Kunsel stood there for a moment, staring down the hall after the Turk trainee and the cadet. They were certainly a mismatched pair, but apparently they got along. Somehow. The helmeted SOLDIER couldn't exactly understand how such a quiet and serious kid like Cloud seemed to be could stand the craziness incarnate.

Zack had introduced him to Reno a while ago. He didn't exactly like the kid, but he seemed nice enough, in an annoying sort of way. Kind of like Zack, except even less mature, if that was possible. Kunsel could see why the two were friends.

Sighing, Kunsel slowly turned, dredging himself out of his thoughts. There were more productive things to think about, like the interrogation. He hadn't been anywhere near comfortable with it, considering the topic. Yes, he had seen the message on Cloud's PHS, but the kid was surely too young to have done, well, anything. When he was twelve, he had been worried about if he would be able to keep his friends, not planning a coup, or whatever Angeal was suspecting him of. In his opinion, the First Class was getting a little too paranoid. Kunsel couldn't really blame him though. With all that Mako, the guy could probably hear people whispering three floors away.

The wall slid open next to the door to the interrogation room and Angeal stepped out. The older SOLDIER had been watching the entire thing through part of the wall that acted as a two way mirror. "So," Kunsel asked patiently, "what did you think?"

Angeal looked at him searchingly before shaking his head. "I don't know," the man replied, and Kunsel could sense a little confusion in his voice. "He's either a really good actor, or a bad liar. Not only that, but he kept contradicting himself. Not in what he said, but how he said it. By the way he was responding to your questions today, I had to almost completely change my opinion of his personality. The last time we interacted, he had seemed somewhat compassionate towards his childhood friend, if no one else. Reno said that Strife frequently protected another cadet named Ian from him. But just now he seemed, cold, apathetic, maybe even nervous."

Kunsel nodded and threw out a salute and a "Until later, sir." Before turning around and marching back to his room. He had a lot to think about.

"Hey, Kunsel!"

The SOLDIER Third groaned and rolled over to face the back of the couch, bringing his hand up to shelter his eyes just in case his roommate did anything… idiotic. It was definitely a possibility, considering who it was.

Suddenly the cushions he was lying tilted and started wobbling wildly before the whole thing finally crashed over and went rolling off the back of the overturned couch and onto the floor. The very cold, very hard floor.

"Zack, I am not paying for anything you break," Kunsel muttered as he opened his eyes, his limbs spread wide. Somehow he had managed to land face up with his weight spread evenly across his body. Doubtless if he had his friend's luck he would have somehow managed to get a concussion.

"Yeah, yeah," Zack responded, brushing off the threat with ease. "Hey, you wanna go out with Cloud and me? We're thinkin' of wandering around Sector 6 or 7 or something. I've really only been around 8, so I figure it's time to go exploring."

Kunsel went to decline, thinking that another session of Zack's 'wandering around' so soon after the last one was the last thing he needed. He was tired of paying for the damage, and SOLDIER Thirds got paid less than the public assumed they did. He was just glad food and lodging came with the job, otherwise he would be broke by now. Then again, if Cloud was going…

If Cloud was going he was obligated to come along. The cadet was mysterious, a bit suspicious, and if nothing else interesting. He had decided before interrogating the boy that he would see this through, to almost any end. Even if he didn't believe Strife had malicious intentions, he owed it to his superior to take any chance he could to investigate the kid. "I'll go," Kunsel decided with a nod, hoping he wouldn't regret this later, "but I'm still not paying for anything. That includes all property damage, hospital bills, and the mountain of food you're sure to devour."

Zack grinned exuberantly and started rocking back slightly on his heels. His friend probably hadn't heard a word he had said after 'go', but that was to be expected, with Zack. Sometimes Kunsel wondered how the SOLDIER managed to keep the more quiet individuals such as Strife and himself around, but then the dark haired teen bounced into the room and his contagious smile wiped all similar thoughts from his mind. Zack was too lovable to deny.

"Let's go pick up Cloud!"

The door to their apartment slammed shut and Kunsel hurried to his feet and raced out after his friend, making sure to close the door properly on his way out.

"Zack!" he shouted, chasing after the teen. He didn't know where they were meeting Strife, after all. "Slow down, will you? Not all of us have the energy of a puppy dosed with sugar."

Eventually Zack turned a few corners or something too quickly and Kunsel lost him. Deciding there was nothing to do but see if Zack was meeting Strife in the cadet's room, he descended the stairs in the most direct route possible, trying to make up for lost time. There was no guarantee Zack would realize he wasn't behind him until he was halfway to Sector 3, after all.

Kunsel slowed to a trot as he neared the cadet hallways, stopping quietly at what he was pretty sure was Strife's room. He could already tell Zack wasn't inside, by the lack of yelling and the all around peacefulness of the place, but it was possible Strife hadn't left yet. He opened the door halfway and peered inside, but the only person inside had bright, red hair. "Hey, Reno."

The apprentice Turk turned to face him, looking a bit startled. "Oh. Kunsel. What's up, yo?"

"Has Zack been by?" Kunsel questioned softly. It was weird, Reno looked almost sad. He knew they weren't exactly friends, but surely the kid wasn't that disappointed to see him. He's probably just waiting for someone else, the SOLDIER assured himself, putting Reno's odd dejectedness out of mind.

"Hmm? Yeah. The crazy kidnapped Cloudy, yo. Kid didn't look too mad about it, though. I don't think he can get mad at Zack. It's unnatural, yo."

Interesting. Useful? Maybe not, but it was a piece of Cloud's puzzle. One of the tiny, uniformly shaped ones, but it the whole thing was like that. It also was pure white, didn't have any edge pieces, and the box didn't have a picture on it. And if that wasn't hard enough, he was blindfolded, wearing inch thick gloves, and had only ten of the pieces. He didn't even know how big it was going to be.

"Right. Which way did they go?"

Reno snorted. "You don't actually think that's gonna help, yo, do ya? Zack swerves around like a chocobo. If there's one thing he isn't, it's predictable, consistent, and sensible."

Kunsel nodded and turned to leave, but then paused as he realized something. "Predictable, consistent, and sensible are three things, Reno, not one."

The SOLDIER heard a short laugh behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around. Reno was going to be a Turk, and that meant Kunsel wouldn't be able to glean anything from his expression. "True, yo, but I figure that to Zack, they're all the same."

Kunsel left as the red haired boy broke into hysterics. He wasn't sure if that statement made any sense, but he would go with it. It wasn't his problem if there was going to be a crazy Turk in the system. What was his problem was that it was a very large possibility Zack was going to lose Cloud if left on his own for more than half an hour.

He set off at a trot down the hallways yet again, nodding at a SOLDIER Second he passed on the way. Kunsel was pretty sure everyone was used to it by now, him running around after Zack every other day or so. Sometimes he felt like a dog, or maybe a babysitter, but a few minutes with his lighthearted friend reminded him why he didn't just walk away from it all. Sometimes he just needed a break from all the dark and heavy stuff, and Zack supplied more silliness than he could ever need.

Either way, there was no doubt that his immature friend was kidnapping a cadet, even if it was one that Commander Hewley was suspicious of. Kunsel agreed that the boy was a bit odd, and his amnesia conveniently timed with this mysterious message or whatever it was that Zack's mentor had been talking about, but he wasn't really convinced. After all, people sent their messages to the wrong PHS all the time, and it was probably just Cloud's bad luck. Then again, he did have all of those numbers…

"I assume you are looking for Zack?"

Kunsel glanced up. It was a Turk with curly, red hair and absolutely no emotion in her voice. On her back was a giant, red rimmed shuriken that looked like it had seen a lot of combat, even if it was kept very clean. "Yeah," he mumbled, trying to ignore her blank, yet somehow completely intimidating, stare.

"He was heading towards Sector Five, Under Plate."

Under Plate, and Sector Five? That was near Wall Market! What was Zack thinking, bringing a cadet down there? Before running off to the nearest train, he turned back to thank the girl, but she was already gone. Kunsel shuddered. The lengths he went to for his friend.

"Cloudy, you sure you don't want to come up here with me?"

Kunsel snapped around. That was Zack's voice if he had ever heard it, and he heard it daily. And sometimes nightly, too. Kunsel pitied his parents.

In the distance he could see the spiky headed cadet, his bright yellow hair standing out in the gloom. "Zack, I really don't think you should be up there. I mean, it's a church. What if there's someone inside?"

The poor kid looked more than a bit uneasy, and Kunsel couldn't blame him. Despite any misgivings about any… 'extracurricular activities' Strife may or may not be involved in, the cadet shouldn't be forced into climbing around on top of a decrepit old church, especially if he was religious, as he appeared to be. Why else would he be so distressed?

Kunsel marched forward, not quite running, to try and put an end to this. "Zack, come down from there right now!" he shouted, wishing that his friend would for once do what he was told. Hoping to diminish the cadet's nerves, he murmured, "Sometimes I feel like his mother." Judging by the lack of reaction, it wasn't working so well.

Zack's immediately snapped back, "Why should I?" before who it was that was shouting at him registered and he swung around, a wide grin on his face.

"Hey, Kunsel, what are you doing here? You're gonna help me get Spiky up here, right? The view is great, and he has to get rid of that fear of heights sometime, if he wants to be in SOLDIER."

Yeah, so much for that.

But that was interesting. He never would have guessed Cloud was afraid of heights, but he didn't seem particularly religious either. Maybe…

No. No Turkish thoughts. He was not going to be one of those creepy, emotionless girls who disappeared without a sound and carried monstrous, sharp things to throw at people on their backs.

Zack thumped down beside him, dust billowing up from the impact of his feet, and Kunsel's mouth slipped open in surprise. Zack had actually obeyed someone, and it wasn't a life or death situation? He had better stock up on ham now, because soon all the pigs would be flying away.

Then he was gone, dragging Cloud behind him. Kunsel sighed before chasing after, shouting expletives at the miscreant bounding up to the roof of the church. "See, Spiky? It's not so bad up here after all."

Eventually Zack set the cadet down on the peak of the building. The boy seemed surprisingly calm for allegedly being afraid of heights, but Kunsel wasn't going to complain. One less person panicking just made his life that much easier.

The helmeted SOLDIER Third slunk towards the pair, hoping his friend was distracted enough that Kunsel could sneak the harassed blond back down to the much more solid ground. Right when he was about to grab Cloud and dart away, however, there was a loud crack and the roof dropped away from beneath their feet.

But he was smirking as he fell, for a grumbled "Not again!" came from the two next to him.

Dreams of the Morrow, Chapter 15: Falling Again. 2,188 words. Updated March 30, 2012.

Heh heh. April fools, this story is still alive even if I do feel like my writing, especially dialogue, has lost its touch. But yeah, excuses are the next paragraph, announcements the one after.

Excuses: Papercraft is the most addicting thing I've ever done in my life. Honestly though, who knew cutting and gluing paper could be so, so, addictive? Also, lacrosse, civics, my friend forcing anime on me, and procrastination. Mostly the procrastination.

Announcements: Yeah, sorry every one who voted, but I'm pretty sure the only pairing is going to be Zack and Aerith. Also, Zack is not a time traveler, he's just remembering falling through the ice into the cave in Nibelheim.

Hope you enjoyed it. The next update will be inconsistent as always, but until then...

Cliffhanger!