A/N: Right up front I would like to point out a few key things. 1) This story will contain yaoi, or boyxboy pairing, eventually. If you don't like that sort of thing than don't read this. I also don't wanna hear how you don't like yaoi in the reviews. 2) This universe is slightly altered...actually, it's altered a lot. So don't expect this story to follow true to the events of Crisis Core, Final Fantasy 7, and so on. 3) There might be a little bit of OOC-ness at some points in the story. I did my best to keep the characters as in character as i could. (If you catch anything to remarkably off about a character let me know and I can try to fix it. Your help would be much appreciated).

Well, that does it for all of that...stuff. Anyway, I would like to add one other thing. This is my first attempt at a yaoi. So needless to say but I hope this goes well. ^^

Oh yea, disclaimer...right. *mumbles* I don't own Final Fantasy 7, Crisis Core, or any of the related characters... .

OK, that covers everything...I think. So...On to the chapter 1! Hope you enjoy and reviews are appreciated!

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Ch 1: Welcome to Hell

"Alright, this is it. I can do this. I can do this", Cloud muttered to himself as he took lingering steps back and forth in front of the large double doors to Shinra's recruitment office near the front of their training facility and main military compound.

"No worries, I got this", Cloud reassured himself heaving a heavy sigh as he finally turned his pacing into official steps towards the large doors.

His footsteps clacked across the dark paneling just before the door. 'I can do this. I can do this. I can…I can…I can't do this. Who am I kidding? They're going to take one look at me and laugh. They're going to tell me…'

It was too late to abort now. The large doors slid open and revealed the atrium and front desk of the recruitment office. He couldn't turn back now. Well, he could but not without looking like a complete and total idiot.

Cloud took in a shaky breath before proceeding forward hoping to the gods that be that no one could tell he was shaking. 'I came this far haven't I? I can't turn back now. I told everyone I was going to do this so I'm going to do it.'

Finished with his less than elaborate self pep talk, Cloud lifted his chin a little higher and pulled back his shoulders, straitening his posture to look more confident. He strode as calmly as he could up to the front desk and stood in front of a woman in a navy blue skirt and matching jacket, typing away on her keyboard, dark brown eyes unmoving from her monitor. "I'm here fo…", Cloud began, cut off quickly and completely by the simple raising of the woman's slim hand giving him the "hold on a second" gesture.

Cloud fidgeted nervously, telling himself to remain calm, cool, and collected. He took another deep breath as he tugged on the excess cloth of his dark blue pants. The woman looked up briefly, eyeing him with her dark judging eyes. Another deep breath and…Cloud lost his composure internally.

He should just turn around and walk away. There was no way he would get past sign up. The powers that be would take one look at him, laugh, and tell him he looked to young or pathetic or…or…something.

A quick glance around the atrium didn't help Cloud at all. Everyone there looked more in their mid-twenties or older, and here he was, a fifteen year old boy with the hopes to join the ranks of the elites. He had to be the youngest one present at that moment, and he had to be the youngest one ever to show up and attempt this.

"Can I help you sir?"

"I beg your pardon", Cloud stammered as politely as he could as he came barreling back to reality and the woman sitting at the desk directly in front of him.

"Can I help you sir", the woman repeated with a sweet yet rehearsed tone giving him a delicate smile.

"I'm here to sign up", he replied before he had time to even think about what he was saying.

"Well, you're in the right place. This is the recruitment offices after all", she said with another smile taking a short look around. Cloud hit himself mentally. Of course he was here to sign up. It wasn't like there was a whole lot else anyone looking like him, but possibly a little more built, would be coming here to do.

"Well, yea. I mean sorry, that kinda just….slipped out. Of course I'm here to sign up. I…uh…", Cloud laughed nervously, growing quieter and quieter as he spoke and feeling dumber and dumber as he went.

"It's quite alright", the woman chuckled reassuringly, "Just take a breath and calm down. I don't bite. That's the actual recruiter's job. Now, who are you here to sign up with, and did you have a scheduled appointment with anyone in particular?"

"Oh n…no. I didn't have an appointment with anyone. I'm here to sign up for SOLDIER or for whatever I need to sign up for if I want to eventually make it there", Cloud explained a bit more calmly then he had managed thus far.

The receptionist gave a soft laugh at his explanation. She gave the wiry pale teen standing in front of her a quick look up and down, lifting herself up out of her chair a bit so she could get a better look. "No offense, but…you look a little young to be signing up for SOLDIER. You mind telling me how old you are? I might be able to save you a trip up to the wrong office."

That sealed it. He probably really was too young to join SOLDIER but…something about the woman's tone. Maybe he was too young for SOLDIER, but perhaps he was old enough to join something else that could better prepare him for the elite group. "I'm uh…sixteen mam", Cloud muttered loud enough for the receptionist to hear.

"Oh my, you still are pretty young. Ok, well sadly you're too young to sign up for SOLDIER, but you can however sign up for the main military as an infantryman. You can gain some basic training and experience. You may not get a whole lot of glamorous work, and you'll probably get more than your share of patrol and guard duty, but it would be a good first step for you. I can direct you up to Shinra's army recruitment office if you would like."

"O…ok. That sounds good."

The receptionist began to type on her computer again for a moment. "Ah, here we go. You're going to want to head up to the second floor, just use the elevator right over there, and turn right once you get off. Head down the hall and it's through the third set of doors on your left. There should be bronze lettering stating 'Shinra Army Recruitment Offices' you can't miss it", she smiled slipping him a small slip of paper with the office number scribbled on it.

"Thanks", Cloud nodded in appreciation of the woman's help and patience, taking the paper from her and clutching it tightly in his hand.

"Oh, and sweetheart", the woman called after the blond boy. Cloud turned and faced her wondering what else she could possibly have to say to him. "There are actually a lot of people that I have to redirect. No one really gets to just sign up for SOLDIER. So, in reality, what I'm saying is everyone who is interested in SOLDIER gets sent else where. Older 'recruits' just have more options because of their age and the option to sign up for an evaluation. So, don't get discouraged just yet. Work hard and I'm sure you will get the opportunity for evaluation."

Cloud gave the woman a weak smile. Of course no one got to sign up for SOLDIER. It was an elite organization after all. He had really just been trying to sign right up for SOLDIER for the heck of it. He might as well have given it a shot just in case, and he had. Some part of him had hoped he could just sign right up but the truth was he couldn't. But that didn't bother him because he could still make it there one day.

With a quick nod and a smile Cloud turned back towards the glass elevator and entered it, hitting the button for the second floor. The doors closed with a brief cling as an animated voice announced "now leaving the lobby".

This was just the beginning and Cloud was going to make the most of it. There was no way he was going to mess this up. He was going to join the military and then, one day, he would join SOLDIER just like he said he would. One day, he too would become a hero just like Sephiroth.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

That was almost a year or so ago now. Cloud had successfully joined the ranks of Shinra's military as a lowly foot soldier. He had literally signed the papers the same day he first walked into the recruiter's office, signing away at least the next few years of his life. He had returned home but only for around two months before he packed up his bags with a few select cherished possessions, pictures of mother and few friends, clothes, and the few bare essentials of travel, like a toothbrush and soap.

Sure, Cloud had left home before and, not to mention, traveled quite far from home. Clearly he already had, considering he had to leave home to go to Midgar to sign in the first place, and that had been anything but a days travel and a short overnight visit.

The only thing about leaving home this time was that Cloud wasn't coming back home in a week or so. No, this time he was leaving home without knowing when he would ever come back or if he would ever come back.

Cloud leaned back against his gray pillows and sighed, closing his light blue eyes. He could still remember the day he left Nibelheim last like it was yesterday.

The morning was particularly gray and gloomy, as dark clouds billowed carelessly overhead threatening to rain at any second. Despite their threatening appearance, however, Cloud knew that they wouldn't burst open letting lose the torrents of water they seemed to hold captive in their puffy clutches. The clouds would only look menacing for a few more hours and then they would begin to break up as the sun climbed higher into the sky and eventually reduce to nothing more than small white wisps by afternoon.

But, that knowledge didn't change how gray and dreary and miserable this morning looked. He tore himself from his window and gave his room one last look. Did he have everything that he absolutely wanted to bring? More importantly, did he have everything that he absolutely needed?

The last thing he wanted to do was make it all the way to Midgar and be in the middle of unpacking only to realize he had left something back home forcing him to write home asking his mother to mail it to him. That would be too embarrassing to ever live down. Not to mention a greatway to get votes of confidence from everyone, including his mother and Tifa, back in Nibelheim.

It had already been difficult enough to convince his mother he was ready for this, not that it mattered if she was convinced or not since he had already signed the papers. And if the first letter home to his mother was asking her to mail something he had forgotten to him… well… it wouldn't be pretty.

Cloud was certain his mother would just lose it, convinced one hundred percent that her child just simply wasn't ready for his big step in life. First she would march up and demand that Shinra release him of his contract because he "just wasn't ready for this yet". If this failed she would move on to faze two of her master plan. In which she would storm the military compound, singlehandedly overthrowing the mighty Shinra, and end up carrying him home over her shoulder because he was still her "precious baby boy."

Cloud heaved a sigh. To avoid the possible embarrassment and undermining of all his convincing and arguing, he looked over his room one last time…again. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the cleanest his room had been in years. His mother would be thrilled…if the reason behind it being so clean hadn't been because he had packed the majority of clothes in a travel bag and had cleaned everything for her sake so she wouldn't have to after he left.

He looked to his bed, perfectly made, quilt slightly crinkled only because of a heavily packed tan travel bag that sat open on his bed. He walked over and picked up his sleep clothes, which he had changed out of only minutes before, and stuffed them down the side of his bag. He reached over, picked up his bag of toiletries, and threw them in on top of everything else. With a third final look around his room; Cloud struggled with the pull strings of his travel bag eventually defeating the over packed bag, pulling it shut tight.

He walked from his room after extinguishing the candle he had lit earlier, closing the worn wooden door behind him, not looking back until he reached the top of the stairs. Cloud paused at the top of the stairs feeling an urge to turn around and go back into his room, lay down on his bed, and go back to sleep so he could treat this day like any other day.

He couldn't do this, and he knew he couldn't. So he settled for looking back at his closed door, taking in the sight of the worn wood, the scratched bronze handle, and the messy sign hanging from the door that read "Cloud's Room" in bright blue letters.

He gave yet another sigh and turned to walk down the stairs. The stairway was dark and the stairs creaked sadly under each and every one of his steps. Cloud turned the corner and stepping down one more wooden step before skipping over the last two steps like he had done almost every day for the past fifteen years of his life.

The whole first floor was dark. To the left of the stairs the cabinets, couch, bookshelf, small tables with lamps and knick knacks upon their surfaces all sat as great silhouetted figures against the white walls that had managed to take on a deep dark gray appearance to match the dark and dreary morning, blending into the shadowy world.

To his right, the kitchen took on a lighter gray appearance with all the objects obtaining a higher level of detail from the minimal light that filtered in through the window in the kitchen. Everything was so still, serene, and…dark. No candles were lit, no human figure sat up on the couch or in one of the chairs, no human shape floating gently by the door or in front of the kitchen sink. There was no motherly figure anywhere waiting to say her final farewells to her beloved son.

On the kitchen table Cloud noticed a small box like shape with a square sheet of white placed carefully on top. Cloud crossed the room, his footsteps echoing lightly in the silent room and picked up the white sheet. It crinkled softly in his hand and he flipped it open revealing dark black letters scrawled neatly across its surface.

"Forgive me for not being up to see you off Cloud dear, but I think we both know it might be easier for us if I don't. It's just so hard to fully accept how grown up you have become and how fast you've done it. I always thought that I would have a few more years to coddle you and call you my little boy, but it seems that chapter of our lives came to a close some time ago.

I won't tell you that I think you are completely ready for this, but all mothers struggle to let their little ones go. And a mother telling their baby "I think your ready" is part of letting that baby go, making those few words so difficult to admit.

You must understand that I am proud of you. You have a dream and you are leaving home on your own two feet to chase after it. In this alone you are showing such courage and maturity .With all these things said I want you to remember to look after your self. I wont be there too look after you anymore. Remember to listen to your superiors and…just do the best you can. I know you will do well.

Love,

Mom

p.s. I made you a breakfast. I knew you wouldn't get up with enough time to make yourself something.

Cloud folded the letter back over and pulled the lid off the small box. His mom had indeed made him a box breakfast. "Its times like these I realize you really do know me mom", Cloud whispered to himself as he put the lid back on his breakfast.

He stuffed the letter into his pocket and headed for the door pausing momentarily with his hand on the brass handle choking back a sudden sob. It had finally hit him. He was leaving and he wasn't going to come back for a long time. Hell, he didn't know when or if he would come back. He was leaving his home where he was born and raised, his mother whom he had not been away from for more than a month at most, his friends he had practically known since he was a toddler, and Nibelheim behind for even the life stream didn't know how long.

He took a deep controlling breath and pulled on the door handle, turning back the final barrier between him and the world. He exited quietly, the sob successfully subdued and composure redrawn, closing the door behind him with a soft click and made his way to the front of town.

There he sat a solemn pale figure amidst a world of gray and morning chill. Head downcast, feet pushed out ahead of him, arms folded across his chest, and pale eyes drawn shut as he thought back over years of memories in Nibelheim.

No one came to see the lone boy off on his great journey, but not because they didn't care. Cloud had told people upon returning from Midgar that he would be leaving in around two months to join the military, but he had purposely failed to inform them of the exact date he would be departing. If people asked the exact date he would change the subject or tell them he couldn't remember right off the top of his head. He had asked his mother not to tell anyone the exact date either, but of course she had told a few of her closest friends anyway, who promised not to tell everyone else.

In Cloud's opinion it was easier this way. There would be no tearful goodbyes or anything and there wouldn't be a group of people trying to hug him and give him a final farewell as he was trying to climb on to the transport. Of course, there were more than a few people that Cloud knew wouldn't be happy about him just up and leaving, but he figured they would understand his reasoning. Besides, he could always write them an apology once he got to Midgar.

Of course, people had caught on to the fact Cloud was avoiding giving them the exact day. So as the end of two months drew near, people had begun to say there goodbyes. It was funny in a way, since some of the goodbyes came a weak early. The person would say farewell one evening only to continue seeing Cloud for a few days to come.

There were also those that didn't realize how perfect their timing was. A few souls had actually approached Cloud only yesterday to tell him goodbye and good luck, and they would find out later today that their timing couldn't have been better.

Although people suspected the day of his departure was close, no one had figured it out completely. So, Cloud sat alone, waiting for the transport to arrive and carry him away to his new life.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cloud heaved a depressed sigh. It really did feel like only yester day that he had left home. Then again it had only been about a year and in the grand scheme of things, leaving home really wasn't all that long ago. But still, a year away from home when you had never been away for more than month was a long time in its own right.

After a year of being away, one really begins to miss a few things. Cloud was beginning to realize yet again just how much he missed Nibelheim. He missed his mom, his friends, the nice lady who lived next door, Mr. Wallis, the storeowner, who used to give him his favorite candy or a few coins if he helped him with chores around the shop, the neighbor's funny fat cat, his view of the town and mountains from his room…

Right then a loud whoop and the shuddering bang of the door crashed into Cloud's thoughts. 'Forget the view from my room. I miss having my own room', Cloud added after throwing an arm over his face and clutching his chest with the opposite hand.

"Damn Cloud! I can't believe you didn't go out again this fine Friday evening", his loud and rambunctious roommate hollered as he jumped back on the next bed over.

"I mean come on! Me and some of the other guys had a hell of a time and this nice little bar not far from this place. It was one hell of a good time. You could just sit back relax, get a drink, dance, and not listen to a bunch of damn orders being barked at ya.

I know you're not about walking on the wild side, but I think you would have enjoyed this place too. It was good music and the girls where nice so it wasn't hard finding one that would dance with ya. And it wasn't like every fool there was a slobbering drunk bastard you know", the tanned spiky brown haired man started his description.

"In all honesty the best thing about it all was the fact that there weren't any drill instructors or on the clock officers breathing down your neck. I mean, I really think you could go for some r and r you know.

It can't be good for you just always be sticking around this place. The next thing you know, you will have gone and forgotten how to relax or not stand at attention or something. Besides a man's got to have a change in scenery every once in a while. They have to breath deep…", Cloud's roommate continued to blather on happily.

Cloud heaved probably the hundredth sigh that evening. This was going to be one of Kyle's long one-sided conversations with him. Cloud knew it, just knew Kyle was going to go on for the next hour about how great the evening was and why Cloud should join them next time.

He pulled his arm away from his face long enough to take a peak at his roommate. Kyle was flopped back spread eagle over his bed, legs from the knees down handing off the edge. He made some crazy exaggerated hand gesture and then promptly tucked his hands behind his head, mouth still moving non stop.

Was Kyle even stopping to breathe this time? It sure didn't look or sound like it. Cloud watched for a few more seconds wondering how long before the talkative guy starting turning blue until…there it was. Kyle was in fact breathing. It turned out he was just doing it so skillfully it was going undetected.

Cloud came back in on "and then he tripped because he didn't see the step down. Aw man, it was hysterical. He went tumbling right over and landed next to the chick. He completely lost all chance of possibly making a 'smooth cool approach'."

This was definitely going to be a long series of anecdotes, invites, and lists of concerns tonight. His fate officially realized and sealed, Cloud let out a groan, allowing his arm fall back over his eyes.

"…Cloud"

Cloud didn't respond he just laid face up, arm over his face, on his bed unflinching and his only movement being the necessary rise and fall of his chest.

"Cloud, you awake over there? Do you feel ok? Now that I think about it you do look a little paler than normal", Kyle began questioning becoming increasingly concerned, forgetting all about his super-fantastic-Friday-evening.

"Hey Cloud", Kyle continued, getting up from his bed and leaning over Cloud's.

"Hnn", Cloud responded, pulling his arm away from his face to look at the person who was addressing him, only to end up clutching his chest again from the fright of how close the other person had gotten without him realizing it.

The first thing Cloud had seen was Kyle's face hovering a few feet above him, dark eyebrows knit together in concern. Cloud felt all the blood drain from his face and his heart jump about three feet in his chest before it started to race from the scare. "God, I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that. You scared the hell out of me", Cloud muttered, working on slowing his breathing and his heart rate.

"Man you're really out of it tonight. If you were that tiered you should a said something and I would have shut up you know. Anyway, I can see how tiered you are and all, so I'm just gunna shut up now and let you get some rest.

Then again, I guess I'm pretty tiered too. So let's both just stop talking and get some rest", Kyle rambled cheerfully flopping back on his bed once more.

"Oh, but I guess I should go shower up before I crawl into bed. That way I don't have to stand in line for the showers or baths tomorrow morning.

You want me to turn the light out on my way out? Cause, the dark doesn't bother me really. I can find my way to me bed without them on. Well, I can now that I have learned the lay out of the room, oh, but I guess you already know that", Kyle rambled still happily as Cloud let out another groan.

Cloud knew that even though Kyle said he was going to stop talking that there was no way in any hell that he could actually manage such a feat if wasn't during training, some military function, or by orders of a superior. Unfortunately, Cloud did not outrank his roommate and therefore lacked the power to make him stop. He had tried asking nicely many times prior to this evening and none of hose times had Kyle been able to actually stop. It wasn't done intentionally, it was just Kyle couldn't help it. Kyle just lacked the strength to stop talking.

"Well anyway. See you in the morning if you're asleep by the time I get back", Kyle cheerfully imparted to Cloud before finally turning the lights off and leaving the room.

Finally, peace and quiet. Unfortunately though, Cloud had been planning to wash up before turning in for the night, but now that he knew that was where Kyle was heading, he decided it just wouldn't be worth it. A bath should be quiet and relaxing, but that was impossible with Kyle being there. So, Cloud gave up on the good bath that night and opted to just change into his sleep clothes and turn in for the night.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The next morning, like clockwork, Cloud awoke to a deep snore that came from the direction of Kyle's bed. Cloud sat up sleepily and rubbed his face yawning. There was no denying it; he was thoroughly missing having his own room.

Still groggy, he threw back his white sheets and climbed out of bed, carefully stretching each muscle as he stood. He stretched his arms high, raising himself onto the balls of his feet, and yawned deeply one more time, his whole upper body shuttering from the stretch and yawn combination.

He lazily allowed fall flat on his feet again and his arms to return lazily back to his sides. A quick shiver shot over Cloud's body. This morning was just a tad nippy after being tucked so cozily under his blankets.

Cloud left Kyle still snoring in their tiny cubby hole of a room, with a towel slung over his left shoulder and a ratty plastic bag containing his soap and what not in the other. If there was one good thing about having Kyle as a roommate, it was how he never failed to wake Cloud bright and early. True, this could be a pain, and for the first few weeks Cloud despised it. But there were actually benefits from this early wake up. One such benefit was that at the time Kyle's snore usually woke Cloud up, there were no lines for the showers or baths on this floor. So he was more than happy to take advantage of this no line business.

Cloud soaked joyfully in the hot waters of the baths. It was quiet, soothing, and, by his opinion, the best way to start the day. After he had finished washing himself and soaking, satisfied that no more amount of time spent in there could make his morning any better or his body any cleaner, Cloud pulled himself from the water and began to dry off and dress in one of the curtained off dressing rooms. Others like Cloud in their appreciation for some good quiet time had drifted in shortly after Cloud, and one or two a few later, were still lingering in the water or washing themselves by the time he exited the dressing room.

Awake, clean, and in a happier mood than he had been in all month, Cloud exited the shower house only to jump three feet back as he nearly ran into non other than his normally asleep-for-the-next-few-hours-on-the-weekend roommate, Kyle.

Heart pounding, Cloud fell backwards against the wall from the sudden shock to his system. Why was his roommate up at this hour? Better yet, why was it only Kyle that was able to sneak up on him and scare him over and over again? The later question was a mystery Cloud felt he would never solve.

'But never mind all that. Why the hell is Kyle up? He's normally dead till between ten thirty and noon on weekends', Cloud wondered staring at his roommate who was standing there staring blankly back at him as if he was still trying to determine if Cloud was another person.

Then an odd look flashed through Kyle's eyes and it was like someone had just flipped the on switch in Kyle's head. "Yo, Cloud", Kyle greeted with a grin, "an officer just stopped by the room looking for you. Weird huh?

I mean, I can't believe an officer is up looking for anybody at this early hour. You'd think they would wait until more people were up. Then again, it is the weekend so maybe they were trying to catch who they needed to before they wandered off or became harder to find…"

Kyle was taking a breath and Cloud ceased the only chance he knew he would get to interject before the talkative guy went on rambling, and it was difficult to get opportunities to get a word or a question in when Kyle was rambling. Without a moments delay Cloud interjected, "Hold on a second Kyle. What did the officer want? And am I suppose to go find him?"

Kyle stood sleepily for a few seconds as his brain processed the questions. 'This is crazy', Cloud thought to himself, 'this guy can go from practically sleep walking to wide-eyed and rambling back to practically sleep walking in a matter of seconds! I can't tell if he's fully awake or still half asleep!'

"Oh, uhhh…" Kyle muttered now finally searching his brain for an answer, "He said something about looking for you. Asked where he might find you…"

'Oh, good gods. He's more asleep then awake'

Kyle continued, "He told me if I saw you to tell you he was looking for you…"

This was getting annoying. Maybe if Cloud could stimulate some thought he would get some answers. Maybe asking questions would get things out sooner. It was worth a shot because just standing here wasn't going any where fast.

"Can you tell me who 'he' is? Because almost all the officers are men", Cloud asked rubbing the bridge of his nose on either side with his index finger and thumb.

Kyle thought hard, "No…I can't remember which officer it was. And I can't seem to remember why he was looking for you either. He said something about special training or something. Man, I hope by special he didn't mean weekend training….that would suck."

Cloud's eye twitched involuntarily. This wasn't going anywhere. His roommate was to dead asleep still to be of any help, and it would be at least three to four more hours before he would be coherent enough to remember anything of use.

"Ok, thanks Kyle. I'll look into it", Cloud sighed brushing his spiky blond bangs out his face only for them to fall right back in front of his eyes again, "Oh, and Kyle. By chance did the officer tell you to look for me or that you had to get up right now?"

Kyle shook his head sleepily, obviously falling asleep as they were talking. "Ok then. Why don't you go lay back down and get some more sleep then", Cloud smiled wearily.

Kyle only nodded stupidly as he yawned, turned around, and muttered something along the lines of "good idea".

Once Cloud saw that Kyle had made it safely back into their room, he set out for the mess hall. If he was lucky he would run into the officer there, and if he was even luckier, the mess would be serving something better than the oatmeal resembling slop. Of course, the mess hall cooks claimed it was good for them all, but Cloud swore the stuff moved on its own once. I his book, any food that was preparing to run off his plate or jump out of his bowl, was not worth eating.

He cringed as he turned the corner and the image of the first time he had ever seen the slop came rushing back to mind. He fought a slight gag reflex when he recalled the first time he actually built up the courage to put the "food" into his mouth. His body shuttered with the recollection and he began to pray that slop wasn't on the menu this morning.

Cloud ducked over to the right about halfway down the hallway into the stairwell and wandered his way down the three flights of stairs to the first floor. Each step sent loud ringing steps echoing about the stairwell, the stairs them selves vibrating from his light steps.

He exited the stairwell happy to be out of the naturally resonating tower of metal and plastered walls. "I wonder what that officer wanted with me", Cloud muttered to himself cursing Kyle and his inability to recall anything of importance at this early hour in the morning.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Late Sunday afternoon, Cloud was lying quietly on his bed enjoying the peace and silence of his cubbyhole until there was a knock on his door and his head training officer stepped in without waiting for a response. "Strife, pack your things", he barked turning to put his back against the door.

Cloud sat up slowly and stared at his commanding officer for a moment before the monstrous man barked out, "Move it Strife! You haven't got all day and I don't want to wait that long."

Scrambling in fear that his commanding officer would surely eat him if he took more than five seconds to comply with the orders, Cloud leapt up and half fell off of the end of his bed, almost slamming his head into his dresser. He hurriedly pulled all his clothes out of the drawers and stuffed them into his bag which he had he had grabbed from under the end of his bed as he moved to stand after almost falling face first.

Still in fear of his officer, Cloud quickly pulled the few photos he had pinned to the board above his dresser and tucked them away into his bag. He then dashed around his bed slamming his leg into the corner, which was common for him to do even when he wasn't rushing because of the packed layout of the room, and began pulling his tattered bag containing all his toiletries and three books from the single drawer of his night stand.

He raced back across the room and shoved the last of his things into his bag and rushed out the door past his commanding officer. Only after he had taken five steps down the hall did Cloud realize he had no idea where he was going and determined he had no choice but to wait for his frightening officer.

Other infantrymen had heard the loud man barking orders and rushing Cloud along. Many of them had stepped out of their rooms to watch as the large man slammed Cloud's door shut and harshly gestured for the small one to follow after him commanding, "Pick up the pace Strife, you now I don't like waiting."

Cloud stumbled after the large man, taking three steps for every single one of his officer's long gigantic strides. Other men standing along the monotone halls looked on with smirks as they watched Cloud pathetically follow after the man, still trying to securely tie of his pack and sling it over his shoulder.

Cloud flushed a deep red along his cheeks and over the tips of his ears. He hated this much attention. He would prefer it if all of the other men would just turn back around deciding there was nothing of interest going on, and go back into their rooms or go back to their business.

Into the stairwell, down the stairs, out of the building, and across the compound the small thin boy trailed after his huge officer. He was beginning to wonder just where the man was taking him when said man stopped dead in front of a large dark colored building.

Unfortunately, Cloud's momentum sent him slamming into the back of the muscular man earning him a fierce glare. "Watch it boy", the man spat back at Cloud before pointing at the doors of the dark colored building they had stopped in front of.

"Get your sorry ass in their Strife. Orientation starts in ten minutes in conference room one, and I suggest you don't be late. Good bye and good luck, not that I care, and I don't want to see your sorry ass back under my command. If I do, it means you failed, and I don't like failure", the bulky man roared at Cloud before turning and striding off down the road.

"Well that told be a whole lot", Cloud whispered to himself clinging to his bag and staring at the doors of the dark building looming before him.

"What ever. It's not like I can go back to my room or run after him…not unless I want to get kicked from here clear across Midgar at least. But…what did he mean orientation and that he didn't want to see me back because that would mean I had failed? A promotion? No, probably just an assignment or a new job or something", he wondered aloud to himself taking a few cautious steps forward.

Well, he might as well enter now, because no amount of time spent standing aimlessly about in front of a building he had never even walked by before was going to get him any answers. If he wanted answers, he was going to have to take the plunge into the unknown territory and hope for the best. So, with a deep breath Cloud threw his bag over his shoulder and staggered nervously up to the building stopping just in front of the doors to take one more calming breath.

The inside of the building was dark and cool. The floors were a dark almost black tile and the walls were a dark steely gray. Cloud looked around slowly. He was in some sort of main lobby. There were a few couches and chairs set up into square like patterns back to back just ahead of him, and there was a receptionist's desk off to his right. A simple chandelier hung from the semi-high ceiling, swaying gently from the circulation of air in the room. A set of stairs with glass sides every three side panels stretched upward to the second floor from either side of the waiting area.

After taking a few more steps, each one growing slower and slower, Cloud came to a halt a few feet from the sitting area. In awe, he continued to slowly look around taking in the sights until a soft "ah hem" sounded from behind the tall desk along the wall.

He turned searching for source of the sound to find a young man in a dark uniform standing up peering over the upper ledge of the long reception desk. "Can I help you", he asked politely, eyeing Cloud in confusion.

"Well, you see…", Cloud muttered embarrassed at not even knowing why he was here, "My…my commanding officer just led me over here and told me orientation was in ten minutes. So I guess I'm here for whatever orientation that is."

The sandy haired man raised his eyebrows in disbelief at Clouds dispassionate response concerning the orientation. "Ummm, right. Ok then, the orientation for new recruits is being held in conference room one. You can find it if you head out those doors right there", the man explained pointing at a set of glass double doors on the far side of the sitting area, "and entering the building directly across the court yard. The doors leading into conference room one should be open so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Room assignments will be given out to those who haven't received a room yet after the meeting. If you get lost…somehow…feel free to come back here and I'll help you find it."

Cloud nodded in gratitude for the assistance and started for the doors the man had pointed to. "Waite, new recruits? What kind of orientation is this", Cloud questioned the man, not entirely sure he was being sent to the right meeting.

The male receptionist stared at Cloud in disbelief before answering with, "You don't know what the orientation if for or why you are here?"

The young blond man shook his head turning pink from embarrassment. "Sweet mako", the receptionist muttered before continuing, "Let's just say you are entering a highly prestigious and elite group of soldiers. At least you've made it in the door as a candidate."

Once the man was done he sat back down in his chair shaking his head at how little this blond boy standing in front of him was clued in on. He started organizing some paper work he had been given to do when it occurred to him that maybe this boy was in the wrong place.

He stood back up to speak with the boy, but the boy had already made it to the double doors on the far side of the atrium. Whatever the case was, it was too late now for him to do anything. If the little blond was in the wrong place he would find out at the doors of conference room one.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Curious, confused, and awkward feeling, Cloud wandered across the court yard, careful to stay on the paved paths in case some crazed gardener happened to be in the area that would kill him if he so much as ruined a petal on one of the delicate little flowers.

The flower beds were intricately planted with trees, small shrub like grasses and bushes, and flowers. In fact, the flower beds gave the large court yard an almost forest like feel to it. Any more trees and Cloud was positive he would think he was in an actual forest.

Through the carefully spaced healthy trees, he could see two dark buildings standing tall on both sides of the court yard and in front of him he could make out another dark building that he could tell was more…oddly shaped than the others once he drew closer to it.

It was clear that the side of the building he was approaching was only a single story high with a little extra head room to make a high ceiling, where as further back the building became two stories. It was also clear that he was entering the smaller section of the building. For further back, Cloud noticed the building expanded becoming larger.

As he approached the metal framed glass doors leading into the building he could tell the court yard continued past the building and he wondered if maybe there was more to this place. If that was the case, then this place was like its own miniature compound within Shinra's main military compound. What was this place?

'Oh shit, the meeting. I had ten minutes when I first got here; I have to almost be out of time by now. I've got to pick up the pace or I'm gunna be late', Cloud cried in his head after reality came crashing into his little world of thought.

Cloud quickly readjusted his bag on his shoulder and swung the door open, the words of his officer echoing in his head. "I suggest you aren't late." He cringed as the words continued to bounce around in his numbing head. What was with him? This wasn't like him at all. He had always made it a point to be prompt and composed, and ever since his commanding officer had come crashing into his room shattering the silence, he had been anything but.

Who ever was going to get a first impression of Cloud to day was not going to get the best one he could possibly give them. Cloud shook his head as he looked up and down the hall. He could still pull himself together and save face. It wasn't too late for that.

Late. He was going to be late for the orientation he didn't even know what it was about. The man at the front desk had said that the doors to conference room one should be open, so where were they?

Cloud looked up and down the long open passage he had walked into one more time. Not a single one of the doors was open. He couldn't be in the wrong building, he had followed the directions exactly, and there wasn't time to go back and ask for help.

He decided to trot down the passage to left. Maybe the doors were down one of side halls. Before he could make it to end of the passage, however, one of the gray doors slid open and a man in a dark blue almost black uniform stepped out in the hall.

Cloud moved to open his mouth but before he could even fit in a single syllable, much less the sound of a single letter, the man more stated than asked, "You're here for the candidate meeting aren't you."

Cloud nodded turning a little pink across the tips of his ears once more. The man sighed and waved for Cloud to come into the room the man was exiting. "In here then. You're a little late but you're lucky because they almost never start these things on time."

Embarrassment took its toll on Cloud's pale face and he could feel the heat gathering on the back of his neck. Despite his best last ditch effort to make it on time he had still wound up being late. Head titled down so he could avoid making eye contact with the man Cloud squeezed by, careful not to so mush as brush against him, muttering a quick thanks.

A swoosh and click signaled the closing of the door behind Cloud. The room's overhead lights were turned up to brighten the room. The metallic walls reflected the light back in towards the center increasing the intensity of the lighting.

It was loosely packed but getting warm all ready, and Cloud was certain adding his body to the count wasn't going to help in any way. The crowd of recruits all buzzed with conversation and the total effect was somewhat louder than Cloud personally liked. Why couldn't more of them be sitting quietly?

Wait sitting? Cloud looked around again as he continued to edge along the back wall towards the far side. There weren't any chairs. The options were to either stand or have a seat on the ground. Hopefully this wasn't going to be a long meeting.

Looking around this second time made something else painfully clear to Cloud besides there being no chairs. He had to be the youngest one in there, and that couldn't be a good thing. It didn't matter what he was here for, being the youngest was never good especially if everyone in here had the title of "recruit".

Being the youngest recruit got you heat that Cloud would rather not deal with. The others would look at him and see a child or someone incapable. Even if he had what it took to be there, they would tease him and make fun of him, turning him into their wiping boy and personal source of entertainment. What was worse, if he excelled he would get even worse heat. No older person ever liked it when some person younger than them shows them up.

But then again, maybe it wouldn't be like that. Maybe that was only how it was in the general ranks when one first joined Shinra. Maybe the worry about his age was for nothing.

Cloud let out a relieved sigh as he fell back against the wall near the far back corer of conference room one. He slid down the length of the wall until he sat, knees tucked up in front of him on the floor. 'I'm getting myself worked up over nothing. Heck, I barely got anything for being so young when I first joined Shinra a year ago. I had a few problems with some of the boys closest to my age, but it wasn't all that bad and that stopped pretty quickly', Cloud reassured himself.

'I just need to get a hold of myself and get back to normal. Damn, who knew having the commander come barging in like that would mess me up so badly', he thought breathing deep and closing his eyes, 'I really thought that after all this time under his command I would have gotten use to him. I got to the point where he didn't rattle me up a few months ago, so why did it bother me this time? Ah, no matter. It's over and done with and I'm clamed down now so it makes absolutely no difference now.'

He reopened his eyes and let the pale orbs survey the occupants of the room to pass the time. Another observation came to light. He was probably the scrawniest and palest looking one in there. Well, that much wasn't all that new. Cloud had always been one of the ones with the smallest build, the more slender figure, and the paler complexion. Why would that fact be any different here?

He smirked and rested his head against the wall. The man on the way out hadn't been kidding. The officials were most certainly not starting this meeting on time. That fact proving true, Cloud concluded that he didn't have to worry about that bad impression after all. It turned out that it was the officials making the bad first impression. Then again, if this was still something to do with the military, then the not being on time thing should have been expected because nothing ever started on time in the military.

A door sliding open next to Cloud caused him to jump and almost fall over sideways. He hadn't even noticed the door being there. Better yet, had he decided to sit down one or two feet sooner than he had along the back wall he would have been sitting directly in front of the magically appearing door, and how embarrassing would that have been if the first thing he had done was fall backwards because he had taken a seat leaning against a door he didn't even notice.

Cloud felt the blood drain from his face as he realized who all was walking into the room. The first through the door was Director Lazard, the one and only director of SOLDIER, followed by two unnamed men, one of which had told Cloud to come on in earlier, dressed in what Cloud now recalled as being SOLDIER uniforms.

Next in came some man in a modified version of a SOLDIER First Class uniform. He wore the normal uniform with a long dark blue trench coat over top, and insignias composed of a small silver sword with a silver star on each side of it were pinned on each of his shoulders serving as some sort rank insignia. Off of his right shoulder was looped a deep scarlet red cord that was braided decoratively. Whoever he was, he had to be important.

Next and last came a tall pale man with flowing silvery white hair that reached past his waste. The tall man wore black leather pants with a leather strap stretching up from his hip to the opposite shoulder on both sides forming an x across his chest. Over top of this, the tall warrior, which Cloud just knew he was, he wore a long leather trench coat buttoned up half way leaving his formed chest exposed, his shoulders capped with light metal shoulder pads.

As Cloud watched the entourage make there way to front of the room, Cloud couldn't shake the feeling that he knew the final man that had entered. Once all the men had made it up on to a platform at the front of the room, which Cloud hadn't realized was there originally because he was too short to see over the other recruits, the name of the final man came crashing down inside Cloud's head. That last man was none other than Sephiroth, one of the most widely known members of SOLDIER and a hero in the hearts of many. It was Sephiroth, the man that embodied some of the very things Cloud himself hoped to achieve.

Cloud climbed to his feet to get a better view of the officials standing on the platform. Sephiroth and the "important man", as Cloud had temporarily named him, were both now sitting in chairs in opposite ends of the platform. Up front and center stood Director Lazard, his shoulders pulled back, hands held professionally behind him, and chin raised high. His very demeanor indicated grace, intelligence, and above all confidence.

Off to both sides and back a few paces, the two unnamed SOLDIER operative stood at ease, eyes dead ahead. Taking in the whole scene was breath taking in its own right. As Director Lazard looked out over the candidates Cloud was struck by a strong and over bearing epiphany. He was sitting in a room full or recruits, as a recruit, and the officials conducting the meeting all had something to do with SOLDIER. This could only mean he was now a SOLDIER candidate.

His head spun as he came to terms with the idea, and he felt himself rock back on his feet. Head getting lighter by the second, the blond pressed his back against the wall for support. This was all certainly one big surprise. A small surge of anger grew inside the back of the young pale man's fuzzy mind. 'Would it have killed anyone to tell me I was becoming a SOLDIER candidate', he screamed internally.

A slight wave of nausea crept over the young man and he clenched his eyes shut, fighting to regain composure. This was certainly not what he had imagined his reaction at becoming a candidate would be. He had always pictured heart pumping in thrill at the chance to join the elite group. He had imagined standing tall, shoulders back, a smirk planted firmly across his lips because he had finally made in the door and one step closer to fulfilling his dream.

Deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. The pale man repeated this a few more times and control and composure came rushing back to him. He stood back up strait and crossed his arms casually across his chest, eyes set and focused on the current speaker, Director Lazard. Now this was the real him.

Unfortunately, he had regained his true self just a little too late. Director Lazard finished speaking and stepped back and to the side as the "important man" stepped forward to take his place. The Director took a seat and the important man took a good long look around.

Finally the man narrowed his cold shadowy green eyes and gave a malicious smirk at all the candidates. He ran a massive hand through heavy brown chestnut hair that reached down past his shoulders and looked combed back to keep it out of his face. Now that Cloud thought about it, the man looked massive. He had large broad shoulders and heavily developed and honed muscles that tensed and rippled with each carefully planned and executed movement.

"Congratulations", the man glowered mockingly, "You have all made it in the door as candidates. Some of you came almost directly here like you signed up because you were able to demonstrate you already posse some skill and training. Others of you have been sent up from the general ranks of Shinra's many lesser divisions because you showed a little talent. None of this means a god damn thing to me and I couldn't care less how you made it here.

In my eyes you are all only lowly candidates that can be sent packing at any time I choose. Allow me to explain what I mean by this along with the process you will all be put through.

You are candidates. You have not been guarantied entrance to SOLDIER. Before you can become a member of SOLDIER you must pass all examination to a satisfactory level. Fail to do so and you will be sent packing.

If I or another trainer and evaluator feel you will not make the cut, don't have what it takes, or are not meeting expectations you will be sent packing. Don't bother arguing this decision. Once you have been told to beat it, you better beat it. If you choose not to, you will be personally escorted out of this facility, and you don't want that."

The burley man paused and scanned the room with his cold eyes once more. The room was packed full of ripe possibilities and it was going to be his lovely job to weed through them and find the select few who really were worthy to call themselves a member of SOLDIER. A second malicious smirk spread over his lips. This was going to be a good run, he could already tell just by looking around the room.

"That aside", he boomed sounding two steps kinder for all of five seconds, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is irrelevant. You will address me as Commander Guile, and let me make this clear now. I am not here to be your friend or your mentor. I am here to drive you hard so that I and the other evaluators can weed out who doesn't belong.

You're training starts tomorrow, and I promise you, the number at the end of the day tomorrow will be lower than the number in this room right now.

My one piece of advice that I will give you as a candidate…rest well tonight because I promise you're not going to get much good rest after tonight. Take this golden opportunity and use it. If you don't then fine. I'll just get to watch you suffer all that much more.

Now get out of here. If you don't have a room assignment yet, find an operative outside the conference room and they should be able to tell you what room is yours. If you don't know where you're going too bad. Follow the others and hope to hell they aren't lost too."

With everything said and done, Commander Guile gave a strong wave of his hand to dismiss the candidates from the meeting. As they all began filing out through the two doors, Commander Guile turned slowly on his heel giving a deep chuckle and then added, "Oh by the way. Getting through my portion of the elimination process isn't the only thing you have to worry about."

All the candidates froze. What else could there be besides getting through the training and final skills evaluation, which all seemed to fall under this brute Guile? As if reading there minds, Guile gave another hearty chuckle before expanding, "Once you make it through my elimination process you have to make it through mako exposure, which is not pleasant in the least. But don't worry. They run a test first. If you aren't compatible then we kick you out before you have to under go it."

Commander Guile turned on his heel and marched off the platform and in the direction of the back door he had entered through. The candidates all scrambled to get out of his way afraid that failure to move would earn them the words "get outta here".

Cloud was still standing back by the door which all the officials had entered in. He didn't see the point in trying to get out of the room right away. After all, there were only two doors and way too many candidates to fit through all at once, so it didn't matter if he walked over to the doors to stand in the pack or if he stayed put. He wasn't going to get out any faster.

The last few candidates hurried out of the great brute's way and the large man came striding up to the door. Before exiting he stopped and glared over at the scrawny blond boy who didn't seem to find it necessary to flee from his presence. 'Go ahead, take it in. I'm not going to cower away from you', Cloud challenged silently.

"You got a problem boy", spat the young man's new commanding officer.

"No, no problem sir", Cloud responded coolly to the towering giant standing only feet from him.

Cold green eyes narrowed as the great man eyed the pale boy carefully. He forced himself to grow a few more inches by drawing himself up to his full height and puffed out his chest just a little further to up his intimidation factor. When the weak looking boy didn't flinch he gave another nasty glare and strode from the room.

"Wow, I didn't know you could find worse than my first commander. Maybe they're related", Cloud muttered not realizing that the Director and Sephiroth were passing by at that exact moment.

He looked up just in time to see Director Lazard disappear through the door. As Sephiroth came even with Cloud, he shot the young one a quick look and smirk that seemed to say "I like your style kid" before he too vanished through the door. The same second Sephiroth's coat tails made it through the door frame; the metal doors slid shut with a whoosh and click as it locked in place.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A dark haired young man bounced back and fourth clutching a packet containing all of the room assignments for every last candidate whether they where already supposed to have been told their room or not.

The youth released a frustrated sigh as he threw his hand into the air to stretch out his back. A series of pops and cracks sounded out down his back and he let his arms fall to his side, content that he had gotten every last pop he could possibly get.

Sadly, this stretch failed to consume enough time so the youth began to fidget and bounce once more. A flash of light danced through his abnormally blue eyes signaling another idea concerning how he could burn time. Eager for time to fly by he implemented it immediately.

Within seconds, the youth was doing squat after squat after squat. He swung his arms to build momentum as he dropped creating a pendulum effect of motion that aided him as he came back up. After doing a set of about ten, the youth paused to stretch, and then started up again.

"Zack, for the love all that lives, could you possibly hold still for more than ten minutes", cried a SOLDIER second class leaning against the wall just a few feet down from the youth.

Zack gave the man a goofy grin. "Oh you know I would die if I held still that long Kunsel. Besides, I'm bored and what's wrong in working off boredom with a little bit of exercise huh? Come on tell me", Zack whined playfully.

Kunsel rolled his eyes and hit his head against the wall behind him. "Because you're making me tiered odd ball", the older man complained before continuing, and cutting off Zack, in a more serious tone, "And for a reason you can't easily argue, they will be releasing the candidates any minute now, and if they walk out to someone like you acting all weird it'll give the wrong impression."

The dark haired youth gave his friend an annoyed look before leaning back against the wall and folding his arms across his chest. It would be odd for the candidates to come out to him acting hyper, he would give Kunsel that much. Plus, if the candidates were going to be released any minute, Zack needed to be ready.

Ready mentally that is. He wasn't going to have any problem keeping up physically with checking room numbers and answering questions. The problem was going to be in answering the same questions fifty times and putting up with five people trying to get his attention all at once. So, Zack focused on getting in the right mindset.

The doors opened and the hum of many voices spilled out of the room into the front passage way. The sudden out break sent Zack slipping down the wall a few inches, startled from the volume change of zero to fifty in a matter of seconds.

'And 3…2…1', Zack counted down.

Commander Guile's booming voice surged over the crowd adding, "Oh by the way. Getting through my portion of the elimination process isn't the only thing you have to worry about."

All the candidates froze and Zack smirked laughing quietly to himself. The commander's voice came rolling out of the room once more and this time Zack mouthed along with him, "Once you make it through my elimination process you have to make it through mako exposure which is not pleasant in the least. But don't worry. They run a test first. If you aren't compatible then we kick you out before you have to under go it."

Zack shook his head as soon as the last words echoed out of the room and died out in the large passageway. That man was still using the same old speech, and the youth had to admit it was getting a little old and had lost its touch some time ago. On second thought, the people the man gave the speech too hadn't heard it fifty times so it was probably still fairly effective. Otherwise, the man wouldn't be using it.

The candidates filed out of the room in waves, swarming Zack, Kunsel, and the two other SOLDIER members standing ready to direct the chaos. Zack ripped through the packet as fast as he could whenever someone inquired as to where they were staying, and tried his best to give directions to another person who didn't know how to get where they were going at the same time.

Once or twice Zack was ready to strangle a person who just didn't seem to be listening. They would ask, he would answer, and they would ask again. Annoyed he would answer them again. Unfortunately this process could be carried out more than several times before the directions finally made it through, or the answer was registered, and the person moved on.

Zack had no problems with novices, not in the least. Not all that long ago he had been bestowed the opportunity to help with a training session and it had gone fairly well. What Zack couldn't stand was this chaos.

Fearing his breaking limit was fast approaching, since this wasn't his "kind of thing", Zack slipped further and further away from the doors, attracting fewer and fewer candidates waiting for a SOLDIER operative to be free long enough for them to swoop in.

He finally made it to within feet of corner practically putting him self out of direct range of all the little lost kittens coming up to the lions for help and guidance. The spiky haired youth smirked triumphantly as he dealt with only one or two "little kittens" at a time while Kunsel and the others continued to get swarmed.

'Hey, I think this is a new time record for me', Zack mused thinking for a moment, 'Yup, I'm pretty sure it is. This has got to be the fastest I have ever managed to get to the outskirts of this kind of mess.'

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cloud exited the room, keeping his eyes down. If he could avoid eye contact then he would, because everything always seemed to go better if he didn't make eye contact. He cleared the majority of the clamoring mess and raised his head long enough to get a good look around.

There were three operatives close to the doors working feverishly to keep up with all the candidates throwing themselves in to ask for assistance. Cloud sighed realizing that it was going to be a bit, because he wasn't about to throw himself into the middle of the chaos. It was too loud, too crowded, and just too plain easy to avoid. Mind made up, he settled into his spot, arms folded easily over his chest, and eyes closed listening for the dramatic drop in noise.

What felt like an eternity ticked by and the blond youth opened his eyes to survey the scene. There was no way all that much time had elapsed. It was practically the same as when he first closed his eyes.

Eventually, the crowd thinned and the noise level died down and the blond was able to relax a little more finding the environment more tolerable. He opened his eyes again and surveyed the lessened chaos.

The three operatives were still fairly busy and there were still more people crowded around them then he would like to come in close quarters with. Any crowd size he didn't like, if he could avoid it, he would. And right now, he could.

Then out of the corner of his eye, Cloud noticed a spiky black haired operative leaning idly against the wall down the passageway near the far corner with a packet held loosely at his side. There was no crowd, no fuss, and a man that held the information the blond needed to know. This was a no brainer situation, and Cloud leapt at his fortunate opportunity.

The blond wandered casually down the passageway keeping is head down and his arms folded across his chest. When he reached within ear shot of the young man he could hear the operative humming softly to himself to better pass the time. Silently, Cloud wandered up to the black haired operative and attempted to get the man's attention.

He cleared his throat. No effect. He gave a light cough. No effect. He muttered an "excuse me" No effect. This wasn't getting any where. This guy was in his own little world and by the looks of it… nothing was going to get through to him. Maybe this was why no one else was bothering him. Maybe they had all already tried but were unable to get through.

The blond took a deep breath and tried again, this time speaking a little louder. "Excuse me", Cloud repeated.

The spiky haired one flinched and opened his eyes. "Hey there", he greeted Cloud with a grin, "What can I do for you blonde?"

After a quick breath Cloud answered, "I need to get my room assignment. Please tell me that you have a copy of the room assignments in your hand."

Waving the packet, the black haired man gave a nod and another smile. Before, the man could ask Cloud answered, "Cloud Strife."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Zack nodded giving the younger man a quick thumbs up as he started scanning down the pages of the packet. It would have been so much easier to do this job if they had made the lists in alphabetical order by last name instead of by room number, but such was life. So Zack trooped on trying to find the young man's name somewhere in the list.

He glanced up and took a good look at the other youth, quickly looking back down when the other bothered to glance up at him to check his progress. "Names Zack Fair", Zack established light heartily, confusing the other youth for a few seconds.

Zack managed to glance up and catch the momentary look of confusion captured on Cloud's face and laughed. The expression was both funny and…cute. Now that Zack thought about it, this guy was actually pretty attractive.

His own thoughts startling him, Zack quickly dropped the thought process and returned to how he had managed to confuse someone by introducing himself. "Guess you weren't expecting anyone to introduce themselves to you, huh", Zack laughed still searching through the pages all the sudden feeling the urge to slow his search so he could talk longer with the delicate younger man standing in front of him.

Cloud shook his head. "Not particularly, no. Especially not a SOLDIER operative", Cloud confessed quietly.

"I see", Zack nodded pausing momentarily because he thought he had spotted Cloud's name but it had been a false alarm, "well, lesson number one then. Always expect the unexpected."

Cloud looked at Zack in disbelief. Was a current member of SOLDIER actually giving him pointers? Even if the pointer was supposed to be more of a joke, was he actually trying to be friendly? For some reason Cloud had figured no SOLDIER operative was going to bother even trying to make so much as small talk with him, but here was one trying to converse fully with him.

"Lesson number two, relax", Zack piped up again seeing the confusion return to Cloud's pale and beautiful face, "because you never now when things are actually going to get rough. You always need to relax when you can. It makes your life that much easier."

Cloud looked up and nodded at the slightly older man and muttered his thanks. Zack just flashed a brief smile and continued flipping through the pages. There on the fourth page, which Zack had already scanned twice, was the name Cloud Strife.

"Ok, here we go. Cloud my friend, you are in room 314, and it looks like that's one of the bigger rooms. You have five roommates", Zack informed Cloud in a mock serious tone.

The little bit of silliness in Zack's voice was enough to coax a smile out of Cloud. Zack felt himself release his breath slowly as if it had just been caught in his chest when he looked up to see the weak but satisfying expression on the blonde's face.

"Hey, it looks like the others have things under control, so I can help you find your room", Zack offered hopefully.

Cloud shrunk back for a moment. He hadn't been expecting anyone to offer help especially after the way Commander Guile spoke. Well, this black spiky haired man by the name of Zack had already shattered one expectation, so what would keep him from shattering more like it?

"It really wouldn't be a problem you know, because I really do think the others have everything else under control. Besides you can see how no one else besides you even bothered to come up to me", Zack reasoned with Cloud.

A response died just before it passed through Cloud's lips. His lips moved, but no words came out. Cloud flushed lightly. That was odd. He hadn't had the problem of losing the ability to speak in months. Why would it start now? Why, out of the blue, would he lose the ability to respond to someone, especially when that someone was being so nice?

Zack watched as the blonde's lips moved but no audible words accompanied the motion. He watched as the other youth flushed and looked down. Heat crept up the back of his neck, and he felt as if he too had momentarily lost his voice.

But that moment was short and Zack soon found his words again. "Come on, I'll help you find your room. And don't be embarrassed about accepting help. You know…lesson number three, accept help when you can. Help is nothing to be ashamed of. It isn't often you can get it, and even rarer to have it offered", Zack explained with a smile.

With lesson number three out of the way, although no lessons had been planned what so ever, Zack turned and motioned for Cloud to follow. When Cloud didn't move Zack took a few steps backwards to come within arms reach of the younger youth, taking hold of the youth's sleeve and giving it a firm tug.

Startled by the sudden contact, Cloud looked up, his eyes making full and complete contact with Zack's. Pale blue and a deep vibrant blue locked together, and the two stared back at one another unable to move or speak.

Finally, Zack found the power to give another quick tug and use his voice. "Come on, your going to want all the resting time you can get before tomorrow, and the sooner you get to your room the more rest you'll get", Zack coaxed quietly, quieter than he had intended to.

Zack's last bit of coaxing did the trick, and Cloud finally started walking in the direction Zack had moments earlier.

Upon exiting the building Zack looked over at Cloud and declared, "I don't think I finished welcoming you yet. So here it goes. Welcome to hell!"

"Welcome to hell", Cloud repeated questioningly.

Zack shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I know it doesn't sound like much of a greeting, but I mean well. Just let me explain, ok? The life of a candidate isn't so great, and a lot of times it gets pretty rough. I remember when I went through it that I thought the closest thing to the experience must be hell itself. So, welcome to hell."

Cloud could only stair at the black haired youth as they continued to walk through the forested courtyard. A faint smile played across his lips and he returned, "Glad to be here, and I plan to stay."

A wide smile cracked across Zack's face. He could get use to having this quiet little one around.

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A/N: For those of you who actually made it to the end of chapter one, and read it through beginning to end, I hope you enjoyed and congrats. (I really didn't expect to make this chapter this long, but oh well. What happens, happens. Right?)

Please review. Tell me what you thought, what you liked, what you didn't like. Constructive criticism is also more than welcomed.

Hopefully I'll have chapter two up in no more than a couple weeks, but I can't make any guarantees, with the semester winding down and all along with another story currently still in progress. In the mean time, happy reading everybody!!