Cloud stood in front of the help desk of the entrance floor in the Shinra building. He felt out of place, especially since the closest thing he had to a suit was an outfit consisting of a very light jacket with no hood and some dark jeans. Seeing all of the people in professional-looking business wear while he had to make do with what he had made him doubt, just for a minute, that he would get the job. His hair wasn't helping in any way to deter the judging and possibly mocking gazes he was receiving.

Even the nice-looking lady behind the desk looked like she was trying not to stare. She didn't say any thing other than, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I'm here for a job interview. For the personal assistant," he specified. He had been instructed to be at the Shinra building by three and no later than that. The lady on the phone had been generous enough to give Cloud directions, too. Since being on time was held in high regard, at least to this job, Cloud had gone to bed early and woke up at six in the morning. All the time he waited at home until ten minutes before two in the afternoon (he thought that he'd need at least an hour to get to the building with the large population and his inexperience) was spent stressing over what to wear, what to say, would he be accepted, how was his (hopefully) future boss like... He'd nearly gone crazy before he set off to look for the place. Luckily for him, Midgar had a simple, organized, and maneuverable structure when it came to the streets and transportation; the only minor problems Cloud faced were the crowds and finding which train to take.

He got here at around two-thirty and supposed that his being early would make him look good for the job. No further instructions given to him for him to follow had led him to the help desk.

"Name?"

"Cloud Strife."

The secretary picked up the phone receiver and dialed a number. After a short conversation that was to the point, she beckoned Cloud to sit down.

"We'll have someone with you in just a moment," she said with a smile on her face.

Cloud took a seat near the desk. He looked down at his feet, trying to get rid of the slight claustrophobic and paranoia feeling caused by the many random people going about their business around him. He could feel many pairs of eyes on him, and he was really tempted to tell everyone to fuck off. If he were to do that in Nibelheim, a few fists would fly and that would be the end of it. Here, however, Cloud knew that his whole friggin' life was at stake. He kept silent, not wanting to mess anything up; he'd gone too far and did so much to get where he was now.

A pair of feet stopped in front of Cloud. Cloud looked up and saw the strangest hairstyle he'd ever seen on a person.

"Hiya," the slightly tanned, blue-eyed man said. "You're Cloud, right?"

Cloud eyed the man's red uniform, which also had thick leather here and there. Why would someone with army fatigues greet him out here instead of another person in a fancy suit? Oh well. Cloud assumed that he would get a few answers later and decided to go with it.

"Yes, sir," Cloud answered quietly. Now he knew how everyone else felt after seeing him for the first time. He wondered if this guy had kidnapped a black hedgehog, used a whole bottle of hair gel to slick the spikes down, and glued it on his head. Cloud tried really, really hard to keep his eyes someplace other than this man's hair. He settled his gaze on a large potted plant behind the stranger.

"Aw, don't give me that 'sir' stuff. Just call me Zack." Zack held out his right hand for Cloud to shake. "Ready for your interview?" he asked with an upbeat tone after Cloud shook the hand.

"Yes sir." Cloud inclined his head and stood up, following Zack to an elevator.

"Hey! I just told you: call me Zack!" Zack said mock harshly. Cloud was bewildered at Zack's lack of formality after seeing so much from everybody else. Zack laughed a bit at Cloud's shock and pressed a button. Cloud jumped and leaned backwards, against the wall, as he was overcome by a sinking feeling. It felt like his stomach had been left behind.

"Are you okay?" Zack looked concerned.

"Yeah." Cloud had barely calmed down enough to reply. "I'm fine." He let out a whoosh of air.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Cloud repeated. "I've never been in anything like this before."

"First time being in a city?"

"Yep," Cloud admitted, feeling embarassed. "Just moved here from Nibelheim a few days ago." He felt stupid now. Man did he have a lot to learn and get used to.

"Really? Cool. Me, I'm from Gongaga." Cloud nearly burst out laughing at how Zack had pronounced Gongaga.

"Gongaga?" Cloud unwillingly let out a small chuckle. "What kind of name is that? It sounds so backwater."

"Ditto Nibelheim," Zack said good-naturedly. He joined in Cloud's laughter. "Well, you seem like a good guy so far." Cloud mentally patted himself on the back. He was just being himself, without the stuttering and nerves, and it was earning him a few points. He and Zack chattered about random things, mostly about their hometowns and why they had left for Midgar (Zack revealed to Cloud that he had run away from home when he was thirteen to join SOLDIER).

The ride dragged on and on, despite the friendly exchanges. Cloud took a quick glance at the red number on the small display above the elevator door. 38... 39... What floor were they stopping at? Cloud didn't know much about companies and how they worked, but he was positive that the higher floors were restricted to non-employees.

Upon noticing Cloud's confusion, Zack explained, "We're gonna do the interview on Floor 49. I'll be asking the questions when we get there." Cloud was comfortable enough with Zack to be able to give him a few answers. He still didn't know why Zack, SOLDIER 2nd Class, was going to be interviewing him instead of someone else. Maybe luck was, in a weird way, on his side.

"Are you the one I'll be assisting if I get the job?"

"Nope!" Zack grinned. "But it does seem that way, don't it? Oh and hey, be more positive." He scratched the back of his head. How he was able to do that was amazing, in Cloud's opinion. Unless the hair was natural, which Cloud had a hard time believing.

"Alright, I can do that. But can't I at least know who it is?" Cloud added a fake whine at the end of his question.

Zack chuckled, then suddenly grew serious. "You aren't part of the Silver Elite, are you?" He looked Cloud over with a scrutinizing gaze.

"What's that?" That was the second time he heard about them already.

"You really don't know 'em?" Zack looked slightly surprised and... relieved?

"No. I'm from Nibelheim, remember?" Was the Silver Elite another thing people in the city generally knew about? "What's the Silver Elite and why is that an important question?"

"Um, about the last part... you'll see why real soon. And hey, don't worry about not knowing about them," Zack reassured.

Was the Silver Elite some kind of well-known and/or popular terrorist group? Cloud looked at the display again, preparing himself for what came next. 47... 48...

Notes:

Started: 2013年4月6日 （土）

Finished: That same day

Sorry that it's short, but at least it got written fast. I've put my other fic first on my list of priorities, so a little bit of patience will be needed for updates on this one. But I'll try to squeeze out another chapter for this one before going back to work on Doll. Glad to know that a few of you like it so far! Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews! :D

I'm going by the way the SOLDIER uniforms were colored in the original Final Fantasy VII, so that's why Zack's uniform is red. Also, his hairstyle is the one that you see at the beginning of Crisis Core. I think Cloud's description of Zack's hair is pretty accurate. :P

Fangirls make pretty vicious terrorists sometimes, Cloudy.

Next chapter will be the interview questions, and Cloud's boss may be revealed then, too. I'm pretty sure everybody can guess who it is. :P