Vincent - Yami

_{Strong Bond}



The two sat side-by side with their legs crossed and outstretched on the iron stool that had little realistic ivy-designs along the sides. It was overcast outside but rather humid and warm. The animals didn’t seem to mind the weather too much and continued about unworried. A family of chattering ducks were eager to wander into the koi fish pond. Six little ducklings swam in a tight group behind their attentive mother and father. The koi fish below were bright and colorful—around them swam smaller little goldfish that nipped playfully at the surface. All in all, it was a rather peaceful afternoon.

“…So,” Yami finally said, breaking the silence. His hands were interlaced neatly over his stomach and he squinted against the afternoon brightness. Vincent had specifically asked him to come here, and so Yami had. It wasn’t that he minded sitting her with his son enjoying the garden… It was just that he was just growing more and more curious why he had been singled out. In the distance somewhere he could hear Scout and Vyse laughing and yelling—and Yami tried hard not to imagine what mischief they were getting themselves into.

“Yeah…” Vincent drawled out the word slowly, adjusting his locked hands behind his head. His glasses slipped slightly down his nose and he reached up to push it back. “I’ve been wondering this… Why do you think the Goddesses gave you the ability to Heal?”

Yami blinked blankly before turning a sideways stare at his son. Vincent had been brave to word his question as such. He knew that Yami did not believe in the Goddesses—Light or Dark; it made no difference to him. Yami only believed what he could touch—he did not count faith as touchable. Vincent, on the other hand, had become a doctor in respect and awe to the Goddesses of Light. The two practiced medicine for very different reasons. Vincent because he wanted to make a difference and Yami simply because he could.

Yami drummed his fingers on the top of his other hand and thought. Why had he been born with the ability to Heal? It was such a rare occurrence… Only six recorded persons had ever had the ability and they were all long dead. As far as he knew, he was the first demon. He had the ability to touch a wound and heal it—a power none dared to even dream to have. Yet he had mastered his chi and could easily staunch the most grave of wounds.

“A genetic defect?” Yami finally answered, his voice piped with interest. Vincent blinked once, slowly, obviously annoyed and turned to look at his father. The corner of his mouth was twitching into a small frown but the young man did not make any effort to agree or disagree. Yami cleared his throat and returned the stare evenly, “What?” he asked flatly.

“I wouldn’t exactly refer to it as a genetic defect…” the apothecary said quietly, pushing up his glasses with one finger. Yami couldn’t help but notice how mature Vincent had become. He could still remember when his son was a child—naïve and so damn curious. The curiosity had no doubt stayed, but now it was a curiosity for knowledge. A thirsty knowledge to know everything—a knowledge that Yami knew from experience was unquenchable. Some things just didn’t have answers.

Yami itched his chin absently, letting his crimson gaze return to the family of ducks—the mother seemed to be upset and had fluttered her wings angrily while honking insistently at some unseen predator. It took Yami a moment to notice his cat—Nameless, creeping along the shoreline.

“Well…” Yami frowned, “Who knows…”

“…Only six recorded,” Vincent said slowly. “Six completely different individuals… None of which had been living at the same time. Isn’t that a little weird? And they can’t have been related… so genetic defect is really rather unlikely… So it would have to be an act of the Goddesses.”

Yami resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ah, back to this theory again? “Just because things are unexplainable does not mean that a higher power held a hand in it.”

“Maybe it was reincarnation?” Vincent continued, as if he hadn’t heard the other, “Maybe each lifetime you’ve always had the ability to Heal.” 

Yami thought about it for a moment, before he shrugged, “I find it most disheartening to think of being a human at one time.”

“But not a demon?”

There was a silence that was interrupted by the flailing mother and father duck that honked furiously at the creeping black cat. Nameless’s ears went back, her hair rose and giving the snapping ducks a dirty look she hurried away to scuttle up a nearby tree. She settled on the low branch and eyed the ducklings, her black tail swishing back and forth sharply.

Being a demon had not always been pleasant… In fact, it had probably bought more pain than it had been worth. This was, however, not something Yami would admit to his son. His son just so happened to have inherited the demon trait himself. It would be must unkind to tell Vincent that he was not proud of being a demon—especially after raising the boy to be proud of his heritage.

“That is most complicated, Vincent. If you think logically about it humans live barely a blink of an eye compared to elves and demons and so the help they could give through such an ability is practically insignificant. Demons are so shunned that they could barely even function in a society that reaches the most sick and ill… An elf would ultimately be the ideal carrier of the Healing Ability. If you think of it in an altruistic way—had I been such I would be able to work in a monastery and offer my Healing Art to any and all… “ He paused for a moment, looking to Vincent who was staring at him intently, “And yet, you would have to assume I would turn away demons simply because of their red-eyes, and so any of those sick and injured must surely continue to suffer. And humans—why bother? They would barely live as long as it took an elf to go through their basic education.” Yami shifted, “When you think about it, it seems as though no matter which race has the ability to heal someone is going to get left out. Doesn’t seem so nice of the Goddesses now, does it?”

Vincent refused to look at his father and when he spoke he sounded a little sad, “Maybe the reason why there is only ever one Healer at a time is because there has to be balance. The Goddesses of Light give the power to heal—but not all can be reached because the Goddesses of Dark—Chaos, Suffering and Death must exist as well... If you could only take away all of the pain then there would be no balance and no reason to heal…” he trailed off for a moment before looking at his father again. Yami continued to stare off at the koi fish pond and did not look at him, “Maybe it was just the time for the demons to have their Hero.”

Yami finally looked at his son, one eyebrow quirked. “Hero” wasn’t exactly the world Yami would have used to describe himself. He had killed more than he had probably healed. He had stolen more than he had given back and for sure he had broken more law than some of the most hardened criminals. When it came down to it he was an outlaw—only pardoned for his crimes because his brother was King. Had he been anyone else he would have been executed for his crimes.

“I would hardly call myself that,” Yami finally uttered, his voice laced with cynicism.

“I remember when I was eight…” Vincent followed quickly, “There was a little boy in the market who was standing too close to the blacksmith when he was working… Something happened…” Vincent shook his head slowly, frowning, “And before anyone could do anything he was just lying there… lifeless—bleeding…” Vincent’s brow creased as he tried to recall the memory from so long ago. “Without hesitating you went to his side, placed your hand on him and the blood just stopped…” Vincent paused for a moment, and looked to his father, a slight smirk touching the end of his mouth, “Did you even notice that the boy was a human?”

Yami frowned, trying to recall. No… he couldn’t remember…

“No doubt, the boy has grown up, had a family and died by now… but you helped him because you wanted to. Not because you could… From my knowledge that is a Hero—someone who takes it upon themselves to selflessly help others.”

Yami tried not to laugh. How at eight years old he could have recalled such information hundreds of years after its occurrence was a mystery. Yami half-expected that his son had simply fabricated that detail… But even so, if the thought of a demon having a place among the Heroes of Legend is what made Vincent sleep better at night, Yami figured it was a small sacrifice to oblige to his sons questionable memory.

And Heroes break rules too—right?


[Ramirez]

<sub>A/N:Story Bond 28/81 of a project I'm working on.

I really had a tough time trying to end this meaningfully. I'm not so sure if I got the little bit of irony in there as I intended or how easy it was to follow... but, yeah... I tried.

Vincent, if you've been reading his other Story Bonds, comes off as a little more religious than the average person. I wouldn't call him a zealot or one of them crazy-I'll-kill-you-if-you-don't-agree-with-me religious types, but he's definitely someone who will stick to his beliefs--but isn't ignorant enough to believe everything he's told. He'll question things he doesn't think are right and follow things he thinks are pure and good.

Yami, on the other hand, doesn't believe in any of the Goddesses. There are six in total--three Light and three Dark. He has no interest in following either side which is interesting due to the fact that he married a Monk who is a follower of the Goddesses of Light. Kind of hypocritical of him, but at the same time he doesn't care what people believe as long as they don't force things onto him. He's known to get a little snappy when people try to explain things via the Goddesses. XD;;</sub>


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