Disclaimer: I do not own any final fantasy material, be it names, weapons, characters, modes of transportation, etc.

Warning: This story contains homosexuality, sex (both consensual and non) and gore. Please do not read if you are offended by any of this. Also, I have not played crisis core and so there will be no references to that game in here.

Chapter 2

Tifa looked moodily over the deck of the Highwind and drummed her finger on the desk. The most recent search had come back negative. Again. No one in Rocket town had seen the blonde spiky haired man, nor had they seen his captor. The village people always glared at her for mentioning the terror that was Sephiroth. As far as they were concerned, she was an airhead who just wanted to bring up bad memories. "Besides," They would always reason, "Sephiroth is dead, he was killed several months ago." Then they would either say that she shouldn't cause trouble by dredging up the past with silly stories, or direct her to the nearest hospital.

Tentative footsteps came her way and a young female voice broke the silence. "Tifa? The guys say that you should get some sleep. I think they're afraid that you'll pass out and fall off."

Yuffie stood beside the long haired brunette, slightly green with motion sickness. Tifa gave the Wutai ninja a weary smile and shook her head. "I should be fine. I'm just a little frustrated, that's all. It's just… every time we think we have a lead it turns out to be bogus! He's screwing with us, I know it! I just… I just wish we had something solid, something we could work with."

Yuffie looked at her in sympathy, or perhaps it was just the stomach ache, but either way, it made Tifa feel a little bit better. "It's not your fault you know." The queasy ninja said quietly. "None of us could have stopped Sephiroth on our own."

"I know!" Tifa yelled. "You don't have to tell me that because I already know! I just feel so useless! I feel like I should have been able to do… I don't know, something! I'm so sick of feeling helpless!"

"What the fuck is goin' on up here!?" Barret shoved open the door only to have Yuffie slam it back into his face.

"Go away Barrett, girl talk!" There was a silence in which the metal armed man was considering shooting the girl in the face, but instead he let out a long sigh and went back down to the bridge, scaring half a dozen flight attendants along the way.

Yuffie looked up at Tifa and wasn't surprised to see tears slowly making their way down the woman's face. The ninja sighed and helped Tifa sit down, almost immediately running to the edge and emptying her stomach there. When she came back, wiping her mouth, Tifa had stopped crying, and now just looked burnt out. "I'm sorry for taking this out on you guys so much recently. I think I'll take that nap after all." She stood and ruffled Yuffie's hair, yawning. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up hun, I'm really lucky to have you guys."

She brushed her hair over her shoulder and proceeded down into the bridge, then, smiling at her fellow Crew members walked into her designated room. Just before she closed her eyes on the bed, said a little prayer. "Aerith, please let us find Cloud in time. Please keep him safe." She fell asleep with the feeling of a warm, non tangible hand stroking her forehead.



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Cloud cried out in pain as Sephiroth threw him into the wall with a kick to the ribs. The kick was followed by a swift fist in the nose, causing blood to spurt from Cloud's face. "Idiot. You aren't even trying. " The silver haired man pulled away disgustedly and walked to the table, sitting as his subordinate slumped over, clutching his nose. It had been five days since the night that he'd released Cloud's shackles and lit the lamps, and though the boy was improving, his progress was moving at a snail's place. Things would, of course, pick up once Cloud had fully regained his strength. Until then however, he would have to be patient.

Sephiroth grabbed the young man's hand as it reached for his neck and flipped him hard onto the table. "Pitiful. I'm done playing with you today." Cloud lay gasping in front of him. Sephiroth bit his cheek and pulled the blonde off the table and onto his lap, cradling him like a child. "You are foolish Cloud… I am trying to help you." And so he was. He hadn't locked Cloud in since that night and he had made sure that the boy got three meals a day into him.

Cloud was trying to mould his nose back into shape through all of the blood, but still managed to spit out: "Sure you are. It just requires you to beat me on a daily basis, right?" He gave Sephiroth a bitter smile, his teeth growing stained as the blood dripped in on to them. "What a joke. You say you want to make me stronger, maybe you do, but you're sure as hell not doing it for me."

The silver haired man smiled and looked down with half lidded eyes. "Why yes, I thought we had established that." He reached out a healing materia from inside his pocket and used it on Cloud before kissing his forehead. The blonde squirmed and rubbed his forehead roughly, like a five year old might do when his mother kissed him in front of his friends. However, the kisses that Sephiroth gave were nothing like that of a Mother's, and left a tingling sensation wherever his lips touched. "But whether or not I am doing it for myself, you must comply. You are still my puppet, and always will be. Anything I want, I can force you to do, so I suggest you stop trying my patience."

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Cloud looked into the face of his captor and saw the man's eyes glint the same way that they had when he gazed at Cloud over Aerith's fresh corpse. A wave of nausea hit him and he rolled off Sephiroth's lap with his hand over his mouth, trying not to vomit. Instantly the silver haired man was at his side, hauling him up and trying to carry him to the bathroom on the main floor. Cloud struggled feebly and felt bile rise in his throat. Sephiroth noticed this just in time to change the angle of Cloud's face before the fluids of the young man's stomach were emptied onto the stairs.

The blonde choked back some air before feeling the retching sensation once more. This time, he managed to hold it in until Sephiroth had gotten him into the recently repaired bathroom. Cloud wasted no time in throwing himself over to the toilet and vomiting until his stomach felt like it was caving in on its self. A large gloved hand started to rub little circles into the middle of his back causing Cloud to flinch convulsively and shrink into the corner of the bathroom. He refused to look at Sephiroth's face, refused to see the concern that he knew would be stamped all over those hateful eyes. The general came closer to him with an outstretched hand that began to snake around Cloud's wrist, slowly pulling him to his feet, but Cloud yanked it back. "NO!" The moment those fingers had brushed him, he had seen Aerith die again, tasted her blood as it splattered against his face, heard her strangled gasp and watched the life go out of her eyes. She was dead. This man had caused it, and nothing could change that.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth's indifferent voice came with a worried undertone that made the blonde sick.

"Don't fucking touch me you murderer. I can stand by myself." He sensed his captor stiffen, and when he looked up, he saw that the face had returned to the cruelty to which it was accustomed.

"Then get up. I will see you in the basement when you finish cleaning the stairs. If you don't, I will clean them with your broken body." His superior's voice was soft, but there was something deadly laced in with it that threatened to rip off all of his appendages if he refused to comply. Perhaps Cloud didn't know how to hate properly, but he always had been a fast learner.

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Hate. It had always been one of the most delicious emotions Sephiroth had ever felt, and seeing it directed towards him, from no less than Cloud, was purely erotic. He flicked his tongue over his lips to wet them and leaned against the wall, arching slightly as he pictured what he'd like to do to the blonde, and in what positions. His eyes closed and he bit his index finger in anticipation until he felt the glove tear before letting out a shaky breath and regaining his composure. 'Not now.' He told himself regretfully. 'Not tonight. There is too much that must be taken care of.' And with that thought, he pulled himself away from the wall and walked back to the room.

When Cloud came down a little while later (he was becoming such an obedient boy)Sephiroth could tell that his rage had cooled. "Would you care to tell me why you had that outburst in the bathroom?" The blonde looked up noncommittally and the general noticed with a twinge of annoyance that Cloud was displaying some of the cockiness he had while working in Shinra.

"No." The boy was smirking, actually smirking! Sephiroth vowed to rectify this new found arrogance and willed his own face into a tight half smile.

"Is there any particular reason for that?" Cloud's smirk deepened.

"I guess so. I'm exercising my freedom to not speak."

Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so? Then I think I'll exercise my right to force you."

It had always been fairly easy to slip his consciousness into Cloud's mind, and the side effects were mostly one sided. Cloud almost immediately doubled over, expelling saliva as though he'd been punched in the stomach. Sephiroth stroked his consciousness over the blonde's now bruised mind, eventually finding what he was looking for. Cloud was clutching his head in anguish, on his knees now and howling in pain. "STOP! G..GET OUT OF MY HEAD!! IT HURTS!! PLEASE!!" Sephiroth had to stop himself from trembling with the excitement that the screams brought and instead repeated his question. He then found the answer in Cloud's mind, and pushed it through the boy's lips. "You… you killed her… Aerith… she was… m..my friend. You hold me… with the same hands…. that murdered her…. You look at me… the s..same way… you did then. It hurts…"

Sephiroth looked down at him calmly. "Why does it hurt?" he asked softly. Cloud's breathing became more ragged as he stumbled on, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Be..Because… I…" Clouds eyes rolled back and he fell forward, the strain finally too much for him to handle. Sephiroth glanced at the answer and then withdrew his presence bitterly. He had loved her, pure and simple. He had loved her and the man he had worshipped, the man now cradling and holding him had killed her. It hurt so much because he still idolized Sephiroth, even though he had shoved it to the back of his mind. The general saw all, saw that even now, after the hell he had put Cloud and his friends through, the boy didn't want to believe that his hero could do that. The feelings of hurt and confusion stuck to the silver haired man's consciousness for a long time after he withdrew it.

He silently picked up the unconscious young man and held him close before shrugging off his trench coat and tucking it around the blonde. He lay Cloud down again and kissed his forehead, watching that sweet face for a moment. Sephiroth grabbed at his own chest for a second, in pain as well, and in a moment of complete clarity whispered; "It hurts for me too".

The general shook himself and straightened, his mind slipping below the surface of morality once more. He had places to be after all, and he couldn't spend all of his time tormenting his captive, sweet though the boy was. He leaned over and purred in the boy's ear: "One day Cloud, I will make you beg for me." After that, he left the room, locked it, and headed to the base of the stairs to meet with his informant.

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Chapter two, done! After this, the chapters will start getting longer, but as a side effect, it will also take me longer to complete them. Oh well. Just so that everyone knows, I will be bringing the rest of the main cast into the story more, but the main focus will continue to be on Sephiroth and Cloud. Just so you know. Okay, to my Reviewers!

Kelle611: You came back! I'm so glad you like the way that Sephiroth is being portrayed! I hope that you continue to enjoy the way that the story unfolds.

Chibi Nataku: Thankyou for your review! I hope that I was able to make this chapter a little more pleasing, gramatically pleasing. In the future, I will set up all of my chapters like this.

spopococ: Aw, you quoted me! I love you! I'll do my best to update as often as I can!

Alanna-P2BW-:I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story, thanks for reviewing!

I-heart-kakashi: Thankyou! I will do my best to update as soon as possible.

Well, that's it for today! I hope every one is enjoying Little Bird. Please continue to read and review, as internet cookies and hugs will be availiable for those who want them!