"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess," A smooth voice quoted softly to himself.
Genesis Rhapsodos isn't one for patience. And yet here he was, waiting in the training room for the fourth day in the row. He had begun to show up after the day he received a text from Angeal that Cloud won him over.
And yet strangely no messages from Sephiroth. Not since the whole investigation started. To be fair, it wasn't like the commander reached out to him, either. For a while Genesis and Angeal carried the burden of the missions. Thus he was too busy.
Once Zack and Sephiroth finally shouldered the burden, Genesis still heard no word. He was too exhausted, anyhow. He had willingly signed up for most of the missions to make himself seem as if he alone carried the weight of the work load.
And apparently Genesis had done so much overtime that Director Lazard ordered him a week hiatus. What was he supposed to do for a week? Angeal was still busy, and Sephiroth even busier. And here Genesis wasted away three days out of his week of free time.
The fourth didn't look to be as any promising.
"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Angeal approached, having just entered the training room for a good work out session in between missions.
"Waiting for a chance to see the shining star that's got the whole company buzzed." Genesis knew better than to lie to his childhood friend.
"You're looking in the wrong place. Zack has been training him in the field." Angeal placed his hands on his hips. "And what were your plans once you do meet him?"
"Haven't quite thought that far ahead. Actually, a few ideas. But it all depends on which one I will follow up on once I see him." Genesis shrugs, leaving the choices up to the Goddess.
"You can't give him too much of a hard time, old friend." Angeal warned sternly.
"Don't worry. I'm merely curious to see Sephiroth's new interest."
"And that's what I'm afraid of." The dark haired commander shook his head.
"He's at an advantage. You approve of him. I have to take that into account when judging him for myself." Pale eyes turned to his friend. "Where can I locate them? I've wasted three days of my week off standing around this boring place."
"I don't know why I'm telling you this, but Zack has been getting him acquainted with underside of the plate."
"Because you know me too well, my dear friend. I won't stop until I am satisfied. And you do know that is a huge area to cover? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack." Genesis scowled at the so little information.
"I can't confirm where they're going to be. However, Zack is prone to Sector 5 Slums." Angeal gave in.
"It's a start, I suppose." The red commander turned to leave.
"Genesis? Don't do anything rash."
"Angeal, you worry too much." He waved off. "If he's as great as you make him out to be, then he's got nothing to worry about."
If Angeal didn't have a tight schedule he would have followed Genesis.
xXx
Genesis wandered aimlessly. He wasn't used to being under the plate. He was aware of the looks and whispers from all around. He was long used to the recognition accompanied by his fame.
He quickly found why Zack preferred the Sector 5 Slums. There was a completely abandoned area overriden with monsters. Genesis eyed the rooftops and an idea came to him.
It will be an easier advantage for him to spot his targets. And this way if he did find them, he can easily keep his distance and watch from afar. So Genesis climbed his way up and began to move from roof to roof with ease.
Genesis was almost taken in by the view that he didn't immediately hear the sounds of fighting. It wasn't until he heard the distinct voice of Zack the commander snapped out of his reverie. Quietly Genesis maneuvered himself to get a better look, being extra careful he wouldn't be discovered.
Zack and Cloud were taking care of the monsters. It didn't take long for Genesis to immediately see the attraction. Cloud had wild blond spikes with a strong and lithe body. If Genesis measured correctly, the boy would be just shy of a head shorter than Sephiroth. The hair would give him an extra boost in height.
And he understood why Zack chose to train in the field over VR simulation. Cloud was quick on his feet with good instincts. Genesis saw a lot of potential waiting to bloom in the young SOLDIER. However he had yet to see the side of him that Angeal claimed Sephiroth told him.
Can he really push Sephiroth around? Genesis was beginning to have doubts.
He watched as the two took care of the monsters with ease. They had good teamwork. Genesis was about to turn away and find another opportunity later, when his enhanced eyes caught something. There. On the rooftops. The two were surrounded by a gang of Second Class SOLDIERs.
Genesis paused. As the two unaware mentor and pupil celebrated in their victory, a whistle blew. It was high pitched enough that those enhanced would flinch. Genesis watched as Zack and Cloud immediately stood back to back as the gang made themselves known.
A pack of Shinra dogs emerged as well.
"Take the First Class away and deal with him!" One of the men ordered the dogs and blew the whistle again.
With snarls and barks the dogs raced to target Zack. He swung at the first one to leap at him. With the distraction two of the dogs locked their jaws on either leg and began dragging Zack away. The lieutenant let out a surprised yell as he being pulled. He disappeared into the distance with a pack of ten or fifteen dogs with him.
"Zack!" Cloud attempted to run after him.
The blond stopped short when he realized he was surrounded. There were six men in total. All of them Second Class. Cloud took a stance and raised his sword.
"Look, boys! The whore thinks he can fight us!"
They all laughed. Genesis braced himself. Although he knew he had to step in at some point, he wanted to see what Cloud was capable of first. There was a difference between a monster and a human in terms of a fight.
"What do you want?" Cloud bravely stood his ground.
"Payback for sending our friend to the infirmary!"
"I wasn't the one who did that." The blond snarled.
"No, but we can't touch the general. So the next best option is you."
"Cowards."
My, who knew Cloud had a backbone. Now Genesis was beginning to like this boy.
"What did you call us, whore?" One of the men raised his voice.
"I said you guys are cowards. Too scared to take it up to General Sephiroth, so you opt for me when I had no involvement in that fight?" Cloud spoke up louder.
"That's it! Let's teach the whore a lesson!"
And like that they sprung. Cloud easily kept them on their toes. Genesis watched with growing interest. He understood why Zack was quick to take him under his wing. The boy was a natural.
Although there was a lot of room for improvement, Cloud could still hold his own against six men. However as the insults were constantly thrown at him there was an eventual change.
Genesis saw it in the eyes. Wild with the burning of endless hellfire. As the rage took hold of Cloud he began to get sloppy. He would time his blocks or dodges wrong and get hurt in the process. And somehow the blond was showing he didn't give a damn.
Instead the pain only fueled his rage.
And Genesis felt his heart sink. This was the side that attracted Sephiroth to Cloud in the first place. This was the wild side that could rival the general in strength. This was the madness that knew no bounds. And only Sephiroth can match him.
Genesis closed his eyes in resignation. He accepted a long time ago he wasn't the one for Sephiroth. He knew it the first time he seen the general mad with rage and killed every man, woman, and child within a Wutai village. Genesis saw the look in his eyes and got scared.
And yet afterwards Sephiroth acted like nothing had ever happened. No regret for loss of human life. No remorse for his actions. That was probably the worst part of it all. As much it hurt him the commander called off their relationship.
He made a vow then and there that he will be the one to judge if any new lover was worthy of Sephiroth. Genesis wasn't going to admit to anyone but he did drive away a few he found unworthy. He thought he would never see the day when he came across someone who actually is worthy to be at Sephiroth's side.
He opened his eyes and saw the sorry state Cloud was in. Even though he took two down for the count and heavily injured a third, the blond was going to be worse off later. Having enough Genesis unleashed Firaga and carefully aimed at the gang and avoided hurting Cloud.
The flames exploded on their targets. The targets released blood curdling screams. Cloud paused, halfway snapping out of his rage. Genesis leaped down to join on the ground. The movement caught Cloud's attention.
"My friend, the fates are cruel," He quoted as the men on fire rolled on the ground. As the fires went out they passed out from the pain.
"Commander Rhapsodos?" The boy weakly identified.
Oh my. Those are the prettiest blue eyes Genesis ever did see. What a bonus.
"Call me Genesis." He smirks as he slowly advanced.
"What are you doing here?" Cloud tensed, unsure whether this man was friend or foe.
"A little bird told me where you might be. Good thing too, otherwise you would possibly be dead. One can imagine the devastation our dear Sephiroth would cause if that were to happen." Genesis pulled out heal and casted it on Cloud.
Something clicked in Cloud's brain.
"It's you? You're his first?" The blond gulped.
"Oh? He's told you about me? How sweet. With the way he's been ignoring me for the past month or so I thought he forgot about little old me."
"Only that you're jealous." Cloud was still on edge.
"I have every right to be. No one is worthy of him. Well, there is perhaps one exception."
"You?" The blond raised an eyebrow.
"Do I look like a prize chocobo?" Genesis countered with a smirk. He couldn't help but laugh at the expression on the boy's face. He placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't need to worry about me. I have no intentions to get between you two. I've seen what I wanted to see to satisfy my curiosity."
"Spikey! Spikey! You okay? Cloud!" Zack yelled as he ran up to them. He stopped short at the sight of their commander. "Genesis!? What the hell you doing here? What - what happened!?"
The lieutenant finally noticed the six bodies of men scattered on the ground. Some were moaning in pain, others simply unconscious. Zack counted the number that were burned and he felt a swell of pride that Cloud likely took care of the lucky ones by himself.
"Always late, puppy." And like that Genesis was in a mood.
"Hey! I got dragged away by a pack of dogs! What about you? What took you so long to get involved huh? I see that Cloud is wounded." Zack placed his hands on his hips.
"And? He's alive isn't he? You should be grateful I even bothered."
"You're a bitch, you know that?" Zack wanted to so badly swing at the commander. But he restrained himself.
"Guys, can we not fight?" Cloud mediated, running a hand through his spikes.
"I suggest you train him in the VR room for a while. This way you don't run into this kind of problem again." Genesia gestured to the six injured SOLDIERs. "I can't aways swoop in and save the day."
"I'll definitely take your suggestion into consideration." Zack knew better, but he wasn't going to say that the commander was right. "Hey, where are you going?"
Genesis had turned and made a slow pace back towards the direction of the station. He paused to glance over his shoulder at the pair.
"You intend to call the Turks to report this incident? Well, I like them even less than the trains. So if you will excuse me, I intend to spend the remaining few days of my vacation how it should have been from the start."
And with that he turned back to the direction of where he needed to go. Cloud took a step after him. Zack grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"Genesis!" Cloud called out. The commander paused but didn't look back. "Thank you. For your help. And, if it's any consolation, you're still special to him."
Genesis felt his heart tear into two. With a shuddering breath he continued his walk towards the station without replying. The rest of the day and the early evening passed in a blur. As Genesis finished a shower he happened to check his phone. To his surprise he had a message when none had been sent during the start of his week off.
Thank you, Gen. The message from Sephiroth read. Despite the pain in his chest Genesis quickly typed a message back.
He's perfect for you. Be sure to keep this one close. And, if he ever needs help with materia, send him my way.
Genesis turned off his phone for the rest of the night.
