Kamen

Chapter Four:

AN: Wow. Hey guys. Horribly sorry for the wait. I started this chapter eons ago, said "okay I've got a good start!" And never came back to it til tonight haha...O.o So here it is for you to view...OH! And thank you everyone!! I posted that little comment about the lack of reviews and almost the next day I had like eight!! It was amazing!! So thank you everyone, but please keep reviewing me if you read. As I said before a simple "MORE!!" Or if you're feeling wordy: "ME WANT MORE!! NOW!!" Works as well. Sorry, this is preachy. But here it is, I hope we all enjoy it, and hope to see you all in a nice review ;)

Kurai

Borderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborder

Cloud's legs were less then reliable as he approached his saviour his new passion to be strong and wonderful and someone his angel would admire burning in him. He supposed this spelled greater disaster then he thought. And indeed as Sephiroth turned to look at him, silver curtain falling over his broad shoulder, Cloud felt himself collapse. He cursed when Sephiroth dove to catch him. Cursed even more when he was swept off his trembling feet.

His small hands pushed into the larger man's chest and he called out: "Release me!" The large general froze and went rigid. "I don't believe you posses the ability to stand on your own." Cloud visualised pushing out of his arms and making a nice stand on the ground. All he really managed to do was wiggle a bit. "Allow me at least to seat you comfortably so you don't fall." "Allow me to explain again: I want down!"

Sephiroth made no sign of his approval or disapproval of the stubborn boy glaring up at him, an indignant huff on his face, but he placed him down. Just as predicted Cloud's normally sturdy, long, dancer's legs folded. He reached out and grabbed the hard rock surface, scraping his fine hands slightly. It hurt, but he ignored it as best he could, scratching up the wall to try to pull himself up.

Sephiroth had turned his head away watching the entrance once again almost as if by not looking he was sparing him his injured pride. Once Cloud had straightened he thrust his chin up, burning eyes seeking out Sephiroth's face, which, sensing his change in longitude of a sudden, curved downwards to meet his. His eyes were leveled and cold. Not cold, really, not to Cloud's perception more...distanced. As if he sensed coming close would hurt. But they were beautiful eyes, such a rare shade and so wonderful to gaze at and merely marvel over. They held so little emotion that it made them fascinating by the mere absence.

Cloud kept the fire in his eyes, but tried not to look so angry. "I'm standing on my own see?" he questioned imperiously. Sephiroth's eyebrow twitched, perhaps mocking him, and he nodded. "Your friend went with Zack to get some food. There's a village not too far and they're going to scope it for the soldiers who attacked us." He looked away from him again, senses turned back towards his duty and search for the mentioned soldiers.

"You should get cleaned up a bit then rest. They will be some time, they just left. The girl told me to watch you she said you may be scared." His eyes flicked to Cloud who was still wearing his stubborn face and he didn't quite miss the slight irony in his voice. And sarcasm. So perhaps he had a sense of humour which made him human after all.

"Where do I wash?" He asked after some moments of silence. He hated when his voice cracked. His legs felt as if they were getting stronger though, and soon he was only leaning against the rock wall. Sephiroth noticed this and nodded instead towards a crude bowl of some mushy substance. "That is a meal Zack made from our camping set. Eat it before you think of going anywhere." Cloud wobbled over towards it, ecstatic his feet followed his commands for the most part, and sat down before the odd muck. It looked and smelled awful and was cold, but he took long, drawn-out bites-more like gulps-of it and was shocked when his rumbling stomach calmed and he felt strength returning to him, albeit slowly. The results were wonderful even if the cause was disgusting.

He finished slowly, but once he had, he looked back to the General who was again not looking at him. "Can I wash now?" Those brilliant eyes swept over him, and then he nodded and motioned for him to follow. He moved out of their shelter and walked down a narrow, rocky path Cloud noticed was little-beaten, rarely used probably, and took notice of the obvious descent they were making. It took little time to reach the woods, but he was weak when they got there. Wobbling once again he almost cried when Sephiroth pushed away some bushes revealing a stream that seemed to be rather deep at its pooling point just in front of them. He looked nervously to the General. "You will bathe in peace and I will be just beyond this bush. I have a small towel you can dry yourself with; I will leave it with you. Don't be long it's a long walk and we don't want to miss Zack." And he procured from under his arm the ratty, clearly-used robe he had spoken of, leaving it near the pool.

He made no rustling noises as he disappeared behind the bush. Cloud turned towards the water, then slipped off his already-thin, even thinner with their battle-wear clothes, and slipped in quickly. It was freezing and he found himself missing ever-so-slightly the warm clover-smelling baths of the house. He shook his head as he submerged himself, scrubbing at his hair. At least he could try to wash off the horrors of the previous night. He shivered when he thought of it. His body began to tremble as the memories of the assault came back in a rush.

The stench returned, the grease of that man, the heat from his body and the fear...he slipped quickly out of the water, still trembling, and rubbed himself as dry as he would get with the cloth. He felt no better. He didn't want to wear his clothes; they reminded him of what had happened. Maybe Sephiroth could lend him his coat? Just until Aerith and Zack returned...then he would change if he must.

He hesitantly wrapped the small towel around his waist surprised that it fit him leaving only a scrap of skin poking between it. He held it tightly, feeling rather self-conscious. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes partially, summoning courage, and called out shakily: "G-General?" There was an intrepid rustling and then the General almost exploded into the clearing, sword drawn, eyes frantic. Cloud froze. He must have sounded more afraid then he thought because he looked as if he had startled him.

Yet here he stood in a scrap of clothing bared almost before a man who intimidated him and he was undeniably attracted to. He started shivering; he couldn't help himself. The General's eyes were zeroed in on him staring rather intently at his face. He couldn't keep that stare, so he looked down towards the ground, but he could still feel his eyes like fire scorching his body. They moved downwards very slowly, seemingly taking in his appearance and observing his small towel-wrapped body. He had only ever felt so exposed in one other moment and that had been an awful occurrence. This however felt different. It was...pleasant, with his eyes on him.

He felt as if the General were admiring him which he felt was quite a feat and the fact that the officer was not repulsed by him preached to his tastes. It surprised Cloud slightly that such an attractive, desirable man would only be interested in his own same sex, but then again he had been hoping slightly for this turn-out. His eyes made Cloud feel attractive, and powerful in a way.

He raised his head chancing another encounter with those balls of fire. He caught the General staring at his navel and once the other sensed Cloud's eyes he raised his own to meet them. Cloud shivered but, in a move he felt was inspired by the eyes on him that were making him feel bold in a way he had never experienced before, he rotated his hips ever so slightly, jutting them in a different direction.

His grip on his slim covering drooped slightly and the opening expanded showing more of his small thigh, and more of his tawny stomach. The General's eyes darted to it and widened. He swore he saw something akin to nervousness in his eyes before he turned himself away slightly presenting his back to Cloud.

"Did you require my assistance?" he said. His voice sounded cold and dangerous almost. As if added silently onto his question was: "You better have". Cloud seemed to snap to his senses as soon as the cold voice reached his ears. He grasped the towel tighter again and pulled back his supposedly sexily-jutted hips. He felt like a fool. Of course Sephiroth hadn't been attracted to him. He was some girly Kabuki dancer, brave, strong, angelic General's aren't attracted to boys like him. He hid his shame as best he could, face a tint red and nodded, then remembered he probably couldn't see that.

"Yes." he mumbled. "I don't want to wear my clothes back...I know Aerith will have brought something extra, but until then could I possibly cover myself up with something of yours just so I am not indecent to the point where she returns." His words fell like stones into an awkward, tense silence. "All I have is my jacket armour. It would be far too large on you." Cloud's head drooped a bit more as he heard what could have been anger laced in his voice. Maybe frustration. His plan so far was failing.

"I don't require it now you could use it until the return of the others." Cloud's face lifted, a bit of hope sparkling unknown in his eyes. "Thank you that would be helpful." Sephiroth untied the front of his jacket, slipped it off and handed the surprisingly heavy article to him. Cloud took it in his much smaller hands and couldn't help but notice how precariously Sephiroth handed it to him, as if touching him would cause him pain.

Instead of causing Sephiroth pain it only served to hurt Cloud. The hope burned out in his eyes and his head lowered in defeat. Sephiroth turned around properly as Cloud changed into his jacket and pulled it as tight as it would go. Of course it hung off of him and draped on the ground, the sleeves much too long and the shoulders not filling out, but it covered most of him. His legs were bare when he walked, which he could barely do given the length on him, but other then that he was covered. Sephiroth however was bare before him.

After Cloud adjusted himself properly he found his eyes stopping on the broad, alabaster shoulders presented to him. Then down the strong back to the muscular arms and small waist, which still looked manly on him. It only made Cloud look frail. He felt lust in his stomach and that bold feeling of sexuality again.

He took a small, quiet, deep breath and remembered his vow. Why his strength seemed to wean and grow in the face of this man he had no idea, but he summoned what little strength he had left and told himself he didn't care and didn't mind if the General liked him, or approved of him. He had a quiet, reserved strength in the Kabuki school, albeit it gained him no manly spirit. But others had kept their distance almost expecting him to be unapproachable, so hence his inept social abilities.

Anyone who had approached him had been prospective sponsors, which he was forced to flatter. And now he was with someone he wished to charm and he found himself falling short. As he looked to his hidden arms under the jacket he added in his thoughts: 'No pun intended'.

The General walked off at a brisk pace as if he were slowly retreating from something from a sleeping mountain lion; if he moved slowly, it wouldn't attack. Cloud found this odd, but with his guilty eyes watching a little too intently the man before him he followed him, unable to stop his curiosity at his thoughts.

Borderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborder

Sephiroth felt regret; he felt remorse, and he felt self-disappointment. He mainly regretted the fact that he was so blatant with his lusty affections, how he had eyed the boy. While he had been bathing he had heard the slipping of his silk clothing as it left his skin and the splashing of the water and he realised he was naked...and wet, and his entire body froze. For some reason this thought (which he pictured fully in his mind, the slick skin, slightly red from the cold nipples erect), made him tense and put him on pins and needles and he felt stressed almost.

As if something he wanted was in front of him but he was unable to reach it. And then he heard him call him and tense like a taut bow-string he whipped to face the boy and his breath stopped cold in his chest. There he was, that skin he had pictured earlier bared to him the sweetest, flattering shade of alabaster, and that body...he had never seen anything more...delectable, he supposed the word was. Most of his men had been muscular, the picture of the Adonis. Cloud was the polar opposite of this. Cloud was beauty.

The boy was a rose; seemingly beautiful but with a barbed strength. His body was taut and muscled from his dancing, legs long and feminine...and beautifully curved and swift. He loved that body, and now he wanted to feel him and taste him and see all of him sprawled out beneath him. He had had in the past, things that had been muscled and coarse and rough, and now he wanted something he could mold and shape. Then he became aware of his sexual identity of a sudden and moves his hips and lowers the towel and Sephiroth had to pull himself away because he felt himself spiraling out of control.

He felt next the remorse that it obviously so intimidated the boy and that he had no clear idea of his power over the General and self-disappointment that now, as they walked (or really he fled), no matter how hard he squeezed his knuckles together so his nails bit the calloused skin on his thick palm, his nasty thoughts that he never knew he even found erotic still rushed through his head. He wanted that boy. Badly. He wanted him every which way it was possible to have another male.

He wanted to take him hard; he wanted sweet, intricate love that would make the younger one moan and writhe, teasing him, torturing him. He closed his eyes, hoping to gain control over the sudden discovery of...violent, apparently, hormones but was only attacked with images of the boy-gasping, moaning, pushing against him as he shoved into him-Sephiroth's eyes flew open and he increased his pace.

He heard a small, perhaps unbidden, squeak behind him and a tripping of slippered feet over the path and knew the boy had tripped in an attempt to keep the pace. He was shocked when he felt something like a rusty smile slip onto his face that he restrained just in time. He sensed there was some reserved spirit about the boy, something dark lurked inside of him; yes he was living in a plush pampered place, and yes his life-style was far from the battle-field that he sported, but perhaps an individual from such a radically different world would be what he needed.

No one else had ever been a fit for him for anything more then lust, if only because he intimidated too many people. He scared them away, and none had ever bothered to break his shell. Even he was unsure if there was anything underneath this shield he had placed up. If there really was a personality, a person, under the killer. Or if there were only the rivulets of blood and no real human being.

These thoughts came so, so rarely, but this boy inspired them and that was enough of some kind of hint to him to investigate. He would investigate. Maybe the boy could actually…help him. If he needed help. If there was something, someone to help. If he could even be considered a human to...love anymore…

Maybe. If the boy could find him.

Borderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborderborder

AN2: Well there it is and here we are. In case you skipped my first AN reviews are nice. And everyone has been so good with it so keep it up you beautiful, beautiful people. Unfortunately, no guarantees on the next chapter...all that work I neglected for the past two weeks has finally caught me...shivers...but, it will come I promise...and if it gets to be too long please review me with some threats to write more. I'd love that Okay, thank you for reading, hopefully reviewing, hopefully enjoying and hope to see you all in the next chapter!

LOVE!,

Kurai-Tenshi ;;