Vampire
By Ragnarok III
For fans of FFVII, and for Heather; without whom I'd never have written this. (but is that good or bad? ~_^)
Vincent lay in his casket, locked into a state of near-suspended animation. While his body was perfectly preserved, un-aging, his mind was free to wander. Images danced through his mind, mainly of recent events that had occurred before he returned to his hibernation. The faces of those he'd joined with stared at him, reminding him of how pointless his life was.
Barrett. After the defeat of Sephiroth, the former leader of Avalanche had returned to Corel. Things had been tough on him at first, he was still blamed by many for the tragedy that had occurred there so long ago. However, he had ignored the insults and abuse; did his best to set things right again. The last Vincent had heard, Barrett'd been running for mayor with high hopes. Vincent didn't have a home to return to, Nibleheim was deserted, not that it had truly been his home anyway. His home town was…?
Yuffie. She was from Wutai. For some reason, the memories of that place made Vincent think of home. Not a tangible thing, but… regardless. Yuffie had stolen a large portion of the groups' materia and returned to her father, hoping to make Wutai proud once more. She needn't have run off in the night, Cloud and the rest were willing to donate their materia to her cause, but Yuffie's style demanded at least a bit of trickery. Vincent didn't have any true goals… anything at all to look forward to.
Reeve. He'd been a trickster as well, posing as an ally while being in league with the Shin-Ra. He'd later changed his mind, of course. Vincent shuddered, just thinking about that loud-mouthed cat, perched high atop the bloated moogle. Now the highest surviving member of the corporation, Reeve had returned to Midgar, intent on rebuilding it to new glories. Vincent shuddered again when he recalled the new name of the multinational corporation: Sith-Ra.
Cid. The pilot was also intent on rebuilding; he'd taken a crew with him to Junon to recreate the Highwind. It seemed Cid couldn't live without the ability to soar through the air. Vincent had nothing left to rebuild, his life had ended thirty years ago, and it was far too late to do anything about past mistakes now.
Red XIII. The… whatever he was - had gone back to Cosmo Canyon to continue on the legacy of his 'grandfather'. Vincent couldn't remember his own family at all, not a single name or face. The only legacy he could advance was Hojo's; simply existing was testament to the warped man's mind.
Cloud and Tifa had settled down in their villa at Costa Del Sol. Having no where else to go, Vincent had joined them. Cloud didn't seem to care, but Tifa had always seemed a bit uneasy about his presence. Vincent had passed a few uneventful weeks feeling absolutely useless. He had felt something else as well. A thirsting, but for what he wasn't sure. Vincent soon realized just how out of place he was, not just with Cloud and Tifa, but in the city; and the whole world. He didn't fit anywhere, didn't have any goals. He'd done what he thought was best, went down into the villa's basement and returned to his slumber.
Vincent's dreary musings were suddenly interrupted by the sensation of movement. Someone was trying to take the trunk he was resting in up the stairs. Vincent heard the scrape as his casket was dragged slowly upwards. Then he heard a curse as he slid back down, the trunk bouncing off the stairs and breaking about on the floor.
"Vincent?!" Yuffie was staring incredulously at him from the top of the stairs.
'Good morning to you, too' he thought to himself, but as usual, kept his comments to himself. He couldn't help but ask one question though. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," as soon as Yuffie began, Vincent berated himself. She'd probably go on endlessly. "I was visiting with Tifa and Cloud; ya know, checkin' out Costa Del Sol and everything, haven't been here since before we kicked Sephiroth's ass…" as she talked, the young ninja preceded down to join Vincent at the bottom of the stairs. "… of course it got dull after a few days, it's funny how you forget how dumb Cloud can be if you haven't seen him for a few months. So they went out tonight and I figured now'd be a good time to hunt around, I didn't get all your materia last time, you know, so I came down to the basement and found the trunk. I figured it must be holding something good, so I was dragging it up the stairs when the damn handle fell off. Of course, it wasn't holding materia or anything good after all, just you…"
'Sorry to disappoint you' the sarcasm nearly escaped his lips, but Vincent pushed it away. He had an idea, a feeling he hadn't experienced for a long time. He was thirsty, and he thought Yuffie might… satisfy him.
"… I haven't even seen you since that whole meteor thing, how've you been anyway? Don't tell me you've spent all this time back in a smelly ol' trunk like-" Vincent had put is finger to her lips. Yuffie's sudden silence was wrought more from surprise, but he'd got his point across.
*****
"… So I said to my dad, 'Dad, if you'd just shut up for a minute, I'd tell you all about what I'd been doing…'" Vincent sighed to himself. Yuffie was so busy talking she'd barely touched her drink. The former Turk had already finished half the bottle of wine himself, and his mind was pleasantly blurred enough to allow most of the girl's chatter to roll off of him without a second thought. Still, he was growing impatient. The thirst was increasing, demanding him to act.
Without really thinking about what he was doing, Vincent had stood up from his chair and joined Yuffie on the couch. She stopped rambling long enough to look into his seemingly vacant red eyes. She started to ask him what he was doing, but Vincent had heard enough for the night, it was time to act. He pulled her close to him and kissed her long and deep.
'What are you doing!?' his mind cried out to him. Vincent pulled back abruptly, too abruptly, and refocused his eyes on Yuffie's face. For the first time since meeting her, the ninja seemed entirely lost for words. She stared up at him, her mouth hanging slightly open, eyes wide. Vincent was about to pull away, entirely out of sorts with his mind and instincts. Before he had a chance, Yuffie had close the gap between them and pressed her soft lips to his fiercely.
Again his mind was aghast at his actions, but his thirst, and the wine, blotted out all thoughts of stopping. He held her tightly as their mouths continued the passionate embrace, pulling her as close as he could. His tongue probed the inside of her mouth, searching out her own. She reacted in kind, running her own tongue slowly over his teeth. Yuffie paused as she felt one of his fangs; she pulled back for just a moment.
"You're a real animal underneath it all, aren't you?" She gasped and he saw the sparkle of lust in her eyes. He didn't answer, wasn't even sure if he could have answered at that moment. His heart was pounding in his chest, he felt hot all over, a sensation he hadn't experienced for decades. He ran his hands up the back of her shirt, answer enough. Yuffie shivered as his metallic hand pressed against her skin. Was it the cold, or merely the anticipation, Vincent wondered idly as he gently kissed her nose.
She too reached under his own shirt, and he thrilled with pleasure at the intimate tough of her hands on his chest. His clawed hand felt at her bra strap, clumsy as he was with it, he gave up trying to undue the garment and ripped it off instead. She grinned at him and flung his red cape away, then pulled his shirt up over his head. Vincent found his arms tangled up, trying to stay under Yuffie's shirt while getting out of his own. Yuffie couldn't hold back a slightly hysterical giggle as she regarded him, then heightened his frenzy by running her tongue over his bared shoulders.
Again giving up on proper etiquette, Vincent strait apart from each other, tearing half of Yuffie's shirt off in the process. He froze for a moment, staring at what he'd done, one sleeve dangled on the Ninja's arm, the rest was clenched in his metallic hand. She didn't give him time to think about it though, taking the initiative she pulled his head down to her breasts.
Vincent amorously sucked on her nipples as Yuffie moaned in pleasure and slightly arched her back. Reaching down with his right hand, Vincent pulled off her shorts, he had satisfaction in doing that or more than one level; to him they'd always looked as if they were going to fall down at any moment. He paused when he saw what that act revealed, though. Yuffie's underwear was bedecked with pictures of bright little materia.
'She's barely more than a child' the moralistic side of his mind yelled at him. He'd been asleep for nearly twice as long as she'd been alive, how could he even contemplate this level of intimacy with her? He looked back at her face, and winced as he saw her eyes begin to blur. She understood his hesitance, might even blame herself for this awkwardness, not that she had any control over her age. He knew he should end everything immediately, that things had already gone too far. But looking into her eyes, Vincent couldn't accept the responsibility for causing such pain. For a moment it was Lucrecia lying there, threatening to torment him anew with sins of regret.
For that instance his instincts and his morality agreed perfectly. With a hint of a growl, Vincent tore the panties off and hurled them across the room with enough force to tip over a table lamp. Yuffie couldn't help but giggle when she saw the lamp crash to the floor, though it was more from relief, Vincent realized. And that made him feel better about the entire situation, he'd made the right decision this time, he felt.
Not pausing for a moment, Vincent had taken off his own pants; it felt so good to be naked after wearing those clothes for so long. They embraced once more, even tighter than before. Yuffie wrapped her legs around him as he entered into her. She gasped and dug her fingernails into his back. They held that embrace for several moments, enjoying the closeness. Something nagged at Vincent's mind, and he realized what it was. He felt a trickle of blood, knew that it was blood, caused by his entrance.
He pulled away from her at that realization; stood up and backed away a step to look at the blood between her legs. Yuffie wasn't sure how to react, again worried that she must have done something wrong. In an instant Vincent was back with her; his mouth pressing between her legs, his tongue diving into her in raw desire. His movements pushed her to the brink of ecstasy, and then beyond. Yuffie collapsed back on the couch, drained in every way.
Still Vincent continued, the thirst was fully upon him now. He felt Yuffie trying gently to push his head back, then more insistently, but he ignored her. He reared his head back so sharply he thought his neck would snap, then plunged his fangs into Yuffie's abdomen.
She screamed in terror and pain, tried with all her might to get away, but he held her down, felt her sweet blood in his mouth. In desperation, Yuffie looked around the room and grabbed the wine bottle from the nearby table. She slammed it down on Vincent's head with every ounce of strength she had left.
The blow did little physical damage, but it was enough to shock Vincent's humanity back into action. He reeled back from her, shocked at his own actions. Not waiting to see what he'd do next, Yuffie scrambled off the couch. She winced as her foot stepped upon a shard of the bottle, but gritted her teeth and rushed for the door, for escape.
Vincent watched her go, but only part of his mind registered what that might entail. He couldn't get past the wretchedness he felt for what he had done. What could have prompted him to do that? To go against his nature, purposefully harm someone he cared about for his own gain. And just how in hell was this his gain? The thirst was still there, but slightly abated, he noticed. What had he become? It must have been Hojo's doing. Yes, he was sure of that; but this side of his nature had been dormant until now.
He hadn't felt this thirst until after Jenova had been destroyed… Jenova. Yes, that was it. The Jenova cells Hojo had injected; they must have counteracted his need for the sustenance of blood. Now that Jenova was no more, the cells had died, no longer sustained on this planet.
The vampire shook his head. What did it matter how this had happened, the importance was that it did happen, and now he had to deal with it.
*****
Yuffie stumbled away from the Villa, uncertain where to turn. Her first thoughts were to go to Tifa and Cloud, tell them what had happened. She didn't feel she could face them, wondered how she could explain what had happened; to anyone. Maybe Vincent hadn't even meant to harm her, she reasoned. She felt the holes just under her navel, where his fangs had punctured her. She couldn't be certain that it was any more than an accident.
But before that, he'd refused to stop… The young ninja almost smiled at that, of course he hadn't stopped, who could resist Yuffie? The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that she'd over reacted, the cuts themselves barely hurt. She fiddled with the remnants of her shirt, pulling out a cure materia from a hidden pocket. In a moment there was nothing to show for what had transpired but two small white marks.
She wouldn't tell Cloud or Tifa, why trouble them with such a minor misunderstanding? She couldn't face Vincent either, she knew. Regardless of why it had happened, it was done now. She'd run from him, whether or not it was warranted; she couldn't face him again. Not now.
First she'd find herself some new clothes, and, certainly before the sun came up; she'd be on her way back to Wutai.
*****
Vincent somehow new that Yuffie wouldn't return, and he knew she wouldn't tell the others what had happened. Still, the scene that'd be left behind left little questions to be asked. How long before Cloud and Tifa returned? Hastily, Vincent began gathering up the stray clothing, rushed to the basement and tossed it all down. In growing anxiety he realized only one of Yuffie's sandals had gone down, but he couldn't spot the other one, and there was still the wine bottle to be cleared up. Or, more precisely, pieces of the wine bottle.
In a growing panic, both in fear of being caught and in the horror still of what he'd perpetrated, Vincent scooped up as much of the glass as he could. He turned the couch cushions over to hide the stains left behind, of wine mixed with Yuffie's blood.
Suddenly he heard voices outside the door. Cloud and Tifa were back. Dashing madly, Vincent carried the broken bottle shards with him and closed the basement door a split second before the couple entered their home.
*****
"Dinner wasss great, Tifa" Cloud slurred, he'd drunk to excess again tonight, Tifa noted somewhat sourly. As a bar tender, Tifa never came close to being drunk… or at least not unless she meant to; the sight of it mildly revolted her, even in Cloud. "Thanksss for takin' me out…" he continued, and kissed her sloppily.
"Shhh," she scolded him gently. "You don't want to wake up Yuffie."
"It's my house…!" he insisted stubbornly. "If shhhe's gonna stay here for free, shhe can stand to be woken up, I say."
Tifa decided not to argue, there wasn't much point with Cloud in this state. Instead she led him towards their room, hoping Yuffie wouldn't be woken by Cloud's bumbling, or the noise they would make when they got to bed.
"Ow!" Tifa lifted her foot to find a small cut. She knelt down for a moment and picked up a tiny bit of glass.
"Hey!" Cloud snapped. "What happened to my lamp? It's 'sposed to be right on that table…" He trailed off as Tifa grabbed him by the hand and dragged him into the bedroom, she again worried that Yuffie would become aware of their actions.
*****
Vincent watched the couple slip away. So far he was in the clear, though he had a nagging thought about Cloud's mention of a lamp. Well, no matter. They didn't suspect anything at the moment, which was what counted. He was content to wait until tomorrow to make sure he was in the clear, for now he would rest. As he descended into the basement he heard a loud moan. First he thought it was Tifa, but it was too high… too feminine. Cloud then, he knew. And he knew also that he would drink again, soon. His thirst had not left him. He almost smiled, sliding back into his casket, when he heard Cloud cry out in ecstasy again; the sound would play over many times in his dreams.