Elitist
"Block to your left, Lieutenant! No, your left! LEFT!"
Luckily for the man, Sephiroth pulled his attack at the last second and only gave him a neat cut on his arm instead of nearly cutting it off.
"Ifrit's flaming balls!" Zack yelled. He'd had about enough of this.
Zack ran over to where the Lieutenant was standing, staring at Sephiroth.
"Damn it! What part of 'left' don't you understand?!"
The Lieutenant looked scared. "S-sir…I…"
"If he hadn't pulled that blow, it would've taken your arm clean off," Zack said, speaking in a lower tone, so only the Lieutenant and Sephiroth could hear him. "What if that had been a real fight?"
"Someday you might have to fight an enemy stronger than you are, and you can't let it affect you so much that you don't think about what you're doing." Zack gestured to Sephiroth. "I know he's intimidating, and you were probably thinking about all the letters you were going to write home about how you fought 'The Great Sephiroth' and blah blah blah, but you're in SOLDIER now and one of these days you're going to have to stop creaming your pants and fight."
It looked like he'd rendered the Lieutenant speechless. Good. Maybe he'd think about what Zack had just said, then.
Zack heard Sephiroth sheath his sword.
"Fall in!" Sephiroth yelled.
The new SOLDIERs made a hasty formation in front of Sephiroth and Zack took up his position in the back.
"You are all worthless," Sephiroth said. "Every one of you. Out of all of you here, there isn't one who's able to take me on. Not one!"
Ah, so the cold bastard had finally come out. Zack had been wondering how long this charade was going to go on, before Sephiroth got pissed.
"I don't know why you decided to join SOLDIER, but if you did it to see your 'hero' up close, then take a good look and leave! I do not have the time nor the patience to deal with such frivolity. So, you will either get over this hero-worship, or you will remove yourself from my command. Do I make myself clear?"
No one said a thing and Zack could feel the tension in the air. No doubt, half of them had just shit their pants at the look Sephiroth was giving them.
"I said, 'do I make myself clear?'!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
Sephiroth resumed the usual cool, aloof demeanor he had when dealing with the troops. "Now then, who's next?"
"I'll give it a go," Zack said. "Show 'em how it's done."
Sephiroth looked at him through the formation. "You mean you'll show them how to lose."
Ooooh, had Sephiroth just taunted him? Zack grinned wickedly and walked around the formation, so he stood near Sephiroth. This looked like it would be fun.
"I wouldn't count your chocobos before they've hatched, General."
Sephiroth regarded him coolly, as if he were completely unfazed by anything Zack might say. "Then may I count the times my sword slices your flesh?"
"That'd be too easy," Zack said. "Zero!"
The Lieutenants looked like they weren't sure if they should laugh or be completely shocked that someone was talking to The General like this.
"It seems you have a death wish," Sephiroth said, and Zack noticed the amusement in his eyes.
"It seems you have an ego problem," Zack replied.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. Zack was walking the line and he knew it.
Sephiroth looked at the formation. "Fall out."
They all backed up and some moved to get a better view. Zack noticed some worried looks; they obviously thought he was about to be murdered for that remark.
Sephiroth drew his sword with a flourish. Zack knew he was well aware of how striking he looked when he did that. Sephiroth might not be arrogant, but he was anything but modest; he knew very well how good he was and wasn't above showing off every once and awhile.
"Enough talk," Sephiroth said.
Zack drew his own sword and slid into a fighting stance. "Bring it on!"
They circled, eyeing each other, and Zack tried to form a strategy in his mind. He would have to move quickly and try to take Sephiroth by surprise; that was the only chance he had.
When Sephiroth's back was to the group, he gave Zack a small smile and gestured toward himself with two fingers. He wanted Zack to have the first attack.
Zack flashed him a grin and ran at him. He drove his sword point into the ground just in front of Sephiroth, used it as leverage, and flipped over Sephiroth to land behind him.
Sephiroth whirled and met his blade in its downward stroke and pushed him back.
Again, and again, wherever he went, Sephiroth was there to meet him.
He backed off and circled again, catching his breath and at the same time trying to gauge what Sephiroth would do. If he went on the offensive, Zack knew he was done for. The sheer speed of Sephiroth's attacks would wear him out and force him to drop his guard.
But so far Sephiroth had been hanging back and letting him attack, playing with him. He could tell that Sephiroth wasn't serious, because if he were, Zack would have at least been bleeding by this point.
Sephiroth watched him patiently for a moment, as if waiting for him to catch his breath and then came at him.
Sephiroth pounded him, raining blow after blow upon him, until he no longer had the strength to block them.
He fell onto his back and Sephiroth shifted his attack, so his sword went into the ground an inch or so from him, instead of through his shoulder. Sephiroth paused in the act of retrieving it and offered Zack his hand.
Zack took it and Sephiroth helped him to his feet. They backed away from each other and Zack saluted with his weapon.
Sephiroth returned it and then turned to the group. "That," he said, "is how a SOLDIER should fight. Dismissed."
The group went their separate ways.
As soon as there was no one around, Zack sank to the ground, letting his exhaustion show. "Damn, Seph…You tired me out."
Sephiroth sat down beside him. "Are you injured?"
"Nah," Zack replied. Sephiroth always made sure of that after every time they sparred, since he actually had injured Zack once.
Sephiroth nodded once. "I am grateful you stepped up," he said. "Someone needed to show them the proper way to fight, and I can think of no one better."
Zack smiled. "Heh, thanks," he said. "That means a lot coming from you, you elitist bastard."
Sephiroth smiled a little. "I merely appreciate a quality individual."
Zack coughed. "I appreciate big glasses of water," he said. "I don't suppose you happen to have any of those."
"No," Sephiroth said, standing, "But I know of a place that does."
Zack pushed himself up. "Then lead the way!"
