Vincent leaned casually in the elevator. He appeared calm to any onlooker, but that was a lie. Like so very often, he was in inner turmoil, this time about his friends. Already three had been injured and the children had been kidnapped. Surely his companions would need someone to blame and the most logical choice would be him, it would be so easy seeing as how, even though the man who called the shots was Eddie, it was Vincent that had started the ball rolling on this one, intentionally or not. Yes, he knew the true person that needed punishment was Eddie, but he still felt terrible, as though another burden had been added, another sin.
A fuzzy foot tapped his cheek almost cautiously, though Tula was not one to be afraid of anything. Probably due to the fact that she had been on Vincent's shoulder more than one time when he transformed into one of the demons. "Tula," Vincent admonished, "You should be hidding. Monsters are meant to remain hidden." His face dropped behind his collar and his eyes closed at the pain that his own words brought.
Tula climbed back into her hiding spot behind Vincent's neck, perfectly camouflaged by his long hair and high collar. When the elevator slowed and the doors opened, he pushed himself forward into the rather bright hall. Outside of Room E1, he paused and listened to the voices within.
"Give it back ya little runt!"
Vincent shook his head, 'Cid.'
"Na-na-nana-na!"
A smile, 'Yuffie'.
"#)!>!"
'...'
"Yuffie, give that back."
"Teeef..."
"Yuffie."
"Tch, fine mother."
Vincent smiled again and almost walked inside, but Cloud's voice halted him. "Vincent..." He felt his heart stop for a moment, afraid that he had actually been caught eavesdropping, but the blonde continued. "Where is he?"
Tifa leaned against him, "Where ever he is, I'm sure he's alright. He is an ex-Turk and all so physically he should be just fine."
"Hm?"
She frowned and sighed, but before she had the chance to say what she thought, Yuffie voiced her thoughts for her. "Vinnie can take care of himself. He's faster and deadlier than the lot of us together, but Hojo and Lucrecia messed him up bad. Every time he does something he views as a mistake, it's the whole kicked-dog routine with 'my sin this' and 'my sin that', and even though he's improved and doesn't say it, i'd bet all my materia he still thinks and feels like that. No amount of time will probably ever be enough for him to get over it. He will never be 'okay', so we shouldn't blame him for stuff that none of us can control and be understanding with him. This is not Vinnie's fault and he shouldn't suffer because we or any body else thinks it is. Ya know?"
The room was awfully quiet. The friends stared at Yuffie, the young girl who suddenly turned into a woman all grown up. In the hall, Vincent felt his heart get lighter and a new emotion he couldn't place spread warmth through his chest. 'Thank you, Yuffie.'
Cid cocked his head to the side, "Hey, where'd that brat go? Coulda sworn she was just here."
Shera smiled, "There she is Cid."
"Oh yeah, I see her now. Looks different though."
Yuffie colored and bowed her head. Vincent decided that now was as good a time as any to to enter. "Vinnie!" Yuffie scrambled out of bed and jumped at the man full force. He accepted her weight and allowed the young woman to hug him and even hugged her back. Yuffie, like the others, were shocked that he didn't try to shove her away and figured that, in usual Valentine fashion, he had heard the whole conversation.
Vincent walked over to Yuffie's temporary bed and laid her down in it and covered her up gently. "Rest." He bent down so that they were eye to eye. "Thank you, Yuffie." He placed a kiss to her forehead and returned to his full height. Again, not a sound was heard through out the room.
"I think we just missed something," said a quiet voice from the door.
"Indeed," a rough purr responded.
Cloud nodded to the two, "Reeve, Nanaki, it's good to see that you are safe."
The two made their way into the now crowded room. Vincent gently tapped his claw on a nearby metal table to get everyone's attention. "There are a couple of reasons for my being here tonight. I wanted to tell each of you how sorry I am that This happened and now I also want to thank you for caring enough that you are not mad at me. Also, there is someone who I would like for you to meet. She is very special to me, and has been a very close friend since I was imprisoned in that coffin. I should have introduced her then, but I was unsure how she would be received. Now, though, I believe she will be welcomed with open arms."
Yuffie asked quietly, "Is she your girlfriend?"
"Yes..." Yuffie visibly slumped, "I suppose you could say that she is, after all she is a female and she is my friend. Therefore, my girl friend."
Tifa looked around expectantly, "where is she?"
Vincent smiled and tilted his head back to give Tula a nudge, letting her know that it was safe for her to come out.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!! SPIDER!!!! KILL IT!!! KILL IT!!!" Shera leaped into the now deaf Cid's arms as he struggled with her while trying to look around and not have his eyes gouged out.
Yuffie giggled in her bed and Cloud moved around so that he stood protected behind Tifa's back. Tifa crossed her arms and called him something indecipherable under her breath. Tula, unimpressed with it all, lazily stretched atop Vincent's shoulder.
"This is Tula. She has been with me since the first day I was placed in the forsaken coffin."
Yuffie pulled the blankets up past her nose, "You mean..."
Shelke held out her hand to the tarantula, "She has been here the whole time, and no one even knew." Tula moved to Vincent's other shoulder to get away from the, in her opinion, creepy child.
Cloud glared at Vincent, and in all seriousness said, "We could have been killed."
The silence didn't improve any the third time.
Tifa turned to the man behind her with an amused face.
Vincent grunted, "I though you should meet her."
Shera passed out.
"The #?"
"Highwind, you have an extremely dirty mouth," he tossed him some gum, "Clean it."
Cid stared daggers at the man.
Vincent turned partially away, "I must be leaving. A full day is before us and by the strike of midnight the lifestream will be welcoming many new souls." Vincent left his friends, leaving a cold sense of apprehension in his wake.