It is once again time for another chapter! Thanks so much again to my co-author tmart.x13 for working on this while I was out and unable to write a lot. But it is here and ready for you all to read! Thanks so much again for the reviews! We love seeing your thoughts!

Ch. 37

Cloud's eyes stayed lit up and grew wider with each passing second. He didn't want his mouth to move away from the object inserted between his now cool lips. The taste was a mixture of things that he had never experienced before. His mind rushed, thinking of how the parts of the ice cream contrasted with each other, yet somehow was able to formulate an immaculate taste.

He had to say something about it, so he convinced himself to briefly remove the treat from his mouth. "Wow! It's really salty… and sweet. All at the same time. I don't know how, but it works," Cloud stated in a euphoric manner.

Sephiroth too then removed his piece from his mouth. "As I thought. You do like it. And yes, that is why I like it so much. It's a stark contrast of flavor that mixes together for a taste unlike any other," he proudly asserted before going back to work on the ice cream.

Cloud followed and began to eat his ice cream, the silence once again falling between the student and mentor. The moogle had left them to go perform some unknown task in the back. The two of them sat there, not saying another word to each other for quite some time. For Cloud, he did not know what to speak of in the moment. For Sephiroth, he just didn't care to say much else.

After some more time had passed, Cloud finished up his ice cream finally. He had wanted to eat it faster, but he tried to savor every single bite of it.

"Gosh that was the best ice cream I've ever had!" Cloud exclaimed with delight.

He turned his gaze towards Mog, who was waltzing around behind the counter area. "Uh, thank you for the food, Mog."

The small creature shifted towards him. "You're welcome, kupo!"

Sephiroth, meanwhile, had finished his off several minutes earlier and had been walking around, seemingly lost in thought. Upon seeing Cloud having finished his dessert, he finally stopped and began to walk towards the blond.

"Good, you're done now. Get ready and we'll take our leave," he said bluntly.

"Wait, that was all?" Cloud asked, feeling a bit spursed they were leaving only shortly after arriving.

"We came for ice cream, and that is what we did, correct? We will head back now and you can go home and rest for the remainder of the day," Sephiroth stated before handing money over to the Moogle.

"Oh, okay. You're right, I guess I kind of forgot that it's getting later in the day," Cloud said as he got off the seat.

"Now Cloud, if you wish to return here, you can. I will allow you to do that, especially if you keep up on your training. But if you do come back here, you need to know the password."

"The password? You mean what you whispered to that guy in the restaurant?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. He is the only one that you can tell the password, it will not mean anything to anyone else. You understand?"

Cloud gave a nod. Even though this was probably the weirdest day of his entire life, he was curious to come back again. The ice cream had been far more delicious then he ever thought it could be.

"Good. Now the password comes from a piece of literature. A piece that one of my comrades loves dearly. I myself do not find the subject matter of the story all too intriguing, but somehow one of the lines from it became what the password was. I may find it slightly deplorable, but I believe there could have been worse choices for a password."

Cloud stared and listened intently. He at first wondered who on Gaia Sephiroth could have been talking about. He hadn't expected Sephiroth to have comrades. But then he remembered the other top 1st Class; Angeal and Genesis. They probably were the comrades with Sephiroth. He also remembered having a conversation with Marcus about the three top 1st Class and that Genesis loved reading a certain book. Cloud guessed that it could very well be the same book. He decided to stay quiet and way as Sephiroth continued his talk.

"The password origins from a verse from the book LOVELESS. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Cloud shook his head.

"Either way, what you must memorize perfectly in order to get into here is a line from this book." Sephiroth paused for a moment, as if letting the excitement and tension of the moment rise higher. "The line is… 'Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess'..."

Cloud blinked a few times before speaking up. "That's it? Just the one line?"

"Yes that is correct. Now one more thing I almost forgot to mention. If you come here on your own and see others down here, do not be alarmed. My comrades also have access to this place, and from time to time come here for the same reason as me."

"You mean the other top 1st Class? Like Angeal? Does that mean I could even see Zack here? Since, you know, he is Angeal's student?"

"Only if Angeal gives him the knowledge of knowing about this place. I would not ask Zack though, if he doesn't know that means Angeal doesn't want him to know yet."

Cloud sighed a little, but did not question Sephiroth's words. He knew Sephiroth was very serious about this secret place, and if Zack didn't know, he would be extremely jealous again. He hated the thought of keeping something so cool, and almost magical, from his brother, but he didn't want to make Sephiroth disappointed. Cloud could only hope that Zack already knew, or Angeal would tell him sooner than later.

"Okay, I get it," Cloud finally said, letting Sephiroth know that he was listening.

Then without the utterance of another word, Sephiroth then turned on a dime and began to stride towards the door to leave. Cloud hurriedly followed, since he did not want to stay down there by himself, even though the prospect of having ice cream for a while was a nice thought. As Cloud was about to go through the door, he heard Mog from behind him.

"Come again, kupo!" The small moogle was waving to them as they left.

Cloud threw his hand up briefly to wave to the small, curious creature. Then the door closed and he turned his attention back in front where Sephiroth was walking.

They backtracked the way they had come in until they were back in the normal restaurant place. Cloud wanted to look at what Sephiroth was going to close and lock the place up, but decided that he should just avert his eyes. He walked around for a few seconds before turning back to see Sephiroth was done with what he was doing and handed the man back the key.

"All right, you can go on home. Anything else we will continue tomorrow. But Cloud," Sephiroth said as he turned to his student once more. "Remember, nobody is to know about this."

"Oh, yeah I understand. Don't worry I won't tell," he spoke quickly at the reminder.

Sephiroth nodded. Cloud took that as a sign to head out, so he exited the front of the restaurant and then proceeded to head on his way home. On the way, his mind was filled with thoughts and questions about the events that had taken place. He still couldn't believe it. He wished he could tell Zack. He thought maybe Zack could keep it secret as well. But for some reason, he felt as though Sephiroth would know if he told.

Cloud had just gotten back from his mission and headed down towards the SOLDIER room where he could lounge for a bit. He hoped to get at least a brief rest. He knew that the remainder of his day would be another training course with Sephiroth. He almost sighed, but kept his composure in tact.

Sephiroth. It had been three days since that peculiar encounter with the secret ice cream stowaway. Cloud had mostly pushed it out of his mind. The next day after, he had thought it was just a dream, but found that was untrue when he had awoken with the taste of sea salt still lingering in his mouth.

Not only that, but he was trying so hard to resist telling Zack about it. He thought about going there alone, but was trying to get more comfortable around others, Sephiroth being the primary subject. He knew he would have to deal with that man later on, so he tried to ease his mind some.

Just as he entered into the area, he saw none other than Marcus standing over in the corner, along with a 2nd Class SOLDIER that Cloud had never seen before. At least he was sure he hadn't, but the more he thought about it, he was sure he had seen the guy once or twice in the gym or around the building. He just didn't know the guy's name. He currently had his helmet off like Marcus had, showing the guy's rather short black hair and brown eyes. It seemed as though they were trying to keep their topic, whatever it was, to themselves. Cloud figured he should just keep to himself. However, just as he was about to sit, a voice, which he knew was Marcus, called to him.

"Hey Cloud! Long time no see. Come on over here and join in," his friend suggested, waving his hand to signal Cloud over.

Cloud gave a smile and walked over to where Marcus and the other guy were standing. Just as he got over there, Marcus clapped a hand onto Cloud's shoulder, giving him a huge grin.

"Man, it's been a little while since we've seen each other hasn't it?" Marcus started off.

"Yeah, it has. It's good to see you again," Cloud replied, nodding his head.

"And I've heard that you are now being mentored by Sephiroth!" Marcus exclaimed. "Is that really true?"

Cloud nodded again. "Yeah it is. It's still a bit strange, but I think I am getting use to it."

"Gotta say, I thought you would say it would be scary or something. Like Sephiroth… you know… cold and intimidating. It just seems so odd he would want to mentor somebody," Marcus said.

"Yeah," the other guy agreed. "Never thought the general himself would want to actually take the time to train a younger SOLDIER, or even any SOLDIER at all. But I guess that means there is more than meets the eye with him. I'm William by the way, but I prefer to be called Wei."

Cloud waved to Wei and gave a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you. I think we may have been on a mission or two together."

"I think you're right, plus you're Zack's younger brother. It's hard not to at least know of the Fair brothers," Wei replied with a short laugh.

Cloud scratched the back of his head, trying to brush off the words that Wei had spoken. He knew that he and Zack had gained some popularity since they came to Shinra, but it still surprised him when someone pointed it out. Or maybe it was a slight bit of embarrassment. Cloud wasn't fully sure which it was. "Yeah, I guess," he trailed off.

Then he continued after a brief pause. "One thing is for sure though… he's just as battle hardened as you heard. No. More so than that even."

Wei and Marcus winced at the same time. Both felt sorry for Cloud in that regard, but were also equally glad they were not in his position. It was something neither hoped they would have to experience.

"I figured that much. Remember what I told you before Cloud? Wouldn't wanna be trapped alone with that guy," Marcus spoke, thinking back to the conversation that they had before.

"Well to be fair," Cloud began. "He's not always a hard case all the time. He can be caring… in his own way. His tastes in things is definitely not something I expected," Cloud replied quickly without even thinking of what he was insinuating.

"Oh! That reminds me of what we were about to discuss, Marcus," Wei began abruptly. "It's perfect since Cloud is here too, since he knows Sephiroth better. There's a bit of an 'interesting' thing that I heard he does."

Marcus turned to the man. "Oh you're right, you did say that you had heard something about him." He then looked over at Cloud and smiled. "Guess you'll get to hear it now too."

Cloud felt himself become curious. He smiled back. "Yeah, I am wondering now what this news could be."

He had already seen how Sephiroth could show a bit more compassion than most stories made about him. Not only that, but now there was the ice cream place that the silver haired man kept secret and his love for it. At this point, Cloud didn't see how anything else about the man could be more off than that.

"Okay," Wei started, grabbing each of them and pulling them in closer. "Now, this is just a rumor I've heard, but supposedly it came straight from a member of his fan club." He now spoke in a quiet way, his voice almost down to a whisper.

The other two just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He blinked for a moment until he realized they weren't going to say anything back. He cleared his throat, preparing himself for what he was about to tell them.

"Ahem. Anyways, you notice how Sephiroth's hair is always so smooth and seemingly perfect? Despite how long it is, there never seems to be any discrepancies in it. Right Cloud?"

Marcus and Wei suddenly eyed him hard. Cloud stared back as he tried to think of a proper answer. "Umm… I guess? I didn't really pay attention to his hair that closely to be honest. I've only been his student for a few days now."

"Ah," the other two men said in unison. A little disappointed that CLoud hadn't actually noticed anything before.

"Well I'll continue," Wei said. "Word has it that he uses an entire bottle of custom made shampoo and conditioner made by Shinra for one wash. An entire bottle! So each time he washes his hair he needs another full bottle of the stuff! And supposedly it's always a different scent as people have said they can smell it when they pass him. It's the craziest thing right? So what do you guys think?"

Cloud and Marcus both looked at Wei after he finished with an astonished look adorning their faces. Marcus was the first to speak up though.

"Wait for real?! That's something I never would have expected. I mean, it doesn't seem like a big deal so I wonder why nobody knows?"

"I mean, it's Sephiroth ya know. He's serious about everything. I guess it shows that he is dedicated to everything he does," Wei replied quickly.

"That's a good point. It's still kinda hard to believe that's such a secret though," Marcus retorted and then turned to Cloud. "So, what say you Cloud?"

Cloud had been wrong. This was for sure something that was more off than he mentally conceived. He continued to stand there for a few seconds in silence, taking it all in. So now Sephiroth was very sensitive of his hair? What would be next? Cloud couldn't even fathom what other secrets Sephiroth must have held. He placed the palm of his hand over his face and sighed slightly, almost not believing what was being said. Now he really had heard it all.

"So… he cares that much about his hair?"

"Well, sure, don't we all? I mean, look at you. How does your hair spike like that all the time?" Marcus asked questioningly.

"It's always like that. Always has been. Nothing that I do changes it. But just, to hear Sephiroth is like that to such an extent… I don't even know what to think anymore…" he trailed off with a calm yet unbelieving voice.

Wei spoke up. "What? You don't think it's true? The source of information is from a valid member of fan club. I should know since I'm a mem-" He stopped abruptly, covering his mouth.

Marcus and Cloud eyed him suspiciously. "You're a member of Sephiroth's fan club?" Marcus asked, surprised at what he had almost heard, but was able to assume.

"I guess that makes sense why you seem so excited when talking about him just now," Cloud replied with a small laugh.

"Yeah yeah, I'm a member okay? The man is scary, but… I admire him a lot," Wei retorted in a defensive manner.

"Why were you so surprised though, Marcus?" Cloud asked. "Didn't you tell me you were in Angeal's fanclub?"

Marcus straightened up, staring like he had been caught red handed. He then rubbed the back of his neck and grin sheepishly. "True. Heh, I forgot I told you about that."

"Oh so we are in opposite fan clubs," Wei laughed. "Cloud, if you say you are in the Genesis fanclub, then that will really be funny."

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not in any fanclub."

"Ah, there goes that. But hey, you're close to Sephiroth all the time, right? If you don't believe it, then you can find out for us all then. If you're his student, I'm sure that he shares things with you… maybe. Come on, will you do it?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea Cloud. You're close to him. Plus I think we all wanna know. I'm sure you're curious too right?" Marcus chimed in.

It was true that Cloud was curious. Far more curious than a few minutes ago. Though, he had no idea how Sephiroth would feel about his asking something like that. On the off chance that it was true, the man was still terrifying at times. This was the same man that was so serious over ice cream, so there was no telling how he would be with talking about his hair. But, Cloud knew these guys would not give up. He looked back and forth between them before sighing heavily.

"Fine… I'll try to ask him, I guess. In a way, I think I can understand being fascinated by him. My brother and I were as well when we were younger," Cloud finally answered.

The two men grinned happily, Wei being the more excited of the two. "All right! That's great to hear. Hopefully you can find out soon."

"Yeah, just let us know man," Marcus added in, clearly excited but trying to contain it.

"Sure thing," Cloud replied calmly. "I just hope he's not gonna kill me over it…" he muttered to himself under a hushed breath while he thought of how to bring up the subject.

More randomness about Sephiroth, but hey it is a true thing stated in CC about his hair. Either way hope you all enjoyed! Thanks again for all your support!