14 June 1982
The late afternoon landscape rolled by slowly as Sephiroth descended the mountain with Cloud behind him. The five year old boy held a long object wrapped in leather over his head, occasionally having to right himself to prevent himself from losing his balance and falling onto the rocks. No matter how many times Sephiroth offered to take back the wrapped possession, Cloud stubbornly insisted that he could do it himself. Not once did the boy complain that his arms were tired or make any indication that he had given up.
Cloud had been long used to the cold, hardly feeling a thing up in the mountains during the summer. Every night that Sephiroth went out, Cloud tagged along with him, and the man never seemed to mind. However, Sephiroth would never allow Cloud to go into town other than when they were to visit Mrs. Strife. At first, it didn't matter much to Cloud, but curiosity was drawing him in...
The boy's scuffed boots tromped through grass, and he stopped at a clearing with the silver-haired man. Handing the wrapped item over, Cloud stepped back, watching Sephiroth unravel the leather and reveal a long blade.
"You'll teach me how to use a sword, too, right?" Cloud asked hopefully, wistful eyes gazing upon the katana. He always asked that question when Sephiroth practiced with the sword, and Sephiroth always gave him the same reply.
"You'll need to learn how to hit first. Then we can move on to swords."
Cloud combed through the grass, looking for the stick he hid the other night. Yanking it from its not-exactly-hiding place, he held onto it with both hands and mimicked Sephiroth's movements. He made a slow sweep, pretending to knock someone off their feet; he swung upwards hard enough to bounce; he thrust his makeshift sword into an unseen enemy, overshooting it and falling forward. Standing up and dusting off the knees of his pants, he pouted when Sephiroth laughed at him. It was low, nearly inaudible to Cloud's ears, but it wasn't meant to be mocking or unkind.
Sephiroth continued his routine, and Cloud continued to copy him. The boy's imitations were stiff and uncoordinated, lacking the same finesse Sephiroth displayed in the handling of his own weapon. Cloud had begun to get better over time, but his unskilled maneuvers still frustrated and disappointed him. The repetitive motions began to dissolve into his mind, however, and soon he ran on autopilot, not really paying attention to what he was doing but still aware of the fact that he wasn't moving exactly like Sephiroth all the same.
Sweat began to break in an almost invisible sheen on Cloud's back and forehead. Still he continued on, even as his arms began to burn, even as Sephiroth's techniques became more complicated and near impossible for Cloud to pull off without doing something entirely different instead. He panted, falling onto his butt. Sephiroth kept on without him.
Cloud wiped the sweat off his brow, fatigue settling into his arms. He watched Sephiroth, taking in how the man easily slashed at a nonexistent foe, how he gracefully spun on his heels and did a series of moves that Cloud couldn't follow with his eyes. Cloud almost protested when the performance was finally over and Sephiroth re-wrapped his sword.
Gingerly placing the blade down on the grass, Sephiroth pulled Cloud to his feet, putting his hands over the boy's and manipulating him so that the stick sword pointed straight forward. Sephiroth concentrated in keeping steady, though it was slightly difficult due to the fact that he had to bend over to reach Cloud's height. He guided the boy's arms to move the stick to one side, continuing the slow movements over and over in a single pattern. He let go, instructing Cloud to do it on his own.
The boy copied the pattern perfectly, his arms trembling a little from his fatigue. He kept on, stopping only when he could no longer do it anymore.
By then, the sun almost finished setting and it was time to go home. Sephiroth handed Cloud the Masamune, faking shock when the younger one refused to carry it back.
"I'm tired," Cloud groaned.
"No, you're just lazy."
"I'm tired. You hold it," Cloud almost snapped.
"I don't feel like holding it," Sephiroth teased.
Cloud stuck his tongue out at Sephiroth and set off in the direction of Mt. Nibel, passing through the town and walking past the walls of the abandoned mansion. He stopped, seeing something resembling a wolf sniffing a patch of grass.
A dog. It was an actual dog. The animal was smaller than even a Nibel wolf, but its dark grey fur nearly made it easy to mistake it for one. The dog was more furry than a wolf; so furry that its eyes were almost completely covered by its pelt. Cloud approached the dog, not paying attention to the calling in the distance until the dog's pointed ears stood at attention.
The dog ran past Cloud, almost knocking him over. The boy scrambled to his feet and took chase.
You can't keep the dog. It belongs to someone, Sephiroth said.
"C'mere, dog, I'm gonna dognap you!" Cloud yelled at the retreating animal. He ran into the town, spying the dog weaving through the bottom of the well.
"Grandpaaaa!" someone called. The dog ran to the biggest house in the town, sitting in front of a child.
"Grandpa!" she said happily. "There you are!"
Shyly, Cloud approaced her. "Your grandpa's a dog?" he asked with disbelief.
The girl put her hands on her hips. "Nuh-uh! He looks like a grandpa dog so I call him grandpa. Who are you, mister?"
"My name is—"
Cloud, Sephiroth called insistently.
"Yeah, that!" Cloud said.
"Yeah, what?" the girl asked, confused.
"I'm Cloud," he said, embarrassed that he'd forgotten that only he could hear Sephiroth's voice in his head.
"Oh. I'm Tifa."
"Tee-fuh?" That was the weirdest name Cloud had ever come across.
Cloud. Sephiroth's voice was commanding now. Backing away, Cloud said goodbye before turning and running to Sephiroth's side without looking back.
Sephiroth didn't say a thing to him, just continued the journey home. Cloud stayed quiet, thinking for a moment.
"Do you know Tifa?" Cloud asked.
"She's a girl. Do you know what girls are?"
"What?"
"They're wild animals that will attack you when you least expect it. Whenever you're asleep, they turn into monsters that look like frogs and slobber all over you. They take your things, even destroy them. It's best to avoid girls as much as possible."
"Really?" Cloud didn't really believe the frog monster and slobber parts, but if girls were mean like that...
"They also have germs that will make you very, very sick."
That was it. Cloud was going to stay away as much as possible. But here was one thing off about that.
"What about Ba? Isn't she a grown up girl?"
Sephiroth snorted, sounding like he was trying to hold in a laugh. "No. Far from it. She's...a special case."
No more things were asked. When the house showed up, Cloud eagerly ran inside, passing Sephiroth's brothers who were in the living room and waited for Sephiroth to start the bath water. He gave himself a bath, dried himself off (for the most part), and put on his sleeping shorts and shirt. Tiredly, he went back down to see what everyone else was doing, minding Kadaj's prescence. Most of the time, Kadaj avoided Cloud like the plague, but there were times where he would antagonize Cloud and/or Sephiroth in some way.
This time was not one of them. Cloud was ignored, and he was grateful for it. He took a glance at the TV which was flipping through different channels because of Loz. He took in several almost split-second long scenes of commercials, scary movies he wanted to watch but didn't find the opportunity to, talk shows, and other programs.
"Flip it back," Sephiroth said quickly. Loz did, stopping on a news channel.
"...with tensions rising between Wutai and Shinra overseas. It is highly probable that an impending war may break out..."
Muttering broke out between the four brothers, but Cloud didn't pay attention, his attention focused on what came on TV next.
"This provides a chance for the elite forces of Shinra known as SOLDIER to prove their skills."
The name sounded interesting to Cloud, and the quick clip of men in uniform brandishing their swords fascinated him. They didn't seem to be as amazing as Sephiroth, but even so, he couldn't help but want to be like one of them.
"You'd think that Nibel was enough," Kadaj spat.
Loz turned the TV off. "They're going to take over the Planet, aren't they?"
"Seems so. They have a more advanced army now," Yazoo observed. "Didn't it used to simply be dragon food with guns?"
Sephiroth nodded. "So now they're trying to take that place. How long will it be until everything is sucked dry?"
"Who's they?"
All heads turned to look at Cloud. He looked back at them, wanting an answer.
"Nothing you should worry about," Sephiroth said simply.
"But—!"
"Shut up and get out of here, runt," Kadaj muttered loud enough for the boy to hear. He didn't retaliate when Sephiroth smacked him on top of the head with his fist.
"But what is it?" Cloud whined.
"Don't worry about it," Sephiroth said.
Cloud grumbled. He hated when he was left in the dark.
They're spreading.
It's not the first time they have done so.
It's the first time they're entering war for it.
You seem so sure that war is what will come out of it.
Apparently, there is some resistance.
And what of it?
Don't you think there's a chance that the Shinra could struggle in their conquest?
It depends.
If or when it happens, I can—
No.
Better me than the others.
No. You shouldn't.
I should.
I should. Not you.
It's my decision. I'm going to do it.
...
Notes:
Started: 2013年10月21日（月）
Finished: 2013年10月23日（水）
Whew! Finally figured out how to start this one. Never go too long without updating a certain story; brain farts like to attack then.
"Shinra dog! I'm gonna dognap you!" - actual quote from Cloud in FF7.
No, 1982 is not the next big date. It's still coming.
I know I said a long time ago that I was gonna do the prequel to Doll, but that was before the other fics existed. ^^; I might even have to delay the side story until at least two of the other fics are completed. I try not to go too long between updates for any of the fics (except for the ones that are on hiatus for the time being).