Tengoko: Sorry for taking so long to update. Job hunting and all that. I'd like to thank everybody who reviewed and will assure you that I will finish this story as soon as I can.
Chapter 3: Schemes
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Urination was a private matter. There was a reason restrooms were invented with doors and locks on them. So you didn't have to do something so vulgar and personal in the company of others; especially in the company of the opposite sex. It didn't seem to matter to these people, though. Oh no. Heaven forbid she pee with the door closed. It's not like there were any windows she could escape from, and the vent was entirely too small. So unless they feared she was going to escape by flushing herself down the toilet or being sucked down the drain in the sink, than there was really no reason for them to stand at the door while she did this. Still, they insisted that it be done, so what choice did she have.
In truth, she knew she could have killed them all. But she'd learned that doing things the Barret way did always pay off. Sometimes it took patience and perfect timing. Just knocking out a few troopers and bolting towards the door wouldn't do her any good. Reno would just track her down, and as far as she was from Costa del Sol and Rocket Town, it seemed pretty pointless to do anything now.
"I'm finished," she said, turning off the sink after washing her hands. The guards walked in and led her to the bed, handcuffing her as they'd found her and then standing by the door, waiting until Reno returned. They all looked like SOLDIER second class. How charming. All these wannabes glorifying the position they were working towards. In Tifa's experience, being first class was no more special… or dignified. Nobody who ever came out of those ranks every achieved anything noble anyway. Great things, maybe. But not noble.
All right, so how would Nanaki do this? You were supposed to take what you knew of the enemy. Well, judging from what she had observed, Reno was an alcoholic. He'd frequented her bar often before he'd crushed the plate onto it. That bastard. And he always drank himself into a stupor and would usually have to be dragged out by his partner, Rude. That or he'd be thrown out by her when he'd get to rowdy with her other patrons. Well, him being an alcoholic does nothing for me. What else?
He was a notorious womanizer. Tifa didn't understand why. There was nothing particularly striking about the way he looked. But, it seemed he was the most popular bachelor in all of Midgar… and then Edge… and then Midgar again. She supposed it was because some women really were into the slob sort of thing… maybe the bad boy thing, too.
Still, that seemed to be Tifa's best ammunition. She was a woman. And, at the risk of being conceited, she was quite an attractive woman with large… assets. She had once sworn that she would never manipulate a man with her body. That would be shallow and improper. But, what choice did she have at this point? She couldn't allow him to whisk her away to Rufus Shinra. Not after what happened last time they'd met. She'd never forgive that man.
Well, now that she knew which weapon to attack with, she needed a destination for which to head once her plan was set in motion. Her best bet was to sneak back onto a ship headed for Costa del Sol and try to meet up with Yuffie, assuming that they hadn't left yet, which was entirely possible. Perhaps she'd even try to get a hold of a PHS to try to contact her. And, she couldn't just take the elevator to the platform. A Shinra trooper was guarding it and they'd know not to let her on. She'd have to do what she'd done before. Enlist the aid of Priscilla and just climb the tower to the platform. Of course, enlisting the aid of the girl was dangerous. If Shinra found out that she helped her escape, it could mean bad things for her.
Reno walked into the room looking irritated and grumpy. With a wave, he ordered the troopers out of the room and began taking off his jacket. It was weird seeing him without it as he'd always donned the Shin-Ra uniform in front of her, no matter how sloppily he wore it. He also took off his goggles and set them on the dresser along with his PHS and his wallet.
"You weren't gone very long," Tifa remarked, lifting her head a bit. "I take it you weren't on the phone with your mother?"
"Oh, sweetness, my mother has been dead for many years now," he said with a smile. "But thanks for asking. It's nice to know that you care so much. On that note, we'll be staying an extra day. I'm getting a chopper, but I won't be able to get it for a bit. So, just make yourself comfortable."
"Not likely," she said, looking at her wrists. The fact that he'd gotten them a chopper meant no difference to Tifa. It just gave her extra time to try to seduce him. She hoped it wouldn't be that hard. He didn't seem to be the type of man to care where the women came from, as long as he got to bed them in the end and then have nothing to do with them in the morning. Fortunately, for Tifa, it wouldn't have to come to that.
"You look so sad, doll. Is there anything I can do to make you turn that frown upside down?"
She knew he was being sarcastic, but she figured it was a good opening. She turned on the waterworks. Man, it had been so long since Tifa had cried. It felt so awkward having these tears welling up in her eyes. Was it normal for them to sting a little? Maybe her eyes were irritated or something… or maybe it was because she'd been shocked so many times that day, which, as she thought about it, seemed like a ridiculous reason, but as she was no doctor, in her mind, it was almost plausible. Her vision blurred so much that she was unable to see the effect that it had on Reno.
"Dear God, what did I do?" Reno asked, taking a step forward. He was as confused as he'd ever been. One moment she looked as defiant as ever then, suddenly, she was bawling her heart out. Reno never did well with women's tears, but he was always good at hiding the effect that they had on him. "Stop crying, Tifa. There's nothing more pathetic than a woman's tears."
She sniffed a bit as her vision became clearer. It was about time the tears started falling. "That's a horrible thing to say."
"It's true. Women's tears are rarely ever sincere. It's simply just another tool of manipulation that they use against us, hoping to bring us to our knees, ready to do whatever we can to make the tears stop. But they don't work on me, so don't even try."
Man, this was going to be difficult. "I can't help it. I'm just so… so… frustrated. I was supposed to be celebrating my friend's last days of single-hood and quite abruptly, I was yanked from that and brought here. I don't know why, and you aren't talking. Of course I'm upset. I'm surprised that I've only now started crying."
"Well, imagine that. The strongest woman in the world brought to tears for something so silly. Just when I thought you lacked for any feminine emotion. Then again, I am forgetting that this is the girl who was head-over-heels for Clou—"
"Don't you dare!" she shouted, pulling herself up. She heard the headboard groan a bit as the handcuffs resisted against it. She didn't care. Then again, it only now occurred to her how easy it would be to break it. Yet, that wouldn't be very nice for the owners of this place who were probably blackmailed by Reno into silence. It did look like quite an expensive bed, too. "Leave Cloud out of this! He's been out of my life for a while now, and I'll be damned if I let somebody like you drag his name back into it."
"I seem to have touched a nerve," Reno said laughing a bit. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked up. "I hated him so much," he said, ignoring her last words. "You know, up until I met you and your little gang I'd never been defeated in a fight. You know how frustrating that was. Even more frustrating than knowing I'll never have the chance to fight him now. Rufus seems to think we owe him something so we aren't allowed to fight him. But you know, that's all right. I seem to have outgrown such pettiness. At any rate, I apologize for your current state. If I had permission to tell you more than I already have, than I would have done it. It's not a habit of mine to make woman cry all over themselves."
"No, you prefer to do other things with women, don't you?"
Reno seemed shocked by how bluntly she'd said it. "Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but yes. Women are known for having much better things to offer me than tears. Can I really be blamed that so many are eager to share a bed with me?"
"I didn't say that," she said.
"You didn't have to, babe. Your tone said it all. Your judgment of me is as clear as glass, and your disdain for me drips from every word that you utter. That's fine. I wasn't expecting a friendship to develop. After all, I am you kidnapper. That would just be silly, wouldn't it?"
"I don't hate you, Reno," she said honestly. "I haven't forgotten that, because of you, Yuffie is alive today. I had thought that after all of that, though, the Turks and I, or rather, my gang as you put it, wouldn't be on the opposite side of things anymore. I hate this situation that I'm in, and I hate the man that ordered you to carry out this mission. But, I can't blame you anymore than I could blame a puppet being controlled by his puppeteer. He simply can't think for himself."
Reno stared at her for a moment before he burst into laughter. "I'm not sure whether to be grateful that I don't have your hate or insulted that I've just been called a puppet."
"Take is as you will," she said.
She studied him for a bit now that silence had taken over. He wasn't that bad looking, now that she thought about it. She could see now why women didn't mind sharing his bed. Her eyes darted to his lips. They were thin, but not too thin, and for once, the corner wasn't twisted upward into that goofy smirk he always wore. At least they were chapped. She hated kissing chapped lips. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hellish after all. Sure, she didn't want to kiss Reno, but seeing that she had no choice, well, she had to take small victories.
She wondered how she was going to lead him into the kiss. Obviously playing the damsel in distress card wouldn't work on him. Her tears didn't do a thing and, in fact, she was a damsel in distress because of him. Damn, she wished her mind worked like Nanaki's. She'd be out of here by now. She was no good at coming up with the plans. Then again, her approach couldn't be had. She couldn't just outright ask Reno to kiss her. That would definitely raise some suspicion that she was up to something. Damn it. Why did it have to be so complicated?
"Are these handcuffs really necessary?"
"Considering your warning, I believe that they are. I can't have you running away now. Rufus Shinra wouldn't be happy about that at all, and it'd be my ass on the line."
"Has it ever occurred to you that you could just quit?"
He chuckled. "How funny you are. One simply does not quit the Turks. We know too much about… everything. There's a risk that a Turk who just leaves may wag their tongue. That's why you don't hear of too many retired Turks."
"Then what the hell compelled you to join it in the first place?" she asked.
His expression darkened. "That's a road we don't need to walk down, babe. My motives for doing what I do are none of your business, and you won't be asking that stupid question again. Now go to sleep or I'll make you go to sleep."
Tifa was surprised by the reaction that question garnered. So, the Turk does have a nerve that shouldn't be touched? That was good to know. Still, it seemed weird to Tifa that there might be more depth to Reno than what was on the surface. It made him more human in her eyes, and that wasn't something she liked. As far as she was concerned, all of the Turks were of the same breed. Callous, cold-hearted puppets who did exactly as they were told with little or no regard to the consequences. But, after that reaction, it seemed that there was more to why Reno became a Turk. That he hadn't done it for the guns and the prestige. Reno had a past.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know that that question would bother you."
"It didn't," he lied, his voice snappier than usual. "Don't mention it again."
"Reno…? Where will you be sleeping?"
"On the bed, of course," he said, his smirk returning. It was amazing how fast his glower transformed into a smug look once again. "I'm a Turk. Do you really expect me to sleep on the floor?"
"You will stay on your side, won't you?" she asked, her burgundy eyes staring straight into his.
He had to admit, it was more than disconcerting. Any other woman and he probably would have taken advantage of the fact that they were handcuffed to the bed. He wasn't proud to admit that to himself. In fact, he was more ashamed of it than he'd care to admit to himself. Fifteen years ago, he never would have imagined he'd once become the man that he was today. But, there was no use beating himself up over it. He was who he was. And that man was completely amazed that he hadn't tried to cop a feel on Tifa. Maybe it was because she'd probably break the headboard and strangle him if he did. But, the way those eyes were looking at him told him otherwise.
He was about to answer her question when she asked, "would you think any less of me if I asked you to kiss me?"
"Wait…" he closed his eyes and replayed that sentence in his head. There's no way he'd heard it right. But, every time he went over it, he could think of no other way to interpret it. "What?"
"Kiss me, Reno," she pleaded, her eyes growing even larger as she tried her damndest to give him her best come-hither look. She was pleased to see him sputter.
"What…? Why? What the hell, Tifa?"
"I don't know what's come over me. I just know that right now, I want you to kiss me. I'll examine why later. But, trust me; I'm not the analytical type. Now, please kiss me before I change my mind."
Reno wasn't sure what she was playing at. There was no way she really wanted him to kiss her. She despised him. He knew that. She could tell him a thousand times that she didn't hate him, but he knew that was a lie. How could she not hate him considering that he was the one who crushed her home and all those people underneath the Sector Seven plate? But, his weakness was women, and Tifa was an especially gorgeous one. And, she had offered an invitation for him to taste those lips. Throwing caution into the wind, Reno leaned forward and pressed his lips into hers.
