Setting down the mug for the umpteenth time that morning, Cloud lazily stares at the information he has in front of him. There's literally nothing to go on. Not a trail, no reoccurring thing besides the victim's past, nothing. He is at a stalemate, he's aware of that, but it didn't stop him from bringing this person to justice. Taking another sip of coffee, Cloud sits the mug down and begins to study some more.
"You need to give this case a rest and enjoy your day off for once."
Cloud glances at Aeris, who walks to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of orange juice. She closes the door and gives the blond a small smile. "Let's take a vacation."
"Aeris, there's no time for that." His monotone voice is a little harsher than usual but it wasn't intended. "I have to solve this case."
"You'll never be able to solve it if you continue to behave like this." She slightly snaps back. "I'm not saying drop it completely. All I'm saying is that we take a break from it. When we come back home, you'll have a fresh mind, and you never know, you may get some new information right off the bat."
Knowing that he isn't going to win this battle, Cloud mentally gives in, but he wants to work on the case for a while before he goes away. "Give me a few more weeks to work, and we can leave."
"What's 'a few more weeks'?"
"Eight."
"Absolutely not!" She replies in a baffled tone. "Four weeks."
"Six."
She sighs loudly in an apparent irritated voice. Cloud is a great debater, and there is no point in convincing the blond to take less time away from the case. She's lucky to even get him to go on vacation with her. "Fine." She finally speaks, feeling defeated. "I give you six weeks of more grueling, intense work on the case; you give me two weeks and two vacation spots."
"Done." His eyes never leaving the paperwork in front of him.
Aeris leaves Cloud to his thoughts as he continues to stare at the whiteboard in front of him. The brunette woman pulls out her phone from her front pocket and gives one of her coworkers a smile as she walks by.
"Hey there." Her voice is as sweet as honey as her smile transforms into a grin. "I called to give you an update."
"Are there any other questions?" The soft-spoken realtor spoke after giving Yuffie and Vincent a tour of their newly purchased home.
"No I think that will be all." Yuffie replies happily and dashes into the home without giving the realtor a chance to speak again.
The woman smiles and looks back at Vincent, who as usual, had an expressionless face. The woman thought his eyes screamed bloody murder whenever she gazed at them. "Is there anything I can get you, Mr. Valentine?"
Vincent heard how alluring the woman's voice has gotten. She approaches him and begins to rub his chest. It has been a while since he had released such tensions, but Vincent is the type of man that didn't seek it. Instead, it comes to him. It may seem conceited on Vincent's part, but it's the truth.
"No thank you." His response is irritated. The relator knew nothing about Vincent other than he has a lot of money and his first and last name. The woman's actions are one of the many reasons why he remains single. Well, that and the fact that he's part of a murderous group. The raven-haired man feels like women nowadays just throw themselves at any man. He wanted a solid woman, not a loose woman. This woman didn't know anything about him, aside from his home purchase and name, and she was already trying to bed him. Maybe that's why she is trying to seduce him; his money. She's barking up the wrong tree, and she isn't aware of it. Beautiful lady, but Vincent isn't interested. Not in the slightest. The thought irritates Vincent further.
The woman laughs. She went into her portfolio book and scribbles her name and number on the pad, tore the paper, and gives it to Vincent. "Whenever you change your mind, let me know. Be sure she doesn't know."
He assumes 'she' is Yuffie, but didn't ponder too much about it. The woman winks and walks away, making sure she put extra sway into her hips.
"Maybe she'll consider giving us a discount if you fuck her."
Vincent rolls his eyes, which causes Yuffie to laugh. "At least she's smart. Well, book smart at least."
"I don't sleep with every woman I come into contact with."
"I know you don't because we've never slept with each other."
Yuffie slaps her knee and went into a frenzy of giggles as Vincent walks by with a glare on his face. "Oh come on now, Vincent! It was right there!"
Ignoring the giggling woman behind him, Vincent went to the second floor of his newly-bought home to unpack his personal belongings when he reaches his bedroom. This is a big house and maybe he could finally consider this a home once he gets more settle in. It really bothers him that he has to move from place to place to because of his lifestyle. It's a life he chooses, but he still got a little down whenever he thinks about how he never settles into an area on a more permanent basis. As he begins to go through his things, he comes across a photo of him and his dad.
He takes a long, hard look at the photo as he sits down on one of his boxes. He strokes his father's smiling face. He misses the days with his father. He was the first person to accept Vincent for who he is, but now his father is long gone, along with his mother. He misses her dearly as well. Vincent let out a sigh, places the photo back inside the box, and continued to unpack as tender memories of his parents percolate his mind.
Papa is in the kitchen tapping his finger vigorously on the fridge door. Tifa hasn't finished studying yet so he decides to fix something for dinner that night. Only one problem: he doesn't know how to cook. His late wife never read from a cookbook. She was the type of woman to experiment with food, and naturally, Tifa got her skills from her. Papa considered buying a cookbook a few weeks back in case situations like now arises. Guess he should've listened to his past self.
"Papa, you're letting out the cool air from the fridge."
"Please tell me you're done studying." He didn't mean to sound so desperate but he couldn't help it.
Tifa giggles at Papa's tone, sensing desperation in his voice. "You act as if you've never eaten before! Yes, I'm done studying, but I don't feel like cooking. How about we make a small trip to Rocket Town and try that Italian restaurant you've been talking about for the past month?"
Pap runs upstairs and moments later, Tifa heard water from the bathroom sink running.
"I'll take that as a yes."
After all the furniture was placed and all the unpacking was done, Vincent and Yuffie took their naps and woke up hungry. Yuffie is in her private bathroom putting the finishing touches on her outfit, which consists of a large, black chocker with an all red, strapless dress and matching black pumps to go along with it. The decision to go out and eat was unanimous. Besides, they were worn out from all the activities that were done earlier that day.
"Are you ready?"
Yuffie turns her head and immediately smells Vincent's strong, yet intoxicating scent. His hair is tied back, much to Yuffie's surprise, and he has on a red button-up shirt with a black tie and matching dress slacks. Yuffie whistles.
"Baby can I have your phone number?" He laughs a little. It's rare to see Vincent smile. Yuffie often wishes he did it more often. Such a beautiful laugh and smile should be shared to the world, not often concealed by an imaginary mask. "It's good to see you laugh, even if it's a little."
She checks her image one more time before turning off the light and exiting her bathroom. "You're wearing contacts?" Vincent's eyes were now hazel. It's hard to hide his natural eye color, and in the past, he'd discover that hazel was the best choice to use when using contacts. It doesn't conceal his natural eye color completely but it does give a more burgundy shade.
"Part of a disguise, so to speak." Vincent replies as the two walks down the hallway and down the main entrance's stairs to exit the home. "If anyone saw my eyes in its normal state, it would raise suspicion."
"I see your point. Midgar was different because of the population, but a small town like Nibelheim would probably feel uneasy. I'm sure the whole town is aware we're their new neighbors considering how small this town is."
Vincent agrees with a small nod and opens the door and allows Yuffie to go through it first. They decide to take Vincent's car. Once the two were strapped in their seatbelts comfortably, Vincent carefully pulls out of the driveway and heads to Rocket Town.
Just because the term town is used to describe Rocket Town, that doesn't mean it's actually a town. It's the closest thing to a city Nibelheim folks have. Junon and Gold Saucer are more of a city but those places are more of a vacation spot, along with Costa del Sol. Italio shined in a bright red lettering as customers were coming and going inside the restaurant. Tifa and Papa enters, smiles were instantly plasters on their faces at the sight. People were chatting away at the square tables. Some were a party of two while there were others that's a party of three and four. Several televisions were mounted on the back wall of the bar area, which is the size of an actual bar. On one half of the bar, there were men watching a football game. Every now and then, they would yell and high five one another, but the bartenders would come around and tell them lower their voices. The other half of the bar have patrons enjoying a glass of wine or some scotch. The restaurant isn't five star, but it's damn near close to a five star restaurant. It's a good thing that Papa ranted about this place in the past. Tifa is already starting to warm up to it.
A brunette waitress greets them with a warm smile, grabs two menus, and walks them over to a booth that is against the window. The waitress excuses herself to allow Papa and Tifa some time to order.
"This is a really nice place." Papa awes as he observed the restaurant. He makes an audible gasp at the old-fashioned pasta maker that's incased in glass on the other end of the restaurant near the restroom. Seeing old, valuable items from years ago always make Papa giddy like a child in a game store.
"I'm glad you talked my ear off about it." Tifa agrees. "Let's see if the food here is good."
After scanning the menu for ten minutes, Papa and Tifa finally places their orders and the waitress left.
"It's good to finally leave Nibelheim, ya know?" Tifa says after she took a swig of her water.
"Yeah. We should do this more often. How are your classes coming along?"
"Good. I have to turn in my research paper tomorrow about the Wutai War. It was very simple to be honest because of all that had happened during that war."
Papa nods his head. He is surprised by the next couple that walks inside the restaurant. "You don't see too many Wutainese people outside of Wutai."
Tifa strains her neck and attention in the direction Papa is looking. A Wutainese couple just walked in and the woman received several looks from the men that were around. The man is tall and thin but has a muscular built with his hair pulled back.
"I thought Wutainese men were possessive of their women." Tifa observes how the man seems unfazed by the perverted stares the woman is recieving. "I guess that's a horrible stereotype. That or he isn't intimidated by other men."
The food arrives before she could pry into the situation any further.
Yuffie and Vincent sat at a table that is across a young woman and an older man, who appears to be her father. Vincent notices the young woman looking at him and Yuffie strangely. The waitress gives the deadly duo their menus and walks away to give them time to think about what they want to order. Immediately, they went into killer mode and observed their surroundings. There were beautiful women dressed elegantly along with men who dressed the same as well. There were some men in the winery area next to the bar and there was a lot of traffic near the ladies' restroom. To say that Yuffie received stares from a lot of men in the restaurant was an understatement; more like she received a lot of stares from drooling men who appeared they haven't been laid in months.
Their waitress came back five minutes later and the two places their orders. "I'm going to canvass the ladies' room." Yuffie says once the waitress is out of earshot.
Vincent simply nods and Yuffie got up from the table. He gently places the contact lens in his left eye back in place. He couldn't wait to get the irritants out of his eyes when he got home. As Vincent sips his water, he notices the young brunette across from his table would glance at him every now and then. She's an attractive woman. Her shoulder length brunette hair adorned her quite nicely. Whenever the man across her would say something funny, her smile is bright, showing off her perfectly white teeth. Vincent looks away from the beautiful woman and shoot a glance at the entrance. A smirk begins to creep onto his face. His target is walking with a blonde-haired woman. They were greeted by a waitress and the woman guided them to the winery area. Yuffie returns as the target and his woman were being seated.
"Look at the winery."
Yuffie looks at the winery and smiles. "Well, well, well. Looks like Genesis Rhapsodos is in the building along with Elena Ramado."
"Elena Ramado?" Vincent questions.
"A woman who's associated with Genesis. I believe she's one of Genesis's many women but she's a main, I think."
Vincent nods, not taking his eyes away from the couple as they began conversing with one another. Vincent glances at Yuffie, who nods in response to his expression. Vincent got up and walks towards the winery while Yuffie hung back. She flips her hair and smiles at the right moment; Genesis looks her way and smiles at the woman who's looking at him. He greets her with a bright smile, showing all of his pearly, white teeth. Vincent walks past the couple and Elena stole a glance at Vincent. Vincent knows he's being watched and that's reassurance that things were in his favor. He orders a bottle of red wine and gave the bartender the money before she disappeared into the back to grab his wine. Vincent has his back against the stand and pretends to observe the locals, but he's really observing Genesis and Elena. In a few short seconds of being in the winery, he could tell there were no romantic feelings between Genesis and Elena. The way they both diverted their attention to patrons were expected by Vincent.
Vincent could only speculate that Elena is Genesis's accomplice, and that they were in Rocket Town looking for someone poor, unfortunate soul. From what Sephiroth could gather on Genesis, the fiery-haired man is a sex fiend. He likes it any and every way. So it shouldn't have been a surprise that he has a female accomplice. They probably had sex on several occasions or even worse; she participated with Genesis. Though Genesis never resorted to murder, at least as far as Sephiroth could tell, Vincent knows it's only a matter of time before Genesis would. All it would take is someone to stand up for themselves and deny the sex-crazed maniac.
Vincent propping himself on the bar is just a ploy. He wants to see if he could get a rise out of the duo, Elena more specifically, and it worked. Vincent couldn't help but internally snort at the pathetic pair to his right. They were obvious, sloppy, and recognizable. Their hunting methods were beyond atrocious. Their eyes hungrily danced as patrons came and went. Vincent and Yuffie could end these clowns now, but he refrains from any movements. He honestly didn't expect to see Genesis tonight, and seeing him in action, it'll be an easy feat to kill him, and possibly Elena as well.
The bartender comes back with Vincent's wine minutes later. He thanks her and proceeds back to his table with Yuffie. The waitress just delivered the food as he sits down.
"Did you order that?" Vincent asked as he points to the alcoholic beverage that Yuffie is slowly consuming.
"Our red-haired rapist bought it."
Vincent nods and begins to eat his food. Yuffie winks at Genesis before digging into her food. Genesis smiles and diverts his attention away from Yuffie. Unbeknownst to him, Yuffie is a deadly woman, and even if she wasn't, she isn't the type of woman to jump for joy when a man did a simple gesture. The fact that he made such a bold move in front of Elena told the short haired-raven woman that there's no romantic feelings between the two. Whatever is going on between them, it's strictly for pleasure but more in a business like way. Maybe Vincent and Yuffie could separate them and off one of them slowly, perhaps resulting to torture. Yuffie smiles devishly as she thought of several ways to make them squeal, especially Genesis.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing." Tifa murmurs softly to herself.
"Hm?"
She turns to her Papa, who has a concerned look on his face.
"It's nothing, Papa." Tifa waves her hand. "I'm kind of full. Let's get some carriers and go home."
Papa agrees and Tifa mentally thanked Gaia that he didn't press the matter. They grabbed their to-go containers, paid for the food, and left the restaurant. Tifa wants to believe her eyes were deceiving her, but she knew they weren't.