Thanks to purefoysgirl for helping me out again!
9
Kadaj bounced along the corridor, his complaining kitten stuffed tightly under one arm and a badly wrapped package under the other. Humming an excited, formless tune, he made his way towards Yazoo's room, eager to see his brother. Along the way, he bumped into Loz, who was also carrying a package—the boy noticed with smug satisfaction that it was significantly smaller than his own. His satisfaction, however, did not extend to forgiving Loz, and one hostile glare at the eldest brother made the bigger boy shrink back, following at a respectable distance.
Reaching his goal, Kadaj grabbed the doorknob and shoved it open so hard it bounced off of the wall. With a grin that spread from ear to ear, he screamed in excited, exuberant glory, "Happy Birthday, Yazzy!"
His enthusiasm was considerably dampened, however, when he found himself not confronted with the birthday boy, but instead staring into the blank face of his not-so-amused "father."
The man was leaning against the bedpost in a black shirt and dark, tight fitting trousers tucked into his heavy, black military boots. Even without the uniform, he was terrifying, made moreso by his impatience with waiting for Yazoo to finish showering and getting ready. The look that spread over his face clearly stated that the absolute last thing he needed right now was one of the brats ruining his good mood.
Almost as if to mock the general, Loz poked his own silver-haired head into the room, eyes searching anxiously for Yazoo.
Frozen with terror and paling at a rather impressive rate, the two boys just stared at him, gifts and congratulations forgotten.
The cat objected loudly to being squeezed even more tightly by its nervous little owner, but Kadaj couldn't help but tense up under the force of those cool, irritated eyes.
"I—I'm sorry, Sir, I thought…I didn't know you were at home today. Please excuse the inconvenience," Loz stammered, and hurried to bow deeply to the general, almost smashing his gift in one nervous fist.
Clearly unwilling to deal with them, Sephiroth just eyed them frostily and dismissed them with a condescending flick of his wrist.
Happy to escape so lightly, both boys made their departure and vanished to their respective rooms, eager to stay there for the rest of the day. It was a break in tradition for them, since they had always celebrated their birthdays together, no matter the circumstances…but their foster-father had done nothing but disrupt their relationship with one another anyway. In part, it was to be expected.
Sephiroth idly stroked back his mane of long, luxurious hair, hearing the pattering of the shower die down. He had considered joining his pet to make him hurry, but it would almost certainly have taken longer that way. Besides, he needed the boy to be able to move, so such things would have to wait until later.
Yazoo emerged from the bathroom, vanishing into his wardrobe to choose an outfit that would please his father.
"Did something happen?" he inquired, searching for something elegant and not too flashy. He'd heard some faint commotion over the roar of the shower but he hadn't known what it was about.
"Nothing worth mentioning," Sephiroth replied, his voice languid and sultry, his eyes absently drifting to his watch.
Yazoo decided on black jeans and a black turtleneck, despite the fact that it was warm outside. Though extravagant, his choices in clothing were rather limited due to Sephiroth's possessiveness. His father didn't want him showing off his body to the public, forcing the boy to wear concealing clothing whenever they left the mansion. It didn't bother Yazoo enough to rouse any complaints.
As he rammed his feet into a pair of black, steel-toed boots, he idly wondered where Sephiroth would take him. The man had been rather secretive about their trip, only going so far as to complaisantly pat Yazoo's head, smirking.
After a quick check in the mirror, the boy decided that he was dressed decently enough for most anything. He flipped his long hair over his shoulder and left the wardrobe to join his foster-father.
As it turned out, the general had decided to take Yazoo on a shopping trip. It was out of character for him to take Yazoo out in public since he wanted to avoid any possible rumours—not only about their rather amoral relationship, but also about the fact that Sephiroth had adopted the children in the first place. To offset this concern, the general had exercised his vast power and rented a designer shop solely for his own use. It was entirely theirs for the day and they made excessive use of it; or, rather, Sephiroth did.
He made Yazoo try on an obscene amount of clothing (including a slightly disturbing school-girl outfit) while he sat back and enjoyed the show. Really, it was a little hard to tell whose birthday it actually was, but as long as the general was pleased—and, judging from the three 'pauses' they had in the changing room, he was—everything was fine. By the end of the day, Yazoo owned a whole new wardrobe, to include the disturbing school-girl uniform, and they made their way back to the mansion.
In the car, Yazoo leaned his head against the cool, darkened glass, a little exhausted. He switched on the radio, searching for a classical station. His searching paused, however, when he stumbled across a special news report about a man by the name of Tseng who had been found dead in his apartment just hours ago. According to the police he had died under suspicious circumstances. The officer in charge of the investigation, Vincent Valentine, hoped that the autopsy would clear things up.
Yazoo and Sephiroth looked at each other in unison, and the car altered course with a screech of its wheels.
Upon reaching the apartment complex, Sephiroth eased his way through the masses of news-crews and emergency response personnel. A policeman helping to hold the curious crowds at bay recognized the general's distinctive Jaguar and waved them through the barrier.
"Wait here," Sephiroth ordered Yazoo, leaving the car and shutting the door behind him.
Through the tinted glass, the boy watched him walk over to the group of policemen. The ambulance stood ready with medics in attendance, the sun slowly setting on the blue and red flicker of the emergency lights.
While Sephiroth was demanding status reports of the officers, all of whom immediately straightened and saluted him, something else caught Yazoo's impassive eyes.
The black body-bag was being carried down to the ambulance on a litter, and behind it followed a tall, raven-haired man with a startlingly red cloak. He held a little notebook in his gloved hands and looked at it thoughtfully, clearly preoccupied.
A few steps away was a blond woman that Yazoo recognized as being Kadaj's teacher, Elena. She was, apparently, in some kind of shock and was being treated by the medics. Yazoo assumed that she had been the one to find her fellow teacher.
Almost as if drawn against his will, Yazoo's eyes returned to that mysterious officer. When the man looked up and saw Sephiroth himself standing with the others, he looked visibly startled. He drew himself up and hid all traces of surprise as he strode over to join them.
Expressionless, Yazoo let the window slide down a little so that he could overhear the conversation.
"…surprise to see you here, General Sephiroth," the red-cloaked man said, his voice sonorous and deep. They shook hands briefly, professionals at their best.
"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances," Sephiroth smoothly said, giving the man a tight smile. "I thought I would offer my services, should you need any help with your case. There will be a case, I take it, Inspector Valentine? It sounds as if there is foul play involved."
"There isn't much evidence, as yet. According to the coroner, he has been dead for a few days now, but the autopsy will show the exact cause of death."
The silver-haired general just gave a short nod, attempting to respond when Elena, spotting him from her hunched position near the ambulance, suddenly rushed to throw herself on his chest, crying and sobbing incoherently.
Recovering from the unexpected attack, Sephiroth held her away from him by her shoulders, keeping her from staining his freshly laundered coat with her tears, saying in a somewhat dispassionate manner, "There, there, I am sure everything will be fine."
He shot a silent order at one of the medics and the man hurried to take her away.
Vincent Valentine looked after her slumped, retreating form and then back at Sephiroth, who was gracefully straightening his mussed coat. "She is an acquaintance?"
"Barely," Sephiroth retorted, removing a blond hair from his coat with the tips of his fingers and raising an eyebrow in disgust at it. He looked back at Vincent and said, "Well, I will leave this in your capable hands. If you need anything from me or my people to assist in your investigation, please do not hesitate to contact me."
Vincent humbly inclined his head, but the general had already started on his way back to the car.
While Sephiroth got back into the Jaguar, Yazoo felt the fathomless gaze of that inspector fasten onto him, even though the tinted glass kept the boy safe from view. Still, for an unsettling moment it felt like their eyes locked, and Yazoo was almost certain that the man had seen him somehow.
Letting his indifferent eyes wander back to his father, Yazoo slid the window shut and Sephiroth eased them back onto the crowded streets.
So, uhm. This was a little rushed compared to the rest (I had considered elaborating their shopping trip but then I need to get on with the actual plot, so I skipped that...). But there´s a new character: say hello to Vincent Valentine! :) And I bet you are disappointed about 'tomorrow', aren´t you? In retrospective I noticed how dramatic it sounded and what it turned out to be isn´t really THAT spectacular... Well, I hope you liked it anyway :)
YinYangWhiteTiger: No, comparing the amount of reviews I get, 'Abuse' was less 'famous' XD But the stats say that I have about 50 readers for each chapter, and 6 decide to review, I´d say that is a lot! But thanks, I´ll always be happy about more love ;) There are new characters showing up in this story, you´ll see! Thanks for reviewing!
purefoysgirl: This time it was quite a lot to correct, uh? I´m sorry... Anyway, I had to change the driver thing, it just didn´t feel right. Hopefully it is still plausible now. And thanks again for your immense help!
Valitiel: Hahaha, in the end, 'tomorrow' was far less dramatic than I had suggested it would be ;) Just a plain birthday. And yeah, I don´t know if Kadaj would actually eat poor Berny, but at least he´s out of sorts with Loz now. Glad you liked it!
sareyva: Hehe, you could say they´ve come to a silent agreement;) Yes, Sephiroth is a little unpredictable at times, hence Yazoo could not have known how he´d react. And then he´s only 14 years old so it is to be expected that despite his genius he´ll make mistakes. But luckily for Loz, everything went smoothly. A road trip, omg! They would have to introduce a new rating type for all the blood and violence that would ensue! XD But if you squint, it was a mini road trip :) Thanks for reviewing and sharing your highly entertaining thought with me!
whitelanc3r: Okay, I´ll give my best then! Although I fear that I wasn´t very good in this chapter... Hope you liked it, though!
Xyleel: Der sprichwörtliche Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm und so, nich? XD Naja, wie gesagt hat sich Yazoo ja auch ein bissl für Loz eingesetzt (und ich denke ich kann hier auch 'verraten' dass Yazoo Sephiroth NICHT dazu ermutigt hat, seine Brüder zu verprügeln. Ganz so einen an der Klatsche hat er dann doch nicht...). Ja wegen der Story mit den dreien: das kann wohl noch eine Weile dauern, ich erlebe zum ersten mal die Unfreuden einer Schreibblockade und habe so gar keine richtigen Ideen (außer einer ziemlich kranken und brutalen: wir-wurschteln-uns-durch-einen-apokalyptischen-Krieg-Plotline. Aber mir ist irgendwie mal nach etwas leichterem und weniger dramatischen...). Sollte dir etwas einfallen, dann immer her damit :)
Well then everybody, have a nice weekend, and if you feel like it I´d be happy if you would leave me a little review!
