Riku: I have no idea what to start off with this time lol

tmart: Do what you always do, and thank everyone.

Riku: Oh yeah! As always big thanks to all of you for reading this story! It means a lot to us!

tmart: Yes we really do. Now we hope you enjoy the chapter!

Ch. 38

The next few days flew by in no time at all. Cloud was patiently waiting for his brother outside of the Shinra building, as they were going to hang out for the first time in a while. Both had been quite busy as of late, so this was a welcome opportunity for the both of them. Zack would be there soon so Cloud hoped he would not be waiting much longer. However, the more time that passed, the more his thoughts shifted to something else.

As Cloud stood there waiting, he started thinking about what had happened a couple of days prior. "I still haven't asked Sephiroth that yet. I know I told them I would do it but it just seems… odd. I mean, how do you ask a grown man about his hair? Why did I agree to do it… If I don't, they'll probably not like me then… and I don't want that."

His mind swarmed with worry over the situation and contemplation on what to do. "Oh, maybe I could ask Cissnei. She's a girl so maybe she might know how to go about something like that? That would give me a reason to see her again too, and sooner than we talked about." He grinned widely, knowing he could take care of two things at once.

After thinking about it for a few more seconds, the smile slowly started to fade as he realized something. Cissnei was not going to be back for a couple of more days because she was away on a mission with some of the other Turks. Disappointment boiled up inside of him at his recalling that fact. He then hung his head and closed his eyes, trying to think of what he could do now.

"You're not falling asleep on me are you?"

The voice startled Cloud as he looked up to see his brother standing right beside him. "Oh hey Zack. And uh, no, I'm not. Just was thinking…"

"Hmm…" Zack hummed thoughtfully as he leaned in close to Cloud's face. "And what would you be thinking about then? Could it be… Cissnei?"

"Wh-What?!" Cloud shouted. He immediately covered his mouth, wondering if any people passing by had heard him. "Why would you say that?"

"Because," Zack leaned in further, a large grin spreading across his face. "Who else do you space out thinking about? Besides… you're blushing."

Cloud sneered at him and looked away. "N-Not funny!"

Zack wrapped an arm around Cloud and pulled him in close. With his other hand he ruffled Cloud's hair. "I've told you before, yeah it is funny! You cannot escape the torment of the teasing older brother!"

"Yeah yeah, you just wait when I grow taller than you, then we'll see how funny it is," Cloud let out a huff as he spoke.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Zack asked he loomed over Cloud. As the year had progressed, their heights were now several inches apart. But even with that, Zack stood on the balls of his feet to look like he was even taller than he already was to Cloud.

Cloud raised himself up as well to try to match Zack's eye level as much as he could. "You could call it that," he said with a wry smile before he started to chuckle at both of their antics.

"Hey, who knows," Zach laughed. "Maybe by your 14th birthday you will finally grow out of your 'beanpole' phase."

The two of them continued to laugh at each other, enjoying the reprieve they had at the time. It wasn't often they were able to spend so much time together anymore, but they took the time they had and made good use of it. The laughter rang out for some time as they made their trek back to the apartment. Once there, the two of them immediately plopped down to relax.

"It's nice that we can get times like this, especially with our work being so busy," Zack stated as he raised his head upward, seemingly in thought.

Cloud looked over at him. "Yeah, it's nice I agree," Cloud began.

After a few seconds, he continued. "Zack. There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about, or ask you about… if you don't mind."

"Oh? Well, you know you can ask me anything," Zack told him as he sat up in his seat. Before Cloud could even speak, Zack continued. "Wait… is this maybe about Cissnei again, huh?" he asked, teasing his little brother with a joking tone in his voice.

"No no no. Come on Zack, stop it!" Cloud pleaded loudly, signs of exasperation etched on his face.

"Yeah, I know I know. Okay, what is it really Cloud?" Zack leaned a bit closer to Cloud.

Cloud had a feeling that once he told Zack this, that his older brother was most likely going to laugh. Or maybe he wouldn't believe him at first. Honestly though, he would not be able to blame him if he did, considering the validity of the question is all based on what Cloud had witnessed thus far from Sephiroth. He breathed in sharply and tried to prepare his words.

"So, I uh, heard a rumor about Sephiroth. I wanted to ask him myself, but I'm not really sure how to go about it. The rumor is… rather strange."

Zack raised an eyebrow. Clearly this was not what he was expecting to hear. "A rumor? About Sephiroth? The Sephiroth?"

"Yes him. Now are you going to listen or just ask the obvious questions?" Cloud replied as he crossed his arms.

"Sorry, go on then."

"The rumor is… is that Sephiroth apparently uses a full bottle of shampoo and conditioner each day to wash his hair. And that it has some special scent."

Zack looked at Cloud, taking in the information. After he let Cloud finished he took another moment to figure out what he wanted to say. "Isn't that like, something someone from his fanclub would say?"

"That's actually where I heard this. This guy Wei, who I have gone on a few missions with before, was telling me some days ago. He's in Sephiroth's fanclub so he knows these things," Cloud said. "Both Marcus and he wanted me to find out since I'm Sephiroth's student."

Zack leaned back on the couch. He looked like he was in deep thought, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. He hummed quietly before opening his eyes. He chuckled, cracking a smile. "That does sound like quite the strange rumor. Sephiroth using fancy shampoo to wash his hair… Ha! That sounds hilarious to think about!"

"Shhh," Cloud hushed Zack. "Not so loud. I don't want others hearing this."

"Why? You said it came from a member of his fanclub. If it's from there, a lot of people know this rumor," Zack said.

"Oh… that's true I guess. But still… how do I go about asking Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"Wait, you're serious? You're really going to go up to him and ask 'Hey Sephiroth, your hair is really great. Can you tell me what you use to wash it?'"

Cloud couldn't help but snicker back. Something about how Zack acted when he said it made it feel more silly than it already sounded. "Not like that at least. But if I were to ask him, you have any idea how I would do it?"

"Nope," Zack answered honestly. "Last time I saw the guy I froze up. I was so nervous in his presence. I wouldn't even have any idea how to ask him about his hair."

"Ah… oh well. It's a pretty weird thing to ask anyways. I probably shouldn't try to ask him," Cloud said as he slumped his shoulders. "But Marcus and Wei really wanted me to ask him…"

"Hey," Zack started, placing a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "If they are your friends, they'll understand if you don't wanna ask him."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I was just overthinking all of this," Cloud replied.

Zack nodded. "Now come on, how about we play a game or something. We gotta have fun with our free time together, not gossip about Sephiroth's hair care."

Cloud had just finished up with the training simulation for the day. Sephiroth had wanted him to just practice some techniques for the day, not only with his sword, but finally with some materia. There were no monsters he had fought this time, so things were normal. Well, as normal as they could get in comparison. The materia practice had gone well as Cloud was just learning how to use them. He hoped that he would get to do more of that later.

"That was quite impressive Cloud. Your affinity with materia is much higher than most, which is good. We will practice on that again at some point," Sephiroth stated as Cloud started to walk toward him.

"Okay then that sounds good. I would like that," Cloud replied.

He stared up at Sephiroth, and then threw a glance towards his smooth hair. As soon as he detected his eyes on him though, Cloud averted his gaze. He still had not asked Sephiroth yet. He mulled over the decision in his mind, almost too embarrassed to ask. He still could not decide what to do. Originally he had thought he would not ask at all, but ever so often the thought of asking came to his mind again.

"Cloud. I wasn't going to say anything, but over the past few days, you've been randomly staring at me. I get that you were a fan, but is there something else?"

Cloud blinked. "Wait what? You think… I am one of your fans?"

"Well it's the logical conclusion that I came to based on your reaction. Is it not true?" Sephiroth asked calmly.

"Uh… I don't know exactly. I'm not like in the fanclub… but when I was young, Zack and I always looked up to you. But I'm sure you know many kids do when they are young," Cloud said. He lowered his head, not making eye contact with Sephiroth. He almost felt embarrassed, but he was trying his best to not show any of that.

"I see," Sephiroth began. "I've heard many say they aspire to be like me. I don't really care though nonetheless. But if it's not about just me, then it's something else…"

"Something else?" Cloud ended up asking without thinking. It wasn't that he was trying to play dumb, it was only a little bit of his natural curiousity to ask.

Sephiroth had been thinking for a few seconds before finally speaking up again. "I see now. Cloud, this is about the silly rumors for my hair right?" he spoke with an air of confidence.

"What? H-How did you know it was about that?" Cloud asked, clearly surprised by Sephiroth blunt ask about it. It was clear Sephiroth knew about the fanclub and how others perceived him, but Cloud did not expect Sephiroth to out right state one of the rumors.

"Well to be fair, it was just a hunch on my end considering that I have heard some whispers about those rumors. I honestly do not understand how I take care of my hair could be such an interesting topic to anyone. Besides…" he began as he smirked. "You just confirmed to me what your burning question was about anyways."

Cloud rubbed a hand against his face. He started to feel more embarrassed than he did before. Now Sephiroth had called him out on what he was thinking. And it was such a silly subject to be thinking about. Had he really just gotten into a conversation with Sephiroth about his hair? Cloud originally would have doubted that ever could happen, but now he was always trying to expect unexpected things.

"Ah… It's not really about that." He paused for a moment. He saw no point in trying to lie. "Okay… it was actually what I was thinking. Sorry if it is weird…"

"You do not have to worry. There are always many rumors about me or another 1st class. While I still do not see why it is so fascinating to some to learn about my hair, I do not see it as weird. Curiosity is a natural human instinct, and there are those who do not know how to control it and let it get the best of them."

Cloud looked at Sephiroth, partly relieved he was not cross or annoyed by his thoughts on the rumor. But there was still a bit of wavering concern if he was disappointed or not. "Is it bad that I am curious then? Cause I couldn't help, but to keep wondering about it?"

"You are better than others. Those who are far too curious for their own good would snoop around to find the answer, or even possibly confront me to ask. You were good in keeping it contained until I confronted you about the subject."

Cloud breathed out a long sigh of relief. He was happy that Sephiroth was not upset at him, though it still never did answer the question. Though… if they were on the subject… Cloud wondered if it would be okay to bring it up. Sephiroth only thought it was odd that people wanted to know about his hair. He did not seem offended by it from the sound of it.

Cloud cleared his throat. "Yeah… so since we were already talking about it. Uh, I really wanted to know. Those rumors. Are they actually, you know, true?"

He stumbled with his words, not really knowing how to ask. A sign of relief uttered from his mouth, and a feeling of anxiousness welled up in the pit of his stomach as he had no idea what Sephiroth might say.

Sephiroth stared at him. He did not answer immediately, which only built up the tension even more. His eyes slowly narrowed, though a faint chuckle could be heard. "Do not try and press your luck, Cloud. Just because I initiated the conversation on this subject, does not mean you will get your answers. Your courage to ask though is commendable though."

"Oh, um, okay then. Sorry for trying to pry," Cloud spoke quickly and apologetically.

He honestly hoped that he would be able to garner some answers from the man, but it seemed there were some secrets that he kept closer guard on than others. He would just tell the others that he was not able to find out anything, though he was sure they would be disappointed. If he were honest, he was also a bit let down after having gone through all of the trouble to try to ask. He decided to leave the training room for the day as Sephiroth remained there in the same spot.

tmart: So it looks like we might never know the truth about Sephiroth's hair

Riku: Haha. Probably not. But that at least ends the silliness and randomness for now.

tmart: Yes for now. But there will surely be more to come later. When we are able to get another chapter done, which might be a bit longer btw

Riku: Yeah, just some vacation stuff, but there may be updates here and there if we can.