Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Only When It Rains ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

Something was watching. They had been watching the house for a long time. They were observing the first rule of the hunt: know your enemy. So they had watched as the man visited his friends. They'd seen the primary target. The child was with the man with the cape.

The shadow, perched at the window sill, slowly withdrew. Soon the time for battle would come... Obsidian eyes narrowed to glittering slits. Soon the battle would come.

Vincent couldn't sleep well that night. He tried to read a book but he kept having a strange feeling that something was wrong. It was an uneasy feeling gnawing at his gut. Apparently his uneasiness was shared by at least one person.

Lucretia wouldn't go to sleep. At first she was just fussy, which Vincent could ignore fairly well. But soon she started to cry. With a sigh, he set down the book he'd been reading. He scooped her up, settling her into the crook of his arm. That seemed to have shocked her enough to make her quiet down. Vincent slumped back down into the chair, adjusting her in his lap. He picked up the book and flipped to the page he was on.

In his low, deep voice he started to read hoping it would calm her down. "A new source of energy will now become imperative since the halt of Mako energy use. While the reversion to fossil fuel use is ultimately better for the Lifesteream, there is a risk. Unless handled properly it could lead to dangerous levels of pollution.

"Therefore, in this new age, without the ShinRa Mako empire, we need to find a better, more reliable, and long lasting source of energy. The regression to fossil fuels cannot last. At the current rate of consumption we could reach dangerously low levels within a hundred years.

"Either a better type of fuel must be found or a more efficient means of getting it must be created. It is..." He trailed off, looking down. Lucretia was peacefully sleeping, her head resting on chest.

He slowly set his book down, tightening his flesh arm around her so she was nestled closer to him. He felt the warmth of her little body through his clothing. Watching her sleep so peacefully, so trusting that the person holding her wouldn't let her fall or leave her there alone. It left him in awe and a tiny bit of fear. What if he let that trust, that belief, down? What if he couldn't live up to what would be needed? Expected? What if he failed her has he failed his Lucretia so long ago...? Vincent felt a sudden, almost suffocating, surge of panic.

Forcibly, he cut off the thoughts before they could continue. Still, the questions lurked in the corners of his mind, unanswered. Cid and Shera said they would help him till he knew how to take care of her. The feeling of something waiting and watching made him uneasy. He felt that he was being hunted...and the hunter was very close.

He shook his head, causing strands of black hair to fall about his face. There was no one there and most likely no one was watching him. He figured he was getting paranoid in his old age. He was starting to jump at shadows that weren't even there.

He tilted his head back against the chair, not wanting to move for fear of waking the baby. He closed his ruby eyes, still cradling baby Lucretia. Slowly, the weariness from his hike over the mountains caught up with him and he dosed off.

Everyone in the house was asleep, even the mice, and the only thing stirring was a shadow. It crept throughout the house, silent, unnoticeable, practically. It moved through the house, investigating each room quietly. Soon it came to the guest room at the end of the hall.

Without even the hint of a sound the shadow slipping in and looked about the room. The light still shone here, but somehow, the person who was the shadow remained hidden. The shadows in the room seemed almost to embrace the person, pulling it close.

It studied the figure sleeping in the chair, fixing deadly black eyes on it. It could have retrieved the target now, but that would cause a ruckus and they'd be unable to properly defend. Better to wait.

The man looked almost peaceful in sleep, long black hair falling back from a distinguished, pale face. He held the baby in his arms protectively. The golden claw shone dully in the light, its deadly, curved fingers highlighted, shining. The scene was touching to be sure, but it didn't affect the creature at all.

After another minute the shadow withdrew, disappearing as silently as it had appeared. Just exactly from where it had originally came was impossible to tell. The only evidence of the visit was the faint whiff of incense which only the most delicate nose could have detected.

In his sleep Vincent's very sensitive nose twitched. He thought he could detect a faint whiff of incense but why would there be incense in Cid's house? As long has he had known Cid, his house had always smelled like oil, cigarettes, and dirty socks. So where had the incense come from? Try has he might, Vincent's sleep-fogged mind refused to focus on the odd smell.

After a minute he managed to crack open one red eyes. He swept it over the room, noting that nothing appeared out of place. He glanced down and found the baby still sleeping soundly against him. So he shrugged it off and adjusted his position, yawning. He must be imagining the smell. Though for the life of him he couldn't remember ever having an imagination before... With another yawn he closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.