What…

It can't be…

Why?

What went wrong? Just a few days ago, everything was terrific. I had my work, I was fine with it. Then Kairi, now this…Sephiroth Valentine person.

This…is it punishment?

The Third Day: Morning

Waking and staring at his ceiling, Sora realized he couldn't make it out properly. Was something wrong with his eyes? Normally, he was able to discern nearly everything around him.

What had happened last night? He couldn't remember. He supposed that Kairi and Roxas were dead, and the obscene amount of money would soon be sent to his door, and he and Cloud would have something kickass in celebration. Like Peking duck. Damn, Peking duck was good.

As Sora straightened up in his bed, his vision still hadn't cleared. Shaking his head, blinking, and rubbing his eyes did nothing to alleviate the blurriness, it only made the problem worse. As he tried to piece together what might have happened to his eyes, he dressed and tried to place what exactly he was feeling.

Heh. Been a while since I've felt like this. It was a feeling of emptiness, a hollow sensation that Sora always called "dread," because he couldn't think of a better word. It was similar to the emptiness that one feels in times of hunger, but it was deeper than that. It wasn't the body's hunger, but that of consciousness. It only really happened to him when he was feeling exceptionally depressed about something. But what was there to be sad about?

Knowing that Cloud, Yuffie, and Larxene would be worried if he came out looking unhappy, he tried his hardest to smile, still unsure of what it was that was making his vision blurry.

He walked jauntily out of his room to find Yuffie and Cloud waiting for him on the couch. "Morning!" he said and grinned winningly. They looked at him oddly, and Sora was almost sure that he saw…could that be anger in their eyes? But in an instant it was gone, and they both smiled back, though a bit hesitantly.

"Morning, Sora," Cloud greeted, and glanced at Yuffie.

Yuffie nodded and greeted him too. "So…where's Larxene?"

A look of confusion came across Sora's face. Why wasn't Larxene with Yuffie? Had she gone somewhere earlier? And if she had, why would Sora know? "I don't know. Why would I?"

Though his eyesight was still not perfect, Sora could see the anger in Yuffie's posture as she leapt up, shoved Cloud aside as he tried to hold her back, and lunged at him, gripping his shirt tightly. "Because you were the last person who fucking saw her and you refused to tell me where she was last night! So answer me now and tell me where the fuck she is!"

Larxene…is…

Yuffie anger flickered as she looked in Sora's eyes. She let go of his shirt and backed away slowly, fearfully. "You're crying." She said matter-of-factly, though the horror in her voice was evident. "You're actually crying."

"I am not," Sora denied as he raised his hand to his eyes to prove it. As he did so though, he realized Yuffie was right: his face was damp with tears, and he had obviously been crying in his sleep. The tears were what had made his vision blurry.

"Sora…please, Sora, I don't want to die…"

"Sora, please…I didn't want to die like this."

"Sora, I'm cold."

"Tell Yuffie…I'm sorry…and that I love her."

"I'm cold."

He started crying anew as he remembered. The lovely woman who knew cruelty and love was gone. "Yuffie…" Sora said through his sobs. "She said she was sorry."

Yuffie had backed up into the couch and had sat down, her eyes wide and unblinking with shocked disbelief. "No," she whispered.

"She said to tell you that she loved you."

"It can't be…"

"Yuffie…" Cloud murmured as he moved to comfort her.

"No!" she screamed as she punched Cloud in the mouth. He reeled back more in surprise than pain. "You're lying! Larxene just went home because she got too tired! I'll go and meet her there!"

"Yuffie, Larxene's not waiting for you there," Sora said. "She's dead. She was killed by a-"

But Yuffie had already run out the door faster than either man could stop her. They heard her footsteps echo outside in the hallway, but realized there was no point in trying to stop her.

"Who did it?" Cloud asked hoarsely after a minute of silence.

"A man with-"

"Wait," Cloud stopped him with a raised hand, and Sora obligingly fell silent. "Don't tell me. Because if you do, I'll search the city for everyone that resembles this bastard, and kill them all."

Sora knew he was being serious, and nodded.

Cloud sighed and peered at nothing. "I just can't believe she's gone."

"I know," Sora agreed. "My alibi is fine. I stepped out from dinner and came back to find her dying. People saw me go into her office earlier in the day, and since I didn't have a sword on me then, they won't think I did it."

Cloud nodded at first, then turned his head towards Sora slowly. "Maybe 'they' won't believe it…but what if you did?"

"What?"

"Was she getting too nosy for her own good?" Cloud drew himself up to his full height and glared maniacally at Sora. "Did she know too much? Does Yuffie? Do I, Mr. Hika-"

Sora had no hesitation about smacking Cloud across his face. "Don't be an idiot. I loved Larxene just like I love Yuffie, and like I love you. And didn't you hear me? I said she was killed with a sword. Have you ever seen me use a sword?"

Cloud was quiet for a few seconds, feeling the stinging pain on his face start to dissipate. "No," he replied. "I'm sorry. It's just…it doesn't seem real."

"I know," Sora said and directed his gaze at the floor. "Her will said she didn't want a funeral. Her belongings go to Yuffie, but Yuffie's a minor, so I guess she has to go back to her family. The ashes are split between the three of us."

Cloud nodded. "Yuffie's family might not want her back."

"I don't see what else she can do. Larxene's family certainly wants nothing to do with her. Maybe one of us should be her guardian."

"Maybe, yeah."

Silence.

"You…said this man used a sword?"

"Yeah. It was really long, looked like around six feet."

Cloud thought hard. "A sword…I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

Cloud sat down on the couch where he had been sitting earlier. "Sora, I know you told me about Ansem, but did I ever tell you what set me on this path?"

"No," Sora said, sitting down as well. Maybe this will distract me from Larxene.

"I was married once." Seeing Sora's surprise, he laughed. "And that's not the real shocker of this story. But yeah, I had a wife. We'd only been married for around a year when we were walking home from a restaurant, and saw a man brutally murder another man with a sword. We were horrified, but we kept quiet. The man with the sword heard us, though, and he killed Aeris…killed my wife.

"I'll always remember," he continued, shuddering, "the happy expression he had as he did it. At least it was quick, at least there was that. One cut from that sword, and she was dead. He looked at me then, just looked at me, with this smug look on his face. When I asked why he didn't kill me too, he just shrugged and walked away. After the police investigation was over, it really hit me that I was alone. I tried to kill myself, but it didn't work."

Cloud tapped the side of his head and smiled grimly. "You ever wonder why I act strange sometimes? Why I talk to myself and play songs for hours? It was the brain damage caused by the bullet that didn't kill me. It's about a one in a million chance, but it happens."

"Cloud…I'm sorry," said Sora, not knowing what else he could say. Cloud shrugged.

"It's okay, it happened a long time ago. I've accepted it. After that brush with the death, I started immersing myself in it. You know I've worked for a few different organizations before I met you, but it's only when I met up with you that I really felt like I was getting anywhere. Working with the police was useless, but if I had you, an assassin, with me, maybe I stood a chance of getting revenge."

"You think this might be the same man?"

"Could be. How many people know how to use swords properly anymore?" Cloud smirked. "Rumors I heard said that he was an assassin, and damn good one. He did a hell of a job in Japan a few years ago."

"What was it?"

"Remember the Prime Minister?"

"Holy fuck," Sora said in admiration. He was unaware that the old Prime Minister of Japan had even been assassinated: he, like most of the world, had assumed it was an accident. An incredibly gory and tragic accident, but an accident nonetheless.

"Yeah. His clients in Japan called him haryuu no hanakata."

Sora thought for a moment. "Angel with wings on one side?"

"Oh, maybe, but the translation I heard was 'the one-winged angel.'"

Both men sat in contemplation awhile. Finally Cloud spoke again. "So what are you going to do about Yamato?"

"Kill her," came the simple answer. "I'll spend today with her, I guess, and then tomorrow I'll do it."

"It's still not too late if you don't want to do it, you know."

"I know. But…this one last day. That's all I need. I need to…make peace with myself, and with her. Then it'll be over, and we can concentrate on finding Sephiroth, if he's still around by then."

"Sephiroth?" Cloud asked. "That's his name?"

"Sephiroth Valentine. That's what he said, at least."

"I'll see if I can find any info on him. Anyway, if you're planning on meeting Yamato, you should get going."

"Yeah. I'll see you later. If Yuffie comes back, tell her to stay here, and that I'm sorry."

"Of course. You don't need to tell me, I know you care about her as much as I do."

Sora walked out the door to go visit Kairi one last time.

"Thanks, Cloud."

Notes: I apologize for the long wait. Anyway, the story has once again picked up, and some very important happenings are afoot. The next chapter will most likely just be interaction between Kairi and Sora. And possibly Roxas whining.

Anyway, I'm glad that my last chapter got such strong reactions, and I'm very happy that many people seem to follow this story closely, and even go so far as to analyze parts of it. I love doing that to stories, or movies, or games, that I'm especially fond of. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, short as it was. Until next time, my friends!