To say Cloud was startled would be an understatement. Seeing the man once today had been surprising enough, but now to see him waiting leaning against one of the dully colored walls outside of his dormitory would have struck the cadet as borderline creepy if the Director of SOLDIER wasn't the one in question.
"Cadet Strife, I apologize for bothering you at such an hour." To Cloud's credit he recovered rather quickly from his shock. Tugging the hem of his uniform down, the blonde saluted the older man.
"It's alright Director sir." Several words stuck in the back of the blonde's throat, the most obvious question burning in his mind as the older blonde shifted from his position against the wall. The Director's lips twitched into a smile as his hands folded coolly behind him. Pale moonlight streamed through the bullet proof glass of the 36th floor windows as the two blondes stood in near silence, casting an ominous glow off of the polished tile floor.
Cloud grew more concerned the longer the man stood without speaking, simply glaring at an area just over the cadet's shoulder. The youth was tempted to peer back, to attempt to see what it was that the older man found so unlikable. For one short second the Director's face was shadowed in a look of distaste before those keenly intelligent irises were drawn back to the teen before him. "You must be wondering what I'm doing here at this time of night." It was most certainly not a question.
Blonde spikes bobbed slightly as Cloud's head nodded, wide blue irises never leaving the veiled silhouette of his superior officer. Just as the cadet opened his lips to speak, Cloud heard it; a muted scuffling noise from somewhere in the overshadowed hall behind him. It was pure instinct when the blonde whipped around, hand twitching over his sword's holster. The material of his glove crinkled, sounding obscurely loud in the silence of the hall, as he closed his hand of the hilt of the training blade. Before he could draw the sword any further than the first two inches the scent of high class shampoo and coffee filled his senses. "Cadet Strife," The courteously polite voice of the SOLDIER Director stopped Cloud in his tracks. "I am impressed once again. To know that you can pick up on the slight movements of the Turks without mako enhancements is truly a gift. However, I don't think it would be wise of you to attack one at this stage in your training. It would be like fighting the shadows." Only then did the younger blonde become aware of the hand resting on his shoulder, white silken glove gleaming in the moonlight.
"I…didn't realize it was…You're right sir." Cloud allowed his shoulders to relax and the iron grip he held on the hilt of the blade to loosen as he turned to face the Director once more. "I'm sorry…I just…." Lazard chuckled before him, waving away his apology as he strode out into the moonlight.
"No need for an apology. You've only strengthened my reasoning for being here." One hand reached into his front pocket, flipping the phone open and checking the screen before slipping it back inside. "You have highly developed skills for someone with no former training." Blue irises had slid over to gauge the youth's reaction to the probing question.
"There are a lot of wolves where I come from sir, it's important that we know how to protect ourselves." The Director seemed appeased by that answer, for his shoulders fell into a relaxed position and he turned back to the window he stood before. 'When did the Director get over to the window…?'
Lazard was speaking, Cloud realized a moment later than he should have. "…and due to this I think it would be wise to have you under the tutelage of one of the more skilled members of SOLDIER. After speaking with Commander Hewley he seemed to agree as well." The younger blonde wasn't quite sure what he had just heard, his mind not comprehending all that the words implied.
"Sir…this means…?" Another elegant chuckle sounded from the older man as he turned to face the young teen, his jacket fanning out behind him like a winter breeze.
"It means, Cadet Strife, that with your agreement I would like to assign you a mentor. However, if you were hoping for Commander Hewley I'm afraid he has his hands already full with his own apprentice. Yet there as still several capable SOLDIERs in this facility." Cloud shuffled his feet a bit, hands clutching each other until the knuckles turned paler than the General's skin. His heart pounded erratically as he grappled for the proper words to speak.
"O-of course sir! I would be honored to learn from any SOLDIER available!" Lazard smiled, shaking his head as he moved away from the glass. One hand smoothed the blonde locks away from his face, the smile never leaving his lips.
As those mako tinged eyes opened to settle on the blonde before him his hands opted to settle inside the pockets of his suit pants. "A pity Angeal already has an apprentice. You both would get along quite well. Nevertheless, if you would stop by my office tomorrow morning at 0800 I will introduce you to your new mentor for you time as a cadet here." Cloud hardly had time to stutter out a "Yes sir" before the man had disappeared down the hall, leaving the blonde to finally breathe in the depth of silence that surrounded him.
Sleep didn't come easy to the youth that night; it must've been some time past three o'clock before his eyes even began to drift shut. Cloud awoke at six the next morning, rushing through his morning routine much to Jason's confusion. As the brunette boy shuffled in his cocoon of blankets with no more than the top part of his head peeking out from the jumbled mess, he bombarded the other boy with sleepy questions.
"What are you doing Cloud?"
"Getting ready!"
"Why so early?"
"Because I have to be at the Director's office at eight o'clock!"
"Why?"
"I'm getting a mentor!"
"Oh," Jason yawned now, clearly not fully awake as he burrowed into the sheets once more and pulled his pillow atop his head. "That's cool…" Just as Cloud uncovered a nearly clean pair of pants, he found himself landing somewhat roughly on the several piles of clothing and one old pizza box with a now fully awake Jason sitting on his chest shaking him as though the answers to his questions would just roll out of the blonde's head.
"YOU'RE GETTING A MENTOR OH MY GAIA THAT'S AMAZING WHO IS IT WHEN DID YOU FIND THIS OUT WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!?" The blonde laughed loudly, grabbing the other boy's hands and rolling to the side throwing the brunette off. With the speed of a fleeing fiend the blonde jumped away from the squirming boy, crawling on top of the semi coarse sheets of the twin bed. Ocean blue irises peered over the edge of the bed, watching as Jason sat up with a startled yelp. The chocolate colored eyes crossed almost dizzily as they tried to glare at the dirty sock that stuck to the brunette's forehead.
Jason wailed, grabbing the clothing article and flinging it away. "ECK GOSH CLOUD KEEP YOUR SIDE OF THE ROOM CLEAN!" And that was how most of his morning continued to go before Cloud finally managed to convince Jason to release him into the crisp routine of getting to the Director's floor of the SOLDIER department. It took several different elevator rides, asking directions from several apparently unintelligent people, and overall several different headaches before Cloud finally managed to arrive at Lazarad's door.
With a swift glance at his watch, the blonde smiled in triumph at seeing he still had a half hour to spare. Though he didn't see any reason to stand here loitering outside where he would look suspicious. With only a moment's hesitation (what if the director was in the middle of an important phone call!?) Cloud rapped the door gently.
"Enter…" The cool voice from before called, his voice echoing through the metal separating him, his guest, and the cadet. Cloud took a steadying breath, sweat already beginning to bead around his hairline, before pushing his way into the plush room. The first thing ocean irises saw was the Director seated behind his polished wooden desk, smiling at him and motioning for him to come further in. As his eyes drifted ever so slowly through the room, they first landed on the boots. Leather by the look of it. Carefully, as though the youth were afraid he would be chastised for taking the appearance of his new mentor, Cloud's gaze slid upward. Firm chest, a clearly defined six pack beneath all of the tight clinging clothing, a billowing trench coat, also seemingly leather, all the way up to the flawless complexion and piercing gaze.
"Cadet Strife," The Director's voice sounded far off to the blonde now, as though he were in a whole other dimension. "Please allow me to introduce you to…"
Chapter 104: "General Sephiroth."
Chapter 105: "Commander Rhapsodos."
Stats: Materia: 0
Intelligence: 62
Compassion: 95
Trustworthy: 81
Strength: 45
Sword skill: 45
Innocence: 100
Confidence: 55
Relationships:
Lazard: 35
Zack: 50
Angeal: 45
Genesis: ?
Sephiroth: ?
Reno: 5
