Drip, drip, drip.
Footsteps echoed as he walked on nothingness. The floor was pitch black, as was the entire place. He didn't know where he was. Every time he applied pressure onto the floor, azure ripples flowed out. He looked around silently and his blank features formed into a very slight frown when he heard a whimper. Not speaking in case of revealing himself, he slowly and cautiously made his way over to where the sound was emitted from.
His eyes widened a fraction when he saw Tifa and Aerith holding hands and looking around worriedly. He raised a hand and called, "Tifa! Aerith! I'm here, it's me—" he began before both brunettes whirled around with fear etched onto their features. "It's me…" he repeated tentatively. The girl's didn't seem to see him. They gasped and backed away as something descended on them. He couldn't see it but Aerith was suddenly thrown across the room. He gasped silently and ran to her but was thrown back because of an invisible barrier. "Aerith! Tifa!" he called fruitlessly.
He realised that the monster wasn't invisible; it was black, like everything else. He could vaguely make out the shadowy outline of it. He called the girl's names again when Tifa barely dodged one blow but was hit with another. They huddled together and whimpered again as the monster closed in on them whilst he could do nothing. He felt tears prickle at his eyes as they girl's let out a scream of his name, "Cloud!"
He hastily threw a punch and it collided with something. His azure eyes flew open and he saw Zack rubbing his abused stomach. He slowly calmed down upon realising that it was a dream. He swallowed loudly and looked around cautiously. "Where am I?" he asked after surveying his surroundings. The raven pouted in mock-hurt.
"You aren't gonna apologise for punching me?" he asked innocently. When Cloud didn't answer, he sighed and said, "You're in my quarters," he answered. "You passed out due to a high fever so I asked Seph if I could bring you here."
"He said yes?" Cloud enquired in disbelief.
"Well," Zack waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "His answer was close enough to a 'yes,' as you'll ever get from him." He flashed a feral grin. "Anyway, what was your nightmare about?" his grin dissolved and he appeared slightly concerned. The blond briefly considered telling him but hastily berated himself for thinking that and just turned away.
"Nothing," he said gruffly.
"I doubt that, but I won't pry." Zack beamed at him. "How do you feel?" to be honest, he felt terrible. Now being reminded of his apparent fever, he felt himself shaking due to coldness despite the fact that his skin was rather hot. His head ached terribly and his stomach churned whenever he moved, creating nausea. His body throbbed in different places and his joints felt stiff and sore.
"Fantastic," he answered sarcastically, wincing slightly but trying not to show it. Zack seemed to notice anyway but didn't say anything, much to Cloud's relief.
"You can have a shower if you want." He said instead, standing up again. He turned to point at another door. "The bathroom's in there," he said. "There's a bathtub, shower, sink and toilet. There's a window, but you can't escape through it." He grinned again. "If you open with without authorisation or this card"—he pulled a forest-green card out of his back pocket in his pants and waved it in front of Cloud's face—"alarms will go off and you're scrawny little ass will be thrown right back into that dinky cell." He beamed too brightly. "So don't even think about it, Cloudy-boy."
"Don't call me that," the blond grumbled.
"Okay, Chocobo-head." The man smiled. Cloud resisted the urge to pout and settled for scowling. "You're so grumpy," Zack whined. "Why can't you be more like me?"
"Heaven forbid." Cloud mumbled. The raven howled with laughter which didn't help the blond boy's headache at all.
"Whatever, Chocobo-head," he beamed. "Go shower." He said as he moved to help the boy up. Cloud shook Zack's hands away and glared tiredly.
"I don't need any help," he insisted. The raven raised his hands defensively. Cloud stood shakily and almost fell, but managed to regain himself in time. Zack hovered around him to make sure he didn't collapse. "I'm not weak." The blond said. The raven blinked in surprise.
"I never said you were." He replied innocently. The blond didn't respond and instead just pushed past him, entered the bathroom and moved to shut the door but was stopped by Zack. "But you are sick, so I think it'd be best if I stayed with you."
"While I'm showering?" the blond asked incredulously.
"I think you should bathe instead, since you're sick. If you stand too long you'll get dizzy," he chuckled when Cloud leant against the wall for support, which proved his point. "And the water must be the correct temperature or you'll get sicker. I'm staying with you." He beamed. The blond glared.
"No." He said.
"Stop being such a girl," Zack rolled his eyes. Cloud spluttered.
"I'm not!" he shouted heatedly. Zack grinned, pleased to get a raise out of the emotionless teenager.
"Well then, what have you got to hide?" he beamed. The blond faltered and pursed his lips but finally just gave in and opened the door fully. Zack grinned in victory but his eyes widened a fraction when Cloud swerved around and attempted to trip him up. However, before the blond could accomplish such a feat, Zack grabbed the boy's arm and pulled it behind. The blond winced. "No bad, kid, not bad at all." The man grinned. Cloud blinked in surprise. "You have potential." The smaller boy's eyes shone and he seemed astonished to receive such a complement.
"You…" the blond said in shock. "You mean it?" Zack's bright eyes softened slightly.
"I mean it." He smiled. Cloud's arms twitched and he blushed when he realised that he wanted to hug Zack. He coughed and turned away to hide his fluster. Zack raised a brow, still grinning. "Well? You gonna undress or what?" the blond blushed slightly again.
"In front of you?" he murmured shyly.
"Well sure," the raven said. "I'll get undressed first then."
"You're not bathing with me!" the blond exclaimed with wide eyes. The raven appeared confused and amused.
"Yes, I am," Zack grinned. "Is that a problem?" Cloud wanted to tell him that it obviously was a problem; people require privacy once in a while! However, he supposed that he didn't really want to be alone since he'd been in that cell for a while. He shuddered at the thought and turned to get undressed. He reluctantly pulled off his black shirt and grey undershirt and ignored Zack's prying eyes when he saw all of the scars that littered the blond boy's back. Thankfully, he didn't ask.
When Cloud removed his tattered jeans, conversely, the raven seemed surprised. Scars were all over the blond boy's body and most where symmetric; proof that they weren't accidental. Cloud knew that Zack wanted answers, but he wouldn't oblige. He turned to the taller man but didn't meet his eyes. "Could you, um… turn around?" he requested almost shyly. The raven laughed slightly and turned away as Cloud removed his boxers.
"What's the matter, never been naked in front of anyone before?" Zack taunted playfully. Cloud's face reddened more and he remained silent. "You still a virgin?" he asked. He was pleased when the blond made a small squeaking sound in the bottom of his throat – a sign of horrified shock.
"E—excuse me?" he stuttered. Zack chuckled at his naïveté.
"I'll take that as a yes," he grinned demonically. Cloud huffed and turned away. "You getting in the bath or are you gonna stand there all day in the nude?" the raven enquired innocently. The blond glared slightly but walked over to the bath and climbed in anyway. Zack laughed again.
"What's so amusing?" Cloud scowled.
"You're so small that you had to climb in." The raven answered with a grin. The blond just glared and disguised his blush. It didn't work.
Zack chuckled again and entered the bath. He noticed Cloud shiver. "What's wrong?" he frowned.
"Nothing," the blond replied. "I'm just kind of cold."
"It's because the hot water combined with your coldness is making you react that way." Zack said with a sympathetic smile. "Want help washing?" he offered.
"No, thank you." Cloud mumbled with a glare. Zack shrugged uncaringly and grabbed soap and a sponge anyway. "I said no." Cloud scowled at him.
"And I don't care." He beamed as he applied soap to the blue sponge and began cleaning the blond. "Woo, you sure are dirty!" he laughed. The blond brooded sullenly. "Ah, don't sulk, Chocobo-head!" he grinned.
"I'm not sulking," Cloud said. "And don't call me 'Chocobo-head'." He grumbled moodily. Zack just smiled.
"It's imperative!" he declared. When Cloud gave him a 'what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about?' look, Zack elaborated, "Well, it just suits you. 'Cause of your cute hairstyle!" he said. The blond boy's eyes widened.
"You're hair is so cute, Cloud." Aerith beamed softly.
Cloud turned away. Noticing the slight change in the boy, Zack's face became more serious as he quietly cleaned him. He grabbed the shampoo and gently applied it to the boy's hair. "You know," Zack said, "Your hair stays like that despite it being wet." He chuckled softly.
"You can't talk." Cloud pouted slightly as he gestured to Zack's insane spiky hair. "And besides, it runs in my family. I have a younger cousin whose hair is even worse than mine." He mumbled.
"Seriously?" Zack chuckled. "Wow. That sure is as feat. Besides," he began in a fake haughty tone. "My hair is a gift from the God's." Cloud snorted in disbelief.
"God's of the underworld…" he grumbled. Zack laughed happily then shoved Cloud under the water. The blond boy's eyes widened, caught off guard. He was soon pulled up and he panted for breath, coughing. "Why did you do that?" he growled when he'd stopped gagging. The raven grinned.
"Payback," he answered simply. "And I had to get the soap outta your hair." He beamed. Cloud glared and flushed red when he realised that he was leaning against Zack's chest. He sat up but he was too quick apparently, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. The raven supported him by his shoulders and his grin of mischief dissipated. "We should get out now. You need rest." He said.
"I'm not tired." Cloud mumbled futilely. Zack rolled his eyes and threw him over his shoulder. The blond gasped and blushed. "Let me go!" he ordered, embarrassed. Zack just laughed jovially.
"No," he replied. "It's fun to see your reactions!" he declared. He unceremoniously dumped Cloud back onto the bed and pulled the sheets over him. Smiling a bit more gently now, he said, "Try to get some sleep, and I'll let you go out tomorrow, okay?"
With that, Cloud let the welcoming abyss of unconscious drag him away.
O—o—O—o—O
Another man flew across the room and crashed through the opposite wall. A groan of pain was the only sign of life from the poor man. Sephiroth sneered and swiped the blood off of his blade in one fluent movement. "Who is next?" he enquired darkly. The men in the dojo all swallowed loudly and remained where they were, apart from one.
"I'll fight," one of the shorter ones mumbled as he stood. Some men snickered but most were too afraid to in fear of punishment from their silver-haired boss. Sephiroth didn't seem to care who he was fighting as long as he was able to. The boy got into position and he grasped his sword tightly.
"You should take a helmet, kid." A man distributing bandages and protection advised. The brunet boy didn't remove his piercing eyes from Sephiroth's form.
"I don't require one." He answered briskly. The man sighed and shook his head but didn't push him.
"It's your funeral…" he mumbled to himself. The brunet ignored him in favour of appraising his opponent. Sephiroth did the same.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Leon." The boy answered bluntly. They both nodded to each other and swiftly charged forward. Leon swung first but Sephiroth sidestepped his attack and brought his own weapon around to hit the boy on his left – where he was most vulnerable. Noticing this, Leon leapt up and back flipped, managing to dodge. Wasting no time, Sephiroth gracefully dashed forward. The brunet defended his left side again, predicting that was where the silver-haired man would attack.
He was mistaken.
Sephiroth's observational skills made note that Leon was protecting his left side and so swerved right at the last second and landed a blow. The brunet's eyes scrunched up as the blade dug into his side. "If we were having a real battle, you'd be dead now, Leon." He muttered as he sheathed his sword. He took a step back and raised his voice slightly to say, "Everyone wash up and take a break. Training starts again in two hours." No one needed to be told twice. All of the men rushed out briskly and two of the more decent ones went to assist the injured man who was thrown through a wall. They turned to Leon expectantly but the brunet merely shook his head and walked away on his own. "Go to the medical centre and get that wound patched up, cadet." Sephiroth ordered. Leon didn't acknowledge his voice but made his way to the medical centre anyway.
O—o—O—o—O
Cloud placed his water on the table beside his bed and shifted to get out. "Where do you think you're going?" Zack raised his brows expectantly. The blond looked up at him blankly.
"You promised that I could get out after I rested." The boy answered easily. The raven-haired man grinned and scratched his head sheepishly.
"Aa, you're right." He replied. "Okay, here." He tossed Cloud a plain sleeveless black shirt and matching black pants along with the same coloured boots. The blond then noticed that he was wearing pink pyjamas with little… bunnies… on. He narrowed his eyes and scrunched up his nose and then glared at Zack accusingly. The man laughed. "You're other clothes were dirty. My pyjamas were too big, so I gave you my ex-girlfriend's clothes." He admitted sheepishly. The blond rolled his eyes but undressed from the pink pyjamas and pulled on the black clothes. "By the way," Zack stuck his hands in his pockets, made his way to the door then turned back and winked. "I took a picture of you while you were sleeping. You were so cute when you drooled and hugged the pillow!" he laughed when the blond looked appalled.
"Y—you… delete that picture right now!"
"No way!"
On argument and half an hour later, they had made their way to the medical centre. "Why are we here?" Cloud asked gruffly but was unable to hide his curiousness.
"Everyone gets different tasks each week and this week I have to help out here. All I have to do is patch some wounded guys up and stuff. Seph is usually the cause of injuries—he's tough on everyone." Zack admitted forlornly.
"Is Sephiroth… does he mean a lot to you?" Cloud asked quietly when he saw the true emotions in Zack's eyes, much dissimilar to his usual jovial amusement and taunting. Zack smiled softly and nodded.
"He's my friend. I don't care if he thinks I'm just an annoyance or hindrance," he said. "Because to me… he's an important friend." He beamed. Cloud stared at him in awe for a moment before staring at his feet.
"That's how I feel about my friends," he admitted. "But I know that they appreciate me. They make sure that I know." He said as he smiled as well, unable to control his happiness when he thought of Aerith and Tifa – the only ones who bothered to know someone as useless as him. Zack grinned at him.
"So we do have something in common, then!" he cheered. "Anyway, let's go do our work."
"'Our'?" Cloud repeated blankly. Zack just laughed and walked on. The blond followed obediently with only a sigh as a form of protest.
"Since I've gotta do some forms and check on loads of injured guys, you can take care of one of 'em. If you finish one, then just either find me or go back to our room, okay?" he grinned. Our… room…? He's referring to me as a… friend… already? Cloud thought with wide eyes. He nodded numbly.
"Who do I take care of?" he enquired. Zack scanned the list on a clipboard he picked up from a desk.
"Aha!" he beamed. "Leon Lionheart," he said. He gestured over to an area where the aqua curtains were drawn with a black '8' painted on it. The blond nodded and moved to the place.
"Later." He called to Zack quietly. Not sure if he even heard him, he shrugged it off and pulled the curtains open to reveal a brunet boy around his height sitting on the bed with his arms folded. The boy—presumably Leon—glared suspiciously at him.
"I haven't seen you here before," he muttered.
"You could say I'm new." Cloud murmured.
"State your name." Leon commanded.
"I don't do anything I don't want to." The blond replied coldly. The brunet stared him down and then stood up. Cloud was dismayed to find that the other boy was actually a couple of inches taller than him.
"You're alright," he nodded in approval. Cloud didn't respond but hastily surveyed the boy's profile in a mere second.
"You suffered a blow to the right side with a reverse-blade sword that wasn't meant to kill but just to injure slightly; a rare item. You were presumably caught off-guard by it and that was the only reason you gained a wound from it," he said blankly. "You won't need stitches. You'll just need to disinfect it and wrap it in gauze." Leon raised a brow slightly and made a grunt of agreement.
Cloud opened a bedside drawer and pulled on some latex gloves. He located a bottle of iodine in the bottom drawer and poured some on a towel. He turned to Leon. "Sit down and take your shirt off," he ordered. The brunet scowled but did as told, revealing his muscular and slightly bloodied torso. "This will hurt a bit." He warned.
"I'm not an idiot." Leon muttered bitingly.
"I never implied that you were." Cloud replied in a bored tone as he pressed the iodine-covered towel to Leon's wound. The brunet barely winced despite the pain. After dabbing the afflicted area, the blond wrapped gauze around Leon's wound. He pulled off the latex gloves and rubbed his forehead when he felt his headache return.
"Your cheeks are flushed," Leon pointed out. "You have a fever." He added. Cloud just shrugged. "You shouldn't be working if you have a fever. You could affect someone else." He commented.
"I haven't got a fever," Cloud grumbled. He opened his eyes only for the world to tilt. He took a deep breath and regained his senses. "You should rest for a while. You can go back to training tomorrow because your wound isn't too bad." He said. "Do you need water or pain-relief tablets?"
"No." Leon replied tonelessly. Cloud nodded and turned to leave but another wave of dizziness washed over him and he stumbled backwards. Acting upon instinct, Leon jumped up and caught the blond. Both boy's eyes widened and they tore away from each other immediately. Cloud left hastily without another word.
He feasibly located Zack but found that he was busy with other patients. He didn't want to go back to their room, so he decided to roam around the grounds for a while.
He discovered that the medical centre led straight outside to the training area. There was a track where many men were running, an assault course which women were competing in, and posts where you could do independent training and a dojo. Cloud felt slightly jovial seeing these training areas and wondered if he could possibly be allowed to do some training later on. He hoped so.
He tensed when he heard lots of shouts of excitement and alarm. Curious, Cloud made his way over to where a crowd was forming. He tried to see but due to his short stature, he couldn't see past all of the six to seven foot men. He army-crawled underneath them, wincing when he was stepped on a few times but eventually being able to see. He stood up and watched as two burly men dragged an unconscious man in black and red through the grounds. Cloud briefly noted that the sky was clouding over. It's going to rain soon. He thought absently.
All of the men seemed to move out of the way of the brawny men who were dragging the unconscious and seemingly vicious man with them. Sephiroth appeared out of seemingly nowhere in an elegant flash. He strode over to the ostensibly unconscious man and yanked his head up by his dark black hair. The prisoner remained emotionless as bottle-green eyes bored into his. "Vincent Valentine, I presume," he drawled. The man didn't respond. "You're working for Les Soldats Noir." He stated.
"So what if I am?" Vincent mumbled darkly.
"You are our enemy," Sephiroth answered blankly. "As such, we will interrogate you. If you do not follow protocol then we will have to beat answers out of you."
"Excuse me," a new voice said. Everyone turned to look at the small blond. Cloud ignored the stares of horror and disbelief that he received. "I don't think torturing someone until they talk is a very good method."
"Oh?" Sephiroth's lips twitched into a vaguely amused smirk. He didn't let go of Vincent but his mako-green eyes met Cloud's azure ones. "And what makes you think that, Strife?"
"It's obvious." Cloud replied. "His own comrades would probably assassinate him if he talked so he'll probably die either way. Going down by enemy hands and not betraying your comrades is probably the more honourable of the two decisions. I've heard of Les Soldats Noir and they aren't very forgiving. They'd kill their own comrades without hesitation if they became traitorous, as will you." He explained, looking blasé. "And he seems like he doesn't give a damn if you torture him, so it will prove futile. You won't get any information out of him that way," he added. "You should compromise."
A heavy silence descended upon everyone as they stared at the blond in awe and surprise. Vincent's crimson eyes stared at Cloud, trying to calculate him. "Very good, Strife," Sephiroth commended. The blond didn't appear fazed by the praise. The silver-haired man turned away from Cloud and ordered, "Someone take him to the interrogation room." He then turned to Vincent. "I'll be there to 'compromise,' later." He mumbled lowly. Vincent didn't respond again.
Cloud watched as the newcomer was dragged off somewhere inside the base. Sephiroth turned to him but he didn't flinch. "Well, Strife, you may prove useful. Would you like to be a member of Les Soldats Vert?" he enquired.
"Oi!" a familiar voice called. Both males turned to see a spiky-haired man running up to them and waving frantically. "I looked everywhere for you, Cloud," Zack claimed.
"You were busy. I didn't want to go back to your room." Cloud mumbled quietly. Zack looked slightly hurt but masked it with a grin in less than a second. It was enough time for the blond to see, though. "I didn't mean I don't like being there," he added, not knowing why he didn't want to see the raven looking upset. "I just don't really…" he blushed self-consciously and turned away from Sephiroth. He whispered to Zack, "I don't want to be there – anywhere – alone." He stepped back and cleared his throat to disguise his discomfiture. The raven-haired man beamed in understanding and put an arm around Cloud's shoulders.
"I understand. It's okay." He said softly. "What would you like to do now then?" he asked, considering Cloud's feelings, which the blond appreciated. He smiled ever-so-slightly and Zack's eyes widened a fraction to see the enigmatic blond smiling – and for him!
"Um… could we train?" he asked timidly. Zack blinked in surprise but smiled.
"Sure. Let's go get ready." He replied.
Sephiroth's mako-green eyes followed their every movement and their words. Something's going on here… he thought. A dark smirk developed on his lips. I can have some fun with this.
Clack—Clack—Clack
Gosangoku: You know the drill; I don't own FFVII – Square Enix does. I'd appreciate reviews but you don't have to.
Cloud: …Review so we can get this story over with. –Glares–
Zack: Aw, don't be like that Cloudy-boy! Hahaha!
Cloud: Don't. Call. Me. That!