Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Hateful Transformation ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

Hateful Transformation

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: -Sighs- I don't own FFVII………..

"I'm a………….. SOLDIER?" Young Cloud asked quietly, eyes lighting up. He turned to his friend and repeated himself. "I'm…………..A SOLDIER……………….." A gigantic proud smile flew across his face, he looked back at his own `hero', and asked politely, "General Sephiroth, Sir, Do you mind if I tell them…………….?" Speaking of his roommates.

"Of course you can. Though please hurry." Cloud answered, smiling slightly. His younger (former) self ran back inside of the room, followed by the brown haired boy, whom automatically slammed the door behind him, leaving him standing there staring blankly at it. He sighed softly, and leaned on the wall beside the door, waiting patiently for them to come back out.

"I'm ready sir!" Young Cloud said eagerly, throwing the door open. "What do I do first………….?" He asked severely, now attempting to act professional, though failing miserably because of his grin, still plastered on his face.

"First," Cloud answered, his emotions hidden, "We get you your SOLDIER first class uniform. We can't have you going around as one of Shinra's best wearing a guard uniform now, can we?"

"No, sir. What does a first class SOLDIER wear anyway?" Young Cloud inquired curiously.

"Have you seen what Zax wears? That. It can be in other colors, too, of course. Now, let's get going." Cloud said, trying to act like Sephiroth as much as possible. "It's hard not to act yourself………… around yourself." He thought, and smiled.

"General? What's so funny?" Young Cloud asked, head tilted to the side.

"Nothing, nothing at all…………… Let's go."

~~

Cloud had to take a complete guess at where to find Shinra uniforms at after a promotion. After all, in -his- past, he had never had one, in all of his two years. Luckily, he guessed correctly-the same building to join Shinra in Midgar was also the building that helped with promotions.

"Ah! General Sephiroth! How may I help you today?" An old crippled man behind the front counter asked, fake welcoming smile wearing thin over his chapped lips.

"I need to get him," Cloud answered, pointing to his younger self. "Some SOLDIER uniforms."

The old man took his pair of spectacles from a side pocket, and gazed at young Cloud. "Him? A SOLDIER? He sure don't look like SOLDIER material to me………….." At this, young Cloud winced, obviously affected by the man's words.

"Well, I believe he can take it, so it doesn't really matter what you think," Cloud answered coolly, face emotionless.

"Excuse me Sir, no need to be rude. I'm sure it can be arranged to get this boy-erm, man, some SOLDIER garments." The old man said, flushing slightly, face down. "Please follow me, young sir." Young Cloud nodded, and followed the man to the back, to find something his size, leaving Cloud standing there alone once more.

Cloud glanced around the area to see if there was anything he could possibly do. He saw a few wooden chairs, beside them small tables with old magazines. (Well, to Cloud, all magazines from here were old.) Seeing nothing else to do, he sat down, and picked up an issue of `Midgar Weekly', and started to read it.

Thirty minutes later, the old receptionist walked out, followed by an arrogant young Cloud, whom was clothed in navy blue SOLDIER clothes.

"It was hard finding clothes for his small size," The man said bitterly, going back to his post behind the desk.

"I'm sure it was. No matter. I shall see you some other time then," Cloud replied coldly, feeling rather spiteful of the man. Had there been a comment box of some sort, Cloud would have certainly left a nasty note. However, there wasn't, so there was nothing he could do---except, perhaps, physically injure him, but he couldn't risk causing an uproar.

"Goodbye," Cloud said with great finality, then swept out the door in great strides, young Cloud struggling behind him to keep up.

~~

"Ummm…………. General?"

"Just call me Clo-Sephiroth."

"Okay…………. Sephiroth?"

"………..What?"

"What kind of things do I do as a SOLDIER?"

"You……………. Uh………….." Cloud stopped, thinking. He really didn't know, so he guessed. "You go on missions and do various………….. Things. Your first mission shall be with me."

"Really? With you? Where will we be going?" Young Cloud asked eagerly, his usually meek voice becoming fuller.

"……………Nibelheim." Cloud responded, already guessing his younger self's reaction.

"Nibelheim? That's……………… Where I'm from." Young Cloud answered, Cloud's prediction of his reply correct.

"Hometown? Hmmm……………. Interesting." Cloud mumbled weakly, thinking about his memories of Nibelheim…………….. Of Sephiroth's embarrassing questions.

"Where are you from?" Young Cloud said pleasantly, trying to start a conversation………….. With his own hero. Cloud's dreams had been answered…………………….. In an alternate timeline. Cloud wondered how it felt for him…………….. To be promoted to a SOLDIER, then, the next day, going to Nibelheim and showing off his rank.

………………….Cloud had to admit, he felt jealously for his alternate self.

"Sephiroth?"

"Huh? Oh…………… I'm not really from anywhere……………" Cloud muttered, reenacting Sephiroth's own words in a way from his past.

"…………….You're not from anywhere? Oh, I get it, you're ashamed of your hometown, aren't you?" Young Cloud continued relentlessly. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't been promoted to SOLDIER…………….. Sephiroth would have gone insane before Nibelheim with all of this.

Wait, what was he thinking? He was -criticizing- his own self. It was obvious he would be talkative now.

"………………..Really. I'm not from anywhere. I…………… moved a lot, when I was young." Cloud said, the small lie escaping his mouth easily.

"Oh, okay, I see. So…………….. When do we go to Nibelheim?"

"Sometime in the morning, I guess……………."

"Hmmmm…………. In the morning………… All right. So………….. Now that I'm a SOLDIER, I don't have to stay in the regular barracks anymore, right?"

"No, I guess not. I have no idea where you'll stay tonight though………….." Cloud admitted, wondering what he was going to do with his unusually talkative self. "How about……………… my place? Just for tonight, that is."

"………………..At your place?" Young Cloud asked doubtfully, one eyebrow going up in inquisitiveness.

"As I said, just for tonight. And I'll probably stay on the ground floor most of the night anyway…………… I don't think I'll be able to get much sleep………………" Cloud said mindlessly, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, from knowing what the next day would hold. At least tomorrow he didn't have to keep up his appearance. As much, anyway.

"Well, ummm………. Thanks…………..?"

"……………It doesn't matter really……………I'll show you where it is. It's getting late anyway."

~~

The apartment building, apparently, wasn't up to check with what young Cloud's opinions of what Sephiroth's `house' looked like. He was obviously disappointed with it, though he tried not to show it.

"So I'll be staying here tonight?" He asked weakly, the edges of his lips tugging down slightly, showing distaste.

"Yes. Do what you wish here……………. I doubt the landlord would care much………………." Cloud said, mind drifting to the door he had shattered when he had first `arrived'……………. It had evidently been repaired, and no one on the staff had said anything to him.

"Okay………………. Thanks. I'll go ahead and go to sleep then." Young Cloud grumbled, and sighed weakly.

"See you in the morning then," Cloud said, smiling. He found it funny how he had been in the past, as he saw himself. After all that had happened that day, his adolescent self still managed to end the day feeling upset, after seeing the place where the `Great Sephiroth' lived.

Cloud left the room, closing the door quietly, and then went downstairs to the ground floor, as he said he would do. He ordered a soft drink from a drink machine for fifty gil, and then laid down on a bench, slowly sipping it.

Now that he had seen himself then, he realized that Shinra was right…………. Back then he hadn't been ready for SOLDIER. He wasn't like Zax, willing to sacrifice everything he had for his friends. Sure, he wasn't greedy, but he didn't know if he would risk everything for the life of some mentally incompetent……………. Kid. And how he had thought that everyone around him, except for a select few, were all idiots and not worth talking to.

How wrong he had been back then.

As he thought about it, he had matured greatly over the journey to defeat Sephiroth.

In the beginning, all he had cared for was money, really. Money to keep living. It didn't matter if the planet died.

Then he met Aeris………………… she had taught him to care, if only a little. He learned so much from her. She had always tried to reassure the group that everything would be fine, at the end.

Then she died.

But even after her death, Cloud tried to hold her optimisim…….. Both hers and Tifa's. Two completely different optimists. One which had problems keeping it, but it always stayed. And through it all, he had found himself, and helped save the world in the process. The Planet he hadn't cared for at first. Sometimes, people only need one sentence to keep going. Such as Barret's: "There's no use getting off the train you're on!"

But sometimes, one even simpler could keep people going:

…………………Everything would be fine……………………..

At the end.

~~