Stockholm Syndrome

Author: Mask of Mirage

Rating: M

Comments: I was really going to wait a few days before posting this but I wanted to get it out of my sight. I just got the feeling I was updating way too fast and you readers would think the quality wouldn't be up to par. I love it when I sit down and words just come so easily to me. It makes me quite pleased with myself that I know where I want to go with this story and there's no problem in getting there.

Warning: Well suggested yaoi and er…self-mutilation?

Mood Songs: It's Not Over by Daughtry

Razorblade Kiss by H.I.M

The Couplet by Kill Paradise

Tainted Love by Marilyn Manson

Stockholm Syndrome by Muse :D

Fully Alive by Flyleaf

Itoshii Hito by Miyavi (is god)

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from this fandom.

Chapter Four

'This is getting pretty old.'

That's what I'm thinking when I wake up. I really needed to stop passing out before these jerks think I'm some kind of wimp. I'm startled when I open my eyes in an unfamiliar room, a wash of light punctuating the otherwise shadowy atmosphere.

I'm lying on top of the covers and hanging sideways off the bed and when I sit up I let out a quiet gasp to see Kadaj not three feet from me. He has his knees bent against his body, arms wrapped around them and his head buried in between.

I glance over at the window, noting with glee that it was cracked at the bottom. I could escape now while Kadaj wasn't paying attention and make a break for it. Sure, I had no earthly clue where they had taken me but I'm positive I could get away if I found a main road.

My fingers find purchase on the splintered wood of the window and for some reason I pause, glancing back over my shoulder. Something sharp constricts in my chest upon the sight of Kadaj and the way he so suddenly looked vulnerable and childlike. I scrunch my nose in displeasure at this thought and clamber quietly out onto the sill.

The house is only one-story but the drop from the window to the ground is a good distance because of the sloping of the side yard. The basement isn't helping matters much either. I grip onto the window frame behind me and prepare to jump when suddenly three demonic wolf-like creatures materialize out of nowhere on the ground below me.

Well shit.

"Normally," a voice murmurs behind me, "I would try to stop you from escaping but the idea of you being torn to shreds by my Shadows is highly amusing also."

Said creatures snarled and bit at each other down below, oozing black saliva dripping from their sharp canines. My grasp loosens on the frame, fully prepared to take my chances with the dogs when a long, sharp blade is pressed against my windpipe.

"And this is Souba," Kadaj breathes into my ear, angling the katana to cut neatly into my flesh. Realizing if I moved forward, he would slice off my head, I let my arms drop to my sides and leaned my weight against him. The leather of his jacket was cool against my back and this, combined with the slow trickle of blood from my neck, made me feel slightly light-headed.

Defeat reared its ugly head and a sense of despair settled over me.

Completely boneless, I barely felt Kadaj turn me around, the flat of the katana resting solidly across my shoulder blades. I continued to stare at some unknown spot above his left shoulder, vaguely aware of his warm breath against my collarbone.

Yet, this seemed to shock me out of my stupor because I immediately tried to back up, try to regain some of my space, fear once again overriding my senses. I felt his hand splay across my Adam's apple, smearing the crimson blood there.

Then all I can see is a curtain of silver hair as he leans forward and presses his lips at the dip in my throat, a warm pink tongue darting out to lap at the droplet of blood that had gathered. A jolt shudders through me and I push myself back, hissing when Souba nicks cleanly at my back. Kadaj smiles languidly before moving aside.

I seize the opportunity to dart out of the room and down the hall. I pass the basement door and skid to a halt in some sort of kitchen where Yazoo and Loz are seated at a round table, playing a game of cards. They glance up at me and I can hear Kadaj's light footsteps from behind.

"You're bleeding a little there Red," Loz snickers, a malicious grin spread out over his big, stupid face.

"You're all insane, you're all out of your goddamn mind," I rasp out, suddenly finding it hard to think properly. Rational thought was deserting me, the stress that had accumulated was finally sending me over the edge. I felt hunted; I needed out!

Balling my fist, I turn and send it flying to whatever's closest. Kadaj never really sees it coming, not expecting me to lash out of the blue. He hits the ground harder than he probably expected and I'm above him, straddling his ridiculously slim hips.

I can no longer control myself as I punch blindly, smirking in delight when blood squirts from his nose. He emits a shrill yelp when my hands close around his neck but before I can do anything more, I'm pulled away by my arms and hair.

Loz growls in my ear as he drags me down the hallway towards my room. Once there he kicks the door open and boots my happy ass in. I try to sneak back under his arm but a swift punch to my stomach brings me to my knees and the door is promptly slammed in my face.

I lean my face against the cold hardwood, peering from underneath the small crack under the door. I can see Yazoo helping Kadaj to a sitting position against the wall, holding a towel against his nose. His face was turned down in a disgusted, pained grimace as he gingerly touched the area around his eye that was slowly becoming puffy. I let out a small delirious laugh at this sight, adrenaline still rushing like morphine through my veins.

He glares over in the direction of my door and I roll over onto my back, still laughing under my breath. They probably thought I was insane now. Go ahead, let them. It'll give them a challenge. They should have realized before they kidnapped me, Reno was no push-over. My sides heave and I force myself to calm back down, lest I upset my bruised, perhaps cracked, ribs. The dried blood on my neck is sticky and my back stings slightly where I've rubbed it on the hard wood.

For some reason the random dirty cobwebs that are hanging from the ceiling amuse me and I find myself chuckling quietly at how they sway back and forth whenever a stray breeze passes them. Shaking my head, I run a hand over my face. I was losing it, I needed to get my wits back together.

Just because I happened to get a few hits in a moment ago didn't mean they were going to be intimidated of me. They might even considering getting Loz to beat me again. Like a dog. That's all he really was, their puppet they ordered around. He wouldn't bite unless told so or provoked.

Yazoo didn't like me but then again, he didn't like the situation either. Out of the three, I felt most secure around him, even though I'm sure he could talk to me just as easily as he could turn and cut me to ribbons in the same breath.

Then there was Kadaj. Fifteen years old, as my sources had told me, and already a deadly child prodigy. The one who supposedly harbored the menace that was Sephiroth. He wasn't just hard to figure out or predict, he was downright mind-boggling.

Never before have I been frozen to the spot like I was with him. His very presence froze my blood in my veins and glued my feet to the floor. There was no escaping when he was around, it was physically impossible. Perhaps his Jenova cells were messing with my brain.

The next thing I know is that I'm waking up and it's quiet inside the house. An old board creaks somewhere down the hall and I glance towards the door, expecting someone to walk through. I bolt to a sitting position when I see Kadaj sitting on the floor, back against it, already in my room.

There's a thick blanket wrapped around his small frame and a mug of hot coffee in his hands. He reaches in between his legs and pulls out another mug, silently pushing it towards me on the floor. I stare at it for a few moments before he sighs out of frustration, reaching forward and taking the mug before bringing it to his lips and swallowing some.

"See, not poisoned," he mocks, pushing it once again towards me on the floor. This time I reach out, when his hand pulls back, and take the mug, drinking it down in one gulp. The hot liquid stings my throat but it's the first thing I've had to eat or drink since the day before and it feels good nonetheless.

I grin with satisfaction around my mug to see Kadaj's eye to be slightly black and blue around the edges though disappointed that his nose wasn't broken. I hadn't hit him hard enough, after all. He notices this and seems to read my mind because his next words confirm why he's here.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that," he murmurs quietly, "and I respect someone who can put up a good fight."

"It's a shame I don't think the same of you," I reply back haughtily, angered that he can be so conversational to someone he's "kidnapped".

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm pissed at you. You've hurt my face. Now what will I get the ladies with," he jokes yet completely serious at the same time.

I roll my eyes a bit, clearly this kid had a long way to go before he fully matured. I set the empty mug down loudly and fix him with a glare. "Why are you here? I'm sure you didn't come in here to have coffee with me and chit-chat."

"You interest me, 's all. And you drool when you sleep. I wanted to see what you were made of. It's not everyday someone is able to actually injure me."

"You're not some kind of god," I lash out, "so quit expecting me to drop on my knees at your feet and beg for forgiveness."

"No, no. That's not it. I was just curious, nothing more." He says this while running his pinkie finger over the rim of his mug, smearing a clear space through the condensation. I watch entranced when his voice suddenly breaks me from his hand and up to his eyes.

"But you're not leaving anytime soon, so I suggest you settle down and keep your fists to yourself or else we would have to have a repeat of your first night here and I really don't want Yazoo up my ass afterwards."

"I bet he's in your ass, alright," I mumble under my breath. I raise my eyes back up to stare into livid blue-green and I know I've crossed the line. Slowly, he stands up, the mug falling from his hands and crashing to the floor into a hundred pieces.

He approaches me and I instinctively scoot back across the floor but don't get very far as he's standing above me, his legs on either side, effectively trapping me in place. I can feel fear swell up in my chest as he lowers himself down on me, settling on my stomach. "You're scared, aren't you?" he mumbles, running his fingers through my hair and yanking roughly.

Damn straight I'm scared, this kid is fucking crazy but I'm not about to tell him that. He picks up a piece of broken mug and waves it in my face before resting it along the tendon in my neck. "Are you scared now?" The ceramic glass slides up my neck right beneath my chin and my breath hitches quietly in my throat, my eyes widening.

Kadaj smirks above me and pulls off his gloves, tossing them to the side. He puts the glass against his wrist and grins down at me, his eyes flickering in a strange way. "How about now?" He suddenly swipes at his wrist, the broken shard cutting deep into his skin and a droplet of blood falls and lands on my chest.

His grin widens even more at the shocked look on my face and he presses down on a vein in his arm, causing the blood to flow out faster and at a more steady pace. It runs down his wrist and disappears in his long-sleeved jacket; some of it continues to drip onto my bare chest.

"You wish you could do this to me, don't you," he whispers breathlessly. "You wish you could take this shard and slit my neck with it but you can't." He leans down closer to my ear, his bloody wrist pressed fully up against my chest and I can feel the warm liquid smearing on my skin. "Do you want to know why you can't kill me? Do you want to know why you can't defeat me?

He arches his back and I can now feel the cold zipper of his jacket press along my navel. "It's because I'm stronger than you," he murmurs in my ear.

He pulls back and smirks evilly at the evolution my face was probably going through. The room has suddenly become stifling hot even though it was actually cool moments earlier and I can hear the faint pounding of my heartbeat in my temple. I try to open my mouth to speak but all that comes out is a strong whoosh of air and Kadaj laughs.

Loudly. The room is filled with his possessed laughter, probably even scaring the spiders in their respective corners. This kid was brought up straight from Hell, itself. I can faintly still smell the charred ends of his once-burning wings.

Silver hair brushes across my shoulders as Kadaj's head is suddenly parallel to my chest and his tongue is once again, for the second time that day, gently lapping at my skin. Fear blinds me at this simple action. This overwhelming panic is slowly eating at my insides, corroding at the nerve endings in my brain and the only thing that crosses my mind is that if I don't cooperate with this boy, he's going to kill me.

In the worst ways absolutely imaginable.

Author's Note: Hodamn, that ending was hard to write. Don't even know why. Listening to evil music really helps. And by that I mean Marilyn Manson. Tainted Love is really the only song I can listen all the way through by that man. He honestly scares the shit out of me.

X) Sleepy time for the Mirage.