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Part 2 Chapter 2

September 25th, Midgar

Year 3

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"Sir, I'm here." Zack watched the blonde enter, ignoring the slight twitch of irritation the title always brought to mind. Despite all his attempts—AKA threats—Cloud remained the only one in the squad that insisted on calling him 'sir'. The soldier first wasn't deluded into thinking it was out of respect. He knew it wasn't respect. Not that the blonde was disrespectful or anything, if anything he was the most attentive out of all of them. The only reason he knew that it wasn't respectful in origin was because he did the same thing to Sephiroth, and the general did it back to him. It was fun to use something that you knew the target hated, especially when they knew it was on purpose. It was more along the lines of teasing, at any rate.

Zack stepped into view, his Buster Sword resting lightly against his shoulder. He had just finished his afternoon training and hadn't had time to put away the large weapon yet. The cadet's eyes were drawn to the sword and Zack didn't quite understand the emotion that flickered behind them, sadness…? Awe or fear he could understand, they were common emotions to the cadets who first laid eyes on the massive blade. Sorrow…he couldn't place a reason on that.

He knew he could be mistaken, but he doubted it. Zack had always been rather skilled at reading other people's feelings, especially through the eyes. It was a requirement if you were General Sephiroth's friend. The general, as a rule, never betrayed exactly what he was feeling unless he trusted you unconditionally. As of so far, Zack had been the only one to reach that coveted position. Sometimes…the eyes were the only way you could tell when the mask was up.

Zack dismissed the thought to ponder later and tossed the blonde a wooden sword, weighted to mimic the weight and balance of a real weapon. Cloud caught it with ease, his eyes narrowing as he studied the soldier first warily, "I thought you were going to make me clean."

"I was." Zack easily replied, leaning the buster sword against the wall and picking up a second wooden sword, giving it a few test swings, "But then I saw you sparrin' earlier. You were holdin' back."

He had taken the cadets into this very room in an attempt to gauge their current skills and potential. None of the others had any noteworthy skills; Zack had just about given up any hopes for natural talent, and was about to just break out his old training manuals, when he had seen Cloud and his partner sparring in the corner of the room. To the other children Cloud must have looked just as clumsy and inexperienced, but to Zack's trained eye, it had seemed wrong. He had decided to test the blonde away from the others.

He saw a flash of fear in Cloud's blue eyes but just chalked it up to having to fight against a SOLDIER First class. The cadet almost dropped his sword, stuttering, "S-sir, are you serious?"

"Very." Zack hefted the sword and swung it at the cadet. He was holding himself back, he wasn't here to prove that he could beat Cloud; he was here to judge the boy's skills. Besides, his real strength would be too much for any cadet to handle, no matter how much prior experience he had.

Cloud's movements were jerky as he brought his sword up to block the blow, he probably wasn't used to moving the weighted sword. It came up too high, allowing Zack to land a blow directly in the unguarded chest area. His eyes narrowed in thought as he drew the wooden sword back, waiting a minute for the cadet to regain his breath. It was odd, Cloud's stance and grip easily showed prior experience with a sword, but his center of balance was all wrong. It was as if he had been used to fighting with something heavier, rather than lighter as he'd expected. In addition, many of the mistakes had almost seemed deliberate, as if the blonde didn't want anyone to realize his skills. Perhaps he just didn't want to be treated any differently than the others.

"Too late," He murmured to himself, positioning his weapon in anticipation of a counter-attack. Cloud Strife was hiding something, and Zack wanted to find out what it was.

-Later that night-

"Ungh…" Zack stumbled, leaning against the wall for support, "Why…" He murmured, "Why…why the hell did I just do that?"

The world spun, causing his stomach to lurch; his hastily eaten dinner was threatening to come back up. The SOLDIER First had forgotten what it felt like to get drunk; he hadn't been able to get properly smashed since before he joined SOLDIER. The mako injections that came in the job description usually heightened the person's alcohol tolerance; to feel this bad he must have consumed more of the liquid than was healthy. He groped at the fuzzy memories, why had he been drinking again? Oh, right.

One of his SOLDIER buddies…what was his name again? It didn't really matter; he wasn't that close with anyone in the program except for Sephiroth. They always saw his goofy façade and wrote him off as a moron or an imbecile. Sure, many of the lower ranks, 3rd and 2nd classes, were a little in awe of him for his fast ascent through the hierarchy, he was a nineteen year old First Class SOLDIER, the youngest in the history of the company. The other SOLDIER First Classes just regarded him with contempt most of the time, the majority of them were at least in their late twenties and disliked the fact that a 'youngster' had managed to make his way up the ranks so easily. The only reason they ever talked to him was when it was necessary for work, or when they were just being polite. It had been the latter reason tonight, one of the SOLDIER Firsts who had quarters near him had invited him to go out drinking with him to celebrate his first Cadet Squadron. Zack wasn't sure what had prompted him to accept the SOLDIER's offer, but he did take it.

The other man had disappeared somewhere about half-way through the evening, and now Zack had to find his way back to Upper Midgar by himself. Where the guy went, he didn't know, nor did his alcohol muddled mind care. He wondered absently how strong the drinks he had were, he didn't remember consuming near enough of the stuff to override the protection his mako-injection had enabled him. Truthfully, the mako was the only reason he was still thinking coherently, although he had a feeling it wouldn't last much longer. The world spun and he felt himself swerve, his thoughts began to muddle and the world began to fade away… "Darn mako…" He murmured, "Can't even get properly smashed." It wouldn't have been near so bad if he didn't remember it.

The entire world blinked out and he felt like he was falling… and after what seemed like seconds he jerked awake. To his surprise, he felt much better than he had before he'd passed out. The mako had probably chased away what was left of the alcohol, leaving behind only the barest traces of a headache. Mako, the miracle hangover cure. After laughing softly at the absurd thought he opened his eyes and checked his surroundings, surprised and a little wary about no longer finding himself in the street where he had passed out. He was laid out on a bed in a cozy little room. He sat up suddenly, his SOLDIER instincts shooting into full gear as he tried to puzzle out his situation.

"Don't move." A soft yet firm voice commanded from the corner of the room. Zack immediately found the source and began berating himself for not noticing the person before hand. He could almost hear the general's patronizing tones reminding him that if he made that mistake on a mission, he would be dead. He really couldn't see how he had missed the brooding presence in the corner.

He was seated on a stool, mako glowing red eyes watching the SOLDIER appraisingly. Dark hair fell in a river down his back and a black headband wound around his forehead, not really serving its purpose in keeping his hair away from his face. "You're awake." It wasn't a question, merely a statement, "Wait here."

The command in the cold tone wasn't lost on the SOLDIER, and surprisingly, he found himself obeying. The man's posture and the ease with which he gave commands easily showed prior military training, or if not at least leadership over a group. There was a note similar to Sephiroth's when he was on the job, and when he told someone to do it, they did it—no questions asked.

The marksman–Zack could easily see the weapon at the man's side—rose from his seat, a gloved hand opening the door and disappearing into the hall. It wasn't long until a girl bustled into the room, the taciturn man choosing to remain by the entryway. He didn't really pay too much attention to the girl as she began to fuss over him; he was focused on the black-clad figure that hovered near the entryway. Sure she—Aeris, if he had caught her name when she first came in—was pretty in a way that would usually catch his attention and keep it for a good long while, but there was something much more interesting about the gunner. Moreover, he had a weapon and was a potential threat, and his SOLDIER instincts had yet to release their hold on his psyche.

He was dressed plainly enough, a long sleeved turtle neck sweeter that looked like it was a couple sizes too big and black slacks that looked similar to the ones SOLDIER Cadets wore—durable yet at the same time easy to move in. A bangle glimmered faintly from its spot on the gunner's right forearm, the pale green and purple glow of materia glinted duly in the artificial lighting.

Materia was crystallized mako energy that lent its possessor abilities beyond normal human capabilities. The marksman was in possession of one magic materia and one support materia, but Zack could not even hazard to guess exactly what types of magic were contained within the crystallized mako. Without touching them and probing the magic, the odds of him successfully picking out the specific spells from somewhere around one hundred known types where nill to none.

The man's gun was holstered at his side and if the red gleam was of any indication, it housed one or two more orbs of material, summon this time. Both hands were covered in black leathery-looking gloves, or at least Zack guessed so. The gunner's left sleeve was a lot longer than his arm and effectively cut off any view of it. The glove on his right hand was fingerless in order to give him optimum movement, which was a necessity considering the side the gun was kept on.

The man's lips twitched into a knowing smile and Zack knew that his scrutiny had been discovered. He quickly shifted his gaze, turning his main attention to the quiet brown-haired girl and keeping watch over the dark man out of the corner of his eye, "I'm sorry for being a bother, Miss Aeris. The name is Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class."

Aeris just laughed politely, "It was no problem at all Mr. Fair. We wouldn't have just left you out there, right?"

The question had been directed toward the lurker near the door who just nodded in response. Zack quickly looked between the two, his mind landing on what looked to be the obvious conclusion considering the time of night, the location, and the observations he'd seen so far, "Ah…Ah….I'm sorry for having interrupted your date-"

His apology was cut off in mid word by a short laugh from the dark man, his indifferent mask slipping for a moment and allowing the SOLDIER to glimpse fleeting amusement as it darted across the gunner's face, "We're not dating."

"Oh…" Zack flushed, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly, what did they expect him to think? A pretty girl and a handsome guy walking through the slums together…alone…His face turned pink from the images his mind dragged up, and colored even more when Aeris' thoroughly amused laugh rang out, "No! No! Vincent is just my bodyguard!"

"Vincent, eh?" He managed to get the blush under something vaguely resembling control and glanced at the him out of the corner of his eye, "D'ya got a last name?"

The dark man shrugged, either not seeing any harm in the answer or not caring about the tidbit of information "Valentine."

Zack nodded, but froze in mid nod when he spotted the clock on the wall, "SHI-" He cut the curse off, glancing hurriedly at Aeris, "I'm sorry for sleeping and running but I really need to get back,"

"You could stay here." Aeris offered, "It is almost midnight."

"…" Zack looked over at her, "Are you sure it's okay?"

Aeris smiled, which was answer enough.

-September 26th-

"What do you want Fair?"

"Don't call me that!" Zack made a face at his commanding officer; he hated being addressed by his last name. He had already been a little miffed that he had to come into the office on a Saturday, he didn't want to experience one of Sephiroth's semi-playful moods. Sephiroth loved to tease him without seeming like he was, he was most likely getting a little revenge for all of the things that Zack did on a daily basis. Sephiroth just smirked and Zack couldn't help but feel a little giddy, he was the only one who could tease the General like that without some serious repercussions. The word serious seemed to snap his mind back on track, reminding him that he actually had something he wanted to get done today "Oh, right. I need your access."

A silver eyebrow rose minutely in speculation, "Oh…? Why would you need that?"

"…"

When Sephiroth refused to budge from his computer Zack sighed in defeat, "You aren't going to let me use it 'till I tell you…right?"

Sephiroth snorted, "Do you really think you could get away without sating my curiosity?"

"There isn't much to spill really." Sephiroth twitched as Zack seated himself precariously on the edge of Sephiroth's desk. The nineteen-year-old SOLDIER ran a hand through his thick black hair, oblivious to the discomfort his position was generating, "It's for my own curiosity. You know that I got drunk last night, right?"

Zack didn't even wait for an answer, he knew the general remembered, Zack had told him that very morning when he had arrived to the office an hour late and had to listen to the resulting lecture on company image, punctuality and all that fun stuff, "I guess I passed out somewhere and this girl took me in. She was…nice I suppose. Pretty and sweet…"

"Zack…"

"Right, right, off topic. Anyway with this girl was a guy. I thought they were datin' at first but she explained that he was her bodyguard or something… I don't know what but there was somethin' odd about him."

"Like Strife?" Sephiroth queried, 'something odd' was a phrase Zack often used to describe the one youth in his squad. No matter how many times he told the SOLDIER that he didn't care about Zack's cadet's antics, he'd still be regaled with tales whenever the black-haired porcupine believed it was too quiet. Apparently Zack had pulled the boy from regular training sessions, drilling the youth privately. Once Sephiroth had tracked Zack to one of the training sessions—he couldn't remember why…probably some important paper he'd misfiled—and Sephiroth could see why the SOLDIER made such an effort to train the cadet apart from the others. The boy had some sort of prior skill. He would never come straight out and say it—that would be admitting that Zack was right—but it was easily seen in the way Strife held himself, in the way he held his sword—like it was an extension of his being. Despite these quirks, the blonde was only hiding so much. His body was neither built nor trained to handle long battles, a fact that constantly frustrated the cadet. It was as if he expected much more from his teenaged frame than what he got from it. Zack also had to keep correcting his stance; his center of gravity was always too low.

"Nah, not that kind of feelin'," Zack waved his hand vaguely in the air, dismissing the connection as irrelevant, "And I've never met him before, so it's not familiarity. I guess the closest I can think of is that he reminds me of someone…of you actually."

"…And that warrants using my clearance to enter the ShinRa Database and snoop through his files?" Sephiroth couldn't help but wonder what Zack had been thinking when he thought up this plan.

"Well that's my reason. The official reason is that I met a potential anti-ShinRa assassin and want to do a background check."

Apparently, Zack had thought this through a bit more than Sephiroth had given him credit for. The silver-haired general thought it over for a minute. If he didn't let Zack do as he wanted, he'd probably make his life miserable until he deemed that Sephiroth had suffered enough. If he let him, then not only would Zack be content with nosing into the past of his newest victim, but he might also get some office entertainment. Needless to say his decision was made quickly, and Sephiroth pushed his chair away from his desk and got up, letting Zack quickly snatch up the empty chair. He hung over his subordinate's shoulder, watching impassively as the black-haired man logged onto the network. When the prompting for the clearance password appeared, Zack moved his hands away from the keyboard, letting Sephiroth type in the keys without even looking. This was an activity they had taken part in time and time before, and both knew the protocol by now. The general drew back, returning control of the keyboard to his second.

Zack took it back excitedly, his fingers twitching with barely contained anticipation. No one would have ever suspected that beneath the overly active, battle loving exterior would be a—to put it simply—nerd. He loved being able to mess around with ShinRa's computers—the machines were rather rare in other parts of the world and ridiculously expensive to boot—especially if said computer was hooked up to The Database. The Database was the compilation of everything the company knew—save top-secret information, of course. Charts, graphs, reports, essays, applications, interview transcripts, Midgar's industrial, commercial, residential, and military profiles, you could find almost anything if you knew where to look. It was a treasure trove of knowledge, lacking only sensitive documents from the Mako Sciences Research and Weapons Development Departments. Those were all stored away behind a top-notch security system designed by professor Hojo himself. Zack could probably break into those archives if he wanted too, but he didn't really want to risk it.

"Heh…" Zack frowned, double-checking his results as they scrolled up the screen, "That's strange…"

"What is it?" Sephiroth loomed over Zack's shoulder, tucking his hair behind his ear so that it wouldn't obscure his vision; on the screen was a military profile, "I thought you said you didn't recognize him? You know almost everyone in the military."

"I didn't." Zack murmured, "I ran a search for a "Valentine"—his last name—and this is the only match. The name is exactly the same, Vincent Valentine, but there is no way this guy is him."

"Why not?" The general studied the person depicted in the profile. Short black hair fell neatly around the man's ears and emerald green eyes stood out in the man's lightly tanned skin, the eyes were tilted, perhaps hinting to at least a half-Wutaian bloodline. His cheekbones were sharp and defined, giving the man a hard edge to his disposition.

"'Tis simple, my friend, discounting the obvious differences in looks—the man I met had longer hair, red eyes, and his skin was almost paper white—this guy was a Turk. A good one granted, but he was retired a good twenty-three years ago on a mission to guard a pair of scientists in Nibelheim. It doesn't say who, but judging by the time and place you can bet one was Hojo. He was the only one who ever went to Nibelheim on a regular basis. I wonder what he does there…it is a rather small and out of the way place."

Sephiroth read over the information, "Ho…a Turk Leader at age twenty-one? Impressive."

Zack nodded, "But it's not the guy I'm looking for. This Valentine did not have any kids so we can rule that option out. The guy did have some sort of military training, but I think this was a dead end." His efforts at snooping thwarted, he logged off the mainframe and relinquished the comfy chair to the general—with reluctance of course, "Why is it that all the interesting people have secrets?"

"That is what makes them interesting, Zachary."

"I guess—hey, don't call me that either!"

-October 3rd-

"I see you found her Vincent."

The marksman half-turned in the pew, easily spotting the speaker in the entrance to the church. Cloud looked different, older and more mature, in the blue ShinRa uniform. The blonde's eyes moved on passed Vincent, landing on the girl kneeling in the flowers, "Oi, Aeris!"

The girl rose to her feet, picking up her half-full basket and turning around in the same motion, "Cloud! Why didn't you write and tell me you guys were coming? It was only by pure chance that I found Vincent two or three weeks ago."

"Eh, sorry." Cloud's hands rose in a defensive gesture as Aeris strode down the aisle, stopping a few feet away from him and putting her hands on her hips, giving him a moment to defend himself before continuing her scolding, "I had been planning on coming on my own in the first place."

"You still should've told me."

Vincent stayed quiet as the two started up an easy conversation, his attention drifting from one to the other. It was strange, the ease with which they interacted with each other. If what Cloud had said was true, then they'd have never met face to face before. While Aeris seemed to be an open person, Cloud had never been one to voluntarily spend time with people his own age. It was almost alien to see the blonde boy so animated when he was not sparring with his sword.

A soft breath of air escaped his lips as he leaned back against the rough wood of the pew, craning his neck to study the aged wood that made up the ceiling of the church. The light banter of the two teenagers softened to background levels as he allowed his thoughts to wander, the separate planks of wood blurring together as his eyes drifted out of focus. It was unsettling to be in Midgar again, and not just because of the ties it held to both ShinRa and himself. The very air itself irritated his nose, the residual mako thrown into the air by the city's eight reactors aggravating senses that had grown used to the clear mountain air. Like all things, it would pass. It was an old problem for him, dating back to when he was on active duty. After long-term missions to out of the way places such as Cosmo Canyon or Wutai it'd always been hell to readjust to Midgar's environment.

"Let's head back to my house, I'm sure Mother wouldn't mind having you over for dinner, Cloud." Aeris was speaking again, her voice coming closer. The wood sharpened as he began paying attention again, shifting his focus to the pink-clad form that had been walking up the aisle, and shaking away the thoughts as she motioned to him that it was time to go. He found himself nodding automatically to his young charge, a veil of calm settling over him as he settled in back into his "bodyguard" state. One of the main tasks a Turk was required to do was protect the ShinRa Executives, it goes without saying that he had plenty of experience when it came to perceiving and neutralizing threats.

The walk from the church to the Sector Six Residential Area wasn't long, nor was it particularly interesting. Once or twice a drunk or a would-be mugger would look twice at Aeris' dainty and rather weak stature, but immediately looked the other way when they spotted Cloud's ShinRa uniform or Vincent's glowing mako eyes. No one in the city was stupid enough to cross anyone in ShinRa's employ, and even a green recruit like Cloud was regarded with some level of fear and would be left alone by all but the most confident of the Slum dwellers.

Maybe he hadn't been needed after all.

The thought hit Vincent by surprise, causing him to fall back a little bit—still keeping his charge in sight, of course. If it were true, and he had a feeling it either was or would be soon, then what was he to do? Stay here? Return to Nibelheim?

What?

A/N: Chappy. Vinny meets Zack, Zack meets Aeris, and Zack's damnable curiousity hooks its claws into Vinny's secretive past. Fun, no? The funny thing is, Zacky won't realize that he could just ask Cloud anything(not that Cloud will answer...but still).

Next--Zack starts making several visits beneath the plate and blackmails Seph into watching his squad.

Reiew please. Pretty please? The chappy didn't take months this time!