Chapter 5: Coast of the sun
Josh smiled as he finally reached Costa del Sol. It was beautiful, the sand glowed and the ocean shimmered in the sunlight. Josh walked through the town and headed towards the INN. On his way there he saw some kids playing soccer. I remember playing soccer with Cloud when we were little. Josh opened the door to the INN and was greeted by a young man with brown hair.
"Hello there, how may I help you?" The man asked with a smile.
"How much Gil is it per night?" Josh asked as he shook the man's hand.
"It is thirty-six Gil for one night." The man said calmly.
Josh sighed and slowly walked away. Who am I kidding I spent all my Gil; there is no way I could afford an INN. Josh walked off towards the beach. Josh collapsed onto the hot sand and let out a sigh. He looked out into the ocean and marveled at the serenity of the waves. Slowly Josh was lulled into a deep sleep. Meanwhile a young Shinra Marine came to the beach with a surfboard in hand. He had sparkling blue eyes and long dusty blonde hair that stretched down his back.
"Alright, time to shred some waves!" The Marine shouted joyfully as he sprinted into the surf. He leaped onto his surfboard and glided over the crystal clear waters. He sat about half a kilometer away from shore waiting for the waves to pick up. He floated there for five minutes. When are the waves going to pick up? Soon his waiting paid off, the waves began to pick up and the Marine skillfully glided onto the wave. He rose to his feet and let out a shout as the wave carried him. The Marine skillfully navigated the waves and did a number of tricks. The Marine looked towards the shore and saw Josh lying on the ground. Is he all right? The Marine guided his board in towards the shore. As he reached the shore the Marine leapt off his board and landed gently on the sand. He walked slowly towards Josh. The Marine looked around and saw that most of the beach goers had cleared out for the day. "Wow… He's pretty battered. I wonder what happened." The Marine said as he looked over Josh. The Marine walked back to the shore and filled a tiny bottle. The Marine walked back to Josh and poured the water on Josh's face. Josh shuddered and sat up.
"That's cold!" Josh gasped as he came to back to reality. "Why did you wake me up?" Josh asked as he rose to his feet and looked angrily into the Marine's blue eyes. The Marine smiled and let out a laugh.
"I was helping you; around this time is when the creepy people come to the beach. I couldn't leave you here to get messed with could I?" The Marine said as he pointed towards the people that headed to the beach.
"What? You think I was going to get molested or something?" Josh said looking towards the group of people.
"If I left you sleeping there, the guy in the bee stripe swimsuit would make you his personal "bubby." Trust me it's safer now that you are awake." The Marine said in a serious tone.
Josh shuddered as he thought of what could have happened. Josh looked at the Marine and for the first time gave a smile. "Thank you so much eh, what's your name?" Josh said gratefully.
The Marine smiled. A thought sprung up in his mind. I almost forgot! I got orders from headquarters to keep my eyes out for a boy with spiky black hair. From the looks of it this must be him.
"My name is Kien. Your Josh right?" The Marine said with a massive grin.
"Wait a sec, how do you know my name?" Josh said as he jumped back.
"Oh sorry, I was sent by headquarters to find you. Tseng's original orders were for you to report to Junon in three months correct?" Kien said calmly.
"Yah… Why is something wrong?" Josh asked.
"Well the problem is head quarters isn't ready to receive any more SOLDIER candidates. Unfortunately they will not be ready for you for about six months." Kien said with a shrug.
"What!" Josh gasped.
"Technically there are only three times in the year when SOLDIER candidates get tested to see if they can make the cut. The next testing date is in six months. So think of it this way, you just got a three month extension on your original orders."
"I'm on my way to Wutai to train. The only problem is I'm out of money and there is no way for me to get there now." Josh said with a sigh as he collapsed to the ground.
Kien looked out towards the ocean. "You know what? I'll take you to Wutai."
Josh jumped to his feet in excitement. "Really!"
"Sure, why not!" Kien said with a laugh.
"When are we going to leave?" Josh exclaimed.
"How bout right now?" Kien cheered. "Follow me I'll take you to the Cargo Ship."
Kien lead Josh to a massive ship, its upper deck alone was the size of two city blocks. Kien lead Josh to the back of the ship and they climbed aboard. "Josh… You need to stay in hiding while we travel to Wutai, I can get court marshaled for allowing you on board." Kien pointed towards the crates "Hide behind those crates; I'll come get you when we arrive in Wutai. Josh nodded his head and jumped behind the crates. It wasn't long before Josh collapsed and fell asleep.
Meanwhile; Kien stood on the top deck and took a deep breath.
"I love the ocean; its breeze always makes me feel so alive!"
A man walked out on deck and noticed Kien, "Hey you, go patrol the cargo hold!"
"Sir!" Kien said with a salute. He whirled around and marched towards the Cargo Bay. Stupid Commander Willis. You are always ruining my fun. Kien walked down the stairs and looked around. "It looks like the area is all clear." Kien smiled "Oh well I might as well get to work." Kien began to patrol the cargo bay. At least Josh is having more fun then I am.
