The Village S1 (Rough Draft)

[Beebs]

Vincent froze and looked down at the young girl. After a moment, he placed his hands on her back and smiled. "That's yet to be discovered if I can even get back to my world," he said glancing over at Miyo and looking back down at the girl. "But, for the time being, my place is with you and your sister, alright Kohana? I'm going to protect you two, understand? Unless you want me out for any reason."


"Of course not!" Kohana exclaimed, "You should stay with us. I...want you to stay."

Miyo looked at Vincent then at Kohana. She thought about what her sister said about the shrine being haunted and instantly thought about her dream. She lowered her head a bit and she tensed up. "Why am I nervous all of a sudden?" she thought, "It was only a dream....just a dream."


"Miyo?" Vincent asked with concern in his voice. "Is something wrong? You're as white as a sheet." Slowly but gingerly, he touched the side of her face and looked into her eyes. "Are you feeling alright?"

With a the touch of Vincent's hand, Miyo had a tingle feeling from her face moving down to her feet. It was a good feeling that she never had until now. She placed her hand on top of his and snapped back from her thoughts. Showed off a warm smile and replied to Vincent, "I'm ok."

Vincent wanted to believe in the smile that Miyo expressed, to him it was almost believable. He looked into her eyes and saw that something was troubling her. Although he didn't present his expressions on his face, he was worried on the inside. He looked at her for another second and then looked at Kohana who also looked at Miyo having a slight curious look on her face.

"What's wrong Miyo?" Kohana asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Your food is getting cold." Miyo replied. Kohana shrugged her shoulders and went back to her seat. Kohana started up her story again saying,"Anyway, Vincent, those boys said that there are ghost and monsters in there but I don't believe them. One of them also said that he beat up one of them. The shrine is in the Riyona forest and I can't wait to go! "

[Beebs]

Miyo was putting away some extra food that was left over and Kohana was pulling Vincent back into the garden. "We have to pick some flowers for the shrine." she said, "I feel bad that we missed seeing Riyona's shrine yesterday..."

The man nodded and followed Kohana into the garden once more. "I'm sure it's fine. We are going now, after all." he said as he looked down at some of the flowers growing along the path. Vincent bent down and picked one particular violet flower that was in full bloom. He smiled and looked over to the young girl. "Think Miyo would like this flower, Kohana?"

Kohana stopped picking flowers and looked over at the one Vincent was holding, "That's one of her favorites." she replied, "How did you know?"

Vincent smiled and shrugged. "I didn't," he answered as he looked down at the flower. "I just assumed that she'd like it."

"Ah, well that's the one she likes the most." Kohana said grabbing more flowers. She got up and showed Vincent her rather large bouquet. Kohana held them with two hands holding them up high to Vincent's chest, "How about these?"

Vincent nodded and smiled. "Those are nice," he said. He gave out a quick chuckle and shook his head. "I never thought I would be talking about flowers."

[Beebs]

Kohana pulled the flowers to her and gave a bright smile. Miyo poked her head from the house and saw Vincent and Kohana. While they were out in the garden she packed some food for their trip. She placed all of it in the basket where the flowers were from the night before and a blanket for sitting on. "Hey we don't have all day!" Miyo shouted grinning at the same time. She walked up to them and said, "I hope we can get there before it gets late!"


Vincent looked over to Miyo and smiled. He slowly lifted his hand with the flower in his grasp and lowered his head in shyness. "For you," he said after a long moment of silence. "Thought you might like it."


Kohana walked inside to see the basket and checked inside, "Mmm...food. I'll show those boys that I'm not scared!" she laugh in a crazed manner.


Back outside, Miyo saw the flower and eyes widened with joy as she accepted it and gave Vincent an unintentional hug. "Thank you!" she said happily. "I love this flower."

Vincent's eyes widened and he looked at Miyo embracing him. He smiled and after a brief moment, he put his arms around her in reply. "You're welcome," he said softly. The man felt his entire faced blush with color and he attempted to hide his face. It had been a long time since he had been near a woman such as Miyo, and he was enjoying every second of his time with her.

[Beebs]

Kohana looked outside to see Vincent and Miyo in an enchanted embrace. "Hey you two!" she shouted stepping in between the two, "Are we going or not?"

"Of course." Miyo replied. She looked down at her younger sister still in a daze, then looked up at Vincent saying, "Are you ready?"

After snapping out of his romantic daze, Vincent nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I am," he said softly. He crossed his arms and stepped forward. "So, you think you girls can lead the way?"

"Sure, come on!" Kohana said taking Vincent by the hand. Miyo followed slightly behind them carrying the basket full of food. After a while they pasted by the village circle where the festival was held and then to the flower fields. They noticed that the Spider-lily flowers were slowly dying while the others where still in bloom...

They contiuned to moved on to the start of the forest where they noticed a small shrine:



The shine was hidden within a wave of trees but noticeable in the day. "Finally!" Kohana said aloud, "This is going to be great!"

[Beebs]

As Miyo and Kohana bowed their heads in respect of the shrine, Vincent watched the scenery of the shrine's lush area. The bright sun above them quickly vanished away within a thick blanket of dark clouds and the surrounding forest became as black as night. The Turk whiffed in some of the air and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"The air is foul," he said interrupting the girl's meditation. Vincent turned to them with a grim face. "It's dust, and it's not safe for human lungs. We should find a place to stay until this passes over."


Kohana made a tiny cough which made Miyo turn to her. Miyo then looked up and saw a thick cloud of smoke and turned to Vincent with a confused look saying, "That can't be! Where is that smoke coming from?"


Vincent thinned his eyes and looked toward the direction in which the smoke was coming from. "South," he simply replied as he took a step into the dusty air. The man coughed once more and felt his eyes water from the intense fumes. His red eyes looked over to Miyo and nodded. "Come on. We have to get out of here."


While Miyo and Kohana rushed over to Vincent, the Turk saw a flash of light coming from the forest. It was a dim but he could see that it was moving upward toward the cloud of smoke. His eye widened as a strong wind current picked up blowing the smoke south from the village.

Miyo held Kohana as she reached for Vincent's hand. Vincent grab her pulling both of the females close to him. All three lowered their bodies to the ground as he used his cloak to shield them.


As the intense wind gusted on, a powerful aura suddenly emerged from the depths of the forest. Vincent closed his eyes and felt the energy move about. "What is that?" he said softly holding Miyo and Kohana closer to him.

Outside of Vincent's cloak, the spiritual energy of Riyona gracefully moved up and down to sway the harmful dust away. After a few moments of the process, the air became fresh and the sun emerged from its covered slumber and nature returned to its former self. Just as the energy appeared, it disappeared suddenly without a trace.
The Turk lifted his cloak and looked around the area. "Gone," he whispered looking down. "It's gone."

[Beebs]

Kohana still had her head down under his cloak while Miyo slowly lifted hers brushing alittle of her cheek against his. She met her face with Vincent's and looked into his red passionate eyes.

Only about an inch away from his lips she blushed a little as her heart started to beat uncontrollably faster. Her grayish-blue eyes reflected a sky blue color which opened the door to her soul. She made a quick glace to Vincent's lips then back at his eyes trying to hold back the irresistible desire inside of her..


Vincent looked up toward the trees and his eyes attempted to search for the energy. "Miyo, do you-" The Turk turned his face toward the young woman and found himself barely an inch away from her face. His heart began to rapidly beat and he could feel it pounding through his chest.

The man placed a hand upon his uncontrollable hammering chest and and raised a hand and placed it gently upon Miyo's face. Never before have I felt this kind of desire for anyone in my life, he said to himself. Vincent felt his entire face become red. I want to be here for her... always. His eyes widened and he snapped out of his enchanted daze.



Miyo lowered her head a little embarssed, as Kohana lifted hers and looked up at the sky. "What happened right now?" she asked aloud. Miyo still with her head lowered softly replied, "I'm not sure but everything seems to be okay."


Vincent gave a short gasp and removed his hand from Miyo's face. "I'm so sorry," he said quickly and sincerely. "I... I didn't mean to cause you any discomfort. I didn't know what I was I doing." He lowered his head and stood up. "I'm sorry, Miyo."

[Beebs]

Kikyo grunted angrily and walked back towards Miyo's home. She had been out in the village with Oberon and his companions all night long. The young priestess knocked on Miyo's door twice before she opened it. "Hello!?" she shouted but all she heard were her echos in the room. "I guess they had fun at the festival. Maybe they're trying to find a way out of this place." She looked over an saw some leftover food from Vincent, Miyo, and Kohana's breakfast and started to eat some. She then yawned and went to the room Miyo provided her and fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Miyo smiled warmly and replied, "It's ok Vincent, it's wonderful to be close to you. What happened just now? Where did that smoke come from?"

"I'm not sure what exactly happened." Vincent said getting up. While the girls were getting up, he lowered his head and closed his eyes for a moment then looked back at them, "Some sort of energy that passed. It's gone now."

Miyo turned around toward the forest and saw that nothing changed. She turned to Kohana who was inside Vincent's cloak standing looking a little lost. "Can we go to the shrine now?" she asked softly. Vincent looked down at her and asked, "This isn't the shrine?"

"Well it is, kinda but for the forest." Miyo turned back to Vincent. "Deeper in the forest is really where Riyona's shrine is."

Vincent looked toward the forest and gave a nod. "Deeper into the forest," he repeated with a blank expression. "Alright, let's go check it out."

The man glanced down at the young girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kohana, are you alright?" he asked her. "It's ok, I'm here for you."

[Beebs]

She gave out a little cough and replied, "I'm ok." Kohana had took in a little of the smoke which made her feel a little uneasy. She didn't want to spoil the fun for something that she waited so long for and was happy that Vincent cared for her. She looked up at Vincent and gave a warm smile. "Thank you" she spoke again. "I'm fine."


Vincent nodded and replied with a small smile. "Alright, then, Kohana," he said turning to Miyo. "Should we get going, then? We don't want to waste any of this sunlight."


"Sure." Miyo simply said and start walking forward. "Hey Kohana, do you remember how to get there?"

"Of course!" she replied excitedly. "Can I lead the way?"

Miyo gave nod and Kohana rushed a little ahead of her as Miyo walked beside Vincent. Into the forest they see the tall tree reaching for the sky and small wildlife moving about. The sun's rays casted its light in any openings that came about with the movement of the breeze. Miyo looked up and spoke aloud, "It's really calm here isn't it?"


Vincent nodded and gazed up into the trees. "I haven't seen the world this peaceful for over thirty years," he said with a small smile. "It brings back a lot of memories from long ago. Before I became a Turk, I would go to the countryside and look at nature for hours. I had always lived in the city and it was always a joy to escape from it all. It's a shame that I always went by myself though."


Miyo was a little shocked and felt silent for a moment. "He's been alone for so long!?!" she thought. "Well I have too besides Kohana but I could never match 30 years." She glanced up at him and replied, "At night I would go to the garden alone. Kohana would be sleep and I'll look up at the stars at night and see the glow from the moonlight on the flowers." She then takes the flower Vincent gave her and places it in her hair saying, "We can watch nature together that's if you want to."

[Beebs]

Vincent looked over to Miyo and smiled. "I'd like that," he said to her softly. The man closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the air. "I only wish that my world was like this now." He opened his eyes and glanced at Miyo once more. "The flower looks nice in your hair."

Miyo touched the flower in her hair then grinned. Blushing a little she simply said, "Thank you."

After a while, Miyo looked ahead and saw Kohana playfully trying to catch a butterfly. Instantly Miyo eyes widened as part of her dream came back to her. The part of her dream where she saw a rare butterfly and started to follow it leading to a waterfall. "That butterfly." she whispered. "In my dream?"


Vincent's ears perked. "What?" he asked the woman beside him. The Turk placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Miyo? What's wrong?"


"I had this dream last night. I was in the forest and I saw a butterfly and I followed it." Miyo replied snapping out her thoughts. "It led me to a water-"

"We're here!!" Kohana shouted cutting Miyo off. There was a small dirt path that led them to the shrine:



"That was quick!" Kohana continued rushing back to Vincent and Miyo. She grabbed the Turk by his hand and pulled him toward the shrine. "Vincent! Let's go inside."

[Beebs]

Vincent looked upon the shrine with wide eyes. "Wow," he simply said in a soft voice. "That's incredible. I've never seen anything like that." The man looked over to Miyo. "How old is the shrine?"


Miyo followed behind and replied, "I'm not sure but my parents say that it's over 500 years old. This place had a grounds keeper and every 40 years they would replace the old one with a new one. But I'm not sure where the grounds keeper is. I guess they stayed at the village since we had the festival and all."


Vincent nodded and continued to look at the shrine. "I see then," the man said as he took a step toward the building. He turned around, looked at Miyo and offered his hand. "Should we check it out, then?"


Miyo smiled and placed her hand in his. She made a quick glance behind her seeing the same butterfly then back a Vincent. As they walked inside, they saw that everything was ancient but somehow still in good condition. "Wow they really kept this place the same for as long as I could remember." Miyo said looking a little shocked. She noticed Kohana touching old statues and everything else she could get her hands on. "Kohana! Don't touch that!" she said in a motherly tone.


"I'm looking for ghost!" Kohana whinned. "The boys from my village say that they're suppose to be in here."


"Careful, Kohana," Vincent told her. The man glanced over at Miyo and back at the young girl. "You don't want to bother any ghosts now, would you? If you bother a bad spirit, it might come after you and haunt you. Do you want that happening?"

"Oh no!" Kohana gasped as she put her hand behind her back. "Vincent are you hungry? I bought some food if you would like some." Miyo said holding up her basket. "You too Kohana."

"No thanks." Kohana said walking out to the front. "I'll be out in the front if you need me."

[Beebs]

Vincent nodded. "Sure, I'm starting to get hungry," he said with a smile. He looked to the young girl leaving through the front. "Kohana, be careful. If you need Miyo or I, just call for us, alright?"


Kohana gave Vincent a warm nod and went outside. Inside the shrine, Miyo started taking out food while she looked at Vincent saying, 'I'm really glad that you came with us. How do you like the shrine so far?"


Vincent looked around and turned to Miyo. "It's amazing," he said with awe. "Never in my life have I seen such a place. And I'm glad I came too. I enjoy spending time with you." The man gave a warm smile and his eyes lit up with passion.


"I really glad you enjoy it because everything is wonderful with you here." Miyo said blushing a bit. She handed over some fruit and said, "There's a lot of places like this around the forest. I'll show them to you and sure that you'll love them as much as I do."


Vincent smiled and took the fruit from Miyo's hand. "Thank you," he said softly. "I think I will enjoy seeing things with you. I'm sure there are a lot of things to see in this area. To be honest, I hope I don't have to go home to Kalm." The man looked into Miyo's eyes and widened his smile. "I'd prefer to stay here... with you." He bit his lip and turned his head away in shyness.

[Beebs]

Miyo grinned at Vincent's shyness and started eating some watermelon. ((random fruit XD)) "I'd love that Vincent Valentine." she replied.

Meanwhile, Kohana when inside the other building to check out some stuff. "I'm sure they won't mind me going in here. Now for those ghost!!" she said aloud. The young girl walked inside to see a desk and a bookshelf full of old books and scrolls. The desk was crowded on top with scrolls as Kohana looked around nervously as she backed up and felt a body behind her. She screamed as loud as could running behind the desk as the body moved closer to her with each step.

Vincent grabbed Cerberus from its case and pulled Miyo by the hand. "Come on!" he yelled as he ran to the source of the scream. "Kohana's shouting!"

The figure began moving closer and closer to Kohana, its face shaded by the darkness of the room. Kohana stumbled backwards over what appeared to scrolls on the floor. The little girl became almost paralyzed with fear.

"I heard something in the other building!" Miyo said with anxiety, "Be careful, ok?"

[Beebs]

Vincent perked his ears and listened in for Kohana. He continued his running and came into the second building. The man burst through the door and aimed Cerberus at the stranger, who appeared to be a thirty year old woman, with long, straight chestnut colored hair and hazel eyes. He lowered his gun and looked over to the young girl.

"Kohana?!" he hollered. "Are you alright?"

Kohana rushed over to Vincent almost in tears. "A monster was.... was behind me!" she stuttered. Miyo rushed up to her sister with a concerned expression, checking to see if she was hurt. "Everything seems alright, what happened? Who scared you Kohana?"

"I didn't mean to alarm anyone," a young women replied stepping up to the group blandly. She lowered her sword and said, "I'm Arnia and I'm the shrine keeper here." After taking a glance at Vincent and his intense red eyes, Arnia's eyes widening as she thought to herself, "Could it possibly be...is that who he was talking about? He's much more attractive than I would've imagined..."

Vincent expressed his usual blank expression and put Cerberus away. "Valentine," he said in a low tone. "Vincent Valentine." He looked over to Miyo holding Kohana and turned back to Arnia. "Sorry for the confusion, you just startled us."

[Beebs]

"I'm sorry," Arnia replied staring at Vincent, slyly smiling as if she knew something Vincent didn't. "Your...daughter stepped back while I was coming inside and I didn't realize. Please, allow me to make it up to you." The young woman took a step forward toward Vincent and the light from the outside accentuated her face.

The features on Arnia's face were one of a kind but her personality and habits didn't match her beauty. She always felt somewhat burdened by her duties as Shrine Keeper. She just wanted to have a family and life of her own, but that was impossible. She had no choice in the matter, so she always felt somewhat lackluster about things and people around her, jealous of what they had. She noticed Vincent's red eyes again, along with the clothing and weapon he aimed at her weren't from the village. "I guess my suspicious are confirmed now...it's obvious this must be the man he spoke of," She thought.

Arnia then lightly touched Vincent's arm while Miyo simply stared.

[Beebs]

Vincent looked at Arnia's hand upon his arm and felt a sweat drop roll down his face. "You don't have to make it up to me," he said with a blank expression. "I appreciate your kindness but you owe me nothing."

The man looked down at the young girl standing beside him and placed a hand upon her shoulder. "As for Kohana, she isn't my daughter," he said offering her a smile. "She happens to be my very good friend. Right, Kohana?"


((Note: This is where the Free-Play RP ended at and that's where we will begin the rest of the story.))


"Yes!" Kohana shouted towards Arnia. "You really did scare me, you know!"

"Kohana!" Miyo interjected, glaring at her younger sister. "That was a rude thing to say. Please apologize, we did intrude upon Arnia."

Arnia looked at the young girl and replied, "It's alright. I know that I came on a little too strong and I apologize. Please stay. I don't want to ruin your fun here."

[Beebs]

"I don't want to stay," Kohana said in a timid voice, "It's kinda scary...what if there really are ghosts?"

Arnia chuckled a little, having heard stories about the shrine ghosts her whole life. She returned her glance to the girl, winking and replying, "Well, if there are ghosts, I promise they wouldn't bother you."

"If you're sure you don't mind us staying," Vincent said looking up to Arnia. "After all, we weren't done with the trip, were we?" The man looked over to Miyo and nodded. "What do you think, Miyo? Do you think we should stay here? It's your call. You know I'll agree with anything you decide with."

[Beebs]

Miyo looked around then back to Vincent. She hesitated a little then spoke. "Well we did come all this way. Maybe we can stay a little longer."

"Well I have some old books and scrolls about Riyona and you all can stay as long as you like." Arnia said going to the desk. "Sorry about the clutter. I didn't think anyone would come. But for some reason Vincent, you look very familiar..."

[Beebs]

While Vincent looked downward, Arnia looked at Miyo with intrigue. She paused and turned back to Vincent, looking into his eyes nervously and said, "I know why you seem familiar! At the festival last night, after reading from a Riyona Prophecy to the townsfolk, a hooded man approached me, asking if I had seen a man with red eyes. I told him no, but then remembered a passage in one of the scrolls, speaking of a red eyed soldier. It said that great danger would befall the soldier and all those close to him."

"Really?" Vincent said with a tone of surprise, "Please, can you tell me more?"

"Maybe we should give them their privacy," Miyo whispered to Kohana. "Arnia could know something of importance and we might get in the way."

Overhearing Miyo, Arnia carefully spoke, "That would be best. After all, I might need to find a specific tome, and this room is rather small for so many people..." Arnia looked at the Turk saying, "Vincent, I think I might know why you're here."

[Beebs]

Vincent looked up at Arnia with a bit of surprise on his face. "What? Really?" he asked as he stepped toward her. "Why am I here?"

"Just a minute," Arnia announced, "I need to find a certain scroll. Would you mind waiting while I find it?"

He turned to Miyo and frowned. As she walked away from him with Kohana, he sighed and looked down once more. "Sure," the man whispered with his emotionless face.

[Beebs]

"You see, recently I found this old scroll..." Arnia replied searching through all the scrolls on her desk. "Ah! Here it is."

She held up a rather old-looking scroll with ancient writings. She looked over it and showed it to Vincent. "This is what I read not too long ago. It talks about a great dimensional rift. Do you know anything about that?"