Disclaimer
I do not own the characters. This is a fiction, my fiction. Prequel to 'Peace upon us… Please'. I hope you'll like this as much as you love the sequel to the game. I guess it is yaoi, too, so don't say I didn't warn you. Enjoy!
Htress
First encounter
In the courtyard of the Shinra military academy, a truck was delivering the new recruits to the SOLDIER program. Young men from all over the world seemed to be gathered, hoping for a place in the glorious Shinra army. Those young men straighten up when a dark-haired man passed through them, with a large sword strapped at his back: a buster sword, the sign of a first-class SOLDIER. The man had also a little star pinned to his collar, whoever they were seeing was a commander, and from the look of his pin, it was no one else than the second-in-hand of the General himself. Zackary Hoecken waved and welcomed the new recruits. However, scanning on his list, a person seemed to be missing. After showing the newcomers the way to the barracks, he climbed in the truck to make a quick inspection… As he was about to get out, he heard a low groan coming from the back. Hidden between two crates was a blond boy, curled on himself and obviously sick as a dog. He was trembling all over but when Zack crouched down to shake him up, his astonishing blue eyes snapped open.
- Take me out… Please… out… can't hold back… anymore…
Never in his life had first class SOLDIER Zack ran that quick to reach on time the bathroom. The boy in his arms was death pale and as soon as he touched the ground he doubled over and heaved. Zack winced; he'd never saw someone that affected by motion sickness, and being a good-hearted person by nature, he couldn't leave him like that. When the kid flushed the toilet, he wiped away the sweat on his brow.
- Hey, kid… You gonna be alright?
- Gimme time… Sir, I… I gotta lie down… a few…
- Let down the formalities, the name's Zack. What's yours?
********
After taking the young Cloud to his assigned room, the Commander prepared himself to go out to the Midgar's slums, his thoughts floating. He was about out get out for the garage when his PHS rang. With a heavy sight, he answered it.
- Zachary Hocken speaking.
- Commander, report immediately to the lab, door 327. Your commanding officer is waiting.
The line went flat, and Zack shivered.
- Always a pleasure, doctor Hojo…
Since few months, Professor Hojo had summoned Sephiroth many times in his lab for different tests. Now that the war was over, he seemed to use Sephiroth as his guinea pig, and Zack was close enough to the General to know that the freak was his father. But lately, the testing had became more cruel and harsh. The last time Zack had been said to report to the lab, Sephiroth's forearm was badly damaged, and the man seemed to be miles away from his body. He had to drag him to the sickbay, where the staff healed him, but being under the lead of the Scientific Department, no one could act to stop Hojo. The man /was/ the head of the Scientific Department. He hurried up and hopped in the elevator. He knew what was going on. Sephiroth had been summoned again in the lab for his monthly check-up, or like Zack used to call, his monthly day-of-torture. He walked to the door 327 and opened it. From the corner of the dark room, a pair of very confused Mako-green eyes looked up at him. Zack's widened as he got closer, the General was slumped into a chair and looked like a pity. With utmost care, he lifted him on his feet and began to walk him to his quarters. It wasn't the first time, but the Commander always feared it would be the last…
- Sephiroth… You gotta do something about this…
Sephiroth looked up and straightened up a little before he stepped into his quarters.
- Thank you for your concern, Commander, but I'll appreciate if you would keep your thoughts for yourself.
- Oh, you're not doing this to me, General. Not /now/.
Sephiroth gestured to Zack to close the door. Wearily, he lead his second to the small, denuded living room and sat down on the couch. A hand on the brisk of his nose, the silver-haired man expired a shaky sigh. Slowly, he unclipped the buckle of his trench coat. Both of his arms were marked by bloodied needle pricks, but what shocked the most Zack was the twin scars in his back. Obviously, the General had suffered at Hojo's hands. Again and a lot.
- How much more Mako did he give you this time?, asked the Commander in concern.
- Don't know… Three, maybe four time more than the last time…
- To this rate, Hojo will kill you in less than six months… It's insane!
- I tried to get out…
- What?
- I tried… to get out… Really tried, Zack, repeated Sephiroth, brushing away the black garment.
Zack immediately got up and lifted Sephiroth to his feet, slowly dragging him to his bed. He helped him to get rid of his boots and tucked him in. As the first symptoms of Mako poisoning were racking his body, the dark-haired man moved to the bathroom to retrieve some supplies and put them on the bedside table. He knew the General was closely watched after the tests and he couldn't stay too long. He only took the time to put a damp washcloth on his superior's forehead before turning all the lights off and walked back out. Sighing deeply, he returned to the garage and started his motorcycle. What he needed was a strong drink.
*******
- Strife! Loosey dumbass! Higher! How many times will I have to tell you: don't point that thing toward me!
The bell rang just then and Captain Donovan Hatako dismissed the students, but grabbed Cloud by the collar and dragged him into his office. Without any further warning, Cloud was thrown backward and the Captain closed his hand around his throat.
- What do you think you're doing, Strife? Do you think your pretty face will open for you the door for SOLDIER? Why are you messing my classes?
Cloud's eyes were wide with fear, and he swallowed hard.
- I… I'm sorry, Sir… I'm not at ease with a gun… I thought SOLDIER used swords…
Hatako released him for an instant before shoving him his rifle. He grabbed the blond and put him back roughly on his feet.
- Not at ease, huh? If you can't use a gun, you're no use for Shinra! Salute!
Cloud straightened up and saluted but was greeted by a hard slap on the face.
- The gun! Higher!
Another punch, harder than the first, crushed his attempt to correct his position. An hour later, bruised and battered, Cloud trudged back to his room. He fell on his bed, forcing back a moan as he rolled on his side, kicking his boot off the bed and he closed his eyes, ignoring his roommate's worried inquiries. He let the dark take him out of his hurt shell.
********
Few weeks later.
- Cloud? Hey, Cloud… Man, wake up…
Cloud groaned and turned on his side with difficulty. Gary looked down at him and sighed.
- If you don't get up, you'll be late… The General won't be pleased.
- The General!?!
The blond's eyes snapped open and he bolted off his bed to jump into his uniform. The brunette laughed and handed him his sword. He and Cloud became good friends, even if Cloud didn't talk a lot about what was happening to him. The Commander also stopped by when he had time and was often watching the training. Gary had also noticed the wounds of his friend, the fear in his eyes whenever he was going to Hatako's classes… Though he couldn't understand why Cloud wasn't able to improve in that particular class. The boy was a fierce warrior, agile and fast, he could beat anybody in the martial art court. He was bright and intelligent, one of the best in the Materia studies. On top of that, the brunette had discovered that the blond was an incredulous swordsman. But to see him hold a gun and tremble… was beyond him. He guessed that his instructor was a part of the problem but still…
On the other hand, each time that he mentioned something about the General, the boy's ears were literally perking up. He was totally addicted to the 'hero worship'. That's what he signed for, and by counting on the times he sneaked out to train with his sword at night, he was truly living to make it to the top. But maybe that was the main reason of hi isolation. In fact, Cloud had only two friends in all the academy, though the boy was friendly and kind, nobody was coming to see him except the Commander and him. Some recruits from Nibelheim were already spreading rumours on him, he'd heard them, and Gary wasn't caring if it was true or not, but he could tell he wasn't doing any good to Cloud's reputation. And with Hatako against him, no matter how good he was at fighting or with his sword, he would have a lot of difficulty to get into SOLDIER.
- Gary! We'll be late!
Gary smiled and followed Cloud for their morning training.
********
Sephiroth sighed deeply. Why did he have to choose the men himself? Couldn't Zack do this alone? On the ground, the troopers were frantic, executing movements after movements. Monotonous, uninteresting, he had seen this a million time, already. However, a certain blond was capturing his attention. He was moving fluidly, with a strange ease through the complex course, hitting each target with a deadly precision. The boy was good at fighting, no doubt, so much Sephiroth wondered how he would do with a sword. He continued to watch the other wobble and try not to mess up their routine. A fierce wave of pain racked his body, the yesterday's tests still ravaging him, and he bit back a groan.
- God, I hate this…, he whispered to himself.
He finally straightened and walked out in the court. Hatako barked his orders and the troopers ranked up and picked up their rifle to salute. The routine started anew. But when he looked at the blond boy he noticed earlier… Something different emanated from him. Something was wrong, like if he was afraid, uneasy, and by the way he held his rifle, the General could told the boy was a born swordsman. His sight flashed a moment and he rubbed the brisk of his nose.
- Sir, your orders?
- Send the best sniper and the blond to my office at 6:00 am tomorrow morning. Dismissed.
Leaving Hatako gaping he turned to get back at his quarters, his leather coat slapping the wind behind him. He punched the code and stumbled inside, shutting himself in his room. He fell to the ground with a dull thud, curling on his side. He brought his knees to his chest as his vision went white…
End
So? How it is? *twitches nervously* Write me your comments! And I hope to get another enormous number of reviews! I love you all! Next chapter: A decisive night.