Well, here it is, the next chapter. I had a little trouble thinking of a scenario to best continue from the first chapter, and this is what I got. I do not own any of the Final Fantasy series

The bell for the last period rang, announcing the end of school for the day. The only exception to this being club members. Lightning slowly worked her way against the flow of students trying to make it to the kendo club. There were mainly two reasons why she joined the club in the first place: One, because she loved it, and two, because it was a great stress outlet. Most of the days when Snow wouldn't stop bugging the hell out of her she would vent that into her practice. Today though, she felt calmer. She thought about the new guy Cloud. When she first saw him drive up in his motorcycle, she thought he would be another Snow. Annoying, Loud, Doesn't know when to shut up. Cloud was none of these though. Except for the joke at lunch, Cloud hadn't talked much at all. Sure, he was polite and talked when addressed, but never started a conversation. She guessed it was a nice change compared to her otherwise noisy companions.

"Hey Lightning! Hurry up!" Luneth's yell interrupted her flow of thought, from which she recovered from and hurried towards her fellow club member. Luneth was an underclassman, a freshman, Lightning being a sophomore herself. Despite his size, he was a fairly skilled student, when he didn't let it get to his head. "Shit, how late are we?" Lightning cursed as she noticed that absence of students from the halls. "You don't want to know!" Luneth retorted, skidding before running around the corner. "Shit." Angeal, their teacher, was not exactly forgiving when it came to tardiness. Finally they reached the clubroom. After peering inside, both of them heaved a collective sigh after noticing Angeal was not present yet and some other members were still putting on their gear. They slowly tiptoed into the room. "Looks like he's gone for the moment, lets hurry so we can-" The next moment, two large whacks resounded throughout the room "TRY TO SNEAK INTO CLASS WILL YA!" boomed their instructor's voice. Everyone turned and snickered at Luneth and Lightning holding their heads in pain.

"damnmit…"

"Fuck…" Lightning could already feel the bump coming in.

"Normally for tardiness, I would make you two scrub down the whole place using only toothbrushes, but today I'm lenient since we have a newcomer to the group. So get suited up, NOW!" Angeal barked. Both of them went to their respective gear without further instructions, Angeal hated lollygagging. After both of them suited up, they joined the rest of the students, which wasn't much to say. The only other decent student besides Lightning and Luneth was Firion. All the rest were either Lightning's fangirls or guys just trying to look cool. "You guys know who the new member is?" whispered Firion. Lightning and Luneth merely shrugged. They all straightened up as their instructor started to address them. "Today we'll be receiving a new member to this club. He has had quite a past in this sport, but nonetheless he is dedicated and driven. I believe he will draw some new life into this club." Angeal looked to the door to his left, "You may come in now." The sliding door creaked as Cloud walked in. Something about him, his cold demeanor, the unreadable face, made him look like a picture from a history book. His blue eyes glowed all the more in contrast to the dark uniform. Unlike others whom never seemed right in the uniform, right now it looked as if the uniform was tailored for him. "You okay Lightning?" Luneth inquired, only then did Lightning she had been staring at him for a while. "I'm fine" she retorted, ignoring the female members giggling.

"It brings me great joy to have another 2nd Dan member!" Angeal bellowed, thumping Cloud on the back. "With all due respect, instructor, I have only recently made 2nd Dan, I am still a novice in many ways" Cloud replied.

"Nonsense! You are too humble for your own good. Who would have ever thought, the famous 'Berserker,' being humble!" Angeal said, followed by another thump on the back. Lightning noticed a look of recognition in Firion's eye. "Can't believe it's a guy like him" Firion whispered to no one in particular. "Huh?" Luneth looked confused, "Wait, you mean he is THE Berserker!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Lightning asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"The Berserker. He's a guy rumored to have never lost in a kendo competition. He even went to a match with a broken arm and won! Once, when facing his teacher, he knocked out his teacher and broke his bokuto using only a shinai!" Luneth whispered back in awe. Lightning couldn't help but be interested now, looks like she had found another sparring partner. Angeal's booming voice brought her out of her train of thought "Now Cloud, were going to start warm up practices before sparring, but knowing you, maybe you just want to get in a fight?"

"Thank you instructor, but I'll be fine with-"

"Excuse me instructor!" Lightning interrupted raising her hand.

"Yes, Claire?" Lightning flinched at being addressed by her real name. Angeal was the only one who wouldn't call her by her nickname.

"I would like to request a match with our new member!"

"Oh ho! Looks like you're already popular Cloud!" Angeal snickered, along with several other members. Lightning steamed a little at this comment but let it slide. Cloud as always showed no reaction. "Very well then." Both Lightning and Cloud proceeded towards the sparring area and assumed a ready position. Angeal decided to postpone warm ups and let the other members watch.

"Begin!"

Lightning rushed forward with a furious offensive. She usually took out her opponents in a flash, hence her nickname. Though, try as she might, not a single blow of hers landed. Cloud swiftly parried each strike, not a movement wasted. Several minutes had passed by and still Lightning's efforts were in vain. Her arms began to go numb from overexertion, and her feet began to feel burdened with some unknown weight. The only consolation she thought from this was that Cloud must be feeling the same. She was soon proved wrong when Cloud began his offensive. Cloud's speed rivaled her own, each attack Lightning struggled to counter. Her arms were stinging from the effort. Then the unexpected happened. Cloud performed a Tsuki (thrust) straight at her throat, a move only used by senior Dan grades. Caught off guard, Cloud scored a point against her, landing it perfectly. Lightning fumed in her helmet. Just when she was about retaliate, Angeal stepped forward "That will be enough for now."

"Sensei!" Lightning retorted. Cloud had only scored one point; she could still make a comeback.

"Don't overexert yourself Claire! You're almost dead on your feet; this match is obviously in Cloud's favor." Angeal snapped. Lightning stood there fuming for several seconds. Angeal was even more stubborn than her. Both of them removed their helmets and bowed. Lightning face was flushed from the exertion, her hair damp with sweat. Cloud on the other hand looked normal. He didn't even have a single drop of sweat on his face! What the hell is he? Lightning mused to herself. "Lightning, Cloud, you may take a small break before joining the rest of the class."

"Sensei!" Lightning protested. As Lightning and Angeal began their daily argument, most of the students backed away. Each one of them knew firsthand what happened when you steeped in between the two during these moments. Cloud was the only one that seemed unfazed. As their bickering grew louder cloud merely trudged closer to Lightning and grabbed her wrist. Lightning winced from the pain and immediately stopped her rebuttal in mid sentence "Ow! What the hell-" Cloud merely proceeded by taking off her right glove to reveal Lightning's swollen blue and purple wrist.

"Your grip shifted halfway through the match, you were holding it incorrectly. It's not bad, but if you overdo it, it could get worse." Lightning was dumbstruck, she hadn't even noticed it.

"Cloud's right Claire. Cloud, would you mind taking her to the infirmary?" Angeal concurred.

"Not at all sensei."

"Sensei! I'm not a child! I don't need an escort!" Lightning fumed.

"Says the student who was about to start practice with an injured wrist!" Angeal retorted. "Now get your stuff and go, you're excused from the rest of today's lesson." Lightning glared at Angeal for several seconds before giving up and going to the changing room to get her stuff. Cloud did the same and walked her out of the club room while Lightning endured the snickers from the rest of the club.

Lucky

Keeping him all to yourself, huh?

Lightning merely snarled at them, shutting them up before she left. The halls by now were empty, the only noises from the occasional club and their echoing footsteps. "I don't need someone looking after me" Lightning spat.

"…" Cloud didn't address her or even break his stride.

"So that's it! Now you're just gonna ignore me!"

"…"

"Oh, I get it! You don't talk to those beneath you, is that!" Lightning spat.

"Are you done?"

"Huh?"

"I know what I did was out of line, and I know that you're angry. But I do NOT consider you inferior." Cloud turned around to face her as if to emphasize that statement. "You're really good, you even had me up against the wall for a second. I can't wait to see how you improve." Before turning around, Lightning could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile. He really is different from the others…While Lightning was lost in thought; she managed to stumble on some club equipment some group left out their door. Before she could even blink, Cloud had turned around and caught her, her head cradled against his chest. "You okay?" he was so close his breath tickled her ear and she could hear the steady beat of his heart.

"I-I-I'm FINE!" She yelled, breaking away and walking quickly, not wanting him to see her scarlet face. "Anyways, c'mon, aren't you supposed to escort me to the infirmary?" she hollered over her shoulder. Cloud just stood there.

"Um, Lightning, the infirmary is this way" he said, pointing to the hall on their right.

"I knew that!" Lightning retorted, turning towards the right path.

Some readers said that the previous chapter's Cloud didn't seem to be in character, so I changed him so that he acts a little more like, well, Cloud. Don't worry, he won't always be impassive. And I'm sorry Kendo fans, when I finished I found out that such a move in a match would not be allowed amongst low rank Dans, but I'm too lazy to fix it, so please don't kill me.