Chapter 3-A Simple Question
By:phantomdust

Disclaimer- As usual, I do not own the Final Fantasy series or any of the characters

Warnings-Mild violence, Adult language, YAOI Vin/Seph and a leathal dose of Seph ;) (but you should know all that by now, after all, this is rated M)

Vincent's pulse heightened as he began to struggle. More likely than not, the person behind him simply wanted whatever gil he had and anything else of value from his apartment. It was hopeless, it seemed the more he struggled, the tighter the grip became and to make matters worse he was beginning to tire out. All at once his body relaxed and a gentle breath rustled the locks in front of his ear. He heard a low raspy voice whisper…

"If you cooperate, I won't injure you. Now listen carefully. In a second I will release you…I want to talk to you. If you chose to fight me, I can make this very VERY difficult" He squeezed the bound man's wrists menacingly to reinforce the fact he wasn't messing around. The pressure on Vincent's wrists slowly faded. He turned to face the intruder expecting to find someone hiding in the shadows; instead, he was met by a broad, leather clad chest framed by luminous hair. His crimson eyes widened in shock. Glancing upwards, he realized it was the man from earlier. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to say anything as his lips quivered to form words.

As he glanced into the piercing eyes of the other man, the man began to speak "My name is Sephiroth. I come from many continents away traveling through every town I may come across. I have been searching for…for someone. Someone who might know who I am, or what I am…"

"And what does that have to do with me!?" Vincent interrupted with a puzzled expression on his face. Of all the things this "Sephiroth" could have wanted, this was the last thing that would have come to Vincent's mind. Was this stranger implying that he was…

The silver haired man continued in a low tone, "I think you may be the one I'm looking for. That night downstairs when I saw your eyes, I became sure of it. They emitted the same aura as mine." His steely gaze pinned the raven haired man in place regardless of the fact that he was no longer within Sephiroth's grasp.

"No, NO! It can't be me. I have nothing to do with you! You're just some damned crazy man escaped from the Looney bin. How could I possibly be…there's no way…" Vincent was overwhelmed with confusion. He pressed his cool palms against his eyes and kneaded his forehead in an attempt to clear his mind. There did always seem to be something he knew, but didn't know. And he was always told his eyes had something different behind them, something strange. This man could be the key to discovering the hole in his past and where exactly he came from. "Shit, I really don't need this right now" he mumbled to himself, almost forgetting there was someone else in the room. That's right, he's still here he thought as his burgundy eyes scanned the room. He was certain the stranger must have pulled another disappearing act, but Vincent was unpleasantly surprised to find Sephiroth hadn't moved an inch. He continued standing in front of Vincent while quietly observing the man's confusion. His gaze remained fixated on Vincent's well proportioned face and most of all, his eyes.

"So what do you want from me?" Vincent inquired as he decided to go along with this craziness keeping in mind the location of his Cerberus for any opportunity he had to reach it.

"Any information you can give me about where you come from. Or why your eyes have the same glow as my own" Sephiroth replied simply.

"Well sorry, but I can't help you. I have no idea of anything in my past before I was 14, and by then I was already like this…" He gestured with his arms as if presenting himself to an inspector. He knew it. This guy was probably just some criminal looking to manipulate him out of his valuables, although he was pretty attractive for a man. He would be damned if he let the intruder leave his home with any of his possessions.

"You are certain? Nothing at all?" Sephiroth seemed confused by Vincent's words as he paced back and forth across the room. He appeared to be arguing with himself to decide whether Vincent was telling the truth or not. Said man took the opportunity to grab his trusty pistol. After unlocking the weapon, he pointed it at Sephiroth for the second time in twenty four hours.

"Listen you sick fuck, I don't have anything for you! I don't know what all this "eye aura" BS is, but I can't help you and I you're not gettin' any money from me so I suggest you leave. NOW!" He waited, kept eye contact, and put pressure on the trigger just in case the towering gentleman decided to take matters into his own hands. Sephiroth simply began to chuckle. It was unnoticeable at first, but the shaking of his shoulders and gleam in his eye convinced Vincent that he wasn't imagining it.

"Alright, I will respect your wishes" Sephiroth stated plainly as he turned toward the door. He stopped with his hand resting on the doorknob, "But know this, whatever you fear can not be worse than not knowing the truth." With his final words he stepped out into the hall and disappeared.

Vincent quickly checked the window and locked the door making sure no other disturbance could invade his sanctuary. He leaned against the door and slid down to the floor letting his bangs fall over his face. He breathed heavily as he realized how tense he had been during the situation. Man that was a close one…it feels like he's still staring at me with those icy eyes. One glance and I couldn't move. I've never seen anyone who could do that…Vincent couldn't help but wonder where the man came from, or even worse, where he himself came from. Maybe that Sephiroth has a point, even if he is pretty mental. There had to be some sort of reason why he didn't know anything about his past, and the little fact of his unusual eye color. He could do some research of his own; if only he knew where to look… What was wrong with him!? He was beginning to sound like his intruder. I need some rest. A lot of rest. He thought as he rose to his feet and headed for bed.

Several days later…

"Vince! I need you to bus table 14!" Tifa called from the dining room. Today had been one of the busiest days Vincent had seen in quite some time. It was one of those evenings with nice weather and great atmosphere. He could hear silverware clinking against the china and the low murmur of voices throughout the restaurant. The dishes left on the table were few so he easily swept them into the tub and headed back for the kitchen to pick up the fresh orders.

"Vincent, could you wait on table 11 too? I think the customer said he knows you" the manager gave him a sly sideward glance. Someone who knows him? Who on earth would come to his job? He quickly dropped the dishes off at the sink and served the fresh orders before heading to the new table. From a distance he could see shiny silver hair.

"Shit!" Vincent said to himself "how did he find out where I work! He must have followed me here." Glancing around to make sure no one noticed, the waiter slipped behind the nearest curtain and peered through to observe Sephiroth waiting for him. He didn't appear to behave strangely. If anyone took notice of him, it was more for his lengthy locks and menacing façade than his actual behavior. Vincent decided to take a chance and approach the table; after all, his job was on the line if he didn't. He hesitantly approached the table.

"Why are you following me? I thought I made it clear I want nothing to do with you" Vincent hissed in an attempt to control his anger. It took all of his willpower not to empty the pitcher of ice water over the customer's head. Sephiroth calmly glanced up towards him; no trace of guilt of agitation to be found on his face.

"Following you? I've simply come for a meal and a glass of wine. Is there a problem with that?" Sephiroth spoke as his mouth pulled into an almost unnoticeable smirk. Vincent was just about to argue back with a retort when suddenly a team of detectives burst in through the front doors followed by a very upset hostess.

"You don't have a reservation! What are you doing!?" She yelled trying to prevent them from disrupting the diners any further. They simply brushed her off and continued scanning the dining room for their target.

"There he is! Arrest that man!" They yelled pointing in the direction of Sephiroth and Vincent. "And take that man as well, he needs to be questioned"

Vincent couldn't believe what was happening. He knew Sephiroth would be trouble for him, but he had hoped there would be time to prepare before his prophecy came true.

Author's Note- Once again, another chapter is complete. Sorry it took so long, things have been very busy on this end so I'll try to make the next one a lot longer. I appreciate all of you reading my story and I hope you will continue to stick with it through the end. I'm still looking for a beta reader so if you're interested and think you're up to the job then please contact me. Also I see a lot of you reading but not reviewing (but thank you to those of you who did). If you don't review then I don't know what you like and don't like about the story or what to work on (good or bad). Please tell me what you think or else I won't really have a reason to update. Thanks again :)

-PD-