Forgotten Daze
FF7 Fan Fiction
Chapter 7
-------------------------------------------------------------
There were only two definite explanations for what was happening, Cloud realized only moments after arriving for their departure, and based on what he had always been taught the apocalypse would look and feel like, it wasn't the end of the world.
No, it was something far worse. He felt it in the pit of his stomach as hard as a rock as suddenly the eyes of every soldier around fell upon him, looking him up and down, examining him, inspecting him as though he weren't human. But it wasn't this act alone that made Cloud's stomach twist and turn in anxiety: it was what was in their eyes, their stance, the whispered words between them.
The ten or so young soldiers stood around him in a semi-circle, looking between him, back to each other, and finally to the Gongagain monster that stood by his side, a massive, face-splitting grin quite set as he leaned on Cloud's shoulder, looking out over his small troop with a slightly more than obvious satisfaction.
Although he had trouble deciphering it at first, Cloud soon realized the emotion on all the young soldier's faces. It was awe. Yes, something was definitely wrong.
"Nice to meet you all," Zack beamed, obviously in high spirits. The soldier were silent, watching him strangely, a hint of condescension in their expressions. Zack's smile failed to waver. "I'm sorry, perhaps you don't recognize me. I'm your superior officer. You will be answering to me these next few days and no one else. I won't give you an ounce of respect if you think you can get by being the prideful, naive, pre-pubescent you more than likely all are, understand?"
A few of the soldiers looked between themselves, but the others remained at attention, Zack's benevolent appearance either a foreboding of the hidden, dark, malicious side that was well hidden and undoubtedly a hundred times worse than this appearance of kindness, or simply his true nature, which in and of itself, somehow seemed even more frightening.
Zack stepped away from Cloud, the blond teetering slightly in the absence of the weight, and walked to a near soldier. "I need to brief you all before we head out, but time isn't on our side, so we'll make this quick."
Zack hovered over one soldier for a moment, who looked up in terror, at a complete loss. The boy stammered for a minute, unable to tell if he was being singled out. "Um, yes? Yes, Sir?"
Zack's smile faded slightly into something a bit more empathetic. "Are you afraid of me, soldier?"
If it were possible, the boy's eyes widened even more. "No! No ... Sir?"
"Is that a question?"
" ... No?"
Zack paused momentarily, pondering the humor. It wasn't worth it. "Well I won't draw this out any longer, we need to get moving as soon as possible. The ride north is roughly six hours, so we need all the time we can get." He stepped away from the soldiers and back to Cloud's side, pulling a file off a nearby crate.
"We're going to a small community named Antei," He continued. "Shinra has let a deranged mental case bunker down there with a hell of a lot of weapons, and he's officially holding the town and all it's inhabitants hostage until Shinra pays enough to compensate for the horrific wrongs he assumes he was subject to." A few of the soldiers shuffled in their spot. "We're going to stop him as best we can without endangering any more citizens. That's our mission. Any questions?"
"I have one," a soldier perked up from the back of the group. The soldiers turned to face him. "The man we're going after is an ex-SOLDIER. What exactly happened in Shinra that let him slip through their fingers so easily?"
"I sincerely hope you're not questioning the actions of the company of which you belong." Zack said flatly. Cloud frowned. The same question from the young soldier had come out of Zack's mouth not two hours earlier.
"I believe you were the one who insinuated this company's incompetence with your little speech," the boy said, just as cynically.
"You're not from around here. You look like you're from Wutai. Is that true?" Zack asked, moving to stand in front of the boy.
"It is, Sir."
"Ah," Zack nodded, scratching his chin in a manner that suggested something was brewing within him. "So after the bloody war between Shinra and Wutai that has caused long standing resentment between the two, you decided to come here and ... join Shinra?"
The boy's eyes narrowed slightly. "I was born in Midgar, Sir, as were my parents. We were no where near Wutai during the war."
Zack crossed his arms. "Did the war bother you?"
" ... Of course."
"So now you devote yourself to the very people who destroyed your home?"
"It would seem that way," the boy said, anger apparent.
"It would seem that way?"
"It would seem that way, Sir."
Zack smiled. There were no other questions.
The group then separated: the soldiers together in one small, empty truck, and the two commanders taking their own place in the larger. Cloud didn't bother to ask how he had come to be held in a higher esteem than the other soldiers, pointing it out would only result in him being placed in the back in with the other recruits. He didn't feel up to making waves that would make things worse for him.
Of course he didn't want to rock any boat, but Zack's attitude was grating on him, and Cloud felt it was his duty to try and stop the SOLDIER's rotten treatment of his young army. For the entire morning while the small group packed their supplies into the trucks, Zack had taken it upon himself to try and run them into the ground. Most of his actions were focused on the young boy from Wutai, who's headstrong nature and lack of shame seemed oddly familiar. Cloud was hardly appreciative of Zack, even though the attitude was never directed at him.
It was strange to see. Without realizing it, Cloud had been invited to Zack's private side, a far more friendly, kind, and entertaining personality than the one he saved for Shinra. Still, the change didn't sit well with him.
They both fell into the only open space in the truck, crates and duffel bags lining the sides. Cloud looked over to Zack quickly, ready to speak as soon as they left.
"You do know you're being an ass, right?" He asked. Zack only scowled.
"Oh, I'm just kidding around. It's not my fault if the kid can't decide if he has more Wutai pride or Shinra pride. Besides, it's not like I can treat the soldiers as my friends. I'm their superior officer, I have to act like it."
Cloud paused for a moment. "You don't treat me like that."
"What?" Zack looked to him, not understanding. "Well, no I don't."
"Why not?"
"I just don't."
"I don't count?"
Zack frowned. "Don't get overly sensitive on me now, Cloud. You're a soldier, but you're not ... you're not a /soldier./"
"Ah."
Zack sighed. "You're worried about the cuts, aren't you?"
"Of course I am."
The SOLDIER looked vaguely reassuring. "Don't be."
"How can I not?" Cloud dropped his hands into his lap, resigning himself to the tirade about to spill. "It's the summary of everything I've done here so far. It's all the work and the training and the practice combined. If I don't make it, then what's it all for? I'm not here to be a low-level Shinra lackey, I mean ... What did any of this mean if I didn't succeed?"
"You can't live your life thinking about things that way."
Cloud shook his head softly. "I can't help it, it's true."
They rode in silence for a few minutes before they spoke again.
"There's still a good side to not making it in, you know," Zack said.
"What's that?"
"You don't have to deal with any Mako treatments."
Cloud feigned non-interest for a moment, the subject holding tremendous interest. He looked to Zack with nonchalance. "You've been through that?"
Zack nodded, seemingly comfortable with the topic. "Yeah, sure. It's not as if it's not required."
"Maybe it's a good thing that I won't make it in, then. I couldn't survive that anyway." Cloud laughed quietly, sadly. Something began to creep up on him slowly, washing over him with a chill. He quickly brought a hand to his face, anxiety over the familiar feeling only increasing it's intensity. He held his breath for a moment, attempting to stop the overwhelming feeling. It failed, and Cloud lurched forward as he let out a shaky sigh, his head suddenly spinning.
Zack continued the conversation, oblivious. "Well, not many can."
The blond rocked slightly on his knees, one shaky hand covering his eyes as his breathing suddenly became strained. He could hear as Zack sat up as well, noticing his actions.
"Are you okay?"
Cloud swallowed hard, the hand he held himself up with digging into the bed of the truck. He managed to shake his head.
Zack fell silent, a hand reached out to his shoulder slightly, unsure of what was wrong. "H-hey, I didn't mean it that way," he said suddenly, attempting to pull him back. "It's true not many people can make it through, but that doesn't mean you're automatically one of those--"
Cloud shook his head again, stronger this time. "It's not that."
" ... Then what?"
"I think I'm going to be sick."
Zack was quiet again. " ... What?"
"I think I'm going to be sick," he repeated.
Comprehension dawned. " ... Oh, god, not in the truck!" He fumbled for a moment, trying both to place a safe distance between them, and to pull him back in some form of comfort.
Cloud forced himself back into his original spot, closing his eyes and resting his head on a crate. It was all in the mind. Zack's worried actions calmed at this, but Cloud knew he still sat watching him, both sympathetic and fearful.
"You okay?"
The blond struggled to swallow, crossing still shaky arms over his chest. "No."
" ... Uh--"
"It's fine. I just get motion sickness."
There was a small release of tension. " ... You really got the short end of the stick, didn't you?"
"Stop making me talk, it makes my stomach churn."
They were quiet for a time as Cloud did his best to rationalize his stomach. If he could convince himself that he wasn't really sick, then he wouldn't feel as bad. The idea was much easier in theory than practice, he realized.
Eventually Zack took up interest once more. "You okay now?"
Cloud sighed heavily, anxiety dissipating slightly. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Good. Well, really, don't let yourself get worked up over this SOLDIER stuff so much. Just enjoy what you've got anyway, you're a part of Shinra, that's something to be said."
A small voice began to chirp in the back of Cloud's mind, but he drowned it out. "Maybe."
"Of course. I mean, look at me. When I first joined my instructor told me I'd be flat on my face in the gutter within days. Once I made it past the first cuts he only said it was pure luck, and if I didn't keel over and die on my own since I wouldn't be able to handle it, he'd make sure to help me along. Then after I was cited for 'insubordination,' and again for 'attacking my instructor with the intent to severely injure' I made SOLDIER. He never stopped though, he never once told me I was deserving of the position or that I could make it." Zack paused for a moment, a moral surfacing. "So, see? No one believed that I'd manage anything, and I did."
"You know, you're right," Cloud pushed himself up on his hands. "Knowing that you're a SOLDIER makes me feel a lot better," he said softly.
Zack turned to him. "Good."
"Well, yeah, shit, if /you/ can make it, anyone can."
Zack eyed him curiously for a moment, and Cloud couldn't hold in his grin. At that, Zack grabbed his shoulder, pushing him down to the truck bed easily. The blond struggled to move out from the one giant hand covering his chest.
"I'll have you know it took a /lot/ for me to get in," Zack said gruffly. Cloud continued to grin, having given up on overpowering the other man.
"I can imagine."
"Bastard," the SOLDIER muttered, doing his best to look irritated. For a man like Zack, it proved fairly difficult.
"You know I can't breathe, right?"
Zack pressed on his chest harder. "Well maybe you shouldn't talk down to me all the time!"
"I'd take your threats more seriously if you didn't /smile/ during them."
Zack scowled, although it quickly broke away. "Do you know how many men I've killed while smiling?"
Cloud forced himself to cough, turning his head away pathetically.
"You're horrible!" Zack laughed, placing his free hand to his eyes in embarrassment.
"You're crushing me," Cloud said softly, doing his best to hold in his laugher as he feigned pain.
"That was my intent."
"I'll throw up." Zack paused at this. "On you."
"Damn it." He took his hand from Cloud's chest. "Fine, you win."
Cloud pushed himself back up, but another wave of nausea quickly struck him, and he fell back down to the truck bed.
Zack sighed. "Why don't you take a nap?" he suggested. "It'll keep your mind off your stomach."
Cloud groaned, a hand over his forehead. " ... this sucks."
"It's all psychological. The more you think about it, the worse you'll feel."
The blond let out another groan, covering his eyes with both arms. The two were silent for a moment while Cloud settled down. Eventually one hand found its way to his lips, running over the small cut on his lip from his previous encounter with Aiden.
He looked up to Zack. "Hey, how come you didn't ask me about my bruises?"
Zack didn't bother to turn, seeming quite content sprawled out over the many supplies around them. "Did you expect them to surprise me?"
Cloud thought for a moment. "I guess not."
Zack turned his head, smiling. "Good. I don't like playing your mother anyway."
The blond frowned. "I don't like you playing that either. And I didn't even think you /were./ If my mother ever attacked me with a giant buster sword with insane malice in her eyes, I'd be a bit alarmed."
The SOLDIER murmured his agreement, appearing to doze off next to him. Cloud rubbed his eyes, his stomach settled for the moment.
Cloud sat as still as he could the remainder of the ride, his stomach content as he relaxed against the side of the truck, trying his best to ignore the many bumps they hit and the turns they seemed to make. Zack had fallen asleep beside him, taking his own advice to rest up before they reached Antei.
Cloud had only just begun to drift off when the truck jostled once more, sending a sudden, strange feeling of needles to his face. The blond shook his head dreamily, only half awake, but the feeling remained. The world was blurred slightly when he forced his eyes open, but Cloud did his best to pull himself back, blinking in the dim light.
The feeling had reached his nose, now, and his quickly brought a hand to his face to brush it away. Instead, his hand hit something hard.
He was now awake. Cloud's eyes focused quickly on the obstruction. It was Zack. Of course.
"You could kill someone with that hair," he mumbled, turning his face away from the mess. Zack didn't move. "Come on," he groaned, attempting to shrug the other man off his shoulder. "You've made your point ... whatever it was. Get off."
Zack mumbled something incoherently, shifting in his spot. His head fell back slightly, still very much on top of the much smaller blond, his face now visible. He was asleep.
"Oh god. You're the biggest ... " Cloud shook his head, nearly laughing. "I hope you're faking, and can hear every word I say."
It was another moment before the situation finally struck him. All at once the blond felt the blood rush to his face, his ears and cheeks burning despite his isolation.
"Hey ... come on, get off," his voice was softer now, unable to decide if he truly wanted him to wake up. Waking up to find out you had fallen asleep on someone who simply sat there, and hadn't even bothered to try and move you? He wasn't sure Zack would be too thrilled.
His face was still red as he tried to move, the impossibly heavy man refusing to budge from his position wedged between Cloud and a nearby box.
He was asleep on him. His entire life he had been ignored by those he wanted to accept him, thrown out before he could even see in. The one person that mattered to him looked over him without hesitation, the one person he looked up to hadn't the faintest idea of even his simple existence. He was perpetually alone, never to know something as simple as friendship, and now some giant hulking /ogre/ had fallen asleep in the crook of his neck, sleeping as soundly as a child.
Tifa had never fallen asleep on his shoulder ... although, Zack's father hadn't beaten the shit out of him, either, so there was no real parallel, was there?
There was no escape. The blond sighed, resigning himself to the situation. Slowly he let his head move, resting on Zack's, tentatively increasing the weight as he relaxed to be sure the other man wouldn't wake. He wondered briefly what someone else might think upon seeing them: a small, emaciated, spiky-haired young recruit holding a SOLDIER first class nearly twice his size as he mumbled and cursed in his sleep, all the while unconsciously nestling closer?
He was sure the held in laughter at the image would wake Zack, but the dark haired soldier merely shifted again, sliding down slightly so that he rested farm more comfortably on Cloud's shoulder.
"This is almost pathetic," Cloud said out loud. There was no response from Zack, and the blond finally smiled, almost content.
--------------------------------
They reached the Antei outskirts by late afternoon, the town relatively quiet for one under the control of someone Shinra saw as a tremendous threat. Zack's small motley army gathered together by the two trucks, unpacking behind the now two commanders.
"This is Antei?" Zack asked, looking over the town. He could count roughly five buildings amid the endless fields.
Cloud ruffled his spikes. "I guess it's fairly ... agrarian?"
"If you were a crazed madman bent on seeking revenge on the company that wronged you, wouldn't you try taking over a town that might, I dont know, /mean/ something to the rest of the world?"
"Maybe he's a bit lacking in confidence." Cloud answered.
"Excuse me, Sir?" one of the soldiers called from behind. Zack pulled himself away from his survey of the pathetic town. "What should we do with all our supplies?"
He turned back, looking to the buildings downheartedly. "I guess we need to find our hotel."
Cloud blinked. "There's a hotel?"
"Well, Shinra put us up /somewhere./ I assume it was in some form of a ... hotel." The two men were quiet. There was a sudden aroma of cows. Zack wrinkled his nose. "Of course Shinra would send me here." Cloud looked to him. "Send Zack to the town full of cow shit, we wouldn't want to dirty our precious general," he sighed. "Okay, let's go."
--------------------------------
"Just make yourselves at home," the old man said, smiling cheerfully as he carried an unmarked box through the door.
Cloud stood in the doorway, slightly unsure of what was happening. The young Wutai soldier, Yasuhiko, stood behind him, gazing into the building as well. Zack stood some distance off, looking particularly downtrodden.
Yasuhiko cleared his throat, leaning in from behind Cloud once the old man had wondered into another room. "We're staying in a ... barn, Sir?"
"It's not a barn!" Zack snapped, shooting the boy a quick glare. "This man has been kind enough to loan his home and his guest-house to Shinra, so show a little respect, /soldier./" Zack turned away, but his expression quickly fell, his disappointment with the accommodations too obvious to ignore. "We can't stay in the heart of the town, we'd be too conspicuous. The SOLDIER is at the very base of the mountains behind Antei, if he was barred in, there's no telling what kind of destruction he'd cause before we even got to him."
The boy nodded slightly. "We're staying in a /barn,/ Sir."
Zack sighed and walked to him, picking up a bundle at the boy's side. "It's a terrible inconvenience, I know. Since you seem to have such a problem, how about you go sleep out in the fields tonight." The SOLDIER tossed the bag into the boy's chest. Yasuhiko held back a scowl.
The owner returned soon after. "You don't have to stand in the doorway, come in, come in!" He ushered Cloud and Yasuhiko in, still beaming. "There are less rooms here, but enough for you. I hope you know how proud we are to be helping Shinra like this, and how grateful we are for you to be helping our town."
Cloud did his best to smile. "We appreciate you letting us stay here, too."
The man returned the expression, carrying another small bag deeper into the house. The three were alone again.
"Well, I think I'll have a shower," Zack announced. He turned, glancing at Yasuhiko. "Why don't you get me some towels."
The boy stood still for a moment, an internal debate flaring up. He had been attacked by him once, Cloud knew the boy sensed something fishy when Zack brought him along to their quarters. The boy shook his head and walked off.
Cloud glared at his friend, finally able to speak his mind. "You're being a bastard."
"Did I ask for your opinion?"
Cloud scowled, Zack's arrogance something he had rarely seen. "You going to run me into the ground, too?"
"Just drop it," he said, shooting an angry glare. Cloud looked away.
Anger was one thing, and so was irritability. But when Zack started directing it to people other than the bureaucratic Shinra fodder he usually did and to kids that were grossly undeserving, including himself, he could only attempt to hold in his anger. Cloud thought for a moment of what his anger would be compared to Zack's sheer strength. It wasn't much.
Yasuhiko returned, carrying his commander's requested items. He stopped next to Zack. "Anything else, Sir?" he asked, his voice thick with contempt.
Zack brought a hand to his chin, stroking it slightly. "I think I'll put you on guard duty. I wouldn't want my privacy invaded."
The boy visibly swallowed down a retort.
Cloud rolled his eyes. "Zack ... "
"Of course, Sir," Yasuhiko managed, bloodshed in his eyes. Zack smiled, taking the towels from his arms and walking off down the hall. Cloud and the soldier stood for a moment, looking after him. Finally, they followed.
"Just stay here, kid. I trust you won't run off." Zack opened the door to what they assumed to be the bathroom. Yasuhiko nodded, having given up on his attempt at rebellion. Zack flashed another quick smile before disappearing behind the door.
It wasn't until they could both hear the sound of running water that Yasuhiko sighed, releasing his tension all at once.
"Jesus, what an ass," he mumbled, leaning against the wall.
Cloud mimicked the motion opposite him. "I know. We should do something about it. He's not normally like this."
The soldier looked to him curiously. "Do something about it? Yeah right, and get cited for insubordination? No thanks, I've dealt with these guys before."
"'These guys?'" Cloud asked.
"You know, 'first class' SOLDIERs," Yasuhiko scowled. "They've all got this superiority complex. Real class-acts."
"Class-acts?" Cloud nearly laughed, motioning to the closed door. "Him? I really don't think so. If he wasn't acting like this I'd almost want to defend him. He's not normally this bad, though. He's a pretty nice guy most of the time ... just not ... now. He's done a lot for me, anyway."
Yasuhiko shook his head. "So? You're friends with him. Of course he'll treat /you/ different, but the rest of us poor slobs are left trying to come up with some new fashion of licking boots that they've yet to see."
"I suppose you're right," the blond agreed, a sudden plan brewing. "So I guess that means I can get away with a lot more than you could."
Yasuhiko snorted. "Yeah, no shit."
Cloud felt a sly grin coming. "So we'll get back at him. And I'll take the blame."
The soldier was silent, looking to the blond with disbelief. "You /do/ know that this is a, uh, military, right?"
Cloud waved the comment away, smiling as he walked to the door. "This is /Shinra./ If you really want to consider it a military, though, go right ahead."
Yasuhiko pushed himself off the wall quickly, reaching an arm out to Cloud as he neared the doorknob, hissing violently. "What are you doing?!"
"Don't worry! All you have to do is go stand guard down at the end of the hall. He'll never even see you."
"What do you--No, do you have any idea what you're--?!" Yasuhiko grabbed Cloud's arm, but was abruptly shook off. The blond flashed a reassuring smile as he opened the door, silently stepping in.
The other soldier looked around the hallway quickly in his absence, his eyes wide with fear. Cloud stepped back out in an instant, closing the door quietly behind him, the soft sound of running water muted once more. Yasuhiko stared at him in relative disbelief, Cloud's arms were completely full of towels.
"You have a death-wish, don't you?" he asked. Cloud grinned.
It would be awhile before the small town of Antei returned to normal. It would take awhile for /any/ town to resume it's normal life when a maniac took it hostage and held it for ransom, occasionally causing the random casualty among the townsfolk, but Cloud knew that the brief ten-minute hysteria of a malevolent, bloodthirsty, and more importantly, naked SOLDIER first class of questionable sanity ravaging through the town square in hot pursuit of another young soldier who didn't seem very concerned with the fact that he was being chased by said naked, crazed man was what would linger in the town after Shinra's occupancy was complete.
The doors to a small bar slammed open as Cloud burst in, tripping slightly as he ran for cover.
"I swear to /god,/ Cloud, the worst imaginable death!" Zack bellowed, entering no less dramatically behind him, "The /worst imaginable death!!/"
Cloud made his way quickly around a table, placing the necessary distance between him and Zack. He paused as Zack reached the opposite end, trying hard to conceal his amusement.
"Pathetic excuse for a soldier? I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't think your actions are reflecting too well on Shinra. I was under the impression that it's company policy to wear your uniform at all times while on assignment."
The rage intensified. Cloud took the moment of calm (well, it wasn't exactly calm, but the increased fervor that Zack seemed to suddenly have was for the most part being spent on the grip he held on the table,) to steal a glance around the pub. A lone man watched the event, a drunken haze changing his surprise to confusion, and the doors opened again, a group of soldiers rushing in to watch the events.
"Do you fear death, Strife?!" Zack continued to yell, nearly splitting the table. Cloud held the other end, his well-trained apathetic mask serving the event /quite/ well.
"You know, no one forced you to try and kill me while you were /still/ naked. You could have easily gotten your clothes /before/ trying to find me."
"Never try to reason with a man on the edge, Strife!" Zack yelled, the table creaking under the weight.
"I think he enjoys the attention," A soldier said quietly.
"Do you think I can't hear you, you little shit?!"
The boy's eyes went wide as Zack's attention fell on him. The SOLDIER growled once more and the boy turned instantly, exiting the bar before the rage could designate him as a new target.
"I just felt as though you should learn the error of your ways, Zack," Cloud said. The SOLDIER's eyes fell on him again.
"I will kill you. I will kill you a hundred times over and when I'm done I will kill you again."
"You shouldn't take your soldiers so lightly. You wouldn't want a mutiny on your hands."
"I will crush you into oblivion before a mutiny is even the slightest sliver of a dream of a thought in any of my soldier's minds!"
"/You're/ the one who's--"
Clouds words were cut as Zack lunged forward, toppling a chair in the process. The blond took off just as quickly, cursing quietly as he slid across the floor, his small size giving him the advantage over the hulking brute that followed. Together they broke through the group gathered at the door, all of who quickly followed behind.
Using his speed and his knowledge of Zack's rage (the term "blinded by anger" was most obviously coined by someone who had been near the SOLDIER at a fairly bad time,) Cloud managed to take a corner in the small town before Zack could reach it, and disappeared from his sight.
"You can't escape, Cloud! No matter where you go, no matter what you do, I will find you!"
Backtracking slightly, Cloud spotted a small general store near the bar, and made his way to it without hesitation.
He threw himself in, a handful of the soldiers already in hiding. Scrambling toward the window, Cloud watched as Zack stormed his trail, his fervor not yet spent. Another man appeared across the small street outside their safe haven.
"The mayor," one soldier said behind him. Cloud's face fell.
The mayor was only a few feet from Zack when they noticed each other. The older man froze in his spot, as did Zack. "Lieuten... " he paused, his eyes wide and painfully fixated on the other man's face.
Zack's fighting stance dissolved. "Ah. Good evening, Sir."
The mayor swallowed hard, turning his head to the side. "Is there ... something I can help you with?"
Zack did his best to smile. "Oh, no, no, I'm just ... just, exercising a bit."
"Ah," the mayor nodded, doing his best to seem understanding. "Well, uh, perhaps, at least while you're here ... you could ... exercise indoors?"
The SOLDIER nodded politely. "Oh, by all means."
Inside the shop, Cloud fell to his knees, his face covered by one hand. The other soldiers patted his back and laughed, congratulating him for his deeds. Cloud smiled as he hid his face, red from an embarrassment he wasn't sure was his. The soldiers were allied behind him now. He had found the nature of leadership. Childish pranks and the degrading of the commanding officer. He should write a book.
Cloud took up camp inside one of the small farmhouse bedrooms. His unofficial promotion, which only really stood for the fact that he was being forced to do Zack's unwanted work, had given him plenty of papers to sort through. Release forms that needed checking, contracts between Antei and Shinra, the sort of pointless work that could only come from a high-nosed business turned military.
The door opened behind him, and Cloud sat straight in his seat. He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"Oh, good, you're doing the reports?" Zack walked up behind him and took a small file. "This is all I need."
The blond turned slowly. "That's all you need?" Where was the sword? Where was the rope and the tape and the various other tools of bondage that would be holding him together while the shit was beaten out of him?
Zack nodded. "Yeah, I need to show the Mayor a few things before we call it a night." The SOLDIER stood next to him for a moment, engrossed in what he held. Cloud looked around nervously.
"You're ... not going to kill me?"
Zack looked to him with a smile, placing a hand on his head. "Kill you? Come now, Cloud, think a /little/ higher of me. I wouldn't /kill/ you. Hurt you, yes. Maim, possibly. Tie you upside down and leave you hanging from the rafters of the training room for weeks on end while I practice my aim, probably." he ruffled his spikes for a moment, his smile ceasing to fade. Cloud sank into his seat as Zack stepped back. "I have it all planned out, so don't worry yourself. Just wait until we get back to Midgar."
The SOLDIER flashed another smile as he turned, lifting a white sheet from his shoulder. Cloud scowled. The damp towel dropped onto his head, and Cloud sat still, listening as the door opened and closed, and the room fell silent once more. He sighed. It was going to be a great week.
-------------------------------------------------------------
FF7 Fan Fiction
Chapter 7
-------------------------------------------------------------
There were only two definite explanations for what was happening, Cloud realized only moments after arriving for their departure, and based on what he had always been taught the apocalypse would look and feel like, it wasn't the end of the world.
No, it was something far worse. He felt it in the pit of his stomach as hard as a rock as suddenly the eyes of every soldier around fell upon him, looking him up and down, examining him, inspecting him as though he weren't human. But it wasn't this act alone that made Cloud's stomach twist and turn in anxiety: it was what was in their eyes, their stance, the whispered words between them.
The ten or so young soldiers stood around him in a semi-circle, looking between him, back to each other, and finally to the Gongagain monster that stood by his side, a massive, face-splitting grin quite set as he leaned on Cloud's shoulder, looking out over his small troop with a slightly more than obvious satisfaction.
Although he had trouble deciphering it at first, Cloud soon realized the emotion on all the young soldier's faces. It was awe. Yes, something was definitely wrong.
"Nice to meet you all," Zack beamed, obviously in high spirits. The soldier were silent, watching him strangely, a hint of condescension in their expressions. Zack's smile failed to waver. "I'm sorry, perhaps you don't recognize me. I'm your superior officer. You will be answering to me these next few days and no one else. I won't give you an ounce of respect if you think you can get by being the prideful, naive, pre-pubescent you more than likely all are, understand?"
A few of the soldiers looked between themselves, but the others remained at attention, Zack's benevolent appearance either a foreboding of the hidden, dark, malicious side that was well hidden and undoubtedly a hundred times worse than this appearance of kindness, or simply his true nature, which in and of itself, somehow seemed even more frightening.
Zack stepped away from Cloud, the blond teetering slightly in the absence of the weight, and walked to a near soldier. "I need to brief you all before we head out, but time isn't on our side, so we'll make this quick."
Zack hovered over one soldier for a moment, who looked up in terror, at a complete loss. The boy stammered for a minute, unable to tell if he was being singled out. "Um, yes? Yes, Sir?"
Zack's smile faded slightly into something a bit more empathetic. "Are you afraid of me, soldier?"
If it were possible, the boy's eyes widened even more. "No! No ... Sir?"
"Is that a question?"
" ... No?"
Zack paused momentarily, pondering the humor. It wasn't worth it. "Well I won't draw this out any longer, we need to get moving as soon as possible. The ride north is roughly six hours, so we need all the time we can get." He stepped away from the soldiers and back to Cloud's side, pulling a file off a nearby crate.
"We're going to a small community named Antei," He continued. "Shinra has let a deranged mental case bunker down there with a hell of a lot of weapons, and he's officially holding the town and all it's inhabitants hostage until Shinra pays enough to compensate for the horrific wrongs he assumes he was subject to." A few of the soldiers shuffled in their spot. "We're going to stop him as best we can without endangering any more citizens. That's our mission. Any questions?"
"I have one," a soldier perked up from the back of the group. The soldiers turned to face him. "The man we're going after is an ex-SOLDIER. What exactly happened in Shinra that let him slip through their fingers so easily?"
"I sincerely hope you're not questioning the actions of the company of which you belong." Zack said flatly. Cloud frowned. The same question from the young soldier had come out of Zack's mouth not two hours earlier.
"I believe you were the one who insinuated this company's incompetence with your little speech," the boy said, just as cynically.
"You're not from around here. You look like you're from Wutai. Is that true?" Zack asked, moving to stand in front of the boy.
"It is, Sir."
"Ah," Zack nodded, scratching his chin in a manner that suggested something was brewing within him. "So after the bloody war between Shinra and Wutai that has caused long standing resentment between the two, you decided to come here and ... join Shinra?"
The boy's eyes narrowed slightly. "I was born in Midgar, Sir, as were my parents. We were no where near Wutai during the war."
Zack crossed his arms. "Did the war bother you?"
" ... Of course."
"So now you devote yourself to the very people who destroyed your home?"
"It would seem that way," the boy said, anger apparent.
"It would seem that way?"
"It would seem that way, Sir."
Zack smiled. There were no other questions.
The group then separated: the soldiers together in one small, empty truck, and the two commanders taking their own place in the larger. Cloud didn't bother to ask how he had come to be held in a higher esteem than the other soldiers, pointing it out would only result in him being placed in the back in with the other recruits. He didn't feel up to making waves that would make things worse for him.
Of course he didn't want to rock any boat, but Zack's attitude was grating on him, and Cloud felt it was his duty to try and stop the SOLDIER's rotten treatment of his young army. For the entire morning while the small group packed their supplies into the trucks, Zack had taken it upon himself to try and run them into the ground. Most of his actions were focused on the young boy from Wutai, who's headstrong nature and lack of shame seemed oddly familiar. Cloud was hardly appreciative of Zack, even though the attitude was never directed at him.
It was strange to see. Without realizing it, Cloud had been invited to Zack's private side, a far more friendly, kind, and entertaining personality than the one he saved for Shinra. Still, the change didn't sit well with him.
They both fell into the only open space in the truck, crates and duffel bags lining the sides. Cloud looked over to Zack quickly, ready to speak as soon as they left.
"You do know you're being an ass, right?" He asked. Zack only scowled.
"Oh, I'm just kidding around. It's not my fault if the kid can't decide if he has more Wutai pride or Shinra pride. Besides, it's not like I can treat the soldiers as my friends. I'm their superior officer, I have to act like it."
Cloud paused for a moment. "You don't treat me like that."
"What?" Zack looked to him, not understanding. "Well, no I don't."
"Why not?"
"I just don't."
"I don't count?"
Zack frowned. "Don't get overly sensitive on me now, Cloud. You're a soldier, but you're not ... you're not a /soldier./"
"Ah."
Zack sighed. "You're worried about the cuts, aren't you?"
"Of course I am."
The SOLDIER looked vaguely reassuring. "Don't be."
"How can I not?" Cloud dropped his hands into his lap, resigning himself to the tirade about to spill. "It's the summary of everything I've done here so far. It's all the work and the training and the practice combined. If I don't make it, then what's it all for? I'm not here to be a low-level Shinra lackey, I mean ... What did any of this mean if I didn't succeed?"
"You can't live your life thinking about things that way."
Cloud shook his head softly. "I can't help it, it's true."
They rode in silence for a few minutes before they spoke again.
"There's still a good side to not making it in, you know," Zack said.
"What's that?"
"You don't have to deal with any Mako treatments."
Cloud feigned non-interest for a moment, the subject holding tremendous interest. He looked to Zack with nonchalance. "You've been through that?"
Zack nodded, seemingly comfortable with the topic. "Yeah, sure. It's not as if it's not required."
"Maybe it's a good thing that I won't make it in, then. I couldn't survive that anyway." Cloud laughed quietly, sadly. Something began to creep up on him slowly, washing over him with a chill. He quickly brought a hand to his face, anxiety over the familiar feeling only increasing it's intensity. He held his breath for a moment, attempting to stop the overwhelming feeling. It failed, and Cloud lurched forward as he let out a shaky sigh, his head suddenly spinning.
Zack continued the conversation, oblivious. "Well, not many can."
The blond rocked slightly on his knees, one shaky hand covering his eyes as his breathing suddenly became strained. He could hear as Zack sat up as well, noticing his actions.
"Are you okay?"
Cloud swallowed hard, the hand he held himself up with digging into the bed of the truck. He managed to shake his head.
Zack fell silent, a hand reached out to his shoulder slightly, unsure of what was wrong. "H-hey, I didn't mean it that way," he said suddenly, attempting to pull him back. "It's true not many people can make it through, but that doesn't mean you're automatically one of those--"
Cloud shook his head again, stronger this time. "It's not that."
" ... Then what?"
"I think I'm going to be sick."
Zack was quiet again. " ... What?"
"I think I'm going to be sick," he repeated.
Comprehension dawned. " ... Oh, god, not in the truck!" He fumbled for a moment, trying both to place a safe distance between them, and to pull him back in some form of comfort.
Cloud forced himself back into his original spot, closing his eyes and resting his head on a crate. It was all in the mind. Zack's worried actions calmed at this, but Cloud knew he still sat watching him, both sympathetic and fearful.
"You okay?"
The blond struggled to swallow, crossing still shaky arms over his chest. "No."
" ... Uh--"
"It's fine. I just get motion sickness."
There was a small release of tension. " ... You really got the short end of the stick, didn't you?"
"Stop making me talk, it makes my stomach churn."
They were quiet for a time as Cloud did his best to rationalize his stomach. If he could convince himself that he wasn't really sick, then he wouldn't feel as bad. The idea was much easier in theory than practice, he realized.
Eventually Zack took up interest once more. "You okay now?"
Cloud sighed heavily, anxiety dissipating slightly. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Good. Well, really, don't let yourself get worked up over this SOLDIER stuff so much. Just enjoy what you've got anyway, you're a part of Shinra, that's something to be said."
A small voice began to chirp in the back of Cloud's mind, but he drowned it out. "Maybe."
"Of course. I mean, look at me. When I first joined my instructor told me I'd be flat on my face in the gutter within days. Once I made it past the first cuts he only said it was pure luck, and if I didn't keel over and die on my own since I wouldn't be able to handle it, he'd make sure to help me along. Then after I was cited for 'insubordination,' and again for 'attacking my instructor with the intent to severely injure' I made SOLDIER. He never stopped though, he never once told me I was deserving of the position or that I could make it." Zack paused for a moment, a moral surfacing. "So, see? No one believed that I'd manage anything, and I did."
"You know, you're right," Cloud pushed himself up on his hands. "Knowing that you're a SOLDIER makes me feel a lot better," he said softly.
Zack turned to him. "Good."
"Well, yeah, shit, if /you/ can make it, anyone can."
Zack eyed him curiously for a moment, and Cloud couldn't hold in his grin. At that, Zack grabbed his shoulder, pushing him down to the truck bed easily. The blond struggled to move out from the one giant hand covering his chest.
"I'll have you know it took a /lot/ for me to get in," Zack said gruffly. Cloud continued to grin, having given up on overpowering the other man.
"I can imagine."
"Bastard," the SOLDIER muttered, doing his best to look irritated. For a man like Zack, it proved fairly difficult.
"You know I can't breathe, right?"
Zack pressed on his chest harder. "Well maybe you shouldn't talk down to me all the time!"
"I'd take your threats more seriously if you didn't /smile/ during them."
Zack scowled, although it quickly broke away. "Do you know how many men I've killed while smiling?"
Cloud forced himself to cough, turning his head away pathetically.
"You're horrible!" Zack laughed, placing his free hand to his eyes in embarrassment.
"You're crushing me," Cloud said softly, doing his best to hold in his laugher as he feigned pain.
"That was my intent."
"I'll throw up." Zack paused at this. "On you."
"Damn it." He took his hand from Cloud's chest. "Fine, you win."
Cloud pushed himself back up, but another wave of nausea quickly struck him, and he fell back down to the truck bed.
Zack sighed. "Why don't you take a nap?" he suggested. "It'll keep your mind off your stomach."
Cloud groaned, a hand over his forehead. " ... this sucks."
"It's all psychological. The more you think about it, the worse you'll feel."
The blond let out another groan, covering his eyes with both arms. The two were silent for a moment while Cloud settled down. Eventually one hand found its way to his lips, running over the small cut on his lip from his previous encounter with Aiden.
He looked up to Zack. "Hey, how come you didn't ask me about my bruises?"
Zack didn't bother to turn, seeming quite content sprawled out over the many supplies around them. "Did you expect them to surprise me?"
Cloud thought for a moment. "I guess not."
Zack turned his head, smiling. "Good. I don't like playing your mother anyway."
The blond frowned. "I don't like you playing that either. And I didn't even think you /were./ If my mother ever attacked me with a giant buster sword with insane malice in her eyes, I'd be a bit alarmed."
The SOLDIER murmured his agreement, appearing to doze off next to him. Cloud rubbed his eyes, his stomach settled for the moment.
Cloud sat as still as he could the remainder of the ride, his stomach content as he relaxed against the side of the truck, trying his best to ignore the many bumps they hit and the turns they seemed to make. Zack had fallen asleep beside him, taking his own advice to rest up before they reached Antei.
Cloud had only just begun to drift off when the truck jostled once more, sending a sudden, strange feeling of needles to his face. The blond shook his head dreamily, only half awake, but the feeling remained. The world was blurred slightly when he forced his eyes open, but Cloud did his best to pull himself back, blinking in the dim light.
The feeling had reached his nose, now, and his quickly brought a hand to his face to brush it away. Instead, his hand hit something hard.
He was now awake. Cloud's eyes focused quickly on the obstruction. It was Zack. Of course.
"You could kill someone with that hair," he mumbled, turning his face away from the mess. Zack didn't move. "Come on," he groaned, attempting to shrug the other man off his shoulder. "You've made your point ... whatever it was. Get off."
Zack mumbled something incoherently, shifting in his spot. His head fell back slightly, still very much on top of the much smaller blond, his face now visible. He was asleep.
"Oh god. You're the biggest ... " Cloud shook his head, nearly laughing. "I hope you're faking, and can hear every word I say."
It was another moment before the situation finally struck him. All at once the blond felt the blood rush to his face, his ears and cheeks burning despite his isolation.
"Hey ... come on, get off," his voice was softer now, unable to decide if he truly wanted him to wake up. Waking up to find out you had fallen asleep on someone who simply sat there, and hadn't even bothered to try and move you? He wasn't sure Zack would be too thrilled.
His face was still red as he tried to move, the impossibly heavy man refusing to budge from his position wedged between Cloud and a nearby box.
He was asleep on him. His entire life he had been ignored by those he wanted to accept him, thrown out before he could even see in. The one person that mattered to him looked over him without hesitation, the one person he looked up to hadn't the faintest idea of even his simple existence. He was perpetually alone, never to know something as simple as friendship, and now some giant hulking /ogre/ had fallen asleep in the crook of his neck, sleeping as soundly as a child.
Tifa had never fallen asleep on his shoulder ... although, Zack's father hadn't beaten the shit out of him, either, so there was no real parallel, was there?
There was no escape. The blond sighed, resigning himself to the situation. Slowly he let his head move, resting on Zack's, tentatively increasing the weight as he relaxed to be sure the other man wouldn't wake. He wondered briefly what someone else might think upon seeing them: a small, emaciated, spiky-haired young recruit holding a SOLDIER first class nearly twice his size as he mumbled and cursed in his sleep, all the while unconsciously nestling closer?
He was sure the held in laughter at the image would wake Zack, but the dark haired soldier merely shifted again, sliding down slightly so that he rested farm more comfortably on Cloud's shoulder.
"This is almost pathetic," Cloud said out loud. There was no response from Zack, and the blond finally smiled, almost content.
--------------------------------
They reached the Antei outskirts by late afternoon, the town relatively quiet for one under the control of someone Shinra saw as a tremendous threat. Zack's small motley army gathered together by the two trucks, unpacking behind the now two commanders.
"This is Antei?" Zack asked, looking over the town. He could count roughly five buildings amid the endless fields.
Cloud ruffled his spikes. "I guess it's fairly ... agrarian?"
"If you were a crazed madman bent on seeking revenge on the company that wronged you, wouldn't you try taking over a town that might, I dont know, /mean/ something to the rest of the world?"
"Maybe he's a bit lacking in confidence." Cloud answered.
"Excuse me, Sir?" one of the soldiers called from behind. Zack pulled himself away from his survey of the pathetic town. "What should we do with all our supplies?"
He turned back, looking to the buildings downheartedly. "I guess we need to find our hotel."
Cloud blinked. "There's a hotel?"
"Well, Shinra put us up /somewhere./ I assume it was in some form of a ... hotel." The two men were quiet. There was a sudden aroma of cows. Zack wrinkled his nose. "Of course Shinra would send me here." Cloud looked to him. "Send Zack to the town full of cow shit, we wouldn't want to dirty our precious general," he sighed. "Okay, let's go."
--------------------------------
"Just make yourselves at home," the old man said, smiling cheerfully as he carried an unmarked box through the door.
Cloud stood in the doorway, slightly unsure of what was happening. The young Wutai soldier, Yasuhiko, stood behind him, gazing into the building as well. Zack stood some distance off, looking particularly downtrodden.
Yasuhiko cleared his throat, leaning in from behind Cloud once the old man had wondered into another room. "We're staying in a ... barn, Sir?"
"It's not a barn!" Zack snapped, shooting the boy a quick glare. "This man has been kind enough to loan his home and his guest-house to Shinra, so show a little respect, /soldier./" Zack turned away, but his expression quickly fell, his disappointment with the accommodations too obvious to ignore. "We can't stay in the heart of the town, we'd be too conspicuous. The SOLDIER is at the very base of the mountains behind Antei, if he was barred in, there's no telling what kind of destruction he'd cause before we even got to him."
The boy nodded slightly. "We're staying in a /barn,/ Sir."
Zack sighed and walked to him, picking up a bundle at the boy's side. "It's a terrible inconvenience, I know. Since you seem to have such a problem, how about you go sleep out in the fields tonight." The SOLDIER tossed the bag into the boy's chest. Yasuhiko held back a scowl.
The owner returned soon after. "You don't have to stand in the doorway, come in, come in!" He ushered Cloud and Yasuhiko in, still beaming. "There are less rooms here, but enough for you. I hope you know how proud we are to be helping Shinra like this, and how grateful we are for you to be helping our town."
Cloud did his best to smile. "We appreciate you letting us stay here, too."
The man returned the expression, carrying another small bag deeper into the house. The three were alone again.
"Well, I think I'll have a shower," Zack announced. He turned, glancing at Yasuhiko. "Why don't you get me some towels."
The boy stood still for a moment, an internal debate flaring up. He had been attacked by him once, Cloud knew the boy sensed something fishy when Zack brought him along to their quarters. The boy shook his head and walked off.
Cloud glared at his friend, finally able to speak his mind. "You're being a bastard."
"Did I ask for your opinion?"
Cloud scowled, Zack's arrogance something he had rarely seen. "You going to run me into the ground, too?"
"Just drop it," he said, shooting an angry glare. Cloud looked away.
Anger was one thing, and so was irritability. But when Zack started directing it to people other than the bureaucratic Shinra fodder he usually did and to kids that were grossly undeserving, including himself, he could only attempt to hold in his anger. Cloud thought for a moment of what his anger would be compared to Zack's sheer strength. It wasn't much.
Yasuhiko returned, carrying his commander's requested items. He stopped next to Zack. "Anything else, Sir?" he asked, his voice thick with contempt.
Zack brought a hand to his chin, stroking it slightly. "I think I'll put you on guard duty. I wouldn't want my privacy invaded."
The boy visibly swallowed down a retort.
Cloud rolled his eyes. "Zack ... "
"Of course, Sir," Yasuhiko managed, bloodshed in his eyes. Zack smiled, taking the towels from his arms and walking off down the hall. Cloud and the soldier stood for a moment, looking after him. Finally, they followed.
"Just stay here, kid. I trust you won't run off." Zack opened the door to what they assumed to be the bathroom. Yasuhiko nodded, having given up on his attempt at rebellion. Zack flashed another quick smile before disappearing behind the door.
It wasn't until they could both hear the sound of running water that Yasuhiko sighed, releasing his tension all at once.
"Jesus, what an ass," he mumbled, leaning against the wall.
Cloud mimicked the motion opposite him. "I know. We should do something about it. He's not normally like this."
The soldier looked to him curiously. "Do something about it? Yeah right, and get cited for insubordination? No thanks, I've dealt with these guys before."
"'These guys?'" Cloud asked.
"You know, 'first class' SOLDIERs," Yasuhiko scowled. "They've all got this superiority complex. Real class-acts."
"Class-acts?" Cloud nearly laughed, motioning to the closed door. "Him? I really don't think so. If he wasn't acting like this I'd almost want to defend him. He's not normally this bad, though. He's a pretty nice guy most of the time ... just not ... now. He's done a lot for me, anyway."
Yasuhiko shook his head. "So? You're friends with him. Of course he'll treat /you/ different, but the rest of us poor slobs are left trying to come up with some new fashion of licking boots that they've yet to see."
"I suppose you're right," the blond agreed, a sudden plan brewing. "So I guess that means I can get away with a lot more than you could."
Yasuhiko snorted. "Yeah, no shit."
Cloud felt a sly grin coming. "So we'll get back at him. And I'll take the blame."
The soldier was silent, looking to the blond with disbelief. "You /do/ know that this is a, uh, military, right?"
Cloud waved the comment away, smiling as he walked to the door. "This is /Shinra./ If you really want to consider it a military, though, go right ahead."
Yasuhiko pushed himself off the wall quickly, reaching an arm out to Cloud as he neared the doorknob, hissing violently. "What are you doing?!"
"Don't worry! All you have to do is go stand guard down at the end of the hall. He'll never even see you."
"What do you--No, do you have any idea what you're--?!" Yasuhiko grabbed Cloud's arm, but was abruptly shook off. The blond flashed a reassuring smile as he opened the door, silently stepping in.
The other soldier looked around the hallway quickly in his absence, his eyes wide with fear. Cloud stepped back out in an instant, closing the door quietly behind him, the soft sound of running water muted once more. Yasuhiko stared at him in relative disbelief, Cloud's arms were completely full of towels.
"You have a death-wish, don't you?" he asked. Cloud grinned.
It would be awhile before the small town of Antei returned to normal. It would take awhile for /any/ town to resume it's normal life when a maniac took it hostage and held it for ransom, occasionally causing the random casualty among the townsfolk, but Cloud knew that the brief ten-minute hysteria of a malevolent, bloodthirsty, and more importantly, naked SOLDIER first class of questionable sanity ravaging through the town square in hot pursuit of another young soldier who didn't seem very concerned with the fact that he was being chased by said naked, crazed man was what would linger in the town after Shinra's occupancy was complete.
The doors to a small bar slammed open as Cloud burst in, tripping slightly as he ran for cover.
"I swear to /god,/ Cloud, the worst imaginable death!" Zack bellowed, entering no less dramatically behind him, "The /worst imaginable death!!/"
Cloud made his way quickly around a table, placing the necessary distance between him and Zack. He paused as Zack reached the opposite end, trying hard to conceal his amusement.
"Pathetic excuse for a soldier? I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't think your actions are reflecting too well on Shinra. I was under the impression that it's company policy to wear your uniform at all times while on assignment."
The rage intensified. Cloud took the moment of calm (well, it wasn't exactly calm, but the increased fervor that Zack seemed to suddenly have was for the most part being spent on the grip he held on the table,) to steal a glance around the pub. A lone man watched the event, a drunken haze changing his surprise to confusion, and the doors opened again, a group of soldiers rushing in to watch the events.
"Do you fear death, Strife?!" Zack continued to yell, nearly splitting the table. Cloud held the other end, his well-trained apathetic mask serving the event /quite/ well.
"You know, no one forced you to try and kill me while you were /still/ naked. You could have easily gotten your clothes /before/ trying to find me."
"Never try to reason with a man on the edge, Strife!" Zack yelled, the table creaking under the weight.
"I think he enjoys the attention," A soldier said quietly.
"Do you think I can't hear you, you little shit?!"
The boy's eyes went wide as Zack's attention fell on him. The SOLDIER growled once more and the boy turned instantly, exiting the bar before the rage could designate him as a new target.
"I just felt as though you should learn the error of your ways, Zack," Cloud said. The SOLDIER's eyes fell on him again.
"I will kill you. I will kill you a hundred times over and when I'm done I will kill you again."
"You shouldn't take your soldiers so lightly. You wouldn't want a mutiny on your hands."
"I will crush you into oblivion before a mutiny is even the slightest sliver of a dream of a thought in any of my soldier's minds!"
"/You're/ the one who's--"
Clouds words were cut as Zack lunged forward, toppling a chair in the process. The blond took off just as quickly, cursing quietly as he slid across the floor, his small size giving him the advantage over the hulking brute that followed. Together they broke through the group gathered at the door, all of who quickly followed behind.
Using his speed and his knowledge of Zack's rage (the term "blinded by anger" was most obviously coined by someone who had been near the SOLDIER at a fairly bad time,) Cloud managed to take a corner in the small town before Zack could reach it, and disappeared from his sight.
"You can't escape, Cloud! No matter where you go, no matter what you do, I will find you!"
Backtracking slightly, Cloud spotted a small general store near the bar, and made his way to it without hesitation.
He threw himself in, a handful of the soldiers already in hiding. Scrambling toward the window, Cloud watched as Zack stormed his trail, his fervor not yet spent. Another man appeared across the small street outside their safe haven.
"The mayor," one soldier said behind him. Cloud's face fell.
The mayor was only a few feet from Zack when they noticed each other. The older man froze in his spot, as did Zack. "Lieuten... " he paused, his eyes wide and painfully fixated on the other man's face.
Zack's fighting stance dissolved. "Ah. Good evening, Sir."
The mayor swallowed hard, turning his head to the side. "Is there ... something I can help you with?"
Zack did his best to smile. "Oh, no, no, I'm just ... just, exercising a bit."
"Ah," the mayor nodded, doing his best to seem understanding. "Well, uh, perhaps, at least while you're here ... you could ... exercise indoors?"
The SOLDIER nodded politely. "Oh, by all means."
Inside the shop, Cloud fell to his knees, his face covered by one hand. The other soldiers patted his back and laughed, congratulating him for his deeds. Cloud smiled as he hid his face, red from an embarrassment he wasn't sure was his. The soldiers were allied behind him now. He had found the nature of leadership. Childish pranks and the degrading of the commanding officer. He should write a book.
Cloud took up camp inside one of the small farmhouse bedrooms. His unofficial promotion, which only really stood for the fact that he was being forced to do Zack's unwanted work, had given him plenty of papers to sort through. Release forms that needed checking, contracts between Antei and Shinra, the sort of pointless work that could only come from a high-nosed business turned military.
The door opened behind him, and Cloud sat straight in his seat. He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"Oh, good, you're doing the reports?" Zack walked up behind him and took a small file. "This is all I need."
The blond turned slowly. "That's all you need?" Where was the sword? Where was the rope and the tape and the various other tools of bondage that would be holding him together while the shit was beaten out of him?
Zack nodded. "Yeah, I need to show the Mayor a few things before we call it a night." The SOLDIER stood next to him for a moment, engrossed in what he held. Cloud looked around nervously.
"You're ... not going to kill me?"
Zack looked to him with a smile, placing a hand on his head. "Kill you? Come now, Cloud, think a /little/ higher of me. I wouldn't /kill/ you. Hurt you, yes. Maim, possibly. Tie you upside down and leave you hanging from the rafters of the training room for weeks on end while I practice my aim, probably." he ruffled his spikes for a moment, his smile ceasing to fade. Cloud sank into his seat as Zack stepped back. "I have it all planned out, so don't worry yourself. Just wait until we get back to Midgar."
The SOLDIER flashed another smile as he turned, lifting a white sheet from his shoulder. Cloud scowled. The damp towel dropped onto his head, and Cloud sat still, listening as the door opened and closed, and the room fell silent once more. He sighed. It was going to be a great week.
-------------------------------------------------------------
