I do allow people to borrow from my story ideas so long as they follow two simple rules.
One: they credit me with the initial idea when they borrow off one of the drabbles.
Two: They link me to the story after so I can read their take on the idea.
Genesis was beyond thrilled to have a little brother like Harry. None more so than the day he had to bring his brother/apprentice with him into Sephiroth's office.
Harry took one look at him and bluntly stated with an incredulous tone...
"When the hell was the last time you actually slept? I can see the bags under your eyes from halfway across the room!"
Dead silence.
Sephiroth stared at him in confusion and some disbelief.
"...I lost count after the third day," he quietly admitted.
"Coffee is only going to make the crash worse you know. Why didn't you simply unplug the phone and freeze the door with an ice materia so that no one could come in and bother you? I bet you could easily invest in noise cancelling headphones and if anyone asks tell them that the door jammed or something," said Harry flatly.
Sephiroth...looked like he wanted to smack himself. It was a simple solution and kept anyone from adding to his already massive workload while he was trying to get a nap in.
Genesis snickered.
"You are such a mother hen."
Harry turned to look at him with a flat expression.
"I'm sorry, was that a request to go back to take out or worse, the slop they call 'food' in the mess hall for a week?" he said sweetly.
Genesis back-peddled very quickly.
"I'll shut up!" he said with horror in his tone.
He couldn't go back to take out. Harry's cooking not only tasted better than anything he could get (without having to dodge his fan club) but it was easier on his paycheck. That and he never had to check for poison or anything, just a few minor prank potions.
Even Angeal donated his check in exchange for eating over a lot, when he discovered the difference. Having a reliable cook who they could trust was more than worth the cook's weight in coin.
A few hours later, Genesis gleefully told Harry how Sephiroth's door "mysteriously" jammed and the phones were 'broken'. Harry snorted, because it was clear Sephiroth had taken his advice to get some sleep without making it obvious.
"Harry! Are you alright?" said Cloud with concern. "I went to check the hospital and heard Commander Genesis took you away."
"Shit...I am so sorry Cloud, I honestly forgot to tell you in the excitement," said Harry sheepishly.
"Tell me what?" asked Cloud.
"I have an older brother. That's the main reason I joined the Cadet program, despite being too 'weak' to be a proper SOLDIER right away," said Harry.
"You have an older brother? Is he in SOLDIER too?"
Harry looked a tad embarrassed.
"Cloud...my older brother is Genesis. Apparently one of his fans noticed the strong resemblance and ran a test without authorization. When the doctor found out, he called the Commander."
"Why?" asked Cloud.
"Partially because it's standard procedure to alert family, especially if they're commanding officers, when one of their own is injured, but mostly to insure that the test wasn't being faked because everyone 'knew' Genesis was an only child. He had Sephiroth run it again just to be sure, and it came up the same."
Cloud looked happy for him...he knew how much Harry wanted to have family he could actually admit to being related to.
"So how did he react? Commander Genesis I mean."
"He's thrilled. Partially because I actually know how to cook, but also because I keep making these remarks that make him laugh so hard he has trouble breathing."
Cloud looked at him suspiciously.
"What sort of remarks?"
"The ones that nearly got me lynched by Sephiroth's fan club last week."
"Oh gods," said Cloud horrified. "No wonder he found you hilarious...he has a massive rivalry with Sephiroth!"
Harry suddenly spotted a figure, and smirked.
"What are you up to?" demanded Cloud.
"You'll see."
"Oh no, I am not letting you out of my sight! Last time you had that look in your eye, you turned everyone's boxers pink for a week!" said Cloud.
"Taught them not to shove their dirty laundry on me, didn't it?" said Harry.
Cloud groaned. Why was he friends with this idiot?
Oh yes, he remembered now. Because Harry was the only one who actually encouraged him, patched him up and was actually nice to him without being condescending about it.
The blond cadet would later admit, Harry's prank was hilarious. Seeing Zack Fair chasing his tail, quite literally, was beyond funny. Especially with the ears!
"So did you hear about general Sephiroth?" asked Cloud.
"What about him?"
"Something jammed his door and messed with the phone lines. Not even his PHS worked," said Cloud.
"Yeah right. More like he took my suggestion and ran with it."
"What suggestion?" asked Cloud, eyes narrowing.
"I told him to freeze his door, unplug the phone and get some noise canceling headphones so he could nap, rather than survive on only coffee and take out."
Cloud facepalmed.
"Why would you tell him something like that?"
"He can put on the 'perfect SOLDIER' front all he likes, but the poor guy had massive bags under his eyes and looked like shit. The human body can't run on limited to no sleep and fuel, regardless of what that creepy Hojo says," said Harry flatly. "He certainly seemed less tense when I saw him last."
"I can't believe you keep spreading that rumor Hojo has a 'creepy sex dungeon'."
"Have you seen the things that come out of his labs? I bet Sephiroth is stiff all the time because he's been repressing years of trauma and memories of things that should never be seen!" said Harry.
Hearing a snicker, Harry smirked.
"Then again, I bet Genesis and Angeal would have more knowledge on whatever Hollander has in his dungeon. I bet they had to turn to each other in order to deal with the horrors."
Hearing the sputter, Harry turned to face his horrified brother.
"Or is there something you're not telling me about your relationship with Angeal and Sephiroth?"
"Where the hell did you get such weird ideas?" asked Genesis, to Cloud's horror.
"I'm a sexually repressed teenager in the military," deadpanned Harry. "Obviously I'm going to need the proper material to work with, or my mind will produce it on it's own. Don't ask, don't tell and all that."
Genesis snorted.
"I came to get you because Angeal won't stop bitching about Zack's new 'features'. Apparently the puppy likes them so much he can't stop chasing his tail and it's annoying Angeal."
Harry grinned.
And much to Cloud's mortification, the green-eyed teen started to drag him along.
"What. Are. You. Doing?" he hissed.
"Oh come on Cloud, I know damn well you're one of Sephiroth's more discreet fans. At least you don't have wet dreams of the man like half the idiots in the barracks. Think of it this way...if you make a good enough impression on him he might be convinced to turn you into his personal gofer, I mean apprentice."
Genesis snickered.
"Besides, if we word it right then odds are you'll mostly be hanging around Zack and getting instruction from Angeal who uses the sword you're so enamored with."
"You mean you're going to try and give the puppy a chocobo?" said Genesis snickering, though he saw where Harry was coming from.
The 'Elite Three' didn't have nearly enough time to all be training apprentices. Especially Sephiroth.
However nothing said they couldn't pool their limited time together to train their minions (Harry's words) collectively and allow them to train their asses off while their mentors were busy so that they could show how much they actually learned.
Zack looked even more like a puppy than ever with those ears and tail. It was wagging a hundred times a minute.
Even Sephiroth was there, to his amusement.
"Are you the one who did this? You have to tell me how you pulled it off!" said Zack thrilled.
Harry snickered.
"And to think, you didn't have to go through Hojo's creepy sex dungeon to get them."
Sephiroth and Angeal choked and looked at him in disbelief.
"'Creepy sex dungeon'?" repeated Sephiroth.
"Well you would know more about it than we do, since Hojo seems to like you best sir," said Harry with a straight face. "I always thought the reason you looked like you had a stick up your ass was from repressed trauma of things that should never be seen in his creepy sex dungeon, or worse being forced to participate in them."
Sephiroth gaped at him, while Genesis started howling.
"Please stop! My sides can't take much more abuse!" cackled Genesis. Angeal looked like he had a migraine, while Zack was staring at him in awe.
Cloud did the only sensible thing he could.
He slapped Harry on the side of the head with a tired sigh.
"I still don't get why you would think he has one," deadpanned Cloud.
"Have you seen what comes out of the science department?" said Harry incredulous. "Never mind that thing I ran into the sewers that last time. I mean, what the actual fuck was that thing made of?!"
Zack managed to gather his wits long enough to say something, much to Angeal's dismay.
"You know that would explain so much about some of the things I've seen wandering around these days..." he mused. Harry looked at Cloud triumphant. "Though why did your mind go 'creepy sex dungeon' and not 'unholy experiment'?"
"Sexually repressed teenager without a girlfriend," deadpanned Harry. "Or boyfriend, considering the unofficial don't ask, don't tell policy."
Zack snickered.
"That would do it."
Cloud shared a long-suffering look with Sephiroth.
"Can you please remove the tail, at least?" asked Angeal.
Harry looked a tad sheepish.
"I sorta can't?" he said.
"What."
"I mean I used a spell to help people figure out what their animal form is, and the fact the ears and tail are missing is because Zack botched the transformation back. I actually turned him into a massive wolf puppy for five minutes when I hit him with it."
"Wait...are you telling me I can turn into a wolf?" said Zack excitedly.
"Or wolfhound. Wasn't too sure on the breed, just that it had big paws."
Seeing his interest, Harry smirked.
"If you want to learn how to do the full transformation, I can show you how later. Would have done it to Cloud, but I didn't think he'd appreciate turning into an actual Chocobo."
Cloud glared at him.
"Just because my hair is spiky doesn't make me a chocobo!" he said irate.
Genesis hadn't stopped snickering since Harry mentioned the 'creepy sex dungeon'. His little brother was a riot, and the perfect way to cheer up. Then his mind caught up on the comment about 'animal transformation' and he looked at his little brother with eager eyes.
"Yes, Genesis, I can use it on you. I brought the book Sirius left me on how to do it without any help from people who know what they're doing, and I know the spell to reverse it in case you get stuck."
Genesis looked at him with glee.
"So you can't remove them?"
"He's still enjoying the novelty of the ears and tail," said Harry. "Wait until the fan clubs get a look at them and start hounding after his ass, then see whether he would be willing to keep them out constantly."
Angeal sighed...Harry made a valid point.
"That being said I do have something in my possession that would give Hojo something other than Sephiroth on the brain come the time for your injections," said Harry.
Sephiroth looked at him intently.
"I'm listening."
"You agree to take Cloud on as an apprentice on a trial basis, and I'll prank the living shit out of Hojo so that he's more interested in cleaning up after my tricks than hovering over you," said Harry.
Sephiroth looked at Genesis.
"How good is he?"
"No idea, I only just found out about him," said Genesis.
"You know that prank on the Turks last month where they were all wearing bright orange instead of dark blue for a solid three days?" said Harry. "That was me."
The three Firsts stared at him in disbelief.
Everyone was still talking about that prank, because it had been the Turks who were hit. Tseng was still spitting nails about it.
"Deal," said Sephiroth.
Harry pushed Cloud towards the silver haired man.
"Well Cloud, try to survive the trial by fire he gives you," he said smirking.
"Wha..." said Cloud in shock, before he glared at Harry, who just smiled cheekily at him.
A month later, Hojo was positively furious, Sephiroth was loosening up, and Cloud was officially his hero's apprentice.
On an unrelated note, the number of dog toys "mysteriously" appearing in Zack's things went up exponentially after it came out he could now turn into an actual dog.