He Tells All

by: Bishojo Beauty

Chapter 4

Tifa was afraid she was going to go mad from all the surprises she had experienced in just one day. Her jaw dropped as soon as her brain registered exactly what the elderly man had said, and her eyes widen as she observed the man as he laughed his heart out. She wasn't exactly sure what the man was laughing at, at first, but she assumed as he pointed several times in her direction at her face during his laughing bouts that it was at the expression she held on her face. Finally bringing her jaw back up, and closing her mouth, straightening her lips into a thin line, she cleared her throat and crossed her arms across her chest.

"It's not that funny," she said defensively. Chester let out one more explosive round of laughter before he seized his laughing and fell into low chuckles resuming his search for a picture of Vincent.

"So, Vincent had a brother..." Tifa said out loud, hoping that if she heard herself say it, it would help sink in. "Was he older than Vincent?"

"Oh, yes. I'm not sure by how many years, maybe three," he paused thoughtfully, tapping a finger against his chin.

"What was his name?" Tifa asked, leaning forward and picking up a photo album for herself from the pile that the elderly man had created on the floor by his feet.

"Kael...Now, he was quite a character, always thinking about others instead of himself, even though you'd think all of us Turks would be cold-hearted mindless bastards," though the comment was harsh, the old man still seemed to speak of it lightheartedly.

"He joined the Turks only in an attempt to support Vincent and his studies. Vincent was quite intelligent for his age, and Kael saw that, so he did the only thing he was best at, and that was fighting, to make money," Chester paused, pointing at a picture in the photo album of Kael and himself. They looked close, Tifa observed, edging to the edge of the sofa to get a closer look. Vincent and his brother held very similar physical characteristics, but from what Tifa could get from the picture's story, Kael was very different from Vincent personality wise. Or at least from the Vincent she knew now.

"They cared for each other, you know, with no one else, they kind of had to," Chester sighed, getting a faraway look in his eyes. They continued to look through the rest of the albums in silence, Chester falling deeper into his daydream, and Tifa becoming afraid to speak and break the silence. Soon they reached the last album, and Tifa reached for it, but was stopped when she felt Chester's hands on top of hers.

"That's Kael's. He left it with me. The rest were mines, and," he paused to chuckle, "he refused to let me have any pictures of Vincent, knowing how camera shy he was...and how much he hated pictures and all..." Chester drifted off again. Why then did we go through the rest of the albums if he knew Vincent wasn't in them? Kael himself was barely in them too... Tifa wondered, but refused to voice her thoughts in case she would offend Chester's decision. She had no doubt that he would not mind if she did question him, but still. Cautiously she picked up the album and walked over to have a seat next to Chester on the other couch. Placing the album in his hands, she watched as he ran his fingers across the cover of the album, brushing at the nonexistent dust on it's cover. He turned to Tifa suddenly, pinning her with his stare.

"Things changed when he left us....They changed a lot," he stated finally, tearing his gaze away from Tifa, and opened the cover of the album slowly, warily, his mood swing noted. And truthfully enough, it was Kael's, as it held pictures of both him and Vincent.

Tifa couldn't help but feel as if she was intruding, but then again, Chester had invited her to look. The first couple of pictures were of two young boys in their teenage years, presumably Vincent and his older brother. They both did not smile much in those pictures. As they flipped through the pages together in silence, the boys grew older right before their eyes. They smiled more often as time progressed, and they seemed to live off of each other, inseparable in the pictures, one glued to the other. A couple more pictures and they were grown men, Kael in his Turk uniform and Vincent with thick, and seemingly very heavy books in his arms. Vincent's smile was something she didn't expect from him. She couldn't help but stare mesmerized by his good looks, the very looks that lay hidden beneath his cloak. He was very good looking, Tifa had to admit to herself.

Vincent held more of the exotic looks, untouchable and delicate features, as opposed to his brother who had a more commercial look. Vincent's hair was much shorter than the length that Tifa was familiar with. But still long compared to his brother's spiky mess. Tifa became captivated by one particular picture which was a close-up of both Vincent and Kael. Though they both looked stunning in all the other pictures, this one picture seemed to capture something the others could not. Vincent's smile was a small curve of the lips showing little if not none of his teeth, as opposed to his brother's, a little quirk to one side, with perfect teeth visible. Kael face hovered protectively over Vincent's left shoulder, while his right arm hanging of Vincent's other shoulder. Vincent didn't seem to particularly mind, unlike how he probably would today. Wait...but how would I know what Vincent minds or not? It's not like we were very close during our AVALANCHE days. Tifa shook her head to put a sudden stop t her thoughts, and just as suddenly, the pictures ended. The rest of the album was filled with blank pages.

Chester sighed then, a mournful sigh, and for the first time, his real age became apparent as Tifa looked into his eyes. Eyes that spoke of sadness and pain from seeing images that no human should ever have to see. The sympathy that Tifa felt for him, she knew, would never be enough to cover all that he has experienced. She had no idea how life as a Turk may have been, but it did not seem pleasant. It was a life that you lived to take lives.

Tifa placed a comforting hand on Chester's shoulder. She had to know one thing though, and despite how much it may hurt Chester, it may be the key to unlocking the man that is Vincent Valentine. She just had to know, so she asked with great caution.

"...what happened to his brother, Chester?" Tifa questioned, her eyes searching his. Chester had flipped back to the last page, and sat looking at the last picture with some sort of sadness in his eyes.

"I'm not sure. Vincent, he-" Chester stopped suddenly, and sat up straighter in his spot as if he remembered something that he had forgotten earlier. Sad eyes rested on Tifa.

"I am sorry..." he paused, "...but this story is not for me to tell," he said finally. Tifa couldn't help but feel disappointed. She wanted to persuade Chester into telling her so badly, but that would mean she would be disrespecting Chester's wishes and Vincent's privacy. Tifa would never be able to do such a thing to her friends. Just as sudden as Chester started and stopped his story, Tifa remembered that Vincent had ran off earlier. She figured that it was probably best if she went to find him incase something was dearly wrong. But it was wasn't as if something might be wrong, Tifa felt it in her gut that something was wrong. Call it women's intuition, Tifa figured.

"Oh, yes, I should probably be leaving now, anyhow. Thank you for everything, I'm sorry if I've troubled you at all, Chester," Tifa said, as she leaned over and gave the elderly man a warm hug, which he returned equally as warm. They spoke the rest of their goodbyes as Tifa headed towards the front door. Soon, Tifa was once again blasted by the cool air of Nibelheim, but thanks to the sweater that she now donned, the wind was not as chilling to the bone as it was earlier. Vincent's sudden retreat had now really sunken in, and had Tifa very worried.

She made her way quickly to the Nibelheim Mansion, hoping that she would find him there. The front door seemed much more intimidating up close than it did from a distance. Raising her knuckles up to the door to knock, she hesitated. What if Vincent didn't want to be bothered? The 'what ifs' continued, spiraling in Tifa's head until her head seemed to hurt. Scolding herself for letting her uncertainties get to her, she raised her hand once again, giving a few strong raps on the large door. She waited patiently for Vincent to open the door. But he didn't. She waited a while longer before she tried calling his name through the door. When that also failed, she tried to find a way into the house, walking around, through shrubbery that scratched her legs and arms, and caught her hair. She kept her eyes scanning for any possible danger, and jumped into alert many times unnecessarily as the shadows tended to play cruel tricks on the mind. With each step, the beating of her heart in her chest grew louder in her ears, her breathing quickening. Tifa tightened her gloves as she finally made it to the back of the mansion, and found a rather dark trail of liquid running in a jagged path towards the back door, a little pool forming in front of the door before trailing off underneath it and into the building.

Tifa couldn't help but be frightened of what it meant. A strong wind gushed towards Tifa sending chills down her spin. She got a strong whiff of something with that sudden gust of air that she absolutely despised, almost causing her to gag. It was blood. Could Vincent be hurt? Tifa immediately sprung into action, kicking the back door open with more force than necessary as it flew open and banged against its adjacent wall. She ran into the building carelessly allowing her defenses to drop dangerously low. Almost slipping on the blood on the worn hardwood floor, Tifa grabbed at the edge of a counter in what seemed to be a kitchen. Reality struck her then and Tifa regained her senses and raised her fists to fight of potential danger. She examined her surroundings. It was certainly a kitchen she was currently standing in, and as she looked around she found...nothing. The kitchen was very bare and held just a small table and one chair. Taking a few deep breaths, Tifa continued on.

Cautiously, she followed the trail of dark liquid up the stairs, noting exactly how much there was. Tifa closed her eyes for a moment when she reached the closed door where the path continued on, and prayed that Vincent was okay, if it was even Vincent she would find in that room. Her heart beating quickly against her chest and booming in her ears, her body pumped with adrenaline, and her knees weak from fear, Tifa reminisced about the last time that she had felt this way. It had been so long since she felt so, and it made her feel on edge. Anything could happen. It was a familiar feeling.

Slowly and carefully she reached for the doorknob, turning it and trying to make as less noise as possible. It opened with a loud creak, but nothing seemed to move from inside that Tifa could hear, but Tifa also knew how quietly Vincent could actually be if he wanted to. Tifa tried to scan the dark room, but her eyes weren't adjusted to the darkness just yet. The hallways were much brighter, thanks to the moonlight that seeped into through the windows, than it was in the room. Seemingly heavy curtains covered the only window in the room, but luckily a thin line of moonlight was able to shine through a slight part in the curtains. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness somewhat, allowing her to see the form of a figure on the bed. She listened carefully holding her own breath and heard shallow breathing. Tifa let her own breath out at this moment in a quick puff of air in relief and as silently as possible, made her way back to the kitchen where she saw some candles earlier.

Grabbing them, and making her way back up, the mansion seemed much less intimidating in light, as before in the darkness that seemed to choke the very life out of her. Slowly, she made her way into the room where Vincent slept. Or at least she hoped it was Vincent. Step by step, the floor boards creaked under her weight, some louder than others. Tifa paused as she hit a particularly loud one, and she waited for the figure to stir, but surprisingly the person continued to still sleep soundly.

Placing the candle down onto the worn out wooden night table that stood on the right side of the bed at head of the bed, she turned to examine the figure. It was obviously a man, there was no doubt about it, who had a mane of long jet black hair. Very Vincent like, Tifa smiled, the man however was sleeping on his stomach, seemingly as if he had just fallen onto the bed and fell asleep right then and there. He wore tattered clothing with rips here and there. What happened to you, Vincent? The question hung in Tifa's head, unanswered.

Taking a deep breath, Tifa moved her left hand around the face that was turned away from her to peel the dark hair back to reveal who she didn't really doubt was Vincent. But she had to make sure. Her mind just wouldn't stop nagging her to do so. Tifa marveled at how silky smooth the strands were as she ran her fingers through the strands, pulling them back behind the figure's ears to reveal that it was Vincent. Tifa wanted to laugh at herself for even thinking that there was a possibility that a person like this couldn't be.

Being tempted, Tifa stroked her fingers once again through his hair to reveal more of his face. He had no cloak Tifa noticed as she finally beheld the bottom half of his face, which could be summed up with only one word, Perfect. Tifa slowly took in his soft features as he slept, his lips slightly parted as he breathed, somewhat erratically however, his fine brows with a perfect arc, unfurrowed in his sleep. Any woman would only dream to have such perfection in the face, let alone being lucky enough to have it as a man, Tifa thought, amusing herself.

Suddenly Vincent stirred, letting out a quiet grunt as he shifted his position on the bed, placing the rest of his body more comfortably onto the bed. Tifa watched as he cuddled into a ball like shape in the thick blankets, totally oblivious to Tifa in his sleepy state. Was this the Vincent that she saw in the pictures? Cute... Tifa pondered as she watched Vincent settle into a comfortable position. He was comfortable, but there was something very irregular about the way he slept. He looked comfortable in the bed, his hair falling in waves around his body, but something was different. And suddenly she realized and scolded herself for being so ignorant.

People didn't sleep with their eyes open.

Thank you guys sooo much for reviewing...I feel so much better knowing everything is all good!

I'm writing much longer chapters now, I'm happy...it gets even longer the more I read through it to make sure it's all good... To tell you all the truth, I had this chapter written a LONG time ago....it's just, I was never satisfied, and never motivated enough to post it....I think I'm too much of a perfectionist...TT Hehe, well, thanks all for reading! I'm hoping for some input on how I can improve, I hope you're all pleased! Or if you're not pleased, let me know, because I don't remember how the story's supposed to go....So I can make it go anyway I want right now!

Bishojo Beauty