Leaving Sorrow Behind
Chapter 8
SOLDIER
*I got a review last chapter. That makes me happy. So, I guess as long as their are some people out there who continue to read, I'll continue, but I'd really appreciate more reviews. I've seen far shorter stories with over 1000 reviews, and I've got a piddly 8. (Many thanks to those who DID review.) Look people, All I'm looking for is 5 reviews a chapter. I hate to set a quota, I was hoping people would voluntarily review.
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The truck bounced hard as it continued down the rocky road. Once out away from Midgar, the roads were no where near as well kept, although even the quality of Midgar's streets left something to be desired. Sephiroth was currently en route to Junon, where he would undergo training to become a SOLDIER. It was not at all the outcome he had expected his little escape fiasco to have. He grinned, thinking back to his final meeting with the abusive Hojo:
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Sephiroth was sound asleep when suddenly the door slammed open and Hojo entered. He grabbed Sephiroth by the shoulders and began shaking him violently.
"Wake up, damn you!"
Sephiroth's eyes snapped open, and he managed a groggy moan. He came to his senses and skewered Hojo with a dirty look.
"What?! What do you want?! Come to give me more injections?"
Hojo looked panicked.
"No! You're coming with me! Come on! Get up, there's not time to get dressed!"
And so Hojo grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him roughly down the hallway. They reached the front desk and rounded the bend, running smack dab into a bald man wearing mirrored sunglasses and a suit. The man simply held up his hand and shook his head, and Hojo released Sephiroth and took a step back.
"No! I won't let you take him!"
Hojo reached into his lab coat and pulled out a gun. As soon as the handle was visible, blood blossomed on his hand as the bald man drew his own gun and shot him, all in the same motion. Hojo screamed and slumped to the floor, cradling his injured hand.
The bald man gestured to two soldiers that had arrived at some point, and they pulled Hojo roughly to his feet as the bald man put a hand on his shoulder and led Sephiroth back to his cell. Sephiroth said nothing, but glared up at the man's hidden eyes. The man led him to his cell, and sat him down on the bed.
"Gather any belongings you might have and get dressed."
"Why?"
The man remained silent. Realizing he wasn't going to get an answer, Sephiroth opened the drawer and removed his only possessions, a gray sweat shirt, black sweatpants, and a black t-shirt. He stuffed them into a black duffel bag, and turned to face the man.
"I'm ready."
The bald man chuckled and turned and led him back down the hallway to where three soldiers were now trying to subdue the frantic Hojo.
"NO! I won't let you!"
He broke free from the soldier holding him and lunged at Sephiroth. The soldiers restrained him again, as he continued his ranting. The bald man led him over to the front desk where another man in a lab coat. He handed him three orange bottles.
"Hang on to these. This drug was put in your food, and you'll need to continue to take it or you'll suffer another episode like the one in Nibelheim. We've got you on a small dosage, so by the time you run out, you shouldn't need to take it anymore. Take one pill every time you eat a large meal."
Sephiroth nodded and stuffed the three bottles into the duffel bag. He glanced over at Hojo who was now sobbing hysterically, and threw him a smirk before allowing the bald man to lead him down the hall to a waiting truck.
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Sephiroth chuckled at the memory as the truck lurched yet again. He was sitting in the back along with three other kids, all of whom were older than him by at least 5 or 6 years. One of them had tried to make conversation, but he had ignored him. Now they seemed content to simply chat amongst themselves.
Sephiroth leaned back against the wall of the truck and shut his eyes, trying to get some sleep. The bumping of course saw to it that all he got was about half an hour, and when he awoke his neck was incredibly stiff. Sitting up, he moved his head from side to side and cracked his neck. The other three boys were still awake, and attempting to play a game of cards.
He stretched, and leaned back against the canvas wall again, this time leaving his eyes open. Through the window, he could see that the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. The truck lurched violently as it hit another pothole, and Sephiroth was nearly thrown from his seat. One of the boys lifted up the Canvas cover that was over the truck's bed and looked out.
"Hey! I can see Junon!"
The other two crowded around him, trying to get a peek at Shinra's Military Capitol. Sephiroth had never seen Junon before, but he wasn't about to start acting like the other three. It was probably just like Midgar. Dark and depressing. Nothing he hadn't seen before. He sat up and stretched again and yawned. One of the three boys turned to him.
"Aren't you excited?"
Sephiroth said nothing, but stared back at him with his piercing Mako eyes. The boy shrugged and turned back to his companions.
"Wow, look at the canon!"
Sephiroth shook his head. Idiots. But, even he was tempted to lift up the canvas and take a look as the truck passed through the massive arch that marked the entrance to Junon's military base. A few moments later, the truck slowed and stopped, right outside what was apparently the barracks. Almost immediately, a man in a SOLDIER uniform flung open the doors at the back of the truck.
"Out! Out ! Out!"
All four of them scrambled to life, grabbing their bags and jumping down to the tarmac and standing at attention. The man walked back and forth in front of them, examining them. He stopped in front of Sephiroth
"How old are you son?!"
Sephiroth glanced up at the man nervously.
"Uh, ten."
The man's face darkened under his visor.
"Ten?! They sent me a damn ten year old?!"
The truck driver came around and whispered something in the SOLDIER's ear. He came back and stood in front of Sephiroth, and examined him again. "Go with him, he'll take you to see the commander," he said, gesturing at the man who had been driving the truck. Sephiroth grabbed his bag and walked back over to the truck driver as the SOLDIER began screaming at the remaining three boys.
Sephiroth followed the truck driver over towards a tall building. Ignoring the glances he got from the passing SOLDIERs, he followed the man inside. He led Sephiroth to an elevator, and pressed the up button. Stepping inside, they rode the elevator to the top floor. Stepping out, the man led him down to where an elaborate wooden double door decorated an otherwise barren wall.
"Go on in. The commander is waiting for you."
Sephiroth nodded and proceeded through the double doors without hesitation. The 'commander's' office held few decorations, but the ones that were present were certainly noteworthy. An ornate desk sat in the center of the room, a glass covering over the top. At the rear of the room, an ornate sword hung over a large window which looked down onto the courtyard below. On the left wall, a large painting of the Junon Canon hung, and on the right, another painting, this one of waves crashing on a rocky shore.
Sephiroth's eyes finally landed on the commander himself. He was a tall man, with sandy brow hair and a bushy mustache of the same color. He was wearing a SOLDIER uniform, except for his was outlined in silver and black instead of gray and blue. He was currently speaking hurriedly into the intercom on his desk.
"I'll be with you in a minute. Take a seat." He gestured at a plain wooden chair in front of his desk. Sephiroth sat down as the man continued to rant into the intercom. Finally exchanging farewells with whoever had been on the other end, he turned back to Sephiroth.
"You are Sephiroth, correct?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Welcome to the Junon Military Academy. I know you haven't been here long, and in just a little while you'll get a chance to settle in, but for now, I need to talk with you."
Sephiroth nodded slowly, not understanding why he alone had been singled out.
"Listen, and listen well. You are a special case. You have been brought here and enrolled under my recommendation. I saw your little escape fiasco back in Midgar, and was quite impressed. Understand, however, that this arrangement was made as a favor to you. It was a lot of trouble for me to bring you here and get you enrolled, considering the Shinra science department is quite interested in you. What I'm saying is, this arrangement can easily be reversed, and you will be sent back to Midgar if you try to pull any sort of stunt like the one you did there. Understand?"
Sephiroth nodded.
"Good. Then, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Talk to Howell outside there, and he'll take you to your barracks."
Sephiroth nodded and stood, proceeding to the exit. He took one last look back as the man began ranting into the intercom again. The man that had escorted him in was still waiting outside the door. Sephiroth took a moment to examine him before speaking.
"Are you Howell?"
The man simply nodded and motioned towards the elevator. The long ride down seemed even longer thanks to this 'Howell's' almost menacing silence. When they finally reached the bottom, Howell led him out of the elevator and back across the tarmac where SOLDIER's were now engaged in training excercises. The skirted the formation and entered the barracks. Leading Sephiroth down a long series of stairs and hallways, they finally stopped at the entrance to one of the bunkers.
"This is where you'll be staying. Your living quarter's designation will be one-two-eight. You'll have some time to settle in before formation. You have forty-five minutes."
The man pivoted on his heel and walked briskly back down the hallway the way they had come.
Taking a deep breath, Sephiroth pushed the door open and stepped into the room. The first thing he noticed were two bunk beds that occupied the room. The two top bunks and left bottom bunk were occupied by his roommates, none other than the three boys he had ridden in with. They were currently exchanging idle banter when Sephiroth entered. They all sat up at once, but only one of them spoke.
"Well look who it is!"
Sephiroth blinked. The other two leaned back on their beds and continued their conversation, but the one that had spoken to him continued.
"Sorry 'bout those two. They don't have much in the way of manners. Anyhow, there's old one bed left, ya know?"
He motioned at the bunk directly beneath his. Sephiroth sighed and plopped down on the bed, immediately noticing that the mattress was virtually identical to the one he had slept on in Midgar. The boy chuckled.
"Sorry, did you want a top bunk?"
Sephiroth shrugged. "I don't really care." The boy laughed again, before addressing Sephiroth. "You don't say much, do you?" Again, Sephiroth shrugged.
"I have little to talk about."
"I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Drake, the one on the top bunk over there is Masahiro, and the one on the bottom bunk is Dietrich."
Sephiroth nodded and regarded the other two who had now turned to look at him. Drake spoke again.
"And you are....?" He questioned.
"Sephiroth."
"Sephiroth, that's an interesting name."
Sephiroth shrugged. "As interesting as a name can be, I suppose." Drake laughed again, and leaned back onto his bunk. He joined in with the other three in their discussion. Sephiroth quickly found out that they were discussing which female celebrity they'd like to fuck most. He'd never much cared for such talk, not to mention at his ten years he was unfamiliar with some of the exotic words they were using. Bored with the conversation, Sephiroth quickly fell into a light sleep.
Sephiroth awoke with a start to the sound of somebody screaming.
"Get up! Get up! Get out! Get out! Get gone! Get gone!"
A SOLDIER drill sergeant was standing in the doorway shouting obscenities at the four boys who were now scrambling out of their bunks and down to the floor where they stood at a nervous attention.
"You got three minutes to get your asses dressed and up to the drill field, or you'll be doing pushups till you can't do em' no more!!"
The sergeant pivoted and exited, and all four began digging through their respective belongings. Sephiroth pulled quickly change out of his sweatshirt and sweatpants and into workout clothes he had been given which consisted of a black tank top and another pair of black sweatpants. Finished dressing, he ran out of the room and down the twisting and turning hallways, up several flights of stairs, and finally to the tarmac, where the Sergeant was waiting.
"Too damn slow! Give me fifty pushups! And where are the other three?!"
Sephiroth said nothing, but dropped down and knocked out the pushups. Fifty was nothing compared to what Hojo had had him doing back in the Shinra building. One night he'd had him up to six hundred. As the other three boys finally reached the tarmac, they got the same treatment as he did, and they also began to do their pushups, although at a much slower pace. Finishing, Sephiroth jumped to his feet and stood at attention.
"God DAMMIT cadet! Why did you do those pushups so quickly?!"
Sephiroth blinked in shock.
"Because.."
"GET down and knock out another fifty for being so damn fast!"
Sephiroth shrugged and dropped down and performed another fifty pushups. By the time he stood up, the others had finished with their pushups and the Drill Sergeant was again screaming in their faces.
"You're nothing! You're worthless little maggots! You understand? You're not fit to lick my ass after I take a shit!"
Sephiroth blanched. He'd never heard anything quite that abusive, even from Hojo.
And so it began. The next ten weeks were a living hell for Sephiroth. It always began the same way. Get up at five o'clock, run five miles, eat a ten minute breakfast, run another five miles, calisthenics, run another five miles, sparring, weapons, lunch, and so on and so forth. It continued that way until they were finally ready for assignment. It was a day Sephiroth would never forget.
Sephiroth stood proudly at the end of his squad as the ranks were being announced and assignments given. The other three had all been assigned third-class, the starting point for most of the SOLDIERs. When the drill sergeant finally stood in front of Sephiroth, his face took on a dark look.
"Sephiroth. You are not being issued a rank or assignment at this point. You are to remain here at Junon Base to await further instruction. You are to report to your barracks immediately and pack your shit up. Then, you are to report to the commander's office. Do you understand?!"
What the man said never actually registered with Sephiroth. Only one word kept repeating, over and over in his mind.
Failure.
He had failed, plain and simple. He nodded as the Drill Sergeant ended his tirade, and he immediately turned and walked slowly towards the barracks. What had gone wrong? What had he done?
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*Near the end of this chapter I got a severe case of writers block. It may be a while before the next chapter is posted, although I can never be sure.
*I got a review last chapter. That makes me happy. So, I guess as long as their are some people out there who continue to read, I'll continue, but I'd really appreciate more reviews. I've seen far shorter stories with over 1000 reviews, and I've got a piddly 8. (Many thanks to those who DID review.) Look people, All I'm looking for is 5 reviews a chapter. I hate to set a quota, I was hoping people would voluntarily review.
**************************************************************************** ******************************
The truck bounced hard as it continued down the rocky road. Once out away from Midgar, the roads were no where near as well kept, although even the quality of Midgar's streets left something to be desired. Sephiroth was currently en route to Junon, where he would undergo training to become a SOLDIER. It was not at all the outcome he had expected his little escape fiasco to have. He grinned, thinking back to his final meeting with the abusive Hojo:
**************************************************************************** ******************************
Sephiroth was sound asleep when suddenly the door slammed open and Hojo entered. He grabbed Sephiroth by the shoulders and began shaking him violently.
"Wake up, damn you!"
Sephiroth's eyes snapped open, and he managed a groggy moan. He came to his senses and skewered Hojo with a dirty look.
"What?! What do you want?! Come to give me more injections?"
Hojo looked panicked.
"No! You're coming with me! Come on! Get up, there's not time to get dressed!"
And so Hojo grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him roughly down the hallway. They reached the front desk and rounded the bend, running smack dab into a bald man wearing mirrored sunglasses and a suit. The man simply held up his hand and shook his head, and Hojo released Sephiroth and took a step back.
"No! I won't let you take him!"
Hojo reached into his lab coat and pulled out a gun. As soon as the handle was visible, blood blossomed on his hand as the bald man drew his own gun and shot him, all in the same motion. Hojo screamed and slumped to the floor, cradling his injured hand.
The bald man gestured to two soldiers that had arrived at some point, and they pulled Hojo roughly to his feet as the bald man put a hand on his shoulder and led Sephiroth back to his cell. Sephiroth said nothing, but glared up at the man's hidden eyes. The man led him to his cell, and sat him down on the bed.
"Gather any belongings you might have and get dressed."
"Why?"
The man remained silent. Realizing he wasn't going to get an answer, Sephiroth opened the drawer and removed his only possessions, a gray sweat shirt, black sweatpants, and a black t-shirt. He stuffed them into a black duffel bag, and turned to face the man.
"I'm ready."
The bald man chuckled and turned and led him back down the hallway to where three soldiers were now trying to subdue the frantic Hojo.
"NO! I won't let you!"
He broke free from the soldier holding him and lunged at Sephiroth. The soldiers restrained him again, as he continued his ranting. The bald man led him over to the front desk where another man in a lab coat. He handed him three orange bottles.
"Hang on to these. This drug was put in your food, and you'll need to continue to take it or you'll suffer another episode like the one in Nibelheim. We've got you on a small dosage, so by the time you run out, you shouldn't need to take it anymore. Take one pill every time you eat a large meal."
Sephiroth nodded and stuffed the three bottles into the duffel bag. He glanced over at Hojo who was now sobbing hysterically, and threw him a smirk before allowing the bald man to lead him down the hall to a waiting truck.
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Sephiroth chuckled at the memory as the truck lurched yet again. He was sitting in the back along with three other kids, all of whom were older than him by at least 5 or 6 years. One of them had tried to make conversation, but he had ignored him. Now they seemed content to simply chat amongst themselves.
Sephiroth leaned back against the wall of the truck and shut his eyes, trying to get some sleep. The bumping of course saw to it that all he got was about half an hour, and when he awoke his neck was incredibly stiff. Sitting up, he moved his head from side to side and cracked his neck. The other three boys were still awake, and attempting to play a game of cards.
He stretched, and leaned back against the canvas wall again, this time leaving his eyes open. Through the window, he could see that the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. The truck lurched violently as it hit another pothole, and Sephiroth was nearly thrown from his seat. One of the boys lifted up the Canvas cover that was over the truck's bed and looked out.
"Hey! I can see Junon!"
The other two crowded around him, trying to get a peek at Shinra's Military Capitol. Sephiroth had never seen Junon before, but he wasn't about to start acting like the other three. It was probably just like Midgar. Dark and depressing. Nothing he hadn't seen before. He sat up and stretched again and yawned. One of the three boys turned to him.
"Aren't you excited?"
Sephiroth said nothing, but stared back at him with his piercing Mako eyes. The boy shrugged and turned back to his companions.
"Wow, look at the canon!"
Sephiroth shook his head. Idiots. But, even he was tempted to lift up the canvas and take a look as the truck passed through the massive arch that marked the entrance to Junon's military base. A few moments later, the truck slowed and stopped, right outside what was apparently the barracks. Almost immediately, a man in a SOLDIER uniform flung open the doors at the back of the truck.
"Out! Out ! Out!"
All four of them scrambled to life, grabbing their bags and jumping down to the tarmac and standing at attention. The man walked back and forth in front of them, examining them. He stopped in front of Sephiroth
"How old are you son?!"
Sephiroth glanced up at the man nervously.
"Uh, ten."
The man's face darkened under his visor.
"Ten?! They sent me a damn ten year old?!"
The truck driver came around and whispered something in the SOLDIER's ear. He came back and stood in front of Sephiroth, and examined him again. "Go with him, he'll take you to see the commander," he said, gesturing at the man who had been driving the truck. Sephiroth grabbed his bag and walked back over to the truck driver as the SOLDIER began screaming at the remaining three boys.
Sephiroth followed the truck driver over towards a tall building. Ignoring the glances he got from the passing SOLDIERs, he followed the man inside. He led Sephiroth to an elevator, and pressed the up button. Stepping inside, they rode the elevator to the top floor. Stepping out, the man led him down to where an elaborate wooden double door decorated an otherwise barren wall.
"Go on in. The commander is waiting for you."
Sephiroth nodded and proceeded through the double doors without hesitation. The 'commander's' office held few decorations, but the ones that were present were certainly noteworthy. An ornate desk sat in the center of the room, a glass covering over the top. At the rear of the room, an ornate sword hung over a large window which looked down onto the courtyard below. On the left wall, a large painting of the Junon Canon hung, and on the right, another painting, this one of waves crashing on a rocky shore.
Sephiroth's eyes finally landed on the commander himself. He was a tall man, with sandy brow hair and a bushy mustache of the same color. He was wearing a SOLDIER uniform, except for his was outlined in silver and black instead of gray and blue. He was currently speaking hurriedly into the intercom on his desk.
"I'll be with you in a minute. Take a seat." He gestured at a plain wooden chair in front of his desk. Sephiroth sat down as the man continued to rant into the intercom. Finally exchanging farewells with whoever had been on the other end, he turned back to Sephiroth.
"You are Sephiroth, correct?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Welcome to the Junon Military Academy. I know you haven't been here long, and in just a little while you'll get a chance to settle in, but for now, I need to talk with you."
Sephiroth nodded slowly, not understanding why he alone had been singled out.
"Listen, and listen well. You are a special case. You have been brought here and enrolled under my recommendation. I saw your little escape fiasco back in Midgar, and was quite impressed. Understand, however, that this arrangement was made as a favor to you. It was a lot of trouble for me to bring you here and get you enrolled, considering the Shinra science department is quite interested in you. What I'm saying is, this arrangement can easily be reversed, and you will be sent back to Midgar if you try to pull any sort of stunt like the one you did there. Understand?"
Sephiroth nodded.
"Good. Then, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Talk to Howell outside there, and he'll take you to your barracks."
Sephiroth nodded and stood, proceeding to the exit. He took one last look back as the man began ranting into the intercom again. The man that had escorted him in was still waiting outside the door. Sephiroth took a moment to examine him before speaking.
"Are you Howell?"
The man simply nodded and motioned towards the elevator. The long ride down seemed even longer thanks to this 'Howell's' almost menacing silence. When they finally reached the bottom, Howell led him out of the elevator and back across the tarmac where SOLDIER's were now engaged in training excercises. The skirted the formation and entered the barracks. Leading Sephiroth down a long series of stairs and hallways, they finally stopped at the entrance to one of the bunkers.
"This is where you'll be staying. Your living quarter's designation will be one-two-eight. You'll have some time to settle in before formation. You have forty-five minutes."
The man pivoted on his heel and walked briskly back down the hallway the way they had come.
Taking a deep breath, Sephiroth pushed the door open and stepped into the room. The first thing he noticed were two bunk beds that occupied the room. The two top bunks and left bottom bunk were occupied by his roommates, none other than the three boys he had ridden in with. They were currently exchanging idle banter when Sephiroth entered. They all sat up at once, but only one of them spoke.
"Well look who it is!"
Sephiroth blinked. The other two leaned back on their beds and continued their conversation, but the one that had spoken to him continued.
"Sorry 'bout those two. They don't have much in the way of manners. Anyhow, there's old one bed left, ya know?"
He motioned at the bunk directly beneath his. Sephiroth sighed and plopped down on the bed, immediately noticing that the mattress was virtually identical to the one he had slept on in Midgar. The boy chuckled.
"Sorry, did you want a top bunk?"
Sephiroth shrugged. "I don't really care." The boy laughed again, before addressing Sephiroth. "You don't say much, do you?" Again, Sephiroth shrugged.
"I have little to talk about."
"I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Drake, the one on the top bunk over there is Masahiro, and the one on the bottom bunk is Dietrich."
Sephiroth nodded and regarded the other two who had now turned to look at him. Drake spoke again.
"And you are....?" He questioned.
"Sephiroth."
"Sephiroth, that's an interesting name."
Sephiroth shrugged. "As interesting as a name can be, I suppose." Drake laughed again, and leaned back onto his bunk. He joined in with the other three in their discussion. Sephiroth quickly found out that they were discussing which female celebrity they'd like to fuck most. He'd never much cared for such talk, not to mention at his ten years he was unfamiliar with some of the exotic words they were using. Bored with the conversation, Sephiroth quickly fell into a light sleep.
Sephiroth awoke with a start to the sound of somebody screaming.
"Get up! Get up! Get out! Get out! Get gone! Get gone!"
A SOLDIER drill sergeant was standing in the doorway shouting obscenities at the four boys who were now scrambling out of their bunks and down to the floor where they stood at a nervous attention.
"You got three minutes to get your asses dressed and up to the drill field, or you'll be doing pushups till you can't do em' no more!!"
The sergeant pivoted and exited, and all four began digging through their respective belongings. Sephiroth pulled quickly change out of his sweatshirt and sweatpants and into workout clothes he had been given which consisted of a black tank top and another pair of black sweatpants. Finished dressing, he ran out of the room and down the twisting and turning hallways, up several flights of stairs, and finally to the tarmac, where the Sergeant was waiting.
"Too damn slow! Give me fifty pushups! And where are the other three?!"
Sephiroth said nothing, but dropped down and knocked out the pushups. Fifty was nothing compared to what Hojo had had him doing back in the Shinra building. One night he'd had him up to six hundred. As the other three boys finally reached the tarmac, they got the same treatment as he did, and they also began to do their pushups, although at a much slower pace. Finishing, Sephiroth jumped to his feet and stood at attention.
"God DAMMIT cadet! Why did you do those pushups so quickly?!"
Sephiroth blinked in shock.
"Because.."
"GET down and knock out another fifty for being so damn fast!"
Sephiroth shrugged and dropped down and performed another fifty pushups. By the time he stood up, the others had finished with their pushups and the Drill Sergeant was again screaming in their faces.
"You're nothing! You're worthless little maggots! You understand? You're not fit to lick my ass after I take a shit!"
Sephiroth blanched. He'd never heard anything quite that abusive, even from Hojo.
And so it began. The next ten weeks were a living hell for Sephiroth. It always began the same way. Get up at five o'clock, run five miles, eat a ten minute breakfast, run another five miles, calisthenics, run another five miles, sparring, weapons, lunch, and so on and so forth. It continued that way until they were finally ready for assignment. It was a day Sephiroth would never forget.
Sephiroth stood proudly at the end of his squad as the ranks were being announced and assignments given. The other three had all been assigned third-class, the starting point for most of the SOLDIERs. When the drill sergeant finally stood in front of Sephiroth, his face took on a dark look.
"Sephiroth. You are not being issued a rank or assignment at this point. You are to remain here at Junon Base to await further instruction. You are to report to your barracks immediately and pack your shit up. Then, you are to report to the commander's office. Do you understand?!"
What the man said never actually registered with Sephiroth. Only one word kept repeating, over and over in his mind.
Failure.
He had failed, plain and simple. He nodded as the Drill Sergeant ended his tirade, and he immediately turned and walked slowly towards the barracks. What had gone wrong? What had he done?
**************************************************************************** *************
*Near the end of this chapter I got a severe case of writers block. It may be a while before the next chapter is posted, although I can never be sure.
