AN1: I waited a few days after writing this to post it. the last part was a lot nicer when I wrote it than it was now. Seemed a bit... ehh, not really sure how to describe it. Either way, I enjoyed writing it and hope you enjoy reading it.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy… This chapter has a playful moment…

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Reviewers: Please note that I am open to ANY FORM of review! Criticism is highly appreciated. Cookies and cake are… accepted.

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A special thanks to anyone who reviews, favorites, or follows. Seeing those numbers go up and hearing your opinions always makes me want to keep writing!

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Chapter Five - B

You Have One Week

Five & Four Days Until the Replacements Arrival

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Five Day's until the replacement's arrival.

Midday sunlight streamed past the black opened curtains shedding light throughout the large office. Sitting at the desk and staring at one piece of parchment, was a silver haired wingly war hero. The look on his face even when alone was a complete mask to his thoughts and feelings. Or rather, it should be. The parchment he was staring at and re-reading for the fourth time was simply ludicrous.

It hadn't even been a week… not one week, and that blasted fox was spending the money in the treasury on… WHORES! Information had come down what little of a line he still retained in this city. The boy had slipped either by accident or on purpose, from the tail Sephiroth had placed on him when he left the Castle grounds the day before.

A single pale hand moved up to rub at sore temples. Things were stacking up far too quickly for him to have to worry about his Lord's brother going wild in the city, spending money frivolously, and worrying the Lord away from what he should be concentrating on. Angeal couldn't get here soon enough as far as he was concerned.

With the fox not having any real reason to be there, perhaps he could find a way to make him leave peacefully; Lord of War pact seal or not. If he could not, then it would probably take some act of one of the guardians to separate the bad influence from his new Lords side.

The parchment slipped easily from his fingers as he looked at the amount of money the fox had spent in town the day before; at the amount of money he'd managed to get from the treasury with his Lord of War seal. Ten Gold Pieces was far from a small amount. Did the boy truly not understand the actions he was taking? Had the malnutrition he'd suffered for years messed with his foolish Kitsune brain?

No… he probably had every idea what he was doing. So if that was the case, then the question sat at why? Why would the fox go to a whore house in the red tile district? Why so soon after their arrival when he knew he was being monitored closely? The issue presently required far too much time to think about. He still needed to check on his Lords progress with genesis, fight back the noble's demands to see the Lord before the allotted date nearly a month from now, and arrange for Angeal's arrival four and a half day's hence. No, he had not the time to worry over every action the Kitsune did. He would have to try to ignore the twin tails until Angeal arrived and reeled his actions in. How long could the fire haired fox stand the talk of honor before he snapped?

A light knock echoed at the half opened door, "Come in." Sephiroth said while hiding how tired he actually was from his voice.

"Lord Crescent, Lord Rhapsodos is requesting your presence." Good, that at least made it look like he wasn't constantly worrying that his friend was underperforming. His hand waved the female attendant away and he organized the papers on his desk before standing up and heading for the door.

On the way by, he paused before the tall stand mirror to be sure he was presentable enough to walk around the Castle. The black clothing he wore conformed easily to his body, the pants were relatively loose by his own standards, the shirt held a deep V neckline and had a few ruffles at the sleeves, around the collar and along the V. His hair was tied back into a pony tail; which prevented the hand that constantly ran through his hair to mess it up. Frankly speaking, it was the frustration that drug his hand there. He was dealing with the nearly insurmountable problems the city seemed to have taken on with the absence of a proper lord.

The many gang's and Guilds with nefarious actions had grown in both size and number without a proper hand to hold them back. The finances were in complete disarray due to the constantly changing magistrates and their varying policies. The city was falling apart at the seams, there were reports of corruption amongst the guards, and every wall INCLUDING the one leading into human lands needed severe repair work. The nobles were constantly trying to get into the Castle for various supposedly good reasons. Sometimes he felt that he should simply move his work out to the gate; then sit there with Masamune leaning against the edge of the hardwood desk just to scare them away.

The hallways were thankfully empty as per his instructions. Very few guards were permitted into this wing of the castle. Information was being VERY tightly controlled due to the Lord's unpreparedness. If anyone so much as saw his current ability or state then the nobles would storm the castle in force demanding answers. He saw not why? If nothing else a Lord they thought they could control would undoubtedly be better for them.

Sephiroth's long strides had quickly taken him to the door leading to the training area which he'd allotted to the task. There was no point higher where one could see Lord Strife at practice. Yet another precaution he'd been forced to take. The size and exterior walling were also ample enough that he would not simply fall off the edge. A wingless Lord indeed, he had yet to get a handle on that situation either. A pity, he could only put it off for so long before the month was up.

Shortly after Sephiroth exited the door, he took note of Genesis standing off to the side with his arms crossed watching the Lord channel spell after spell through the Materia. The red leather clad wingly had the boy shifting from one type of Materia to the next in rapid succession. Sephiroth had managed to attain enough low leveled Materia for the boy to practice with. With any real luck they would grow stronger as he did over the course of what was left of the month.

He stopped beside genesis and watched for a moment before finally speaking. "The fox, was spending money in the red tile district yesterday."

As if it were the simplest thing to accept his friend questioned him, "do you know which one? I stop over every time I come to the city. The quality of some of the entertainers in Kaifeng is top grade. Depending on the establishment they could give the capital's top Brothels a run for their money." The Auburn haired Dual breed stated while watching the lord call upon his magic once more.

Sephiroth didn't always have to agree with his friend's choice in… past times, but perhaps he could acquire a bit of something from this one. "If I got you a name, what could you tell me of the establishment?"

A smirk crossed Genesis' face as he turned from the matter at hand to look Sephiroth in the eyes. "Depending on the boy's taste, quite a bit."

"I will see what I can dig up." The war hero stated with a sigh. He didn't like the man's smirk, it didn't sit right with him. He had a feeling the wingly was misconstruing something in his mind.

The Materia in his Lords hand failed and Sephiroth Grimaced. "He isn't making much progress."

At that Genesis turned to face him with a bland look. "Not everyone has my ability with Materia. Lord Strife is doing extremely well considering he started barely two days ago." A side note was thrown in just before Sephiroth could speak, "In great part due to my being his teacher."

"He needs to be doing more than quite well in a month's time genesis. He needs to make the Nobles truly understand that he is the one for this job."

"He'll be ready on my end long before then. However, from what I've seen, he may have a bit of trouble with Angeal. While his previous life may have been difficult, the malnutrition has caused a stunt in his growth. His muscles aren't developed as well as he'll need, and he's a bit shorter than he should be. We can only hope he manages to put on at least a few more inches before reaching his peak."

"Indeed." Sephiroth commented as Lord Strife, while dripping with sweat from all the exertion of using magic, paused for a short breather. "I'll see that he eats much better in the coming days. If all goes well, then he'll be in better shape when Angeal gets here with his puppy." The silver haired noble finished and turned to leave.

"Sephiroth," Genesis stated from behind him causing the War Hero to pause. "Don't work yourself too hard. While you may be you, you cannot do everything. Take a break every once in a while. "

"I'll take a break when time allows," Sephiroth replied which was followed by a light snort from behind. Before he moved through the small door, Genesis's voice calmly addressed the Lord on some portion of what he was doing wrong.

()()()()()Transition()()()()()

Four Day's until the replacement's arrival.

The city lights gleamed and twinkled before the golden eyes of the kitsune as he sat on the roof of the balcony outside of the Lord of War's office. A bottle of Sake and three bowls sat out to his right side. Two of them were turned over and the Sake they had held was still drying on the balcony's roof. The third was empty once again, but for only a moment. The loud howl of The Lords War Wolf-Spirit echoed through the city as it had for nearly a century lending an eerie yet relaxing twist to the night.

The day hadn't exactly gone as he'd wished it to. The meeting with the Turks had been painful in a nonphysical way. Two Hundred gold pieces indeed; the information was certainly going to be hard to acquire, especially with the time restriction he'd placed on it. While he'd agreed to the local Turk Leaders terms, it wasn't as if he really had a choice in the matter. His plan HAD to be completed in time, lest he give the silver haired kidnapper reason to evict him, or keep him from Cloud's side.

He was sure the thought had passed through the man's mind at least once every hour since their meeting. He was simply an encumbrance to his brother in the man's eyes. Aon could tell by the looks he received and the way the silver haired nobles eyes settled on him occasionally.

Well, truth be told, he was probably just mad due to two things not going his way today. Tseng hadn't been able to deliver the cat boy to him this time, though he had promised to have him prepared for his next visit. Aon did not like the possibilities that held, the Turks 'not being able to do something' was most probably a lie. If only he had the time or a way to track the cat down on his own then he would leave out the scheming middle man.

Second, was the lack of his meeting with the single tailed blonde form two days before. He'd been stuck with the Lamia this time, while not a bad thing in the least; it was not the person he'd wanted to serve him a drink while he waited. It was a slight his direction from Tseng most likely. He would take every blow the man gave him, so long as he got what he needed in the timeframe required. He could always return whenever he wanted later.

The rest of the day had been dusty, muggy, and tiring. He had been stalking the locations of the many city gangs and guilds. He needed to get a feel for them; tomorrow he would stop by the Turks building in the Red Tile district then move on to the second stage of his plan, the hardest part by far.

A click reached Aon's ears and they perked up as the footsteps echoed outside. "Aon? Are you here?" It was Cloud. He tried and failed to keep the happy wagging tails behind him steady, damned involuntary movements. The Kitsune hadn't seen him nearly as much as he wanted to since their arrival; too much to do… not enough time. Golden eyes closed as he threw the question of whether to reply or not around in his mind.

"Out here Little brother," he finally decided after a few moments of hesitation. The blonde was probably getting anxious; the thought alone brought a smirk to his lips. The sound of Cloud tripping over something in his office only turned the smirk into a smile. There wasn't any light on, and the place was littered with all sorts of materials he'd gathered since his arrival. The reason for his argument with the Silver terror a few days ago had been his moving into the Lord of War's chambers rather quickly. An argument he'd won! That could only last so long.

"Ouch, out where? I don't see you." The wingly commented from directly below him.

"Up here, move to your right, there's a small ledge that leads to another two and finally lets you up to where I am." Aon replied as he turned the two other Sake bowls over and stacked them under his own. Best not to let Cloud get any ideas. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to get a little tipsy and take a long fall off the roof.

"This is annoying." The little blonde replied as his spikes popped into view. "How did you find this place?" he questioned as he pulled himself up the rest of the way.

"There was a note in the desk; left by my predecessor no doubt." Aon replied and motioned the boy over to him. "Why'd you come to see me on this fine cloudless night?" Aon enjoyed the pun quite a bit.

His brother didn't seem to pick up on it though… as usual. As the blonde wingly took his seat next to him Aon smirked, threw an arm around the boy, and pulled him close. After wrinkling his nose he retracted the arm and pushed the boy away a bit. "You smell horrible, you know that right?"

"Thanks," Cloud replied dryly as he pushed lightly back at Aon. Apparently he was afraid Aon would fall. That was comical in so many ways. To think a genius of his caliber would lose his balance at a light push.

"So, why has his Great Lord, Cloud Strife come to see his Lord of War?" Aon questioned, to which Cloud's nose crinkled.

"Stop it with the titles. You know I don't like it when you call me that." The boy replied and fell silent as he looked out over the city at night.

"Holds a strangely serene sense of beauty, no?" Aon questioned the blonde after a few moments had passed.

"Yeah," Cloud said as he continued to watch in silence. Aon poured himself another small bowl of Sake then started on it.

A quick glance at the movement from the corner of sky blue eyes and Aon smiled. "Not just yet little brother. I would hate for you to try to fly before you actually knew how." The fire haired kitsune teased.

"Tchh, I wouldn't do that!" His brother said and leaned back on the roof.

"You still haven't replied to my question yet." Aon started. "Why have you come to see a lonely roof sitting fox?"

Cloud's words were mumbles as he turned over to face the other way. "I just… haven't seen you much over the last few days." Heh, score one for Kitsune intelligence… well, for his anyways. His brother was so easy to read.

"You missed me did you?" he said as he poked his brothers side playfully. An elbow covered the spot and Aon poked him again in another spot as he smiled. "Ehh? Ehh?" He questioned as each ehh was followed by a poke.

"Yeah I DI-," Cloud said while angrily sitting quickly up and turning to face him. He was cut off by a hand over his mouth as Aon's ears perked up and he looked around warily.

"Did you hear that?" the kitsune questioned as his hand fell lightly from his brother's lips. The blonde looked around him then shook his head.

"I think it was…" Aon stated as both hands reached just the right spot. "An attacker!" his hand grabbed hold of his bothers sides and danced up and down them.

The boy burst into laughter as he tried in vain to fight off Aon's attack. "Stop it Aon!" He shouted as his hands clamped down onto his sides pinning the kitsune's hands momentarily, only to have them freed to wreak havoc on him moments later.

He bucked forward and Aon stopped to gag. "Augh, you really need to bathe. Not sure how I never noticed how bad you could smell sometimes." The kitsune said as he waved a hand under his nose.

"Well, I've been working really…" The boy trailed off and stared at him… Aon didn't like that look in the least. Especially the smile that split the boy's lips a few moments later.

What was he scheming?

Suddenly Aon was on his back as the boy moved quicker than the kitsune thought possible. His face was buried into the shirt covering Cloud's chest and he gagged. "Othffth! Geffth Offth!" he cried from below the blonde. This was a horrible torture he was being put through! He couldn't breathe for fear of sucking in the air that immediately surrounded 'Lord Strife'.

Said Lord, was busy laughing maniacally above him. Aon wrapped his legs around the boys waist, twisted the unsuspecting blonde over to his back and pinned him beneath him. Aon sat up sucking in precious air while straddling the boy to keep him down. "You crazy little." Aon said as he attacked once more with lithe fingers.

Cloud fought back in vain in his new position. For the time being Aon still bested him easily enough in terms of strength and physical ability. By the time it was over, Aon's hands hurt and the two lay back side by side staring up at the sky. "*pant*I think you broke one of my fingers *pant*." Aon said from his position.

"I think I kicked your Sake off the roof... and you deserve both it if I did!" Cloud replied before panting himself. All told the struggle had lasted for at least five minutes before his brother surrendered… naturally. Aon ALWAYS won.

"It's ok… I didn't pay for it, technically, you did." Aon teased before settling in to regain his lost breath along with the blonde.

It wasn't too long after Cloud managed to do so and spoke again. "You don't come to see me anymore." Aon sighed and closed his eyes. His brother was much too attached to him… he had known it before they left. While he couldn't nor wouldn't complain, it was simply not a good thing, at least for LORD STRIFE. On THAT point he agreed with the Silver terror.

Golden eyes took on a sad phase as he stared at the moon above them. Like it or not, he would eventually become just what Sephiroth saw him as… a burden. It would only be a matter of time before most of what he was hiding came to light. He could only hope and pray to each of the five guardians that the day was long and far from now. Sephiroth, regardless of if he liked the man - which he didn't, he was going to have to find a way to tie the ebon winged noble to his brother permanently.

Cloud was long and far from being strong enough to perform his job alone. If the nobles were anything like in the time of Tehranoa, then his brother's life would be at stake before much longer. Aon physically lacked the ability to protect him… he needed someone like Sephiroth to do so in his place.

"Aon?" Cloud questioned snapping the kitsune from his daze.

"Yeah, sorry about that; I've been… busy, with a few things." The twin tails replied as his ears drooped.

"Like what?" The wingly all but demanded. He seemed angry… it happened when Aon didn't tell him things sometimes.

"Secret things," Aon teased trying to avoid the subject as best he could. He didn't want Cloud involved or worrying about anything. This was Aon's problem to solve.

"Aon!" Cloud exclaimed then sat up and looked over at him with those sky blues. His own golden orbs stared back until he closed them and looked away.

"Sorry little brother, but I can't tell you… you'll find out soon enough." He replied to his disapproving wingly lord.

"And if I… Ordered you to tell me?" The blonde replied hesitantly. Aon's eyes widened and he was glad he'd been turned to face the other way. He bit at his lower lip and spoke up.

"Sorry, your orders don't work on me yet. You are not in fact the Lord of the Castle until you take the seat before the nobles in a few weeks time." Yes! Loophole! He was a genius!

"Aon…" Cloud said again… the boy did say his name too often.

"No, means no little brother," he said as he sat up and turned to face him. "Now come on, you need to go to bed lest you collapse during your rigorous training tomorrow." Aon finished as he gathered the thankfully still in place Sake cup-bowls.

"Hey! You can sleep with me tonight!" His brother stated happily. Eeeyagh…. That wasn't a good idea. While he hadn't yet adjusted to resting properly in a bed alone, or in the giant chair or other furniture of his office, he was TRYING to at least. If he went back to the same bed with Cloud he may never break that habit. The one of needing someone next to him when he tried to sleep, their warmth. His bed always seemed too cold.

"Sorry I don't sleep with stinky people anymore." He teased as his feet touched down on the first minor ledge next to the roof.

"I can take a bath before I go!" Cloud exclaimed. He was surely going to try to get information out of him… or stay up talking. Aon had to find a way out of this… even if he didn't really want to.

"I do believe your unpacted advisor would have a few choice words to see you entwined in my arms when he comes to wake you in the morning. Or has he started to send in the maid brigade?" Aon stated then questioned with a smile… which then left at the thought of the maids ogling his brother and getting funny ideas of enticing the boy to raise their station.

There had been more than once case of a woman trying to sleep their way up the ranks in a city like Allovoros. Actually… if the woman was foolish enough to do such a thing, Aon had a feeling the silver haired menace would let them take a short walk off a high place. Just another maid slipping during her cleaning duties; accidents happened, right?

"Who cares what Sephiroth thinks about that?" The blonde inquired as they both landed on the balcony proper. Aon looked over the smashed Sake bottle and grimaced… the thing was probably expensive. The Sake surely was. Alas, the setbacks of horseplay.

"Sephiroth does." Aon said as he picked his way through the mounds of books he'd brought to the room from the library proper since his arrival. He'd just taken them… he hadn't had a chance to actually go through any of them just yet. Too much work… ugh, work. He preferred the days of looking for his food. At least it was less stressful… no… Cloud was safer here, so it wasn't as stressful on that front… yet. Sending his brother out alone to 'nick' something was REALLY stressful. The boy had been good, but the nagging feeling in the back of his mind never went away until he was safely back at their little nook of a home.

"Come on!" The boy said pleadingly. What was he? A body pillow?

As he reached the door Aon turned back to face the silhouette of his brother in the moonlight. "Last time! And you have to wash REALLY good!" he said while holding up a finger.

"Right!" The blonde exclaimed triumphantly. Tchh, he wasn't supposed to just give in! Where were his hard lined whip cracking tendencies when he needed them? Well, with any luck he would get to anger their silver haired abductor. Ahh, the look on the man's face may actually make it worth putting up with the nagging, disapproving looks, scolding, perhaps yelling, and finally the later sulking Cloud.

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AN2: I was going to make the four days till section the two days till section, but then the three days till section wouldn't be as good… This whole week's a nightmare to arrange and write; once it's over you'll get to read from Cloud's perspective again. Until then, you have to suffer through my version of Sephiroth and Aon. *points and laughs*

I'll admit it… I'm better at writing Aon and Cloud than the others… well, I've never really written from Zack's perspective. When the puppy arrives things look to turn into lots of fun. *evil smile*

Originally all of Chapter Five was going to be told from Aon's perspective, but changing perspective with the days seemed fun… so I went with that instead. I'm not even going to attempt to put in a chapter from Gen's perspective yet; especially since I haven't gotten back into things.

How was my Sephiroth this time? Good? Bad? Just plain wrong?

I would love to hear your speculations as to what is happening in the story regardless of where we are. Any time you feel like it please send me a PM. I love to hear from the readers… all 7 million of you *wishes*.

Fun Facts

The Turks: While they may have served Shinra in the FFVII games, in this story they are one of the strongest 'Guilds' in Midgar. They serve mainly as information brokers, though their interest spread to other areas such as, very select types of drugs, 'the red tile district', the trade of Slave's and indentured servants, Body guards, and assassinations. They dabble in quite a few 'underground' areas. They mainly deal in the information trade; it's their bread and butter so to speak. The others 'sections' of their business are dependent upon location. They have a 'main branch' in the largest cities of the four provinces and the 'central branch' is in the capital city itself. You officially met the leader of the Eastern Province last chapter.

The Eastern Province: The lands of the eastern Province are dominated by the great Central eastern Desert. The only real economy the place has is the trade driven by its connection to the Human lands. Kaifeng is its largest city, but not its 'capital'. The capital city of the eastern Province lies in an enormous Oasis situated around the halfway point between Kaifeng and Midgar. Travel through the desert can be harsh for some, and as such, many travelers from the north or south simply follow the multitude of city's that are situated in the open plains along Midgar's great eight gated wall. ALL traffic INTO the kingdom of Midgar comes through the central gate… no exceptions.

The Price of War: Kaifeng was the second largest city population wise in all of Midgar… before the humans torched it fifty years ago. Old Population – 324,000… the humans killed a lot of 'demon heathens'… well, the fires did anyways. Afterwards, between the destruction of the city, and the seriously decreased trade with humans, Kaifeng's population plummeted more so. In order to survive many left the city or turned to crime during the decade immediately following. GANGS (not guilds), still hold the city in a terrifying grasp even now, as no magistrate has had the will power or ability to push them out. Kaifeng, without any real leadership outside of those occasional Magistrate's sent from the capital, has been unable to fully recover since Princess Aria's death.