Fulfilling the Promises of the Past

Chapter 1

"SOLDIER isn't exactly what I thought it would be," Cloud said to himself as he crawled into his bed. He grabbed his pillow and hugged it to his chest.

It had been a year since he joined SOLDIER. He left his hometown in hopes to become a hero, but instead, he found himself in the infantry struggling to provide for himself. He had made so many promises, and now he was left bearing the guilt of not fulfilling them. He had promised Tifa that he would become famous and help her when she was in trouble. He had promised his mother that he would send money to help her at home. He had promised himself that he would live a happier, better life, but he had fallen far short of that.

Ever since day one, he had worked hard. Whether it was training in combat or when he cleaned the shower house, he made sure it was done to perfection. As he was growing up, he had told himself that every job he did, regardless if he enjoyed it or not, had to be done to the best of his ability. 

The entrance exam had been tough. There were three areas of testing: combat, materia usage, and a written exam.

Cloud had done an outstanding job in the defense part of the combat exam. He had years of experience from dodging the vicious animals that lurked around in the area. The offensive part did not go as smoothly. Cloud had only thrown large sticks at the creatures that lived in Mt. Nibel, hitting them hard enough to stun them so that he could run away. 

The materia use was nearly impossible. Materia was expensive in his hometown, and he never had enough to afford it. When he had walked into the room, he was handed a glowing green orb and a mythril bracer to put it in. He easily put the bracer on his wrist, but fumbled around with the materia. The officer in the room had yelled at him while he was trying to figure out how to equip the materia. Once equipped, he didn't know how to use it, and he was told to leave the room before he had a chance to try.

Cloud had thought that the written exam would be easier than the materia test, and fortunately it was. However, he still managed to struggle on it. The test covered the different ranks in the Shinra military and all of the mechanical security that roamed around Shinra's property, as well as labeling Mako Reactor parts and functions. There was also an entire section dedicated to the types of monsters that they would come across during their travels around the world. 

Cloud's results were no where close to being what was required to become a SOLDIER, so he had enlisted in the infantry. His goal was to still help others that needed help while providing for himself and his mother. 

He rolled over in his bed and stared at the bunk next to him. No one was there to occupy it. Many of the infantry men were sent to Wutai to fight in the war. Cloud had not received any notice for him to set off to the battlefield, so he did his daily tasks at HQ. Most of it consisted of patrolling the highways, keeping watch outside of the Director's office and training. Occasionally, he would be sent to the slums to clear out some monsters.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but no sleep came. He laid on his stomach with his pillow underneath his chest, and it was comfortable for only a moment. He rolled over onto his back, hoping that it would help, but to no avail. 

The only time that he felt like this was when he was dreading something. It usually happened when his bills were due or when he was invited to an event that he was required to go to. He couldn't think of what it was, and now his mind was playing over every event that took place in the past few days. He eventually gave up and tried to ignore it, closing his eyes in hopes to fall asleep. 

Then, it hit him like an army truck: he had a meeting with the Director tomorrow. Sure, he had been to his office before, but he was receiving orders from him directly, not from a letter that the department had sent.