天の龍 ~ 「俺の運が変われると思う…」 (kiraya) wrote in drops_n_ripples, @ 2007-03-10 20:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | butterfly effect |
Butterfly Effect: Chapter 25
Authors: Bard Linn and Kiraya
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: That'd be telling!
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but actually killing the examiners would serve as an important reason to deny my acceptance.”
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 25
The plan to break out Red XIII had to go on hold for a few weeks after Cloud had secured Aeris’ help, until the next board meeting. Normally these were held in the first week of the month, but in April and October they were collapsed into the next month’s meeting because of the SOLDIER exams. It was customary for ShinRa’s top General-slash-poster-boy to attend, and he wouldn’t if he was buried in work as he kept the exams and the rest of SOLDIER running smoothly.
Thus it was that Cloud had done his best to banish the plan from his mind in favor of more immediate concerns. Tomorrow he’d begin the SOLDIER exams for the second time in his life, and he could only hope he’d do better than last time.
“Hey, Cloud!” Zack skidded to a stop next to the cadet. “Heading down to the gym for a last-minute workout before the preliminary briefing?”
The blond nodded, amused. The SOLDIER First knew perfectly well no one was supposed to run in the halls… not that such knowledge had stopped him, of course. Zack was a law unto himself sometimes.
“I figured I’d sneak out of the office for a minute, find you before you went in. I got two things to tell you: one, take it easy, ‘cause there’s nothing to worry about; two, good luck. Not that you really need it.” The dark-haired man grinned. “You’ll knock ‘em dead, kid.”
“I’ll try for a reasonable impression, at least,” Cloud replied seriously, hiding a smile. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure actually killing the examiners would provide a good reason for them to fail me.”
Zack chuckled. “Too true. Anyway, you ought to get going. I’ll see you tonight — we can relax a little before things get crazy tomorrow, okay?” The older man squeezed his shoulder, then took off down the hall again.
Cloud made it to the gym in plenty of time — without running — and completed some basic exercises while waiting for the examiners and the other cadets in his class to arrive. They stood in formation while the examiners presented them with a brief outline of what to expect from the exam, concluding with tomorrow’s schedule for in-depth medical tests. Only after candidates had passed these would they go onto Mako screening; the examiners didn’t say as much, but Cloud unofficially knew — and Zack had made him swear up and down to never tell anyone he knew this, especially Sephiroth — that ShinRa wanted to screen out those who weren’t up to par in order to prevent the waste of valuable materials. Psychological tests would be a large part of this, to root out any who might react poorly to the Mako, as the mentally unstable often did. Following those tests was a content exam, which measured how much a candidate had learned about SOLDIER procedure, weapons, and materia from the mandatory cadet lectures.
Cloud had found Vincent’s lessons a lot more useful.
After that first battery of tests, the cadet class had usually shrunk to a little over half of its initial size. From there individual skills tests would be conducted before the cadets were split into squads of five or six men for a field exam. Cloud wasn’t too worried about the first group of tests himself; he had to have passed all of them before, to get as far as he had. The field exam was what weighed on his mind the most.
“Cadet Strife.”
Cloud turned to see an grizzled older man he’d noticed a little earlier standing just behind him. “Yes? Can I help you, sir?” He had to admit he was intrigued. The man had the look of a good swordsman about him; his skill seemed obvious in every movement he made, his grace belying the age apparent in his grey hair and creased face. That might not have been so strange, but he wasn’t wearing any type of uniform; it was rare to see anyone hanging around the military compound in civilian clothes, and casual wear was almost unheard of. The stranger seemed perfectly at ease, though, which made Cloud wonder at his connections.
“Polite, I like that.” The stranger gave him a long look. “Fancy indulging an old man with a little sparring?”
Cloud inclined his head. “Forgive me for saying so, sir, but I doubt I’d be indulging you. In fact, I think you might be too much for me to handle.”
The stranger smiled slightly. “Go fetch yourself a practice sword, boy. I want to see what you can do.”
Though he felt a bit like a chocobo being put through its paces in front of an old jockey, Cloud did as he was asked. He didn’t want to risk gathering enemies, whoever they might be. His opponent walked to a training mat off to the side, away from the rest of the cadets; the blond had no choice but to follow.
He barely had stepped on the mat when the man struck, his blade whipping towards Cloud with surprising speed for someone lacking the tell-tale glow of Mako in his eyes, nearly forcing the cadet off of the mat entirely. Cloud blocked, though not without effort, and pressed forward, pushing his opponent backward. They broke apart and circled, the old man with his sword held high in his left hand. This feels familiar, the cadet realized, startled. But… why?
Cloud’s opponent struck again, and the blond instinctively countered, some part of him recognizing the style. It’s different, but… He whirled aside to avoid a rush and managed to land a glancing kick before dancing back from the other’s practice blade. He saw a brief flash of approval in his challenger’s eyes.
The pattern continued, the older man attacking and Cloud defending, going on the offensive only when he saw an opening he thought he could use to his advantage. All too soon, though, Cloud felt his muscles starting to tremble with fatigue. He longed to wipe the sweat from his forehead before it fell into his eyes but didn’t dare, lest he lose his sword. Either Zack’s been going easy on me, or this guy’s just toying with me. In either case, he wouldn’t be able to last like this much longer.
The man lashed out again, blade held high, and in a sudden flare of insight Cloud realized he knew this move. It was a foundation of Sephiroth’s style, one the General himself had taught him, along with its counter—
The SOLDIER cadet’s blade flashed forward, and his opponent’s sword fell to the floor with a harsh clatter. The stranger made no more to retrieve it, however, merely bowing to Cloud before looking over the blond’s shoulder. “You’ve picked a good one, Sinclair. Take care of him.”
Cloud turned to see Zack standing behind him, looking visibly relieved. Much to the cadet’s embarrassment, they had gathered quite a crowd during their bout. Cloud’s challenger nodded briefly to both him and his mentor and walked away without a word, which would have peeved Cloud somewhat — he could’ve at least introduced himself after all that — if he hadn’t felt so thoroughly exhausted. He shook his head slowly, feeling like he might collapse to the ground right then and there.
“Michaels, put away those blades,” Zack ordered, for once sounding like the officer he was. A moment later he was by Cloud’s side, looking almost anxious. “Are you all right?”
“Just tired, is all.” Cloud slowly followed Zack out of the gym. He would have been quite content to sleep the next week away, if not for the exams.
“You should be.” The SOLDIER shook his head. “I can’t believe you beat Scoggins, of all people. And it didn’t look like he was holding back, either.”
“Who?” Cloud didn’t tell Zack that he had won through sheer luck. If he hadn’t recognized that move Sephiroth had taught him, he would have lost the match.
“David Scoggins, one of the best sword troops the company’s ever had. Believe it or not, he was Seph’s first teacher. Even if SOLDIER hadn’t been so new around the time our General was ready to start learning, I still bet they would’ve given him the honor,” Zack explained. “Not many lefties with that much talent around.”
“Oh.” Cloud nodded slowly. “That explains why his style reminded me of General Sephiroth’s so much, then…”
“Exactly. Except it’s really the other way around.” Zack raised an eyebrow at him. “You going to be okay back in your room? Between pre-exam jitters and now this, the boys’ll probably be yapping enough that it’ll be a late night, you know…”
Cloud shrugged. “I’ll be—” he yawned hugely “—just fine.”
“Right.” Amusement sparkled in the SOLDIER’s indigo eyes. “I know how it is. The moment you satisfy one man’s curiosity, his bunkmate’ll take his place with more questions, and you’ll never get any rest,” he declared. “You can crash at my place, if you want.”
Cloud eyed him warily. “I’m not going to be woken up at 0430 for cake again, am I?”
“Nope, not this time,” Zack grinned. “Though if you get through all of this, cake will definitely be in order. You can even have the bed tonight.”
“And where will you sleep, then?”
“Oh, I’m sure I could find a willing, cute little— hey!” Zack rubbed his arm. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”
Cloud rolled his eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“Part of the job description, kiddo.” He winked. “Really, though, I’d rather you have the bed; you’ll need a good night’s rest for tomorrow. As for me…” The SOLDIER shrugged. “There are other places I can sleep.”
“If you’re sure…” Sleeping in Zack’s bed sounded like it could be really nice, actually. SOLDIER Firsts had to get better accommodations than cadets, after all…
“‘Course I am.” The dark-haired man smiled. “What are friends for?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
One down, four to go. Cloud sighed, stretching absently. Once again, the medical tests had been hardly worth mentioning; the work they did in the cadet program didn’t really allow for them to get out of shape, and he’d never had any major health problems. He expected to pass the Mako tests without incident, too. The content exam was a non-issue — he knew a lot more than he had the first time around — and he wasn’t too worried about the skills test, either. The field exam had to have been where he failed last time, and that was what bothered him.
“Hey, kid. How you feeling?” Zack asked, plopping down beside the blond.
“Not bad,” Cloud replied. “Just waiting.” He glanced at the clock. “I doubt they’ll be calling our group for a while.”
“Ahh, the joys of being an S.” Zack grinned. “I remember. Got to wait until the end for just about everything. Why they insist on doing things in alphabetical order, I’ll never know.”
“You’d think they’d do it backwards once in a while just to give us a break,” Cloud joked.
“Yeah, really.” The SOLDIER shook his head, smiling.
Cloud hesitated for a moment, but decided now was as good a time as any. “Hey, Zack…”
“Yeah?”
“Why do they do complete retests? I mean, for those of us who passed parts of the exam before.”
“Well, there’re a couple of reasons.” The SOLDIER looked around, then leaned in closer, his voice low. “First, it would be a pain in the neck to constantly try to keep track of which part of which class had passed what test.” He grimaced. “There’s enough paperwork without adding that into the mess.”
Cloud chuckled. “Don’t tell me that’s the only reason.”
“Nope. Cutting out some of the tests for some people would give them an unfair advantage in stamina,” Zack continued. “You know how everyone starts looking pretty ragged as the exams go on? It’s intentional.” Cloud raised his eyebrows at that. He had never thought of that. “Heh. You’d be surprised how much unofficial testing goes on, all during the cadet program. Finally, though, people’s test results can change.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Cloud conceded, “but not for the psych evaluation. Or the Mako tests, either.”
Zack shook his head. “Don’t be so sure. Some candidates’ psych results do change in the time between exams. Some go through pretty rough periods, and that drags ‘em down a lot. On the other hand, some grow more comfortable with themselves, and are actually more stable because of that. And while it’s rarer, changes in Mako results do happen, though none of the Mako sciences guys at the university, or anyone up there—” Zack jerked his head in the general direction of the ShinRa building, and presumably the labs “—has figured out why yet.”
“Huh.” Cloud looked thoughtful. “I suppose that makes sense.” He sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to the Mako testing at all. It was an uncomfortable procedure, though he really had to get used to it. SOLDIERs had to endure a lot more comprehensive tests on a regular basis to check for mutations.
“Worried about it?”
“A little.”
“I’ll tell you something one of my war buddies once told me.” Zack looked off into the distance. “Robin was from Cosmo Canyon. Heard of it?”
Cloud shook his head. “Not much. All I know is it’s supposed to be… interesting.”
The SOLDIER chuckled. “That’s something of an understatement. They’re… very close to the Planet there, I guess you could say. Robin never fully explained it, but he always swore up and down that Mako is actually alive in its own way.” Cloud raised an eyebrow at that. “Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too. Anyway, he told me that because Mako has its own… will, I guess would be the best way to put it, you actually need to consciously and subconsciously accept it into your life. He thought half the reason for mutations was people were fighting it.”
Cloud nodded slowly, still skeptical but unwilling to dismiss something that might help. “So, how do you go about doing this?”
“Meditation.” Cloud bit back a snicker, an abrupt image of Zack, eyes closed, sitting perfectly still and serene, entering his mind. “Oh, laugh all you want, but it does help, or at least it did for me.” Zack fidgeted. “Not that I exactly meditated. More like counted while breathing, but…” He shrugged.
“Eh, I’ll try it.” Cloud shrugged as well. “Can’t hurt, after all.”
“Exactly.”
SOLDIER cadets with the last names M-S, please report to the infirmary, said a dispassionate voice over the intercom.
“Didn’t expect them to call us this soon,” Cloud commented, rising.
“Don’t have as many in the first half of the alphabet this time, oddly enough.” Zack shrugged. “See you later, okay?”
The cadet nodded resolutely. “Yeah.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud walked wearily into the gym, feeling as if a huge load had been lifted from his shoulders. All around him he saw similar looks of relief. “All right, cadets. You’ve done well to get this far. Exam results should be posted within a week or so. You have off tomorrow, but we’ll expect you to go back to your regular schedule after that until you move out of your current quarters. Dismissed.”
“Man, I’m glad that’s over.”
The blond glanced over at the speaker — his squadmate Matthew Roberts, if he remembered correctly. “Me too.” He was pleased to see that six out of his group of ten had made it all the way through to the field exam… though they were one of the highest-level squads, so that was to be expected. They had lost most of their members to the Mako test, which Cloud had used Zack’s meditation trick to help with. He wasn’t sure if it’d worked or not, but it had helped calm his nerves, and what was the harm in that?
“Want to come out tonight?” Roberts asked. “Celebrate it finally being over?”
Cloud shook his head. “All I want is some sleep.” If Zack would let him, anyway. He briefly considered how to evade his SOLDIER friend. Probably not possible.
“Heh, I know what you mean.” Roberts grinned. “Don’t be a stranger, Cloud. See you around!”
Matt was a nice guy, Cloud decided. They worked rather well together, too, despite both being what Zack called ‘loners.’ Both had few friends, but were rather close to those they had. Well, whatever happens, happens. I do hope he gets in, though. Cloud wandered from the gym, his thoughts scattered. It would be pointless to go back to his room now. Everyone would be in there asking questions, comparing experiences and such, and Cloud had had more than enough of that. Especially since after that whole incident with Scoggins. The blond winced. Everyone had been so weird about that…
“Hey, Strife.”
Cloud slowed to a halt. “Reno.” He eyed the redhead warily. This was not the carefree man he’d grown used to. Despite his casual pose as he leaned against the wall, there was something in his bearing that practically screamed “dangerous.”
“Any more thought on my proposal?”
“Your propo— oh.” He remembered now; Reno had offered to help Cloud get into the Turks that one time Zack had taken him drinking. The blond shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m happy where I am.”
The Turk shrugged. “Well, if you ever change your mind, let us know. We’d be glad to have your company.”
Cloud nodded and resumed his walk away from the gym, careful not to increase his pace. Something about Reno’s statement had unsettled him, though he couldn’t really derive any meaning from it beyond the obvious. I know they want me in the Turks. But that’s not the place for me. Vincent always said I’d be a bad Turk. That may have been when Cloud was seven, but he figured it still held true.
“So, future SOLDIER, how’s it feel to finally be done with the exams?”
“Hello, Zack.” Cloud couldn’t help his smile, glancing at a nearby clock. Less than ten minutes. Zack sure didn’t waste time. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d still have paperwork to do, with everything that’s been going on.”
“Well, our great and glorious General has declared I’m not allowed to do anything pertaining to the exams on the basis I’m biased.” Zack sulked a little, but the twinkle in his eyes showed he was kidding. “He sent me away, so I figured I might as well come find you. Want to come hang out at my place for the night? I picked us up a few drinks, and you can just relax for once…”
Cloud hesitated. “I should probably pack—”
Zack waved his hand dismissively. “You have all day tomorrow, plus however long it takes them to make up their minds,” he countered. “Tell you what: hang out tonight and tomorrow I’ll show you a new trick I picked up from a friend of mine. Pretty cool, though it only really works with smaller blades…”
Cloud’s eyes brightened. “You’re on.”
“Great!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Come on, Seph. Just a little peek?”
“No, Lieutenant.”
“I won’t tell him! Or anyone else!”
“No, Lieutenant. I have been telling you the same for the last five days, and I have no intention of changing my mind. Now, if you will please return to your— Cadet Strife?” Sephiroth raised his eyebrow at the blond spikes peeking over a rather large box. “Did you need something?”
“Heidegger’s secretary found me,” Cloud said, attempting to look around his burden. “She gave me this for you.”
Zack grabbed the box from his apprentice and glanced at the label. “Oh, great… more budget stuff. Why do you have these, anyway? It’s not your job to be carting this stuff around.”
Cloud shrugged. “It’s not that heavy, just awkward. And I think just about everyone considers me your errand boy by now.”
“But these are addressed to Sephiroth.”
“Whose office is connected to yours,” Cloud pointed out, stretching his arms.
“Indeed.” Sephiroth took the box from Zack and stowed it under his desk. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind…” He pulled out several papers.
“Not at all,” Cloud replied, taking the stack. Each paper-clipped packet had a note attached, indicating where it should go. The blond saluted the General. “I’ll get these delivered immediately, sir.”
Sephiroth nodded. “Dismissed.”
Zack gaped. “Hey, wait a second! Were you listening to what I just said? Seph, you can’t just go borrowing my apprentice like that — he’s a future SOLDIER, not a delivery boy! Hey!” He turned to the blond, pleading. “Cloud—”
“Sorry, Zack, but orders are orders,” Cloud replied, not even bothering to try to hide his grin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He walked out of the office.
Zack scowled. “If you’re going to go making my apprentice into an errand boy—” Hypocrite much? said Sephiroth’s raised eyebrow “—then the least you can do is let me see his file!”
“No, Zack. He’ll find out with all the other cadets — and you’ll find out after that.” Sephiroth kept his face perfectly expressionless as his aide threw up his hands in frustration, then returned to his desk. Only when Zack had once again returned to his work did the General allow himself the tiniest of smiles before doing the same. It would be wise to make the most of the time he had before Strife returned.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud dropped off his second to last packet and nodded to the young secretary. He was actually grateful Sephiroth had given him something to do; everyone who’d taken the exams was more or less at loose ends at the moment, and the tension from not knowing the results was really beginning to get to them. It’s been five days, though; we should know soon… He asked to borrow the secretary’s stapler for the last set of papers, which was to be posted on the mess hall board; promising to return it, he set off.
He was acutely aware of several pairs of curious eyes on him as he crossed the mess hall, postings in hand. It was kind of awkward, really; though it’d been nearly a month since the Scoggins incident, people were still weird about it from time to time. If this is anything like what General Sephiroth goes through, I’m surprised he hasn’t gone mad yet. Cloud hated being stared at, though he ruefully reminded himself that if he was going to be a SOLDIER, he really should get used to it. Civilians stare at SOLDIERs all the time.
His booted feet echoed in the surprising silence (a lot of the normal roar of chatter had died down, and several people shifted in their seats as if to get up) as stopped before the message board and removed several outdated notices to create space for the posting. Coming from the General’s office, it had to be important.
Only when he began stapling the first sheet did he actually bother to read the message — and felt his heart nearly stop in shock.
Posted below are the results of the SOLDIER exams. Those cadets not listed are expected to vacate their quarters within 48 hours of this posting.
Accepted cadets will find their new room assignments next to their names. Orientation is 29 October, 0700 hours, at Delta Auditorium. Congratulations.
Heart pounding, Cloud quickly resumed stapling the papers up, perhaps a bit more haphazardly than he should have, but he was anxious to read it in full. Finally he saw it—
Strife, Cloud. Room C 46
A huge grin spread over his face — he had done it! Whooping for joy, he squeezed back through the sudden press of noisy, eager cadets around the bulletin board, almost forgetting to return the stapler before he ran back up to Sephiroth’s office. “Zack!” he hollered as he threw the door open. “I made it!”
“What— when did they post the results?” Zack demanded, whirling on Sephiroth.
“I sent them down with your apprentice approximately—” Sephiroth glanced at the clock “—an hour ago.”
Zack blinked, unable to believe he had missed that. “You…” He shook his head and turned to his apprentice, grinning broadly. “Congratulations, Cloud!” He ruffled the blond’s hair. “Welcome to the team!”
Cloud didn’t even bother to gripe at him for the hair ruffling. “Thanks, Zack,” he replied with the most genuine smile the dark-haired SOLDIER had ever seen on him, eyes alight with joy. It was enough to make Zack’s heart ache. Being a SOLDIER wasn’t all fun and games, but Cloud wanted it so much… how could it possibly be wrong? “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Ha! You remember that, now.” Zack smirked, looking decidedly mischievous. “I’ll collect one of these days. And actually, I seem to recall I promised you a present if you got in…”
Cloud shook his head. “Zack, you really don’t need to—”
“Pah. Some things need to be fussed over.” Zack glanced at the clock. “I get off in three hours. I’ll meet you at the station in three and a half, okay? Wear street clothes.”
“I’ve picked up that much since I met you,” Cloud muttered, though he was still grinning even as he rolled his eyes. “I’ll be there.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And that was how Cloud found himself in a chair four and a half hours later, dinner and two beers in his stomach, staring at the machine in the clerk’s hands. “Zack, I really don’t think this is such a good idea…”
“Don’t be stupid.” Zack crossed his arms. “You’ll look good with an earring.”
“I don’t recall asking to get things stuck in me—”
“Sure you did. You signed up for SOLDIER, after all.” Cloud pondered this for a minute and had to acknowledge that yes, signing up for SOLDIER did essentially mean just that, whether it was needles, swords or assorted monster parts. “But if you really don’t like it,” Zack added, “you can always take it out and let it close.”
“I suppose.” Cloud sighed and gave in. The clerk smiled reassuringly, placing the apparatus against his ear. Just a brief sting and it was done. “Didn’t hurt at all.” He carefully listened to the clerk about caring for it, then hopped off the chair.
“Part of the reason for the alcohol,” Zack replied, and smiled. “It really does look good on you. Should’ve made you get it sooner.” Cloud simply shook his head as the two of them returned to the station, taking the train back topside. “Now, let’s grab your stuff and drop you off at your new room. You’ve got orientation bright and early tomorrow.”
“It’s not that early.”
“0700 is early for some people, even in the army.” Zack led the way to Cloud’s former surprisingly empty squad room. Two more lockers had been completely cleaned out in addition to the four already empty, probably from the two members of the squad who hadn’t passed the field exam. Only six of us made it to the final round… and of those, only four passed…
It was kind of depressing, in a way. Still, as far as he knew they both had the option to retake the exams, so he still might be seeing them.
“You’re all packed, I see.” Zack reached over to grab a bag.
“Yeah.” Cloud grabbed the other bag and looked around the room. This place had more or less been his home for the last couple years. It felt odd to be leaving it.
“Well, SOLDIER, onward and upward!” Zack led the way to the SOLDIER barracks section C, where the Third Class lived. Pulling out a keycard, he opened the door to Cloud’s new room before the younger man got a chance to look at the nameplates next to it. “They’ll be giving these out tomorrow, but I swiped yours early.” Zack tossed it to him. “Figured there was nothing wrong with you moving in today, since you know your roommates and all.”
The blond blinked. “Huh?”
“Cloud!” The speaker looked up from the book he was reading. “You’re early.”
“Paul?” Cloud stared at him in shock. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here, of course — same as you,” Paul replied, closing his book and putting it aside. “We weren’t expecting you till tomorrow, though. Scott’s down the hall in the shower.”
“But…” Cloud stuttered. “What…?”
“You didn’t think all those physiological tests were just to tell if you could get into SOLDIER, did you?” Zack said lightly. “They also help figure out matches for roomies. It’s important for newly adapting SOLDIERs to live with people they can get along with — the treatments can make people pretty cranky. Your final roommate’ll probably be someone from your squad. We tend to keep you guys in working pairs.” He smiled. “Come on, let’s get you unpacked.”
Shaking his head, Cloud took his first good look at his new quarters. The room was easily as big as the one he had just vacated, but had only four beds, two lacking sheets, instead of ten. These were at least a little wider, with much nicer mattresses, as Cloud discovered when he sat on one. Two desks sat at one end of the room, beyond the four beds — those would be nice when it came to write letters and reports. Trying to use a book as a writing surface had never been fun.
“You can bunk the beds, but we haven’t bothered lately,” Paul commented as he watched Cloud examine the room. “Most people don’t want to have to climb to a top bunk when they come back from treatments.”
Cloud nodded as he picked one. The room’s layout wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t totally indefensible.
“Closet over there is for your stuff.”
The blond nodded opened the door, more than a little surprised to be getting an actual closet instead of a footlocker. It wasn’t a small one either, with shelves as well as what looked like weapon brackets, and a small safe that looked sturdy enough to withstand even SOLDIER strength. Cloud opened the safe first, placing his valuables — his money, his materia, and the armlet Vincent had given him — inside before locking the it and dropping the key into his pocket.
“Damn, Cloud. You running your own armory or something?” Paul asked, fingers itching at the sight of the materia.
“Not really,” Cloud replied coolly, giving his friend a warning look. Touch my materia and I’ll kick your ass.
“I think I’m jealous.” Paul sighed. “We’re issued materia on missions, of course, but the only way we get our own is if we buy it.”
“That’s why I keep telling you to save up and get some then if you want it so badly,” came a new voice. “Hello, Cloud.”
“Hi, Scott,” Cloud greeted the dripping new arrival.
“Sheets should be on one of the shelves in your closet. Towels, too — we still have communal showers. Private bathrooms are for Second Class.” Dressed only in pants, the SOLDIER towel-dried his hair. “The showers are still nicer than anything the cadets have, though.”
Cloud pulled out his sheets, running his hand over them. They too were of higher quality than what the cadets were issued. “Isn’t this kind of…?”
“Extravagant?” Scott supplied.
Zack just laughed. “Cloud, you’ve seen my quarters. You know ShinRa takes care of its SOLDIERs.”
“Yeah, but you’re a First,” the blond pointed out.
“ShinRa knows better than to keep SOLDIERs in the same conditions as the rest of the army. Yeah, you get more perks with class promotions, but even SOLDIER Thirds have it better than the regulars. Only makes sense, when you consider how all of a SOLDIER’s senses are enhanced,” Zack explained. He handed Cloud his other bag to unpack. “Now, about orientation tomorrow. They’ll speechify at you for a bit, of course, and after that you’ll be split into groups where they’ll be assigning mentors — it’s standard operating procedure for new Thirds to have Firsts or Seconds as mentors. You’ll be staying with yours truly, of course.” Cloud visibly relaxed at that. “The only thing you really need to worry about tomorrow is your Mako seminar and treatment dates.”
“Mako seminar?”
“Lecture on the side effects of Mako, what to watch for, signs of poor adaptation,” Zack elaborated. “I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“All right.”
Cloud saw Zack off, then turned back to look around the room again. “Glad you tried again?” Scott asked, reminding the younger man that he’d almost just gone home when he failed before.
“Yeah.” Cloud smiled. “Really glad.”