Zangan

The hotel lobby was pretty dead as he prepared to retire from the night. Spike had retreated to the relative comforts of the rustic inn rather than staying with his mother, confirming that any affection to be had for the kid on that front was slim to none. He shook his head, dismissing the idea of families and small towns alike. A man couldn't choose where and with whom he started, but he could damn well choose where he ended up. There was a reason he wasn't taking a day's vacation to swing down to Gongaga after they were done with the mountains. The jungle and the hicks would keep on being, whether or not he checked up on them from time to time.

".....Well well. Is Shinra here to get rid of the monsters?"

Something about the way the grizzled old man had managed to get right behind him was off putting. Zack turned to take in the rustic-rebel style clothing, complete with cape; and then looked up to the man's face to blink in surprise at the beard and gray hair. He knew the guy from somewhere, but that was no surprise, he had bumped into lots of freaks over the years. There was definitely something familiar about the old fighter’s aura of ego and complacency. He smiled on reflex, certain that none of his real amusement would show, old guys could get touchy if they thought you weren't in awe of them. "That's right. And who are you?"

"I'm Zangan! I travel around the world teaching children martial arts." Leaping into the air for no disconcernable reason, the strange old man demonstrated that not all of his skill was bluster. Not that it would take much acrobatics to impress the hick kids of the region. Zack speculated that the man might have studied in Wutai. "I have 128 students all over the world! In this town, a girl named Tifa is my student!"

He shook his head, making small talk with old blowhards had never been his strong point. "Tifa? That's a pretty name."

"Well, she's a pretty girl, but more importantly, she's got good sense. She'll be a powerful fighter." The inn's owner dropped the book he had been working in, muttering something about stuck up brats and their gangs of hoodlums. Zack tried hard not to laugh as his conversation partner completely missed the alternate view on his prize student.

Grumpy hicks, irate commanders, socially awkward troopers, a mountainside full of monsters and a probably leaky reactor, and now this. He shook his head and smiled, wondering how he let himself get trapped in these endless conversations. Whoever the girl was, she was probably no Aeris, but he hadn't come to pick fights, especially with old guys. They had brittle bones after all. "I like girls who can take care of themselves." He shrugged, "Within reason of course..."

"Oh, she can do that and more. She's got potential, but she's also got lots of maturing to do." Zangan, thankfully, left his boasting at that, pausing to look him over in a speculative manner.

// Oh shit... don't you even think about asking me to spar with a 14yearold... // Beating up little girls was not going to go over well with the general. Glancing over at the staircase, he wondered what sort of repercussions there would be to simply walking away and letting the old man finish the conversation by himself.

"You're a SOLDIER, huh?"

"That's right."

"I've heard things about you guys. How about a quick sparring match? I'd like to see some Shinra techniques. And if you see something you can use, maybe you'd like to pick up some of my techniques."

// Not bloody likely, crazy old fart. // Zack didn't let the thought show on his face. Years of working with Sephiroth had to be good for /something/ after all. His friend's ability to come across as cooly impassive when confronted from everything from maniac clowns with uzi's, to looking down the watery bore to hell complements of one rather enraged Leviathan ,was legend.

"Sounds like an interesting offer, but I think it'll have to wait." He nodded towards the window, Mt. Nibel lost in the darkness beyond town. "I've got a mission to complete first. Why don't you check back with me afterwards?" Suddenly he remembered where he had seen the old man before. A distant memory from Gongaga of a stranger who had come to town one day and after hearing his of his reputation for 'trouble' had offered to bestow on him the honor of becoming a student. The same wandering fighter then promtply took back his offer, calling him 'cheeky' when he had demonstrated a few tricks of his own and knocked him on his ass. The beard had been shorter then, the hair less gray, the cape less silly, but the rest was definitely the same. Judging by Zangan's cheery banter, he didn't remember their previous encounter at all.

He wondered if a name would help jog the senility loose. "By the way, the name's Zack."

"Sounds good to me. Good luck, Zack."

It was no use. It wasn't like either of them had left a lasting impression on eachother all those years ago. He shrugged and headed upstairs. If there was a good and loving god, Sephiroth might actually let him get some sleep instead of scolding him all night about wanting to take a walk. For someone rumored to be cold as glacial snowmelt, the man could be impossibly fussy at times. Usually it was part of his charm.