![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Butterfly Effect: Chapter 17
Authors: Bard Linn and Kiraya
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: None, at the moment.
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: "Do you think I can do it, Zack?"
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 17
Cloud returned to his room bearing two fresh-cut flowers, feeling much better than he had when he’d left. The blond had spent a good hour with Aeris, just talking with her. Eventually he had gotten around to mentioning Tifa’s letter and the situation with the “engagement.” Aeris had offered some unique insights into the situation, even helping him with making his thoughts coherent. Carefully placing the flowers in a cup of water, Cloud sat down to write his letter before he forgot everything Aeris had suggested.
Tifa,
Words can’t describe how angry I am with you right now. I don’t like it at all when people use me or go around my back like that. It’s very tempting to write your father and let him know just what you did.
However, I can understand your situation, at least a little. I’m willing to forgive you — on one condition. I want you to tell my mother the truth about what is going on. I don’t want her eagerly anticipating something that’s never going to happen. When I hear from her about how your meeting went, I’ll write again.
Cloud.
Short and blunt, perhaps, but it got what he wanted to say across. With any luck, Tifa would do as he asked and confide in his mother. She was the only person in Nibelheim who was important to Cloud anyway, now that Vincent had come to Midgar. The rest of them could go ahead and think he was marrying Tifa, for all he cared. His chances of returning anytime soon, while everyone was buzzing about it, were next to nil anyway.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Have you been down in this part of Midgar before?” Vincent asked his pupil as the pair carefully maneuvered around a pile of debris.
“A couple times,” Cloud murmured as he tried to stay in the shadows, still lacking the former Turk’s inhuman grace. “Usually with Zack.” The First Class was locked up with General Sephiroth in meetings all day, so Vincent had appeared when Cloud came off duty, requesting the youth meet him at the train station.
“It would be wise for you to become familiar with this part of the city. Just as any other area, it has its own unique paths, weak points, and predators.”
Cloud nodded, well aware of how Vincent felt about knowing one’s surroundings. Then again, Zack had said more or less the same thing. “Don’t see many of the last when I’m down here with Zack.”
“You wouldn’t.”
::Predators can sense the stronger ones, after all…and very little down here would match even the weakest SOLDIER.::
Vincent nodded absently at Chaos’ comment, momentarily forgetting his student could not hear the spirit. “The main thing to watch out for in this area is gang members. It’s rare to find any who are particularly skilled fighters, but because they travel in groups they can still present a problem, particularly for the unenhanced.”
The blond nodded in understanding, following his mentor through the gate into the next sector… the same one, he suddenly recalled, where he had seen Aeris in the first time. “I’ve been in this part a few times.”
“It’s mostly a commercial sector. It’s a high-traffic area, meaning one must be on the lookout for thieves, petty and otherwise.”
Cloud felt his lips twitch at that and was glad he was behind his teacher, where Vincent couldn’t see.
“This area is also a good place to meeting someone unobtrusively, due to the number of distractions.”
“Like those two?” Cloud asked, making sure not to point at the pair of scruffy-looking men loitering about the entrance to one of the busy shops.
“Indeed,” Vincent agreed.
“We should follow them, find out what they’re up to.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow at his student. “And the purpose of that would be…?”
“Practice in trailing a target without being seen, and observation of local criminal behaviors,” Cloud replied without missing a beat.
::The boy has you there.::
And there really was no point in arguing with the teenager. He’d only throw more of Vincent’s own words back in his face… a bad habit he’d picked up since coming to Midgar, it seemed. “Very well. You go first; I shall trail from a distance. If you require assistance, I will step in.”
Nodding, his student stepped out of the shadows, glancing around at the shops as if he were looking for something. He stopped a clerk and asked a few innocent questions, all the while keeping an eye on the pair he’d spotted earlier. He didn’t have to wait long before five more similarly-dressed individuals joined them. No longer making any pretense at stealth, the gang — for that was surely what they seemed to be — set off, moving away from Cloud.
The blond waited another minute or two, then started in the same general direction, taking his time, meandering through the thinning crowds. It took a while, but soon he found his prey clustered in a back alley. It wasn’t exactly difficult; they weren’t trying to be quiet.
“All right, bitch,” came an ominous voice. “You mighta managed to rough up a few of us last time, but not now. This time, you’re gonna pay.”
Cloud rolled his eyes at the stock dialogue. Surely they could do better than that?
In any case, the group’s victim apparently wasn’t going to let them go any further. Two quick smacks echoed between the nearby buildings as the person at the center of the group lashed out, felling one of the men. Cloud squinted, not quite able to see who it was, thoough he thought he saw a flash of pink. It couldn’t be…
A moment later another man stumbled to the ground, grasping his knee, leaving a hole in the circle long enough for Cloud to get a proper look at their would-be victim. No mistake, it was indeed Aeris. The trooper watched her with a critical eye, noting her abilities. She was pretty good with that staff, but they were stronger than she and had the advantage of numbers…
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than one of the men managed to wrench the staff free from Aeris’ hands, sending it flying. Now weaponless, Aeris did her best to dodge her attackers, but it was clearly a losing battle. To make matters worse, the first man she had struck had risen to his feet, and from the look of it, the second would soon be up as well. Dammit, she needs help!
Cloud didn’t even hesitate. Bolting towards the gang members, he managed to take one down before anyone else even noticed he was there. A swift kick sent number one back to the ground, right on top of number two.
“Who the hell are you? Her keeper?”
Cloud didn’t answer, kicking the staff into his hands and moving to stand protectively in front of Aeris. The leader snarled, pulling a wicked-looking knife out from beneath his torn jacket. “He’s mine!”
Too bad for him his opponent had been trained by both a Turk and a SOLDIER First Class. Cloud blocked the man’s rush with ease, disarmed him with a quick twist of the wrist, then sent him sprawling with what would probably be a concussion. Tossing the staff back to Aeris, he took down another of the bullies in a flurry of kicks and punches. Not one to be a damsel in distress, Aeris quickly managed to fell another with a sharp crack of her staff to the head, leaving only two of the ruffians. The pair glanced at each other and then at Cloud, decided their health was more important than revenge, and took off at a run, leaving their groaning comrades behind.
“You okay?” Cloud asked.
Aeris nodded, hand on her chest as she tried to slow her breathing. “Thanks to you. That was too close.”
“Glad I could help,” Cloud replied. He glanced around and saw Aeris’ flower basket upturned in the dirt. Walking over to retrieve it, he looked at it carefully. The basket was still in one piece, but the flowers it carried looked pretty bad after the fight. “I think they got your flowers…”
“Better those than other things.” The young woman sighed. “I should be getting home, but… thank you again, Cloud.”
“No problem.” He offered her a shy smile. “Would you like me to walk you home?”
Aeris shook her head. “No, I should go by myself. My mother doesn’t take too kindly to strangers.”
Cloud struggled not to show his disappointment. “Oh. Um, will you be at the church this weekend?” The flower girl nodded. “Then I’ll see you there!”
“All right, Cloud.” Smiling at him, the brunette secured her basket and her staff and walked away.
“Cloud,” Vincent murmured from the shadows once was Aeris out of earshot. “What exactly did you think you were doing?”
The blond winced at the icy tone of Vincent’s voice. “Helping a friend.”
“You went into a hostile situation without proper planning—”
Give me a break. The blond rolled his eyes. “Vincent, I was pretty sure I could handle them; I hadn’t seen any major weaponry when I was following them, and none of them moved in a way to suggest any significant skill. Plus, I knew you were there to give me backup if I needed it.” He set his jaw stubbornly. “And I wasn’t going to let them hurt Aeris, either.”
Vincent was taken aback by Cloud’s tone and attitude. What had caused the sudden change?
::If you can’t figure that out, you need to go back through training with the babies.:: Chaos was definitely amused.
Care to elaborate? Vincent asked, rather sure it was a pointless question.
::No.::
Just as he had expected. Though what in the world could have Cloud so protective of a girl? His protégé had always been nearly as solitary as he. Unless… Impossible.
::He is sixteen. Must I remind you what most human males think about at that stage in their life?:: The demon sounded positively wicked. ::You certainly did at that age.::
But Cloud has never shown any such interest in anyone before, Vincent rejoined. Aloud he said, “We had best continue. We’ve lost significant time due to this detour.” Cloud sighed, but nodded in agreement, following his mentor back the way they had come.
::He’s never had much of a chance, either,:: Chaos replied. He found Vincent’s reaction to the entire incident terribly amusing. And things would become even more interesting whenever his host finally realized the girl was one of the last Cetra. The former Summon had no intention of telling the human that little piece of information, though. Vincent would have to figure it out on his own; life was much more fun that way, really.
Vincent frowned ever so slightly as he walked a few steps ahead of his companion. If Cloud was developing a romantic attachment to this Aeris, he’d better investigate her. While his student was usually quite levelheaded, the reckless attitude brought on by such emotions might cause him to forget himself and do something rash.
The former Turk smiled bitterly at that.
But truly, a slip on Cloud’s part could be disastrous… especially if the girl was a company spy, which was entirely possible. The four of them had been extremely careful after returning from Nibelheim, but someone might have noticed them, decided Cloud was the weakest link, and…
Yes, he could see he still needed to make some trips down here by himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Zack blinked as footsteps interrupted his concentration. “Cloud? You’re early. I though you were out with… SS.”
Fighting down a grin at the nickname, Cloud shook his head. “He said he had to go do something — though he wouldn’t tell me what it was — so we didn’t go down today.” The blond struggled to hide his disappointment. Vincent was rarely able to meet with him while they were in ShinRa headquarters. It had been two weeks ago that the former Turk had first taken Cloud below the Plate, but they hadn’t gone again since. The plan had been for Cloud to go down to the slums at least once a week with his mentor, but something had come up for Vincent every time.
“Too bad,” Zack replied neutrally. He suspected Cloud was upset about that, even though he was doing a good job of not showing it. “If you’d like, we could go down together this evening. I’m off duty.”
“No thanks.” Cloud shrugged. It’s not that I miss the slums, really. I just miss spending time with Vincent. I could always go visit Aeris, but I really should be training, and… going down with Zack just isn’t the same experience. Even when he was out of uniform, it didn’t take a genius to figure out Zack was a SOLDIER.
“Still, we should go out again sometime… though you do seem to be getting better about that.” The dark-haired man smiled. “Been practicing?”
Not unless talking to Aeris counts. Cloud shook his head. “Not really. What were you doing?”
“Eh?” Zack looked down at the Buster Sword. “Oh… Just practicing a trick I haven’t quite mastered yet.”
“A sword technique?” Cloud’s eyes brightened. “What’s it called? Is it hard? Can I learn it?”
“Hey, easy, now!” Zack chided him, a smile tugging at his lips. Inwardly, though, he was hesitant to acquiesce, but… he didn’t want to refuse and kill the joyful eagerness in Cloud’s eyes. “To answer your questions… It’s called the Omnislash; yes, it’s insanely complicated, as in I haven’t even gotten down half of it, myself—”
“Maybe if we work together—”
“Cloud,” the SOLDIER interrupted, his hand firm on the blond’s shoulder, “listen. And I mean this seriously. I don’t want you even thinking about trying to work on this by yourself. I can’t even show it to you if you won’t promise me you’ll be extremely careful. I’ve hurt myself pretty badly trying to do this.” Cloud’s eyes widened in surprise, but he let his serious-faced friend continue. “It’s one of those techniques that requires such precise timing and speed that it’s all but impossible to pull off if you’re not enhanced, but… well, until you get there, I suppose I can at least talk you through the mechanics of it, as long as you promise to never attempt it without my supervision.” Zack paused, looking thoughtful. “…Or Seph’s. He’s got a lot of experience spotting for this kind of thing.”
“I promise,” Cloud replied, sounding subdued. “…not that I’d be practicing around General Sephiroth anyway.” He hadn’t seen the elite SOLDIER up close since they had returned from Nibelheim.
“You may eventually, once you get into SOLDIER,” Zack countered. “He sometimes teaches for the advanced groups. Mind, you’ll have to work pretty hard to get that far, but that’s the best of the best.”
Cloud went quiet for a long moment. “Do you think I can do it, Zack?”
Zack smiled at his friend, squeezing Cloud’s shoulder, glad to reassure him. “I know you can, if you just put your mind to it.”
The blond nodded resolutely. “Then I better get back to work.”
“Absolutely. But for now, let me tell you a bit about the basics of this technique…”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I don’t see why you’re so worked up about this.” Zack sighed as he watched Cloud shift uneasily from foot to foot. “It’s only the preliminary evaluation, not the exam.”
“I know, but… this is important, Zack. If I can’t get back in, I can’t get into SOLDIER, and they don’t always take you back again…” Cloud’s voice trailed off.
“There’s no reason for— oh, thank you, Harris. Any problems?”
The office worker shook his head. “Everything’s clear, sir. Private Strife, you need to report to the gym in two hours for evaluation.”
Cloud nodded and walked out of the office with Zack. “See? I told you it would be fine.”
“Yeah, but I still have to pass—”
“There’s no ‘passing,’” Zack replied with a roll of his eyes. “They’re just testing you for your abilities, remember? They want to place you properly. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I know, but—”
“The evaluations will probably be a bit different this time. They’ll be testing your swordswork, since they know you’ve received at least some training.” The SOLDIER grinned. “Personally, I think they’ll be surprised. Just remember not to hold back. Now’s the time to show off. You really could do with a little less humility, you know…” Looking at his watch, Zack sighed. “I’ve got to head to a meeting. Try to relax some before the test, okay?”
Cloud very much doubted he’d be able to do that, but nodded anyway, watching Zack walk away. He briefly entertained a trip down to see Aeris, but that would take far too much time. Sighing, he decided to grab on of the tactic books Vincent had suggested he read out of the barracks. After setting the timer on his watch to make sure he would get to the gym on time, the blond settled down with the thick text, attempting to decipher the complex material. He had made it through about a chapter when his watch beeped, alerting him he had only twenty minutes more until his appointment.
A minute later Cloud was out the door, having carefully secured his book in his footlocker. Walking quickly — but not running; one never knew who’d be in the halls, as he’d learned the hard way — he made it to the gym with five minutes to spare.
“Cloud!”
Startled, the youth looked up to see a very familiar face. “Paul?”
The SOLDIER Third smiled, his Mako-tinted eyes glinting cheerfully. “I’m glad you’re trying out again. Scott wanted to drop by and make sure you were going to, but he got shipped out to Rocket Town earlier this week.”
“What?” Cloud asked, confused. “I thought you two were going to keep working together.”
“Well, Scott’s adapting to the Mako quicker, so…” Paul shrugged. Many factors affected a person’s reaction to Mako treatments, the doctors had told him, and the two most important were adaptability, which determined the speed and degree of the Mako’s effectiveness, and resistance, which determined the body’s mutation threshold. The best SOLDIERs had a delicate balance between the two. Paul had a high resistance, and while they had refused to answer his questions about Scott — patient confidentiality issues and all that — he guessed his friend had to have a higher adaptability, with how he’d reacted to the treatments. These imbalances marked the dividing line between SOLDIER Firsts and the lower classes. Chances were good neither he nor Scott would ever advance higher than Second Class, but… well, better that than the consequences of Mako overexposure.
Cloud cocked his head, watching his former squadmate closely. “Hey,” he said softly, “you’ll be out there soon enough, I’m sure.”
Paul blinked, startled. It wasn’t like Cloud to pick up on people’s moods like that, as he recalled… though he really hadn’t been hiding the slight wistfulness in his voice. “Oh, it’s not like I’m completely jealous of him,” he replied, shaking his head. “I just miss having him around, that’s all. He should be back soon enough. And…” He grinned. “It’s true he’s getting pretty good with his swords, but I’m still much better with materia, so hey, we might end up working together anyway.”
“Moser!”
“Sir!” Paul trotted over to the SOLDIER Second who had called him.
“Who’s next on the list?”
The young man checked the clipboard in his hands. “Cloud Strife, but… I’m afraid I can’t evaluate him, sir. He’s a former squadmate.”
The SOLDIER made a thoughtful noise. “Well, then… you’re not bad with a blade, Moser; I’d like you to spar with him. I’ll fill out his evaluation.”
“Yes, sir!” Paul jogged back over to Cloud. “Apparently I’m going to be your opponent. I’ll give you a minute to get ready.”
The blond nodded. “Different from last time.”
“Yeah, well, they figure if you’ve been through the program you should be able to do at least the basic drill stuff,” Paul replied as he watched the younger man stretch. The pair moved towards the center of the training mat.
“No serious injuries. Moser, be careful. I know you haven’t had much chance to practice in combat since your treatments. Strife, do your best, but don’t overexert yourself. Go!”
At the SOLDIER’s command the pair moved forward. Cloud decided to take the offensive, only to have his first attack meet empty air as Paul moved out of the way. Well used to fighting against enhanced speed, Cloud danced away from Paul’s incoming strike and managed to land a glancing blow of his own in the process. Surprise flickered in Paul’s eyes, but the SOLDIER still pressed his attack, using his greater speed to pull off an attack combination that should have left Cloud flat on his back.
It didn’t.
The blond caught and countered every blow, though not without effort. Even though Paul was nowhere near Zack’s level, it was still hard, sparring with someone with SOLDIER enhancements. Blinking the sweat out of his eyes, Cloud noticed an opening, dashing forward and managing to land a hit with a resounding smack. Paul backed away, watching him warily. Cloud let him go, following his movements carefully as he took a moment to catch his breath. The SOLDIER was right-handed, and had always tended to have problems with covering his left side…
The blond dropped into a roll, avoiding Paul’s next attack, back on his feet in an instant with all the swiftness Vincent had drilled into him. Using his sword to counter his partner’s wide swing, he landed a hard kick on the SOLDIER’s side, sending him staggering.
“Enough! That’s plenty.” The SOLDIER Second frowned at them as Paul regained his balance, wincing slightly. “You’d better get in some more practice, Moser; you obviously aren’t fully readjusted yet. Strife, you’re dismissed. I’ll be sending your placement down soon enough.” With that the Second Class left the gym, clipboard in hand.
“Sorry abut that,” Cloud mumbled ruefully as he watched Paul rub his side. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble…”
“It’s my own fault for not keeping up my defenses. And he’s right; I do need more practice…” Paul sighed, glancing after his superior, then turned back to the cadet. “In any case, I’m off duty in a bit. Want me to help you move into your new dorm? We can go out afterwards…” Not that he really expected Cloud to accept, but…
“I’d like that,” the other answered with a smile. “Swing by when you get off?”
“It’d be my pleasure,” Paul replied, surprised yet pleased. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he burst out, “When did you learn how to do that? You— well, uh, not to be harsh, but you weren’t anywhere near that good during the exams.”
Cloud smiled wryly. Between Zack’s training and no longer hiding what Vincent had taught him, he supposed he really had come a long way since then. It had almost been… well, boring to fight Paul, though after having sparred regularly with a SOLDIER First, he shouldn’t have been surprised at that. “Well… let’s just say it’s been a long year.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
ShinRa Company was a place of many secrets.
This in itself was no secret, of course; everyone knew the company had certain information and practices that it didn’t want the general public to know about, yet somehow were known by nearly every one of its employees, down to the lowest office runner boys. Those who were smart picked up on these things quickly, and learned to keep their mouths shut despite any personal qualms. Those who weren’t, who found out too much, who reacted poorly to what they learned, often found themselves receiving a visit from the concerned members of the Department of Administrative Research.
Needless to say, the stupid and the overly sensitive didn’t survive long in ShinRa.
While ShinRa was very careful about protecting the knowledge of less-than-savory things done in its name, however, its executive officers had long ago realized it was fruitless to try to quash people’s tendency towards idle chatter. Thus blackmail and bribery, alliances and mentorships, love affairs and long-standing hatred, all these and more were unofficially “safe” secrets for ShinRa-related gossip, and the company rumor mills were full of them.
Case in point: Lieutenant Zachary Sinclair, SOLDIER First Class, and SOLDIER Cadet Cloud Strife, formerly a private in the 72nd Infantry Division. On paper, the pair hardly had any contact with each other, but nearly all of SOLDIER knew Zack spent much of his spare time working with the younger man. If nothing else, the sheer improvement in Strife’s cadet evaluation scores would have indicated something was up.
Those scores were a matter of some difficulty already.
“It’s a waste of his potential,” Kennent, the SOLDIER First in charge of the cadet program, murmured with a frown as he looked over a batch of candidates sparring in the gym. “He’s in the highest-level squad and he’s still bored. Look at him; you can tell. Most of the swordwork they’re studying at the moment is stuff he already knows back to front.”
“What are we supposed to do with him, then?” Marius, the Second Class who had done Strife’s evaluation, objected. Like his superior and long-time comrade, he kept his voice low so the cadets he was supervising couldn’t hear their discussion. “You said it yourself, he’s already in the most advanced squad.”
“And bored out of his skull.” Kennent sighed. “I’m tempted to send him to Third Class basic training, except they’d probably kick him out. And anyway, they spend half the time adjusting to treatments Strife doesn’t have yet.”
Marius grunted at that. Though neither would ever say it aloud, especially not within earshot of the cadets, they both knew that at this point the exams were just a formality. ShinRa would never allow someone with Strife’s level of skill to get away from them. “I can’t think of any other option, though…” the SOLDIER Second said thoughtfully, “unless… We could assign him a mentor. He could still do cooperative drills with his squad, and receive more advanced instruction during general training periods.” Mentors were assigned to new SOLDIER Thirds, not cadets, but there had been exceptions in the past. “What do you think… sir?”
“That might work,” Kennent conceded, nodding slowly. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find a willing person for the job as well. In fact…” He pulled out his PHS, just the hint of a smile on his face.
An instant later the device crackled to life. “ShinRa Telecommunications Mainframe, Internal Communications Office. How may I help you, Sergeant Kennent?”
“Patch me through to SOLDIER Lieutenant Sinclair… and tell him I have a proposition he might be interested in.”
“One moment, please.”
Previous Chapter | Archive | Author's Notes and Outtakes | Next Chapter
Read Comments | Leave a Comment
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: None, at the moment.
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: "Do you think I can do it, Zack?"
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 17
Cloud returned to his room bearing two fresh-cut flowers, feeling much better than he had when he’d left. The blond had spent a good hour with Aeris, just talking with her. Eventually he had gotten around to mentioning Tifa’s letter and the situation with the “engagement.” Aeris had offered some unique insights into the situation, even helping him with making his thoughts coherent. Carefully placing the flowers in a cup of water, Cloud sat down to write his letter before he forgot everything Aeris had suggested.
Tifa,
Words can’t describe how angry I am with you right now. I don’t like it at all when people use me or go around my back like that. It’s very tempting to write your father and let him know just what you did.
However, I can understand your situation, at least a little. I’m willing to forgive you — on one condition. I want you to tell my mother the truth about what is going on. I don’t want her eagerly anticipating something that’s never going to happen. When I hear from her about how your meeting went, I’ll write again.
Cloud.
Short and blunt, perhaps, but it got what he wanted to say across. With any luck, Tifa would do as he asked and confide in his mother. She was the only person in Nibelheim who was important to Cloud anyway, now that Vincent had come to Midgar. The rest of them could go ahead and think he was marrying Tifa, for all he cared. His chances of returning anytime soon, while everyone was buzzing about it, were next to nil anyway.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Have you been down in this part of Midgar before?” Vincent asked his pupil as the pair carefully maneuvered around a pile of debris.
“A couple times,” Cloud murmured as he tried to stay in the shadows, still lacking the former Turk’s inhuman grace. “Usually with Zack.” The First Class was locked up with General Sephiroth in meetings all day, so Vincent had appeared when Cloud came off duty, requesting the youth meet him at the train station.
“It would be wise for you to become familiar with this part of the city. Just as any other area, it has its own unique paths, weak points, and predators.”
Cloud nodded, well aware of how Vincent felt about knowing one’s surroundings. Then again, Zack had said more or less the same thing. “Don’t see many of the last when I’m down here with Zack.”
“You wouldn’t.”
::Predators can sense the stronger ones, after all…and very little down here would match even the weakest SOLDIER.::
Vincent nodded absently at Chaos’ comment, momentarily forgetting his student could not hear the spirit. “The main thing to watch out for in this area is gang members. It’s rare to find any who are particularly skilled fighters, but because they travel in groups they can still present a problem, particularly for the unenhanced.”
The blond nodded in understanding, following his mentor through the gate into the next sector… the same one, he suddenly recalled, where he had seen Aeris in the first time. “I’ve been in this part a few times.”
“It’s mostly a commercial sector. It’s a high-traffic area, meaning one must be on the lookout for thieves, petty and otherwise.”
Cloud felt his lips twitch at that and was glad he was behind his teacher, where Vincent couldn’t see.
“This area is also a good place to meeting someone unobtrusively, due to the number of distractions.”
“Like those two?” Cloud asked, making sure not to point at the pair of scruffy-looking men loitering about the entrance to one of the busy shops.
“Indeed,” Vincent agreed.
“We should follow them, find out what they’re up to.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow at his student. “And the purpose of that would be…?”
“Practice in trailing a target without being seen, and observation of local criminal behaviors,” Cloud replied without missing a beat.
::The boy has you there.::
And there really was no point in arguing with the teenager. He’d only throw more of Vincent’s own words back in his face… a bad habit he’d picked up since coming to Midgar, it seemed. “Very well. You go first; I shall trail from a distance. If you require assistance, I will step in.”
Nodding, his student stepped out of the shadows, glancing around at the shops as if he were looking for something. He stopped a clerk and asked a few innocent questions, all the while keeping an eye on the pair he’d spotted earlier. He didn’t have to wait long before five more similarly-dressed individuals joined them. No longer making any pretense at stealth, the gang — for that was surely what they seemed to be — set off, moving away from Cloud.
The blond waited another minute or two, then started in the same general direction, taking his time, meandering through the thinning crowds. It took a while, but soon he found his prey clustered in a back alley. It wasn’t exactly difficult; they weren’t trying to be quiet.
“All right, bitch,” came an ominous voice. “You mighta managed to rough up a few of us last time, but not now. This time, you’re gonna pay.”
Cloud rolled his eyes at the stock dialogue. Surely they could do better than that?
In any case, the group’s victim apparently wasn’t going to let them go any further. Two quick smacks echoed between the nearby buildings as the person at the center of the group lashed out, felling one of the men. Cloud squinted, not quite able to see who it was, thoough he thought he saw a flash of pink. It couldn’t be…
A moment later another man stumbled to the ground, grasping his knee, leaving a hole in the circle long enough for Cloud to get a proper look at their would-be victim. No mistake, it was indeed Aeris. The trooper watched her with a critical eye, noting her abilities. She was pretty good with that staff, but they were stronger than she and had the advantage of numbers…
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than one of the men managed to wrench the staff free from Aeris’ hands, sending it flying. Now weaponless, Aeris did her best to dodge her attackers, but it was clearly a losing battle. To make matters worse, the first man she had struck had risen to his feet, and from the look of it, the second would soon be up as well. Dammit, she needs help!
Cloud didn’t even hesitate. Bolting towards the gang members, he managed to take one down before anyone else even noticed he was there. A swift kick sent number one back to the ground, right on top of number two.
“Who the hell are you? Her keeper?”
Cloud didn’t answer, kicking the staff into his hands and moving to stand protectively in front of Aeris. The leader snarled, pulling a wicked-looking knife out from beneath his torn jacket. “He’s mine!”
Too bad for him his opponent had been trained by both a Turk and a SOLDIER First Class. Cloud blocked the man’s rush with ease, disarmed him with a quick twist of the wrist, then sent him sprawling with what would probably be a concussion. Tossing the staff back to Aeris, he took down another of the bullies in a flurry of kicks and punches. Not one to be a damsel in distress, Aeris quickly managed to fell another with a sharp crack of her staff to the head, leaving only two of the ruffians. The pair glanced at each other and then at Cloud, decided their health was more important than revenge, and took off at a run, leaving their groaning comrades behind.
“You okay?” Cloud asked.
Aeris nodded, hand on her chest as she tried to slow her breathing. “Thanks to you. That was too close.”
“Glad I could help,” Cloud replied. He glanced around and saw Aeris’ flower basket upturned in the dirt. Walking over to retrieve it, he looked at it carefully. The basket was still in one piece, but the flowers it carried looked pretty bad after the fight. “I think they got your flowers…”
“Better those than other things.” The young woman sighed. “I should be getting home, but… thank you again, Cloud.”
“No problem.” He offered her a shy smile. “Would you like me to walk you home?”
Aeris shook her head. “No, I should go by myself. My mother doesn’t take too kindly to strangers.”
Cloud struggled not to show his disappointment. “Oh. Um, will you be at the church this weekend?” The flower girl nodded. “Then I’ll see you there!”
“All right, Cloud.” Smiling at him, the brunette secured her basket and her staff and walked away.
“Cloud,” Vincent murmured from the shadows once was Aeris out of earshot. “What exactly did you think you were doing?”
The blond winced at the icy tone of Vincent’s voice. “Helping a friend.”
“You went into a hostile situation without proper planning—”
Give me a break. The blond rolled his eyes. “Vincent, I was pretty sure I could handle them; I hadn’t seen any major weaponry when I was following them, and none of them moved in a way to suggest any significant skill. Plus, I knew you were there to give me backup if I needed it.” He set his jaw stubbornly. “And I wasn’t going to let them hurt Aeris, either.”
Vincent was taken aback by Cloud’s tone and attitude. What had caused the sudden change?
::If you can’t figure that out, you need to go back through training with the babies.:: Chaos was definitely amused.
Care to elaborate? Vincent asked, rather sure it was a pointless question.
::No.::
Just as he had expected. Though what in the world could have Cloud so protective of a girl? His protégé had always been nearly as solitary as he. Unless… Impossible.
::He is sixteen. Must I remind you what most human males think about at that stage in their life?:: The demon sounded positively wicked. ::You certainly did at that age.::
But Cloud has never shown any such interest in anyone before, Vincent rejoined. Aloud he said, “We had best continue. We’ve lost significant time due to this detour.” Cloud sighed, but nodded in agreement, following his mentor back the way they had come.
::He’s never had much of a chance, either,:: Chaos replied. He found Vincent’s reaction to the entire incident terribly amusing. And things would become even more interesting whenever his host finally realized the girl was one of the last Cetra. The former Summon had no intention of telling the human that little piece of information, though. Vincent would have to figure it out on his own; life was much more fun that way, really.
Vincent frowned ever so slightly as he walked a few steps ahead of his companion. If Cloud was developing a romantic attachment to this Aeris, he’d better investigate her. While his student was usually quite levelheaded, the reckless attitude brought on by such emotions might cause him to forget himself and do something rash.
The former Turk smiled bitterly at that.
But truly, a slip on Cloud’s part could be disastrous… especially if the girl was a company spy, which was entirely possible. The four of them had been extremely careful after returning from Nibelheim, but someone might have noticed them, decided Cloud was the weakest link, and…
Yes, he could see he still needed to make some trips down here by himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Zack blinked as footsteps interrupted his concentration. “Cloud? You’re early. I though you were out with… SS.”
Fighting down a grin at the nickname, Cloud shook his head. “He said he had to go do something — though he wouldn’t tell me what it was — so we didn’t go down today.” The blond struggled to hide his disappointment. Vincent was rarely able to meet with him while they were in ShinRa headquarters. It had been two weeks ago that the former Turk had first taken Cloud below the Plate, but they hadn’t gone again since. The plan had been for Cloud to go down to the slums at least once a week with his mentor, but something had come up for Vincent every time.
“Too bad,” Zack replied neutrally. He suspected Cloud was upset about that, even though he was doing a good job of not showing it. “If you’d like, we could go down together this evening. I’m off duty.”
“No thanks.” Cloud shrugged. It’s not that I miss the slums, really. I just miss spending time with Vincent. I could always go visit Aeris, but I really should be training, and… going down with Zack just isn’t the same experience. Even when he was out of uniform, it didn’t take a genius to figure out Zack was a SOLDIER.
“Still, we should go out again sometime… though you do seem to be getting better about that.” The dark-haired man smiled. “Been practicing?”
Not unless talking to Aeris counts. Cloud shook his head. “Not really. What were you doing?”
“Eh?” Zack looked down at the Buster Sword. “Oh… Just practicing a trick I haven’t quite mastered yet.”
“A sword technique?” Cloud’s eyes brightened. “What’s it called? Is it hard? Can I learn it?”
“Hey, easy, now!” Zack chided him, a smile tugging at his lips. Inwardly, though, he was hesitant to acquiesce, but… he didn’t want to refuse and kill the joyful eagerness in Cloud’s eyes. “To answer your questions… It’s called the Omnislash; yes, it’s insanely complicated, as in I haven’t even gotten down half of it, myself—”
“Maybe if we work together—”
“Cloud,” the SOLDIER interrupted, his hand firm on the blond’s shoulder, “listen. And I mean this seriously. I don’t want you even thinking about trying to work on this by yourself. I can’t even show it to you if you won’t promise me you’ll be extremely careful. I’ve hurt myself pretty badly trying to do this.” Cloud’s eyes widened in surprise, but he let his serious-faced friend continue. “It’s one of those techniques that requires such precise timing and speed that it’s all but impossible to pull off if you’re not enhanced, but… well, until you get there, I suppose I can at least talk you through the mechanics of it, as long as you promise to never attempt it without my supervision.” Zack paused, looking thoughtful. “…Or Seph’s. He’s got a lot of experience spotting for this kind of thing.”
“I promise,” Cloud replied, sounding subdued. “…not that I’d be practicing around General Sephiroth anyway.” He hadn’t seen the elite SOLDIER up close since they had returned from Nibelheim.
“You may eventually, once you get into SOLDIER,” Zack countered. “He sometimes teaches for the advanced groups. Mind, you’ll have to work pretty hard to get that far, but that’s the best of the best.”
Cloud went quiet for a long moment. “Do you think I can do it, Zack?”
Zack smiled at his friend, squeezing Cloud’s shoulder, glad to reassure him. “I know you can, if you just put your mind to it.”
The blond nodded resolutely. “Then I better get back to work.”
“Absolutely. But for now, let me tell you a bit about the basics of this technique…”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I don’t see why you’re so worked up about this.” Zack sighed as he watched Cloud shift uneasily from foot to foot. “It’s only the preliminary evaluation, not the exam.”
“I know, but… this is important, Zack. If I can’t get back in, I can’t get into SOLDIER, and they don’t always take you back again…” Cloud’s voice trailed off.
“There’s no reason for— oh, thank you, Harris. Any problems?”
The office worker shook his head. “Everything’s clear, sir. Private Strife, you need to report to the gym in two hours for evaluation.”
Cloud nodded and walked out of the office with Zack. “See? I told you it would be fine.”
“Yeah, but I still have to pass—”
“There’s no ‘passing,’” Zack replied with a roll of his eyes. “They’re just testing you for your abilities, remember? They want to place you properly. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I know, but—”
“The evaluations will probably be a bit different this time. They’ll be testing your swordswork, since they know you’ve received at least some training.” The SOLDIER grinned. “Personally, I think they’ll be surprised. Just remember not to hold back. Now’s the time to show off. You really could do with a little less humility, you know…” Looking at his watch, Zack sighed. “I’ve got to head to a meeting. Try to relax some before the test, okay?”
Cloud very much doubted he’d be able to do that, but nodded anyway, watching Zack walk away. He briefly entertained a trip down to see Aeris, but that would take far too much time. Sighing, he decided to grab on of the tactic books Vincent had suggested he read out of the barracks. After setting the timer on his watch to make sure he would get to the gym on time, the blond settled down with the thick text, attempting to decipher the complex material. He had made it through about a chapter when his watch beeped, alerting him he had only twenty minutes more until his appointment.
A minute later Cloud was out the door, having carefully secured his book in his footlocker. Walking quickly — but not running; one never knew who’d be in the halls, as he’d learned the hard way — he made it to the gym with five minutes to spare.
“Cloud!”
Startled, the youth looked up to see a very familiar face. “Paul?”
The SOLDIER Third smiled, his Mako-tinted eyes glinting cheerfully. “I’m glad you’re trying out again. Scott wanted to drop by and make sure you were going to, but he got shipped out to Rocket Town earlier this week.”
“What?” Cloud asked, confused. “I thought you two were going to keep working together.”
“Well, Scott’s adapting to the Mako quicker, so…” Paul shrugged. Many factors affected a person’s reaction to Mako treatments, the doctors had told him, and the two most important were adaptability, which determined the speed and degree of the Mako’s effectiveness, and resistance, which determined the body’s mutation threshold. The best SOLDIERs had a delicate balance between the two. Paul had a high resistance, and while they had refused to answer his questions about Scott — patient confidentiality issues and all that — he guessed his friend had to have a higher adaptability, with how he’d reacted to the treatments. These imbalances marked the dividing line between SOLDIER Firsts and the lower classes. Chances were good neither he nor Scott would ever advance higher than Second Class, but… well, better that than the consequences of Mako overexposure.
Cloud cocked his head, watching his former squadmate closely. “Hey,” he said softly, “you’ll be out there soon enough, I’m sure.”
Paul blinked, startled. It wasn’t like Cloud to pick up on people’s moods like that, as he recalled… though he really hadn’t been hiding the slight wistfulness in his voice. “Oh, it’s not like I’m completely jealous of him,” he replied, shaking his head. “I just miss having him around, that’s all. He should be back soon enough. And…” He grinned. “It’s true he’s getting pretty good with his swords, but I’m still much better with materia, so hey, we might end up working together anyway.”
“Moser!”
“Sir!” Paul trotted over to the SOLDIER Second who had called him.
“Who’s next on the list?”
The young man checked the clipboard in his hands. “Cloud Strife, but… I’m afraid I can’t evaluate him, sir. He’s a former squadmate.”
The SOLDIER made a thoughtful noise. “Well, then… you’re not bad with a blade, Moser; I’d like you to spar with him. I’ll fill out his evaluation.”
“Yes, sir!” Paul jogged back over to Cloud. “Apparently I’m going to be your opponent. I’ll give you a minute to get ready.”
The blond nodded. “Different from last time.”
“Yeah, well, they figure if you’ve been through the program you should be able to do at least the basic drill stuff,” Paul replied as he watched the younger man stretch. The pair moved towards the center of the training mat.
“No serious injuries. Moser, be careful. I know you haven’t had much chance to practice in combat since your treatments. Strife, do your best, but don’t overexert yourself. Go!”
At the SOLDIER’s command the pair moved forward. Cloud decided to take the offensive, only to have his first attack meet empty air as Paul moved out of the way. Well used to fighting against enhanced speed, Cloud danced away from Paul’s incoming strike and managed to land a glancing blow of his own in the process. Surprise flickered in Paul’s eyes, but the SOLDIER still pressed his attack, using his greater speed to pull off an attack combination that should have left Cloud flat on his back.
It didn’t.
The blond caught and countered every blow, though not without effort. Even though Paul was nowhere near Zack’s level, it was still hard, sparring with someone with SOLDIER enhancements. Blinking the sweat out of his eyes, Cloud noticed an opening, dashing forward and managing to land a hit with a resounding smack. Paul backed away, watching him warily. Cloud let him go, following his movements carefully as he took a moment to catch his breath. The SOLDIER was right-handed, and had always tended to have problems with covering his left side…
The blond dropped into a roll, avoiding Paul’s next attack, back on his feet in an instant with all the swiftness Vincent had drilled into him. Using his sword to counter his partner’s wide swing, he landed a hard kick on the SOLDIER’s side, sending him staggering.
“Enough! That’s plenty.” The SOLDIER Second frowned at them as Paul regained his balance, wincing slightly. “You’d better get in some more practice, Moser; you obviously aren’t fully readjusted yet. Strife, you’re dismissed. I’ll be sending your placement down soon enough.” With that the Second Class left the gym, clipboard in hand.
“Sorry abut that,” Cloud mumbled ruefully as he watched Paul rub his side. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble…”
“It’s my own fault for not keeping up my defenses. And he’s right; I do need more practice…” Paul sighed, glancing after his superior, then turned back to the cadet. “In any case, I’m off duty in a bit. Want me to help you move into your new dorm? We can go out afterwards…” Not that he really expected Cloud to accept, but…
“I’d like that,” the other answered with a smile. “Swing by when you get off?”
“It’d be my pleasure,” Paul replied, surprised yet pleased. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he burst out, “When did you learn how to do that? You— well, uh, not to be harsh, but you weren’t anywhere near that good during the exams.”
Cloud smiled wryly. Between Zack’s training and no longer hiding what Vincent had taught him, he supposed he really had come a long way since then. It had almost been… well, boring to fight Paul, though after having sparred regularly with a SOLDIER First, he shouldn’t have been surprised at that. “Well… let’s just say it’s been a long year.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
ShinRa Company was a place of many secrets.
This in itself was no secret, of course; everyone knew the company had certain information and practices that it didn’t want the general public to know about, yet somehow were known by nearly every one of its employees, down to the lowest office runner boys. Those who were smart picked up on these things quickly, and learned to keep their mouths shut despite any personal qualms. Those who weren’t, who found out too much, who reacted poorly to what they learned, often found themselves receiving a visit from the concerned members of the Department of Administrative Research.
Needless to say, the stupid and the overly sensitive didn’t survive long in ShinRa.
While ShinRa was very careful about protecting the knowledge of less-than-savory things done in its name, however, its executive officers had long ago realized it was fruitless to try to quash people’s tendency towards idle chatter. Thus blackmail and bribery, alliances and mentorships, love affairs and long-standing hatred, all these and more were unofficially “safe” secrets for ShinRa-related gossip, and the company rumor mills were full of them.
Case in point: Lieutenant Zachary Sinclair, SOLDIER First Class, and SOLDIER Cadet Cloud Strife, formerly a private in the 72nd Infantry Division. On paper, the pair hardly had any contact with each other, but nearly all of SOLDIER knew Zack spent much of his spare time working with the younger man. If nothing else, the sheer improvement in Strife’s cadet evaluation scores would have indicated something was up.
Those scores were a matter of some difficulty already.
“It’s a waste of his potential,” Kennent, the SOLDIER First in charge of the cadet program, murmured with a frown as he looked over a batch of candidates sparring in the gym. “He’s in the highest-level squad and he’s still bored. Look at him; you can tell. Most of the swordwork they’re studying at the moment is stuff he already knows back to front.”
“What are we supposed to do with him, then?” Marius, the Second Class who had done Strife’s evaluation, objected. Like his superior and long-time comrade, he kept his voice low so the cadets he was supervising couldn’t hear their discussion. “You said it yourself, he’s already in the most advanced squad.”
“And bored out of his skull.” Kennent sighed. “I’m tempted to send him to Third Class basic training, except they’d probably kick him out. And anyway, they spend half the time adjusting to treatments Strife doesn’t have yet.”
Marius grunted at that. Though neither would ever say it aloud, especially not within earshot of the cadets, they both knew that at this point the exams were just a formality. ShinRa would never allow someone with Strife’s level of skill to get away from them. “I can’t think of any other option, though…” the SOLDIER Second said thoughtfully, “unless… We could assign him a mentor. He could still do cooperative drills with his squad, and receive more advanced instruction during general training periods.” Mentors were assigned to new SOLDIER Thirds, not cadets, but there had been exceptions in the past. “What do you think… sir?”
“That might work,” Kennent conceded, nodding slowly. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find a willing person for the job as well. In fact…” He pulled out his PHS, just the hint of a smile on his face.
An instant later the device crackled to life. “ShinRa Telecommunications Mainframe, Internal Communications Office. How may I help you, Sergeant Kennent?”
“Patch me through to SOLDIER Lieutenant Sinclair… and tell him I have a proposition he might be interested in.”
“One moment, please.”
Read Comments | Leave a Comment