Cloud walked out of the lunch line and scanned the room. Of all the cadets he knew, he was only comfortable around a select few. His two roommates to be specific. It seemed that neither of them had happened to be eating lunch at the same time as he was today.
With a sigh, Cloud now started to search for an empty table. He knew he shouldn't have come to the mess hall at the peak time. There were no completely empty table, which meant he would have to sit with someone. He hated sitting with anyone, other than his roommates.
Cloud felt like an idiot standing by the wall as everyone else flocked to their friends and enjoyed their lunch. He saw a table that was large and only one side of it was occupied. The five or six sitting on that end of the rectangular table weren't his friends, but he did know them. They were his favorite kind of fellow cadet. The kind that ignored him.
He walked over and felt the eyes of those who were already at the table follow him in scorn. Nobody liked having someone invade their meal, and Cloud wished he could have found a nice isolate table he could have to himself.
The pizza on his plate looked less than appetizing, and less than cooked, so Cloud proceeded to poke at it with his fork. He heard a giggle and looked down the table, glaring at the red head female cadet who had laughed at him. He was about to ask her exactly what she thought was so funny when someone sat down right between them.
"Heya guys, what's up?"
Cloud's jaw fell open as he saw that Zack had sat down. None of the Soldiers ever sat with the troopers. No one else seemed to have noticed this odd protocol, except the other cadets at the table who had suddenly gone ramrod straight.
Zack's dark blue eyes went from one person to another, waiting for an answer.
"Oh, I get it. Don't worry you guys, you're not in trouble or anything like that. I was supposed to have lunch with some friends but they ditched," Zack smiled and was relieved when a few of the troopers relaxed and smiled back at him.
After a few awkward seconds one of the boys, named Chuck, asked someone else what their plans for the day were. This seemed to break the ice and the conversation continued, with Zack putting in his two cents every now and then.
"So what are you doing later Cloud?" Chuck said to the blond, who hadn't said a thing since he sat down. Cloud knew that normally neither Chuck nor the others would have asked him what he was doing.
"Oh, nothing." Cloud pushed the crust of his pizza around on his plate, trying to feign complete indifference. He really really wished he had been able to sit alone today.
"Well I hope you haven't forgot that we're supposed to train today Cloud." With that and a huge smile, Zack stood up and clapped a hand on Cloud's shoulder.
"Meet ya at the gates at 3. Later cadets!" Zack said playfully, making the ranking sound more like a nickname. Chuck and his friends said their quiet goodbyes, now totally distracted by Cloud's secret.
"Training? What's a first class Soldier doing training a nobody like you Cloud?" The red head girl hissed at him.
"He said I have talent," Cloud took a gulp from his water and prepared to leave.
"Talent at what? Being a fuck-up?" Chuck yelled loudly at Cloud as he stood. His loyal pack laughed at their leader's joke and at the scowl that Cloud aimed at all of them.
"We'll see whose got talent when the Soldier entrance exams start, and I blast all of you away."
With that Cloud stormed out of the mess hall, leaving the others still slinging insults at his back. He didn't care. What he did care about was that now they knew his secret.Why is it my secret? It's not like we were doing anything wrong. But seeing Zack sitting and talking with those asses like they were good friends...why did it piss me off so much?
Cloud spent the rest of the day trying to avoid Chuck and his lackeys, and wondering exactly what his training would be for that day.
At exactly three, Cloud was standing by the gates that led out of Midgar. Most people who lived in Midgar had no reason to leave the city, and most of the gates required a keycard to be entered. Others who traveled in and out of the city did so either with Shinra escorts or on trains and airships. Traveling by foot was very out of place.
"Hey Cloud!" Late as usual, Cloud turned to comment on Zack's tardiness and found himself instead looking into a pair of huge blue eyes.
"Wark!" The creature honked at Cloud and the boy jumped back from its sharp beak.
"Don't worry about her Cloud, she's just vocal, aren't ya girl," Zack said as he stroked the chocobo's neck fondly. She squinted her eyes and make a sound halfway between a coo and a purr. Zack pulled gently on her reigns, turning her side to Cloud.
"Come on kid, hop up."
Cloud, having never ridden a chocobo before, gave his tutor a credulous look. Zack extended his hand and smiled at Cloud's hesitance. Cloud took the strong hand that was offered to him and was soon pulled up onto the chocobo's back. Its brilliant yellow feathers tickled his legs as he tried to make himself comfortable on the saddle that was obviously not made to carry two passengers.
"It's a bit crowded..." Cloud said as he tried not to lean against Zack's broad chest, and scooted further up on the chocobo's back. This just earned him a cluck and a glare from the bird.
"Nah, Genie's a good girl. Just be careful around her neck feathers. She likes to be pet there, but you definitely don't want to accidentally pull out any feathers."
Cloud gently places his hands by the chocobo's wing joint and resigned himself to having to practically sit on Zack's lap. As soon as he seemed settled enough, Zack pulled gently on the reigns and made a clicking noise that sent Genie walking through the gate.
Outside of Midgar the sun blared and the wind was blowing with the bite of the oncoming fall. Cloud was thankful for the jacket he had grabbed before coming and huddled against Zack out of habit. The Soldier just encouraged the chocobo to take up a run, and kept his hands on the reigns close to Cloud's side, holding the boy in place on the bumpy ride.
"Sorry you can't have a chocobo of your own. We only have two in the stables right now."
"What was wrong with the other one?" Cloud turned to say to Zack, only to have his hair get whipped around in his face by the wind caused by Genie's gallop.
"Trust me, no one can ride that bird. It belongs to," Zack paused, "General Sephiroth." Ignoring the widening of Cloud's bright eyes Zack continued as he directed the chocobo towards a tangled forest, farther from the gates than the one they usually trained in. "It's name is Flare, and it's a rare black chocobo. Problem is the thing won't let anyone but Sephiroth ride it. The last guy who tried ended up with five stitches on his hand."
Cloud looked very closely at Genie's beak. The wicked curve made his stomach drop and he leaned even farther back, his back pressed against Zack as he tried to avoid the chocobo's head at all costs.
Zack just laughed as he pulled Genie to a stop.
"Don't worry about her. Genie's never bitten anyone..." Zack leaned by Cloud to stroke the happy chocobo on her neck, resulting in a series of happy 'warks'.
Cloud found himself staring at Zack's face, which was now very close to his as he leaned forward. The commander really was an attractive man. Not as scruffy looking as most of the Soldiers, but with a strong jaw and fierce blue eyes that left no question as to his fighting ability.
The two dismounted their faithful steed and Zack led the way into the shadowy forest. Cloud got a bad feeling about it but didn't voice his opinion, following closely to the commander.
"Today's training is real life combat. You'll do exercises like this in your usual training, but they won't be as challenging as this. And trust me, when you make it to the later levels of the Soldier entrance exam, you're going to thank me for this."
Something about the way he was talking about their training session made Cloud feel apprehensive, but he didn't pay attention to it, trying too hard to remember what paths they had taken to enter the woods.
"Shh."
Zack grabbed Cloud's shoulder, holding him perfectly still, and looking into the distance. After a few seconds he pointed ahead and moved Cloud closer to the bushes they were behind, indicating for him to look as well.
Pushing a branch aside, Cloud saw a small creek in a relatively clear area. Drinking from the pool was a wolf like creature with brown armor covering its back, and a huge mane.
"Its called a bandersnatch. They're not too hard to beat alone, so you shouldn't have a problem with this one."
Cloud looked about to protest when Zack handed him the buster sword from where it had been resting on his back. Taking a minute to catch his breath and remember everything he had been taught, Cloud was about to burst through the bushes when Zack grabbed onto his arm.
"Make sure to put the materia into the buster sword. It'll focus the attack and make it easier to use."
Cloud listened and put the two green gems into two empty spots on the sword. He also noticed that the rest of the materia had been removed.
Guess Zack doesn't think I can handle any more than the two I've practiced with.
Standing up, Cloud rushed through the bush and stood with his buster sword at the ready. The bandersnatch looked up from the creek and jumped back, snarling and baring its huge fangs at him.
"Uh...Zack? What should I do?" Cloud had blanked. Completely. He just stood there as the bandersnatch walked back and forth in front of him, saliva dripping from its growling mouth.
Oh for Pete's sake. Zack slapped himself in the forehead before coming out from behind the bush. The bandersnatch growled even louder now and the hair on its back stood up around the armor plates.
"Attack it Cloud. Before it decides to attack you."
Cloud nodded dumbly and looked back at the bandersnatch.
It's just a dog right. An overgrown armored dog. Of death...How much damage could it do?
Gripping the hilt of the buster sword like it was his very life, Cloud rushed forward and slashed at the beast. It leapt over him, easily evading his clumsy attack.
"Behind you Cloud!"
Cloud whirled around, bogged down by the weight of the sword, a little too slowly. The bandersnatch had leapt at him and one of its sharp fangs had slash his left calf. It mostly caught fabric and barely broke the skin, but this near miss had thoroughly pissed off Cloud.
"Get back here!" He bellowed at the bandersnatch as it reached the edge of the creek. It turned around and focused on Cloud before rushing at him again. Getting used to the weight of the sword in a real battle, Cloud swung it hard like a baseball bat and the side connected solidly with the bandersnatch's shoulder.
Its body slammed against a tree on the edge of the clearing, but it wasn't down for long, resuming its fighting stance and snarling even more threateningly. The monster charged at Cloud again and leapt into the air, its mouth wide open. Cloud took his opportunity when he saw it and swung the buster sword, edge first, into the bandersnatch's mouth.
As the creature's lifeless body fell to the ground, and the upper part of its head landed a few feet away, Zack cheered and ran up to Cloud, grabbing him in a friendly headlock.
"Beautifully done Cloud. You wasted him!" The boy couldn't keep from grinning like an idiot. That hadn't been too hard.
The ground shook and both froze in their merriment. Feeling the vibrations approaching, Zack released Cloud and looked around, suddenly serious and very observant.
That doesn't sound good. And right as he had tapped into that ability...even if it was just for a second. Maybe this can be another test for him...
Zack immediately regretted the thought as trees parted, revealing a reptilian head that was easily the size of the whole bandersnatch poking through the branches. Its fiery red eyes focused on Zack and Cloud, as it stepped forward. The blue dragon was at twenty feet high at the head, and its glistening body rippled with muscle.
"Zack..." Cloud breathed, taking a step away from the enormous beast. This just seemed to grab its attention through, and it spread its wings before releasing a fearsome roar.
"Gimme the sword Cloud, and stay behind me," Zack's voice was terse and left no room for questioning. A blue dragon was nothing to play around with, and Zack wasn't going to risk Cloud being hurt by letting him fight it.
As he handed the buster sword to Zack, the dragon realized what was going on and stepped clear of the trees, pulling its head back before casting a fire spell and throwing its jaws open, flames gushing out between its horrific fangs.
Zack pushed Cloud to the ground and crouched in front of him, holding the buster sword up with one hand, and pressing the other firmly to the ground between them. Cloud saw the tongues of red flame heading towards them and closed his eyes, waiting for the heat to engulf them both.
After a second of not becoming barbeque, he looked around and realized that the fire had parted in front of them, scorching the ground to their sides. The creek had vaporized and was now a dry bed. One huge old tree to their right had caught fire, but was far from the rest of the forest and was the least of their concerns at the moment.
Zack took a moment to catch his breath after casting the reflect spell that had saved their lives. Cloud was shaking visibly, but Zack still couldn't trust that he was ready for this. He stood up and picked the broadsword up with one strong arm.
"Come one lizard lips, let's see what you can do..." Zack rushed forward, swinging the buster sword in time with his steps and landing a solid blow to the dragon's foreleg. But the blade rang loudly and bounced off. Zack jumped back to avoid the dagger sized teeth that snapped in the air where he had been seconds before.
This damn thing's armor is hard. Blue dragons shouldn't even be in this forest, let alone such a strong one.
The dragon slashed at Zack's head, but he rolled to the side and dodged it easily. He made another rush and this time slashed at the creature's shoulder. The buster sword bit deeply into its leathery flesh and cut cleanly through the muscle over the shoulder.
Zack felt droplets of the dragon's black blood fall on his face but he ignored it as he watched his enemy's front leg buckle. But a dragon with one less working limb was still a force to be reckoned with.
As he prepared another rush with the buster sword, he saw that the dragon had been spending its time calling on another fire spell. It was opening its mouth and Zack could see the flame flickering in the back of its throat. There wasn't enough time to cast another reflect spell and Zack was off balance from his last attack so dodging would be difficult.
The Soldier was caught off guard when instead of being burnt to a crisp, he saw the dragon's jaws clenched shut, ice growing over its snout. He turned huge blue eyes to see Cloud, one hand extended toward the dragon, with the mist of a low level ice attack settling around him.
When did he grab the ice materia out of the buster sword? Damn the kid's speed even gets better.
Not wanting his accomplishment to go to waste, Zack rushed at the dragon. With one leg injured it couldn't slash at him without falling down, and stared at him around the glacier that had previously been his nose. With a leap, Zack swung the buster sword and sliced straight through the dragon's neck.
The head dropped to the ground at the same time as the Soldier. He placed the buster sword securely on his back before turning to see if Cloud was all right. The dragon's body made a huge thud as it fell to the ground, blood seeping from the neck and forming a huge pool on the ground.
Zack felt something strange and wiped at the blood that had splattered on his face earlier. He remembered once hearing something about why a dragon's blood was black. Something to do with their powers.
In a flash, two things happened. Zack suddenly remembered the pilot light in the back of the dragon's throat and how it would combine with the dragon's blood to form a kind of flamethrower. In the same instant, the pool of blood has spread to the roots of the smoldering tree and a harmless spark chose that time to fall to the ground.
Zack felt the fire flare up around the corpse of the dragon and flung himself away from it. When he looked back he saw that Cloud had done the same, but when the dragon's body had fallen, some of its blood has poured onto Cloud's back and a spark had caught.
"Cloud!" Zack rushed at him and began using his hands to put the fire on Cloud's back out. It was small but he knew that the rest of the boy could catch fire and he could be killed if they didn't stop it.
"Ah..." his frightened cry brought Zack the harsh realization of just how young Cloud was. He wasn't a fellow Soldier. He hadn't had to face death before.
Zack grabbed the zipper of Cloud's jacket and ripped it open, throwing the flaming piece of clothing to their side. Cloud's shirt had been scorched and he had a few very small burns across his back. Nothing larger than a quarter or so.
"Take your shirt off Cloud," Zack quickly whistled and Genie obeyed her master, rushing over, albeit in a very cautious way when she saw the fires.
Cloud sat on the ground, panting and shaking, but most definitely alive and safe for now. His back stung, but he expected it to be much worse.
Feels kinda like sunburn. I guess it's a good thing I wore that extra jacket.
Coming back to the boy, Zack uncapped the bottle of water he had brought and began to pour it over Cloud's back. The blond hissed at the feeling.
"Sorry Cloud. But it'll be better in the long run for the burns."
Cloud let out a strained laugh.
"It's not b-because it hurts. I-It's because it's so cold out here."
Zack couldn't help but grin at this. If he didn't know better, he'd say that Cloud had picked up some of his optimism over the past few months. The burns on Cloud's back really weren't all that bad, and he was thankful for that. With a few bandages they'd heal in a week or so. Now he had other things to worry about as Cloud was starting to shake hard, and the sun was setting, bringing with it a cold night.
"Well...I'd have to say you passed your combat session," Zack winked at Cloud as he helped the boy to his feet. He managed to stand relatively well considering the injuries he had just gotten and the shock his body must have been in.
"Thanks. S-so did you plan the d-dragon part?"
"Hell no."
Cloud was relieved. His instructor had proved himself to be a bit eccentric, and he was hoping this hadn't been another little exercise. He couldn't contain the fierce body-wracking shudder at the feel of the wind on his bare skin.
"Here Cloud, before you freeze to death," Zack took off the blue turtle neck sweater he had on. It was sleeveless, and given the weather, he had on a long sleeved black shirt under it. Cloud quickly put on the turtle-neck.
Zack smiled like an idiot at how cute Cloud looked. The sweater was much too big for him, but he somehow pulled off the baggy look well. He folded his arms and tried to keep himself warm before noticing the look Zack was giving him.
"W-What?"
"Nothing. It's just that you look good in that shirt."
Hold up there Zack. No hitting on the kid. You almost just got him killed. Zack's conscious did little help as Cloud blushed at the comment.
"Thanks. But...um...do you think we could h-h-head b-back now?" Cloud's words were broken up as his teeth chattered painfully together.
Zack burst out laughing at this before nodding that yes, they could head back now. The two climbed onto Genie who seemed more than willing to leave the smoldering carcass of the dragon behind.
"Here, you drive," Zack said as he shoved the reigns into Cloud's hand.
"Are you sure?" Cloud gave the reigns a little tug and was pleased that Genie obeyed him and immediately redirected her trot. Zack smiled at how easily Cloud handled the chocobo, he was a true natural.
With his hands free, Zack began to rub his hands against Cloud's cold flesh. The boy leaned back against the warmth as Zack wrapped his arms around him from behind.
"If you get sick after this, I'll bring you chicken soup every day. I swear."
Cloud chuckled but enjoyed the soft tone to Zack's silky voice. And his warm arms. They felt...welcoming. Very welcoming.
"Well...maybe not chicken soup. But I swear I'll bring you gazpacho every day until you get better."
Cloud just turned in his seat to question Zack with his eyes before the man turned him around again and Cloud eased Genie back to the gate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry this update was longer coming than the others. But look...it's also longer in ...uh....length. So yeah, I had a break and couldn't get to my laptop to write this chapter, but I promise the next will be a quick update. Assuming you guys are still reading. And please, I love having someone review more than once. It lets me know that people didn't just read the first chapter and then leave. thanks guys! You know I love ya!!
