Walking down the road, Vincent Valentine tried hard not to allow the rain to fall on the woman he was carrying. Normally, he could care less about the rain, allowing the drops to fall on his face. Vincent shouldn't care about a human. A vampire caring about a human, that just isn't done, right? So why did he care? Why was he helping this girl? Just because Kadaj and his gang were still around doesn't mean that he should care, right?
She was beautiful. She had the pale skin of a vampire, but Vincent could tell that she wasn't by her smell. She had flowing ebony hair that shaped her face perfectly. Her eyes had been closed, so he couldn't tell what color her eyes were. She was more than beautiful, she was gorgeous.
After what seemed like hours, Vincent finally saw his house come into view. The house he only used when it was necessary, and it was an emergency to save this maiden. He felt it in his power to save her, protect her. He quickly walked to the door and entered his house. He went to his bedroom and placed her lightly on the bed. He took the satin black covers and pulled them over her body, too ashamed to change her clothes. Grabbing the closest chair, Vincent sat down beside the bed to watch over this seraph of darkness.
Slowly, Kiara woke up out of the unconscious state she was in. At first she felt nothing, only dullness of pain in her head. Then everything came back to her, all at once. The pain, the memory, and the coldness. Shocked and surprised, she sat up quickly, which turned out to be a bad idea. A wave of dizziness swept over her body as she gasped in pain. She felt two firm hands push her lightly back down onto the bed.
Looking up, emerald eyes met with ruby ones. For a brief moment, verdant and crimson mixed in ways that were never thought possible. Kiara gazed at the man standing over her, eyes moving quickly, scanning her body for possible damage. Blushing slightly, Kiara took in the sight in front of her. He had black hair that was dripping water and was slightly tousled; it looked like it was just taken out of a wrap of some sort. She noticed his pale skin, which seemed to make his eyes stand out more vividly. Looking lower, she noticed that he had a metal arm, which seemed to make him more different. His choose of clothing also seemed to stand out. Wearing a torn, red cape, tight black shirt, and slightly baggy, dark jeans just didn't seem like the regular clothes that Kiara saw during her average day.
"You seem to be okay. Are you hurt anywhere?" Vincent suddenly asked, surprising Kiara and himself.
"No, just a dull pain in my head from sitting up too fast." Kiara answered swiftly. She didn't know this man and she wasn't too fond of people making her feel weak.
Vincent sighed. At least Kadaj didn't harm her, yet. He might have just saved her.
Kiara starred at this man. He seemed vividly relived to hear that she wasn't hurt. She totally ignored her common since and decided to tell this strange man her name and hopefully get his in return.
"My name is Kiara. Kiara Mali." She remarked softly and carefully, if he wanted to harm her, she had no power against him.
"Vincent Valentine." He said swiftly. He moved from leaning over her and allowed a soft, barely, non-existent smile to form on his lips. "So, Kiara, why were you in that forest anyway?" Vincent asked.
"Well um… I was trying to find my way home, but I got lost." Kiara said, looking down and blushing from embarrassment.
Vincent got up and walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a shirt and some sweat pants that Tifa left there. 'Thank you Tifa.' Vincent thought suddenly
"Sorry it's not much but it's the best I could do." Vincent said, laying the clothes onto the bed before walking to the door. "Get dressed. Your clothes are soaked."
Kiara looked up surprised that this stranger that only knew her name was willingly giving her clothes to wear. "Thank you!" she said quickly, hoping to catch him before he went too far.
Vincent smiled as he shut the door. He walked down the cold hallway to the living room, hoping that this 'feeling' would soon disappear. Why was he feeling this way about a human? An ordinary, beautiful woman that seems to be all he can think about.
Growling, Vincent tried to figure out what this 'feeling' was and why it suddenly decided to show up NOW of all times. Right before the full moon, right when he was his weakest. Vincent growled once more as he sat down in the chair nearest to the unused fireplace. Then he leaned forward and grabbed the unused box of matches and lit one, throwing it into the fireplace.
Kiara quickly put on the clothes Vincent had laid out for her. She was wondering why this man entranced her so much. Though she must say, he was exceedingly handsome. She giggled like a schoolgirl with her first crush, and after she finished putting on the clothes she realized that the pants were made for a female. Kiara 'pranced' to the door and slid it open.
Vincent heard the door open and glanced up to see Kiara standing there looking as innocent as she could. She smiled once she saw the fire and walked slowly, seemingly teasingly, over to the blaze. Vincent watched as the fire danced shadows on her face, making her seem, if possible, even more lovely in Vincent's eyes. Vincent silently sighed. Here was a woman, a beautiful woman, which he now was having some strange 'feelings' for and he couldn't picture why.
Kiara looked toward the door, sensing someone coming. As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Vincent stood up, not wanting to talk to the people on the other side but still went and opened the door.
"Yo, Vincent! How you doing?" A male voice asked.
"Are you going to make us stand here all day, or let us in?" Another male voice asked, but this one was calm, relaxed.
"Come on in." Vincent said calmly.
Kiara stood up, after realizing that if Vincent would let them in, they couldn't be bad. Look in the doorway, Kiara saw five people, three males and two females. One of the males had a robotic arm, and was black. Another was old, and had a... beard? Or something similar to it. The last male had blond spiky hair and looked… sorrowful.
The girls on the other hand were different. Both held shocked looks at seeing Kiara standing in Vincent's living room. This is Vincent we are talking about. Emotionless and, above all else, never attracted to anyone. One had short, black hair that went mid neck, and had a confused look on her face. The other had long black hair that went to her shoulder blades, and had the same face as the other one.
"This is Kiara, Kiara Mali." Vincent quietly stated.
"I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" The short black haired girl shouted, putting her hand in the air as if to do a pose.
"The names Cid. Best mechanic anywhere." The old guy said.
"Baret's the name. Only cyborg out here." The one with the robotic arm said.
"Tifa. It's great to meet you Kiara." The other female said, a little overly nice.
"Cloud." The blond haired guy mumbled, quick and to the point.
Kiara smiled as cutely as she could and bowed politely to the visitors.
Yuffie, Baret and Cid smiled; they liked this girl that Vincent found. Tifa on the other hand was worried. She didn't look too good. So Tifa walked up to Kiara and walked her back to the fireplace.
"You look cold. Are you okay?" Tifa asked concerned.
"Yes, I'm o-achoo." Kiara sneezed and that caused everyone to look her way. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine." Kiara mumbled, sitting next to the fire.
"Kiara." Vincent said, throwing everyone off. Looking at Vincent, Kiara nodded and got up.
"Okay. It was nice to meet you all. I hope to see you soon." Kiara said before walking to Vincent. "Do you want me to sleep in your room? I mean, I would be kicking you out, wouldn't I?" Kiara asked, cutely.
Vincent nodded and said, "Yes, I want you to go ahead and sleep in my room. I will be fine."
Kiara sneezed cutely, and nodded, walking off to the room she woke up in. Once Vincent heard the door shut, he glared at everyone, just daring them to speak.
"She's cute! I like her." Yuffie chirped, happily. "Where did you find her, Vincent?"
"She was laying unconscious in the forest. I thought she was in danger of Kadaj's gang." Vincent answered, back in his quiet voice.
"So, Vincent, what do you think about her?" Tifa asked, smiling.
"Are you here for a reason?" Vincent answered, a little less than a growl.
"Well, yes we are. Kadaj and his gang took Marline and Denseal." Tifa remorse, sad and looking down.
Vincent did a double look toward his bedroom and said, "Stay in the extra rooms for tonight. We'll start looking tomorrow."
Everyone nodded and walked to their designed rooms. Tifa was the last one to leave the living room. Right before she did she turned to Vincent.
"Vincent, do you like Kiara?" Tifa asked, quiet and softly, hoping not to anger Vincent. An angry Vampire is the last thing she needed.
Vincent looked down, thinking. Finally he asked, "What do you think of her, Tifa? Do you like her?" Vincent did like her, and he just found out what this feeling was. Love.
"I think she will make a phenomenal Mrs. Valentine." Tifa said, smirking at the blush that suddenly formed on Vincent's cheeks as he took in this thought. "Just think about it Vincent, okay. Good night." Tifa said walking down the hallway to her room. Pausing before she went in, Tifa looked back at Vincent and smiled as she saw him sit in the same spot Kiara sat at.
Vincent thought about what Tifa said and smiled. She was right. Kiara didn't know that Vincent was a vampire, but he hoped that when she did find out, she wouldn't freak out. That was the only thing that was keeping him from marching into his room, sweeping her out of the bed and telling her what he was.
Vincent silently went to the door. He had to feed, and before the smell of Kiara's blood got into his system more than it was. Once he left the house, Vincent went to a town not too far from his home.
Following the dark alleyways, Vincent came to an old, rundown part of the town. Watching people walk around, the vampire waited patiently for fresh blood to pass, which was a hard thing for him to do. When a young man, roughly 21 years old, walked by, Vincent quickly latched his mind onto the man's, lulling him to sleep. Vincent caught the man easily before he hit the ground. Placing his lips to the man's pulse, Vincent was soon caught up in the sweet taste of human blood.
As soon as his thirst was quenched, Vincent pulled away, leaving the young man with enough blood to get by in his life. Quiet as a mouse in a cat's prowl land, the vampire laid the man down and disappeared into the concealment of the night.
Kiara woke up to the muffled sounds of chirping birds and the soft patter of rain falling from the roof. Even before sunrise, she could tell that the rain the day before was swift and refreshing.
Wait… when did it rain? And on top of that… where am I? Kiara wondered absent-mindedly as she got up and walked to the door. I remember trying to find Lauz, but I got lost in the forest. I got cold and hungry; I tried to find my way back home. Then I got hit, in the head I think, and I passed out. But what happened after that? I remember a man. A man with red eyes, and a cape.
Kiara walked to the living room, or at least what she thought was the living room. In one swift moment, Kiara was at the door leading outside.
This is one strange house. All the windows are either boarded up or covered with black curtains. Kinda like a vampire's lair. But that's silly. Why would a vampire want to take me to his home? He could have killed me in the night. Agh… I really need to stop talking to myself. People might start to believe I am crazy. That wouldn't turn out good. I can hear the village people now. 'She is dangerous! Talking about vampires during peacetime. Its bad luck.' Yep that's what they would say. Dang it! I am doing it again.
While Kiara was thinking, she also was subconsciously walking out of the house and down the road. The sun was rising very slowly behind Sakura trees that were filled with pink and white flowers. A soft wind blew by, blowing some of the petals from the flowers all around Kiara while her ebony locks were blown up. She walked swiftly because of the cold but she took her time to look at the Sakura trees.
But she wasn't alone. Watching from the bushes were three guys with silver white hair. All three also had blue-green eyes with snake like pupils.
"Kadaj, that's her, my sister." One of the men whispered to the leader.
"Good. We are going to use here to lure Vincent to us. He will prove to be a good ally." The man, Kadaj, declared.
"But how are we going to kidnap her." The last one asked.
"I think we should leave this one to Lauz." Kadaj smirked while he watched Kiara walking down the road. I think she will be wonderful, just wonderful.
Vincent came home just before the sun fully rose in the sky. He quietly walked to the door that led to his room. He opened the door and found that Kiara was not in the bed. Vincent walked around the room several times before coming up with a conclusion.
She went for a walk. She did meet several people that seemed very different from the people she lives with. Or she was kidnapped. Kadaj does seem to want people to lure others and he has been after me for sometime. He probably thinks I have feelings for Kiara, which he isn't wrong about. I need to wake Tifa.
So Vincent walked to the room that Tifa slept in. He knocked twice but got no answer. He opened the door and walked in.
"Tifa. Tifa wake up. Kiara is gone." Vincent announced to a sleeping Tifa.
Tifa heard Vincent's words and woke up quickly. It was a good thing she was used to early morning wakeups. She sat up swiftly, fighting dizziness from the sudden motion.
"What do you mean? She is gone?" Tifa inquired franticly. Kiara… where did you go?
"She wasn't in my room when I got back this morning. Also I didn't see her on the road back here. I think Kadaj took her." Vincent recited, adding a little more information.
"Let's wake everyone else up and head to the Forgotten City. If they do have her, they will take her there." Tifa declared, proud of her plan to save Kiara and the orphans.
"Okay. I think that is a good idea. And while we are finding Kiara, we can look for those orphans of yours." Vincent agreed, while walking out so Tifa could get dressed.
Vincent walked to Cloud's room first. He knocked on the door, a little louder than he did on Tifa's. A faint "Come in" was heard as Vincent grasped the doorknob, turning it to the right in one swift movement.
"Cloud. I need you to get dress. We are going out to look for Kiara and those orphans of yours." Vincent ordered, as urgently and politely as he could. Then Vincent shut the door and woke up the rest of the guest that he unwillingly let sleep the night.
Once everyone was awake, they all went out of the house and started down the road.
"Vincent. You said that you didn't see Kiara on your way back from feeding right." Tifa asked, rushed and eyes moving from tree to tree.
"That's right. I didn't." Vincent answered while scanning the area, trying to feel Kiara's aura.
Tifa noticed the frantic look in Vincent's eyes and the distraught look on his face. She walked up and placed a loving hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. Kiara is a strong girl. She can take care of herself. And we will find her soon. The Forgotten City is only a few hours away. We will be there in no time." Tifa tried to cheer him up, but no matter what she said, the look in his eyes and on his face wouldn't go away.
Kiara… Don't worry. I am on my way. And… I love you! I need to find you so I can tell you that… I need to.
Kiara walked until the sun was high in the sky and she never came to a city or even a small town. And to make matters worse she was lost in the woods again. This time there was no red eyes and torn cape guy here to help her find her way.
How do I always end up in these situations? Wait… is that a person? I hope he can help me.
Kiara took off towards the guy that was standing at the edge of a river.
"Hello! Can you help me please?" Kiara hollered at the man. Slowly the man turned around, and what Kiara saw made her stop about three feet away from him. "Lauz… is that you?" Kiara spoke very softly hoping this was real.
"Sup Ray? Long time no see. I have been trying to find you." Lauz murmured in a kind voice. He sounded sincere about it. Only Lauz knew her nickname was Ray and only he called her that. So it had to be him.
Kiara dropped to her knees as the tears fell from her eyes. "Lauz… I have been trying so hard… to find you. I thought… thought you were… dead. I didn't know what to do. Mama… she died. Dad too."
Lauz was shocked. He didn't want to see his sister cry. She was his weak point. I can't turn her over to Kadaj. But I have to. Please Kiara, forgive me. I don't want to do this. Lauz walked up to Kiara very quietly. Forgive me, sister. But I have to.
Kiara felt a sharp pain in her head, like someone hit her with a branch or a rock. Looking up, Kiara saw a blurry form of Lauz before everything went black. Why brother… why?
One minute or one hour, Kiara couldn't tell how much time passed before she was awoken by a strange voice talking over her. The only name that came to mind was that of the red eyed and torn cape Vincent. Where am I? Is that Vincent?
With a strong will, Kiara forced open her eyes to see the same eyes that her brother has looking at her. But this wasn't her brother. Who ever this was, his eyes were colder, more evil than Lauz.
"Who… Who are you? Where am I? Lauz!" Kiara struggled against what she thought was ropes as she looked around desperately for a face that was familiar. The man chuckled evilly.
"My dear Kiara, I am Kadaj and your dear brother Lauz works for me. As for where you are, that's not important right now." Kadaj chuckled again as Kiara's eyes widened with fear. Where was Vincent when she needed help?
Kiara! I am almost there! Vincent shouted in his mind as he and the others ran as fast as they could toward the Forgotten City. "How much longer?" Vincent asked Tifa.
"Not much. We are already in the forest of forgiveness. It shouldn't be much longer until we get there." Tifa answered running out of breath fast.
"We are already in the Forgotten City." Cloud said, stopping from running to look to his right. Everyone soon followed in suit and looked to the right. They saw a large river and a house carved out of a large tree trunk. "If Kiara is here, she would be in there." Cloud informed.
"What are we waiting on? Let's go!" Yuffie yelled. She took off on a full out run. Following her, everyone else ran after her.
They reached the door and Baret stepped forward. "Let me blow this puppy out of the way." Baret's robotic arm transformed into a plasma gun as he shot at the door. In a matter of seconds the door was down and everyone filed in slowly and carefully.
"I knew you would come Vincent. And look, I didn't harm your dear Kiara." A voice said form within the darkness. Vincent looked to were he thought the voice was coming from. But instead of seeing a man, he saw Kiara. But he noticed something different about her. She had an evil aura.
"Kiara I would like for you to meet Vincent. Vincent meet the woman who will kill you, unless you join in with us. Then she goes free and you will become part of a wonderful cause. What do you say?" Kadaj prompted Vincent form the confines of the shadows.
"How about you just let Kiara go and forget about Vincent?" Yuffie inquired, preparing to attack the shadows if Kadaj didn't show his face soon.
"Now Yuffie, why would I want to do that? Vincent would make a wonderful investment onto my cause to save the world." Kadaj answered matter-of-factly.
While Yuffie was keeping Kadaj busy, Vincent had started to walk up to Kiara. "Kiara… I need to tell you something. I-"
Vincent began but was cut of by Kiara growling "Forget it. If I kill you, then I can live with my brother in peace, vampire."
Vincent looked like he had just been slapped. He didn't tell her and now he was wondering if he should have. Or if he was glad that she didn't know until he came to save her.
"Kiara, as soon as you kill him, you can leave." Kadaj announced all his attention back on Kiara and Vincent.
"Yes Kadaj." Kiara bowed slightly to the shadows. And soon all her attention was on Vincent. I have to admit. This Vincent is extremely good looking.
"Kiara… I don't want to fight you. I love you." Vincent remarked, moving quickly to stand in front of Kiara and holding her arms. "Please forgive me." Vincent mumbled as he quickly moved his mouth to cover hers.
At first, Kiara was shocked that this guy was kissing her, but then some part of her pushed itself into control and she found herself not only enjoying the kiss but also kissing Vincent back. Vincent… I love you, too.
After what seemed like an eternity, although it was only a few minutes, Vincent pulled away from the kiss, allowing Kiara to get fresh air. His hands have moved from her arms to around her waist, holding her close to him protectively. Kiara's hands have moved from by her side to around Vincent's neck.
"Kiara… I love you. And I will always protect you." Vincent whispered lovingly to Kiara.
"Vincent… I love you too. But are you really a vampire?" Kiara asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from him.
"Yes I am. And I hope that doesn't change your idea of me. I love you, and if you agree to it, I will transform you into a vampire." Vincent pleaded with his eyes for Kiara to accept him.
"Vincent, would you really? That would be great! I love you more than anything in the world." Kiara answered Vincent's pleading look with a kiss that was soft and loving. "But, shouldn't we take care of Kadaj and them first?"
"Taken care of." Yuffie suddenly popped up next to Kiara. "While you and Vincent were making out, the rest of us were kicking butt!"
"Thanks Yuffie." Kiara pulled from Vincent's embrace and hugged Yuffie. "You guys are the best!!"
A few months after the battle, Vincent had moved Kiara into his house. They had a small wedding in the back yard that only consisted of friends. Kiara was then transformed into a creature of the night and loved her new life, friends, and soul mate. But what Kiara didn't know was that her dear brother Lauz was still alive and looking for revenge.