A/N: I've been so lazy lately...I don't know why this took me so long. lol

Enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

Chapter Fifteen

Vincent entered the familiar building, Cloud only a step behind him. The two of them stood by the door for a moment, Vincent looking around the lobby and noting that it hadn't changed much. The place had electricity-that was only thing different since the last time he had been there. A few people were there, sitting at the tables and talking amongst themselves. The inn keeper wasn't in sight, but the noise coming from the kitchen told Vincent where he was.

Both he and Cloud approached the counter, and he peered beyond into the kitchen. Cloud rang the service bell that Vincent didn't notice was there.

It was only a second before Chaza was before them, a strange smile on his face. "Vincent, I thought you might show up soon," he said, leaning against the counter.

"Really?" Vincent asked, raising a brow.

"Yep. Kadaj was here a few days ago," he replied openly.

"Where did he go?" Vincent asked, after Chaza didn't speak for a moment. His smile was now gone, and he wore a serious look Vincent didn't like.

"I'd tell you if I could. He just vanished, before he even went to his room."

Vincent exchanged glances with Cloud, the confusion and concern clear in the blonde man's eyes. Neither said anything; neither had to.

"I guess that wouldn't be too strange, but he left his bike here," Chaza said.

"He did?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, I moved it out back when I realized he wasn't coming back for it."

Vincent went silent, his eyes down at nothing as he thought it all over. He had an uncomfortable feeling-worse than the feeling he had when he ran away in the first place.

"Have you asked around if anyone's seen him?" Cloud asked.

Chaza shrugged, "I got nothing. There isn't a trace of him. Anywhere."

Cloud turned to Vincent. "Would he leave the bike to throw us off?"

"His goal wasn't to get away, it was to find his brother. Why would he leave it behind?"

"Um..." the innkeeper started, getting their attention once more. "He also wasn't the only one of my patrons who went missing."

"There was someone else?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah, a man named Loveless. At least that's what he said his name was. He'd been here a for a couple of weeks. I saw him talking to Kadaj the day the boy came here, then I never saw either of them again. None of Loveless's stuff was even moved from his room."

Cloud and Vincent were once again looking at each other, similar thoughts going through their minds.

"This Loveless man...do you know anything about him?" Cloud wondered.

Chaza scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head helplessly. "Not really. I don't even know where he's from. He just came here one day. He never did anything that made me uneasy, but...something about him just didn't seem right."

"Can we check out his room?" Vincent asked, straight-forward.

Chaza nodded slowly, reaching beneath the counter to pull out a key. He also took out some gil, sliding it across the counter to the man. "That was what Kadaj paid me for the room."

Vincent nodded as he took the gil from, "Thank you."

The innkeeper gestured to the stairs as he stepped out from behind the counter. Both men followed to him to the room.

Vincent stood at the bottom of the hotel bed, gazing down at the perfectly made sheets. He was disappointed, and displeased. Cloud continued to look around the room, searching for what clearly wasn't there. There were no hints about this Loveless man, no clues that would even begin to suggest what type of person he was. There was a map in the room, along with a couple potions and some gil. A few pairs of clothing were in the dresser, but they were plain and unmarked.

Wherever Loveless came from, and wherever he went, was a complete mystery.

Cloud stopped his searching and went to Vincent's side, staring at him seriously. He spoke low, gazing at Chaza warily, as the innkeeper remained by the door. "Who would want to kidnap Kadaj? And why?"

Vincent thought for a moment. There were a couple reasons he could think of.

"Shinra?" Cloud asked.

"Rufus knows the situation."

"Rufus also didn't approve of them being free."

Vincent shook his head, glancing over the room one last time. "It doesn't sound right."

"Who else then?" the blonde wondered, "What reason would someone want him for...besides the obvious one?"

Vincent knew what he meant.

"You mentioned Shinra," Chaza said from his place by the door. Clearly, they hadn't been talking low enough.

"What about it?" Cloud asked.

"Loveless...he had eyes like you, the eyes of a SOLDIER."

Both paused for a minute, exchanging glances yet again. "We may have to pay Rufus a visit after all," Vincent commented, "He might be our only lead to finding out who this man is."

Yazoo had moved himself closer to Shelke, figuring it would be safer to be in close proximity, even though they were both still bound. They didn't speak much to each other, but that wasn't very surprising. They were both more of observers, watching their captors for any chance they might have of escape. If they were lucky, maybe they could find a weakness to exploit.

Currently, the six of them were all gathered around the fire, in the midst of a discussion. Hail was the closest to the captives, keeping one eye on them at all times. Luke and Artemis were both silent. Ivan and Lyra were doing the most talking, continuously countering one another. Jaika was bent over a pot boiling over the fire, his focus intent on whatever it was he was cooking.

"Are you sure no one will come looking for them?" Lyra asked. Her eyes briefly flickered to Yazoo and Shelke.

"It doesn't matter," Ivan replied, looking frustrated by this point, "We'll be long gone from here, and no one will know where to find them."

"Ivan," she said sternly, her navy eyes piercing, "It's not worth it."

"Don't worry-"

"Don't tell me not to worry," she retorted quickly.

"Okay!" Hail cut them off, causing the two of them to break away and face her. "Can we discuss this later? First we have to figure out what we're gonna do with the bike." She gestured to the motorcycle still sitting comfortably in the clearing.

"We'll take it back to our base," Ivan said, as if it were obvious.

"Well hate to break it to you, but our base is that way..." She began, gesturing to the western side of the forest and probably far beyond, "Where you want to take these two..." she directed her arms the eastern side now. "totally different direction."

"Thank you, Ms. Obvious. I totally didn't know that." His frustration was clear through the sarcasm, everyone's emotions obviously surfacing.

Yazoo glanced over at Shelke, raising a brow. He might just have found his weakness...

"Clearly, one of us is gonna have to take the bike to the mountains."

"I'm not leaving again," Lyra said, before any suggestions were made. "You already had me running around way too many places last month."

Ivan stared at her flatly. "I was going to have Luke do it."

"I'm not going," the other man informed simply. He rose from his seat by the fire, facing their leader. No one could tell if he was actually looking at the man, with the shades there.

"What?" Ivan exclaimed, surprised. "Why not?"

"I'm not going." He offered no explanation, just pointed to the white-haired woman to Ivan's left. "Send Artemis instead."

"Artemis? Why would I send her? She's mute. How are we supposed to communicate, with little clicking noises over the radio?"

Artemis' response was a swift, blunt kick to the leader's shin. Ivan grabbed his injured limb and stumbled back, letting out a spree of grumbled curses. Artemis seemed to gather some satisfaction, though the smile was only seen in her eyes. She stepped away from Ivan, going to Luke's side and leaning against shoulder.

After regaining his composure (and glaring at Artemis briefly), Ivan faced the group again.

"Why don't we just take the bike with us?" Lyra asked, "There's enough room on the freighter."

Yazoo and Shelke turned from the conversation as Jaika stepped away from the fire, carrying the pot of boiling food and a bag over to them. The young boy sat himself on the grass just to Yazoo's right, setting the hot pot down beside him. A small grin was on his face as he reached into the bag and pulled out a bowl and spoon. Yazoo watched him scoop some of the soup into the bowl, then hold the spoon up to the remnant's mouth.

"Hungry?" he asked.

Yazoo only glared at him.

"Come on, it's good," Jaika said, taking the spoonful in his mouth instead. "Mmmm...good."

Yazoo still only glared at him.

Hail still watched them out of the corner of her eye, wary.

Jaiki reached into the bag once again, this time pulling out a smaller bag full of crackers. He pulled out one of the crumbly wafers and offered that to Yazoo instead.

"There's nothing you could do to make me eat your food," Yazoo informed.

"Why not?" Jaika asked, now eating the cracker. "You'll starve if you don't eat."

He turned away from the boy. Shelke watched Jaika, but he seemed doubtful that she would eat either. He lifted the spoon again, trying once more to change Yazoo's mind. "Come on," he urged."

Yazoo lifted his leg and hit the boy with his knee, using enough force to knock him down. He landed on his back, the bowl of soup spilling.

"Hey!" Hail exclaimed. She approached Yazoo, reaching down and taking his shirt in her fist. She got close to his face, her anger apparent. "Show some appreciation. He was just trying to feed you!"

"It's okay," Jaika was about to say, but was interrupted when Yazoo spat in the woman's face. The boy stared with wide eyes as the blue-haired vixen struck him hard in the mouth. Yazoo's head was thrown to the side, his lip busted and the lightest of smiles on his face. Hail drew back from him, wiping the spit from her face.

"Fine then...starve." She grabbed Jaika by the arm and helped him to his feet, gathering the hot pot and the utensils.

Ivan watched it all, an amused smile on his face. Yazoo felt his eyes on him, but chose to ignore him, instead looking to Shelke. He couldn't tell if she was angry with him or not, but she looked a little unhappy.

"I was hungry," she hissed.

A/N: Am I the only one getting a "couple-vibe" from Luke and Artemis? O_o That is so strange...

Please review. Give me your thoughts, your comments, your suggestions... ^_^