Once More, With Feeling... – Chapter 14: A Day in the Life of a SOLDIER 3rd
Summary: Zack's not as oblivious as he seems, but with Cloud as his friend, how could he go wrong?
Author: Illusor Meaneld
Rated T: for Descriptive violence and injuries, No Adult Situations, No Cussing.
Disclaimer: I did not create, and do not own the characters from Final Fantasy 7, They are owned by Square-Enix, and I am simply borrowing them for my own (and hopefully your) enjoyment.
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Zack was very much a morning person, the moment he woke he stretched and hoped out of his bed. Being a SOLDIER 3rd, he actually had a small apartment to himself; he showered and stretched thoroughly making sure to get in his favorite crunches before breakfast. In the SOLDIER mess-hall he happily plucked through the buffet arrangement, pulling off fruits and sausage and even some muffins and cereal, being Mako-enhanced increased one's appetite. At least, … it seemed to for the lower-ranked SOLDIERs… rumor had it that one's metabolism would even out once they'd worked enough to make SOLDIER 1st. Or maybe that was just the amazing trio that barely seemed to eat.
Either way, Zack scarfed down his breakfast with relish! It WAS in fact possible to wolf down food and enjoy every single minute of it, and that's exactly what Zack did. Polishing off his breakfast with a raspberry Danish, Zack trotted from the room, greeting his fellow SOLDIERs amiably. Aside from his personal afternoon training with Sephiroth, and the occasional mission assignments, Zack actually had a lot more free-time when Angeal was gone. Normally this left him bouncy and agitated; he liked having things to do! But now he just bolted off and peered into his new friend's classroom. Cloud would be getting out of his first class soon… Zack almost wished he could teach Weapon's Training all week, but he still had his own training with Angeal to finish.
With a sigh the raven-haired SOLDIER 3rd paced outside the door, waiting for Sergeant Kerring to release Squad Sekhmet to their next class. It seemed like forever to the young warrior, and he had in fact, resorted to more squats to pass the time before the rumble of "Class Dismissed" echoed from the room. Zack was up like a shot, watching the Squad boys file out with a grin, nodding to each of them before he saw the tell-tale spikey blonde hair sliding past the doorframe. He didn't even wait for the young Cadet to finish exiting before he grabbed the boy up in an enthusiastic hug.
"CLOUDY!" Zack yelped, grasping the boy around the middle with one arm, and rubbing the messy blonde hair with the other.
Cloud just laughed, "Mornin' Zack! How's it going?"
And that was all the encouragement Zack needed to fall into a long-winded explanation of how much he missed Angeal, a complaint he'd made to Cloud several times before, but the young blonde always smiled and laughed, shaking his head. And giving Zack one of the funniest amused snorts he'd ever heard. The youth always seemed to happy to listen to anything that Zack said, it was impossible not to talk about SOMETHING. He'd never had such an avid listener before.
"Sephiroth is so harsh!" Zack whined, rotating his arms and shoulders to work out kinks and emphasize his claim. "He's always swatting me with his sword y'know? It's just the flat, but it HURTS!"
Cloud chuckled, "You gotta pay attention Zack! Focus is the key, … instead of thinking so hard about trying to block, you need to learn to do so instinctively, … Sephiroth is too experienced to give you warning, even his body-language is clean. So you have to be ready for anything!"
"Huh, … but how do I do that?"
"Try less thinking, and more reacting." Cloud shrugged, "Everyone learns it a bit differently, but I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"I'll try that!" Zack enthused, he glanced down at the boy, by all rights Cloud was supposed to be 14, but when the two chatted, Zack felt like he was the one who was younger, and Cloud was the teacher. It was kinda odd, but the boy always had the best advice. Now that they were friends, the small blonde was extraordinarily comfortable in Zack's company, at first the SOLDIER had worried he'd have to convince the boy to call him by his name and not the "Sir" most Cadets referred to him by, but no, it was like they'd been friends forever. Whatever the reason, Zack liked it, and so spent as much time as possible with the cheerful blonde.
Zack was disappointed when he had to leave Cloud at his next class. Sighing dejectedly and letting himself droop, he gazed mournfully at Cloud when the boy turned to leave.
"See you at lunch Zack!" Cloud called back with a laugh, completely unfazed by the "puppy-dog eyes" Zack was trying to give him. With a chuckle of his own Zack trotted off, even a SOLDIER 3rd Class had paperwork, forms to be filled out from his various missions, they were boring and Zack never liked them, but it was a good time muncher while he was waiting to hang out with Cloud again.
Sure enough, the lunch break came by quickly, and only half-finished with a particular report Zack got up from his desk and bolted from the room, arriving just a few minutes before Cloud's class was dismissed, Zack noticed some of the jealous looks given to Cloud by the other Sekhmet boys when the enthusiastic SOLDIER 3rd clapped the diminutive blonde on the shoulders in greeting, but Cloud didn't have a problem with it, so neither did Zack.
"Hello again Spikey!" Zack chirped,
"You're not just standing outside all my classes all the time are ya Zack?" Cloud's eyes glittered with humor,
"A'course not!" Zack snorted, "I do other stuff too."
Cloud chuckled, "I'm not super-hungry today, you wanna do something else?"
"Aww… C'mon Spikey! You need to eat your food! You're too skinny!" to prove his point Zack jabbed the blonde in the ribs for good measure, pointing out the lacking insulation on the child's build.
"I'm always skinny Zack!" Cloud pressed one hand against Zack's shoulder and shoved, the SOLDIER 3rd Chuckled, and obliged the youth with a stumble, both seemed to know that the young S.P. Cadet couldn't really throw a SOLDIER off-balance.
"So we gotta fix that!"
"14 year old boys are just skinny! It's either that, or I get fat!" Cloud argued, his grin always seemed on the verge of breaking out into laughter, and Zack loved to try and prod the boy into true mirth.
So engrossed were the two in their argument, that they passed right by the SOLDIER Prep. Mess hall, and on through the hallways, neither noticed immediately when a pair of mako-blue eyes focused on them, and one raven eyebrow rose.
Zack was in the process of wrapping Cloud in a gentle (for a SOLDIER) headlock, arguing that he'd force-feed the laughing youth if Cloud didn't take care of himself, when a subtle throat-clearing caught the two teens attention. Both heads snapped up, and Zack lifted the hand that wasn't restraining Cloud into a hasty salute,
"ANGEAL!" Zack yelped happily at his mentor, "You're back early!"
The SOLDIER 1st was standing in the hallway, apparently on his way to his own rooms, the bags of supplies still tied across his back. His lips were quirked in a smile at the antics of his protégé.
"Indeed." Angeal answered, much to Zack's surprise, Cloud had gone very quiet, when Zack looked down, his young friend was eyeing Angeal suspiciously, a strangely calculating look in his eyes. It was almost as though the blonde were appraising Angeal, Zack grinned,
"Hey Cloud! You haven't really met my mentor have you?" Still trapped awkwardly in Zack's headlock, Cloud turned enough to raise an eyebrow,
"well… in a manner of speaking… I met him once or twice before. But we've never been formally introduced." The blue eyes glittered with mischief again, "but didn't you have some … ORDERS?"
"Orders?" Angeal repeated, when Zack looked up, his mentor was looking between Zack and Cloud speculatively, "I do remember talking to you about Fans Zack." The Lieutenant said dryly.
"Oh!" Zack snickered, "No, no… Cloud's not my fan! He's my FRIEND!" the youth grinned and nodded, as if that explained everything.
Cloud chuckled, "I meant the orders from Sephiroth."
Zack felt the blood drain from his face, he'd completely forgotten about Sephiroth's orders! "Oh no!! but I … Angeal…" He looked helplessly between Cloud and his mentor.
With a bark of a laughter Cloud twisted out of Zack's suddenly lax grip. "Hey, no frets Zack! I'll pass on the message to Seph, you can talk to Angeal kay? I know you've missed him!" with a wave the blonde youth jogged off.
"Thanks Cloud!" Zack yelled back, waving, … it took him several moments to remember why he'd been restraining the blonde to begin with. "HEY!! You still haven't eaten lunch!!" He thought he heard another laugh but the Cadet had already disappeared down the hallway. With a sigh, Zack scratched the back of his head ruefully, turning to beam at Angeal.
"So, … what's all this about a message to Sephiroth?" Angeal raised one eyebrow again, the look in his eyes strangely guarded.
Zack suddenly frowned, "I can't believe you did that Angeal!" He whined, once again using his best pitiful look, "Sephiroth almost killed me! And it would have been all your fault!"
Angeal blinked once in confusion, "hmmm? How exactly did I do…." Then suddenly, his eyes filled with understanding, "Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about that." And he chuckled.
"Seph's been trainin' me everyday! He's so harsh!" Zack pouted,
Angeal laughed, "Sephiroth is training you? What an honor, Pup!"
Zack groaned, "I feel like I've been repeatedly run over by a behemoth!" And when Angeal chuckled again, Zack broke into his running complaints for the second time that day. The two of them walked as Zack talked, and for a moment he got the strangest sense of disjointed familiarity, it was very much the same as talking to Cloud, the same kind of amused attention, only with Angeal, he had to look up, instead of down.
"Wow." Zack finally said aloud when Angeal snickered at the same point in his story that Cloud often did, "That's kinda weird." He rubbed the back of his head in mild confusion, Angeal just raised an eyebrow to ask him to continue, "Man… Cloud is kinda a strange kid y'know?" Not expecting his mentor to really know, Zack continued without waiting for a response, "I mean… talking to him, it's kinda like talking to you! Even though I'm higher rank and older, I always feel like he's the one who's explaining things."
Angeal fell suddenly silent, and stared at Zack for several moments. The SOLDIER 3rd fidgeted under the scrutiny. "Is that so…" the Lieutenant murmured thoughtfully, the two continued walking wordlessly, when suddenly Angeal changed direction, "Follow me Zack,"
As quickly as he'd been asked Zack followed, eyeing his mentor, the older man looked so serious, and for a while Zack thought he must have done something wrong, he was fidgeting horribly by the time they reached Sephiroth's office. Outside the door Zack's eyes widened,
"This is…" Zack began, his mouth dropping in awe,
"Sephiroth's Office," Angeal finished, smirking again, Without bothering to knock, the SOLDIER 1st Class stepped into the room, Zack following in stunned amazement behind him.
Sephiroth was already standing when the two raven-haired SOLDIERs stepped into the room, in his hand was one very full duffle bag. Zack recognized it as the generic Shinra-issue variety they could purchase in the Shinra Store. Zack couldn't help but gaze around the room in amazement, it was so unlike the other offices and rooms in Shinra, it was… nice! Kinda like a really expensive hotel room or something. His gaze snapped back to the General when Angeal stepped forward,
"What's this?" The Lieutenant muttered, Sephiroth had dropped the duffle unceremoniously on his desk while Zack had been distracted by the décor, and the black-haired SOLDIER 1st now stepped up at the unspoken invitation. Zack's curiosity got the better of him, and he wandered closer as Angeal unzipped the bag. The SOLDIER 3rd just gaped when his mentor removed a hard-bound book with a grey cover, wrapped in Green, Silver, and Black ribbons, a tag with "Sephiroth" written on it in an exaggeratedly elaborate font finished the package.
"Huh?" Zack couldn't help the outburst, he stared harder until he spotted the title across the back, "LOVELESS?"
Angeal chuckled, looking up to meet Sephiroth's stoic face, "I'll just deal with these for you shall I?"
Sephiroth nodded mutely, and watched as his Second in Command packed the book back into the bag and zipped it closed. That finished the slitted green eyes flicked to Zack, pausing a moment before landing again on Angeal.
"So," Angeal began with a grin, "Zack, why don't you tell Sephiroth about your new… friend?"
Zack blinked twice, and then shyly scuffed his foot on the ground, He was supposed to tell the General that? It couldn't be half so important… he mused for a moment, but only a moment. By his nature Zack loved to talk, and his friends were his favorite subjects.
"Cloud's an awesome friend!" Zack chirped, raising a grin to his superiors, "He's funny and smart… and gives the best advice!" Zack scratched his head for a moment, noting Angeal's encouraging smile, "He's just a cadet, but he always sounds so mature y'know? And he gives me great tips on how to survive Seph's… er… I mean Sephiroth's training stuff." Zack grinned, "I think Angeal would like him, they sound a lot alike sometimes."
Sephiroth's eyebrow had slowly risen during Zack's explanation, and once the boy had finished the green eyes darted to Angeal.
"I think we should… ah… 'bring him into the loop' so to speak." Angeal said with a grin. Zack just stared at him, what the heck did THAT mean?
"I believe that could be prudent…" Sephiroth murmured, eyeing Zack speculatively, Zack fidgeted under the gaze, scratching at the side of his face.
"What loop?" Zack couldn't resist asking, it was like the older men were talking in riddles,
"So you agree we should tell him?" Angeal continued,
"Tell me what?" Zack piped, getting irked,
"He might prove useful,…" Sephiroth agreed hesitantly,
"HEY!! I'm RIGHT HERE!" Zack snapped suddenly, he really didn't like being ignored, and the others were obviously talking about him.
"Yes you are." Sephiroth raised that eyebrow again, and Zack flushed in chagrin for his outburst.
"Shall I tell him?" Angeal continued to speak to Sephiroth, the General seemed to ponder for a moment.
"No, I believe he will take this more seriously if it comes from me." The silver haired SOLDIER stood, ignoring the glower Zack was sending his way. "Zackary Fair,"
"Yes?" Zack interrupted, ignoring the green-eyed glare,
"Angeal and I have been taking the time to study the young Cadet Cloud Strife, whom you have named a friend."
Zack blinked several times, what? They were watching Cloud? "Why?" he finished his next thought aloud, "Why would you be studying him?" Zack's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Angeal sighed, "We believe Cloud has potential to be SOLDIER, …" the raven-haired SOLDIER 1st explained hastily, "We watched you too Zack, even when you were a Cadet!"
"Oh…" Zack shuffled his feet again, slightly disconcerted by this revelation, but he quickly recovered and grinned at the two older men, "I can see why you're interested in Cloud! He's really smart, and he learns fast!"
Sephiroth nodded slowly, "We are watching his progress with interest Zack Fair, but it is easiest to have many pairs of eyes…"
"Huh?" Zack blinked, cocking his head in confusion,
"We'd like you to share with us, what you learn about Cloud." Angeal continued, "Don't do anything different, just tell us about him, … you being his friend, you have access to information about his character that we can't get just by watching from afar."
Zack took several moments to think about this, Cloudy was being scouted for SOLDIER! The idea was positively thrilling! He would have loved to run off and tell his blonde friend, but Angeal and Sephiroth apparently didn't want the boy to know… Well, his own contribution could only help his friend, Zack decided, grinning broadly at the thought of his new-found best bud being his partner on missions and assignments.
"Sure! If it helps Spikey get into SOLDIER, I'll tell you guys whatever you need to know!" Zack clapped his hands with a grin, "That's what Cloudy wants y'know? So I get to help him with his dreams!"
Angeal grinned, "Good to hear Zack,"
Zack beamed back, before another thought occurred to him, "Hey, so what did you guys figure out?"
Sephiroth and Angeal exchanged a glance, before both men smiled slowly,
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