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Description
Chapter Eleven
Irony

Outside the 7th Heaven…

Vincent and Yuffie waited patiently as Nanaki went back inside to retrieve a book he had been reading on werewolves.

Flashback

After exiting the bar, Vincent explained his problem to Nanaki, who listened with great worry which turned into great interest.
“And now we need any help you can offer.” He finished. Nanaki reached up with his hind leg to scratch his ear.
“Now this is ironic!”
“Why?” asked Yuffie, cocking her head a little.
“Because it just so happens that I have this book that is somewhat of an encyclopedia on Lycanthropes. You may find all the answers you need in there. I’d be glad to lend it to you.”
“Thanks, Nanaki. This is a big help.” said Vincent nodding gratefully at the lion dog.
“I’ll be right back.” Nanaki dashed inside to get the book.

End Flashback

“Hey, Vinnie?”
“Hm?”
“I’ve been wondering.  Why don’t you want everyone else to know about this?” she looked at him with an uncertain expression.
Vincent bowed his head as if in thought, then sighed. “I suppose it’s because I don’t want them to worry about something that doesn’t concern them. The same reason I didn’t want you to find out.” Yuffie got up to face him at this.
“But you can’t hide the obvious forever! Eventually, something’s gonna slip, and everyone’s reaction’s will be worse than it could have been if only you had just told them the truth in the first place!” Vincent’s eyes flashed at this.  Why couldn’t everyone just leave him in peace about these situations?
“You see? This is exactly why I prefer to keep these sorts of things to myself! If it doesn’t concern you, don’t bother getting upset over it! You’re not the one being affected, so drop it!”
“Gawddammit, Vincent!!” Yuffie shouted, balling her hands up into fists in frustration. Uh-oh; she hadn’t used his pet name. Meaning she wasn’t just a little pissed off. She was truly angry. “How can you still be like that after all we’ve been through?! I thought you would’ve figured out by now, that it does affect us!! We’re supposed to be friends!! Comrades!! If you’re not okay and we don’t know what’s going on, it hurts us!! Because we don’t know if there’s anything we can do to help!! If someone close to you is hurt, it’s natural to want to help them!! It’s natural to worry!! Because we care about you!!” She turned her back on him tears welling up in her eyes. Vincent was taken aback by her outburst. He hadn’t realized that he meant this much to her. He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder when she choked out, “And it’s also natural to be angry when you’ve been lied to when all you did was worry…I was scared for you, Vinnie…I was scared…”
Vincent froze at those words.
‘She was…scared…for me..?’ Yuffie never admitted that she was scared of anything. Yet here she was telling him that she was scared for his safety and well-being.
“Yuffie, I…” he couldn’t think of anything to say at the moment. He bowed his head, now feeling extremely foolish for having snapped at her the way he had.  “I’m sorry…” he said quietly.
She turned around abruptly and punched him hard in his right shoulder, and hugging herself tightly, face down.
“You’re such a jerk…” she whispered. He let his hand drop hesitantly.
‘Nothing I do or say could possibly help at the moment.’ He looked down at the ground in shame.
“Um…I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” Nanaki’s head poked out from the doorway of the 7th Heaven, the journal-like book at his feet. Vincent looked up and shook his head coming forward to pick the book up. Nanaki politely took the book in his mouth for Vincent to take it from him, looking up expectantly as he flipped through the book, eyeing the sketches that Nanaki knew were in there.
“Thanks, Nanaki. I owe you one.”
“Not at all. Just let me know if- oh! Yuffie! Are you alright?” he asked with concern filling his one eye as he spotted the weeping Wutai princess.
“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I’m fine!” she said wiping the tears from her eyes. “It’s just, ah, it’s nothing.”  She said, forcing a smile.
“Are you sure? Yuffie, if you need to talk, I’m here. And so is Vincent! I’m quite sure he’d be willing to listen.” He looked up at said gunslinger, but to his surprise he was looking the other way, scratching the back of his head.
“I think I’m the last person she wants to talk to right now.” He said quietly to Nanaki, rubbing his shoulder. Nanaki looked up at him with mingled concern and curiosity, however, said no more. He simply nodded and padded over to Yuffie, inviting her to walk with him while Vincent gazed ashamedly after them. He sighed, turning his attention to the leather-bound book in his hand. There was a title written in Latin and etched in gold leaf reading “Il Marchio della Bestia”.
“The Mark of the Beast, huh?” he muttered to himself. He looked up trying to interest himself in the title of the book, but he just couldn’t take his mind off of Yuffie and how bad he felt. And now that she wasn’t here he felt worse; almost like child who had gotten a gift taken away for not taking good care of it. He started walking, not exactly realizing where he was going until he saw a large red creature ahead of him with a familiar dark haired ninja walking beside him.
‘Wait!!! W hat am I doing?! I’m supposed to be going home!’ He mentally scolded himself for following them when he knew that it would upset Yuffie.

When he returned to his room, the first thing he noticed was his cape and headband set neatly on a chair near his nightstand. He set the book on his bed and stared at the crimson fabric. Once again the urges kicked in, only a little bit different this time. This time, they triggered hunger. Since he hardly ever got hungry and, therefore, hardly ever ate anything, he had absolutely nothing in his small fridge.  The urges mingled with information on how to get food and the result was him rushing to the store, heading straight for the deli, and buying a slightly larger quantity of meat than was necessary for a man of his size. While he was there, he felt as if his frantic need for the meat was totally apparent and he couldn’t stop looking around him to see how many people were staring at him, even though absolutely no one was paying attention to him except for a few pretty ladies, of which he spared more than just a passing glance.  A thought occurred to him when a particularly scantily clothed woman passed by and winked at him inspiring a particularly strong urge.
‘Why do I get the feeling that these urges are heightening my interest in females? Wait. Females? Where did that come from? Since when do I refer to women as females?’ He watched as another pretty woman passed by, striking up yet another urge within him. These urges, however, were rather weak. All he did was watch with interest. They were nothing compared to the urges that Yuffie had sparked earlier.
His heart wrenched slightly at the thought of the Wutai princess.
He paid for the meat, receiving an odd look from the cashier as he counted the packages, then left, taking long strides to get back to his room as quick as possible. As he made his way down the street he felt like he was being followed again.
“What is it, Syren?” he asked under his breath in an irritated tone.
“Aw. What’s the matter, Mr. Cranky Fangs? Wake up on the wrong side of the moon?” She broke into a fit of velvety laughter beside him, nearly making him trip in surprise.
“What the hell? How did you- ?”
“Please. How far away did you think I was?”
“Never mind that. What are you doing here?”
“What? Aren’t you happy to see me? Or is there something else on your mind?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Isn’t that the same exact thing you told your lady-friend the night after my sister attacked you?”
‘WHY THE HELL WERE YOU LISTENING?!’ “Why were you eavesdropping?”
“I was dropping no eaves, sir! I was simply passing by!” she said, giving him a cat-like smirk.
‘Bullshit.’
“So what’s in the bag?”
“Quick to change subjects, aren’t you?”
“Shall we continue sprechening about what lodged itself in your ass?”
“…”
“That’s what I thought! So again, what’s in the bag? Sumtin’ tasty?”’ she asked sniffing the bag closely.
“It’s just a few packages of meat.” He said, shifting the bag into his left arm protectively and then shifting it back when his shoulder throbbed in protest.
“Just a few?”
“About twenty packages.”
“That’s not just a few! What’d you buy?”
“I don’t think I was paying attention. I just picked up the first thing my hand touched.”
“I do that sometimes!” she said, chuckling.
They were silent after that for a little while, both of them happy enough to leave the other to their own thoughts.
“You know…” started Syren.
“What?”
“You really shouldn’t be so secretive to your pack mates.”
“Pack mates?”
“For their own safety, you should tell them. I mean, I’m not telling you that you have no choice, but if you care about them at all, you should tell them.”
“Tell them what?”
“Don’t act like a dumbshit. You know what I’m talking about!”
‘Who are you calling a DUMBSHIT?!’ “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me that again.”
“And I’d appreciate it if you could tell me why you’re so disloyal!” she said smirking at him. This really struck Vincent hard.
“D-disloyal..?” He had stopped walking, a look of utter shock on his face. He had never once associated that word with himself before.
“Hit a little too close to home, huh?” she said mostly to herself, walking back to get him moving again. “Come on. It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“I…it’s just…that word…” he couldn’t find the right words to say. The word seemed to fit.
“You never really thought yourself disloyal to anyone before? Then that must mean you have a reason for hiding your condition from your pack mates?” she took his arm and tugged to get him to walk.
“Hey! I’m not just gonna drag you back to your apartment, pal. So move your ass or I’m taking the meat for myself and my sister!” That seemed to work because he looked up and clutched the bag closer to him.
“Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Anyway, why are you hiding from them?”
Vincent was silent for a moment, debating whether or not he wanted to tell her. Finally he decided she was probably going to be like Yuffie and keep bugging him until he told her.
‘…Yuffie…’
He sighed before answering Syren’s question.
“I’m not telling them because I don’t want them to get involved in something that doesn’t concern them. As long as they aren’t the ones being affected by this, I see no reason why they should have to know about it.”
“Ah. I see where you’re coming from. But they’re bound to find out sooner or later, right? Just look at your mate, Yuffie! What was her reaction when she found out that you lied to her? Imagine that times ten from everyone else because of how long they were under the impression that you were okay!”
‘WHOA!! ‘MATE’?!’  “She’s not my ‘mate’.”
“Also, remember what I told you! When you change, every living thing around you will be in danger.” She said, completely ignoring his comment. “So, in a sense, it does affect them! But it’s not just about being loyal to your pack mates and their safety; it’s also about trust and being able to confide your problems and feelings to those who choose to be close to you. Somehow, the act makes one feel better to be able to trust another.”
Vincent was never really one to trust others with his problems; however, what she said somehow made sense. When he resolved to tell Yuffie and Nanaki, he felt like the burden that weighed on his mind had been slightly lifted.
“I guess…that makes sense…but Syren, why do you keep referring to Yuffie as my mate and the others as my pack mates?”
“Well you are, aren’t you? Just think of the structure of your group.”
“The structure?”
“Let’s see. The large dark one is the Elder, the one with the blonde, gravity defying hair is the Alpha male, the one with the ridiculously large boobs is the Alpha female, you are the Beta, the cursing smoker, the one with the robotic cat, the large red one are the middle members, and Yuffie is the Omega. And as Beta you have right to the Omega. See? You have an organized pack complete with pups!”
“Wha- pups?”
“Yes. The two orphans that the blonde one and large boobed one care for, right?”
“Wait! How do you even know about everyone and who they are in the group?”
“You don’t think I follow you all the time, do you?”
“…forget I said anything…”
“What? Scared to admit that I’m right?”
“I can’t rightly say that I’m scared of anything.” He said, acting coolly.
“Oh yeah? You seemed rather terrified when Nerys had you by the throat!” Burn.
“…”
“I’m sorry, was that hitting a little below the belt?”
“Too far below the belt…”
“Sorry about that. Hopefully for Yuffie, your package is still intact?” Vincent stopped walking again, a look of disbelief and discomfort written all over his pale face.
“It was a joke, Vincent! Learn to take one!”
“You seem to get familiar with people quite easily…”
“Hey! Your family to me, courtesy of Nerys!”
‘She is such a smartass!!! She’s worse than Yuffie! Oh. Right. Yuffie…’ the guilt he felt earlier hadn’t lessened at all. ‘I wonder if she still wants to talk to me…’
“Vincent!” Vincent’s vision snapped back up to meet Syren’s quizzical amber eyes. “Are you awake now?”
“Huh?”
“I said your name about ten times! You looked like you were daydreaming.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.”  Vincent was surprised that she would just allow him to leave her hanging like that. He had greatly expected the Yuffie reaction: the question repeated over and over, never resting until an answer was received.
‘Oh, Yuffie…If only you could read my mind and see just how sorry I am…’

Description
Chapter Eleven
Irony

Outside the 7th Heaven…

Vincent and Yuffie waited patiently as Nanaki went back inside to retrieve a book he had been reading on werewolves.

Flashback

After exiting the bar, Vincent explained his problem to Nanaki, who listened with great worry which turned into great interest.
“And now we need any help you can offer.” He finished. Nanaki reached up with his hind leg to scratch his ear.
“Now this is ironic!”
“Why?” asked Yuffie, cocking her head a little.
“Because it just so happens that I have this book that is somewhat of an encyclopedia on Lycanthropes. You may find all the answers you need in there. I’d be glad to lend it to you.”
“Thanks, Nanaki. This is a big help.” said Vincent nodding gratefully at the lion dog.
“I’ll be right back.” Nanaki dashed inside to get the book.

End Flashback

“Hey, Vinnie?”
“Hm?”
“I’ve been wondering.  Why don’t you want everyone else to know about this?” she looked at him with an uncertain expression.
Vincent bowed his head as if in thought, then sighed. “I suppose it’s because I don’t want them to worry about something that doesn’t concern them. The same reason I didn’t want you to find out.” Yuffie got up to face him at this.
“But you can’t hide the obvious forever! Eventually, something’s gonna slip, and everyone’s reaction’s will be worse than it could have been if only you had just told them the truth in the first place!” Vincent’s eyes flashed at this.  Why couldn’t everyone just leave him in peace about these situations?
“You see? This is exactly why I prefer to keep these sorts of things to myself! If it doesn’t concern you, don’t bother getting upset over it! You’re not the one being affected, so drop it!”
“Gawddammit, Vincent!!” Yuffie shouted, balling her hands up into fists in frustration. Uh-oh; she hadn’t used his pet name. Meaning she wasn’t just a little pissed off. She was truly angry. “How can you still be like that after all we’ve been through?! I thought you would’ve figured out by now, that it does affect us!! We’re supposed to be friends!! Comrades!! If you’re not okay and we don’t know what’s going on, it hurts us!! Because we don’t know if there’s anything we can do to help!! If someone close to you is hurt, it’s natural to want to help them!! It’s natural to worry!! Because we care about you!!” She turned her back on him tears welling up in her eyes. Vincent was taken aback by her outburst. He hadn’t realized that he meant this much to her. He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder when she choked out, “And it’s also natural to be angry when you’ve been lied to when all you did was worry…I was scared for you, Vinnie…I was scared…”
Vincent froze at those words.
‘She was…scared…for me..?’ Yuffie never admitted that she was scared of anything. Yet here she was telling him that she was scared for his safety and well-being.
“Yuffie, I…” he couldn’t think of anything to say at the moment. He bowed his head, now feeling extremely foolish for having snapped at her the way he had.  “I’m sorry…” he said quietly.
She turned around abruptly and punched him hard in his right shoulder, and hugging herself tightly, face down.
“You’re such a jerk…” she whispered. He let his hand drop hesitantly.
‘Nothing I do or say could possibly help at the moment.’ He looked down at the ground in shame.
“Um…I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” Nanaki’s head poked out from the doorway of the 7th Heaven, the journal-like book at his feet. Vincent looked up and shook his head coming forward to pick the book up. Nanaki politely took the book in his mouth for Vincent to take it from him, looking up expectantly as he flipped through the book, eyeing the sketches that Nanaki knew were in there.
“Thanks, Nanaki. I owe you one.”
“Not at all. Just let me know if- oh! Yuffie! Are you alright?” he asked with concern filling his one eye as he spotted the weeping Wutai princess.
“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I’m fine!” she said wiping the tears from her eyes. “It’s just, ah, it’s nothing.”  She said, forcing a smile.
“Are you sure? Yuffie, if you need to talk, I’m here. And so is Vincent! I’m quite sure he’d be willing to listen.” He looked up at said gunslinger, but to his surprise he was looking the other way, scratching the back of his head.
“I think I’m the last person she wants to talk to right now.” He said quietly to Nanaki, rubbing his shoulder. Nanaki looked up at him with mingled concern and curiosity, however, said no more. He simply nodded and padded over to Yuffie, inviting her to walk with him while Vincent gazed ashamedly after them. He sighed, turning his attention to the leather-bound book in his hand. There was a title written in Latin and etched in gold leaf reading “Il Marchio della Bestia”.
“The Mark of the Beast, huh?” he muttered to himself. He looked up trying to interest himself in the title of the book, but he just couldn’t take his mind off of Yuffie and how bad he felt. And now that she wasn’t here he felt worse; almost like child who had gotten a gift taken away for not taking good care of it. He started walking, not exactly realizing where he was going until he saw a large red creature ahead of him with a familiar dark haired ninja walking beside him.
‘Wait!!! W hat am I doing?! I’m supposed to be going home!’ He mentally scolded himself for following them when he knew that it would upset Yuffie.

When he returned to his room, the first thing he noticed was his cape and headband set neatly on a chair near his nightstand. He set the book on his bed and stared at the crimson fabric. Once again the urges kicked in, only a little bit different this time. This time, they triggered hunger. Since he hardly ever got hungry and, therefore, hardly ever ate anything, he had absolutely nothing in his small fridge.  The urges mingled with information on how to get food and the result was him rushing to the store, heading straight for the deli, and buying a slightly larger quantity of meat than was necessary for a man of his size. While he was there, he felt as if his frantic need for the meat was totally apparent and he couldn’t stop looking around him to see how many people were staring at him, even though absolutely no one was paying attention to him except for a few pretty ladies, of which he spared more than just a passing glance.  A thought occurred to him when a particularly scantily clothed woman passed by and winked at him inspiring a particularly strong urge.
‘Why do I get the feeling that these urges are heightening my interest in females? Wait. Females? Where did that come from? Since when do I refer to women as females?’ He watched as another pretty woman passed by, striking up yet another urge within him. These urges, however, were rather weak. All he did was watch with interest. They were nothing compared to the urges that Yuffie had sparked earlier.
His heart wrenched slightly at the thought of the Wutai princess.
He paid for the meat, receiving an odd look from the cashier as he counted the packages, then left, taking long strides to get back to his room as quick as possible. As he made his way down the street he felt like he was being followed again.
“What is it, Syren?” he asked under his breath in an irritated tone.
“Aw. What’s the matter, Mr. Cranky Fangs? Wake up on the wrong side of the moon?” She broke into a fit of velvety laughter beside him, nearly making him trip in surprise.
“What the hell? How did you- ?”
“Please. How far away did you think I was?”
“Never mind that. What are you doing here?”
“What? Aren’t you happy to see me? Or is there something else on your mind?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Isn’t that the same exact thing you told your lady-friend the night after my sister attacked you?”
‘WHY THE HELL WERE YOU LISTENING?!’ “Why were you eavesdropping?”
“I was dropping no eaves, sir! I was simply passing by!” she said, giving him a cat-like smirk.
‘Bullshit.’
“So what’s in the bag?”
“Quick to change subjects, aren’t you?”
“Shall we continue sprechening about what lodged itself in your ass?”
“…”
“That’s what I thought! So again, what’s in the bag? Sumtin’ tasty?”’ she asked sniffing the bag closely.
“It’s just a few packages of meat.” He said, shifting the bag into his left arm protectively and then shifting it back when his shoulder throbbed in protest.
“Just a few?”
“About twenty packages.”
“That’s not just a few! What’d you buy?”
“I don’t think I was paying attention. I just picked up the first thing my hand touched.”
“I do that sometimes!” she said, chuckling.
They were silent after that for a little while, both of them happy enough to leave the other to their own thoughts.
“You know…” started Syren.
“What?”
“You really shouldn’t be so secretive to your pack mates.”
“Pack mates?”
“For their own safety, you should tell them. I mean, I’m not telling you that you have no choice, but if you care about them at all, you should tell them.”
“Tell them what?”
“Don’t act like a dumbshit. You know what I’m talking about!”
‘Who are you calling a DUMBSHIT?!’ “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me that again.”
“And I’d appreciate it if you could tell me why you’re so disloyal!” she said smirking at him. This really struck Vincent hard.
“D-disloyal..?” He had stopped walking, a look of utter shock on his face. He had never once associated that word with himself before.
“Hit a little too close to home, huh?” she said mostly to herself, walking back to get him moving again. “Come on. It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“I…it’s just…that word…” he couldn’t find the right words to say. The word seemed to fit.
“You never really thought yourself disloyal to anyone before? Then that must mean you have a reason for hiding your condition from your pack mates?” she took his arm and tugged to get him to walk.
“Hey! I’m not just gonna drag you back to your apartment, pal. So move your ass or I’m taking the meat for myself and my sister!” That seemed to work because he looked up and clutched the bag closer to him.
“Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Anyway, why are you hiding from them?”
Vincent was silent for a moment, debating whether or not he wanted to tell her. Finally he decided she was probably going to be like Yuffie and keep bugging him until he told her.
‘…Yuffie…’
He sighed before answering Syren’s question.
“I’m not telling them because I don’t want them to get involved in something that doesn’t concern them. As long as they aren’t the ones being affected by this, I see no reason why they should have to know about it.”
“Ah. I see where you’re coming from. But they’re bound to find out sooner or later, right? Just look at your mate, Yuffie! What was her reaction when she found out that you lied to her? Imagine that times ten from everyone else because of how long they were under the impression that you were okay!”
‘WHOA!! ‘MATE’?!’  “She’s not my ‘mate’.”
“Also, remember what I told you! When you change, every living thing around you will be in danger.” She said, completely ignoring his comment. “So, in a sense, it does affect them! But it’s not just about being loyal to your pack mates and their safety; it’s also about trust and being able to confide your problems and feelings to those who choose to be close to you. Somehow, the act makes one feel better to be able to trust another.”
Vincent was never really one to trust others with his problems; however, what she said somehow made sense. When he resolved to tell Yuffie and Nanaki, he felt like the burden that weighed on his mind had been slightly lifted.
“I guess…that makes sense…but Syren, why do you keep referring to Yuffie as my mate and the others as my pack mates?”
“Well you are, aren’t you? Just think of the structure of your group.”
“The structure?”
“Let’s see. The large dark one is the Elder, the one with the blonde, gravity defying hair is the Alpha male, the one with the ridiculously large boobs is the Alpha female, you are the Beta, the cursing smoker, the one with the robotic cat, the large red one are the middle members, and Yuffie is the Omega. And as Beta you have right to the Omega. See? You have an organized pack complete with pups!”
“Wha- pups?”
“Yes. The two orphans that the blonde one and large boobed one care for, right?”
“Wait! How do you even know about everyone and who they are in the group?”
“You don’t think I follow you all the time, do you?”
“…forget I said anything…”
“What? Scared to admit that I’m right?”
“I can’t rightly say that I’m scared of anything.” He said, acting coolly.
“Oh yeah? You seemed rather terrified when Nerys had you by the throat!” Burn.
“…”
“I’m sorry, was that hitting a little below the belt?”
“Too far below the belt…”
“Sorry about that. Hopefully for Yuffie, your package is still intact?” Vincent stopped walking again, a look of disbelief and discomfort written all over his pale face.
“It was a joke, Vincent! Learn to take one!”
“You seem to get familiar with people quite easily…”
“Hey! Your family to me, courtesy of Nerys!”
‘She is such a smartass!!! She’s worse than Yuffie! Oh. Right. Yuffie…’ the guilt he felt earlier hadn’t lessened at all. ‘I wonder if she still wants to talk to me…’
“Vincent!” Vincent’s vision snapped back up to meet Syren’s quizzical amber eyes. “Are you awake now?”
“Huh?”
“I said your name about ten times! You looked like you were daydreaming.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.”  Vincent was surprised that she would just allow him to leave her hanging like that. He had greatly expected the Yuffie reaction: the question repeated over and over, never resting until an answer was received.
‘Oh, Yuffie…If only you could read my mind and see just how sorry I am…’