A/N

So I'm going to try a new brand of fanfiction, er…new game I suppose. On a kingdom hearts hiatus! Let's try Final fantasy

Chapter One

His time in SOLDIER wasn't going as planned. A mop of unruly, spiked blonde hair waved in the wind making Cloud shiver. His startling blue eyes scanned his surroundings as he tried to pick out the smaller things here and there. People had told him to notice the small things and his life would get easier, but the better his senses seemed to get the worse people around him acted. Was he only just noticing it? Cloud frowned after a moment and hopped from the building landing only a floor below. The balcony caught his fall and he climbed back in through the open window before running a hand through his randomly, spiked hair. He couldn't seem to do anything else with it, so why not?

Cloud walked down one of the hallways leading to the recruit's quarters, but a sickening voice made him stop in his tracks. Cloud was newly sixteen; he just joined the ranks of SOLDIER hoping to make it to first class one day. He hadn't been here for more than a month and he'd already made some pretty bad enemies.

"Hey, look who it is boys. It is one of my favorite recruits." That sickly, sweet voice was disgusting. Cloud tried to mask the sudden twinge of fear he found sliding across his delicate features.

Cloud turned on his heel only to be blocked by three of them. Usually he could get away from the two, but now they had added a third to their ranks and it made Cloud let out a small growl of despair. There was no way he was going to escape three of them without getting some form of concussion.

"What do you want, Nero? This isn't the time for any of this, okay? I need to get back to my room before lockdown." Once the place was locked up there was no way to get to the rooms. If he got locked out of his room he'd been sleeping in the hall, again! That wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"Oh this won't take long, Strife. It'll be quick and…well I can't say painless now can I?" Nero and his thugs had been picking on Cloud since the second week. He'd accidentally showed the prick up in combat class and now he was his permanent target.

Clenching his fists his eyes flicked back and forth between the three men with a scowl. He was younger then all of them, it wasn't fair that they thought they could pick on him because he was smaller than them. "Can we not do this today?"

They moved before he had finished his sentence. The one on the right grabbed his arms, but Cloud threw his head back catching him in the chin. A yell of pain left the thugs' lips and he was released only to turn and get punched in the stomach. Pain coursed through his small body, eyes squeezing shut in surprise before he gasped and dropped to a knee.

Nero moved quickly and the thug to his right grabbed the back of Cloud's blue shirt and shoved him into the closest wall. Cloud let out a small groan as his face connected with the corner of a window. He felt blood trickle down his cheek as he hissed out a silent sound of pain through his teeth.

"Wrong move, Strife! We could have made this way easier on you had you just submitted to us." He felt Nero's breath on the back of his neck. He tried to focus on that as another fist connected with his right side, pain exploding through his rib cage. "Now I'm going to make this as painful as I possibly can!"

Cloud made one weak attempt to move out of the way before he was thrown onto the floor and Nero pounced. The male straddled his waist, pinned his hands above his head, and took two good punches before Cloud heard someone walking down the hall. He let out a yell before Nero and the others took off yelling about first class. Shit, a first class SOLDIER was coming this way?

The blonde sat up weakly, vision clouded with spots of white, hot pain. He could literally see stars, how in the hell, was that a thing? He felt blood dripping off his chin and cheek but he didn't have the energy to care. He was going to wipe it off when he heard the footsteps come closer at a quickened pace. Wincing he shrugged away wondering if Nero had come back to finish the job on him.

"Hey, what happened to you?" A calm, innocent voice touched the blonde's ears making him open his eyes slowly. "Are you alright?"

Cloud jumped up, his back hitting the wall as he fumbled angrily for the words. "S…sir yes sir! I…I'm fine, I fell or something!" Zack Fair was talking to him! THE Zack Fair was asking if he was fine, and he had now seen him a bloody mess.

"Obviously you didn't fall, unless you rammed your face into the wall repeatedly." Zack frowned disapprovingly at the recruit's lie. He moved forward to wipe some of the blood from Cloud's cheek but the blonde flinched away from the touch.

"I'm fine, please don't." His voice was weaker, laced with an emotion he couldn't pinpoint. Zack stared down at the young recruit with intense eyes. He didn't look much older, not at all. "It's just a few scratches, nothing to concern yourself with, sir."

"Ah hey kid, don't call me that alright? You can address me as Zack or even Fair, but don't be so formal. Just Zack is more than okay with me."

Zack, Cloud looked up briefly and managed a small nod and smile. "Oh uh okay…Zack." The name sounded foreign on his tongue and he almost winced hearing it roll from his mouth. He sounded like an idiot.

An alarm sounded off and Cloud jerked out of his thoughts panicking, "I'm not going to make it!" He bowed at his superior and took off down the hall ignoring the aching of his body. "Nice to meet you, sir! I really have to go now!"

Zack tapped his chin curiously as he watched the small blonde run off to make curfew. A smile played on his lips as he turned the opposite way with a chuckle, "Now why would someone like that want to get into SOLDIER?" Everyone had reasons, right?

His lip was split, eye swollen, and his entire being screamed with pain, but Cloud couldn't fight the smile from his face. He had met one of the well known SOLDIERS of this day and age. He had just met Zack Fair! His heart raced as he washed the blood from his face and hands. It wasn't until he was in a white shirt and lying in bed did he realize just how much he hurt.

Groaning he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes hoping for some serious sleep. Sleep was the best medicine against something like this, right? Plus, tomorrow was his day off which meant he could do as he pleased from there. Nodding in content he let his eyes fluttered close and he slipped into the most peaceful of dreams.

"Cloud, Cloud, get the door! It's going to be kicked in, open the door!" A pillow flew from across the room hitting the blonde in the face.

His eyes opened slowly making him groan. There was someone knocking at the room door. His roommate was still in bed trying to ward off the offending noise. "Open the door." He growled again making Cloud sit up and check the time with a snarl.

Who in Gods' name was up this early? It wasn't even five yet. He wrenched the room door open wiping the sleep from his eyes and glaring at the well built, well dressed Zack Fair. Shit! He slammed the door before the other could even utter a 'good morning'.

"Whose it?" His roommate slurred from his half sleeping state.

Cloud threw a pair of his combat pants on and ran a hand through his hair scowling, "No one, I'll deal with it." He opened the door again before looking at the stunned Zack. "What are you doing here?" His voice was strained, wary almost.

"Good morning, I can see I woke you up. I guess my schedule is off of the recruits, huh?" He sounded so carefree and innocent. Cloud hadn't missed the fact he ignored his question. "I thought I'd come make sure you were alright." He saw the storm brewing in those beautiful eyes of his. "I can see you are peppier."

Cloud didn't miss the sarcasm in that last statement. He shrugged and yawned not really caring how he looked right now. He was probably bruised and beaten, but why the hell had Zack come all the way here?

"Strife!" Cloud froze and stared at his commanding officer. "What do you think you're doing up here?" This was his room! Where was he supposed to be?

His eyes widened slightly as he remembered the combat practice he was supposed to be in. Sure, he had a day off from class and drills, but they still had combat practice and he had spaced it. Zack watched the blonde's expression go from angry to completely horrified. A recruit that had forgotten the schedule; this was fun.

"I'm sorry, sir! Give me ten I need to get dressed properly!" He had forgotten combat! Flying into the bedroom he chucked a steel, toed boot at the sleeping thing in the bed. "We have combat! Get the hell up!"

The bundle was out of bed and dressed faster than Cloud could say his name. "See ya at practice!" Zack stood in the doorway bewildered at the little mess of blonde.

"It was my fault, commander. I asked the recruit to help me track down some of the enemies around the institution. He was helping me gather information for a book I'm working on. Well, not really a book more of a journal, but he is definitely getting the training he needs. More swords play and what not."

The commander looked at the dark haired male with a darkened gaze. "Is that what happened to his face?"

"According to him he fell." Zack spoke so nonchalantly it made Cloud wonder how close these two were. "I'll get it out of him, sir. I'm sorry I didn't warn you ahead of time."

Their commander nodded before walking off with a sigh, "Fine, fine I'll let it go this time, Fair. Don't let it happen again."

"Of course not, sir." Zack bowed at the other before looking at Cloud with a grin, "I suppose you owe me now. So, what should we do today?"

Cloud didn't like the way, that smile looked. Now he was going to be stuck with Zack Fair all day. It could have been amazing had he not been so worried about what was going to happen to him if Nero found out. "Fun."