Sun and Shadow
Chapter 4: Dreams
By Sephiroth 4000
They never thought that he might watch them.
Of course, that was the point. SOLDIER cadets might get nervous if they
knew the Great General, THE First Class SOLDIER, Sephiroth himself, were
watching.
He simply observed them from above the
training field, moving quietly along the shadowed balcony. About twelve boys sweated at their labours
in the hot summer sun, tussling with each other, struggling to reach their
objective.
The bottle of cool icy water kept perfectly frozen at the end of several
obstacle courses. These included the
usual monkey bars, tyres, pools of water etc, but what wasn't so conventional
were the traps each boy was allowed to implant before the race started. Even as his amused eyes tracked their progress,
one boy fell on his face after running into a near invisible knee high
wire. He went tumbling wildly in the
dust, blonde spikes in a total disarray.
The boys after him took note; each of them took a neat leap over the
wire. From being first, the blonde boy
had gone to being far behind last, falling two levels down below. He doggedly climbed to his feet and tore
wearily up to catch up with the other cadets.
Too late; too much effort. Several of
the boys lay sprawled in the dust while the dark haired victor laughed, took a
long drink, and flung some of the chilly water on his exhausted comrades.
Their commander gestured for them to come, and all traces of amusement left
Sephiroth's face. It was time for this
group to have their first infusion of Mako.
He started, blinking furiously.
Azure eyes shadowed, he continued eating the rest of his breakfast, a
simple meal of cereal and juice. It
reminded him of his childhood in Nibelheim actually; Cloud's mother was a late
riser, and he was an early one. She had
told him he got that from his father.
Perhaps Tifa would like some breakfast.
Today was a strange day. He still had
not shaken off the odd feeling of detachment he had woken with. And the peculiar sourceless light coming
from the overcast sky didn't help.
. . . .He hated days like this.
Perhaps it was merely because on cloudy days, all the children of Nibelheim
were forced to stay close to the villiage.
After all, the area was notorious for the lightning quick flash floods
during the frequent storms; it was only during those rare sunny days that Cloud
was able to escape the confines of the disapproving stares.
"I heard he's a bastard."
"That woman. . .she just walked into town one day, and payed an exorbient sum
for that house. . .It used to belong to that old man. . .heard he left for Mideel."
"It's no secret that they don't know who his father is."
". . . .Bastard. . ."
And the blonde boy had simply hunched his shoulders, bowed down by the
weight of the censorious stares, and the constant whispering. No one ever said anything to him. . .they
were all kind weren't they?
"It's alright honey, don't listen to them. . .It doesn't matter. . .Your
father was an honourable man. . ."
"Why don't I have a dad, mommy?"
"He had to go
far far away, Cloud. But he promised
me. . .He promised that he would come back when it was all over. . We've got to
take care of each other, alright?."
"And Cloud, you take care of yourself. . .I feel it. It feels like I'm being led by something. Then, I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over."
He jerked up, and away from
those untouched memories. I. . .I
don't want to remember this. . .He was choking on the memories of his past;
he couldn't breathe; he had to. . .
With a hard squeal against the polished floor, he shoved back his chair,
almost running to the kitchen.
He had to make breakfast for Tifa.