Disclaimer: FFVII is not mine. The characters are thankful for that.
Author's Notes: Heh...I could never beat Sephiroth's' second form. But I was drooling over him too much to even care. He's such a pretty angel-boy. So I started on a new game and I'm currently in the process of getting to the Temple of the Ancients. Sneaky, sneaky Cait Sith... Anyway, here's Chapter Three!
To Blue Water Elf: Actually, Cloud would. It's kinda implied that Sephiroth was using a Sleepel.
Oh, and to the ones who have the problem with the shonen-ai of the fic, you know who you are: AERIS IS DEAD. She's dead in this fic. Not gonna show up. Nada. Zilch. I'm not being mean, but the summary DOES say that it's shonen-ai (guy on guy love). I know I don't have a problem with yaoiness. Us fangirls love it! Right, girls?
::crickets are heard in the distance::
Um, girls????
Remembrance
Chapter Three: Long Forgotten, Part One
Sixteen-year-old Cloud Strife let out a heavy sigh as he walked through the empty midnight halls, his boots scuffing the tile floor a bit. "I joined up to be a coffee boy?! This sucks..."
He stifled a yawn and balanced both steaming Styrofoam cups in one hand as he put his other hand to the ID panel just outside the sparring room door. A quick whir as the computer read his handprint, and the door slid open. He was about to transfer one of the cups to his other hand when he realized he was on the floor, his body tingling with pain. Overhead were voices...
"Nice going, Seph. I think you killed him."
"He's not dead. Besides, it was your Demi spell."
"If you'd have just taken the hit..."
"Ha ha, funny. It's not like I knew he was there."
"So much for those 'instincts' of yours."
Cloud reached out an aching hand. Why was he in so much pain? "Wha..."
"Don't move," the deeper of the voices replied. There was the sound of footsteps, then the sensation of a hand on his back. "Let's see...a normal Cure spell should do it."
A warm sensation spread through his entire body, erasing the intense pain. He felt his strength return and he sat up...and found himself looking straight into an intense pair of iridescent green eyes.
The face that the eyes were attached to smiled gently. "You okay? Sorry about that spell. Seems that someone's aim is more than a little off."
Still in awe of the beauty of this person, Cloud only nodded. The black clothes contrasted sharply against the pale skin and long silver hair. The metal of the armor across the stranger's shoulders glinted in the harsh fluorescent lighting of the room.
A peal of teasing laughter rang out, this time from a man whose long dark hair was nearly as spiky as Cloud's own. "Don't let it fool you, kid. First time I saw him, I thought he was a woman, too!"
The silver-haired stranger shot a venomous look at his companion. "Shut up! Don't forget that you were so convinced that you actually made a pass at me!"
Cloud blushed; anyone could tell by the voice and mannerisms that this was obviously a man. "I-I'm sorry. Someone told me to bring coffee here, so..."
"You mean those jerks we chased out of here?" the dark-haired man scratched the back of his head absent-mindedly. "Yeah, they always have a tendency to have the new guy go on coffee rounds. What're they called again?"
The other man stood, using an incredibly long sword to help bring himself to his full imposing height. "They're with Shinra Public Safety—the Turks."
"Yeah, yeah," the other said, swinging his own massive sword onto his shoulder. "Public Safety, my ass..."
"Sorry about my friend here," the other stranger said, helping Cloud to his feet. "This is Zack, and I'm Sephiroth."
Cloud froze at the name. Sephiroth...the Great Sephiroth. "I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife..."
Over the next several weeks Cloud did everything that was required of him in his regular duties, just so he could go to the sparring room and watch Zack and Sephiroth test their skills against one another. Mostly it was Sephiroth he watched. Everything the silver-haired man did made the battle seem more like a dance. There was a graceful flow to his movements that Cloud could never possibly match.
On one day was just like the others. Cloud was sitting in a chair, his legs straddling the sides, his hands and chin propped on the back as his bright eyes watched every movement. Then Zack called a breather. "Whew! I'm beat. I'd have to train for five hundred years and I'd never reach your level."
Sephiroth only chuckled.
Zack walked up to where Cloud was sitting, ruffling the boy's hair as usual as he bent to collect a water bottle and towel. "Having fun, kid?"
Cloud did his best to smooth his wayward hair back into place. "It'd be a lot more fun if I could fight with you guys."
Sephiroth sat in the chair next to Cloud, stretching his legs out and holding the concave edge of his sword against the back of his neck. "What's stopping you?"
"Well..." Cloud blushed before looking down. "I never made it into SOLDIER. I always wanted to be just like you, but I just wasn't cut out for it. My friend at home would be embarrassed...I made a promise that I would join SOLDIER and..."
His voice trailed off. What would Tifa think of him now? He couldn't stand the thought of her and her friends all laughing at his failure...
"Where are you from?" Zack suddenly asked.
"Huh? Oh...Nibelheim."
Sephiroth seemed thoughtful for a moment. "That's where we're headed next."
"Tell you what, kid." Zack sat cross-legged on the floor, taking a sip of water. "We'll pull some strings and get you to tag along. Then we'll both put in a good word for you. With two high-ranking guys like us recommending it, there's no way they won't put you in SOLDIER."
Cloud's eyes brightened. "Really? You'd do that?"
He turned to Sephiroth to see his reaction. The older man smiled and nodded slightly.
"Thanks! I...I mean, well..."
Zack laughed. "No need to stutter about it. Here—test out your skills." He offered the hilt of his sword to Cloud.
Taking the sword, Cloud marveled at how light it was. "Wow...is this mythril?"
"Mythril-reinforced." Zack gave him a mischievous grin. "Think it would be a match against the famous Murasame?"
"Mura...same...?"
Sephiroth gave him a bit of a smirk and tapped his own blade.
Cloud's eyes widened. "Uh...n-no. I mean, the Murasame is the ultimate weapon, right?"
"The ultimate known weapon," Zack replied, laughing as he shoved Cloud out onto the sparring room floor. "'Sides, only one way to find out..."
"H-hey, come on, guys," Cloud nervously protested. "You're n-not really gonna..."
He cursed as Sephiroth confidently strolled to the opposite side of the "arena". "Come on! This isn't fair!"
"Ready, Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth gave Cloud one of his trademark half-smiles. At the same time he held his enormous sword at the ready. "What do you think?"
"Ready, Cloud?"
He shot a pleading glance at Zack, who looked on the verge of laughter. "No!"
"And...fight!"
"W-wait a minute! I haven't used a sword in my..."
Then he realized that Sephiroth was coming at him full speed. He screamed, holding the Buster Sword above his head to ward off the blow... But it never came.
Cloud nervously looked up to see Sephiroth putting his sword back into the sheath at his belt. "Huh?"
Zack's laughter reverberated through the room. "That was a good one, kid! You should've seen the look on your face!"
Confused, the boy looked up at Sephiroth, who looked like he was about to laugh too. "It was...a joke?"
Sephiroth chuckled and offered his hand to the trembling boy. "You're going to have to do much better than that if you want to make SOLDIER First Class."
Overcome with rage, Cloud struggled to his feet, leaving Zack's sword on the floor. "Is that all my dream is to you? A joke?!"
"Ah, c'mon, kid," Zack said with a grin. "We were just jerking your chain, that's all."
"You have dreams too, right?" Cloud clenched his hands into fists. "So how would you feel if someone made a joke about them?"
Zack finally seemed to be getting the picture. "Cloud..."
He blinked his tears back so hard that it hurt. "Just leave me alone! I guess I was wrong about you guys! I thought you were better than that!"
Ignoring Zack's protests, Cloud ran from the room.
