Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did Sephiroth and Zack would have been making out instead of fighting each other and Zack wouldn't have died.
Prologue: First Impressions.
Standing with his back facing the front door a boy of about sixteen years old ran a hand through his spikey blond hair. A sigh escaped his lips as bright blue eyes scanned the street in front of him
"I'm so not looking forward to this." He mumbled against himself as he started walking. Stuffing his hands deep in his pockets he thought about how everything had changed in way to less time. One moment he had been living his usual boring and dull life in Nibleheim and the next he found himself being send to his uncle in Midgar. He did knew why his parents had send him here, though. His family had always been short on money and now with his parents their business running bad there just wasn't any money left for his tuition. That was where uncle Zackary Fair had come in, he had told his parents that he could dome live with him in Midgar until business got better again and wouldn't mind paying for his tuition.
That was all good and well, were it not for the fact that his uncle was about as zealous and cheerful as a puppy. Seriously, that man couldn't sit still for longer than five seconds, and to top it all off, what on Gaia was with that giant broadsword of his? Sometimes he really wondered how that man had been able to become a psychologist.
But, the blond thought, after having been awoken by his puppy-like uncle pouncing on him and rambling about how nice it was to have him here as he prepared for school, how much worse and absolutely crazed could his day get? Surely there would be some nice kids at school who would want to befriend the new kid, right?
- Diamonds and Rust –
Luckily he had been able to go in yesterday to pick up his books, schedule and locker number. Having opened his locker to take out the books he needed he glanced down at the schedule in his hand. First period…. war tactics? What messed up kind of school, besides a military one that is, teaches war tactics? One blond eyebrow was raised in a puzzled expression. Just great, everything in Midgar is just plain weird. At least his second period was more normal, literature.
As the blond entered the classroom he saw that most seats were already taken. Scanning the room he saw a free seat beside a boy with fiery red hair and twin tattoos on his cheekbones. 'Oh great' He thought. 'The people here even got weird hair colours and tattoos on their faces.'
Setting himself down beside the redhead he was given a bright smile which he meekly returned. 'Even better, everyone's a friggin puppy in this city.'
"You're new, right? Never seen you before, yo" The redhead suddenly said to him after a few moments of silence, fingers playing with the end of his red ponytail. "Name's Reno." The blond just nodded softly at this. "I'm new indeed. I'm Cloud Strife, nice to meet you."
The redhead now known as Reno opened his mouth to speak again but quickly shut it when the door opened and a tall man with knee-length silver hair and an annoyed scowl on his face walked it. Cloud felt his eyes grow wide as saucers. This was their teacher? A shiver ran down his spine and he couldn't help but swallow. The guy looked like he was going to snap the neck of the first student that made a sound.
Reno tapped him on his shoulder and he averted his gaze from their teacher. "That's Sephiroth, though he insist on being called 'Sir' or 'General', yo" The redhead whispered behind his hand. "Do NOT piss him off, you might lose a limb in the process." Cloud's eyes widened once more and his gaze was back on the teacher. "lose… a limb?" He mumbled in disbelief.
That moment Sephiroth directed his gaze towards Reno and Cloud, effectively shutting them up with his cold, green, catlike gaze. Somehow the blond felt himself sitting up as straight as possible and he felt the strange urge to salute.
By the end of the lesson Cloud had grown to frightened of Sephiroth's violent outbursts and hurtful remarks to even attempt answering. Several girls and even a few boys had started crying due to those. A wave of relief washed over Cloud when the bell finally rang. This must have been, by far, his longest period ever.
Reno stretched himself in his seat before getting up and Cloud banged his head on his desk a few times. "In the name of Gaia. Is the guy always like that? How am I ever going to survive" He groaned before gathering his things. "Actually, today we were pretty lucky. He was in a surprisingly good mood, yo." Reno shrugged casually.
"GOOD?" The blond shrieked in disbelief. "You mean it can get worse?" "Oh yes, definitely, yo. Just wait until he points Masamune at you. Wouldn't be the first to piss their pants, yo." Reno explained, grinning a bit at the mention of students pissing their pants. Wasn't all that surprising really. Those unearthly eyes of his, they seemed to look right into your soul and know all your secrets.
"Masamune?" They were currently going up the stairs seeing as they both had literature on the top floor. Reno nodded, once again playing with the tip of his long red ponytail. "Uh-huh. Masamune, his seven feet katana. Sharp like nothing I've ever seen before, yo. Cuts a falling piece of paper in half just like that." He snapped his fingers to empathize the fact. Cloud just let out another groan.
"What on Gaia is it with people in Midgar and swords." Face was tilted towards the ceiling as he dramatically threw his arms in the air. Reno just cocked his head to the side in confusion. Great, puppy number two. You know what? Let's start a kennel. "Yeah, swords. Big, sharp, metal things. Apparently that crazed teacher got a seven foot one. I mean, for Shiva's sake, seven feet, How on Gaia can someone effectively wield something like that without cutting off their own head. And he's not the only one. My uncle Zack, he's got like this giant broadsword he calls The Buster Sword. The way he treats it, almost like he worships it or so." Cloud rambled, barely breathing as he spoke.
Reno's only reaction to all of this was a knowing snicker as they entered their classroom. Cloud was stull muttering against himself as they took their seats and waited for the teacher. A few moments later and with Cloud calmed down again the door was violently thrown open, loudly slamming into the wall.
"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end. The goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar. She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting." A melodically voice recited, coming from a redhead dressed in a long red leather coat and holding a book bound in white leather. "Loveless Act I." He shut his book with a soft thud as he turned a quarter in order to face the class.
At that very moment, if it not had been for the fact that he was inside a classroom filled with students and the teacher himself, Cloud would have wanted nothing more than to start banging his head on his desk in hopes of the headache causing him not to care anymore. "Another. Sword." He groaned. Reno just sniggered as he rested his chin on his folded arms on his desk. "Get used to it Spikey."
"Good morning class." The redheaded teacher lovingly placed his book on his desk, golden letters reading 'LOVELESS', before sitting himself on the corner, a red bladed sword hanging from his hip. "Ah, I see we have a new student. Welcome to ShinRa High. My name's Genesis Rhapsodos and I'll be your literature teacher. Now, tell us something about yourself." Hands were elegantly placed in his lap as he looked at the blond.
Suddenly several pairs of eyes were directed towards Cloud. "Euh.." The blond started nervously knotting his fingers together and was looking at the digits as if they were the most interesting thing ever. "I'm new. My name's Cloud Strife and I'm sixteen years old." He quickly glanced up at Mr. Rhapsodos and was given a small smile.
"Good" Mr. Rhapsodos clapped his hands together and crossed his legs, arms being placed behind him to support his weight. "Now then, before I start with today's lesson I'd like to inform you all about an assignment which will be due to next month." One gloved hand crept towards the book in order to gently rest on it. "All of you will have to choose a book of poetry and will have to write an essay of minimum three pages about the possible meanings and interpretations of the poems." A grin appeared on his face and an obsessed, maybe even borderline insane, gleam appeared in his blue eyes. "Personally I'd recommend 'LOVELESS'. It's an incredibly beautiful collections of poems with a lot of meaning and various interpretations."
Reno gently nudged the blond sitting beside him. When said blond turned to face his neighbour Reno was fairly sure he could see some fear as well as some serious 'WTF' in those blue orbs. Mr. Rhapsodos, in the meantime, was still gushing about the wonder that was 'LOVELESS'.
"Help. Me." Cloud whispered. The redhead just broke into a big grin and softly shook his head. "He's not that bad, really. Well, except for the constant praise of 'LOVELESS', yo." Cloud refused to believe this. "But he's got a sword. Is he going to kill us as well if we don't listen?" Fear shook the blond's soft voice.
"Naah." Reno shook his head again. "His Rapier is only there for decoration, yo. Well, most of the time. But don't worry. As long as you don't insult 'LOVELESS' you have nothing to fear of him. Except for an overdose 'Drama Queen'" Cloud still wasn't convinced and raised a blond eyebrow.
"Okaaay, but still, why all the swords? I mean, it's not really logical for three random people to own swords. Especially not teachers." Reno's blue eyes widened at those words. "You don't know? Man, you are so screwed, yo." And there was that fear back in the blond's eyes. "Know what?" Panic was now laced with his voice."
Reno just narrowed his eyes and grinned evilly as he brought his face closer towards Cloud's. "About the monsters…. yo" Cloud made a movement as if he had just been hit by an electrical shock. "Whaaat? Monsters?" He yelped. "Uh-huh" The redhead nodded. "They live just outside the city. But sometimes some wander into the city. It's why everyone learns how to wield a weapon as a kid, yo To defend themselves, yo."
A sound that was something between a whine and a groan escaped Cloud's lips as he dropped his head on his desk. "Just great. Just my luck. Me, the weakest scaredy cat of whole Nibleheim gets to be send to his uncle who just happens to live in a city full of monsters." He grumbled more to himself than his newfound friend.
It was about then that Mr. Rhapsodos had finished praising 'LOVELESS' and started the actual lesson. Cloud tried to keep his mind as much on the lesson as possible instead of on the monsters that may be lurking outside.
- Diamonds and Rust –
By the time school was over Cloud wanted nothing more than to curl up under the covers of his bed and stay there for the rest of his time in Midgar. If today had been any indication of how the rest of his days here would be he'd preferable not even think about it.
It hadn't stopped at the silver haired psycho and the 'LOVELESS' obsessed teacher. Nooooo, that had only been the beginning of it all. There was their history teacher, Mr. Valentine, who Cloud was convinced was a vampire. Their chemistry teacher, Professor Hojo, who was constantly muttering about bio genetic engineering and something about a perfect weapon or so. Seriously, that guy have him the creeps. Then their P.E. teacher, Mr. Hewley. The blond was pretty much convinced that he must have been in the army with the way he treats his students, drilling them like cadets. And last but not least was their physics teacher, Mr. Highway. He seemed the most normal of all teachers Cloud had met that day, well, if you ignored the fact that he smoked in class whilst drinking tea and uttering profanities. That and the fact that somehow everything he said had to do with airships.
Cloud had been tense all day. That wasn't a school, that was a madhouse. Reno had told him not to worry but how could he when he was surrounded by madmen with weapons. That's right, besides the numerous swords owned by several of the teachers he had spotted guns and spears as well.
When lunch had finally come around Reno had taken Cloud to meet some of his friends. Tseng, a stoic raven, Elena, a cheerful blond and Rude, silent, bald and wearing sunglasses. A bit before lunch ended, Tseng, Elena and Rude left again, saying they had something to do.
After the trio left Cloud had almost shyly tapped Reno on the shoulder. "Reno, about those monsters. Are they really that dangerous that every teacher here has a weapon?" The armed teachers and monsters coming into the city had bothered the blond all morning. This morning, when he had walked to school everything had seemed fine but now he was a bit scared of having to walk home again by himself and unarmed.
"Uh-huh." Reno nodded. They've been a real pest lately, yo." Grinning widely the redhead reached inside his bag and took out what seemed to be a long metal rod. "And it's not only the teachers who're armed, yo. Students as well." Cloud looked at the rod curiously. "What is it." Reno's grin gained an allure of mischief as he touched the tip of the rod to Cloud's arm. "EMR." The next second Reno had pressed a button and Cloud fell to the ground, unable to move himself for several moments. "Short for Electro-Mag Rod, yo. Shocking, isn't it?"
Growling, Cloud pulled himself up on his seat and sat down again. "Very." He hissed, blue eyes glaring. If looks could kill Reno would have been dead a gazillion times over. "Eheh…" The redhead sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Okay, that hadn't been a funny as it had been in his head. "Sorry man."
"You better be." The blond murmured as he looked down at his hands. When after a few moments he finally looked back up he was pouting, big blue eyes wide with innocence. "That really hurt you know. Now, what I wanted to ask you. Will you walk me home tonight?" Pout grew in intensity and unshed tears glistened in his eyes. "Please?"
Suddenly the cocky redhead very much represented a fish, mouth opening and closing several times. "I…. euh… I…" Lower lip trembled and blue eyes blinked a few times, causing a single tear to fall down. Cloud saw Reno's resistance break. Mission Accomplished. "Fine, yo. I'll walk you home, but only because I don't want to see you become a monster's snack. Understood?"
Nodding fiercely a bright smile illuminated the blond's features. "Thank youuuuuuu."
- Diamonds and Rust –
When Cloud heard the front door being unlocked and opened he quickly hurried out of his room and down the stairs, coming to a halt in the hallway, arms crossed and lips formed into a pout. As Zack spotted his nephew he smiled brightly. "Well hello there little chocobo-head. Did ya miss me?" Tone of voice overly cheerful. "Why didn't you tell me?" The shorter blond asked, the hint of a whine audible in his voice, foot stomping on the floor. "Huh" The raven cocked his head to the side. "Tell you what?"
"About the monsters! Apparently there are monsters in this town and you just sent me to walk to school unarmed and with no knowledge about them whatsoever. I could have been killed for all I know" Arms were thrown into the air again before the blond sniffled softly. "I don't want to be eaten." Sniffling once more he rubbed at his eyes.
Zack immediately felt guilty to the bone. "Oh Cloudster, I'm sorry." He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the blond. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. Those monsters seldom come as deep into the city as this." Cloud, still sniffling turned his head upwards to look at his uncle, blue eyes matching his but with hair as dark as the night yet as spikey. "You really didn't tell because you didn't want me to worry about it?"
Bright smile returned and Zack nodded. "Uh-huh. But if you're really scared of being eaten I can teach you how to fight if you want to." Cloud returned the smile. "Thanks Zack." He quickly hugged the older man before going back to his room, sly smile adorning his lips. 'The Kicked Puppy' look, a guaranteed success every time he used it. "Dinner will be ready in an hour." Zack yelled after him.
As the blond lay himself down on his bed a ghost of a smile still remained on his lips as he grabbed his iPod from his nightstand and placed the buds in his ears. Maybe surviving in here wouldn't be as hard as he had initially thought. It was still a place filled with madmen but he could get used to that. Or at least so he hoped. 'Yeah, how hard can it be, really.'He thought as he lost himself in his favourite tunes.
Unfortunately for Cloud, Fate either didn't like him very much or just liked seeing him suffer.
AN: Hello everyone. This is a plot idea that has been bothering me for quite some time now and I finally decided to start writing it. Unfortunately, the plot bunnies seem to have already taken over. Blame them for the Cloud-centrism of this chapter. The actual story will start next chapter and will focus more on Zack and Sephiroth, though I can't say there won't be any more Cloud bashing. The kid's just too cute for his own good.
Please R&R, reviews are what motivate me to write as well as they make me happy.