I know I'm terrible, I have in-progress stories, and yet I'm starting another one. It's horrible. But don't worry, I'm still working on Among The Stars, it's just progressing slowly as I've come to a block.

This story is two milestones for me. It will be the first fic I've written for the FFVII fandom. It's also going to be my first multi-chapter YAOI story. I've done oneshots featuring yaoi pairings in the past (including publishing one my friend wrote for him), never a feature-length story though.

I am a review addict. I love reviews and feedback, and they motivate me to write. Go ahead and add this to alerts and favorite it, but please REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, nor do I profit from this. All of its characters, stories, etc, etc are the trademarked intellectual property of Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft)

And I am starting off this story at a T rating. But I want to be clear, this very well COULD CHANGE TO M IN THE FUTURE. I'm just not sure if that's the direction I want to go yet or not.

The History Teacher

The Ex-SOLDIER

5:45 am. An alarm clock on a bedside table next to a queen sized bed started its loud droning, which didn't last very long. From the left, a hand slowly touched down on the clock, shutting the device off. The hand's owner had already been awake for some time.

In the dimness of early morning, the figure sat up. It reached towards the bedside table again, hand traveling above the alarm clock, flicking the switch of a lamp that sat next to it and filling the room with a dim but cozy yellow light.

The light revealed that figure in the bed was a male. He looked to be in his early to mid thirties with pale, flawless skin. He had bright green eyes that almost looked like they were glowing. Atop of his head was a mop of long, silvery hair that cascaded down all the way to his back with bangs parts on either side of his face. The male slept shirtless, revealing that his pale torso and arms were chiseled and rippled with muscles. His arms were made up of thick, somewhat bulging deltoids, quadriceps, biceps, and triceps. His torso bore square, defined pecks and eight pack abs.

This man was known as Sephiroth Jenova. Formerly Sephiroth Jenova Hojo, he disowned himself from his family and rejected his surname, his father's name. In fact, it was because of his path that Sephiroth was up before his alarm clock…again.

He didn't like to think about his father, the brilliant scientist. But sometimes, the memories just sneaked into his dreams, corrupting them into nightmares. Sephiroth hadn't seen his father since he was a child, but what we went through had left a lasting impression on him.

His father wasn't the only thing from his past that had haunted him. After turning 18, and finishing his first year in college, Sephiroth had joined the military. Now, as a man in his 30s, he can't recall why he did that, it had changed his life forever. He had quickly worked his way up through the ranks of the Shinra military. Eventually, he was recruited for and joined an elite battalion known simply as SOLDIER. Once in SOLDIER, Sephiroth again quickly rose to the top, earning a reputation and becoming the poster boy for the Shinra military; young men joined the military hoping to be Sephiroth.

The truth, however, was far more harrowing. The purpose of SOLDIER was covert, suicidal missions with a zero percent chance of survival. However, when Sephiroth was head of the SOLDIER battalion, he always accomplished his missions with zero fatalities. However, the missions had slowly become more and more…horrific. There was finally a moment that crossed the line for the silver-haired male. The final straw was a mission that nearly cost him his humanity:

Sephiroth was to lead SOLDIER into the isolated little town of Nibelheim, where a suspected terrorist group calling themselves AVALANCHE was hiding. The orders were to find the terrorists and wipe that out at any means necessary. Little did Sephiroth know at the time, that "any means necessary" meant "burn the town to the ground and leave no witnesses."

Sephiroth was sickened and horrified by his orders. In secret, he tried to evacuate the town to safety, but the attack happened to quick, and the deed was done, and Sephiroth's hands were stained with innocent blood. Luckily, the war had ended shortly after, and Sephiroth's tour was completed. He walked away from the army after that, refusing to re-enlist. That was 13 years ago.

So, here he was now. He would get whatever sleep he could until his nightmares woke him back up and he'd refuse to sleep the rest of the night.

Sephiroth quickly shook himself out of his dwellings on his past and looked back at the clock. 5:50 am. Damn. He'd been standing there for five minutes. Too long to dwell on his troubled past. In a naturally graceful motion, Sephiroth grabbed a black robe and put it on, leaving it open and his chest exposed.

Sephiroth stepped out of his room and into the hallway. He flicked on the hall light, illuminating the path. He walked down past his bedroom to a door on the opposite wall a little way down from his. He gently rapped on the door. After a few seconds, Sephiroth was greeted with a soft groan from the other side as a response. After another few seconds of silence, the silver-haired man opened the door.

"Cloud." He spoke firmly yet softly at the same time. "It's time to get up and get ready for school."

Another groan came from within. It belonged to young man with spiky blonde hair who was currently curled up in a cocoon of blankets on the bed. Sighing, Sephiroth turned on the light in his bedroom before he went back down that hall.

Cloud Strife was a 18 year old boy from Nibelheim. After the raising of the town, Sephiroth had gone back, desperately trying to find any survivors. In one of the destroyed houses, came across a woman on the verge of dying. She asked with her last breaths that her son be taken care of. Sephiroth searched the house, finding a hidden cellar. At the bottom of the cellar, he found a scared five year old blonde boy:

Sephiroth left the woman where she was; there wasn't anything he could do. She'd be dead soon. But hopefully, maybe she could see her son one last time. After searching the house, he found a door to a cellar under the rubble. The first-class SOLDIER quickly cleared the debris out of the way. He ripped the door open, coughing at the cloud of ash it kicked up and walked down the stairs into the cellar.

"Hello?" Sephiroth called into the darkness. "Anyone down here?"

He stayed still for a moment or two, listening to the silence. Then, he heard it, the pitter-patter of tiny feet scurrying across the floor. Sephiroth focused only on the sounds of the footsteps, trying to zero in on where they were coming from, and where they were headed. They stopped again and Sephiroth stepped off the stairs and into the cellar.

"Is anyone down here?" He asked again, hoping for a response.

Sephiroth was greeted with a frightened whimper. Quickly, he got down onto his knees.

"It's alright." He gestured towards the sounds. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm here to help."

Slowly, the boy stepped out of the shadows. He looked no more than five years old. His spiky blonde hair was dirty and matted with sweat and grime, presumably from the fire the previous night. He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts which were covered in ash as well. In his arms, he hugged tightly onto a stuffed moogle.

"I'm here to help you." Sephiroth kept his hand held out to the boy, making no move for him. He figured the boy was terrified and that it would probably be better to let him come to Sephiroth.

Slowly, he took hold of the SOLDIER's hand. Sephiroth couldn't help but crack a small smile at that. Suddenly, he fell forward landing into the silver-haired man's chest. Sephiroth wrapped his arms around the boy and stood up, holding him close. Instinctively, the child wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's neck and his legs around his torso, letting out more frightened whimpers.

"You're going to be alright." Sephiroth whispered reassuringly. "My name is Sephiroth." He introduced as he carried him back upstairs. "What's yours?"

The child mumbled only one word. "Cloud."

True to his word, Sephiroth let Cloud and his mother say one final goodbye. The heart-wrenching scene was just one of the many horrors of war, and was what pushed Sephiroth to leave SOLDIER along with the raising of Nibelheim.

On that day, 13 years ago, Sephiroth promised to fulfill the dying woman's wish. When he returned to Midgar, he adopted the five year old Cloud, becoming his legal guardian. Now, Cloud was an 18 year old young man in his senior year in high school.

Sephiroth turned on another light as he stepped into the kitchen. From the pantry at the far end, a tired growl sounded. That was where Nanaki slept. About a year and a half after adopting Cloud, Sephiroth took him out on a camping trip in the fields outside of Midgar. One night, Cloud had wandered away from the campsite, prompting Sephiroth to look for him. He found the then six year old kneeling beside an injured cub of some unfamiliar feline species. Quickly observing the scene, Sephiroth realized that a hunting party had killed the cub's parents. Sephiroth helped Cloud take the cub back to their campsite and nursed it back to health. As it recovered, Sephiroth realized that the cub would unlikely be able to survive on its own; his little family added another member, whom Cloud named Nanaki.

Sephiroth walked over to the pantry to check on the feline. In 13 years, Nanaki had grown to the size of a large wolf or a lion. He had bright, fiery red-orange fur. He had a mane which had been trimmed into a Mohawk (which was a younger Cloud's idea). The feline looked up at Sephiroth tiredly with one yellow eye, the other was scarred over, long since lost.

Sephiroth kneeled down and gently scratched the large feline behind his ear. "Sorry boy." He whispered. Nanaki closed his eye and purred, nuzzling into Sephiroth's hand. Sephiroth cracked a small smile as he stood back up. Nanaki laid his head back down, quickly going back to sleep.

As he filled the coffee maker with water, Sephiroth heard the sound of running water, meaning that Cloud had finally gotten up and into the shower. While the coffee brewed, Sephiroth prepared breakfast. It wasn't anything special, just an English muffin, a fried egg, and a couple slices of bacon. The English muffins popped, reaching a nice crusty golden brown. Sephiroth buttered them, letting it melt into all the nooks and crannies.

He set out two plates, one for himself and one for Cloud. He even prepared a few extra pieces of bacon which he slipped into Nanaki's dish. Sephiroth made himself a cup of coffee, a little bit of cream and sugar, and sat down, eating his own breakfast. He cut into his egg, letting the yoke run out onto his plate, which he then mopped up with his English muffin.

Cloud jogged into the kitchen. He was dressed in a white t-shirt with a black vest over it. He also had on black jeans and black boots. He walked past his foster father and dropped to his knees, opening the pantry door.

"Hey Nanaki." Cloud cooed as he pet the large reddish feline. Nanaki didn't seem to mind; in fact, he basked in Cloud's attention. "Who's my good boy?" He cooed. Nanaki and Cloud were practically inseparable since they were young. "You be a good boy while I'm at school today."

"And what are you plans for today Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

Cloud poured himself a cup of coffee, black, and joined Sephiroth at the table. "Tifa's coming over soon and I'm taking her to school." Tifa Lockhart was Cloud's best friend since elementary school. "Then, we're going to her house after to do homework and study. I should be home before dinner."

Sephiroth nodded, finding Cloud's itinerary acceptable. "Do you need my car again?" He asked.

The blonde shook his head as he dug into breakfast. "Nah. I finished my tune up on Fenrir last night. She's good to go." After Cloud had learned to drive, Sephiroth promised to buy him a vehicle on his seventeenth birthday if he kept his grades up. Cloud kept his end of the bargain and Sephiroth did too, even letting Cloud pick out what he wanted. Little did the silver-haired man know that his foster son would pick out a motorcycle…or name it.

"What about you?" Cloud asked between bites of English muffin. "What are you doing today?"

"Well," Sephiroth began, "with the new school year underway, the new season is starting, which means people will start registering for classes at the dojo again." He said. "I'm going to take Nanaki down there and finish cleaning up and getting everything ready.

After returning home from the military and adopting Cloud, Sephiroth decided to open a dojo in town. While he detested the ugly fighting of war, he found something soothing…almost therapeutic…about fighting purely as a sport. He called the dojo "Masamune," after a legendary sword form a centuries old story he'd heard before. He taught all kinds of classes; Tae Kwan Do for children. Self-defense classes. He did a class on stage combat. He even taught Kendo, which seemed to be his most popular class.

"By the way," Cloud said, "Kadaj called last night."

"Really." Sephiroth said, it wasn't a question. "And what did my little brother want?"

Cloud shrugged. "He just said he was in town, and that he might drop by sometime during the week to see you."

The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sephiroth excused himself from the table and went to answer it. He opened the door to a young girl who looked to be about Cloud's age. She had long, straight dark brown hair and red eyes. She had on a navy blue top which stopped just above her naval and a black skirt and tennis shoes.

"Tifa." Sephiroth greeted Cloud's best friend.

"Oh Mr. Sephiroth," she started to greet back, but she went quiet and started to blush, staring at the older man's exposed chest.

Sephiroth quickly looked down at himself and sighed, having forgotten about his morning attire. He quickly closed his robe and invited the girl inside. "Cloud." He called into the kitchen. "Tifa's here."

Cloud quickly stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. He grabbed two motorcycle helmets he kept by the front door, handing one to Tifa.

"Ready?" He asked. Tifa nodded as she walked out the door, putting the helmet on. Cloud turned back to his foster father. "I'll call you after I finish at Tifa's to see if you need any help with the dojo."

Sephiroth nodded and waved a silent goodbye to the blonde. With the house to himself (with the exception of Nanaki), Sephiroth went to get ready for his day when suddenly—

Estuans interius
Ira vehementi
Estuans interius
Ira vehement

The song blared from his cell phone. Sephiroth quickly grabbed it and flipped it open, cutting off the ringtone. "Hello?"

"Sephiroth?" A gentle feminine voice spoke from the other end of the line.

"Mother." Sephiroth greeted stoically. Not that he hated his mother, oh no. Sephiroth loved her as much as any boy loved their mother. He just wasn't a man of many emotions. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"Oh nothing." His mother, a scientist named Lucrecia Crescent. After she left Sephiroth's father, she took back her maiden name. "I can just call my favorite son every now and again, can't I?" She asked, with a giggle in her voice.

Her happiness was infectious, and it always made Sephiroth crack a small smile.

She continued speaking. "Anyway, I was so happy you decided to drop by for dinner last week. It's always nice to see you and Cloud. Where is he by the way?" She quickly changed the subject. "Can I talk to him?"

When Sephiroth first introduced Cloud to his mother, Lucrecia was instantly smitten and went all "spoiling grandma" on him.

"Sorry mother." He spoke. "He just left for school."

"That's right!" She gasped. "He's a senior now. Where is he going again?"

"Shinra Private Academy."

"Shinra Private…" she began but trailed off. "I have a friend who works there." She said with a gasp of realization. "Well…not really a friend. He's actually the son of someone I used to work with. I knew him when he was a child." She laughed. "He had such a crush on me when he was little."

"Mother." Sephiroth cut her off. "I do have things I need to do today."

"Oh alright." She deflated. "I won't keep you any longer. But if you ever want to look him up, his name's Vincent. If you see him, tell him I said hi."

Sephiroth nodded silently. "And don't nod." Lucrecia suddenly said. "You know I can't see it on a phone. I need a vocal response."

Damn. How did she always do that? "Alright mother. I'll send him your regards if, IF," he emphasized, "I see him."

"Love you." She spoke.

"Love you too mother. Bye." At Lucrecia's goodbye, Sephiroth ended the call.

"Vincent huh?" Sephiroth asked himself silently. He shrugged it off as he went back to his bedroom to shower and change. He never really went to Cloud's school. He never had any reason too.

Little did he know, that that was about to change, and it was about to change his life.

So yeah, if I didn't mention it before…WARNING: A lot OOC.

And what did you think? I know it's a slow start, but please go easy on me. I usually like doing fantasy and action stories, I've never done one based in reality. I'll try to pick things up next chapter.

And again, please REVIEW! I love that my stories get followed and favorite but I CRAVE reviews! I love hearing your guys' thoughts on my work and even like some criticism (constructive, no flames).