Cloud's training starts in earnest the next day. His sleep the night before had been gloriously, miraculously dreamless. Left with only some lingering confusion, he feels about as ready as he possibly can to tackle this new, strange turn of events.

He grabs a light breakfast in the cadet cafeteria, his fellow cadets still wonderfully ignorant of his unexpected windfall. He idly wonders how long it will remain that way, already fearing Johnson's no-doubt violent reaction. The teen had delusions of grandeur, to put it mildly, and would brag to any cadet unfortunate enough about how he would be the first to become General Sephiroth's student – wonderful and amazing as he was. Cloud is surprised he hasn't done any lasting damage to himself from how hard he rolls his eyes at that memory. If Johnson was jealous of Cloud before, he would be close to murderous now.

Breakfast finished and nerves starting to return, he arrives at the General's office with 10 minutes to spare. He's not entirely sure how long he stands outside, arm suspended in the air, unable to bring himself to knock, when an amused voice comes from the other side of the door. "Cloud, feel free to enter whenever you're ready."

Blushing slightly at being caught, Cloud enters the office and crosses to the middle of the room. He hadn't realized that the SOLDIER's senses were that good. Sephiroth glances up at him briefly, then returns his attention to his paperwork. "My apologies. I will be finished with this shortly. Feel free to make yourself comfortable." He knew the man was busy, being the leader of Shinra's army and everything, but he never realized how much paperwork it all entailed.

"Yes, sir." Cloud slides into the chair in front of the General's desk, silently logging away the pleased expression on the man's face at the fact that he was early. With Sephiroth otherwise occupied, he takes the chance to look around the office, having been too confused and, frankly, too awestruck the previous day to have catalogued anything.

The desk itself is obviously very high-grade and is angled on both ends to almost give the appearance of a 'U'. There is a computer on the right end of the desk, all of Sephiroth's paperwork in the middle, and a phone on the left. An inkwell sits to the man's left and Cloud realizes that he's writing with a quill. Fancy.

Both the General's chair and the one that Cloud sits in are made of leather. Luckily, though, unlike the other's high-back one, Cloud's chair does not swivel. He doesn't need to make more of a fool of himself by spinning the chair back and forth with his nervous fidgeting.

Behind the SOLDIER, he notices two small, potted trees – one in each corner of the room. "A gift from Angeal," Sephiroth's voice interrupts his investigation. Having finished his paperwork, the man must have realized where Cloud's attention had strayed to. "Something about honing my spirit and honor."

"Oh. Does it work?"

"No idea. I only kept them because Genesis hates them." The smirk on the General's face causes Cloud's to heat up again. Who knew Sephiroth had a mischievous side? Shinra's propaganda had only ever showed the man's emotionless, war-ready one.


When they reach the SOLDIER training grounds, there are some other SOLDIERs there. Sephiroth had already mentioned that Zack had an emergency mission to the Chocobo Farm to take care of a rogue Zolom, so Cloud doesn't even bother looking for the other teen. He's a little disappointed, though. He had hoped to see him again today – he guesses it would have to wait a few days.

Sephiroth had said that today would be spent running Cloud through his paces. This way he could determine what areas needed the most work. As a result, Cloud had been excused from afternoon classes for the day.

To begin with, Sephiroth starts him off with several laps around the training grounds. The other SOLDIERs are definitely as surprised to see him there as the cadet is himself. Luckily, since they saw him come in with Sephiroth, they don't say anything. Then again, since it was Sephiroth he had come in with, perhaps that's why they were staring so much – the situation was definitely very surreal.

He's sweaty and out of breath when he finishes, but he still feels that he has performed pretty well regardless. The General at least doesn't look disappointed with his performance as he directs Cloud to take a break and get some water.

Next, Sephiroth drills him through his katas – with and without a weapon. Cloud's drill sergeant – former drill sergeant, rather – had always told him that a one-handed sword would be better for his height and build. He goes for a two-handed one, anyway – it just feels right. Going from the approving look on the General's face, he feels he made the right choice.

Several hours into training, Cloud's stomach announces its emptiness, loudly. Ignoring his mortification, Sephiroth insists they get lunch. Together. When they enter the SOLDIER cafeteria, the room immediately goes quiet. From the staring, Cloud gets the feeling that Sephiroth doesn't come here often, if at all. For the second time in two days, he wishes the floor could swallow him whole.


"Your endurance is respectable for someone unenhanced, but we will still work to improve it." Sephiroth tells him after they have finished for the day. "You seem to have a good grasp on technique, but your footwork could use some work." The man finishes, studying him closely.

"Sorry, sir." The General didn't appear disappointed or mad, but Cloud hadn't been able to shake the unrealistic hope that he would have impressed him.

"On your knees. I want you to beg for forgiveness."

Cloud sighs inwardly. After several wonderful, voice-free hours, he had really started to believe that that was the end of it. Apparently not. Before he can dwell more on it, though, Sephiroth is talking again.

"There is no need to apologize, Cloud. The entire point of training today was to see what needs improvement." The General regards him for a long moment before continuing, "I would like to test your skill with materia tomorrow."

"Uh… I've never used materia before, sir." He admits sheepishly – they hadn't gotten to that yet in general training.

If Sephiroth is upset, he doesn't show it. "That's fine. I'm not expecting you to be a master right away. That's what the training is for."


When he enters the cadet cafeteria that evening, he quickly realizes that word of Sephiroth's new student has gotten out. Crap. As if the silence and staring wasn't enough (honestly, it was worse than the SOLDIER cafeteria), the look on Johnson's face across the room tells him that he will be in for more than a world of hurt if the cadet ever gets his hands on him.

As if sensing Johnson's ire, Logan is at his side in a heartbeat, wordlessly protecting him as he gets food and then leading him to the table that Garrett and Colin are still sitting at. Cloud figures they probably sent Logan since Garrett was… well, Garrett.

Speaking of Garrett, the teen barely waits for Cloud to sit down before he's smirking and running his mouth. "So… word in the building is you have a new lunch buddy."

Cloud definitely blushes down to his neck at that. How did they even know about that? "I-I told him no! He wouldn't listen to me!" Not that General Sephiroth should listen to a lowly cadet like him, but still.

Colin – sweet Colin – laughs at his face. "Can't say I'm not jealous."

"Oh, definitely jealous," Logan adds, looking just as amused.

Garrett snorts. "Of course we're jealous, man! Who wouldn't jump at the chance to have lunch with the great General Sephiroth?" Seeing the embarrassed look still on Cloud's face, he winks. "Well, other than you. Weirdo."

Cloud just rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at the other teen.

If anything, Garrett's smirk grows. "But honestly, our street cred is going to go through the roof, being your friend and all." Cloud scoffs, but that's not enough to stop the red-head. "And I wouldn't say no to being your plus 1 the next time you two eat together."

"There won't be a next time." He says with finality, hoping beyond hope that that's true. He really doesn't need to be the constant talk of the building.

"Gotta say, Johnson's reaction was priceless." Logan grins, eyes twinkling mischievously. "I thought he was going to catch fire with how red he was getting." Well, that doesn't sound too good for Cloud.

Garrett laughs hard at the memory, wiping tears from his eyes. "Oh boy, he was furious. I don't think I've ever seen him that mad. So much for him being Sephiroth's student."

Colin curses quite unexpectedly then, drawing their attention. "He's coming this way!" He warns, a nervous look on his face. As if he had sensed them talking about him, Johnson was indeed stomping his way over to their table, gaze intent on Cloud. All four of them tense, preparing for the coming confrontation.

Johnson stops directly across from Cloud, slamming his hands down on the table in front of him. "Better watch yourself, Chocobo-butt." He snarls, face twisted in pure rage. "I don't know what you did to Fair and Sephiroth, but I know who you really are." Sneering, the teen continues, "You're nothing. Just a loser who will never amount to anything."

Cloud clenches his fists, ignoring the slight pain from his nails digging into flesh. While he might not entirely disagree with the 'loser' thing, heck if he would let the other teen know. Instead, he glares back at Johnson. He's tempted to tell his bully that he's just jealous, but that would just set the teen off more. Cloud knows this from personal experience – the worst of which had left him with broken ribs and bruises all over. The healer definitely didn't believe him when he said that he had just fallen down the stairs, asking him several times if he was sure that was really what had happened. He gets the feeling that she couldn't do anything since he never confessed, but tattling had never stopped the bullying in Nibelheim. If anything, it just made things worse – none of the adults had any interest in his personal safety and would never have paid attention to him or his mother anyway.

Eyes narrowing, Johnson leans in further. "Don't worry. They'll see you for who you are soon enough."

Having heard enough, Garrett and Logan shoot out of their seats and shove Johnson back, Colin glaring at the bully from his spot at the table. "Back off, Johnson!" Garrett yells while Logan adds his own "Yeah, leave him alone!". While he had never told his roommates the extent of the injuries he had received from Johnson, they seemed to know anyway and tried to keep him out of harm's way whenever they could.

Johnson laughs cruelly, beady eyes still trained on Cloud. "You better hope your little friends are always around to protect you." Leveling one last glare in his direction, Johnson turns and leaves the cafeteria.

Cloud slumps back in his seat, his still balled fists shaking. This was bad. Really bad.


All three of his roommates have patrol that evening, Cloud tomorrow evening. Even though they already have their helmets and rifles, having brought them to the cafeteria with them, they insist on walking him back to their room in case Johnson is still lurking around. He tries to apologize for being trouble, but they won't hear it.

Once alone, Cloud realizes that he has a missed call – his PHS a gift from his mom when he left home. Even though he calls her regularly, he still writes her letters every now and then – she says that she likes having something tangible, something that she can hold and re-read whenever she misses her son.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he stares at the screen of his PHS in confusion – the number is not one he recognizes. Dialing his voicemail, he nearly drops the PHS when the recorded voice starts talking.

"Hi Cloud. It's Tifa. Call me back when you have the chance."

Tifa? How did she get his number? More importantly, why was she calling him? Her dad definitely did not like him. Deciding he's not going to figure anything out just sitting there staring at his PHS, he dials Tifa's number with slightly trembling fingers, suddenly glad that he's alone.

"Cloud! You actually called!" Tifa's happy voice comes from the other end.

"Uh… you asked me to?" And he has no idea why.

She laughs, light and sweet. "So I did."

"Why are you calling, though? You know your dad doesn't want you talking to me." It didn't make sense. Yes, Tifa had tried to talk to him a few times since her accident – the one he was blamed for and that he blamed himself for – and had even met him on top of the water tower that night he told her he was leaving for Midgar. However, if her father found out that not only did she have his number but was calling him, he would be furious.

There is a long pause on the other end before Tifa responds. "Cloud… Do you not remember?"

Cloud sighs – not again. "You too, Tifa? Why does everybody keep asking that?"

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I don't think I can say. I'm sure you'll understand soon enough." What did that even mean?

"Dilly-dally, shilly-shally."

"I'm not dilly-dallying." He says, a little petulantly.

"Cloud…" Tifa's voice sounds confused. "I didn't say anything."

Oh. Well, crap. He sighs again, running his free hand through his hair. "Sorry, Tifa. The past couple days have just been really weird and I have no idea what's going on…"

"It's ok, Cloud. If you need somebody to talk to, I'm always here for you." The warmth in her voice sends butterflies to his stomach. Part of his reason for trying to join SOLDIER had been to impress her.

Speaking of SOLDIERs and impressive… "I actually do have something to tell you. Sephiroth decided to take me on as his student. Said he wants to help me prepare for the SOLDIER exam. Can you believe it?" He's not sure whether there is wonder or confusion in his tone, but figures it doesn't really matter.

"S-Sephiroth?" Cloud's not really sure why her voice sounds so frightened.

"Yeah. He's a nice man, Tifa." Maybe that would help calm her fears.

"… a nice man…" Her voice is quiet and she sounds a little dazed, as if she doesn't even realize that she's speaking out loud. There's silence on the other line for a few moments, before she's speaking again, voice more serious this time. "Wait. You said that everybody keeps asking if you remember. Was Sephiroth one of them?"

"Yeah."

"Did he say why?" Tifa's voice is still serious, but with a bit of an edge to it this time.

He's a little more reluctant to tell her than his roommates, but this is Tifa. She would never make fun of him nor would she tell anybody – not that anybody in Nibelheim would believe it anyway. "He said something about how I was the only person who could stop him from losing himself."

There is another pregnant pause and then Tifa sighs. "Alright. Just be careful, ok? I care about you." Her last sentence ringing through his head, he's really glad nobody's around to see how red his face is. "Who all has asked you if you remember?"

"Uh… Sephiroth, another SOLDIER named Zack, and three Turks." His eyes go wide – that's right, Turks. "Hey, do you know somebody named Rude?"

"Rude?" She sounds a little surprised.

"Yeah. He wanted to know how you were."

She giggles. "Rude is an old friend."

Ok, he really didn't like that reaction. And old friend? What? "Old friend? Tifa, you're 13 years old." He huffs, remembering how the Turk had blushed. "He was acting like a lovesick puppy. I told him to back off."

She giggles again. "My hero."


Upon entering the SOLDIER training grounds the next day, Sephiroth leads Cloud to an area where there are three dummies set up. An area that is removed from where the other SOLDIERs are training. Cloud figures this is in case he messes something up – they don't need him accidentally flinging spells at anybody.

Turning to face him, Sephiroth hands him a glowing, green orb – Cloud swears he doesn't shiver when the man's fingers brush his own. "Fire materia. We'll practice with this first." The General then pulls out another orb of materia. This one glows for a second, then orange spheres surround each of the dummies. The spheres break into tiny pieces almost immediately, leaving behind blue ribbons of light circling said dummies. "Manaward – reduces damage from magic attacks," Sephiroth explains.

Cloud looks dumbly at the orb of materia in his hands for a moment, before looking back at the General. "How do I use this, sir?"

"Magic is triggered by a shock wave created by your mind." Uh, what? Shock waves? Sephiroth sounds like he's quoting a textbook.

Somebody scoffs from behind them. "Shock waves? Really, Sephiroth?" Turning, Cloud sees none other than Commander Genesis Rhapsodos approaching, his red leather coat billowing behind him.

Sephiroth sighs. "To what do I owe the honor, Genesis?"

"I heard you were going to train your little cadet in magic today. I told you before that I intend to watch him in action." Commander Rhapsodos responds as if it was obvious.

"Uh… I've never used materia before, sir." Cloud manages to get out through his confusion at the appearance of the fiery man. The SOLDIER wanted to watch him? Why does nothing make sense anymore?

Rhapsodos regards – assesses? – him for a long moment before closing the distance between them. He grabs the materia out of Cloud's hand, rolls it around for a second, then starts speaking again, eyes never leaving Cloud. "You need to use your own energy, your spirit, to power materia." He turns towards the dummies. "First, you need to feed your energy into the materia." The orb in Rhapsodos's hands starts to glow. "Once you've built up enough power, you release it." The SOLDIER extends his free hand and a small fireball shoots forth and hits the middle dummy, barely singeing it with the manaward Sephiroth had cast earlier. Turning back to him, Rhapsodos returns the materia. "There, magic."

Cloud stares at the materia in his hand for a second before closing his fingers around it and turning to face the dummies, hoping that he would be able to recreate what Rhapsodos had just done. He gets the feeling that the SOLDIER is here to test him.

Feed his energy into it, huh? He closes his eyes and tries to imagine his energy going from his body into the materia. When the orb starts to warm up in his hand, he feels like he must be doing something right. The feeling of his energy flowing into the materia is familiar, as if his body instinctively knows what to do. With every passing second, the orb grows warmer and warmer. He's just wondering how much energy is enough, when Sephiroth's worried voice breaks through his musings.

"Cloud! Release the energy!"

Eyes snapping open, Cloud barely manages to throw his free hand out before the force of the magic ripping through him knocks him to the ground, the materia rolling across the ground away from him. There is a loud boom and he looks on in horror as the three dummies are engulfed in flames, the manaward doing little to save them from their fiery fate.

Rhapsodos looks at the scene in complete shock before turning wide eyes on Cloud, still sprawled on the ground. "Infinite in mystery, indeed…" He remarks in a daze.

"I told you so," Sephiroth says, sounding smug.

Rhapsodos's attention is on Sephiroth in the next second, eyes blazing and body practically vibrating with excitement. "I have to train him."