Viral Love

The next morning, when I got up and made my way to the chocobo races, I discovered Hojo had already made a half million gil at the races. I found him counting the money out to Dio, who sported a black eye and a limp. “Throw in the gasoline or I’ll report you to Shin-Ra,” he threatened the owner of the Gold Saucer.

“For what?” Dio asked in a belligerent tone.

“For anything I feel like,” Hojo snarled, and Dio stepped well away from him. “I’ll be creative, believe me. I’m known for my creativity.” He showed Dio his teeth. “You’ll be lucky if I don’t come back here and take you for a lab rat.”

Dio narrowed his gaze on me. “This is your fault,” he said. “Why’d you make an arrangement if he didn’t want one?”

“I thought he did,” I answered, wondering if that would serve as apology enough to Hojo. “He seemed to like your little bodybuilding display.”

“Where is our transport?” Hojo asked, ignoring us both.

Dio sighed. “I can drop it into the prison, then you can leave from there.”

“What makes you think I want to try my hand at escaping from your prison?” Hojo jerked a set of keys from Dio’s hand.

“It’s really the only way to get the buggy to the ground,” Dio defended. “It’s not like you have anything to worry about.”

Hojo, who had taken two steps away from Dio, suddenly whirled back to face him. “I’d better not,” he vowed. “Come on, Valentine,” he ordered me in that same, cold tone he’d used last night.

In short order we were picking up the buggy right in the heart of Corel Prison. Hojo threw the keys to me and sat in the passenger side. “You can drive, right?” he asked.

“Yes.” I got behind the wheel and started the small conveyance. “I even know how to get us out of here in the quickest way.”

“I’m delighted.” Hojo lit a cigarette and didn’t look at me. It didn’t seem like he’d slept in years. He had dark shadows under his eyes, giving him the grimmest, meanest appearance. I’d seen him looking like this in the past, and had stayed well clear if I could. But, as a Turk I’d had to interact with him no matter what his mood.

Currently, his ill mood had everything to do with me. I felt surprised he’d not gone off on his own and left me.

“I’m only going to say this once,” he informed, smoke rolling from his nostrils like steam from a dragon. “You ever, ever attempt to use me to pay a debt again, and I’ll kill you.” He turned his head to look at me, and I saw the truth shining in his obsidian eyes. “I had enough of that garbage as a child.”

I couldn’t repress a shiver. But, Hojo wasn’t finished talking.

“Do know what it’s like to have parents who sell you over and over again, Valentine?” he asked, his tone almost pleasant. “You go meet whatever horrible fate your buyer has planned, escape it, endure it or just survive it, then slink back home to have it happen all over again.” He threw his cigarette butt to the floorboards and stomped it only to immediately light another. “If you knew what that was like, you wouldn’t have ever done what you did.”

“I thought you were consenting,” I said, steering us around a large patch of cacti.

“Chocobo shit. You’re telling yourself that to make your heinous crime sit better in your head.” He flicked an ash on my head. “You’re a son of a bitch. You’re lucky I need you. If not for X2Geostima, I’d be cutting you into tiny pieces right now.” He flung his burning cigarette into my lap, forcing me to stop the buggy and find it quickly.

I realized I’d better try some damage control. He might decide to keep me in his lab, shoot me, or cut me up just like he threatened. I didn’t have to help him find the cure for the disease, but I found I really wanted to; there were a lot of sick and dying people in the world.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “No, I won’t do that again.”

“You’re damn right you won’t.” Hojo lit a third cigarette. “I don’t trust you anymore, Vincent Valentine. You proved to me you don’t understand the concept of alliance or teamwork.”

His words actually stung. I kept my eyes straight ahead, wondering why he had the power to hurt me.

“You probably lone-wolfed your way through the Turks, too,” he went on. I’ll bet it chafed your ass to get paired with people of lesser ability. In science, one learns to use the grunts as well as the brains to get something accomplished. Too bad your father never bothered to tell you that.”

I winced. My father had never been there for me in any way. Science had ruled his life. “Don’t talk about my father,” I told him.

“Oh, but why not?” Hojo flung his third cigarette into my lap.

Cursing, I stopped the buggy again and dealt with the burning ember. “Goddamn it, stop trying to set me on fire!”

“If I was really trying, I’d just aim for the spare gasoline tank at your right knee,” he answered, monotone. “Stop the dramatics. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead many times over. You seem to forget my credentials even while you obsess over what I’ve done to you.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Stop bragging and drop it.”

“Stop obsessing, stop being afraid, stop this and stop that,” Hojo retorted. “Calm down, Hojo. Calm the fuck down, Hojo. You’re insane, Hojo.” He let his head drop back. “I’ve got one for you, Turk. Stop pretending. No one buys it, not even me, the crazy man.”

“Stop pretending what?” I demanded, throwing the buggy into high gear and tearing past a zimzelett.

“Your cold act,” he answered. “Your friends don’t believe for a minute that you’re hard. I don’t believe it, either.”

I wanted to punch him. My sore abdomen really, really made me want to punch him.

“People like you have to fake distance in order to keep it, because you’re secretly soft. I’ve seen it in hundreds of Shin-Ra personnel, in SOLDIERS and Turks and elite murder machines.” Hojo turned his head to look at me again. “You can’t afford to let your guard down for one fucking minute, not one. You have to change into another form to even show emotion. But, it’s all right then, isn’t it? You can do whatever you like when you’re wearing different skin.”

“I wasn’t born like this,” I defended, steering around an obvious pit of quicksand. “You don’t have anyone to complain to except yourself and your wife.” God, that hurt, too. I shouldn’t have put Lucrecia in the same place as Hojo.

“I thought we’d reached some basic kind of understanding,” Hojo went on, ignoring my words. “It wasn’t an impossible goal, after all. You help me, I help you. Then you screw it all up playing the part of my pimp. How quickly you drop an ally when it suits you.”

“I wasn’t aware we were solid allies,” I said, stopping the buggy but leaving the engine idling. “I made a mistake and I apologized for it. What more do you want from me?”

“A little remorse is a good start,” Hojo said with tight calm. “What’s the difference to me if you raped me yourself or arranged my rape?”

“Damn it, Hojo, I didn’t think you were unwilling!” I shouted, twisting to face him. “Why didn’t you fucking say something?”

“I was speechless,” he said, sounding utterly reasonable and firm. “I couldn’t believe you’d do something like that. It’s completely against your character.”

“You don’t know what my character is,” I muttered, hitting the gas again. “You can’t get past my face to find out what I’m like.”

“On the contrary, Turk.” Hojo lit up a fourth time. “I’m a scientist, and scientists are good at observation. I know exactly what sort of person you are, probably better than your AVALANCHE friends.” Again he flicked ash onto me. “That’s why you’ve offended me so very much. You still hate me, and you hate me enough to violate your own innate nobility.” Hojo adjusted his glasses, and the cold, gleaming black orbs behind them made my insides squirm. “I’ve taken the form of everything you despise about your life.”

I had nothing to say to that, because that last part was probably true.