First, I would like to thank my wonderful Beta Esmeraude11 for fixing my numerous mistakes and giving me great ideas and support. And, for you who didn't know, Athelas is from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth and Arhada is from the Earthsea series. No, I don't think Arhada is a healing plant I just made it up for purposes of the fic. Also, I didn't know of either of them until I GOOGLED them! But you guys who used Google cheated. Still, I didn't put limits on how to gain the knowledge so I shall not deny you a cookie. Congrats to you smart people out there! Smart…person. Well, LOTS of you got Athelas. Only a few.

Arhada. Still, congrats to you! –hands out cookies- Hope you like chocolate chip.

Disclaimer: Its only mine in spirit. LOL

Chapter 7 Dinner Disaster? Part 1

Cloud waited impatiently for the last class of the day to end. The instructor was a SOLDIER Second who only accepted the name Sir in his classroom. Given how strict he was, Cloud had to at least pretend he wasn't half asleep. The class was spent discussing the usefulness of flanking.

Finally it reached an end as they were instructed to turn in a full six pages on how flanking could be used in whatever situation they were given on the paper that had been placed on their desk. Once that was said, they were bluntly told to 'get the hell out of his sight'. It was increasingly clear that the SOLDIER wasn't teaching because he liked it.

Cloud bolted out the door along with his classmates and proceeded to run headlong into Zack.

"Oof!" Zack grunted. "Watch where you're running, Spiky!"

"It's your own fault for being there in the first place." Cloud argued, "And don't call me that! What were you doing skulking about the cadet classrooms, anyway?"

Zack grinned brightly.

"I was waiting for you of course. I heard you got Mc Cullen for Strategy. I thought I'd do something to cheer you up since you worked so hard all day long. And I'm only going to beat you up more after dinner so you might as well have something good in between."

Cloud eyed his friend suspiciously.

"That depends on what it is." Cloud said slowly.

"Just dinner!" Was the cheerful response. "Nothing big."

Cloud sighed in relief. One never knew what to expect when Zack was involved.

"Alright, fine. I have homework I need to do, so I'll be in the library. You can come pick me up when its time to eat, alright?"

Zack ruffled his hair affectionately.

"See you soon!" He said before departing at near break neck speed.

Cloud shook his head. He still had no idea where Zack got all that damn energy from.

Cloud's nose was buried in a book on the nearest 'local plants'. Occasionally, he would jot down a note or two. He had been carrying on in that way for some time before he felt someone coming up behind him. He felt his body tense unwittingly. A hand touched his shoulder.

"Time for a well deserved break, Spiky!"

At Zack's familiar voice, Cloud willed himself to relax.

"Hey." He didn't even bristle at the name this time. The idea of good food made everything sound wonderful. He gathered his things and shoved them into a knapsack. He stood up. "Lead the way then, I'm starving."

Zack chuckled.

"You're in for a treat tonight. We're dining on the Upper Plate!"

Cloud's eyes widened.

"Who's paying for this?" Anyone that actually lived on the Plate and could afford to spend money there had to be rich. The fried Rarab had been something clearly from the slums. In all the things he had done in the past, Cloud knew he had never been able to afford to eat on the Plate.

Zack waved his hand dismissively.

"A friend. Don't worry about it."

Cloud narrowed his gaze but nodded.

"Alright. But…what am I supposed to wear? My cadet uniform?"

Zack scratched his head.

"Hmmm. No, I guess not. They may not let you in if you're wearing a cadet uniform. Too many young cadets like to wander around the Plate and cause trouble." His eyes suddenly lit up.

"What?" Cloud asked slowly, suspiciously. He didn't like that look. It promised bad things to come.

"We'll have to disguise you!" Zack explained. Without further explanation the stronger SOLDIER proceeded to drag Cloud out the door, down the hall and into an elevator. Cloud let him do this not bothering to protest. He waited in silence as the elevator moved to floor forty-nine, the 'SOLDIER floor'. Cadets were generally forbidden from it and all other high level floors. As soon as the doors opened Zack was off again, dragging Cloud along. Finally they came to stop outside a door that required a typed code to enter. Zack entered it and Cloud memorized it more out of habit than actually caring.

"Alright! This is it!" Zack announced, opening the door to reveal…SOLDIER uniforms.

Cloud felt his heart nearly stop at the sight of the uniform he'd worn for so long. It was a storage room for the SOLDIER uniforms, with the deep blue outfit hanging off of racks, shelved boots and yet more shelves stacked with pauldrons.

"You want me to 'disguise' myself as a SOLDIER? Aren't I a little…short?" He forced himself to say, adding just the right amount of skepticism.

Zack chuckled.

"Relax. SOLDIERS' come in nearly all sizes, even yours. We'll find you something that fits."

And then Zack became a blur of motion as he flitted about the storage room, picking out random bits of clothing and holding them up to Cloud. Each would be dismissed with a shake of his head as being too large or, in a few cases, to small. Finally he stopped and nodded firmly.

"Found it?" Cloud asked with a raised eyebrow.

Zack presented him with a pair of indigo pants and a matching sleeveless shirt.

"Yeah. What size shoes do you wear?" He asked, eyes squinting to peer at Cloud from different angles as he tried to make sure that he'd picked the right size.

Cloud resisted the urge to try and shrink away. He didn't like it when people stared.

'It's better to be invisible.' 'He's watching too closely.' 'Guard your back.' The voices bellowed warnings to him, his paranoia manifesting into the sounds heard only in his mind.

He managed to shrug casually.

"Ten. Are you really going to make me change right here?"

Zack rolled his eyes as he went to fetch a pair of boots.

"Yes. Don't tell me you're embarrassed to show a bit of skin. Don't be silly." He waved his hand, "Come on. I had to make a reservation and I'm not going to be late for it." Cloud grabbed a set of pauldrons that looked like they fit, but only strapped one on.

"Forget the other. I don't really need it and this makes me look cooler, don't you think? Like a high level SOLDIER." As an unspoken rule only a SOLDIER of considerable rank was allowed to modify there uniform to their own desires.

"Alright." Zack agreed easily, "Now get changed!"

Cloud hesitated. He hadn't noticed the first night, only realizing it when he changed for classes, but, it was now painfully obvious that his mind was not the only thing to go back in time. But he knew there was no use trying to hide when Zack was bound to find out some way. He slowly stripped off his clothes, revealing scars that crisscrossed his body. It was every scar he had yet to receive. The words the Goddess said to him came back to haunt him.

"Your scars are tied to your soul."

He hadn't figured she'd meant it quite so literally. He heard Zack inhale sharply but thankfully he didn't say anything. He slipped into the clothes and boots first, before wrapping a belt with the Shinra company logo around his waist. The pauldron was last. Zack grinned brightly.

'There! Take a look at yourself before we go."

Cloud looked over and caught sight of himself in a small mirror and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The outfit brought up memories he had yet to deal with, that he didn't have time to deal with. How could he waste time going over everything that hadn't even happened yet, when he could be busy preventing it all? And then that made him wonder what he'd really done yet, besides becoming friends with Zack and running away from Sephiroth.

He shook his head, dragging himself away from those thoughts. Now was not the time. And then he saw Zack open his mouth, saw the questions in his eyes. He was not ready to deal with that.

"Let's go." He said, voice purposefully sharp.

Zack's brows furrowed but he closed his mouth, his gaze lingering on the blonde for a moment, before heading out this door.

They walked to the elevator and the two rode in a strained silence. Finally they stopped and stepped into the foyer of the Shinra Building. The silence still wasn't broken as they stepped outside into Sector 0. Finally Zack spoke up.

"It's just over this way. It's a bit fancy being here in this Sector, but not so fancy that you have to wear a suit."

"Right." Cloud acknowledge disinterestedly. He was feeling bad now, for sounding so sharp simply because he'd felt stressed. "Look… Zack …I'm sorry if I sounded a bit snappy earlier. I'm just under a lot of stress with classes."

Zack smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Don't let it bother you, Spiky."

Cloud flushed.

"Don't call me that." He insisted, somehow incapable of keeping the whine out of his voice.

Finally they came to a stop in front of an obviously Wutaian restaurant, the name of which, if he remembered his brief lessons in Wutaian correctly, meant White Flower.

"This is it!" Zack announced with a flourish, walking proudly inside. "Some of the best food you'll get on the Plate."

Cloud trailed after him, taking in the inside with slight awe. The place was made of white marble with gold trimmings. He waited for Zack to speak to the pretty blonde hostess dressed in an immaculate white shirt and pants. She summoned a waiter who then directed them to their table.

"Your menus are on the table, I'll be back shortly to take your order." The waiter said curtly, as he bowed his head and left.

As Cloud walked the last few feet to their table, which was in fact a large semi-circular booth, he realized that other people were already at the table. He could just see the tops of their heads. And as Zack shoved him over he looked across the table to see the cool green eyes of none other then Sephiroth. He felt his fight or flight instinct trying to kick in. He didn't even acknowledge Angeal's presence at all. He mentally resisted the urge to hit Zack. Dinner with Sephiroth? What had the SOLDIER been thinking? He swallowed his immediate reaction. He could do this, he could…really.

Okay. That's it for now. I decided to cut off here and give you what you've all been waiting for. A new chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, please review!