First Impressions

Getting up at 8:00 on a Saturday would have been a source of grumbling back home, but here it wasn't much out of the norm. But Cloud did find it difficult to listen to every word of Director Lazard's speech so early in the morning. Not that it wasn't interesting. It was just that he was just a little too tired to hang off every word. But he listened as best he could, because part of it, like how the program would fit into schedules, and what would be expected of cadets, was pertinent information that he needed.

Paying attention would have been easier were it not for the redheaded cadet who sat about three seats to Cloud's left. Not that his shock of red hair was distracting in itself; Cloud had practice ignoring flashes of color, but rather every five minutes he would lounge in his chair, obviously bored with the entire situation. Cloud could understand being bored, but did he have to flaunt it to all those who were trying to pay proper respect and listen to what the Director was saying? It wasn't Director Lazard's fault that his speech was early in the morning; he deserved their full attention as much as they could give it.

Cloud turned his attention away from the unruly red flash and back to the Director's words. It was lucky he did, because Lazard just now began to address the mentor and cadet assignments. "Each of you were given a number when you came here," Lazard stated, blue eyes sweeping across the assembled SOLDIERs and cadets. "The person with the number that matches yours is the other in your pair. We will have a list of groups here after I finish for you to check to find each other."

Cloud listened attentively, but Lazard moved on to the future prospects of the program; hopes for the future and such, and he withdrew slightly, anxiety coiling in his gut. He wanted to turn around and look at the assembled SOLDIERs who could end up his mentor, but he was in the front and didn't want to disrespect Lazard by turning and looking. So he sat still. But he couldn't focus enough on the words of the glory of Shinra to keep himself from wondering anxiously, what kind of man would be responsible for him? He fervently hoped that they wouldn't look and just see a little, skinny kid who would never amount to anything. But he had no way of knowing until he knew who he was with. Unconsciously, his finger rubbed up and down the number two clipped to his shirt as he waited uneasily for the speech to finish.

Sephiroth sat still as Lazard went on about how this program would contribute to the prestige and glory of Shinra, only listening with half an ear. This part of company speeches he always tuned out because if he didn't he would be struck by the hypocrisy of sending these kids into fights that half of them wouldn't come out of. But it wasn't his place to comment on it, so he simply ignored it.

Which allowed him to notice how phenomenally bored Genesis appeared. The redhaired SOLDIER was leaning his chin on his arm, reclined as far back as he could get in his chair. He watched Lazard lazily, head cocked to one side, red hair flopped in his face. Unlike Angeal, who had gone to the front of the room, both Sephiroth and Genesis had preferred to sit in the back; Genesis so he could more easily shift around, Sephiroth so that he would avoid the stares of the cadets. Which was why the General was seated beside the very bored Genesis at all. Usually, he steered clear of Genesis in briefings because of that habit of fidgeting.

After about 2 minutes of "the glory of Shinra" which even Lazard was probably sick of saying, Genesis sat up and turned towards Sephiroth. "How can you sit still through this?" he whispered, voice so low that only Sephiroth's enhanced hearing allowed him to catch it.

Sephiroth glanced sidelong at Genesis, a dry look in his eyes. In no other way did he move.

Genesis blinked at the look, then understanding dawned on his face and he sat back, blue eyes suddenly twinkling with both chagrin and amusement. "Right. You have to sit through board meetings."

Sephiroth gave him a curt nod, before returning his eyes to the Director. Contrary to Genesis' belief, he too wanted to be up and moving, though perhaps for a different reason. He didn't have a problem sitting still. It was something else entirely. He was both oddly hopeful and full of dread at being assigned a cadet. There was a slim possibility that there was one in this room who could speak to him articulately. If that were true, perhaps this would be an interesting experience, though he was not sure he would choose to teach a child, given the decision. However, if he were faced with cadets like the ones he had met, the interaction would gain nothing for the cadet and only serve to frustrate the General, which did no one any good. So he waited impatiently to learn which one of the cadets would be his headache.

Genesis started as Sephiroth shifted slightly, sitting up straighter, if that were possible, in his seat. The red SOLDIER glanced at the General quizzically.

"Almost finished," Sephiroth murmured in explanation.

Genesis grinned. "Finally," he whispered in return, leaning forward in his chair as Lazard wished them all luck and success. "Let's get moving."

Cloud carefully maneuvered his way through the crowd of milling cadets and SOLDIERs, dodging in and out of holes in the crowd. He was small for a cadet, meaning that compared to SOLDIERs he was dwarfed. But it also meant he could get up to the front of the room relatively quickly, as moving in crowds was a skill he had been forced to develop to an art simply to move about.

As he drew near the group huddled around one of the lists that Lazard had procured, Cloud hesitated for a moment, the nervousness in the pit of his stomach balling up into something tight. His hands were white as chalk. But he swallowed and stepped forward, nearly laughing at how incredibly agitated he was. What sort of a SOLDIER would he make if he couldn't even look at a piece of paper?

Fingers automatically finding the number two that he had clipped to his shirt, he shuffled up to the table. It took him a moment to find the paper with the lower numbers on it, eyes scanning for his number. He found it, and followed the row across to the mentor side of the sheet.

And then everything seemed to stop dead, and he stood staring at the paper.

Once Lazard set them loose, Sephiroth sighed and stood up, wondering idly whether to wait until the cadet found him, as it was impossible that they didn't know who he was, or to go find them himself. Genesis, for his part, flashed what could either have been a sarcastic or encouraging smile and rolled his eyes at the same time, before practically pirouetting and moving off towards one of the lists that the admin staff had put around the room.

After a moment, however, Sephiroth decided that he had been still for long enough, and it would be better to even walk about to see if he could spot the cadet. He'd rather that than waiting still and being stared at.

The other SOLDIERs and cadets hurried to move out of his way as he walked towards the front, eyes roving over the milling bodies before him. Several times eyes flashed to him with almost overwhelming expectation, but only to come away confused or disheartened. Sephiroth knew why. Despite Lazard's directions, Sephiroth was not wearing his number in the open. Orders might be orders, but he was stared at enough as it was. He intensely disliked the feeling of being a prize of some sort for one of these boys to be lucky enough to win. He knew the number he was looking for, and so he didn't spare more than a glance to those who milled around him.

That, and he caught the looks of anger or jealousy some of the cadets flashed each other behind their newly found mentor's backs. Worries Angeal had expressed suddenly became much clearer in his mind. Whoever his cadet was, they would be fiercely hated by some of the others, he realized. These boys were certainly capable of that, at least some of them, and once the word got out, that would become exponentially worse. He restrained a sigh. How complicated this was.

Coming up to one of the tables in the front, this one slightly towards a corner, Sephiroth paused as a pair of SOLDIER and cadet moved out of his field of vision. There was an administrator standing behind a table with several sheets of paper laid out on it; the number-mentor listings, Sephiroth knew. There was young man standing in front of the table, staring at the paper with wide, fixed eyes.

Sephiroth glanced critically over the cadet, for there was no way he was anything other than a cadet. He was a good head and a half shorter than Sephiroth, and that was judging to include the fluff of blonde hair that spiked above his eyes. His arms and legs were thin and he looked like he could not be over 17 years old. He looked far to young to be in a room with SOLDIERs who had fought in war.

But he was a cadet or else he wouldn't be here, so Sephiroth walked over towards him. The General knew better than the judge by size alone, though this was a very small warrior if he were to be one, and so he attempted to suspend his first judgment. Which was difficult.

As Sephiroth came closer, the cadet started and glanced up at him, hearing his footsteps. Sephiroth stopped, meeting bright blue eyes steadily. It surprised him that the cadet didn't immediately look away as some of the others did. Rather, this one stared into his eyes with just as much blank shock as he had been regarding the paper for almost five seconds before blinking and lowering his head so that blonde bangs covered his eyes.

Sephiroth silently raised an eyebrow at the reaction. The cadet shifted his feet for a moment before looking up into Sephiroth's eyes again, an uneasy, questioning gaze. He turned to face the General fully, standing at attention, though looking like he would like to slump his shoulders and hide behind his hair.

As he had begun to suspect, Sephiroth saw the number two pinned to the cadet's shirt. After a moment of taking in the young man standing before him, he cocked his head slightly, regarding those blue eyes.

The gaze that returned his was uneasy, asking for something, asking some question, but, surprisingly, did not seem to fear him. The boy was wary, ready to dart back it seemed depending on the General's reaction, but right now he was just waiting for something. Unfortunately, Sephiroth had no way of discerning exactly what.

After a moment, Sephiroth reached into his coat and withdrew the number he had tucked away there. Carefully, he held up the small number two for the cadet to see, turning it over in his gloved fingers. Confirmation. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for the cadet's response.

Blue eyes fixed on the number in Sephiroth's hand for a moment. That seemed to make it click, and the cadet blinked for a moment before looking carefully back at Sephiroth.

"Cadet...Strife, then?" Sephiroth asked quietly, reading the name off the nametag the boy wore.

Strife nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied, his voice soft, but respectably even. He still looked as if he had just suffered the shock of his life. Sephiroth noted this and decided to be gentle for the moment.

He glanced over at the admin, not needing to voice his request because his eyes were apparently enough. Nodding, the man held out a file to him. "This one's his, sir. Good luck, you two."

Sephiroth nodded silently, glancing at Strife again. What he saw, though encouraging in that the boy wasn't cringing, nonetheless meant that this would probably be a largely one sided conversation.

Which was alright, he supposed. Flipping open the folder, he glanced at the quick information clipped to the cover. Cloud Strife, age...18? Hmm...not likely. He highly doubted that, but it wasn't really a problem either way. He found the schedule of their meeting times and, knowing it would be emailed to him, held it out to the cadet. "Here."

Cloud blinked, then nodded and accepted the schedule, glancing at it for about half a second before returning his eyes curiously and warily to the General. He wasn't sure what to do or think, what even to say. He didn't even know if anything would come out if he tried; his throat was tight, his hands cold. But, unexpectedly, he didn't feel terrified, just incredibly out of his depth, floundering somewhere in that green gaze and having nothing to hold onto.

"Our first meeting should be today." At the General's words, Cloud glanced up and was met with a steady gaze. Then, it suddenly recomputed that he was holding the schedule. Hurriedly, he scanned down it, finding the first time slot only after his gaze jumped over the entire following week. Embarrassed and flustered, he nodded and tried to find his voice.

"Yes, sir...today at 4:00." It was so much easier to speak while looking at the piece of paper with standardized text words. He was able to steady himself slightly, even though it felt as if his entire body were shaking and his heart rate seemed far too erratic. Breathing was important, he remembered. But he had to look up to show respect; mumbling into the floor wasn't a way to speak to the General.

Sephiroth was regarding him with unreadable eyes. But then he nodded, a slight dip of his head. "Very good, then."

That sounded like it could be dismissal, but Cloud wasn't sure, and he didn't want to walk out without permission. But the thoughts of times reminded him of the class he had in 20 minutes. Looking up uneasily at Sephiroth, he swallowed and spoke up, praying his voice would stay steady. "Sorry to run out, sir, but I have a class...in a little while." He paused, watching the General carefully.

Sephiroth was surprised at the cadet's words, and somewhat impressed. It was unusual that even some 2nd classes would own up to having somewhere they needed to be when he was talking to them. It also occurred to him that the boy probably wanted to get away as quickly as possible, but he dismissed that thought after a moment. This cadet didn't seem to react in fear. Rather, he seemed to say this out of a genuine desire to be prepared for his classes. How interesting.

To Cloud's surprise, Sephiroth nodded. "You'd better go then," the General said, clearly giving him permission to go.

Cloud blinked for a moment. Something changed slightly in the way he was standing, caught by Sephiroth's eyes. It was as if the desire to spring back had diminished now. "Thank you, sir," Cloud said, and his eyes uncertainly echoed the words, for a moment lit with surprised gratitude. It was as if he had expected something else entirely. "I'll...go, then." However, he obviously felt that those weren't acceptable parting words, because he seemed to gather himself and said, "I'll see you at four."

Sephiroth nodded and watched as the boy drew away from him. Such an odd cadet, this one. But then, he suddenly looked over his shoulder, reminded of something he should tell the boy. "Strife." He was much less frustrated than he had expected to be, and he didn't want that to change. He therefore ought to make some expectations immediately clear.

Cloud nearly spun on one foot to turn towards him. "Yes, sir?" the cadet asked, again watching him uncertainly.

Sephiroth met his eyes. "I expect you to be on time," he said with a long look.

Cloud blinked at the words, then nodded immediately. "Yes, sir," he replied firmly, sounding surprised at the statement. As if he would never have thought of being late, not for the world.

Sephiroth felt the urge to smile at that. Considerate of him, or perhaps simply afraid. Either way, it was something he appreciated. "Good," he said softly, nodding his head at the cadet, wondering if it would look like approval at all from the others eyes. "Go." He allowed the tone of his voice to come out slightly milder than usual, so as not to make it seem a reproach or an order, but permission to leave.

Cloud blinked. Then he nodded, again firmly. "Yes, sir." After half a second of looking at Sephiroth with a slightly puzzled expression, he suddenly shook his head very slightly and hurried away, disappearing into the crowd with somewhat surprising speed.

Sephiroth stood still for a long moment, gathering his thoughts. That had been...different. Very different. He wasn't entirely sure the significance of everything that had just happened; wasn't entirely sure if the cadet were frightened of him. At some times it seemed so, and yet others, as that final, automatic, and assured response, seemed to hint otherwise. He also didn't know what he thought of the boy. That would have to be sorted out, hopefully soon. He didn't remember being this confused after such a short interaction in quite a while.

Still puzzling over one Cloud Strife, Sephiroth made his way slowly through the crowd, glancing around for the progress of the others as he began to make his way out. Like the boy, he also had somewhere to go, and he also had no desire to stay here any longer than he had to. He was still being stared at by hopeful cadets, and the constant feeling of eyes on him wore on his patience.

Somewhere across the room, he found the red coat he had been looking for. Genesis was halfway across the room, and appeared to be speaking to another redhead, a skinny, tall cadet. Genesis was back to him, but he could read from the tension in his shoulders and his stance that the redhead was uneasy. For once, Sephiroth understood the other man's sentiment perfectly. Neither of them really knew how to deal with cadets.

Sephiroth mused about the odds of Genesis being paired with the only other redhead in the room as he glanced around for Angeal. It was a moment before he found him, standing off towards one side of the room, talking with someone Sephiroth couldn't see through the crowd. Predictably, unlike Genesis and himself, Angeal seemed totally at ease as he stood relaxed, a smile on his face. Sephiroth could not entirely understand that smile, that look of content and enjoyment as Angeal got to know the cadet who was sure to be there. Resisting the urge to shake his head, he turned back towards the door.

Lazard glanced up as Sephiroth came over, a question momentarily flashing in his blue eyes. However, Sephiroth didn't give any direct answer, just nodding respectfully before walking past the SOLDIER director. He was not in the habit of sharing many of his thoughts, however this time he wasn't even sure what he would say even if he had been inclined to answer. To put it mildly, he was confounded by Strife's reaction, and also by his own. Sephiroth restrained a sigh. He never would have agreed to this had he known it would cause so much confusion only after about a 2 minute conversation.

He was getting to the elevator, to return to his office, when someone called his name from behind him. Usually, he would have ignored it, but this voice he knew. He glanced up to see Genesis coming behind him, brandishing a cadet file in his hand. One look at the red-head's face told Sephiroth that Genesis was agitated, and if this were another situation, he would have avoided him just to escape the avalanche of complaints that was sure to come. However, they were going to be sharing the same elevator, so it would be best to simply resign to the fact and tune him out.

Genesis came up with a long suffering sigh. "That meeting was a complete waste of time."

Sephiroth did not glance up at Genesis, despite the fact that he was mildly curious about the red SOLDIER's reaction to his cadet. He knew that Genesis did not require any encouragement.

Genesis also knew not to expect any, and so continued right along with his tirade. Several comments about the obnoxious length of the introductory speech went right through Sephiroth's ears without even being bothered with. But then Genesis continued to his next sore subject, one that Sephiroth was more interested in, though he never would have admitted it.

"I can't believe they assigned me to that boy." Then, continuing as if Sephiroth had given him a disbelieving response, Genesis hurriedly assured him, "He's the most irreverent cadet I've ever met! Thinks he already knows everything, the cocky little hooligan; casual with everyone, even his superiors...and can you believe it, he obviously wasn't listening to half that assembly, because twice he asked me things that had already been explained to us!"

Sephiroth had been trying to act like he wasn't listening; encouraging Genesis when he was like this was not often a good idea. However, after that description of the redheaded cadet he had glimpsed in the assembly room, he found himself looking at Genesis oddly. The thought that Genesis had been assigned to a cocky, know it all, redhead cadet...who didn't pay attention during assemblies...he had to admit, that was amusing.

Genesis paused when he caught the look. "What?"

Sephiroth almost blinked, then quickly broke eye contact. "...Nothing."

Genesis blinked at him for a moment, his train of thought completely derailed. For a moment, he seemed about to rant further, but then, surprising Sephiroth, he sighed instead. "Well, we'll see at our meeting later if he's really any good."

Sephiroth glanced sidelong at Genesis, surprised. That had been much shorter than usual. Was he trying to control his first judgment? That was something Genesis rarely even acknowledged, let alone tried to avoid. Was this because he had a student to teach?

Genesis was thoughtfully silent for the moment Sephiroth was looking at him, regarding the wall so closely that he didn't even notice the glance. But then, suddenly, he glanced at Sephiroth, as if only just remembering something. "And yours?" he asked, blue eyes flashing with genuine curiosity. "How was that?"

Sephiroth paused for a moment. That was the same question Lazard had silently asked him and to which he had refused an answer. But this wasn't Lazard, this was Genesis. To a point, he was more comfortable speaking of such things with the red SOLDIER, especially since they shared a mutual inexperience in the mentor role. But, still, did he have an answer to give?

After a moment, he settled for something that approximated to honesty. "I'm not sure," he replied, staring at the wall with the same contemplation Genesis had a moment before. But then he glanced over and met blue eyes. "I guess I'll have to see that later today, too."

Genesis smiled then and nodded as he stepped into the elevator. Sephiroth followed, surprised by the odd feeling of being in complete understanding with him. It was kind of nice, once in a while. He chuckled silently to himself. How odd you cadets make us act. Perhaps Angeal was right about this doing all of us some good...

Then Genesis began complaining about paperwork and somehow related a quote from Loveless to such a topic, and Sephiroth decided that the world was a better place when he did not retain understanding of the other man for too long. This was going to be a long elevator ride.