Not Just One of the Guys Chapter 2
Cloud woke up after Sephiroth had left. It was Reno who did the waking, which meant Cloud woke up with Reno sitting on his stomach, grinning. Cloud screamed bloody murder and shoved Reno with everything he had. The redhead toppled, and Cloud scrambled for Vincent, who had inadvertently become the designated safety zone.
“Didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t appreciate it?” Vincent asked. Reno picked himself up, rubbing his bruised hip.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. But it worked, didn’t it?” Without waiting for an answer, Reno turned and stomped away. Vincent shook his head.
“It’s about time you woke up. C’mon, get dressed.” He handed Cloud the clothes he’d picked out earlier. “I won’t look.”
“Thanks.”
“Mmmm.”
Cloud untied the towel someone had tied around his waist (he really hoped it had been Vincent), and dressed. The only thing that fit him properly was the boxers, which either meant that he had big hips, or Vincent had very small hips for someone that tall.
“I look like I shrank.” He complained. “You can turn around.” This time, Vincent failed to keep from laughing. The pajama pants were just barely hanging onto Cloud’s hips. The shirt wasn’t much better, what with the sleeves completely covering his hands and the whole thing sitting lopsided, so that one of his shoulders was totally bare. “It’s not funny!”
“Yes…yes it…is” Vincent managed. Cloud glared at him. “I’ll see about finding clothes to fit you in the morning.”
“Don’t you mean that you’ll ask our masters?” Cloud asked, hitching his pants up a little higher.
“No. They don’t need to be bothered with things like that. I handle matters like clothing, linens, furniture, and our other needs. We all have our jobs, and I’m sure you’ll be given one once your specialties are determined.” Vincent picked his basket up and nodded towards the door. “Shall we?”
“Yeah.” They walked in silence for a moment, then Cloud had a question. “What do you mean by ‘specialties’?”
“Well, as an example, I have a gift for mathematics, so I balance the books for Rufus and Tseng. Sephiroth advises Rufus on matters of business, and he takes care of a lot of paperwork for the SOLDIER program. Zack helps him with that, and he also assists in training SOLDIERs. He picks out a few promising students, and gives them extra training. They always do well. What we earn is put into an account for the day we are released.” Cloud stared at Vincent. Slaves could have jobs? Could earn money by doing things other than what they had been bought for? Would be freed one day?
“What if we don’t have a specialty?”
“Everyone does. Don’t worry.” Vincent shut the bedroom door, and watched, rather fondly, as Cloud shed the pajama top and burrowed underneath the blankets on his bed. “Good night, Cloud.”
“G’night.”
The next morning, Vincent discovered that Cloud was as much a morning person as an owl. Getting him up was an ordeal. It started at 6:30…
Vincent woke up precisely at a quarter after six every morning. He dressed, and then sat on his bed and brushed his hair. After this, he made his bed. The next item on this morning’s agenda was waking Cloud. A simple task.
“Cloud, wake up.” He said, shaking Cloud’s shoulder. Cloud didn’t move. Vincent shook a little harder. No response. “Cloud!” Vincent shouted. He got a mumble that time, and Cloud rolled over onto his back. Hopeful, he poked the blonde’s arm. Cloud didn’t move. Vincent sighed heavily and leaned down by Cloud’s ear. “Cloud! Get up!”
“Mmg.” Cloud mumbled, and swung his fist.
Reno stuck his head in the door a minute later to find Cloud sound asleep in bed and Vincent sitting on the floor with a bloody nose.
“Having trouble?” Reno asked delicately. Vincent nodded. “Did Cloud do that?” Nod. “In his sleep?” Nod. “Wow. The kid’s got good aim.”
“You try waking him.” Vincent snapped.
“Why not?” Reno purred, and climbed onto the bed with Cloud. A little experimental poking had no effect, so he sat and stared at his quarry for a minute. After thinking it over, he tried yelling. Cloud rolled over. Reno growled, frustrated, and got up, moving to sit on Cloud. He never managed it, because as soon as his weight made the mattress shift, Cloud kicked, hard, and Reno found himself sitting on the floor beside Vincent, winded and clutching his stomach.
“See?” Vincent said, rather thickly. He was having trouble with his bloody nose.
“Yeah.” Reno wheezed. “Has he had training? He kicks like a mule.” Both men sat on the floor for a moment, nursing their wounded pride and respective injuries in silence. The door creaked open a little further, and Zack entered, wide-awake and disgustingly cheerful. He stared at Vincent and Reno for a minute, looked at Cloud, then back at the pair on the floor again. Reno nodded.
“Jeez. Kid’s got skill.”
“You try.” Vincent hissed venomously.
“Okay. What did you two try?”
“Yelling, shaking, and sitting on him.”
“Got it.” Zack sauntered over to the bed. Watching him, one wouldn’t assume that the bed contained a dangerous sleeping blonde. Grinning, Zack bent low near Cloud’s head. He didn’t say anything, and neither of his hands moved, but, in less than a minute, Cloud yelped and was scrambling out of bed, nearly falling in his haste. Zack leaned against the wall, laughing.
“What did you do?” Reno squeaked, staring.
“Bit him.”
“Bit him?”
“Yep. On the ear. Works every time.” Zack said, very smug. “See ya at breakfast.” He waved, and left.
“I’ll have to remember that.” Reno muttered, picking himself up. Vincent nodded, and accepted the hand Reno offered. He pulled the older man to his feet.
“Thanks.” Vincent mumbled. Cloud stepped up beside him, and he flinched instinctively.
“Did I do that?” Cloud asked, gesturing at the blood on Vincent’s hands. Reno sidled out the door, not wanting to be a part of the conversation- possibly argument- that he knew was coming.
“Yes, you did. Has anyone ever said that you sleep like a rock?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. Did I …hit anyone else?”
“Reno, but not in the face.” Cloud went pink. “It’s nothing to be upset about. You’ve got excellent reflexes. Now get dressed. I’m hungry.”
By the time Vincent had ushered Cloud into a private room with direct access to the kitchens, Reno had told everyone who would listen about Cloud’s reaction to being woken. Evyn snickered when Cloud entered, but said nothing. Sephiroth, sitting in the corner with a cup of something steaming, said nothing, but one eyebrow arched in question. Cloud blushed, and Sephiroth smiled slightly, apparently no happier about being awake then Cloud was.
“So…what are you going to do with the kid?” Zack asked Vincent. Vincent shrugged.
“He needs to be shown around, and, sometime within the next couple of days, you need to take him down to the practice courts and see what he can do.”
“You can do that,” Zack complained.
“No, I can’t. Hand-to-hand combat is not my forte, and I have work to do. You, on the other hand, are in between groups, so you have the time to test him.”
“I can show him around,” Evyn offered. Vincent shook his head. “Why not?” Vincent pointed at the bulletin board on the wall opposite him.
“You’re supposed to accompany Tseng today. Keep girls off him and such, you know the drill.”
“Oh. Who’s gonna do it then?”
“Me!” Reno shouted. Cloud flinched. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m not gonna lock you in a closet somewhere and leave you.”
“That’s not what I’m afraid of. I’m worried that you might lock yourself in the closet with me,” Cloud said. He prepared to duck under the table, but it wasn’t necessary. Everyone was laughing; even Sephiroth, who was also trying desperately not to inhale his mouthful of tea. Reno pouted.
“Very nice, Spiky,” Zack said.
”Spiky?”
“You are.”
“So are you.”
“It’s too early to squabble, children. Behave until I feel capable of breaking up a fight,” Vincent murmured. “Would you pour me a cup of coffee, Evyn?” And that was that. Case closed, no objections.
Several hours later, Reno pulled Cloud into the gigantic hall that housed the indoor practice courts. “Spar with me?” He asked. Cloud nodded, wanting to do anything that didn’t involve another flight of stairs. The ShinRa compound was huge, far larger than anywhere he’d ever been. Just the thought of having almost unrestricted access to it was mind-blowing.
Reno kicked off his shoes, paused to execute a ridiculous hop while he removed his socks, and dropped his sweatshirt on top of them. He stepped into a ring marked out in white on the floor, and started to stretch. Hesitantly, Cloud removed the sandals he’d brought with him from the auction house and tugged his shirt off- he’d learned that having loose clothing made it easier for an opponent to get a hold of him and hang on- then joined Reno in the ring.
Nearly an hour later, both Reno and Cloud were lying on the floor inside the ring, sweat-soaked and panting.
“You’re…pretty good,” Reno said. “For someone who’s never had any training.”
“Thanks.”
“Where’d you learn that throw? That one where you used your hip. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Watching the women fight…”
“Where?”
“The…the kennels,” Cloud got to his feet quickly and ran out of the hall, leaving his things behind in his haste. Reno watched him go, wondering what the kennels were, and why mentioning them made Cloud leave.
Vincent was in the Library when Reno finally found him. There was a stack of papers beside him, and he was busy with writing something in a ledger bound in pale gray leather.
“Hey, Vin? You got a minute?”
“How many times must I ask you to cease using that nickname?” Vincent sighed. Reno shrugged. “What is it?”
“I sparred with Cloud this morning…” Reno began, then trailed off, unsure of how to go about explaining.
“Is he any good?”
“Yeah. It took me nearly twenty minutes to pin him the first time. I couldn’t find any weakness to speak of, and he’s fast- but…”
“What happened?”
“He did this throw, where he used his hip as a brace to toss me over, and I asked him where he’d learned it. He said it was from watching the women fight at the kennels. Then he ran off, and I haven’t been able to find him since. Do you know what it is that I did, or said? And what are the kennels?”
“Reno, do you know where Cloud is from?”
“Nibelheim, right?”
“Yes. And what do you know about Nibelheim?”
“Not much…only that the people there don’t trust outsiders, and that there’s something in the mountains that sometimes causes weird effects.” Vincent nodded, and closed the ledger.
“They also have very different views on slaves like us. There, slaves are no more than property, and are often treated with less respect than we are here. They have no rights. A master can beat or kill his slaves, and nobody cares.” Reno stared. The thought was awful. He hadn’t wanted to become a slave, but there were worse things that could have happened. He could have been sold to a whorehouse, for example.
“And what are kennels?”
“In the north, especially around Nibelheim, there is a practice that one might call…breeding. You said Cloud is fast, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If someone saw that as a trait they’d like in other slaves, Cloud would be forced to…mate with a woman that either the master owned, or that he was paying to borrow. Likewise, a master can pay a…mounting fee, if he wants to breed one of his women with another master’s man.”
“You make it sound like chocobo breeding,” Reno spat. “They’re human beings.”
“I’ve been to one, Reno. The terminology I used is the most polite of their words for what goes on there.”
“You were…”
“No, I wasn’t. I threatened to bite through my tongue if they tried to make me do anything, and I was picked up by my previous owner shortly after.” Vincent said. “Cloud has probably experienced the cruelty that is second nature to ‘kennel’ masters.”
“Man…I had no idea. So…the whole idea is to breed guys with desirable traits?”
“Women as well. Some of the northern masters consider breeding to be an art. They spend a ridiculous amount of time, and money, selecting candidates with traits that they would like to see combined in one being. Those traits can be physical, or mental, and believe me when I say that they know what they’re doing.”
“But…why would the women be fighting?”
“If she is carrying the product of some very careful breeding, then a woman will be the recipient of excellent accommodations and care. Thus, the position of ‘mother’ is a coveted arrangement. The women fight for the chance to be bred and cared for until the child is born.”
“And…what should I do about Cloud?”
“Let him be, for now. He’ll come out when he’s ready.”
“Come out?” Reno repeated, puzzled.
“He’s hiding in our closet. He’s been there for several hours, and I think he may have fallen sleep. Just leave him alone.”
“Okay. Thanks, Vincent,” Reno slunk out of the Library with a lot more to think about.
“Any time.”
“Damn, he’s quiet,” a voice muttered.
“I did warn you. You shouldn’t be in here when I’m working.”
“But I like it when you’re distracted.”
“Just be thankful he didn’t look up. And I’m not even going to ask how you got up there in the first place.” A dark shape hopped off the top of the bookshelf.
“It’s a secret. Unless…you want to try and make me talk…” Vincent sighed heavily and got to his feet. Then he whirled and pinned the stranger to a bookshelf.
“I think I do,” he whispered, leaning in to nibble at his captive’s ear. “Or perhaps…instead of making you talk…I’ll make you moan.”
“What a-about b-being seen?”
“What about it?”
“Didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t appreciate it?” Vincent asked. Reno picked himself up, rubbing his bruised hip.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. But it worked, didn’t it?” Without waiting for an answer, Reno turned and stomped away. Vincent shook his head.
“It’s about time you woke up. C’mon, get dressed.” He handed Cloud the clothes he’d picked out earlier. “I won’t look.”
“Thanks.”
“Mmmm.”
Cloud untied the towel someone had tied around his waist (he really hoped it had been Vincent), and dressed. The only thing that fit him properly was the boxers, which either meant that he had big hips, or Vincent had very small hips for someone that tall.
“I look like I shrank.” He complained. “You can turn around.” This time, Vincent failed to keep from laughing. The pajama pants were just barely hanging onto Cloud’s hips. The shirt wasn’t much better, what with the sleeves completely covering his hands and the whole thing sitting lopsided, so that one of his shoulders was totally bare. “It’s not funny!”
“Yes…yes it…is” Vincent managed. Cloud glared at him. “I’ll see about finding clothes to fit you in the morning.”
“Don’t you mean that you’ll ask our masters?” Cloud asked, hitching his pants up a little higher.
“No. They don’t need to be bothered with things like that. I handle matters like clothing, linens, furniture, and our other needs. We all have our jobs, and I’m sure you’ll be given one once your specialties are determined.” Vincent picked his basket up and nodded towards the door. “Shall we?”
“Yeah.” They walked in silence for a moment, then Cloud had a question. “What do you mean by ‘specialties’?”
“Well, as an example, I have a gift for mathematics, so I balance the books for Rufus and Tseng. Sephiroth advises Rufus on matters of business, and he takes care of a lot of paperwork for the SOLDIER program. Zack helps him with that, and he also assists in training SOLDIERs. He picks out a few promising students, and gives them extra training. They always do well. What we earn is put into an account for the day we are released.” Cloud stared at Vincent. Slaves could have jobs? Could earn money by doing things other than what they had been bought for? Would be freed one day?
“What if we don’t have a specialty?”
“Everyone does. Don’t worry.” Vincent shut the bedroom door, and watched, rather fondly, as Cloud shed the pajama top and burrowed underneath the blankets on his bed. “Good night, Cloud.”
“G’night.”
The next morning, Vincent discovered that Cloud was as much a morning person as an owl. Getting him up was an ordeal. It started at 6:30…
Vincent woke up precisely at a quarter after six every morning. He dressed, and then sat on his bed and brushed his hair. After this, he made his bed. The next item on this morning’s agenda was waking Cloud. A simple task.
“Cloud, wake up.” He said, shaking Cloud’s shoulder. Cloud didn’t move. Vincent shook a little harder. No response. “Cloud!” Vincent shouted. He got a mumble that time, and Cloud rolled over onto his back. Hopeful, he poked the blonde’s arm. Cloud didn’t move. Vincent sighed heavily and leaned down by Cloud’s ear. “Cloud! Get up!”
“Mmg.” Cloud mumbled, and swung his fist.
Reno stuck his head in the door a minute later to find Cloud sound asleep in bed and Vincent sitting on the floor with a bloody nose.
“Having trouble?” Reno asked delicately. Vincent nodded. “Did Cloud do that?” Nod. “In his sleep?” Nod. “Wow. The kid’s got good aim.”
“You try waking him.” Vincent snapped.
“Why not?” Reno purred, and climbed onto the bed with Cloud. A little experimental poking had no effect, so he sat and stared at his quarry for a minute. After thinking it over, he tried yelling. Cloud rolled over. Reno growled, frustrated, and got up, moving to sit on Cloud. He never managed it, because as soon as his weight made the mattress shift, Cloud kicked, hard, and Reno found himself sitting on the floor beside Vincent, winded and clutching his stomach.
“See?” Vincent said, rather thickly. He was having trouble with his bloody nose.
“Yeah.” Reno wheezed. “Has he had training? He kicks like a mule.” Both men sat on the floor for a moment, nursing their wounded pride and respective injuries in silence. The door creaked open a little further, and Zack entered, wide-awake and disgustingly cheerful. He stared at Vincent and Reno for a minute, looked at Cloud, then back at the pair on the floor again. Reno nodded.
“Jeez. Kid’s got skill.”
“You try.” Vincent hissed venomously.
“Okay. What did you two try?”
“Yelling, shaking, and sitting on him.”
“Got it.” Zack sauntered over to the bed. Watching him, one wouldn’t assume that the bed contained a dangerous sleeping blonde. Grinning, Zack bent low near Cloud’s head. He didn’t say anything, and neither of his hands moved, but, in less than a minute, Cloud yelped and was scrambling out of bed, nearly falling in his haste. Zack leaned against the wall, laughing.
“What did you do?” Reno squeaked, staring.
“Bit him.”
“Bit him?”
“Yep. On the ear. Works every time.” Zack said, very smug. “See ya at breakfast.” He waved, and left.
“I’ll have to remember that.” Reno muttered, picking himself up. Vincent nodded, and accepted the hand Reno offered. He pulled the older man to his feet.
“Thanks.” Vincent mumbled. Cloud stepped up beside him, and he flinched instinctively.
“Did I do that?” Cloud asked, gesturing at the blood on Vincent’s hands. Reno sidled out the door, not wanting to be a part of the conversation- possibly argument- that he knew was coming.
“Yes, you did. Has anyone ever said that you sleep like a rock?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. Did I …hit anyone else?”
“Reno, but not in the face.” Cloud went pink. “It’s nothing to be upset about. You’ve got excellent reflexes. Now get dressed. I’m hungry.”
By the time Vincent had ushered Cloud into a private room with direct access to the kitchens, Reno had told everyone who would listen about Cloud’s reaction to being woken. Evyn snickered when Cloud entered, but said nothing. Sephiroth, sitting in the corner with a cup of something steaming, said nothing, but one eyebrow arched in question. Cloud blushed, and Sephiroth smiled slightly, apparently no happier about being awake then Cloud was.
“So…what are you going to do with the kid?” Zack asked Vincent. Vincent shrugged.
“He needs to be shown around, and, sometime within the next couple of days, you need to take him down to the practice courts and see what he can do.”
“You can do that,” Zack complained.
“No, I can’t. Hand-to-hand combat is not my forte, and I have work to do. You, on the other hand, are in between groups, so you have the time to test him.”
“I can show him around,” Evyn offered. Vincent shook his head. “Why not?” Vincent pointed at the bulletin board on the wall opposite him.
“You’re supposed to accompany Tseng today. Keep girls off him and such, you know the drill.”
“Oh. Who’s gonna do it then?”
“Me!” Reno shouted. Cloud flinched. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m not gonna lock you in a closet somewhere and leave you.”
“That’s not what I’m afraid of. I’m worried that you might lock yourself in the closet with me,” Cloud said. He prepared to duck under the table, but it wasn’t necessary. Everyone was laughing; even Sephiroth, who was also trying desperately not to inhale his mouthful of tea. Reno pouted.
“Very nice, Spiky,” Zack said.
”Spiky?”
“You are.”
“So are you.”
“It’s too early to squabble, children. Behave until I feel capable of breaking up a fight,” Vincent murmured. “Would you pour me a cup of coffee, Evyn?” And that was that. Case closed, no objections.
Several hours later, Reno pulled Cloud into the gigantic hall that housed the indoor practice courts. “Spar with me?” He asked. Cloud nodded, wanting to do anything that didn’t involve another flight of stairs. The ShinRa compound was huge, far larger than anywhere he’d ever been. Just the thought of having almost unrestricted access to it was mind-blowing.
Reno kicked off his shoes, paused to execute a ridiculous hop while he removed his socks, and dropped his sweatshirt on top of them. He stepped into a ring marked out in white on the floor, and started to stretch. Hesitantly, Cloud removed the sandals he’d brought with him from the auction house and tugged his shirt off- he’d learned that having loose clothing made it easier for an opponent to get a hold of him and hang on- then joined Reno in the ring.
Nearly an hour later, both Reno and Cloud were lying on the floor inside the ring, sweat-soaked and panting.
“You’re…pretty good,” Reno said. “For someone who’s never had any training.”
“Thanks.”
“Where’d you learn that throw? That one where you used your hip. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Watching the women fight…”
“Where?”
“The…the kennels,” Cloud got to his feet quickly and ran out of the hall, leaving his things behind in his haste. Reno watched him go, wondering what the kennels were, and why mentioning them made Cloud leave.
Vincent was in the Library when Reno finally found him. There was a stack of papers beside him, and he was busy with writing something in a ledger bound in pale gray leather.
“Hey, Vin? You got a minute?”
“How many times must I ask you to cease using that nickname?” Vincent sighed. Reno shrugged. “What is it?”
“I sparred with Cloud this morning…” Reno began, then trailed off, unsure of how to go about explaining.
“Is he any good?”
“Yeah. It took me nearly twenty minutes to pin him the first time. I couldn’t find any weakness to speak of, and he’s fast- but…”
“What happened?”
“He did this throw, where he used his hip as a brace to toss me over, and I asked him where he’d learned it. He said it was from watching the women fight at the kennels. Then he ran off, and I haven’t been able to find him since. Do you know what it is that I did, or said? And what are the kennels?”
“Reno, do you know where Cloud is from?”
“Nibelheim, right?”
“Yes. And what do you know about Nibelheim?”
“Not much…only that the people there don’t trust outsiders, and that there’s something in the mountains that sometimes causes weird effects.” Vincent nodded, and closed the ledger.
“They also have very different views on slaves like us. There, slaves are no more than property, and are often treated with less respect than we are here. They have no rights. A master can beat or kill his slaves, and nobody cares.” Reno stared. The thought was awful. He hadn’t wanted to become a slave, but there were worse things that could have happened. He could have been sold to a whorehouse, for example.
“And what are kennels?”
“In the north, especially around Nibelheim, there is a practice that one might call…breeding. You said Cloud is fast, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If someone saw that as a trait they’d like in other slaves, Cloud would be forced to…mate with a woman that either the master owned, or that he was paying to borrow. Likewise, a master can pay a…mounting fee, if he wants to breed one of his women with another master’s man.”
“You make it sound like chocobo breeding,” Reno spat. “They’re human beings.”
“I’ve been to one, Reno. The terminology I used is the most polite of their words for what goes on there.”
“You were…”
“No, I wasn’t. I threatened to bite through my tongue if they tried to make me do anything, and I was picked up by my previous owner shortly after.” Vincent said. “Cloud has probably experienced the cruelty that is second nature to ‘kennel’ masters.”
“Man…I had no idea. So…the whole idea is to breed guys with desirable traits?”
“Women as well. Some of the northern masters consider breeding to be an art. They spend a ridiculous amount of time, and money, selecting candidates with traits that they would like to see combined in one being. Those traits can be physical, or mental, and believe me when I say that they know what they’re doing.”
“But…why would the women be fighting?”
“If she is carrying the product of some very careful breeding, then a woman will be the recipient of excellent accommodations and care. Thus, the position of ‘mother’ is a coveted arrangement. The women fight for the chance to be bred and cared for until the child is born.”
“And…what should I do about Cloud?”
“Let him be, for now. He’ll come out when he’s ready.”
“Come out?” Reno repeated, puzzled.
“He’s hiding in our closet. He’s been there for several hours, and I think he may have fallen sleep. Just leave him alone.”
“Okay. Thanks, Vincent,” Reno slunk out of the Library with a lot more to think about.
“Any time.”
“Damn, he’s quiet,” a voice muttered.
“I did warn you. You shouldn’t be in here when I’m working.”
“But I like it when you’re distracted.”
“Just be thankful he didn’t look up. And I’m not even going to ask how you got up there in the first place.” A dark shape hopped off the top of the bookshelf.
“It’s a secret. Unless…you want to try and make me talk…” Vincent sighed heavily and got to his feet. Then he whirled and pinned the stranger to a bookshelf.
“I think I do,” he whispered, leaning in to nibble at his captive’s ear. “Or perhaps…instead of making you talk…I’ll make you moan.”
“What a-about b-being seen?”
“What about it?”