Stolen
Standard Disclaimers Apply
Warning: This fanfiction contains shounen-ai/yaoi contents, in other words, male/male relationship. Also there's an original character involved. If you find the said contents disturbing, I suggest you leave this page immediately. You've been warned, so please don't flame me about that. (Also it's un-beta-ed.)
Chapter III: Transparent Beads
Cool breeze whispered against the moonlight colored curtains. Overlooking the wave-lapped rocky cliffs was the west-side windows of the chamber belonged to one green eyed noble lady. The chamber itself was ever-so quiet, saved for the constant sound of the pounding sea, and the occasional melody of the charming violin, which was playing so beautifully its bittersweet melody at the moment.
All of a sudden, the flowing melody stopped – ending without applause it more than rightfully deserved. Instead, sounded the familiar quick, firm footsteps that the lady precisely recognized. Immediately, on her sorrowful face, there replaced the former faint frown with a slight upturn of her rosy lips.
The white painted door clicked open, and the chamber, stepped in a young silver haired boy, bearing with him an instrument the very source of the earlier music. With a curving of look-alike pair of lips, he gave her his smile that, although was small, meant a lot, for even for such a young child he was, this boy really smiled so little.
Still, he stood there, unmoving – so still like a well-trained soldier waiting for an order from his commander.
That made the lady smiled even more.
"I like the song." Said she, voice gentle yet rich with cheeriness. "What is it called?"
The young boy averted his gaze, looking as if he would do her wrong had he said it. Yet seeing his mother smiling face, he shifted a little in his pose before replying softly:
"There's no name for it, Mother. Only the melody."
The wind whistled. Light colored curtained rustled. And entering the room was the distant odor of the sunlight-adorn indigo sea…
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Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Gently but interminably, the rain drizzled. Continuously, transparent beads of water hit the cabin's windows. Slowly and gradually, the morning sky darkened. And gone eventually was the serenity of the bright, bright blue.
Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Unstoppably, those little beads continued to hit, tapping against the cool glass windows without shying. Without reserve, they rapped. And before the clear droplets became larger and rapped harder, long, fine lashes fluttered, revealing to the waking world two cat-like jade orbs that seemed to possess their own glowing light.
"…"
Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Called the rain, still, even as it had woken the slumbered up. Luminous green orbs darted toward the rain blurred window. Out there, the sky had taken the dark gray color it was difficult to tell at which time of the day it was. The dullness out there made the inside of the cabin even more shadowy, letting only the slightest of slivers of light to peek through as the ship keeled and lightning flashed a pattern across the gloomy sky.
Yet as little as the light was, it didn't stop the waking eyes to wander toward a certain picture attached on the wall.
With a swift flit, the crimson colored blanket was pulled away from where it was lying mutely over his body. The sole dweller sat up, shaking the strayed strands of platinum hair out of his eyes – the action sending the silky threads spilling to its full length like flowing silver liquid, pooling just there on the lingering redness.
In such dimness, his pale hair and skin looked even paler against the crimson…just like how blood of those he had slain was evident on him even in the nocturne of the battlefield where Masamune was the only instrument he wielded for it to sing.
How long has it been…?
It had been so long he had touched any other instrument but his blade. Ever since his mother died, he hardly wanted to touch the violin. It had been so many years he was sure he had forgotten how to play it, even that he had once played it, for it seemed to be completely unrelated to what they called was the art of war. So long ago were the days his hands were still untainted.
Because so long ago it was, that he had any dream of his deceased mother.
Leaning back against the bedpost, Sephiroth ran a hand through his silvery hair – a thoughtful expression on his face.
The dream was so vivid; more like a reminiscence of his own memory than mere hazy whim. His mother's voice and his own childish one were still ringing in his ears. That made him remember…how his mother, despite her trying to look happy every time when he was around, was never truly happy. There was always that wistful look in her eyes and those occasional sad expressions she sometimes slipped whenever her gaze cast upon the old endless sea. It was as if…
She was waiting for someone that would never return.
Once again, his gaze drifted toward the mermaid painting.
"Mermaid." The raven haired-man said almost quietly, walking over to hand his silver haired-guest his glass. "Surely you have heard of them."
The General took the glass from the pirate. Briefly, their fingers touched and the General couldn't help but notice how the other slender fingers lingered a little bit too long on his. "I have." Sephiroth said, turning his attention back to the water-painted picture.
"…" The memory of yesterday started to fade, turning and distorting into one older and even more dreamlike. Yet it was still there, like a sepia picture that reminded you of its age and memory.
"Why are you crying?" A silver haired-boy asked as an auburn haired-girl ran toward him, crying. Concern was clear in his voice even if his face seemed pretty neutral.
The little girl sniffed and continued to cry, burying her face in his chest – her small hand still clutching a book tightly.
"Aeris?" The boy inquired, awkwardly pulling back to look the girl in the face.
The little girl swallowed, trying to form a sentence but only thing that came out was: "The…the mermaid...she…" More tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her silken cheeks.
"Mermaid?" The silver haired-boy arched his eyebrows. Then he noticed the book the girl was gripping. He gently took it from her. It was easy to tell which page she was reading, for there were traces of tears on that very page. Holding the girl with one arm and the book in the other, the boy proceeded to read. And soon drawn to him was the realization why his little sister was crying.
What Aeris had with her was a book of fairy tales and the one that made the little girl cry was no other than the infamous 'Princess Mermaid' in which ended in a beautiful tragedy.
The mermaid who didn't get to stay beside her prince returned to the sea, reverting back into white, white foams.
"It's only a fairy tale, Aeris." He told her. "It isn't real."
Because it sounded like so at that point of time…
"Returning to the sea, huh?"
Long, dark lashes lowered and what graced his lips was what seemed like a combination of a smirk and a sad smile. "Now, I see…Hojo…"
One skinny hand reached out to touch his silky exotic colored-locks, playing with them as if in fascination. "My…how much you resemble your mother…but your hair and eyes are always a wonder to me…"
Taper fingers reached for the sheathed Masamune lying in sheer silence just next to him. Grabbing it in a grip so tight his knuckle went completely white, the General gritted his teeth. Cat-like eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You…bastard."
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"Colonel! Colonel, sir!"
The messenger ran with all the speed he could muster, climbing up the wet, slippery stairs of the great watchtower of Junon, the military port town of Shinra. However, despite Shinra having the strongest army ever, its huge armed forces were hardly clearly given specific titles for the branched structures. To put in simply, Shinra's naval force was just any soldiers working in that area and ready to jump into the ship for battle.
It was once suggested that they had classified the diversity of their army but Shinra seemed to like the old system and he liked it that the power be centralized. The old man trusted Sephiroth enough to let him direct the whole army. But since he relied too much on one person, and since that person's name was legendary, it was devastating when that one person was amiss.
"Colonel!"
Zack turned from his post on the top of the watchtower. Unlike in Midgar, It was just another peaceful day in Junon and Zack Donovan was just enjoying breathing in the fresh air of the ocean while watching ships sail away like small dots on the vast ocean beyond the red, billowing flag of Junon.
That was before the rain started to fall. The sea then became rough. The wind became harsh. And the breathtaking morning view disappeared behind the gloomy curtain of showery beads.
It seemed his beautiful day had come to an end. And he was wet all over.
"Colonel Donovan, sir!"
"Yeah, yeah. I heard you. I heard you." Zack drawled boringly, shaking his soaking spiky head. "What's it?"
"There's…" The messenger panted, having run a long, long way after he got the word from Midgar. He handed Zack the scroll, which, thankfully, wasn't that wet, containing the urgent message he was delivering. "There's an urgent message from Midgar for you, sir."
"Urgent, you say?" Zack raised his eyebrows, interested. Finding himself a proper shelter, he reached for the offered scroll and quickly unrolled it. Deep violet orbs first just skimmed through the page but after ingesting the information it had there, they immediately went back and started over again – carefully, this time.
Cloud noticed the drastic change in his friend's expression, so he walked over and asked: "What does it say?"
Zack gave Cloud the scroll to read himself before saying:
"They've just named me a commodore."
……………………………………………………………………
"Here, Eric! I bet you haven't seen something like this before!"
Aeris' head snapped toward the direction Yuffie was calling just in time to see that something round and purplish was flying at a high velocity toward her. Her first instinct told her to scream and duck but there was another part in her, which seemed to grow bigger and bigger each minute passed ever since she successfully sneaked into this pirate ship… this part told her to hold onto her that adventurous side she loved, reminding her that she no longer needed to act like a proper lady and let herself go.
Actually listening to this more daring part, Aeris willed herself to stand proud as she fixed her eyes on the approaching projectile. And when the said projectile was close enough but not to close, she grabbed it, successfully without harm, earning a deliberate whistle from Yuffie.
"Nice catch." Said the younger girl, giving her a thumb up.
Aeris grinned back before looking down at what she now had in her grip.
It was, though Aeris wasn't sure at first, a fruit. Some kind of fruit, it had to be. Only that she had never before seen a fruit like this one.
This fruit was round, like a ball, in shape but its outer covering was thick and pretty knotty albeit very soft – just like velvet – to touch. Its color was purplish black and its stem, attached with a leaf with the same color, was purely dark red.
The disguised lady stared at it in fascination. She wondered what this strange fruit's taste would be like. Just the sweet scent of it was alluring already…
"Aha, don't even think of trying that, dear Mr. Eric." The younger girl wagged a finger before scooting closer and took the fruit away from Aeris. "It isn't gonna be good. Not with you, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Aeris asked. The other girl's word and action together was making her even more curious.
"Well," Yuffie began. "Have you ever heard of Ambrosia?"
Aeris blinked. "Ambrosia?"
"It is the strongest kind of aphrodisiac ever. Just one small bite and the effect will last for hours."
It wasn't Yuffie's voice that answered, for it was definitely male. "It'd be very torturous, of course, some were said to be dead from the effect of it, if…" The voice trailed off, turning instead into a sly cackle.
"You really have nothing better to do, have you?" Yuffie's expression was the mixture of annoyance and disgust.
The beady eyed-man grinned – the grin gave Aeris a very creepy feeling – and inclined his head a little. "I could have asked the same." His sickening gaze darted from the glaring Yuffie to Aeris. "Taking up more and more people on this sacred ship as if it was your own. I have no idea why Captain hasn't punished you yet."
"Better ten of them than one of you!" Yuffie tossed the Ambrosia aside – a little bit too carelessly as if it meant nothing – and gave the man 'the finger'. "Let's go, Eric. Let's see how Cid's doing up there. " Pulling Aeris closer to her, she whispered: "And the General, if we have a chance."
Aeris nodded and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Yuffie."
The other girl grinned, rubbing a finger to her nose. "Hehe, no problem."
Behind their back, the beady eyed-man sneered.
……………………………………………………………………
Yuffie led the disguised lady up the ladder toward the main deck. Up there, without any shelter, the rain, which had become heavier and heavier as time passed, made the floor all watery and given that Chaos' age was almost half a century, the crew up there were so busy getting rid of the excessive amount of fresh water they got.
The short haired-girl – minus Aeris, it seemed she was the only female one of the crew there – looked up toward where a certain blond with blue T-shirt and goggles was working with the wheel. He was smoking, or at least tried to, even if it was raining. Unfortunately, he didn't have much luck because the fire he had lit just went out every time he attempted it.
"Oi! Still trying to smoke, Cid?" Putting her hands aside her mouth, Yuffie shout over the screaming sound of the wind. Besides her, Aeris was trying vainly to get the water out of inside her shoes.
Cid, being the navigator of the ship and couldn't and wouldn't leave his post – because he deemed himself the best controlling the ship – just shout back: "If ya wanna talk, get your bratty ass up here!" The wind, after all, was very noisy even with their exclusive way of communication.
"Who are you calling a brat, old man?" Yuffie raised a fist although she didn't seem really pissed, Aeris noticed. In fact, Yuffie seemed to be enjoying herself as she, followed by Aeris, made her way up toward where Cid was.
Cid threw his damp cigarette away, finally as his eyes turned to rest on the guy he had never seen before beside the brat. "Got some new faces up my ship again, have ya?" He asked, not-so-grumpily.
Despite the Chaos rightfully belonged to Vincent, Cid felt kind of possessive toward the ship like it was his own. But then, again, he was the type that would grow a strong sense of belonging once he got into something. That was why, despite his language, Cid was a very trustable companion that you could doubtlessly rely on.
Yuffie shrugged. "Vinny doesn't mind it so why would you? By the way, his name is Eric."
"Eric, eh?" Cid looked the new guy up and down. Aeris swallowed while trying not to fidget. She didn't want Yuffie and herself to get into trouble.
Cid snorted.
"Welcome to the Chaos, kid." He said. "As long as you don't cause any trouble, I won't seriously throw your sorry ass out."
Actually, even if Aeris didn't disguised herself as a guy, as long as she didn't reveal who she was, they wouldn't mind much because Vincent believed he was jinxed enough that letting one or more females on his ship would change nothing.
Aeris blinked, surprised. She didn't expect the other pirates but Yuffie to be quite…friendly.
……………………………………………………………………
"Have you seen Greed?" After being quiet for a while, Cid spoke up, sounding not as happy as he looked grumpier than just a moment before.
Yuffie, who didn't mind being wet much and was sitting on the wooden floor, turned and snorted. "Yeah, I just saw him. Wandering around the collection room as usual. Why?"
"Shit. Just ask him to bring me a new compass." Swore Cid, reaching for a cigarette in his pocket. "If there's anyone I really wanna throw outta here, it's that little bastard."
The girl lowered her dark eyelashes and crossed her arms. "I can just say the same."
Aeris, also giving up trying to stay as dry as possible and was now sitting beside Yuffie, out of curiosity, spoke up: "You seem to hate him very much."
"Oh, who wouldn't?" Yuffie slammed a hand on the rain coated floor, sending the water there splashing in several directions. "Just the way he talks gives me creeps! Vinny's just too damn generous to let a jerk like him stay!"
Aeris silently listened. Even from what little encounter she had with the said man, she knew the younger girl was more than right. But one creepy man wasn't what worried her; she wanted to know what her brother was thinking getting on a pirate ship like this, for she was certain she saw him walking up the bridge the previous night without putting up a fight. Also she wanted to make sure if he was okay…
"Speak of it, haven't seen Vinny. Where's he?"
Cid took a drag from the first successfully lit cigarette – that was before it went out – and puffed out a whitish-gray smoke.
"Valentine? He hasn't been in a healthy mood lately. You know he slept in the crew room last night? Not that he really slept. Hell, he's quieter and weirder than ever. Dunno what've gotten into him."
"So..." Yuffie tried to get to the point. "Where's he now?"
Cid let out an exasperated sigh. "Saw him in front of the cabin just before you two came up. At least, that's where he was. I suggest you leave the guy alone, brat."
"Uhuh." Was all Yuffie said as she and Aeris exchanged a look.
……………………………………………………………………
The inside of the captain's cabin was soundless until the brass doorknob clicked, turning. And soon, came the meek creak of the opening door. Light from outside flooded through the widened slit, illuminating the room for one brief moment before it disappeared behind the shut door, remaining only shadowy silhouettes in the dimness.
Near the window, with his back turned toward him, was a silhouette of a tall man. His shiny silvery hair was so vivid to see in the flashing light it strikingly reflected.
Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Those transparent beads continued to hit the glassy surfaces, rolling down and down, slowly distorting the translucent reflection.
Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. Heavy beads of rain were calling non-stop. And in another flashing moment, there wasn't only one reflection of those breathing. Blood-red orbs stared straight at him behind his back, ever-so silently.
Slowly, the silver haired-man turned – electric green eyes so bright and piercing in the returning darkness.
"I demand you to answer my questions truthfully. Here and now." Every word was spoken clearly. The sound of his deep voice resounded in the quiet room as the rain continued to call.
Vincent was silent as he stood there, unmoving. There wasn't even a sound of rustle from his red cloak.
The younger man took a step closer to him, one hand still gripping his sword tight.
"What's your purpose in having I on this ship of yours?"
TBC
Hey there, sorry for the long wait. I know I'm horrible but I've been really busy after the midterm exam with so many projects that I didn't expect it would be this much. Final exam is coming up but on the power of guilt, I feel like I have to update something, anything before I could peacefully go studying. So here this chapter is.
As my brain hasn't been working so brilliantly lately, I hope this chappie isn't too bad. I'll try updating the rest of my ongoing fictions (the Naruto ones included if you read those) as soon as possible.
For those also having evil, evil exam, I wish you best of luck that I hopelessly hope will be mine too. XP