Birds of Prey

Title: Birds of Prey
Author: Reichi
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Cloud/Kadaj
Comments: o_o This chapter might be a little weird, because I only got like… four hours of sleep, and I’m practically falling asleep writing this. But in this chapter, Cloud is supposed to be existing in a void with Sephiroth haunting him at every corner. Lol, so yeah. I think Kadaj finally realized the meaning of Clouds life. Will this be the end of their fights? Probably not...
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Final Fantasy VII are owned by Square Enix, so none of these characters or places belong to me. Okay? None of these are mine. Hear me yet? NOTHING HERE IS MINE!! -Points to SquareEnix- ITS ALL THEIRS NOT MINE



Chapter Six: All Comes Down.




Cloud awoke abruptly, pain coursing through him like electricity through the ShinRa cables. Everything ached, he was bleeding on the inside… turning his face away from the bright window, he opened his eyes and stared through the open door, swaying softly with the winds gently cascading through. The house was entirely silent; devoid of the womans constant cleaning or Cids yelling.


“ Hello? “ Cloud said, his voice practically echoing. Only silence answered.


“ Is anyone here? “ He heaved his feet over the bed and stood, breathe hitching from the wound. Dried blood caked down his side and staining his SOLDIER pants, which had been getting a lot of abuse lately. Wandering down the hall stiffly, all of the windows were open and fluttering with the wind, the door swinging back and forth precariously. Squeaking as it did.


- Once upon the time, there was an academy in a great city ruled by a single man with no heart nor pity to spare for its people. I can remember the glory days fondly. -


He gripped the doorframe when he finally got there, peering around Rocket Town. No one was in the streets; in fact, darker smudges in the dirt led in unusual patterns. There was no sound of the dog down the street yapping as it tended to do, or people visiting the bakery, as they did routinely. All the doors and windows were open, curtains whipping around.


- Remember a time long ago, when you were the student and I the teacher. -


“ Hello? “ Cloud called again and stumbled into the streets, grinding his teeth together, “ Where the hell is everyone? “


Something was blatantly wrong. Even Fenrir was gone from the front, along with it all the Buster swords he’d painstakingly recreated. Wobbling further down the street and calling out every now and then, it wasn’t until he turned the corner that he knew it just –couldn’t- be real!


- It was like a dream for a fleeting moment, and with enlightenment comes truth, and with truth comes burning insanity -


Sephiroth sat on the front steps of a bank, mighty Masamune in hand and gleaming brightly in fresh blood still leaking from the blade. A mere five feet away lay Kadaj, covered in blood with his lovely silver hair covering his face, head turned at an odd angle. The Blond was about to scream in surprise when Sephiroth turned and countered him with his psychotic speed, grabbing Cloud by the throat tightly.


“ Why. “ He said simply, holding tightly, “ You knew I love you, Cloud! Why do you do this to me? “


“ Wh-hat?” Cloud gasped, attempting to claw at the mighty wrist through the thick leather gloves.


“ Don’t lie to me! “ Sephiroths jaw clenched tightly for a moment, “ I’ve been lied to for my entire life! “


“ Let g-go. “ Cloud kicked his feet weakly.


“ I even had to kill everyone in this whole town because you’ve angered me! What is it that –clone- has that I do not? “


“ Sanity. “ Cloud fought to say steadily, tears welling up with his aching lungs. Roaring in rage, Sephiroth closed his choking hand tightly and snapped Clouds windpipe in half, completely destroying his breathing.


“ NO! “ Cloud writhed, struggling to draw in a breathe. He was slapped across the face, and the cold ground beneath him became yielding sheets, tangled about his legs awkwardly where they had pushed down. Another hit and Cloud blinked awake. It must’ve been just five minutes away from dawn, Kadaj’s snarling and narrowing eyes spying him spitefully.

“ You were having a nightmare. “ He snapped. Cloud blinked daftly, “ You’ve been wailing like a loon for the past thirty minutes, and keeping –me- awake. “


“ Just a dream? “ Cloud murmured, touching his neck. Everything in tact, not even the slightest bruise or pain at all. Kadaj rolled his eyes and stuffed a pillow over Clouds face.


“ Don’t wake me up again. “ The Teen said, taking his pillow back when he discovered how uncomfortable it was without it, kicking away from Cloud and back into his spot just below the window, where the futon had been shoved against the wall.


Cloud stared at the back of his head. Chills visibly ran up the youths back and he looked around his shoulder, his own Mako-eyes narrowing, “ Take a picture, it’ll last longer. “


“ You died in my dream. “ Cloud said. Kadaj snorted and rolled onto his back, curving upwards just under the covers. His arms were bare, so he must’ve removed the suit not longer after Cloud fell asleep, “ Sephiroth killed you. “


“ Sephiroth? Yeah right. “ Kadaj stared up at the ceiling, and then back at him, “ You have strange dreams. Don’t tell me there is some subtle motive in there. “


“ Of coarse not. “ Cloud rolled onto his side carefully and sighed heavily in relief. This angle didn’t hurt too badly, “ Why didn’t you kill me last night. “


“ Because your pathetic. “ Kadaj said simply, as though it were as plain as day, “ Your so desperate for love that you’ll look anywhere for it. Who knows… it could be resentment that built itself so much that you feel you love me. “


Cloud blinked, “ Since when did you become a psychiatrist? “


“ I’m not. “ Kadaj purred, “ I’m just telling you what I think. “


“ That you don’t think I love you? “


“ Of coarse not. Its not the way things should be. I hate you, and you should hate me. “


“ Then why are we laying here like this? “ Cloud questioned him, shifting his hips when his back became sore. Kadaj scowled and scooted further away from him, stretched along the wall, alluring.


“ Because. I’m tired, and your idiot friend only has one spare bed, apparently. “


“ You could always go sleep on the couch. “


Kadaj snorted. “ Yeah right. Moth-eaten piece of garbage. “


Cloud shrugged and stretched his arms out, plenty of space in Kadaj’s absense, “ It’s the best people could find outside of Midgar. Hell, even –inside- of Midgar now. “


“ Whatever. “ Kadaj closed his eyes and shifted around. Scooting back toward the middle of the bed when he found just how unwelcoming the splinter-filled wall could be. His lightly muscled back rolled onto one of the Blonds still outstretched arms, which e recoiled quickly upon contact.


“ Don’t get so jumpy. “ Kadaj said.


“ You said not to touch you. “ Cloud slowly begun to sit up, grunting for a moment and forcing himself to his feet, despite the swirling black spots. He grabbed one of the pillows and small blankets that Kadaj hadn’t wrapped himself in, weaving back and forth to the door.


“ Where are you going? “ The teen asked from the bed, stretching leisurely in the place Cloud had left.


“ I’m sleeping on the couch. “ He pulled the door open and almost fell over, “ Make yourself comfortable, I wont be here to bother you. “


Kadaj made a noise that was oddly reminiscent of a teenage girl, “ Geez, just because I hate you doesn’t mean you have to leave. Stop over-reacting. “


“ I-Im not. “ Cloud wobbled again and leaned against the door frame, closing his eyes and breathing in the dusty smell of the hallway that clouded his sensitive sineses. Instead of any further argument, Cloud slipped out of the room and left him there alone, the door cracked behind him and faint sunlight pouring through.


He collapsed onto the couch with a rough sigh, and fell into an uneasy sleep.






“ Hey, wake up, Spikey! Your distracting the woman! “


Cloud blinked, suddenly very awake with sudden bright light from the open window shinning into his eyes. The Scientist was standing in the kitchen, which he could see clearly from here, and was looking back at him every now and then with a bright blush tinting her otherwise pale cheeks.


“ Huh? “ Cloud answered, blinking.


“ Cover yourself! “ Cid yanked the blankets up over his head, the heavy and metallic clink of his boots wandering away from him, across the room, his breathy puffs on the cigarette mingling with that.


“ Whatever. “ Cloud mumbled and got up, abandoning the blanket and pillow there and wandering into the nearby bathroom, dark other than the candle that was lit, only big enough to cover the small area.


“ Whatcha doing? “ Cid asked, peeking around the corner just before Cloud shut the door. The blond peered out.


“ I’m taking a shower. “ He said simply, and shut the door again.


Thank any deity that, after the fall of the ShinRa Electric Company, somehow, running water managed to still flow from the Midgar pipelines, heated by Cids very own water heater that he’d created, a rather large and clunky thing on the side of the house that would clank in the middle of the night for no reason.

Cloud grimaced though, at the smell rising from the toilet and flipped the lid down in disgust, shedding himself on his clothing and easing the water on, stepping in without checking the temperature first and shivering slightly.


Blood had run down his entire side from the night before, curving down along with the shape of his back and coming off in large chunks down the drain, making Cloud hiss when the powerful jet of water seared into the wound.


His hair matted underneath the water, his fingers running threw it to try and pull out some of the knots from sleeping. He was busy soaping his hair, with the foam running down his arms and creating slick trails down his lightly tanned body, when there came a knock at the door.


“ Whaaat? “ Cloud said loudly, a note of annoyance hinting inside his deeper-than-usual voice.


“ I need to go to the bathroom. “ Kadaj’s nasal voice. The door slammed shut, the lid of the toilet clinking with the back, “ Eww, filthy bastards. Doesn’t anyone ever clean anything around here? “


“ I guess not. “ Cloud grimaced and turned; the old shower curtain was nearly see-through, with mold gathering on the bottom that almost looked to be thriving, like the grass outside. He turned his back and faced the opposite direction, the sound of falling liquid hitting water meeting his ears with a soft yawn, “ Why? Is it not to your liking, princess? “


“Shut up, fuck-face. Oh, by the way. Did you sleep well? ? “ Kadaj asked him, voice a nasal tone of sarcasm and yet all too friendly at the moment. Cloud leaned his long neck back to rinse out his hair.


“ Fucking horribly. I’ve got a kink in m leg I cant get rid of. “


“ That’s too bad. “ The lid shut and the toilet flushed, stealing away the cool water and making Cloud leap back with a yelp when his back was scalded with steaming hot water. Loosing his balance at last, he fell sideways in the tub and landed with a series of slippery kunks, banging his funny bone.


“ You okay in there, asshole? “ The curtains fluttered and Kadaj peeked in, instantly throwing them shut, “ Ugh, close your fucking legs. “


“ I didn’t ask you to look! “ Cloud scampered to his feet and turned off the water, reaching around for a towel and wrapping it tightly around his waist, “ Could you –please- give me some privacy now? “


“ Gladly. “ When Cloud pulled back the curtains, Kadaj was just leaving the bathroom, glancing back at him with deep disgust, “ For the record, I was just checking to make sure you hadn’t gone and hurt yourself anymore. “


“ I’m sure. “ Cloud snapped, grabbing an extra roll of toilet paper and tossing it at the Teens head.






Cid had more work to be done.


One word…


Holy. Fuck.


Somehow, there was an entire junkyard locked up in the attic, filled with scrap parts of random items… little gears and nuts and screws that Cloud would step on every couple inches, pieces of sharp metal randomly strewn across the small space. Before the day was out, he emerged with a couple of scrapes and bumps, lingering into the living room and plopping down on the couch.


“ Good job, Cloud! “ Cid said happily, wiping grease off his hands with the kitchen towel, “ I didn’t think that would get finished so quickly. Everything here may be in tip-top shape within a couple days if you stay! “


“ Yeah. “ Cloud turned onto his back and covered his eyes with his arm.


“ Cid? Are you in now? “ The woman came wandering through the front door, carrying a couple of flowers that had somehow managed to grow in the filthy air, “ A woman called for you while you were up there. She wants you to call her back as soon as possible. “


Clouds sensitive ears twitched.


“ Alright “ Cids barotone was indifferent. “ Get you at least get the fucking name? “


“ I wrote it down by the phone. “


“ Right. Well, I’ll call in the study. Privacy, ya know. “ Cid took the cordless phone and a old apple from the fruit basket in the center island, “ I’ll be back in a second, Spikey. “


The door to the next room closed. Cloud peered over at the woman creating something that smelled oddly like feet, “ Who is it that called? “


She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, as though she had written the answer up there, “ I believe… that her name was Tifa. “


“ Do you know what she wanted? “


“ No idea. She just said she needed to talk with Cid. “ The woman turned and gave him her brightest smile, one that would blind him if he were close enough, and returned to pushing something around in a frying pan. Cloud placed his arms underneath his head, heart pounding anxiously.


“ Do you know where Kadaj went? “


“ He went into town again tonight. I have no idea why. But he asked for ten Gil before he left. “ She rambled on, tilting her head as she switched the direction of her sturring, “ I don’t know what he could want to buy with that… but he promised to help me clean tomorrow! Help is always welcome! “


“ Maybe he’s buying a dagger to stab me with tonight. “


“ Pssht, I don’t think so! “


Cloud blinked, “ And why not? “


“ You men are so hopeless! Even when another one is making a pass at you! “


“ A pass? Is standing over me when I’m half awake and running me through with a sword count as a pass? Or punching the lights outta me, or poisoning me with a shadow blade? “ Cloud grimaced and turned his face into his arm, “ He doesn’t care. He’d fucking tear my arm out even if I touched him. “


The woman blinked, looking at him as though she didn’t believe it, a hand having risen to cover her agape mouth daintily, “ Oh my, he doesn’t seem the kind that would do that… He’s always so nice to me! “


“ Maybe he likes you and not me then. “ Cloud turned onto his stomach and placed his head into his pillow, pulling the covers around himself and curling his legs up.


“ I certainly hope not! I do not think that Cid would be very happy with that if he found out… “


Cloud blinked. Cid… jealous? Was there something here that he didn’t know? Damn… everyone was keeping secrets from him. It was only just beginning to get very nerve-racking.


“ Arnt you going to eat something? “ The woman said from the oven. Cloud grunted.


“ I’m not hungry. “


“ You know, unhealthy eating patterns can cause all kinds of problems, and you haven’t eaten since lunch, and if your not careful—“


“ I’m fine. “ Cloud looked over the edge of the blanket. “ Don’t worry. “


She frowned deeply but nodded, turning back around slowly and wiping her hands on her apron, “ Alright. If you say so. “





Cloud wasn’t even aware he had fallen asleep. But he awoke with the deep roll of thunder making the ground shake and the needy feeling of having to take a piss. Stumbling to his feet and going to the bathroom, he had to find the toilet in absolute darkness, somewhat thankful because he had forgotten to shut the door. When he had finished, dim light coming from the bedroom paces away caught his attention.


He rounded on the doorway, blinking himself into full conciousness and watching Kadaj, who was vigoriously polished the rusty katana blade in a vain attempt to make it look better.


“ I hope you didn’t spend the Gil on that. “


Kadaj looked up, a couple strands of hair falling before his face. Cloud had the strange temptation to reach out and brush them out of the lively green eyes looking at him, as apprehensive as a small child.


“ Of coarse not. “ Kadaj said, returning to polishing the blade, the smooth sound of metal against clothe filling the room once more with its quiet presense, “ White Day is approaching.”


Cloud laughed out loud at that, crossing his arms and wandering further into the room. The teen was eyeing his warily, “ You? White Day? Since when? “


“ Since I wanted to buy something for it. “ The youth glared at him, sneering his upper lip, “ Anyway, you don’t have to know. Its none of your business, so just go back to your little shit hole couch and go back to sleep. “


“ White Day is for women anyway. “ Cloud commented, staying where he was. “ And I know for a fact that your –not- a woman. “


Kadaj’s eyes flashed and he suddenly tossed the sword by the hilt. It wavered in the wall, having landed close enough to Clouds head that it sliced a couple pieces of fine blond hair and almost hit his ear.


“ I only want to know. “ Cloud flinched away, “ Fuck, your such a loose cannon. “


“ Fuck yourself. “ Kadaj stood, dropping the close bottle of metal polish and the filthy rag onto the floor, reaching and grabbing he katana from the wall with impossible ease, “ I told you, that I don’t want to tell you. So don’t make me stab you again to shut you up. “


Cloud blinked, “ Pyscho. “


“ Shit face. “


“ Ass “


“ You know you want it. “ Kadaj smirked and returned to his work, this time bringing the bottle and rag onto the bed with him.


“ That’s besides the point. “ Cloud narrowed his eyes, “ You’ve been acting strange all day. Whats up with you? “


“ I don’t know. “ Kadaj said absently, almost as though he was half paying attention to what the Blond had to say to him. His hand moved faster along the lean blade, and Clouds eyes fixed to it, “ Maybe its before I’ve realized that your not exactly worth killing anymore. “


“ Because of last night? “ Cloud asked, “ Because you had the chance right there. Something you’ve been trying to do for a while now right within your grip… you let it go. Why? “


“ I don’t want to kill you anymore. “ Kadaj looked up again, a gleam to his eye that warned Cloud that he should sinch the subject, before Kadaj would do it himself. And it wouldn’t be pretty. " But dont you dare call me weak because of it. I just dont want to have to buff your blood out of my new sword. "


“ Fine then. I'll leave you and your 'sword' for the night. I'm going back to sleep. “ Cloud exited the room a final wave of his hand slipping out of view, “ Don’t stay up too late, jerk. “


The echoing words, ' eat shit ' followed him down the hall, yet it wasn’t as snide or cruel as it used to be. The nasal tone was still there, since it was a romantic part of the Teens voice, but it was softer. Half hearted. Compared to the night before, Cloud almost considered it a compliment.








- To be Continued.