"What is taking them so long?" Rufus complained one evening.
The commanders and the puppy returned after only a few days. Meanwhile Sephiroth and Cloud were pushing towards the end of the month in making the world wait. Everyone was anxious for their return.
Tseng has also begun to notice Reno acting weird. Well, weirder than usual. Taking his leave for calls. Always seems a bit on edge. He asked Rude about it once. He informed that he wasn't sure what Reno was up to.
So Tseng let them be. He was more focused on Cloud's return.
"You know they will make us wait, after making them wait to meet." Tseng reminded.
"I hope it won't be too much longer." Rufus huffed.
Turns out they only needed to wait two more days before Tseng got the call one morning. He had one look at his phone to answer. He couldn't help a smile.
"You finally joining the real world?"
"Har har. And yes, tomorrow morning. You can go ahead and make the announcement known to the company. And I will be making the changes to Soldier effective immediately."
Tseng blinked. It would seem Sephiroth had done wonders for Cloud's confidence. For a split second it sounded like he was speaking to Rufus instead.
"Very well. This will all be arranged. Oh, as a warning, Rufus insisted that you won't be picked up by helicopter. Instead you will be driven by car." Tseng relayed the little tidbit of information.
"He wants this to be public?" Cloud caught on.
"Well, you did disappear for almost a month."
"Fine. But I don't exactly have anything presentable." The youngest heir gave in.
"I've already taken the liberty of finding you a suit. One of Rufus' old ones. I have come to find the two of you are similar in measurements, from when he was nineteen."
"Let's hope that means I still got some growing." Cloud snickered.
Tseng made the announcement known. The next morning the early staff and many Soldiers were anxious. The Turk was just as anxious with them, even as he drove to pick them up. He didn't stick around upon delivering the change of clothes, so he didn't get a good look at Cloud's face.
As they drove, Tseng only glanced briefly in the mirror. The old suit he found actually fit like a glove. Dark blue with matching dress shirt. Cloud didn't go with the tie, but that was fine.
Once again Tseng didn't immediately notice a small change. As he pulled up to the main building, the press were already flooding around the doors. Tseng switched with a valet driver to get out and open the door for the passengers.
And that was when he noticed.
Cloud's eyes were now very green. The very same as Sephiroth's. One could say they're basically the same, except for the shape of their pupils. And for some reason this unsettled Tseng.
"Sorry. Probably should have warned you." Cloud caught on. He spoke softly so the press didn't hear.
"...Your brothers won't like this." Tseng whispered. At this moment Sephiroth emerged. But he showed that he wasn't phased at all.
"Mr. Cloud Shinra? Can you inform us what's taken you and General Sephiroth so long?" Someone came up.
"We needed the time away to bond. I was also going over plans on how to better the Soldier program. I've finally perfected the plans enough to my liking to start the changes." Cloud was perfectly presentable as a young upcoming member of the Shinra family.
"And what sort of changes will those be?"
"Drastic, too much to explain in one sitting. I hope everyone will give these ideas a chance. Now, if you will excuse me, my office awaits." Cloud broke away from them. Tseng stepped between him and the cameras to shield him from further questions.
"General Sephiroth! Can you explain what your destined heart is going to do?"
"I'm afraid I don't have the time. I have been away far too long from my duties as general." He remained stoic and swiftly followed the new Director and Turk.
Soon as they were away from the press, Tseng felt his phone vibrate. He didn't have to check who it was and promptly answered.
"I want my brother evaluated right now by Professor Hojo." Rufus was doing his best to remain calm.
"Understood. Will this also be extended to the general?"
"I don't care. I want my brother checked." The heir spat.
"Very well." Tseng hung up. "We're making a detour."
"Let me guess, my dear brother wants me to be checked over?" Cloud had overheard due to his enhanced hearing.
"This is a dramatic change. Although small, but it is concerning. Understand that while Soldier eyes do change into green eventually, they do not however become fully green. At least, not at the same level as General Sephiroth's." Tseng elaborated.
"And a warning would have definitely sufficed." The Turk added.
"How am I supposed to explain? I woke up and they were like this." Cloud huffed. "You guys would have demanded I come back secretly just to get checked on like I caught some disease or something."
"...I'll give you that." Tseng sighed.
"Would you like me to go with you?" Sephiroth offered.
"How likely will Rufus join us?" The young heir questioned.
"Very likely." Tseng remained honest.
"Then that's up to you whether you want to face his wrath."
That was enough of an invitation for Sephiroth to follow them. He was showing that he wasn't afraid of Rufus. And he was also curious about the eye color drastically changing.
"I had hoped you wouldn't join us." Rufus glared heatedly at the general, who smirked at the display.
"I've done nothing wrong to earn such hostility. Least of all from you." Sephiroth countered.
"This is a family affair." The older blond insisted.
"And I am his by default." Sephiroth stood his ground. "If you want to be like this, then Tseng doesn't get to stay either."
The atmosphere thickened. Rufus, although his face collected, his eyes showed his fury. Meanwhile the general remained calm. He was even smirking like this was all a game to him. The humor can be seen in his eyes.
"Can we not fight over me? Otherwise I'll make you all leave." Cloud spoke up.
"...Fine." Rufus looked away.
Sephiroth smiled, knowing a now very important detail. He knew Rufus for some time now. And the man has very few weaknesses he would even openly show around others. The Turks, and now his baby brother.
Cloud sent Sephiroth a look. A silent warning, as he caught onto his thoughts. The general remained unphased, but allowed a small nod to confirm he understood. The entire interaction was seen by Tseng.
He filed that away for later. The Turk had to act as though he hadn't seen the exchange. It helped that Professor Hojo approached. His eyes immediately studied the pair over, perhaps inspecting Cloud for any indication he was a good match. And perhaps to also notice any immediate changes with Sephiroth.
"Huh. Interesting." Hojo muttered to himself.
"What is on your mind?" Rufus heard him of course.
"Usually a Soldier's eyes don't fully turn green. Not unless they're experiencing mako poisoning. That is the closest I can recall for such a small yet significant change."
"So what does this mean for Cloud?" The older heir questioned.
"Well, he's too aware for mako poisoning, obviously. I will need to check his blood work to find any molecular differences. It's easy enough to pull up the lab works from his last mako injection appointment to compare notes." Hojo began the process.
Cloud removed the blazer and rolled up his dress sleeve. He sat down in the designated chair. As Hojo began the tourniquet, he started on simple inquiries.
"How long ago did the eyes change color?"
"Maybe two weeks ago?" Cloud couldn't place the exact day.
"Are there any symptoms of anything else happening?"
"Like what?" The young blond asked.
"Headaches, migraines, loss of memory, sleepwalking?" Hojo listed some.
Tseng and Rufus shared a look. Those seem oddly specific. Even Sephiroth had a tug of a frown from the corner of his lips.
"No. None of that." Cloud shook his head.
"How is your appetite?" The professor undid the tourniquet. He gave Cloud a cotton ball to hold over the spot.
"Still same as before the last appointment."
"Any noticeable difference of your strength?" Hojo was beginning to have a look at the blood work under the microscope. The other vials he mixed with other chemicals for certain reactions.
"Not that I've noticed." Cloud shrugged.
"Perhaps an outside opinion. What have you noticed, Sephiroth?" Hojo inquired curiously.
"He can't seem to stay still. Then again, he was anxious to begin work and get out of the townhouse." The general answered.
"Take him to the Simulation Room. Even as a Third Class, it should do him some good while he's stuck with desk work." Hojo suggested. "Newly made Soldiers hate being idle for so long. It took you years to break the habit of pacing and reorganizing everything that was out of place."
"I plan on taking him there once a week." Sephiroth had already calculated this into their schedules.
The vials that were mixed changed color. Hojo glanced up from the microscope. Already he had some conclusion just by looking.
"His mako levels are normal. So that's not the cause for his eye color." Hojo relayed to them.
"Then what is?" Rufus frowned.
"Well, I need to run more tests to confirm. But, I have a theory." Hojo casually cleaned his glasses from whatever it was that bothered him.
"And that is? Spit it out already!" The heir demanded.
"Sephiroth has very special cells. They are what makes him different from just any Soldier. I have theorized that anyone he shares a bed with could potentially be exposed to the same cells. Since he had shown no interest in such acts, I haven't been able to see what sort of changes one would undergo."
"So you're basically saying General Sephiroth can potentially change Cloud? Just from sleeping together?" Rufus was skeptical.
"It is the only viable reason I can give. Understand this is all a theory. But as you can see with these colors from the mixtures, Cloud has normal levels of mako." Hojo motioned to the color chart above the vials. And it was true, they were in the normal color range.
"What other changes can we expect?" Rufus still didn't like this.
"Increase of strength. Probably more rapidly than other Soldiers." Hojo stated the most obvious outcome. "If he will turn out anything like Sephiroth did in his younger years, then he will soon break everyday objects on accident. Utensils, door handles, doors."
"Is that why you're so awkward with phones?" Cloud turned to the general.
"I continue to struggle with not breaking those." Sephiroth admitted.
"I think I understand why most doors are automatic." Rufus hadn't thought on those small details.
"Oh yes, and the higher up in class a Soldier is, the more likely to face this kind of problem." Hojo added.
"Anything else you can think of?" Rufus redirected the conversation.
"I will have to monitor his blood levels as time goes on. Unless Cloud wishes to disclose anything else to bring to our attention?" The professor studied the youngest heir.
For the briefest second his eyes turned to Sephiroth. But quickly they darted back to Hojo. His perfect mask to not reveal his true thoughts or emotions slipped on easily. Tseng and Rufus knew Cloud well enough to notice.
"No. Nothing at all." Cloud was lying through his teeth.
Rufus left the laboratory even more confused and angry. Tseng joined him to give the news to Lazard. Meanwhile Cloud and Sephiroth began their work. The whole Soldier department was going to undergo various changes.