I arrived at Zack's apartment with a big grin on my face.
After explaining him my first experiences, I was eager to learn more about my instructor.
We were chilling on his sofa and my friend had given me a drink.
"Sooo", he started. "What to tell you... Well, you probably already know the superficial stuff, but... I'm going to tell you how I see him, as his friend."
I didn't notice how I had begun to shift around in my seat. "Tell meee" I nagged, immediately hating that I must be sounding like a little child. 'What is this man doing to me...'
My friend chuckled lightly. "Well. After knowing him for some time, I learned that to a few of us—the ones he's close to—he is absolutely loyal. He's friendly, polite, even has a sense of humor sometimes... It's really fun to message with him, I tell you. In person, he barely makes any jokes, at least not in public."
My eyes widened a little. "Maybe I do have to write him sometime..."
From the corner of my eye I could see Zack nodding enthusiastically.
"He doesn't let many people close to him. Most of the time, he tries to turn people away with his cold or arrogant-seeming attitude... I don't really understand why, but that's his thing." The raven-haired man stretched his arms and pulled me into a hug.
I didn't usually react to these, being used to that from Zack, but the next thing made me blush.
"We do that a lot, too. Just a few hours ago, it wasn't you in my arms, but Seph...", he said flirtingly.
"Whaaaa" I moved backwards, almost falling off the sofa. "Really?" By the look on his face, I could tell that Zack had accomplished whatever he had wanted to by telling me that. He chuckled and helped pulling me up again.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I was just teasing you." His grin stayed wide as he grabbed my beer bottle, having finished his, and took a sip.
I gulped. "... and you are sure that you two aren't...?"
"Hum?" His eyes turned into big puppy dog ones. "Ohhhh!" Then he realized what I meant.
"No, no!", he defended himself. "You know that I like that one girl from the church, she is selling flowers now... and Seph... I don't think he's interested in men. Or romance in general, I don't know... General, ya get it?"
He started repeatedly poking my side with his elbow but I didn't notice or care anymore, as some kind of lightning had struck me just now. My eyelids lowered a little and I slumped down in my seat. 'True... The famous hero of the war wouldn't want to be connected to something like that... Or be called gay, for that matter... I'm nothing but his student as well...'
My mood had really dropped from one second to another but Zack didn't notice until his (my) beer was finished.
"Everything okay, Spike?" He put a hand on my shoulder.
I moved my head up again quickly and tried my best to smile. "Yeah... uhm... what else can you tell me about him?"
No doubt, I was happy that Zack's attention span was as short as it was, so his face already lit up again, as he thought about what else he knew. I was glad that we were able to drop the topic, since I was not exactly eager to mention that I had apparently started liking the General more than the average person.
"Oh, yeah! He is really calm and collected in all dangerous situations, so whenever we go on a mission, I feel safe around him all the time!" He grinned at me. "I don't think that I need to mention how strong he is... but he can control it well."
I nodded, now really looking forward to future training with him. 'Might as well try to make the best of my situation, I should just enjoy having an awesome fighting instructor like that'.
"Okay, I see... That's nice." I mumbled.
My gaze turned outside, it was already getting dark. The sun had set by now but there still was a faint orange in the distance, where it had been. That orange was followed by a yellow which soon turned into blue which got darker and darker, the more my eyes moved up.
"I think that's all for now... It really wasn't that much. It's best you get to know him yourself. When's your next appointment, by the way?"
I turned to look at Zack again. "Uhm... He said he'd SMS me as soon as he knew when he'd have some time."
Casually, my hand moved into my pocket and I noticed that I had left my phone at home.
My friend nodded, he had already started to clean up the rest of our evening snacks and the two beer bottles. 'Wow, he got me so distracted that I forgot about mine...'
We hugged each other goodbye later and I blushed lightly again when I remembered what he had said about Sephiroth having been in his arms before.
The next morning I woke up with a surprise, it was my phone vibrating. "Ahh, Zack..." I mumbled and grabbed it. The time read 6:40, so it was almost time to get up for morning training. Kunsel, my roommate, was still sound asleep in the room next to me.
Grumbling, I grabbed the smartphone and unlocked it. What I saw then made my heart skip a beat. It wasn't Zack... the name read... Sephiroth.
All of sudden, I was wide awake. My fingers clicked his message shakily.
*Tomorrow at 11 AM. Confirm by SMS, please. Greetings, Sephiroth*
A grin spread across my face. That simple message had already made my day better. In a hurry, I typed out a reply:
*That's fine by me :) I'll study for my theoretical part until then so my instructor will be proud ;)*
As soon as I hit send, I regretted the last part. My fingers trembled slightly, and I had to mentally slap myself. But I was curious—was Zack right about him? Could I tease out the "sense of humor" and friendliness my friend had mentioned?
Pushing the thought aside, I got dressed and gave Kunsel a poke to wake him up.
A tiny wave of disappointment hit me when the General didn't reply before I left for morning training. But then again, I reminded myself, he's a busy man—an important figure in ShinRa. Answering students wasn't likely high on his priority list.
The training took place in a facility in the basement of the main ShinRa building, so we didn't have to trek out to the mountains every time. "Every time" was only twice a week anyway—Mondays and Fridays—and attendance was voluntary. As a Third Class, most of our time was spent studying to prepare for the leap to Second Class, where morning trainings would become more frequent.
The session that day focused on martial arts—no weapons.
I couldn't deny I felt safer with my sword. Still, we had to be ready for situations where we might be disarmed or caught without one. Zack would probably joke, "Even in the bathtub!" I rolled my eyes at the thought, suppressing a grin. But who gets attacked in the bathtub?
Kunsel volunteered to be my training partner. Throughout the session, he offered plenty of tips about techniques and scenarios where they'd come in handy. I had to admit, he knew a lot—though theory was clearly his strong suit. Despite his knowledge, he always ended up hugging the floor.
"You're really good, Cloud! You learn quickly," he chuckled as the training wrapped up. "It was nice having you as a partner. Oh, by the way, add me on your phone. I'll send you all the fighting tips I know."
I agreed, and we exchanged numbers. As I moved to pocket my phone—brrr—it buzzed.
I nearly jumped but tried to play it cool so Kunsel wouldn't notice.
It was Sephiroth. *Yeah, study hard. I'm sure your instructor will be proud ;) See you tomorrow. Greetings, Sephiroth*
"Ahh," I stammered, grateful Kunsel had already turned to chat with the other SOLDIERs. Suddenly, my heart was hammering.
I quickly slipped out of the training center and back to my room, my face warming. He'd even added a winking smiley. Zack wasn't lying, I realized. 'He really does seem different when it's not face-to-face.'
Feeling determined, I raised a fist. 'Time to make him proud.'
The rest of the day flew by as I buried myself in studying. Kunsel dropped by a few hours later, surprised at my sudden motivation. Little did he know the real reason...
When I finally went to bed, I felt accomplished—truly accomplished. I never thought this kind of excitement could fuel my studies. I couldn't wait for tomorrow.
Saturday Morning.
The day of my second training.
A chill crept into my bed as I raised the blanket, making me hesitate. Winter was closing in fast, and the first frost was only a matter of time.
With plenty of time before Field Training, I decided to grab my phone. 'No idea why, but I want to message Sephiroth... What do I even write?'
*Morning :)... Brr, it's so cold outside the bed -_-*
I read it over once more before hitting send. 'Not exactly profound, but it's early. He can't expect brilliance from me right now.'
To my surprise, his reply came almost instantly.
*Morning. Then stay in bed today :)*
My grin widened. *But what about the Field Training?* I typed back, testing the waters.
Once again, a reply was almost instant. *Ha ha... If you've got a big bed?! ;) *
I froze, my face heating up. 'Does he realize what that sounds like?' Fumbling with the keys, I typed a reply: *Not sure. Does 1.20m wide sound okay?*
My heart raced as his reply buzzed in.
*Ha... Enough if we only want to stand in one spot. Otherwise, it might get a little narrow. ;)*
I felt my face flush as my imagination spiraled. My mind conjured an image of Sephiroth and me on my bed, standing close, our bodies nearly touching in some kind of "training position."
"Ahhh!" I shook my head violently to dispel the thought. 'Bad Cloud! You said you would stop!' I felt like something that got me to think in third person was definitely messing with my head too much.
"What is it?" Kunsel's groggy voice drifted from the room across the hall.
"Nothing... Just a bad dream!" I blurted, grateful for my quick thinking.
"Ahh." A grumble, followed by a snore.
I chuckled softly at how carefree he was. *Okay, going out now. See you in training!* I sent the message quickly, resisting the urge to reply to his previous text.
With that, I finally got out of bed, ready to face the day—and whatever awaited me during training.