A/N: If you haven't already guessed, all the important people from FF7 were just reborn in the last chapter. Out of fairness, although they most likely would be named other names by this point, I'm just going to name them the names they had in FF7, to save us all the confusion. If you do want to know what I would have named them otherwise, just email me, and I'll send the names to you. All right! Enough said. On with the chapter.
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Rotations Of Life
Chapter 2:
SOLDIER
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Twelve years later
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The young captain smiled inwardly as they neared the town of Nibelheim. This was the perfect opportunity to find new recruits. They started training at the age of twelve at the latest, ten at the earliest. He, of course, had started since he was three. He was proud of his strength, one of the few displays or feelings of emotions that he ever had. His bright blue-green eyes surveyed the town as they entered. Not too shabby, but it was nothing like Midgar. He paid no attention to the commander as he gave instructions, but then, no one expected him to. He was Sephiroth, stronger than any of them, and they knew he already had expert knowledge at strategic drills anyway.
He picked a single ball of dust that had dared to stray onto his black outfit and ground it beneath his boot. It wouldn't try that again. His hair immaculate, he strode down one of the back roads towards the houses, knowing he would find boys there. He rounded the corner and was knocked back as someone with blonde spiky hair came catapulting towards him.
"Sorry!" the boy said quickly and glanced over his shoulder nervously.
"What was that for?" Sephiroth asked, his voice cold and disapproving.
".........."
Sephiroth looked behind the boy to see a girl of about the same age running towards them, shaking her fist angrily. Her brown hair whipped her face and back as it started to fall out of her ponytail. Sephiroth watched the boy's face grow pale as he saw her coming with amusement.
"You were running from a girl?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"You don't know Tifa. Please move!" he said as he saw her grow closer.
The fifteen-year-old Sephiroth moved slightly to his right, and the boy went to leave, but he grabbed his arm and held him there.
"Hey!" the boy struggled to free himself but failed; Sephiroth's grip was like a vice.
"Cloud! I am going to kill you! You'd better hope that guy lets you go or you're dead meat!" she skidded to a halt near them and faced Sephiroth. "Thanks for catching hi—hey!" Sephiroth grabbed her arm as well and held them both at arm's length of each other.
"Why were you chasing after him?" he asked curiously, his bright blue-green eyes glittering in the sunlight.
"He stole my Materia!" Tifa yelled. "And then lost it!"
"No I didn't! Well, I did borrow it, but I gave it back!"
"And all this because of one Materia? Could you not just go and buy another?" asked Sephiroth, puzzled. He would never fully understand humans.
Jenova cells had been recovered from a lab that had been destroyed, and injected into his body. They had had another specimen at the time, a woman, who had been injected with cells from a Cetra that had been found, but she had disappeared. She had runaway, and the lab was unable to find her. They had found a different type of cell as well, but Sephiroth had not been able to find out what it was just yet. The girl's voice brought him back from his thoughts.
"No! I don't have enough money for one! Besides, it was my mother's! She gave it to me before she died. I--WANT--IT--BACK!" She accented each word in the last sentence by giving Sephiroth a kick in the shins and any other place he could reach.
"I wouldn't do that," he warned. "I am a trained SOLDIER, while you are but a twelve year old girl. Don't tempt me to use my sword. And I will use it."
Tifa took a look at Masamune and wisely stopped. Cloud looked at him in awe.
"Wow! A SOLDIER? I want to be one!" Cloud said, obviously amazed at the huge sword the man carried.
"Come with me." Sephiroth dropped the girl's hand and swept off, Cloud following.
"What about my Materia?" yelled Tifa, running to catch up. Sephiroth turned to look at her.
"Is it red? Because if it is, it fell down your shirt." He turned away while Tifa blushed. "I suggest you go tell Cloud's mother where he is. He might not be back until late." Cloud followed Sephiroth, with a shrug at Tifa's questioning glance. He was going to be a SOLDIER!
"I told you!" he mouthed silently back to her, and winked.
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"Come, Aeris. We have to leave," Elmyra said, sweeping the ten-year-old girl along. Aeris did not question as to why; she already knew men were following them.
"Where are we going?" she asked, finishing her braid and tucking her green Materia inside the knot of her bow.
"Midgar."
"Is it a big city?"
"Yes. We should be safe there. Bring only a few things."
"Yes, mother!" she ran to the upstairs of their little cottage. She stuffed a few things, including her hairbrush, into the basket she had made, and went downstairs. She grabbed her stick that was beside the door. "I'm ready!"
"Good. Quickly. Let's get some chocobos until we get to the next town. We can walk from there, but the town is far. Come on, and grab your jacket."
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Vincent gave the other boy a cold glance. "I can take care of myself."
"I know you can, but there was five of them! Come one, Vincent! You couldn't handle all of those guys at once!"
"Do you think I couldn't, Barret? Go away. I had my means."
"What, the marble you have? That's not any &%! Materia, Vincent!"
"How would you know?" Vincent Valentine challenged. "Have you ever used one?"
Barret shifted uncomfortably. "Well, no, but..."
"Then shut up." He got up and grabbed his backpack.
"Where are you going?" Barret asked, alarmed.
"Somewhere that doesn't involve this place. I'm sick of it."
"You're thirteen!"
"And able to take care of myself. You're only fifteen. That's a year younger than Cid when he left. He only left four years ago. I should have gone with him then."
"You would have been nine! Get a grip on yourself! You're acting like a &!£ maniac!"
"Goodbye, Barret." Vincent swung the bag over his shoulder and left, leaving Barret gob smacked. "And that's a nasty habit you've picked up from Typ. Cut the swearing."
"Like hell I will," muttered Barret later that night, remembering what his friend had said. "Like hell."
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"What the--? Where'd my wallet go? I had over five hundred gil in that thing!"
Yuffie, now seven, stifled giggles as she walked up the street, leaving the stunned man behind. She was getting good at that. She walked past her favorite spot, the hidden ninja dojo that was off the street, and looked longingly through the cracks in the boards. She wanted to get her hands on those shurikens and throwing stars. Ah well. Not too long now. She would just have to wait until nightfall.
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"At least bring him with you if you're going to spend all your time at your company!"
"Fine! I'll bring him." The President called his son down from his room where he had been with his private tutor. "Rufus, come with me."
"Where to, Father?"
"I am going to teach you how to run a company. Follow."
They boarded the helicopter he had waiting, and it took off into the sky.
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"Blast! Stupid part!"
"Cid, be patient. We'll get the new one soon. Come 'ere and let me teach you how to fly this thing..."
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A/N: Well? What did you think? Other than the few changes I made in background, age, and some other things, I think I might have the story stick close to FF7. But then again, I might not. After all, all sorts of things can happen when you read a story on fanfiction.net…
He he he! I'm not telling! Just read on...
Lysaandi