A/N: I offer my sincerest apologies for this extremely late update (this is beginning to become a thing, isn't it?). I give no excuse, other than I hit a writer's block and just got lazy XP But! Without further adieu, I give you chapter eight!
I also want to mention that I will also be partaking in the daunting NaNoWriMo this November with this story as my project for the month. So, hopefully that means that by December you all will be able to get really consistent updates! Well... that's the goal at least! :)

That Third Class SOLDIER

Chapter Eight: The Smell of Rain

Written by: Okami of Shinobi Saru Corp

After the teen had left, Lucy took her usual place on the other side of Mike's desk. Her lecture glare ready, she authoritatively placed her hands upon the desk and began, "So how much do you remember from what I discussed with you last night?"

Mike's already droopy eyes drooped more. "Most of it…"

Rolling her eyes, Lucy's mouth twitched, "Care to elaborate for me so I know where to start from?"

"You talked about stuff… and then you discussed… erhm, then it was…" Mike's words rambled together in an incoherent stream of mumbles.

Lucy sighed. He hadn't heard a word she had said.

"Let's start from the beginning." The blonde pulled up a chair, her trained patience kicking in as she re-explained, "While you were gone, ShinRa has been busy with the Wutai affair."

Mike cocked his head to the side. "I thought they dropped that issue a few months ago, hence why I was allowed to leave for a short period of time?"

"You know ShinRa," Lucy's lips pursed together, her pen rapping against desk in tune with her annoyance. "Like their growing ego, their inclination to assumptions is becoming ridiculous. They presented a 'favorable' offer to Wutai, allowing them a 'happy' coexistence with their soon-to-be reactor. Thinking they had done enough and that Wutai would happily accept the offer, ShinRa shoved the issue into the background."

"But Wutai declined," Mike finished.

"Darned right they did! I mean it's only what any sane human being would do. 'Cause it's totally normal for people to wanna live next door to a ShinRa reactor, full of chemicals and junk and Gaia knows what else…"

Merely smiling at his secretary's antics, Mike calmly waited until the blonde noticed the knowing stare he was giving her. Crossing her hands in front of her chest, Lucy turned her head away in denial.

"I am not ranting."

Mike smirked. "I'm pretty sure you were."

"I was not."

"You were, and your face is red."

Lucy gasped sharply. "I-I… Allergies," she simply stated. "I am allergic to your apathetic, perverted way of thinking."

Biting his lip in order to hold back his snickering, the Commander motioned for Lucy to continue.

"So Wutai refused and…?"

"And they have two days."

Connecting the dots in his head, Mike concluded, "Or else ShinRa declares war?"

"Or rather they want war," Lucy interjected, her anti-ShinRa furry rising once more. "Honestly, you'd think they created SOLDIER to be a show pony, just waiting for the closest opportunity to show off and demolish the first entity to rail against ShinRa."

"Hm," Mike reached for and squished the small, rubber ball on his desk. It was good for relieving stress and for thinking things through. It was also a wonderful projectile to aim at people's heads, but he reserved that purpose for his hot-tempered pupil.

"So ShinRa wants to build a reactor in Wutai. Wutai refused. ShinRa then comes back and says that if Wutai doesn't agree to their terms within the next forty-eight hours, then ShinRa will declare war upon Wutai." Mike then gave his secretary a questioning glance, asking if he had accurately summarized the situation. When the blonde nodded her approval, the Commander sighed, "And thus I am sent back here as backup in case a war breaks out. Just my luck. Shoulda known that my vacation would be for naught."

Lucy glanced down at the floor. To her, business was business, nothing more and nothing less. It was just something that needed to get done as well and as efficiently as possible. But this was different. It involved Mike – a lazy, obsessive SOLDIER who ShinRa had assigned her to years back. A SOLDIER who, after years of kicking him and his office back into shape, had become more than just a boss. He was her friend, her comrade in arms against the monster ShinRa had grown into and now she was about to lose him to a stupid war caused by stupid ShinRa who couldn't seem to get their stupid act together!

It wasn't fair, and for once Lucy let this emotion show. She stayed silent.

Immediately Mike took note of this change in his secretary's behavior and awkwardly tried to work his way around this new minefield. "I'm sure they won't deploy me at the first cry of battle. Yes, I let Genesis take over my training squad, but that was because I knew ShinRa was gonna dump a heck load of work on me."

Still Lucy sat, motionless, like someone had stabbed her in the heart and sucked out her blood.

"Lucy," the Commander gently continued, his voice barely rising over the thick silence. "It's gonna be–"

Paper flew before his face, almost cutting his nose as it settled down on the desk before him. Glancing up at his secretary, Mike raised an eyebrow. His gesture was met with that all too familiar, all too defiant point of the finger. He didn't need to be told. Like an obedient puppy Mike picked up and scanned through the paper.

"What… what is this?" Mike questioned. On the page was a list – a list which carried his name on it.

"A deployment list."

Understanding dawned on him, giving him that sad realization that he wished he hadn't known. "I am…" He could barely form the words. All this time he had been living in the shadow of the up and coming prodigies only to now be thrown back into the spotlight. The brightness burned his eyes, and he hated it.

"I am to be sent off to Wutai… within the next two days." The statement was said questioningly, and Lucy took it upon herself to answer.

"Yes. I guess ShinRa wants to make up for their previous apathy on the matter as now they're preparing like heck for a war that may not even happen."

"It will."

Lucy jolted at the sudden statement. "W-what?"

"ShinRa is now at war with Wutai. As you said, they want war as it gives them something to back up their SOLDIER propaganda." Mike got up from his chair and reached for his coat. Unlike many young men in SOLDIER that shall remain unnamed, Mike actually followed protocol and wore the standard jacket given to all SOLDIERs. It was a nice bit of clothing. The jacket went a little ways below the waist line and three silver buttons decorated the front. His actual rank was given on the jacket – Captain, a rank indicated by the silver colored diamond on his right sleeve outline in gold.

"Where are you going?" Lucy demanded as her commanding captain walked out the still doorlesss doorway.

Poking his head back into his office, Mike smiled. "To see Lazard. That is one of the reasons you wanted to speak with me, right? To remind me of the Director's summoning of me this morning?"

"Well yes, but–"

Hand held high, Mike waved his farewell. "Then I must be off," he called out from down the hallway, "Lazard awaits. And don't forget to order my dinner for tonight!"

Usually Lucy would have groaned her protest, stomping off after that irksome man in haste, but she merely sunk back into her chair and bit her lip. She knew all too well what this meant. There was only one time when Mike's brain clicked on – there was only one thing that could make her Commander be one step in front of her – and that thing was the battlefield.

And this time, it wasn't just battle. It was war.

He sensed it the moment he walked into that office. Into that dooming, horrid office that he had no place being in. He tried to put on a face for Genesis and Lucy, but inside he knew what was coming. And he dreaded it.

It was in the air, that same tense feeling when ShinRa had given him his First class uniform, and then his Lieutenant badge, then his Commander rank, and then, finally, his abhorred Captain title. And the look Lazard gave him upon entering his office just confirmed his fears.

He was to be promoted – what ShinRa probably thought was a nice sendoff present before he was deployed to Wutai, and most probably, to his death.

"Captain Daughtry, please sit down," Lazard motioned to the white, plush chair which sat across from his office desk. The office itself was modern and pristine, but even the nicest air freshener in Gaia couldn't ease Mike's swashing stomach.

Trying to ignore the use of his actual title, Mike sat down and made himself as comfortable as possible.

"I'm sure Lucy has brought you up to date on the happenings with Wutai." The SOLDIER nodded his reply, tugging on his buttoned up jacket to try and cool down his body. Last time he checked, men weren't supposed to suffer from hot flashes, but he could be wrong. And with the way his undershirt was clinging to his skin he was seriously beginning to question the possibility.

"Well then," the Director continued, his narrow eyes examining the warrior before him, "This is going to come as a shock to you, but president Shinra and I wish to promote you…"

Mike clenched his teeth. Here it comes. General – that horrid word, that horrible, horrid, undeserved, stupid, insufferable…

"To General of the Army."

Mike's mouth ran before he could think. "What?!"

Quite professionally, Lazard rested his chin upon his white-gloved fingertips. "You heard me, General."

He nearly puked. His mind rushed at a hundred miles an hour, jumping from one thought to the next. He didn't deserve this. Why him? He couldn't be a General – he shouldn't be a General – much less the General of the Army. Why all of the sudden? Why no evaluation?

This couldn't be happening.

Eventually his need for answers outdid his confusion, and Mike asked, "Sir, what have I done to deserve this? Is not Sephiroth a better candidate?"

Lazard frowned. "You dare question my authority?"

"No, sir," Mike backtracked, trying to find the nicest way possible to put his thoughts. "I do not wish to seem discourteous or ungrateful."

"But?"

"But there are many others who deserve this more than me. There's General Luca or Captain Ryland or even Sephiroth. I know he's only an acting General, but he could–" Mike halted when he noticed the glare he was receiving. "Forgive me, sir."

Lazard sighed. "I understand your questions, Mr. Daughtry, but you are best suited for this position."

No I'm not. "W-why me, sir?" Mike asked with a hint of timidity in his voice.

"We've upheld your wish to not be promoted for years. Yet you are the senior member of SOLDIER, and since we have no Head General, we've decided that you should fill that post."

"Actually," Lazard suddenly continued, "We've all thought of you as a General for quite some time now, hence why we have not done a formal evaluation of your skills for this promotion. SOLDIER has gotten by without an official Head General for some time, but with war upon us, we find we are in desperate need of one."

Eyes pierced through Mike's mind, an examination the Commander was far too used to. Face glazed over with a sudden rush of apathy, Mike drearily listened to Lazard's last words.

"Are you ready to take on this post, General Daughtry?"

He would not dare to grace that question with a direct reply. An abrupt 'sir!' accompanied by the best salute he could muster was given – it was as close to acceptance as he would ever allow himself to get.

Mike walked out of the office after Lazard had pinned the Head General sigma on his jacket. He so desired to rip the badge off, leaving an appropriate hole in his beloved coat, but a sense of duty forced him to keep it on. He didn't deserve the title, but he would honor it – just as Jade had done when he was promoted to General of the Army. It was the least he could do in this dreadful situation.

But even more so, something was wrong – dreadfully, dreadfully wrong. Something bad was about to happen. He could feel it, like how a dog can sense the coming of a storm, and for ShinRa to bypass one of the 'Great Three' and choose him as lead General just sealed his worries. There was more than just the coming war with Wutai going on, and it was this nagging sense of unease that further pushed him to accept his new position. He was going to be needed, and that was reason enough for him to stick it out and maintain his role as General of the Army.

Footsteps echoed down the grey hallway. For now all he could do was wait in silence, watching as the towering clouds rushed towards him. A dark grey blanket slowly slipped across the blue sky, casting long shadows onto the world below. The low rumbling of thunder sounded in his ears, though the lighting remained unseen underneath the thick exterior of the tempest. Mike took in a deep breath, his nose crinkling as his brow furrowed.

He could smell rain.

"Today marks our second, awesome–"

"No need to extrapolate the truth, Yu."

The blonde frowned at the soul-searcher. "You're no fun!"

"No, I'm merely a sadistic stalker who enjoys torturing others." Quincy's dark eyes turned towards me, giving me their signature, smirking glare. He was far too good at reading my thoughts.

"But please, don't let me ruin your fun."

Smiling that happy smile of his, Yu continued, "This is our second session with Gavin. I am Yu, the official scribe of these sessions, and that guy with the long, purple hair tied back in a pony-tail is Quincy. He's our leader."

I rolled my eyes. "Why, may I ask, are we recording this?"

Yu turned the small camera around so that it faced me. "This way Quincy won't have to tell and show you what you're doing wrong. You'll also get a better idea of how ridiculous you look when you run, thus making you believe what Quincy says about you level of patheticness."

Stunned at hearing such demeaning words from the optimist, I stood still for a moment before turning my negative feelings towards the soul-searcher. "You told him to say that, didn't you?"

Ignoring my question, Quincy turned around and snapped his fingers. "Shoes, off."

Whatever. Might as well get this over with.

I threw off my socks and shoes before going through a few, quick stretches. I was ready. But first I had questions that had to be answered or else I'd go insane.

"First, please run for me once more, Gavin," Quincy commanded while pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose in a very smug fashion.

I stood my ground and stared. "I have questions."

"So?" Quincy shrugged.

"I want you to answer them."

The soul-searcher raised a purple eyebrow. To put it mildly, he didn't look amused. "You want to know more about my strange behavior earlier today."

"Yes," I bluntly replied, trying not to sound too irritated that he had so confidently and accurately assessed what I wanted.

Yet to my surprise, he sighed, his shoulders lowering in what could only be defined as a relenting gesture. "Fair enough."

I nearly passed out with the shock. There was no way I heard him correctly.

"But first I get to ask you questions," Quincy paused, reassuming his dominate, terrifying posture. As expected, his eyes bore down into my soul, freezing it over with its harsh glare. "And you must answer them all honestly."

I bit my lip. I felt like I was about to make a deal with the devil. Should I answer his questions, giving him an even greater hold on my life, or should I tread safely, removing myself from the demon's grasp? Curiosity tore at me to go forward, yet logic and habit cautioned me to run. Risk was the equivalent of death to me, so backing out of this situation would be the expected course of action.

But something was different.

In the soul-searcher's eyes rested a fire, dark and foreboding in nature that drew me in. It was like a demented invitation – it welcomed me in with its stare while at the same time repelled me with its manic aura.

I felt a tug in my chest. It felt like a sentient was waking up from ages of slumber, and for some reason, it hurt.

In that moment logic dispersed, escaping my mind and leaving behind the insanity that had been stirred by ShinRa's dooming, overwhelming presence.

My eyes narrowed, and almost involuntarily my hand reached out to shake the devil's hand.

"Deal."

"Um," Yu nervously started, my head jerking out of the soul-searcher's stare so I could see the boy. I had almost forgotten he was here. "Do you want me to record this conversation?"

Quincy shook his head. "Don't worry about it. For now you can turn the recorder off."

Yu did as he was told, and after we had all pulled up a few cardboard boxes to sit upon, the questioning began.

"I just have one question: why are you here?"

I sighed. I should have expected this question; leave it to Quincy to ask the one question I really didn't want to grace with an answer.

Making myself comfortable on the moldy box I was sitting on, I replied, "I have nowhere else to go."

"What do you mean?" Yu asked, concern lacing his every word. "How can someone be restricted like that?"

A smile. Of course Yu would take it literally. "No, I mean that this is the only option for me aside from the slums of Midgar or wandering around Gaia."

The light of realization dawned in Yu's bright eyes, his lips mouthing a drawn out 'oh', "So, do you not have a home then?"

Shaking my head, I answered grimly, "That depends on your definition of home. But if you are asking whether or not I have a family to go back to, then no, I do not have a home."

My eyes fixated themselves on the ground. I couldn't see Yu's expression, but my senses could feel his face falling and a frown forming. While very predictable, the boy's concern was slightly reassuring. He was a good kid, and no matter how much I might disagree with his outlook on certain topics, I couldn't fault him.

"When did they die?"

"W-what?!" Yu exclaimed at Quincy's blunt question. "Isn't that a bit harsh?"

The soul-searcher merely grunted, in response to which I explained, "My father passed away when I was young, my brother and mother followed a few years afterwards."

"I-I'm sorry…" Yu sympathized.

"You had a brother?" Quincy asked. Per usual, he was treating the matter with a very strong level of calmness.

I rolled my eyes. "I thought you were only going to ask me one question? You've already asked me two…"

"Humor me."

Whatever. "I had a younger brother. His name was Calvin, if you really want to know."

"Gavin and Calvin…" Yu mused. "I like it!"

I smiled my response, until I noticed Quincy's smug smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"What is it now?" I drawled.

Flicking a stray strand of hair out of his face, the soul-searcher flashed an intense, knowing glare which screamed that childish taunt of 'I know something you don't know!'.

"And thus you befriend Yu."

"Huh?" Yu and I voiced our confusion simultaneously.

Quincy, however, simply shrugged his shoulders. "Your family dies when you are young, an obviously traumatizing experience. I assume you have been living by yourself since then, so you've probably built up a pretty strong introverted, distant nature during that period of time. Hence why you prefer to observe others to gain your information rather than to actually speak with them. However…" The soul-searcher cast a glance over at the blonde-headed boy and smiled. "You speak with Yu very frequently, and you don't patronize him with your sarcasm like you do to everyone else."

Quite used to Quincy's precise deductions – and quite tired at being made out to be the easy to read, dull outsider – I finished, "And thus you think that there is a connection – a relation in their personalities, so to speak – between my little brother and Yu, providing a reason for my friendship with him."

"Precisely." The soul-searcher pushed up his glasses. "You've befriended Yu because he acts like your little brother Calvin. Granted, I don't know how close you were to your brother, but judging by the way you speak with Yu, I'd say that the two of you were fairly close."

"Wow!" Yu gaped a little at Quincy's display of 'knowledge'. "Is that true Gavin? That I'm like your little brother?"

I sighed and rubbed my head. It was starting to hurt again. "A little, yes. But don't take that as a compliment. While I was close to my brother, I can't say that I was the stereotypical, overly protective sibling who cared for his little brother like a secondary mother. Honestly, much of the time I could have cared less about what happened to him–"

"Until he died."

I scoffed at Quincy's none-to-pleasant statement. "If you really wanna put it that way, then yeah, I didn't care until he died." I shook my head. "Gaia, I hope you never become a counselor."

"Noted. Now I think you said that you had some questions?" Quincy cocked his slender head to the side, his eyebrows posed high above his eyes. I was about to reply, when a soft ring filled the room.

For a moment we all remained silent, each of our minds pondering over the source of the noise until Quincy swiftly reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone.

"Excuse me for a moment." The teen stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. Not that the distance hindered Yu and I from overhearing his conversation; the room was small after all, and the concrete floor and walls bounced sound around like a rubber ball.

"What do you want?" Quincy sounded irritated, making his bizarre voice even more chilling.

"I thought you said you wished to deal with this on your own?"

I glanced over towards Yu who shrugged his shoulders. Who could Quincy be talking to? Family, perhaps? I highly doubted it – the soul-searcher just didn't strike me as that type, though I have been wrong about him before. Note, his strange love of comic books and daily hair brushings.

"Fine." Quincy's voiced pulled me from my thoughts. He snapped the cellphone shut, ending the short conversation, and turned towards Yu and I.

"Forgive me."

"For what?" I asked, not sure why a phone call would bring the great Quincy into an apology.

"I must leave. I will answer your questions at breakfast tomorrow. Good day."

After a quick touch to his glasses, the soul-searcher left the storage room that served as our daily extra training space. Well that was odd. It wasn't like Quincy to be so concise in his speech. He loved to elaborate and expand on details (especially when he was trying to prove me wrong), and while I was somewhat grateful at his lack of words, his shortness bothered me.

Quincy was strange, after all, and as such he never appeared to be bothered by anything. Thus, when even the slightest change to his usual demeanor occurred, it sent me into an anxious state.

"What had that been about?" Yu voiced my thoughts exactly.

"I don't know…" I softly mused, folding my hands together and biting my lip in thought. "And that's what worries me."

A/N: Starting with this chapter, I am not going to be doing quite as much editing work before I upload each chapter. Of course, I'm not just going to start throwing all these rough drafts at you, but my goal is to get this story finished (which is proving hard for my impatient self to do!). Thus, my main focus will be to move the story along (which I think will benefit all of you who are still following this tale) and then, when this project is finished, I will go back and flesh things out along with omitting any inconsistencies in the plot.

Anywho! Thank you to all who have followed this story so far and to all who have taken the time to read this thing! Hope you all are doing well!
Until next time :)