Note from the author: This is my first fanfic, but not my first time writing. I didn't have an official beta, so please excuse any mistakes. I read this over a ridiculous amount of times. Please read and review, no ships in this story... yet. ;)
Ch. 1
"Remove yourself from the situation." That's what my mentor always told me.
But here I am… At Shin-Ra, trying to be the situation… Kind of.
My mentor also always told me, "If you start something, finish it."
To be a SOLDIER. That's my dream. To prove a point: that girls can be just as powerful as guys. That men aren't the only ones who should be crowned SOLDIERs.
My heart is pounding. What am I supposed to do if they find out? How am I going to explain myself to a First Class as to why I'm dressed like a boy? Would they assume I was impersonating a SOLDIER? Isn't that considered treason? At least they won't be able to tell right away. They're too busy with sign-ups…
All of these things ran around in my head as I walked into the lobby of the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. And, despite my better judgments, I all but tip-toed up to the sign-up sheet at the front desk.
"What name should I use?" I whispered aloud.
"Preferably, your real one," commented a man behind me.
I turned around slowly and found myself face-to-face with the First Class SOLDIER Zack Fair. I openly gaped at his large form. He was a lot to take in. His raven hair and bright blue eyes were tilted down to look at my face. I hoped that I wasn't blushing seventy different shades of red, but I knew for a fact that I was.
"That wasn't what it sounded like," I said, even though it was. I can't believe this. I haven't even signed up yet…
"Then what was it?" he asked teasingly. "I know you new recruits could be nervous, but c'mon, are you that scared of me? I won't bite you… yet." He laughed loudly and "patted" my shoulder. And what I mean by "patted" is that he almost knocked me off of my feet.
"It… I was wondering whether or not I would use my full name or the one that everyone calls me…" That was smooth.
"And those names would be…?" His face held an amusement that I couldn't quite understand. He seemed to stare into my soul for those few moments that it took me to find my answer.
"Um…" What names have nicknames…? Guy names… "My full name is Alexander Chromwind." As I said this, I tried my best to slightly deepen my voice. I don't think it worked. Alexander Chromwind? Where did you get that name? The names of homeless kids book? This is ridiculous. I am so stupid.
"Alexander Chromwind," Zack tried the name out for himself. "That's quite the name. I could see why you would want to write down a nickname or something. If you did, what would it be?"
"Alex," I answered simply.
"Wow. No last name, huh?" he laughed again. "You must not know that there are probably a million other Alex's then."
"Um…" I stuttered. "I would use my last name… But that's usually what people call me…" No one calls me that. I still can't believe I picked that name.
"Oh, well then, Alex Chromwind, the sign-up sheets are right here." He reached around me and lifted the clipboard from the desk and handed it to me. I picked up the pen that hung by a string and carefully jotted down my (false) name. I was going to have to write that name down somewhere so I didn't forget it.
I replaced the clipboard with caution back on the desk. The guy who sat there didn't give me a second look. I sighed inwardly. There was no reason to give me a second look, which was a good and bad thing all at once. If I didn't draw attention to myself, the more likely I was to be able to hide my gender and maybe slip through a few loopholes. The flip side was that I was less likely to impress anyone and really prove my point.
I'll get there eventually. I sighed out loud this time. By writing my name on that clipboard, I was practically chiseling out my fate on a piece of granite. You win some, you lose some. I shuffled over to one of the many lobby couches and plopped down. Zack had wandered off when I signed my name to the practically soul-binding contract… But it's always just the sign-ups, right? If I really want out that bad, I can just really suck at the try-outs… But I knew that I was going to try my best. I had worked for over six months to get here, and even if I only got to the infantryman level, I would still prove that a girl could do this kind of work. Being a SOLDIER is more like the gold medal after you won a competition. I would stick with bronze if I had to.
After I thought for a while I realized that infantryman really wouldn't be bronze. It would be more like fifth place. First, Second, Third, Rookie, High-Ranking Infantryman… Yep, that would definitely be fifth place, not third. That was even if I was able to get to the infantryman level.
I ignored my own thoughts long enough to read some of the information papers they had passed out when I first came in.
SOLDIER OPERATIVE TRY-OUTS
Boys aged 15-18 years
Official Date: Monday, February 15th
5 p.m. in the Lv. 49 Training Room
Those were the first words on the page… "Boys." Ha. They haven't even given out the rules and I've already broken one. My mother always said I was a rebel child. I'm almost positive she blames it on the fact that I don't have any siblings. I don't know how those two things are related, but she insisted.
I kept reading the paper. Most of it was the standard, "We have our own dental, health, and eye care insurance. Blah, blah, blah." The details were all a blur. I was still confused as to why they had these open try-outs. I mean, any "boy" aged fifteen to eighteen could waltz in here, sign-up, and try-out. These people must have been insane. Most boys learned about Shin-Ra SOLDIERS at an early age and then almost idolized the First Classes. They thought of them as heroes and the like. I'm sure every boy who even took an interest in SOLDIER was here today. They all wanted the same thing. We all wanted the same thing.
While I sat and thought myself to death, I noticed a few other new recruits that were talking to each other. I only caught some of what they said.
"Yeah! I've had about five years of training to get me here. I'm so stoked! I'm gonna be the next SOLDIER First Class!"
He sounded awfully excited about this whole thing. Didn't these people get nervous? All of these guys were so confident, like they already went through the try-outs, like they were already a SOLDIER. All I could think was, God, I hope I can do this.
