The incessant chiming of a bell was what woke Cloud the next morning. This new, alien sound was about a thousand times more loud than his alarm clock at home, and the shock of it caused him to sit bolt upright in his bed, heart pounding. Looking around blearily was enough to show him that he was not the only person that had had that reaction.

In his small dorm room, two other people were sharing with him. One was a tall, quite muscular looking guy who must be about a year older than him. Despite quick introductions Cloud honestly couldn't recall his name. However, one of the things that he did know of the young man in front of him was that he had well styled, tousled hair the colour of carrots which covered one of his eyes. The boy was from Midgar, that was easy enough to deduce from his accent, which he had heard a little of the night before. The second was a boy closer to his age, although even then he was somewhat dwarfed. That one hadn't talked much, certainly not enough to give out his name, because he had seemed somewhat nervous about the whole affair. It seemed that there was somebody even worse with nerves than him in this place and, even though it was slightly mean spirited, the blond was quite relieved about that.

Strangely enough, even though it was dark outside, Cloud didn't feel all that tired. The rude awakening had been shocking, of course, but he had been about ready to rise anyway. Then it occurred to him: he wasn't going to be able to judge the time of day by the light streaming in through the window any more because Midgar was dark all the time. A shocking revelation for somebody who has never been in such a situation, of course. There were more lights on outside, yes, but not enough to change the lighting in their bedroom any. That was going to be something he had to get used to because he didn't want to end up too late (or too early) to training because of it. The cityscape would also be quite difficult to get used to after living near icy, windswept mountains for so long.

While the young blond had been lost in his reverie his two room mates had begun to dress, and once he realised that clothes were being stripped off and new uniforms were being fastened in their place, he looked slightly embarrassed and quickly crawled out of his bed. Perhaps rather than sitting there, waxing poetic in his head, it would be a good idea to follow suit.

It was a strange idea, getting changed in front of other people who he had known for all of eight hours. Most of those hours had been spent asleep. However, Cloud was aware that it was best to get over this lingering fears quickly, because those nerves would increase a thousand fold once showers were introduced. The set-up that they had been shown the night before didn't leave very much opportunity for modesty, because while they were cadets they were going to be stuck with communal showers. Oh, how he didn't relish the thought. In fact, being reminded of this fact caused him to pause all over again, fingers lingering on the hem of his nightshirt, tickling the waistband of his boxers too. A shake of his head brought the blond back to reality this time, at which point he quickly shed his clothes and exchanged them for the uniform in front of him.

The clothes that he and all the other cadets would be wearing were quite similar to the uniforms of the Shinra Peacekeeping Troops, except for the fact that they had a similar turtle neck to the SOLDIERs for the extra flexibility of the fabric. Theirs were long sleeved though, although Cloud wasn't sure why. Did it have any extra value for them, or was it just an aesthetic change so that they didn't look too much like real SOLDIERs?

The other occupants of the room finished dressing a little while before Cloud did, just as he was lacing up his boots, and they left without a word. It was understandable that everybody was on edge this morning and not very talkative. Truth be told, he wasn't that interested in talking yet anyway. Even though he would like to get along with people, idle chit chat with some people he barely knew was neither one of his strong points, nor a pressing need for him.

Being left alone was a relief, in a way. All through the night he'd been having these strange thoughts. That moment when he had seen Sephiroth up in front of their group the night before, speaking to them in those husky tones, lingered in his mind no matter how much he tried to think of other things. Gaia, it had even been a presence in his dreams. Nothing had been particularly clear except for the occasional murmurings of that voice and a sharp, focused image of those wickedly curved lips forming the words. The words didn't seem to be anything that Cloud could make out, even if he tried, which was downright frustrating. Was it because he hadn't paid attention? No, what was he thinking... it was because it was just a stupid dream. Sephiroth wasn't actually saying anything to him, it was just the occasional word that he'd been able to make out of that speech last night, nothing more. Nothing more at all, as much as he'd like it to be.

With a slightly frustrated sigh the blond laced up his boots. Best to distract himself. With no further dawdling, the new cadet joined all of the others in the dinner hall.

The cafeteria was a crowded place. If he'd originally thought that being crammed into a room with all of the other SOLDIER hopefuls the night before had been pretty overwhelming, that now looked like a small get together with close friends. Everybody was in this hall, cadets, Third and Second classes, even the troops. The only people missing were the First Classes.

Or so Cloud thought, until...

"Hey, spike! I saved you a space!" A heavy hand not patting, thumping him on the shoulder knocked that assumption out of him entirely. It seemed that Zack had beaten him here and already made decisions for his eating arrangements. To be honest, the blond couldn't really be too miffed with that. It saved him the trouble of trying to awkwardly edge himself onto the end of a table which would most likely be filled up with cadets who had already become fast friends.

"Oh, okay..." was all that he could utter before his superior pushed him down into a seat at one of the tables closest to the food queue. It seemed that they both already had trays waiting for them. Had Zack done that? Perhaps he really wasn't such a bad guy, because it saved him the trouble of waiting for what would most likely be a good ten minutes in that queue. Hopefully the others wouldn't start to think that this was favouritism, though... despite the fact that he appreciated this man's friendliness, he didn't want the others to get that idea in case it caused him any trouble along the road ahead.

Zack was watching him from across the table now, already tucking into his food. Seeing him eat was actually quite worrying for the blond, he was so voracious that it rather caught him off guard. His table manners weren't the finest that he'd seen. "You better start eating, spike. Are you still half asleep or something?" Zack asked, gesturing to his new little blond friend's plate with his fork. Luckily he had swallowed his mouthful before speaking.

"No, it's not that," Cloud replied, glancing around at the other cadets that had joined the queue briefly before his eyes returned to his plate, "and Spike's not my name, either."

"Alright, alright. Cloud." Having to give up his little pet name so soon caused the puppy to make a strained, jokingly mournful face, as if being reprimanded for giving him a nickname broke his poor heart. By now the blond was wise to his antics, even if it was so soon, so he didn't take it too seriously and instead listened when his new friend continued, "Something bothering you?" Apparently this subject wasn't going to be dropped until he got on with eating and acted normally.

After picking up his own knife and fork Cloud carefully cut up his food and began to eat. He took it slowly, not wanting to rush so early in the morning when he had so much physical exercise to look forward to. Lots of hastily digested food jiggling around in his stomach would not be what he needed.

"Everything's fine. How was your night?"

The change in topic easily appeased Zack, who then went on talking excitedly about the minutia of the evening before from the moment he'd left Cloud onwards.

For most of breakfast Zack went on talking, animated as ever, and while he was trying to listen it did give Cloud a good chance to work out some of the thoughts that were lingering in his mind. There were maybe a few things that he wanted to ask his new friend, however, but he had to wait for an opening since he had set him off chattering away. Once he was given an opening he blurted out the question.

"You're friends with the general, aren't you? How come you're spending breakfast with me?" This was one of the things that hadn't made sense to him. Surely being in the company of Sephiroth would be infinitely better than talking the ear off some nervous cadet? It had to be, didn't it? Being rewarded with more barking laughter had not been what Cloud was expecting.

"Oh spi- sorry, Cloud – he doesn't eat in here. The guy's got an apartment, he commutes to the building, so he can eat at home if he wants. It's not like I spend every waking moment with him, where we go to each others houses and plait each others hair while we talk about feelings." Zack clearly couldn't resist the little joke, although it left the blond feeling a little embarrassed that he'd asked. Of course he wouldn't eat here, he wouldn't live in the barracks either, so he wasn't sure what he had been expecting. Cloud's face had fallen slightly, and apparently Zack had noticed because he added, "I mean, I'll be hanging with him later, though. Y'know, while you're having oodles of fun in your classes."

Speaking of classes, they were due to start very soon. The blond had only just remembered this now thanks to Zack reminding him. "Oh, of course! Classes. I should get going. Thank you for sitting with me." After giving the older man a polite nod Cloud picked up his tray and quickly walked it to the cleaning station, setting it down above all of the others in a tidy manner. His timetable was stowed away in his pocket so he fished it out and had a quick glance down it. First of all he would be training his stamina, so it was time to head to one of the larger training rooms on the floor above. A sigh of relief was breathed when he realised that it was one that he had been shown around the night before. He wouldn't be getting lost just yet.

Leather clad fingers toyed with a pen on the desk. Emerald, cat like eyes were focused on a screen, but the general's thoughts were on another matter entirely. Earlier on, when he had first arrived at the building, he had engaged in one of his brief chats with Zack. All the other First had been able to talk about was this new friend of his, some small, apparently quite meek young cadet. At first he had been nonplussed, unsure of who on earth Zack was talking about and why he would even feel the need to in the first place. However, once the physical description had started up he had realised who this particular young cadet was.

That blond shock of hair. That was the first thing that Zack had described, and that alone reminded him. It had only been for a brief moment, but the night before he had noticed a young boy with unruly blond spikes, not unlike a chocobo's, staring up at him from the crowd. As much as he was loathe to admit it, for that moment he had actually been caught slightly off guard. The slight stumble in his speech had been quickly covered up but it still disturbed him.

Why in Gaia's name was that?

With a rumbling sigh, Sephiroth leant back in his high backed office chair and gazed around at his surroundings. Being back in his office after his time away in Wutai was comforting. Despite being a tough, skilled swordsman he did prefer the familiarity of his current surroundings to small camps outside of enemy lines. The small, framed paintings of scenery that adorned his walls and the surface of his desk calmed him, and it could be enjoyable and relaxing simply to look at each of them and think of what he recognised, all of the places that he had been to over the years. Some were warm and sunny, others were more subdued, and one or two pictures depicted snowcapped mountains or crumbling, rocky cliffs hanging over the modest buildings.

The blue skies in the warmer pictures were what particularly enticed the silver haired SOLDIER. The glass frames that covered them gave the colour a rich, glossy look, the type that he could stare at all day...

Blue.

When he realised that his lips had curved into a soft, almost gentle smile Sephiroth snorted and shook his head, dismissing such thoughts from his head. Now was not the time to start getting sentimental and gooey over absolutely nothing. There was little sense in taking advantage of his position to lure some teenager – one that he had never even met, no less! - closer to him. Better to stay away from cadets. Some left, some died, and all were far below him. It would be odd. Difficult. Unnecessary.

"Why am I even entertaining these thoughts?"

It was frustrating. He would need to get Zack to stop talking about this boy. That way he could easily forget about what had happened the night before, the first time he had ever faltered during a speech, and quickly get back to his normal routine. Yes, his routine. Having a structured life was good for him, he felt, and kept him from doing anything rash.

Even while he thought about this, he was picking up the corded phone that laid on his desk, balancing it in the crook of his neck. One hand searched out a piece of paper where he had all of the cadet timetables printed out, eyes seeking for the number while his long fingers pressed each button with precision.

"Hello? Yes, I have some papers that need your attention, could you send one of your trainees over to me to collect them?" Before giving the instructor any time to answer him he added, "Let's see, going down the list... Strife should do." What a relief it was for him that Zack had mentioned the name, else he'd have mucked this up already. "Thank you for your time." With that he hung up the phone.

"What did I just do?" Sephiroth muttered to himself. That was too spontaneous. There were documents that he could pass off as important when the boy came down, but he still didn't approve of what he was doing in the slightest. Why was it that he was feeling so elated despite that?

Too late to stop it now. Calling up and telling the instructor to disregard everything that he had just said would seem odd. Everybody in the army, no, the whole Shinra corporation knew that when he said something, he meant it. This matter truly was out of his hands, and knowing that was mixing up a cocktail of dread and excitement within him. Trying to keep cool and nonchalant, Sephiroth stretched out his arms, cracked his knuckles, then continued to type on his computer. Distracting himself would make the moment come that little bit quicker.

"I must have done something wrong. I don't know how, but I did. It's only my first day... am I going to get kicked out? Guess I really am a lost cause..."

Those were the thoughts that were running through Cloud's head as he made his way to the general's office. Despite the fact that his feet were dragging on the ground he was keeping up a brisk pace. Being late would not help him in the slightest.

Just minutes ago his instructor had told him that Sephiroth wanted to see him. There had been no reason given as to why, so how could he not assume the worst? Something must have happened. Perhaps he had somehow known that he'd not been listening to his speech last night as intently as he should? That wasn't something he could help, there had been reasons, but they were so embarrassing that he would never admit to them.

The journey could never take as long as he hoped it would. No, it was over far too quickly, all too soon the blond was face to face with the silver plaque on the door that alerted him to the fact that this office belonged to Sephiroth. After curling his slightly trembling hand into a loose fist, Cloud gently knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Gulp. The thick swallowing sound echoed in his head. His ears were ringing. There was no escape.

Cloud pushed the door open.

If he was going to be the bringer of bad news, Sephiroth seemed very calm about it. The brief glance that the blond gave him before rooting his eyes to the floor was enough to know that he seemed very relaxed in his tall, imposing seat, his hands clasped together on the desk in front of him.

"Do take a seat, Strife."

"Yes sir." After that there was silence. Cloud took the pause to mean that the conversation would not continue until he did as he was told, so he took a few quick, short strides forward before he sat down in the chair. His hands were much less relaxed as they wrung together in his lap, skin sweating beneath the thick brown gloves that he wore. His cheeks were becoming hot as he felt Sephiroth's eyes scrutinising him, looking him over. The blush had come about due to nerves and embarrassment. This was something that always happened when he was brought in for a one on one talk with somebody who held a position of power. Back in Nibelheim it had happened often in school during talks with the Headmaster about why he acted up so much. The reaction was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do.

Luckily, Sephiroth soon saw fit to break the silence. Relief flooded through Cloud as he realised that no longer would he have to become all hot and bothered under the general's stern gaze.

"Don't look so nervous, Strife." That caused the blond to look up, his eyes meeting Sephiroth's face just in time to see a slight curl at the edges of his lips before they once again became neutral. Had that been a smile, he wondered? Whatever it was, it certainly hadn't been anything cruel. His mouth hadn't downturned in a sneer of disgust, so he considered that a plus. "You were sent here because I have some documents to pass along to your instructor."

Oh, what relief! No trouble, in fact, he'd been trusted to handle some documents for the higher ups! At that moment, the blond could have sung. He didn't, of course, because if he did then Sephiroth would probably have second thoughts about trusting him with such a thing. Breaking into song out of nowhere didn't seem the most stable of traits unless he were a character from one of those musicals that his mother had watched from time to time.

"I can do that, sir," he murmured, giving a polite nod. Not only had he been trusted, he'd managed to listen to everything that Sephiroth had said to him so far rather than getting distracted. Of course, the fact that he'd found it hard to meet the general's eyes in such close proximity probably helped that. Still, he'd also managed to keep his gaze from lingering on the straps that covered his chest...

Well. Until he'd consciously thought about them, that was. Now he was finding it a bit more difficult. To stop that, Cloud quickly ran his fingers through his hair, pulling some of the spikes down over his eyes. Another brief glance was enough to tell him that Sephiroth was watching him quizzically, one eyebrow slightly arched.

"Is there a problem, Strife?"

"Ah, no, not at all, sir."

"I'm relieved," he replied with a smirk. For a moment the blond looked surprised, focused on his face again, and he was at once distracted by those lips. That smirk. It was hard to suppress a shiver, and his hands almost immediately became about ten times more shaky. What was happening to him? These reactions were ridiculous! The sound of Sephiroth speaking again almost made him jump, "Here are the documents."

"Yes, good, thank you, sir. I'll take those then." Cloud needed to get out of here. It was the only way that he was going to save himself from further embarrassment. The first step of his escape was to almost jump out of his seat, his hands quickly clasping the folder that had been held out to him. Once the papers were relinquished to him he hugged them close to his chest. Hopefully this looked like he was trying to keep a firm grip on them so that they would not be dropped, lost or damaged in any way, but really it was just so that the flapping of paper couldn't give away how much his hands were shaking. "Thank you," he uttered again, not sure what to say now that Sephiroth was simply sitting there, watching him.

When he was met with silence the blond blinked a few times, nodded, then hurried towards the door.

"Strife?" Oh god, his escape had been thwarted...

"Y-yes, sir?" Big, sky blue eyes turned to look at Sephiroth one last time.

"Could you stop by again briefly after you're finished with your training?"

So that was when he was going to be reprimanded. He should have known. Another gulp.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You may leave."

As if he needed any invitation.

"What have I just done?"

Why had he invited Cloud to come back? There was no more to talk about, no papers that needed to be delivered. After seeing those breathtaking sapphire eyes, those little white teeth that worried soft, full pink lips, thin fingers that had so hesitantly taken hold of the folder he'd been holding in his own, leather-clad hands... well, now he'd gone and lost his train of thought again. The point was that after seeing the blond up close he hadn't been able to resist. He had to see him again, perhaps even again after that.

Sephiroth sighed, shaking his head. This was stupid, reckless, pointless, even. Seeing the blond over and over again wouldn't do him any good, would it? It was obvious that he scared the poor kid, he'd been shaking, he hadn't known where to look, at one point in the conversation he'd looked about ready to pass out while he'd stared into space – or at his chest, rather, but he assumed that had been incidental.

But perhaps...

Perhaps he could work on this. For once he didn't want to do what was expected of him. Routine was nice, he'd become very accustomed to it over the years, but it didn't always keep him sharp. Some days he felt like an old man. It was time to change things up.

Ceasing his internal battle, Sephiroth turned his attention back to his computer screen. Better to get this work done quickly so that he could start to plan what he would do when Cloud returned in the evening.

Whoo, awkwardness all round. I hope this new chapter was okay, guys! Once again it's grown quite a bit from the last.

Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter, I majorly appreciate it and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story! I read every single one of these reviews to get me my daily dose of the warm fuzzies. :D