Blood and Steel
By: Lazeralk
Standard disclaimers apply
FF7/Saiyuki crossover
Warnings: This will have implied Shonen-Ai. I suck as yaoi, even though I love it dearly.
Part 4
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Half an hour later saw Kougaiji on a pedestal being measured for new pants. Sephiroth had told the tailor exactly what they needed in short, clipped, sentences. The violet-eyed prince was slightly shocked to note that his semi-friendly host had suddenly transformed into a cold and demanding authority figure, but didn't say anything incase such behavior was normal for him.
By the lightly exasperated look on his face, Zack noticed the change also but didn't react to it. He smiled amiably at anyone who would catch his eye and seemed perfectly at ease standing next to such an imposing figure.
After ordering several pairs of pants, some in the red of a First Class and some in the blue of a Second Class, and arranging for the finished products to be delivered to his quarters on base, Sephiroth led his party out the door and straight back home to avoid confrontation.
Zack was sent off in search of food for them and Kougaiji gratefully changed back into his own clothes.
"Sephiroth?"
"Hm?"
"What exactly is considered food here?" asked the demon, a frown on his handsome face.
Sephiroth suddenly stopped what he was doing and turned to stare at the demon.
"I hadn't thought of that." The General quietly admitted, silently berating himself for such a gross oversight.
"What do you consider food?" he asked his royal guest.
"Well…do you have Lokam? Or Huaniu? I like Pemolo and Lychee too." Said Kougaiji, absently counting on his fingers as he named his favorite foods. Sephiroth stared blankly at him and then sighed.
"We may have a problem. I've never heard of any of those." Confessed the silver haired man. He allowed a tiny grimace to mar his features for half an instant at the look that crossed Kougaiji's face before he resumed his usual placid expression.
"Oh…well, I guess we'll just have to try some things and hope I don't die or anything." Said Kougaiji with a shrug.
Sephiroth frowned at him, not liking the high risk factor, and settled down beside his guest on the couch in silence. They looked out over the twilight cityscape of Midgar, the lights twinkling like stars on the Plate.
Zack returned a few minutes later with two plates of food and pleasant good night.
"Leaving so soon?" asked Kougaiji as he eyed the food warily.
"Aww, ya gunna miss me?" said Zack, batting his eyes at the redhead.
"I didn't say that." Grumbled Kougaiji, glaring at the brunette.
"I'm kidding man, but really, I gotta go. I get to teach munchkins in the morning. Ohh. Fun."
"Teach?"
"Yeah, get Sephiroth to tell you about it. He gets to teach classes to the kiddies too."
Kougaiji looked over at the General as Zack left, a question on his face. Sephiroth motioned him over to the food on the kitchen table and handed him a fork.
"What is this thing?" he asked, turning the fork in front of him in order to get a better view.
"It's a fork. Let me guess, you don't use those in Shangri-La." Sephiroth answered.
"Well, some people do, but I haven't seen one in years."
"I have a few pairs of chopsticks from Wutai if you'd prefer." Offered the green eyed SOLDIER.
"Please."
Sephiroth handed him the chopsticks and took the fork for himself. They ate in silence for a moment before Sephiroth began his explanation.
"SOLDIER is the military branch of Shin-Ra. The other branch is Corporate. We handle the defense of Midgar in general, meaning monsters and such, and things like rebel uprisings and some damage control. We were also the primary force in Wutai during the war, so SOLDIERS were produced as quickly as possible. The war justified the creation of so many new SOLDIERS, but after the war, we had several hundred SOLDIERS and not all that much to do with them. SOLDIER isn't really all that big an organization due to the sheer cost of genetically enhancing a single SOLDIER. As a result, we have twenty or so First Class SOLDIERS, one hundred or so Second Classes, three hundred or so Third Classes and somewhere around five to six hundred cadets at any given time. Follow me so far?"
Kougaiji nodded, his mouth full of some sort of smoked meat he'd never had before.
"Good, now SOLDIER is organized like the militaries of the world before the Continent officially came under the rule of Shin-Ra. Shin-Ra is technically a power company, meaning we're a corporate business, but since the expansion, Shin-Ra has also taken over the functions of Military and Government. Which means that the president of the company is also the political leader of the Continent. Understand?"
"You mean he's like a king?" asked Kougaiji, picking up another chunk of meat with his chopsticks.
"Exactly, but the people don't see him as a rightful ruler, he's more like a conqueror that took over all the other institutions and imposed his own rule. His power is so great however, that most people can't do anything about it. They like Shin-Ra because the company supplies power to them, but the average citizen doesn't like Shin-Ra because they feel threatened by the power that the company has over them. Anyway, back to SOLDIER. The lowest rank in SOLDIER is Private, then Lance Corporal, and then Corporal. These ranks can be obtained by cadets. Once a cadet makes the cut into SOLDIER they get their first mass Mako treatment and become Third Class SOLDIERS, once they make it that far they can be promoted to Sergeant, then Staff Sergeant. If they do really good, and make it to Officer, they can get the ranks of First Lieutenant and Captain. Follow?"
"I think so, I'll have to write them all down and study, but I'll get it." Said Kougaiji, trying some of the steamed vegetables.
Sephiroth gave him a small smile and took a drink before he launched back into his explanation of how SOLDIER worked.
"Ok, once a SOLDIER gets their second mass Mako treatment and becomes a Second Class SOLDIER, he can reach the rank of Gunnery Sergeant, or if he's an Officer, Lieutenant Major, Major, Colonel or Brigadier General, which is where Zack is. When you reach First Class you automatically become an Officer, and can hold the rank of Major General, Lieutenant General or General, which is me."
"Ok wait," said Kougaiji, leaning forward on the table and gesturing with his chopsticks.
"You said before that there are twenty or so First Class SOLDIERS, but there are only three ranks you can have as a First Class, so is there more than one Major General, Lieutenant General and General?"
Sephiroth smiled again and leaned back in his own chair, crossing his arms over his wide chest.
"Yes and no. There is a Major General and a Lieutenant General for every Company, and there are ten Companies within SOLDIER. I am the only General, and all Major Generals and Lieutenant Generals report to me."
"So, if I test to be on level with a First Class, I'll rank as an Officer?" asked Kougaiji, a smirk on his face.
"Yes, though where to put you is going to be interesting. I can't give you a Company, we don't have enough SOLDIERS for that…" said Sephiroth, his brow draw in concentration as he though the problem through.
"I could lead a special team, like for assault or tactics or something." Suggested the Demon prince.
"That might work, though to what end? During the war I would have put you on assassination or something. In peace time however…well, what are you good at?"
"Uh, well, I'm a Summoner and I specialize in Fire Fiends. I can read and write magic. All kinds, I mean, not just Summoning. I speak all the languages used in Shangri-La, but I doubt that will help here."
"Kougaiji, explain this summoning thing to me."
"Oh right, I guess you guys don't have magic here."
"We do, I just want to see if it's the same." Answered Sephiroth, surprising the purple-eyed man.
"Ok…well basically I recite a spell in the Old Tongue, which is the language of magic, and what ever I'm summoning appears."
"You don't need anything to do it?"
"Well, the spell obviously, and a contract with that which is Summoned. You don't need a contract to Summon inanimate objects, just some sort of bond with the object. Most demons can Summon their favorite weapon, but nothing else. I can Summon all sorts of things, and can contract with other life forms." Said Kougaiji, watching Sephiroth's blank face for some sort of clue.
"Hm…so you don't need any sort of object to summon?"
"Not really, no. There are charms and talismans that contain either the creature, or object or whatever itself, or the contract to Summon it. I've used those before, but I don't really like them all that much. The last one I used ate my men and then possessed me. It was not pretty and I still got my ass handed to me by Genjo Sanzo."
"You mentioned this Sanzo thing before and something about scriptures and divine favor when you questioned me earlier. Care to explain all of that?" asked Sephiroth, leaning forward to watch the redhead talk.
"Sanzo is the rank given to the highest order of Buddhist priest, there are five of them traditionally, and each Sanzo chooses their own successor. To prove that they have been chosen, a small crimson shakra is placed in the center of their foreheads. This is the mark that denotes Divine favor, and the right to carry one of the five Founding Scriptures of Heaven and Earth. Legend has it that the gods used these five scriptures to create the World and the Heavens. Genjo Sanzo carries the Seiten Scripture and is the rightful heir of his master's scripture too, the Maten Scripture. Gyokumen Koshu has the Maten Scripture because she murdered Genjo Sanzo's master, Koumiyou Sanzo, and now she wants the Seiten Scripture."
"Hm. These scriptures have some sort of power then?" asked Sephiroth after a moments pause to digest it all.
"Yes, quite a lot of power too, but only in the right hands. Any Sanzo can use any Scripture, and Gyokumen has an ex-Sanzo on her staff. He got kicked out of the Order. No one knows why, but I don't trust him."
"Why does she want the Scriptures?"
"To revive Gyu Ma-Oh, my father. She's in love with him, and she wants to be Queen."
"Ah. Makes sense." Said Sephiroth with another small smile. He couldn't remember smiling this much since…well, ever.
"So about this teaching thing…?" prompted Kougaiji.
"Oh yes, teaching is what SOLDIERS do now that we're not at war. We just constantly train the lower ranking SOLDIERS and cadets. The cadets are under the regular command of Third Class Sergeants, but higher-ranking SOLDIERS teach different classes for different specialties. We have a Firearms program and a Blades program for weapons, and other programs for things like Intelligence and War Mechanics. Each program is broken down into sub-programs and the sub-programs are broken down into classes with advancing levels. Each SOLDIER has to specialize in something and have a general knowledge of the other programs. I specialize in long swords. My primary weapon is a twelve foot muramasa, a kind of Wutainese blade that is thin and has a slight curve."
"You use a twelve foot sword?" asked Kougaiji incredulously.
"Yes, her name is Masamune."
"That's crazy; wouldn't your speed and maneuverability suffer for it?"
Sephiroth grinned fiercely at his new friend, his eyes lighting up with the anticipation of a good weapons debate.
"No, but only because I'm a First Class SOLDIER. A normal human would look utterly ridiculous trying to wield my Masamune."
"Is there that much of a difference between humans and First Class SOLDIERS?" asked Kougaiji skeptically.
"Yes, and when we spar tomorrow, you'll see how much that difference is. Oh, I've been wondering. Those power limiters you're wearing, how much do they affect your total strength?"
"Ah, the limiters. Well, I can't Summon creatures with them on, and my speed, strength and magic are cut in half. But hey, I can pass for human." Said Kougaiji with a touch of sarcasm.
"Hm…we'll have to test you with and without them." Said Sephiroth as he glanced at the clock on his wall. Slightly surprised that several hours had passed since they sat down to eat, he quickly cleaned up the table and then turned back to his guest.
"How do you want to do this?" he asked, waving in the direction of the bedroom.
Kougaiji eyed the bedroom and then the couch with speculation. Shrugging, he turned back towards the General.
"I'll sleep on the couch. What time should I wake up?"
Sephiroth looked relieved that he didn't have to share his bed and though for a moment.
"I'm up at five thirty, and that will be early enough to start your testing with the limiters. We'll wait till late tomorrow night to do the test without the limiters."
"Sounds like a plan." Said Kougaiji with a smile.
"Good night then."
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End part 4
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