Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Innocence ❯ Prologue

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimers : : I own none of the characters. Just the plot.

A/N : : This will eventually be yaoi, as I stated in my summary. Again it has one of my favorite couples, Cloud x Sephiroth ^_^ I don't really have any other notes other than it's kind of one of my takes on what that bastard Hojo did to poor Sephy in his childhood. (P.S. I hate Hojo with a vengeance, can you tell?)

*word* -- happening (i.e.: *crack*)

~*~ -- flashback

~#~ -- scene change

//word// -- thoughts

"word" -- speech

Garnet Eyes

Innocence

Tiredly stalking back to his quarters from a day full of papers and irritating cadets, General Sephiroth walked through the 1st Class barracks thinking over several problems of the day. First off, there was that 50-page paper still on his desk untouched about redesigning the basics systems in the cadet programs. Second was the cadets themselves. Most of them seemed incompetent at the use of weapons in general and those that weren't were generally too busy slacking off to learn anything. He hadn't seen every cadet, of course, but he kind of doubted the rest would be different.

His room, larger than most and decorated in almost completely black and white, welcomed him quietly as he entered and dropped into the cushions of his couch. His eyes hurt and he had only gotten 3 hours of sleep the previous night. He desperately needed rest.

*yawn*

Curling down into the couch, deciding that the bed was too far away, he fell asleep quickly.

~*~

Sephiroth ran through the halls, terrified, dodging left and right through the masses of unknown people. His seven-year-old mind could only process that he had to run, and run fast. He dimly heard his voice again, and put in another burst of speed. He didn't know where he could go, but he knew he had to go wherever that place was.

Then it happened. That hand wrapped around his arm, and in terror he lashed out, managing to break free but in that moment it was too late. He felt those bony fingers firmly hold his shoulder and he knew that he couldn't get away.

"Dear boy. . . you know better than to run around like that. We have more important things to do."

Sephiroth cringed, shivering at that voice, his voice. Hojo.

~*~

Startled, Sephiroth bolted upright on the couch. 600. He needed to get back to work, it seemed. The dream //memory// faded in the back of his mind and he stood up, stretched, and walked into his bathroom. Taking a long, hot shower, he relaxed himself for what was sure to be another horrible day.

After getting suitably dressed in his work attire, he walked out of his quarters to head down to his office. Hours upon hours of paperwork needed to be processed, cadets inspected, and speeches voiced. He wasn't up for it today.

"Hurry!"

A pair of recruits ran by him in a flash, much too excited about something for his tastes. With a heavy sigh, he followed in their direction, sure that there was a problem they were heading towards.

Sure enough, there was a crowd of recruits forming a tight ring around something that obviously wasn't a training seminar. Forcing himself into calm, he swiftly made his way through the throngs of people into the front of the ring to see two cadets facing each other. One, a brown haired, brown eyed, tall lanky boy was taunting and pushing at the other-the one that caught Sephiroth's attention immediately. A short, lithe blonde with the most beautiful purple-tinted blue eyes he had ever seen. Fair skin covered fine musculature and his face held a more feminine than boyish quality. He was. . . cute. But, of course, the Great General would never admit to such a weakness, so he forced the thought from his mind immediately, focusing on the problem at hand.

The blonde made no motion to defend himself from the other boy's taunting, keeping a calm expression throughout the escapade. Finally, however, when the other made to strike him, he attacked. Sephiroth immediately saw his logic. He would not be at fault for defending himself by force, as long as he didn't make the first move. And he hadn't. Internally, the General applauded the blonde for his perception. He became even more impressed when the blonde leg swept the other, turned to defensive position, and waited. He was obviously taking no chances.

The brunette, however, was clearly mad, and so got up and lunged. The blonde easily avoided the swings intended for his head, chest, and stomach, dodging and circling as he waited for his chance. It didn't take long. At the moment the brunette's steps faltered, the blonde roundhouse kicked him in the head and he went hurtling backward. Right. Into. Sephiroth.

Frowning down at the brunette that slammed backward into his body, he pushed the boy forward and stepped out into the circle. Immediately all the surrounding recruits dispersed, afraid of getting in trouble for being 'at the scene of the crime.' He looked between the brunette and blonde before his attention rested on the brunette.

"We do not tolerate insubordinates that do not follow code. Why, if you even have a reason, did you instigate this?"

The brunette floundered for a minute before pointing at the blonde. Raising a silver eyebrow, Sephiroth glanced over at the blonde. He was standing still, staring ahead in perfect militant pose, not even blinking an eye at standing in front of the highest ranking officer in the Shin-Ra military. Focused again on the brunette, he scowled slightly.

"I will deal with you later, cadet. Leave for your regular schedule. What is the name of your commanding officer?"

"Greenes, General Sir. Sgt. Greenes."

Sephiroth nodded and watched the boy bolt. After he was sure the place was clear, he turned back to the blonde. Before he had the chance to speak, a quiet yet commanding voice came from the blonde, who was still staring straight ahead.

"He lied, Sir. Sgt. Greenes is my commanding officer. Sgt. Stechiel is his."

Sephiroth smiled inwardly at the voice. It complimented the figure so well.

"I wouldn't have trusted him to tell me the truth anyway, cadet. I saw who started it and I saw who ended it. As so, I must say that you are in the clear in this matter. But I must ask your name so I can make sure it is recorded as such."

"Cloud Strife, cadet of the 69th, first semester soldier."

//Cloud. . . what an unusual name.// "Very well, soldier. And may I ask the other's name?"

"Seth Wilkes, cadet of the 81st, first semester soldier."

Looking over the blonde, Sephiroth found that his rigid posture couldn't at all be comfortable- even at his life training it still looked like he should have a looser stance.

"At ease."

Cloud's body barely moved from the previous stance, but it was obviously more relaxed than before.

"You said Sgt. Stechiel, correct?"

"Sir yes sir."

"Thank you, soldier. Dismissed."

Cloud saluted before he turned and walked off to wherever he had to be.

//This is possibly the most interesting thing that will happen to me all day. I already miss him. . . . ! What am I thinking?!! A cadet!?! . . . I need a vacation. . .//

~#~

Zax ambled up to Sephiroth's desk as he was reading a report, his small, rectangular reading frames on his face as he looked between two papers.

"Hey, you ready?"

Startled out of his thoughts but not showing it, the General looked at his second from the tops of his eyes.

"And you would be speaking of what, Zax?"

"Uh, Sephiroth, you forgot about checking on the recruits?"

With a quick glance at the digital clock on his desk, Sephiroth leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"No I didn't forget. I just don't care. Who are we visiting today?"

"Eh, Greenes. His 69th. It shouldn't be too bad. I saw a few potentials in his group."

Tiredly, Sephiroth nodded and stood, dropping his reading glasses on the report and stepping out from behind his desk. Both men walked out to the training ground to walk around looking for the real talent in the group. Zax spent most of his time flirting with various cadets on the way down, as had become a game to him, before he turned to his business and inspected the troops with his superior.

Gazing disinterestedly through the troops, the General's vision finally rested on a certain blonde, attacking a stuffed attack dummy for all he was worth with his fists and feet until the thing's head snapped off accidentally from the force of one particular kick. Zax had seen the interest and attention of his superior shift to one sole spot and followed just in time to see the blonde break the dummy. A huge grin spreading across his face, he turned to look at Sephiroth.

"There's potential if ever there was one."

Indifferently, the General nodded without taking his eyes off the recruit. He bowed to his 'opponent' as if it had been real and he was respecting the other's defeat, and moved on to cleaning up the broken dummy silently. No one that good at fighting should be brand new to the military. In a way, Sephiroth thought, this boy was a blessing. One less thing to worry about.

~#~

At his desk, work piled up, Sephiroth read and signed papers well into the night. He had a lot to catch up on and it all had to be done. But his recent lack of sleep caught up to him and he finally passed out in his chair, head down on his desk.

~*~

Hojo held his arm, long bony fingers wrapping around bare skin, and Sephiroth shivered. The scientist was taking him back to the lab, no doubt, but the gods only knew for what tests. The corridors seemed unimaginably intimidating suddenly and the seven year old trembled. He didn't want to be near this man. This man hurt him. Often. And a lot.

"Come boy. Into here."

The child stepped through the door, glancing around the room worriedly. It was a lab, of course, but not one he had been in before. And, thinking about it, he hadn't been in the corridor before either. It was a new place. With who knows what new tortures.

A hand came down on his shoulder again and he flinched before the other hand brushed his long silver hair back out of his face. He forced himself to remain passive at the touch, however different it felt from before. Then the hand on his shoulder moved around to his stomach and pulled him back while the other hand caressed his face.

Not recognizing what was happening, but still not liking the sudden show of affection, Sephiroth pushed to get away from the hands on him. That angered Hojo, who suddenly shoved him into the examining table. Hitting it head-on, Sephiroth collapsed to the ground in a daze and the scientist took the opportunity to lift him up on the table and remove his shirt.

At seven, Sephiroth had a very delicate frame that seemed more befitting of a female than a male. It made him quite appealing to look at, as he had yet to gain the definition of musculature that gave him the definite form of a man. It also made him more vulnerable to other people. Stronger people.

"NO!"

~*~

Jade eyes snapped open to a dim office, the one light on the desk turned down to the papers underneath it. The corners of the room were black and everything away from the light was tinged with more and more darkness the further away it was. The room was quiet but for the harsh breathing of the sole occupant. Gods. . . he needed to get back to work and get that dream //memory. . .// out of his head.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he stretched back in his chair and yawned. A black gloved hand reached over and picked up his reading glasses from where the ended up near the light and he started working again on the papers that had been under his head. He didn't go to sleep again that night.

~#~

"Hey, Sephiroth, you-"

Sephiroth paused from the papers he was looking over when his second in command stopped speaking. It was, to say the least, unusual. And, since he didn't continue, the silver warrior shifted his gaze up to his second.

Zax eyes held a very concerned look that only seemed to amplify when he saw the General's entire face.

". . .Sephiroth. . . Are you okay. . ?"

With an annoyed grunt, Sephiroth turned his head back to his work.

"If you have nothing to inform me of, I would appreciate your leaving so that I may concentrate on my work. I have much to get done."

Zax was silent for a minute, but his unmoving presence was suddenly irritating for no real reason.

"Sephiroth. . . you need to relax. You look like you haven't slept in days. Knowing you, you haven't-I don't want you killing yourself, man. It's just work. You can get back to it."

For some reason, Sephiroth felt that his fuse had just worn down and he rose his intimidating full 6'1", taking his reading glasses and dropping them to his desk, and glaring full force down at his companion.

"Commander, if you were wise, you would not tell me what is good for me or what I should do. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself as I see fit and I do not need you or anyone telling me I need rest. I decide that for myself. Now leave, unless you have something pertaining to reports or duties that I need to be informed of."

He barely managed to keep from yelling by gritting his teeth as he spoke, but, though shocked, his second obviously would not back down.

"Well General, Sir, I am, by all rights, able to dismiss you from duty if I feel you are not capable of handling it. I feel that you are not capable of handling it. Now, should I dismiss you or will you leave on your own?"

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Sephiroth stepped closer to his second and growled.

"Don't you threaten me."

"It's not a threat; it's a promise."

Furious, Sephiroth shoved Zax backward, grabbed his sword from beside his desk, and stormed out of his office. Zax would take care of the paper work, he knew, but that didn't make him like the situation any better.

~#~

After stalking around the premise for a while, he came out to a balcony above the training grounds for the cadets and stood looking down at those inconsequential morons before he spotted a sunshine blonde, spiky head and smiled. At least he didn't have to be stuck watching idiots practice. And the blonde was fluid in motion and poise. He really did have a dangerous beauty of movement when he was "fighting."

Such grace and form, training already with swords while the others were still in basic martial combat. He was obviously going to move out of the 69th soon. He was too good for it. Much too good for a first semester cadet, too. . . .And Sephiroth realized that he had been watching the boy for a full three hours when the cadets left their training. Surprisingly, he was very calm by then. But he was tired, no matter how much he didn't want to sleep; he needed it.

~*~

Cold hands moved over him. Bony fingers stripped him naked and beady black eyes stared down at him through thin wire spectacles. He was cold, afraid, and he wanted more than anything to run crying to his mother. A mother that he didn't even know.

"You are beautiful, boy. So beautiful. . ."

The fingers scratched across his scalp, running through his silver hair, and Sephiroth began to cry.

"Shh. . . Don't make any noise, Sephiroth. You don't want to upset me, now do you?"

The seven year old shook his head negatively, but couldn't help a few quiet sobs.

"Your tears are pretty, though. I think I would enjoy seeing them more often."

Sephiroth furiously wiped at his eyes, trying to dry them and stop himself from becoming more vulnerable. Hojo was too calm. He normally got slapped or beaten for acting weak. And he was being praised for tears? What was going on? More than that, what was Hojo planning? The whole situation didn't settle with the silver haired boy.

"I want to see them."

The contact of the palm on his cheek shocked him a moment before it stung, but he bit his lip to keep quiet.

"Show me them."

Another slap. His cheek was already red and his lower lip trembled, but no tears fell.

"Show me them!"

Roughly shoved onto his back, he cried out in alarm before it was too late. It hurt. Everything hurt. Gods. . . nothing should be able to hurt so much. Between the howls of pain and the spasms of agony, Sephiroth knew he was crying. He could feel the tears on his cheeks, surprisingly for how numbed his body was beginning to feel. The blood running out of him was probably a clue as to why he didn't feel much anymore, but he was looking gladly toward the blackness that was beginning to cloud his vision.

"Beautiful boy. . ."

He fell into blackness.

~*~

With an anguished cry, Sephiroth shot up out of his bed, only to realize he was horribly tangled in his sheets as he tried desperately to find his balance again. He overbalanced on the edge of his queen bed, fell to the ground with a dull *thud*, and remained perfectly still. After staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes, listening to his own heightened breathing, Sephiroth turned his head to look over at his door. It was tightly closed and locked, as usual, though he couldn't really explain why he locked both the door to his quarters and the door to his bedroom every night. Jade eyes focused on the darkness seeping in from under the door and after a moment he sighed, pulling his arms out of the tangle of sheets and pushing himself upward.

No wonder he couldn't get sleep. He couldn't get those nightmares out of his mind when he woke up. He rolled his head, stretching his neck, and turned emerald eyes to the digital clock. 100 in the morning. With a groan, he struggled out of his sheets, threw them on the bed, and dressed to go out for a walk. His nerves were frayed and he needed to get some fresh air and forget about himself for a while.

~#~

Fresh breeze against his face, running intangible fingers through his hair, Sephiroth strolled quietly through the training grounds to sort his thoughts. A small noise, like a shoe hitting the pavement, caught his attention and he stepped quietly into the shadows, following the sound. It led him to the blonde, practicing a very complex katana with skilled ease. Blue eyes closed, body and sword moved as one object with every leap, twist, and turn. It was the movement of a panther - relaxed but focused, calm but tense, beautiful but deadly. Several times the weapon moved as if it would slice its wielder asunder, but the deadly arcs never made the mark.

Entranced, dreams all but forgotten, Sephiroth stared hypnotized by the young blonde's movements. Every flex and form created the most beautiful dance of power that he momentarily forgot his own existence in the presence of such beauty. Why in the world hadn't this boy been promoted, and fast? Surely he was good enough to be at least a high level soldier, if not a SOLDIER yet. He was definitely a formidable opponent if this was how he fought. Probably smart enough to make it in, too.

The katana ended in a half hour's time of Sephiroth's entrance into the courts, but somehow the General wished it hadn't. He stayed out of sight until the young blonde left, wishing that he would continue practicing, before he sighed, shoved his hands in his pants pockets, and turned to walk back in the direction of his quarters.

~#~

Sleepless nights passed, Sephiroth beginning to find the leisurely stroll more and more important to him as he hid in the shadows to watch the sunshine blonde dance to the invisible beat of battle. He found that just watching the blonde calmed him just as much as performing a katana himself did.

But his second could see his insomnia and made working a difficult process, so that Sephiroth eventually stopped even coming to his office. Zax made it clear that he would either sleep or he wouldn't be working, and since sleep was out of the option, he shirked his responsibilities on his second. Actually he was hoping that Zax would get sick of it and just let him take care of things again, but the brunette seemed adamant about keeping him away until he was rested.

Well, at least with all his free time he could spend more time watching his blonde. He had been right, anyway. Within less than a week, the blonde had jumped several levels. The only reason he couldn't go farther was his inability to use a gun properly. To Sephiroth's view, that was a bunch of shit; he never used a gun and he never learned to use one. He didn't need one, and with the blonde's show of skills, it was obvious that he wouldn't need one either. But it was protocol, and he couldn't interfere with it-that didn't mean, however, that he had to agree with it.

~#~

It was night again, and he was sitting in his favorite spot to watch the blonde. He had gotten there early, in hopes that he wouldn't miss any of his favorite part of the day. Cloud came out, as usual, dressed in dark pants and a white wife beater, broadsword slung on his back. When he got to his practicing spot, he laid his sword on the ground and sat by it, closing his eyes in quiet meditation. Sephiroth had never gotten to his vantage point early enough to see the blonde start, so he watched with rapt attention as the small warrior meditated before his eyes slowly opened in a startling shade of bright blue and he stood, bringing his weapon up with him.

Hours of the katana and Sephiroth felt very relaxed, watching his favorite high level cadet practice with the one weapon he needed no practice with. Finally, with one swift move, the blonde landed a few feet from his vantage point, eyes closed and head down, legs spread to support the combined weight of his body and sword, body close to the ground, sword high in an upward arch. Blue eyes suddenly snapped open, focused directly on jade, and took on the most indignant look that Sephiroth suddenly felt that he had been intruding upon the most intimate feelings of the other.

Without a word, the azure eyes narrowed to slits and his lips moved silently. Jade eyes widened in shock, but it was too late. The boy had cast sleepel on him. He wavered slightly before his body dropped forward, but he felt his head rest again a warm, pliant surface with a soft beating rhythm under the surface. He didn't remember anything after that.

~*~

Sephiroth awoke to the sound of a heart monitor and blearily opened his eyes to see two female lab assistants hovering over him like mother hens.

"Are you awake, Sephiroth?"

Barely nodding, he turned his head to the side, realizing that he had breathing tubes inserted in his nose.

"Who did this to you, Sephiroth? Hojo said he found you unconscious in a room and bleeding, but we can't believe that you did it to yourself. You can't make those sorts of wounds on your own. Who did it? Who hurt you? We know Hojo would want to know who your assailant was."

They didn't notice that, with the mention of that man's name, Sephiroth trembled. He couldn't help it. What had happened was wrong. It felt wrong emotionally, physically, and spiritually. And then he appeared. Glaring from outside the window, his person promised pain if a word was spoken. Helpless, Sephiroth burst into tears. The assistants tried to calm him; to tell him everything would be fine. He knew it wasn't true. Nothing could be fine ever again. Nothing was fine before, and nothing was even worse now. He held no comfort from the meaningless words of those two that knew nothing of what he was going through. He was alone. And he was hurt.

But who would love him? Who would care about him? Who could care about him?

~*~

Jade eyes opened woozily to look up at a familiar ceiling and he squinted. An annoying light was lazily streaming through a window in his bedroom and he brought a hand up to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. His jumbled memory worked itself together and he froze, delicately lifting his hand from his eyes to search around his room. It was empty except for his own body under his sheets, and the door was closed but unlocked. Eyes widening slightly, he shifted to look around the room better. Everything was in order, but he wasn't convinced. Grabbing his deep green silk robe, he wrapped it around himself and over his black sweatpants that he had worn the previous night to watch his blonde's katana.

After making sure he and his room were completely in order, he left to check the rest of his quarters. Nothing was touched. With a heavy sigh, he slumped down into his couch and dropped his head back. Maybe he had just been imagining things. He was just getting a little paranoid; nothing happened the night before.

*Knock, knock*

"Come in."

His voice sounded a little rough even to his own ears. He suddenly was curious what time it actually was. Then his second stepped in and looked over at him, smiling at his surely disheveled appearance.

"Get some rest, huh?"

Blinking, the silver warrior looked over at the brunette for a moment before letting his head lull back to its original position on the couch.

"What would you like, Zax?"

"Well, I was wondering if you felt up to doing a little work?"

Waving his hand dismissively, the General curled his legs under him and laid back into the couch.

"Not today, Zax. No papers."

"Jeez, Sephiroth! Before I couldn't even get you to leave your desk and now you won't go near it! Heh, I guess time off did some good. But this isn't papers. One of the cadets-you know, that insanely good blonde, is going up for sword mastery. Well, since he has the kind of potential that Shin-Ra hasn't seen since, well, you, they want a good tutor-"

"Why do I have a feeling that I will not like where this leads?"

"You won't, I'm sure. But it's direct order from the fat guy-that kid's your trainee."

With a groan, Sephiroth let his head roll toward the brunette until he could look at the man's face. Before he even opened his mouth, Zax cut in again.

"But hey, look at the bright side. The kid's a fast learner and he's already good with a sword-least that's what I heard. I know he can kick shit to pieces but the rest I haven't seen. They want you to mentor him because they want the best for the up and coming best. I guess it's just a way to make sure that you keep your skills, old man."

Raising a silver brow fractionally, Sephiroth smirked and uncurled himself, standing up straight.

"The war was not that long ago, Zax. I can still take you down any time."

A devilish grin spread across the other's face and Sephiroth held back his frustration. Somehow the man trapped him into doing something, he was sure.

"Well how about his first lesson be that his teacher can't hobble up to help him anymore, ne?"

"I am definitely not that old."

Zax laughed, turning his head to the side slightly before looking back at the man before him.

"I dunno; you don't look like you could do much better anymore. Let's go, old geezer; I gotta introduce you to your student properly. And damn, Sephiroth! I didn't know you could even sleep in past 0500, let alone until 1000. You musta been tired."

"It's ten in the morning?"

He made his voice disinterested, though he really was curious.

"Damn right; you slept waayyy in."

"I'll be out in a minute, then, Zax. Allow me to wash and get dressed so that I may be presentable for this, ne?"

Zax laughed, turning to leave the room.

"Sure thing. Just stop by the library when you're ready. I'll be there."

With that, the brunette left and Sephiroth turned to use his shower and get dressed. His mind must have been over imaginative; the blonde hadn't done anything to him. And now he would be mentoring a boy with the most beautiful katana movements he'd ever seen. If only he could look presentable for his introduction to a boy that definitely will not be difficult to tutor.

~#~

Weaving through the corridors, the General made his way to the library, already feeling high spirited in knowing that he was now responsible for the blonde that would most certainly make SOLDIER in a matter of months if he learned how to use those pathetic guns.

As told, Zax was leaning against the doorway to the library waiting for him with the blonde standing silently by him, immersed in a book he was holding chest level, reading. Zax spotted him and waved, to which Sephiroth nodded and continued on his way. After a moment, the blonde's brows quirked and he turned his head up just barely, but enough to see Sephiroth was walking toward him. He closed his book, walked back to turn it in, and came back to hold stance next to Zax again.

"'Sup, Sephiroth? You ready to get beat?"

Snorting, the General turned and walked away to the training grounds. There was a section of it that the normal cadets didn't train in, and he wanted to be alone with the blonde to gauge his abilities without hiding and watching from a distance. Zax smiled and followed, Cloud keeping a steady gait behind them.

Once they reached the court Sephiroth had wanted to be in, Zax turned back to Cloud to tell him to stay back to "watch the masters," but Cloud wasn't behind him anymore. Sephiroth's attention was directed toward the far side of the court, where, when Zax followed, the blonde was studiously looking over weaponry.

"Hey kiddo, what ya lookin' at?"

Sephiroth glanced over at Zax as he walked up to the boy before slowly moving forward himself.

"These swords. . . they're SOLDIER swords, aren't they? Regular swords don't look like these."

"Hey. . . that's right, they are. How'd you know that, kiddo?"

"Swords are all different, no matter what mold they are from. SOLDIER swords have certain little extra parts that other swords don't. It's so the SOLDIERS can hold extra materia. Generally, I'd think they'd put HP Plus or MP Plus materias in the extra slots, because they have high-level elementals or summons and don't need any more magics unless they want to hinder their physical damage. My name is Cloud."

Zax looked down at him, dumbfounded for a moment, as Sephiroth smirked.

"Zax, I believe you have paperwork to attend to."

Snapping out of his stupor, Zax glared at Sephiroth for a moment before turning away.

"Sure thing, Seph."

The General grimaced at the use of one of those annoying nicknames, and growled after his second.

"You will regret that."

"Maybe later, old man!"

Rolling his eyes, Sephiroth turned to look back at the blonde, whose attention was still engrossed on the swords.

"You would like to use one, no?"

Azure eyes widened fractionally before the blonde head turned to look back at Sephiroth's face curiously.

"Isn't it against policy to allow a cadet access to SOLDIER weapons?"

"I am the highest ranking officer in the army; if I say you can, you can."

The large blue eyes got bigger, and it almost made the blonde look like a child again before he smirked and nodded, eyes settling back to the impassive watch of his surroundings.

"Thank you, sir."

Sephiroth watched with rapt attention as the blonde looked over the swords more warily before carefully selecting a broadsword, similar to what Zax used. He delicately lifted it off the stand, turning it and inspecting it carefully in the light, before he turned back to Sephiroth.

"This one should be nice."

The General nodded, turning to walk to the center of the court. This would be interesting. He knew the blonde's skill and, although he knew he would be the victor in this little "battle," he knew it would also be interesting to see how much skill the blonde held against living opponents.

Unsheathing his sword, he turned calmly to face a boy that was already in stance, ready in a neutral position. He was giving no hints as to whether he was better offensively or defensively. A small grin gracing the General's face, he turned to his stance and motioned Cloud to attack.

"A good fighter watches the other's moves first, General Sir. I don't make the first move."

Shocked, but not showing it, Sephiroth nodded approval and gave a moment before he lunged. Surprisingly enough, the blonde moved with speed almost as potent as a SOLDIER. Cloud dodged the oncoming attack to bring his sword down in a sharp arc. The General shifted on one foot and parried the attack, sparks momentarily flashing in the space surrounding their blades as they made contact.

Jumping back and recovering stance, Sephiroth smiled.

"You will be quite an ally, Cloud."

"I have much to learn yet, Sir."

Sephiroth's smile broadened and he moved to attack again with a much faster sweeping arc. Cloud, almost seeming to anticipate the move, slashed his blade down so both swords made contact with the cement ground as the wielders jumped back. Without another word, Cloud moved to lunge in his own sword attack, which Sephiroth made ready to parry. Just before the blades made contact, Cloud swept his leg out, refocusing his attack into a kick that Sephiroth barely had the chance to bring his sword hilt down to block.

Losing balance from the hit, Cloud went down head first to thrust his free arm out and flip away from his opponent while tucking his body and angling his sword out of his way. He quickly returned to his original neutral position and both fighters looked at each other.

"Impressive, Cloud. You almost had me."

"Almost is not enough, Sir."

A small light made its way into jade eyes that had nothing to do with Mako, and the General's face turned almost jovial. The blonde, though obviously concentrating on attacking, seemed to realize that he was the reason the General's mood had brightened and grinned himself.

Both men readied for the attack when suddenly Sephiroth's vision went white. His hand loosened on the hilt of his sword and it slid from his fingers as he staggered slightly. Head pulsing, he dropped to his knees. The whiteness turned blinding and he fully collapsed to the ground, barely feeling the cushioning under his face instead of the harsh cement.

~*~

"Sephiroth, child, come here."

The little boy winced and made his way over to the scientist, each step becoming more difficult than the last.

"My beautiful little boy, you weren't very good today. You made the laboratory assistants clean up a very large mess. I thought about how to punish you. Come closer."

Sephiroth felt his heart skip as he forced his legs to carry him forward. Seeing the hand raise, he flinched and kept his eyes shut, waiting to get hit.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Fingers gently ran across his cheek and he flinched back farther.

"I should apologize, dear boy. I had no intention of sending you to the infirmary before. Allow me to make it up to you."

There was something almost feral in Hojo's voice just then. Sephiroth trembled. He didn't want whatever Hojo was going to give him.

Bony hands were at his shoulders again, bringing him closer and he felt the professor wrap his arms completely around his back. He was trapped. Feeling the nose nuzzling in his hair, he squirmed.

"I will make it up to you now, Sephiroth."

Unable to get away, Sephiroth started crying, curling himself into a ball.

"Do not make noise."

The torture started anew.

~*~

Jade eyes snapped open to see worried brown eyes looking down at him. In the background he heard the steady beat of a heart monitor and his eyes widened fractionally. He was in an infirmary room? Why?

"Gods, Sephiroth. . . Don't do that again! You scared the living hell outta me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I knew you hadn't been getting enough sleep. You passed out from a combination of exertion and exhaustion with the kid out in the training court. He looked pretty worried about you himself when he walked out of here-"

"When?"

Zax paused slightly, looking at his superior a little awkwardly, before he shrugged.

"About a minute ago. He'd watched you since he brought you here himself yesterday. I told the kid to get some sleep; he seemed pretty concerned about your well-being. Heh; you just make everyone worry about you. Don't worry about the kid. I cleared him of whatever classes he missed. You stay in here and get some rest. You need it."

Looking about as stern as he ever could look at the end, Zax turned and began to walk out of the room, leaving Sephiroth to sleep.

"Zax. . . . . .I. . . *sigh* Thank you."

The brunette turned back with an enormous grin and nodded.

"You're welcome."

~#~

It was late at night when the silver warrior heard the delicate, slow turn of the doorknob and he let his eyes drift over to the door. It cracked just barely, and as soon as he saw the sunshine blonde hair, he smiled. Cloud slid in the small crack and shut the door before looking over at the bed that held the General.

"It is night, Cloud. Why are you here?"

"I figured you would be bored; I know I don't like being stuck in bed. But the doctors have you on bed rest for at least a week. If you're anything like me, you don't like to go to sleep until late. I wanted to give you something to do."

Sephiroth eyed him curiously then, as he took his pack up and opened it. Two books came out and made there way to his side table.

"Some literature. I like reading; I thought you might."

"That was very considerate, Cloud."

The blonde reddened just barely, but nodded.

"I'll come visit some. According to my other teachers, I should still be learning even though my instructor is out of commission. I can still learn a lot from you, anyway."

A silver brow rose.

"Really?"

"Sure; you are the highest ranking member of SOLDIER. I know that I can learn something from your mind even if I can't learn from your body just now."

Sephiroth tilted his head just barely, watching the blonde.

"You know, you are very different from any of the other students."

"How so, Sir?"

"You're not afraid of me. And you like to learn. Not many do. You look at any opportunity to improve yourself. Most people only do when they have to. I'm sure you've heard this a lot, but you have a lot of potential, Cloud. And I would most certainly enjoy cultivating that potential."

Cloud grinned and put a hand over one of Sephiroth's. His hand was much smaller and didn't cover most of the General's hand.

"Sir, from other people it doesn't mean as much. People who can 'see' potential in areas they don't understand don't have as much meaning as people who do see potential in areas they do understand. Thank you, Sir. I would be honored to learn everything I can from you."

Smiling warmly, Sephiroth nodded and focused coolly on the blonde."There is much we can learn from each other."

A/N : : Is the fic shaping up or should I just send it to an early grave? I'm not sure so your opinions would be appreciated ^_^

And I do realize that this deals with a very touchy subject, so no flames about that, but constructive criticism welcomed. I want to improve my work.