4 May 1990
Oddly enough, he wasn't nervous like the past couple of days. On the contrary, Cloud was unusually calm.
With confidence, he followed the other recruits into the testing room and sat down in his assigned seat. He waited until the proctor finished reading the directions out loud, then picked up his pencil and began to read the questions when it was finally time to start.
He changed his mind several minutes in. The questions themselves were still ridiculously easy. The time constraints, however, made him rush and panic a little. He second-doubted himself on around a third of the questions, and, once he had to move onto another section, he worried over whether he correctly answered enough questions.
There was no room for failure. He told himself this repeatedly throughout the length of the test.
He felt burned out by the time the test was over. He sighed and rubbed his eyes as exhaustion set in full force. He waited for the proctor to collect his test, then left the room once he was dismissed.
One stressor down, only a few more to go. It was a waiting game now.
Feeling lighter, Cloud strolled through the hallways and into the cafeteria for a quick bite to eat. Despite his earlier doubts, he felt great. He smiled to himself as he fantasized how proud his mother would be in a few weeks.
And then...Sephiroth will be, too, he thought.
15 May 1990
She rolled her sleeves up and wiped the sweat off her sun shone brightly over the town, bathing the ground in warm light. However, it was not quite hot – there was a small breeze as well. She would have considered it a perfect day to be outside, but, since her Cloud had left the town, she always felt like something was missing.
Not quite a perfect day after all, Mrs. Strife thought, standing up and clapping her gloved hands to get the dirt off. She looked down at her garden with pride. Her plants were coming along nicely, all thanks to her hard work. She dusted her knees off, sighing at the amount of dirt and mud on her overalls. She'd need to wash them soon. She took her gloves off and stretched for a minute before putting a hand on her back. She sighed again, this time at the aches and pains in her body, and went inside to bathe.
Once she finished and dressed herself in something comfortable, she set a tea kettle on the stove and started on some of her daily chores. When the tea was done, she served herself a cup and took it outside, sitting in her rocking chair.
She sipped her drink, feeling the familiar loneliness set in. She gazed at nothing in particular, and her mind wandered, thinking back to memories of her husband, of Cloud. She couldn't recall the last time she'd ever been alone.
Then she remembered when Cloud had been taken from her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been completely alone.
A moving figure broke her out of her thoughts. She looked up, and, focusing on it, she found it was Yazoo. He was slowly walking towards her, taking his time until he stopped in front of her, a short distance away. He extended his arm towards her, holding out what looked like an envelope. He looked her in the eyes, saying nothing. Yazoo had always struck Mrs. Strife as odd, but now, something felt especially off about him.
"What is it?" Mrs. Strife asked eventually.
"For you, from Cloud," Yazoo said softly.
Mrs. Strife pursed her lips. "It was never delivered to me."
"Mother took it."
Mrs. Strife subtly tightened her hold on her tea cup. She said nothing, and instead reached forward to take the envelope.
It had been ripped open, albeit cleanly. She was angry, but decided not to show it. It was too late to do anything about it.
"How long did she have it?" She pulled the contents out.
"It arrived a couple of days ago."
Hm, Mrs. Strife thought. Now Jenova looking through her mail and taking it? She found it rude, to say the very least. The blonde woman unfolded one of the papers and read it, feeling her heart clench as she read it.
She missed her baby boy so much, it hurt. She held onto the letter and read through the other ones. The second note had odd, scratchy handwriting.
We are well. Thank you for asking. I wish you much luck in your exams. Please pass our messages to Sephiroth. — Jenova
Below that, there was a paragraph written in what Mrs. Strife assumed was a foreign language. She couldn't read or understand a thing. She moved on to the next note. It had the same strange lettering, but in different handwriting, and so did another letter. The last one, however, looked like nothing but chicken scratch. Mrs. Strife raised a brow. The letter was crudely written with a big marker on crumpled notepaper, a stark contrast to the neater papers Mrs. Strife had inspected.
"Can you read what this says?" She held the paper up.
"Yes."
"What does it say?"
"Sefirot, ykt myr. Tagalo går. Traken nokt. Der, Los."
"What does that mean?"
"It means... Sefirot, ykt myr. Tagalo går. Traken nokt. Der, Los," he repeated.
"Tah-gah-low... gore?" Mrs. Strife stumbled over the pronunciation of the words she thought were the strangest. "What does that mean?"
"Tagalo går ikt tagalo går."
"Oh, you..." Mrs. Strife said, annoyed.
"It doesn't mean anything. You can look at them all you want, but please send them for us."
"Well..." Mrs. Strife hesitated for a short moment. "You don't have any way to contact Sephiroth? Are you sure he can understand these?"
"Yes, he can, and no, we don't. Not physically."
"Physically?"
"We miss him, and we just want to talk to him." Jenova's son looked at her with a tilted head and an aloof expression, but his eyes seemed to pierce hers.
"Alright..." Mrs. Strife said, after another moment of hesitation. "Is this all you want?"
"That is all." Yazoo turned around and left, moving behind a house and disappearing.
Mrs. Strife finished her tea to calm the nerves she didn't know were acting up and went inside. She reread Cloud's letter with a smile and began to write a reply.
28 May 1990
Today was finally the day. Cloud anxiously stood in line for his papers. He'd been nervous ever since a SOLDIER had announced that their scores and requirements were finished the day before. The blond couldn't help but imagine how well he did. He did well, right? Right? Of course he did; he studied so hard. But...what if he didn't?
Before he had time to stress himself up, it was finally his turn. He accepted the paper he was given and moved out of the way to look at his scores.
His height and weight were good. His doctor's records, however, were not good at all, as he feared. His test score...
90 out of 100. Cloud sighed in relief and smiled. He passed with flying colors, and it made him feel very warm on the inside. He then noticed the note written on the bottom right corner.
Report to the recruitment office immediately upon receiving this paper.
Swallowing, Cloud obediently made his way to the room as instructed. There, he saw a woman hunched over her desk, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.
"Name?" she asked without looking up or stopping.
"Cloud Strife."
"Ah, yes, the special case. You have done a remarkable job on your exam, as I'm sure you have seen." She put her pen down and looked up. "Have a seat, please"
The blond sat down on the chair in front of the desk.
"Everything on your records is perfect, except for your past schooling and your vaccinations. Typically, we do not accept home-schooled infantrymen unless they can provide proof that they have been taught the standard material Midgar teaches. However, because you did so well on your exam, we may be able to make an exception for you."
Cloud's heart fluttered in hope.
"This only leaves your vaccination records. Everyone needs those. Are you sure you do not have any paperwork on this?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"This complicates things, but..."
Cloud held his breath.
"We can arrange several appointments for you before you are officially accepted."
"Accepted...?"
The woman nodded and smiled, then extended a hand to shake his. "Welcome to the army, Strife."
Notes:
Started: 2016年1月3日（日）
Finished: 2016年1月14日（木）
Uploaded: 2016年1月20日（水）
Late 2015 was terrible, and so is 2016 so far. Let's not talk about it.
Next chapter: Mrs. Strife's letter to Cloud, and basic training.
PS: I'm still very unsure about this, but does anybody think there ought to be a scene from Sephiroth's point of view real soon? I'm planning to write one after the reunion for sure, but I'm starting to second-guess myself and am becoming indecisive.