Title: Moments of Transition: Conversing with the SOLDIER
Pairings: 1-2x1, Sephiroth x Cloud, Zack1 (one-sided), slight Sephiroth x 1 x Cloud
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW or Final Fantasy 7 character sniffs no matter how much I would love too attempts to steal Heero and Cloud-kun but fails they both belong to there respective owners -looks over at a glaring Duo and Seph-sama and sweatdrops-
Betaed: Yes! A big sankyou to the wonderful Yume Maxwell-Yuy for taking up the challenge!
I'm back! -a cricket chirps in the background- err well it's been a while ne? looks around and grins sheepishly but you may or may not be glad to know that I'm back and ready to spit out some more of my chappies.
I want to dedicate this chapter to Yume-chan and Ashly-chan, without those two this chapter would have taken even longer to come out. Arigatou! -glomps them both-
Also there is a SxC lemon warning for that chapter, so all have been warned
The only light within the dark room was a soft green hue, dimly shining on the ruffled white bed sheets and across the blue material of the other beds occupant. Soft shadows danced across the pale skin of the sleepers face as the owner of the glows eyes lay there silently in the night, propped up on one elbow, watching his lover sleep.
As the blonde figure rolled over, back into the others chest, Sephiroth lifted his one free arm up to carefully brush away the few blonde spikes that obscured his vision of his lovers sleeping features.
Satisfied with his efforts, Sephiroth returned his arm to its position draped around the trooper's thin waist, smiling softly as he caught sight of sleepy sapphire eyes fluttering open to stare up into his own.
"How are you feeling?" Cloud whispered into the stillness of the night as he took in his lover's appearance, knowing that when he had seen him a few hours earlier, the General was still fully dressed in his uniform but now Sephiroth was only dressed in his pajama pants. It took all of the blonde's will power to turn his attention away from his lover's finely sculptured chest and up to the glowing jade eyes that never wavered from his own.
Pulling Cloud in closer to his body, the silver-haired man tightened his one armed embrace as he breathed in the scent of his lover. Leaning down to place a single kiss on the blonde's forehead, Sephiroth answered "Much better now"
The blonde smiled sleepily at the older man before languidly stretching his limbs out. After a small yawn escaped his lips, the blonde trooper settled back into his lovers embrace "How long have you been awake?"
"I awoke a few hours ago and changed out of my uniform. I've been awake ever since" Eyeing Cloud's still fully clothed status, the General casually noted "And by the looks of things, you need to do the same thing"
Looking dumbfounded only for a moment as the question had caught him off guard, Cloud grinned sheepishly when realization hit him and looked down to find himself still fully clothed in his soldiers uniform.
"Sorry about that, I'll be right back" The blonde announced as he began to get out of the bed but an arm snaked its way around his waist and pulled him back down onto the mattress, and soon enough, Cloud found himself to be pinned beneath his lovers larger frame. Looking up into the expressionless face above him, Cloud simply raised a single golden brow in question and lightly demanded "Seph, let me up"
Drinking in the sight of the blonde pinned beneath him, a seductive smirk crossed the silver-haired General's features as he leant down closer to whisper into Cloud's ear "Allow me to help"
Releasing his tight grip on Cloud's arms, Sephiroth slowly trailed his fingers up the blue jacket and to the small black button positioned right at the top. Gently gripping the button, the General began to slide it through the button hole as he leant down and captured the blonde's lips with his own. Smiling smugly into the kiss as he felt a familiar hardness beginning to press into his own, Sephiroth started on the next button along the line as the blonde beneath him opened his mouth, allowing the silver- haired man's tongue into the moist cavern.
Pressing himself in further to deepen the kiss, Sephiroth ran his tongue over every inch of the blonde trooper's mouth as if he were claiming it as his own, before attempting to coax the others tongue to duel with his own. Hastening his hand movements when he reached the next button, Sephiroth continuously cursed the human need for air as a dull burning sensation began to spread throughout his lungs, not wanting to end the kiss just yet though, he plastered his mouth closer to Cloud's earning himself a slight moan from his lover, which in turn caused the General of the entire Shinra army to fumble with the last remaining button.
Breaking apart when the last button came undone, Sephiroth sat back and stared down at his panting lover as his hands slowly opened the jacket up, wanting, no needing to see the pale skin hidden beneath. What he saw though made a single silver brow rise up as amusement shone in his usually expressionless jade eyes "A tank top today Strife?"
Sephiroth fought hard to keep the smile off his face as he watched in amusement as a light blush made its way across his lover's face as Cloud blurted out "Well I didn't want to get cold and it was freezing outside today incase you didn't notice!"
The General simply smirked in response before leaning back down again, his mouth this time paying attention to the newly revealed neck by gently sinking his teeth into the junction between the neck and shoulder.
Moaning once again as Sephiroth marked his neck, Cloud brought his own hands up around the General, burying them deeply into the thick silver hair.
Swiping his tongue over the slightly bleeding mark, Sephiroth began to trail kisses up the side of the blonde's neck, along the jaw line, before reattaching his mouth back onto Cloud's.
Releasing his grip on the Generals hair as he felt the urgent taps on his sides, Cloud took his cue and wormed his arms out of the jacket, barely getting his arms out before Sephiroth tugged what he thought of as an offending article of clothing from beneath his smaller frame before bringing his arms back up around his lover.
The silver haired man was barely able to stop himself from ripping Cloud's clothes off that instant and having his way with him as the burning sensation between his legs began to intensify with all the arousing movement going on beneath him by his very affectionate lover.
Now glad that at least one barrier between himself and feeling Cloud's hot sweaty skin beneath his fingers as he rammed repeatedly into that beautiful lithe body was out of the way, Sephiroth deepened the kiss further as his hands trailed down each of the blonde's sides and gently grasped the bottom of the white tank top, the last article needed to be discarded before he could turn his attention to more pressing matters.... mainly getting rid of those damn pants!
But no, he would take things slowly, it would just make his reward more... satisfying... in the end.
Earning himself a slight giggle from the blonde as he began to slowly trail the white material up his body, Sephiroth reluctantly pulled his mouth way from Cloud's tempting lips when it came time for the tank top to be taken off.
Sitting back to admire the view that was his and his alone, glowing jade eyes flashed with anger before narrowing dangerously at the sight that greeted him.
"Care to tell me how this happened?" The General demanded, his eye's trailing over every inch of the dark purple bruise that stood out on the pale skin of Cloud's midsection before turning his attention up to the face of his now panicked lover's face.
When the other only looked away, almost as if he were ashamed and remained silent, Sephiroth's hand shot out to tightly grip the troopers chin, forcing the blonde's attention back to him as he growled out "Who dared to touch you Cloud?" Jealously flaring up even at the thought that some filthy person had dared to touch, let alone hurt, the one thing that solely belonged to him.
Seeing that look that Sephiroth sometimes got in his eyes when it came to him, Cloud forced himself to stay calm as he answered "Just got hurt during training today, that's all"
Releasing his hold on the blondes chin, Sephiroth ran his fingers lightly over the angry bruise, a burning anger beginning to fester at Cloud's unknown attacker as he stated, ice dripping from every single word spoken "Do not play me for a fool Strife, I know for a fact that you did not have any physical training today. I would hate to think that you of all people would start lying to me"
Looking away from the frosty jade eyes intently watching him, shame filled his entire being as his whole demeanor slumped in defeat "I didn't mean to Seph... it's just that it's nothing to worry about, I just made a stupid comment, that's all"
Though the ice melted from his eyes, the anger still simmered in the background quietly as Sephiroth questioned "I heard a report from Zack today about some troopers that have been hassling you, is this incident connected with what I've been told?"
Using all of his strength to push his lover's larger frame off of him as he sat up, Cloud shakily ran a hand through his blonde spikes "Yeah I've had some trouble but it's nothing that I can't handle Seph"
Quietly eyeing the blonde before him, Sephiroth carefully thought over what Zack had spoke of earlier. Closing his eyes, Sephiroth slowly counted to ten in an attempt to calm himself enough before opening them once again "How long has this been going on?"
Shifting nervously under Sephiroth's intense gaze, Cloud hesitated slightly before finally answering "Its been going on for only a little while, a few months at most"
"Is it the boys from your home town?" Sephiroth asked, voice still calm... a little too calm for Cloud's liking.
It took all of Cloud's will power to keep his voice steady as he caught sight of Sephiroth's eyes gradually darkening with anger, although he wasn't quite sure exactly who the anger was directed at 'You idiot Strife! Of course he's angry at you, first of all for being weak but then you have to go ahead and make things worse and lie to the man!' Fully agreeing with his minds voice, the bitterness couldn't be kept from his voice as he answered "Most of them, a few are from other places but they're friends with Damian and his gang"
Mistaking the bitterness in Cloud's voice at being directed at his attackers, Sephiroth, in one graceful movement, stood up from the bed and began to pace back and forth in an attempt to vent some of his pent up frustration at himself from failing to realize something was wrong and to vent his anger at the assailants who dared to hurt his lover.
"I'm sorry Seph" Cloud whispered so quietly to himself that if it wasn't for his Mako enhanced hearing, Sephiroth would have never of heard.
Feeling all the anger and frustration flee him instantly, Sephiroth closed the distance between them and enfolded Cloud tightly into his embrace. Resting his chin on top of his lover's wild golden spikes, the silver- haired man softly said "I'm the one who should be sorry Cloud, I should have noticed sooner that something was wrong"
Bringing up his own arms to wrap around his older lovers well defined frame, Cloud mumbled a quiet "You don't need to be" but otherwise remained silent within the others powerful embrace.
Tightening his grip around his young lover's lithe body, Sephiroth briefly glances over to the digital clock on the nightstand and inwardly sighed in disappointment when he caught sight of the time "We should get some more sleep, there's still a few more hours before classes start and I need you to show our two new guests to the training grounds beforehand"
Not wanting to sleep again just yet, a seductive smirk fell upon Cloud's lips as he moved back slightly to look up into the glowing jade eyes of his lover, all the while absentmindedly trailing his left hand softly up and down Sephiroth's right arm "You never did finish what you started before" Leaning up onto his knees, Cloud's tongue darted out quickly to lap at his lover's ears before he seductively added "And I know just how much you hate to leave things... unfinished"
---Lemon scene Deleted see Note at End---
Running his fingers through the others sweat soaked spikes, Sephiroth smiled as he felt Cloud slip his arms around his waist and snuggle further into his embrace.
Yawning, Cloud rested his head on top of the silver-haired man's strong chest, closing his eyes, he sleepily mumbled "Love you Seph"
Tightening his one armed embrace around the blonde, Sephiroth remained silent for a moment. Looking up to the dark ceiling above him, a sudden uneasy feeling of possessiveness settled upon the General as he continued to run his fingers lightly through Cloud's hair. Sure he had always been a little possessive of the blonde ever since they started seeing each other over a year ago, who wouldn't be of Cloud? But this new feeling felt much stronger, somewhat darker, as thought's of his lover's attackers came flooding back into his mind.
"Sleep Cloud" Sephiroth said as he tried to get his thought's off of that particular subject for the time being, his only answer in return was a soft snore of his lover.
Duo and Reno had gone to bed hours ago, much to Heero's delight. Though he never let on even once, there constant bickering and competition between themselves were bringing up horrible reminders of some of Duo and Wufei's more colourful bouts.
Internally sighing, Heero turned yet another page as he stole a quick glance over to where Duo was currently sleeping on the top bunk, legs and arms sprawled out all over the place, braid trailing over the side of the bunk, while the thin brown rug twisted itself around the Deathscythe pilot's sleeping form.
'At least now they're both quite' Snorting quietly at the irony of the statement Heero dryly added 'Seems to be the only time that braided baka's ever quiet'. Shifting his gaze from Duo to Reno, his Prussian eyes narrowed in thought as he carefully studied their other roommate 'Reno could be a possible threat to the mission if he is not kept preoccupied'. There was just something about the red head that kept not only his mind, but body on alert also. At first glance the tall lanky recruit seemed too laid back for someone who was in the military, but there was something in Reno's grey eyes, a certain sharpness within them that immediately told the Wing pilot that he was anything but a push over.
Directing his gaze back over to Duo's sleeping form, an idea formed in his mind as he thought to himself 'Perhaps the best course of action for the time being is to allow that braided baka to distract the boy while I research our way home'
Deciding to give that option some more thought later, Heero returned his attention back to the book before him, his mind absentmindedly noting the lack of re-appearance on Cloud's part.
'There are a total of five different types of Materia, each with their own set of unique abilities to aid the user:
Independent Materia is purple in colour, this Materia enhances the user's personal abilities. An example of this is the MP Plus Materia, when equipped, this Materia enhances the users magic power level's, which in turn increases the power of the magical attack.
Support Materia are blue in colour, this Materia only becomes active when used in conjunction with the other types of Materia available. For example, if you connect the blue Support Materia All, with a fire Materia, this enables a single fire spell to hit multiple enemy targets simultaneously instead of its usual single target attack. Likewise, when the All Materia is paired up with the Restore Materia, it enables the Materia to cast spells like cure over multiple targets.
Users must be warned though, when any Command or Magic Materia is paired up with the All Materia, spells and attacks will partially lose their effectiveness during battle. For example, attack spells will not deal as much damage and cure spells will not heal as many hit points.
Another example of the blue Support Materia, is if you conjunction a MP Turbo Materia with either a Magic or Summon Materia. When the spell of the Materia paired up with MP Turbo is cast, the MP Turbo Materia automatically adds extra MP (Magic Power) into the casters spell, greatly enhancing the attack power of the original spell.
Command Matera are yellow in colour, this Materia increases the number of attack capabilities during battle allowing the user to use more abilities such as the 2 x Cut Materia which allows the user to attack multiple times in a single turn.
Magic Materia, not only the mostly used but also considered the most important out of all the types, is green in colour. When equipped, this Materia enables the user to cast a variety of attack and defensive spells during battle. Most types of this Materia can be paired up with all of the blue Support Materia, allowing the user to maximize their attack range and/or power.
There are a few exceptions to this though, for example the Magic Materia Shield can not be cast on more than one target at a time, even when paired with the All Materia.
The final type of Materia available is the red Summon Materia. Easily the most powerful type of all the Materia available, this type is considered extremely rare and valuable. If the user is fortunate enough to be in possession of one of these powerful Materia, they will be able to summon powerful beings to aid them in their battles.
Not much is known about the Summon Materia's and how each spell takes on a different form.
All that is known about the Summon Materia is that each one only has a single spell and how each Summon Materia's spell takes on a different form. For example, it has been documented that the Ice Summon Materia takes on the form of a woman, while the Fire Summon Materia takes on the form of a demon.
It is unknown just how many different varieties of Summon Materia there are, it is speculated that there would be at least nine different types, one for each of the elemental categories.
The only known Summon Materia's to date are the Ice Summons Shiva, the Fire Summons Ifrit and the Lightning Summons Ramah'
"That's interesting" Heero mumbled out loud to himself as he quickly reread the last passage
'Perhaps the key for us to go back to our world lies in one of these Summon Materia' the Wing pilot thought to himself as he carefully studied a drawing of three beings just beneath the written text. One an old man dressed in full length robes holding a gnarled staff high above his head, with streams of lightning bolts emerging from the tip of the weapon.
The next was also in the form of a human surrounded in flames, but the two gigantic horns protruding from either side of the creatures head and its sharp claws were enough of a clue to hint that it was anything but.
The last image, set right in the middle of the other two, was of a woman. He noted, while raising an eyebrow at the scantily clad woman that besides the clothing or lack of, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary with her. Granted the pictures were only drawn in black and white, but the woman in the picture didn't look significant one way or the other, it was only the sharp ice shards poking out from behind her that lead Heero to believe that this woman was none other than the ice summons Shiva, therefore concluding that the other two were the fire and lightning summons, Ifrit and Ramah.
Not only had the noise died down but the dim light that earlier crept under the door disappeared hours ago, both went unnoticed by the Japanese pilot though as he continued to read through the texts before him.
'Created by Mako fountains, materia is made up of condensed Mako which streams up through the planet from the Lifestream. This connection to the Lifestream is what powers each type of Materia and gives them the abilities that they hold. It is still unknown up to this date how the condense Mako is able to perform such tasks as magic and summoning but ShinRa scientists believe it is the direct result of the fact that the Lifestream holds all the knowledge of the Ancients that lived on this planet thousands of years ago'
Pausing in his reading, Heero stretched his arms up above his head, earning himself a few pops as his spine cracked 'This Lifestreams been mentioned a number of times, but none of these books so far have much information about it' Prussian eyes shifted their focus over to the slowly decreasing pile of text books and began scanning each title in a hopes to find something that might be related to that topic 'In-depth Materia, Advanced Physics, Biology, Mechanics, Engineering, Advanced Chemistry, History, Blood of the Planet' His gazed switched a few times between the History book and Blood of the Planet as Heero debated with himself which of the two would be more beneficial to read. Concluding that finding a possible way back to their own world outweighed his curiosity to learn more about this world's history, Heero reluctantly withdrew the latter book, leaving the other to read at another time.
'The Lifestream runs all throughout the planet, it is the very substance that keeps this planet alive. In its natural state, Lifestream is turquoise in colour.
Lifestream can be harnessed in three ways, the first being by natural mako fountains, usually found in isolated areas. These fountains over time, produce gems that can harness elemental powers or increase the bearers own power, these gems are what we call 'Materia'
The second way Lifestream can be harnessed is through the use of Mako Reactors, which converts the Lifestream into a useable power supply.
Third and lastly, ShinRa scientist have developed a procedure that enables normal human beings to be injected safely with the refined form of Lifestream, Mako.
When the procedure first started, some participants not physically or mentally prepared did show signs of illness including vomiting, nausea, migraines, extreme sensitivity, partial amnesia and loss of awareness. Some participants had also shown signs of slight psychotic tendencies but after the screening test was introduced, there have been no more cases.
By injecting normal humans with liquid Mako, a person's natural strength, speed and agility can be greatly increased. Other known enhancements include an increase in hearing sensitivity and sight. The only outward sign of a person infused with Mako is by the bearer's eyes, the mako in their system causes the outer retinas to glow in either a soft blue or green colour. This side effect of the procedure is unavoidable but other than that, no other long lasting side effect has been documented.
After the first successful attempts with the procedure, president ShinRa authorized the continuations of the program to create super soldiers to fight for the ShinRa government, calling the program SOLDIER'
Putting the book down once again, Heero leant back in the chair. Glancing over to the still sleeping occupants, the Wing pilot smirked to himself 'I guess it's time to get an unofficial tour of this place, without any of the distractions this time'
Silently making his way out of the room, Heero gently slid the door closed behind him before stealthily making his way over to the exit to the barracks. The Wing pilot cursed his luck though as he reached the door only to realize he needed the use of an elusive keycard to open it. Figuring he could just hotwire the keypad, the Japanese pilot was about to get to work when at the same time the door slid open and Heero came face to chest with a dark blue tank top.
Cursing his luck once again, the Japanese pilot turned his gaze up to find curious hazel eyes looking straight back.
"Couldn't sleep Heero?" Zack asked in mild amusement. Crossing his arms over his chest the dark haired SOLDIER leant up against the door frame, effectively blocking the exit.
Taking a step back from their close proximity, Heero straightened his posture and glared defiantly up at Zack as he only replied "Hn"
Carefully observing the teen before him, the dark haired SOLDIER lifted up one of his hands and began examining his fingernails as he casually remarked "I was just about to make a cup of coffee if you're interested?" And without another word, pushed himself off of the door frame and made his way over to his room, entering a moment later.
A soft hiss was heard and ignored by the Wing pilot as the electronic doors behind him slid shut, leaving the large recreational room bathed only in the light pouring out from the first class SOLDIERs sleeping quarters. 'What is he playing at?' The Wing pilot thought to himself as he stood there in the dark, silently watching the dark haired SOLDIER go about making his drink. Already knowing that this nightly snooping session was ruined, Heero decided that he could get some answers about this world instead. With that decided, the Wing pilot finally entered the squad leaders quarters, the door closing behind with a soft hiss as he passed.
The first thing Heero noted about the room as he scanned the area was that is was the same size as his own room, but it was obvious that this variation was designed to house only one. Over in the far left corner was a single bed, the corner in the far right was where the study desk was situated. Next to that sat a single locker, door unable to close due to the pile of clothes flowing out from within.
What really set this room apart from the others though was the small kitchenette in the corner opposite the main door. It didn't consist of too much, a sink, a microwave, kettle, bar fridge and a small bench, just enough to grab a quick bite to eat. All in all, for a military room, this one was quite luxurious, this observation turned his thoughts towards the good General and just how comfortable his room must be compared to the rest. Blinking in surprise at his wondering thoughts, Heero mentally scolded himself as he thought 'Focus Yuy, you're here to find out how to get home, not what some general's room looks like'
"Ignore the mess, I'm not usually entertaining people in here" Zack joked lightly as he kicked the dirty clothes into the already over flowing locker and attempted to close it "How do you take your coffee?" The SOLDIER asked after a few moments of silence, before making his way back over towards the kitchen.
Walking around the room taking in every detail, Heero absentmindedly answered "White, no sugar"
After the kettle button switched off as the water came to a boil, retrieving two mugs from the single cupboard, Zack then proceeded to pour the hot water into the mugs, adding the coffee afterwards. Opening the fridge, Zack grabbed the small carton of milk in the door, adding it to one of the beverages before returning it back to the fridge.
"Have a seat" Zack offered as he picked the two mugs up from the counter, handing one of them to Heero before taking a seat on his bed "You're both set with the paperwork aspect now, as far as anyone knows, you're both late arrivals from Gongaga. I've created fake birth certificates and residencies, hell I even created fake parents to go with the package" Taking a sip of his beverage, Zack wrapped both of his hands around the hot mug "All we have to do now is test you both to see where you're at. It won't be anything too major since I'm already assuming you both have had military training back in your own world. All we need to find out is how good you are in fighting so we can place you in the right levels.
Study wise, I entered you both into all of Cloud's classes, so there shouldn't be any problems in that area. Now is there anything you wanna ask me?"
Leaning back against the chair, Heero placed the mug upon the desk next to him as he inquired "I read some information on Summon Materia earlier, is there a possibility we can utilize their power in order for us to find a way home?"
Kicking off his boots, Zack took another sip of his drink before answering "Good question, if there's any type of Materia with the power to send you guys home, that would be it" Folding his long legs beneath him as he got comfortable, Zack then continued "Main problem is that stuffs pretty rare, as far as I know there aren't any Summon Materia in storage in ShinRa at the moment, and even if there was, you could betcha that it would be under the tightest security"
"So I should look in other directions?" Heero asked slightly discouraged even though no emotion was evident in the tone of his voice.
"I didn't say that, Summon Materia isn't impossible to find, it's just harder to locate than most other types. Besides I think you would need more than a simple Summons Materia to get you guys home"
Fully agreeing with the SOLDIERs comment, Heero inclined his head in acknowledgement as he stated "I've also concluded the same thing. I will research more into the other types of Materia but from what I've read, so far the Magic Materia and possibly the Support Materia seem to be best suited"
Both eyebrows shot up in surprise before Zack grinned lopsidedly, hazel eyes carefully studying the other boy "I'm impressed, you've only been on this planet for a little over twelve hours and you already know more about Materia than most people who lived on this planet their entire life, what else have you learnt?"
Taken aback from the honesty of the complement, Heero sat there in silence for a moment unsure of how to react to the situation, eventually opting to ignore the whole thing "History, the Wutai War, the geography of your planet, races of people, town locations and I read up on the different fractions within ShinRa"
Blinking in surprised shock at the amount the other had already learnt, Zack whistled in appreciation then grinned "You impress me Heero Yuy, if your combat skills are as good as I think they're going to be, you'll easily make it into the top classes. Has your friend studied as much as you have?"
Zack was a little surprised as the Wing pilot snorted at his question, unsure if it was out of amusement or annoyance, raising an eyebrow in question, the dark haired SOLDIER asked "I guess I should take that as a no?"
"That baka wouldn't study even if his life depended on it. When it comes to Duo, you will soon find out that he has a very short attention span" Heero said in mild annoyance as recent memories of an undercover school mission flashed quickly in his mind.
"Ahh I see" Was all Zack commented with as he downed the rest of his coffee. Placing the empty mug on the ground, the first class SOLDIER leaned back on his bed "So tell me what's your world like? Is it very different from this one?"
Thinking over the question carefully, Heero debated with himself to how much he should say about his own world, and in the end finally decided that certain aspects would be best left unsaid "From what I've read about your world I've found that they're similar in concerns about military and government standings but apart from that our two worlds are different"
"And that's all you're going to say?" Zack asked as a single brow rose up in surprise. When it became obvious that the Wing pilot wasn't going to continue, the dark haired SOLDIER sighed loudly then stood up from the bed "You better get some rest Heero"
Picking up the mug from the desk beside him, without so much as another word, the Japanese boy walked over and placed it in the sink before leaving the room.
Carefully watching every move as Heero left, Zack fell back down onto the bed and sighed "Tomorrow is going to be a long day"
Shielding his eyes from the sun's glare as he stepped out of the building, Zack quickly scanned the training area for any signs of any unexpected training groups but found none. Spinning around towards the two boys behind him, the first class SOLDIER straightened his form and clasped his hands behind his back "Alright, for us to place you properly into the program, we first need to know what you're good at and what you already know. So to start off why don't you two run a few laps to warm up before we really get things going'
Walking past the dark haired SOLDIER and towards the track, Duo spun around and began walking backwards as he eyed the Wing pilot "How about we make things a little more interesting?"
Watching the braided boy warily for a moment, Heero pushed his way past Zack and asked "What do you have in mind?"
Grinning like the Cheshire cat at the others response, the Deathscythe pilot slung an arm around Heero's shoulder and announced "Let's see, if I win this little test we have to go through, you Mr-I-Show-No-Emotions have to declare your eternal love to the Queen of the World"
Paling dramatically at the statement, Heero was speechless for a few moments until an evil glint entered his usually expressionless eyes "Mission accepted, but if I happen to win, you Duo Maxwell will have to repaint your gundam various shades of pink for the entire remainder of the war"
The Deathscythe pilot could feel his jaw crashing down to the ground as his mind comprehended what the other had just announced. Picking his jaw up, Duo's mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to utter a single sound "You want me to paint 'MY' buddy, my only pride and joy, Deathscythe PINK?! Are you totally out of your mind?" Seeing the confident smirk slowly appearing on the Wing pilots face, Duo hastily snatched his arm back as if it had been burnt as he accused "You're serious aren't you?!" At the others nod, Duo's eyes darkened slightly as he said "That's low Yuy, even for you"
"Boys boys, this isn't a competition, we've got a lot of work ahead of us and not much time to do it all, so if you're both finished" Zack interrupted with as he gestured towards the awaiting track, stretching out around the oval.
Still upset of the whole ordeal, Duo directed a deadly glare Heero's way "Fine, it's a deal then" Then silently began his run.
Heero was well aware of the others presence studying him as he watched the Deathscythe pilot's retreating form. Ignoring the unknown feeling beginning to fester within him, Heero was about to join in with the warm up when Zack's voice stopped him "I don't want you to go easy on him Heero"
Turning around slightly at the statement, Prussian eyes widened slightly in shock as Zack then added "I want to see what you're fully capable of" Surprise over took the Wing pilot as he realized that unconsciously he had actually been thinking of going easy on Duo, that and the fact that Zack, a person who has only known him for a single day had somehow known about it.
Unsure of what to think and a little unsettled over the others searching hazel eyes, Heero took a hesitant step backwards before turning around and joining the braided pilot on the track.
"What is it Zack?" Sephiroth asked from his position behind the desk, attention never once leaving the papers that needed signing before him.
Closing the door behind him with his elbow, Zack held up one hand with a tray of food balancing on it, while his other held onto some reports "Thought you could use something to eat since you probably forgot about lunch again anyway"
Waving his hand absentmindedly, Sephiroth signed another document before placing it in the done pile and replying "Fine, put it on the desk and I'll eat it later"
Making his way over towards his friend, Zack carefully slid the tray on the flat surface before unhinging his buster sword from his back before sliding into the available chair.
Pausing in his work, Sephiroth looked up and raised a single pale brow in curiosity as he asked "Is there anything else Zack?"
Over dramatizing his pondering, the dark haired SOLDIER waved a hand dismissively "Oh not much, just thought you might be interested in hearing about our two guests, that's all"
Placing the pen down on the desk top, the General almost growled in annoyance as he asked "And?"
Picking up the pen Sephiroth was just using, Zack began twirling it between his fingers and thumb "Duo's pretty impressive to say the least, his strength came in at 21, dexterity was above average at 16, vitality 17, his magical aspects is where it takes a bit of a dive, he was a little below average at 22" (1)
Nodding his head in approval, Sephiroth leaned back in his seat as he asked "What about Yuy?"
Visually shifting in his seat, the dark haired SOLDIER was uncharacteristically silent, gaining the Generals interest even more as he inquired again "Well?"
Sighing softly, Zack ran a hand through his long spiky main "Heero's an entirely different matter, I mean this kid is unbelievable. His strength came in at 29 Seph, 29! At first I thought it might have been an error so I got him to repeat it again and ended up with the same results"
Impressed but not entirely surprised by this announcement, Sephiroth calmly asked "And in the other areas?"
"His dexterity came in at 14 which is pretty good, Vitality was high at 20 and his magic, by the planet Seph, his magic rating came in at 31 just under yours when you were his age"
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the only sign of his distress, Sephiroth demanded "How many know of this?"
A smile of relief spread across Zack's face as he answered "Only the two of us"
"Good, keep it that way. I want you to scale down their results to match the few top students at their age, they will draw too much attention to themselves otherwise"
"Already consider it done sir" Zack replied as he saluted his superior officer "And of course if you're interested, after lunch break I'm taking the boys to test them out on their sword technique and martial arts, I'll also be able to get their attack ratings too while I'm at it"
Inwardly sneering at the amount of paperwork before him, the silver haired General decided that this once he will put it off for the better offer and slid the unsigned stack away from him "I will bring Cloud along, he would be best for them to go up against to begin with"
"Okay, now that you guys have had a little time to recharge, it's time to find out which type of weapon will be best to train with" Swinging the large buster sword off of his back, Zack held the large blade out before him, his body easily slipping into a battle stance.
Spinning his weapon around once again, the dark haired SOLDIER touched the tip of the blade to the mat and casually leant against the hilt of the sword. Directing his gaze at the Wing pilot, Zack asked "Now are there any questions?"
Flipping his long chestnut hair over his shoulder, Duo placed his hands on his hips as he took a step forward in front of Heero "Yeah I've got one, you said 'We' but all that I see besides Heero and myself is you 'Zack' so who else is watching?"
Before Zack could even respond to the Deathscythe pilot's question, the doors to the gym burst open with a bang as Sephiroth strode into the room with Cloud walking by his side "Sorry we're late" The General announced, walking past the two pilots and stood next to his second in command.
"Wonderful, I always work better with an audience" Duo said while grinning at the thought of being able to show off his skills to more people.
Coming to a stop next to the Japanese pilot, the light flustered look across the blondes face didn't go unnoticed by Heero before he nodded his head to the trooper in greeting.
Gesturing to the General, Zack, ignoring Duo's outburst, announced "General Sephiroth and I will be watching your technique as you battle against cadet Strife with a weapon. SOLDIERs generally use large swords to begin with similar to my own, so the pair of you will be using my buster sword for this session" Turning his attention to the blonde cadet, Zack then continued "Cloud why don't you get another sword from the training rack, Duo's going to be your first opponent"
"Yes!" Duo exclaimed excitedly, bouncing over to where Zack stood, arm stretched out offering the hilt of the sword. Taking hold of the weapon, Duo nearly dropped the large sword as Zack released his hold and the full weight of the blade fell into his hands "I'm okay" Duo absentmindedly said as he struggled for a moment to keep the buster sword steady.
Seeing the braided boy struggle with his weapon, Zack made an attempt to help Duo but before he made his move, the Deathscythe pilot seemed to get things under control. Seeing Cloud come back with his own weapon, one similar in height and weight to that of his sword, the first class SOLDIER playfully slapped Duo on the back "Alright, now all we're doing is testing your skills Duo, so Cloud go easy on him kay?"
"No problems Zack sir"
Duo would have commented back on the jab to his limitations if he wasn't already focusing his full attention on just trying to hold the massive weapon. Stopping on the blue training mat, just a few metres away from the blonde, the braided pilot's eyes narrowed in concentration as he held the huge blade before him and set his sights on his opponent.
Raising his own weapon, Cloud took in a shallow breath as he positioned his body into a defensive stance and waited for the attack to come.
Leaping forward, using all of his strength, Duo slashed the swords out in Cloud's direction. A loud clang echoed throughout the room as Cloud brought up his own sword to block the Deathscythe pilots attack before knocking the American back with the hilt of his sword.
Stumbling back a few steps, Duo frowned as a slight chuckle was heard. Turning his attention over to where the noise was coming from, the frown turned into a glare as he found none other than Heero Yuy chuckling at him, at HIM! Duo Maxwell.
"Well if you think you can do any better Yuy then why don't you give it a whirl" The Deathscythe pilot all but growled out as he stormed over to Heero almost shoving the weapon in his hands as the braided boy offered it.
Taking the offered weapon out of the Deathscythe pilot's hands, Heero effortlessly swung the sword a few times around before holding the blade in front him. With his mind focused on nothing except his opponent, the Wing pilot walked out onto the training map and faced the blonde trooper.
Narrowing his eyes in thought, Sephiroth silently stood there studying the boy's almost flawless movements with a weapon that was a good few heads taller than its wielder. It was obvious to him that what ever weapon this boy was use to using, it wasn't one as large and bulky as that of the Buster Sword.
Cloud grinned in anticipation as he watched the Wing pilot take an offensive position but was then nearly caught off guard as the Japanese boy quickly leapt forward. Just barely raising his sword in time to block the attack, the blonde trooper jumped back out of reach as he turned his gaze up to find emotionless Prussian eyes staring straight back into his own blue orbs.
TBC
(1) Cloud starts at level 5 in the beginning of Final Fantasy 7 and his character stats are Strength 18, Dexterity 6, Vitality 16, Magic 23, Spirit 17, Luck 14.... I just used his stats as a base for the ones I used for Heero and Duo, if anyone was wondering where I got those numbers from winks
Tenshi: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I hope the length make up for how long its been since my last update, hard to believe its already been 5 months -looks around nervously-
I'll be finishing up the next chapter of BD&L next so that one should be out in the next week or two hopefully, then after that I will get to work on the next SD's chapter cause its been way too long since I last updated that fic.
And big glomps and huggles to Ashly, Pink Cherry Blossom, tima, Toby7, Shinigami God of Death, NightHawk6, Asukas-Doll, Turbo, camillian, Duo's Brother, Tenshi no Barra, angelarcher101, BlizzardAngel, R.L.N., Katie and Skeren thank you all so much for your great reviews and sorry once more about the late update -cries then runs off to finish other ficcies-
---the lemon scene can been read on either GundamWing Universe, Mediaminer or in the 'Files' section of my yahoo group---