Zack plopped down by Angeal who had been speaking to Genesis and Sephiroth about the new group of Cadets.
"Scales is sad," he said flatly.
"Strife?" Angeal asked for clarification.
"Cloud Strife, you know the guy with scales over most of his body." Zack said. "He's lonely."
"With you for a friend I didn't know that was possible," Genesis quipped.
"He misses Jay," Zack continued ignoring Genesis who was surprised that Zack didn't reply to his comment. "Those two were really close." He moped. "And now Jay is gone so he has no one to confide in."
"He doesn't confide in you?" Angeal asked surprised. Usually people opened up to Zack easily.
Zack shook his head, "I'm not Chiati and I don't know what he's been through." He explained. "There are things that no matter how hard I try to understand I won't be able to because I don't have the experience to."
"That is the most mature thing I have ever heard you say," Genesis said bluntly. "I'm sure that he had more friends than you and Jay."
"Tseng is busy, his dad is not here, Spiral doesn't live here, the Special Unit is dead, Jay is dead," Zack listed off. "He's well liked by everyone, but he's also somewhat hard to approach at first. The Cadets love him. He spends time with them helping and being whatever they need. The Third Class SOLDIERS respect him and know that if they need something they can talk to him, but they more respect from afar and worship the ground he walks on. Not as bad as the Cadets though, The Second Class is the same and he has little interaction with the First Class. So he's lonely."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Angeal asked knowing his student wouldn't let this last.
Zack was quiet for awhile and frowned. Despite what most people thought he was intelligent. Perking up he smiled looking far more like his usual happy self. "I'll have him be friends with you!"
"Zack-" Angeal started, but it was already to late. The door swung closed behind the Second class.
"He never struck me as lonely." Genesis said thoughtfully.
"He never struck me as the type to kill the messenger," Sephiroth pointed out. Cloud had tried to do so when he learned the news of Jay's death.
Cloud had seen the gleam in Zack's eyes as he helped a Cadet with their form, but didn't think much on it. At the end of the class the instructor praised Cloud while berating the Cadets as usual. Zack had come in and helped a few, but other than that nothing was different.
"Cloud!" Zack yelled at the end of class and Cloud waited for him to come over. "Come have lunch with us."
"Us?" Cloud asked.
He really should have asked more questions, Cloud reflected when he found himself sitting stiffly at Angeal's table. Sephiroth was doing some paperwork, Genesis was reading LOVELESS, and Angeal was in the kitchen cooking. Genesis looked up like he had had an idea.
"Why were you so concerned about making sure that each and every scratch on my back was clean?" He asked Cloud who looked surprised.
"Did you want to get sick?" He asked baffled.
"Is there a disease Chiati get when they grow new limbs?" Sephiroth asked looking up. Without Jay they found that they needed to ask if they wanted answers.
"If there are cuts that are not cleaned then yes." Cloud replied.
"What is it?" Genesis asked.
"We call it the White illness. You start to decay." Cloud said and Genesis dropped LOVELESS.
"How... unpleasant." Sephiroth said. Cloud nodded solemnly.
"As long as you clean the area it should be fine," Cloud said. "When you grow new limbs sometimes feathers or scales or something else is shed. Those parts are shed because they contain the White illness."
"So when they are in contact with cuts... you get the sickness your body was trying to get rid of." Zack concluded. "How do you know that?"
"The White illness has been around for a long time. The creature brought it with it." Cloud said as Angeal came back with the food he had been baking.
"And because the Chiati have its cells they can get it." Sephiroth finished. Cloud nodded.
"Why would you think that I would be able to get it? I don't have any Chiati blood." Genesis asked picking up LOVELESS and dusting off the beloved cover.
"Perhaps, perhaps not." Cloud said tilting his head slightly. "Who can say? I did not shed scales, yet I am Chiati. You shed feathers and you are not Chiati. From my experience if you shed feathers you may contract the White illness."
"So if you have extra limbs hygiene is a huge priority." Angeal concluded after Zack quickly filled him in. Cloud nodded.
"I don't know if it is the same for you, but in Chiati we sometimes shed feathers or scales, if we have them, to get rid of illnesses." Cloud said tapping his scales. "We travel so much that we are exposed to most diseases."
"So you would have to have a better immune system in order to live." Sephiroth stated. Cloud nodded.
"I never asked, but what do Chiati eat?" Angeal said.
"Anything we can, I'm not picky." Cloud said with a smile. "Although I would rather not eat the Cadet's food." He said with a wince. Genesis, Angeal and Zack laughed at his comment and Cloud succeeded in getting a smile out of Sephiroth.
Cloud sat with Tseng facing the flat screen thoughtfully. Ever since Zack had dragged, literally, him to eat lunch with the firsts they had gone out of their way to interact with him. So had the Turks and a few of the scientists he tolerated. Except for Reeve. Cloud liked Reeve who seemed to flourish in the attention Cloud gave him. Apparently no one bothered to listen to him.
"Am I really that transparent?" Cloud asked Tseng who looked surprised at the question, or as surprised as the man ever looked.
"I am not sure that I understand the question," Tseng replied.
"This week everyone has been going out of their way to spend time with me." Cloud said pulling his feet up onto the couch. "Was it really that obvious that I miss Jay?"
Tseng was quiet for a moment. It was times like this that he could see how truly fragile the Chiati was. Cloud could kill anyone who so much as looked at him wrong if he wanted to, but he didn't. He was gentle and kind, even to him though the Turk didn't know why. His kind and gentle nature drew people to him like moths to a flame, but the thing that Cloud didn't seem to understand was why people would spend time with him. Tseng had once cornered Jay and asked him why that was. Jay's answer had surprised and concerned him. 'His life before coming to live with the Chiati wasn't good. He lived in a small town where he was different. When his mother died he was kicked out, after all, who would want a child without a father? He nearly died and would have if Vincent hadn't found him. I've tried to make him understand that the villagers were wrong and he understands that. He just doesn't always believe me. The mental scars that they inflicted are not something that are obvious at first glance and not something that I can just get rid of. To do that I would have to erase his past and that is something that I would never do.'
"No," Tseng said looking at Cloud in the eye. "You have to really look to see it."
"Then why have so many people noticed?" Cloud asked.
"We care about you. Even though it is no longer 'obvious' you still miss him. It is only natural that we, your friends, want to comfort you." Tseng replied. Cloud leaned back thoughtful and a little overwhelmed. "You do the same for us."
"Yet it is different when others do the same," Cloud said looking up at the ceiling. Tseng had noticed that Cloud did that a lot. He wondered why, but he wouldn't ask just yet. He had a feeling that there was a story behind it that the blond wasn't up to telling just yet. Cloud was like a warrior. Scarred and worn out from having to many burdens on his shoulders. That feeling had grown in the time that he had been here at ShinRa. What had his childhood been like to produce that? What had those mako blue eyes seen? Blinking Tseng wondered if Cloud had seen the war. He would have grown up during the Watari war and Chiati wandered all over. He doubted that a war would have deterred the strong willed people into avoiding any area. "We haven't gotten rid of the President yet." Cloud stated jolting Tseng out of his thoughts.
"No, we haven't." Tseng agreed.
"Have we set a date?" Cloud asked.
"No, we are waiting for him to lower his guard." Tseng replied. "He is extremely paranoid at the moment."
Cloud smiled a little. His eyes held an iron will and Tseng felt his own bloodlust rise to reflect Cloud's. "He has every reason to be."
Pacing the President bit his nails nervously. Things were spirally out of control. The Chiati in the north were on the move again, his adopted children had met, Veld was dead, most of the science department had morals so the experiments couldn't be carried out by them, and he couldn't get rid of the last of the Special Unit. The 'Golden blue Fan Club' would skin ShinRa alive. It didn't help that most of ShinRa was part of the fan club.
He needed a new scientist since Hojo disappeared and his favorites were dead. He wondered if the Chiati had been exorcised then shook his head. Only another Chiati who was well versed in Demonic Circles would be able to do that and none of the people here had the knowledge to do that.
The President tasted blood and looked down to see he had bitten his nails to the quick. Holding down hysterical laughter he turned to look out the window.
"No where to turn, no allies, no friends, no children." The words came back to him. The Chiati they had caught had spat those words at him. "That is where you will be. Either at my hand or another's I care not. But you will be alone in your final days then the Planet itself will extract the price of your actions!" He shuttered.
"I will not," The President said hoarsely hugging himself. An unstable gleam in his eyes.
A/N: Hey everyone thanks for your support! I had a review about Cloud knowing about degradation. I mentioned that the Chiati ATE Jenova. That means lots of her cells so out of anyone the Chiati are the ones who know about degradation or anything related to her due to all the crap they went through with her. They have had two thousand years to figure it out. Thank you for your reviews Lyumia, Team Wingless, and Guests! I'm glad you like my story.
Team Wingless: Thank you for your review! I edited the first chapter a bit so you might want to take another look at it. Part of the plot is the discovery of the Chiati. After finishing the story I might go back and add more.