"Where's the fire yo?" Groaning, Cloud looked up to see an older, flaming-haired teen smirking down at him. The young blonde watched as the redhead tapped an intimidating rod on his shoulder.

"….what fire?" Cloud was a bit dazed as he pushed himself to his feet. It seemed as though the walls were spinning, or was it him that was spinning…?

"It's just an expression yo. Where were you runnin' to?" There was a gleam of humor in the aquamarine eyes.

"Ummm…t-to class." The young blonde shuffled his feet nervously.

"Really? It looks like you were runnin' from a pervy Commander's office yo." A searing blush spread across the cadet's face. Dear Gaia, Commander Rhapsodos was a pervert? And here Cloud had almost been mentored by him!

The redhead staring at the blonde took the blush under an entirely different notion, however.

"So, you got a thing for redheads yo?" Cue a bewildered blonde looking up to stare quizzically at a grinning red-haired menace.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Cloud's question either went unheard or uncared for as the TURK slinked over to the young blonde.

"Because that bad dye job of a Commander doesn't do us real redheads justice yo." Cloud felt himself almost cowering as the aggressive teen pulled the blonde closer.

"O-oh, would you look at the time? I have t-to be somewhere that's not he-here!" Cloud dashed down the hall, turning a corner and racing down the stairs.

There was a loud laughing that echoed down the hall after the spooked cadet. Geez, newbies were too fun to mess with. The redhead whistled a pleasant tune as he strolled away the opposite way.

Cloud entered his next class only a minute or so late (thank the Goddess). He slipped silently into a seat before pulling out a note book and proceeding to take notes.

"The Wutainian war began the year of the winter solstice…" Winter solstice. That was always celebrated in Nibelheim. It was a festive time of year for most, but Cloud had always hated it. There was a tradition that after a boy's fifteenth birthday, the next winter solstice the boy was to admit to his first love his feelings. Tifa had wanted him to admit this to her. Only…he couldn't. Cloud never felt that way about Tifa, so he had boarded a train the week before and headed to Midgar. He wouldn't lie to Tifa, she was too important to him. His mother already knew his feelings, so Cloud was sure Tifa found out from her.

"It is also the day when the Wutainian's fired the first shot of the war. And so, this is why every winter solstice Shinra hosts a large celebration to commemorate this event. Does anyone know when the next winter solstice will take place?" One hand shot into the air, belonging to a boy who appeared no older then twelve.

"Rodriguez."

"The next winter solstice takes place in a year sir."

"Very good. Yes, the next winter solstice takes place in a year. Now we'll move on the history of the gumwap tree root…" Cloud couldn't bring himself to focus any longer. His mind had wandered to the Nibelheim tradition. Cloud wanted to fall in love, well, not exactly wanted to, but he wouldn't fight it if it happened.

Wait. Winter solstice? He wasn't entirely sure, but wasn't any type of solstice considered 'holy' to the Wutainian people? Holy events were days where they wouldn't dream of beginning a war of any kind, lest they anger their ancestors or Gods or something like that. So it didn't make sense that they would fire upon Shinra troops on a winter solstice.

Then again, maybe Cloud was just imagining this. He could be remembering some kind of legend he had heard from the older woman who lived down the street from him. She told all kinds of stories.

Cloud shifted in his seat, suddenly very uncomfortable. He felt the need to ask, because he was fairly certain he was correct. Then again…if he wasn't this question could be seen as a treason statement.

What should he do?

Chapter 48: Cloud should ask the instructor

Chapter 49: Cloud should stay quiet and ask someone else later

Stats: Materia: 6

Intelligence: 58

Compassion: 95

Trustworthy: 84

Strength: 30

Sword skill: 0

Innocence: 98

Bravery: 10

Relationships:

Zack: 50

Angeal: 20

Genesis: 10

Sephiroth: 0

Reno: 10

Author's Note: Hello there, Kay here. So, just wanted to let you all know that when I update the next set of chapters there will a small time jump. Not to big, just up until one month or so before the SOLDIER exams. Because I feel this story is going far too slowly. Alright? Great! Thanks for reading! Sincerely, Kay.