Twisted Fate

Chapter 5

Past and Present

Sitting inside her empty lounge, Aeris patiently waited for her new 'bodyguard'. President Shinra had assigned a bodyguard to protect her from Sephiroth's attack. Why would Shinra go all the way to protect her was a mystery; but the idea of having someone around her almost twenty-four hours a day annoyed her to a great extent. Yet, what bothered her even more was another mystery. Why would Sephiroth want to kill her? And who was the figure who saved her?

The heavy wooden door swung opened as if to answer her questions. A tall man in navy suit walked in quietly, as emotionless as ever.

"Aeris, I would like you to meet your bodyguard, Mr. Vincent Valentine." The leader of the Turk stepped aside. A red figure emerged behind him. A very familiar figure. Standing even taller than Tseng, his long raven hair was still a little disheveled under his red bandanna. His crimson cape flowed behind him as he approached to Aeris gracefully.

The same crimson cape that she saw last night.

Startled at the resemblance, Aeris looked up and met her bodyguard's eyes.

The very same pair of brilliant ruby eyes she recalled last looked at just before she fell into unconsciousness.

Vincent felt a little comfortable under the girl's gaze. Perhaps she was afraid of his appearance. He could not blame her for that. After all, why would a normal person has a pair of eyes as red as his? No. He was not normal; far from it. "Wait til she sees my claw…" Vincent thought bitterly.

Tseng cleared his throat and broke the awkward silence. "Vincent, this is Aeris Gainsborough. Aeris, Vincent Valentine."

"My pleasure to meet you, Miss Gainsborough." Vincent only nodded but did not offer to shake her hand. Why would she want to touch a monster like him? Sure, he did cradle her in his arms last night, but she was unconscious. If she were aware of him last night, probably she would have thought he was a vampire and ran away, just like the teenage materia hunter who freed him from his coffin in Nibelheim.

"Oh my!" The brunette girl gasped with wide eyes. "It's you!"

"She did remember me, no wonder she looked so scared. Probably she thought I was a …" Vincent's gloomy contemplation was cut short when a pair of slender arms threw themselves around his neck. His body tensed and jerked a bit in response to the sudden human contact. How long had it been since someone last hugged him? Thirty years? Or even more? It was her… Before she turned him down…

"Thank you so much for saving my life!" Aeris let go of the dark man and stepped back a little. His face remained emotionless; yet his eyes betrayed him. A strange combination of surprise mixed with sorrow. The young Cetra wondered what had happened to this man; yet she decided to find out later. From now on, she would have all the time she needed to talk to him.

"Please, just call me Aeris." A sweet smile spread across her face as she extended her hand. Vincent regained his composure after the fierce hug just to lose it again when he saw that warm smile on her face. She did remind him of the woman he loved and lost. Taking a deep breath, he reached out for her waiting hand.

Vincent withdrew his hand and frowned inwardly. Part of him wanted to go and leave this place and this girl forever. The resurfacing memories would drown him sooner or later. Yet part of him wanted to stay.

Vincent did not notice he was staring at Aeris during his own contemplation. Aeris' face flushed a little under his intent gaze; yet somehow she could not bring herself to pull away. Something in his eyes mesmerized her, until…

"Ahem." Tseng cleared his throat loudly. He did not like the idea of having someone next to Aeris twenty-four hours a day. Not some complete stranger. Yet, somehow, the President seemed to trust him. His name bothered him even more. Vincent Valentine. The exact same name as the legendary Turk. Rumors had that Valentine had tall and lean build and raven black hair. Just like the stranger in front of him now. But the Turk Valentine had had icy sapphire eyes instead of ruby red ones. Besides, he had been missing since thirty years ago. So who's -this- Valentine? The son of the missing Turk?

"Aeris, you have to stay in this building until we make arrangement for Vincent to move into your house." Tseng frowned inwardly at the idea of having some man moving in with Aeris. However, her safety had been threatened by Sephiroth; it would be best for her to have someone protected her in case Sephiroth attacked again. If only he could be that person.

Aeris only nodded in response. President Shinra had informed her about this arrangement already. The thought of having a stranger moving into her house bothered her somewhat; yet, now knowing the stranger was actually the same person who saved her last night, somehow she did not feel as awkward as before.

But what would her mother think?

As if he could read her mind, Tseng cleared his throat once more. "I've already told Elmyra everything that she needs to know. She has no objection of having Vincent staying there. And she knew you're going to stay here for the next few days."

"Is my mother alright?"

"Yes. I didn't tell her who the attacker was." Tseng replied monotonically. "I did not want her to worry too much."

"Thank you, Tseng." Aeris smiled gratefully.

"Aeris, you have to move to a new guest room, next to Vincent's." Tseng stole a glance from the silent dark figure. Aeris raised her eyebrows questioningly. "There is a door between those two guest rooms. In case anything happen at night."

"But I need to go back home and pack some belongings if I am going to stay here for few days."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of that for you." Tseng turned to Vincent. "I'll show you two the rooms."

"Thanks Tseng." Aeris nodded before she turned her attention to the silent dark figure. "Thank you again, Mr. Valentine."

"Vincent. Please, just Vincent." A warm smile spread across Aeris' face. Just like hers…

"Alright, Vincent. Let's go then."

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