Title:
Opaque
Chapter: Loveless
Author: Raserei
Hojo
Summary: A story of Cloud's relationship with
Sephiroth and Zack. Pre-game.
Rating: T (Subject to change)
Feedback:
Very much so desired!
Story Warnings: Yaoi
Pairings:
Sephiroth/Zack/Cloud
Disclaimer: Any recognizable
characters of Final Fantasy VII belong to Squaresoft. Any that are
NOT recognizable belong to me.
Note: ...Does this make up for the extreme lack of updates?
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Not good enough, not good enough!
Two months in the army and that was all he ever heard anymore. He wasn't holding the sword right, he wasn't standing straight enough, he wasn't breathing the proper number of breaths in a minute. Everything that came out of Cloud's instructor's mouths was degrading. Not once had he been complimented, not once!
Grinding his teeth, he brought his training sword down with full force onto the straw dummy. He gave a smile of success as he watched the individual pieces of straw break apart and gently float to the ground.
"Hey, hey."
Cloud started, turning his head in the direction of the husky voice. His eyes instantly took in the picture of the tanned man walking gracefully towards him, his black spikes bouncing slightly, crystal blue eyes boring down onto the youth.
Cloud pursed his lips, taking note of the SOLDIER patch on the man's broad chest. He saluted and held his arms stiffly at his side, waiting for the heckling that would come. Darn critiques, he thought woefully. His fingers idly ran along the hilt of his training sword.
The SOLDIER laughed loudly, placing his hands on his hips and leaning forward. "You look a bit upset. Is everything going okay, Kid?"
Cloud sighed and brought his azure gaze to meet his superior's gaze. "Of course," he replied dismissively, "I'm having a great time."
"You just destroyed a dummy in one blow. You're either really good -- no offense or anything, or you're mad at someone and taking it out on a poor defenseless straw dummy." He tilted his head and smirked. "I pick option number two. Again, no offense."
"It's just..." Cloud had second thoughts. He couldn't confide in a SOLDIER, he'd just go and tell one of his instructors. "I'm sorry," he quickly shook his head. "Forget I said anything."
The man laughed again, shaking his head, those black locks of hair drifting into his face, shielding his eyes. "The name's Zack. No need to worry about me, I'd never tell those jerks about you. I've been watching you practice for some time. I think you're really good, but no one else here will admit it." He tossed the stray hairs aside.
Cloud blinked, surprised. "You really think so?"
Zack smiled. "Yeah, of course." He ran a hand through the mass of hair perched atop his head. "Tell you what. I'll take you out of one of your classes."
"But then I wouldn't have enough credits to advance!" Cloud protested, confused when Zack laughed again.
"Of course you would! I mean, I'll take you out of a class, and in return, put you into one of mine." He winked and jabbed his thumb at his chest. "I'm a kid short. Speaking of that, I never got your name. I guess I can't have you switched out of a class if I don't know your name."
"My name's Cloud Strife, Sir."
"I see. Well, my name isn't 'Sir'." He quirked an eyebrow. "At least, I don't remember telling you that it was. I thought I told you it was Zack."
"Well, you did, but I'm supposed to address all SOLDIERs as 'Sir'. It's the rule here, isn't it?"
"Nah, you can call me Zack. I won't tell anyone." Zack raised his right hand into the air. "I swear on all that my friends stand for."
That won a laugh from Cloud. "Well, alright. I guess it'd be fun to be in your class. You haven't patronized me. I'm sorry for misjudging you."
"Hey, now, don't worry about it!" He wrapped an arm around Cloud's neck. "So which class do you want to be taken out of?"
Cloud squirmed slightly. "This one would be great. I hate the instructor. It's the last class of the day and I just can't wait to get out of here."
"Oh, c'mon. I don't want you feeling that way about my class."
"I'm sure I wouldn't." Cloud offered a frail smile. "It's just that I don't like this teacher very much, that's all."
"Hey Zack, what are you doing hanging around a Rookie like that?" The voice was like silk, weaving through the sounds of clashing swords and falling straw.
Zack and Cloud turned and looked up. Zack grinned while Cloud's mouth dropped open in amazement.
Clad in black and silver armor, sturdy boots and a long trench coat, stood General Sephiroth himself. Liquid green eyes glanced at Cloud's mouth agape. A disgusted look crossed the General's pale face before he turned his gaze back to Zack. "Don't you have a class to be teaching?"
"Nope." Zack grinned and enthusiastically wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's rather petite waist.
Sephiroth's fingers grasped Zack's shoulders tightly, harshly shoving him away. Parts of Sephiroth's long silver hair fell over his shoulders as he glared at Zack. After a few moments he sighed and shook his head dismally. "I give up on you, honestly. I don't know how much longer I can stand being around someone so...hyper."
Zack elbowed Sephiroth gently in the ribs. "Oh, you know you love me. I'm the best friend you've got. You'll put up with me 'til the very end."
"That isn't written in stone, you know." Sephiroth walked the short distance over to Cloud, staring down at the new cadet, evaluating him. He took in all of the boy's aspects, including the Chocobo spiked hair, angelic face, short build, all of Cloud's muscles that weren't overly-bulky. A smile played across his lips for an instant before retreating to his eyes. "You must be Cloud."
After swallowing, Cloud slowly nodded. "Y-Yes," he stuttered. "How did you know?"
Sephiroth arched a slender brow. "It says so on your uniform."
Cloud's breath caught in his throat. He could feel the heat radiating from his face. He then oddly wondered if it was warm enough for the General to feel. The sword slipped through his fingers, though he didn't notice. His idol was staring down at him with emerald catlike eyes, regarding him to be a who-knows-what.
"It does?" Zack queried, bending over and pushing his face close to Cloud's chest, obstructing the youth's view of his idol. "Oh, wow, I feel stupid! I didn't even see that!" He straightened and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Zack?" Sephiroth questioned.
"Yes, Sephiroth?"
"You're a moron."
Zack hung his head in misery. "Yes, Sephiroth. I know." He glanced up at Sephiroth, and only he could see the amusement behind the calm demeanor Sephiroth was always sporting. If only Sephiroth would come out of his protective shell... Zack sighed and looked at Cloud. "Well, Cloud, I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow!"
Cloud blinked slowly at Zack. If he goes, I'll be alone with... Sephiroth. What if I do something stupid?
Zack patted Sephiroth on the back and trotted off towards the looming building of Shinra Inc.
What if Sephiroth drills me and I don't know the answers to any of his questions! Cloud continued his thoughts, staring almost fearfully at the legendary man before him.
Without another word, however, Sephiroth turned around, long silver hair swaying this way and that. He walked off in the same direction that Zack had gone just a few moments earlier, leaving Cloud feeling like a complete imbecile.
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The very next day, Cloud was sitting in a sweltering classroom with twelve other cadets, Zack up front teaching. Cloud's ball-point pen raced back and forth across a notepad. He had heard somewhere that it was important to copy down only key words and ideas, but he found that he was basically writing down every word that Zack uttered.
"Well, alright then!" Zack was cheerful despite the heat. "Time to pack up."
The other twelve students around Cloud happily and hurriedly gathered their things and raced out the door. Cloud was reluctant to leave though. "Are you sure class is over, Zack?" It felt odd calling a superior by their first name.
"Yep. The bell rang about five minutes ago. Don't you remember? I was keeping you guys here five extra minutes so I could finish up my explanation about proper sword handling."
"Oh... Guess I didn't notice."
"That's alright; we all get caught up in our thoughts, Cloud." Zack grinned and went to straightening up his desk. "You're welcome to stay if you'd like. I don't mind."
Cloud hesitantly dropped his things on the wooden desk. "Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to impose or anything..." He trailed off, lost for words.
Zack shook his head and offered another smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, Cloud. Teachers get lonely too, sometimes. But today is different." He dashed over to Cloud's desk and sat on it, leaning back on his palms slightly. "I have you to keep me company. I also have a friend who said he'd visit me after class. He should be here any minute."
"A friend...?"
"Oh, you know, tall guy, silver hair, jade kitty like eyes. You know. Oh, he goes by the name...Sephiroth?"
Cloud stared at him. "Seriously?"
Zack nodded. "Yep. He's my best friend, and sometimes I think I'm all he's got. Not to be egotistic or anything, but I think he'd go crazy without me. He may seem like a scary guy that everyone admires..." Zack leaned his face in close to Cloud's. "...But deep down, he's really sad and alone."
"Are you...trying to be funny? I don't know if I should laugh or be sad." Cloud unconsciously took a few steps back, away from Zack.
"Laugh at my joke! But Sephiroth really does have some social problems..."
Cloud fiddled with his collar instead. "I'm the one with social problems. He was just staring down at me like I was his prey or something. It kinda scared me. You know? He looked like he could kill me in an instant."
"He could kill you in an instant. Sephiroth's just nice like that. It takes a while to get Sephiroth to trust you. Even longer to get him to be nice to you." He laughed and smacked Cloud gently on the back. "I guess I still haven't gotten that far, eh?"
Cloud smiled and nodded. "I can't believe that someone in SOLDIER is so...human."
"Yeah, I know. But I also know how crappy it feels to be treated like dirt. You'll never believe how long it took me to get up to this rank!" He leaned close to Cloud's ear and continued, whispering. "I had to take the SOLDIER test fourteen times."
"I thought that you could only take it once a year!"
Zack gave Cloud one of his trademark grins. "Remember, now. I had Sephiroth as a buddy. Sephiroth was able to pull a few strings."
Cloud grew starry-eyed. "Really? Sephiroth did something like that?"
"Well, he almost didn't. See, Sephiroth is one of those people that get mad when you look at 'em too long. Maybe that's why that look crossed his face when you were staring. He hates that. But anyways, he didn't want to help at first. He had just become the General of the entire army, so I can see why. He didn't wanna lose such an awesome job! But he convinced good old President Shinra to give me another go. And then another one and another one...Whoops. I feel kinda silly now though. It wasn't so hard to pass that test, well, it was, but I know I could have done it, I was just so damn nervous!" Mischief danced in his eyes for a moment. "That was back when the President was young and slim like me."
Cloud laughed at the joke. He hadn't actually seen President Shinra, but he'd heard the rumors of the out-of-shape man. He just didn't seem to fit in with the well-built and muscular cadets of SOLDIER.
"Sorry I'm late," came the silky voice of Sephiroth. His words seemed to float through the air on their own. "My class was rowdy and I had to deal out their punishments accordingly." He walked into Zack's classroom, a bunch of papers in his arms, all carefully tied together with string.
"No sweat." Zack nodded, understanding how Sephiroth's students tended to act up. They had once all been Sephiroth's admirers, but after being around him for so long, they had lost their respect of the man and instead liked to torture him with their antics. "Oh! Cloud, do you wanna be in Sephiroth's class?"
"Who? Me? Me? In the Great General Sephiroth's class?"
"Yep! All you have to do is pass the SOLDIER test in the Fall. Sephiroth is the only one who is able to teach SOLDIERs. And he's a great teacher, if I do say so myself."
Sephiroth knitted his brows together and turned his calm yet malicious gaze towards Cloud. He warily examined the youth, wondering why Zack had taken a liking to the blonde boy. "So, Cloud's here," he stated callously. A simple observation, nothing more, nothing less.
"Yeah. It seems he likes my class. Imagine that." Zack rolled his eyes. "All the others left, but not Cloud. He's keeping me company." He kicked his legs out in front of him and jumped off the desk, standing up straight and running a hand through his hair. "He's such a nice little boy."
"Oh, I see."
"You know, uh, Sephiroth -- er, I mean, sir --"
"Just state what you want to say."
Cloud nervously played with a strand of his hair. "Well, I just, uhm, want to let you know that..."
"That you really admire me and you're just so glad you can be in my 'holy' presence."
Cloud quietly lowered his eyes, hoping that he hadn't angered Sephiroth. He hadn't meant anything mean by it, he truly did admire General Sephiroth. Perhaps he didn't like to be complimented, just like he didn't like to be stared at. That seems understandable...I wouldn't want to be stared at like I was some kind of fish in a tank. I wonder if he took my compliment the wrong way.
"Don't worry about it, Cloud. Sephiroth's heard those lines so many times it's gotten on his nerves. But don't feel bad, now! I'm sure he really appreciates the thought!"
Sephiroth glared at Zack. "No I don't."
"Under that hard rocky surface, there's a good Sephiroth in there. Somewhere. You just gotta get to know him. And I've got the perfect place to do that! The three of us can go out tonight!"
"Zack, have you gone insane? I have work to do, and so do you. It's Friday night, the streets will be packed with freeloaders! Besides, I'm not in the mood to go to one of your excursions."
Zack simply rolled his eyes. "The whole point, Mr. Sephiroth, is that "it's Friday night". You said it yourself. We have the whole weekend to do our work, why not go out tonight?"
"No."
Cloud was anxious. He wanted to go as well. He imagined it would be fun with Zack, but without Sephiroth, it just wouldn't be the same. Of course, there was also the possibility of Cloud passing out with ecstasy if Sephiroth did, by some miracle, agree to go along.
Zack tugged playfully at Sephiroth's sleeve. "C'mon, Seph, it'll be fun! Please?"
Sephiroth stared at Zack with a peculiar expression plastered to his exquisite face. His eyes seemed much more distant than usual, penetrating Zack's begging gaze. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, but Zack wasn't sure if it was the beginning of a smile or not.
"I told you, Zack, I refuse." He ran his thin fingers through his thick silver hair, twirling the strands idly around his fingers. "How many times must I tell you?"
Zack sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cloud. It looks like he doesn't want to come with us after all. I know how much you would have liked for him to come. He's so evil sometimes! I mean, here he's given the chance to make your dream come true, and he turns it down as if it's nothing!"
Sephiroth sighed. "Zack, you're just going to end up getting drunk again. Then I'll have to drive you home. Then I'll have to carry you up all these stairs to get you to your room. If you bring Cloud along, he'll be drinking underage. That's two bodies for me to drag up these stairs. And I don't even know Cloud's Dorm number."
"328A," Cloud instantly answered. He felt his face turning red and he promptly hid the view with his hand.
"But you're big and strong, Seph. What's the big deal? Hey, wait a minute! President Shinra installed elevators ages ago!"
"The same elevators that don't work? The only ones that do work are the ones that take you up from the top staircase floor to the President's floor. You don't want to go there at three o'clock in the morning, do you?"
"Nope." Zack knew how cranky the President would be.
"That's what I thought." Sephiroth slowly closed his emerald eyes and knitted his slim brows together once more. He seemed to be having an internal conflict.
"Please, General Sephiroth? I know you don't like to hear people say this, but I've always wanted to spend at least a day with you!"
Sephiroth cracked open a jaded eye and looked squarely at Cloud. He suddenly looked so tired, it was chilling. "This will make you happy? If I accompany you and Zack?"
"Yes!" Cloud eagerly nodded. "The whole reason I came to Shinra was to be like you! So please come... Uhm... I-I mean...Uhm..." He slowly edged beside Zack in hopes of the older man backing him up.
"Pretty please, Sephiroth? There's some sugar coated chocolates in it if you agree!" Zack leaned close to Cloud's ear and whispered, "Sephiroth's got a huge sweet tooth. He'll never admit it though." He smirked knowingly at Sephiroth. "So what do you say?"
"...Alright. I'll go."
"Yes!" Zack twirled around and high-fived Cloud. "We've won the battle. And believe me, that was one of the most difficult battles you'll ever be in -- Sephiroth's so stubborn sometimes."
Cloud smiled. "This is gonna be a great night."
Sephiroth looked aside. "Just let me take my work up to my room." He nodded at the papers he had been holding. "I don't want to lose them. Wait here." He turned around and gracefully exited the room.
"Now Cloud, you don't have to drink if you don't want to. But if you do, feel free to! And don't feel strange just because you're a student of mine. I'm your friend! Aren't I?"
"Of course! I've never met anyone as nice as you..."
"Aww, the other SOLDIERs are just out there to get you. Don't mind them. Sephiroth's a lot of fun, but he doesn't drink, so there's no way to loosen him up."
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Sephiroth quietly trudged up the stairs to his room. Sure, being the General of the most powerful army, and actually the only army in the world was great, but not when you had to travel up to the top executive floor without an elevator. His room was on the floor right under President Shinra and his son, Rufus. With a sigh, he remembered how Rufus always barged into his room in the middle of the night for no obvious reason, other than to test Sephiroth's patience.
"Damn sixteen year old," he muttered.
Sephiroth yawned widely, shoving open the door to his room. In his opinion, Cloud seemed to be around Rufus' age. Hopefully, he wouldn't be so obnoxious as Rufus was. Sephiroth wouldn't be able to take it. He'd probably kill Cloud by accident. Or maybe on purpose.
He glanced around the dull room. Nothing special, just a bed, a dresser, a closet door. There was also his own private bathroom. His mind refused to acknowledge the elegance of his room though, as well as it's overly-tidy appearance. He went to the desk nestled in the corner of the room and dropped the pile of papers on it.
"I'm going to regret tonight. I can feel it." He shook his head and left his room, making absolute sure to lock it behind himself. With another sigh, he trudged down the hall and back down to Zack's classroom.
He thought that it was most likely that they would be taking his own expensive car. But he would be the one driving of course, so he really didn't see any problem to that. Last time he had let Zack touch his car, it ended up in the repair shop for a week! Definitely not good for his rather ruined nerves.
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Author's Note: I would really appreciate reviews, especially ones telling me how to make this story better! Was everyone in character? Were there any misspelled words? Grammatical errors? Feel free to tell me! But don't forget to tell me what you liked and didn't like!
Author's Note 2: This used to be longer. And on a different site. I have to rewrite chapter 2+ because of the lovely computer crash.
