Late, As Always
Chapter 1 – Redone!
A/N: I'm not sure how this deviated from its original form, but somewhere along the line it morphed into something I don't find to be particularly pleasing. So! Back to the drawing board, to be transformed into something a little closer to the first version. This time, I don't want to rush it.
Even when he was a child, it took very extreme measures for Ms. Strife to wake her boy from the throes of deep sleep. Foghorns, cold water and being pulled physically from his bed had brought minimal results, but it had eventually gotten him up and running. To be honest, she was never surprised to be contacted by her son's school that he was suffering for always being late for just about everything.
Not much had changed since those many years ago, as evidenced by the fact that Cloud Strife had once again slept through the blaring wake-up horn that sounded every morning at the ShinRa military complex. The other cadets in Cloud's dorm had long since quit trying to wake him up, knowing it was a lost cause. All they did anymore was sigh as they walked out the door for morning session, knowing the boy was in for hell as soon as he was able to wake himself.
Presently, after nearly an hour of the screeching of his personal alarm clock, Cloud sat bolt upright in his tiny bunk, slamming his head on the upper bunk.
"HOLY SHIT! Not again!" he crowed, rubbing his throbbing head as he leaped out onto the cold tile floor. Christ, why couldn't he ever put his uniform in the same place twice?!
6:30. Oh fuck. I really need to move my ass, Cloud thought as he booked it into the bathroom, hopping from one foot to the other as he hurriedly tried to pull his pants on and put his shirt on the correct way. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he pulled a face. Once again, his lemon-yellow spikes were unruly as hell and absolutely no amount of product or taming would yield different results. Deciding it was best to just forget it, Cloud quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and violently laced his standard-issue combat boots before grabbing his books and sprinting for his first session. If he was lucky, he could still make the second hour of it.
Cloud had managed to slow himself down to walk calmly into his session 50 minutes late. Zack sighed and motioned for him to sit in one of the many vacant chairs surrounding the vast sparring court.
"Late again, Strife?" he asked once the room settled. "See me after session please."
General Sephiroth watched on (as Zack's supervising officer, of course) from an upper balcony as the Basics of Sword Training class droned on for another full hour after its daily interruption. Many of the cadets seemed to nod off as the course went on, despite Zack's extremely exuberant way of teaching. In complete honesty, this course had been Sephiroth's least favorite as well. All theory and no sword in hand made for a very long session.
Sephiroth had to sit through the session, just as bored as the young cadets in the room, because although Zack was a fully-qualified SOLDIER First Class, ShinRa deemed it necessary for him to be supervised while giving his lectures. To pass the time, he contented himself with analyzing the cadets. Already, he could tell which ones would flunk out completely, which would end up in the regulation army, and which had a passing chance at the SOLDIER exams at the end of the year.
It was Sephiroth's honest opinion that the cadets would not learn all they would need to know in a year, but those who didn't pass and ended up the regulation army had the opportunity to study for another two years to try again. In the end, he supposed it was fair.
Speaking of Fair… Zack was about to wrap up his lecture. At least, Sephiroth hoped so by the way the cadets were packing up their books and starting to fidget like mad. A part of the General's mind remembered that the neon-blond boy was required to hang back with Zack for being late again. The thought crossed Sephiroth's mind to stay behind to supervise. For fun. That's what he told himself, anyway. It wasn't because the boy frequently drew his attention or-
"Alright, class dismissed, except for my favorite slacker!" Zack called. Half of the cadets were out the door already. Only Cloud remained behind, awkwardly waiting for the room to clear before walking slowly up to Zack, looking glum.
Sephiroth took this opportunity to make his way down the stairs, where he hung back by the door, waiting for his second-in-command.
"Cloud, Cloud, Cloud," Zack chided. "As your professor and resident advisor, I have to tell you: you're about to be in a lot of trouble. There are only so many times I can pretend this doesn't happen all the time before the bosses will be on my ass."
Cloud hung his head. "I know, Zack, but I don't know how to fix it! It's been a lifelong problem. Ask my mom. Well, on second thought, don't, because she'd probably keep you on the phone forever telling you stories about my childhood…"
"Score!" Zack whooped, pumping a fist in victory. "You know I love that stuff. Friends should always have embarrassing blackmail on friends. Anyway! Have you tried figuring out why you can't wake up? You know, our doctors here are so amazing they'd probably have you fixed up in no time!"
Across the room, Sephiroth shuddered at the mere mention of doctors. Zack smiled at him sympathetically. The General briefly wondered how Zack even noticed.
Cloud shook his head. "Do I have to? Doctors make me…squeamish."
Sephiroth knew exactly what the boy meant and gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Again, Zack smiled over at him. How could the First be so inattentive in normal life and so perceptive now? Something was definitely weird here.
"Look, Cloud. Let me set you up with one of the sleep techs. For one, they aren't as creepy as doctors. Mostly because they aren't doctors at all. They're normal kids just like you and me that help out in the labs. They'll be able to figure out why you aren't waking up when you should. They might have you work with a shrink briefly but I think it will really help. You don't want to get kicked out, do you?"
There was a moment's hesitation. "…no."
"Why the pause?" Zack prodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Tell me why you joined the SOLDIER program."
The blond shook his head vehemently. "I can't tell you that. It's completely embarrassing."
Zack figured Cloud probably joined to be just like Sephiroth, just as many other cadets before him. The best part was that Sephiroth was standing by the doors, a fact that Cloud couldn't know because he hadn't looked yet. The General was a sneaky bastard when he wanted to be.
"I gotta prove myself, Zack!" Cloud suddenly blurted. "I came from a backwater town in which I always got picked on and shunned. So I gotta be strong, ya know, like Sephiroth, so I can prove that I'm not the worthless kid they knew!"
There it was. "Like Sephiroth." Everyone had this weird hero-worship thing for Seph. Just never made any sense.
"Alright, Spike," Zack conceded. "If you want to make it, you need to get restful sleep and wake up in time. If you want that dream to come true, then you'll let me help you."
After a moment, Cloud finally nodded. "Alright, Zack, do your magic."
Sephiroth almost smiled.
...
It had been a few weeks since the day Sephiroth had been present for Zack's lecture. The General was sitting at his desk, attempting to finish the mountains of paperwork Old Man ShinRa had assigned him when Zack walked into his office, looking rather somber. Automatically his analytical mind told him that something was amiss; Zack didn't barge in with his usual grandeur. Sephiroth sighed and steeled himself for the eminent mischief.
"What is it, Zack? I have a lot of work to do today," Sephiroth ventured after a few moments of the First wandering around in a glum daze.
Zack heaved a huge sigh of his own, turning dull blue eyes to his superior. "Seph, something bad happened today. There was a giant ruckus on my floor today. I guess a student got raped after physical session this afternoon. I… couldn't find one of my cadets. They wouldn't release who was involved, not even to me! What is the point of me overseeing the cadets if I can't even know this kind of information?!"
This information startled Sephiroth. It wasn't uncommon for relationships to happen amongst cadets being that there was hardly any contact with the outside community, but rapes were not really that common. Reported ones, anyway. The Department of Security once put out a notice that there was something like 20% more rapes that weren't recorded. None of that normally mattered to Sephiroth, though. He was a master of strategy and command.
"Well, Zack, which of your students was missing today?" he offered.
The frown deepened. "I have a lot of students that don't show up often, so I think I can rule them out. Both Reno and Cloud were missing today, but I don't know. A few cadets from other floors are missing. It could have been anyone."
Zack definitely noticed the fact that Sephiroth stiffened when Cloud's name was mentioned. It was an odd thing, but he decided to let it go…for the time being.
"I'll keep an eye out. The cadet in question might still be in the med ward. I've got… an appointment in a few hours there anyway. Near there, anyway. I'll check it out."
Something in Sephiroth hoped to Holy that he wouldn't find a neon-blond in the medical ward later.
As it turned out, there were no cadets in the immediate medical ward when Sephiroth arrived. Zack, however, was. Apparently Cloud was doing sleep-studies and Zack promised to be present when the blond woke up.
"You're coddling him," Sephiroth accused. "You're also going to be accused of favoritism."
"Seph, you know I can't help it. Look, he's been screaming for the entire study, but he's definitely asleep. Currently he's not responding to waking, as has been his problem for the past two months. The weird thing is, none of his bunkmates reported screaming waking them since the program started."
"I would assume they'd be too afraid to say anything," Sephiroth replied. "If your roommate frequently had screaming night terrors, would you report him?"
"I don't know Seph. Why is it starting now? Whatever, I guess you're right. I'd just turn over and go back to sleep. At least I would have when I was a cadet. Now I want to help everyone."
Sephiroth laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Look, Zack. You can't… save everyone. If you try, you'll end up in the ward yourself. Or worse, in the labs."
Cloud chose that moment to sit bolt upright in the bed, glancing around wildly. His bright sapphire eyes were unfocused, almost enraged. The medical staff rushed forward, restraining the raging cadet. Zack watched on, his hand outstretched oddly and looking frantic, as if he wanted to run in there himself to help out. Suddenly, the boy was lucid and speaking normally to the staff. He shook his head a few times as if to clear the fog there.
"Where is Zack?" Cloud asked rather loudly. He began looking around suspiciously. "I need to see him. He promised he'd be here when I woke up. Zack?!"
"Gotta go, Seph," Zack ground out hurriedly. "I'll see you in the office tomorrow. Let me know if you find anything out about my cadets, please."
Sephiroth didn't even manage a reply before Zack took off, rounding a corner and popping into the sleep room next to Cloud. The blond immediately relaxed in Fair's presence while the techs scolded Zack for entering a study room in such a way. Zack merely chuckled and ruffled Cloud's hair. Something told the General that he would be seeing much more of the young cadet in the months to come…
End notes:
I tried really hard to draw this out and put in more descriptions. I realized that Cloud later mentions to Sephiroth that he had been raped (or close to it) by a fellow cadet which sets in motion the end storyline. How on earth did I forget to put that in..?
I suppose such things happen when you get overexcited. Consider it the writer's version of shootin' off too early. Hah.
Please, let me know if you guys like this better or if I should keep version one. I appreciate any and all feedback, regardless of how mean it could be. Honest.
