"Hey Cloud, wake up! You're going to be late for your first day of class!"

As the blond teenager slowly lifted his head from the pillow, he crashed into the bottom of the top bunk. Clothes were thrown at him. "Ugh, I forgot about these damn bunk beds," he muttered. "What time is it?"

"Five. Come on, I waited until after I got all my stuff done to wake you up. Tomorrow you're waking at four with me. Unless you get night duty, but I don't think they'll give that to you on your first day. Anyway, put on your clothes 'cause you have to get all the way across the building for your first class. What? I looked at your schedule."

"Yeah, yeah, Zack..." Cloud got out of bed carefully, still rubbing the back of his head. "Ugh, why the hell do they make us wake up this early? It's not healthy..." He reluctantly and ineptly slipped into his uniform; he had forgotten to pack pajamas and had slept in his underwear.

"And remind me that after you're done, we're going to go celebrate by drinking all night! After buying you some pajamas, though. Wait, no. We're going to buy your pajamas after the drinking because chicks don't dig guys who carry around shopping bags... or maybe they do. Or maybe they'll think we're gay. And together. Do you think they'll think we're together? All right, all right. I have a plan. When I walk in the club, you wait five minutes--"

"--Zack, I'm sure that I'll want to come home and fall asleep by the end of class. Thanks for the gesture, though." He walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth, glad that he had taken incentive to shower the previous night so he wouldn't have to wait in the line all morning.

"Yeah, well, Cloud, we have to celebrate! Besides, I want you to meet a friend of mine. He walks around like he owns the place. Well, he almost does... but that's really not the point. Anyway, I've been meaning to take him out too, because the most exciting thing in his life right now is paperwork. Man, the guy doesn't even have to train. Lucky bastard." Zack shoved a bagged lunch at Cloud. "Most of the food in the cafeteria moves."

"You're going to have to tell your friend that I can't come meet him. I'm sorry, I hate to be rude but... I don't think I'll get used to this type of schedule for a few weeks. I need some time to adjust. I can't be falling asleep in class tomorrow, especially not hung-over." Cloud took the bag, muttering a few words of gratitude as he reached for his new boots to lace on.

"Yeah, well, I told him you were coming. And man, I had a lot of trouble convincing him that you were okay, and if I tell him you're not, he might just kill me. Dude, I'm not even kidding."

"Is that why you were on your phone all night? I was wondering why you were yelling... Why didn't you ask me?" Cloud finished and got up, checking himself over to make sure he was presentable.

"Yeah, well, you looked real cute asleep and I didn't want to ruin that. Anyway, if you don't want to go that badly, I'll just call him and cancel. I thought you'd like to meet him, too. He's real high up in the SOLDIER hierarchy... He could get you in a nice position."

"Well, I don't think I'll make a good impression to my higher-ups if my first day of class, I stay up all night getting drunk trying to suck up. He's probably not all that high up anyway, if he thinks he can get plastered and still work the next day."

"Nah, Cloud man, don't be talking about him like that. He's the best SOLDIER ShinRa's ever seen," Zack said.

"...No, Zack, Sephiroth is the best SOLDIER ShinRa has ever seen, living or dead." He looked at Zack like he was an idiot who didn't know what the hell he was talking about, which, most of the time, would have been correct.

Zack returned the favor, naturally. "Yeah, Cloud... who the hell did you think I was talking about? My mom? It's okay though. Like, I understand. A lot of people don't like him because they think he's really cold and-- Cloud, are you okay?"

"S...Seph...Sephiroth? You... you really could take me to see Sephiroth? And... AND YOU THOUGHT I'D DECLINE THAT ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE? WHAT, ARE YOU INSANE!" Cloud swung his arms as if he was about to fly, which looked idiotic but he got the point across.

"Uh. Sorry?" Zack laughed nervously. "So I'll call him and tell him you can make it after all, right?"

"Yes, of course! Zack, the entire reason I've decided to become a part of SOLDIER is so I can be like Sephiroth. He's like, my idol. Man, if I got to unpack my stuff, you would definitely know how much of a fan of his I am..." Cloud kept rambling and rambling about how he would never willingly have passed up an opportunity to meet Sephiroth, even if he was to lose an arm or something. "Especially in such a casual environment... oh my god, it's like I'm his equal!"

"...We're all human, Cloud," Zack said, all the while with an eyebrow arched.

"...OH MY GOD, YOU KNOW SEPHIROTH!" It had taken awhile to sink in, and Zack would use that against him later many times, but Cloud's brain had been overloaded with a lot of information.

"Hey, Seph--?"

"Ohmigodisthathim?" he whispered.

"--I just wanted to tell you that Cloud can make it, okay? Yeah. Uh huh. No, no, it's fine. I'm paying this time. And I won't purposely forget my wallet so you'll have to pay but it looks like I tried... Man, you know what they pay me. No, no! I didn't mean that; I'm still paying. Besides, the tyke can't even drink yet, so he's just entrance fee and water. Oh, and Cloud may have to leave early. You know the way they are with the cadets. Yeah, I know he shouldn't even come in the first place... Cloud, stop tugging my sleeve! Well, he deserves some fun before the hard part starts. I knew you'd understand." Zack hung up to find a rather angry boy looking at him.

"He probably thinks I'm a lazy dork."

"Nah, he'll probably believe you if you said you really didn't want to come. He knows me too well. Besides, now you have an alibi and a night out on the town. It'll be fun, but don't get lost and don't follow Sephiroth anywhere because I swear he doesn't even know how to get from here to the nearest noodle house." Zack looked back at the clock. "Cloud, you've got ten minutes to sprint from here to the other side of the building."

Like a bullet, he was off. After all, he had something to look forward to at the end of the day, and if he was going to slack off the following day, he thought that he might as well make a good first impression.

---

"Hey, Cloud, I really don't want to be the one to tell you this..." started Zack. "But... Sephiroth called and he said he couldn't make it tonight, so it's just going to be us two. I hope you aren't disappointed."

His face fell. He had already made an agreement and now he was losing precious time of sleep to hang around while Zack probably went off to go find himself a "babe" to go screw.

Zack pulled out his camera phone and took a shot. "There, that one's for the record. Anyway, he can come. Luckily, you can see your face and I have it forever! Really Cloud, you're so gullible."

Cloud looked murderous, and instead of apologizing, Zack took another shot. "Seriously, you'd make a good model for artists because your face is so expressive. All right, all right! Stop! Hey, that tickles! Stop!" He fell to the floor laughing as Cloud tickled faster. After all, he definitely couldn't overtake Zack by force.

Both of them barely heard the clearing of a throat that was too deep to be either of theirs. Cloud looked up, and immediately his face paled. He jumped up quickly off of Zack. "Sir, it's not what it looks like. We were... trying out new battle techniques!" After all, Sephiroth's work was his life, and he took training very seriously, or so Cloud had read.

"...The only quality I dislike more than laziness," Sephiroth stated, "is dishonesty." Cloud's face fell to the ground, and he was beginning to think that the whole night was going to be one big disaster.

"Aw, come on, Seph. Don't be like that; you'll scare away all the new recruits that way. Seriously though, we've got to get a move on, and Cloud, you're not dressed. Sephiroth, neither are you."

"...What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" both of them asked simultaneously. Cloud's had been spastic, whereas Sephiroth's had been lackadaisical. Cloud fought the urge to yell: "jinx!"

"Well, Cloud, what you're wearing..." he tried to find a nice way to say it. "Makes you seem like you're not a local, and the pickpockets like people like that. And, Sephiroth... you wear that same damn thing every single day."

"I don't have any clothes that aren't like this," Cloud answered. Zack held up a gesture for him to wait, and he walked over to his closet where he pulled out something that was a little too big for him and something that was a little too small.

Neither of the receivers liked their new clothes.

"Zack, you can't honestly expect me to wear this. I might as well go shirtless," Sephiroth said. Zack shrugged, as if to say: "Yeah, well, you might actually get laid with that, then." Sephiroth shot him a dirty look.

Cloud decided not to argue as he went into the bathroom to change. He was okay being in his underwear around Zack, but when he saw that Sephiroth's body definitely had not been done justice by the pictures in the newspapers, he felt like the scrawniest kid alive.

"We don't have all night! Besides, we have to go buy you those pajamas, remember? You don't want to get there and find all they have left are pink, frilly nightgowns, because you're going to have to wear that to sleep. And then I'm going to take pictures! And give them to the girls in Wallmar--"

Cloud slammed the bathroom door opened as he tugged to finish the tying of his old sneakers. "Don't you dare; I've heard things about that place. Those people are fucking crazy, in my opinion. I don't want anything to do with them."

"Yeah, I'm not the one with a mullet," Zack said.

"It's a rattail!"

"You take it out of the ponytail holder, and it's a mullet."

"I did not come over here to spend the night listening to you two argue about hair," Sephiroth said coldly. "So, if you would please, I would like to get a move on. Besides, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what I am wearing and it might even be to your benefit. All of Midgar knows my name, after all."

"Yeah, that's kind of why I'm worried. Ever heard of fans? They get kind of crazy sometimes. Especially the girls. They'll cling to you and tackle you and you know, for people half your weight, they're pretty damn strong."

"Either way, I'm not changing." Sephiroth turned around. "So are you following, or should I go back to my quarters again?"

Cloud, not wanting to disappoint Sephiroth even more than he thought he had all ready, ran after him and tried to walk at his stride. "Come on, Zack, you were the one complaining about the time."

Zack rolled his eyes and started walking after he locked the door. "What did I tell you? Don't follow Sephiroth around, he doesn't have any idea where he's going once he's out of the ShinRa building!"

Zack ran to catch up to the both of them anyway. "Geez, don't ditch me! This was my idea! I refuse to be your third wheel! Do you hear me!" He hit Cloud over the head, and his wrist was bent behind his back when he tried the same on Sephiroth.

"Wait, wait! We have to go buy Spikey some jimjams first." Zack ran in front of them to turn a corner into a clothing shop.

"Zack, I think we came into the wrong place. This shop is for women's sleep clothes. Maybe the one you were looking for is actually down the street or something, or just looks like this place..." Cloud kept suggesting different scenarios, until Zack decided on something and held it up.

"Nope. Look, see, I think this one would look nice. And before you say anything, it's not a thong. It's a manthong." Zack smiled smugly, as if he had said something incredibly smart instead of incredibly stupid.

"I think I would just rather wear the underpants I currently own to bed," Cloud said. "Seriously Zack, is there anything here that actually gets to my thighs? Or at least, covers my ass!"

Zack rolled his eyes and threw a pair of blue cotton pajama pants at him. "There, happy? If you're going to survive with me, Spikey, you're going to have to learn how to take a joke." With that, Zack walked over to pay for them.

"Hey, shouldn't I try them on first?"

"Nah. My last girlfriend had your figure. She was about your height, too. You should be able to fit into these." Cloud wasn't sure whether or not he should've been insulted by that comment.

A few mishaps later, all three finally managed to be standing outside the club. The neon lights blinded Cloud, but to Zack and Sephiroth, they were rather natural looking. The raven-haired boy winked to the bouncer and pointed to the other two before sashaying right in.

"THIS PLACE IS REALLY CROWDED," Cloud commented, hands up to his mouth in attempts to make his voice louder. "AND REALLY, REALLY LOUD. ZACK? I THINK MY EARS ARE BLEEDING."

"YOU'RE PROBABLY THE ONE CAUSING THEM TO BLEED, NOW WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?" came the reply.

Apparently Sephiroth had tried to communicate to them both that he had found an empty table, but neither of them heard it because they were too busy arguing with each other, so he took them by their collars and dragged them to it.

"Well, this is nice," Cloud said. "And somewhat quieter. Or maybe I've just gone deaf but am so used to hearing myself talk that I can listen to myself. Does that make any sense? Am I rambling?"

"Cloud, if you can hear me, shut the fuck up," Zack replied. "I'm gonna get some drinks. You two want anything?"

"I'm underage," Cloud said.

"Nothing, thanks," Sephiroth replied. Even his simple words were full of grace.

Zack shrugged. "Fine, and if I don't come back in the next five minutes, don't come looking, if you know what I mean." With a wink, he was off into the big crowd of people, and not even Sephiroth had the right mind to go after him.

"Do you think he'll return within five minutes?" asked Cloud.

"No. I think he was trying to get rid of us, actually." Sephiroth rested his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. "So... you don't seem like the nightclub type. Why did you agree to come?"

"Actually," Cloud looked down and shuffled his feet for a second. "It's kind of embarrassing. I only wanted to come tonight to meet you, and I can't even come up with something clever to say."

Sephiroth tried not to laugh, but at the same time, was a little bit intrigued. "I'm flattered to know you actually care enough to act upon it. Usually I get stalkers or people that actually have enough nerve to speak a word don't make coherent sense." Cloud was still looking down, and he sighed. "Please, look at me when you talk. It lets me pretend that I'm normal for a few seconds."

Cloud did as he was told. "Yes, sir. I mean, Sephiroth. Um..." He tried to think of something that he'd talk about with anybody. He found it hard to come up with something that wouldn't be completely stupid, so he started out with a basic. "How are you feeling?"

"...Fine. I'm bored out of my skull. You?"

"Well, I'm kind of excited. Except I'm not a very good cadet, and I may not make it. But someday, I want to be just like you, so I suppose that if I train hard enough, I can do it. Well, that's what you said, anyway."

"I did?"

"Yes," Cloud replied. "When you were fourteen years old, in an interview with 'Midgar Weekly'. The reporter asked you what advice you had for your fans, and you said 'if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it,' or something."

"...Right. I think I might be a little bit correct in saying that I find it creepy that you know more about me than I do, myself. But that's not important, because it doesn't really surprise me anymore. The fans, I mean."

"Oh, yes. Sorry... I can't help it. I just... it's different, seeing you in real life. The... the pictures don't do you justice. Oh, but I'm doing that again, aren't I? The part where I worship you and you get annoyed? I'll stop."

"Thank you, you're very considerate."

"So, um..." He tried to think of something else; something that he didn't already know about Sephiroth. "Now that you're General... what goal have you set for yourself for afterwards?"

"I... hadn't really thought about that. I guess I just forgot to. I don't think I planned ahead of becoming General." Sephiroth was rather bemused by this question, and impressed at how well Cloud knew his younger self.

"Well, you could... You could help me become a SOLDIER! Now that you're done with yourself, you could make me your protégé." Cloud knew the answer was probably going to be a flat-out "no," but decided that it was worth a shot.

"Fine. You've got the drive; now show me you have the potential."

"What?" Cloud was surprised beyond measure. He had been the skinniest boy in Nibelheim, and all the jokes the others had played were at his expense. There was no way Sephiroth could be accepting his offer.

"I said if you show me that you've got the potential to become a ShinRa General, I'd take you on." Sephiroth smirked a little at Cloud's face. He wished that Zack had still been around with his phone to take a picture.

"Th... thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me; oh my go-- sorry. It's a habit." Cloud stopped talking and there was an awkward silence for a bit. "So, you want me to try something now or what?"

"It's okay. I'll let you know by the end of the week whether or not you're fit to be my student." He knew, just by the expression on his face, that Cloud knew he probably didn't have it within himself. It wasn't the first heart he'd broken, anyway.

Just then, a waiter walked over with two beers. "Some guy with black hair sent these to you t-- Are you The Great Sephiroth? Wow... you're so tall in real life... I can't believe I didn't know it was you when he said to take it to that table with the silver-haired guy... Wow... you're incredible!" He kept going and going, and Sephiroth was getting more and more irritated, but he couldn't just say: "Fuck off."

Cloud felt sorry for him... Especially since the waiter would not go away after what seemed to be an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds. The waiter talked fast. He decided he was lucky that his mother had bought him the cheapest cell phone imaginable, because it was so big that it looked more like a tape recorder. "How rude! We were in the middle of a very important interview, and now you've caused me to lose my train of thought. I knew we should have gone to the place next door. Their staff members are not quite as unobservant." It amazed even himself how well he was able to keep a straight face.

"I'm so sorry; I wasn't thinking," the waiter said, looking apologetic and backing away. "You know what? Those drinks? Paid for. Anything you want from this bar; I'll pay it." It would score him major points with his boss if this got out to the public and more people started coming. The raise would pay for the loss.

"Thank you," Sephiroth said when the waiter was out of their sight. "I thought he was never going to leave." He then pointed to Cloud's cell phone and raised a brow. "What is that, anyway?"

"Well, it's sort of... my phone..." Cloud said, embarrassed. "I know it's not state of the art or anything, and it's huge and clunky, but it works! And it might not actually record stuff, but... I like the color?"

At that, Sephiroth laughed. It was odd; Cloud had never made Sephiroth out to be someone who laughed. Ever. "Remind me to buy you a new cell phone before the week is over."

"No! That's not necessary. I never use mine anyway, and I don't have a name to sign it under and I couldn't pay you the bill even if I did use it and I'd probably lose it anyway and--"

"Just think of it as a favor. They pay me too much, anyway." Besides, then maybe Cloud wouldn't think he was a complete jerk after he told him that there was no way he could be a great warrior.

Cloud didn't know what to say, so instead he just decided on something that he knew would be safe. "Thank you." With that, he took up his beer mug and decided to change the subject. "Doesn't he remember that I'm fourteen?"

"Apparently not," Sephiroth replied.

"Would you like mine?"

"I think it would be rather awkward for me to have two drinks and you to have none."

"That's all right. I'm not thirsty." Cloud put his mug of beer next to Sephiroth's. Although he had been drunk countless times before in trying to prove that he wasn't a coward, he wasn't about to divulge that he wasn't a good boy.

"Do you think you'll have any other plans after you become a SOLDIER?"

"No. I haven't really thought that far ahead. I think that I should be focused on this one goal, and when I'm finished with that, I'll let you know what I think afterward. Besides, I may never achieve the position," Cloud said. "And I know that."

"...You're starting to sound like me."

"I know. It's a habit." Cloud looked up at the man and then at an already empty glass. "I know you said that you didn't have any more goals to take care of, but in that interview, you said you'd never settle down until you reached becoming General. So now that you're done with that, do you ever think you'll get married?"

"No. I don't think I can imagine myself with children, or even a wife. I'm not a very familial type of person. I guess it's because I never had anyone to teach me how to be one."

"Yeah, I know. I kind of thought it was cool that you didn't know who your parents were. I mean, not that that's a good thing, but it's just... I don't know who my father is, either. The closest thing I had to a father figure was someone to respect and look up to. I don't think you'd apt to me calling you 'dad' anytime soon, though."

Surprisingly, Sephiroth laughed again. "No, I really wouldn't. After all, Zack's enough to take care of as it is," he said. "He's another reason I don't want children. They'll probably start calling him 'uncle Zacky' and end up being lazy and womanizing."

"Yeah, I guess Zack isn't someone you'd want hanging around your kids for too long. And then you'd have to retire... You can't raise your kids in an environment like ShinRa..."

"But I wouldn't know another way to raise kids. It was how I grew up."

"I'm sorry; I forgot. I mean, I didn't forget, but I just... I'm sorry." Cloud looked back down and shuffled his feet some more, because he just couldn't go for ten minutes without saying something incredibly stupid and it annoyed him.

"It's all right." The waiter from before noticed the empty mugs and came back with two more. Sephiroth waved him away to acknowledge his presence, but did no more than that. "You should stop acting like I'm better than you."

Cloud looked up, eyebrows furrowed. "But... how? I mean, I can act like I don't know more than I should about you, but I can't pretend that you're not someone that I've admired since before I could read."

"How about this... I'm still me, and you're still you, but we're friends. And this club... is just somewhere we go every week. Zack drags us here, he goes off, and we talk about how your training's going and how my paperwork's coming along. Zack's been recently promoted to Major and you're a SOLDIER, first class. Then what?"

"Then... I'd say we'd be living in a utopia. But can we say that Zack's a colonel and I'm a major?" Cloud looked hopeful at this.

"Sure. We can also say Zack's married with three kids, and finally grew up. I won another war, and it turns out that Professor Hojo was a spy for the other side, so he was drawn and quartered last week. And you... you found out who your father was, and it turns out he's insanely wealthy and has been searching for you for the last couple of years. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like we should move ShinRa to Costa del Sol. And we get seven weeks vacation a year. No, eight. The weather's always warm and calm. Zack's oldest child is five, and I'm about to get married. Yeah, because I want children. Ten of them."

"Are you naming any of them after me?"

"Yes! All of them!" Cloud laughed at his comment. "Sephiroth can be the name of my firstborn. And then Seph, Sephy, Roth, Phiroth, and Sephira, Phira, Rothy, Sephirina..." He ticked each and every one of them off on his fingers. "The last once... can be Sephirette."

"They're all going to hate you," Sephiroth said. "And so will your wife."

"Only because she'll want to name another five after you, but we'll already have been too old to have anymore kids. Well, she will be. I'll never be too old to have kids," Cloud added.

Another round of drinks came for the two as Sephiroth started on another one. "Yeah, well, they're all still going to hate you. Zack's kids will probably hate him, too. Knowing him, their names will be Zack Junior, Zackary, and Zackarias."

"Well, at least their names aren't so unfortunate as say... uh... Bugenhagen, or..."

"...Yazoo?" suggested Sephiroth.

"Yeah! Wow, that is an unfortunate name..."

After a lot of more conversation about futures, Sephiroth had gotten through what seemed to be an endless amount of beers. Cloud had been too caught up in the conversation to notice, and the guy from before cleared their table quite regularly.

"You know, I think I like you," Sephiroth said. "Which is weird, because usually, I hate everybody." Aside from being something that he wouldn't say, Cloud didn't really notice that Sephiroth showed any sign of being drunk. Besides, some of the things Sephiroth had said and done all night had surprised Cloud a little.

"Well, maybe I'm not as annoying as everyone else," Cloud suggested. "Or maybe you just have the opposite thought process as everyone back home. Yeah, I think the latter's it."

"Nah, they were probably just all jealous. That happened to me a lot when I was your age, you know..."

"Yeah, but you had something to be jealous about. Skill." Cloud was starting to catch on that Sephiroth was drunk, but it wasn't like he really had a concern about that. Zack was probably drunk as well, and then the following morning, Sephiroth and Zack would have hangovers.

Zack came over just then. "All right, we're going to leave now," he said.

"Why? Have all the girls shot you down?" asked Cloud.

"...Shut up, Cloud."

The three of them left the club because Zack couldn't get laid and Sephiroth and Cloud weren't really discussing anything important anyway. So it seemed that the night had been, if not fun, at least amusing for all three.

"Zack, did you have anything to drink?" asked Cloud, who was surprised at how sober Zack sounded.

"Uh, only the ones that were thrown at my face, but yeah. That would add up to a few, I guess. Man, I need to get on a mission to another city where the girls don't know my face or reputation."

"Good luck finding one," Sephiroth said.

Just then, a citizen ran up in a fit of anger that seemingly came out of nowhere, and struck Sephiroth on the head with something hard. Sephiroth had been too off-guard to notice until the very last second, and Zack, even though he felt it, had a slow reaction time because he hadn't really been expecting an attack out of nowhere. Cloud hadn't even seen it coming.

Actually, it was a pretty good hit and before the guy could run away, Zack grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, before proceeding to kick his ass. Meanwhile, Cloud had caught Sephiroth rather unsuccessfully, because Sephiroth was far heavier than Cloud could manage.

Zack pushed the guy away, leaving him with a few broken bones, a black eye and a bloody lip. "Well, that was interesting, and kind of random." He was met with a blue-eyed glare.