[INCOMPLETE]

[foreswear]

Who: Vincent, Jean, anyone else who wants to bump into them (open).
When: during the ball, a continuation of this.
Where: ballroom.
Rating: PGish.
Warnings: none, atm.
Summary: Vincent steals Jean away from Hojo, because... uhh, he knows the other man that well and doesn't trust him within touching distance of any female on the entire planet :| I

Comments

[foreswear]

That small fact (that she hadn't used her abilities to tap into Hojo's memories) didn't surprise him at all. Jean definitely didn't seem like the type of person to do that, and so when she made that comment, he merely nodded his understanding in response. But though he wanted her to understand just how dangerous of a man Hojo was, he wasn't completely sure if it would have been wise for her to look into his memories. After all, she would have been able to see every single little detail, then, and most of those details tended to be quite horrific. Looking at her, at the warmth and the compassion that seemed to radiate from her, a part of him wanted to spare her from that.

Then again, he had another feeling that she had seen quite a lot in her lifetime, and that her seeing Hojo's memories wouldn't traumatize her as it would most other people.

"I didn't think you would." He studied her silently for a moment, thinking over his own words before each one was spoken, and then continued: "I don't know if you would like what you would see, however. Perhaps it would be best if I just told you?"

That way, after all, he'd be able to leave out the details (and the events that had unfolded between him and Hojo since his arrival to the city) and keep her from knowing every small bit that had happened in his life. It was that urge to protect her, to keep her from any unnecessary harm, that was reaching out, then, much as it had done for Lucrecia.

[telekineticity]

"That's probably a good idea, since I wouldn't have looked into his mind, anyways." Jean admitted with slight embarassment. She didn't have much of a backbone, when it came to using her abilities on others. Especially after everything she had done as the Phoenix, she didn't want to overstep any bounds.

"Although, I don't think I need to be protected as much as everyone thinks I do. I've done terrible things in my lifetime. Terrible things... it's hard for me to pass judgement on one man, when I've done so many wrong doings, myself." She explained, hoping Vincent would understand. She didn't think he would have a problem doing so, really. He seemed to be a very understanding man, overall. He seemed to understand Hojo very well, actually, which made Jean wonder if they were more than just old business partners.

"Just how closely acquainted are you with Professor Hojo, Vincent?"

[foreswear]

He couldn't help but give another small smile down at her, nodding a little bit as she spoke. No, he didn't think she would have. She didn't seem the type to that, even though he didn't see the problem with it, as a whole, in particular cases. The smile faltered a little at what she said following that, however, and he tilted his head a bit, brows furrowed. Terrible things, had she? Well, it was a little difficult for him to imagine her doing anything all that bad, and still, what she could have done couldn't have possibly been as terrible as what Hojo had done. Then again, he didn't know her all that well, knew nothing about her past or where she came from. But, still, looking at her, it was hard to imagine...

And now she was asking difficult questions, too. There was no way he could explain about what Hojo had done throughout his lifetime without starting at the very beginning, was there? Where it all started. Where it all began, and where everything eventually escalated out of control.

"On my planet, back where I came from," he began, looking away from her briefly in thought, "I worked as an elite officer, known as a Turk, under the authority of ShinRa, and I was assigned to supervise Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent with their progress in what was known as The Jenova Project."

He paused a moment to collect his thoughts and glance back down to her, then continued:

"It would take hours to tell that story, however, and all you really need to know is that he... uses people. Experiments on them, whether they're willing or not. When I objected to Lucrecia's involvement in The Jenova Project, he shot me and left me for dead, after experimenting on the remains of my body."

Again, he paused, tilted his chin up a little.

"He's doing the same thing here. Using people. Experimenting. Working to achieve Jenova's will, whatever that may be. He honestly believes himself unstopaable, and I suppose he is, to a degree. He's literally a man without conscious or regret."

And those were the most dangerous types, weren't they?

[telekineticity]

Jean had to let that information absorb into her mind before responding. In all honesty, she wasn't sure how to react. She had known, from her first meeting with the professor, that he was the type who enjoyed experimenting. He had mentioned a few things to her, and she had objected to his beliefs.

"Hm." She stared down at the floor for quite some time, gathering her thoughts. Her dancing had become slightly more clumsy as she lost herself in her thoughts. It was when she stumbled over her own feet that she came to, and fell into Vincent so she wouldn't come into contact with the floor. She wasn't in the mood to ruin a perfectly good costume, after all. Cheeks red with embarassment, she quickly stood upright and moved away from Vincent, so she could look up at him once again.

"Hojo and I spoke about experimentation, when we first met by the river. I expressed my dislike with tampering with others, and he didn't feel the same way as I did, needless to say. I knew then that he was the type to experiment in the ways you've just described to me. I...I'm not ignoring it, no. I think he's just good at hiding what he does, so I don't see. That wouldn't suprise me. I've known a few others in my life who've done things like that."

She smiled then, and gave out a soft laugh. "I suppose it isn't a good thing that I'm so easily manipulated, and used. Thank you for your warning, Vincent. I'll keep my eye on things, and I hope I won't have to deal with the Professor on a negative level. I actually don't think that he's going to be a problem. He's never treated me anything but kindly, and never shown me any interest except on a professional level." She felt confident in the fact she would be perfectly fine.

She gave Vincent a pat on the arm then, as a gesture of thanks. "You're a very kind man, to be watching out for me, Vincent."