Master Of My Heart

Hey there! I’m doin’ much better now. Got to go on a small trip and hang around for a day, though I bummed when the bookstore didn’t have the next book to the Vampire Hunter D series by Kikuchi Hikeyuki that I’ve been reading. Damn it all, read the preview for the next book and was effectively TEASED and DENIED.

Anyways! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys really boosted my energy on this! ^_^ I even had fun writing this chap! You can usually tell because the chaps are longer; I get carried away. (I have a typical standard amount of pages I like to write. Unless a lemon in involved.) Hopefully this chap makes up for the last one.

P.S. I have a strange habit of putting Zack in bad situations (that are laughable) or finding ways to bully him, but it doesn’t mean I don’t love him!

Okay! Enough prattle.

Enjoy!

Stage 3


Cloud jerked on the cot when a loud buzzing suddenly blared. Sitting up Cloud’s eyes stared into the deep darkness surrounding him and Cloud swallowed. Looking down where a faint light spilled across the floor Cloud saw the clock and cautiously reached down for the item before jerking it quickly off the ground and silencing it.

Cloud held the cordless device to his chest as he stared out around him, his heart thudding rapidly. Cloud never got over his fear of the dark from when he was a child. In fact, his fear of it was only enhanced by his previous master. But Sephiroth wanted breakfast. Cloud almost whined in distress as he set his feet on the ground, instantly wanting to jerk them up into safety. Not that being on the cot helped him any.

His last master had a really nasty habit of picking random slaves to watch, being the suspicious man he always was. Cloud went to sleep once when he was ten and woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. Through the darkness all Cloud could see were these cruel, glowing green eyes narrowed at him. Cloud’s half asleep mind had generated monsters from the eyes and the next thing he knew, a sharp slap hit his face. Cloud didn’t really remember much after that, but his fear of the dark turned into a full on paranoid phobia.

Cloud knew he should be the only one in the basement, but a part of his brain kept trying to generate the eyes against his will, his heart was racing and sweat began to seep out of his skin. Taking in a quick breath, Cloud quickly moved his feet across the cold ground and scrambled forward, feeling for the stairs. Cloud stumbled forward, reaching blindly. It was apparent Sephiroth hadn’t been around humans too much, seeing as how he must have neglected their limited sight. Just as Cloud found the stairs he walked into the bottom step and fell over onto them. A sharp hiss from the blonde and he was up quickly, scrambling to the top where he knew the light was located.

The door opened and bright light flashed through the room. When Cloud’s eyes recovered, he froze in horror as he stared up at a disheveled looking Sephiroth. His hair weaved up off his skull in a little random places in protruding waved and his sleepy eyes were narrowed. Cloud swallowed, his heart jumping up at an incredible rate as he stood stock still on the stairs.

“You’re being loud.” Cloud’s eyes fell to his feet.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t see.”

“Is that any reason to make such a ruckus?” Cloud fidgeted in shame.

“I’m scared…” Sephiroth arched a graceful silvery brow.

“Scared? You mean of the dark?” Cloud nodded, face flushing for a hundred different reasons. He didn’t mean to upset Sephiroth, and he didn’t want Sephiroth angry with him. Sephiroth sighed as he ran his long, pale fingers through his hair.

“Just make me breakfast. I’m starving.” Not taking in the fact that it was four thirty in the morning and that Sephiroth had been up long enough to reach the starving point, Cloud nodded and quickly, hesitantly started up. Cloud paused a few steps before Sephiroth and the General moved back from the doorway.

“Go ahead.” Cloud swallowed and quickly moved up and past him to quickly start breakfast.

The sun was just starting to peak out and wash the house a light golden hue through the open windows as Sephiroth and Cloud ate breakfast. Cloud though, wasn’t eating much. He wasn’t sure if Sephiroth was still angry with him, and it always made Cloud’s stomach unsettled when his master was upset with him. Who knew what could happen. He knew, Sephiroth wasn’t supposed to beat him up, but then… Would Sephiroth punish Cloud another way?

“What’s wrong? Eat.” Sephiroth said casually as he multitasked with the newspaper and his food. Grabbing his fork the way he’d remembered from the night before, Cloud took a bite and chewed once… chewed again… And chewed again… Sephiroth eyed the blonde when he finally swallowed, gaze locked onto his plate and eyes dark with negative emotion.

“Is something wrong?” Cloud shook his head and Sephiroth sighed.

“Are you upset about this morning?” Sephiroth put the paper down.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” Cloud mumbled. Sephiroth set his eating utensil down and looked at Cloud.

“Just forget it.” Cloud nodded slowly. Sephiroth was kind of surprised. He hadn’t spent much time around slaves, but did they really beat themselves up this much over something as trivial as this? Of course, Sephiroth was unaware that Cloud’s whole life growing up had been one where any little slip-up or annoyance was heavily punished. If Cloud had woken his previous master earlier than intended, no matter the circumstance, he would have been lashed or even locked in the cellar and denied food for thirty-six hours. The man had been incredibly spiteful.

Standing up Sephiroth rolled up the newspaper before sticking it in the trash and putting his dirty dishes away. He turned to Cloud.

“Clean house while I’m gone.” Cloud nodded and stood as Sephiroth started for the door. Sephiroth paused when he noticed Cloud was following him and looked down at the human.

“Something wrong?” Cloud looked up at him, finally meeting eyes.

“Isn’t it proper to walk you to the door?” Sephiroth shook his head and placed a hand into Cloud’s soft, magically formed spikes.

“I’m not a woman, nor am I a child. There’s no need.” Cloud nodded and looked back down to his feet. Sephiroth worried his bottom lip between his teeth a moment.

“Is there any particular reason you can’t look at me?” Cloud shook his head and looked up at him.

“If you want me to look at you, I will.” Sephiroth sighed as he stared into those same blue eyes that had enticed him in his dream. Sephiroth stole his mind back and quickly turned toward the door.

“Have dinner ready by six.” Cloud nodded even though Sephiroth couldn’t see.

“Make sure this door remains locked and closed, no matter what. Don’t open it for anything.” Cloud nodded again. Sephiroth opened the door, extreme warmth sneaking its way in past him despite it was only seven, and then Sephiroth closed the door. Cloud waited until he heard it lock outside before starting down the hall to clean up after breakfast.

§

‘Okay… Operation tail Sephiroth.’ Zack grinned mischievously to himself. What was going on? Well, Sephiroth had silently ignored Zack all day, which usually only annoyed Zack and made him pester Sephiroth all the more. But then Sephiroth did something else, clocked out early. Now, what could the General be up to? He never left early.

Zack was fully aware that Sephiroth would realize he was being tailed very quickly, or worse, already know. But Zack didn’t care; he wanted to see what Seph was up to. If the man went straight home, then Zack could visit the little human before finishing his days chores at the cellblocks, but if he wasn’t… Well, the General wasn’t a socialite, so where could he possibly be going? There were a few places maybe, an armory or weapons dealer, or maybe a leather worker, but then, what if he wasn’t? And besides! He hadn’t gotten a peep out of the man all day!

Zack followed behind Sephiroth quietly, dodging behind buildings like an over energized teenager acting out 007 moves. Zack didn’t have long to tail though, since he had to tend to the humans in his cellblock by five and check up on his assistant, but he’d try and find out what Seph was up to.

When Sephiroth left Shinra Zack did his best to blend into crowds, and as stated, dodging behind parked cars, poles, large alien races, and buildings. Zack was rewarded for his efforts when Sephiroth passed the street that led into the housing district where his home was and kept on straight down the overcrowded main road, people parting for him like an outgoing tide in bewilderment upon recognizing him from some tabloid or newscast. Sephiroth just strolled, paying no one any mind, aside from maybe dodging kids with ice cream or toys.

Once down the busy business district Zack cursed when a horde of creatures of all shapes, colors, and sizes seemed to converge into his line of sight, effectively masking Sephiroth from him.

“Shit.” Zack stood from behind a shop corner and quickly looked this way and that, into what felt like thousands of faces until the Lieutenant General was almost dizzy. Zack groaned in dismay, about to give up but gasped when he saw Sephiroth’s cool, collected, black clad self, stroll down a small district alley.

“Excuse me, pardon me.” Zack rasped as he tried to weave his way through the bodies of countless different creatures, earning glares, hissing and curses in various languages as he squeezed by. Boy, talk about claustrophobic. Zack wasn’t, but at the moment he sure felt like he was. Zack finally made a break for it and all but fell into the alleyway when he tripped over someone.

“Whoa!” Zack cried as he stumbled forward, glancing back to see a large, green, sluggish creatures glaring at him through saggy, thin eyes. Zack gave a nervous smile as the creature slid on down the street. Zack looked up and gasped when he saw Sephiroth and carefully hid himself behind the corner building of the alleyway. Sephiroth stood at a small entrance to a little shop, and as he entered the General was ducking to almost half his height through the doorway.

‘Well now… Let’s see what you’re up to.’ With that Zack strolled down the street and peeped in through the shop window cautiously. Inside Zack saw Sephiroth speaking to a scraggly old man with a thick, white beard down to his chest.

§

The jingling of the door and a small grunt of familiar tone brought the elderly man from his place at his work desk, carefully working on a neck tag. The man saw Sephiroth straighten up to his full towering height and jumped up to greet the familiar customer.

“Ah! General Sephiroth! What a pleasant surprise!” Sephiroth nodded to the old man, his long hair following the movement as it hung over his chest. Sephiroth didn’t care for his hair over his chest since it was more easily pulled but being in this little shop he hadn’t much choice until he was out. The old man chortled.

“I’m afraid you’ll injure yourself coming in here.” A small smile twitched Sephiroth’s lips as he eyed the hunched, bony man that came to his waist at best.

“I’m here about that item I called for earlier.” The old man adjusted his circular spectacles and lifted a bony finger into the air, his face lighting up as if he’d just remembered.

“Ah! Yes!” The little man scurried over toward his little wood desk where three different high-beam lights and magnifiers sat, aimed over the gold item on his desk, a fine point and broad knife laser resting by the golden plate. The rest of the room was surprisingly dim, though a golden hue saturated everything from the lights at his desk. The room was musty and was probably covered in dust and in poor organization. The man was terrible at his housekeeping.

“It’s almost done! I’ve just about finished the inscription!” He sat back down at his little wooden chair and readjusted his lights, magnifiers and resituating himself just mere fractions of a millimeter before taking back to his work wordlessly. One would almost think that he’d completely forgotten about Sephiroth, after all, he was quite old.

The lights lit up his old wrinkled orange skin, splaying a creepy suggestion over his features as he worked, his bushy gray brows dipping low in concentration as he nibbled his bottom lip with old, dull, yellow canines. And though his fingers were bony and shook with every task he did, they were amazingly steady as he moved fluidly and began to finish the inscription.

“How are the clasps? And the buckles?” Sephiroth pulled out a chair strong enough to hold his weight despite its small size as he spoke.

“They’re good and strong.” Sephiroth patted the little legs on the chair after he sat down as if emphasizing his point.

“Just like everything else you make. The work of a master.” The old man paused and chuckled before going back to his work.

“I’m glad to hear it. Client satisfaction is what feeds my gut.” Sephiroth smiled a little. The old man, Berg, was a bit strange but a good man nonetheless.

“Good Lord, what is that?” The man gasped when he looked out his window and Sephiroth chuckled without even looking back behind him toward the window.

“You noticed him did you?”

“You know that strange fellow? My, his face looks like a pig.” Sephiroth threw his head back and bellowed laughter.

“His face is smashed against the glass, isn’t it?”

“Well I certainly hope so, otherwise he’s the ugliest bloke I’ve ever seen. I’d certainly feel sorry for him.” Sephiroth just laughed again, though this time he bit his bottom lip to keep quiet as he put his face in his left hand and motioned toward the window with his left for Zack to enter. A moment later the door opened and Sephiroth was still chuckling into the humid room.

“What’s so funny?” Zack asked, a pout in his voice. He didn’t know what was going on, though he was pretty sure that for some reason Sephiroth was laughing at him.

“Oh thank God! You’re actually a mighty handsome fellow.”

“Eh?” Sephiroth could hardly control himself. He was to the point he felt his eyes watering.

“What’s going on? And stop laughing!” Zack demanded.

“My, if you’d really had that face this ol’ geezer might have had heart failure.” Berg joked as he went back to work.

“What?” In the end, Sephiroth was bellowing laughter again at Zack’s apparent confusion and Berg’s bad habit of rambling on and on about a subject, this time fully insulting Zack without Zack understanding a word of what was going on.

§

“So that’s what you were up to!” Zack cried enthusiastically as the pair left the old shop and entered onto the crowded city streets.

“Can I see?! Can I?” Zack grinned excitedly. Sephiroth sighed.

“If I show you, will you stop prattling?” Zack scowled, but only for a moment.

“Fine, fine.” Reaching into his coat pocket Sephiroth retrieved the large black velvet case. It was a square about 5 x 5 inches and an inch thick. Pulling the lid up Sephiroth showed it to Zack who marveled at the gold tag. It was basically a collar, the actual tag itself was a gold plate an inch in width and four inches long, clasped onto a thick leather cord that clasped together in the back. There are a number of tags that could be purchased, and mainstream ones sold by major companies were all metal and even had built in trinkets like a dual shock, which was effective in stopping a slave or punishing them, and then there were even those built in for kinks with sex slaves.

Though Cloud was a new slave to him and Sephiroth did not know the boy well, he trusted the blonde wouldn’t run away from him, so he got a nice, simple tag that wouldn’t be uncomfortable to the human. Even a master and slave must have a degree of trust in Sephiroth’s opinion, and he didn’t want to put the human in a position to feel like he was untrusted. Sephiroth spent a bit of time studying psychology when he was in school, thus why he even treated Cloud the way he did. He wanted someone efficient, not someone scared.

“Wow… That’s… A surprise.” Sephiroth glowered at Zack as he quickly slapped the lid shut.

“If you don’t like my choice in names then keep it to yourself.” Zack shook his head.

“It’s not that. It’s just… Such a unique name. Goes to show you put some thought into it.” Zack tapped his bottom lip with a curled talon.

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?” Sephiroth said nothing and kept walking.

“Hey!”

“Don’t you have cellblocks to attend to?” Zack froze, horror dawning on him. Sephiroth looked back to Zack, that strange, almost sadistic smile gracing his features. It was that same smile that seduced and killed his enemies, though that was not its purpose or affect here.

“It’s not fair to play favorites.” Zack glowered as he crossed his arms petulantly before deciding to give it up. He had his heart set on seeing Cloud get his tag, but he’d forgotten how much time had slipped by in the shop.

“Okay, fine!” Zack started to walk in another direction before turning back toward Sephiroth who was already on his way once again.

“Hey! Why not invite me over to dinner sometime so I can visit Cloud!” Sephiroth breathed a deep sigh of remorse.

“I’ll bring Aerith!” Sephiroth rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was to have those two flirting around in his own home. But what chance did he have of derailing Zack Fair? Not much.

After a few minutes when he was close to home Sephiroth opened the box again and stared down at the name.

Cloud…

Why he’d picked the name?

Sephiroth had seen the human planet called Earth before, and he’d studied it in his leisure. Surprisingly, other worlds’ culture’s and histories intrigues Sephiroth to the point of being a hobby. Sadly, despite how much he disliked the human race as a whole, their planet was truly the most beautiful thing he’d seen.

And Cloud’s blue eyes…

Reminded him of Earth’s shimmering sky.

Sephiroth shook himself of the thought. Listen to him! Sephiroth wasn’t a romantic! At least, he’d been told by many he’d dated in the past.

Cold, almost aloof, and not having a romantic bone in his body. Sephiroth was aware of what his problem was. He just wasn’t able to open up to others. He had this bad habit of pushing everyone away. Even through his sexual adventures with past lovers, it was merely satisfaction, a spur of the moment act. Those he tried to date ended up dumping him one way or another, or he’d dump them for feeling like he was suffocating from all their lovey dovey shit.

So why did Sephiroth find the thought of Cloud and his eyes being compared to the sky so romantic? And why did his heart beat just a tidbit faster? Why did it bring a strange swelling into his chest that made him almost want to smile when he thought about the little human’s eyes?

Sephiroth, was truly disturbed.

Okay! Chapter 3 done. Well??? I’d love to know what you think!