Author's Note: This was inspired by a very…aggravating fanfiction I read earlier today. I won't go into detail, but the characters' decisions had me literally throwing my phone across the room from anger. The characters were acting like sorority girls in a horror movie (I have nothing against sorority girls, except in horror movies because they are always stupid and scream too much) so I got to thinking, the purpose of a fanfiction is basically to bring enjoyment to the writer and reader. If it fails to do one of those it should be considered a failure. Now I don't mean if you get a few people telling you they don't like it, because there will always be those people. No, I mean if you are getting a hundred messages telling you that all the characters are OOC you need to evaluate either your writing style or your plot. So I came up with an idea (which was reinforced after reading a fanfic with the similar idea). An interactive fanfiction! YOU decide what the character does, you make all of the major choices; taking the story in the direction you want it to go. The person you will be guiding is none other then….Cadet Cloud Strife! And this is a yaoi story; however it is not entirely focused on yaoi. I apologize for this relatively long Author's Note, without further adieu; here is A Soldier's Story!
Cloud's breathing was erratic as he signed his name onto the small dotted line. This was it. This was his dream. He was finally joining SOLDIER. Cloud glanced up at the recruitment officer sitting in front of him. The man seemed positively bored; checking his watch every five seconds before glaring down at the new cadet.
"Um… is there anything else I need to do?" Cloud asked as he handed the paperwork back to the now openly impatient man.
"Nope. Welcome to Shinra's SOLDIER Cadet Program." The man practically threw the new papers into Cloud's face before waving him away so he could handle the next wide-eyed newcomer.
Cloud cautiously picked up the papers as if he feared they would bite him. Looking them over carefully, he noticed several different sheets of information. One of the papers was a map of the first thirty levels of the Shinra Tower. Cloud stared in awe as he tried to make sense of all of the different symbols and words; not to mention it seemed to unfold forever. Just when Cloud thought he had reached the last fold, he realized it had an entire set of folds more.
The small blonde had used maps before, but none as complex as this one. If he was being honest with himself, it appeared as if a five year old had taken a pen and just drawn different shapes and scribbles onto the paper before someone snatched it up and proceeded to label all of the scribbles.
Shaking his head slightly, Cloud moved on to the next paper. It was a paper titled "Guidelines and Regulations." It wasn't so much a paper, as it was a book; which happened to be at the least three inches thick.
Flipping the front cover open, Cloud silently read the first line.
"Cadets must abide by the rules and restrictions written in these pages. Failure to do so will result in immediate termination from the SOLDIER Program."
Cloud quickly snapped the book shut; his brain not wanting to even think of the word "termination" this early in.
Rearranging the small stack in his arms, the blonde youth pulled out the next paper. This was actually a piece of paper. It wasn't complex, or too difficult to understand. It had which dorm he had been assigned to; along with his schedule, where he had to go to pick up his uniform, and the name of his instructor, Corporeal Lee Tanton. Cloud shrugged his shoulders thoughtfully. That seemed simple enough.
Moving on to the next paper, Cloud sighed as he came to another book. However, this seemed much more appealing to the fifteen year old. It was all about the proper care for the standard sword that would be commissioned to him once he picked up his uniform, not to mention had a basic history of materia and basic sword stances and moves.
Even though that seemed extremely tempting, Cloud knew he needed to acquaint himself with the other papers as well. Turning his attention to the next paper in the bundle, he found it was a list of side jobs he could take on while training. Among them was dishwasher, caddy, cleaner, delivery….
Cloud paused on the delivery. That sounded much more interesting then all of the others. Of course he could not deny that a part of the reason it captured his attention was there was a glimmer of a chance that he would deliver something to his idol, General Sephiroth.
Shaking himself mentally, he moved on to the last page. Which, thank the Goddess, showed what time meals would be served and when snacks could be purchased.
Thinking carefully on his choices, Cloud decided what his next move would be.
Chapter 2: study the "Rules and Guidelines"
Chapter 3: Find the office where he would be given his uniform
Chapter 4: Study the book about caring for his sword, how to use materia, and sword stances.
Chapter 5: Find out about the delivery job before someone else took it
Chapter 6: Go get something to eat from the cafeteria, he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and he was starving!