Writer's Note: Something you should know about this chapter: I have knowingly made a divergence from canon (if you discount time travel and Reno). I thought this was more realistic, with maybe a little bias on my part. My inner fangirl much prefers this because it's Hojo, and Hojo doing that…ew. (You'll know what I'm talking about when you get there.)

Update 3/10/14 – I'm working slowly on editing and uploading all the chapters (as you can tell from the ones that now have titles). I desperately need encouragement though, so if you have a Tumblr please feel free to message me or recommend FFVII fan blogs to follow. I also will be trying to post status updates about GD and HwtF on my Tumblr too.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money from this work. Anything recognizable to the Final Fantasy VII series and its associated parts belongs to Square Enix and affiliated companies.

Green Dreams

Chapter Thirty-One: More Questions Than Answers

Reno sat up in bed bleary-eyed, and rubbed his hands down his face. He swung his legs over the side, habitually ducking even though there was no top bunk, and shuffled off to the bathroom.

He brushed his teeth and splashed some cold water on his face to wake him up before gathering his stuff together. As a Turk he got his own tiny apartment, better than his old place in the slums but still not much larger than a coat closet. It had a working stove, which was awesome, but without a roommate it proved to be actually pretty lame. There was never anyone to talk to or bother, and it was eerie how quiet his neighbors were. If he'd known how awful it was to live alone like this he might not have-

The whole bizarre conversation with Cloud last night came back in a rush: time travel, some terrifying monster of Hojo's, dead General and SOLDIERs, and a lot of other crazy stuff that made no sense.

Planet, he must have drunk a lot more than he thought.

It had only been two shots when he'd realized he could look up Cloud's new bunker in the database and go drill him for answers, but there must have been some more drinks in there somewhere because his memory had to be a little foggy. Time travel. Like, going back in time to when you're younger to change things. That kind of time travel. The kind that's impossible.

Reno shook his head, wondering if he'd been high and drunk at the same time, or if Cloud was, or if Cloud had really jumped off the deep end for good. He stared into the mirror for a couple seconds, wondering a little how he would look five or six years from now, a seasoned Turk, and what Cloud might look like. Maybe the blond would be a little taller.

Nah.

Reno snorted and stumbled back into his bedroom only to realize his bedside clock said he needed to be in a meeting with Rude in five minutes.

Pushing any discomforting thoughts of Cloud and time travel, the redhead hurried to pull his clothes on from where they were messily piled in a draw. He knew you were supposed to hang suits, but he couldn't be bothered to get hangers or press his pants or anything. He'd already lost two buttons, anyways.

Reno wondered briefly though, as he locked the door behind him, if he'd make a good Turk. The thought was immediately followed by I should ask Cloud, before he pushed it back. There was no way Cloud was serious. People didn't time travel. They just didn't.

Hojo was waiting for him in the examination room.

"Well, you've finally made it have you? I'm afraid this will have to be an extended visit since you missed the last one." The way the scientist eyed the General over his glasses was the only sign of his annoyance.

Sephiroth stiffly took a seat on the table as Hojo prepped a needle nearby. He loathed these examinations and Hojo more than anything else in Shinra. Hojo was the only one that ever really inspired… fear in him. Sephiroth hated it, but he couldn't seem to fight it, and so every trip down here was a test of will.

Rolling up his sleeves, Sephiroth didn't give Hojo the pleasure of looking away as the needle was inserted, bearing with the sickening sensation of his skin crawling as he drew blood. He tried not to tense up, knowing it would make it worse when the scientist withdrew the needle.

"Now, it's the same formula as last time, but I've had to double the dosage so effects may be more severe. I'd prefer to keep you here until all symptoms have stabilized and you can be monitored most efficiently."

Sephiroth didn't answer, knowing that Hojo had every intention of holding him anyway. He wanted to ask the question that had been bothering him for over a week now, before the appointment got under way. One look at Hojo's hunched form scribbling notes on a clipboard before looking up at him with that same mildly curious look he gave every one of his specimens—human or not—made Sephiroth's mouth clamp shut. He was angry with himself for the unwarranted cowardice, but couldn't seem to muster the ire up, and so he turned away trying to keep a deliberately stoic look on his face.

There was a handful more tests and standard questions before Hojo finally pulled out the cold case, which held the specialized mako for Sephiroth. The sickly green substance always called up a slightly nauseous feeling in the General, but he tamped it down as usual.

The question resurfaced though as he saw the mako; Hojo handling it with more care than he gave anything else. It wasn't like Sephiroth to hesitate like this, but this was not something he'd ever done before, and the rare occasions he'd angered Hojo stuck out in his mind. Hojo could bear a grudge, and he was well capable of making Sephiroth pay for it later—in the lab.

Sephiroth breathed in and out, calming himself. It was best to be direct with Hojo, he knew. He turned to face the scientist who was jotting something down on the same clipboard.

"You are not my father."

There, he'd said it. Sephiroth wasn't able to relax though, watching Hojo as carefully as possible for any visible reaction.

Hojo didn't even look up. He was, for all intents and purposes, completely nonchalant. "Hm?"

"I checked the database," Sephiroth said quickly, a little faster than he meant to. "There's an anonymous file with a parental DNA match to myself—male. It is not yours."

It was exactly what he had found. In his search for Cloud's files he'd gone deep into Hojo's database of human experimentation in Nibelheim. What had come up over and over again was his name. Though Sephiroth did not know the details, he knew his early years had been spent in Nibelheim before he was moved to Midgar. He was still hoping to do a little more digging concerning a certain new blond SOLDIER who was also from Nibelheim, but Sephiroth too was starved for information concerning his early life.

The file he'd been able to breach had a DNA string with information indicating it as his father, though the person remained unidentified. Because there was no name and no medical history attached it was clear this was not Hojo's DNA, which meant he was not Sephiroth's father as he'd been led to believe.

Hojo turned to look at him, holding one ready needle in his hand, and three more waiting still in the case. The fluorescent lights made it impossible to see his eyes as they reflected off the lenses.

"No, of course not. I do not have the time to worry about the emotional pandering required when inseminating a fertile woman. There are plenty of easy specimens to find if I need it." The scientist seemed completely unbothered by this revelation, and put the needle in his hand filled with glowing mako down on the tray beside him.

"I was told you were my father as a child." He kept his voice deliberately calm, but this was what particularly angered Sephiroth. The blatant lie had caused him a lot of mental anguish as a child, who had struggled to understand why his "father" did what he did to him.

"Proper psychological development is imperative in early childhood. Familial relationships offer substantial benefits to psychological stability and growth. As the primary caregiver in your sensorimotor and preoperational stages, it was only logical."

Hojo continued to ignore him as Sephiroth heard the monitoring machine begin to beep more quickly as he blood pressure went up. Even though a part of him was relieved it was true he was not related to this madman, it opened up an entire series of questions regarding his parentage and how Hojo had gotten a hold of him. This along with twenty-six years of ignorance made his anger potent.

The first needle was administered while Sephiroth absorbed what Hojo was telling him and all the implications of it. He hardly even felt it. As Hojo checked the monitors for a reaction, the scientist commented calmly, "It is ill-advised to steal Lieutenant-General Zackary Fair's computer to hack into my files, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth was not surprised Hojo was aware he'd been there. The man was completely paranoid, lending to his enlarged sense of omniscience. Still, it was a slap in the face, and Sephiroth managed to calm himself a little, knowing that even though he was the General of SOLDIER, murdering Hojo would bear terrible consequences. He was fairly sure he entertained the idea every time he came here though.

The nasty turn of the General's thoughts were disrupted as another needle broke the skin, and he began to feel the first waves of the concentrated mako. The effect wasn't too strong yet though, and Sephiroth was determined to get some answers at least, regretting that he had waited so long.

"Who was my father then?" He asked, turning to look at Hojo, his eyesight even sharper than normal thanks to the extra mako in his system.

Hojo prepped the next needle, looking at the monitor again. He paused for just the briefest of seconds, perhaps remembering his father, before he said in a bland voice:

"A man of little significance other than his sperm."

Three days later, Cloud stood in the SOLDIER showers rinsing off a day's worth of sweat, dust, and metal shavings. The training in SOLDIER was much more intensive, mostly because they didn't have lecture classes to give them breaks, and also because this was the eight new SOLDIERs' probation period.

Though technically in the SOLDIER program, they were on probation for one month—essentially barring them from missions—because they hadn't been given a mako injection yet. That would forever designate them as true members of SOLDIER. Cloud was dreading it.

The delay was for several reasons. Mainly it was to complete full physicals all the new SOLDIERs were required to have, and to determine which troop they would join. Each squadron of Thirds was led by a Second, and each troop had a general emphasis, whether it was magic, long-distance combat, or otherwise.

But first, as everyone was constantly reminded, were the injections. Though they'd passed the initial test, Cloud was well aware there was a significant difference between a chest swab and a needle.

Cloud shampooed his hair furiously, ridding himself of any thought of the impending mako exam. He had a month to prepare himself mentally for it, and he promised himself he would be ready.

After rinsing and dressing, he headed out of the showers hoping to get something to eat before collapsing on his bunk. His plans were derailed though by the sight of the General waiting in the hallway outside.

"Strife."

Cloud snapped a salute as the other boys all looked curious but were smart enough not to ask. John brushed past Cloud reassuringly as the others all left them for dinner.

"Come with me."

Sephiroth led him down the hallway in the opposite direction from the dining hall and barracks, silver hair swaying slowly from side to side. Cloud recalled all of Tifa's breathing exercises to remain calm, trying in vain to keep from jumping to conclusions. Sephiroth wasn't dressed to fight, though he was wearing his leather pants and boots, but the office shirt said this wouldn't be violent. That could only mean interrogation—that, Cloud knew, was even worse.

They left the building and moved towards the gymnasium specially built for the SOLDIER Firsts. Sephiroth swiped his card through the scanner and opened the door, not even looking back as he headed inside. Cloud embarrassingly considered the idea of bolting, but one look at the imposing General said that was a bad idea.

Cloud had only been in this building with Zack once, when the First and the General had tricked him into a fight, so he was quite surprised when Sephiroth led him into a white-walled room with bright windows and cushions piled in the corner.

He must have paused too long, because Sephiroth answered his silent query.

"It's a meditation room."

Cloud hadn't seen one since he'd last been in Wutai, and it was surprising to see one in Shinra.

"Oh."

"I hope it is clear that this is more informal." Sephiroth indicated the whole room with his hand then tossed Cloud a cushion, but didn't sit himself.

The blond carefully put the cushion on the floor but remained standing too, curious and wary.

"You know exactly what this is about," the General stated bluntly. "I hope we will be able to do this as two men. From one soldier to another."

He said it coolly, standing across from Cloud looking perfectly relaxed. The blond could feel how intensely he was being scrutinized though, and knew they were both equally on edge.

When Cloud only nodded but didn't say anything, Sephiroth started.

"Your swordplay is excellent, but you've been concealing it. I want to know why and who taught you."

One of Sephiroth's long bangs fluttered a little in his breath, the only movement in the still room. Cloud had, thanking his lucky stars, prepared a highly abbreviated version of events just in case of this. It didn't take away his nervousness though. The blond fought not to fidget under Sephiroth's stare, trying to draw on the calmness of the room, and the strength he seemed to have had a lot more of before he time traveled.

"When I left Nibelheim to come join SOLDIER, I met a man. He used a buster sword and helped me out. Saved my life even." Cloud exhaled slowly, and didn't make eye contact. He thought of Zack he'd seen just last night at dinner, mussing his hair and calling him Spike. It was a painful reminder of the ghost of the same man leaning against the doorway of the church, walking away with Aeris. Walking away from him.

He shook his head and tried to relax, taking a deep breath, drawing it in and savoring it before exhaling out. Tifa had taught him that.

"He… died though. Shot."

"Who was he?" Sephiroth's deep voice seemed to hang in the air between them.

Cloud looked up, staring at the eyes that glowed even brighter than Zack's did. "I'd rather not say."

Sephiroth gave him an appraising look, clearly suspicious. "I'm aware of that." He paused for just a moment before speaking. "I will ask again: who was your teacher?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes a little, noting the slight tilt of Sephiroth's chin. They were both being stubborn about this, but Cloud had a lot more to lose than the General, and he wasn't just motivated by curiosity. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Sephiroth asked immediately.

"It's personal."

The General paused, seeming to think about his response. "I had hoped we might be able to set this to rest. Can you tell Zack even if you can't tell me?"

Cloud shook his head, knowing that telling either of them wasn't an option.

"Hm." They shared a brief stare, Cloud trying to convey nonverbally that there was no way Sephiroth was getting this out of him, and it seemed to get through, much to Cloud's surprise.

The General flicked one of his long bangs out of his face, managing somehow not to look haughty as he did. "I hope you know this isn't the end of the subject."

"I know," Cloud told him.

"I sincerely hope you trust Zack or I in the near future to tell us." Something about the way Sephiroth said it, told Cloud there was a threat in there. If he didn't tell, the General would find it some other way.

Cloud swallowed down the uncharacteristic smirk. Sephiroth could do all the research he wanted, but the only one's who knew of Zack's role were himself and Vincent, and no one knew the ex-Turk was even alive.

Sephiroth made eye contact again, and the narrowing of his eyes almost gave Cloud a chill. Almost. He managed to check himself lest the General's sharp eyes catch a sign of weakness.

"Why did you hide your abilities?"

This one was easier to answer. Cloud moved away from the door, considering how long this was probably going to take. They'd gotten through the hard stuff at least. "I didn't want to make waves. I—I've been bullied before, so I figured it was better to only show off for the exam."

"Despite the fact that it would have almost guaranteed a place in SOLDIER?" Sephiroth's tone was neutral, but there was plenty of doubt underlying it. Cloud couldn't really blame him.

"I was worried I would fail the medical test anyway. Nibelheim has a big reactor just outside it." Cloud shrugged, looking through the windows on the far wall. Sephiroth always seemed to look particularly ethereal when wreathed in sunlight. The blond shifted his gaze away back to the blank wall. "We've been…exposed to the radiation before. I had heard it makes us more…susceptible to it."

Cloud and Sephiroth both knew he was not just talking about general environmental radiation, but his experimentation history too. Cloud tried to judge the General's expression, but Sephiroth's face didn't reveal any of his thoughts. The blond didn't dare offer any more information than he was prompted, since he hoped to minimize the amount of information Sephiroth could get. One day he would tell him, one day. Long after Jenova was dead.

Sephiroth's gaze focused back on him. "I do not fully believe you, Strife."

Cloud hunched a little unconsciously, but otherwise didn't say anything.

"Your swordplay teacher still interests me," Sephiroth commented.

Cloud shifted his weight a bit, wondering how he could get out of this. Sephiroth let it drop once, but he wasn't liable to do it again. It wasn't like Cloud could tell him the truth, but he didn't want to make someone up because Sephiroth had all but said he would go hunting for information. Then he'd know Cloud lied, and that would just make things worse. "Why does it matter? He's dead," he half muttered to himself.

"It matters, Strife, because anyone outside Shinra with that kind of skill has to be accounted for. It is also related to your experience with Dr. Hojo." Despite Sephiroth's perfectly flat tone, Cloud could sense some emotion behind it, and his face tightened imperceptibly.

He knew Sephiroth's relationship with Hojo was more than a little complicated, but he wasn't entirely sure how Sephiroth felt about the man directly now. Did he hate him? Tolerate him? Grudgingly respect him? After the Nibelheim Incident things had been different. But well… everything had been different after that.

"I've told you about that already. I'd rather not speak of it." Cloud hoped this interview would be over soon. The way Sephiroth looked as he moved highlighted the color of his hair and made him look slightly inhuman—his face too perfect with those proud cheekbones and almost cat-like eyes.

"I too, was an experiment of Hojo's," he said almost stiffly, and if Cloud hadn't had such practice at maintaining a poker face his jaw would have dropped. "I am still in many ways."

Cloud shifted uncomfortably, unsure where this was going now. It was one thing if Sephiroth was looking for answers, but another if they were sharing confidences.

"Um…"

"I do not need to know details, but you are aware that by joining SOLDIER you will inevitably come into contact with Dr. Hojo at some point?"

Was Sephiroth…concerned about him? Cloud felt his cheeks turn a bit red before he could help himself.

"Um, well, yes. But I don't think he'll recognize me." Cloud knew what he said was a mistake the moment he saw Sephiroth's eyes flick off to the right, his gaze more shuttered.

His voice somehow managed to be perfectly flat and yet still convey how tightly he spoke. "Were you quite young?"

Cloud hated to lie, but seventeen had still been childhood for him, because everything that came afterwards erased it.

"Yes."

They stood there stiffly in silence for some moments, both perhaps reflecting on those experiences. Cloud had never dreamed of any real kinship with Sephiroth, since the General had always seemed far worse off than he. Then again, Hojo's human experimentation was pretty much limited to Sephiroth, SOLDIER, which was on a broad basis, and Project S—the cloning Cloud had been a part of—which hadn't happened yet. Perhaps because of this…

Sephiroth spoke abruptly. "What I need to know is if there is any risk of mutation or side effects. Mako is…unpredictable."

It was a legitimate concern, and Cloud didn't really know. The Planet must have intervened to give him some resistance to mako's debilitating effects if he passed the initial test this time, so he could only hope that carried through.

"I…don't think so."

Sephiroth made eye contact again, his eyes sweeping over Cloud in one move. The blond felt himself begin to blush again, even though he knew there had been nothing sexual about it.

"You don't have any mako enhancement or glow, so I can assume there was no mako involved?"

Cloud swallowed uncomfortably. He felt quite embarrassed by his reaction, and his eyes drifted to Sephiroth's loosely curled fingers, the broad shoulders more visible now under his white collared shirt, and the form-fitting leather pants that made him appear so tall and well, powerful.

Cloud winced when he realized his train of thought.

"Maybe I should go, sir."

Sephiroth seemed to gather himself from that strange moment that had overtaken them with the talk of their experiences with Hojo. "I would prefer you stay another moment. The identity of your teacher is still important to me. Why are you protecting him?"

Cloud paused, momentarily unsure what to say. "I—I'm not protecting anyone."

"You refuse to tell me his name. If there were no threat upon him, it would be no matter."

"Well, he was a highly personal person, and I…" Cloud didn't know what to say, and the garbled lie only seemed to give him away.

Sephiroth didn't appear any different, but Cloud had a feeling something had changed when the General said nothing else about it.

"I would ask that you keep no more secrets from Zack or I, but I have a feeling you won't." Cloud fought the reddening of his cheeks. "I only ask that you keep an open dialogue with us, and following your mako injection I want you to seek out one of us so we can assure you are alright."

Cloud nodded his head, looking away at the mention of the injection. He hoped it would get easier with time, because the idea of having a mako injection every couple of months hanging over his head would ruin SOLDIER.

"Cloud," Sephiroth's hand paused in the air for a moment before landing on his shoulder. "This is for physical reasons as much as it is for… psychological ones."

The blond consciously didn't stiffen his shoulder at the touch, amazed at Sephiroth's attempt to comfort him.

"…Thank you, sir."

Sephiroth's hand slipped away after a moment. "I wish to observe some of your practices with Zack, and perhaps spar again with you. Is that all right?"

Cloud felt a rush of excitement and nervousness at that. "I'd be honored, sir," he managed, his stomach twisting strangely. He'd come in here ready to walk on eggshells the whole conversation, and somehow he'd left with a sparing invitation. "Um, well, I'd better go before curfew then."

"Yes," Sephiroth said, almost too quickly. "I intend to speak with Zack about what we spoke of."

Cloud nodded his head, feeling strangely pulled in two directions. He wanted to escape to think about everything that had happened, but he also wanted to stay because this was the longest he'd ever spoken to Sephiroth.

"That's okay, I figured. Thanks, uh, sir."

"Sephiroth," the General said softly.

"…Sephiroth," Cloud echoed, his whole body feeling rather numb.

Sephiroth remained in the meditation room after Cloud left. He pulled his boots off and sat down on the cushion in the middle of the room, wanting to think about their exchange.

He knew he could have gotten the answers he'd wanted with a little leverage. He had come into this prepared to tell Cloud he knew about his actions in Nibelheim, but somehow the despondent, tired voice of a young soldier made it more difficult. Sephiroth hadn't thought at all before he'd admitted what he was to Hojo, and what he'd learned of Cloud from that had cinched it.

The General decided he would keep what he knew close to the chest, and see how things played out. Other than Cloud, he was certain only he knew of the blond's involvement in the Nibelheim disasters, and he had not told even Zack.

Breathing in and out, he recounted the whole conversation, memorizing as much as he could. His assumption about Angeal seemed to be proven right by what Cloud had said. His mentor was dead, had saved his life even, and had wielded a buster sword. Cloud may or may not have lied about the manner of death, or he was misinformed, but either way the evidence was still mounting. Cloud had joined the cadet program before Angeal's death, but then there had been the open attack on Midgar by Hollander's forces in April. Genesis and Angeal were both very visible during it. Sephiroth had little doubt Cloud had known of Angeal's wanted status after that, if he hadn't known before.

As he thought back to Cloud's reaction to mention of the mako injections and Hojo, Sephiroth was a little surprised by Cloud's lack of fear of being recognized. As Sephiroth envisioned the blond in his head again, with broad shoulders, a well-sculpted face with a hint of baby fat, the things that jumped out of course were his bright blue eyes and his… spiky yellow hair. How did Cloud expect Hojo not to recognize that?

Frankly, he didn't seem to fear Hojo as much as he did the examination itself, which was curious. Was it because he'd successfully attacked two of Hojo's early strongholds without punishment? Or was the hairstyle something new? Sephiroth had been under the impression it was natural, considering how it moved when he moved and looked quite soft…

Sephiroth blinked, realizing his thoughts were trailing off into dangerous territory. Breathing in and out again, he willed himself to think of nothing for the next half an hour before he headed home and overanalyzed everything said just like he always did.

Vincent Valentine had excelled as a Turk, but that had been twenty-five years ago. The world had changed quite a bit since Vincent had last had to do any investigating.

Despite the difficulties of adapting to the new technology and shifting political powers, within a couple of weeks he was ready to stop haunting Rocket Town and assist Cloud on his quest for information concerning Jenova. While the blond's goal was to ultimately destroy the monster—and Vincent wholeheartedly agreed with this—the ex-Turk had a more personal revenge in mind too: Hojo.

And where Jenova was, Hojo would not be far behind.

Vincent's search took him first to Costa del Sol, a rambunctious seaside town that boasted quite a number of wealthy homes and beach houses. It was easy to pick up information about Shinra's recent economic acquisitions and pursuits, but little about the Science Department or SOLDIER was to be heard.

After some deliberation, Vincent decided Icicle Inn would be the first lab to check outside Midgar. When he had been assigned to Hojo, there had only been a handful of labs, mostly located in remote areas or reactors. Icicle Inn had one of the oldest, including Professor's Gast's research notes if Hojo had not destroyed them, so it made sense to check there first.

The boat ride over was uneventful, and the ex-Turk took a circuitous route to Icicle Inn, trying to avoid any attention from the people in the area. Bone Village was still the same depressing hovel Vincent had heard of, and he didn't stay long considering how remote the village was. It was not until he passed through the Forgotten City, an area generally avoided by the populace, that he noticed some oddities.

"The trees…" he murmured, examining the shattered remains of one of the Forgotten City's iconic crystallized trees. It would take a lot of force to shatter them like this, and there were more signs indicating something had happened here.

As Vincent walked through the trees on one of the few paths in the forest, he saw the signs of fighting: broken earth, bullet casings, snapped branches, scuff marks and more broken trees.

The center of the Forgotten City had a lake and a strange spiraling structure, all part of the remains of the ancient city. Checking the inside did not reveal anything of note, but more signs of recent activity showed up. A campfire had been made in one spot not far from the lake, and more trees had been disturbed here.

Curious, but not perhaps related to Jenova's disappearance. Vincent filed it away as he had been trained to do, so that the pieces might fix together later.

"Hey Cloud, I wanted to ask you something."

Zack propped Galatine against the bench as he took a swig from his canteen. Cloud sitting beside him did the same before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Sure," the blond said after a moment. He was still panting a bit after their hard workout. Cloud had expressed real interest in learning the buster sword, and Zack had been more than happy to teach, though he couldn't deny the mild suspicion Sephiroth was already harboring.

Cloud was good, make no mistake, and Zack had been able to run through the basics a lot faster than he expected. Now that Cloud wasn't holding back anymore it made the sessions a lot more fun. He hoped what he had to say didn't kill the mood though.

"Seph told me what you and him talked about a couple days ago," Zack said a little uneasily. Sephiroth had seemed a lot calmer after talking to Cloud, and Zack felt like he was a little out of the loop. Something had changed between them.

"Oh," was all Cloud said, taking another drink from his canteen.

"I just wanted to ask if there was, well, anything you wanted to say to me that you didn't, you know, want to say then."

It sounded awkward even to Zack's ears, but he was genuinely worried about Cloud, and he knew the blond had a small crush on Sephiroth—who didn't at his age? Sephiroth could be intimidating though and hard to talk to, so Zack hoped between himself and Sephiroth Cloud would have someone to share everything with.

The blond didn't look at him, just back at his canteen like it might help him escape the situation. Zack felt a little guilty for doing that to his friend, but he knew if he didn't push, Cloud might not say anything at all.

"There's nothing."

Zack couldn't suppress the mild pang of disappointment. "Okay. You know I'm here anytime." He paused for a second to think of another topic, before remembering why Cloud had been a bit delayed for their session. "Did you get your appointment for the injection?"

"Yeah. It's the Tuesday after next, 0730." Cloud looked so glum Zack just reached over and slung an arm around his shoulder drawing him in before he even really thought about it.

"I know it sucks Spike, but the first one's the worst, and after that it's just routine."

Zack rubbed Cloud's hair, secretly loving when Cloud tried to duck out from under him out of embarrassment. He stopped though when he remembered what he really meant to ask. "Oh! Did you want me to be there and make sure you get back all right? Sometimes people can be really woozy afterwards."

Cloud looked a little embarrassed, and when he slumped a little more into Zack's chest, the SOLDIER First couldn't really help himself from rubbing those bright yellow spikes.

"Trust me, it'll be better than embarrassing yourself by undressing in the waiting room and sprinting through the Headquarters all the way to the showers." Zack smiled fondly at the memory, and it widened when Spike's blue eyes suddenly blinked up at him.

"What?"

"Yup. I made Second and no one could come get me, so I thought I'd make it home on my own. The dose was more than I expected though, and thankfully I don't remember much." Zack laughed it off, feeling better inside as Cloud sat up more fully to appreciate the humor. "Trust me, it's worse when your buddies have to tell you what happened. Same thing applies to alcohol."

"I thought SOLDIERs couldn't get drunk?" Cloud's strange expression vanished after a moment.

"Where'd you hear that? Sure we can, just gets harder the more mako you have. Seph would be sober even if he drank a whole bar's worth of liquor." The somewhat sad expression on Cloud's face made Zack hasten to fix it. "It's not like he'd like getting drunk anyway. Seph's too much of a control freak like that."

Cloud's half smile said Zack didn't really fix it, but it was a good try.

They started the second half of the lesson, Cloud practicing a variety of new moves Zack had been teaching him. While Zack supervised, but his mind kept drifting back to his conversation with Sephiroth the day before. The General had told him what he talked about with Cloud, and he'd made it clear that he believed more than ever Angeal had been the one to teach Cloud.

In an attempt to stifle the thoughts, Zack tried to think of something more fun to show Cloud when he realized he knew exactly what to teach the blond.

"Cloud, I want to teach you this awesome move. You know what a trump card is in cards?"

Cloud nodded. Of course he did, Zack thought with a smile, he was friends with Reno.

"Well, we sometimes call them Limit Breaks in SOLDIER. You kinda have to make up your own as you go along—play to your strengths and all that—but this one's the first one I learned with the buster sword. It's really simple, so anyone who's ever wielded a buster sword has learned it. It's called Braver. You can pretty much customize it all you want once you mastered the basic idea."

Cloud's open smile and interest made Zack grin back. This was something Angeal had taught him long ago, as a start off so he could make his own Limit Breaks. The move was quite simple but powerful, and his old mentor had taught it to him the second day he'd picked up the buster sword.

"Alright, you need to adjust your hands into a straight grip, since this is an overhead swing. In battle, if you want to deal a final, devastating blow, you leap back, and do a really high jump, high as you can, and slash downwards right on the ugly."

Zack demonstrated the overhead swing, watching as Cloud carefully hefted his buster sword over his head. Pulling it up like that took some practice because it was awkward with such a heavy weapon.

"Okay, the idea is that you lift the sword over your head as you jump up—momentum and all that—and as you come down you chop downwards. Just make sure you swing early enough to get the monster but not the ground. First time I did this I ended up gouging the floor and seriously dulling my blade."

Zack grinned again, remembering Angeal's stunned face as the First had been forced to use his mako-enhanced strength to wrench the sword from the floor.

Cloud started to practice the jump minus the sword under his direction, but wasn't able to get very high.

"Don't worry. When you have mako it'll make it a lot easier. If you put materia in your sword you can even add some magic to the hit, which'll do even more damage!"

Cloud was able to do a perfectly arched swing in just a couple of tries, but by the end of the lesson he still couldn't jump high enough to get over anyone's head. Zack ruffled the blond's hair when he seemed disappointed, even pouting a little though Cloud would have been horrified if he realized.

As Cloud left to go shower off, Zack put Galatineaway and headed up to Sephiroth's office. Zack didn't like to be jealous, but he couldn't seem to help himself. If Angeal had trained Cloud—which was looking more and more likely—then he should be… well, maybe not excited, but he shouldn't be upset with his deceased mentor, and definitely not Cloud. It certainly wasn't the blond's fault, and if Sephiroth was right, and Cloud was trying to protect Angeal, then well shit, did Cloud know of Angeal's death?

The elevator doors open as he realized the situation could be really messy. He was pretty sure Cloud also didn't know Angeal had mentored him too otherwise he would have mentioned it. Zack liked to think so at least. But that would mean he'd have to break it to Cloud what happened to Angeal… and who killed him.

"Hey Seph," he called as opened the door.

"Zack," Sephiroth greeted.

The First flopped into one of the chairs, but this time didn't try to put his boots on the desk. Sephiroth frowned at him, and set the folder he was working on aside.

Zack floundered for a second about where to start, then figured the beginning was best. "So, I had a lesson with Cloud today, and I asked him about your conversation on Tuesday. He didn't have anything to add, but I can tell he's really nervous about the mako injections. And I'm gonna pick him up from the labs that day."

Sephiroth nodded, but when Zack didn't go on he gave the stalling SOLDIER a look.

"I assume you didn't ride the elevator forty-five stories just to tell me that."

Zack had the grace to look a little sheepish. "Well, no. See, I taught him my old Limit Break—Braver—have you ever seen it?" Sephiroth's dry look said he didn't care if he had. "Okay, okay, so it's one Angeal taught me ages ago, right after I started the buster sword. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Cloud's already learned it before."

Sephiroth's face didn't outwardly change, but he subtlety leaned forward. "I thought that move required a jump."

"Well, it does," Zack added, "but you can do it without it, it just won't be as strong. The actual swing though is awkward—you know, over the head, straight down. Not the sort of thing you do normally in battle. But Cloud didn't even take a hair off his head."

Sephiroth sat back a little. "He didn't lodge the sword in the floor either, I presume?"

He delivered the line so flatly it took Zack a second to realize what he was referring to. "Hey! I had just started getting mako injections, and I was new to it!"

It was halfhearted, and Sephiroth seemed to sense that. Zack continued anyway, glad a little that Sephiroth had made the effort to lighten his mood. "Yeah. I definitely would have lobbed off some hair doing that, but Cloud was fine. He'd obviously done it before, though probably not with the jump since he couldn't get high enough."

Zack ran a hand through his hair. Normally he wasn't that great at admitting he was wrong, a flaw he was working on, but it seemed even harder with Sephiroth who was rarely wrong in anything but purely social matters.

"I think Angeal taught him."

Sephiroth looked quite grave, and Zack was thankful the man didn't rub it in his face, even though he knew it would not have been intentional. The General said quite seriously, "We may need to debrief him, considering he may have learned something regarding Hollander or Genesis while he was with Angeal."

Zack nodded hollowly. "Do you think he…knows?" He couldn't quite bring himself to say it, but Sephiroth knew what he was talking about immediately.

The General rested his cheek in a gloved hand as he eyed Zack. "It's hard to say. Either he's guarding his mentor's memory or he believes him still alive somewhere."

"I've got to tell him then."

Sephiroth didn't say anything, and Zack knew he reluctantly agreed. Somehow the image of him and Cloud laughing over Angeal's personality quirks or teaching methods paled in the face of admitting what happened not even a year ago.

The General seemed to understand without being verbally told, and he changed the subject. "I expect Cloud will be put in a close-combat group. Heavy or light?"

Zack tipped his chair on its back two legs, happy to talk about anything else, his boot pushed against the edge of the desk as they came back to familiar territory. "I'd say light. He's kinda small," Zack half-smiled. Cloud would probably kill him if he heard that, "but he's tough. Maybe when he's more adjusted to mako and a little older he could do heavy. A buster sword's not really a light-armor weapon."

Sephiroth nodded. "There are eight stationed troops of Thirds in Midgar." Sephiroth pulled out a binder from one of his desk drawers and began to flip through it. "The only light-combat platoon is under Captain Kyle Harke."

"Huh, I don't know him."

Sephiroth glanced up. "He wields double daggers."

Zack paused for a second before it came back to him. "Oh wait! I saw him a couple weeks ago in a practice session," Zack said, recalling the slim, black-haired man who had some impressively fast footwork. For someone using short daggers though, that was a necessity. "He doesn't seem too bad."

Sephiroth shot him a look that said he'd already guessed Zack was going to scope out the guy before he let Cloud join his squad.

They discussed it some more, including Zack's regime for Cloud's training, before Sephiroth knew he had to kick Zack out. The First took the cue, and stood up before remembering something.

"One more thing," Zack said, already preparing a begging look even though he knew he wouldn't really need it. "I'm supposed to train with Cloud next Wednesday, but I've got my mako injection that morning, and I don't know what shape I'll be in."

Sephiroth sighed, but inwardly was quite excited at the prospect of sparring with Cloud again. He hadn't forgotten that Cloud had managed to knock his blade away and land a hit on him. No unenhanced, not even a Second, had done that before.

"Alright, Zack." Zack cheered, and Sephiroth knew he'd spend next week waiting for Wednesday.

Cloud rolled his shoulders and stretched out his sides, warming up for practice. These practices with Zack were thrilling but brutal. His arms and shoulders ached constantly, and the First seemed to really enjoy pushing him to the brink of his ability. Even though Zack believed he wasn't hiding anything about his swordplay anymore, it wasn't exactly true. He couldn't physically perform almost any of the moves he could before, and so he'd probably be rusty when it came to the more difficult forms, but he still knew them. When Zack had taught him Braver last week, Cloud had been nervous he might give something away, but was both relieved and disappointed when he couldn't even do the jump. It was one thing for him to know a simple Limit Break like Braver though; it was another to know more advanced things that couldn't be taught in a couple of months.

The door behind him opened, and Cloud bounced on his feet a couple of times, warming up the muscles there. When he didn't hear any customary Zack-greeting, he turned around.

"G-General?" He hadn't meant to stutter, but Sephiroth in battle uniform was quite the sight, and it brought up mixed emotions. He looked good, no one could deny it, but it was also a similar outfit to what he'd worn in Nibelheim—and what his later incarnations always came back in.

"Cloud," Sephiroth said with a nod. "Zack had his mako treatment this morning, and asked me to stand in for him."

Cloud nodded mutely.

"I don't use the buster sword, so this won't be a lesson, just a spar." He sounded amused, and Cloud managed some noise of agreement before he dutifully picked up the buster sword he'd set aside earlier.

"Warm up with some katas, and then we'll begin."

He did as told, running through the steps of a basic kata modified for the buster sword, all the while aware of Sephiroth's eyes. The General circled him slowly as he warmed up, not making any corrections, only watching. It was unnerving, but Cloud was getting more used to his scrutiny, and was able to perform and keep half a mind on him at the same time.

"Good. We'll start with a freeform spar, just to see what you need to practice."

Cloud nodded, getting into a defensive position, the buster sword held in two hands before him. Sephiroth positioned himself fifteen feet away more casually, Masamune lying deceptively calm in his left hand; the tip almost touched the floor six feet away.

Cloud nodded to show he was ready, and Sephiroth immediately moved into range, swinging Masamune fast in a long sideswipe. Cloud easily parried, but the force of it made him take a step back. The blond didn't let this stop him though, and instead used his momentum to bring the buster sword from low to high, knocking against the lower end of Masamune. They stalled there for a second before Cloud leapt back and delivered another strike at the end of the sword. Unlike Cloud's previous battles with Sephiroth, it didn't have enough power to knock the sword to the side to open the General up, but Sephiroth seemed to approve by the tilt of his lips.

As the fight progressed, Cloud felt almost…weird. He was fighting Sephiroth, but there was no malice, no animosity as they fought. Every time he'd clashed blades with the General before, it had been with a torrent of emotion. It got stranger though as they remained on the ground, despite Cloud's instinct to jump into the air to avoid some of Sephiroth's moves. The blond couldn't remember the last time he'd fought any real opponent with both feet on the ground. Mako and magic made anti-gravity fighting very possible for the experienced enough, and it was a much more versatile style that Cloud preferred. Now, tied to the floor like this, fighting Masamune without those sickening hate-love-anger-remorse emotions, made the whole fight surreal.

Neither spoke as they fought, and even though Cloud was severely outmatched and easily out of breath long before Sephiroth ever broke a sweat, it was one of the most enjoyable times he'd had at Shinra since he'd come back. Sephiroth wasn't using any of his enhanced strength or speed, but he seemed to enjoy it too, if his partial smile after some hits was to go by.

Nearly ten minutesinto the fight, Sephiroth called for a break and Cloud immediately flopped down on the bench, letting his breathing slow before he took a drink.

"You excel at compensating for varying blades, and you've deduced the pattern of the battle extremely quickly," Sephiroth complimented, and Cloud was infinitely glad he was already red-faced or his blush would have been prominent. He didn't think Sephiroth had ever genuinely praised him before.

Still holding Masamune, Sephiroth took a seat beside him on the bench as Cloud carefully sipped his water. A comfortable silence lingered between them as they both took advantage of the respite, even if Sephiroth didn't need it.

Cloud's eyes drifted to the long sword, the delicate appearance belying its obvious strength. He didn't actually know much about Masamune, despite having faced it innumerable times, and Sephiroth had always seemed to have it, especially after Jenova. Cloud remembered countless times he'd seen the crazed General leave it behind only for it to reappear with him. Did it have any magical properties?

"Who made Masamune?" He hadn't really meant to say it aloud, but he didn't regret it.

Sephiroth looked down at the sword and spoke after a long moment, his voice slightly deeper than usual. "There is a story of a great Wutain mage, who stole the blade from a beast called Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh, it was said, was the greatest warrior of the summons, and forged the blade in the fires of the core of the Planet, and cooled it in the light of the moon."

Cloud watched with interest as Sephiroth lifted up the sword, examining the worn grip and the finely polished guard.

"From there I do not know what became of it. I was given it when I began swordplay, though I could not use it for many years. I have never wielded another sword since."

He looked at Cloud, but the blond's eyes were on the famous blade. He had been made to bleed with that blade, but in battle it had been mesmerizing nonetheless. The memories of those fights would never be forgotten, but in this moment the danger of the blade was outshined by a mutual appreciation of it. Quietly he asked, "Do you know what it's made of?"

"A form of Damascus. I've never let anyone really study it to see." Sephiroth's eyes were amused and curious when Cloud made contact with them, and he was inexplicably embarrassed.

"Sorry," Cloud murmured.

"…Not at all," Sephiroth said after a moment.

The comfortable silence returned, and Cloud took a final swig of water before wiping his mouth and standing back up. "Should we continue?"

Sephiroth stood up gracefully, and Cloud was suddenly aware of his short stature compared to the General. He knew he had a couple more inches to grow—or at least he hoped Hojo's mako hadn't done that, because he didn't want to be 5'5 forever. Sephiroth, who he knew stood a little over six foot, looked much more imposing.

Sephiroth swung Masamune around twice, the whistle of the blade cutting through the air was quite loud in the silent gym. Cloud returned to his defensive position, blade up, before the General shook his head.

"This time, you are the attacker. I want to see an aggressive attack. Have you done any field training yet?"

"No," Cloud said, adjusting his grip and stance. Now the blade rested at an angle, the sharp edge facing his opponent. "Zack said he wanted to do a weekend training trip."

"Hm… To the Aldanna Mountains south of here I assume?"

"I think so," Cloud answered. Sephiroth looked like he was thinking about it, but he didn't say anything more.

Cloud slid back into position, and Sephiroth did the same. The moment they made eye contact, Cloud ran forward, leaping to the right the moment he was close enough. Despite Sephiroth being left-handed and therefore more adaptable on his left side, the length of Masamune actually made it more difficult for the General to fight on that side. Granted, with Sephiroth's speed, agility and reflexes, it wasn't much of a disadvantage.

The General didn't outright attack, but he defended and frequently counterattacked, keeping Cloud on his toes. For the first minutes it was a constant push against the General. Cloud had one major victory though when he ducked a blow by Masamune and swung with the buster sword, hitting near the edge of the six-foot blade at an odd angle, causing it to vibrate in the General's hand. The momentary opening was enough for Cloud to swing up again in a move to cut vertically from pelvis to shoulder. Sephiroth was forced to dodge backwards in a blur to Cloud's eyes less he get hit, and Sephiroth's outright smirk at the unexpected move sent a thrill through the blond.

They kept at it for some minutes more before Cloud began to seriously tire. He simply didn't have the endurance to keep up, and finally Sephiroth called it quits. He wasn't even breathing hard, but Cloud rubbed his hands down his sweaty face and grimaced.

"Your ingenuity in battle never fails to surprise me," Sephiroth said.

Cloud couldn't really think all that clearly, the adrenaline and rush of the fight still flowing through him. "You're awesome, too," was all he could say while he caught his breath.

Sephiroth laughed; a very short, quick chuckle that made Cloud blink. He didn't think he'd ever heard the General laugh before. He'd had a cruel, mocking laugh once upon a time, but never something so genuine.

"Thank you for the spar, Cloud," Sephiroth said formally.

"Thank you," Cloud returned a little out of breath, and after a beat, "Sephiroth."

It was probably good hisface was still red from exertion; Cloud muttered that he was going to take a shower and beat a hasty retreat.

In the shower under the hot spray, his mind slowly began to clear from the fog of battle high. He'd been sparring with Sephiroth. Talking with him companionably. Things he'd never dreamed of doing.

It might be selfish of him, or immature, but he wanted this. He wanted to know Sephiroth as he was before the Nibelheim Incident. He wanted to know what drew him to this man, what made him…care so much.