Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson Curse ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

 

Chapter 1

 

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Tokyo:

Spring; 2007

 

 

 

 

 

Vincent bolts up-right in his bed; his body drenched in cold-sweat, he fearfully runs his tongue over his teeth checking for fangs, like he always did after having that nightmare about the past; afraid that one of these days he'll awaken from the nightmare a vampire.

 

After finding no sign of fangs among his teeth, he collapses backwards onto his bed to gather his thoughts and regain his bearings.

 

“It was just a nightmare of what happened 300 years ago…”, he whispers to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow.

 

He licks his parched-lips, moistening them as he turns his head to glance at the clock on his night-stand, finding it obstructed by an empty vodka bottle.

 

Vincent just sighs, remembering that every time the anniversary of when he was cursed and Lucrecia died came, he would drown his sorrows in alcohol; not wanting to remember that night.

 

He moves the bottle and looks at the time; 8:15am.

 

He glares at the clock for a moment; slightly pissed it didn't go off 15 minutes ago, before sitting up and stretching, he catches a look of himself in the mirror on the dresser just five-feet from his bed.

 

His skin was still as lightly sun-kissed as it was back then if not a little paler; the features of his face still the same with no changes in 3 centuries, the only real changes was the fact that his mid-night onyx black hair now framed his face; reaching somewhere between mid-back to his waist, and his once dazzling reddish-brown eyes were now a startling blood-red.

 

Vincent closes his eyes to the image; not wanting to be reminded of what happened to him anymore than he saw, climbing out of bed and snagging the first pair of clean boxers he could find on the floor, pulling them on.

 

He walks over to the dresser and pulls out a pair of black jeans, a red low-collared t-shirt, and a pair of dark-grey socks, and unwittingly catches his refection again, seeing the thin; barely visible, white scar on his lower neck, lightly touching it; the constant reminder of his many attempts to end his life after being cursed, and the only attempt to leave a mark.

 

He secures a double-strapped collar with buckles around his neck; covering the scar, then proceeds to get dressed.

 

He ties his unruly hair behind him in a simple low-ponytail, before putting on his brown leather jacket; with his silver-peacemaker hidden in the inside pocket, and his black steel-toed boots.

 

(A/N: When I say `peacemaker', I'm referring to Vincent's gun from `Final Fantasy VII' only because I don't know what make or caliber it is; because I've never play the game! Only seen the movie and played `Dirge of Cerberus' and I'm using the information I could find on the internet!)

 

Vincent exits his apartment, blinking against the bright sun-light; allowing his eyes to adjust, and wishing he hadn't lost his sun-glasses last week.

 

He begins his trek down the sidewalk, keeping his ears open for any rumors of recent vampire-attacks.

 

Which left him wondering where Sephiroth and his minions had gone after he lost track of them a century and a half ago, but the rumors from a year ago said the Vampire-Lord and his hoard had returned to Edo; now named Tokyo.

 

`Lucrecia… I swear I will avenge your death…', he silently vowed.

 

“Hateshinai mirai hirogaru kono sora atarashii jibun ni umare kawaru

Sekaijuu shiawase no yuki o furasete miseru yo…”, he heard with the sensitive hearing the curse had granted him.

 

“Hmm…?”, he gasps, looking around trying to locate the singing, `It couldn't be…'

 

“Unmei wa tsukamu mono kono te jiyuu ni nobaseba ii

Kimerareta ashita wa nai

Damatte ite mo wakaru ano hi deai wa guuzen janai

Tooi hitomi ni eien kanjita

 

Kureta yuku yuuhi ga kirei tsumetai kaze ga hikareba

Anata no koe sotto kikoeteru

 

Kokoro no naka hitori janai koto itai hodo kono mune o atsuku suru

Hajimaru ne shinjiru koto kara kono kimochi ikiru akashi

Hateshinai mirai hirogaru kono sora atarashii jibun ni umare kawaru

Sekaijuu shiawase no yuki o furasete miseru yo

sono te tsunaide…”, the voice continued to sing, coming closer.

 

`It sounds like Lucrecia's song… but why am I hearing it? It went with her when she died…', he thinks, looking around.

 

Suddenly, he sees a young woman in her early 20's running through the crowd of people, a messager-bag hanging from her shoulder, she had dirty-blonde mixed with strawberry-blonde waist-length hair and honey-colored brown eyes, and she was wearing the local college's uniform and her bangs needed a comb ran through it; the girl was running late for her class.

 

But before he could get out of her path, she runs flat-smack into his chest; dropping her bag and the papers fall out.

 

“Aw crap!”, she curses quickly gathering her papers and stuffing them back into her bag, “I'm so sorry!”, she calls out, as she started running again.

 

“Mizu ni yureru hanabira haruka tsuki o oikaketeku

Miteta yume yori tooku e

 

Iya na koto ga aru tabi hitori aoi sora o nagameru

Yowai jibun ni maketakunai kara

 

Sagashiteta atatakai ai no basho mo mirai mo

Ki ga tsukeba mune no naka ni aru

 

Tatta hitotsu moshi dekiru koto ga aru naraba mayowazuni kanaetai

Yuki no you ni kirei na kokoro wa dare ni de mo furitsumoru

 

Tomadou kedo koukai wa shinai tsuretette issho nara kowakunai

Te ni furete nemutteta watashi ima me o samasu

 

Unmei wa tsukamu mono kono te jiyuu ni nobaseba ii

Kimerareta ashita wa nai

Damatte ite mo wakaru ano hi deai wa guuzen janai

Tooi hitomi ni eien kanjita

 

Kureta yuku yuuhi ga kirei tsumetai kaze ga hikareba

Anata no koe sotto kikoeteru

 

Kokoro no naka hitori janai koto itai hodo kono mune o atsuku suru

Hajimaru ne shinjiru koto kara kono kimochi ikiru akashi

Hateshinai mirai hirogaru kono sora atarashii jibun ni umare kawaru

Sekaijuu shiawase no yuki o furasete miseru yo

sono te tsunaide…”, he heard the young woman sing as she ran.

 

`How the hell does a girl in this time know Lucrecia's song?', he ponders in wonderment.

 

He takes a step and hears a crunch of paper from underneath his foot.

 

“Hmm…?”, he hums, looking down at his foot, to find one of the girl's papers under his foot, “She forgot a paper…”, he whispers, picking it up and glancing it over, “Her name is: Karin Hitodama, huh?”

 

 

 

 

 

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“I am so late!”, Karin mutters to herself, running down the crowded sidewalk towards the bus to the Tokyo Community College.

 

To try to calm her nerves she begun to sing a song that only she seemed to know, but was very dear to her.

 

(A/N: This is the translation to the song above!)

 

“I'll be reborn as a new me in this sky that spreads into the endless future

I'll show you the snow of happiness falling all over the world…”, she stops singing a moment to focus on not getting hit be traffic.

 

“I'll reach out my hand freely to grasp destiny

There's no decided tomorrow

Even being quiet, I know that our meeting on that day wasn't by chance

In your distant eyes, I felt eternity

 

As the cold wind shines through the beautiful fading sunset

I just barely hear your soft voice

 

It hurts so much not being alone in my heart that my soul is made passionate

The proof that my feelings are alive starts from my belief

I'll be reborn as a new me in this sky that spreads into the endless future

I'll show you the snow of happiness falling all over the world

While holding your hand…”, she continued to sing, until she ran straight into the chest of someone, dropping her bag and the papers fall out.

 

“Aw crap!”, she curses, gathering the paper up and shoves them into the bag, “I'm so sorry!”, she apologizes, catching a glimpse of the guy she ran into as she run off.

 

`He does appear to be more than 27 years old, and his eyes… Those must be some fucking-cool contacts…', she comments inside her head, before trying to find where she left off on the song.

 

“The flower petals drifting in the water are chasing the distant moon

Father than the dreams I used to see

 

On this journey full of unpleasant things, I gaze up at the blue sky alone

I don't want to lose because of being weak

 

The warm love and the future that I was searching for

Are with my feelings inside my heart

 

If I can only do one thing, even if I'm puzzled I want to grant this wish

That my beautiful heart will fall down and pile up over someone like snow

 

I'm confused, but I don't regret a thing. If we lead each-other, I won't be afraid

At the touch of your hand on my sleeping form, I awaken

 

It hurts so much not being alone in my heart that my soul is made passionate

The proof that my feelings are alive starts from my belief

I'll be reborn as a new me in this sky that spreads into the endless future

I'll show you the snow of happiness falling all over the world

While holding your hand…”, she finished the song, just as she reached the bus to take her to college.

 

“You just barely made it this morning, Karin”, the bus-driver says, as she climbs up the steps and shows her bus-pass.

 

“Stayed up almost all night writing my report, David”, Karin explains, as she takes the seat behind the driver.

 

“It's a good thing you are on the track-team”, David comments, as he drives the bus from the curb.

 

“Used to be on the team…”, she bitterly replies.

 

“What do you mean `used to'?”, he asks.

 

“I got a `C' in physical-science, and they kicked me off the team…”

 

“Bummer…”, David sighs, “Tokyo Community College. If this is your stop, please watch your step as he depart the bus”, he says into the mica-phone hooked up to the bus's speaker-system.

 

“Well, later David”, she waves, as she walks off the bus.

 

“Later, and good luck on getting A's!”, he shouts.

 

“Thanks!”, she calls back, continuing to walk towards the front-gate to the college.

 

Karin suddenly got a strange feeling she had forgotten something, causing her to quickly check inside her bag.

 

“Aw, double crap…! I lost my report after I worked so hard on it…”, she curses, “Well, at least it isn't due till tomorrow and I have it saved to my computer at home…”, she sighs, always turning her reports in a day earlier.

 

“Get back here, you little ingrate!”, a male's voice shouts out in the college court-yard.

 

Karin looks up and spots a one of the male teachers chasing after a young man with spiky blonde hair and sparkling blue-eyes that stood at 5'7”, running away with the College's trophy for winning the karate championship in 1999 tucked under the student's arm.

 

“Cloud…”, Karin mutters, shaking her head as she smacks a hand to her forehead, “Causing trouble as always…”

 

As Cloud ran past a group of other students, one with knee-length black hair tied at the end with a yellow hair-elastic and stunning brown eyes; quickly grabs the trophy and pins Cloud to the wall of the building.

 

“What the hell do you think you're doing Cloud? Do you want to get expelled?”, she shouts at him, having to look up at him with her only standing at 5'4”.

 

“And Tifa stopping him…Like he had planned…”, she mutters, walking over to her two friends, `Why can't he admit that he is in love with Tifa?'

 

“Mr. Strife, I want to see you in the Dean's office after-school”, the teacher orders to Cloud, retrieving the trophy from Tifa, “Thank you for your help, Miss. Lockhart”.

 

“Sure thing, Mr. Takeuchi”, Tifa says.

 

“Cloud, how could you be so stupid?”, Karin states, smacking him on the side of the head and it being easy with her being 5'8”; an inch taller than him.

 

“What? It's my tradition for every two weeks to steal one of the trophies from the display-case…”, he says.

 

“And you wonder why you can't get onto the kendo-team”, Tifa mutters.

 

“Let's just get to class before Cloud does something to get all three of us into trouble…”, Karin sighs, remembering the time in high-school when Cloud stole the school-mascot; Minka the python, and his mother killed it; thinking the tame snake was going to eat her, the three of them had detention for a month; Tifa and herself being guilty by association.

 

“My thoughts exactly…”, Tifa agrees, grabbing the object of her disappointment by the back of the uniform-shirt collar, dragging him into the College.

 

`And why can't Tifa just admit she loves Cloud?', Karin thinks, following the love-shy couple inside.

 

But none of the three notice that they were being watched by a black haired and blood-red eyed male standing on top of the building across the street from the College.

 

“She seems like just a normal College-student…”, Vincent mutters to himself, “But how does she know a song that was never written down by Lucrecia…”, he whispers, perplexed by the fact a young woman in this era knows a song from the Edo-era, also knowing for a fact that Lucrecia was an only child and didn't have any children.

 

He watches Karin take her seat by the window; in the back-row of the class-room, on the second floor, “Maybe I should follow her to discover who; or what, she really is…”, he suggests to himself.

 

 

 

 

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