The Hired Hand// [Cloud]

[xigbar]

Xigbar, former second of Organization XIII, crouched silently before a wide archway looking out over the city, looking down the scope of his rifle-like weapon. From here, he could see a good bit of the city, enough to keep an eye on a lot of things. Like, for example, the movements of his Nobodies, who were staying out of sight remarkably. No one would ever know how Xigbar got his information, and he wasn't about to spill the beans. The sound of footsteps down the corridor and around a corner brought Xigbar to standing position, dropping his rifle down to a standard holding position.

He took a look over his corner to see that spiky haired kid that was also working for his new boss. He reminded him of someone, especially in the coming twilight that was here now, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen that kid before... Oh well. Xigbar pulled the white gloves of his old Radiant Garden uniform tighter on his hands, careful to keep his rifle steady as he did so. Cloud, eh? Former Shin-Ra grunt turned SOLDIER because of some experiments and a nutcase called Sephiroth. Got his mind screwed with by the guy, and now was an all around emo kid. Not too surprising; most mercenaries had 'tragic' stories like that. What a joke; could that kid even swing that sword of his?

"Likin' the rooms, kiddo? Not drownin' yourself in the bathtub?" He taunted, smirking. Time to have a bit of fun at the mercenary's expense.

[Cloud Strife]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][bg=EEE6E4][atrb=background,http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/TeiyoTeiyo/CLOUDTEMPLATEBG2.png] YOU COULD T R Y AND BE WAY OFF WHY WON'T SOMEONE COME AND SAVE ME. WHY WON'T SOMEONE COME AND SAVE ME FROM THIS There was a loud echoing grunt as another guard slammed hard against the far wall of the training room. The man was taller than the blond that stood in the center of the mats with his large sword out and by his side. The other that were around, were stunned by the sight. They hadn’t even seen the smaller man move in his counter attack. Cloud Strife was something that had spread across the household like fire. A mercenary that the Judge Magister Gabranth had brought into his home one night as his body guard. He had already foiled an assassination attempt on his first night here though the guards that came in said that the blond was wearing nothing more than a large oversized t-shirt. “Probably gets paid more than to protect, if you know what I mean?” One of the guards had said with a lewd chuckle. And thus rumours spread like wildfire. He was no mercenary, he probably couldn’t even lift that huge sword of his, he was just a cleverly disguised whore so that Gabranth wouldn’t feel so much shame in reverting to more...baser instincts. However, seeing this small blond throw someone that was practically double his size far across the room, doubt entered their thoughts. This one was definitely not weak, rushing over to their fallen companion to see if he had a concussion. Cloud simply sheathed his sword, turned, and walked out the door. Walking through the halls his hands clenched into fists, he hated that, the guards of this place had no respect for him, so he was going to have to make them respect him. He was a fighting, a warrior, slander about his abilities to fight were an insult to him as the next person that took pride in their ability to fight, and he would not stand for it. It was obvious that Gabranth would not be helping in this current problem, so Cloud would have to do it himself. Hearing a familiar and cocky tone ring out as the one called to him, Cloud looked over his shoulder towards the man that Gabranth had also hired, the mako green flaring in his eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder what in the name of Meteor was the man thinking? Xigbar could get information yes, but the man himself was unbearable, an older and more stupid version of Reno. “I’m not you.” He said back before turning around and continuing on his mindless route. SO TOUCH ME OR DON'T JUST LE ME KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN CAUSE I'VE BEEN ALIVE AND ALONE it comes awake and i can't control it - in my body, in my head

[xigbar]

So that was it, eh? Well, if that was how Gabranth's mercenary was going to be, maybe he'd better try a different tactic. "You're right, I'm not you. I don't make it a point to let some silver haired idiot break into my noggin' and go rooting around for kicks," Xigbar said,aiming right for it. That would definitely get his attention. And for a bit of emphasis, maybe a little bit more would make this real memorable... "And I don't bring about the destruction of my hometown every couple of years either, for that matter. Something that crazy guy did to you must've made you a destruction magnet. You remember to tell the boss about that little fact, or do I have somethin' to talk to him about today?"

That would certainly hit home. Gathering information was indeed Xigbar's strong suit; if there was a deep-buried secret somewhere, Xigbar would find it, and he would find it faster than anyone else could dream of. However, he also had a tendency to use this information for his own purposes. And one of his favorite past times happened to be mocking the general populace. "Of course, you could always be civil and we could avoid all this. How 'bout it, spike, want to try that greeting again?"

[Cloud Strife]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][bg=EEE6E4][atrb=background,http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/TeiyoTeiyo/CLOUDTEMPLATEBG2.png] YOU COULD T R Y AND BE WAY OFF WHY WON'T SOMEONE COME AND SAVE ME. WHY WON'T SOMEONE COME AND SAVE ME FROM THIS Cloud paused again and clenched his hands into fists. This man knew nothing he had facts, that’s it. He never choose to let Sephiroth into his head, the Jenova cells that he had into his body connected them both, only reason he was a mindless drone wearing a black hood mumbling about a ‘reunion’ was because he was a failed experiment. No matter how much Hojo tried, Jenova wouldn’t talk to him, whisper her poison words to him, make him into the next killing puppet. Obviously this man didn’t do his homework, he didn’t destroy Nibelhiem the first time, and after the second, he didn’t even consider it home a second time. He was the kid’s punching bag for years in that place, he had no real attachment to it, no his mother was the only reason he even cared for that small mountain village at all. He wanted another greeting, fine, turning his head around toward Xigbar, his eyes almost completely green but his face was blank, “You’re shit at collecting information.” He said in a monotone voice, though the words was not something Cloud would normally say, but he was frustrated as it was. It was obvious that the other male didn’t care for anything or anyone other than himself. Cloud didn’t know about him past his name, but that was fine, if he had so much interest in Cloud’s history then his own must’ve been too boring than he wanted to recall. Sephiroth would always be a tender subject for Cloud, and the other probably knew that, that’s why he came up first, before continuing on. He won’t lie that he use to look up to the silver-haired male, but that was years ago, before he changed, before he killed his mother. Then Sephiroth became an idol of his hatred, his frustration, he became the silver-haired beauty’s...puppet, and if it wasn’t for Tifa and the others he would’ve remained like that. Throwing his failures in one’s face was never easy, there was always the ‘what if’s’ and ‘could’ve done’ but since everyone Cloud has met likes to repeatedly throw these at him, he has accepted them. He wasn’t perfect, he had no delusion that he was, he knew he could’ve handled some situations more better, but what’s done is done, he’s learned from them and moved on from that fact, wiser the next time should it arise. Turning his head around he crossed his arms over his chest, “If you’re done, I’d like to go.” SO TOUCH ME OR DON'T JUST LE ME KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN CAUSE I'VE BEEN ALIVE AND ALONE it comes awake and i can't control it - in my body, in my head

[xigbar]

"Ooh, the mako eyes. Scaary. You flash them things at Sephiroth too?" Xigbar kept on. He wasn't one for just giving up, especially when he could tell his taunts were working. Cloud looking in his direction was a mistake; that told Xigbar that he was getting to him on some level. And that was exactly what he'd wanted to do. "I'm surprised you still have those. Thought you needed to have some kind of will or it'd just crush your system. Oh, wait, you already got over that part."

"Probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for your little girlfriend though. I bet she's lonely now, left up in Midgar to rot while you enjoy life in the boss's mansion. I don't even have a heart and I'm not THAT cold; do you just not care, or are you two havin' a lover's spat?" Xigbar's grin widened. He didn't really care that Cloud insulted him; if he really wanted to, he could describe in excruciating detail another event that would probably push the kid over the edge. That brown-haired girl he'd liked so much 'cause of his mental trauma, getting run through by a katana... heh. But that could be saved for later. Cloud had his uses, and making him hostile now wouldn't do at all. Not that Cloud could move fast enough to catch the old Nobody anyways.

[Cloud Strife]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][bg=EEE6E4][atrb=background,http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/TeiyoTeiyo/CLOUDTEMPLATEBG2.png] YOU COULD T R Y AND BE WAY OFF WHY WON'T SOMEONE COME AND SAVE ME. WHY WON'T SOMEONE COME AND SAVE ME FROM THIS No intelligence at all, he couldn’t control the mako in his veins, it reacted to his emotions which is caused by the shift in his hormones, the green in his eyes flares when he is angry mostly, or any kind of negative emotion that causes his blood to flow quickly through his veins. But if this man knew that than the answer should be obvious. So Cloud let out a bored sigh, “Mako is a part of my body, you should know that in your ‘information’ about me.” He droll in an equally bored tone. It wasn’t that hard to comprehend, green flared into his eyes in certain situations, that was the side effect to all that had Mako in their bodies. If Zack was still around, it was the same for him, it was the SOLDIER’s trademark as it were, that’s how the citizens or people in general knew that they were. Though when he began to describe Tifa, Cloud raised one brow, before releasing a snort of amusement, “You make Tifa sound like she a damsel in distress.” He stated bluntly, “If you did your ‘job’ properly, you would know that’s not the case.” Cloud shifted his body so that he was facing more towards Xigbar, “Tifa’s strong, she can take care of herself, as I know she can, as I know she will continue to do, thinking she was anything else, is an insult.” “Like I said before, you’re shit at collecting information if this is all you have to try and rattle me, try doing a decent amount of work and I might be impressed.” He turned away from the older male, “Oh, and Tifa isn’t my girlfriend, or my lover, she’s called my friend, but I doubt someone your age would come to understand that.” He glanced over his shoulder, “With your fixation on the past, there’s very little I believe you understand.” With that said, he turned and continued walking down the hall. SO TOUCH ME OR DON'T JUST LE ME KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN CAUSE I'VE BEEN ALIVE AND ALONE it comes awake and i can't control it - in my body, in my head

[xigbar]

"Now if I really wanted to get under your skin, I could always bring up your little flower girl. Aerith Gainsbourgh, run through by eight feet of steel by the man you idolized. You were about to do it yourself, even. They called you a puppet, but even a puppet can break his strings without taking it that far. You're more heartless than I am, kid, and I don't even have a heart. You keep letting everybody closest to you die, but you keep on trying to get close to others. You've got to be a real people hater to doom your best friends," Xigbar stated plainly, his tone deathly serious.

He could take mockery, sure; he didn't have the heart to care about being mocked. But to say he wasn't good at his job, now, that was an assault on his abilities. And Xigbar was one of the very best in matters of information. "All of those people who died because of Meteor and Geostigma, all those people left homeless when Midgar was torn apart. All of that was your fault, and if you say it isn't... well, you're an even berrer liar than I am," If Cloud decided to come on back, that would be just fine. A little bit of confrontation would make this lively. Of course, trying to kill the kid was out of the question; he wouldn't have the time necessary to plant enough evidence against the mercenary to justify if he actually managed to kill Cloud. But if he could provoke the kid into attacking him... heh. Well, then it'd look bad on Cloud's record. And he wouldn't be able to prove a thing.