Title: Forget Me Not
Summary: Sometimes, you've just got to know when to leave the past behind and embrace the future. That is a concept Rude's always had trouble with. At least, until he met someone who could help in move forward.
Pairing: Rude/Yuffie
Rating: M
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Romance, Drama
Warning: Graphic Scenes, Language.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters and I am not making any money off of this work of fiction.
Chapter One
"I'm a Turk."
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"The Rebirth of Shinra begins today."
Those hopeful yet haunting words echoed in the back of Rude's mind as he slowly made his way through that familiar little getaway he hadn't seen in ages. It'd been a long time since Rude had taken a vacation in the beautiful foreign settlement of Wutai and it felt good to once again be making his way through the oriental resort.
From underneath his glasses, Rude's eyes peered all about the changing community. The once glorious nation of Wutai was slowly turning itself into a complete tourist trap. Obese fathers in colorful shirts waddled around; flanked by their beaming wives looking all-too happy in their cheap, knock-off kimonos and clopping, wooden sandals.
The bald man would never say anything, but the sight of all the tourists nearly made Rude vomit. Sure, he was also guilty of using the city as a vacation spot, but he was hardly such a… tourist. He actually respected the heritage of the beautiful nation. He'd practically fallen in love with the settlement back in his early days as a Turk, during the Shinra-Wutai war, and it'd been too long since he'd been able to visit his dream home.
"Place has really changed, eh, Rude?"
Rude's brows rose over his sunglasses as he glanced over to his side, not at all surprised to see his usual accomplice. Blazing red hair stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd of dark-haired Wutai natives, a knowing smirk plastered on the casually dressed Turk's face.
"Yeah." Rude muttered back, never much for words.
"It has changed though." Rude thought to himself quietly, "For the worse."
"We'll have to come back here after we're done. I think another vacation is in the works, Rude buddy." Reno snickered to himself, placing his hands behind his head as they walked, "That is, after our business is over."
Rude simply nodded along with his partner as they walked; trying to ignore the shocked looks they got from the tourists and Wutai citizens alike. It wasn't every day someone saw the Turks; at least, not anymore. Ever since the fall of Shinra four years ago, the Turks had become a thing of myth. Like the former president himself, the Turks simply vanished out of the public's spotlight, presumed gone forever.
However, they were far from gone.
Finally, Rude's eyes stared up at the large pagoda that stood out in the center of the city that shared the same name as its nation. A large crowd had already gathered at the stairs of the tower, but all made way for the large, bearded man that stood at the top of the steps. His arms were crossed over his barrel-chest as he glared daggers down at the two Turks.
Rude could hear Reno chuckle next to him, "Old guy still tries to make himself seem like a big deal, even though he's done nothin' but sell his country to the tourists."
The large man, known in Wutai as Godo, finally began to descend the steps. He took a few steps forward and stood in front of Reno and Rude, arms still crossed in an aggressive manner. Despite his past actions, Godo was obviously not happy with the current dealings.
"The President?" Godo spat out, making Rude glad he was wearing sunglasses.
Reno placed his hands on his hips as he shrugged his shoulders, "Couldn't make it, I'm afraid. Sent us instead."
Godo sneered at Reno's casual attitude and uncrossed his arms, "A little formality wouldn't hurt."
The red-head simply chuckled and shook his head, "Look, we're here to finalize the deal, not take part in petty Wutai customs. Can't we just get this thing done?"
The crowd around Godo seemed to gasp at Reno's impudence and Rude could tell his partner's attitude was getting to Godo. The large man's face appeared to turn a slight shade of red and he could see the whites of the Wutai leader's knuckles as he gripped his sleeves.
"Time to interject."
"The President sends his regards." Rude quickly stated, pulling a letter out of his inside pocket. He passed the folded paper to Godo before putting his hands behind his back, "A letter of apology… and thanks."
The red in Godo's face seemed to drain as he took the letter before shaking his head and regaining his composure, "The prints?"
"The prints." Reno repeated as he lifted the briefcase he'd been holding at his side. The red-head clicked the case open and showed its contents to Godo, who peered inside with curiosity. All eyes in the surrounding crowd tried to catch a glimpse of what was inside the case before Godo finally reached in a pulled out a large, blue paper.
"So, this is it?" Godo questioned, his eyes scanning over the large blue sheet, looking over the design sketched across it as if he understood all the schematics. "A Planet-Friendly Mako Reactor?"
Reno's smirk re-appeared as he crossed his arms, "The future of energy, pal. Fresh from the genius hands of President Rufus Shinra."
Shocked murmurs went up among the crowd and Rude rolled his eyes. Leave it to Reno to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Just the muttering of the Shinra name was enough to send memetic chills down someone's spine. That was the very reason the President had told them not to mention his name.
"Excavation and Construction can begin in two weeks." Rude finally spoke up, facial expression not changing despite the rising murmurs, "All we need…" The bald man reached into his pocket and pulled out a Shinra-brand pen, "… is your signature."
Godo hesitantly reached out and took the pen in his hand, peering down at the blueprints before him. Rude watched with interested eyes as the leader seemed to have an inner debate with himself. The visions of Meteorfall were still vivid in everyone's minds, not to mention the chaotic Omega incident of only a year ago. Shinra had yet to clear its name and Godo knew this. Signing this paper would mean finally doing the thing he'd silently not wanted to do for ages.
Signing those blueprints would mean signing away Wutai… forever.
The crowd had seemed to multiply in the last few minutes and Rude inwardly sighed at the murmurs going around, "Fucking tourists…"
Finally, a deep breath left Godo's mouth and he clicked the pen open. All eyes went to the nation's leader as he placed the ink tip down on the paper and slowly began to sign.
However, not a single drop of ink was able to hit the parchment due to a high-pitch shout that went up through the crowd.
All eyes looked around in alarm at the sound of the shout. Rude, as well, turned in surprise only to catch a blur fly right by his face. Sunglasses-covered eyes tried to follow the figure as it flew past Godo, ripping the blueprints from the chief's hands in a flash and landing a few feet away.
Rude's brows furrowed in confusion as he stepped forward, staring at the white-cloak covered figure before him. The cloaked figure spun around on its heels to face them and held the blueprints triumphantly over its head in victory.
"Not so fast, old man!" The figure shouted in a young, high-pitched voice, "Wutai shall not be thrown away with the simple signing of a piece of paper!"
Godo's face appeared to turn three different shades of red as he stepped forward, obviously enraged at the events that had unfolded, "Y-You… Give that back this minute, Yuffie. I won't have any of your games today!"
"Yuffie…?" Rude thought quietly to himself.
Immediately upon hearing her name, the figure threw the white cloak aside and stood proudly, hands on his hands and blueprints at her side. She looked just like Rude had remembered. Short black hair was tied in place with a Wutai bandana, her attire looking strikingly similar to how it had years ago when they would do battle. The only thing that really looked different about the thief was a slightly more curvy form. The years had definatly helped mature the girl's physique.
"You think I'm going to let you sign Wutai over to… to Shinra?!" Yuffie shouted, glaring at her father in anger, "Look at you, Godo! Do you have any idea what you're doing!?"
Godo fumed at his daughter, "Yuffie! This has been discussed enough! Now give the papers back!"
Yuffie stuck her tongue out at her father and turned her brown pupils to face Rude and his partner, "And you guys! I thought Shinra was finished!"
Reno chuckled as he crossed his arms, "You thought wrong, kiddo."
The young thief narrowed her eyes at Rude's red-headed partner, jaw clenched, "Hasn't the past taught you guys anything? Do you really think building more Mako Reactors are going to help the Planet?"
"That's really not our forte, kid." Reno stated coldly as he stepped forward, slowly making his way towards Yuffie, "We're the Turks, doll. I'd think you'd known that more than anyone here."
Yuffie took a step back, hand reaching back to grip the large Shuriken that was tied securely to her back. Her eyes watched Reno angrily as she used her peripherals to look for a way to escape. Rude simply cracked his knuckles as he prepared himself. He knew what was next.
As if on cue, Yuffie burst into action. She quickly reached into her back pocket and withdrew two black orbs which she flung at Reno and Rude. The orbs flew through the air, one smashing right in front of Reno and covering the red-head in an ocean of solid smog. The other flew towards Rude. However, the bald man paid the bomb no heed, instead watching Yuffie.
The young thief had done just as Rude had expected and taken off at a dead sprint down the road. Quickly, Rude flew into action as well and took off straight after her, ignoring the smoke bomb as it burst behind him and covered Godo and his citizens in another sea of smoke.
Yuffie glanced behind her, eyes widening at the sight of the bald Turk sprinting clumsily behind her. Rude could hear her shout an expletive his way as she turned down a side road and kept going, causing Rude to groan as he continued his pursuit.
"Fucking runners…" Rude thought, huffing as he tried desperatly to keep up with the much quicker ninja, "Why do I… always end up… chasing someone?"
Rude wheezed and huffed as he continued running, finally reaching up to his ear to press the button on the communicator that was attached to his lobe. He could hear the other Turk's voice entering his ear as he did so.
"Encountering problems?"
"A… a little one…" Rude huffed out, trying not to lose sight of Yuffie as he turned another corner, this one leading straight towards the infamous Da Chao Mountain, "We got… an unsuspected… guest… She's got… the… the plans…"
"You're out of shape." Tseng whispered quietly through the communicator, "Location?"
"Da Chao." Rude couched out, cursing his dying lungs.
"Elena will fly over and help you out. Don't lose her, Rude."
"Easier said than done."
From underneath his still well-placed sunglasses, Rude watched as Yuffie continued to sprint ahead of him, making a beeline for Da Chao. It'd been ages since he'd last climbed the ancient monument and the thought of running up the mountainside in the heat of a chase was not one that much interested the Turk.
"Now is the time… I need to carry a gun."
Rude grunted as the road began to sharply incline, tightening his jaw as he felt his lungs beginning to burn. Yuffie, the ever hyper ninja, still appeared to be going strong. Rude silently cursed his growing age and decline of athleticism.
"Quit following me!" He heard Yuffie shout from ahead of him and Rude rolled his eyes from under his glasses. Was that really supposed to make him stop?
The chase continued for a good few minutes longer until Yuffie finally rounded a corner and found herself on the edge of the one of the gigantic faces that were carved into the side of Da Chao. Yuffie cursed her bad decision as she looked around desperatly, trying to find an alternative escape route just as Rude came stumbling up behind her.
The sight of Yuffie no longer running was a welcome one as Rude finally stopped, breathing heavily as he placed his hands on his knees. For once, he was regretting wearing the tight-fitting black suit to work.
"Finally…" Rude huffed out, trying desperatly to force air back into his lungs. The bald man finally stood up straight and cracked his knuckles, "The prints, please."
Yuffie narrowed her eyes at the Turk as she stuck her tongue out, "Give it up, baldy!" The ninja shouted, holding the blueprints behind her back protectively, "I'm not about to let you destroy Wutai for your beloved Shinra! Not again."
Rude sighed as he stepped forward, finally regaining control of his breathing as he pushed his sunglasses back up on his nose, "The prints… please."
The young ninja rolled her eyes, "Is that all you can say?" The younger girl leaned forward, pointing to her lips, "Read'em, baldy. No! Way!"
"Fine." Rude muttered quietly as he finally slid into a defensive stance, placing his fists in front of him. It'd been a long time since the Turk had done battle with any of the former AVALANCHE members, and he was silently hoping he wouldn't have to again. However, the young ninja gave him no choice.
"You're seriously going to fight for Shinra again?" Yuffie asked, brows no longer furrowed but eyes looking confused, "After everything that's gone down? After Meteorfall? You're still siding with Shinra?"
Rude's jaw tightened as he listened to Yuffie speak, "I'm a Turk."
Yuffie shook her head as she reached back to grip her Shuriken tightly, "Mindless as always. Guess we got no choice, huh?"
The larger man narrowed his eyes as he watched the young girl pull the Wutai weapon from her back and hold it defensively in front of her body. Rude grunted as he quickly pressed forward on his back foot, sprinting towards the ninja full force. His eyes watched as Yuffie, with a flick of her wrist, sent the Shuriken flying towards him. However, Rude wasn't so out of shape as to get hit with a one-handed attack and quickly pressed off with both his legs. The force sent Rude flying through the air, jumping cleanly over the aerial Shuriken and landing just inches in front of a shocked Yuffie.
Just as he landed, a familiar sound was heard as a Shinra-made helicopter appeared over Da Chao. The helicopter hovered just off the ledge of the mountainside and Rude could easily make out his blonde associate in the driver's seat.
"Shit." He heard Yuffie mutter as she stared back at the helicopter.
"Yo, Rude! Nice goin'!"
Rude turned his head just in time to see Reno come running up the mountainside, hands on his hips as he strolled steadily towards them, a smirk on his pale face. Rude nodded to his partner before turning back to Yuffie, his eyes meeting the helpless brown ones of the ninja from under his shades.
He cleared his throat, "The prints, please."
Yuffie stared at Rude for a long moment, defeat evident of her face. However, in the blink of an eye, that look of defeat changed to one of mischief as a familiar grin appeared on the young girl's face. Rude raised a brow at the girl as he took a step forward.
"You're a Turk, right?" Yuffie shouted over the helicopter's noise, "Well, let's see how important that is to ya!"
Rude had no chance to question the girl's statement before she quickly turned away from the larger man and ran for the edge of the mountain. Rude's eyes widened as he watched her, knowing what she was planning on doing.
Reno shouted from behind him, "Rude! The prints!"
The bald Turk grunted as he sprinted forward, diving towards Yuffie in an attempt to grab onto the girl as she jumped straight into the air. He cursed loudly as his fingers just lightly brushed Yuffie's own before grabbing tightly onto her hand. He could feel his arm practically get pulled out of its socket as he held tightly onto Yuffie as the ninja hung limply over the edge of the mountain.
"What the hell… are you thinking?!" Rude cursed at the girl as he looked down at her. Confusion once again marred the Turk's face as he caught that familiar mischievous grin flash across the ninja's face. He blinked oddly before Yuffie pulled a red orb out from her pocket and flashed it at the bald man.
Rude's eyes grew wide in shock and all he could do was muster a loud curse as the Fire materia flashed brightly before engulfing the entire mountainside in hot ember. Rude could feel himself loose his footing and stumble forward, only managing to keep a tight grip on Yuffie's hand as he fell forward and felt the cool wind rush over his bald head as he fell towards the forest below.
Another curse escaped Rude's lips as he watched the forest growing closer and closer, and he looked over at his side to see Yuffie, seemingly knocked unconscious from the Fire spell she'd just cast. The Turk's jaw clenched as he used the rest of his strength to pull Yuffie tightly towards his body, trying desperatly to shield their bodies against the oncoming crash.
The last thing Rude felt before blacking out was the feeling of Yuffie tightening her grip around him and his sunglasses slipping off his face.
And Rude would have no idea about how much his life was about to change, all thanks to a mischievous young ninja.
To Be Continued…
Notes from the Pappy:
Alright, I've finally started another fanfic. What do you guys think? This pairing has been nagging at me for a long time and I really hope I'm able to make it believable. It's been ages since I last played Final Fantasy VII so I really hope I'm able to keep everyone in character. If I get anything wrong or if anything seems way off then please let me know.
Other than that, please leave me reviews. Whether they're good (yay!) or bad (boo.), I don't really care. Hell, even if you completely despise this story, this pairing, this fandom, or me in general, leave me a cute little review about it. Constructive criticism is especially encouraged!