Yo, minna!  Many, many thanks to all you lovely souls who reviewed my fic.  I'm gonna try to reply to all of you, if I can.  PLEASE keep bugging me to work on my fic!  I really wanna finish this one and leave no one hanging, 'cause I hate being left hanging myself!  So!  On to the part you all really came here to see!  Chi to Ase to Namida, Part two!!!!

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Cloud swung his sheathed sword to his back, and followed Zack out.  Then he gawked at what Zack had taken to get to Barracks Building G.

That had to be the most monstrous looking motorcycle he'd ever seen.  It was in beautiful condition and all, but it was huge!  And it had spikes.

Cloud practically drooled.

"He really is somethin', ain't he?"  Zack asked, with a fair amount of pride.  "He's all the transportation I had, today.  My roommate's got our jeep.  Hope you don't mind riding behind.  Or without a helmet.  Didn't think to bring another, curse it."  Truth was, Zack wanted to see what Cloud's reaction would be to going dangerously fast on such a vehicle, without even the minimal protection of a helmet.  So far, he wasn't disappointed.

Cloud shook his head.  "I don't mind," he said, not noticing the hint of breathless reverence that crept into his voice.  He couldn't wait to ride it, to feel all of that power between his legs, to hear the roar of the bike's engine, and the shriek of the wind past him, ruffling his hair.

In a daze, he climbed on behind Zack.  Then his daze evaporated as the engine growled, and Zack started them off.

Zack was paying close attention to Cloud's reactions.  He kept his eyes on the road, but, with Cloud sitting behind him, he didn't need to look at him.  Cloud's hands and arms tensed around him, either in fear or exhilaration.  As Cloud's grip remained tight, Zack became more and more convinced it was fear, which was disappointing.  If Cloud couldn't take a little thing like going fast…

Then Cloud started to laugh.  It wasn't even really a laugh, more a whoop of exultation.  Zack hazarded a quick glance at his passenger, and smiled despite himself at the look on Cloud's face.  The boy was flushed and grinning ear to ear, his spiky blond hair whipping in the wind of their passage.

/Well,/ thought Zack.  /I guess I've found something he really likes./  Zack had noticed that Cloud was mostly very withdrawn and emotionally level.  He'd been watching the boy for almost four months, now, ever since he'd caught sight of him coolly rejecting that scummy Captain Banford.  Most normal troopers would swallow their pride and allow the officer to have his way for fear of what he might do to them.  Some would even jump at the opportunity, seeing it as a way to get promotions.  But Cloud had rejected him out of hand, which had sparked an interest in Zack.  But in all those four months of watching, which had been nearly from the week Cloud arrived in Midgar, Zack had seen Cloud only get really emotional a handful of times.

That was what had surprised Zack most about the mood Cloud had been in the night he decided to talk to him.  The only feelings he had seen consistently in Cloud were determination, disdain, and explosive fury.  That cold, unyielding anger had chilled Zack to the core.  It had reminded him almost uncannily of Sephiroth.

/Great.  Just what I need, two Sephiroths to ride heard on./

At least he'd found something to help the boy let off steam.  About the only things that helped Seph were a sparring session, a mission, or a meeting with the Shinra executives.  He came back from those either laughing his ass off, or entirely ready to vent his anger by screaming at the top of his lungs, and ranting.

And, of course, there were the infrequent nights when they shared not only room, but bed as well.  They truly were uncommon, but they were good for both of them, and Zack wasn't about to stop them.  Maybe one day when he got a real, honest-to-the-Planet girlfriend, but until then…

And having Cloud being so uninhibited and pressed so tightly to his back was threatening his sanity enough that he might just see if Sephiroth was up for one of their 'sessions'.

/Joy.  The things I have to suffer through.  Oh, woe is me./  But there was no real heat behind the thought.  Actually, if he'd seen any indication of Cloud leaning that way, he might have been tempted to try, despite the boy's age.  In Midgar, you grew up quick, or not at all.  Cloud might have come from Hickville, but he'd survived this long, and always seemed much older than he really was.  Besides, there was only a seven year age difference between them….

/Aw, man!  I really gotta stop thinking this shit!/

*     *     *

Zack sighed and shifted in his chair again.  They had been waiting over an hour to get in to get Cloud's pass.  Zack wouldn't have minded if it hadn't been for the fact that the waiting area was nearly empty.  There was no excuse for it taking an hour to process four people.  And Zack was going to be sure that heads rolled for this.  Efficiency was extremely important in a military installation.  Besides, it would be better for these losers if he was the one to come down on them, than to let Sephiroth hear about it.  Then heads would literally roll.

Finally, a skinny, unpleasant man who had tin-pot official written all over him came out.  He sniffled, then began to speak in a decidedly unpleasant nasal voice, which made Zack long to hear Sephiroth's beautiful baritone.  "If you'll just come this way, I guess I have time to handle whatever you want, now."  He pushed his glasses up his skinny nose.

For the time being, Zack quietly followed.  He had been impressed with the patience Cloud had displayed so far.  But Zack was getting very pissed with this slimy scum-bag, and wasn't going to hide it much longer.

"So," said the skinny man in his whiny voice.  "What is it you wanted?"

Zack smiled pleasantly.  "I would like a pass so my friend here can get into the SOLDIER sector."

"Ahem.  Well, I'm very sorry.  Just because you're in SOLDIER doesn't mean I can just give you a pass for your girlfriend, here."

Zack looked at Cloud.  A small muscle twitched in Cloud's eyebrow.  "Excuse me, but I am not his girlfriend."

"Oh, a whore.  Even worse."

Cloud's eyes narrowed dangerously.  His voice when he spoke had dropped an octave, a sure sign of his anger.  "I am one, not a girl, and two, not a whore.  I am Shinra military.  Can you even see my uniform?"

The bureaucrat's hazy eyes widened.  "Oh, terribly sorry for the mix up.  But I'm afraid even a SOLDIER doesn't have the authority to just get you a pass.  There's paperwork, and it all must be done through official channels…"

Zack was getting tired of this, so he decided to pull rank, though he'd wanted to wait until later to spring that on Cloud.  "Do you know who I am?"

The skinny snot waved a hand dismissively.  "All you SOLDIERs are the same; you think you have more power than you do.  I'm sorry, but you're still going to have to do all the paperwork."

Zack shook his spiky head.  "Oh, my.  I think the guys up top will be most displeased with you when they get the report I'm going to give them about your performance here.  An hour to process four people, and you can't even recognize the second highest ranking member of SOLDIER when you meet him face to face."

The skinny man paled, and Zack felt the shock radiate off of Cloud.  "Oh!  Mister Zack!  I apologize for not recognizing you sooner, but it's been such a long day, and you have no idea how much paperwork I have to work through every day…."  the pale-faced, terrified creature gobbled.

"Shut up.  I just want a pass for my friend here."  Zack's voice invited no argument, and the bureaucrat immediately got out the forms for Cloud to fill out.  The boy did them in silence, answering all the questions on the sheet without comment.  Zack wondered if he'd really shocked him that much.

The sniveling petty official took the forms when they were handed back to him, and began transferring the information into the computer.  A few minutes later, he asked Cloud to get up to get his picture taken.  Then, the machine extruded a little card, which Cloud took silently and put in his wallet, and a small metal tag to join his dog tags on their chain.  Then, with a final admonishment from Zack to get their act together, they left.

"Hey, Strife.  Are you okay?"  Zack finally asked as they got out into the parking lot.  Cloud nodded, silently.

"I'm fine.  It was a bit of a shock, but I'd already begun to suspect who you were, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Zack looked at Cloud seriously.  "You still interested in sparring with me?"

Cloud nodded.  "More than ever.  I want to see what the second best SOLDIER is capable of."  And that seemed to settle that.

Zack was just relieved that his rank hadn't scared the boy off.  He breathed a mental sigh of relief as he put his helmet on and climbed onto his bike, Cloud settling in behind him.  Then they took off for the gym.

*     *     *

"Hey, Zack!  What's up?  Ooh, and who's your attractive young companion?"  A SOLDIER in the colors of a third-class SOLDIER and the insignia of a second-class swaggered up with a friendly smile.

Zack smiled in return.  "I see you finally got that promotion, eh, Mac?  And stay away from the kid; he's here to train."

Cloud nodded politely to this 'Mac' person, and followed Zack over to a couple of mats with a ring outlined on them.

"Set your stuff down where ever you like, and lets see that sword of yours."

Cloud did as he was bidden, setting down his wallet and small backpack by the side, handy and where he could see if someone tried to lift something, then unsheathed his sword, setting the scabbard down, too.  Then he turned to face Zack, sword in hand.

Zack's eyebrows shot up as he saw what was in Cloud's hand.  "That's…A real SOLDIERs sword.  Where on the Planet did you get that?"

"Home.  It was my father's."

Zack's eyebrows climbed even higher.  "Your father was a SOLDIER?"

"No."  Cloud shook his head vehemently.

"So, how'd he get it?"

Cloud's face and voice became hard and cold.  "That is none of your concern."

Zack let it drop.  He'd just try some other time, when Cloud had learned to trust him more.  "Well, whatever.  Shall we?" he asked, swinging Buster Sword out of its sheath on his back.

Cloud nodded and crossed to one side of the ring, then fell back into a fighting stance.  Zack analyzed it as he crossed to his position.  It looked like a standard stance, but it had the precision and confidence of one that was well practiced.  It really gave Cloud no real advantages in either offense or defense, being a neutral stance, but upon further inspection, he discovered that it was slightly modified to let Cloud use his speed.

Zack already approved.  He knew the boy couldn't beat him yet, but he was still pretty good.  Zack nodded that the match had begun, then immediately feinted a quick diagonal slash to the mid-section, then darted sideways for a chop to the ribs…and encountered the flat of Cloud's broadsword as it crushed into his right arm and side, increasing his momentum off to Cloud's right.  Zack shot past his target, but recovered his stance quickly.  He felt the bruising in his arm and side, and knew that, had Cloud used the edge of his weapon, Zack would probably have had to call it quits to see the doctor.

/Whoa, he really is good.  And fast, too.  Just what I wanted.  But he's not gonna get so lucky a second time./

Zack settled in for the match.

*     *     *

Sephiroth noticed the large crowd around the mat on the far side, and knew it had to be Zack and this 'Cloud Strife'.  He wondered what everyone was staring at; had Zack already taken the kid apart?

He stepped into the crowd, pushing in until he could see.  One of the men beside him, /was his name Mac?  Or was it Mackie?/, smiled at him.

"Hey, Sephiroth, sir.  Come to see the fun?  Man, I tell you what, that kid is damn good.  He actually hit Zack!  In the first five seconds of the match, no less!"

Sephiroth studied the scene carefully.  There was the familiar figure of Zack in his normal fighting stance, with the Buster Sword at the ready.  And there…

Sephiroth had never been so surprised in his life.  The boy's blond hair was as unruly as Zack's, but even though his mind informed him that this was a fourteen-year-old boy, his eyes didn't believe it.  His, quite remarkable, actually, blue eyes were far too serious, too focused, and his body was so well built!  Height wise, he was pretty short, and despite how well muscled he was, he had bird-like bones, and that was sort of childlike, as was the size of his huge eyes, but there was an air of maturity beyond his years, of tightly leashed power, of rigidly controlled anger…

Maybe he was sort of a child in body, with his height, and proportions.  But in soul…

No, this was definitely not a child.

Then Sephiroth noticed the huge sword in the child-not-child's hands.  A SOLDIER's sword.  "Who gave him that sword?"  Sephiroth asked.

Mac, for it was indeed Mac, shrugged.  "He said that it was his father's, but that his father was not in SOLDIER.  When Zack inquired further, he basically told him to butt out."

Now Sephiroth noticed that it wasn't even a real SOLDIER sword.  It looked like one, but it had a few extra materia slots, and they hadn't been just added on; they were original.  Sephiroth knew SOLDIER swords didn't exactly grow on trees.  He also knew that SOLDIERs had originally been supposed to use much more materia than they did now, evidenced by his own extra slots.  He realized he was looking at an original SOLDIER weapon.  It had to be as old as he was.  So what was this kid doing with a prototype SOLDIER weapon?

/He said he got it from his father… but that his father was not in SOLDIER…/

Sephiroth's eyes widened.  While they hadn't been exactly handed out, the core scientists working on the SOLDIER projects had  had the opportunity to acquire parts of the project that had been rejected.  Swords, notes and rights to certain mako treatments, uniforms, armor… Sephiroth realized that Cloud's father had either been one of the core scientists in the projects, or he had been close to one of them.  That meant that Cloud's father probably knew Hojo…

/And that could explain why Hojo wouldn't accept him into SOLDIER.  If there's bad blood there, and Hojo recognized either his name or his face…/

Sephiroth frowned, watching intently for a few minutes.  The boy was looking tired.  Despite his obvious skill, the boy just couldn't match Zack's Mako-enhanced self.  The poor thing was going to be one unhappy soldier when he got up tomorrow.

Sephiroth stepped past the crowd and onto the very edge of the mat, still well clear of the ring.  "Well, Zack, does this mean I have to find myself another sparring partner?"

Both combatants stopped and looked at him, Strife over his shoulder, and Zack past Strife.  "Oh, hey, Seph!  I'm just working out with my new friend here.  You're welcome to try against me anytime."  Zack got a cocky smirk on his face.  "You know I'll run rings around you!"

Sephiroth snorted.  "Not likely."

Zack's smirk grew, before he turned his attention back to Strife.  "Hey, Cloud!  This is my roommate, Sephiroth.  I know you've heard of him.  Seph, this is Cloud Strife."

Sephiroth saw a flicker of hero worship in those blue eyes, which was quickly and firmly stamped out.  The boy turned to face Sephiroth, lowering his sword, and releasing it from his right hand.  He stepped forward and extended his right hand toward Sephiroth.  "Hello.  Pleased to meet you, Sephiroth," he said levelly.

Sephiroth usually did not shake hands, but he found himself catching Cloud's hand in a firm grip before he even realized it.  He said nothing, settling on a nod of acknowledgment, and was about to address Zack, when one of the SOLDIERs First-class gasped and shoved in toward Cloud.

"You're Cloud Strife?" he asked, sounding startled.

Cloud looked questioningly at the man.  "Yes.  May I help you?"

The man gasped.  "I'm the one who graded your SOLDIER exam.  Can I assume you've been accepted?"

Cloud scowled.  It was actually quite menacing, if you ignored the fact that Cloud was only 5'3".  "Actually, I was informed same day that I hadn't been accepted."

The SOLDIER looked shocked.  "Whoa.  Someone must have fucked up, 'cause you only missed two on the test."

As Zack pursed his lips in a silent whistle, Cloud looked disappointed.  "Two?  I know I missed number twenty-seven, I just can't figure out the reasoning on that, but where else did I mess up?"

The man blinked.  "You don't seem to understand.  Your written test score was even better than Sephiroth's!  Okay, so only by one, but still!  How could you have not made it in?"

Cloud blinked.  "Better than…?" His eyes slid over toward Sephiroth, who smiled faintly, even though the gears were industriously grinding away inside his head.  It now seemed obvious that someone was trying to block Cloud from making SOLDIER.  /Well, well, Hojo.  Have a personal vendetta, here?  Not very professional./

"So why didn't you make it?" the SOLDIER asked.

Cloud shrugged.  "They said it was because I was too short."

Sephiroth, Zack, and the other SOLDIER looked at Cloud as if he was stupid.  "What?"  He looked around at them, puzzled.  "What!?" 

Zack shook his head.  "Come on, Cloud.  I think there's someone you ought to meet."

Cloud shrugged.  "Okay."

The small party trooped across the gym to another of the practice mats.  There, a small man, only a little taller than Cloud was sparring with a small man.  He was actually shorter than Cloud was, and wearing the uniform of a SOLDIER Second-class.  Zack looked over at Cloud, expecting to see surprise, at least, maybe even shock.  But Cloud's face had only a small, thoughtful frown on it.

"I see," he said levelly, then added in a voice that would have been inaudible had they not been Mako-enhanced, "As unscientific as ever, Hojo-sensei."

Zack glanced at Sephiroth, who merely nodded slowly in response to Hojo's name.  Zack looked back at Cloud.  "As you can see, there is no height restriction to get into SOLDIER."

Sephiroth smirked.  "Someone shafted you, Strife."

Cloud shrugged.  "So I got shafted.  Big deal.  It's happened before, and it'll undoubtedly happen again.  Just gotta get used to it, I guess."

Zack sighed.  "Don't get so pessimistic, kid.  It's depressing."

Cloud gave Zack one of his impressive glares.  Zack couldn't imagine what he would glare like once he had Mako eyes.  "Don't call me 'kid'."

Zack backed up a step, holding up his hands in a placating gesture.  "Alright, alright!  Lighten up, Spike!"

Cloud cocked an eyebrow.  "'Spike'."

Zack nodded.  "Spike."

Cloud sighed and shook his head.  "Why do I get the feeling that I can't win this one?"

Sephiroth smirked.  "Probably because you can't," he said, but refused to say any more.  Cloud didn't press, settling for thinking wryly /At least I got the better of the two nicknames./

Zack smiled.  "Why, thank you, Sephiroth."  The dark-haired SOLDIER turned to Cloud with a cheeky grin.  "Well, why don't we head on over to my place.  I bet, after that workout, you'd probably like a nice shower someplace where you can nurse your bruises in privacy.  After your shocking debut, I think the whole gym's gonna wanna know everything about you.  Yep," he added sagely. "Not a moment's peace around here."

Cloud shrugged.  "Just so long as I'm in the barracks by lights out."

Zack smirked.  "You a boy scout, or something?"

"Nope.  Just can't afford to get any spots on my record right now."

"Aa.  I see."

"I'm glad you do.  It'll make things so much easier."

Zack smirked and headed for the door, followed by Cloud.  Sephiroth followed a little behind, thinking.  He was pondering why someone was blocking someone like Cloud, why Cloud seemed to immediately assume it was Hojo (though Zack and Sephiroth thought so, too), and why Cloud had said 'unscientific as ever'.  Mostly, though, he was wondering how Zack could predict things so well.  Sephiroth did indeed like the teen, already.  He had seen that instant of hero worship, and been worried that, once again, he'd met someone who thought he was a god, but had been more than pleased to see how quickly and completely Cloud had gotten it under control.

It looked to be the start of a potentially beautiful friendship.

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Still interested in my humble attempts at writing?  Keep reading, then, and For the love of whoever you believe in, REVIEW!!!  *ahem*  Thanks, minna-san!
Matta ne!
Akuma no Tsubasa