"Kat?"

"Shit, sorry." I take a deep breath, sick to my stomach. "I just…"

"Did you see something?"

"Yeah." I twist my hands together. "Something pretty disturbing." Gods, is that real? I know it is, though, because I can feel it. Mom's hatred, Tseng's protection, all that blood… it's so familiar.

"What was it?"

"I—" I laugh, still in shock. "I killed a little girl and her father out of jealousy." Rude frowns. "Not what you were looking for?"

"No."

"Me either." My stomach churns and I turn back around, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't want my dad's "fucked up genes?" What did she mean by that? "Rude, what was Reno upset about?"

"… You killed his father."

"His what?" I frown. The word doesn't fit with Reno at all. In fact, imagining him with a family is an incredibly foreign image in my mind. He's always been on his own, hasn't he? Apparently not.

"Not by blood," Rude mutters, pulling his shades off his face to wipe off a smudge. "He was left on the front steps of the church in Sector Five in the night and the minister found him the next morning. Took him in as his own."

My heart sinks. "I've never heard this." Guess we were both hiding things from each other.

"The minister was killed when Reno was fourteen."

"And that was my fault?"

"Yeah." He pauses to tug on his gloves. "At least, that's what I heard from Tseng and Reno."

"Why didn't he remember it was me?"

"Tseng said you were covered in blood and soot when you were apprehended. Unrecognizable."

"Why did he tell you and not me?"

"To avoid confusion." Rude slides his glasses back on, hiding his eyes. "But now that you're remembering… I don't see the problem."

I stand, brushing at the wrinkles in my clothes and pressing my lips together. For a moment, we stand in silence as we process the information that was exchanged. Katie… Why can I remember her name but not the rest of the family's? Shaking my head, I look down at Rude.

"I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Be careful."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Once I leave, though, I decide to give Reno a little more time. He's probably still taking care of that bullet wound. Instead, I head back to Reeve's. No one answers when I knock, so I let myself in. Empty. Frowning, I wander inside, staring up at the diagrams on the walls. Guy's pretty good when it comes to envisioning developments for Midgar. I snort. Of course he is. He's the fucking head of development.

For a moment, I consider calling Tseng to process the whole Katie situation. I want to hear him tell me it's not real. But he's on duty… If he's still inside the Temple, then I won't be able to reach him. Chewing my lip, I turn to Reeve's computer. Well… I won't stay for long.

I sit down quickly, pulling Reeve's headphones on. Only one Cait Sith is on, his eyes directed at an enormous crater in the ground. The Temple? I clear my throat and turn on the mic.

"Hang on, guys." Barret, the enormous gunman, turns to scowl at me. "Tseng was in the Temple. Where'd he go?"

"What, gotta know for your bullshit news?" he demands. Tifa sighs, shaking her head.

"Vincent?" A tall man in a long, tattered cape lifts his eyes, frowning before he looks at Cait.

"He was killed. By Sephiroth."

"How?" I demand, my heart beginning to pound. There's no fucking way.

"He was stabbed," Aerith replies, her eyes soft and sad. "We found him at the entrance. He was alive then, but… I don't think he made it out. He couldn't move." She cocks her head to the side. "Don't you remember?"

It's true.

And, as if my situation couldn't have gotten any worse, Reeve walks into the room at that very moment. I tear the headphones off and stand, caught red-handed. He freezes, but he knows what I'm angry about. I cross the room just to shove him, my eyes stinging and my heart aching.

"When were you going to tell me?" I demand.

"Kat, I didn't want—"

"You were gonna wait until I heard it from somewhere else!"

"I'm sorry—"

"No, you're fucking not." I push my hair out of my face, tugging it in an effort to feel anything but my suffocating panic. "Please tell me it's not true, Reeve."

"Kat…"

"Fuck this," I huff, pushing past him to get out the door.

I can't explain why it hurts so much. He hated me. But here I am, running back home with my eyes stinging, unable to catch a breath of air without my throat squeezing. Amelia stops to greet me, but I can't bring myself to look at her, charging into the stairwell and running to my apartment. Reno closes his door behind me, frowning as I fumble with my keys. Frustrated, I grit my teeth and kick the door before trying again, two tears dripping from my chin to my shirt.

"Whoa, hey, calm down."

Reno takes the keyring from my hands and twists the right one in my lock. I can't bring myself to thank him, ashamed to let him see me in such a wreck. So instead, I ignore his touch on my shoulder, take my keys, and slam the door in his face.

"Fuck," I choke out, resting my elbows on the counter and pressing my palms to my forehead. Why him of all goddamn people? I pull my phone out of my pocket, searching for any notice of his death. Nothing. Why hasn't Elena said anything? I huff. Because she's probably torn up about losing her crush.

Selfish. She'll die.

That mere whisper is all it takes for me to pull down a bottle and start guzzling. I can't see anything but Katie's mangled body and my mother's anguish. Tseng… He always cleaned up after me. I wonder if he ever cared about me. I shake my head, choking on a sob. I doubt it.

It's not long before I can't feel. I can't see, stand, or think either. Perfect. I take one last swing from the bottle, draining it dry, and drop it in the trash. Sloppily, I scrub at my face to wipe up a few drops that spilled over, stumbling toward my couch for support. I can't hear the voices anymore. Good. I toss my third cigarette onto the tile. So fuckin' lonely… Rude's probably asleep, Reno's pissed off at me, and Tseng's… I choke on the air, digging my nails into the fabric of my sofa.

At the time, it didn't seem like a bad idea. I don't have much else to do and I have to get my rod before I find myself in a fight without any way to defend myself. I stagger my way down the long hall to a door Reno once showed me—the door of Rufus Shinra's abode. I laugh when I trip, stumbling into the wall before I knock a few times. I don't get a response, so I knock again, desperate to retrieve my weapon and to maybe even have a conversation. But I know I'm lying to myself. The truth comes free when the door finally opens and Rufus frowns down at me, turning the rod over and over in his hands.

"Thinkin' about me?" I ask, unable to stop smiling. He frowns.

"Are you drunk?"

"Not really."

"You're not even standing."

"I'm fine," I huff, letting go of the doorframe and staggering a bit before catching myself and keeping my balance. "Answer the question." Rufus glances down at the rod, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind before he looks back up.

"Yes, I was."

Grinning, I take hold of the rod in his hands and press my lips to his in a sloppy kiss. He only pulls away when I close the door behind me, frowning. Full of uncertainty.

"Kat, you need to go home."

"Don't wanna," I mutter, hardly able to keep my eyes open. To hide it, I kiss him again.

"Kat—"

"I know what I'm doing," I insist, undoing the button on his pristine white jacket. He frowns for the six hundredth time and I pull him back down. "I promise. I know."

"I don't—"

"Don't lie to me," I continue, prying my weapon from his hands and dropping it to the floor before pulling him closer. "I know you want this."

"I—"

Rufus-fear-me-I'm-perfect-Shinra at a total loss for words. I snicker and quiet him again. This time, he doesn't resist. This time, I won't be alone. I trip over my own feet on my way further into his house, shaking my head and laughing at my idiocy. I'm quick to lean back into him, tugging at his clothes.

"I'm okay." I laugh, pushing my fingers through his messy, messy hair and dragging him deeper. I'm okay.