Chapter Three: House Guests
"Kohana!" a young woman yelled behind the three while rushing over to them. Her eyes widened and worry and concern raced about in her mind as she looked upon her younger sister standing near the two alleged ‘demons’. "What are you doing with my little sister!?" She looked at Vincent and Kikyo, then to her younger sibling. "Where were you, Kohana!?"
The girl was silent for a moment, and then she responded to her sister. "I went to the garden. I was picking flowers for mother," Kohana replied to her older sister. "Then when I came back everyone was gone." The child then loosened her grip on Vincent's cloak and looked up at her sister’s worried face. "Don't worry. He didn't hurt me. He was with this girl."
Kikyo gave a warm smile, and the young woman gave her a small nod. The young woman, who was worried about her sister, turned to Vincent and paused for a moment as she exchanged eye contact with him. The Turk gazed intensely at her bluish gray eyes and felt himself lost in them for a moment. "Th-thank you for staying with my sister,” she said softly as she snapped out of her daze. “Is there anything I can do?"
Kikyo looked around and saw that the village people nervously went back to work and remained quiet. Kohana’s older sister, who was a little younger than Vincent, noticed that Kikyo was curiously looking at the people in the village. "They don't want any trouble,” she informed the priestess. “This is a peaceful place and it makes everyone nervous when a large group of random strangers are gathered around here."
"Why is that?" Kikyo asked the woman as she raised a brow.
"Well, they believe that both of you will attack us," the young woman replied, looking at Vincent for a brief moment. Her face blushed with color and she looked back at Kikyo. "Some of the younger boys saw you two from a distance. The elders thought that if we stayed in the forest where our protector is, then you would go away. But, anyway, it's getting late. Kohana and I have to make dinner. Will you all be staying?"
Vincent glanced over at Kikyo and then lowered his head. "You go ahead, Kikyo," he said as he closed his eyes. "I really don't need to eat or sleep. I'll just stay here outside."
"You can't stay outside!" Kohana replied grabbing his hand. "Come on! Come inside, please?"
"That would probably be best," Kikyo insisted, taking a step forward. The young woman looked up toward the darkening sky and then turned her attention to the others. "It seems that it's going to rain soon, and I highly doubt you want to get dramatically wet."
"Yeah! My sister can cook for everyone here and we have some extra room since it's just the two of us," Kohana continued as she persisted to bribe the Turk. The young girl then gave Vincent an innocent look hoping that he would come.
"If he doesn't want to come, leave him alone," Kohana's sister replied as she looked at him once again. "My name is Miyoushi, you can call me Miyo. I'll prepare some food for you anyway, if you care to eat some."
The man nodded in reply as his mind wandered away while looking at the young woman. Never had he been so captivated by a woman; not even Lucrecia appealed to him in such a manner. Trying to snap back to reality, Vincent then looked down at his hand with Kohana's. It had been a while since someone had actually touched the man without any intentions of harming him. He nodded and looked up at Miyo once again. "Well, if I get hungry, I'll come in," he told her in a soft tone. "So make an extra meal for me, just in case."
"No, don't stay out here!" Kohana pouted. "Like Kikyo said, it's going to rain."
"Stop it!" Miyo shouted reaching over to her sister. She lowered her head in embarrassment as she grabbed Kohana and carefully pulled her away from Vincent. "I apologize," she said to Vincent, bowing to him in respect. "She hasn't acting like this for some time now. She's only been this excited around our brother, but he departed some time ago. Anyway, we'll be in that house."
Miyo pointed to the rather large house behind them, and she grabbed a basket full of fresh fish before going inside with Kohana, dragging behind. Just as the priestess predicted, it started to rain heavily. Kikyo then walked up to The Turk after watching the whole scene. "I'm going inside and ask some questions," the young woman explained to him. She gazed at the house that Miyo and her younger sister had gone to, and she turned her attention to the man beside her a moment later. "They seem very fond of you, even though they barely know you."
Vincent's mind raced with thoughts of Miyo, and he suddenly frowned. "That's what I'm afraid of," he said as he turned to Kikyo. "If they knew who I really was, they would think differently."
Kikyo stared at him before looking at the village people going into their huts, still a little frightened from previous events. Beginning to get soaked by the rain, the priestess gazed at the Turk before speaking once more. "They seem different from the other people here," she concluded as she exhaled a quick breath. "They're giving you the chance to show who you are, and you apparently didn't seem to notice. Maybe it's best if they don't know, then."
As she finished her statement, Kikyo trudged up a short path up to the house. The aroma of food filled the house, and the pleasant scent brought a smile to the priestess' face. "Do you always pre-cook your food?" she asked Miyo, as her eye caught a collection of pre-cooked foods in the kitchen.
"No, but today seemed different than others," the hostess replied with a smile. "I guess my feeling was right. I have some fish, bread, brown rice, some potatoes, and yams. There's more than enough for us and your friend."
"Well, I barely know him myself," the priestess retorted while sitting down at the table. She continued after food was placed before her, and she took plenty of food and placed it on her plate. "We aren't from this world, or so it may seem that way. He seems weird to me."
The man looked up to the heavens and closed his eyes. He felt the cool rain caress upon his skin like a thousand tear drops from thousands of souls and he enjoyed the loud crackle of the thunder. It had been a while since Vincent Valentine stood in the rain, and, as usual, he was alone.
"It's strange," he remembered Cloud Strife saying to him from a moment like this a while ago. "Even though the rain looks violent and cruel, in reality, it's actually tranquil and calm. It's kind of like you, Vincent."
"He doesn't seem weird to me!" Kohana shouted at Kikyo with food in her mouth. "Vincent is nice!"
Kikyo raised her eyebrow at the little girl. Miyo noticed and said, "Calm down Kohana. Although he seems nice we don't know him. For all we know, he could be a demon with those red eyes." Kikyo turned to Miyo and replied, "He told me he was human at first, but I'm not sure of what he is now. I do sense a great power from him though."
"So how did you all get here in the first place?" Miyo asked making a meal for Vincent.
"Well I felt a force pulling me backwards." Kikyo replied, "I thought it was from my enemy but it was greater than that. It seems like a vortex of some sort sucked us all here. What is this place anyway?"
Miyo replied saying, "It's called Riyona, named after the spirit of the forest. Riyona is our protector and we built a small shrine as an offering. We don't travel far from our home so we're not sure about what's really out there. That's why the village sometimes gets scared when something out of place or someone looks like they can threaten our home. It's been a while since we've had visitors but I'm glad that you all came. It's been boring lately. Excuse me for a moment."
Miyo got up from her seat and grabbed a small cloak. As she looked upon to Vincent's soaked form, her eyes glistened and she felt her heart pounding through her chest. The young woman felt her entire face blush, and she then cleared her throat to gain the Turk's attention. "You should come inside," she said softly while biting her lower lip. "You'll get sick out here, and I don't want you to be alone."
Vincent opened his eyes and looked over to Miyo. He stopped and froze in place as his eyes widened at the sight of her. "She's... she's beautiful," he thought to himself. "I'm surprised she's even noticing my existence... But... she would never understand. I've always been alone."
The Turk sighed and swallowed his pride as began to walk over to the young woman. "F-fine," he replied while stuttering as he followed her inside.
"Yay!" Kohana called, as she rushed over to Vincent. "You came!"
"Wait!" Miyo shouted at Kohana giving her a large towel. "Give this to Vincent."
"OK!" Kohana replied as she gave him the towel. "Here dry off. Miyo kept some food hot for you." Before she went back to her seat, she whispered to him, "I think she's starting to like you." Without another word, she giggled and sat down at her chair once more to continue eating.
"Kohana, calm down," Miyo said as she gave Vincent a plate of food with a small smile. "I hope you like it."
The man looked down and took the plate from Miyo. "Thank you," he said avoiding eye contact with any of the girls. Vincent sat down and began to eat his meal. It had been a long time since anyone had made food for him, and it had been a while since he actually had a hot meal.
After he was done eating his dinner, Vincent finally looked up at the girls. As he shifted his eyes to each girl, an overwhelming feeling began to grow in the man. It was a feeling that he never felt before in his life. No one, not even his father, expressed this emotion to him. It was the feeling of being wanted and cared for. It was the warmth and love of a family.
Chapter Four: Conversations > >
