Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The Maiden of Autumn owns nothing

Kaien felt a rush of sympathy for Vincent as his shoulders slumped, his eyes downcast. His whole past, erased, and waking up to a place he knew nothing about… He stood up straighter, determine to help the boy. He took Yuuki and Zero in when they needed it; why should this boy be any different?

"Vincent." The raven- haired boy looked up at his name, his large, crimson eyes sorrowful. Kaien, like Kaname, did not fear the color of the boy's eyes. He had not proved himself to be hostile, and he simply looked lost, and fearful of his new surroundings. "We need to examine you for injuries, but first, you need to get out of those clothes." His voice had taken on a fatherly tone, and that was what he was determined to be to this boy as of now- a father, in a world where he suspected Vincent to be alone.

Vincent cocked his head to the side, then looked down, his eyes widening comically at what he was wearing. Leather? When… What the hell had ever possessed him to wear leather?! And this much?

And suddenly, Kaien's suggestion of getting out of the clothes seemed like a good idea. Reaching up, he started to unbuckle the rest of the straps on his shirt.

He was confused, though. The whole outfit seemed to be too large for him. What was the purpose in wearing it if it didn't fit…?

Finally getting all the buckles undone, he shrugged his shoulders, letting shirt fall off, onto the bed, revealing his slim torso. It was odd that he had chosen to wear such large clothes- he didn't even have to unbutton the cuffs to slide his hands out.

Vincent flicked his hair out of his eyes, flicking them up to see Kaien approaching the bed. "We're going to call the nurse in here to examine you- the doctor's on his lunch break." Kaien paused, and then chuckled as he pressed on the button to summon the nurse. "Or, should I say, midnight snack?" He glanced over at Vincent, gazing at him from the bed. "You chose a bad time to fall, Vincent."

Vincent was confused. What was this talk about him falling? He shook his head, the long raven strands swishing from side to side. "I don't understand," he admitted. "What do you mean when you say I fell?"

Kaname lifted his head from where he had been standing quietly in the corner, averting his eyes as Vincent removed his shirt, trying to give the boy at least some measure of privacy. "Vincent," he said quietly, "We can explain tomorrow, after you get examined, dressed, and fed."

Vincent turned his head over to where Kaname had been standing unobtrusively until now, over in the corner. The tall teenager's eyes were off to the side, and all of a sudden, Vincent was glad that he was not being examined.

The nurse, at that moment, drew aside the curtains, and came hurrying in. "Is there something you… need…?" her voice trailed off at seeing Vincent's red eyes. She, herself, was a vampire, but a working class Level C, like the doctor himself was. Still, she knew what red eyes meant, and she eyed the boy sitting calmly on the bed, shirtless, with wary eyes.

He stared back steadily, and after a moment, she gave a "harrumph." Well, he didn't look hungry- he was calm, and that made her trust him. Rolling up her sleeves, she knelt down to reach under the bed. "I'm guessing you want me to look at him for injuries?" The nurse was not stupid, and she was the only medically trained individual in the area. It made sense that they would want her to look over the boy they had brought in unconscious.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Kaien nodded. "Very observant. Yes, if you would, please," He asked, gesturing to Vincent.

She nodded, pulling out a stethoscope, and a few other instruments. "I need you to lie back, so I can check for any internal injuries or the such first." The nurse stated, inserting the ends of the stethoscope into her ears, tapping the other end to make sure it was working properly, tucking it into her shirt's pocket when it was.

Vincent did as she requested, lying back, and staring up to the ceiling. He felt feather light touches sliding down his bare chest, trailing down his ribcage, and prodding around at his ribs and stomach. "No stomach distension, which is good- nothing's ruptured, and nothing feels broken..." The nurse was saying to Kaien.

She paused for a moment, cocking her head at Kaien. "Why, exactly, would he have any internal injuries? What happened?" She saw the Chairman shake his head, and she narrowed her eyes. "I need to know, so I can better examine him."

Kaien sighed, rubbing his forehead. "He… fell. Quite a long ways, too, and crashed onto the ground."

Vincent heard this, and considered it. Had he fallen out of a tree? Gah, this was so frustrating…

The nurse's gentle pokings traveled down to his side, and she stopped. "I need you to roll over… What's your name?" The nurse had never gotten it.

"Vincent," he said, as he complied with the nurse's request, and rolled over onto his back. There was a beat of silence as he did so, before the nurse started calmly tracing the spine, making sure no bones were unnaturally out of place.

Kaname leaned forward, suddenly very interested on what he had seen on the boy's back. Between the shoulder blades, an intricate, lacey, red and black cross lay, with words weaving throughout the spaces, written in gold. In regeneratione de Planet iacet in alas Chaos perniciem ...

His eyebrow raised as he translated the Latin words: 'The rebirth of the Planet lies on the wings of Chaos's destruction...' What, exactly, did that mean?

Asking Vincent was no use, as the boy wouldn't remember the tattoo, most likely. Still, it was odd- not the cross, as many people had them, but it was the words themselves that were odd…

The nurse had finished with her examination of Vincent's back, and she stood up. "Roll over and sit up, please."

Vincent lifted himself off the bed, turning himself over, and scooting up to sit straight. The rest of the examination was procedure; getting his heart rate, blood pressure, checking his ears and eyes, ect. Finally, she finished, tucking everything back into the bag, zipping it up, and tucking it back under the bed. "You're done. I didn't see anything out of place, and you don't have any injuries, which is good." Sighing, she checked the watch on her right wrist.

"It's a bit after midnight; the doctor won't be in for another hour or so. You can stay or leave; whichever you want to do."

"We'll be leaving." Kaname, silent until then, cut in. The nurse nodded, and left quietly, sensing that she was unneeded.

Vincent looked around. "Where, exactly, will we be leaving to?" His voice was curious; he knew this was an infirmary, but he didn't know where the infirmary was located.

Kaien came forward. "We'll be going back to my office to discuss the situation. But first, you need clothes." He eyed Vincent critically. "Those seem to be a bit big for you."

Vincent blushed, a small tinge of red coming to his cheeks. What was he doing before that possessed him to put such large clothes on? "I'll be fine- I can wrap that," he nodded his head at the red piece of fabric lying on the floor, "around me for now. I assume that it is mine, as you two don't seem the type to be wearing something like that."

Kaien grinned. "No, you're right. He knelt down to pick it up, so he could hand it to Vincent, when a bundle fell out of it. "What…?" He picked it up, and an expression of understanding dawned on his face. He tossed them onto Vincent's lap. "I'm guessing those are yours." He turned around, going for the curtain. "Come on, Kaname-kun. Give him some privacy."

Kaname followed Kaien, giving one last glance towards the boy on the bed, who was regarding the bundle on his lap with a confused look. He shook his head, and left. Why do I think that look is so endearing…?

Vincent waited until both older men exited, then picked up the bundle Kaien had tossed him. A black button- up shirt and undershirt were there, along with a pair of black slacks. No shoes, though, and his brows knitted together as he stared at the clothes. Why would I remember clothes, but no shoes?

Clearing his head of inane thoughts, he tossed his legs over the bed, reaching down to regard his shoes.

He tentatively stroked the bolted golden points on each boot- they were hard and cold. Funny. Wasn't gold usually softer? It would be impractical for footwear. Maybe it was copper or something that looked like gold.

Vincent turned his feet his way and that, trying to figure out how to get them off. Finally, on the sides, he found the ties that held them onto the boots, and with a few quick jerks, untied the knots, and they dropped off, leaving a normal pair of boots behind. From there, it was easy to unlace them, and draw them off, noticing that they were, like the rest of his wardrobe, too big for him. How had he walked in them?

He stood up, the leather pants falling down immediately. Stepping out of them, he drew on the pants, buttoning them up, and then the undershirt and button- up shirt, not bothering to button it up. He picked up the cloak, and spread it out on the bed, picking up the discarded clothes and wrapping them around the gold boot tips, then placed them on the cloak, rolling it up into a bundle he could carry easily.

Straightening up, he ran a hand through his hair, wondering why it was so long. A thought occurred to him that made him freeze, then laugh quietly to himself. He couldn't remember what he looked like, aside from the obvious fact that he had long black hair. Looks like he'd be getting a surprise when he looked in the mirror.

Shaking his head, he gathered the bundle of clothes under one arm, and grabbed the boots in the other. He padded over to the curtain, drawing it aside with his elbow, and exited the closed- off bed, looking around. He spotted the two older men over by a desk that he assumed to be the nurse's, Kaien filling a paper out, and Kaname leaning against a wall, arms crossed, and staring at the floor.

They both looked up as he came up to them, and Kaien nodded. "Those clothes seem to fit you better." Then, he went back to filling out whatever he was before Vincent came out.

Kaname nodded as well. The clothes did fit him. The black contrasted with his white skin, making it more noticeable, and brought notice to his unique eyes, as they were the only color on his face aside from the pink of his cheeks and lips. Vincent was very slim, he noted, in a willowy, lithe sort of way. His gaze traveled down to Vincent's bare feet. "You have no shoes…"

Vincent looked down at Kaname's words, and shrugged. "If it's not a long walk on a path of razor- sharp glass, I'll be fine." Kaname studied Vincent for a moment, gauging his words.

He opened his mouth, about to offer to carry the boy, or something, as the thought of him walking around barefoot didn't appeal to him, and the shut it as he realized what he was doing. Was he really going to offer to carry this boy like a girl? What the hell was wrong with him?

He thought about it for a second, then came to the conclusion that it was some kind of protective instinct, brought on by sympathetic feelings towards the boy's loss of memory, and his disheveled state.

It was at that moment that Kaien set the pen down, and passed a few of the papers to the nurse, folding the others, and tucking them into his pocket. He walked over to them, glancing at the door. "Ready, Vincent? There's a few things we need to talk about."

Vincent nodded. "Of course."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Lifestream….

Aerith was watching over the proceedings with a smile. It had worked; Vincent did, in fact, make a rather cute teenager. She giggled.

"You could have at least given him clothes that fit him." Zack walked up, a grin on his face.

Aerith turned to see her friend, and held out her hand, which he took, then approached the well of water where Aerith was watching her friend through. She gazed down at the ravenette sitting on the hospital bed fondly. "Oh, I did." At Zack's raised eyebrow, she smiled. "They're in his cloak." Suddenly, she blinked, an incredulous look crossing her face. "Oops… I forgot to give him shoes..."

Zack laughed, shaking his head. "If he knew… I don't think he would appreciate being treated as a life-sized dress-up doll."

She giggled. "That's the beauty of it. He doesn't remember…" Her demeanor turned more serious. "But, I think he'll be fine. He has a chance to get a new life, one that he builds for himself, free from any obligations or influences." She gazed down, a fond look turning her face happier. "And, I think... he may be able to love once again."

Zack looked down to where she was looking, seeing a tall brunette standing quietly in the corner of the infirmary room. "Him?" At Aerith's nod, he frowned.

"But, what about the other one?" He knelt down, and stirred up the water, showing another figure, one who was currently sitting under a tree, staring up at the nearly full moon.

Aerith turned and leveled a knowing look at Zack. "It will all turn out in the end, Zack. Just wait and see."

Sighing, the spikey- haired ravenette shook his head. "Sometimes Aerith, I'm scared to see what goes through your mind."

Laughing lightly, Aerith focused back on the pool of water.

The walk back to the Chairman's office was in silence, Vincent trying desperately to recall anything, any memory at all that might help him remember his past life, and the two older men in deep in thought over what had occurred.

When they reached the office, Kaien went to his desk, and sat down heavily in his comfortable rolley chair that he spent hours twirling around in, either alone, or in the presence of Zero or Yuuki. Kaname sat down gracefully in one of the chairs in front of the Chairman's desk, giving a meaningful look to Kaien as he did so.

Vincent, at a loss of what to do, simply stood just inside the doorway, gazing down at the ground, face hidden behind a curtain of hair. "Vincent."

The sound of his name drew his head up, his gaze settling onto Kaien's tired face, and he could see dark rings staring to form under the eyes. "You don't have… a family that you remember, do you?" At Vincent's shake of his head, Kaien sighed. He thought so. Well, there was only one other option, then.

"Seeing as how you don't have anywhere else to go, I would like you to stay here, so you at least have someplace to stay and call a home." There. Kaien's fatherly instincts were satisfied. Now, onto his duties as an adult and Chairman. "As we are also a school, you would naturally be enrolled in the classes we offer here, and receive a legitimate education."

Vincent was, he had to admit, shocked by the proposal. He… well, he didn't know what to expect, but an offer to stay here was not something he expected. Still, the offer was welcome; he had nowhere else to go, and Kaien seemed like a kind man, and Kaname himself didn't seem so bad. Quiet and a little distant, but Vincent sensed a gentle heart under the detached demeanor.

"I… would be honored to stay here, Chairman Kaien," Vincent accepted quietly.

Kaien grinned, the tiredness vanishing at the thought of another 'child' to regard as his own, like he did Yuuki and Zero. "Wonderful!" Kaien exclaimed. He jumped into the air, and Vincent imagined flower petals pouring from his outstretched fingers.

He glanced towards Kaname, his eyebrows raised in a silent question. Kaname shrugged, clearly saying, 'get used to it.'

Kaien calmed down, and sat down, still beaming at Vincent. "Now, we need to figure out if you're going to be in Night or Day Class, first of all, so we can figure out your uniform, and dorms, and-"

Kaname cut him off, raising his eyes to meet Kaien's. "He'll be in Night Class." The statement was innocent, but Kaien knew the hidden meaning under it. Kaname wanted Vincent in the Night Class so he could keep watch over the mysterious boy.

Kaien nodded, drawing up some forms from his desk. "These are the papers for your uniform," Kaien explained as he also drew out a tape measure, and tossed it to Kaname. "I need you to go into the bathroom, and measure him, Kaname, while I fill the other forms out to the best of our knowledge, and get a room in the dorms assigned to him."

Kaname caught the tape measure with ease, and looked over to the boy, who was regarding Kaien with an incredulous look. Kaname understood; the Chairman was a confusing man sometimes. Kaname secretly suspected that he had sustained a head wound during his time as a Hunter, and that it affected his personality. One could never be sure, though.

He stood up gracefully, heading to the bathroom, so he could measure the boy, grabbing the papers on the way out. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Vincent following him, giving the now humming Chairman a wide berth.

It made him want to smile; the boy could be quite amusing.

Vincent followed Kaname into the side bathroom, still wondering at the Chairman's sudden change in moods. Kaname said nothing as they walked into the bathroom, the brunette closing the door behind them.

He glanced at the mirror on the side, wanting to walk up to it, he could see himself. It might have been a vain curiosity, but still… it was odd, walking around, not knowing what one's face looked like. "Something wrong?"

He turned to see Kaname setting down the papers, unraveling the tape measure as he did so. An eyebrow was raised as he asked the question, and Vincent shook his head, stealing a few quick peeks at the mirror.

"I just…" He sighed. "It's odd, but… I don't know what I look like. I was curious."

Kaname stopped what he was doing to look fully at Vincent. The boy's brows were furrowed in confusion, and he was running a hand through his mess of black hair. He considered Vincent's words, trying to see it from his point of view. He had to admit, waking up to find that he couldn't remember anything about himself, well, it would be odd.

"My own voice surprised me, too."

He shook himself from his thoughts to see Vincent smiling ruefully at him, idly fiddling with the tip of a lock of hair. He blinked as he realized Vincent was… shy? He inclined his head towards the mirror. "Take a look, then."

Vincent glanced at the mirror, and then slowly approached it, and a vain thought surfaced. What if he was hideous? What if he was all pimply, or sickly looking, or- "What the hell?"

Kaname twisted his head around to see Vincent leaning forward, his hand coming up to brush against his reflected crimson eyes, which Kaname could see were wide in shock. "What... did something happen to my eyes?"

Thinking about it now, it was a logical reaction. That color of eyes was unheard of, unless you were a vampire. Even then, though, Vincent's eyes didn't glow with bloodlust, the irises were simply… a very dark red. They were unsettling as they were captivating, although Kaname could understand Vincent's disbelief. "No, they were like that when you first opened them," Kaname murmured, turning to read the papers to see which measurements he would need.

Normally, he knew, Kaien would call a maid, or tailor, or something to do this, but it was late, and until they sorted out a story for Vincent, they couldn't let anyone else know he was here. Kaien was doing that right now, figuring out a background, and Vincent was partly Kaname's responsibility, since he had found the boy in the first place.

He glanced up to see Vincent narrowing his eyes at his reflection, and then turn away, shaking his head. "I wonder why they're like that…" Vincent looked up, smiling wryly. "I guess I should just be glad they're not glowing like something out of a horror movie."

Kaname was startled at Vincent's quick acceptance of them. Any other person he knew, (well, whose eyes didn't glow red when they were hungry, he thought) would be freaking out over the unnatural color, or exclaiming how cool they were. Vincent's nonchalant acceptance surprised him. "Any other comments about your appearance?" The words may have been sarcastic, But Kaname was, to his surprise, actually quite curious as to how he saw himself.

The boy snorted. "Besides the fact that I'm a bit pale, and my eyes are red?" He shook his head. "Nothing, really." He didn't really know what else to think. He looked in the mirror, and saw a face. A thought crossed his mind- what passed for being considered attractive? He couldn't remember, and therefore, didn't know.

The brunette blinked, the picked up the tape measure. "If that's the case, then.." He held the tape measure up for Vincent to see. "You don't need to take odd all your clothes; just your overshirt."

Vincent reached up to start unbuttoning his shirt, shrugging out of it to let it fall on the floor. He tilted his head to the side. "Where do you want to start?"

Kaname eyed him, then looked at the papers for Vincent's uniform. "Your arms; hold them straight out to the sides."

Vincent did so, and let Kaname start measuring his body.

When they finished, Kaname and Vincent had learned that he was 5' 10', and had a shoe size of 9 in men's. It didn't take that long, thankfully, and Kaname was quick and impersonal in the matter of measuring his body.

Vincent was rebuttoning his shirt as they exited, and saw Kaien still writing, although the tune he was humming had changed. He glanced up, and seeing it was Vincent, gave him a blinding grin. "Vincent! I finished filling out your papers, and since you can't remember your past, I made up a quick history for you!" He paused, seeing the papers in Kaname's hand. "Oh, Kaname, you can get back to your dorm; classes are finished for the night anyway. Just drop those off with the security guard in your dorms when you get there."

"What about Vincent?" Kaname asked.

Kaien readjusted his glasses. "He'll be staying in the office for the day; I'll call Yuuki in from her classes later in the afternoon to pick up his uniform, explain the school better, and escort him to the Moon Dorm afterwards. He'll start classes tomorrow night, after he's had a chance to get settled."

There was really nothing else to say, so Kaname simply turned and walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob, though, and glanced over his shoulder at Vincent. "Have a good day, Vincent."

Vincent just nodded, walked to drop down into a chair, and Kaname went out the door.