Chapter 18 Zack Fair

At the landing area of Wutai's airship, the Shinra Army had seized and built a stronghold there.

Shinra's troop consisted of 3rd class soldiers that were supervised by 2nd class soldiers. Zack Fair.

He was now looking at them patrolling the area. He was bored out of his mind.

“When will the war end so that I can go back home *sigh*”

He really missed his home and really wanted to go back. He didn’t want to be a soldier so he could kill innocent people.

He at first wanted to be a hero but when he finally stepped onto the battlefield he knew that it wasn’t as he had thought.

“War is never about hero or villain in the first place. It is about the destruction and the suffering of innocent people.”

He could only sighed. He couldn’t do anything if the order was issued. He could only try to reduce the damage done to the civilians.

Zack was now full of regrets. He didn’t know what his friend would say to him when he knew what he had done.

“I hope Cloud would never have to face something like I do. He’s too kind for that…”

Zack then went back to work after he was sure that nothing wrong happened but when he was about to step inside his office. There was a huge explosion in the south.

“No way, Wutai really come to attack this place. Are they that stupid!”

Zack knew that Wutai ninja were strong, but they couldn’t hope to fight with Shinra soldiers. Not only that, they didn’t have any modern weaponry. Their number was also less than theirs.

This war Shinra would win no matter what angle you see it.

Zack jumped from the high building that his office was in. Then he rode his big motorcycle to the place where he heard the explosion. Before he went there. He ordered his soldiers to stay alert in case that the enemy just wanted to lure him out.

At the place where the explosion occurred.

Jaune and his group were looking at Ruby. They didn’t think that Ruby would be that good with the explosion.

“Eh…I just mix the fire dust with the explosion materia. I didn’t think the explosion would be this big I swear!”

Ruby swore that she didn’t do it on purpose but.

“It’s okay Ruby, Don’t change.”

Jaune smiled warmly at Ruby who was now blushing hard. He remembered when they met each other at the main avenue at beacon.

Ruby looked at him and nodded. She could only think.

‘How can he look so good when he smiles?’

Blake, who was near them, wanted to speak to them but her ear twitched a little.

“You two stop flirting for a sec. Do you hear that?”

Blake spoke to Jaune and Ruby. Now there were only her, Jaune, and Ruby here. Pyrrha Ifalna and Yang were nowhere to be found.

They split up to go on their assigned missions.

And after Blake said that, A man with a sleeveless turtle-neck sweater appeared.

“Who are you people? You all seem to not be from Wutai, right.”

The man asked them curiously. He seemed to be friendly but Jaune and Blake thought otherwise. Ruby still didn’t have much experience in seeing through people. So she just stared at the man blankly.

“Well, You shouldn’t play with that dangerous thing kid. Please send it to me before you blow someone up.”

The man pointed at the materia in Ruby's hand. Ruby frowned and spoke.

“No! This one Jaune gave to me. I won’t hand it to anyone.”

The man saw that he didn’t feel angry or anything. He just sighed.

“Why don’t you two speak to your child? It is very dangerous as you can see. Please give it to me. I will pay you with gils okay. I didn’t ask for it for free!”

The man tried to convince them rather than using force. Jaune didn’t know what to do. If the other party used force he would fight back but now he seemed to be a friendly guy.

He looked at Blake, who was now blushing like Ruby did earlier. He didn’t know what happened to her for her to be like that.

Jaune didn’t know that Blake was thinking about what the man had said, like they were a family with a husband and wife and their child.

And when the man was about to convince them again. He heard a warning sound come from the airport!

“So it is like I thought. You all are just a decoy to lure me out, not bad Wutai.”

The man then looked at them with a smile but his eyes told them that he was about to kill them.

What a mess this one was.

Zack was ready to fight. He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Jaune and Blake. He didn’t look at Ruby because he thought she was just a kid.

“You shouldn’t bring your daughter with you.”

“I am not their daughter!”

Ruby was now very angry. Once was enough, but now this man has said something rude twice!

Ruby brought her Crescent Rose out of the space materia. Everyone in their group had one for convenient purposes. Of course, it came from Jaune's money, which they would pay back afterwards.

The space materia that was in the copper rank was just basic space materia. If it were mastered materia the price would be very steep. Jaune could only afford one because Ciel gave him a discount. She could only do this much as he was the owner of the shop.

But even the owner had to pay for the goods at the market price.

Zack, who saw Ruby wield such a big scythe with ease, then stopped looking at her like she was just a kid.

No kid would be able to do what Ruby did.

He now saw her as a fierce warrior. Ruby pointed Crescent Rose at the man and said,

"Say that again, I dare you."

The man looked at her with a smile, realizing he had said something rude to her.

"Sorry kid, I didn't mean it like that."

"I am not a kid! I am fifteen!"

"Same Thing"

Ruby stood her ground, ready to fight. Jaune and Blake, who had been watching the whole scene, stood behind her in support.

The tension in the air was palpable as they waited for the man's response.

Without warning, the man suddenly lunged towards Ruby, fists raised. He would never use a sword against children.

She quickly dodged his attack and swung Crescent Rose at him. The fight had begun.

Zack was surprised as he watched Ruby's swift movements, dodging the man's attacks and delivering powerful blows with her weapon.

"That's it! Ruby beat his ass, haha!"

Jaune and Blake cheered her on as she fought fiercely. They didn't interfere because they knew Ruby could fight him.

Despite his experience in fighting, the man was no match for Ruby's speed.

Zack could see the fire in her eyes and knew that she was not to be underestimated.

"I have no choice but to fight seriously. You are really good with your weapon, kid."

But it's time to end this. Zack thought as he stepped forward and grabbed his sword tightly, ready to fight seriously.

With a fierce battle cry, he charged towards her and swung his sword with all his might.

Ruby was about to avoid the attack, but something caught her off guard, and she stumbled backwards, giving Zack the opportunity to strike her. Zack secretly used ice materia to make her lose her ground.

"I will not kill you, but I need to make sure you can't stand up again soon."

Zack had no intention to kill but to knock her out.

Just as Zack was about to land the blow, Jaune appeared out of nowhere and kicked him to the ground.

"No"

Jaune smirked at him. Zack was so surprised that he didn't sense anything when he moved.

"No way... First Class Soldier?"

That was the only explanation he could come up with. He once fought with a First Class Soldier before his name was Angeal, and he did what Jaune did to him.

Ruby quickly regained her footing and readied her scythe once again. With Jaune's help, she felt safe.

"Thanks for the backup, Jaune."

Ruby said as she looked at Zack, who was now standing up and ready to fight them.

"No problem, I've got your back."

Jaune replied with a grin. Ruby felt her heart beat faster. Sometimes his handsome face was too much!

Zack, seeing that, couldn't help but speak out to Jaune. They were enemies now, but that didn't mean he shouldn't warn him about something like that.

"Oi, she's just fifteen, you know."

Jaune's grin faltered as he realized what Zack was implying.

"I will be sixteen next month!"

"Oh! It's not him but her, huh. Girls always mature faster than men. That's understandable"

Ruby rolled her eyes at Zack's comment. She didn't want to be treated differently just because of her age or gender. If she wanted to date someone older. She will!

It wasn't like Jaune was much older than her. He was just eighteen. Three years apart didn't mean anything.