I shot up and took the knife from my chest, driving it deep into the man before me.
A loud beeping sound surrounded me, it reminded me of hospital machines and monitors. The smirk on the man's face sickened me. I pulled the blade from his chest and pushed it through his face. His face dissolved into the blade, fading into the man hovering above me.
"Oh good your awake. I was hopeful, they said you wouldn't but I had faith." I studied him carefully. "I'm Doctor Smith. You're at Edge public hospital."
Panic surged through me. "No no no... I have to go, I need to leave. Like yesterday. I can't be here. No no no. He'll find me." I struggled against the needles and restraints on my arms. It looked like someone had told the doctors I wouldn't want to be here once I awoke, they had handcuffed me to the bed. "Let me go, I'll kill you, he'll kill me. LET ME GO."
"Miss Kisaragi, you need to stay here for some tests then your free to go, but because of that threat I'm going to have to leave those cuffs on you, give me ten minutes and I'll review your current state. And whether you are well enough to go home."
The doctor left me in the room, where was Vincent? My friends? Why had they left me here defenceless? Oh I was going to have some words with them when I saw them again.
Dr Smith was talking with the receptionist nurse, about me, I could hear pieces of their conversation. Some was about my health, some about the numerous scars on my body, and my least favourite was the conversation about why I would threaten him. 'I DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE DAHH.' The nurse had done a background check on me and said she found nothing to suspect me off and figured I was just spooked from the incident.
He came back. "Okay Miss Kisaragi as soon as someone comes to pick you up you can go. But I must emphasise the importance of you resting and eating, oh and taking these." He handed me a pack of antibiotics. "One after every meal, and you must come back in a week for us to review your state. Or we'll come to you. I guess it depends if you're still terrified of the hospital by then. Okay?" I nodded comprehending all of this new information.
"Wait. Smith... Why am I here? What happened? I just remember the blood. I don't remember why?"
"Oh. You had internal bleeding. Where you were stabbed hadn't been patched on the inside. So the handiwork your skilled friend did was only half the problem. Since your operation you've been in an induced coma. So that you had time to heal properly."
"Wait what? How long have I been out for?" This scared me, any longer than a week and I would have to consider moving, I needed to be invisible. If I had been here long enough to leave a trace I needed to run and quickly.
"About three weeks." He stated matter of factly, "Do you want me to call your emergency contact in our system?"
'Shit I was on the radar, how could they have left me here that long.' "Depends on who's listed as my emergency contact."
"I'll have a look and confirm with you."
He walked slowly to the desk again talking to the young nurse. When he came back the news that he gave me startled me. "A Mister Katsuo?"
"No, no don't call that bastard. Call Vincent."
"Are you sure Miss? The man listed is listed as your..."
"NO. CALL VINCENT, call Vincent." Tears were freely caressing my face now. I was more that frightened I was terrified and furious.
"Okay, I'll be one moment." He pulled out his mobile phone and made his way to the other room again. Searching and dialling what I assumed to be Vincent's number.
"He'll be here in ten minutes okay Miss?" I nodded and gave him a half smile, this wasn't his fault. "Remember to take those, don't just stare at them okay, I know your history with not taking drugs." He smiled this time, an almost fatherly smile. I could sense his fatherly attribute oozing from his soul.
"You're a father aren't you?" I called after him. He nodded and smiled walking back to my bed side.
"Three sons." He unclipped my hands from the cuffs and rest them in his pockets. "Miss please wait for your friend, don't attempt to run. Promise?"
I held out my pinkie finger, "Pinkie promise." He smiled and wrapped his pinkie around mine.
To my own surprise I didn't try to run, I patiently waited for Vincent fiddling with the small amount of belongings I had in the draws to my right. I pulled a pair of blue jeans on, I hadn't shaved in three weeks I wasn't going to scare Vinnie off with that, and a black hoodie over my mop of hair. I packed everything into a plastic bag I had found at the end of my bed. Finding a small brush in the packing process. 'Remember to ask Vinnie to brush it for me when he gets here.' I thought to myself.
I stood pulling the bag to sit on the unmade bed in front of me, when everything went dark. Rough, cold hands covered my eyes and a deep husky voice whispered into my left ear. "Guess who princess."
Shivering slightly from his touch, both from the cold and his close proximity, I wrapped my hands backwards and around his hips, 'yes I am much shorter than him so I embarrassedly brushed my hands across his toned ars... No don't think about that.'
"Vinnie." I almost moaned. "It is you right?"
He shakily removed his hands from my face, reaching passed me and grabbing my bag. He then, what I call, 'cape-d' us back to the car. It's a method where he somehow moves multiple meters without you even realising.
"Ugh I hate when you do that." I buckled myself in and relaxed into the comfort of his car. Oh my, it smells like him. I took a deep breath and sighed.
"What was that for?"
"I think I have to move away again." I admitted. He slammed on the breaks and turned to face me.
"What? Why?"
"Wanderlust hasn't been fulfilled." I lied. He knew it wasn't the truth, I could read it on his face, but he smiled and continued driving, pretending to be satisfied with the answer I gave.
As we returned home he didn't speak, let alone look at me as he dumped my belongings in the washing machine and helped me up the stairs of seventh heaven. It was technically Cloud and Tifa's home, but I had lived here for the last year and a half and they had graced me with my own room as long as I helped around the bar and in the house. Vince was the same, he had a room as long as he helped Cloud run errands and occasionally did some manual labour that Tifa wasn't capable of in the bar.
"Yuffie?" Tiffa questioned, running over to me and looking me over like a mother would if her child had been lost for several years. "Heavens you scared us all half to death." Finally she cuddled into me, a little harder and fiercer than I would have liked but it was sentimental all the same.
"Hey, Yufs, can I ask a favour of you?" I nodded.
"You know that I'll be on the couch the whole night right?" It was her turn to nod.
"That's fine. Could you watch Denzel and Marlene for me while Cloud and I run some errands? I know you just woke up and you must be confused and horrified and all, but I'll be more than happy to sit with you and explain when I get back."
I nodded, the kids are lovely and they'd be more than happy to curl up eat pizza and watch movies all night. As long as they could pick the movie.
"Thank you sweetie. I'll repay you I swear." She cuddled me again, rushing from the room. "They'll be here about six, Barret will be bringing them here. Bye."
I looked at the microwave clock, it was five o'clock now. That gave me plenty of time to clean myself up and call the pizza man. Especially since I knew they'd both want Hawaiian pizza and lemonade?
Vincent had taken his seat in the lounge room which was directly opposite the bathroom. 'Score.' I thought, grabbing some supplies and rushing into the bathroom leaving the door wide open, in case something happened again.
As I undressed I looked into the mirror at my naked form. Scar tissue covered my body, between my previous life, the war and Zack's training, my body looked like a pin board. Covered in holes and battle scars. 'How could he love this?' I questioned myself. 'I don't even love this.' Before I could cry I pulled back the shower curtain and jumped into the steaming shower. I didn't have time for my own self-pity. I was technically healthy so I should just learn to soldier on.
When I pulled back the shower curtain to get out I found Vincent sitting at the door reading. "Umm Vinnie, could you... Umm." As if reading my mind he left, giving me the privacy I needed to wrap the towel around my body and rush to my bedroom two doors down.
Emerging from my bedroom with knee high black socks, red shorts and black and red Wutai designed polo-collared shirt, I brushed passed Vincent and into the kitchen. He followed me. I took the phone from its socket and dialled the pizza company ordering the pizza and lemonade.
"Yuffie what are you wearing?" His hands rested gently on my shoulders, his human hand courageous enough to brush up and down my bare arm.
"They're called pj's Vinnie, why? Do you dislike them?"
He almost ... Purred, yeah, purred against me. "No, I like them." That's when I heard the car pull up outside and the kids bound through the door.
"Auntie Yuffie." Denzel giggled "look at my drawing... I mean our drawing, Marlene and me made it." It was a beautiful drawing of the whole team, adding in the children and Marlene's teddy.
"Wow, that's really good. And I'm not just saying that. Wow look at Barret, hmm. Maybe you should use my colours to colour Vincent's cape in?"
"Oh yes please, can I get them?" I nodded and he ran off in the direction of my room.
Barret enveloped me in an almost awkward hug. "I'm glad to see you're alive, I wish life would stop for a moment so we could catch up. But unfortunately catching up doesn't put food on the table."
"Hmm, I know, it's okay, maybe another time."
"Need any money for tea?" Is fatherly tone rattled me.
"No" I shook my head "it's covered thanks though."
He nodded at Vincent and walked back down the stairs to his car. "Message me when the 'rents get home 'k?" He didn't really wait for an answer so I didn't give one, just took it as a demand rather than a question.
I walked into my room in search of the kids, they were sprawled across my floor with their large piece of butcher's paper drawing. "There you go perfect." I declared. They nodded and packed up the pencils.
"Auntie Yuffie, When's dinner?" Denzel questioned.
"When it gets here, we're having pizza."
A simultaneous cheer came from the pair as they took their drawing to show Vincent in the kitchen. Twenty minutes later the pizza arrived and Vincent paid the man and collected the pizzas for the four of us. Setting it in the middle of the floor we began to watch toy story, a movie the kids had picked, and eat our pizza.
Once the pizza was finished and the movie almost over Denzel had crashed on the couch and Marlene had been playing games on my phone. Vincent was nowhere to be seen.
"Auntie Yuffie, why is there a picture of Uncle Vincent on your phone?"
' Damn it kid, why haven't I changed that yet?' I thought to myself.
" 'Cause he's my best friend." I answered simply.
"Do you love him?" She giggled "like love, love him?" Another giggle erupted from her as Cloud and Tifa made their way up the staircase.
"What's so funny little one?" Cloud asked.
"Auntie Yuffie is..." I cut her off quickly, whispering harshly into her ear.
"Tell and I'll tell Barret you're the one putting salt in his air conditioner for attention." She froze, 'score'.
"Never mind." She said pulling the blankets I had pulled out for them over her face and pretending to be asleep.