Chapter 6
Tifa yawned, stretching a bit as she padded softly out of Vincent's room, peeking her head out into the living room. Reno was sprawled across the loveseat, the blanket draped over half of him, while his pillow had disappeared somewhere, his mouth wide open and he snored, not so loud, but loud enough to be noticed.
Tifa shook her head slightly, a small smile on her lips as she softly walked over to Vincent and looked him over. He seemed to be doing better, his face no longer scrunched up in pain. She knelt down beside him a pressed a slender hand to his forehead, sighing in relief. His fever had gone down, it seemed, which was one less thing for her to worry about.
With a slight smile on her lips, she turned to go back to the kitchen, humming softly as she started to prepare soup for breakfast, though stopped cold when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle up. Curious to see what her intuition was telling her, she twirled around, only to see Vincent, panting as he held onto his side leaning against the doorframe, and her eyes instantly widened.
"What are you doing out of bed? Ugh! You are so pigheaded sometimes!" Tifa scolded, slipping his arm across her slim shoulders, ignoring his weak protests, helping him as he tried to drag his feet slowly across the floor, occasionally wincing in pain. Geez, he should still be asleep. Tifa mentally chided herself for not noticing Vincent stirring when she had headed to the kitchen. Obviously being sleep logged didn't help her observations powers at all.
She spared a glance to Reno, who was still snoring, and sighed, shaking her head. She should scold him too, but right now her main concern was Vincent's condition. Funny, she thought, a wry smile tugging on her lips, that she cared so much of his condition. Well, she had inwardly told herself, it was her fault anyway, and she couldn't help but feel that she had caused Vincent's injuries even though Sephiroth had wielded the blade. Sephiroth had, after all, come after her.
"Why did you fight him anyway? You should have just let me go with him." Tifa muttered to herself, something close to worry tinged within her voice, not meaning to say it out loud, let alone get a response, so she practically jumped when Vincent answered.
"You haven't told me everything I need to know." Vincent murmured tiredly, slowly dragging his feet across the padded floor for what seemed eternity. His whole body felt like it was lead, though his side was burning with fire, and he fought back the reaction to gasp in pain, instead, gritting his teeth.
Tifa shot him a glance, pursing her lips to keep back a smart comment, knowing she shouldn't aggravate him in this stage, especially since she was supposed to help him.
Opening the door to his room, she laid him down gently on the bed, sighing softly as he protested, tucking the sheets around him.
"Feeling better?" She asked, and he didn't say anything, his unfaltering gaze turned to her, unnerving her a bit, though she straightened her back, just staring back, her eyes narrowed. It seemed like the seconds ticked by meticulously slow, as if to taunt her because she stood her ground and didn't look away, instead lost in the blood pooled irises of a man, or maybe a monster? She had never seen anyone with blood red eyes, with the flicker of the shadows flitting nervously across his face.
"Thank you." She blinked, startled out of her reverie, looking at Vincent in a new light, though his face hadn't changed, but maybe his features had softened, but it was probably her eyes playing tricks on her. She was probably still a bit sleepy.
Vincent shifted uncomfortably, though his gaze still held on her face, which was looking at him curiously, with a mix of confusion. He hadn't know what had possessed him to utter his gratitude, but maybe he shouldn't have spoken. He felt uneasy, being under her scrutiny for such a long period of time, and he wondered why she hadn't averted her gaze like she usually did, like people usually did. Could it be because he had 'saved' her, she felt like she should force herself into his presence until he recovered?
"You're welcome, I'm sure you wouldn't done the same for me." Tifa said, smiling slightly though she didn't feel so cheerful. Seeing Vincent drowning in a puddle of his own blood was too much for her, but it was burned in the back of her eyelids, and had been with her all night. She felt guilty, and she hated feeling guilty. "And besides, it was mostly because of me you got hurt." Tifa added silently, and Vincent raised an eyebrow at her. He knew better than to comment, last times results were less than desired.
Abruptly Tifa tore her gaze away hastily turning for the exit.
"I'll get you something to eat." She offered as she quickly, turning and walking down the hall, her face turned toward the floor, burning. Why did she hold his gaze so long? What she wouldn't have given to know what he had been thinking. Probably why she was so stupid, saying things like that. Or maybe why she didn't go back to Shinra, back to Cloud. Yes, that's probably what he was thinking.
"How's Vampy?" Tifa jerked, turning to face Reno, who had his hands cushioning his head, stretched across the loveseat with his eyes closed, a ghost of a grin on his face. He didn't need to open his eyes to know she had been startled.
"He's . . . fine." Tifa mumbled after a moment, and Reno grinned, opening his green eyes to stare at her, stretching out easily, curling all the way from his bony arms to his toes.
"Fine eh? Well, with you as a nurse I have no doubt of that." Reno said, letting his gaze linger upon her longer than it should have, and she sighed, shaking her head as she walked into the kitchen.
"How you keep your job is a wonder." Tifa called over her shoulder, hearing only a snicker, and then the creak of the loveseat, signifying that Reno had laid back. She sighed in relief, glad that Reno hadn't added another comment to the thought.
She didn't know what she'd do. Maybe give him a taste of her fist, that's for sure.
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"What do you mean she won't come back?" Cloud snapped impatiently, though the silver haired man was just as impatient, his lips pursed in a thin line.
"Like I said Shinra, you have to go yourself." Sephiroth said coolly, though felt like strangling the man and shaking him until sense entered his thick, spiky haired covered skull. He couldn't see why a woman like Lockheart could fall for someone as dense as Shinra. Sometimes he wondered how Rufus and Cloud could be related, Rufus far more observant than his brother.
Cloud fumed, his blue eyes drawn in anger, and then he turned to Sephiroth, his face pinched tightly in barely concealed fury. Sephiroth knew that Shinra would probably spew something angrily about his incompetence to retrieve one single girl, and didn't want to listen to it right now. He had been up late at night, denied his sleep, and the girl had given him one b**** of a headache with that roundhouse kick. All in all, Sephiroth was pissed enough to kill. And probably would kill Shinra if he didn't watch it. He doubted that his brother would even bat an eyelash, even Rufus knowing that Sephiroth wasn't one to be messed with. But obviously Cloud didn't know that little useful piece of information yet.
"And what of Valentine? You have disposed of him, right?" Cloud pressed, and Sephiroth tilted his head to the side, growing weary of Shinra's questions. He didn't know if he had disposed of Valentine, and quite frankly, didn't care. The wound he had given Valentine was deep, but he wondered if he had missed his mark, though it had been hard to tell at the time with all the blood matting the place and an angered martial artist. Shinra had failed to mention that little detail.
"He was heavily wounded, and I doubt your woman knows any medical procedures other than applying a band aid, so perhaps, yes." Sephiroth said somewhat sarcastically, watching in amusement as Shinra instantly flamed, not taking the bashing of his 'woman' very lightly.
"Listen Sephiroth-." Cloud started to hiss, though was interrupted by a cool voice behind him.
"Cloud, what are you doing out here? I thought I told you to investigate the mole." Rufus Shinra's cold blue eyes swept over the pair, and even Sephiroth gave a slight nod of his head. He could tolerate Rufus more than Cloud, and even respected him to a certain degree, as he was young but had accomplished much, and didn't rely on petty interactions with the opposite gender as much as his brother.
"I did." Cloud said in irritation, completely ignoring the fact that Sephiroth glowered at him, "And he's been disposed of. I'm currently setting my sights on something more pressing." Cloud said snappishly, and Rufus ignored him, knowing quite well what was eating at his brother.
Tifa had been taken, not that he cared for it personally, but he would try and get her back if it meant his brother wouldn't be such a pain. As much as he cared for his sibling, sometimes his faults glared him in the face.
"She's with Vincent Valentine correct? Why don't you send an assassin?" Rufus asked tightly, his brother glaring up at him, as if he was annoyed with the fact that Rufus hadn't taken into consideration that he already had done something like that.
"I sent Sephiroth, but he didn't follow through." Rufus raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze to Sephiroth, who gave a slight shrug, and he smirked, flipping a strand of blonde hair from his face. So, the great Sephiroth hadn't come through with his mission. How interesting. Maybe this Vincent Valentine was worth a deal of investigation.
"Well then brother dear, why don't you do it yourself?" Sarcasm dripped off every word, and Cloud scowled, straightening as he sent an icy stare to his brother.
"I'll send another assassin after them before I decide to go myself. I have other matters also." Cloud said, and Rufus gave another superior smirk, not bothering to point out his brother had switched perspectives all over again. First Tifa was top priority, and now she was pushed aside. How quickly Cloud's moods changed.
With a slight shrug, Rufus turned back to Sephiroth, his lips set in a grim line.
"I have another assignment for you. I want you to dispose of someone." Rufus waited, seeing Sephiroth's calm gaze on him, and he smirked once more, absently flicking another lock of hair from his face. "I want you to take care of Cid Highwind, show him we are not ones to take lightly. I want you to kidnap a woman by the name of Shera Highwind. Can you do that for me?" Rufus asked, and Sephiroth paused after a moment, his gaze drawn to his sword, and then he nodded, Rufus's lips curving into feral smile.
Perfect.
~*Author's Notes*~ Uh. yea. A lot of mindless junk going on, especially with the Vincent, Reno and Tifa thing. I don't know what that was all about. Anyway, yes, poor Shera is in on all this too. Aren't I so evil? Well, anyway, please read and review!
Tifa yawned, stretching a bit as she padded softly out of Vincent's room, peeking her head out into the living room. Reno was sprawled across the loveseat, the blanket draped over half of him, while his pillow had disappeared somewhere, his mouth wide open and he snored, not so loud, but loud enough to be noticed.
Tifa shook her head slightly, a small smile on her lips as she softly walked over to Vincent and looked him over. He seemed to be doing better, his face no longer scrunched up in pain. She knelt down beside him a pressed a slender hand to his forehead, sighing in relief. His fever had gone down, it seemed, which was one less thing for her to worry about.
With a slight smile on her lips, she turned to go back to the kitchen, humming softly as she started to prepare soup for breakfast, though stopped cold when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle up. Curious to see what her intuition was telling her, she twirled around, only to see Vincent, panting as he held onto his side leaning against the doorframe, and her eyes instantly widened.
"What are you doing out of bed? Ugh! You are so pigheaded sometimes!" Tifa scolded, slipping his arm across her slim shoulders, ignoring his weak protests, helping him as he tried to drag his feet slowly across the floor, occasionally wincing in pain. Geez, he should still be asleep. Tifa mentally chided herself for not noticing Vincent stirring when she had headed to the kitchen. Obviously being sleep logged didn't help her observations powers at all.
She spared a glance to Reno, who was still snoring, and sighed, shaking her head. She should scold him too, but right now her main concern was Vincent's condition. Funny, she thought, a wry smile tugging on her lips, that she cared so much of his condition. Well, she had inwardly told herself, it was her fault anyway, and she couldn't help but feel that she had caused Vincent's injuries even though Sephiroth had wielded the blade. Sephiroth had, after all, come after her.
"Why did you fight him anyway? You should have just let me go with him." Tifa muttered to herself, something close to worry tinged within her voice, not meaning to say it out loud, let alone get a response, so she practically jumped when Vincent answered.
"You haven't told me everything I need to know." Vincent murmured tiredly, slowly dragging his feet across the padded floor for what seemed eternity. His whole body felt like it was lead, though his side was burning with fire, and he fought back the reaction to gasp in pain, instead, gritting his teeth.
Tifa shot him a glance, pursing her lips to keep back a smart comment, knowing she shouldn't aggravate him in this stage, especially since she was supposed to help him.
Opening the door to his room, she laid him down gently on the bed, sighing softly as he protested, tucking the sheets around him.
"Feeling better?" She asked, and he didn't say anything, his unfaltering gaze turned to her, unnerving her a bit, though she straightened her back, just staring back, her eyes narrowed. It seemed like the seconds ticked by meticulously slow, as if to taunt her because she stood her ground and didn't look away, instead lost in the blood pooled irises of a man, or maybe a monster? She had never seen anyone with blood red eyes, with the flicker of the shadows flitting nervously across his face.
"Thank you." She blinked, startled out of her reverie, looking at Vincent in a new light, though his face hadn't changed, but maybe his features had softened, but it was probably her eyes playing tricks on her. She was probably still a bit sleepy.
Vincent shifted uncomfortably, though his gaze still held on her face, which was looking at him curiously, with a mix of confusion. He hadn't know what had possessed him to utter his gratitude, but maybe he shouldn't have spoken. He felt uneasy, being under her scrutiny for such a long period of time, and he wondered why she hadn't averted her gaze like she usually did, like people usually did. Could it be because he had 'saved' her, she felt like she should force herself into his presence until he recovered?
"You're welcome, I'm sure you wouldn't done the same for me." Tifa said, smiling slightly though she didn't feel so cheerful. Seeing Vincent drowning in a puddle of his own blood was too much for her, but it was burned in the back of her eyelids, and had been with her all night. She felt guilty, and she hated feeling guilty. "And besides, it was mostly because of me you got hurt." Tifa added silently, and Vincent raised an eyebrow at her. He knew better than to comment, last times results were less than desired.
Abruptly Tifa tore her gaze away hastily turning for the exit.
"I'll get you something to eat." She offered as she quickly, turning and walking down the hall, her face turned toward the floor, burning. Why did she hold his gaze so long? What she wouldn't have given to know what he had been thinking. Probably why she was so stupid, saying things like that. Or maybe why she didn't go back to Shinra, back to Cloud. Yes, that's probably what he was thinking.
"How's Vampy?" Tifa jerked, turning to face Reno, who had his hands cushioning his head, stretched across the loveseat with his eyes closed, a ghost of a grin on his face. He didn't need to open his eyes to know she had been startled.
"He's . . . fine." Tifa mumbled after a moment, and Reno grinned, opening his green eyes to stare at her, stretching out easily, curling all the way from his bony arms to his toes.
"Fine eh? Well, with you as a nurse I have no doubt of that." Reno said, letting his gaze linger upon her longer than it should have, and she sighed, shaking her head as she walked into the kitchen.
"How you keep your job is a wonder." Tifa called over her shoulder, hearing only a snicker, and then the creak of the loveseat, signifying that Reno had laid back. She sighed in relief, glad that Reno hadn't added another comment to the thought.
She didn't know what she'd do. Maybe give him a taste of her fist, that's for sure.
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"What do you mean she won't come back?" Cloud snapped impatiently, though the silver haired man was just as impatient, his lips pursed in a thin line.
"Like I said Shinra, you have to go yourself." Sephiroth said coolly, though felt like strangling the man and shaking him until sense entered his thick, spiky haired covered skull. He couldn't see why a woman like Lockheart could fall for someone as dense as Shinra. Sometimes he wondered how Rufus and Cloud could be related, Rufus far more observant than his brother.
Cloud fumed, his blue eyes drawn in anger, and then he turned to Sephiroth, his face pinched tightly in barely concealed fury. Sephiroth knew that Shinra would probably spew something angrily about his incompetence to retrieve one single girl, and didn't want to listen to it right now. He had been up late at night, denied his sleep, and the girl had given him one b**** of a headache with that roundhouse kick. All in all, Sephiroth was pissed enough to kill. And probably would kill Shinra if he didn't watch it. He doubted that his brother would even bat an eyelash, even Rufus knowing that Sephiroth wasn't one to be messed with. But obviously Cloud didn't know that little useful piece of information yet.
"And what of Valentine? You have disposed of him, right?" Cloud pressed, and Sephiroth tilted his head to the side, growing weary of Shinra's questions. He didn't know if he had disposed of Valentine, and quite frankly, didn't care. The wound he had given Valentine was deep, but he wondered if he had missed his mark, though it had been hard to tell at the time with all the blood matting the place and an angered martial artist. Shinra had failed to mention that little detail.
"He was heavily wounded, and I doubt your woman knows any medical procedures other than applying a band aid, so perhaps, yes." Sephiroth said somewhat sarcastically, watching in amusement as Shinra instantly flamed, not taking the bashing of his 'woman' very lightly.
"Listen Sephiroth-." Cloud started to hiss, though was interrupted by a cool voice behind him.
"Cloud, what are you doing out here? I thought I told you to investigate the mole." Rufus Shinra's cold blue eyes swept over the pair, and even Sephiroth gave a slight nod of his head. He could tolerate Rufus more than Cloud, and even respected him to a certain degree, as he was young but had accomplished much, and didn't rely on petty interactions with the opposite gender as much as his brother.
"I did." Cloud said in irritation, completely ignoring the fact that Sephiroth glowered at him, "And he's been disposed of. I'm currently setting my sights on something more pressing." Cloud said snappishly, and Rufus ignored him, knowing quite well what was eating at his brother.
Tifa had been taken, not that he cared for it personally, but he would try and get her back if it meant his brother wouldn't be such a pain. As much as he cared for his sibling, sometimes his faults glared him in the face.
"She's with Vincent Valentine correct? Why don't you send an assassin?" Rufus asked tightly, his brother glaring up at him, as if he was annoyed with the fact that Rufus hadn't taken into consideration that he already had done something like that.
"I sent Sephiroth, but he didn't follow through." Rufus raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze to Sephiroth, who gave a slight shrug, and he smirked, flipping a strand of blonde hair from his face. So, the great Sephiroth hadn't come through with his mission. How interesting. Maybe this Vincent Valentine was worth a deal of investigation.
"Well then brother dear, why don't you do it yourself?" Sarcasm dripped off every word, and Cloud scowled, straightening as he sent an icy stare to his brother.
"I'll send another assassin after them before I decide to go myself. I have other matters also." Cloud said, and Rufus gave another superior smirk, not bothering to point out his brother had switched perspectives all over again. First Tifa was top priority, and now she was pushed aside. How quickly Cloud's moods changed.
With a slight shrug, Rufus turned back to Sephiroth, his lips set in a grim line.
"I have another assignment for you. I want you to dispose of someone." Rufus waited, seeing Sephiroth's calm gaze on him, and he smirked once more, absently flicking another lock of hair from his face. "I want you to take care of Cid Highwind, show him we are not ones to take lightly. I want you to kidnap a woman by the name of Shera Highwind. Can you do that for me?" Rufus asked, and Sephiroth paused after a moment, his gaze drawn to his sword, and then he nodded, Rufus's lips curving into feral smile.
Perfect.
~*Author's Notes*~ Uh. yea. A lot of mindless junk going on, especially with the Vincent, Reno and Tifa thing. I don't know what that was all about. Anyway, yes, poor Shera is in on all this too. Aren't I so evil? Well, anyway, please read and review!