Twisted Fate

Chapter 4

Bodyguard

The President looked intently at the dark figure sitting in front of him. He looked awfully familiar, almost exactly like one of the Turks he had thirty years ago. That Turk was reported missing in Nibelheim mission and no one had ever seen him ever since. It was a great lost to Shinra, the President recalled. Ever since then, no other Turks had surpassed his talent.

"Thank you for saving Aeris, Mr. …"

"Valentine." The President froze in shock. So this man was really related to the missing Turk, Valentine. Could he be his son? What he was about to hear from the dark figure was beyond his imagination. "Vincent Valentine."

He was that missing Turk!

But how could he look almost the same after thirty years? Was he really –that- Valentine?

"Long time no see, Mr. President." Vincent said coolly as if to answer President Shinra’s question.

"But… How?" It was all the President could say.

Vincent shifted into a more comfortable position on his seat as he prepared to tell the tragedy that happened thirty years ago.

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"So it was Hojo…" President Shinra slowly digested the story. "How ironic! Eventually, he got killed by his son."

"What!" The red-cloaked man could not believe what he had just heard. "Hojo is dead!"

"Yes." A heavy sigh was let out before the President continued. "Sephiroth went insane last week and killed Hojo."

Vincent sank down in his seat with the new information. His worst enemy was dead, killed by the son of his only love, who was now insane…

"Insane? Why?" The dark figure frowned.

"It’s Hojo’s fault. Sephiroth had been told his mother was Jenova. You and I both know the truth very well. But he was lied to all his life. When he saw the real Jenova in Nibelheim reactor, he thought that was his real mother, and he was an alien. There, he snapped."

The heavy-built President let out another sigh. This was the first time he openly talked to anyone about the Nibelheim incident. A heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He trusted the ex-Turk, for he was once his favorite and the best Turk.

"And now, Sephiroth wants to kill Aeris."

"…You mean…" Vincent could only wish his guess was wrong.

"Yes, the attacker was Sephiroth." The President nodded. "I saw him on the security tape. With that sword and the silver hair, no doubt, it’s Sephiroth."

No wonder the attacker looked as familiar. He was the son of Lucrecia. The raven-haired man could understand why Sephiroth wanted to kill Hojo, but why did he want to get rid of an innocent girl?

"I am sure he will strike again." President Shinra leaned back on his executive chair and closed his eyes wearily. "Next time, I don’t know if Aeris would be that lucky…"

An idea suddenly crossed his mind. The President opened his eyes and looked at his ex-Turk in front of him intently before he spoke once more.

"I cannot afford to lose Aeris. She is… very special." President Shinra paused for a moment before he continued. "Vincent, would you like to be her bodyguard from now on? I saw your skill just now, and I trust Aeris would be save with you. You would get a salary higher than the leader of the Turk, and with all your expenses paid."

Bodyguard? Which means I would have a chance to meet Sephiroth when he strikes again… Perhaps I might be able to tell him the truth about his mother… Perhaps I might be able to right the wrong this time…

Yes, it’s my entire fault. If I cannot kill Hojo, maybe there is another way to atone my sins…

With a nod of his head, Vincent accepted his new assignment.

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Aeris bolted up in a bed. Tears and sweats had dampened her cheeks. She looked around the unfamiliar room in wide eyes with one of her hands on her bosoms unconsciously.

She remembered going up to the rooftop and looking at the view of Midgar at night. And suddenly there was a gunshot behind her. Then she recalled turning around and saw two tall figures: a black one and a red one. And then her own scream…

But how come she was in the guestroom once again? Was it just a dream?

As she rolled out of the comfortable bed, she looked down at the dress she was wearing.

It was not a nightgown as she had expected, but the same white dress she had on the night before.

So, the whole ordeal was not a dream.

Aeris couldn’t help but shivered as she recalled the incident. The man with that huge sword looked very familiar. That silver flowing hair, that black attire, not to mention that six-foot long sword… all these belonged to one person and one person only.

The Great Sephiroth.

She could not see his face clearly in the dark; but that glowing green eyes of his were unmistakably Mako-enhanced.

But why would Sephiroth suddenly appear? More importantly, who was the red figure that fired the gunshot? What really happened last night?

Aeris frowned in frustration, as she could not remember anything beyond the sound of gunshot and her own scream. With a heavy sigh, Aeris slipped into her shoes and walked out of the guestroom. Now, she needed to talk to a person. The only person she trusted in this building.

Tseng.

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Finding the Turk’s office was not hard at all, considered that Aeris now had free access to most parts of the building. This was her first time wandered around the enormous Shirna Building, and of course, she got lost a few times. But the people working there were surprising friendly and showed her the way around this gigantic maze. They looked liked your normal neighbors. Perhaps they might be her neighbors, now that she lived in the upper plate. Maybe Shinra was not really the "evil empire" that the people in the slum portrayed as, if they stopped extracting Mako energy…

"Miss Gainsborough, Tseng is in his office. Let me tell him you are here to see him." The secretary then immediately picked up the phone and called Tseng. Aeris was very surprised that everyone working in this building knew who she was. And they all referred her as "Miss Gainsborough", a name she was not used to at all.

The door to Tseng’s office swung opened suddenly.

"Aeris, are you alright?" The leader of the Turk asked anxiously before Aeris could even say hello.

Realizing he had let his emotion shown in front of the secretary, Tseng composed himself instantly and led Aeris to his office.

"What do you mean, Tseng?" Aeris paused for a short moment. "You know what happened last night already, don’t you?"

"Yes. The President showed me the security tape first thing this morning." Tseng looked at the young lady intently. "You are not hurt, are you?"

"No, I’m fine." She shook her head in response. "But what really happened? I can’t remember anything, except hearing a gunshot and seeing two figures. One of them looked very much like Sephiroth. He even had the same weapon, the same eyes…"

"It was Sephiroth." Tseng put a comfort hand on her trembling shoulders. "Come on, the President wants to see you."

"What for?" Aeris looked puzzled.

"There is someone he would like you to meet. Let’s go."

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