Why the hell did he have to dare me? was a constant thought on Cloud's mind. He sat at a table in the cafeteria, alone, pondering and poking at the food in front of him. Food, of course, being a loose term. He could have sworn that he saw this particular gray blob living under his bed two weeks ago.

In the SOLDIER army, a dare was a binding contract, whether you agreed to do it or not. The larger the gap in rank between the one who made the dare and the one who received, the steeper the punishment if it's not completed. Of course, no one has been brave enough to not go through with one, so no one knew exactly what these "punishments" were. Not to mention no one had enough guts to be the first.

There were a few stipulations that always went along with every dare, as well. The first rule being that dares could only be made between people of the same rank, or of one from higher to lower. Never could a lower class member dare an older one. The second rule was that the dare-ee could not be helped by the darer. This was an immediate breach of contract, and the dare was tossed out the window. Third, dares were to be kept secret. Only those present at the time of the dare being made could know of its existence. Only when the dare was completed (or failed, as the case may be), could it be known that it existed at all.

As a mere recruit, receiving a dare from a 1st Class, let alone two, was like receiving a dare from the General himself (whom, it was known, had never given out a dare). Cloud sat, hunkered over his lunch, face low over the gruel passed off as food. He may have been only a recruit, but everyone still knew to leave him alone. After he broke someone's nose his first month there, they didn't even bother anymore. The only person who never seemed to get this was Zack. Often times, Cloud was embarrassed by the older man's doting.

Cloud's mind flitted from these thoughts to the stipulations surrounding the dare. "Since this dare is pretty rough, you have a month to complete it. After you tell him, if no one was present to bear witness, you have one week to get us proof. In essence, you have five weeks to prove to us that you completed the dare." Cloud heaved a loud, audible sigh, and pulled himself up from the table. Turning, he slowly made his way out of the cafeteria, quietly and with barely any notice.

Cloud was back in his room, studying his calendar. In two weeks was the Graduation Gala. This was the yearly dance that honored not only the male recruits who had graduated to 5th Class SOLDIER, but also the girls in the nearby academy that had graduated. It was the one time of the year the sexes got to mix freely. Cloud was lucky enough to be among this number after three years at the training center. He circled and starred the date, deciding to choose that as The Day. With the Gala being two weeks away, that gave Cloud a three week lee-way to prove that he'd accomplished the task set before him.

He stood next to his bed, staring at the calendar in concentration, when Zack came bursting in through the doorway. He was acting like he had when he discovered that the grate in the inner courtyard led to the girls' school. "Cloud! Man, I'm glad I finally found you! Look, I've got an arrangement planned between you 'n the General. All you have to do is…"

Cloud turned around slowly, arching an eyebrow as he gazed at the over-excited SOLDIER. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Zack. Calm down. Part of a dare is the dare-ee has to do it by himself. Right?"

Zack wilted a bit, his shoulders slumping forward. "…Uh huh."

"And I'm all ready starting to try and figure this thing out on my own. I don't want to have to be rushed into this." He crossed his arms casually over his chest, pursing his lips slightly. He hadn't really figured anything out, just the date. But he was trying to put on an air of confidence, hoping it'd rub off.

"But…" Began Zack's half-hearted protest.

"Quiet. Seriously, I'm trying to do this myself. Got that? As soon as you start helping me, I get to call the dare off. That's never happened before. Do you want to be known as the first person to have his dare called off?" Of course not. Zack was daring, but he wasn't stupid.

"Well…no…" More wilting. He actually looked wounded by the prospect.

"Good. Then go away and leave me alone." This was a bit of a snippy tone, but he couldn't deal with the black haired SOLDIER at the moment.

Zack nodded slightly and began to shuffle toward the door. He paused, raising his hand to the doorknob, before turning back. "But, seriously, if you would just…" A glare from the blond silenced him immediately and he sighed softly. "All right, all right. I'm going." Turning the knob, he opened the door and exited, disappearing down the hallway.

Cloud turned once again to stare at the calendar, letting out an undeniably frustrated groan. At the Gala, all graduates and officers had to be in attendance: this included the General. Granted, Sephiroth didn't like showing up to these things. Who could blame him, though, really? All he ever had were fawning boys and girls clinging to his every movement, wide, almost unblinking eyes gazing at him as if he were God Himself. The Gala was the last place he wanted to be, but protocol demanded his appearance. Cloud nodded to himself slightly. All he had to do was get Sephiroth alone. Well, maybe not fully alone. He had to have a witness there. The easiest person, to be certain, would be Zack. Despite the fact that the dark haired first class was Sephiroth's character foil, they really were pretty damn good friends. But getting just the two of them away from the writhing masses? That was going to prove to be the really tricky part.

Not to mention the whole threat of losing his head over it, but c'est la vie and all that. It was well known that anyone who openly showed interest in the General was quick to regret their actions. One unfortunate female, after drunkenly hitting on him at the previous year's Gala, had found herself missing a little finger. The year before that, a young man's ear had mysteriously been sliced off before he could blink. So, no. The prospect of informing the General that he thought he was the most shag-able creature on the face of the planet was not a pleasing one.

Never you mind the fact that Cloud actually felt that way.

Sighing softly, he turned from the calendar and threw himself onto his cot of a bed, burying his face under the pillow. Facing the next two weeks was going to be hell, to be certain.