Once More, With Feeling... – Chapter 37: Slitted Green Eyes
Summary: The suspended Cadets receive a shocking surprise, and so does Cloud.
Author: Illusor Meaneld
Rated T: for Descriptive violence and injuries, No Adult Situations, No Cussing.
Disclaimer: I did not create, and do not own the characters from Final Fantasy 7, They are owned by Square-Enix, and I am simply borrowing them for my own (and hopefully your) enjoyment.
It was only the second day of their three week suspension, and already the six boys of Squad Sekhmet were aggravated and restless. Logan in particular had taken to prowling the room between the bunks, growling and muttering under his breath, snapping loudly at anyone who caught his attention.
Cyril glanced over from his position on his bed and rolled his eyes. He may not have liked his squad mates … heck he didn't really LIKE anyone, but he'd always been firmly convinced in his own mind that he wasn't an idiot. Twitching the pages of his half-finished homework in irritation, he slouched against the wall with a soft growl.
What had he been thinking? He had very specific ambitions: To prove that his own skills were superior, To make it into the SOLDIER program, To make a name for himself there, … getting himself in trouble and likely kicked from the Shinra Corporation all-together was more than a little contradictory to his goals.
I let myself be distracted…
His eyes flicked to Logan again, and one of his lips curled against his will.
That boy was an idiot!
And Cyril, who was far more capable in every way that mattered, had followed Logan's suggestions,… even helped him.
That makes ME an idiot,
Not just an Idiot, … but a SHEEP!
It was intolerable!
He growled softly, the paper in his hands crackling as his grip on it tightened. There wasn't much Cyril hated more than 'sheep', brainless followers who never considered the consequences of their actions… Cyril was not a sheep! Or at least, he hadn't been before. He hesitated as he tasted copper in his mouth, and paused to flick his tongue against the inside of his cheek, tasting the blood more strongly. It seemed to fit his mood at the moment, so he continued lightly chewing the injury; the slight pain gave him focus.
I need to get my priorities straight, start playing this game for myself again.
Like he'd started out doing in the first place!
Who were the players in this game? He considered carefully, chewing harder on his cheek, until a particularly sharp bite made him wince, opting to place one knuckle in his mouth instead. Logan was one perhaps, Cloud another? The Teachers? Yes that sounded right, … Logan was a Grunt, all Brawn and no Brains, doomed to be cannon-fodder, Cyril figured, delusions of grandeur that one, but he was forceful, and bold. A bad combination when not partnered with intellect. Cloud? Now he was a smart one, .,. rather eerily so actually, Such a tiny kid, and so quiet most of the time, but the more Cyril thought about it, the more he realized just how much presence the other blond possessed. He was rather sturdy, and quick for his size, … and he knew where he was going, Confident… he was intimidating in some ways, it was one of the reasons Cyril had taken a dislike to him. He didn't like feeling intimidated, let alone by some short, scrawny, YOUNGER brat!
With a sigh, Cyril sat up straight again, removing the gnawed knuckle from his mouth, and eyeing the tooth shaped dents in his skin with a sneer before turning to carefully smooth the crinkles from his homework. Clearly some rather serious observation work was in order. That Cloud kid was on the track Cyril wanted to be on… the track Cyril WOULD be on! He wasn't about to let a bunch of idiots stop him.
The blond teenager's self reprobation was interrupted by the anticipated sound of footsteps in the hallway. Yesterday the 'tall, bald' Turk had 'escorted' him and his squad-mates to lunch. The man had been quiet during the entire walk, but disapproval seemed to exude from his mere presence. A sensation more than one of his fellow cadets had found unnerving, and one that made Cyril extra irritable. He turned to face the door, glower already in place on his face. He really disliked Turks, they were all cocky, sleezy little cockroaches. … He couldn't wait until he was a SOLDIER and could put them properly-
The door opened part way through his thoughts, and thoroughly derailed them. Cyril couldn't even remember what had been going through his head before, too stunned by the sight of Sephiroth himself stepping into the cadet's room. He'd only seen Sephiroth in person a handful of times before. Of the most recent encounters, one had been when the General had stopped the fight against Cloud, and another at the Disciplinary Hearing, … neither occasion had been a pleasant experience for the young Cadet.
Had he thought Cloud was intimidating? That Cloud kid had nothing on Sephiroth! With those Glowing Cat-like eyes that were currently sliding from cadet to cadet within the room, his presence made some base instinctive part of Cyril's mind want to find a small dark hole to hide in. When those eyes finally landed on him, Cyril shuddered nearly violently, it was with an effort that he made himself stand, and only didn't tremble because his body was held too stiffly for that. His arm rose in a ridgid salute, and a moment later he could see the other cadets quickly mimicking him. After several moments of painful silence, Sephiroth stepped fully into the room, allowing the door to close behind him.
"Good Afternoon, … Cadets." The smooth voice slithered through the air, sending another icy shudder down Cyril's spine. The slitted eyes pinned him in place as his Superior officer continued, "I shall be personally escorting you to lunch today,… Since I am not on active duty, and my services are yet to be required elsewhere." The tall man's gaze finally moved to another unfortunate youth, and Cyril felt several muscles unclench in relief. His arm, still held in a stiff salute, was starting to ache.
"I expect each of you to march briskly, and properly to the lunch room. Any of you who fail to march up to MY speed, and My standards, shall march the hallway again, until I say otherwise…" Sephiroth's gaze slid around the room one more time before stopping on Logan, "Is that understood?"
Cyril really wished he would say 'at-ease' already, his arm was burning! But he wasn't going to contradict General Sephiroth, … that was highly liable to end with him sent home in several different boxes.
"Sir! Yes Sir!" He shouted loudly, startling the other Cadets out of their fear-frozen state, the other boys echoed him almost immediately.
A small and distinctively unfriendly smile spread across the General's lips, just for a moment, before he stepped to one side of the door and gestured back with his sword.
His SWORD? Oh Cetra, … his sword!… Cyril could feel the blood draining from his face as he took in the six feet of gleaming steel. He tried to swallow, but his tongue suddenly felt like sandpaper, and he only succeeded in making a rather undignified choking sound. Thankfully it was quiet, too quiet for the others to hear, or at least, so he thought until inhuman, green, eyes flicked to him knowingly.
Thankfully his humiliation was short-lived, as the General's glance moved once again to the others; none of the cadets at least appeared to have noticed his reaction.
"Lets 'move out' shall we?" The General purred, his gaze challenging as he continued to survey the terrified squad. For several seconds, nobody moved… Cyril could practically feel each of them starting to sweat as they waited for something, anything to happen. Taking in a deep breath to steady himself, Cyril decided that it would be better to get this over with, he forced himself to take the first step forward, and nearly staggered, so stiff were his knees. His second step was smoother, and he recovered quickly until he marched as proudly as he could under the scrutiny. Like before, his action prompted the other cadets to jerk out of their stupors, and they hastily followed his lead.
Just as they were merging into a single file to march past the General, Logan seemed to remember his self-appointed leadership, and took a few quick steps intent on assuming his usual place at the front of the line. Cyril watched with no little curiosity as General Sephiroth's freezing glare locked on Logan at the motion. The young cadet hastily scurried into the nearest spot in the middle of the line instead.
When the last cadet stepped into the hallway, Sephiroth closed the door with a snap, Cyril sensed, more than saw, a few of his squadmates startle at the noise.
"Attention!" The General suddenly barked, Cyril snapped into position, wincing as Lucas 'snapped' a little too desperately and managed to jab an elbow into the blond's side.
"Face FRONT" Came the next order, assisted by an immistakable gesture of the Masamune, the sharp tip pointing intently down the hallway. Cyril managed to avoid any free-ranging body parts this time, as he turned with a click of his heels and the blandest expression he could manage.
"Forward… MARCH!" All six boys stepped into their trained positions, marching in formation as they'd been taught.
"And remember…" Sephiroth's voice slinked behind them, sending a chill down Cyril's spine again, the other's had a similar reaction judging by the shudders he could nearly feel.
"March, BRISKLY." With the razor sharp legendary No-Dachi waving in punctuation to his words, Cyril doubted any of them likely to forget!
Cloud lounged idly on his bed, … or at least, what Reno had decided was 'Cloud's Bed' … it actually had those words exactly written on a scrap of paper taped to the headboard. The blond's lips twitched again, he'd been stifling chuckles all morning. Desperate much? He thought to himself as he glanced again at the tatter-edged scrap. The smile faded quickly however when he considered how desperate the slum-raised teenager might actually be. Poor kid… He felt a sharp ache when he thought of what Reno's face might look like when he learned that Cloud couldn't be his permanent partner. This whole roommates thing would make that separation so much harder,… so very much more painful. Cloud rubbed at his chest where the guilt seemed to dig at him, how in the world was he going to be able to let Reno down? He was such a pushover when it came to little orphan kids…then again, Was Reno an Orphan? Despite all their years of acquaintance, he'd never known for sure, though he'd often suspected…
Cloud sat up abruptly with a stretch wincing slightly at the sharp pain in his right shoulder. "It was no use watering the plants before you planted them", as Aeris had teasingly loved to say.
Zack had always said "Don't borrow problems unless you can sell them for a profit…" which had never really made sense to Cloud, but he supposed the sentiment was there…
"Don't borrow problems, Cloud." He told himself firmly, "You've got more than enough as-is, without stealing everyone else's." That was Tifa's favorite version, he chuckled, shaking his head at himself.
He stood up, in an effort to dispel his rambling thoughts, and padded out of the room into the kitchen. Ducking into the small refrigerator, he pulled out a bottle of water. Reminding himself as he did so that he still needed to replace all the food he'd spoiled for his alibi on 'drinking night'. Closing the fridge with one foot, he wandered back into 'his' room, chuckling again at Reno's possessive, but friendly, insistence. He curled himself into the cushioned desk chair, and pulled out some more 'scrap paper' from the side drawer. His drawing skills had never been particularly impressive, but with some rulers, and time, he used to be able to draw schematics well enough to get his idea across.
Left handed however, … 'Artistically ambidextrous' he wasn't. He still grimaced at his earlier attempts at First Tsurugi, and couldn't help snickering softly to himself as he remembered the bewildered look on Reno's face when he'd seen the sketches. Since he was on 'Strict Bed-Rest', which precluded even light exercise, there wasn't a whole lot to keep his mind occupied, and since he had already firmly butchered several drawings of his well-missed sword, Cloud decided this time he was going to give fair treatment to his much-loved Motorcycle. With a grin he settled into his sketching, cheerfully ignoring the squiggly lines and misshapen blobs that were the results of his off-hand work.
Approximately half-way into his project, Cloud heard the sound of an expensive car approaching; he paused, half cocking his head to listen better. Sure enough, he could hear the engine changing gears, parking, and turning off. Sounds like Reno's home… Cloud thought to himself with a fond smile, he wondered what those two were up to, an unholy duo if he ever heard of one, but their hearts seemed to be in the right place for the most part. Perhaps more on Zack's part than Reno's… but the red-head was young yet… Cloud interrupted his own musings as he paced into the front room again, listening to the hushed but excited whispering, and the muffled jangle of keys as the two teenagers outside made their way in. They really had better not have brought home face paint… Cloud grimaced. He really hadn't thought that joke funny the first time Zack had played it on him… and really had no intention of letting the boy repeat it… First Best Friend or not!
Cloud was still frowning slightly when Reno and Zack stumbled in through the doorway together, the taller SOLDIER 2nd nearly vibrating in place with excitement, while the red-headed Turk slouched with more than his usual exaggeration and grinned. Each boy had one hand hidden behind his back.
"Yo! How ya doin' Cloudy-boy? Hope we didn' keep ya wait'n too long… hadta get somethin' real specific ya know?"
Cloud let his frown deepen just slightly, noting the increased shuffling from the two teens with mild amusement. "You didn't get anything weird did you?"
"Nah a'course not!" Reno waved off the protest at the same time as Zack said,
"It's nothing weird Little Chocobo, …" before breaking off with a sudden frown of consternation, and turning to Reno with an uncertain, "Is it?"
"ZACK!" Reno growled, "It ain' weird! Don't give him tha wrong idea yo!" before punching the black-haired boy in the Shoulder. This, amusingly, resulted in the Turk grimacing, and trying to rub his knuckles discretely, rather than any visible discomfort from the taller teenager.
"Yeah okay." Zack turned back to Cloud with a grin, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "So it's totally not weird."
Cloud couldn't help but chuckle at the pair of them, "If you insist," He finally relented, "I'll trust you."
Reno beamed, an expression so unusual on the red-head's face that Cloud nearly did a double-take, the boy looked so delighted, the blond couldn't help but smile in response. After a moment, he turned his gaze to Zack, who was twitching in place, and if Cloud was any judge of the restrained motions, the boy was mere seconds from engaging in his trademark 'squats'. Eager to forestall the young SOLDIER's impromptu exercise session, Cloud blurted the first questions that came to mind,
"So what did you guys get then? Am I allowed to know? Or is it a surprise?"
Zack blinked, his attention successfully diverted, "Oh, well we got you a-"
"We got ya a get well present yo!" Reno interrupted swiftly, "an' yer gonna open it jus' as soon as ya've eaten! 'Cause we also got ya some lunch since there ain' much food left in here an' all that."
"…Yeah, what he said." Zack finished proudly, "You're gonna love it Chocobo-head! I can't wait to see your face when you open it!"
Cloud smiled back as a happy warmth filled him, "Really? You guys got me a present?"
"Yeah, we picked it out together!" Zack said, finally pulling his arm out from behind his back, and presenting a small package wrapped in simple white paper, a suspicious 'Shinra Letterhead Logo' Peeking out from behind the silver ribbon.
"An' we brought home Pizza!" Reno finished, pulling out his hidden arm to reveal a small stack of the 'Personal Sized' pizza pies.
"Wow…" Cloud knew he must be grinning stupidly by now, "You guys didn't have to…"
"A' course we did, we're yer friends ain' we? An' we're partners remember? Partners do this kinda stuff for each other ya know?"
Cloud chuckled, and held his arms up in surrender, turning to make his way over to the dining room table, where he seated himself. Reno followed him dropping the Pizza boxes before the blond with a flourish, there were a good half-dozen in all.
"Didn' know wha'cha were in tha mood for, so I picked a buncha stuff," Reno explained, opening each box in turn, "Figured ya could pick wha'cha want now, an' Zack n' I'll finish off tha rest a'righ'?" Cloud chuckled again, and happily picked through the variety before him. Reno and Zack kept their word about the extra, as soon as Cloud made his picks the other two teenagers snatched up the rest with gusto, devouring the small pizzas enthusiastically. Lunch was finished with shortly, and Zack finally pushed the wrapped box towards Cloud, bouncing eagerly in his seat.
"Open it Cloud! You're gonna love it! C'mon!"
"Ya gotta hush it long enough for him TO open it, Meat-head!" Reno snapped back,
Cloud glared a mild admonishment at Reno, before rolling his eyes and pulling the package towards himself. Glancing over the 'wrapping paper' he snickered, it really was Shinra Letterhead paper! Amused despite himself, Cloud tore off the inexpensive wrappings, bit by bit exposing the glass box inside, until enough was visible that Cloud froze, eyes gazing in shock at the case he held. It contained a collection of small human-shaped figurines, each one in a different pose and outfit, the words "Scaled SOLDIER Collectors Set" embossed across the polished wooden base of the case. … It was complete! Every single model in the set lined up neatly in the little glass box. Cloud had never seen a complete set before. He used to own some… but they had been discontinued by the time he'd started his journeys, he'd only found a few random, scattering of models, and he'd later sold them. They just were not very practical on a 'quest to save the world'. The whole set… he could practically hear Tifa's laughter at finding a new one, joking that they'd make one of Cloud someday. Yuffie had tried to snitch them from him a time or two, it'd been a bit of a task to keep them from her. Cloud slowly looked up at the two teenagers who were watching him eagerly, and perhaps a bit apprehensively, over the table.
"Where on the Planet did you find a complete set? Aren't these discontinued?" He asked almost breathlessly,
"'S'a Secret!" Reno chirped, wrapping a hand over Zack's mouth just as the young SOLDIER opened it to respond. Cloud just kept grinning, turning back to gaze at his new present. He'd rather thought he'd have to collect his own 'Momentos' from his old life… it was… heartening, to find that his new friends were helping him out. He smiled, leaning forward, rather certain he was about to say something horribly sappy, when the doorbell rang. He blinked, and realized he'd paused with his mouth open.
"Er…"
"I'll get it!" Zack nearly leapt from the table in boyish enthusiasm.
"Are you expecting anyone?" Cloud murmured to Reno, who shook his head.
All three boys peered at the door as Zack opened it; Cloud's curiosity was quickly sated by Zack's exuberantly shouted "ANGEAL!"
Cloud and Reno exchanged a quick glance, "Angeal?" Cloud mouthed with a raised eyebrow,
"The Lieutenant?" Reno mouthed back with a shrug. "Dunno."
Turning back to the door, it was the young red-headed Turk who got in the next word, "Hey, SOLDIER-Man, what brings ya ta mah home, yo?"
Angeal glanced over Zack's shoulder into the room, "Hmmm… Visiting," He replied, "what are you kids up to?" almost immediately seeming to prompt his protégé into a response,
"We just gave Cloud his get-well present!" Zack explained enthusiastically, "Remember I told you about that? Well me and Reno went down to the slums and found this really awesome-"
"Shut your trap, Fair!" Reno yelped, "'S' a SECRET remember?"
Angeal smirked, "A Secret… I see…" the SOLDIER 1st's gaze flicked to Cloud, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement "Well, I don't want to spoil your party, … I got a Get-Well gift too you see, but I think I'll just leave it with you kids," He quickly thrust a medium sized blue-and-green wrapped box, with the words 'handle with care' scribbled on the side, into Zack's arms, before turning away with a two-fingered salute. "Have a good night!"
There was a wordless pause as the door shut behind the Lieutenant, where Zack turned around slowly, still holding the package.
"Why would Angeal get me a present?" Cloud mused after the silence started growing uncomfortable.
"Um…" Zack returned, staring at the box in confusion as he walked it to the table, "I guess he likes you, Angeal can sometimes be pretty awesome that way." The raven-haired teenager grinned, "So anyways, here's another Get-Well Present!" The box was hastily shoved in Cloud's arms.
And much to the shock of all three boys, … the box protested the rough treatment with a rather startled "Mrew?"
Cloud froze, "… Zack? Did your Mentor give me what I THINK he gave me?"
"Uh… it sounds like he gave you a cat…" Zack responded nervously, "But Cadets aren't allowed to have pets!"
"Hey!" Reno protested suddenly, "Tha's jus' for tha DORMS yo! Cloud lives HERE now, an' this bein' his place he can have whatev'r pet he wants, I ain' gonna let'cha say otherwise!" He glared heatedly at the young SOLDIER.
"Whoa! That's cool man! That makes it all good then." Zack held up his hands placatingly, while Reno slowly settled down, "So Cloud," He began, turning to grin at the small blond, "Let's see your new pet!"
"C'mon yo, we gotta see what kin'a cat the Mountainous Lieutenant 's'gonna get an awesome Turk like you."
"Cadet." Zack nudged playfully, "an awesome Cadet like him."
Cloud chuckled and sighed, bending to open the wrapping paper with care, followed by the flaps of the hole-punched box inside. With his first glimpse of the cat, kitten really, Cloud nearly dropped the box to the floor. Reacting hastily he gripped it tight enough to crunch the corners of the cardboard box, and stared. A pair of eerily familiar slitted green eyes peered out of the box at him.
Oh Holy… where on the planet did Angeal find a cat with eyes the same color as Sephiroth's? Cloud wondered in morbid horror, … for the eyes were EXACTLY that shade. Thinking over what little he knew about the Lieutenant and his penchant for pranks he was quite certain it was intentional. With a mental shake, the blond forced himself to reach into the box and gently remove the young cat. Aside from the green eyes, it was rather unremarkable, a mottled 'tortoise-shell' pattern, in browns, dark orange and black.
"Huh," Reno murmured, "Kinda a common lil' thi- Oh CETRA!" He yelped, nearly spilling from his chair as the kitten peered his way for the first time. "Tha's tha creepies' thin' I've ever SEEN yo!"
Zack stared at the green eyes in fascination, "That's awesome! You should name it Sephiroth!"
"Her." Cloud corrected with a snicker, "I don't think it'd be very kind to name her 'Sephiroth'."
"Uh so what'cha gonna name her then?" Reno asked hesitantly.
"Dunno." Cloud mumbled back, "But then there's no rush is there? I've got plenty of time to sort everything out." He couldn't help but smile inwardly at the private secondary meaning of that phrase.
((Author's Note: I've been having trouble writing from Cyril's POV, Turns out, … Cyril is best written between 2 and 5am… As for the rest… See Last Author's Note.
-Jianre M. A.K.A … Illusor Meaneld.))