Usual disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did. This fic is written for fun and not profit.
Yuan is an OC of mine who makes appearances here and there in my stories as Hojo's long-suffering assistant.
Cloud entered the lab hesitantly; the acrid smells of antiseptic and formaldehyde caused his stomach to lurch. He looked around for Hojo's assistant, Ms. Yuan, but found no sign of the woman. Cadets had been instructed to report Ms. Yuan by appointment, for the purpose of having their vital signs taken, along with blood and urine samples.
It sounded reasonable, but it still made Cloud nervous. He hated hospitals, or anything that even smelled like a hospital. Hojo's lab was worse; those scents, along with some others Cloud could not quite identify, were so strong here that Cloud was starting to get a headache.
"Hello?" Cloud called out, knocking on the door. "Ms. Yuan? It's me….Cloud Strife…I'm here for my appointment." There was no answer, but Cloud heard a low hum from within; then, he heard Hojo's unmistakable nasally voice in clipped tones, as though he were dictating or speaking to someone.
Maybe Ms. Yuan is in there, Cloud reasoned, and steeled himself as he pushed open the double doors. The hum grew louder, and Cloud felt his heart drop to the floor when he saw where the noise was originating from.
There, in the middle of the room, strapped to a cold metal surgical table and unmoving, was Sephiroth. Cloud's general, his mentor - now his lover. Sephiroth hadn't mentioned anything about this – the last time Cloud had seen him had been the night before last, when Sephiroth had told his lover that he would be unavailable for the next few days. Cloud assumed it was another mission, something classified – Sephiroth had a lot of those.
But now it seemed that Sephiroth had never even left the Shinra Building since that night. Hojo and Ms. Yuan stood on either side of Sephiroth, murmuring in hushed tones to each other, making adjustments to the dials on an enormous-looking piece of equipment toward the back of the laboratory. Cloud held his breath, watching his lover's chest rise and fall with each intake of breath, grateful that he seemed to be breathing steadily and wasn't in any great distress.
Yet.
"Increase the voltage please, Yuan," Hojo instructed his assistant, who nodded and moved quickly to adjust the dial accordingly. Sephiroth's muscles contracted, the veins stood out from his neck quite visibly, and Cloud stood there horrorstruck, unable to speak or move. The man he'd grown to love was now being subjected to something unspeakable, Cloud was sure of that much. He knew that Sephiroth, being SOLDIER, had to endure a monthly Mako injection that had its own share of nasty side effects. Sephiroth had forewarned Cloud the last time he'd gone to Hojo for his injections that he might feel nauseated afterwards, and would be either quite drowsy, or completely wired. Mako injections could work in mysterious ways, and the side effects could vary widely, even in the same individual.
Sephiroth never mentioned this, Cloud thought grimly, still afraid to reveal his presence. It wasn't until Hojo instructed his assistant to turn up the voltage even more, that Sephiroth grunted in pain, and Cloud revealed himself at last.
"Hey!" Cloud shouted, suddenly feeling very insignificant and small as Hojo whirled around angrily to see who the intruder was.
"Who is that? What are you doing in here, boy?" Hojo snapped, stalking over toward the door. Cloud trembled slightly, but didn't look away from Hojo's piercing gaze.
I won't let him intimidate me, I won't….
"I had an appointment with Ms. Yuan," Cloud explained, nodding toward Hojo's assistant. Yuan gasped, shaking her head.
"The young man is right, professor," Yuan replied apologetically. "I'm so sorry. He's here for his checkup, I forgot I had one more coming in today – "
"Oh, another SOLDIER hopeful, hmm?" Hojo cut in, his voice holding a tone of amusement. "Well, then. I have work to do here, so you'll need to leave. Yuan will take you into the examination room. You do not belong in here, this area is restricted."
"What are you doing to him?" Cloud demanded. He wasn't going to let Hojo shoo him away without asking. "He – he sounds like he's in pain – "
Hojo laughed. "Sephiroth is fine," he replied indifferently. "He can tolerate a lot more than you ever could, boy."
"But I heard him," Cloud argued. "He's in pain. What are all those wires for?"
"It's none of your concern," Hojo said coldly and dismissively. "Now please leave. I must get back to my experiments."
"It is my concern!" Cloud retorted. "Sephiroth is my – " Cloud caught himself, aware that Hojo was glaring at him, studying him carefully. "Sephiroth is my commanding officer, " Cloud finished. "He's not just an experiment!"
"Typical cadet. You jarheads know nothing of science," Hojo said gruffly. His bony hands shot out, grabbing Cloud by the shoulders and spinning him around, shoving him out toward the door. "I told you – get out – " Hojo pushed against Cloud, who shoved back, shrugging out of Hojo's grip.
"Don't touch me…I can walk by myself," Cloud muttered, glaring at Hojo.
"Get your hands off of him." Hojo's mouth hung open in surprise, and he turned to see Sephiroth half-sitting up on the gurney, wires and electrodes still attached to his head and torso.
"Sephiroth!" Yuan exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Don't – don't touch anything!"
"Ms. Yuan…I believe I've had quite enough for today," Sephiroth intoned as he began pulling the leads off of his chest, and the IV's out of his arms. "If you'll excuse me, have work to do," he added, giving Hojo a pointed glare. "I believe you've gotten everything you wanted?" The question was asked in as polite as tone as possible, though there was venom in Sephiroth's gaze.
"That will be all for now, I suppose," Hojo replied irritably. "Report back to me in a week."
Sephiroth ignored Hojo, and finished pulling off the rest of the electrodes. He sat up and looked over at Cloud, sighing. How could I tell you about this, Cloud…when I don't even understand it myself? Hojo says these tests are necessary, for the betterment of the SOLDIER program. And I'd never thought to question it until just now….seeing Cloud's face full of worry. Sephiroth didn't know how he'd explain any of this to Cloud, but he knew there would be questions later. For now, he gave Cloud a small smile, hoping it would be enough to reassure the cadet that he was okay.
Relatively speaking, of course.
"I will escort the cadet back to his barracks, after you are done with him," Sephiroth said firmly to Yuan. Hojo's assistant nodded, and ushered Cloud out to her office while Sephiroth began to get himself dressed.
As soon as Cloud and Yuan were out of the room, Hojo drew closer to Sephiroth, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Who is he to you anyway?" Hojo hissed.
"He is a cadet in my squadron," Sephiroth replied emotionlessly. "Why?"
"Because your EKG took quite a leap when that cadet entered the room, that's why," Hojo said, smirking. "Is he your lover?"
"None of your damned business," Sephiroth growled. "We're done here, Hojo."
Hojo laughed. "Then he is your lover, isn't he?" The cackling continued, and Hojo shook his head. "A cadet. Bit of a step down from your last love interest, hmm?"
The scientist suddenly found himself against the wall, Sephiroth's forearm shoved roughly against his windpipe, cutting off his air.
"Don't," Sephiroth said coldly, his eyes flashing green fire. "Don't interfere in my personal life."
"You are the face of SOLDIER," Hojo argued, gagging. "You're not allowed to have a personal life!"
Sephiroth snarled, and then released Hojo, reluctantly. The scientist sagged back against the wall, rubbing his throat painfully.
"Make no mistake…I'll be reporting this to the president," Hojo wheezed, coughing. "Once again, Sephiroth….you are out of line."
"Go right ahead," Sephiroth snapped. "You're the one who's out of line, Hojo." He abruptly turned on his heel and left, leather trench sweeping out behind him.
Hojo stared at Sephiroth as he departed, his lips turning up into a cruel smile. You've made a grave mistake today, my boy. A grave mistake.