I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter. It's kinda...meh. That might just be me, though...

[Edited on 4/23/20]

This chapter has been updated with new information that's come out since I first posted it. If you feel up to it, you can reread it. If not, I've mentioned the main changes in the latest chapter (11).

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Chapter 4

Cloud was frustrated.

It had been a month since he woken up in his new life, but it felt like everything was conspiring against him. The morning following his arrival, Castalia had come to call on him for breakfast. He'd done his best to ignore the visible signs that she had been crying and nodded, although he still felt guilty for being the one to cause her sadness.

That thought was quickly pushed aside when he overshot his stride and fell flat on his face.

Dozens of possible explanations ran through his mind as he lay on the floor, but the best one was that he was still used to a bigger body. He would have to be careful about that, or his new family might think that he had something more severe than amnesia- the strange expression on Castalia's face right before she helped him up had only further cemented his resolve. Fortunately, military training helped in regulating his walk, so, while still awkward, there were no more incidents. Unfortunately, there were still a multitude of obstacles that kept him from beginning his quest to make things better.

The first was school. He had completely forgotten about it, and if he had to be honest, he didn't care. Dedicating a large part of your life toward fighting an insane, alien-possessed man could do that he supposed. Education seemed like such a trivial thing in comparison. He could read, he could write, and he had no issues with numbers- he was set.

Ma and Matt, however, thought otherwise.

He loved his mother, and Matt seemed like a good man, but there was a limit to how many lectures on the importance of education he could take. It didn't help that Castalia turned out to be some sort of prodigy and had already finished her education. It only made the two adults even more adamant that he pay attention in class. As for the girl in question, she'd been strangely understanding to his plight. She always got a sort of amused, unusually nostalgic expression when she came across one of those lectures, but never got involved. The one time that Ma had asked her to, she had refused, saying it was his choice and trying to pressure him would only make it worse.

He would have thought she would be on their side, but that was something to think about at a later date.

Another thing that bothered him besides school was that he had less freedom to roam around. He could understand, seeing that he had been protective of both Denzel and Marlene, but it was frustrating having that sort of attention placed on you when, at least in mind, you were an independent adult. Suddenly, Denzel's more rebellious behavior in later years made a lot more sense, and he felt a pang of empathy.

The last, while not necessarily a bad thing, brought its own set of obstacles. The villagers were a lot nicer to him this time around. Cloud thought it might have had something to do with Castalia, who had inadvertently caused an increase in Nibelheim's income by working in Cole's shop. No one would ever replace Tifa (she was so young now!) as the town darling, but Castalia was a close second. Cloud always heard how polite, intelligent, and kind she was. He didn't know how much of that was the gil talking, but it had definitely brought the Strife/Allen household (he'd learned of Matt's origins when the mayor had addressed the man by his last name) up in positive regard.

His new sister didn't seem to care much for it, though.

It was something he had noticed over the last few weeks. After her shift at the store, or on her days off, she usually took off somewhere. It was amazing that no one had noticed. He wanted nothing more than to follow her and find out (it was both a combination of curiosity and concern), but between school and the new attention of the town, he was finding it more than a little challenging to get away.

Once again, he questioned just what Minerva was thinking. How was he supposed to change anything like this?

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"You have been coming here a lot more."

Vincent watched as already tense shoulders stiffened even more at the statement. Castalia kept her eyes on the book in her hands for a few moments more before sighing and placing it to the side.

"It's been a rough month."

"How so?"

"The townsfolk have been a lot...nicer to me lately."

Vincent merely raised a brow, knowing she would understand his question. Sure enough, she continued.

"I wouldn't have a problem with it, normally. I mean, the townspeople were nice to me before, but now it feels like-...like it's not genuine anymore, you know? It's like they're expecting something by treating me kindly. I don't like it."

He sat down beside her as he thought it over. "It is possible they are reacting to the increase in money Nibelheim has seen through Cole's shop. It would not have opened had you not agreed to learn item synthesis."

She grimaced. "That makes it even worse. I didn't do those things just so they would like me. I did it because it was interesting. Now, they're all trying to invite me over for tea, or trying to grab my attention over something or other. Mrs. Graham has been the most persistent."

"Isn't she the woman whose son you punched for making fun of Cloud?"

"Yeah. I have no idea what's gotten into her. I thought she hated me for that. Heck, she wouldn't even let me look in the direction of her boys until recently- as if I was gonna corrupt them or something! Can you believe that?" I snickered a bit. "Although be fair, Ethan's adorable and so naive that with my luck I probably would end up doing just that by accident, but Travis doesn't need help."

He smiled, then almost chuckled as yet another suspicion came to him. "Hmm...How old are you now, Castalia?"

"Almost thirteen, you know th- What are you thinking, Vincent?"

"It is merely a guess, but another reason they could be treating you kindly is that you are nearing the age for courtship."

"Huh?...Oh..." Her face paled more and more with each second that went by. "They're trying to-...?! And want me to-...?! Oh, hell no!"

"You would be an asset to any family you marry into."

She covered her ears with a squeal and shook her head rapidly. "No, no, no! I don't wanna hear it! It's so wrong!"

"Why? You do not wish to marry?"

"You're having fun with this, aren't you?" she asked with a flat look.

"Perhaps. Although, I am a bit curious about your adamant denial."

"First of all, I don't like any of them. They're all younger than me and have the maturity to match. Second, marriage should never be about assets. That's like me wanting to marry Rufus Shinra because he's the son of a wealthy man with lots of power. It's just not done."

"A strange mindset for someone in a town like this."

"Yeah, well, I'm different."

He allowed himself a small smile. "True enough."

She sighed again and let herself fall supine on the couch. "You know, I'd never even considered that option, but now that you told me, it makes a scary amount of sense. What the heck am I going to do? Ma and Da would never pressure me into marriage, but who knows what the others in town would be willing to do."

"You could always leave."

"That's one option, I suppose. But, as much as I don't want to marry anyone in Nibelheim, I don't really want to leave it either. Besides," she smiled, "I'd be eaten alive. I may be able to hold my own on the way here, but I'm no match for some of the monsters out there."

That was true, he thought with some concern. He had been the one defeating most of the tougher monsters in and around the manor, but what would happen should either one of them ever decide to leave? What would happen to her then?

"Vincent? You okay?"

"Tali." It was strange how the shortened name was more indicative of serious topics than her full one, given that he now had her full attention. "Would you like to learn how to use a gun?"

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I stared. Did I hear him right? Was he actually offering to teach me how to use a gun?

More importantly, did I want to learn?

While both guns and materia could cause serious damage, my mind was much more hesitant about the gun. That was probably because guns had existed on Earth, and they were used maliciously more than anything. My cousin had died from a gun just so they could rob him of ten dollars. It was so easy to kill with them...I might have been a lot of things, but a murderer was not among them.

'But, this is Vincent. He would never use a gun for a bad reason.'

"If you do not wish to learn, that is fine."

"Huh? Oh, no, it's not that- well, not entirely. I just don't know why you would offer."

"You have brought up a good point in regards to your fighting ability. Should you or I ever choose to leave, I wish for you to know how to defend yourself."

So that was it. He was just worried. It made me feel a little better about the prospect, but I still found myself hesitating. Sure, I could tell myself that I would only use it on a monster, but what if I was forced to cross that line one day? What if I was forced to aim that gun at a person? Even if that person was foul and cruel...I didn't want to ever be in that situation. If, by some rare chance I did end up shooting a person...what would that do to me? Would my non-murderer mindset change? Would I slowly drive myself crazy through the guilt of taking a life? At the very least, I doubted I would get out of that without some psychological issues.

"You are afraid that you could hurt someone...Or perhaps, you are afraid of how it would change you?"

Jeez, he was just too smart for his own good sometimes. Knowing that denying it would do nothing, I nodded.

"It is a valid concern," he told me. "Although the fact that you are thinking of such things proves you are of a better moral character than those that learn thinking merely of how useful it would be. Even those that pick up a weapon with the desire to protect can cross the line if they become enamored with their power. It is a delicate balance."

Usually, I would comment about how talkative he was today, but I knew that it wasn't the time for that. He was trying to help me out here, and I wasn't about to take it lightly. "How do I know I'll never cross that line?"

"You don't. However, you are a good person. I doubt it would ever come to that."

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He sounded so sure of himself that a part of me couldn't help but believe him. It's not like I wanted a weapon to change me, but I knew that it would- even if it was just a little bit. So, having someone like Vincent trust me and my character enough for this was a relief. It reassured me just enough to accept.

"Okay. But, umm...I don't have a gun...and I doubt Cole would let me buy one."

"Leave that to me."

Well, if I was going to learn, I may as well have a good weapon. Letting one of the best marksmen in Gaian history get it for me would practically guarantee that. Still...I couldn't help feeling that I might not be able to avoid getting mixed up in the events to come after all. Learning about materia and how to shoot a gun? Not exactly signs of a peaceful life.

The worst part of it was that I wasn't sure who was steering me down this path anymore, Minerva, or myself?

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General Iroh heaved a weary sigh as he watched his soldiers. When ShinRa had first declared war on the land of Wutai, he, like many others, had been proud to fight. It had been for a just cause, after all, and if he did not fight, then who would?

Now, almost three years in, that question had drastically changed in perspective.

He kept these thoughts to himself of course, but sometimes, Iroh couldn't help feeling as if there was something bigger at play. The official story was that Wutai had tried to assassinate the ambassador sent to negotiate a treaty- one that would allow ShinRa to build a reactor on their lands. However, he had fought these so called heartless people, and they were anything but. He wondered...was it really all as clear cut as it seemed? If they were to stop fighting and call for peace, would the people of Wutai really ignore it? He didn't think so, but again, he kept these thoughts to himself.

If he didn't, he would be stripped of his rank faster than he could blink, and then who would look after his men?

Still, Iroh was, if nothing else, an honorable man. Even as he cut down his enemies, he sent a quick prayer to the Goddess for forgiveness, and a silent apology to the families he had affected. It was something that those same enemies had noted, somehow, and had spared him the fate of death that had claimed many of his comrades. Now, he was the last of the high ranking men, left in charge of all of the young idealists who had been swayed by the company's propaganda.

Well, there was one other, but in Iroh's opinion, he was still but a boy.

When he had first heard that he would be joined by some of the first SOLDIERs created by the program, he had been curious. There had still been a great deal of mystery surrounding the process at the time, and because they were in fact some of the first, no one knew what they were capable of.

Nothing could have prepared him for when he actually saw them, however.

At the sight of such youthful faces, he had been appalled. Then, when he'd found out they were only twelve, he'd been furious. Enhanced or not, SOLDIER or not, they were much too young to be fighting. However, as he was only in command of the regular infantry, his protests were ignored. Instead, he could only watch as their commanding officer sent those children from battle to battle, either never noticing or never caring that their eyes slowly dulled with each experience. He only cared about how easily they won. It was awful to admit, but Iroh hadn't been too upset at his death a year later. However, arrogance turned out to be something of a curse in SOLDIER, it seemed, since the chain of command had slowly dwindled until Iroh had been grudgingly given command of all the troops.

That was when he met Angeal Hewley, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Sephiroth for the first time.

All of them were remarkable in combat, of that there was no doubt, but all he could see were the broken gazes of three boys who were trying to cope with what they had been forced to do in their own ways. Genesis immersed himself in a play given to him by a dying soldier, repeating the lines to himself and others as if they held some deeper meaning. Angeal coped by pretending he was not affected, choosing instead to offer comfort to those around him. Sephiroth...Sephiroth worried him the most. The silver-haired teen had been quiet when he first arrived, but now it was a rare thing for anyone to hear him say a word. He built walls to keep both his emotions and others at bay, and when he killed, he did it with a blank expression.

It wasn't right.

So, while ShinRa had been putting more and more pressure on him to give Sephiroth more responsibility or send him into more battles, he had been petitioning to have the young man and his friends recalled. Finally, after months of throwing logic at the higher-ups (which wasn't as effective as one would think), and with some not so pride worthy arguments along the lines of them burning out their weapons (he still felt ill referring to them as such), they had finally agreed to grant them some leave time.

"General."

He smiled tiredly and turned around. "Is there something you need, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth stared at him intently for a few minutes before frowning slightly. "You're sending me back."

"Yes."

The frown deepened. "I am a general too, and as such, I should be here."

Iroh placed his hands on the young man's shoulders. "I am not doubting your leadership abilities, Sephiroth. You have been nothing if not phenomenal on the battlefield, and I will be the first to admit that your presence has lessened the stress placed upon me."

"Then why-...?"

He laughed softly. "You remind me a lot of my nephew, you know. So serious all the time, and wanting to fight in order to prove himself. But there is more to life than fighting. There are so many beautiful things to see and to experience. I have had my share of them, but you are young. You have yet to realize the wonders of the world."

"I-...I don't understand."

He felt saddened by this for a moment. How was ShinRa any less cruel than those they fought if they stole the childhood of such a bright boy? That sadness quickly strengthened his former resolve, however.

"I want you to live, Sephiroth. This war is not life. This war is death and sorrow. Pain and regret. War brings bitterness and anger, and will always leave those caught within it hollow and empty. I do not want to see what's left of your spirit be crushed by remaining here."

Sephiroth's eyes were wide with surprise- the first emotion to break through in a long time. It was enough to bring the smile back to his face.

"You and your friends have done enough. Let us older folk shoulder the burden for a while."

"But...what would I do?"

"Spend time with the people close to you, ride a chocobo, anything that you feel like doing. The choice is up to you. That's the best part."

"Up to...me?"

"Yes. Might I suggest taking your time on the way back to the company should you choose the chocobo, though?" he asked with a laugh. "They might not approve of such a frivolous activity. I, however, have always had great fun riding them for leisure."

"I'll...keep that in mind."

Iroh nodded, happy that Sephiroth seemed more comfortable with the idea than before. "Now then, why don't you go tell Angeal and Genesis the good news? I'm sure they'll be happy to suggest a few things you can do with your time off. When you're ready to go, Mark will fly you off continent to Rocket Town." When he didn't leave, he grew a little concerned. "Sephiroth?"

Now it was his turn to have his eyes widen when Sephiroth wrapped his arms around him.

"Thank you."

It was soft, and the hug was hesitant, but he could feel the honesty. It made his eyes soften as he returned the embrace. "You have nothing to thank me for. But, if you insist on repaying me, do it by doing something for yourself. Should we meet again, I expect you to be happy."

"We will meet again. You are too strong to not survive."

He laughed. "I'll do my best."

Sephiroth nodded and let go. He was almost out of the tent when he paused. "General...you said I reminded you of your nephew...What is his name?"

"Zian. He's a bit more hot-tempered than you, to be honest, but I think you would get along well. I'll introduce you when this is all over."

"I'd like that."

"Take care, Sephiroth."

"You too."

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As I made my way home that evening, thoughts on learning about guns were pushed aside in favor of making sure I made it without being noticed. Vincent's theory about marriage was troubling, and an issue I honestly hadn't expected. If I weren't absolutely sure that it would cause more problems than it would solve, I would say I was with him and be done with it- if I achieved the impossible and got him to agree to such a stupid idea, at any rate. Not that I had feelings for him beyond the admiration of his good looks and surprisingly pleasant personality (once you got passed the silent, brooding stage), but he was a better choice than anyone else in town…

'Okay, I'm going to stop that train of thought before it becomes even more awkward.'

Years ago, I guess I wouldn't have been all that opposed to the idea, but Vincent was a friend now, and I just found it weird. In fact, I wasn't sure I wanted to be with anyone. Sure, I wanted a loving relationship just like any other girl, but I was older than everyone my age, even if it was only mentally. It would take one heck of a guy to make me feel like I wasn't committing some form of pedophilia.

Hey, I was older in mind, not body. If I were to hook up with someone that was physically my age, it would feel wrong too.

Oh, my head was starting to hurt just thinking about this. I was just going to stay away from romance for as long as I could, and if Mrs. Graham's son tried to pull something once they became more open with their intentions (and they would, too), I was going to punch him in the face again.

Too bad Reeve was out of my age range…I wouldn't have minded him.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo ~Chapter End

...What was initially meant to be a small part showing that Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal were going to be leaving the war turned into the above. I hope you don't mind.

Since at the beginning of Crisis Core, the three of them had pretty much been shown to be stationed at ShinRa for a while, I needed to bring them back with enough time for their more relaxed game personalities to be reasonable. I would hardly expect Angeal to take Zack on as an apprentice fresh from the front lines. They need time to unwind and get past the harsher side effects of war.

That aside, I really wanted to name the nephew Zuko. You can tell I was being a little uncreative with those two, but I needed a general, and Iroh popped into my head. Not sure I'll bring them back, though. They were more of a one-time thing for plot purposes...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time!

[Edited on 4/23/20]

The main change to this chapter was Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis. Since their ages have been changed, I had to adjust the part with them in it a bit. It's still pretty similar, though.