I was actually gonna bring Seph in later, but I'll bring him in now just fer da heck of it. ^_^ Hee hee, Seph's like "kastalk". Anyway...
The two of them split off before they reached the dorms, both of them having work that was due and needing some time off to think by themselves. There were still some residual bad feelings from the argument, but they would go away with time, or at least, that was what the two were hoping.
Vincent was walking by himself back to the dorm. The night was cool, but not unpleasant, and there was a slight breeze, nothing strong enough to be a nuisance. His hair fluttered occasionally in a strong updraft, but other then that, it didn't really bother him. The group had let out rather late, so there weren't many other people around, but there were lights and such, and there was the moon.
As he walked along the sidewalk that led to his dorm, he couldn't shake a general feeling of unease that came over him. He thought back to that one horrific night, finding Cid bleeding and hurt outside of his room, and remembered it had happened while he was walking, alone...
On a night a lot like this one...
Vincent felt a tinge of adrenaline pump into his bloodstream at the thought, quickening his heartrate and breathing, as he tried to keep calm. He didn't want to look nervous or frightened, in case he was being watched, which he certainly couldn't be...Hojo had said he would speak to the Weapons, to make sure they wouldn't attack them again...
He could feel his metal claw twitching in his sleeve, and he swallowed, somewhat nervously. He glanced back and forth quickly as he began walking faster, beginning to see things moving that weren't really there. Or that he hoped weren't there...
The mind can easily play tricks on one while they're frightened, and Vincent struggled to keep himself from simply bolting at things he began to think he saw. He angrily scolded himself for being so easily spooked and forced himself to slow down, standing to his full height and trying to look confident and sure. He felt himself wishing he had brought his walkman to block out his thoughts, but that would just have made him more vulnerable...
But at least he wouldn't have this fear dogging him...
He glanced up at the sky, trying to get his mind off of anything other then being dragged into an alleyway and being beaten into unconsciousness. His body kept feeding him adrenaline as his mind easily created more terrible pictures for him, clear images of what was going to happen to him the moment he let down his guard, at the next dark spot he encountered on his walk...
He could almost see them, terrible figures wreathed in shadow, coming towards him, grabbing him, covering his mouth so he wouldn't scream...
The next day there would be so much speculation...who had killed the young man who was walking back to his dorm? He apparently had been beaten to death...
He could see the news reports now, he could see the face of Hojo, trying not to smile at the thought, explaining that Vincent had been on drugs anyway, which was why he was out so late, and that it could be expected for someone of such an unsavory lifestyle. He could see them interviewing Reeve, who would be gesturing and such with tears glinting in his emerald eyes, talking about how Vincent had never done anything wrong, and how they just beat him up "'cause they thought he was boffin' some guy an' he really wasn't, y'know?".
He felt his heart almost stop when the perfect image of Cid came into his mind, his reaction to such a tragedy. He could see the film crews at his door, knocking, and Cid opening it for a few precious seconds, his hair dissheveled, his eyes tired, lines running down his face, angry and hurt. He would slam the door at them, and refuse to speak, and although Vincent had been viewing, or creating, the entire thing from the perspective of a camera crew, he could see the other side of the door, where Cid would be huddled against the dark wood, holding his arms and swearing, cursing to himself, his eyes shut tight, tears leaking out against his will. He could hear his voice, angry and sad all at once.
"#$^# you, Vin, you can't #$^#in' do this t'me...god #^#@in' #$^@ it, I lost everyone, an' now I #$^#in' lost you...#$@# you...god#$#@ you..."
Such an image was startling, simply for its clarity and apparent reality, and Vincent almost felt that he was in the room with him, but even in his minds eye, he would be a ghost, unable to make any contact with Cid, who looked so small and hopeless on the floor.
His mind went on with its perfect interpretation of what his death would be like, they would plant a tree for him or something, a plaque commemorating what had happened, and people would forget him, and they would wonder "Who would plant a tree like that here?"
"Oh, some kid got beaten to #$^#..."
"Too bad for him..."
And he would watch from his grave as people passed him by, and people forgot him, but he knew from the look on Cid's face, the way he clenched his fists so hard, the way he was trembling, that he would never really be forgotten, not really...
He shook his head sharply, his hair flying around him violently as he put both his hands to his forehead, trying to shake out the all-too-realistic vision. He hated it when his mind did this...it was something that he did constantly, often against his will. He would just be walking, and then he would envision his own death, perfectly played out, everyone's reactions. He would picture it, his own reaction, everytime, and his own death varied with each location he went to, from murders to deadly falls. He had hoped that maybe, now that he had gotten out of his home city, that such visions would stop, but his imagination was far too much out of control for that. It always frightened him, these visions, but he had never told anyone about them, thinking them the work of an over-active and overly-morbid mind.
He continued walking, not realizing that while he had been thinking he actually stopped moving, and tried to keep his mind clear, not wanting to think of such frightening things.
He could even see the lights glinting off his blood...
He shook his head again, not sure of how he could get the horrible images out of his mind. He tried to think of someone else, someone who could distract him.
He smiled softly. Who else could distract him but Cid? He remembered when they had first met what felt like ages ago, with Cid running into him and then running off. Who knew that such a meeting would eventually lead into such a wonderful friendship now?
He felt much better after getting his mind off of such morbid thoughts, and he continued walking again, feeling much better.
Someone grabbed his shoulder, roughly.
He tried to turn around to see who it was, a gasp of fear escaping him, but the person who had such a hold on him quickly pulled him off the sidewalk, turning him around quickly to face him and pushing him against the nearby building by his shoulders, pinning him. Vincent had to struggle consciously not to scream in fear, instead converting the sound into several frightened gasps.
He had never attacked someone with his claw before, never having the cause, but it looked like now he was going to find out. He raised his arm, only to have it pinned back against the wall again with painful force.
"Please don't make this difficult." A silken, deep voice came from the man in front of him. "I've come to tell you something."
Vincent could feel his heart beating in his head, beating in his fingertips, the rushing noise coming to his ears. He was overcome with fright, but he tried to force his body to calm.
The man in front of him was taller then Vincent and obviously much stronger, with a wider build and much more weight behind him. His eyes seemed to be glowing in the darkness, an eerie blue-green, and occasionally Vincent could catch glimpses from the light outside of the darkened alleyway of silver shining near his face.
"Now, calm down and co-operate." He could feel the hold on him lessening, and angry at being caught so off-guard, he fairly tore his hands and body away from his grasp, backing away from him warily. He stood lightly on his toes, prepared to run or fight if the need be, refusing to just be taken without any kind of resistance.
"What do you want from me?" His voice was strained with fright, but he struggled to keep it under control, not wanting to sound intimidated. His attacker moved closer, more into the light, so that he became more visible, a smirk on his face.
"I already told you. Now calm down."
The silver glinting near his face had been his hair, which flowed around his body almost as if it were alive, each strand seeming to move independently. His bangs seemed to hover above his face in some kind of strange way that slightly reminded Vincent of Aeris. He was dressed almost entirely in black, with a black trenchcoat that matched Vincents and a black shirt and jeans. He was broad and strong, frighteningly beautiful in a terrifying, unnatural way. Vincent felt sick with fear and wanted to get away, more then anything he had ever wanted in his life. He took a step backwards, wishing that he and Cid had not separated, that they could have faced him together.
"Now listen to me. I have information to you that may prove useful, Vincent Valentine."
Vincent took another step back, and in response his assailant took another step forward. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
He put a hand on his chest, smiling again in a predatory way. "You can call me Sephiroth. I..." He paused for a moment before smiling again. "Know things, I guess you could say. I need to tell you something."
"Why should I trust you?" Vincent took another step back, his claw already, without his knowledge, curled into an attack position. "Why would you tell me anything? I don't know you."
"You are correct on that point." Sephiroth leaned his head to one side for a moment. "You don't know me. But I do know you. All about you. And your friend Cid."
"Highwind...?" Vincent loosened slightly, blinking in confusion. His feelings became mixed, and his body loosened slightly. "What do you want?"
"I've taken an interest in you two, you see..." Sephiroth gestured with one hand, the other resting in one of his pockets. "I've been watching you for some time...the two of you, spending nights together, him drinking and the two of you watching television..."
Vincent took two steps back this time, the fear that had died down just slightly surging forward again with renewed strength. He could taste it in his mouth as the blood rushed through him again, making his vision blur for a moment and the rushing sound to come back into his ears. "How do you know that...?"
Sephiroth's composure never seemed to falter. He was calm, collected, superior in every way, his voice keeping the silken, calm tone it had before, which did nothing to calm Vincent's jangled nerves. "Like I previously stated, I've been watching you. I've been watching ever since that fateful day when the two of you...'bumped' into one another." The way he emphasized the word seemed to give the impression that Sephiroth knew something about it that Vincent did not. This only confused Vincent further. What on earth was there not to know about what had happened? They had just run into one another... "You two...interest me."
"You've been watching us?" Vincent tried to muster some kind of outrage, clenching a fist angrily, although the expression on his face was still that of startled fear. "Stalking us?"
Sephiroth paused, then began to laugh, silently. He put a hand to his mouth for a moment, the other hand coming free from the pocket as if to wave Vincent away. He could finally hear it, soft laughter that almost seemed swept away by the wind. Vincent wasn't sure how to respond, his mouth opening and closing helplessly. He didn't understand why Sephiroth found such an accusation amusing. Another wind came by, fluttering Vincent's hair, although Sephiroth's apparently had more weight as it barely seemed to move. His eyes opened again, staring directly into Vincent's.
"No, no...I don't stalk people. I just...watch them." Again his face became calm and composed and he settled back into a relaxed pose, both hands back in his pockets. "That's what I do around here, you know. There isn't a thing that goes on here that I don't know about."
Vincent took a step back, but it was small and trembling, his muscles still tensed, still waiting direction. Sephiroth took a larger step closer to him, more of the light shining off his hair as he came further into the light.
"Why were you watching us?"
Sephiroth regarded him for a moment and then spoke again. "Like I've said before, you interest me."
"Why?" Vincent managed to work some malice into the word in place of his fear, and he was beginning to feel a bit better. He shouldn't be letting the taller man intimidate him like this.
Sephiroth turned, just slightly, looking upwards towards the sky for the briefest moment before pinning Vincent down with his stare once again. "My reasons are my own."
"If you were watching us..." Vincent wasn't sure if he quite believed him yet. He had said something that was probably circling around campus already anyway...he had to have more concrete proof. Besides, he didn't want to appear as if he were gullible enough to believe him without any kind of evidence. "Then why didn't you help when Highwind got attacked?"
Sephiroth paused for a moment before closing his eyes and nodding, the slightest smile gracing his lips. "Ah yes...the Weapons...well..."
Vincent stood, feeling anger mixing in with fear at his apparent lack of concern for what had happened to his friend. How could he react like that? Sephiroth smirked slightly.
"'Highwind' looked like he could take care of himself..."
"What do you mean by that!?" Vincent found his voice rising angrily. "He came to me in tatters! How could you say he could handle it?"
"He lived, didn't he?"
Vincent wasn't able to formulate a response to that in words in his outrage, only clenching his fists angrily and glaring. The faint smile faded from his face as Sephiroth continued speaking.
"The point of the matter is that I watch. I watch and I do not intervene, but in this case, I'm going to make an exception."
"Why?" Vincent interrupted him, but Sephiroth continued speaking as if he had never said a word, thus silencing the black-haired youth until he was finished.
"I watch. I know everything that happens here. I am the walls, I am the doors, I hear and see everything that goes on, although many people do not know. I could prevent a lot of things, should I so desire. But I normally decide to remain neutral, only intervening when I believe its the only option."
He walked slowly closer to Vincent, who backed away, his steps getting smaller and smaller. Sephiroth was getting far too close for comfort, and Vincent was feeling frightened again as well as intimidated by his presence.
"In this case, I believe it is the only option." He paused in front of Vincent, staring down at him. Vincent felt very small and very frightened, but he tensed his face in a show of anger and rebellion, not wanting to show such weakness in front of him. "I've come to warn you. The Weapons are not happy with what has been happening, and they are planning on catching one of you by yourselves later this week." Sephiroth paused for a moment, putting a finger to his cheek in apparent thought. "Thursday, I believe. Either way, they intend on dealing with one of you for good that day, disregarding the direct orders of Hojo and Jenova."
Sephiroth smiled softly for a moment. "Such disobediance would get them suspended, possibly expelled...but they aren't intending on having either of you 'tell' on them."
Vincent continued to stare at him, a slight idea of what he was getting at forming in the back of his mind. Sephiroth replaced his hand in his pocket, staring down at Vincent again with his calm face.
"They're going to ransom one of you against the other. Blackmail, in terms. I wanted to warn you."
Vincent tried to comprehend this, worry for Cid, alone as he walked back to his dorm, flooding his system, looking down for a brief moment before returning his gaze back to Sephiroth's. His voice was still distrusting and angry.
"Why should I trust you? Why would you warn us anyway? If you've never done this for anyone else, why us?"
Vincent's entire body jerked as he felt unwanted contact on his shoulder, Sephiroth's hand. He pulled his shoulder away violently, feeling as if he had been burned, stumbling back in alarm until he bumped into a nearby bench, noting the complete lack of emotion or concern over his reaction in the silver-haired mans face. He quickly put his claw over the shoulder, as if he had been wounded, frightened and also angry. Sephiroth's voice again held no emotion.
"Would you believe its because I cared?"
Vincent's response was quick. "No."
Sephiroth smirked at that, his boot scuffing the sidewalk for a moment. "Good, you're not as hopeless as I thought."
Vincent didn't respond, simply staring at him with suspicion and distrust. He could feel his claws tightening around his shoulder, the tips poking through the fabric of his coat. Sephiroth paused for a moment, then finally turned back to him.
"As I said before, my reasons are my own."
He turned and began to walk up the sidewalk, the opposite direction that Vincent had been heading. Staring at him, Vincent managed to galvanize himself to move away from the bench and back to the path, eyes fixed on the curtain of silver that moved slowly away from him. Sephiroth seemed to sense his eyes on his back and turned slightly, regarding Vincent with another predatory smirk before digging into his pocket. He held something in his palm for a moment, then his voice held a tinge of laughter in it, something that made it all the more frightening.
"Oh yes, tell your 'Highwind' that he forgot this when he left your room."
He tossed a small object at Vincent, who moved until he was underneath the arc, catching it lightly between claws and fingers.
It was the cup and ball toy that he had been playing with before.
Vincent stared at it for several moments, several emotions flashing through his system, before managing to pull his head upwards, his mouth open to call to Sephiroth...
But he wasn't there.
The entire street was deserted, as if he had never been there in the first place, and Vincent let his body shiver, the small hairs on his arm rising as he put the toy back into his pocket. He held onto his upper arms as he fairly ran back to his dorm, feeling violated and watched.
Out of sight of the dark youth, Sephiroth smirked to himself as he continued walking, heading in the direction of Cid's dorm. "You would indeed be a fool to think I care...I only possess."
When Vincent made it back to his room, he found it unsurprisingly empty. Frightened, he closed the door, checking it to make sure it was really locked, before placing the toy on his desk. He then proceeded to investigate the entire room, checking in his closets, in the corners of the walls, in his drawers, and around his computer. He didn't find anything, although he wasn't sure what he was trying to find. Cameras? Microphones? He didn't know.
He didn't feel safe in his room anymore.
He pulled the blinds on the window, feeling awkward and sick inside from the rush of emotions that had come over him in such a short time, and he went to his bed, not wanting to undress as he slid underneath his covers, wrapping himself in them completely before finally drifting off to an uneasy and troubled sleep.
"#$^@in' fairy."
"@#$^in' drugwhore."
Reno and Cid sat on either side of their room, separated by a curtain the two had put up so they wouldn't have to look at one another, arms crossed and sullenly amusing themselves in their own ways, Cid playing at his computer while Reno watched TV with the volume up obnoxiously loud. They occasionally traded insults back and forth, but they apparently didn't want to invest in a complete, full-scale argument.
Cid continued typing angrily at his computer, amusing himself by visiting some of his favorite sites, trying to channel his anger somewhere else.
A knock came on the door.
"It's prob'ly your #$^@#in' goth-#$# fairy boyfriend, #$^@er."
"Unless it's your #$@$in' bald-#$^ fairy drugdealer, mother#$^#er."
Cid got up from his chair and headed to the door, grumbling to himself. He opened it, not really looking at who was outside before turning back into the room.
"Right, catface. I'll take 'em in a sec', leave it on th' floor..."
"I'm not Reeve, Cid."
The cold, silken voice sent chills up Cid's spine as he turned to get a full look at who was standing outside the door.
"Nor am I Rude, Reno."
"Yeah, #$^# you too." Reno called distractedly from the other side of the room. Cid continued to stare that the far taller, silver-haired man who stood in his doorway. He gestured for a moment to the hallway.
"May I speak with you?"
Cid was frightened, instinctually frightened for some reason, but he sure as #$^# wasn't going to let him know. He stepped out easily, shrugging confidentally as he closed the door behind him. "Yeah sure, whatever."
"I'm going to make this quick. I'm Sephiroth. I've been watching you for some time. I have something to tell you."
"Great, goin' t'tell me I've got super-powers or that you're my father now or somethin'?" Cid's fear manifested itself in anger, and he crossed his arms, not sure of what reaction to expect from such a cold, composed person. "Jesus christ, ain't got nothin' better to do?"
Sephiroth's face twitched for a moment, nothing more. He grabbed Cid's shoulder, hard, and Cid felt a flare of pain from an old, residuary bruise there. He grimaced, trying to pull away, but his grip was strong and cold. Cid felt another surge of panic rise into him, which manifested itself again into fury. "Get th' #$^# off me! What th' #$^@ d'you want?"
"I'm not here to play games with you, Cid. You're in danger. You can ask Vincent about it."
"What th' #$^#? How do you know Vin?" Cid glared at him with both outrage and a small amount of fear, and the lack of emotion in Sephiroth's face only helped feed Cid's anger.
"I said it before, I've been watching. You're going to be attacked. Tomorrow, or rather, Tuesday."
"Attacked?" Cid's mind flashed back a memory of fists and boots, and he could feel his body ache in response. Sephiroth shook him quickly, although Cid had shown no sign of drifting off.
"Yes. Tuesday. Remember that. Vincent knows more."
Cid tried to pull his shoulder away again, not appreciating the contact, but Sephiroth refused to relinquish his grip, holding onto him with frightening strength. "Why th' #$^@in' #$^# should I believe you? I just #^#@in' met you, you #$^#in' stalker."
Sephiroth released his grip on Cid's shoulder, who wrenched away from him sharply, lowering himself into a crouch, prepared to fight back if Sephiroth should try anything else. He closed his eyes, crossing his arms. "Five."
"What th' #^$#-" Cid began, but Sephiroth cut him off.
"Four."
Cid stood there in utter confusion, taking the opportunity to move further away from the man. Some psycho comes and tells him he's going to get attacked, says he knows Vincent, and then just counts in the hallway for no reason? Cid was honestly getting freaked out, and it was showing in his jerky, quick motions.
"Three." Sephiroth opened an eye and looked at Cid for a moment. "Two."
He pointed to his left. "One."
Cid looked in that direction to see Reeve just top the stairs, carrying the bag filled with alcohol he had given him before. Reeve noted him, then saw Sephiroth and balked, not sure of how to respond. Sephiroth turned smoothly, his voice again frighteningly calm.
"Reeve, please come join us."
Reeve, his tail lashing back and forth with obvious fright, slowly moved forward to join Cid and Sephiroth in the hall, glancing back and forth at them nervously.
"Um..."
"I'm Sephiroth." He put a hand to his chest quietly, then stood and crossed his arms. "I just came to tell Cid something, so I'll be on my way."
Reeve stared at him in confusion, his arms shifting nervously, the bottles inside clinking along with his motion. "Uh, I guess. Um...how do you know my name?"
Cid's voice was angry and suspicious. "He's a #$^#in' stalker, that's why."
Sephiroth smiled at Reeve in a frightening fashion, who responded by laying his ears back and backing away. "I watch. I know things. And I know that your friends are going to be attacked, Reeve. I wanted to warn them."
"Why th' #^$# would you warn us, anyway?" Cid straightened to his full height, which didn't even compare to Sephiroth's. "We don't #$^#in' know you. Why th' #$^# you stalkin' us, anyway?"
"I have my reasons."
"Um..." Reeve interrupted their argument, his ears still laid back, his voice light in an effort to hide his unease. "I'd love to stay and chat, but you're really starting to creep me out, Seph, and these are kind of heavy, so..."
"Right, right...put 'em on my bed..." Cid turned to open the door while Sephiroth remained strangely silent. He let Reeve into his room and turned to find Sephiroth gone, as if he had never been in the hallway in the first place.
On the floor, however, was a bloody scrap of blue cloth.
"What th' #$^#...?" Cid kneeled for a moment, soon feeling the presence of Reeve behind him, ears twitching and tail thumping against the floor.
"What is it?"
"Holy $%#..." Cid held the scrap in his hands, staring at it with wide, unbelieving eyes. Reeve sat down next to him, taking the scrap out of his hands with one quick, blurred movement, looking at it carefully.
"Looks like your shirt." Reeve turned and glanced at Cid and held the scrap against his shoulder. "Even the same color!"
"That's just it..." Cid's face was white as he took the scrap back from Reeve, staring at it carefully. "It's from my other blue shirt...th' one that got #$^#in' ripped to pieces when th' god#%^# Weapons got me..."
Reeve sat there in silence, his tail scraping against the carpeted hallway once before stilling. He tried to make eye-contact with Cid, but he was staring fixedly into the wall, his blue eyes troubled and somewhat frightened. Reeve's voice was soft.
"What's it mean?"
Cid finally turned, meeting eyes with Reeve. "Means a whole #$^#in' load of #$^#'s goin' down...an' me an' Vin are important for some reason..."
"I wonder why..." Reeve took the piece back, staring at it in his thin hands.
"$%&$in' beats th' #$^# out of me..." Cid eased himself back upwards, brushing himself off distractedly. "Means that #$^#er's been watchin' like he said tho'..."
"What a creepy guy." Reeve pushed himself back up easily, his tail moving slowly back and forth. "I wonder what he wants."
Cid thought for a moment, then cursed. "#&%#, he's prob'ly got enough #$^@ on me an' Vin t'make us regret ever bein' here. #$^#, he's prob'ly goin' t'pull this in on us later. #@%#. @$^@!" Cid contemplated punching the wall but thought better of it. "I #^$#in' hate owin' people."
"When did he say it was going to happen?"
"Tomorrow. Mother #^$#er." Cid snarled to himself as he went back in his room. "I can't #^#@in' believe this."
Reeve followed him, and the door clicked shut behind them.
Outside, sitting on one of the benches outside the dorm, Sephiroth sat, legs crossed, arms resting on the back of the bench as he stared upwards, a smile on his face.
"Reacted just as I thought he would. Far too predictable. Not to mention gullible." He inclined his head slightly towards the moon, the rays causing his hair to shimmer. "Both too gullible for their own good. Wednesday..."
He smiled, pulling a small notebook out of his pocket, flipping through the pages busily until he came near the end, pausing. "Yes, Wednesday...that should be perfect."
He stood, putting the notebook, along with the pen that had been trapped within it's spiral spine, back into his pocket. He stood, smiling to himself, as he faded into the night.