Okay lol soo I know this wasn't an OVERLY looonnng chappy but I just started track season and I have practice EVERY fricken day after school (ugh) and soo yea …So I get home late THEN I DO HMWK hahahaha the beauty of it all…lol anyways, so I want you guys to review! So if you like it, LET ME KNOW! SHOW ME YOU LIKE IT THROW LOVING AND KIND REVIEWS lol. Special thanks to michibun and OTerrorInABoxO
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I frowned "Yuffie, are you sure this is the best way in?". Okay so yea, I was skeptical, but scaling up the side of the Shinra mansion and then breaking in through a window didn't exactly sound like a brilliant idea to me. Yuffie looked back at me, eyes rolling and replied "Would you relax? Sheesh. I brought ropes and stuff so don't worry about it." Yea, right.
I looked over my shoulder and then shivered. It was dark and the wind was throwing my long brunette hair around. I did not like the looks of the approaching storm. I looked at Yuffie expectantly. "Can we go now…I just want to get this finished with…I can not believe I am doing this…" Yuffie giggled at me and then skillfully attached a rope to what resembled a boomerang with some fancy knot. Honestly, where did she learn these things anyways?
"Ready" Yuffie angled her arm back readying for the throw "Set" she closed one dark eye and aimed for the window "Go!" I watched the blur of blue against the flash of light that lit up the sky for like fireworks during a celebration. I heard the crash of the boomerang through the window, but I was counting how far away the storm was based on the gap of silence from when lightening strikes until the thunder booms. "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi, 4 Mississippi, 5 Mississippi, 6 Missis-BOOM!" About 5 and ½ miles away, but with winds like that, the storm would be here soon and I didn't plan on waiting around for it.
"Okay Tiff, looks like I got a good pull" Yuffie explained while flashing me one of her trademark grins. I watched while she tugged one last time on the rope and then quickly scaled the side of the mansion pulling herself agilely over the edge of the window. That was when I saw the first bad sign. This was the mansion of one of the richest families in the world…Where were the alarms?
Yuffie looked down at me from the window and yelled with her hands cupped over her mouth. "Come…clear!…hurry!…" I felt my brow furrow. "What?!" I had no idea what she was saying. I could barely hear my own voice over the howling wind, let alone her's from the second floor of a house. Yuffie motioned for me to come up with her hands. I sighed, but obliged to her demand.
After tumbling through the window and narrowly avoiding several shards of glass I stood up and brushed myself off. I looked around the dark room that seemingly resembled a 'sitting room'. What was it with rich folks and excessive rooms and furniture? The couch in the middle and two chairs separated by a small wooden table that sat directly across from the couch were both covered with white cloths probably protecting them from dust or something.
"Eeek. Creepy, right?" Yuffie said lowly with an eerie face. I laughed "Oh yea, really freaky. Yuffie I was thinking about this. This is like, one of the biggest, most fancy homes around, right?" Yuffie nodded "Well, then where are the alarms?" Yuffie smirked and then responded slyly "With the electricity."
I could practically feel the annoyance plastered all over my face "Yuffie, what do you mean, 'with the electricity'" I waited, scrutinizing her. "Weeeelllllllll, on my way back to your house… I kinda passed by the mansion…" I groaned. She couldn't stay out of trouble for even 5 minutes after being left alone. "Yuffie, what have you done this time?" She suppressed a grin and kept up her useless innocence act "Don't get mad cause this could be blamed on the storm…but I kinda thought it would make things easier if I accidently took out the generator, cut the wires, you know the usual. "
The usual? Oh geez. We were going to be sooo beyond screwed if we got caught. Not only would it be trespassing, but now we could be pressed with charges of vandalism. I swear, Yuffie doesn't think about anything before she just runs off and does things! She has no red flags in her mind! I tried not grumble about it too much. In scenarios such as these there are only two real rules. 1) Don't get caught doing anything wrong and 2) Absolutely NEVER leave any form of evidence.
Thinking about the evidence rule made me take a quick glance at our hands. Both were covered in a pair of thin flexible black gloves. Yuffie had pouted earlier about not getting the fingerless gloves that 'went with our outfit'. However, she didn't pout for long because she managed to stick me in black tights, black underarmor, tiny black shorts, and of course, the traditional war paint under the eyes. Honestly.
"Okay Yuffie, we're finally here, so let's get some pictures, do your STUPID voodoo thing and get the hell out of here, okay?" I turned back to look at Yuffie but she had already wandered off into the other room exploring.
"Yuffie, are you even listening to me?" I walked into the other room. I took a glance at the once polished wooden floor when it creaked below me. I walked around the corner "Yuff?"
I was surprised to be greeted by a quick flash and then a burst of laughter. I blinked a couple times "What the heck was that?" I demanded. Yuffie continued to laugh her twinkling laugh while she turned the camera screen around to reveal a photographed me completely shocked and looking like a nervous wreck.
"EW! Delete that picture Yuffie!" I laughed at my own shocked face. "No, I think I'll put this on facebook…maybe I can even send it to Sephiroth!" Yuffie had that creepily evil look she gets right before she blackmails someone on her face. "Hehe" I gulped. If she sent that to anyone as popular as Sephiroth I would murder her or possibly myself depending on the picture!
"Come on Yuffie, let's not be drastic…"I trailed off right before I pounced on the annoying little shrimp that happened have the title 'best friend' and pried the camera from her evil little paws. "Ha! Deleted!" I cheered successfully.
I rolled over and picked up the bag with our crap in it and stood up. I held a hand out to Yuffie. She took it and I yanked her up to her feet. "Okay, lets be serious now" Yuffie said with a perfect straight face. I laughed and her face soon lit up with a grin. "Alright, lead the way then, Captain" I said mockingly my eyes rolling. Yuffie saluted me and marched patriotically to the grand staircase.
"FREEZE!" I yelled in a deep voice. Yuffie did freeze for a moment, then realized it was me joking. She caught on as I ran up and snapped a picture of her posing like a 'lady' in front of the grand staircase. "Oh geez, this is gold!" Yuffie looked over my shoulder laughing all the while as I flipped back to the picture.
The next 20 minutes consisted of exploring the huge mansion. There was probably anywhere from 100 to 150 rooms in the stupid house. It was crazy! If I had this kind of money, I could do so much with it. I wouldn't waste it on a house. I would put it towards a good cause!
Anyways, then after we found a really creepy hallway with glass chandeliers and huge windows that gave us a disturbingly large view of the storm outside, we sat down and did some weird ass voodoo that was a complete waste of time.
After 10 minutes of calling forth evil spirits and what not, my butt was really beginning to hurt from sitting on the marble floor. I stared at the flickering candle "Well, that was a bust" I laughed while Yuffie pouted
"Come on Yuff, you didn't actually expect anything to happen right? All that stuff on TV is fake, you know that don't you?" I waited expectantly for some whiney reply but she said nothing her lip jutting out a bit further. I shook my head "Yuffie I really wonder about you sometimes, you know that?"
Yuffie just stuck her nose in the air, arms crossed looking defiant. I sighed "Some things never change. Come on, let's clean up."
Yuffie reached down to help me and soon I was back on my feet again my butt fricken TINGLING!! Yup, that's right, tingling! And while I looked over my shoulder and back at my 'tingling' butt I stumbled on the edge of the upturned rug hitting the lit handle. I gasped as did Yuffie. OH HELL NO.
"Yuffie! Grab it!" I screamed as I tripped and fell my hand fell short about a foot of the where the candle fell and Yuffie wasn't fast enough.
The candle fell with a soft 'thump' on the carpet in the small sitting room that soon had an inch or two of fire streaking off of it. We both watched in horror for a moment. "..wa..WWAATER!!" I stuttered!
I was frozen. No one really knows what to do in situations like this, really. Yuffie didn't move at first but before I knew it we were both running around frantically. I ran into the next door room in search of a bathroom but instead found it to be a 'parlor' room. WHAT THE HELL IS A PARLOR ROOM ANYWAYS!?!??!!?!
Meanwhile, I could smell the smoke in the air. The lightening outside moved with the speed of my heart and the sound of thunder was jumbled through the glass like my thoughts through the thickening smoke.
"YUFFIE! DID YOU FIND WA-" my voice cracked and I choked on smoke. I stared back at the rising flames. Holy hell. What had we done? I pulled my black shirt over my mouth and nose and ran down the hallway. We didn't have time for this. "YUFFIE" My muffled scream hardly made a sound over the crackling fire and storm outside.
At this rate, I didn't even give a crap about the fricken house and just wanted to find Yuffie and high tail it out of here. All evidence that we had been here would be gone, not to mention the fact that the Shinras didn't even live in this house so it wasn't like it was really hurting anyone.
In fact, it might teach those rich bastards a lesson. Not to suggest that I go around burning down people's houses when I think they need a lesson or something, but you get the general idea.
I took a left toward the main hallway just as I heard glass shattering. The howling wind seemed to be chasing me down the hall.
I ran down the stairs "YUFFIE WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?!?!?!?!?" I saw a flash of black and suddenly Yuffie was sprinting, and I meaning sprinting, down the steps.
She flew past me and said a single word "Run!"
Confused, but not one to argue, I agreed but not quite as hastily. That's when I heard it. The low appealing, but deadly voice of someone approaching quickly behind "Stop right there or I'll fire" the cocking of a gun. HA! Like I was going to stop now!
I was running behind Yuffie screaming "We gotta split up, it's the only way! He's the only one right???" My voice was getting hoarse from all the smoke as the fire was spreading faster and faster.
Yuffie turned her head back slightly to nod and I saw her face. Emotions played across. Fear, confusion, anxiety. But now wasn't the time for that.
"STOP RIGHT NOW OR I'LL SHOOOT!!" The voice was commanding and serious. There was nothing at all joking about this voice and although I didn't want to push its owner to it's limits I sure didn't want to stick around and meet the guy either.
I pushed on around the corner in time to here a BOOM!!!!! Except this wasn't the 'boom' of thunder, this was the 'boom' of a gun being shot. The second I heard it I threw myself around that corner like it was my saving grace in time to feel something sting my cheek right below my 'warrior marks' as Yuffie had called them.
Crimson red slid down my cheek. "Unbelievable. That little asshole had been aiming for my head!!! That could have killed me!!!!! What a jerk!!!! I'm officially offended" I whispered to Yuffie in my now gruff voice. That when I noticed.
There was no Yuffie. Holy shit. She must have actually taken my whole 'split up thing' seriously. YOU NEVER SPLIT UP!! YOU JUST SAY THAT TO CONFUSE THE SHIT OUT OF THE OTHER PERSON!!! Oh my god. She was always causing problems. Ugh, I hope that she just heads back to my house because otherwise we will have major problems.
I was snapped out of my previous thoughts of Yuffie when the crackle of fire was over taken by the snapping of some sort of metal, a loud shattering sound,. I stuck my head around the corner only to see that whoever shot at me was now going to be pinned under one of the obnoxiously fancy chandeliers. I stood up my eyes wide but couldn't say anything in time. The chandelier fell, crushing him.
I walked over cautiously. There were no live cables and the chandelier wasn't on fire. (THAT WOULD BE ONE HELL OF A SITE!) Whoever was pinned under it was definitely out cold. There was no way anyone could take a hit like that and NOT be knocked unconscious!
I crouched down to get a quick look at the man who had the nerve to shoot and me and was instantly stunned and absolutely breathless. Silky blonde hair was tossed carelessly over his closed eyes which revealed the gorgeous long lashes that most girls would envy. His face was made of surprisingly sharp yet somehow graceful features that made him, simply put, drop dead gorgeous.
While my mouth hung open, some smoke must have come in and knocked me out of my little daze because I came back to reality. Regardless of how…stunning…he was…I…I…couldn't just take him to my house and take care of him until he got better or a home.... even though it was my fault. Technically…
Especially since, he was MY age AND ESPECIALLY since I would have to DRAG him to my house which would look WIERD! As I tried to UNconvince myself of helping him I heard the distant whine of the approaching fire trucks.
That was all the motivation I needed! I bent down slowly and carefully was able to wiggle him out from under the chandelier (it wasn't too heavy after all that glass shattered off of it).
By that time my nose was burning and the back of my throat felt like sandpaper. I slung an arm around his shoulder (which was extremely muscular although most might not notice at first glance) and attempted to cart him the hell out of there.
Although this may seem like an effective system, it really wasn't considering if he stood up straight he could probably put his chin on top of my head and as I mentioned before, he was muscular but not in the obnoxious football player way. It was more like the I-work-out-everyday-to-be-healthy-and-stay-in-shape-type of muscular.
I was able to get both us out of the burning Shinra mansion while I made my observations, which was a good way to get my mind off the fact that I was wheezing like a 10 year smoker. Once we were in the pouring rain (Of course there is enough rain to soak us through, but not enough to stop the fricken fire. Great, FML) and the flashing lighting I dragged the two of us into the nearest woods.
I wasn't sure if I was going to make it home and I was absolutely NOT going to involve anyone else. The only person I would do that to is Yuffie and that's because she's already in this but I don't even know where she bloody is. (And to be frank, I don't really care either!) I don't want to say that I'm not concerned about Yuffie but um… seriously I have my own damn problems…
Once we were deep enough in the woods (To the point that no one would probably find us, unless they came looking of course, which would be a whole other story!) I settled down after I gently laid down the 17-year old (Probably…He looks my age, I sure hope so with a face like that!).
I was way too tired to even think about walking all home. It wasn't actually that far, but in reality, we would half to take the long way to avoid main roads (cops and fire fighters and stuff) not to mention I don't know the woods that well in the dark and especially not when it's RAINING in the dark. As I thought about all this, I drifted off into a deep slumber.
Rufus' POV
Rufus jolted upward as he woke up quite obviously not on his personally made tempur-pedic bed. He took in my surroundings carefully as his hand slowly slid to his sawed off shot gun. He was in the woods nearby the mansion. Perhaps an attempted and failed capture for a ransom? Rufus wrinkle my brow as he tried to call forth my memories from last night.
Flashback
Heat…a lot of heat…
Growing streams of orange, extending higher, engulfing rooms at a time…
A girl yelling…wakes him?
Fast black blurs running…not fast enough…
Intense brown, no almost red, eyes giving a warning
… before something shattered?
…
Then nothing…
Nothing…nothing at all?
End of Flashback
Rufus' hand suddenly shot to his gun out of reflex after hearing the light breathing beside him. Cocked and already aiming at a vital area of a teenage girl about his age the gun gleamed in the sun that was no where to be seen yesterday.
She looked about 16 or 17. She had long brown hair with a curvy, yet somewhat petite figure. She was wearing all black. Rather suspicious, wasn't she? He examined her face and noticed a light cut running along her cheek and it hit him.
The eyes like red whine and the black blurs…and the…the …chandeliers…she must have gotten him before the fire did. Rufus scowled at this. He knew he shouldn't be around her. She was an intruder. She broke in to their house. Besides, she was probably some beggar or something and Shinras should not be affiliated with the likes of that…and yet he saved her so he couldn't help but want to …
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OoOoOoOoOoOo soooooo the million dollar question is, WHY was rufus in the mansion in the first place and WHEN will Tifa find out it really IS rufus!??!!?!? Find out in my next chapter !!!!