The Unspoken Truth:
The thinker. Kunsel's POV
It never crossed his mind that it would be the last time he'd ever see Zack again.
Kunsel was always the cool, timid type. The type that thinks with his head. In the worst of situations, he could come up with miracles. He was the type that fitted every group. Despite his ridiculous obsession with always having to cover his face with something, Kunsel never stood out. Zack on the other hand glowed like a blue flame.
A shrivel of pain sent his grip knocked loose and his sword flying. Zack's buster sword froze only mere inches from his throat. His breathing tensed and his body weakened. Unwillingly he raised his hands in defeat. "How many times had that been?" Kunsel forced out a stiffened laugh while making a precarious note in his head to beware of his friend's ridiculous strength. He peeped behind his back where the sword had flung to, there was no way he could retrieve it in time and smoothly finish Zack off before that buster sword stabs him where it hurts.
"Every time buddy, every time." Zack stretched as he withdrew his sword and re-equipped the heavy blade with a clunk. His arms folded in a victorious stance and his face broadened with his typical old fashioned smirk, "Your treat. Again."
Sighing, Kunsel gave a faint nod and reached for his cell phone. The 'friendly' training session was up and no matter how many times they fight, his brain could never match up to Zack's muscles in combat. Rather than risking his neck at the front lines, Kunsel preferred working at the back and being the ultimate master mind. As their last session before Zack heads out to the Nibelheim mission, Kunsel had asked for Zack to give a show of his true ability as SOLDIER First Class. No doubt it was a lesson well learned.
"One meal, that's all" Kunsel insisted.
"Aww man, come'on. That's not like what you said before?"
Ignoring Zack's puppy-like whining, Kunsel laughed it off and shivered at the thought of the bills. For only God knows how much appetite that man has. He recalled when he lost the fight before; Zack ate until his wallet bled. It was neither a pretty sight nor a pretty experience to live on pure Ramen noodles for the next two months.
"Fine man." Zack grunted and obviously displeased, "You know I don't think I've actually won that round."
"Why do you say that?"
Scratching his head like a child, Zack looked as if he was being bashful. Him; Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class blushing like a damsel. Kunsel made another mental note that this was something to secretly laugh about in the future.
In an irritated voice, Zack spoke, "Well, you see. Every time I tried to aim for yer helmet and every time you managed to avoid the blow. Trust me, I really wanted to see what you changed into after so many years covered by that cap thing. Ahah. I mean isn't it hot and stuffy in Summer? But funnily I've never seen you taken it off."
Kunsel smiled. Shinra helmets were built to withstand heat and cold. They were made out of the most elite materials and were manufactured precisely in order to undergo the severity of SOLDIER trainings. It was pretty god damned useful in some situations and plus it saved him losing a couple millions of brain cells before. Of course Zack never wore one. He simply refused to 'suffocate in that uncool looking hat'.
"Buddy you there?" Zack asked with a worried face, "I didn't hit you dumb did I? Strange, I never even managed to touch your head!"
Instead of giving a direct reply, Kunsel simply gave a wave of his hand as he walked out the door. There was no need to explain the existence of the helmet. It wasn't there to look cool. The helmet just became a part of him in order to survive Shinra. Everybody knew that Shinra was run by the greed of a bunch of weak-kneed men in suits. The helmet veiled his expressions, his detest and his resentment against world. It was his cocoon and his shield in his time of trouble. In the worst of situations when his brain tried to squeeze out miracles, it hid his anxiety. In the best of situations when he felt overwhelmed, it hid his tears. Kunsel knew how important it was to protect himself with a thick layer of fake skin in a throat-cutting world. Zack was totally clueless. But that was how they become good friends anyways. The pair with the brains and the muscles. He just got to leave the rest for Zack to figure it out since some things can never be fully explained.
"Oi! Where you're going?" Zack shouted in the background.
Still smiling, Kunsel calmly responded. "To food. You're coming or no?"
"Hell yeah I am!"
Everything was going as normal. Training, dinner, sleep then a newer day tomorrow. Kunsel thought about the small rural village of Nibelheim Zack was heading off to. According to the information he obtained a while ago but never thoroughly examined, there were strange tales regarding the Mako Reactor there. Strange sightings and disappearances. Somehow an eccentric sensation told him that it was only the night before the snowstorm.
'Hmmm…', Kunsel murmured quietly and made another silent note.