Blood: 20

Rained out parade

Of all the things to ruin, why did it have to be Lilly? This question circulated Vincent's brain like the stagnant foam in the Midgar dam. It refused to go away and felt more bitter each time asked.

The item store was quiet, and empty apart from the storekeeper, but he was harmless and didn't like asking questions. Vincent sat in the alcove, in front of the wood burner. He held a bottle of hyper, taking the occasional sip as he stared at the burning wood. Too much Hyper could cause fury, but just the right amount at the right times could be a useful pick-me-up.

He shook his hair behind his ears, sighing as it fell back over his eye. Even his hair paid him no respect it seemed. What a stupid thought. "Vincent."

He snapped to attention, looking round to see Lucrecia watching him, concern written all over her face. "Lucrecia." He moved to stand.

"Please, don't get up."

"I... all right." To his surprise she wandered over, combing the rain drops from her hair with her fingers, and took a seat beside him. "You went out in the mountain rain without a coat." Vincent observed quietly, a little surprised that she should forget something like that.

"So did you." She murmured, spying his soaking jacket hung over a chair in front of the fire. He smiled gently, pinching his shirt and rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger.

"I have thick skin. Besides, I was only indoors for a brief second, not long enough to get used to the temperature difference."

Lucrecia's concern got the better of her. She folded her legs underneath herself and turned to look at him. "Vincent, are you all right?"

"Hmmmm?"

She grounded her stare on the worn floorboards, rubbing her arm nervously, "I heard you on the phone to Trey Henson. You sounded upset."

"Oh." He chuckled softly setting the Hyper aside. "It's nothing to be concerned over." His deep breath told her otherwise. The look on her face prompted him to explain. "When I was a new recruit in the Turks, Trey asked me if I would like a part ownership in a classic motorcycle. Being young and overly naive, I accepted. Unfortunately I did not realise that the contract forced all problems and liability for Trey's idiocy on my insurance. Now he has crashed her into a wall, and I'm footing the bill."

"Her?"

"Yes. All machines are female. Lilly is my motorcycle's name. Trey decided to name her after a woman he once knew. Honestly I'm surprised he remembers any of the women he's been with, but apparently 'everyone's had a ride on Lilly'."

Lucrecia laughed, falling back to sit against the wall again. "You let him call your bike Lilly?"

"Well, Laid Back Lilly is her official name."

"Oh dear."

"Think how I feel."

They shared a smile, Lucrecia spotting the Hyper on the floor beside his thigh. "What is that stuff like?"

Vincent picked it up, turning it to and fro in the light and examining the pink liquid closely. "Like strawberry milkshake crossbred with one of those God awful energy drinks."

She screwed up her face, "Sounds... interesting."

"I won't lie to you, Lucrecia, it's disgusting." He shook his head lightly, taking a gulp and shaking his head harder, wrinkling his nose, "I don't know why I drink it. Albeit once in a blue moon."

"Because it's a pick me up?"

"I suppose so. I don't like the idea that I drink it at all."

"Can I have a sip?"

Surprised, Vincent nodded, handing the bottle to her. Lucrecia looked at it, swilling it round a few times and glancing at him, a look on her face as though he had offered her a bottle of vomit. None the less, she took a quick sip, swallowing it and shaking her head hard. "Ack! That was nasty."

"Wash your mouth out with bleach. That usually takes the taste away."

"I should imagine it would taste better."

The two of them were silent then, Vincent watching those flames again, Lucrecia humming to herself, busy with her hair tie.

At length, Vincent snapped out of it, crawling forward to his jacket and taking his letter from the breast pocket. Lucrecia was curious, but kept herself to herself, not wanting to appear nosey. Vincent sat back against the wall, examining the envelope closely. It had the Shinra and Midgar post marks on it, so it could be official. Curious more than anything else, he slipped his little finger under the flap and ripped it open.

Lucrecia looked as surprised as he felt, a black and red plaited bracelet falling into his lap. "What in the world?" He picked it up and turned it over in his hand, confused as to why anyone at Shinra should be sending him gifts, and in his favourite colours too.

"A secret admirer?" Lucrecia asked, toying with the idea quite fun. Vincent looked bemused, neglecting to answer that and taking the letter out of the envelope.

He found there to be two letters inside, one official, the other anything but. 'Unusual. What is this about?' Unable to decide between the two as to which one he should read first, he put them on the floor, marked side down and closed his eyes, shuffling them around one another until he forgot which one was which.

Lucrecia watched this strange act in fascinated surprise. What was he doing? "Is this usual when you get a letter?"

Vincent opened his eyes, picking up the letter on the left. "No. I couldn't decide which one to open first."

"Really? That's what that was about?" She giggled, watching him unfold his choice and begin reading.

As soon as he saw the handwriting a soft smile touched him, Lucrecia even more intrigued as to who it was from. Vincent picked up on her curiousity, glancing over at her before picking up the bracelet and slipping it over his hand, tucking it under his sleeve. "It's from my baby sister."

"Baby sister?" Vincent had a sister?

"Miko, or Verity to us over here."

"Miko? I didn't know you had a sister."

He smiled, scanning the childish scrawls on the paper, "I have two, both younger than me. Jun and Miko." Lucrecia was intrigued.

"Why do they have Wutaiese names?"

"Because they're Wutaiese."

"No, I mean why do they have Wutaiese names, and you don't?"

"I do. My name is Kazuo."

"Kazuo?"

"Yes." He felt he should explain, the conversation obviously confusing Lucrecia more and more. "My family spent some time on the great continent when I was a small child. Father was working in Gongaga, and believed that we should try and fit in. The locals were wary of the unusual, and a Wutaiese family wasn't something they saw everyday, so we took familiar names for the duration of our time there."

"I see." She frowned, "Did he choose Vincent for you back then?"

"Yes."

"Why keep it? Times have changed."

He shrugged, stretching one leg out towards the wood burner. "Vincent Valentine sounds more Professional." Reading on a little, he chuckled, "Miko didn't need another name, but she told father she felt left out, so he gave her a name there and then. No more reason for it."

Lucrecia smiled, inexplicably happy to see Vincent in reminiscence mode. He took on a faraway look that screamed good memories. "Oh dear." She shifted closer, his words telling her that she could do so. She peered at the paper trying for all she was worth to work out what the scribbles meant, scolding herself suddenly for thinking that's what they were. It was Wutaiese. Of course Miko would write in Wutaiese. Why not write in her home language?

"What's the matter?"

"She's found another stray kitten." He looked round at Lucrecia, a smile on his lips, "Miko collects cats like there's no tomorrow. The village storehouse is full of them. It began with one, and that one was easy to keep hidden, but now there's upwards of twenty living in there, rushing in and out of the hole in the door all day long. You can't move in there, let alone feed the blasted things."

"How old is she?"

Vincent had to think about that question, feeling cold in the pit of his stomach suddenly. Had it really been that long? "Nine."

"She's so young." Lucrecia appeared to be in a world of her own, pondering the number as though it held some deep secret. Vincent read on, aloud,

"I have made this bracelet to keep you safe. It will protect you as long as you wear it, because I made it myself and only me, for you." He had to read the next part out loud, chuckling as he did so, "Has your hair grown back after the accident? Because you look silly with short hair."

"Accident?" Lucrecia had taken interest again, frowning at him as though there were some unfortunate story to tell.

Vincent scratched his back against the wall, cricking his neck, stiff from sitting in one position on the floor. She really wanted to know? " Last time I went home was on her fourth birthday. She screamed when she saw I had cut my hair off to my ears. She was so upset that I had to tell her it had happened by accident in the office."

"You? With long hair?"

"It's thick and messy. A nuisance to keep when I have to be away so early in the morning."

"I see." She reached over and combed out a few strands of his hair, "You would look good with long hair."

"If you request I grow it out, you can care for it."

She said nothing to that, turning her eyes on her fingernails. Vincent skim read the rest of Miko's letter, folding it carefully and laying it aside once he was done. Away from family life, he had business matters to attend to, picking up the official letter and opening it. 'Hmph. From the desk of Shaun Richards.' He thought, recognising the double signature – one at the top, affirmed again at the bottom. 'Self-obsessed barbarian.'

What Richards had to say surprised him:

'Valentine,

Thought you should know that your little mistake has been rectified. Kennedy and Veld tracked down Baske and brought him in. He has since been dispatched with a fully paid ticket to hell, courtesy of myself and the President.

Now that shenanigan is over, Kennedy has been assigned to assist you in your duties with the Science department. I trust you will receive him with good grace, and gratitude.

Sincerely,

Shaun Richards – Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research, Senior in General Affairs.'

"You're a damn Turk, Richards. Just like the rest of us." Vincent growled to himself, Lucrecia looking at him in confusion. He explained,"Richards likes to use all the titles he can in short letters. He's so self-important it makes my head spin."

"You don't like him very much, do you?"

"Ha! Like him? There was no man I would willingly stab in the back until Shaun Richards."

"Vincent, you can't mean that."

He got to his feet, picking up his jacket and slinging it over his shoulder. Sighing deeply, he turned to Lucrecia, looking down at her with intense red eyes. "If he turned his back on me for long enough I don't know if I'd be able to help myself."

"Vincent-" 'You're shattering my illusion of you.'

"It's the same with all of us: Marlon, Trey, me. Even Morris, Evan and Veld. All of us would leap at the chance to be rid of Richards. He's barbaric. His training methods are engineered to breed fear in his students, keep the under his thumb. That's how he works; he tears you apart from the inside out, tortures you until he knows you're afraid. He derives some kind of pleasure from it."

Lucrecia didn't know what to say. She knew that the Turks were a serious organisation – what they did was enough indication of that, but to know surviving extended to the office... "Has he ever... hurt you?"

"How can I shoot like I do, Lucrecia? Ask yourself that. What's the answer?"

"I... I don't know."

"Bleeding, from my eyes."

"What?"

Vincent sighed, shaking his head, turning his eyes on the floorboards. "They call me 'Bloody Valentine' for a reason, and it's not what people have been led to believe." He looked at her, straight in the eye, "I missed a target once. Richards attempted to drown me, held my head under water until some of the blood vessels in my eyes burst. I was too afraid to miss again. While he was around, at least." The look on her face said it all, Vincent running one hand back through his hair. "I should not have told you this. It should never have been mentioned outside of the department."

"I won't repeat it." 'I don't want to think what would happen to you if I did.'

He looked grateful, but Lucrecia realised that his stomach must be rending itself in burning knots. He regretted telling her. Without another word, he nodded a salute and walked away towards the door, his jacket slung carelessly over his shoulder.

Lucrecia refused to watch him go, sick to her stomach. He was under undue pressure also? What happened if this assignment wasn't completed to a satisfactory standard. What would happen to him? She snapped out of it, the door closing with a quiet click, forcing her to her feet and across the floor after him. She had to know what that letter said...

(NOTE: Some more Lucrecia and Vinny bonding time. One of the things I love about writing Vincent is that there's so much we don't know about him, ergo there's so much to play with. Normally I don't like detailing a game character's past too much, but for this story it is kind of necessary - if he was from Wutai then etc

Richards. I told you he would turn up again, like a bad penny. He is the only character I've ever created that I hate. I don't know why, but it's refreshing to write a genuinely nasty person, and as you can tell, that is he. The nastiness has yet to reach its peak. Watch this space.

I know I said I was going to lay off for a while, but my man's working nights for a few days, when that happens, I don't sleep. So tonight I found myself sitting in from of some tacky all-night quiz broadcast on ITV1, screaming '!Des O' Connor!' at the screen. I had to occupy my mind elsewhere.

And one more thing – that blood vessels in the eyes thing can be caused by holding your breath in water for an excessive amount of time while exerting yourself, eg swimming underwater, or say... struggling? Doesn't have to be much water either, apparently.)