Sooo I wasn't planning an early update this week, but I ended up having more free time than expected today. I'm actually at the point where I think twice weekly updates will be a pretty regular thing for the duration of the story. Thanks so much for all your continued support, it means a lot to me! In particular, I've had a few sweet guests who I haven't been able to thank personally - I absolutely appreciate you taking the time to let me know you like the story!
Chapter Nine
Kunsel had been pretty clear that it would take a day or two for the general to find him a suitable mentor—someone to oversee all of his training from now until he was deemed mission ready…from materia lessons to sword training to physical training. From VR missions to book work to shadowing actual missions—most of it sounded like 'boot camp' all over again, but one on one instead of in a group. Plus the added enhancements to adjust to as well. All of it was meant to prepare him for the day he'd be sent into the field as a full-fledged SOLDIER, on missions of his own...
A full week had passed though, and he still didn't have a mentor.
Cloud knocked on his friend's door, not even sure how he'd ended up there—he'd gone from pacing around his new apartment to trudging down the hall without much thought, his feet guiding him to the elevator instinctively. It only seemed natural to select the floor where Zack lived at that point…his friend always knew what to do.
The Second hadn't responded to the last message Cloud had sent, but it had been sent early in the morning by both of their standards. He wasn't even sure if Zack would be home, but it was worth checking—he'd been out on a mission for a while, and was due back any day now. Shuffling from inside the apartment sounded like a good indication he'd returned, but from the pace of it, he'd just rolled out of bed.
Uncharacteristically groggy eyes met his as the door swung open, the dark haired SOLDIER rubbing some of the sleep from them as he spoke. "Spike? It's like…6 in the morning," Zack mumbled, hands falling to his side. He already looked much more awake, a slightly confused grin spreading on his face. "If you want a re-match that bad, you gotta wait till 8 at least."
"You beat me once," Cloud shot back, whacking Zack's shoulder as his friend let him inside. That ought to help wake him up. "And if you remember correctly, I still hold the record for wins between us."
"Hey, we're not talkin' about that, we're talkin' about how I whooped your ass last time," the Second insisted, closing the door behind his friend. Cloud had already made his way over to Zack's couch, falling onto it as his friend stared after him with a hand on his hip. "You're not seriously here for a re-match, are you? Because I was only half-kidding about waiting till 8 for that. I just got back a couple hours ago."
"I don't even know why I'm here," Cloud admitted slowly, a bit guilty to learn he'd obviously interrupted some much needed sleep. "I've been sitting around for days...I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
"…Didn't you report in to Gen the day I left?"
"Eight days ago as of today," the blond confirmed with a sigh.
"Annnnd he set you up with a mentor and got you on a training plan?" Zack guessed, frowning as Cloud shook his head. "That's weird."
"He said it'd take a couple days, but…" The words trailed off, Cloud still shaking his head dismally. "I don't know. It's been a lot more than that now."
"What've you been doing since I left?"
He slumped down further, arms folded across his stomach. "Glaring at training dummies with Kunsel."
"Huh?"
"Well, I don't know if he's been glaring, but I have—does he ever take his helmet off?"
"Slow down, Spike! You gotta let a dude wake up before you start asking serious life questions like that," Zack implored, almost completely straight-faced as he eyed his friend. He moved in to the couch, plopping down next to the blond. He looked at his younger friend from the corner of his eyes. "Kunsel doesn't mentor people."
"I know," Cloud said, looking equally baffled. "That was the first thing he told me when I started training with him—that he was just an information guy, and Genesis would have my real mentor ready in a day or two. He's been great about answering my questions, but…"
"Gen shoulda had one for you the first day—it's not that hard to pick," Zack muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Usually they pick someone out during the injections, that way you're ready to go whenever."
"Why didn't he?" the blond asked, looking at his friend helplessly.
"No idea, but…" Zack paused, his grin growing again as he met his friend's eyes. Cloud sank into the couch cushion at the look, wary of his friend's sudden bout of enthusiasm—it almost always ended with him in a headlock somehow. "How about we train together 'til he does? I'm in town for at least another week—Angeal put me on some late night raids, but that's no biggie. I'll have plenty of time in the day."
"I'm supposed to do materia work with Kunsel until—"
"Perfect! Do that with him, and I'll take care of the rest," the Second promised, slinging an arm around Cloud's shoulders when the blond didn't look convinced. "C'mon, it'll be fun! I'll get you set up on a SOLDIER's gym routine, and then we'll get back to doing sword work again. It's not like it'll be much longer till he finds you an actual mentor anyway—it'll be like I'm your temporary mentor, ya know?"
Temporary mentor...It actually sounded like a great idea, but he didn't want to get too excited yet. "Is it really okay? You're a Second, and I'm—"
"Nah, it's fine. I'll talk to Gen if he has a problem with it—and you'll still be working with a Third on the materia part, so why not? At most you'll get a few funny looks from the other Thirds, but they'll get over it."
"You really don't mind?" Cloud asked, frowning when his friend just laughed in response. "I'm serious! You've got plenty of other stuff—"
"Spike…I've always got time for you," his friend said, hopping off the couch. "Don't even worry about it."
"But—"
"You didn't mind taking up my time when you were in the Army."
"Because I didn't understand how crazy your schedule is," Cloud argued, knowing all too well now.
"It's not like I don't need to work out and train too—and it'll be even more of a workout now that you're a SOLDIER too," Zack assured him, hands back on his hip as he stared down. "But here's the thing—as your official temporary mentor, that means I'm in charge."
"…Okay."
"Good. Rule number one," the Second began, holding a finger up in the air as he spoke, "We don't start until after 8!"
Cloud arched an eyebrow. "You realize it's 8:30, right?"
"Hey, no back talk!"
"Is that rule number two?"
"Nah—rule number two," Zack said, holding up his second finger, "is that you have to use the blue chocobo for the duration of our arrangement!"
"…Fine," Cloud agreed begrudgingly, fighting off a smirk as Zack smiled triumphantly.
xxxxx
The question had been bugging him since the day he met Kunsel, and every day they 'trained' together, the urge to just suck it up and ask grew. Zack calling it one of life's serious questions definitely amplified his curiosity, as did the way his friend laughed off the question when asked again. His time with Kunsel was always work related though—they weren't exactly friends. While Cloud liked his fellow Third well enough, he had no right to pry into the man's personal life.
Technically it could be considered a work related question.
"What's with the helmet?" he blurted out finally, unable to hold it back any longer.
"What do you mean?" Kunsel replied, shrugging. "It's standard issue."
"Yeah, but…you're the only one who wears it all the time. I don't even think Zack owns one."
"A lot of Seconds prefer not to wear them—it's great for scanning the field, but they say it blocks their peripheral when they're going in for an attack," Kunsel explained, another indifferent shrug. "Zack though, I think he just doesn't wanna mess up his hair."
Cloud ran a hand through his own haphazard spikes. "Can't say I blame him. I always hated my infantry helmet."
"Well, it's a good thing you're not in the infantry, then," Kunsel told him, a smirk below the line of his visor. The blond returned the small smile, feeling like the question had essentially been dodged—but he wasn't going to press it if Kunsel didn't want to explain himself. "Although at this rate, even I don't know what they're going to do with you."
Ouch.
He probably deserved that blatant honesty…and at least Kunsel's words had been spoken with obvious concern. Cloud dragged a hand along his bracer, shaking his head as he eyed it. Another week had rolled by, and he still hadn't managed to use a single materia. It felt like the only progress he was making was with Zack—doing all the things that Third Classes weren't even expected to excel at. The hour long daily sessions with Kunsel had basically become a joke, where he showed up in the Third Class training hall and...well, glared at the materia training dummies until time was finally up.
"General Hewley said I'd probably be able to transfer classes if this didn't work out, but—"
"You're not failing on purpose, are you?" Kunsel cut in, and for some reason Cloud just imagined him arching an eyebrow under that helmet.
"No, I'm trying my best," the blond insisted, meaning every word. As comforting as it was to know he wouldn't just be released from SOLDIER entirely, he'd never get anywhere if he couldn't figure this much out at least. He needed to make it to First…to be in a position where his opinion counted for something. "I just…I don't know, it's not clicking. I can tell I have them equipped now, but…" You should be able to just do it wasn't particularly good instruction. He bit his lower lip, keeping that part of his thought to himself—it wasn't like it was Kunsel's fault that they were in this situation.
"Even Seconds need to know how to do something with materia."
Cloud slumped back against the wall, letting out a long sigh. "I know…I just…I don't know what I'm supposed to do. This isn't working."
Kunsel clamped a hand on Cloud's collarbone, patting the way he would have on the shoulder had it not been covered by a pauldron. "Hey, you'll get there. General Rhapsodos wouldn't have taken you if you weren't capable. I talked to him about it, and—"
His eyes went wide, shooting up from the ground that had captured their attention. "You talked to Genesis about me?"
"Well, yeah. This is ShinRa—there are reports for everything, including your training," Kunsel explained, his tone matter-of-fact.
It was downright depressing.
He already knew there would be reports, but he didn't realize they would literally sit down and have a nice chat about his lack of progress. It didn't help that he hadn't seen Genesis at all—the general hadn't popped up the same way he had so frequently during boot camp, and he actually found himself missing the man a lot more than he probably should have. To think that all Genesis was hearing about him now was just reports about how badly he was doing…He felt like a big enough failure all on his own—the last thing he wanted was for the general to think that as well.
Kunsel apparently noticed his long face, quickly jumping in to elaborate. "I get why he put us together to start…I know a lot about this place, and you had a plenty of questions. I'm no teacher though. If you're not getting it, it's probably just as much my fault."
"Yeah, but…" Cloud shook his head thoughtfully, not bothering to bring up the fact that he should have had a mentor by now—again.
"It shouldn't be much longer," Kunsel reassured him, the same words he'd been offering on a daily basis. "The general's just been busy."
Being low on Genesis' priority list really wasn't helping his mood either, but at this point, it was hardly surprising.
"If it makes you feel any better, I think I'm making progress on the information hunt," the helmeted SOLDIER told him, his words finally getting Cloud to perk up where he stood. "Nothing solid yet, but I know I'm close. I talked to one of my First Class sources, and he said he didn't have access to the report."
"…Why is that a good thing?" the blond asked skeptically.
"Firsts usually have access to all mission reports—if access was restricted that much, this is big," he explained confidently. "I don't know what happened, but I do know who I need to talk to next."
Cloud just blinked. "Who?"
"I can't say—no one would tell me a thing if I started giving out names," Kunsel said apologetically. "But I'll let you know what I find out—feel free to keep digging around yourself though."
"I will," Cloud muttered, not sure he wanted to know how Kunsel already knew he'd been digging as well. It wasn't like he'd fared any better on his own hunt—it's classified was apparently a massive understatement, which seemed ridiculous considering how basic his only remaining questions were.
"Yo, Spike! We were supposed to meet twenty minutes ago!"
Cloud jumped from the wall as he heard his friend's familiar voice, guilt settling in immediately. "Sorry, I lost track of time!"
"Hey, no biggie," Zack replied, strolling over to the two with a big smile. He gave Kunsel a pat on the back before turning his eyes to Cloud. "Still wanna train today, or do you guys need more time?"
Kunsel looked between the two, and then back once more. "You two train together?"
Zack arched an eyebrow, his big smile turning into a smirk. "What, the man who knows everything didn't already know?"
Cloud narrowed his eyes at his friend, a quick hand on the back of his neck as his gaze shifted to Kunsel. "Um, sorry. I meant to tell you—Zack's been helping me with some stuff in my free time."
For some reason the drawn out pause made Cloud nervous, though Zack's reassuring smile was at least somewhat helpful.
"You don't have to explain anything to me—it's not like it's against any regs," Kunsel said, though his tone was wary. "I'm not sure it's a great idea though. Most Thirds use single handed swords, and—"
"And Spike here prefers something bigger," Zack interjected, his quick wink drawing out an unwanted blush on Cloud's face. The blond punched his friend lightly in the shoulder. "What? It's true! We tried the one handed thing, but it wasn't working out for his style."
"Your style, you mean," Kunsel corrected slowly. "That's why you're supposed to have a mentor from our class—to go over materia and sword work with you. It's a lot easier to—"
"Aw, c'mon Kuns! That's something you learn for show," Zack insisted playfully. "Gen's just flashy, and—"
"Enhancing our blades with an element increases our attack power," Kunsel argued, only slightly less playful than Zack had been. "If a sword is encompassed in a strong fire spell, obviously it'll do more damage than—"
"That's possible?" It was Cloud's turn to cut in, intrigued by the idea of it. Both Zack and Kunsel gave a nod—Zack's begrudging, Kunsel's proud. "What's that have to do with single handed swords?"
"It's a guided spell…and it's not the easiest. Even most Thirds can't do it, to be honest. It requires a special blade with runes on it, and you run your hand along the flat edge during the cast," Kunsel explained, shaking his head as Zack rolled his eyes. "But you need the kind of sword that only General Rhapsodos can requisition—not as fancy as his, but custom made still and single handed only."
An image shot through Cloud's mind, and he couldn't help but smile—maybe Kunsel was right. Maybe only single handed swords were custom made for that purpose. That didn't mean he couldn't imagine accomplishing something like that with a two handed sword though.
If only he could use materia.
"Get that goofy grin off your face, Spike!" Zack demanded, feigning offense. "I thought we had somethin' special going! You're doing way better with the broadsword."
"He's the smallest SOLDIER—"
"Doesn't mean he can't also become one of the strongest," Zack cut in, his complete certainty doing wonders for Cloud' self-confidence. "Relax, Kuns. It's not like I'm trying to steal him from you guys—when he has a mentor, he won't have time to train with me anyway. In the meantime it's not right to have him sitting on his hands all day waiting."
"You know…" Kunsel paused, a thoughtful hand on his chin. "You two work well together?" he asked, almost expectantly. They both nodded like it was a silly question. "Cloud, did you know Zack is the best of all Seconds in—"
"Whoa, whoa!" Zack waved his hands and shook his head quickly. "I don't mind helping with that too, but I don't think Gen would—"
"Since when do you care what I think?"
All three men looked toward the door to the training room, surprised to see Genesis had stepped inside at some point—his arms were crossed, and he was leaning comfortably against the far wall.
"Since I'm pretty sure Angeal would be on your side about this one," Zack responded, shrugging noncommittally. "And I don't want Spike getting any more shit for training with a Second. Enough people have been giving him crap about it already."
Cloud just rolled his eyes, not really caring about any of that. It turned out a few Thirds might give you funny looks actually meant a few Thirds might be so offended that they made nasty comments, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. In a way, it was a lot easier to deal with than the crap he'd taken in the Army—instead of being pestered about his hair and size, he was being scrutinized about working with a Second when he was a Third.
Luckily it seemed like Zack really did get along with basically everyone, because most the Thirds he'd met didn't care—it was just a select few who looked down on him for it. He'd mostly learned to stop caring about what they thought already, deciding they weren't worth the effort. As much as he and Zack goofed around, he really was learning a lot from training with his friend...Without Zack, he would have wasted another week sitting around outside of his 'materia lessons' with Kunsel.
"So you find it acceptable to train him with a sword, but not with materia?" Genesis asked, moving swiftly away from the wall and toward the three. Cloud's full attention was on the man, like always, a tremor of nerves running through him with every step. "Kunsel has a point—you are the most proficient materia user in the Second Class. Perhaps you would be a suitable mentor."
"Gen, don't be an ass," Zack said casually, his words widening Cloud's eyes but not drawing their attention off the general. "I've only been helping him for a few days, and if you'da just hurried up and gotten him a mentor in the first place, this wouldn't even be an issue."
"My schedule is set in stone two weeks in advance—only a legitimate emergency can change that, and training a single recruit hardly counts as an emergency," Genesis told him, eyes finally finding Cloud's. "I'll be mentoring you personally."
The three responses were staggered, each shocked in their own way, but each an echo of the same word. "What?"
Hadn't he said..."I thought you were too busy to train—"
"I am, but as Kunsel kindly reminded me, you are a special case. A full two weeks with mako and you haven't produced a single spell? If I'd realized you were that inept, I would have let Angeal have you—it's too late for that now though. I fought hard to get you, and it just won't do for you to fail," Genesis concluded with a shake of his head.
Cloud's eyes had narrowed midway through that statement, hurt and offended by every word—he clenched his fist, glad that he didn't have a fire materia in his hand this time because clearly the general wasn't in such a forgiving mood. It was just cruel though, and all wrong.
Why was Genesis acting this way? The last time they had spoken was filled with a lecture and blunt words too…
This didn't feel like the same person who had poked in on his boot camp training time and time again, making sure he made it even when he wasn't doing so well with materia—the same person who, however bizarrely, had made him realize that he needed to stop reliving hypothetical variations of the past in order to move forward. The same person who offered to loan him books, and attempted to visit him while he was sick after his mako treatments.
This was more like the person he'd originally met—the one who instantly wanted nothing to do with him.
He struggled to hold his ground, not liking this version of the general very much. "I've read every book on materia theory, and I've—"
"I'm not impressed that you can read," Genesis told him, waving a hand to cut off the interjection Zack was about to throw in. "I'll be impressed when you can light one of the inflammable targets."
"That's not even possible," Zack said, rolling his eyes in what looked like a halfhearted attempt to ease the rocky feeling in the room.
It didn't work.
"Kunsel will have told you by now that most Thirds specialize in certain types of materia," Genesis continued, ignoring the sigh that escaped Zack's lips. "Why don't you have a single elemental materia equipped in your bracer?"
Cloud blinked, not really sure how the general even knew which he had equipped. It wasn't like it was visible…he'd been hoping to work on restore and barrier spells first. "I wanted to—"
"I should rephrase—why don't you have a fire materia equipped?" the man pressed, stepping closer like the other two SOLDIERs weren't even present. They stepped away as the general towered over the blond, but Cloud remained stubbornly rooted in his position. "You'll master the entire box you were given eventually, but you need to begin with what you know—didn't we discuss this once before? Surely it's common sense, even if it's not in any of the texts you read."
A strange vibration tore through Cloud as he readied a response, frustrated and embarrassed that Genesis would lecture him so harshly—right in front of Zack and Kunsel, too.
"I don't want to use that materia," Cloud said as calmly as possible, his whole body tensing.
It all sounded well and good—warmth and light—but that was when he was standing toe to toe with Genesis, experiencing those very sensations. When he was alone using a fire materia…he shuddered, a flash of green catching his eye as he blinked. His entire body was tingling as they opened, and he let out a startled gasp as he lost himself in the feel of it.
"You two—out," Genesis ordered, his voice softening but no less demanding.
He still hadn't looked away, but Kunsel and Zack seemed to take a hint. A friendly hand patted him on the back, and he finally snapped his gaze away from Genesis just long enough to catch a big smile. "Good job, bud."
Cloud just nodded, unable to speak—unsure what to say even. He turned his attention back to Genesis, only vaguely aware of anything other than the energy around him, washing over him in the most peculiar way. It was exhilarating and alarming all at once, but for some reason he felt like it was…safe, somehow.
"It's a physical barrier," Genesis informed him, looking him up and down studiously. "Not a bad one either—it was only readily apparent when you cast. I can still see it, but to an unenhanced it would be invisible."
Another gasp worked its way out of him as the magic began to dissipate, the tingling turning into a prickly feeling before fading into nothing. "That was…"
"Hmm, it wore off quickly—likely because your lack of focus on what you were doing," the general stated, a hand on his chin. "Tell me, were you frustrated again, or was it something different this time?"
"…I was embarrassed too," Cloud admitted, clenching and unclenching a fist as he tried to grasp the aftershocks of the magic.
"Embarrassed?"
"You're kind of…mean. Right in front of them, too," the blond told his general, putting his orders to the test. How assertive did Genesis really want him to be, particularly if it meant questioning the man himself?
He didn't seem bothered at least. "I wasn't being mean, I was saying what was necessary."
"…You were trying to frustrate me again?"
This just wasn't going to work. He'd been so disappointed when he originally found out he wouldn't be working with Genesis, but now...now that he'd blown his chance to stay away, playing right into this man's twisted game again...This wasn't what he wanted either. Cloud put a hand on the back of his neck, letting his eyes fall to the floor.
If this was the only way he could use materia, he didn't want to use it at all—he'd just have to find another way to make First someday.
A gentle finger was on his chin a moment later, tilting his head back up in a hurry. By the time their eyes met again, another jolt was tearing through him, almost as peculiarly as the barrier that had swept over him moments before.
"I have no desire to frustrate you."
"Then what—"
"What is Zack to you?"
"What's it matter?" Cloud asked, frowning at the subject change.
"Perhaps I'm the one who's been frustrated," Genesis admitted, retracting his hand carefully.
"…About what?" he pressed, puzzled by the direction the conversation had taken. Until he thought about it more—this was coming from the same man who had been openly offended by the very idea of Cloud wanting to join Second Class. He narrowed his eyes curiously, growing uncomfortable under the silent stare Genesis had locked on him. "Is this because he's a Second? Because if you didn't want me working with him, you could have just said that."
The general raised both brows. "I would've thought it was obvious—working with a Second won't get you far in Third. It's bad enough ShinRa allows the public to believe Thirds are the weakest SOLDIER has to offer—I don't need any of my men answering to Seconds as if it's true."
"Then maybe you should've found me a mentor sooner," Cloud responded, completely defeated. What was he supposed to have been doing all this time? If Genesis had just checked in once, he would've seen firsthand that training with Kunsel wasn't going well.
"What else were you feeling this time?" the general asked, his gaze growing serious. "I'm not referring to your emotions—before the cast went off you must have felt something else mingled with your frustration and embarrassment."
Cloud knew what he meant right away, but he had to think more before he could even begin to describe it…The sensation wasn't something he was really familiar with, only comparing to the rapid up and downs he tended to feel around Genesis in general—it could have easily been spurred by the man rather than the materia, he realized, unsure if it were a coincidence or not.
"It tingled…all over," he tried, knowing that he had to at least try to answer even if he weren't sure it mattered.
"What tingled?"
"My entire body."
"Was it your body?" Genesis pressed, raising an eyebrow, "Or was it something else? Something there, that's always been present…something you're deeply familiar with because it's an innate part of your being, but something you can't quite grasp?"
"I thought it was the mako," Cloud confessed, shifting where he stood. Truthfully, he had been feeling something odd since his injections, so it only made sense that it would be the mako.
Genesis scoffed, shaking his head as he eyed Cloud pointedly. "What is mako?"
"Um…"
"For someone who's read every book, I would have expected that to be the easiest question, Blondie. Let me rephrase, then…what is materia?"
"Condensed mako."
"More specific, Blondie."
"I'm not really sure," he replied hesitantly.
"Can a materia crystallize naturally?"
"I thought all our materia was manufactured."
"Most commonly used materia is, but that doesn't mean…Nevermind," Genesis muttered, letting out another drawn out sigh. "I'll get you a proper book to read. In the meantime…" He paused, snatching Cloud's wrist and popping out his restore materia. He slid in a different green orb instead, and Cloud cringed immediately. Fire. Genesis just nodded when he saw the question lighting up in Cloud's eyes. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes," Cloud answered without a second thought, unsure why but unable to deny it.
"Remember the light…the warmth," Genesis told him quietly, brushing two gloved fingers over each of Cloud's eyes—they closed at the light touch, and he left them that way when the hand was removed.
Genesis shifted behind him, Cloud listening carefully to every movement. He allowed himself to be turned, familiar enough with the room to know he was now facing the materia practice dummies. A gentle hand was on his shoulder as another trailed down his right arm, settling on his wrist and lifting it up toward the target.
"Palm open," he whispered, his breath warm on Cloud's ear as he stepped in closer. Cloud's heart was racing anxiously, and he wasn't quite sure if the heat he was feeling was from the materia, or from the man behind him, invading his space in a way he wasn't accustomed to allowing anyone other than Zack. Regardless, he obeyed, lifting his open palm in the direction of the dummies. "Relax…"
Maybe it was the guiding hand or maybe it was the soothing tone—Cloud wasn't sure. All he knew was, it had never been easier to relax than it was in that moment.
"Can you feel the heat?" Genesis muttered, so close still that all Cloud could manage was a barely-coherent noise in response that was intended to come out as a yes. "Can you feel anything else…something that you can't quite identify?" He nodded when he felt it, not daring to attempt speaking again—it was like there was an energy inside him, coursing through his veins…mako, maybe. Something was flowing through him, and whatever it was, it was simple to focus on it with his heightened senses and Genesis' calm, guiding words in his ears. "Good. It's there, it's tangible—I want you to control it now. Guide it. You can feel it, can't you? The mako is already drawing it toward the materia. You just need to use your mind now—focus on what you want to achieve with that connection."
Now it was a distinct heat, easily identifiable—yes, there was a warm body pressed to his back, a firm grip on his wrist, but he was becoming unaware of that now as this new heat scorched through him. His entire body was pulsing, but it wasn't alarming—it was safe because he was in control of it, completely. Once he realized it, the slight involuntary trembles he'd been succumbing to came to a stop, and—
"Now."
The hushed order was an echo of his own thoughts, bolstering them as they ignited. His eyes shot open as he felt a shock inside himself, immediately going wide as he realized the powerful blast hitting the materia practice dummies was his own.
"Again," Genesis urged, this time dropping his grip from Cloud entirely, though he still remained directly behind the blond.
It was a lot easier to manage the second time.
His eyes flickered open again after the second cast, and he could barely believe what he'd just done—he didn't have to be completely distraught to use materia…For some reason that realization was overwhelming, and he found himself stealing a glance up at Genesis, unsure what he was supposed to do next.
Genesis was already staring down at him. "Again?" he suggested, this time a question rather than demand.
Cloud smiled up without reserve. If things could just stay like this...maybe Genesis was the kind of man he could work with after all.
