I don't think I'd ever been so disappointed in my entire life. I drop my bergen on the ground beside the table and take a seat across from the four unknown recruits. Light throws herself down to my left and Chris to my right. We let out a unanimous sigh and I rest my forehead on the metallic table in exhaustion, but also in the hope they wouldn't talk to me. I don't think I had it in me to pretend to be happy for them. To think this was just a warm up exercise during our first week didn't bode well for what was to come.
"How?" I hear Light demand bluntly. I knew she wasn't going to let this drop.
"That's our secret," one of the boys who hadn't identified himself yet replies.
"At least tell us your reward was," Chris asks.
"We get the weekend off. We just can't leave Midgar," Cissnei answers with an upbeat tone.
The four of use groan in unison at the realisation of what we'd missed out on. Part of me wanted to ask how much they'd beaten us by, but another part of me knew I'd probably regret finding out the answer. Awkward silence smothered the room briefly, but it was quickly shattered with the door of the mess hall bursting open, making me jump and turn to look. Captain MacMillan marched in with a mixture of concern and annoyance in his expression. He pauses for a moment as if deciding what to do with us before finally speaking.
"This is your lucky day, recruits. It seems this simple task was far too much for some of you and some of the groups have gotten into bother. One group got attacked by monsters and ended up getting hurt and another of the recruits has dislocated his knee doing something stupid no doubt. By the time I've organised teams to collect them and gone through them mountain of paperwork they've caused me it will be the end of the day. As such, you may have the rest of the day off with very strict rules. You do not leave Midgar and you are to back in sector six by 1800 hours. If I get back to find ANY of you have gotten into trouble in my absence I will throw you off this course. Is that understood?!"
"Yes, sir!" The entire table shouts in reply.
"Captain Jackson is who you're to report to with any issues in my absence,"
Captain MacMillan glares for a moment, making sure he looked every one of us in the eye before leaving. We wait for the mess hall doors to shut behind him and then the excitable chaos ensued.
"This is perfect!" Chris shouts down my ear, "We all going to sector eight, or what?!"
"Maybe after a shower," I answer, glancing down at my dirty hands and the dried blood on my arm.
"Yeah, you're probably right. What about you, Farron? Coming for a look around." Chris asks the pinkette.
"Maybe later on. There's something I need to do first,," Light told him.
"I think I'll be doing the same, so maybe I'll see you guys there," Cissnei tells us with a bright smile.
Everyone stood up from the mess table and gathered up there bergens before heading upstairs to our dorms. My bed had never looked so comfortable, but I resist the urge to lay down on it in fear of not getting back up. On it lay a fresh uniform all folded neatly and a white envelope on my pillow. I open it with curiosity and read through it. It talked about our rate of pay at 125 gil per week, increasing to 175 upon completion of basic training which I knew already, as well ask family and marriage quarters costs. After reading a few more sentences, I decide there was nothing more important in the letter and leave it on my bed for another time. All I was looking forward to now was a shower.
I make my way out of the dorm and head over to the shower block with my new uniform in hand. I collect a towel from the racking and place my new uniform on the benches that ran down the middle of the large, tiled room. My whole body groaned as I struggled to get my old uniform off, but when it was I could see the extent of my injuries. The deep cut on my arm had clotted and started to scab over, no doubt ready to form into the first of many scars. What hurt the most though was my ribs that where bruised from my armpit to the centre of my chest.
Throwing my towel over the edge of the shower cubicle, I twist the silver tap and a stream of hot water bursts from the shower head, raining down bliss from above. Closing my eyes, I let the water wash over my battered body and empty my mind of everything. It was so comfortable I could have slept, stood up in the shower, but I was interested to see Midgar. After all, I may one day need to know the ins and outs of it as a SOLDIER operative.
Reluctantly I get out of the shower and wrap the towel around my waist. The hot water had eased my aching body somewhat, and I'm grateful for it when I dry off and get changed with relative ease. I head back towards the corridor to find Alex and Chris leaving it with their clothes in hand, presumably to have a shower like I did. Knowing I'd be waiting on them, I return to our dorm and lay down on the bed I'd thought about all day..
"Wake up, sleeping beauty!" Chris startles me as he gently slaps my face. Must've fell asleep…
"Come on, we've got some exploring to do!"Alex agrees as I climb out of bed. "I think Cissnei is waiting for us in the mess hall."
The three of us leave our dorm room in high spirits, eager to see what Midgar had to offer. Hopefully more than cheap alcohol like these two were hoping for. I make it half way down the stairs when I remember I don't have my bank card. I wasn't going to get very far without that.
"I'll catch up. I've forgot my money," I tell them as I rush back upstairs.
I burst back into my room and take out the file I was given when I officially signed on and dig out a shiny, black card with a small chip on one side and the Shinra logo on the other. I read the paperwork that came with it to find my default pin number and head out into the corridor with a thousand gil in my pocket. Shutting the door behind me, I turn to the stairs when I hear muffled sniffing from Farron's door, directly opposite.
"Light, are you coming with us?" I ask after knocking on her door.
"No!" She shouts back.
It was only a single word reply, but it was enough for me to figure out she was crying. I knew she was competitive, but I couldn't imagine her crying over coming second in a training exercise. I couldn't imagine the pinkette crying over anything, so whatever it is, it must be serious.
"Are you decent?" I ask through the door.
Light barely gets the word yes out when I open her door to find her sat on her bed with paperwork scattered all around her. The pinkette's stoic expression had gone and her icy blue eyes were red with tears. She quickly turns her back to me and does her best to wipe her eyes as he hides from my gaze.
"Is this about not winning the exercise? It's not your fault, Light."
"It's nothing to do with that stupid task!" She roars with a venomous tone.
"Then what?" I ask softly, not put off by her outburst.
She says nothing and hands me a couple of pieces of paper that I read through. I recognise it immediately as the information in the envelope that was left on my pillow, but I'm still none the wiser as to why she was so upset by it. I figured we all knew how much our pay was before we even signed up and she was far too young to be worried about marriage quarters.
"I don't know what I'm gonna do, Cloud. She can't end up on the streets, she just can't..." Light says as she paces the floor.
"Who can't? Slow down and start from the beginning," I tell her, grabbing her softly by the shoulders to keep her still so she would look at me.
"I have a little sister, Cloud. I'm her guardian and I need to look after her. The money I make during the twelve weeks basic training isn't enough to cover the cost of the family quarters… The recruitment officer said it would be.. He must have lied to get me to sign up, that bastard! Serah's only got twelve weeks and then she's nowhere to live. I-" She explains erratically.
It all made sense now. Why she got so angry at the mention of her mother and for leaving such a beautiful place like Costa Del Sol to live here. She really was doing to for the money to look after her sister. I wanted to be sure I understood properly, but I couldn't bring myself to ask if her parent's are dead. It was hard enough for my mother to raise me on her own, but to have no parents at fifteen and a younger sister… Light had the whole world on her shoulders and said nothing..
"I was gonna go and see her, but how can I face her now?" She asks with a sadness in her face I never thought she was capable of.
"How much are you short by?" I ask, trying to determine the facts from her heartbroken ramblings.
"Five hundred gil..." Light sighs in despair and slumps back onto the bed.
"I'll give you the money," I tell her, making her eyes shoot up to me.
"I'm really not in the mood for jokes," the pinkette frowns at me.
"I'm serious," I reply. "I've got more money in my pocket than I'd ever hope to spend. All I'm bothered about is becoming a hero- I mean, SOLDIER
"I couldn't take money from you.. It wouldn't be right."
"You're not taking it. I'm giving it to you," I try to convince her.
"…..Why would you help me? You've known me for less than a week," the pinkette narrows her gaze as if I was trying to trick her.
"There's some things in life you just do," I shrug. "We're friends, right?"
The pinkette stares at me for a moment before standing up and hugging me tightly, burying her head in my shoulder. I'm taken back by her embrace and listen to her muffled promise to pay me back. Light lets go of me and takes a step back. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying, but her expression was happy. I feel my face burn as I look at her smile and quickly turn around.
"You should go tell your sister the good news. I'll go get your gil," I tell her as I head towards the door.
"Why don't you come with me?" Light blurts out as my hand grips the door handle. "I can show you some of the city."
"You sure?" I question, not wanting to intrude.
"Positive."
I leave her room and wait in the corridor for her to get ready. It doesn't take her long to emerge from her dorm, sporting a fresh uniform and an uneasy look, as if I was about to take back my offer at any moment. It was true that I enjoyed knowing I had all of that money in the bank, but having never had any before, I didn't really have anything to spend it on. I couldn't buy myself into SOLDIER, but I could make small steps to becoming the hero I promised Tifa I'd become.
"Are you really sure about this, Cloud?" Light asks me nervously. "I'm not your burden."
"You'd be doing me a favour," I reply, thinking about the state I'd be in if Chris had his way and we spent it all on alcohol.
Light looks at me with a confused frown at the lack of detail in my answer, but she doesn't press the matter. Following her lead, the pair of us head out of the barracks to find the others had given in waiting for me and were no doubt half way to sector eight by now. We walk across the parade yard, passing the bell I thought we rung victoriously and head towards the gate.
"I booked my sister into a hotel near a school in sector seven. All of the money I had paid for her to stay and eat there for twelve weeks. I figured it would be enough until I completed basic training and put a deposit down on family quarters. There's a certain percentage of low cost houses in each sector allocated for Shinra security force members and their families. I applied for one in sector seven for when my basic training is over, but it cost more than the recruitment officer told me. Must've seen me coming a mile away..."
"Don't dwell on it. You had no reason to doubt him," I reply, hoping to cheer her up. "So what's her name?"
"Serah. She's twelve," She answers.
The pair of us make our way to the sector six gate and I can't help but laugh at the pinkette who hadn't forgotten about the guard who stopped us. She scowls at him, never breaking eye contact until we cleared the checkpoint. The man must have been twice our size but he keeps his head down until she passes.
"Shit!" Light shouts as if she'd forgotten something.
"What's up?"
"Serah doesn't finish school for hours," the rose haired girl tells me.
"Why don't we head into sector eight then while we wait?" I suggest. "I can find an ATM and we can take a look around."
"That's not a bad idea. Besides, I want to know how that girl got back before us.."
Still bitter about Cissnei's victory, she heads towards sector eight like I suggest. I set off after the pinkette, but I hold a few steps back, examining her. She walked with authority and purpose everywhere she went. Her head was always held high and her icy gaze always focused. Even after such a short time of knowing her, I was positive she had no clue about relaxing or what the word slouch meant.
Eventually, we reach the sector eight gate and head inside. I stop in my tracks at the vastness of the place that overloads my senses. I could hear music coming from every direction and the smell of food coming from a dozen different restaurants and bars that lined the streets. A sudden jerk pulls me a to the left and I look to find Light shaking her head and pointing to the road I was stood on. Large billboards line a street in the distance, and one in particular caught my eye. Loveless? Sounds depressing..
Another one done. Next chapter is going to be more story driven and less army stuff. Cissnei is a Turk in crisis, core, but this story starts a little earlier than that. I'm planning on taking some elements and missions from Before Crisis once I've found translations im happy with.
I did consider them winning as they're both very capable characters. I decided to make them suffer a bit first, and it gave the the opportunity to introduce Cissnei, who will play a much bigger part in the story for one of them. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Let me know what you think!