Following Dawn
-IV-
Yuffie stepped through the back door of her home, looking around expectantly for her father's face to appear in her vision. She knew he hadn't been at work today, and therefore he was must likely holing up here. Yuffie took a few steps into the house, peeking into open doors, and when he didn't materialize after a few minutes, she realized she was alone. At least she wouldn't have to own up to becoming Leon's assistant until later on.
The whole house was dead silent. Somehow, it was unsettling to Yuffie. Normally, something was making noise; the coffeemaker, or a T.V. someone forgot to turn off - but not even the house maid was in today to operate anything like that. She tried to disperse the blanket of quiet by humming to herself, but even that just seemed to echo off the walls, providing her with false companionship.
Yuffie headed up to her room, her feet barely making a sound against the carpeting, and promptly started changing out of her work clothing and into something more comfortable. But every move she made made her feel like the house had eyes and was watching her, observing her, which was strange for Yuffie considering how often she was home alone, anyway.
To ease her discomfort, Yuffie quickly grabbed her remote control and pressed the power button, and the T.V. on her nightstand turned on, filling the room with comforting sounds. Feeling slightly better, Yuffie stretched and started walking down the stairs when she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks.
The front door to the house was hanging wide open.
Adrenaline spiked her heart into pumping irregularly. She knew she hadn't come through the front door to leave it open like that, and if her father had come home, he would have gone through the back door, too, and Vincent would never leave the door unclosed that way. The wind caused the door to sway slightly, back and forth, back and forth, until finally it slammed shut. She jumped and lowered herself down on the stairs, trying to clear her mind and not panic as the gripped the railing.
Why else would the door be open if someone wasn't in the house?
Yuffie raised herself up slowly and walked down the stairs, trying her hardest now to make as little noise as possible. Why would anyone want to come into her house? And who had left the door unlocked? Godo was obsessed with his material possessions, and he had a lot of them. He would never forget to lock it so that anyone could just walk in and steal them.
Yuffie's adrenaline made every noise in the house magnified one hundred fold in her ears. Every creak the floor made as she took a step made her cringe. Every shadow appeared as a bloodthirsty murderer in her imagination.
But there was nothing as she reached the kitchen and slowly pulled a knife out of its holder, pressing it hard against her exposed thigh, testing its sharpness. Yuffie winced and pulled it away and observed the red, liquid line left behind by the pressure. She was going to really regret this if in reality, this nothing at all, and she was simply letting her fear get the best of her. Nevertheless, the news of Kreya's apparent murder had left her on edge.
She was about to check the grand room when she heard someone behind her. How hadn't she heard them? Before she could move, something had covered her eyes and grabbed her waist. Yuffie forced her scream to die as she whirled around and sunk the knife into whoever was behind her. Once she saw who it was, it was already too late.
"Riku!" she gasped, her heart pounding in her throat as her hands flew to her mouth. Yuffie looked at him in horror. His face mirrored her own, his eyes wide. Both their gazes trailed down to where the knife was buried conspicuously in his side, red blood blooming against his shirt. Yuffie grabbed his shoulders as he swayed, but she didn't know if it was from shock or blood loss.
"Yuffie… shit…" he murmured, falling against the oven. His smile was weak. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"I p-panicked! I thought you were a burglar!" Yuffie said, her voice trembling. "I-I'm sorry. Oh my god, I'm sorry!" Her hands were all over him, checking him, as if that would help. "I have to call Vincent. The ambulance would take too long."
"Vincent?" Riku echoed, his face twisted in pain. Yuffie grabbed the phone and frantically dialed the numbers of his cell phone. After one ring, he picked up.
"Hel—"
"Vincent!" Yuffie said, her hand pressed to her mouth. "I stabbed Riku. He's hurt. He needs to go to the hospital, I think-"
"You what?"
"Vincent, please!" Yuffie cried, nearly in tears. "Hurry!"
"I'm on my way."
Yuffie hung up the phone and looked at Riku. "Can you walk?" she asked. He nodded, and Yuffie made him walk in front of her. His shirt and pants were covered in blood. Yuffie felt herself wavering, the sight of the blood overtaking her. She hated blood, the sight of it, the taste and smell. She forced her eyes to stay on Riku as he walked slowly to the front door.
"Burglar, huh?" Riku said, and the knife was still sticking out of him, ugly and hard. Yuffie couldn't remember if it was better to leave a weapon like that in or to pull it out of the person. She didn't want to take any chances. She would let Vincent handle it.
In two minutes, he had pulled up and was helping Riku into the backseat. Yuffie slid in next to him as he breathed in sharply as he sat down, disturbing his wound. Horrible thoughts were running through Yuffie's mind. What if she killed him? What if Riku were to die, or be seriously injured? What if she had to go to jail?
"Everything will be fine," Vincent said reassuringly, as if he could read Yuffie's thoughts. "Tell me what happened."
"The front door was open. I thought someone was inside. And then I walked into the kitchen to grab a knife – but Riku grabbed me and I panicked and whirled around and…" she trailed off. She was such an idiot.
"What were you doing in the house, Riku?" Vincent asked as he drove carefully.
Riku turned to look at Yuffie. "I wanted to talk to her before she left but I missed her. I followed her home… I wanted to surprise her, but I guess I won't try that one again."
"You're such a creep, Riku. If you were normal this never would have happened," Yuffie moaned, knowing perfectly well it was immature of her.
"I get that a lot," Riku replied, his face looking like it had broken into a cold sweat.
"Are you okay?" Yuffie finally asked after minutes of just listening to Riku's and Vincent's breathing. At least Riku was breathing.
"I'll be fine," he replied after a moment, though his voice was light and weak. Yuffie felt her heart beating hard afresh. Thankfully, they were already in front of the hospital. Vincent helped Riku out of the car while Yuffie ran ahead of them to the emergency room reception area. By the time Vincent and Riku had reached the doors, there was a stretcher ready, and he was quickly wheeled down to a room.
Yuffie turned to look at Vincent, who seemed perfectly calm and composed. She wondered if he had human emotions at all, sometimes. "What should we do?" Yuffie asked, completely lost as she stared around the ER. They were basically the only ones there. Only a single receptionist was working, who quickly walked over and gave Yuffie a bunch of papers to sign.
"But I'm not… I'm his friend," Yuffie replied awkwardly, taking the papers. The receptionist looked at her.
"Fill out all you can and call a family member in the mean time," she replied simply and went back to her desk.
"Great," Yuffie said with a scowl, plopping down in one of the seats nearby, grateful that Riku was being taken care of, at least. She took out her cell phone out while Vincent stood by himself and stared out the window. Her phonebook popped up and she looked through her list, hoping Riku's house number was there. By some stroke of luck, it was. She dialed the number quickly, dreading the call she had to make. Should she admit what happened, or just tell his mother he was in the emergency room?
The phone rang three times before anyone picked up.
"Hello?" a woman's voice said.
"Ms… Ms. Sakamoto?" Yuffie said timidly.
"Yes?"
"I'm Riku's friend. He's… he's hurt."
Suddenly, the voice became a pitch higher. "What…?"
"He was… stabbed. Accidentally. But he's in the ER at Lakeview Hospital and I have a bunch of papers he needs filled out-"
"I'll be right there."
The phone on the other end hung up. Yuffie sighed and snapped her phone shut, then surveyed the papers she had been given. The only line she could sign was his name.
"Do you think I'll get in trouble, Vincent?" Yuffie asked quietly, giving up on the papers. She half hoped he hadn't heard her. But he had, and turned to look at her.
"I don't know. It was an accident, after all. Not to mention that he went into your house without your permission at all. It could be considering breaking and entering."
Yuffie sighed and closed her eyes and stayed that way for the next fifteen minutes until Riku's mother arrived, nearly falling asleep in the process.
"Where's Riku?" a voice asked at the entrance door. Yuffie opened her eyes and stared at the woman who had mothered Riku. She was tall and slender, and absolutely gorgeous (though she expected no less, considering Riku's looks and profession) and had the look of a woman who got what she wanted, when she wanted. Her hair was dark and her makeup was bright and flashy. The woman walked over to Yuffie, who by now was the only person in the room. She didn't know where Vincent had gone off to.
"He's still in one of the rooms," Yuffie replied, standing up quickly. "I'm Yuffie, by the way. I work with Riku."
"How is he hurt?" the woman asked impatiently, her eyes bearing into hers. Yuffie took a deep breath and was about to explain, when a nurse with a clipboard came into the reception area.
"Is a family member of Riku Sakamoto present?" the nurse asked, and Riku's mother left Yuffie and followed the nurse, leaving Yuffie wondering if she could come as well or whether she should just leave. Yuffie sat back down, realizing she had forgotten to give his mother the papers.
"Have a nice sleep?" a deep voice asked from beside her. Yuffie looked up at Vincent and sighed in relief.
"I thought you left me," she said and moved over a seat so he could sit down. He didn't. "Riku's mother came. She's with Riku now. I really hope he's okay…" Vincent nodded.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. Riku's a tough kid."
"How do you know? Do you know him?" Yuffie asked, and Vincent seemed caught off guard for a moment. He was silent for a few moments.
"Not well," he finally said, and left it at that. Yuffie frowned and studied him while he looked off in the other direction. He was quite the secretive one, wasn't he?
Before Yuffie could make a reply, her cell phone vibrated once, twice in her pocket. She pulled it out and stared down at her new text message.
Need a few errands run. Pick up dry cleaning at Dry Della's and then stop at Harven's to get the Yoo shoes I ordered. Leave at front door.
Yuffie sighed and stood up. She assumed Leon wanted it done now, but she really hated leaving Riku here, and if he explained to his mother what happened without Yuffie to apologize – well, she would feel even worse.
"Vincent, I gotta go. Actually… I need the car. Is there any way…?" Yuffie said, her voice pleading. The thought of displeasing Leon scared her.
"I'm leaving, anyway. Would it be suitable for you to drop me off?" he questioned, and Yuffie rolled her eyes.
"Sure, it would be suitable," she said teasingly, even if she didn't put her heart into it. "Let's go. I can't wait to drive you around for once."
"This should be an experience," Vincent said, the corners of his mouth turning up into what appeared to be a smile. Yuffie beamed.
After thoroughly scaring Vincent with her abysmal driving skills, Yuffie had dropped him off at home and had successfully picked up both Leon's dry cleaning and shoes (which were hideous, but Yuffie assumed they were considered 'couture').
Leon hadn't needed to give her his address yesterday after the photo shoot; Godo always kept a roster list of his models and all their contact information. Yuffie had looked up his address previously out of curiosity and found he lived in a very nice area of town, although it was as far from her own house as could possibly be without living in a different city. It took Yuffie about twenty minutes to get there and into his development.
It didn't seem to have a name like some developments did, although the condominiums there were very nice. Most of them were made of beige stone and bright white windows with perfectly trimmed lawns. Leon's was no different, Yuffie observed as she pulled into his driveway. There was no other car in the driveway, but surely his three car garage had all his vehicles inside.
Yuffie grabbed his suits and his box of shoes and walked up to the back door and placed the shoes down, the suits on his doorknob by the hanger. She knocked on the door, just because she felt strange just leaving this here when he could come get it, should he be home – plus, Yuffie was extremely curious about him. He was an enigma to her, but in a different way from Vincent, and it bothered her. She wanted to figure him out and his strange behavior, and catching him at home would shed some light on that situation (at least Yuffie thought so). Not even today's previous incident could weigh down that preoccupation of hers.
When three minutes had passed and no one answered the door, Yuffie knocked again, paused, and with mounting trepidation, tried the doorknob. Surprisingly, it swung open easily. Yuffie felt a wave of dizziness at the thought of what she was about to do, but she gathered his things and took them inside, anyway. After all, if you didn't want people to go inside, you wouldn't leave the door unlocked, right? Yuffie would do him a favor and lock it on her way out. She laughed to herself, though it was a mix of excitement and nervousness, thinking he could be home any minute. Considering how busy he was, though, that might not be true at all.
Yuffie closed the door behind her and deposited his things on the table next to the entrance and observed her surroundings. The entrance had a polished stone floor which led to the kitchen on the right, and the living room on the left, which was carpeted with freshly vacuumed and flawless cream carpeting. Everything inside looked like it had been designed by a professional. Even with her own unschooled eyes she could pick out the color schemes and the little touches around the rooms that she knew Leon probably couldn't do on his own. He didn't seem like the type to have a creative bone in his body, except maybe when it came to modeling.
Strangely enough, even with all the beautiful furniture and decorations, she couldn't spot any personal touches. She didn't see any magazines or photographs or even plates in the sink or in the living room (maybe Leon wasn't a T.V. dinner sort of guy). Yuffie walked through the condo, which was actually fairly spacious, and stopped at what she assumed was Leon's bedroom. At least in here it was more lived in than the other rooms. The bed was unmade and there was a pair of pajama bottoms hung over the door to the bathroom. Yuffie checked over her shoulder and listened to see if anyone was pulling in and when she heard nothing, she walked over to the bathroom and glanced inside. Some shaving cream was on the sink and there was soap in the shower, but other than that it also was spotless.
You can tell a lot about a person by their medicine cabinet. Yuffie remembered one of her high school friends mentioning that to her before, and though she couldn't say if that was true, Yuffie reached up and opened the mirror. Her jaw dropped as she saw rows of medicine inside – but not just regular aspirin. There were tons of prescription drugs inside. Her heart raced a bit as she reached to look at one, but she was either clumsy or a little too eager. It fell into the sink and the cap opened, spilling the pills all over the sink.
"Shit," Yuffie muttered and quickly tried stuffing them back in the container when she heard the unmistakable sound of a garage door opening. Yuffie had never felt more fear in her life, not even when she had thought someone was in the house. With hands shaking, she quickly shoved the rest of the pills in and closed the mirror before running as quickly and quietly as she could through his house, biting down on her inner cheek as hard as she could. This was not good.
What should she do? Pretend like she had just been dropping his things off? Hide? Go through the front door while he went through the back?
Yuffie didn't have a choice in the matter – she had waited too long. The back door opened, and Yuffie dove into the nearest closet, leaving the door less than an inch open. Her heart sped up, her reaction time shortened by the insane amount of adrenaline she could feel spreading from her chest to her limbs, beating quickly through her veins. She could hear him easily; hear him walking around in the kitchen. After a moment she heard nothing, then paper ripping. Yuffie internally prayed he would leave soon, just go so she could leave, too. But something was off.
He was walking around, but with purpose. But he couldn't have noticed anything out of place, could he?
Soon his footsteps started walking towards the closet. Yuffie wrapped her arms around herself out of fear; she felt like she could have a heart attack at any second. But then his footsteps stopped, but Yuffie couldn't guess where. She froze, and willed her heart to stop with it. Anything would be better than being caught.
When he started walking again, Yuffie slowly let out her breath with relief. She didn't have the feeling long, however, as the closet door was yanked open and her arm with it, her scream freezing in her throat. Leon slammed her against the wall next to the closet forcefully and Yuffie cried out, stunned. She couldn't stop the frustrated, fearful tears from welling in her eyes. His face was frightening and completely consumed with hatred and anger.
"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" he said angrily, his hands squeezing her shoulders to the point of numbness. Yuffie squirmed and shook her head rapidly, pressing her mouth together to stop the sob that was sure to escape. She cursed herself over and over in her mind, telling herself what an idiot she was to ever step foot in his house. Yuffie was trembling like a leaf, and she was sure she would fall over if Leon let go.
"It's you, isn't it," Leon said, his voice going from angry to dead quiet, as if he was trying to control himself with a barely withheld rage. "You've been sending me the notes. Who else could have had the resources to do it? Who else could have had the reason? Huh?" His voice raised again and Yuffie shook her head, her legs giving out under her. He let her fall and Yuffie shook her head again. She didn't understand what was going on.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Yuffie finally said, her voice loud but shaky, her arms wrapping around herself. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I walked in here at all!"
Leon shook his head at her and looked like he was ready to spit on her. He turned his back and yanked open a drawer in the kitchen then dropped a bundle of notes at her feet. "Look familiar?" he asked, kneeling down next to her, his face slightly red. He dragged a hand through his hair and laughed humorlessly. "I can't believe this. Someone like you making me react this way. You're just a girl."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Yuffie spat, her pride bruised, letting her fear and turn into anger. "Those are not mine. I've never seen them in my life."
Leon punched the wall next to her face and Yuffie jumped. He was on the floor next to her but he was leaning over her, his hand still on the wall next to her. "Then what the fuck are you doing in my house then? Just leaving me another note, right?"
"No!" Yuffie screamed, finally gaining use of her body and trying to push him off her. "I wanted to drop off your things! The door was already open! I was curious about you, okay?! I just wanted to look inside! It was obviously a mistake!"
Leon dropped his hand and stood up, turning his back on her. Yuffie looked at the notes at her feet. They were all white place cards, but they were turned over. She couldn't see what was written on them. Yuffie dropped her head on her hands and took a deep, ragged breath. She wanted out of his house, and she wanted out now.
"I just want to go home."
"You really aren't the one?" Leon asked quietly, but not with suppressed anger. She couldn't discern what she heard in his voice, but Yuffie chose not to respond. She slowly stood up, leaving the notes where they were, and walked towards the door, still shaking despite herself.
"I came in here to learn about you. I know I shouldn't have," Yuffie said, forcing her voice not to waver, her hand on the doorknob, preparing to lose her last shred of dignity. "You were interesting to me. I never met anyone like you, or any of the people I've met working as an assistant. I just wanted to peek around…I was just curious. I didn't mean to do anything bad. I'm really sorry." Even though it was embarrassing to admit it, she wanted to tell him so he didn't think she had really done it. Duty done, Yuffie turned the doorknob and was about to step outside when he called her back. She turned around and forced herself to meet his eyes.
"I'm… sorry. I overreacted. I know an excuse isn't good enough…" he trailed off and slowly leaned over to pick up the notes. "But you should look at these. It might explain my behavior."
Yuffie cautiously stepped back inside and took the notes, but simply stared at them. He walked over to her slowly, as if trying to show he wasn't going to hurt her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Did I hurt you?" he asked quietly, his voice completely different as he pulled aside the shoulder of her shirt and pulled his thumb over the marks he found there, gently and carefully, as if she was a something holy. Yuffie hissed at the stinging and pulled back, nearly dropping the notes in surprise. He drew back, looking embarrassed, spell broken.
"I'm fine," Yuffie replied, shaken, and somewhat embarrassed herself. To break the awkwardness that had surfaced between them, she pulled the rubber band off the notes and turned it over, observing the printed writing.
I KNOW YOUR SECRET. I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO CUT TO SPILL THE MOST BLOOD ON YOUR PULSING NECK.
Yuffie felt sick to her stomach as she read through the notes, each one becoming more explicit and disgusting than the one preceding it. Each one also contained a detail that clearly stated they knew every inch of Leon's house and hinted at things Yuffie didn't know she whether she wanted to think about – sexual things.
By the time she was finished reading, Leon was sitting at the kitchen table, appearing as if he was deep in though. Yuffie placed the rubber bands over the card and dropped them next to him.
"When did you start getting these?" Yuffie asked incredulously. "They're disgusting. Have you gone to the police?"
"A month or so ago," Leon responded, sliding the notes away. "The police can't do anything about it. They can't find a print, and whoever is doing this never actually breaks into my house – at least they not until today. There was a new one before I found you on the counter. They must have opened my door, somehow, without actually breaking it open."
"Oh my god," Yuffie breathed, goose bumps rising on her arms. "Why would anyone do this?"
Leon shook his head, staring at the table. "When I found you in the closet, I thought you'd been doing this. It made sense. Why else would you be in my house but to leave it there?"
"What I said before was true," Yuffie said, although she wished she hadn't. "I would never do anything like this."
Leon paused a few moments, then replied, "I know."
Yuffie sighed and sunk down into one of the seats across from him, ready to say something consoling, when she suddenly remembered she had left Riku at the hospital and hadn't seen him since earlier in the day. It had to be at least seven o'clock already.
She nearly jumped out of her seat and said quickly, "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I have to visit my friend in the hospital; actually it's Riku."
Leon looked alarmed and stood up, as well. "What happened?" he asked. Yuffie shook her head.
"It's nothing to do with… with anything like…" Yuffie could guess what he was thinking, but she was too embarrassed to go into detail to tell him the truth. "He got hurt. I hurt him, and I never got to explain to his mother, or see if he's okay… I'm sorry," Yuffie said, retreating to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow at work."
Leon nodded slowly, studying her, and Yuffie was already out of the door and in her car before she could hear what he would have to say about it.
Breaking and entering is sort of a running theme in this chapter, huh? The plot is picking up, now. Yuffie and Leon's relationship changed completely. Things are getting creepy! Haha.
I don't know why, but whenever I read back on my chapter it seems weird. I don't know about rushed... maybe rushed, I'm not sure. Something weird. It's probably just me, though.
Please, please review and tell me what you think!