Disclaimer: I do not own FF7.
(If I did, then I wouldn't put this disclaimer.)


Chapter 1: Unnamed


"C'mon let's go and have an adventure."
"Don't worry, just think we're getting super powers after this."
"You made it! What's your number? Mine's 2996!"
"Hey, Cloud. Let's talk to that kid over there."
"My name is Zack, this is my friend Cloud, and you are?"
"Everything will be fine… Our parents are looking for us right? They'll save us right?"
"RUN!"


My eyes shot open. I wipe the sweat from my forehead and the tears from my eyes. I dreamt about Zack again…

Ugh... what time is it?

My watch reads 7:36 am, which means class starts in less than an hour. I force myself to stand. Raising both my hands in the air and slightly bending side to side. I frowned at the usual sight of my apartment. If I had my way with my wall's color scheme, I would've went with grayscale but my parents had other plans. They went ahead and painted the walls a sickly shade of orange. It reminded me of the orange cookies Ma used to buy, which I always hated. Luckily, the bathroom and kitchen were spared from it.

I sigh as I longingly stared at my bed then aggressively shook my head and decide to drag myself to the bathroom. I hope the water would help me resist the urge to go back to sleep. Once inside, I let my clothes drop on the floor and continue trudging towards the shower. The cold water splashes on my face. I follow the water trickling and found myself examining my right arm. I had a huge gash on it before I went to sleep and just like every other wound I had; it disappeared after a couple of hours. I run my finger from my wrist to my elbow and wince.

Aside from the healing ability, my glowing blue eyes and my slightly better-than-average above athletic skills are the result of the experiment I was part of five years ago. Convenient as it may be, my abnormal regeneration rate simply reminded me of what happened five years ago. There are times when I'd forget about it, but then some would comment on my eyes and my sudden bouts of strength that I'd end up thinking of the experiments.

After I showered, I sat on the foot of my bed, drying my hair with the towel hanging from my shoulders. The phone on the computer table lights up and I answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Cloud."

"Good Morning."

"I heard your rank went up. When's the celebration?"

"I don't plan on celebrating."

"Really?"

"Of all the people, you, know what my goal is, right?"

"…"

"Being first is not one of it."

"You still need to get to rank 999 or above to get closer to your goal. Do you know what else you need?"

"A partner, you've been bugging me to get one, and my answer is still the same: I'm not looking for any partners."

"Exactly how I imagined you answering. Oh, I saw a job on the board last night, the target's in your school, so I took it."

I can't do anything about your decision, you asshole. "Ugh… Thank you very much. What am I up against?"

"I don't know."

"Great… I have to go to school, bye."

I place my phone on the bedside table and return to the bathroom. I comb my hair in effort to keep it down but just like any other day, I sigh and give up. These blond spikes will not succumb to water, gel, wax, and even hair iron. I still haven't decided if the spikiness is a blessing because they don't droop to my face, or a curse because they won't budge down at all. I continue with my routine and wear the rest of my uniform: white polo and a black tie. I slip my phone in my front pocket and my ID in my back pocket.

I step out of my unit and knock repeatedly on my neighbor's door.

"Vincent! Wake up!"

I have been the alarm clock for Vincent for a year now. My homeroom teacher made me do it before and me waking him up is now just a habit.

"Vincent!"

I hear him groan. That could mean two things: either he's shifted his position and went back to sleep or he's sitting by the foot of his bed and cursing me because I woke him up. In my opinion, I think he needs to get out more. Vincent is too pale. He always wears a bandana which kept his black hair from covering his face, but he only ends up showcasing his red eyes to the world. Frankly, his eyes unsettle me. However, what bothers me the most is how he gets to class just before the bell rings every single day; without fail.

A car pulls up in front of our dorm and our other neighbor, Genesis Rhapsodos, he also works for the agency and He goes to the same school as Vincent and I.

"Good Morning, Mr. Grumpy."

"Good Morning, pretty boy." I reply and he frowns. "You crossed the line."

I'm actually surprised he's offended. I don't think pretty boy is a good insult. It was a poor comeback.

"Fine. Good morning, handsome girl. Better?"

He grunts and takes out a pocket book, "Can you tell my homeroom teacher that I'm sick?"

"Sure, just remind me to tell him."


"Good morning!" The guard greets.

"Good morning," I answer as I show him my ID.

Unlike other schools, we don't wear or ID's on our necks or place pins on our uniform. Instead, we flash it just like detectives and police in movies. During the first few weeks of implementation of this ID, I felt like I was a detective or something but now, it's a normal thing.


Classes are finally over. I thought to myself as I stretch my arms and yawn. Students are starting to leave the school and I can finally start with my work. Hmm… but why do I feel like I'm forgetting something I'm supposed to do? I sigh and shrug it off. It's probably not important.

My eyes sometimes allows me to see whether the creatures I see are just in camouflage or if they are really human. So far, I haven't seen anyone who's not human.

You see, in this world, there are otherworldly creatures seamlessly blending in our society and none of us the wiser. Those creatures you hear in scary stories, or read about in books? They're all real, and they could be anyone, you know. According to the scientists, they are from a world parallel to our own, dubbed as "Alternate Gaia" or "Underworld". The government faked articles and invented stories of urban legends to keep their existence a secret. And the organization I'm working for? It's our job to hunt these creatures to protect humanity.

I walk around the school checking the indoor clubs: light music club, literature club, sewing club, book club, jazz club and etc. I went to the auditorium to check the drama club but I remembered, they went on a field trip.

Hmmm... Time to check the outdoor clubs. I finish checking the karate club, gardening club, and the football club and was on my way to check the basketball club when I heard a conversation coming from the back of the gym.

"You're a vampire, right? How about we team up and find someone to eat? You get the blood, I'll have the flesh. It's a fair deal right?" a raspy voice says.

I walk towards the voice.

"N-N-No thanks, sir." A female voice answers.

I see the girl is a girl backed up in the corner and the basketball coach standing just a few steps away from her. Wait, isn't that my classmate?

The man — no… the creature she's talking to has brown scaly skin with wings like that of an angel's. Instead of it being made out of feathers, this creature's wings are like its skin and as tall as his frame.

"I know you're hungry because you're not fighting back. If you don't want to help me then, I have no choice but to kill you. No one could know that I'm here, you see." It says, flicking its tongue.

Staying in the shadows, I summoned a stun gun and shoot the fiend on its neck. It drops on the floor and twitches like an insect that had been stepped on. I call the agency to pick this guy up. The girl scratches her head and walks towards the body. Pocketing my stun gun, I reveal myself and she raises her fists.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." I dismiss the gun and walk towards her.

"Is he dead?" she asks.

I shake my head as I summon a tranquilizer gun and shoot it on its neck.

"Where did that come from?"

"Him or the gun?"

"The gun." she clarifies.

I frown and ignore her question. "The shot would last for 20 minutes at most. It should buy us time before they get here."

"They? Who's they?"

"I'm not going to answer that. It's not important. Anyway, he said you're a vampire but you look human to me. How did-"

"I'm not going to answer you, unless you answer me."

"Ugh… this glove," I raise my right hand. "Allows me to summon the gun and they is an organization that keeps humans safe from creatures from the Underworld."

"Are you going to take me too?"

"I-" I tried to think of words to say to but my mouth just opens and closes. "I don't know, I'm not in the position to tell you."

"So they are going to take me." she whispers.

I felt something grab me by my leg and I'm thrown into the sky. The next thing I know is I'm sent flying. I turn towards the ground and summon a spear, and aim aiming it at the monster that just woke up. It dodges by jumping backwards.

"It was supposed to last longer." I mumble as I land and pull the weapon from the ground. "It's fast and so is its regeneration speed."

The monster lunges at me. I dodge, summon a handgun and shoot its legs but it only slowed him down. "Damn it!" I say as I reload the gun before dismissing it. I'm going to need more firepower to take him down. I summon a shotgun this time and shoot its legs again. That should buy me some time. I guess I need to ask for her help.

I loosen my tie and unbutton two buttons as I dash towards the girl, who was back at the corner again.

"You need blood in order to fight, right?" I say showing my neck and a part of my shoulder.

"Drink up and help my fight."

"I-I-I can't. I haven't done it before. I don't want to kill you." she says shaking her head and looking away.

"If you don't want that to kill you," I say pointing the thing that was starting to recover. "Then drink up. I'm not going to die."

"Okay…" she says lowering her head, "B-b-but you have to turn around."

Turn around? Oh… I blush. I wouldn't want to be in that kind of position. To be that close to a girl? I'd probably die of a heart attack or maybe even choke on my own saliva. I shake my head and check the time. 4:58:43.

If my memory serves me right, it takes approximately 3.35 seconds for an average human to get all of his/her blood sucked by an average vampire. I'm not an average human and she's probably just an average vampire but still… I think my regeneration probably won't be able handle it if I let her drink my blood for more than 5 seconds.

I turn and she places her hands on my shoulders lowering me to so she could sink her teeth in. My vision blurs and I see a silhouette of the fiend slowly standing.

"Hey…" I say weakly while glancing at my watch that read 4:58:48. "You can stop now."

She gasps before she releases me. I grip my shoulder and summon sniper rifle and a syringe.

"I'm going to shoot it again. When it tries to recover, go and use this on its neck. Use your strength on your legs to increase your speed and then on your arm as you inject that to its neck. Got it?"

She nods and I peek into the scope. It might anticipate on getting shot on the legs so… I shoot its eyes instead, being extra careful not to shoot anywhere else for it might destroy the jewel resting on its head which might be used by our scientists. I then shoot its legs and give the girl the go signal. She dashes towards the monster, leaps into the air and lands on the monster's back. She raises the syringe before stabbing it on its neck. It goes down and the girl jumps as it does. The team finally came a few minutes after we put it into sleep.

They took the fiend. Unfortunately, they also took the girl.

"Nice work. You never knew she was a vampire?"

I nod. This is my boss, Rufus Shinra; also known by his codename, Prince. Everyone just calls him "Lazy Prince" behind his back, though. I heard he's strong and good with guns but I have never seen him in battle nor do I know his rank.

"Your rank increased again. This time it increased by ten."

My eyes widen. "T-ten!? How did that happen!?"

"Your target a while ago was an asp, also known as 'Coach'."

"Why didn't you tell me that he was coded?"

Coded is a term we use for targets that have a codename. A codename is given to a target if (a) it has eluded capture several times, (b) it is strong or skilled, or (c) it has killed a lot of people every time it feeds. Codenames are also applicable to us agents. For example, (lazy) prince over here. You gain a codename according to your abilities, weapon, species, or in his case, distinct traits or characteristics.

He frowns. "About that girl, what's her name?"

"I don't know."

"She's your classmate and you don't even know her name?"

"I don't talk much in class."

He mumbles something to himself and sighs.

"I'm thinking about making her my partner. She hesitated on drinking my blood which means she's not used to doing it or maybe that was her first time tasting human blood. I actually saw myself working together with her in the future when she helped me take down 'Coach'." I announce.

He hits my back (maybe it's just a pat in his standards) and says "Good. You could have her as your partner but, we'll have to interrogate her first."


We reach HQ and went to our office. Rufus usually does all the paper work while I do all the field work. I don't address him as "sir." I just call him "Rufus" because he thinks Mr. Shinra is too formal and if I call him Rufus, I'd feel more comfortable.

He takes the folder on top of his table and scans it. He opens his computer and prints something. He places the newly printed paper in the folder and says "Let's go to the interrogation room."

We arrive and see her with cuffs on her wrists and ankles. We sit at the opposite of the table and Rufus opens the folder. He hands me an empty data sheet with her picture on it and a pen.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Tifa Lockhart." She answers.

"Occupation?"

"Student."

"No part-time jobs?"

"I help my dad sometimes."

"Oh, I see… What's his job?"

"He works at a funeral parlor."

"Hmm… This is the first time I encountered a vampire working as a-"

"N-no. My dad is human."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm half-human, half-vampire."

"That's impossible…" I snap a look of confusion towards Rufus but he didn't seem to notice. Instead he leans on his chair and rubs his hairless chin. "Hmm…"

He bolts upright, "Maybe you're not the first case…" he turns to me, "Cloud, continue this, I'm going to fetch some… information." He shoots me a don't-mess-this-up look before walking out of the room leaving just the two of us there.

I clear my throat.

"Umm… What did he mean by impossible?" she asks.

"I…" I peek at the files inside the folder and got distracted for a bit.

"I, what?"

"…I don't know." I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. "Soo… What is your mom's occupation?"

She raises both shoulders and drops her gaze "I don't know… I haven't seen her yet."

"Oh… Did she die?"

"I-I don't know." her voice was cracking.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"I have no memories of her," She says still refusing to make any eye contact. "But dad told me I lived with my mom before and she introduced me to my dad when I was three. He was shocked when he learned that mom was… um… not human."

She pauses for a second and gulps down the lump in her throat. "S-S-She told her that I could not stay with her because I smell like a human and if they learn that I'm half…"

She looks straight into my eyes and says, "They would kill me or worse, use me. So… my dad left his office job to work as a mortician because he doesn't want me to kill in order to survive."

"But I saw you eat you eat lunch before…"

"I am half human… I could only use the supernatural feats of power if I drink blood or eat flesh. I'm just a normal girl if I don't."

"Hey… is this the first time you've encountered someone from the underworld?"

She shakes her head. "This is the first time I encountered them without feeding on something, though. That's why I couldn't protect myself."

Argh! It's not making any sense…

"If you can survive by just by eating human food, why bother drinking blood? You could probably live like a normal person that way."

She scratches her head, "You have a point there. Hmmm… How can I explain this to you? Hmmm…"

She snaps her fingers, "Think about it this way. You can't live just by only eating meat, right? Your body still needs other nutrients not just protein. The same goes for my body. If I don't drink blood for a certain length of time, I will become weaker and my blood lust will become stronger."

She makes a good point there.

"Besides, I've told you I've encountered them before, right? They usually get pretty aggressive if you refuse them. So… thanks for helping me out back there." She says with a smile.

This wasn't her first encounter… I pinch the bridge of my nose. Her father became a mortician… I get it now… so when she said she "hasn't done it before" a while ago is because… She hasn't tasted blood from someone alive.

"You've been feeding off the fresh corpses." I mumble.

She nods. "But I understand why other vampires crave blood from live humans. Fresh blood tastes better." she says with a smile.

I furrow my brows. Why is she smiling? Ugh… It's creeping me out. I feel the hair at the back of my head stand as "Fresh blood tastes better," plays on repeat in my head. I wipe the sweat that started to form on my forehead and gulp my saliva down.

Now, I regret letting her taste my blood.


AN: Notice the changes in this chapter? That's because I finally have a beta!
xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx, a very awesome person.

Reviews are appreciated! :)