Lou-pie: I like the idea of having a masquerade ball, sounds fun! A V-day ball for vampires and their lovers or friends. There will now be a bad guy and Aerith will be the assassin that swoops in and does stuff… Anyways, I've been taking my time with my new story I'm Yours cause I don't want to miss anything and make too many mistakes since each chapter is going to be long. If you haven't read the first chapter yet, you should; I think you might like it.

Rating: PG-NC17

Pairings: Seph/Cloud, Angeal/Zack, Vincent/Genesis, Reeve/Denzel/Kadaj

Chapter 14: Family Ties (part 1)

"A ball?" Cloud repeated Shiro after Sephiroth translated for him, grabbing the nice looking invitation from the man's hand. "'You, your friends, and your partner are invited to attend the Valentine's Day Vampire Masquerade Ball at the Valentine Mansion. Please dress however you wish and wear whatever mask you want. Be here at 7:30 on the 14th.'" Cloud handed the invitation to Sephiroth and thought about this mysterious masquerade. "Valentine Mansion… isn't that just outside Midgar near section one where all the very wealthy families live?"

"Yes it is," Sephiroth answered as he handed the letter back to Shiro. "Isn't Vincent's last name Valentine?"

"Yeah, but he's no rich guy. Maybe a relative?" Cloud sat down next to Zack, who looked a little excited about a ball. "A ball for vampires; sounds suspicious to me. I've never heard of a ball held for vampires before. How would he know that we were vampires anyway?" The blond scratched his cheek as his mind wondered off, leaning his head back against the couch.

"And we did already have plans for Valentine's anyway." Sephiroth took the letter and reread it as if trying to decipher a difficult codex. "Cloud's right; it does seem a little suspicious. Vampires are rather secretive, so how would this guy know..." His eyes widened a smidge when an idea popped into his head. "Unless…"

Cloud knew what his lover was thinking and cut him off before he could say anything else. "No way. Vincent's not like that. He may be creepy and all, but he's a really good guy. And he's told me he's not that close to his family anyway."

"He could be lying," Zack suggested.

"Vincent's not a liar. I know since I've been working with him for over six years. I mean… I may not have hung out with him much until last year, but that doesn't mean we should go pointing fingers."

The puppy nodded in agreement. The crimson eyed man may have been creepy and secretive, but never lied to anyone when they asked something of him. Plus the man was rather helpful in training Cloud when he first started since it was his first job he ever had. The blond had been working there ever since, bringing in lots of costumers because of his friendliness. Vincent then helped Kadaj when he was having troubles in ordering certain things that they were running out of.

"So what, then? Do we accept the guy's invitation and see what happens, or do we decline and miss out on a most likely fabulous ball?" Zack was once again looking off wishfully at the thought of going to a masked ball.

Cloud glanced at Sephiroth, asking the older man with his eyes on what they should do. The blond didn't really want to let Zack and Angeal go alone to a vampire ball without him there to supervise them if they happened to be attacked by some rabid, blood thirsty vampire that happened to sneak inside. Cloud could tell that Sephiroth was thinking the same thing and was considering whether they should skip and go out to a lovely dinner as planned, or accept and go to a fancy party. It was hard to choose; a dinner alone with him and the blond or a ball with lovely music, free wine, and most likely free food-a dance added to it as well.

"Well… we did have something planned, but a dance with Cloud to tasteful music does sound rather nice," Sephiroth finally said, making up his mind. He smiled softly when his lover gave him an appreciated gaze that held a promise. "I guess we should start getting out our suites and masks since the dance is just three days away."

"But we don't have any really nice outfits," Zack whined a little, earning a glare form Shiro from the raven's impoliteness. "Or masks in general."

"We could rent a few suits and buy a few masks," Sephiroth suggested as he sat on the coffee table across from Cloud; his father's glare was now on him for doing something so below their status. "It wouldn't cost too much and I have money to spare."

"Are you sure?" the blond asked as he took his lover's hands in his. He kissed the other softly when the silver haired vampire nodded. "I feel rather lucky since I ended up with such a great man." Another kiss and a loud aw from Zack.

"I feel so left out of this conversation… what are we doing?" Shiro finally spoke confusedly, a little upset about seeing his son kissing another male and not understanding what they're saying.

"I guess we're going to that ball thing," Sephiroth answered. "Zack, you might want to call Angeal and talk to him about it."

"Ok!"

xxBLOODLUSTxx

(Three days later)

"Wow!" Zack exclaimed when they pulled up in front of the Valentine Mansion, looking at all the fancy looking people making their way up the pearly white steps and into the entrance way. Everyone was in some kind of costume, wearing a mask or held a mask to their face with a thin stick, and everybody looked ravishing. The driver of Shiro's limo that they were all riding in opened the door and the raven haired human was the first one out. "This looks amazing!" As soon as Angeal was out of the car, Zack immediately dragged him and pulled up the stairs.

For the night, Zack wore the regular black and white tux with the tails on the coat, but Lucrecia used some of her black magic (something no one knew she had) to give the raven a pair of pointy dog ears in replacement of his human ears and a fluffy tail, the same color as his hair. As for his mask, it was white and simple and just went over his eyes. His tie was missing and all three buttons at the top were gone, giving everyone a clear view of his chest. Angeal didn't like the thought of anyone staring at him, though it did make him feel rather prideful at having such a lovely partner. Zack knew it too and did that on purpose.

Angeal wore something similar to Zack's, but wore it properly and didn't have the ears or tail. However, he did wear the same mask Zack was wearing so they could spot each other easily if they were ever split up suddenly.

"Wait up you guys!" Cloud called after them after slipping out from the car. He growled under his breath when the two dark haired lovers disappeared inside. A gentle hand landed on his shoulder, making Cloud looked up at Sephiroth.

"Don't worry about them; let them have their fun," the silver haired vampire said as he removed his hand form the other's shoulder to wrap around the blond's waist. Cloud smiled at the gesture and let himself be led as he flushed from the gazes he and Sephiroth were receiving.

The couple were rather fashionable tonight, indeed. Sephiroth had Cloud wear a silk-spun Japanese kimono that was black with three red lines around the trimming, lighter black vines swirling around the rest of the clothing. The sleeves widened towards the blond's hands so he could cover them up when he clasped his hands together over his stomach. His feet were bare except for the thin sandals adorning his feel, tying around his ankles. Sephiroth wanted him to wear clogs, but it would have proven difficult to dance in. The blond did wear the fundoshi, however, and felt rather embarrassed as it felt like he was wearing a thong (it practically was!); he wasn't even wearing any kind of pants underneath his kimono! The only thing keeping his clothing closed was the crimson red belt tied around his waist.

That wasn't all, though; again, Lucrecia used her black magic to give Cloud cat ears and a tail that were the same color of his hair. On his face, he wore a small, cat-like mask. Luckily, no one could see how embarrassed he was underneath it. Sephiroth, though, didn't have to see to know that Cloud was pretty red by now.

Sephiroth decided to wear a black leather trench coat that was only buttoned once in the middle with black leather pants and black knee-high leathered boots, but no shirt! The only thing covering up the vampire's nipples were the leather straps that criss-crossed over his chest to hold the shoulder guards in place. Adorned his side was the sword that Cloud had given him that was tied onto his belt. He looked rather sexy, drawing many lustful gazes from women and woman-like men. One side of his face was covered by a black mask, making him look dark and mysterious… kind of like the phantom from the Phantom of the Opera.

They were followed by Shiro and Lucrecia. Shiro wore a black tux with a black mask like his son, while Lucrecia wore a beautiful lavender dress that puffed out around her legs a little with lace-like sleeves and a frilly white and light purple mask. She was led with a hand on the small of her back as she excitedly told her husband how exciting this was, thanking him for bringing her.

Just inside was the foyer, which was rather large and was where the party was being held. A pair of staircases led up to the second floor near the back of the room on either side. The floor was made out of white and tan garnet tile that dozens of feet were dancing, standing, or walking on to the sound of wonderfully played music. Off towards the side besides some of the pillars that lined around the room to hold up the walk way above them held a buffet of many treats and delights. Drinks and glasses were on another table even though there were waiters walking around groups of people while carrying glasses of sorted beverages.

Cloud eyes widened at the sight, mesmerized by the people and the music, wanting to go out and join the people that were dancing. It was then that he noticed that most of the people here were vampires, vampires of the higher class. He almost turned around to tell Sephiroth he wanted to get out of here before a pair of small arms wrapped around him. Looking down, his eyes met another pair of blue eyes that shone through the eye holes of his dark blue mask.

"Sorry we're late," Denzel said sheepishly as he let his brother go, pulling at the bow-tie around his neck. Cloud almost hugged him at the sight of his little brother, finding him rather adorable in his fancy tux. Kadaj was beside him with his hair gelled back and a few strands in his face, a mask the same as Denzel's adorned his face. Kadaj practically wore the same thing Cloud did, except his was red with gold leaves. "Yazoo had to stop by and pick up his date."

Just as that slipped out of his mouth, Yazoo walked in with his arms wrapped around a light brown haired man's arm. The silver haired human wore a black, silk kimono-like shirt with black silk pants; a pair of thin sandles on his feet. His hair was pulled back into a loose braid that was tied with a red ribbon. On his face was a white gold mask with red dots outlining around it and around his eyes. The man with him wore the simple tux with no tie, and with one button undone, no mask on his face.

Loz and a young brunette walked in after them. The tall silver haired brother wore the simple tux as well with no mask while his date wore a long black, slinky dress that had no straps with a dark brown mask tied to her face with a back ribbon. The four of them spotted Cloud and Sephiroth and walked over to them with excited smiles, expect for Yazoo's date, who had a straight face on the whole time.

"Isn't this exciting?" Yazoo exclaimed to Sephiroth after he let go of the man's arm to greet his brother. "Thank you so much for inviting us to come with you!" His smile grew as the brunette put a hand on his shoulder. "Ah, this is my boyfriend Nanaki. Nanaki, this is my older brother Sephiroth and his boyfriend Cloud, my younger brother Kadaj and his boyfriend Denzel, Cloud's younger brother."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," the man greeted in a rather deep, bedroom voice. His light tannish eyes rolled over each one of Yazoo's siblings and friends.

Nanaki was a strange looking man indeed, with his slightly long light brown hair spiked up and down towards his face like a mohawk except he had all his hair with two small braids falling over his shoulders, two blue feathers braided into his hair near the back. On his cheeks, underneath each eye, were two small, thick lines like tattoos as he wore a cloth tied around his right eye. Thick, golden bangles were attached to each reach wrist, giving Sephiroth the impression that this man was from Cosmo Canyon, Nunchaku.

"And this is my girlfriend, Tifa," Loz said as he showed off his woman to the others proudly. The woman greeted them with a small smile, blushing when Sephiroth kissed her hand in a gentlemanly way that Cloud was not used to seeing his lover do that to other woman.

"Now it's safe to say that our family line will continue as Loz continues to woo this beautiful woman," the oldest brother commented as he gave Loz a prideful grin. "Nice catch, by the way."

"Thank you!"

Cloud shook his head as he chuckled while Tifa giggled into her hand. "Would you like a dance, Sephiroth?" the blond asked, looking towards the dancing couples in longing. His lover accepted without a word and pulled him into the crowd, Loz and Tifa soon joining them as well as Yazoo with his boyfriend.

Denzel stayed behind with Kadaj, looking around to see if he could spot someone familiar. It was then that he spotted Reno with some blond man in the dancing crowd, Rufus leading. The redhead hadn't changed into something nicer and stayed in his regular Turk suit, though he did wear a crimson red mask. The blond leading him, had his hair slicked back in its usual style with only a few strands sticking out over his forehead and wore a white business suit with a black vest and tie; a black and white mask tied to his face. Close to them was Tseng and Rude standing to watch at one of the large windows that practically outlined the room, they too were still in their Turk clothing.

Reno was the first to spot them after he noticed Cloud and Sephiroth, and walked on over to say hi while he pulled Rufus along with him. His face lifted and he couldn't help but hug the young vampire. "You look so cute!" He was soon pushed away with a hard shove from Denzel.

"Please don't say that. At least Cloud knows how to keep his mouth shut…" Denzel straightened his suit and mask.

"Why aren't you out there dancin'?" The redhead's grin lowered some at the embarrassed blush the small blond was giving him, ignoring the annoyed glare that Kadaj was giving him. "What's the matter, yo?" he asked when the young vampire didn't answer.

"It's nothing, you'll just laugh."

"No I won't. What is it?"

Denzel stumbled over his words as he played with the bottom of his jacket. "I… can't dance," he mumbled quietly, his face becoming bright red.

"So? Neither can I, yo!"

"That's for sure," Rufus teased before giving the redhead a peck on the cheek. "He kept stepping on my toes, but that didn't stop him from wanting to dance." He smiled fatherly like to Denzel and offered his hand towards the blond. "Come, I'll teach you." The blond man led the teen off to a secluded corner and started a small lesson on how to lead a partner.

Kadaj watched in jealousy while Reno stood behind him with a cheerful grin. Denzel would sometimes step on Rufus' feet, but the blond human would just laugh about it and start over. The young boy started to get the hang of it when a young man with long black hair, almost as long as Sephiroth's, and red eyes stepped into the room.

The music quieted and everyone stopped what they were doing to give the man their intention. The red eyed man that had just walked in wore a suit that was so old fashioned that you knew he was born in that time period; the old fashioned white blouse that had the ruffles on the cuffs and around the collar with a leather vest that had light brown swirls on it, a tight fitting light black tailcoat, tight black slacks, and knee high brown leather boots. He wore no mask, but his face was painted with swirls that came from around his eyes to twirl to the sides of his face in dark blue like tattoos. White velvety gloves adorned his hands, which her swinging slightly with each step he took. The man smiled at the crowed and gave a small bow.

"Who's that?" Kadaj asked as he pointed at the man that was obviously wealthy.

"That's Akuji Valentine, Vincent's younger brother, yo," Reno replied as he gazed wearily at the man. "I looked up some information about him when Tseng and Rude had received the invitation and invited me. Vincent was born here in Midgar back in 1908, so his parents gave him a Leviathan name, while Akuji was born in Japan back in 1927, yo."

"Wait, wait, so this Akuji is human?"

"Apparently."

"Then why is he having a vampire party?"

Reno only shrugged his shoulders. "It's difficult to see Vincent being so old when he only looks like he's in his late twenties." He chuckled, only quieting when the man began to speak in a loud voice.

"Good evening friends, I am Akuji. It is so nice to see so many of my fellow vampires and so many humans who have accepted them," Akuji began, making Denzel and Reno look at each other confusedly. "It warms my heart that we are not a dying breed and that we will continue to prosper. I have set this little event so we could all reunite with one another. I made sure and did my research before inviting anyone to make sure I didn't make a mistake." His grin sent shivers down Denzel's spine. "And I can smell that we have two very important quests whose ancestors started our wonderful breed, what luck."

The man's smile became giddy as he walked up to Cloud and Sephiroth, who were very tense and ready to attack if need be. Akuji stopped in front of the couple and bowed respectfully. Reno watched this in bewilderment and looked over towards his lover to see Rufus giving him the same look. Everyone's eyes were upon the blond and the silver haired male by then.

"It is such an honor to have you here in my house," Akuji exclaimed after he straightened himself.

"How did you-"

"Know?" the man interrupted Sephiroth, which greatly annoyed the silver haired vampire. "Your smell. I recognize it from my ancestor who was on your ancestor's ship, Sephiroth." The vampire's smile suddenly became malicious for a split second that no one noticed except for Cloud and Sephiroth. "I know it's a rather sad and horrible way how we came to be, but I am glad that it happened." Akuji turned back towards the crowd with an endearing grin. "Isn't it great to live long lives and not have to worry about diseases, getting shot or stabbed, or being poisoned."

A lot of voices spoke in agreement as Akuji turned back to the couple. "Will you join me for a glass of wine?"

Cloud and Sephiroth glanced at each other for a moment, silently contemplating, before agreeing. They followed the long haired man towards the beverage table that had expensive looking wine as everyone went back to what they were doing. Akuji picked up two glasses of red wine and handed them to the blond and silver haired vampire, only to have Cloud shake his head and pick up a glass of pink wine. The dark haired vampire smirked at this with a small chuckle before taking a sip of his own white wine.

"I see you have a sweet tooth," Akuji observed, looking into his glass while he swirled his drink around. "My mother had such a great sweet tooth that it was difficult to keep any kind of sweet pastry or candy to last a week."

Sephiroth glanced over towards Cloud with a knowing look.

"What? I'm not that bad," Cloud protested. He huffed when Sephiroth lifted an eyebrow. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," the silver haired vampire stated around his glass before taking a sip. "Is there anything you wanted to talk to us about, Akuji? Unless you just wanted to make small talk."

Akuji shrugged. "Just wanted to speak to the vampires who made this all happen, which I am very thankful for. But I'm surprised to see that Cloud is a man rather than a woman like the stories says and that your ancestor got away from Minerva's clutches. It is such an honor, though, to have you in my house." The smile that the man gave made Cloud's blood run cold and stand a little closer to Sephiroth. "And you have such rare beauty, Cloud."

Ok, he's now renamed Mr. Stalker. "How do you know our name?" the blond asked as he put his empty glass on the table.

"My men hear everything and tell me everything, so that's how I know." Akuji motioned around the room to show the lovers his guards standing at each window around the room except for the one that Tseng and Rude were standing next to. "If I need to know a name, I ask and they find out for me."

"So they eavesdrop for you?"

"That makes me sound like a child." The red eyed vampire looked offended and stuck his nose up a little. "I don't ask them to find out about people's personal lives, just names." He took one last gulp of his wine before one of his guards came over and whispered something in his ear. "Excuse me; it appears I have something that needs tending to." He turned on his heal and disappeared up the stairs.

Not wanting to spend any more time at the so called bar, Sephiroth grasped Cloud's elbow and dragged him over towards a confused Reno and Denzel. Rufus also looked a little confused after Reno told him about the information he had dug up while Kadaj just looked uninterested. Angeal and Zack were suddenly behind them and asking them questions what that was about, but they were ignored. Reno, however, had something important to say.

"Guys, Akuji is not supposed to be a vampire, yo," the redhead said with a worried look towards the direction Akuji disappeared to. "He and Vincent are brothers and were both born by the same parents; Akuji was also the second born."

"And yet, he calls himself a vampire," Sephiroth butted in, his lips forming a thin straight line as he thought. "But I saw those fangs when he spoke, and they certainly weren't fake."

"And get this; both of them were born from the early nineteen hundreds, yo," Reno began. "I can see why Vincent is here because both his parents were vampires and he was the first child to be born, but Akuji is still here and a vampire like his brother. How?"

"Because he's a phsyco," a deep voice interrupted them.

They all turned to see Vincent dressed similarly like his brother, only his hair was tied up in a lose bun with a pair of chopsticks keeping it together and he didn't wear a mask or any kind of facial pant. Standing beside him was Genesis in a black turtle neck, sweater vest with a long red, leather trench coat, black leather pants, and leather boots that went over his knees with two buckles that went under each knee. He too didn't wear any kind of mask and was bringing a lot of attention to his pretty face from many fawning women.

"Vincent?" Cloud asked in surprise. "And Genesis? What are you two doing here… together?"

"Reno called me yesterday after he found out Akuji was my brother and told me everything," Vincent explained. "I had to come and find out what my brother is planning."

"And I came along since I was…" Genesis blushed lightly and crossed his arms, clearing his throat.

"In a very intimate position with me at the time," the red eyed vampire finished with a smug smirk. It dropped, however, by the question Denzel asked that was settled in everyone's mind.

"How is he a vampire since he's not the first born?" Denzel asked suddenly. He stood close to Kadaj and had his hand wrapped around the other's, squeezing it when he felt the other's fear.

"Let's just say he's been playing with some pretty dark magic when we were teenagers. Now, where has he gone?" Vincent glanced around his circle of friends, his eyes landing on Cloud and Sephiroth. "I can smell him on you; what has he done to you?" He walked up to the two lovers and examined them intently.

"Nothing," Cloud answered a little quickly as he leaned away from the dark haired man. "He said he just wanted to talk to us and have a glass of wine with… us…" The blond's words suddenly became slurred as darkness started to surround his vision. Zack was the one who caught him since he was standing right behind him and soon enough, Angeal was catching a fainting Sephiroth (who was about to freak out before he too slipped into unconsciousness). Suddenly, people starting falling onto the floor unconscious around them, some were being caught while others hit the floor… hard. Rufus was one of them and fell into Reno's awaiting arms; Rude doing the same with Tseng.

"Something is not right here," Vincent mumbled to himself as the people started to scream and scramble about. His crimson red eyes scanned the room and saw metal walls closing in over the windows and doors so that no one could escape. "Very wrong." He pulled out his long barreled gun just as the lights went out, causing everyone to scream louder. His eyes glowed in the dark as he searched around the room, still able to see.

The guards around them shape shifted into creatures that he had never seen before, most likely from the dark magic Akuji liked to use often. Their teeth turned into fangs, their nails grew into claws, and their skin became covered with fur. They looked a lot like dogs that were able to stand on their feet and use their hands like regular humans. Their clothing ripped to shreds as they grew a full head taller than Vincent and howled into the darkness.

"Werewolves."

Denzel screamed when he was suddenly grabbed by something he couldn't see, feeling claws digging into him as he was carried away. He could hear Kadaj screaming his name as he too was hauled off the ground and carried away. Vincent tried to help them, but was stopped by several of the creatures. Cloud and Sephiroth were dragged away as well as the rest of the gang. Angeal and Zack tried fighting back but were knocked unconscious. Anyone who was unconscious was dragged away and anyone who was still awake was killed off, all expect for the people Cloud and Sephiroth knew. Genesis screamed Vincent's name when he tried to fight back, but was completely blind in the darkness and was soon over taken, dragged away with the rest of them.

Vincent tried to defend himself and save the others, specifically Genesis, but there were just too many to fight off and they were too strong to beat by himself. He didn't stop fighting though, and fought until he could no longer stay awake. The werewolves made sure to tie him up before they dragged him away.

While all this was happening, a figure stood on top of a chandelier, their scent covered so they couldn't be found out. The figure wanted to help out, but the person needed to be patient if they wanted to save the innocent people even though most of them were vampires. When the room was cleared, the stranger carefully swung themselves from the chandelier and onto a pillar to climb down, stilling every time the figure heard a noise. On the floor, it ran across the room and over dead bodies without a sound, climbing the stairs and down the hall where the stranger saw the people being dragged away.

Lou-pie: sorry it took so long, I was gone most of the last few weeks and didn't have a lot of time to spend on it. But when I did, I typed my little fingers to the bone… and yet, this chapter is a little shorter than the others, that's because I went a little too fast. Oh well, no harm done. I hope. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, I want to see if I can get to 120 reviews… maybe more.