A/N:.:Cries:. Sorry, people, a Yazoo chapter inevitably means Hojo…don't run away just yet, please read and review! Thank you reviewers who reviewed the last chapter!

Reading note: Half of this chapter is a memory, in case you can't tell – I put it all into italics first, but changed my mind. I don't know about you, but reading chunks of text in italics begins to hurt my eyes.


Ame ni Matte

Wait in the Rain

Chapter 8: Recollection

Hojo had slammed something heavy on the lab desk, and Yazoo jumped awake, startled. It was unconventional to hear anything so loud, and the emptiness of the room only amplified the sound. It hurt his ears, and sitting up groggily, feeling stiff and unwelcomingly cold, the clone forced his eyes to focus.

What met his gaze was far from pleasant. The head of research, Hojo, was pacing the length of the lab with a clipboard in hand, muttering to himself whilst the panicky researcher named Deanes rummaged in a leather bag with such fretfulness, Yazoo's thoughts lingered on the not-so-entertaining muses of what Deanes was feeling so threatened by.

"--waking up extra early just to sort out Yazoo --" Hojo spat the name out as though it was particularly detestable "--only to find out my colleagues don't have the same enthusiasm I have…I ought to run a sweep of the research staff, deal with those who are unworthy…"

Hojo paused in his usual rant, suddenly noticing a pair of green orbs watching him. He pushed his glasses up irritably, and broke into a smile that didn't convey any sort of amiability.

"Yazoo, Yazoo, Yazoo," he said absently, "forgive me for not noticing you were awake. But good job you are, we have a lot to get through."

Yazoo studied his pyjama trousers, seeing Deanes' shadow creep over him. The researcher almost looked apologetic as he injected Yazoo's arm. The syringe contained a swirling mix of bright green; watching it made him rather faint.

"Side effect – dizziness," said Hojo lazily, as everything around Yazoo began to spin. "No problem though, should wear off in a few moments though. What I am more interested in…Deanes, make a note of this…Yazoo looks a bit…sharper."

"Eh?" Deanes looked up from his clipboard blankly, but Hojo ignored him, marching over to his desk and looking over at a large blue folder.

"The second Mako boost…" Hojo mused, turning a page of his file "…not planned at all, but of the three…mmm, a stroke of misfortune, indeed…the weak one, the weak one…I doubt even two shots will have an effect…"

"…I saw Sephiroth, if that counts as anything," Yazoo muttered. Despite the squirms inside of him warning him that admitting this only meant more injections and pain, but his anger was rising to the surface, being named relentlessly as weak, showered with remarks of disappointment and dismay.

Hojo stared at Yazoo in the same way a father would on hearing his baby say his first word.

"…Excellent!" he breathed, waving wildly for Deanes' attention. "Get it down, get it down!"

"Yes Professor."

Hojo scurried round the desk to Yazoo eagerly, moving surprisingly quickly for someone who looked so frail. "You said you saw Sephiroth. Elaborate, elaborate, little boy. Did he tell you anything? What did you feel?"

Yazoo was growing increasingly nervous at the Professor's abrupt interest in him. But his nervousness was soon quelled by a sudden pang of fear as Hojo stretched a hand out towards Yazoo and took hold of the elegant chin, jerking the clone's head so that it met the Professor's gaze. Yazoo winced at the bony hand's grip, gazing into the deep black eyes inches away from him. Then, Hojo pushed him away, unfolded a metallic chair and tossed it so that it skidded across the floor, opposite his desk. He gestured to it, and slumped into his snug armchair. Yazoo slid himself off the bed and sat on the waiting seat with unwilling obedience, tugging at the dirty grey left sleeve.

"I…I…" Yazoo started lamely, and Deanes scribbled something on his clipboard. Yazoo had the feeling that the researcher was going to make a note of everything he said, including the stutters and stumbles.

"Ignore him," Hojo said carelessly, "think Sephiroth. It might just be that my research does have a future in you."

"I only saw him for a few seconds." Yazoo felt weary and tired despite the fact he had only just woken up. "He was just…there."

"And feelings? Any sudden changes of emotion? Resembling that of Sephiroth, even?" Hojo was flicking through his pages so intensely, they were in danger of flying out from the folder. "2-4-C told us…2-4-C, we named him…eh…Ka…daj…Kadaj."

At the mention of his younger brother's name, an overwhelming feeling of nausea overcame him, and he wished for nothing more than to see that mischievous grin again. Such a short space of time away from each other, and already, the name Kadaj was starting to sound foreign.

"Kadaj said once that when he saw Sephiroth, he felt inexplicably angry." Hojo wrenched Yazoo out from his nostalgic thoughts. Yazoo hid a smile, thinking pensively that even without Sephiroth's help, Kadaj could get 'inexplicably angry'.

"…I get that too," Yazoo answered vaguely, but by the looks of it, it suited Hojo. The Professor moved his gaze away from Yazoo for a brief moment to check Deanes was still note-taking, before resuming their position on the clone sat on the uncomfortable chair in front of him.

"Deanes, if it carries on like this, we might be able to make Yazoo even stronger than Kadaj." Hojo smiled to himself smugly, entertained by this thought. Deanes muttered something which sounded like a half hearted agreement, but once again, Hojo was too preoccupied to even look at his assistant. "I've just had a brainwave. Deanes, get three more assistants to aid now. Don't get Leeson though, whatever you do. That man has the same intelligence as some creature I'd find at the bottom of my fish tank."

"Yes Professor," Deanes said hurriedly, leaving the room. Hojo brought Yazoo to a stand up position by the elbows, nudging him towards the bed again.

"You ought to be thankful for the amount of attention you're getting," Hojo was muttering away again, assuming that Yazoo was listening. "Compared to your 'brothers' anyway. You'll become a fine masterpiece at this rate. Just a little bit of training and…" there was a significant, eerie pause "…a few more boosts."

Yazoo swallowed, allowing for himself to be strapped onto his bed. He forced himself to stop trembling, reciting in his head that Kadaj was safe, Loz was okay, he'd see them soon…Shadows loomed over him abruptly, and people were starting to mutter as Hojo began to talk proudly. Yazoo wasn't registering anything at all though, the room was swirling to a whirr of white, blurring before his eyes.

Kadaj is safe, Loz is okay, I'll see them soon…Kadaj is safe, Loz is…

A sudden shock of pain rushed through him, and his little mantra was cut rudely, disappearing. Yazoo felt as though his lungs were ripping apart as he screamed. Then, he was pulled into the whiteness of everything, into his unconsciousness, where sweet memories, his only comfort, awaited him.

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It was raining heavily as the sky began to darken, but under the makeshift roof of a dull green tent, Yazoo could sit in the warmth of the blankets, peering out of a small gap where the entry flap's zip was broken. It was a murky sort of blue outside, a small sign that evening was drawing near. Of course, Loz was hungry, and once he had eaten, had fallen into a deep slumber, sprawled on the left hand side of the tent and snoring.

Yazoo, this night, had chosen to sleep in the middle. It meant that he could stop his brothers from kicking each other, and could watch over the two until he actually felt tired. It soothed the middle brother to see Loz and Kadaj so well and comfortable, though at times, both brothers complained about Yazoo's aloof gaze simply watching them.

Yazoo smiled to himself as Loz's foot twitched – a small hole in the tent had allowed for a drop of rain to seep through. The oldest brother grunted, rolling over to his other side and taking half the blankets with him. Yazoo rolled his eyes, pulled them back gently but with evident firmness, careful not to wake his brother. What happened instead though, was the other brother waking.

Kadaj sat bolt upright, gasping loudly. Yazoo was already looking at him, his eyes searching.

"…You been doing that freaky watching thing again?" the youngest brother muttered. "You look like you're trying to put a curse on me."

Yazoo blinked. "…Why would I want to put a curse on you?"

"I said you look like it." Kadaj had become irritable, but it was soon replaced by an expression of mild relief. "…I'm glad you're awake anyway."

"…Bad dream?" Yazoo spoke as softly as he always did, sympathetic to Kadaj's small nod of response. The middle brother raked his long fringe back so that he could see more clearly. The silver tresses merely slid back over his eyes, and Kadaj did a poor job in stifling a snigger.

"You've got a bit of your hair sticking up niichan."

"Have I?" Yazoo was still in thought about Kadaj waking so suddenly, his face displaying nothing but fear. Yet, as Yazoo knew all too well, Kadaj could switch from mood to mood as expertly as Loz could eat a full course meal.

Kadaj reached over and ran a hand through Yazoo's longish hair, muttering, "That's better. You were looking a bit stupid, even in the dark."

His own comment seemed to have an effect on him, and Kadaj looked around with a faint hint of anxiety, as though he had suddenly just realised it was very dark. Yazoo felt Kadaj lean against him slightly, almost lazily.

"…Wish I could get to sleep like you and Loz can…" he grumbled moodily into Yazoo's arm, "but you know, I keep seeing him in my head."

Yazoo patted his shoulder comfortingly. Kadaj had complained about Sephiroth many times, and telling him not to be afraid, patting him and stroking his hair seemed to have become protocol. Nevertheless, seeing the brother they had never met face to face before, disrupting sweet dreams and striking unnecessary fear into him…it was no wonder why Kadaj complained.

Kadaj then muttered something Yazoo had not been expecting. "…Being a clone sucks."

The middle brother was momentarily stunned, but regained his composure and murmured his usual response of, "It's okay, Kadaj, you don't need to be afraid of him" but already, the youngest one had pulled away.

"You wouldn't know." Kadaj wasn't mocking or annoyed, Yazoo swore he could have even been remotely upset, actually passively upset. "You don't see him, do you?"

Yazoo opened his mouth to say something, but instead, shook his head grimly. "…No, I don't."

Loz broke what would have been silence – since both Kadaj and Yazoo found nothing to say – with a loud grunt, and muttered something in his sleep. Kadaj shrugged lightly before laying back down in his blankets. His hand took a hold of Yazoo's firmly, possessively.

"…I'm going to go back to sleep now," he mumbled. "You can carry on with that freaky curse look of yours, you know, those evil looks you practise."

Yazoo found himself chuckling a little, bringing the blankets higher to Kadaj's chin. "…Once again, I really don't know what you're talking about."


A/N: What do you think? Please review…

This chapter was a bit similar to the first chapter – it was meant to be, plus I didn't want a whole chapter of mad experiments either, not on Yazoo…!

Next Chapter: Loz and Kadaj leave Aerith's home. I think I'll make them have a little dispute as well or something, make it all the more interesting.