Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi. I'm getting worn out on the spelling of the 'Die –Ing' thing. I'll just admit I dunno how to spell it and leave it up to you all. I guess because of the whole "dyeing" your hair thing, or the " die" death like thing. Oh well... I'm only human. Xx I mean, you all know what I'm talking about anyways... Any case, it's taken me awhile to actually update this chapter. Mainly because of a lot of hectic bullshit going on in my life at this time. But I'm trying my best to keep this going. SO here it is! '

Chapter 3.

The sound of soft breathing rose in erratic panting, before slowing then catching slightly. The simple motion of bodies gliding against one another seemed to decrease the amount of distance between them and further the friction and heat. It couldn't be helped in they're situation and surroundings. However, in this case, every motion was accidental. However, the mage was completely unaware of that.

"Uhhnn... Oh gods..." Kuja moaned softly in his sleep, arching up against the body above him in a weak plea as his slumber stated mind simply begged for more attention from his teasing tormentor.

Zidane, simply blushed and frowned at this turn of events. Since the blond had discovered an opening behind them in their confinement of roots, he had struggled to shimmy down Kuja's body in attempt to squeeze through the opening. However, the fact that he was only grinding against the older man, was not helping. In fact, it only added to Zidane's annoyance and frustration. Also, he was cursing the damned Lifa Tree. Why did it's roots have to confine them so 'close' together? He had to wonder. Perhaps the fates were simply mocking him.

"Kuja..."

The older man gasped some in his sleep and shifted under the blond uncomfortably, his own hips rocking upwards to press against Zidane's tightly, pinning the blond against the ceiling of the roots. This, caused Zidane's cheeks to burn as a soft squeak escaped his lips. He had not been expecting that. But to be more frank, he wasn't expecting Kuja to be having an erotic dream either.

"K-Kuja-! S-stop it and wake up!" the blond hissed angrily, loud enough to rouse the albino mage only slightly.

The older man groaned some and shifted. "Mm..." his silver tail curling up to wrap around Zidane's own fur appendage, and slowly began strokeing the length of the tail. This caused Zidane to jump slightly as he went to get up- forgetting about the ceiling above him, and hitting the back of his head hard against the roots.

"KUJA! Knock it off and wake up!!!" Zidane hissed, pulling his tail back in defense.

This managed to rouse Kuja as he stirred and groaned before finally waking up. Apparently Kuja had been having a rather good dream, due to the tight fit of his thong. This disturbed Zidane very much. Kuja was attractive indeed. Very lovely. More beautiful than most women he knew. However, he was not all that into men. Especially men who tried to destroy the world. And hopefully he had a Queen waiting back for him in Alexandria. Zidane wanted to try and stay faithful for once.

In any case, Kuja was being very difficult this morning.

"Mm.. Demanding brat." The mage spat some, his voice dripping with ice. After his tail uncurled from around Zidane, it straightened as if it too, were stretching out along with Kuja's legs and arms. "What do you want?.. I was dreaming."

This annoyed Zidane some. "Well, while you were off in 'La la land', I found a way out of here. Notice anything different about our exotic surroundings?" he asked.

Kuja looked around for a moment furrowing his brows slightly before noticing that their prison was much more lighter than it was the other night... which meant... Kuja glanced down past Zidane's head to notice the hole near their feet.

"I was trying to move, but you were moaning. It was a bit distracting. Not to mention..." Zidane stopped himself before saying anything else and shook his head. "Never mind... Long story short, I decided to share the good news with you." The blond snorted some, eyeing the albino with mild annoyance.

"Well then. If there is an exit, you might as well go." Kuja said quietly. Zidane didn't realize that Kuja had become depressed by this news.

The blond nodded and shifted his form on top of the mage. "Alright. I'll go check it out. Then I'll come back for you." He said slowly beginning to shimmy his way down Kuja's body again, coming to the edge as he began to crawl out of the hole. He did not realize however, how far down the bottom was from the hole, and ended up slipping off the edge of the platform, yelping as he hit the ground fifteen feet below with a dull thud.

Kuja blinked for a moment as he looked down towards the opening, slightly worried. "....Zidane?" he called out, growing more concerned when he didn't get an instant reply. However his worries were eased a few minutes later with a groan, mumbled cursing and a muffled:

"I'm okay!"

A few scurries and grunts later, Zidane's head popped up from the hole and he grinned his trademark smile at Kuja and waved for the older man to crawl to him. "Ok, your turn. Just slide down and you'll be okay." He said, giving Kuja a reassuring and trustworthy smile, reaching out to the mage in the dim darkness as he offered his help.

Kuja sighed and closed his eyes. This heart still throbbed with guilt from the pain he caused the innocent people of Gaia. He began to think to himself. No... more like contemplate. The circumstances of his actions would eventually catch up with him. How long was Zidane planning to protect him? Even if Kuja did manage to find some place in society, there would always be those who would remember and if not hate, try to attack him and take justice into they're own hands.

Zidane just didn't get it.

"I'm staying here Zidane... I don't have a promising life to live. No one would except me. Given the fact that I'm also loosing my powers, not only would I be worthless in trying to help you escape, but even if we did, I'd be helpless and weak. The perfect prey for bounty hunters." The older man shifted into a more comfortable position on his death bed.

This, did not sit well with the blond.

Aquamarine eyes narrowed into slits as Zidane simply glared coldly in annoyance at the older genome.

"Not this again... Gah." Zidane did not spend all that time, energy and effort in trying to convince Kuja life was worth living, then to have the mage snub him off. No. Zidane had other plans, and those plans would be carried out. He didn't care what Kuja said at this point. He was not going to let the other man have his way and die in self pity in a giant tree.

Sighing he rubbed the temples of his forehead then looked at Kuja with a commanding tone.

"Kuja Tribal... You get your ass down here this instant." He said, scolding the older man with a demanding, yet motherly tone. Something they both lacked in they're lives. A female roll model. Zidane had plenty of friends growing up however, so he got the general idea.

"No."

Zidane's eye twitched. His patience had been tried. "You don't have a choice in this matter." He smirked.

Kuja didn't have any time or warning before he felt the young thief latch onto him by the tail, and yanked him out of the caved room of roots.

Kuja yelped as he came crashing down about fifteen feet on top of his younger brother. Zidane was the safety matt. Whether he wanted it or not. The mage whimpered out of violation for his poor tail, then stirred before crawling off of the blond genome beneath him. Clutching his tail protectively with one hand, Kuja brushed himself off with the other, narrowing his eyes at the blond in a cold glare that could freeze an ocean.

"Don't you ever touch my tail again." He warned, turning to look down at the poor fur appendage, babying it with his fingertips. "That hurts more than you realize..."

Zidane had to regain himself before he stirred as well, getting up and snorting at the mage's outburst.

"Get over it." He muttered.

Glancing around he studied they're surroundings. They were still deep inside the Lifa tree, and it would take a day or two to reach the surface. The roots were everywhere along the sides of the cavern they were standing in. The entrapment they had spent the night in, was but a mere pocket compared the mess and tangle of roots that had to climb and weave they're way through. It looked like a maze. Clearly, they had a long journey ahead of them.

Thankfully though, there was more light here, from the large cracks at the top of the cavern, which was most likely the way out. From Zidane's guess, they were at the very bottom of the Lifa tree. No. It was most definite that they were located at the bottom of the tree. Zidane had remembered the first time he had came to the bottom of the tree. There had been a lake of shimmering water at the very bottom, so bright one could not see.

From the blonde's observation of they're surroundings, he took note of the thin layer of water that pooled in the crevices and slopes of the ground. There wasn't as much water as there had been before they destroyed the mist, but there was still a bit of it left over. Enough to bring Zidane's attention back to the mage.

Kuja groaned and began pouting as he held up the ends of his very tattered white skirt. Not to mention that the mage was also soaked in the front from the thin layer of water covering the ground. Sometime during the fight, or maybe when Zidane pulled him free from under the roots, his clothes had become torn. The only thing covering the mage's body now, was his leather thong, boots and upper body armor, but even that was beaten and torn to hell.

"Urg... My clothes!" The mage whined.

Zidane arched a brow, turning his attention back to Kuja finally and looked the man up and down from head to toe. Zidane himself didn't have as much of an issue as Kuja had. His own clothes were only torn in the pant legs, and perhaps his shirt a little. It wasn't as overwhelming as Kuja's was.

The blond however took note when Kuja bent over to retrieve a piece of his torn skirt and whimpered. Kuja looked amazingly much like a woman. So much that it frightened Zidane... But he was attractive.

"We'll get you some new clothes when we reach Conde' Peti. From there we'll go to Lindenblum and I'll take you shopping." Zidane gave the other man a reassuring smile, knowing full well Kuja would feel embarrassed until he was clothed again. "So you'll have to live with it until then."

The mage snorted some, then sighed, dropping the white cloth before hugging himself as he looked at the younger genome with a weak smile. He was trying so hard to make the best of this situation. Zidane's kindness was amazing to him. "You'd do that?" He asked, sounding like a shy school girl.

The blond simply nodded in response. "Yeah. Wouldn't want you getting raped or anything..." He smirked, brushing a lock of damp blond hair out of his eyes as he glanced around, looking for the next possible exit.

Kuja hardly found that comment amusing, and simply glared at the blond for that remark.

"You're the reason WHY my clothes are torn, you little ape!"

Zidane ignored the mage's comment as he glanced around. Finally he spotted a sloped area that perhaps lead towards the top, and began to jog off in that direction, pausing for a moment as he turned to look at the helpless mage and waved him over.

"Common! Lets go before it gets dark."

Kuja sighed and shook his head, running after Zidane.

And so the real journey began...

End of chapter 3

Author's comments:

Okay. That chapter took me forever to finally get typed up, because I never had time or motivation to get it on my computer. Finally however, I managed to do so. And I'm proud of myself that I finally got this put up after a month or two of procrastination. Sighs So yeah.

I don't necessarily care for how this chapter ended. I wanted it to go on a little bit longer. Actually this was fairly short considering what I had been planning to do. But I don't think I really had any ideas past this point. I've been simply transferring everything from my notebook online.

However, I don't have any more written other than this. Hopefully when I pick up the game again and start playing, I'll get my inspiration back. I think I'm going to start on the 4th Chapter tonight though. I have so many ideas flowing through my mind.

If anyone has and suggestions or ideas for what happens while they're trying to get out of the Lifa Tree, I'd be more than happy to hear them.