you know how to use it."

"Thanks!"

I laugh, genuinely surprised when I extend the rod and stare at the pointed end where electricity would crackle if I were to touch the button by my thumb. Reno doesn't answer, digging through Rude's cabinets until he finds a large glass bottle. Rude raises an eyebrow upon entering the kitchen, but he doesn't say anything.

"So, Rude, how's the rat?"

"Irritating as ever," he grumbles, peeling the lid off an instant ramen cup and filling it with water. Reno laughs, shaking his head and pouring his drink into one of Rude's glasses. I stand, not wanting to be left out. "I need a woman."

"I feel ya," Reno grins, leaning back against the counter and taking a sip. I place my hands on my hips, frowning.

"Guys, I'm a woman."

"Not the kind we need," Reno shakes his head. "Need a hot one that doesn't mind cookin' and cleanin'."

"Ignoring the hot part, I don't think I'm your girl."

"That's what I said." He laughs. "And you're not hot."

"Excuse me!" I protest, crossing my arms. "Rude?"

"… No comment."

"Rude!" I push his shoulder. Unfortunately, I do so while he's pulling his ramen from the microwave, knocking the bowl from his hands and splashing piping hot water all over his pants and across my arms.

"Fuck," I hiss, hurrying to the sink to run water over my skin. It's already an angry shade of red. Reno cackles behind me. "Where'd Rude go?"

"You burned his dick, man!" he howls, throwing his head back. "With soup!"

"Sorry," I wince, praying Rude can feel my apology from the other room.

"Come here," Reno laughs, beckoning for me to join him by the counter. In his hand, he holds a glowing orb of materia.

"Where'd you get that?"

"It's Rude's."

"Well then let him use it!"

"Kat," he snickers, shaking his head. "C'mon, let me."

"He's right there," I nod, continuing to hold my stinging arm under the running water. Rude comes back around the corner, frowning down at the large, wet spot down the front of his clothing.

"Reno," he calls, raising his hand. Laughing, his partner tosses him the materia.

"Yeah, yeah." The redhead sets his half-empty cup on the counter and wanders into the hallway to an unknown location. Shaking my head, I down his glass, mutter an apology to Rude, and head out the door. Time to find Hojo.

"What do you mean he quit?!" I demand, slamming his hand down on Reeve's desk. Reeve flinches away, frowning at me over the top of his computer screen. "Reeve, this is important!"

"I don't doubt that, Kat, but I can't help that he resigned." He adjusts the front of his suit jacket and sighs. "He said some things about Sephiroth when he left, but that's as much as I know."

"I don't give a shit about what he was mumbling about on the way out the door. I need to know where he went." I huff, tugging at my hair and turning to face the wall in his dark office. Sharply, I turn back. "Don't you have his phone number or something?"

"Why do you need him so badly?" Reeve counters, raising an eyebrow.

"Turk shit."

"I may only be the head of Urban Development, but I know what Turks do and what they don't. They don't get mixed up with Hojo's projects unless specifically announced by President Shinra, and only under special circumstances."

"What?" I grit my teeth, hitting my hands on his desk again. He scoots back, eyeing me with a frown.

"They don't involve themselves with personal business, Kat. Turks don't beg me for contact information."

"I'm not begging."

"Alright…" He strokes his goatee down into a point, brown eyes glancing about the room as he thinks. "I can try to find a number, but I doubt he'll answer. I need you to answer a question in return, though."

"Okay…?"

"I got a little curious, I admit," he shrugs, cocking his head to the side. "And I couldn't find the name Kat anywhere in previous Turk trainee records. You're nowhere within Shinra's records before now, actually."

"Okay, and?" I demand, my heart beginning to pound.

"I was, however, able to narrow you down after searching through Tseng's family relations—"

"What the hell?" I groan, hitting his desk a third time. "Reeve, this is none of your business, got it? My family matters have absolutely nothing to do with you."

"Yes, well—"

"Well nothing. You go sniffing around again and I'll hurt you."

"Will you?" he raises an eyebrow. "I doubt that will turn out well—"

"Literally no one likes you!" I shout, leaning closer to his face.

Reeve frowns, his eyes turning back to his computer screen as he takes a deep breath. A meek knock on the door breaks the tense silence and I turn to see his assistant in the doorway, her knuckles raised to the open door. She clears her throat, eyebrows raised.

"I'm sorry. Is this a bad time?"

"Make it quick," Reeve mutters. I step back, crossing my arms and refusing to look at her.

"It's nothing much, sir. There are just a few budget things you need to sign before Scarlet can begin her work." She hands the folder over and smooths her skin.

"Thank you. I'll have them to you later."

"Alright." She gives me a once over with an arched eyebrow before heading out the door and closing it softly behind her. When I start to follow her, Reeve stops me.

"You didn't stay for my question."

"What?" I snap, impatient and disappointed. "Ask the damn question, Reeve."

"What happened to the psychiatric institution in Sector Two?"

"I don't know."

With that, I'm gone, hurrying back to the only place I know to go: Reno.