Trust Me

By: ShinRa Bleeding Beauty shinrableedingbeauty@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, definitely; but I own the plot. ^^

Author's Note: It's a one-shot… boredom triggered it. I don't even know if it makes sense…

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          "So I'm alive…" Rufus thought silently as he looked up at the dark skies above him.

"We are alive." Sephiroth told him.

But if they are alive, how come Rufus felt so numb like he was not?

"But…" Rufus raked his fingers through his hair as he examined his surroundings… it looked like a barren desert with dried soil and it has no boundaries from left to right… just the skies; the dark skies above and the ground underneath their feet. "…where are we?" Rufus asked.

Sephiroth looked up, and then sideways, realizing that there was a thick fog surrounding the two of them. "Somewhere…" and he saw a ruined ShinRa Company logo on the floor.

Rufus saw it too and it made him frown.

He could not really remember what happened… but whenever he would turn to look at his left hand, several things would immediately flash back into his memory for a second, and then the next, he could not remember anything anymore.

But he could remember dying. But did he really die?

"Can you remember what happened?" he asked softly.

Sephiroth just nodded his head but did not say anything.

Rufus just kept quiet as he looked at his own left hand and arm… his jacket had no left sleeve; like it had been burned… and his left arm looked scarred… in fact, half of his body appeared to be burned… A faint memory returned to him, consisting of the image of himself shielding himself from fire… fire from an explosion.

And then nothing.

He grunted, feeling the pain. He knew he needed a doctor right away, but he does not know where to go… he does not even know if he could trust the person with him at that moment.

They waited for a few more moments before the fog had cleared out… and a big ruined structure was revealed to them.

ShinRa Building.

"Rufus," Sephiroth began.

Rufus ShinRa looked up at him, eyeing him carefully. He wanted to stand up but he could not… his legs felt so numb and he could not move half of his body like he had been paralyzed.

He turned to face Rufus and knelt down beside him. "Can you even stand up?" he asked.

Rufus shook his head quietly. His blue eyes still gave off a cold expression, but the look on his face made Sephiroth feel pity for him.

At some point, they were alike: hated and loathed upon by many people. But the thing that made Sephiroth wonder was that he was the one who killed several people, and Rufus did not even kill a single person… yet people still hate him.

He was just a victim.

Like himself.

Sephiroth looked away and got up, scanning the whole area. "We need to get you to a safer place," he told him sternly.

Rufus bowed down his head. "Why are you helping me?" he asked.

"Stop asking questions, ShinRa. Let's just go." Sephiroth replied with a stiff look on his face before reaching out a hand to Rufus.

Rufus just stared at the hand. "I told you, I can't get up." He said flatly.

Sephiroth turned away and scanned the whole area again.

"No one is here. Midgar is gone. This is all that's left." Rufus pointed out, trying to be patient with their current situation. He was not even sure if the place where they are was Midgar.

"Someone could still be here… you know, the other members of AVALANCHE…" Sephiroth began.

"No one else is here! What else are you going to do?" Rufus snapped.

Sephiroth turned around to face him again. "I'll just carry you until we reach the next town." He told him.

"No." Rufus said sternly. He could tell that Sephiroth was feeling pity for him already… and he hated that emotion especially if it came from other people and he was the reason for it. He clenched his right fist and looked up at Sephiroth with a cold look on his face, "Why don't you just leave me alone in here and go and find that Cloud Strife and get rid of him?" he demanded.

Sephiroth was looking into Rufus's eyes, and somehow, he could sense the deep anger from within them emanating from the depths of his heart. "You're blaming me, aren't you?" he asked.

Rufus just narrowed his eyes at Sephiroth before smiling slyly. "I am not saying anything." He pointed out. "Now go! I'll be staying here." He snapped.

"And then what? Wait for wolves to come down here and then eat you and you can't even fight them because you're helpless?" Sephiroth asked before he knelt down beside Rufus. "We are both here for a reason, ShinRa. And we are going to fulfill it. I am not going to work alone." He told him.

"Why? Are you afraid?" Rufus asked, his tone probing.

Sephiroth was quiet for a while before replying, "I just don't want to commit the same mistake again. Do you?" he asked.

Rufus looked away. "If it would mean getting back everything that I have, then so be it." He said softly.

The wind began to blow and they listened softly to it.

"Then I'll be watching you." Sephiroth told him.

"What for?" Rufus asked.

"I'll watch you while you do your own business and then I don't know who is going to watch me, but I'll still be working on my own." Sephiroth pointed out.

"That would be unfair." Rufus snapped.

"Why?" Sephiroth asked.

"It would appear that you are dominant." Rufus snapped.

"Well, I am dominant. You disappeared for some months even during Meteor! And now we're back here, you don't want to move, then I'll be the one who's going to move." Sephiroth explained before grinning, "Unless we work together for a change," he declared.

Rufus stared unbelievably at him.

Sephiroth just eyed him carefully, "Just think: we both failed before when we were working on our own… why don't we work together now? You and I? We'd be like a team. I'll help you rebuild your empire again and you help me find what I am looking for." He explained.

"Give me a good reason why I should team up with you?" Rufus asked.

"We're like the bad guys here. You have your own strengths; I have mine. We combine them both and we can get everything we want." Sephiroth explained.

Rufus flipped his hair. "Sounds logical… but," he eyed him carefully, "Why should I trust someone like you?" he asked.

"Because I am the only one right now in the whole Planet that is alive with you and we both passed through the same damnation in hell. I am the only one who can help you because I trust that with your name, you are still powerful and capable of having anything you want.  Think about it, Rufus. The others hate you. They can never trust you because you're a ShinRa. It's only us now." He told him.

Rufus studied the look in Sephiroth's eyes. It still gave off the familiar demented gaze as he spoke… and it made Rufus frown. He looked away. "Alright." He said softly. "But I think I'll be in a wheelchair for quite some time until I get better. Can I trust you to help me go around while I am still confined to it?" he asked with a commanding tone as he turned back to his new friend.

Sephiroth smiled slyly at him. "Of course, Rufus. Of course." He replied with a dignified tone.

But Rufus was thinking, "For the meantime… only for the meantime… and then I'm on my own again."

Sephiroth turned away for a moment, gazing at an abandoned edifice, and then turned back to Rufus with a kind smile on his face, "Okay, we'll go there. But I have to carry you." He told him.

Rufus stared unbelievably at him.

Sephiroth got up and dusted himself. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

Rufus smiled stiffly at him. "Of course, Sephiroth. I trust you. And you? Do you trust me?" he asked.

Sephiroth carried him up in his arms. "Of course, Rufus, I trust you. I always did."

-end-