This chapter is dedicated to all the wonderful people still reading and reviewing. As always, apologies for the delay, but I hope the fact that it is the longest chapter posted so far goes some small way at making amends, lol.

Read, and enjoy!

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Chapter 23

Zack only began taking an avid interest in what was occurring in the centre of the room when the call was given for the selected 2nd Class Soldiers to take their places on the pinnacles of the ingrained star.

Sitting forward, perched on the edge of his seat, the dark haired man became aware that the whole room seemed to take on an expectant air as the much stronger and more experienced members of Shin-Ra began taking off restricting top jackets, rolling up their sleeves and flexing fingers and muscles.

The cheering and bantering became much louder and more aggressive as the friends of those now about to take part threw verbal abuse and insults across the arena at one another, each one cheering for their particular favourite.

A muscular, ginger haired boy emerged from a large circle of allies and walked smartly towards the last point of the star that was as yet untaken. He was tall and firm, with shoulders broad and wide. He walked with a confident gait, and his head was held high. He had an arrogant, superior expression on his young face. Smug, Zack would have called it.

"Tonkin's," he supplied needlessly, for everyone in the room including Sephiroth, knew who this person was.

Unlike the seven others taking part, Tonkin's had removed all of his upper clothing and now stood waiting for the Shin-Ra's leaders call to begin, his bare stomach showing off the toned and well defined abs he had developed with his year of rigorous training. He stood waiting impatiently for the call to begin, his hands clenching and unclenching, the muscles and veins on his forearms and biceps pumped and standing proud.

From their elevated vantage point, Zack and Sephiroth could clearly see the young man taking his place. They also saw the sardonic sneering look he cast in the generals direction, and the slight nod of contempt he made towards the silently watching silver haired man.

Taking a quick glance at his friend, Zack tried to gauge what his reaction would be to the presumptuous gesture made, expecting to see anger or irritation. But Sephiroth remained tight lipped and stony faced, the only evidence of emotion shown being the way his green eyes glittered a little brighter as he stared back unblinkingly at his would be challenger.

Rufus gave the signal, and the eight new contenders charged towards the centre of the star. This fight lasted longer than any of the other previous rounds, and the damages incurred by the fighting men were much more serious. Blood flowed freely from cuts and wounds, and several newly knocked out teeth littered the floor.

Eventually, as everyone seemed to have guessed, all that was left standing were Tonkin's and one other hardy soul, who stood up to the ginger haired fighter with just as much aggression given back as he got. Punches rained down on one another, heads bowed, two bodies weaving side to side, dodging and avoiding gut rupturing blows.

Suddenly Tonkin's got in a lucky hit, and as the other man lifted his face with a look of surprise, the ginger haired fighter pulled his own head back quickly and smashed it forward. Blood spurted out of the defeated mans nose as he stood stumbling for a moment....and then fell flat on his back, unconscious.

As the unfortunate loser was dragged by his feet from the arena, the friends and supporters of the winner hoisted him aloft and cheered his name, carrying him around the room in a joyous procession.

As they passed the staging where Sephiroth and Zack sat, Tonkin's pointed a bloodied hand at the general before drawing an imaginary line across his uplifted neck, the blood on his fingers from his defeated opponents leaving behind a mark. With a smirk, he then punched his hand up into the air, in an act of victory.

"Cocky little bastard isn't he?" Zack remarked as the crowd moved on. Sephiroth just snorted, while his pet uttered a cry of anguish as the generals fingers twisted cruelly in his hair. Cloud's hands flew up to take a hold of the general's wrist, not to pull the offending fingers away, but more to still the hand and prevent the man from causing further pain to his head. For a moment there seemed to be a battle of wills going on between master and pet, before Sephiroth relented and slowly unfurled his tightly clenched fingers, freeing the tangled tresses. Cloud sat there, a sour expression on his face, his hand now rubbing his sore skull.

Zack sat quiet, his face set forward, keeping his thoughts to himself. He knew it would not do to reprimand the silver haired man in his treatment of the boy, not at this moment, not when he was so testy. But he was determined to take his friend to task later for his unfair chastisment of the blond, who had done nothing wrong.

The tenseness between the friends was halted by Rufus taking his place upon the stage once again, and announcing that the next round would be the turn of the 1st Class Soldiers.

Pushing himself up out of his chair, Sephiroth stood and looked down with a quirked brow at the still seated Zack. "Are you not partaking of this event?" he asked.

Zack shook his head, a small smile playing about his lips. "I don't think so, Seph," he said, lifting up the plate he still held in his hand. "I'm going to grab seconds of that delicious grub and feed my belly some more." He patted his flat stomach. "Hear that? Empty!"

Sephiroth smirked. "Afraid you'll have to take on the ginger mutt?"

A full hearted laugh bellowed out of Zack's mouth, and he stood and thumped his friend on the shoulder good naturedly.

"I'm good Seph, but not that good. I know I can't take you on. And that Tonkin's boy is a fool to even think that he stands a chance against you. I don't care how long he's prepared himself for this...my money's still on you."

"You never know, Zack. You never know...." Sephiroth replied, turning and walking towards one of the points of the star.

Watching Sephiroth take his place, listening to the roars and calls of the general's name, Zack felt proud. He looked at his friends opponents, and knew there were none there to seriously rival him. Besides which, the other men that were going to be fighting in the next bout had respect for Sephiroth. Not that that meant they would go easy on him. Far from it. But they also had no axe to grind with him, unlike the ginger haired boy, who seemed to be taking what should have been a bit of sport, too far.

As the call was given for the round to begin, Zack stood and watched for a moment. These Soldiers were much more practised in their moves. No sudden rush into the middle. No clashing of bodies. This was just as much a mental battle as it was a physical one, each member sizing up the other, looking for weakness' and strengths before daring to charge in. Zack also knew that a lot of eye contact was going on among Sephiroth and his fellow fighters. This was to see if an ally could be found in another combatant. That was the greatest danger the general had to beware of, the others turning into pack animals and trying to take down the strongest man in a group effort.

While the men were still circling one another, slowly closing the gap, Zack decided to take the opportunity to refill his plate. He began to walk away from his seat, when he suddenly stopped and turned to face Sephiroth's pet, who was still sat quietly on the floor at the foot of the generals chair.

"Stay!" he instructed, pointing a finger at the boy. "Wait! I won't be a minute. I'm just going to get some food. Want some?"

The blond boy lifted his head up to Zack, a scowl on his face. "Fuck you," he spat.

"Whoa!" Zack was taken aback by the boy's attitude, until he realised how his words must have sounded. He had the grace to blush, before turning and hurrying across to the banqueting tables, filling up two plates high with food.

In the dark haired man's absence, Cloud found his attention unwittingly drawn to what was happening in the star arena. He watched, fascinated, as the men seemed to stalk each other, their movements graceful as they side stepped each other, their feet all moving in time, as if to a well rehearsed slow dance.

The long silver hair of the general swirled and moved around his body gracefully in a swaying motion as he concentrated on the other fighters. Cloud noted the expressionless countenance on his captor's stern face as he studied the men edging closer and closer to him. His green eyes seemed to sparkle with a brilliance as they looked left to right, right to left, seemingly never ending. It was clear he was judging and weighing up the possibilities of who was going to attack first, and who would be the first victim.

The clash, when it happened, was sudden and unexpected, and the watching crowd cheered and surged forward, tightening up the circle around the fighters and cutting off most of the view of the fight to the sitting boy. All Cloud could see now from his lowered position was the occasional glimpse of one of the men through the gaps of the shoulders of the spectators.

Zack reappeared, and stood watching Sephiroth and the others in combat. Almost absently, he handed one of the plates down to the general's pet, only looking to check that none of the food slipped from the dish, before raising his excited eyes again and watching with apparent enjoyment the melee taking place in the arena.

The whole room was a hive of animated excitement, and Cloud's ears rang with the bellowing and applause from the spectators. He knew, even without being able to see, when a man hit the floor and had to be dragged or helped off, the baying of the crowd telling the story for him. As he picked at the food on his plate, he listened for the genera'ls name, knowing that as long as it was being chanted, his plans for escape were void. He kept hoping and praying that the next fallen man would be his silver haired tormentor.

"Just Seph and one other left now," the still standing Zack remarked, briefly looking down to pass his information on to the blond. Cloud tried to look disinterested at what he had just been told, although inside he was deeply disappointed. It seemed the general wasn't quite the pushover Cloud had been hoping he'd be.

Tossing his now empty plate onto the seat of his chair, Zack fixed his gaze back on the last two remaining men in the arena. He swung his own arms side to side, his clenched fisted hands punching air as he called support to Sephiroth.

"Smack him one! Ouch....Now, go for the throat! Ohhhhh, the eyes, even better, Seph. Nice one."

Watching the dark haired mans antics at cheering for his friend, Cloud found himself smiling. He also found himself becoming interested in seeing this spectacle for himself. Slowly, always keeping his eyes on Zack, he pushed himself up into a kneeling position. When Zack made no comment, he continued rising until he was finally standing tall, and then he stood on tiptoe to get a better view.

"Here."

Cloud jumped when he felt the hand on his elbow and the voice close to his ear, his heart thudding in his chest. But it was just Zack, offering Cloud a helpful hand to stand on Sephiroth's chair. Taking it with a grateful nod, he climbed on to the cushioned seat, and was able to now see clearly the general as he smashed his forearm into the face of the opponent he was fighting, kicking away the other mans legs in a stunning and spectacular spin, his long black leather duster swinging out and making the attack look like a work of art.

Without even realizing it, the blond boy soon found himself caught up in the heat of the fight, and after watching the way the silver haired man fought and admiring his stealth and speed, he too silently urged the general to victory. Clouds blue eyes were wide open, and he didn't take them off the general once as the man continued his powerful assault, using every limb with devastating effect against his adversary.

The winning blow was a powerful chop from Sephiroth's hand to his fellow combatant's throat, which rendered the poor man to his knees, his face turning blue, gasping and choking. He was helped away as the name of Sephiroth rang out loudly around the room.

Even before the loser had been removed, Rufus was taking control of the microphone and ordering the winners of each prior round to now take their places once again upon a point of the star for the last and final battle.

Only pausing long enough to remove his coat from his now over warm body and toss it to one side, Sephiroth scooped up his long hair in his hands and tied it loosely around itself so that it knotted in the middle, ensuring that it stayed away from his face. With the back of one hand, he quickly swiped at his brow as he took his allotted pinnacle, and waited patiently for the victors of the previous rounds to take their places also.

Cloud turned to Zack, a question on his lips. "Doesn't he get time to catch his breath?" he asked, nodding in Sephiroth's direction. Zack just grinned and shook his head. "That doesn't seem fair," Cloud continued. "He's not had time to rest, like the others."

"Ah but see, that's what makes being a 1st Class Soldier such a respected position," Zack argued back. "The ability to fight battle after battle, without the need for a break. That takes years of training and experience. It don't come easy."

Cloud watched quietly as the fighters took their places in the arena. Now that Sephiroth's top half was naked, he could see that the general's chest was rising and falling more rapidly than usual. But other than that, it was hard to tell that the man had even just been in a fight. He had barely broken into a sweat.

"This is going to be such a walk over for Seph," Zack predicted. "Waste of time watching it really. I'm going to go get something to drink. You want one?"

Shaking his head, Cloud grimaced at the dark haired man, his hands going to cover his groin, his face blushing red.

"No....No thanks. I really need to....."

"Really need to take a piss, eh?" Zack asked, his head cocked to one side. "And no handy pot plants around for you to relieve yourself in." He chuckled at the memory of what the blond had done to one of Sephiroth's prized plants. "Come on," he said to the squirming boy. "I'll escort you to the toilets."

As Zack helped Cloud down from the seat, and took up the slack from the chain bound to the boy's collar, Rufus was giving the signal for the last fight to begin.

The resonating roaring of the crowd, and the tightly packed masses of the spectators, made for a slow progress for Zack and Cloud. The dark haired man had to keep pulling and tugging on the chain, trying to stop the boy attached to the other end from falling too far behind. It didn't help that some of the Shin-Ra recruits decided to deliberately torment and tease the blond captive, purposefully standing in his way, laughing as the chain tightened and yanked on the metal that was attached around his throat, sliding their hands down over his backside as he grimly pushed past them, trying hard to keep up with the ever moving Zack.

Eventually, Zack gave up pulling the boy the way Sephiroth liked him to be pulled, on a chain like a pet, and he went back and took the blonde's hand in his, kicking and barging his way out through the throng of the baying audience, their attention fixed on the spectacle that was taking place in the arena.

If Zack had thought that the pressing crowd would have made his departure from the room go unseen, he was mistaken. Sephiroth's piercing green eyes had noticed instantly the bobbing golden blond hair of his pet as the boy had weaved in and out of the crowd. He knew Zack had to be taking Cloud somewhere, but where? And why without his permission?

With less grace than he had previously shown, the general let his anger and jealously get the better of him, and he attacked his new opponents without mercy. He disregarded the hisses of sympathized pain the crowd issued, casting from his mind the cries of the fallen as he made sure they would not be standing up any time soon to attack him again. He had but one goal, and that was to dispatch his enemies as quickly as possible, so that he could follow his friend and see what his intentions towards his pet were.

Knocking over yet one more man, the general turned to face the last one still standing. His energized brain recognised immediately the red headed fighter, and Sephiroth smirked, feeling that the end was within his grasp, and that within just a few seconds he would be out of this room and hunting down Zack.

But by letting his emotions get the better of him and thinking that this was going to be easy, Sephiroth was unprepared for the way the 2nd Class Soldier held his own against him. He realised, with no small sense of shock, that the boy he was now up against had indeed improved his fighting skills over the last year. Tonkin's expertly dodged and avoided blow after blow from Sephiroth, his speed and agility easily matching that of the generals.

With a guttural snarl, Sephiroth launched himself head first at his opponent, the obstacle that was keeping him from finding out what was happening to his captive. He was convinced that Zack was ordering the boy to perform for him, sexually.

The blow to the back of Sephiroth's shoulders knocked some of the wind out of him, and he fell to one knee before he could stop himself. As he did so, the roaring from the crowd instantaneously went silent, and the room was filled instead with a hushed awe as his silver head raised itself to look up at the gloating boy standing before him.

Panting and breathing hard, Tonkin's dripped sweat down onto the kneeling general, deliberately letting the beaded drops fall on to Sephiroth's upturned face. The fact that no move was made to wipe them off did not un-nerve the boy. He had done what was said to be impossible. He had reduced the great and mighty Sephiroth to his knees, and in front of witnesses, no less. His name would forever go down in history.

Drawing in a shaky breath, trying to make his voice sound calmer than he actually felt, Tonkin's leered down at the general. He wanted to give the man a message before he smashed him senseless.

"I'm going to win," the red head jeered. "I'm going to win, and as my trophy, I'm going to take your slut of a boy to my bed for the night and I'm going to show him what sex with a real man is like. And in the morning, I'll send him crawling back to you on his hands and knees, as knackered and unable to walk as you are now....old man!"