A/N: I thought the prompt 'Watch' would be very appropriate for Angeal, as he does watch over Zack as he trains and as he goes through difficult times. He's the ever watchful guardian to Zack, so I thought it would be nice to see how that started. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Final Fantazy VII Characters and Places belong to Square Enix.

He stood with his hands folded behind his back, feet spread shoulder width apart as the new recruits started their training. His eyes, dark blue and serious, immediately locked onto a springy boy from the small village Gongaga. He was paired off with a native of ShinRa—a boy twice his size and probably three times his weight. Angeal Hewley raised his eyebrow at the unlikely odds of the country boy, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as the sergeant in charge yelled for everyone to get into position before blowing a shrill whistle with the aid of two fingers.

The larger boy lunged at the small country boy, intent on grabbing him and throwing him down onto the practice mat with his bulk alone. The country boy, however, seemed to be fast on his feet. As his opponent lunged at him with a comical gruntish battle-cry, he ducked and slipped past his unprotected side, shoving his elbow into a tender spot by the ribs before turning on the spot and ducking down, sweeping the larger boy's feet from under him. Angeal raised both eyebrows at the display; a clear sign he was impressed. What impressed him even more however was how the country boy grinned and helped his opponent to his feet, talking to him in what seemed to be a friendly manner.

The SOLDIER's arms moved to cross in front of his chest, one hand resting on his chin in thought. He continued to watch the pair throughout the training hour, once in a while looking at the others to see how they were doing. Once the sergeant called that it was the end of the lesson, Angeal moved from his stationary post to walk towards the country boy.

He was by the water fountain, filling a bottle of water and talking to another boy from ShinRa who was tall and thin with a ferret-like face. The two recruits fell silent as Angeal approached, moving to stand in attention as he stopped in front of them. Both looked nervous, though the country boy seemed curious at the same time. After all, why would a SOLDIER talk to a lowly recruit?

"At ease," he said gently then, his deep voice a slight comfort to the boys. They shifted into more relaxed positions, the country boy capping his water bottle. Angeal took a moment to take in what he looked like: black hair that fell into his face, a mouth made for wide grins and wide, innocent eyes the lightest violet he'd ever seen. Once he reached SOLDIER and got the mako injections, that violet would turn into a light electric blue, much like Angeal's had when he had first gotten the injections. Perhaps after years of injections they would return to their original violet.

"I would like to talk to this recruit here," Angeal said then, indicating to the country boy. The recruit looked at him with wide eyes, mouth falling open slightly. His friend nodded and, after a quick word to the recruit and a salute to Angeal, left to go talk to some of the other cadets. Angeal watched him leave for a moment before turning to look at the remaining recruit. "What's your name, recruit?"

"Zack Fair, sir," his replied immediately as he was trained to do, his voice a nervous squeak. Angeal could hear a slight crack in his voice, showing the depth of his nerves.

"Alright, Zack Fair. You've got a good stance and you know how to use your opponent to your advantage. Some of your executions however are sloppy. You'll need to fix those if you wish to join SOLDIER." Fair's eyes widened as Angeal spoke, before he nodded quickly. "If you would like, I can help you improve."

"Sir…?"

"It's common for SOLDIERs to take an interest in certain potential SOLDIERs and train them. We know how hard the program is and so we try to prepare future candidates for that. It's not a show of favourtism, if that's what you're worried about; your friends will find SOLDIERs to represent them as the weeks go by. It is only your first day of training, so it is unusual for a SOLDIER to take a candidate. However, I decided to come see what the recruits were like so that if I saw any potentials, I could get the best one first." He smiled a little then as Fair flushed at the subtle compliment. "Now, you don't have to accept my aid. If you wish to have another SOLDIER help you, that's your choice."

"No! That's okay!" Fair said, waving his hands in front of him in a show of, 'I don't mind, I don't mind'. He then grinned and saluted Angeal, his eyes alighting with happiness. "It would be my honour if you became my mentor, sir!"

Angeal smiled then and nodded, indicating that he was dismissed. Zack saluted him again before he ran off to his friends, talking excitedly to them. Angeal turned to watch him, being vaguely reminded of a puppy.

It would be interesting to watch him grow into a SOLDIER. He sensed that Zack Fair would change ShinRa and SOLDIER as they all knew it.