Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any part of it. I'm just writing this for my own twisted amusement. I'm not trying to make any profit off of it or anything.

Note: I'm going to try to be detailed in this chapter, so if you spot any details that are really cheesy or any place I can add more details without making it seem awkward feel free to tell me.

Chapter 3: Assertion

Tifa awoke the next morning with an aching head and sore wrists. She was still exhausted when she woke up to the sound of ropes roughly brushing against each other. Eyes still not adjusted to the darkness of the early-morning lack of sunlight, she thought she was still dreaming as her right wrist fell clumsily from her bedpost to her mattress. With that she woke up a little more and remembered what had happened.

"…What time is it?" the woman asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes as best she could with one hand before her left hand fell free.

"It is about six in the morning," Sephiroth replied coldly, yanking Tifa out of her bed by the back of her shirt forcefully. "…Before you complain about it being too early, know that I feel I am being merciful on you for not waking you up at four."

I usually wake up at five anyway… Tifa thought, rubbing her sore neck. The top of her head had been pulled against the headboard painfully since her arms were sprawled out at an awkwardly high position.

"You may bathe and change into some clean clothes if you wish. Then you will make breakfast—enough for both of us," the ex-general explained, turning the light on. Tifa's eyes hadn't even had time to adjust to the darkness; the sudden change from pitch black to bright light was painful.

"Fine," she grumbled, pulling open her dark wood closet door to grab her outfit for the day—a plain black T-shirt and jeans—and her undergarments before remembering…She had her weapon in this closet. Staring at the messy pile of unsorted supplies, Materia, cold clothes she never wore any more and a couple of books, she wondered if Sephiroth would notice if she just subtly bent over to grab something…

"What are you staring at?" a low voice asked coldly from behind her.

"Ah…" Come on, Tifa, just make up a lie, she thought to herself. It's not like he'd be able to tell… "I was just wondering when I should s-sort through the mess in the bottom of my closet." Whew! That came out better than I expected it to…

"…You're lying to me. The 'Ah…' gives it all away. I do not appreciate being lied too, Miss Lockheart…You're hiding something in there, aren't you?" Sephiroth whispered from behind the woman, so close that it felt like his warm breath scorched Tifa's ears. "What are you hiding?"

Tifa didn't answer. Instead she squirted out from between her closet and Sephiroth, grabbed a plain black plastic comb and a couple other items, and then ran into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Sephiroth leaned against the bathroom door, barricading it so that Tifa couldn't get out. Of course, it wasn't that he wanted to trap her in the bathroom, it was just that he wanted to be able to hear what she was doing. For example, if there was a window in the bathroom and she made a pathetic attempt to escape, Sephiroth would know.

He sighed, descending into thought…why did he even force himself into this predicament, anyway? Surely if he had left his hood up and not taken Tifa hostage in her own home, he wouldn't be stuck making sure she didn't do anything that would risk the world knowing he existed. Then again, without her to provide for him, he might not be able to survive…he was a lot weaker than he let on. He could still handle the Masamune fairly well, enough to be intimidating, and could probably win in most fights, but his injured leg slowed him down. True, the injury was a small one but it was still distracting and hurt his agility.

Besides…If Strife came back to find Tifa taken hostage, he might worry about her. He might want to fight the person who took her hostage. It would be Sephiroth's chance to finally kill that little spiky-haired freak.

The ex-general was distracted by his thoughts when he heard pounding on the door behind him and cries of, "Sephiroth! Please let me out of the bathroom!" that must have belonged to that Lockheart woman.

He stepped out of the way of the bathroom door and watched in slight amusement as Tifa came tumbling out, regaining her balance with some difficulty, hair wet and plastered to the side of her face.

"That was quick, wasn't it, Lockheart? I expected your shower to take a little bit longer than that," Sephiroth said, focusing a piercing gaze on her.

"My hairdryer," the young woman began, already intimidated, "is broken. A-and I normally don't take very long showers anyway…" She faltered, meeting his gaze and forced a confident look.

The man smirked. "I suppose your excuse is good enough. Now, if you don't mind I'll require breakfast…but of course, you don't mind, do you? You're smarter than that, aren't you? Oh…and of course, you may fix yourself some breakfast as well. It wouldn't be a good thing to let you starve…"

I'd rather starve to death than spend another second with you, you bastard! That was what Tifa wanted to say…however, she decided not to risk her life over something as menial as breakfast, so instead she nodded and headed towards the kitchen, brushing wet hair out of her burgundy eyes as she went.

Sephiroth assumed the commanding, somewhat cruel facial expression he'd used so many times as a general and followed Tifa, watching her intently as she removed various ingredients from the refrigerator and pulled a couple of pans out of a cabinet. She gave her captor a wary look.

"Do you have to watch me cook?" she asked.

"Yes, I do. I have to make sure you don't poison me or anything, Miss Lockheart," he sneered, saying her name in the mocking tone of voice she'd grown to hate.

"I don't keep poison around the kitchen," Tifa said quietly, cracking some eggs open, letting the yolk fall into the frying pan and sizzle. "You don't mind eggs, do you?"

"No, I do not mind eggs. And on the note of poison, since you only specifically stated not keeping poison handy around the kitchen, be aware that I'll soon be searching your household for poison…among other things."

"What other things?" Tifa demanded after cracking the last egg onto the frying pan. She whirled around, eyes narrowed, hands on her hips, a dangerous look on her face. Suddenly, she didn't care that this was Sephiroth she was talking to. This was her household, her home, her own private home! How dare he think it was okay to search around as though he was on a treasure hunt! Did he not think she had some precious, sentimental objects lying around! He'd destroy them!

Sephiroth seemed amused, being spoken to this way. Tifa could tell by the mocking smirk that curled onto his lips. "Protective of our belongings, aren't we? First of all, I'll be searching for your weapon and all of your Materia—yes, all of it. Second, any items you have lying around here that might be useful for you to escape, I will take and possibly destroy. Third, if I see anything that might have, ah…sentimental value, or personal value, be sure you know that I will take that as well."

Tifa didn't know what had gotten into her when she suddenly found herself lunging towards Sephiroth, clawing at his face. She came to her senses, though, when her captive grabbed her by her upper arms and slammed her against a wall.

"I believe you're forgetting who's in charge here," he snarled. "You have no freedoms any more, Miss Lockheart. And, as a consequence of your foolish attack, the first thing I find of yours that may have any personal value whatsoever, be sure you know that I will destroy it right in front of you. When you fall to your knees crying, Miss Lockheart, do you know what I will do? I will laugh. Because, Miss Lockheart, while harming someone physically has its merits, I also do enjoy harming someone emotionally."

By that point, Tifa re-remembered the danger she was in and was trembling in the ex-general's grasp. "I…I'll just go…check on those eggs now…" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes," Sephiroth snapped, throwing her onto the ground. She landed with a loud thud and cried out in pain, struggling to stand back up. He knew he hadn't broken any bones by throwing her down like that, which was disappointing to him, but he took comfort in knowing that he at least bruised her.

Oh, she was going to pay hell.

Yumesuta: Well that's that chapter! Please review, it took me ages to write (as you all know)…