Warning: Warnings: Extremely cute Cloud, slightly less mild Zack x Seph relationship.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. If I win the lottery maybe. But I suppose I'd have to buy a ticket…..
Chapter 10: Warnings of Warfare
"He's a joy to watch you know," Zack remarked while he observed Cloud carefully finished the last of his cool down exercises. "He's what, seven now? Hard to believe he's that good."
"Technically he's more like eighteen but I understand what you mean," Sephiroth replied. The barest hint of pride touched his voice. "I wasn't that good when I was seven thought I started later."
"Ironheart did a good job," Zack remarked though whether he meant the forging of warrior or weapon was up to interpretation. "How much is he working with it?"
"About half the time. It's lighter than the metal practice swords oddly enough," Sephiroth replied. "We've barely touched materia yet." He chuckled softly. "Would you believe Hojo has run out of materia for Cloud? He's had agents all over the world looking and they can't find a single type Cloud hasn't already absorbed. Except for the summons of course. He can't absorb those. Right now they're doing double sets of green materia."
"Damm," Zack murmured. "If he's got all of those purples- double cut, long range, counter attack-he's gonna be a hell of a fighter."
"Language Zackary." Sephiroth scolded. "Cloud could here you."
"I'm sure he's heard worse," Zack replied with a characteristic shrug. "Besides, he's on a military base Seph. It goes with the territory." He glanced at his friend. "You need to stop being paranoid Seph. Cloud is growing up. Remember what you said a while ago? Stop mother henning him."
"I most certainly am not," Sephiroth snapped back.
"Are too."
It took all of Sephiroth's will power not to respond with the childish reply 'am not' (because the resulting argument would last for a Very Long Time.) Instead he turned his eyes back to Cloud and watched the child carefully put away all of the equipment the' been using. Cloud was far more careful with the practice swords than another student. It probably had something to do with the fact that he had made swords before…
Once Cloud completed his task he came running over to his two guardians with the energy only the young have. He gave Sephiroth's hand a quick squeeze (knowing how the General felt about shows of attention in public) then ran off with Zack to lunch. This was part of the daily routine. Get up, have breakfast in the mess hall, practice with Sephiroth after morning lessons and then lunch. After lunch the schedule became more flexible. Cloud would either stay with some other SOLDIER friends of Zack, Dr. Airi or attend another set of lessons. The SOLDIERs did everything from playing sports with him to teaching him survival skills. Airi taught him field medicine and about materia. At three he had his daily appointment with Hojo which usually ran two to three hours long. Then he would come home and help make dinner. After dinner he did homework till he went to bed. On the rare occasions Hojo didn't need him Cloud visited Aeris in the city.
Cloud was quite content with the pattern though his guardians dreaded the day Cloud would formally enter the army removing him from their protection. (Not that Cloud needed to be protected. An Ultima spell took care of most problems. Indeed if the blond knew how much his guardians worried after his safely he'd probably give them a long lecture about why he didn't their protection. With demonstrations. If anything would survive might be debatable.)
Sephiroth's feel carried him to his office. With a purely mental sigh The General entered the room and glanced at the looming pile of paperwork on his desk. Death, taxes, paperwork, dishes and wash. These things would always be constant. Several hours later the silver haired man placed the last of the papers down. As if on cue the door opened. For their sake, they better not have any more paperwork.
To the General's surprise, it was Tseng, the leader of the Turks. Despite the fact that the Turks "official" job was to search for SOLDIER candidates, the two leaders rarely spoke to each other. "General," Tseng greeted simply. Sephiroth nodded in reply. Tseng handed him a pile of papers. A quick glance at the papers told Sephiroth that they were the actual reports on the newly found SOLDIER candidates. But that didn't explain why Tseng would deliver them in person. Flipping through the papers, a post-it-note caught the General's eye. Quickly reading it, Sephiroth nodded to show his understanding and watched the Turk leave. He sent a message to Zack. This could be important.
*~*
"So what's going on?" Zack asked as he came into their apartment.
"Tseng told me he wanted to talk," Sephiroth replied. "He didn't specify what he needed to talk about but the way he delivered the massage makes is feel important.
Zack glanced at the clock. "Cloud should be in the lab. At least he won't walk in on this."
A soft knock on the door alerted the two SOLDIERs their visitors had arrived. Zack quickly opened the door and let Tseng come in. Another Turk, his uniform and bright red hair disheveled, followed him. Zack searched his memory for his name. Leno, Beno…Rano! One of the newest Turks but one of the best. Rumor had it that the Turk could absorb lightning. Zack had wanted to try and see if it was true but now as hardly the time. "Tseng, Reno."
"Zack," Reno replied .They took their seats.
"You wanted to talk about something?" Sephiroth questioned.
"Yes," Tseng answered. He gestured at Reno.
"I've met your little kid. He's got a good head on his shoulders." Reno stated from his sprawled position. "He impressed me quite a bit. Unfortunately…" The front door opened.
"I'm home!" Cloud's voice echoed. He skipped happily in the door. "Hojo's got a meeting." He stopped when he saw the meeting going on in the living room. The blond grabbed his sword off the rack in the hallway. "I'll just go for a walk. I need more practice on my foot work anyway." The front door slammed shut.
Reno blinked. "Well he's rather observant."
Zack shrugged. "Cloud's just like that. We've had some important calls come in here, highly confidential stuff. He just removes himself."
"Very smart kid," Reno acknowledged. His eyes darkened. "As I was about to say before we were interrupted, someone wants Cloud dead."
"What!?" Zack yelled in shock. Sephiroth sat frozen at his side.
"It doesn't take much to realize he's important to you," Reno explained. "We all know there are groups that want to strike at ShinRa and you, General. They believe Cloud is the perfect way to get to both."
"Cloud isn't defenseless," Sephiroth spoke calmly. "Anyone attacking him would get a surprise. Even so we will be cautious. Thank you for your warning."
"No problem," Reno replied. He and Tseng stood.
"Reno," Zack asked, "exactly how did you meet Cloud?"
"I was in Midgar a few months ago and ran into him." Reno had just returned from an 'information gathering' mission. Unfortunately the target's security had proved tougher than their intelligence had suggested. They'd managed to swipe his materia and potion stock before he left. In the resulting chase he'd been injured. Cloud had found him in the slums, hidden him and some how Healed him. The redhead had every intention of investigating the blond but he hadn't found much yet. It looked as if he would have to go to the source.
"Cloud has some good friends in Midgar. It's not surprising that you saw him there," Zack replied.
Little did the adults know that the warning had come too late.
*~*
Cloud strode down the hallway to the gym with his precious blade at his side. The hallway was dark, far darker than usual. He made a mental not to tell Sephiroth when he came back. Anyone could be hiding in the shadows.
As if his thoughts had triggered it, a shadow lunged out at him. The assassins hired by Sephiroth's enemies had followed the blond's actions carefully. When they finally saw him alone and unprotected they struck.
Unfortunately for them, Cloud's training took over. He ducked and pulled away. His sword was in his hand before he even thought of drawing it. Green light flickered around him as he began to spell cast. The boy's mind seemed to fade. Emotions vanished as cold hard logic over came him. The assassins regrouped as they moved to intercept this unexpected threat.
But Cloud was the product of ShinRa's science and Jenova's child's tutoring. They had no chance.
A few bloody minutes later Cloud whirred as he heard foot steps. His blood tinted blade rested against the intruder's throat.
"Whoa kid! Calm down!"
"Reno?" Cloud murmured. He carefully removed the blade from the Turk's throat.
"Bloody hell," Reno mumbled looking around the hallway. He pulled out his PHS. "General? I think you better get down here. Corridor between 7 and 9 B." He placed the PHS back in his jacket. "They were certainly serious," Reno muttered. Swartz assassins didn't come cheap. He glanced at Cloud. They weren't easy to kill either. Several Turks had died attempting to take down a single Swartz member .Cloud had killed four. Too bad he would never join the Turks. The redhead could just imagine the reaction he would get if he even joked about that around the General. No thank you, he valued his life.
"Cloud!" Zack's shocked voice ran gout.
The blond blinked. "Zack?"
"Good God," Zack whispered in shock. He took the sword from Cloud's hand and carefully cleaned it. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Cloud responded. His voice sounded oddly dead.
"Shock," Zack concluded. He carefully examined Cloud. "I think he'll be alright Seph. But we should have Airi check him out just to be sure."
Reno blinked. He hadn't seen the General arrive. "Take him home Zack. Then call her," Zack nodded and pushed Cloud away from the scene. "What do you think?" Sephiroth asked Reno gesturing towards the bodies.
"I think its damm dangerous to go after that kid!" Reno replied. "He nearly got me! I'd hate to think what would have happened if he hadn't recognized me." Reno was usually unshakable but what he had witnessed had shocked him. He'd never seen a child with such skill even on his time in the streets.
"You can blame Hojo," Sephiroth replied. "We'll have to call a meeting. Assassins should not have been able to penetrate the facility so easily."
"We'll be there," Reno replied. He looked at Sephiroth. "Is it usually for SOLDIERs to react that way after their first kill?"
"Its not unusual," Sephiroth explained, "while not everyone reacts the same way the process used to make SOLIERs limits their emotions in battle. The more mako you experience the more pronounced the effect. It only suppresses emotion though, not erases it. Cloud'll have a reaction latter."
'That explains a few things about you,' Reno thought. "I'll get this cleaned up," he said out loud. "You better help that kid."
*~*
Cloud sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket and a cup of hot coco in his hands. Zack hovered at his side. "Zack I'm fine. Really."
Sephiroth sighed and sat next to the child. "Zack, leave him alone. Let's get you to bed Cloud." Cloud nodded and finished his drink then slipped off to his room. "He needs time to let it settle in," Sephiroth whispered.
'Zack gave him an odd look. "Settle in? Are you crazy? He's just a kid! He shouldn't find this so easy to accept!"
"I know," Sephiroth replied. "But he's still gone through the same treatments SOLDEIRS have." He pushed his lover towards the bed room. "Go to sleep Zack. I'll put Cloud to bed then join you."
Zack nodded, went to their shared room and changed into a comfortable pair of sweat pants. A short time later Sephiroth jointed him. The two SOLDIERS held each other tightly not speaking to the darkness. Slumber came uneasily as the gruesome images that had surrounded Cloud echoed in their minds. Finally sleep cast her spell and four glowing eyes closed.
It was after midnight when Sephiroth awoke. Zack stirred in his arms. "Seph?" Remembering previous nights like this the raven haired man stiffened. "What's wrong with Cloud?" He pulled away from Sephiroth and looked towards the door.
Looking very small in the dark wrapped in a huge blanked, Cloud stood just inside their door. His blue eyes glowed brightly in the dark. Tears streaks stained his pale white face. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Zack reassured the boy thought he didn't know if the blond was sorry for killing the assassins, his behavior last night or interrupting their sleep. He got out of be d and walked over to Cloud. Easily sweeping up the child, Zack carried him back to be and placed him in the middle. "Want to talk about it?" Zack asked softly after he had pulled the covers over all three of them. Cloud nodded and hesitantly started. Soon the blond's words ran over each other, slurring though tears. Sephiroth remained silent. He carefully rubbed Cloud's back but let Zack handle their charge. The other SOLDIER handled words better than he did.
When the sun rose hours later it greeted the three sleeping warriors cuddled together.
End Chapter 10
Say it together now…aw, isn't that SO CUTE!
Don't own Swartz either. This is a shameless Weiss Kreuz plug. ^_^
So we've seen Cloud in action. He seems a little invincible at the moment. He's not, I promise you. He'll be getting in more trouble in A Little Shift in Space. Believe it or not there is only one more chapter to this fic (more of an epilogue really). Then you have to wait till I finish writing the next one.
Only one person to thank today…
Fantasy_child: Glad you liked it. More PotC quotes may show up as Space goes along. The Arcs are basically plot arcs even though they're different stories. This is the 'introduction' arc. We develop the relationship between the characters and set up some of the abilities. The next arc has more of a 'central' plot if you will. I.e. they have a quest/mission to complete. The last arc has to do with Cloud growing up, finding out the truth behind Hojo, dealing with Hojo and Jenova (you'll see why this doesn't come up in the second arc) and Cloud entering the SOLDIER program (A Little Return to Reality). There may be a set of one shots between Space and Reality. There's at least one but I might get more ideas as I go along. ^_^
Author of the Update: Akuma no Tsubasa for All You Can Know, the sequel to Chi to Ase to Namida!