Keys to the Past

Some things only the author can understand. This one may be a little short, but i'm writing as fast as I can. Thanx to those who have read this far. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for the support Mariam.

Chapter 10

Sitting down on the bed in Tifa’s room, it became clear to Hikari that the alcohol would not stop the butterflies in her stomach. Sighing she went to the bathroom next to the bedroom, and prepared to take a shower.

She undressed, and thought about her emotions. She never had much time for those when grandfather was alive either. The girls at the research center would talk about what they did with men, and she would blush every time. One of the girls recommended a romance novel to Hikari. She read it, and would think about the man she would love to be with her first time. She blushed, wondering what it would be like to get completely and wildly sexual with Vincent. Shaking her head, she blew her bangs from her face. She turned on the water in the shower, and stepped in. Leaning her back against the wall, she breathed in the steam, and she thought about Vincent again. What would he be like? Untamed or gentle, maybe both? She closed her eyes, and let her mind wander for a few minutes.

She opened her eyes, and realized she was turning into a prune. She finished washing, and got dressed. Stepping out of the bathroom she listened to see if anyone else had returned to the bar. It was still quiet downstairs. She walked to the top of the stairs, and peeked around the corner to see if Vincent had moved from his spot. She watched him for a moment; he looked like a dark half-angel, half-demon. He looked like he was thinking about something, her mug of hot chocolate sitting empty in his ungloved hand. “Well then, looks like he’ll relax with no one around,” she thought smiling.

Hikari pulled a small comb from her bag, and walked down the stairs combing her long dark tresses. He looked over at her; she blushed, but didn’t turn from his gaze. She sat down in the chair she sat in earlier, and put her hair up. He watched her while she did this. She put her comb away, and looked at her empty cup in his hand.

“Would you like more?” she asked as she took the cup from his hand. She was mindful not to touch his skin knowing he would probably shy away from her.

He shook his head no.

As she walked behind the bar, the front door burst open, and Cloud came in looking furious. Vincent stood as the rest of the team came in behind Cloud. Cloud had called everyone to tell them what happened.

“Where are they?” Cloud growled as he walked towards Hikari unsheathing his sword.

“Cloud what has happened?” Vincent said as he stood in front of Cloud.

“Tifa and the children are gone! No trace of them. Mr. Barnes said Tifa left the store because the children didn’t come to her when she called them to help with the supplies. He said she went outside, and then he heard screaming. He went to get his weapon after he got off the phone with me, but they had already sped off in a black car. That’s when I pulled up. You know where they are don’t you?” Cloud said giving Hikari a look that could freeze hell over.

Hikari stared back, and came around the bar ready in case he attacked her.

“I don’t know where they are, but you can be sure the people who took them were Turks, or Shinra,” she said quietly.

Cloud didn’t like this answer, pushed Vincent out of the way, and came at her with his sword. Hikari raised her arms, her sword appeared, and she blocked his attack. He pushed her back against the bar while their swords screeched in protest, and sparks flew from the scraping blades.

The phone behind the bar rang. Silence, scraping blades, and a ringing phone were all that was heard.

“7th Heaven Bar and Grill this is Barrett,” Barrett answered the phone. “Yes he’s here. Who’s askin? Fine, here he is,” Barrett said and handed the receiver to Cloud.

Cloud looked at the phone.

“Take the fucking phone Cloud. It’s Tseng,” Barrett said angrily, his face turning red.

Cloud stood upright, and looked at Vincent in the mirror behind the bar. “Will you watch her? I don’t want her to go anywhere.”
Vincent nodded, pulled Cerberus, walked over to Hikari, and pointed it at her chest. Hikari watched Cloud as he went to the phone.

“This is Cloud,” he answered.

“Tell me you have what I want,” said Tseng.

“She’s here.”

“This is good. Now we can come to a deal.”

Cloud turned around and stared at her. He was ready to burst with anger.

“Why did you take Tifa and the children?”

“The woman would not have come if we asked nicely, now would she?”

“You can have her if I get Tifa and the children back alive and unharmed.”

“I agree, but the woman must be alive when we arrive to get her. You will meet us at the flats outside Midgar. You can bring your friends if you like, but no weapons, and no tricks.”

“Agreed.”

“We will meet you there at dawn. Sleep tight,” said Tseng.

Cloud handed the phone to Barrett, and turned to look at Hikari.

“We will have a guard on her at all times until we meet them at dawn,” Cloud said as he walked to Hikari. “You will not try to escape, or so help me I hunt you down, and send you to hell. Is that understood?” he said looking her in the eye.

Hikari looked back. “I will not escape, and I will not need a guard, so back off. I will go to them willingly. If they harm Tifa and the children, I will use everything I am, and have to destroy them. Is this clear to you?” she retorted. She grabbed the gun pressed into her chest, looked Vincent in the eye, and pushed it away. “Get that damn thing away from me. Wait and waste a bullet on someone who deserves it.”

Surprise flared in his eyes for a moment before he squashed it with his usual detached gaze. He lowered his gun, and indicated she should go upstairs. She turned and complied.

“I will watch her. No one else needs to. All of you must get some rest before tomorrow,” Vincent said following. He took a chair before heading up behind her.

Everyone was silent. Cloud frowned and stalked out the front doors of the bar.

“Holy shit! All hell’s gonna break loose tomorrow, and it’s all because of that woman. When I get the chance those fuckers are gonna get it right up the ass,” Yuffie said making a fist.

“Yuffie, calm yourself. We will do as they ask. Hikari will not let them harm Tifa and the children. If they do, I believe Hikari will destroy them, even if she has to give her life to do so. She is not afraid of anyone or anything let alone Rufus Shinra,” Nanaki said, Cait Sith sitting on his back nodding.

“They better be fine otherwise I’ll cap her myself,” Barrett said.

“I agree. Come on lets get some sleep. I know she would never get past Vincent, so I’m not gonna worry myself over her escaping,” said Cid as he lowered the pinball machine into the secret room. Tifa had converted it to a guest room when everyone came over. Everyone followed Cid to the secret room, left Cloud to himself, and tucked in for the night.

~~~~~
Hikari walked into Tifa’s room and sat on the bed. Vincent came in behind her, closed the door, put the chair down in front of it, and sat down. He didn’t holster his gun, but crossed one leg over the other, and sat the gun on his lap. He then leaned back, and folded his arms on his chest.

“I told you I would not escape. I have nothing to go back to, so it doesn’t matter if they take me. As long as Tifa and the children are alright I will be satisfied,” she said looking up at him.

“I know you will not leave,” he said.

“So you’re going to sit here and stare at me all night?”

He nodded.

“Fine, but don’t expect me to sleep, or keep quiet. I will chatter until you leave. I may even just bring up things you don’t want to talk about,” she said.

He stood, holstered his gun, and walked over to stand in front of her. She stood and looked him in the eye.

“Are you going to shut me up? If you think you can, then try. I warn you though I will not go down without a fight Mr.Valentine.”

“Quit acting like your grandfather. That’s the only thing I hated about him. His hardass attitude all the time. He never relaxed,” he said.

She looked angrily into his eyes. “I’m really acting like him huh? Why don’t you tell me more about him Mr.Valentine? It seems you knew him much better than I did. I’ve been told you have almost thirty years missing from your life? You apparently saw much more of my grandfathers true self than I did in the twenty years I was with him. All I got was beaten up and humiliated when he trained me, and that is the only time I saw him. I wasn’t a man like my father or you, so he made my life miserable. You know the only thing that kept me sane was Tifa, Nanaki, and Professor Bugenhagen when he was alive. They treated me like family. Guess you don’t know what a family is since you hide your true self from everyone.”

He pushed her on the bed, and pinned her down with his body. She fought his hands capturing her wrists. He finally caught them, and came face to face with her.

“What do you know of my life? Nothing. You don’t know my pain, and everything I went through at the hands of the Shinra. You could never know. Everyone here is my family, and they are patient with me. I tell them what I wish. We all have things we do not wish for others to know, and there is no sense in forcing it. Don’t ever say things like that again. As a matter of fact don’t speak to me again,” he whispered with menace.

He watched as tears started to spill from her eyes. She closed them and turned her face away from him. It hurt him knowing he mad her cry. He still had human feelings, and he had gone a little soft being with his new family. The children are what brought a little more out of him every time.

He let go of one of her wrists, and pulled the hair away from her face.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you physically, but I will not take back what I said. I may come across as being someone without feelings, but I am still human. I hope in time you understand.”

He released her other wrist, and got off her. He watched as she rolled over onto her side, and tucked into a ball. She started to make little mewling noises, and deep down they got to him. They reminded him of Marlene when she cried. He sighed, and sat down next to her. He put his hand on her arm, and she flinched away. He pulled her into his arms. She struggled for a moment, until he started to stroke her hair, and she calmed. Her tears came in waves now, and all she could do was gasp and choke on them. She turned in to his embrace, and she put her arms around him.

When she calmed enough to stop crying, she sat in his embrace taking in his scent and heat. This was a man she could not sense deep inside, he kept his soul well hidden, and he had just shown her a part of himself. She was ashamed of herself for acting like a bratty child.

“I’m sorry Vincent. I'm being a brat.”

All she got was a sigh from him, and he loosened his embrace. When he did, Hikari tightened hers.

“Please, I haven’t had much contact with anyone for so long. I may not survive what they will do to me, so I may never get the chance to do this ever again. Please Vincent.”

He could remember the time after Lucrecia refused him. He found a place to be alone, and cried wishing he would die. In a way he got his wish. He held her because he never got the chance to be held before Hojo changed him. He knew that she might die at the hands of their enemies, so he held her, and gave her what he never got.

Hikari looked up at him, and the tears still ran down her face, but these were silent tears of sadness.

He leaned into her, and softly brushed her lips with his. He felt her intake of breath, and took that breath by deepening the kiss. She closed her eyes, and leaned into him. He took his clawed hand, and stroked her hair again. She took her hand and laid it against his chest to feel his heartbeat. It was beating as fast as hers, and this time she could feel his emotions. Sadness that he couldn’t stop what was going to happen to her, anger at what has happened to Tifa and the children, and a desire to change it all.

He could smell her skin, and the saltiness of her tears. Her hair was soft, and reminded him of a baby chocobo’s feathers. She was a warm body, something he had not felt in a long time. He may not have felt anything in his heart for her, but he was still a man. He could feel himself getting hard. They parted, and looked into each other’s eyes. He unbuckled his cloak, and let it fall behind him.

“You don’t have to Vincent. I’ll understand.”

“I…never got this before I was changed.”

Hikari closed her eyes. Her lashes framed them like two dark moons. The passionate blush on her face, and her swollen lips were his undoing. He pulled her to him, and took her lips again. He massaged up and down her back, as she put her arms around his neck. They kissed until they were breathless, and they parted again. She was not Lucrecia. Vincent put his forehead against hers.

“I don’t want to take advantage of this. Let me just hold you. Ok?” he said.

Hikari looked up at him, and nodded. She unhooked her cloak, took off her boots, and lay on the bed. Vincent stood, unbuckled his holster, and set it on the bedside table. He took off the armor from his boots, and lay on his back beside her. She rolled over, snuggled against him, and put her head on his shoulder. He took his cloak, covered them with it, and put his arms around her.

“Will you be ok?” she asked.

“Yes. It’s nothing a cold shower won’t fix.”

She pushed up to look at him.

“Is that humor I hear?”

“Yes. Now lie down, and get some sleep. If you don’t, I may have to take that cold shower.”

She smiled at him, and lay her head back down on his chest. His heartbeat combined with his warmth put her to sleep quickly. It felt good to be guarded by him. She slept deeply knowing she would be safe for the time being.

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I may edit this chapter in the future. Stay tuned.