Badass Ex-SOLDIER Boy

Underweight

The team were not truly aware of it, until Red came along. It was not a slight on their part or anything, simply that Cloud used the fact they knew the bare minimum about Soldier to his advantage. Due to the mako in their blood, Soldiers have a higher metabolism, so they have to eat large amounts of food. Not like, plates upon plates, but certainly about 3 or 4 plates full.

That was not something any of the sectors can spare, though, since most of its people are poor, so Cloud went from 3 or 4 plates to about 2, though that was only half plates, so they could be considered one. It was something all the people ate, with the low amount of food, and sometimes, Cloud didn't even eat that, offering his food to another if they looked like they needed it more.

By the time Red joined them, Jessie and Wedge are both dead - which the grief had caused the others to eat less, and Cloud to completely stop - and they're trying to rescue Aerith, which is stressful. On top of that, the plate just fell on Sector 7 and they had been unable to stop it. The guilt and stress have caused Cloud to stop eating and give his food to the other two discreetly, knowing he could survive without it.

They made it through the entire lab, with Red helping them where they needed his help, and got out. They managed to find a place to hide pretty easily, though it was also hard to find a place that no one would recognize them. They managed to find some rubble to hide under, almost like a cave. Red settled down next to Cloud, watching him, while the other three all laid down, trying to get comfortable to sleep.

"Cloud, why are you so underweight?"

The sudden silence is not unexpected, though the person to say it was. Cloud turns to Red, who is sitting next to him and nosing at his ribs. They're barely noticeable, especially with how his shirt and armor look on a daily basis, but it is able to see that some of his ribs are visible through his skin. He had wondered when someone would notice, but it wasn't really surprising that the giant cat they adopted, that talks and uses magic, would find out first. Barret is the first to move, settling next to Cloud and turning to him, hand held out in request.

While he would rather not, Cloud is aware that he does need to be eating more, so he complies, shifting so Barret is as close as he needs to be without upsetting his prosthetic, which is still a gun currently, though he has his hand on him, for just in case, situations. Barret gently feels along his ribs, breathing in sharply through his teeth at how much of Cloud's ribs he could feel. It was alarming, how easily, the man had hidden this from them, his ribs are easily felt, and if one looked close enough, you could see the faint outline of them through his shirt as well.

Barret turns horrified eyes to Aerith and Tifa, who scooch closer, knowing this must be very serious in order for him to look like that. Barret rarely lets his panic show on his face if he can help it. With his permission, the girls feel along the ribs, sharing glances with both Barret and Red, knowing they're going to have to start forcing Cloud to eat, even if it's only a plate a meal.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Well, it was not something we could afford at first, and then it slowly developed into a problem, since stress and guilt have always managed to keep me from eating, hungry or not. It's not something I can really control, so I've been giving you all more food when I can sneak it in there. Besides, I was already starving in the sectors."

"In the sectors? Cloud, it's been months since that. Why weren't you eating then?"

Red is the one to cut in and explain this time, knowing it would sound better coming from him, even if the others might not like the things he was about to tell them.

"Soldiers as a whole are still human. They have mako, and they're strong, so on and such, but the problems comes in with their metabolism. It's so high, it could rival a monsters with speed, and because of that, they require about 3 or 4 plates, typically, though with the mako Cloud puts out, it's entirely possible he would require anywhere from 6 to 9 plates before he's full. It's not well known, however, since Soldiers were always eating in Shinra, so they were provided every meal they needed."