Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Venus ❯ Sooner Or Later ( Chapter 2 )

There are many aspects that make up a comic book.

 

Plot, character, setting, the protagonist, the antagonist, the mandatory love interest. The strength to prevail… The deadly flaw.

 

In Seventh Heaven we all had alias's of famous damsels or vixens.

 

This is all just a form of escapism.

 

Yazoo was Dorian Grey, Nero was Mary Jane, Demyx was Marilyn. I called myself Kitten; I guess men just found that endearing.

 

Ten points if you can tell me where they got those names from…

 

Every time that little black and white paper Vincent would fall back to lick his wounds the Kitten, the hidden embodiment of all his sexuality, would be there.

 

I'm talking about comic books, of course.

 

The image of lust and androgyny. Always in the shadows, the perfect seductress and not once did you see the Kitten's face. I guess I found that endearing.

 

When everything is out of control, just substitute the world for your own reality.

 

That's why I was the Kitten, my innocent coy persona held onto a childish concept of kindness, salvation, redemption. Every time I fucked a client, I became a little less of Cloud and little more of a fictional character. So sue me, I'm a hopeless romantic.

 

Why did I need this image to keep myself sane?

 

It's all a game. Don't worry.

 

I don't know, do I look like a psychologist? Fuck no.

 

It's all a game.

 

But I am a procrastinator. So maybe I should give you all what you're waiting for…

 

 

A wise man once said:

 

`I think, therefore I am,'

 

Ten points if you know that man's name.

 

With that sentence I disproved Reno's entire existence; yes, my esteemed and treasured readers, it was that easy. My red haired nemesis (I lament at the one-sidedness) did not think, therefore he did not. Now on your left you see Zack looking like a particular ugly juxtaposition in this house of sin, now look to your right and you'll see me. You'll see my upper lip curling into a snarl that makes me look like a chocobo with Down Syndrome.

 

“What the fuck do you want?” I spat at him. The compromising position multiplied by dislike equals dynamite.

 

Reno started to laughing much like a certain African mammal.

 

“Oh my god ZACK, YOU GOT BURNED! Want some sunscreen, yo?” He giggled.

 

Wait, sunscreen? Let as call this example numero uno. But I was not alone in picking up his stupidity. Zack mirrored my response with a bewildered, “What the fuck?” and began laughing. “Why would I want sunscreen after I've been burnt? Shouldn't you like… recommend some aloe vera or something?”

 

Rewind, ten points if you know who is almost as stupid as Reno. I should have just left them there, bickering over childish calls and insults, but ever the fool, I stood there like a deer trapped in a particularly idiotic pair of headlights. I think it would only cause further loss of brain cells should I repeat their argument, so let's fast-forward.

 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, THE PAIR OF YOU!” I screamed, several heads revealed themselves behind curtained doorways as they sniggered. Nero and Yazoo had a running bet as to when I would `lose my cool' at Reno. Nero won for once; one and a half days is a long time for me.

 

“Whoa, you're such a princess…” Reno said sullenly. I replied with a scowl, placing one hand on my hip, my other curling into a fist by my side. “Yo Zack, `e reminds me of your ex, Aerith. Hahahaha… What a turbo bitch man!”

 

Zack cocked his head and observed me through violet eyes that were creepy as all hell.

 

Ten points to you in the back row, you are one hundred and ten percent right, Zack is short sighted- he wears contacts. I'll save that argument for every time he calls me vain.

 

“Mm… Naw. More of a princess; the bitchy-ness is a complete act,” he observed.

 

“No way, man! This kid is more of a prima-donna than my mom, yo.” Reno said dryly.

 

Zack just winked at me.

 

“Pfft, my time is your gil, boys,” I hissed.

 

“HA! HA! See, turbo bitch! He's charging us now for his mere presence, yo!” Reno roared with laughed, joined in by Zack and chorused by the boys listening from their rooms. Damn straight I was… But no one likes to be belittled.

 

“Fuck. You. BOTH!” I yelled in my most high-pitched voice yet. Who did they think they were? Better than me obviously.

 

Time for some home-brewed sociology… Men like dominating each other. It's Human Nature 101: what better example than two overly masculine creatures picking one overly effeminate teenager (if only in looks) for dominance. My name may have been Kitten, but I definitely wasn't one. More like a sabre-toothed tiger, or a wolf.

 

“Yeah, definitely Aerith. You were right. Sounds like her after she found out that we both knew that she was dating us both. Damn that plan failed… So much for the threesome.” Zack chuckled. I should have just shut up and went back to my room, but I was too arrogant. I wanted to stay and argue with these two over-grown brats.

 

“Fersure, man! Hey, Princess? Want a threesome?” Reno was an idiot.

 

“If you're looking for fast and cheap, be prepared for disappointment, cockbite!” I howled; is now a good time to add that I have an extremely short temper. My hand left my hip and balled into a second fist. “And DO NOT fucking call me Princess!”

 

“Mmm, cockbite- that's a new one.” Reno snicked. “Yo Princess again with the cash, I believe if you want something in life, you gotta-” he reached out his hand to my chin “-and take it!” He made a snatch at it.

 

Don't get the situation wrong- if Reno had touched me, he'd be dead three times before he touched the ground by the time Tifa got back. Ten points if you guessed that this is Reno's idea of a joke.

 

“IAMGOINGTOKILLYOU!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, the redhead just standing back against the wall smirking.

 

“Go ahead, Princess.”

 

I leapt at him, but as soon as the balls of my feet left the ground I was jerked back. It happened so fast! Reno leapt into a defensive stance, ramming out his EMI from the elastic band of his pants, the EMI crackling with enough volts to kill a cat. It was Zack who had grabbed me and looped his pointer finger and thumb around my narrow wrists and gently pulled me back away from a beating. I fell into his sturdy chest.

 

He sighed.

 

“Well, that was a close one… Reno, put the rod away. NOW! Calm down, Princess, you don't want to ruin that face of yours,” He said with good nature. I was still fuming and ripped myself from his chest; I hated being manhandled. I then checked my wrists for bruising, and there were none despite the fact that I bruise like a peach.

 

“I-”

 

My statement (whatever it may have been) was interrupted- enter Yazoo. The definition of all beauty. The boy is more ruined than anyone else in Seventh Heaven. Prostitution completely tore up his self-wealth, and he was shadowed by Rude who was specifically hired to make sure he didn't try and `damage' himself again. I would call it escapism, the central theme of my life. He walked in floating on the carpet like a god; he made no sound except a small cough that escaped his lips.

 

“You okay Cloud?” He asked softly. One upon a time he was more arrogant than even Reno (who had perked his ears at Yazoo and his nimbus of beautiful silver hair), but some things just change you. Bonds can wear away your spirit or nurse it to such great highs that you'd never even know you could grow to. It only works one way or the other. Nothing is static.

 

I smiled weakly and nodded, still glaring at Reno who was watching Yazoo with rapture. The poor boy coughed again and Rude shuffled nervously behind him, looking from Reno to Zack. Yazoo proceeded on, but not before giving Zack once last stare and half whispering,

 

“Cloud needs to be looked after, so make sure you can keep up with him.”

 

You can imagine my reaction! So he thought we had something going on eh? What had Rude and Reno been gossiping about behind my back?

 

Silver hair, green cat-pupil eyes, once glazed; you know that he's a carrier of Geostigma. Let me get this clear, there are two strains: Geostigma ALPHA, meaning that in four to eight weeks you'll find your body growing weak… In two to twelve years your sex drive is gone and you'll start to develop a black rash that oozes a puss that smells faintly of lilies... It'll spread erratically - one week you'll only have it on your toes, the next it will be all over waist down. You haven't got much longer to go buddy, so don't even bother counting the days. Then there's Geostigma BETA; you're born with it - the likely chance is your mother had it, so you're naturally immune - but here's the catch - you're a carrier. Who ever you fuck, ha. They're fucked. It's spread via spit, semen, tears… You get me?

 

Another symptom of stain BETA is you'll be born with silver hair and deformed pupils, you can't see colour, and you're super fucking horny. Geostigma wants you to spread its genetic legacy.

 

That's why Yazoo was off limits - god only knows where Tifa found him and Loz. Such pretty boys, too dangerous to kiss.

 

He was a dancer - stripper, loveless, faceless, fucked over by destiny.

 

Ten points if you know who the most famous carrier of strain BETA is.

 

“Whoa…” Reno murmured, “Geostigma boy…”

 

Zack opened his mouth to say something… And then…

 

The proverbial shit hit the proverbial fan. Far off in the hall I heard a voice. Two to be exact, and then and now I can tell you that that person was actually female. Tifa Lockheart. The other one I'm not so sure. It was masculine, deep, gruff and all at the same time youthful, well mannered. You could even go as far and say it was elegant somehow.

“Fuck! You have to get out of here!” Hissed Reno to Zack, who just turned a very pale shade.

 

“Dude, she's blocking the way…” The now frantic pair glanced at me, and a word blossomed to my lips.

 

“No… Karma, boys.” I said smugly. Reno only ripped open my room's curtain.

 

“Jesus you really are just a fucking princess, asshole!” The redhead cursed at me.

 

“I'm not an asshole!”

 

“Yes you are!”

 

“FINE!” I yelled, only to be hushed by both the men at the same time. I rushed into my room and pulled off the sheets on my bed, hearing the two people slowly getting closer.

 

Who is that? The male's voice lacked the distinctive nasal American accent and rough slang; his boots didn't hit the floor in rough stamps. It couldn't be Cid.

 

“Get under here!” I spat at Zack, hiding him under a layer of messy bed sheets and a pile of pills and clothes. “And if you move, I'm not going to help you.”

 

Under all that junk he looked like some ugly piece of modern art.

 

Who is that? I couldn't make out any swear words, nor his heavy stride or constant whining about the illegal weapons trade. Defiantly not Barret.

 

Reno gestured from the curtain and bolted from the room just as Tifa and her stranger came into view.

 

Shit.

 

I knew that face.

 

Ten points if you can guess who.

 

“This is-” Tifa started, sounding as smug as a fat cat with a flapping bird between her toes. Reno finished her sentence.

 

“Vincent Valentine!”

 

The oldest Valentine comic that I have even seen was circa 1965; the man in front of me would not be older then 30. The first word that come to mind is vampire. But that's not right. More like faker, more like something is going on here.

 

“Reno, hold your tongue!” hissed a furious Tifa, and the dark man chuckled.

 

“It's fine,” he intoned softly, “Reno, is it?” Scratch elegant, try sinister. Incase you're a fan of the comics, yes, Valentine's eyes are red, his skin is ash white, and his hair… Well it's black, but if you're observant, you'll notice a fine line between the mass and raven and his pale scalp- well it's white.

 

Vincent Valentine is an albino. If that's not a clue or not, that's up to you.

 

“You look like your dad. But his eyes were green if I remember right.” The respectful tone in Reno's voice was alien to my ears. My childhood god, my anti-Hero, he just smiled.

 

“He died last year, my first year on the job. You know what it's like keeping up the tradition.”

 

Reno just looked suave and in the loop, but I'm sure my face mirrored Tifa's no matter how hard I tried to look cool. Shock, pure and utter shock. It's always my face that betrays me.

 

“And who is this?” His voice was almost a purr. Faker, I just screamed to myself, liar. He wasn't my idol, he was a fake, a sleaze, a creep.

 

“I'm-”

 

I started of course in my most professional voice, but Tifa interrupted. The comic-book-character-in-the-flesh didn't even acknowledge my interruption with more then a rise of an eyebrow. Fucking asshole. Don't make me say `who did he think he was.'

 

“Princess!” Yelped Reno, laughing like a Hyena. His voice interjected Tifa's.

 

“-Kitten. You may have heard of him…” Tifa said smugly, finally taming her features, choosing to ignore Reno.

 

“May have…” He said, a hungry grin breaking his calm features, and I wondered if he knew where I stole my alas from. “Princess, I'm the candy man.” Jesus, I knew this game. He was trying to be impressionable, trying to be cool. Trying to dominate me with words before we even got to bed,

 

“Then I'm ready to indulge…” You couldn't hear the weariness in my voice but I felt like I was about to drown in it.

 

“Good thing I'm here to make your dreams come true then.” He muttered, shoving his hand into his pocket, I heard the ruffle of plastic, and I knew it. He had what my skin crawled for.

 

“I have an itch, but its not the kind you can touch.” Its not what you think it is, it's a code word, why do you think I love my drugs? Addiction aside, it's the romance that surrounds them. Don't call me an advocate.

 

“Let's roll, pussy cat,” He said gaily, innocently, like I wasn't some harlot he was about to soil. I took his arm, towel still tucked around my hips. He smiled at my compromising state of dress.

 

The look Tifa gave me told me that I could not fuck this up as he guided me though my curtain. This is the kind of situation that gets you killed.

 

Been there, done that, all I could think about was the fact that Zack was still buried deep beneath my washing, with a 90% chance of suffocating. For some reason this made me smirk, for some reason this made me worry.

 

Lest if I was to be discovered.

 

You know how Geostigma ALPHA used to spread? It started out just as a small outbreak. Folks used to take their kids to the temple of Jenova in Cosmo Canyon and have their kids bathe in the in the holy water. Next day, perfectly healthy people would come and drink the water for luck. That's how disease works, physically -and morally too if you squint. Right now, I felt that the great swap of Hope was sucking me in more and more, and in a moment I would be the breeding grounds for the broken dreams and punishment.

 

Ten points if you guess what Reno said the next day.

 

“Dude, did Vinnie Val' call you `Princess'? I am the fuckin' MAN!”

 

Fuck, that nickname would stick.