Chapter 6: A Day in a Soldier's Life

Zack frowned at his laptop, he had opted to work on his report in the lounge instead of his office. The room was dark and the only light was coming from the large bay window, casting a soft glow in the dark room. He was beyond frustrated with the recent mission on Genesis and now, Angeal. The disappearance of his mentor had hit him hard.

"What the hell does Angeal think he's doing?" He muttered to himself as he tapped on the keyboard. "Even Sephiroth thinks Angeal is in with Genesis. It doesn't make sense; he holds his pride as a Soldier dearer than anyone I know." He groaned and threw his head back and tightened his fists on the tabletop. "The fuck you doing, Angeal?" He asked to no one and stood up, moving around the table to open space and started to do squats to relieve the pent-up energy.

Kunsel entered the lounge and went over to the table, leaning against it. "Yo, what got you agitated?"

Zack paused and turned to his friend, chuckling. "Kunsel." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "Just filling out reports of the latest mission."

Kunsel nodded, his dirty-blond hair shook. "Sucks to be you. I heard about those, I'm glad I got stuck doing the training duty instead of chasing down those copies."

Zack scoffed and returned to his laptop and Kunsel moved to sit across from him. Zack asked, "Speaking of training duty, how's the kid?"

"Cloud?" Kunsel asked, grinning. He had come to like the kid very much. "He's good. Probably the best in his class. He's due to take the exam tomorrow."

"Yeah? Good to know."

"Yeah, I got to learn sign language to communicate with him," Kunsel said. "Just basics. But it's not that hard. It can be useful when you need to be silent on a recon. Sign language is so much better to use than the hand singles we use. It makes so much more sense."

Zack looked up at Kunsel and grins.

Kunsel laughed, "Last week, we had this diving training and our team confused the hell out of the other teams because we were the only one able to communicate underwater without any confusion. We won by so many points."

Zack's eyes widened, "Really? Sound like a benefit. Sephiroth and I are trying to learn some ourselves. He more than I do but I think he'll have the entire Solider learn some before the end of the year."

Kunsel laughed, "That would be really good."

"So, you think Cloud's going to make it in for real?" Zack asked as he closed his laptop.

"He made it through the boot camp. There were some that dropped out, but not him. I am sure he'll pass the exam but not without difficulty. I can see why there's a good point to have a hearing ability."

Zack pursed his lips in thought, "Hm. There's something I'm going to look into for that…" He glanced down at his phone rang in his pocket. "Hold on." He took it out and flipped it open. "Yeah?"

"Soldier Second Class, Zack."

"That's me, who's this?" Zack asked.

"Lazard request your presence. Report to briefing room now."

Zack frowned, "Hold on! Who's this?"

The phone clicked, singling the end of the call.

Kunsel stood up, "I'll catch ya later."

Zack nodded as he stood up and grabbed his laptop. "Yeah, later."

"Oh hey!" Sephiroth turned his head to see Zack entering the observation room and inclined his head in greeting. Zack joined his side and glanced down the one-way window that overlooked the training room. "I came to see how Cloud's doing. You?"

"Same," Sephiroth replied quietly as he watched Kunsel instruct Cloud in the room. The room was a large cylinder shaped with metal walls. There were digital cameras and lights hidden in nooks and crannies in the room. He could see Kunsel's hands moving and Cloud replying in the same fashion. With his rudimentary knowledge of sign language, he was able to catch some words to understand. "Kunsel's instructing him on the basis of the test."

"Yeah," Zack replied. "Kunsel told me yesterday that he thinks Cloud will pass."

"I agree. It will be difficult but I trust he will."

Zack turned to the General. "I've been looking into it and I think I am going to suggest Cloud to consider hearing aid or something, just to give him a little bit of a boost."

Sephiroth shook his head. "I don't think that will work."

"Why?"

The General turned to his friend, "Hearing aid amplifies the sounds but Cloud has been living his whole life in silence, his brain isn't wired to recognize sounds at all. He had his physical last week, the doctors report that his ears looked healthy and have all parts, except, there are no hair-cells in his cochlea to carry the sounds. So, hearing aid might or might not work, but he will need a lot of training to be able to recognize some sounds, but not all."

Zack frowned and rubbed his chin. "Interesting. What about those… what are they called?"

"Cochlear Implants?" Sephiroth asked and Zack nodded. "Same thing. Will not work on Cloud. He's a natural born deaf and again, his brain is hard-wired to no sounds. I don't think he will be willing. There's a controversy about the device among the deaf people."

"Damn, that's tough." Zack murmured and turned to watch Cloud. Kunsel had just left the room and joined them.

"Hey." Kunsel greeted them and clicked on the computer near the window, starting the test.

They watched as hologram swirled around in the room. Cloud gripped the sword he was given to use and fell into a stance, watching as the light swirled.

The lights settled before him and became a warrior in armors. It was massive and started to hulk toward Cloud. Cloud watched the movement and shifted to move toward the right, but he saw something and changed his mind, moving left before the large armored figure dropped a large ax on his right side. He darted to the side of the room and observed the figure, looking for something.

"He is very observant," Sephiroth commented as he watched Cloud attack with precise movement and disabled the armored warrior. The light fell into tiny cubes and formed again into a different figure, indicating round two of the trail.

Cloud watched as the armored warrior fall apart when he attacked a weak spot part and suddenly morphed into a large bipedal creature with short arms and a long snout full of sharp teeth. It roared and lung forward, attacking Cloud.

He could feel the roar vibrate through the room and sidestepped as it lunged forward. It ran into the wall and slammed, shaking its head. It turned around and attacked. Cloud swept up his sword, slicing it across the neck and causing the creature to explode into digital lights. It transformed and turned into a different creature.

"Damn. That's good." Zack whistled and checked the time on the computer. "He's going through them with the fastest timing."

"General?" Kunsel asked. Sephiroth nodded, not breaking his eyes away from the glass. "With your permission, I'd like to up the level challenge by adding one more level."

Sephiroth turned his gaze to the young soldier, "Input Alpha Zeta 714 program."

Kunsel's jaw dropped, "Sir! That's…"

"Sephiroth!" Zack gasped. "Are you serious?"

Sephiroth gave a smirk, "Do it." He turned back to the glass. Kunsel keyed in the program, it would turn up right after Cloud defeat the current program. "I'd like to see how he puts up with me."

The hologram challenger scattered across the floor as Cloud swiped his sword and sighed. He watched as the little light cubes lay on the floor and turned to the door. He allowed his sword to drop to his side and wiped his brow with his free hand. He had finished the trial and looked up at the mirrored glass above.

He frowned, Kunsel wasn't coming through the door. He turned and gasped, seeing Sephiroth stand before him with Masamune. He swallowed. That wasn't part of the trial. He waved his hand and glanced up at the glass with wide eyes.

He yelped as the blade of Masamune came close to his face and he jumped back. He gripped his sword and raised it in time to block another attack. He watched as the General move around the room, like a predator watching and observing its prey. Only he was the prey. He blocked as Sephiroth attacked with fast stabbing and swiping motions. He held on, parrying every attack he could as he backtracked, trying to hold his own but the other man was too strong and too fast. He was able to discern the next move a millisecond and moved to defend. It was nearly impossible for him to find a hole to put in an attack, he knew he was too slow and weak. He could only defend as the best he could. He yelped as he tumbled, tripping over his own feet and fell backward. The cold steel of Masamune swiped down only to stop before his neck, the sharp edge pressing on his jugular. The hologram Sephiroth froze, looking menacing as he stared down at Cloud.

Cloud shuddered at the look in the eyes of the taller man standing over him. He never wanted to face the man himself like this and hoped he would never ever again. The door opened and he craned his neck to see, the hologram dissipating. He scrambled to stand and saluted as the real Sephiroth stepped into the room. His eyes were wide, he was sweating bullet from the exercise and he cursed inwardly, his knees were knocking and shaking from exertion.

Sephiroth watched the young cadet with a tiny smile. The boy had impressed him with his ambition, hard-working, and diligent to his training. There was something special about him and it wasn't his deafness, it was something deeper. He raised his hands and signed, "Good work. You passed. Congratulation."

Cloud's eyes widened almost too comically. He had never thought General Sephiroth would personally congratulate him, let alone tell him in his own language. He was speechless and all he could do was nod and smile.

Zack laughed as he stepped into the room next to Sephiroth and signed, "You did it! Come on."

Sephiroth watched as Cloud move past him to join Zack. He shook his head in amusement and gave Kunsel a nod and left in the opposite direction.

Cloud looked over his shoulder to see General Sephiroth retreat down the hall. He couldn't believe it. It was too surreal. Zack clapped his shoulder, shaking him out of his reverie and asked with rudimentary signs, "You okay?"

Cloud nodded, not wanting to speak yet. His throat was dry and he was afraid his voice would crack. He gestured, "Just tired."

Zack understood what he said and nodded. "Let's get you showered and some food in your belly. Then you need to start a new form to register for Third Class. I'm going to check your exam and find out where you have been placed." He saw Cloud nod and chuckled, pushing him gently into the locker room and waved. "See you."

"Can you tell me why you turned this mission I just went on down?" Zack asked as he walked into Sephiroth's office to find the man working at the computer.

Without even pausing and breaking away from the computer screen, Sephiroth replied, "You would have gotten more out of it than I did. Besides, I was able to uncover a little more information being here." He finally stopped and turned to face Zack who sat down and plopped his boots onto his desk. He eyed the boots with a glare before continuing. "Doctor Hollander is indeed involved, and not only just that, he also stole a lot of files from Professor Hojo. These files do not hold good news."

Zack dropped his boots down and leaned forward. "What kind of files?"

"Research on Project S, namely, me. Rufus is right to point me in that direction. I do not like where this is going. But we need to get to assembly in," The General checked the clock on his desk, "20 minutes. We're to announce big news to Soldier."

"Really?" Zack stood up as Sephiroth did. "What is it?" Sephiroth gave a grin, handing a printout of the email he had just received. Zack took it and read it. His eyes went wide. "No way! This is good news!"

"Yes," Sephiroth replied. "That's one less thing to worry about for the time being." They walked out of the building and over to the large assembly area where already over thousands of soldiers were assembled. It was nearly the entire army save for those at Junon Bases and around the world.

"Also, President ShinRa decided Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos are officially dead to the records. We are still to continue with our investigation on them."

Zack gave a whistling exhale. "Shit. That's just set it in."

"I know."

Sephiroth stood on the stage, facing the large crowd of soldiers. It was not all of them but the majority of them. The ShinRa Co. camera crew was set up in front of him, to broadcast the announcement all over, even in Junon Base. He knew the entire world was watching. It was something he detested, being a poster boy for the company but he couldn't help it, it was his job.

He spied a familiar blond hair sticking in the sea of soldiers. A tiny smirk triggered the corner of his smile. He glanced over to Zack and noticed the other man had found their little project. He gave Zack a nod and turned back to the podium before him. The paper with the announcement was laid in front him.

Zack gave a quick grin to the General before turning serious, facing the crowd on the stage. He caught Cloud's eyes and saw a slight confusion in his look. He glanced around and found Kunsel in front. He moved to the edge of the stage and knelt, gesturing for Kunsel to come forward. He whispered, "Someone needs to tell Cloud what's happening. Can you do this?"

Kunsel nodded and turned, spotting Cloud. He waved the young soldier over, "Come over here, stand here."

Cloud nodded and moved to stand where Kunsel stood. Kunsel turned and stood with his back to the stage, standing straight. Cloud stood straight to attention like every other soldier. Zack gave a nod, satisfied and clapped Kunsel's shoulder in silent thanks before standing back up.

Sephiroth had seen the entire thing from the corner of his eyes and was grateful for Zack's quick thinking. He wanted everyone to be able to understand and be included. His eyes went to the camera and a slight frown marred his forehead. It had never occurred to him, what of those deaf people out in the city? How do they get their information? And how accurate were they? It sparked a fire of curiosity inside him and he knew he had to investigate soon as possible. It wasn't fair to other deaf people if they are not getting everything as everyone else was.

He cleared his throat and tapped the microphone, getting a slight feedback. "Wutai War is over." There was an eruption of cheering ad Sephiroth held his hand up to silence his solider. As fast as the cheer rose, the silence fell. He continued, "We will withdraw from Wutai starting now."

True to Sephiroth's word, the soldiers in Wutai are breaking camps and packing up, leaving Wutai. The stalemate had come to an agreement between President ShinRa and Lord Godo. They have agreed that the war had gone too far and too long, wasting their precious resources. General Sephiroth had been sent to facilitate the temporary peace offering recently and was glad to see the war end. He held his pride in his Solider and their discipline but holds no love for war.

"This does not mean there are victories on both ends. Temporarily peace agreement has been placed for the time being. Soldier, remember to hold true to your honor, diligent and duty. You are Soldier of ShinRa." Sephiroth finished and stepped back from the podium to look over his thousands of Soldiers before him.

They saluted in harmony and chorused together, "Yes, Sir! ShinRa! ShinRa! ShinRa!"

"Good speech," Zack said as Sephiroth walked past him. He heard the General's quiet grunt and chuckled, knowing the General hated giving speeches out. It was straightforward and simple. He glanced down and winked at Cloud before exiting the stage.

Cloud pushed the trolley full of mail. He had been given a simple assignment for the time being to be a mail-boy for the ShinRa headquarter. Kunsel had explained that they, being Zack and himself, are looking into to find a position that suited Cloud the best. Until then, he was positioned to become errand-boy for the ShinRa building along with few other soldiers that nearly failed their exams. Cloud wasn't happy but he could not complain, he had made it in Solider after all.

He paused before the recruitment door and grimaced. He pulled out few mails and pushed the door open to find Paul and Roy in the office. "Mail."

They looked up and their eyes widened, remembering him.

Roy stood up and took the mail, "Well, well… you did make it in after all."

Paul laughed, "And only to be a mail-boy."

Cloud gave him a scathing glare. "At least I am in. I came out the top of the exam and breaking the timing record." He grinned, "Suck that up." He turned and left.

Paul's jaw dropped and Roy chuckled under his breath, impressed with the young soldier.

Cloud laughed to himself and continued on with his deliveries. He worked his way up to the 60th floor. It was the last floor he could access to and he had to leave the rest of the mails for the higher up floors to the secretary at the end of his route. He flipped through the last of his mails to see who he has to deliver and saw a parcel for General Sephiroth. His eyebrow rose.

"Mail." He announced as he pushed his way into the first office and delivered to the individuals and smiled at a young secretary to one of the lieutenants. She giggled as she took the envelopes from him. Cloud shook his head in amusement. The best part of the job was when some of the secretaries would attempt to flirt with him or some of the older women would give him cookies or treats.

"Mail." He entered the Weapon Department office and found the woman he was looking for. The tall blond with a red dress that was too revealing for the department. He shook his head, having heard enough stories about Scarlet Rouge. He approached the woman and handed it to her.

"Oh, thank you." She took it without looking at him. She frowned as she felt a tug and looked down to find a slightly shorter and young soldier looking up at her with his hand on the parcel. "Yes?"

"You must 'ign this." He told her.

She turned to him and took the pen. It clicked when she realized he had a strange accent to his voice and asked, "You're that deaf kid?"

Cloud blinked and nodded a moment later, realizing what she was trying to ask. "Yes. Solider Strife, at your 'erivce."

Scarlet grinned, "Cute too." She reached out and ruffled his blond hair and then poked his nose. "I've heard about you."

He grimaced and rubbed his nose, "Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, can you tell me what does this mean?" She asked, holding a sign up. She saw Cloud laugh and frowned. "What? Did I do it wrong?"

Cloud shook his head, having heard the story from Zack. "It's accurate. It is what it is." He turned and left, wheeling his tray out.

Scarlet gasped, staring at the young soldier, "Oooh!"

One of her weapon designers asked, "Did you just flipped the kid off?" She ducked as Scarlet threw a file at her in a fit of rage.

Cloud wheeled the nearly empty tray to the next office, it was the last one before he had to finish the route off with the secretary at the end of the hall. He left the tray and grabbed few envelopes and parcels.

"Director Tseng." He approached the office of the Turks and handed the mails before turning out to move to the next one. He felt his shoulder being grabbed and looked to find Reno besides him. "Reno."

"Hey!" Reno replied, grinning. "Congratulation! You made it in. And blew the exam away!"

Cloud turned to fully face the red-head, smiling. "Yeah. It was unbelievable. General Sephiroth was there."

"No way! I just heard that you broke the timing record in the trial run. But, General Sephiroth? He never makes any personal appearance to any soldier's test or trial."

Cloud shrugged and asked, "Is it normal for anyone to be tested against General Sephiroth?"

Reno frowned and shook his head, "What do you mean?"

"The last round of my trial run, I faced General Sephiroth. I mean, the avatar of him."

The Turks' eyes widened. "No way…" he switched his language, "Seriously? That's unheard of. The avatar of General Sephiroth is reserved for higher class soldiers, to test their endurance and stamina for First Class. No one can beat him."

The young blonde gasped in surprise. "Really?"

"Yup," Reno replied and slugged the young soldier's shoulder. "Go on. I shouldn't be holding you up for your duty. They haven't found you a position yet?"

Cloud shook his head and smiled. "Maybe soon. Good to see you." He turned and left. He moved to the next office and entered, "Mail." He handed the letters to Zack and grinned. "Is it true that I am the only one that got General's avatar for the test trial?"

Zack looked up in surprise and took the mail. "Oh, yeah."

"Why?" Cloud asked, curiously.

The older man leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms up, loosening the kinks in his shoulders. "Sephiroth asked for it."

"Seriously!?"

Zack laughed "Yeah. Kunsel and I were surprised. You did well for a beginner. No one held out as long as you did."

Cloud blinked, amazed. He looked down to the parcel in his hand, he has to deliver the last mail to the man himself. He felt nervous. "Any prospect on a new position? Not that I am complaining about being a mail-boy."

Zack stood up, grinning. "Kunsel and I are narrowing it down. Turns out most of the job positions here require some hearing. But we'll find you a place to put your skills to use. You do have potentials."

"Thanks." Cloud smiled.

Zack walked with Cloud to the door and asked, "Want to hang out this weekend? I'd like to learn more sign language."

Cloud bobbed his head. "Sound great!" He waved and moved to the next door and stood there. He inhaled and knocked, "Mail." He could see the General in the office, working away at the computer. He watched for any acknowledgment. He saw a nod and pushed the door open. He went to the desk and handed the parcel, it had to be signed.

Sephiroth looked up and bit back a slight surprise to see the young cadet that had occupied his mind of late. He took the parcel and grabbed a pen, signing his name. "Thank you." He signed as he returned the sheet.

Cloud automatically responded, still finding it hard to believe the General was using sign language, "You're welcome."

Sephiroth smirked. "I am not good at signing but I'd like to learn more and practice to get better." He paused and thought before continuing, "How is your job?" He frowned, hoping he had gotten it right.

Cloud nodded, smiling. "Thank you for asking. It's good. Not what I want to do but it's a start."

Sephiroth gave a nod. "Good." He stood up and walked with Cloud to the door. "Maybe we can find time so you can teach me."

"Zack and I are hanging out this weekend, I am teaching him. Maybe you could join us." Cloud suggested.

"That sounds good," Sephiroth replied. "I will be there."

Cloud found himself growing hot and bowed his head. "See you then, Efi'ro." He turned and left, hurriedly to deliver the last of the mail. Sephiroth was nothing like he had believed to be growing up. He was much nicer in person and very considerate. He couldn't help but feel a slight flutter in his chest.

Sephiroth watched the young more solid leave hurriedly. He had not missed the red dusting on the freckled cheeks and chuckled. Zack was right, the boy did have a difficult time pronouncing his name but he had liked how it sounded coming from his lips. "Efi'ro." He repeated, it was interesting. He returned to his work. He found himself looking forward to learning more sign language from Cloud.

Note:

I ran into a writer's block with this chapter. Sorry, it took a while to get it out but I am pleased with what came up.

Hearing aids and Cochlear Implant. It is usually the first thing hearing person would think is the best option for a deaf person, assuming it would help them to hear. Sorry to tell you this, no. It's the most offensive way you could ever do to a deaf person by telling the person to get a hearing aid or cochlear implant. Just don't. It's a personal decision and a very difficult decision for a person and parents to consider. There is a big controversy over Cochlear Implant in the deaf community. Majority of them hates it and the idea of it, not because of the device, but the reason behind it and how it was pushed onto them by hearing people.

There is no cure for deafness. Period. (don't even try to argue with me. I know.)

The best option is to remove the language barrier and eliminate the oppression on them. I can write a report, textbook, and whatnots on it. (I am actually writing a research on Deaf Culture and Social Media for my BA capstone currently).

The whole point of this story is I want to establish a relationship between Sephiroth and Cloud, with Cloud being deaf. I'll be drawing away from introducing the deaf and focusing on their story more now.

Cloud speaks really well and few people switch between talking and signing. At this point, Zack and Sephiroth both know the basic sign language but keep their lips and eye-contacts clear with Cloud.

Kunsel had learned enough sign language to be somewhat proficient (but not on the same level as Reno), so he can interpret for Cloud. But in the real world, do not ever get anyone who knows sign language to become an interpreter. Get a professional, please. What Zack did was wrong if it were a real situation. But we're talking Final Fantasy world with very little, tiny, microscopic deaf community compared to real world. Interpreters and closed captions do not exist in their world… yet.

Thank you so much for tremendous support and reviews. I didn't think this story would do so well. Love to you all! _\m/