Okay, so I've posted up 2 chapters so far and it just dawned on me that I haven't put on a disclaimer or any little things I usually make sure are there. So firstly, I don't own Final Fantasy VII, that belongs to Square Enix. Secondly, I don't own the characters used in this fan fic, they belong to Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix. Third, thanks to Namantos and blueravenchick for their reviews. I can honestly say that means alot to me as a writer and it helps stop the writer's block from happening. So thank yous lots! ^_^
Well with out further delay... here's the next chapter!
P.S. Please review and any ideas that you guys have is appreciated. I like to give the fan what they want.
Chapter Three: Shinra's Newfound Problem
Returning to Shinra was not an easy task for Rufus. He dreaded being in his father's presence. It sent shivers up his spine and made him remember the past that he longed to forget. He sat in the helicopter, his eyes closed and his mind wandering.
"Get up! Now you useless piece of shit!"
He felt someone grabbing the back of his neck, pulling him to his feet. He was starting to choke and his head was throbbing in complete pain. His father had thrown him against the wall and he hit his head on the nearby kitchen cabinet. He saw some blood but he couldn't tell if it was his or his father's because he had broken a glass after slamming it on the table.
He was standing up to see his father's icy cold blue eyes staring at him. He tried to escape the hold that he had on his neck but to no avail. His father's grip was strong. It's true what they say about Arcadian Shinra, you can never escape him or his wrath.
It just happened to be even worse for Rufus Shinra because right when he was born, his mother had died. For as long as Rufus could remember, Arcadian has constantly beaten him, slamming him against the nearest walls and punching him mercilessly. All Rufus could do was become a vice president and go on as many of the overseas trips that the company could come up with, just to escape his father for a little while. There was no one that could help him, knowing his conditions meant that you would disappear for it.
He tried to be strong but knew that his father would take out his frustrations on him again. So he would wait, until his father grew tired of beating him and leave, however, today happened to be Friday and Arcadian was not one to leave early on Friday nights. So he might end up doing the worst for wear on Rufus, which meant he was doomed.
"Look at me when I talk to you," Arcadian sneered, gripping his son's neck more. Rufus flinched and stopped squirming in his father's grip, looking up to see the rage on his face.
"What did I tell you?" he continued. "I told you that you were to finish the evaluation of the fifth reactor today and instead you didn't follow my order. Why?"
"I was busy finishing the damage report that was done to the seventh plate. You told me that the plate's stability takes priority over the reactors…always," Rufus replied meekly.
"Well guess what?" Arcadian replied. "Now you are going to deal with the evaluation, first thing tomorrow morning." Rufus' heart dropped, he was going to see his girlfriend first thing in the morning. She was his sweetheart that he tried his hardest to take care of at all times. If he didn't see her tomorrow, he might not ever see her again.
Arcadian noticed the look of pain in his eyes and slammed him back to the floor before placing a few kicks to his stomach. Rufus struggled to get up but couldn't because his father landed a kick to his ribs, causing him to scream out in pain. He knew that his father had cracked a rib with that kick because he was beginning to taste blood in his mouth.
He crawled over to the cabinet to try and get up but his father had wrapped his arms around his son's waist and pulled him back. He threw him at the table and laughed coldly before grabbing his son by the ear, slapping him to stay awake.
"I'll deal with you later," he growled. "I have better things to do than beat your sorry ass." He punched Rufus in the jaw and let him go, leaving the room. Rufus waited until he heard the door of their condo close before he tried to get up again.
"I…have to…" he tried to talk but fell unconscious due to the concussion that was on his head.
Rufus woke up and was in a cold sweat. The TURKS and Sephiroth were staring at him with worried and minor horrified looks on their faces. He growled before they decided not to ask if he was ok. Sitting back again he tried to relax but found the past coming back to him in small but very vivid nightmares.
Sephiroth had accompanied them as they returned to the headquarters. As they all sat there, the silence became more and more uncomfortable. Tseng and Verdot looked at each other before passing a glance to the silver general and then to the young vice president. Reno, who sat next to Rufus, found himself taking in the man and all of his features.
He could see that there were some bruises on the back of his neck and he was itching to know how he got them but he knew that it would not bode well for any of them if he did. He remained silent as he watched Rufus begin to tremble very stilly. He reached out his hand placing it on his shoulder causing Rufus to look at him. "It'll be alright," he said very silently. It was as if Reno could see that Rufus was afraid to see his father. He nodded and smiled a weak smile before relaxing, allowing the atmosphere in the chopper to become a calming silence.
"Verdot, we are approaching the Shinra headquarters, we shall begin our descent," the pilot stated calmly. Verdot nodded and replied, "Acknowledged."
The chopper slowed its pace and began to descend, the large corporate conglomerate becoming a closer giant. They landed with a swift motion and the co-pilot opened the door to let the two Turks out first. Rufus was right behind them, followed by Reno and Sephiroth. They walked to the elevator and Sephiroth slid his identification card and selecting the sixty-ninth floor. It was the president's floor, where his office and all the other executive offices were.
The elevator had stopped and all of the men exited. The rest of the Turks were standing in line saluting the vice president and Verdot as they passed by to the president's office. Rufus stopped at the door and took a deep breath. He reached out to open the door and stopped short. He was shaking again, this time he was visibly shaking, and as much as he wanted to stop, he couldn't. Reno noticed his shaking again and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Relax," he began silently. "You may be afraid of him but I think it's better if you try not to show your fear to him. Let him think that you are no longer affected by who he is. You're a man yourself, so show some balls man." Rufus turned to look over his shoulder and nodded, "Thank you Reno." He turned the knob and they made their way in.
President Shinra was sitting at his desk reading some papers when his son walked in accompanied by Sephiroth and all of the TURKS. He smirked at the sight of Reno, who was walking beside the vice president with no fear of the fate that the vice president had chosen for him.
"Well now," he began boldly. "This is quite a sight. The general of my army and all of my TURKS with you Rufus. That makes it seem like they're on your side."
Reno's eyes narrowed as he watched the president get up from his chair and walk towards his son. He had tensed as Rufus had when the man had gotten in his son's face. Taking a deep breath, Rufus replied calmly, "I was escorted by your TURKS. Sephiroth just happened to be with them as they returned. As for the rest of them being here, they must have heard about the new kid to join their ranks." His hand trembled as he spoke but he tried to remain calm. Reno looked at the president before taking a step forward, stepping between both of the Shinras and giving Rufus some breathing room.
"Boy, you are in my way," the president scorned.
"I didn't know you had to breathe your bad breath in someone's face just to make conversation man," Reno replied bluntly all while putting his arms up in a mocking confusion.
At this point, everyone had tensed up. Talking back to the president usually meant that you were a dead man, and every single employee knew that you were to never say no to the president, let alone talk back.
"I mean, you can't tell me that this is how you operate," Reno continued. "I watched you on the television and you didn't get into anyone's face then. So you shouldn't be in his face either."
"Listen here boy," he began furiously. "I won't have you telling me how to talk to my son. You got it?" By now he had grabbed Reno's jacket and was breathing in his face. This however, only meant that the president wanted all hell to break loose. He pulled himself out of the grip and gave the president the best death glare he had, causing the large man to take a few steps back. This only made Reno step towards him.
"Don't test me old man," he said coldly. As he took another step towards the president he continued, "I may seem like the type to fuck around but this "brat" as you labeled him, helped me find something to fight for. I am not going to let you instill fear in him if you want him to be a good leader."
"Reno," Verdot began. "You don't understand your position, you are only a kid and you happen to be yelling at the most powerful man in the world. Step down son."
All the TURKS moved into a formation, surrounding the young man and the two executives. Tseng was moving closer to Reno only to see the kid drop down and spin trip him. Everyone froze as they watched some little kid take the second-in-command and knock him down with no effort. Reno was back at eye level with the president, his eyes with a green tint to them. "When did you get a mako injection?" he asked silently.
Suddenly everyone stood still. Everyone knew that only SOLDIERS were injected with mako and that if you weren't a SOLDIER, then you were using it illegally. Reno stared at him with a look of confusion on his face.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"The mako in your eyes," the president replied. "Where'd you get it from?"
"I was never injected with mako," he stated. "I told you that I am not up to being a SOLDIER boy." By now, Rufus had grabbed Reno and spun him around to take a look at his eyes. If anyone knew about mako more than Hojo, it was Rufus Shinra. He could tell you whether or not they were exposed to it or had it injected into their system. He could also tell by looking at the person's eyes, how much was in them. He gazed into Reno's crystal turquoise eyes and took a step back.
"Sir?" Sephiroth questioned calmly. "What is it? Is it that bad?"
Rufus had stared at Reno before stating what he knew…that Reno was injected with mako at a very early age, possibly even before he was born. "Reno, you… you've been exposed to mako at an early age, haven't you?"
This made Reno calm down and step towards the young vice president, "I was told by my mother before she died that my father was an employee of Shinra's labs and that he did inject her with mako when she was pregnant with me. I didn't know how much though. I kinda came here to get the answer. I take it by the look in your eyes that it's a lot of mako, right?"
"Yes," Rufus had stepped towards him and nodded. "A lot. A test has to be done in order to see if you're at risk for poisoning." He looked at his father, "Father, I want this kid, as a TURK and as my personal body guard. I know this is out of the ordinary, however, I know that we could trust this young man, if given the opportunity."
"Rufus," President Shinra responded, his anger completely depleted and his semi-calm demeanor returned. "You do realize that you are saying that you are no longer bothered by the TURKS?"
He nodded, "That would be thanks to this one right here."
This made Verdot smirk and Tseng, who had gotten up, raised an eyebrow. Legend let out a minor snort and Rude had smiled a rare smile. Gun had dropped her jaw and the rest of the TURKS let out a sigh of relief. Sephiroth simply stated a simple "I knew it" before turning back to the president.
President Shinra sighed, "I guess so. But listen to me well boy," his glare dark and cruel. "Should you ever try to tell me what to do again, and I'll make sure that you regret the day you were ever born. Got it?" Reno turned around and smiled before giving a two-fingered salute before turning his attention back to Rufus. It looked like old man Shinra was going to deal with more than just his son… after all; he just let a brat onto the TURKS with no exam or even training. Life at the Shinra Electrical Company was about to get exciting.