Blood and Steel
By: Lazeralk
Standard disclaimers apply
FF7/Saiyuki crossover
Warnings: This will have Shonen-Ai. My muse is gathering her courage to try Yaoi…maybe.
Part 6
0o0o0
Cloud Strife was more nervous than he'd ever been in his whole life, up to and including that time he'd accidentally walked in on Tifa in the shower and she'd just smiled at him in much the same way a shark smiles at small fish.
General Sephiroth, THE General Sephiroth was teaching his class today. The General taught one class a week to the cadets, but there were twelve cadet platoons, with about fifty cadets each. The platoons were on a set, but random schedule for swordsmanship classes with the General. Last week Tenth Platoon had the honor, and now it was Third Platoon's turn.
This would be the first time that he would be up close to his idol. Cloud absently wiped some sweat from his brow and waited as impatiently as the rest of his platoon.
"He's late." Whispered another of Cloud's new friends. Trinus Madani was the voice of reason in their group. He was tough, sarcastic and a little bitter.
"He's the General. He can be as late as he wants." Snipped a voice from behind him. Mark Lyles was one of Lutzig's boys, thin and cynical. He had never wasted time trying to be friends. He had a habit of pointing out people's flaws and he wasn't nice about it. The thing that made it worse was that he was usually right. Cloud hadn't liked his introductory remark about him never getting into SOLDIER because of his stunted growth.
"Yeah, it must be nice to have that kind of power." Sighed another of Lutzig's goons, Milo Grey. Milo was classically beautiful with smooth, soft features and full lips. His eyes were a rich forest green, his hair shone sunset red and his body was made of long graceful lines. He'd all but publicly declared that he intended to sleep his way to the top.
Naturally, Cloud didn't have much in the way of respect for him.
"Man, I am so excited! A class with THE General Sephiroth! This is gunna be soooo cool!" cried Palka, throwing a brilliant smile around at his friends. Cloud smiled back at him, but didn't say anything for fear of swallowing his own tongue.
The door opened then and the General swept in, getting odd looks for his black slacks and white button down shirt. The exotic redhead they'd seen at the Rat Race came in after him and surveyed the class critically before taking a seat to the right of the General's desk.
"Sir, Platoon Three is present and accounted for sir." Said Sergeant Thompson as he handed the General a roster.
"Thanks you Sergeant." Answered Sephiroth smoothly, running through the names and doing his best to match them to faces.
"Everyone up. Follow me." He said, leading the class out the door and into one of the private training rooms used exclusively for SOLDIERS.
"Everyone take a practice blade and pair up. You'll spar for ten minutes before switching partners with the person on your left." He said.
The cadets scrambled to comply, quickly sorting out the weighted, wooden practice swords and pairing up.
"Begin." Commanded the General, his glowing teal eyes sweeping over forms and movements. He stalked around the room, his hair swinging with his movements, as he corrected stances, adjusted grips and the angle of wrists and ankles.
The cadets moved jerkily, casting nervous glances as the famous man and the curious, silent, observer as they worked. Swallowing hard, a petit blonde swung his blade at a serious faced Kazaleh. His friend blocked and Cloud automatically responded, his nerves taking over his body as he spotted an opening and took it.
Sephiroth raised his head when one of the cadets gave a startled yelp as he was flung to the ground, his practice weapon spinning to a stop at Kougaiji's feet.
"Sorry." Whispered Cloud as he extended a hand down to help his friend up. Kazaleh looked at him funny before taking the hand and glancing over at his wooden sword and the amused red-head it was sitting so near.
Kougaiji edged a toe under the blade and casually flipped it up into his hands. He made his way over the clearly awed and embarrassed boy before handing the weapon back, hilt first and bending to whisper in his ear.
Cloud watched in fascination as Kazaleh's cheeks turned even redder when the SOLDIER First leaned in to speak to him. With a smirk, the SOLDIER looked at Cloud and then silently turned and walked back to his post at the wall. Sephiroth caught his eyes over the boy's heads and gave him a questioning look. Kougaiji only smirked and turned his attention back to the two boys he'd approached.
Cloud gave his friend a searching look to which Kazaleh simply shrugged before taking a sloppy stance once more. Cloud raised his sword and attacked, noting that this time he had a much harder time disarming his opponent.
0o0o0
Sephiroth tapped his pen against his desk as he looked over another set of documents. Kougaiji sat in the chair opposite him, studying the ranking system in the Shin-Ra military.
"Sephiroth?"
"Hm?"
"That blonde kid in your class today, who was he?" asked Kougaiji, resting his papers in his lap as he glanced at the General's bowed head.
"The blonde?" answered Sephiroth, pausing to think. He tapped a few keys on his computer and pulled up the profiles for Third Platoon. He clicked through them until he came to a picture of a small, spiky haired blonde with blue eyes.
"This one? His name is Cloud Strife. From Niebelheim."
Kougaiji studied the picture and smiled faintly.
"He has a lot of potential."
"Oh? How do you figure?" asked the silver haired man.
"His eyes are like Goku's." replied the redhead in a wistful tone, his eyes soft. He studied the picture with a sense of quiet happiness and almost adoration. Sephiroth scowled at him, a tiny burst of jealousy twisting in his chest for a moment before he squashed it.
"Who is Goku?"
"He's one of Sanzo's companions, and the one I fight when our groups happen to meet up. He strong and creative, but there isn't anything cruel about him at all. He's…the best kind of rival. One who will push you to your limits and make you strive to be better and the kind who will offer you a hand up when they've knocked you down. He fights for himself…" said Kougaiji, trailing off into silence. The unspoken 'unlike me' played over and over in his head as the image of his mother's face, frozen forever, assaulted the backs of his eyelids.
He sighed heavily and looked up at Sephiroth, who studied him coolly.
"You miss the fights?" he asked, a contemplative look on his face.
"I do. It was fun for us to push ourselves to fight at out highest potential." Replied the redhead, his eyes lingering on the blonde before he deemed it rude and resumed his seat. He studied the Shin-Ra rank map diligently, determined not to bring up the blonde again since it obviously upset his host. He did, however, make a mental note to keep an eye out for the little blue eyed cadet in the future.
Sephiroth looked back down at his paperwork and pulled a few sheets out and set them aside. He skimmed through some of the more high priority documents before signing them and shoving them at his outbox.
"Let's go." He said as he stood up, setting his pen down on top of the papers he'd pulled aside for later.
"Now?" asked Kougaiji a little startled and pleased that the General would forsake his work to, essentially, go out and play with him.
"I could use the workout." The silver haired man said as he lifted Masamune from its resting place on the wall.
"With or without limiters?" asked the redhead, a feral smirk touching his lips as he hurried to stand and keep pace with the General as he strode out of his office.
"I want to see what you can do without them, but we really can't risk it. You'll have to keep them on." Answered Sephiroth.
Kougaiji frowned, but nodded and they made their way out onto the large empty fields that the cadets did their drill work on. Sephiroth picked a place and planted his feet, his posture inviting Kougaiji to do the same.
The redhead took his own stance, his fingers splayed and already tingling with magic as he watched his opponent for the slightest movement. Sephiroth smiled and hefted the Masamune, a silent statement of readiness.
At some unseen signal, they sprung at each other, teeth bared and eyes flashing. Kougaiji leapt over a downward swing and lashed out with a foot even as he twisted midair to avoid the back stroke of the Masamune. Sephiroth ducked to the side and whipped his blade around in a tight arc, watching with annoyance and pride as the redhead neatly back flipped over it.
The General charged and whipped the blade forward again, throwing his weight and momentum into the strike. Kougaiji leapt straight up and pulled with everything he was at the magic in his bracelets. He winked out of existence and appeared behind his new friend. He planted his fist at the small of Sephiroth's back, catching the silver-haired man off guard for the half a second it took to land the blow. Sephiroth was quick to respond, spinning on his heel and catching his opponent on his raised arm with the tip of his blade.
Blood trickled down the red-head's arm, dripping off his elbow, but he smiled fiercely. He charged again, sweeping a kick at his opponent's face, following through with a second kick as the first one was dodged. Sephiroth turned his blade upside-down and nearly sliced the demon in half. Kougaiji teleported again to avoid the blow and reached for one of his limiters. If he controlled the flow of his power right, he could access more magic and still retain his human guise.
He pulled one of the limiters off and stuck it in his pocket. His body glowed for an instant before he slammed his power into submission. With a quick back flip over the silver-haired General's head, he raised a palm and smirked as flames erupted onto the battlefield. Sephiroth, not at all disturbed by the unnatural fire, lashed out with the Masamune and watched with some curiosity as the fires snaked around to strike at him again while Kougaiji leapt out of the way of his blade.
They fought like this for hours, neither gaining an advantage over the other. Kougaiji was still half-sealed, Sephiroth was not using any Materia, and so they were evenly matched. By the time they wearily trudged back towards the base, they were both covered in cuts and bruises and dripping with sweat.
"That was a lot of fun." Said Kougaiji as he walked beside the General.
"It was." Agreed Sephiroth, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Gods, I need a shower." Muttered the redhead.
"We'll use the showers in the SOLDIER building over there. It's the closest." Sephiroth nodded his head in the direction of a building several feet to their right. The two of them headed into it and the silver haired one lead the redhead through halls and doors until they reached a large locker room.
Sephiroth set Masamune to the side and pulled the straps across his chest loose. He undid the two buttons holding his uniform jacket closed and then dropped it onto the bench. No one was going to mess with it once they realized whom it belonged to.
He turned and glanced as Kougaiji just as the other finished folding his own shirt and setting it down. The two of them stopped and stared at each other for a moment as they realized exactly what they were about to do. A flush crept up their cheeks and they turned away quickly.
Kougaiji felt a roaring blush creep into his cheeks as he undid the buttons on his pants. He forced himself to take a deep breath and relax. It was not that big a deal. It was just a shower right?
As a prince, he'd always had his own private baths, so this would be a new experience for him. But it really couldn't be all that bad right? It seemed pretty normal here, after all.
Sephiroth tugged his own pants down as he fought with his emotions. Kougaiji was undeniably beautiful, and Sephiroth had to admit that he was attracted to him. However, he hadn't known the red head all that long and it didn't make any sense for him to be reacting this strongly to him. The General threw his pants on top of his jacket and then dumped the whole mess of sweat soaked clothes in the laundry bin.
He walked over to his own locker and pulled two fresh sets of clothes out and set them on the bench, very carefully avoiding looking at the other man. He knew he couldn't possibly be blushing, he was Sephiroth, and simply didn't do such things, but he was highly nervous.
Kougaiji removed his crowns and chokers, but left his earrings, bracelets and limiters on. He set his own pants aside and followed the visibly tense General into the showers.
0o0o0
End Part 6
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