CHAPTER 24

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Apologises as always to everyone for the long delay. Kisses and much, much love to Stephy for being my guinea pig reader and spotting my mistakes, and big hugs to cheerleader Zadi, and adopted 'niece' Shan, for finding my muses and pinning them down long enough for me to finish this chapter. Oh and Shan... you'd better restock Debzies's bar back up before she notices what's missing, lol. (IMVU life.... wild party night last night, lol)

Thanks also to Tracey and everyone else that sent me pm's urging me on....your support and encouragement is possessively hugged :)

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Sephiroth contemplated, seriously contemplated, allowing the red haired boy to win the fight. He was bored of this championship that Rufus held each and every year. He was tired of being paraded out as the one to defeat time after time. The power trip of proving over and over again to the mindless masses that he was the best thing the Shin-Ra army ever owned, had grown monotonous to the general.

If he conceded tonight and allowed the boy to take the bout, if he submitted and let Tonkin's best him, then next year he could sit out and take a respite. He would be able to recline back and enjoy seeing others take the arrogant winner on, and the red headed young man would soon discover that the prize he had coveted was not so great, after all.

But the defeatist attitude of letting it all go was made in the split second before the cocksure boy uttered the comment about taking Sephiroth's pet.

Growling low in his throat, the general's emerald green eyes narrowed as he knelt there on one knee, and he stared up with unbridled aggression at his competitor.

"What the fuck?"

The surprised words of Sephiroth's pet rang out through the silence of the crowd, the tone of voice used sounding high and unbelieving in the stillness of the room.

All heads swivelled from the implausible scene occurring in the arena towards the two young men who had just re-entered the room.

Zack, still holding on to the lead that connected to the collar around the throat of the genera'ls prisoner, appeared to be as shocked as the blond boy was. He gazed at Sephiroth in confusion. This was not something he'd have ever envisioned witnessing. His friend was the best combatant that he ever knew. This could not be happening. Sephiroth had to have planned it. He had to have something up his sleeve for a victory. Why else would he be the one down, and the cadet still standing? Zack felt a sense of foreboding growing inside his stomach and unknowingly his fingers tightened on the lead he was holding, pulling the blond boy closer to himself, as if to protect him from the onslaught that he knew was about to take place.

On his re-entrance back into the room, Cloud had prepared himself for the harassment he thought he would receive from the jostling crowd members, as he made his way back to the foot of the generals chair.

He was not ready however, for the complete and utter stillness and quietness of the room.

Everyone was hushed, and all eyes were focused, not on him and the dark haired man as they made their entry, but on what was happening in the centre of the tightly formed human circle.

This eerie silence puzzled Cloud, but being smaller than most of the crowd, he couldn't see at first what it was exactly that held their attention so avidly. But then he stood on tiptoe and peered though close knitted shoulders until his eyes chanced upon a gap that showed him what all the others could see.

His master had fallen to one knee, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. His long silver hair was escaping out of the tight knot that it had been twisted into and stray, sweat damp strands surrounded Sephiroth's face. The general was staring up at the red, cropped haired boy with a look of defeat about his face, and Cloud felt his heart squeeze within his chest.

How could this have happened? How could the relatively unskilled boy fighter have brought Cloud's strong captor to his knees? The general was a killing machine. He had no heart, no feelings. He had beaten Cloud senseless over and over again in the first few months of his capture. He had tortured him to almost an inch of his life at times, leaving Cloud to think of him as an all powerful being. Invincible.

Yet here he was, smacked down to his knees by someone that was not only lower in rank, but in fighting skill too. And Cloud suddenly felt ashamed of himself. For had he but known it was so easy to defeat his captor, then maybe he would have tried a little harder to defeat him himself, and obtained his escape.

All this time...all this time, he had cowed down to the silver haired man, thinking the general was unbeatable, thinking he himself would be beaten to death if he so much as raised a hand in retaliation to Sephiroth. And yet here he was now, this supposedly strong, tough man, virtually destroyed by a novice cadet.

Cloud felt his own worth plummet. He had given up too easily. He had let this man take what little dignity he had left after being captured. His insides churned, aching and raw. He was hurt. He was angry. He was....mad.

"Get up! Get up, you prick! What's wrong with you? You're tougher than what he is. You're the stronger fighter. Everyone knows that. What the hell are you doing? Do you want to be beaten by someone inferior?"

Only the general alone held back a gasp at his pet's shouted words. Whereas all the other's that heard the shouted out insult gawked and murmured aloud at the blonde's audacity, Sephiroth only smiled. It was almost as if the boy had read his mind. He had been about to let it all go, to concede, and to throw away what was rightfully his. The title of being the supreme Soldier of Shin-Ra.

But now, with Tonkin's sneering comment ringing in his ears, and the irate verbal encouragement from his pet, the general found that it fortified the belief that the red head needed to be taken down a peg or two.

Sephiroth's amused green eyes locked on to Cloud's expressive blue ones, and he gave a single nod of acknowledgement, of thanks. His pet was right. This insolent pup standing over him needed to be taught a lesson.

The attack was brutal and bloody. Sephiroth's sudden and unexpected assault on his adversary was terrifying in its extreme violence.

Seemingly instantaneously, the silver haired fighter was up from his kneeling position and attacking the youth stood before him.

His blows to Tonkins torso and skull were bone crunching, the powerful uppercuts and undercuts to the boy's stomach and ribs fast and furious. Each and every blow that rained down on the unprepared body was well aimed for and expertly executed. Tonkins had no chance to put up a defence, and the thrilled audience watched as Sephiroth held the boy in a crushing headlock, and continued to pummel and batter at a face that was becoming more bruised, broken and blooded by the second.

If it weren't for the brave act of Zack running up to his friend and holding back the arm that threatened to land the killing blow, there would have been a funeral held the following morning.

"Whoa, Seph...Whoa," the dark haired man urged, trying to be heard above the baying of the crowd, trying to make his friend come out from the killing frenzy that had gripped him. "He's had enough. You've beaten him. Let it go."

Zack knew only too well the spell the general was under, understood about the red mist that would be blurring Sephiroth's vision. And he also knew how much self control his friend needed to posses, in order to heed the advice and drop his arm.

Luckily for Zack, there were only a few moments of tension as he held onto a stubborn fist that refused to be lowered. But then the general seemed to snap out of his trance like state, and finally the raised arm lowered down to his side.

As soon as Sephiroth released his hold of the beaten cadet, the boy slid down to his knees, his head wobbling loosely on his neck with blood pouring from his busted nose, his spilt mouth, and his cut eyebrows. He stayed there in place, with his eyes glazed over, his body swaying slightly side to side, and his fighting spirit gone.

Sephiroth lifted a black booted foot and pushed at the boy's chest, toppling him over unresistingly, onto his back. As he fell, the boy's head hit the polished floor with a resounding crack, and he laid there, his arms and legs spread out, his tongue lolling from the corner of his mouth. Foamy blood and spittle drooled down his cheek to pool in his ear, a final humiliation to add to his defeat.

Unable to help himself, Sephiroth leaned down over the broken cadet, and sneered.

"Looks like, after all that training, you're still not good enough....old man!" he spat.

Witnessing the defeat of the challenging cadet, the watching crowd roared its approval of the victor, the room erupting into a chaos of calls and cheers as it seemed almost every man in the room hailed their silver haired hero, surging forward as one in a mass of bodies that surrounded the winning general.

Hands were slapped on his broad back, and held out to shake. The lucky few that Sephiroth did touch carried away their fresh gore covered fingers held aloft like trophies, holding them high to show that they too had touched the blood of the fallen fighter.

A few members of the audience, the losing boy's fellow team mates, crept forward once the way was clear, and helped to carry and drag the disorientated cadet away to get his wounds tended to. Theirs was a sad and sorry little procession that left the room that night, unlike the procession that followed Sephiroth back towards his seat.

"Come on, make way, make way." Zack hustled at the near impenetrable crowd that penned him and Sephiroth within its tight embrace. The dark haired man used his shoulders and his elbows, at times even his feet, to make a path back through the throng, back to where the small blond boy waited, standing beside the genera'ls chair.

Cloud's hands were clenched tightly around the chain attached to his collar, his small fingers nervously plucking at the metal links, his expression betraying a lost and bewildered look. He stepped forward a pace as Zack and the general approached him, his eyes searching the set face of the silver haired man, looking for clues as to what he should be doing. He didn't know if he were supposed to be seated down at the floor on his knees, or if he should be rushing to attend to his masters cut and bleeding knuckles. He had witnessed the brutality of the attack on the redheaded boy, and feared for his own well being if he got it wrong.

Finally breaking free of the mass of bodies, Zack took command of the situation. He first ensured his friend was sitting comfortably, before turning to the watching blond and pushing down gently on his bare shoulders to make him kneel at Sephiroth's feet. As the crowd began to back off and head towards the bar to grab their celebratory drinks he took his own chair, and ordered one of the still lingering crowd members to fetch the general a drink of water.

A few moments later Rufus approached them, and handed Sephiroth a glass of champagne. "I thought I would bring yours to you, personally," he said, a smile playing about his handsome features. "You did a fine job here tonight, showing the others what they can aspire to become....although.....you did have me worried for a moment. I thought I was about to lose a lot of money when you fell."

"Really?" Sephiroth queried, reaching out with slender fingers to take the pro-offered glass from his employer's hand. "You really thought I was going to lose? To a cadet that's still in 2nd Class? Perhaps I should have let the brat win, to teach you a lesson," he smirked, bending his head and sipping at the golden liquid bubbling in the glass, letting his hair fall forward to hide the mirth in his eyes. Rufus would never know just how close he actually had come, to losing his money tonight.

"There was never really any fear of that," Rufus remarked confidently. "You'd never lose on purpose Sephiroth. You're a man of honour. And men of honour don't cheat."

Sephioth snorted and up ended the glass, swallowing down the whole of the drink before handing the empty vessel back to Rufus, watching amused at the apparent interest the man was showing in the quiet kneeling youth at his side.

"Are you studying my pet, Rufus?" he asked sardonically, one possessive hand reaching out to the boys hair, jerking his head back, showing off Cloud's pretty face. "Do you desire him?"

"No, Sephiroth," Rufus countered, staring down at the blond captive. "He certainly is an attractive little thing, to be sure. But...." His voice trailed off and he turned his head, his gaze centring on Tseng. "But my tastes are for a darker top and tail." At the look of relief playing on the young boy's face, Rufus walked away chuckling softly to himself, crossing the room to go and stand as close next to the dark haired, pony tailed, man that he deeply loved, as he could.

With the Shin-Ra leader's departure, an uneasy silence fell between the three men. Cloud lowered his gaze to the floor as soon as his hair was released, and Sephiroth simply stared across at Zack, his expression brooding. The dark haired 1st Class Soldier could feel goose bumps erupting along his forearms, and he knew the general had something to say. He also had an ideal about what. He tried to defuse the situation.

"You know, I knew you were gonna win," he said, his voice chirpy and bright, convincingly hiding his worry. "I just wondered what took you so bloody long. Nice touch that though, letting the crowd think the kid almost bested you. I think quite a few people, other than Rufus, nearly shit themselves, thinking of the money they were about to lose." He smiled, and looked to see if Sephiroth were smiling at his comment too. He wasn't. So Zack continued, trying to ease the tension that he felt between them. "I think, personally, that you were just showing off for the boy here. You were, weren't you?"

Sephiroth rose from his chair, standing up to his full height, pulling his shoulders back and glaring down at Zack. "You and I have some business to discuss," he said, waving an arm out and open in front of him, as if showing Zack the way to the door.

Zack swallowed hard. By the no nonsense tone Sephiroth had used, it seemed clear that it wasn't only Tonkins that was going to go to sleep with bruises that night. He tried to explain what happened quickly, before it was too late.

"This is about Cloud, isn't it? Because I took him from the room without getting your say so?" Sephiroth's silence was all the answer Zack needed. Ignoring the frightened look on the small blonde's face as he too realised the severity of the situation, he continued trying to make his peace with the silver haired general. "What was I supposed to do, Seph? The kid needed to take a piss. What, did you want him to cock his leg up against the side of your seat and empty his bladder there? Yeah, I'm sure that would have been the right thing to do."

Sephiroth stared at Zack for a moment, searching his expression, before glancing to look at the upturned face of his captive and seeing unspoken confirmation in his eyes. The boy's full lower lip quivered slightly, and Sephiroth became fixated on the small blonde's heaving chest, his gaze lingering on the tiny exposed nipples that were firm and erect. He felt his own body reacting to the image he was seeing and suddenly, without warning, he stooped down and hooked a finger under the boy's collar, hauling him to his feet.

Cloud gave a small startled cry, but put up no resistance when the general unhooked his finger from his neck and tightly gripped his forearm instead, forcefully dragging him from the room to the jeering catcalls of approval and encouragement from the watching crowd of men.

Alone in the corridor, Sephiroth swung the blond youth around, slamming his thin back against the solid stone wall, knocking any would be resistance from him as he leaned in low and claimed the boys mouth in a brutal kiss, his veins still running with the high adrenalin and aggression from the fight he had won.

At first, Cloud remained placid in the generals hold, enduring the touch of the man's lips upon his. But then he felt Sephiroth push a knee up against his almost uncovered groin, and he began to struggle, knowing where this was going to lead.

Sephiroth broke from the kiss and painfully grabbed Clouds chin between his fingers, holding the pretty face still while deliberately stroking his leg slowly up and down against the boys flaccid cock and watching with delight the play of emotions going on within Clouds eyes. He lowered his head once more, and actually smirked when the boy snarled at him.

"I'll fight you..... I'll fight you all the way."

"That," Sephiroth replied, his voice dripping like honey, "is exactly what I am hoping for."