Chapter Sixteen: Diagnosis

Vincent waited in the Kisaragi's guest room while Lulu slept. Although his composure was, as always, cool and controlled, in his mind he was a mess of anxiety and fear. He knew his future with Yuffie was at stake and that everything rode on the conversation she was now having with her father. His highly acute sense of hearing was of no use to him now; for, although he strained to overhear even a few words of the discussion taking place a few rooms away, he could make out nothing. That seemed to Vincent very peculiar, considering he was expecting a shouting match followed by an all-out fight between father and daughter. Perhaps things were going better than expected…

But what would that mean? Vincent had no interest in becoming the emperor of Wutai, even if Godo should agree to such a preposterous idea. He had no business ruling a nation and – considering his lifespan – there would most definitely be problems down the road if he did.

Yet he would accept the post, if it was Yuffie's wish. He would be her lover in secret, if need be, to appease the authorities of Wutainese tradition, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Still, he knew he could never ask Yuffie to give up her future for him and, so, he would do whatever it took to keep her in his life.

His heart skipped when he heard the light footsteps approaching at a run and poised himself for the worst. The screen was thrown aside, smacking hard into the door frame, and Yuffie seemed to float into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck tightly.

"Yuffie, is everything alright?" he managed to ask in between a barrage of Yuffie's lips on his.

"Better than alright!" she exclaimed. "My dad is the coolest."

Vincent let go a gentle sigh, but he could not feel total relief until he knew exactly what had been said. "What has happened?"

"It's a long story, but he's okay with us dating. And, I made him promise to be nice from now on. We… can't really go public with it yet, but this is better than I hoped for."

"This is good news, but…"

"But what?"

"It's nothing."

Yuffie's smile vanished. "Vincent, what's wrong with you?"

"I don't suppose you got around to discussing your… inheritance."

Yuffie looked outraged. "Money! What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"No, Yuffie, not the money. I meant your plans to take over when your father…"

Her face softened then. "We didn't really… talk about that. I'm sorry."

Vincent pulled her close again. "Don't be sorry, Yuffie. It's understandable if you want to put it off. I can wait."

"Whatever happens, I'm going to make sure we get to be together."

Vincent closed his eyes. "That's all I needed to know," he whispered.

Yuffie snuggled her face against him and said, "I'm sorry for accusing you… about the money. I should've known better. I'm just really stressed from talking with my dad."

"No apology necessary."

"So how's Lulu?" she asked, peering under Vincent's arm.

"Still asleep. I'm growing more concerned about her condition."

"Maybe a doctor could help. I could call for our family physician."

"I think that's a wise idea. I'll wait here. I don't want to leave her unguarded."

Yuffie's shoulders slumped a little. Vincent pulled back to examine her face. "What is the matter?"

"It's just… We haven't been alone since we left Edge."

"Yuffie, it's only been a few days."

"I know. I guess I'm just bummed that all this crap had to come up as soon as we got together. It's almost like… Well, never mind."

"Like fate is toying with us?"

Yuffie scratched behind her ear. "Yeah, I guess." Then she shrugged. "Oh well. Once we get Lulu some place safe, I say we go on a vacation! Just the two of us. What do you say?"

The corner of Vincent's mouth turned up. "A vacation? Hmph. That sounds nice."

"Yippee! How about Costa Del Sol? Nah, probably not your kind of place, huh? Maybe Icicle! Do you ski? I used to go all the time."

Vincent cut her off ever so gently. "Wherever you'd like to go is fine with me, Yuffie."

She sighed contently, her eyes glittering as she stared into his. "You're the best, Vince. Sometimes I feel like you're too good to be true."

"I'm far from good, Yuffie."

"Oh, Vince. You're putting yourself down again."

"…But I promise I'll always be good to you."

She hugged him tightly and pecked him on the lips. "Of course!"

They laughed – well, Yuffie Laughed and Vincent chuckled almost inaudibly – before Yuffie reluctantly left him again to send for the doctor.

Twenty minutes later, she returned with an old man of short stature. His hair was nearly snow white and he had a long mustache and beard. Small eyes peered through round spectacles as he examined Vincent curiously. Without a word, he then turned to Lulu.

She had woken up only a few moments prior to the doctor's arrival and was still groggy when he carefully knelt beside her. "Well, now, what have we here?"

He touched the grayed flesh, scratching it lightly with his fingernail. "Interesting. Do you have any food allergies that you're aware of?"

Lulu shook her head. "None that I know of, Doctor. Do you think that's what it is?"

"Not likely… I've only seen this once and it was… well, that's ancient history."

"Please, Doctor," Yuffie implored, kneeling to join him. "What was it?"

The doctor sighed and shook his head. "About five or six years ago, during the war, there were some strange soldiers killed by Wutai soldiers in the woods. When their bodies were collected for burial, the coroners were shocked to discover they were identical to one another. Even more peculiar, perhaps, were the strange gray patches on their skin. Even their hair was graying, and these men were in their twenties."

Lulu's eyes were wide with fear. "What happened? Did you ever find out why this was happening to them?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The only men I was able to examine were already dead. After a while, we stopped seeing them and the war ended shortly after that. I never found the cause. However, I suspected they were clones of some kind."

Vincent, Yuffie and Lulu eyed each other cautiously until the doctor chuckled to himself. "Ridiculous, I know. Looking back on it now, I wonder if I wasn't just imagining things."

Lulu's face was full of concern. "So you have no idea what is causing this, or my sudden energy loss?"

"My guess would be your feinting episodes are being brought on by anemia. As for the skin problem, I'm at a total loss. I'm sorry, Lulu."

Lulu did her best to keep herself composed. "That's alright, Doctor. Thank you for coming to see me."

The doctor rose, with Yuffie's help, and again looked strangely at Vincent. Then he left the room and the three traveling companions were alone again. Vincent stared after the doctor a moment while Yuffie put a supportive arm around Lulu's tiny shoulders.

"You okay, Lu?"

"Yes, Yuffie. I'll be fine."

"I can't believe the doc didn't know what this was."

"Perhaps it's nothing," she suggested unconvincingly. "How much longer are we staying in Wutai? I'd like to move on as soon as possible."

Yuffie turned to Vincent. "We're having dinner with my dad tonight. I guess we can leave in the morning."

"Thank you." Then Lulu rose to her feet and stretched. "I need some fresh air. Can we go outside for a while?"

"Sure. My dad's got a really nice garden out back."

Lulu nodded and the three of them headed out the back door of the house to the secluded garden. The fresh air felt good, but before Yuffie could check out the koi pond, she felt the cold metal of Vincent's claw close around her arm, holding her back. Lulu walked ahead, without noticing.

"What is it, Vince?"

Vincent waited a moment until Lulu was out of earshot. "I didn't want to say anything in front of her, but… I think I know what's wrong with Lulu."

"Well? Are you gonna tell me or what?"

"Something the doctor said made me think of it. Since it came about, cloning has been an unstable and unpredictable practice. We've seen evidence of that with the Sephiroth clones. I've done some research since then, and came across a symptom known as degradation."

"Degradation? You mean..?"

Vincent nodded slowly. "The process consists of random cell death, resulting in skin or hair discoloration. Eventually, the body will die."

Yuffie felt a wave of panic sweep over her. "No."

"I can't be certain that is what is happening to Lulu, but… if it is…"

"What're we gonna do? There's no way I could tell her…"

"I suggest we continue on our journey to find her a safe home. If she is, indeed, degrading, I believe the best thing would be for her to live out her remaining days in peace."

Yuffie nodded slowly, still struggling to wrap her mind around the probability of Lulu's fatal condition. "You're right."

"Yuffie," Vincent said softly. "We will have to act as though everything is normal. I may very well be wrong about the degradation and, if I am, there's no need to upset Lulu."

"I know. I just… It's going to be hard."

"I know you can do it."

"Well, at least we'll have a distraction tonight. I didn't tell you, but this is sort of a trial. The old coot thinks I need him to approve of you, so he's going to be watching you like a hawk tonight."

"Yuffie…"

"I know you're not so comfortable with people, Vince. But it's important to my dad and I want to do everything I can to stay on good terms with him."

"I understand. I hope I may meet his standards."

"Don't be afraid to put him in his place if he starts acting like a jerk again. Sometimes he just needs a reminder on how to act around other people."

"Noted."

Yuffie inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. "Well, let's go feed the stupid fish," she muttered, dragging him toward the koi pond. Neither noticed the set of eyes watching from the rooftop.

***Oh no! Cliffhanger! Sorry if this chapter's boring. I wanted to throw an action scene in there, but it was getting too long. Next chapter will have more romance, humor and bloodshed! PROMISE!***