Once More, With Feeling... – Chapter 38: A Little Harassment
Summary: Rufus and Cloud discover new mysteries, while Hojo is dealing with his own problems.
Author: Illusor Meaneld
Rated T: for Descriptive violence and injuries, No Adult Situations, No Cussing.
Disclaimer: I did not create, and do not own the characters from Final Fantasy 7, They are owned by Square-Enix, and I am simply borrowing them for my own (and hopefully your) enjoyment.
On the first day… it was a coincidence.
For it was certainly not every day that young Vice President Rufus Shinra strolled through the lower 'cadet-plagued' levels of his father's building. As it was, he had been on his way from a meeting which had undergone a last minute room change due to a sudden and unscheduled cleanup on the previous floor.
He had been walking at his usual brisk stride, watching with mild amusement as various other Shinra personnel made way for him, when a flash of artificial light off metallic hair caught his attention. To his knowledge, Sephiroth frequented the cadet levels only slightly more often than Rufus himself did. So it was quite a shock to see the famous General walking behind a line of SOLDIER Prep. Cadets. It was only with an effort of will that Rufus kept his jaw from dropping. And he had to bite the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood to keep his expression neutral at the glimpse of the legendary Masamune drawn and held threateningly behind the teenagers. Utterly baffled, Rufus slowed his pace, noting that he wasn't the only onlooker who was watching the proceedings with curiosity, and a little apprehension. However despite, (or maybe because of?) the witnesses, The General simple marched the nervous cadets into the Mess Hall, and then sheathed his sword and stood by the door, his eyes sweeping nonchalantly across the halls. Rufus watched several people jerk when the SOLDIER's gaze reached them, ducking their heads and proceeding rapidly away from the scene. As for Rufus himself, his lips twisted into a smirk, and he nodded slightly in acknowledgement when those slitted eyes paused on him. A blink was his only response from the General, but Rufus had already turned and continued along his original path, his mind already filtering through his memories of the last few minutes and making mental notes of the important bits. By the time he'd reached his next appointment he'd already catalogued it into a mental folder for later perusal, and his mind was clear and ready for the next issue requiring his input.
As it turned out, he really needed that extra mental acuity. One step into the Science Department and he could already feel a budding headache. Where he expected to find The sterile and oppressively hushed laboratory, what he instead found was chaos, where he expected to find lab assistants quietly and submissively performing their tasks, he found men and women dashing to and fro, arms full of paper-work, folders, vials of indeterminate fluids, boxes and crates he was certain he never wanted to know the contents of. Where he expected to find the employees professional, curt, and deferential, the people were yelling and arguing, rudely shoving past one another and him in their haste and frustration. However, the loudest, and most unexpected of all was the infamous Professor Hojo himself, his voice raised to a nearly ear piercing shriek of outrage as he scolded and threatened everyone in his presence, spittle flying from his mouth as he gesticulated and screamed. He looked utterly deranged, his lab coat messy and wrinkled, covered in stains of various colors, his hair unkempt, greasier than normal and flying loose from his usual ponytail, even his normally meticulously clean hands were covered in dirt and other dark stains. For the second time that day, Rufus had to work to keep the astonishment off his face. He was starting to wonder if perhaps one of the experimental neurotoxins had somehow leaked into the air vents, but after a moment shook off the fancy, surely it would have affected a greater number of employees were such the case? Regardless, he steeled himself for an impending migraine, and waded forward into the frothing masses. In short order he bullied himself next to the Professor and with intentional disdain gazed over the seeming area of import. Hojo was planted next to a long desk with several computer terminals resting on it. A man wearing the uniform of a Shinra technician was sitting at the main computer looking incredibly frazzled as he typed away under the Science Director's verbal abuse.
"Have you STILL not destroyed that virus?" Hojo snarled even while Rufus stood there,
"I'm trying!" The technician whined, hunching just a little further,
"Try HARDER! Or I'll redo all the lost experimentation on YOU, you useless imbecile!"
The young Vice President barely leaned back in time to avoid the spittle flying from the Scientist's mouth. Clearing his throat decisively he raised an eyebrow as Hojo predictably swung around at the intrusion
"WHAT do you WANT?…" Hojo started to snap, before visibly restraining himself as he recognized one of his few superiors, "Vice President Rufus," he coughed, his frame twitching with his forcibly subdued anger. "As you can see, we are quite busy, was there something you needed?"
Rufus waited a moment before answering, enjoying the frustration evident in the quivering of Hojo's frame, it wasn't often he got the chance to aggravate the Science Director with so little effort, it was only when the Professor's left eyelid began twitching that he spoke.
"I was informed of a high-level disturbance in this area, and a rather alarming setback in your estimated project completion dates for the President. I was asked to come in person to ascertain the reason for such disappointments."
Half of that statement was a lie, he'd heard of no 'disturbance' nor had his father asked him to investigate anything, but it was just as likely that he'd have been asked soon based on the information Rufus HAD received. It was more efficient to pre-empt such requests, and quite frankly he didn't put the same level of trust over Hojo's reliability as his father seemed prone to.
Hojo scowled, and then jerked at the harassed technician. "There would not be any setbacks if not for the complete INCOMPETENCE of these idiots in the maintenance department!" He spat, disgustingly literally in fact, "They haven't been able to fix ONE SIMPLE technical problem!"
"Simple!" The technician snorted under his breath, he must have assumed it was inaudible, but Hojo's eyes flashed, making a rapid decision Rufus took one step towards the young man, dragging the Science Director's attention back to himself in the process,
"You, what is this 'simple technical problem'?"
The Technician sputtered and reddened, "Ah… Vice President Sir, um…" Rufus simply raised an eyebrow as the young man stammered for a few more moments before seeming to collect himself. "It's… there's this virus sir, ah, … a computer virus I mean. Not that those are uncommon or anything, they pop up in general from time to time, usually minor issues, since Shinra has the best technology by far,… and er… the best programmers and stuff, usually we have them under control in an hour or so, maybe as much as a day… um… but we've never seen anything like this sir," His eyes were wide and not a little despairing, but at the same time his expression held something akin to awe as he spoke of the virus in question. "It must be some kind of 'worm' or something, I don't know how it got in here in the first place, it only seems to be on the computers within the Science Department. I thought we got rid of it when we first spotted it last week, but it keeps coming back, and we can't seem to find the root of it… it-"
"What exactly does this Virus do?" Rufus interrupted the man's rambling, more interested than before about this mysterious super-virus.
"Oh… well that's the weird part," The technician scratched at his head, "Normally a virus would destroy files or system data or just lock down programs or something, but this one seems to run through the system grabbing up all the files in it, and then renaming and relocating them. Nesting them in other files, hiding the files and it does all this ACTIVELY! It's amazing! I've seen files I just opened disappearing as soon as I've closed them, its completely shut down the Science Department because they've been keeping so many of their active experiments noted on coded computer files. I've personally hunted this virus down four times and every time I think I've killed it, it comes back in less than a day. It's insane! I don't know who put it here, or how… but somewhere out there is a programmer better than anything Shinra has ever seen before."
"I don't CARE how amazing it is!" Hojo snarled, "I need my files back! Do you have any idea how many experiments have been ruined by this delay?"
"Keep investigating the Virus." Rufus interrupted, undaunted by the unhinged gleam in the Professor's eyes, "And if you manage to track down this mysterious 'prodigy programmer'… We might just have a job for him" The technician stared at Rufus in astonishment, while the Vice President ignored the incoherent spluttering coming from the Scientist next to him. Without another word the young Shinra turned and left the department. He now had plenty of new puzzles to amuse himself with, the day had proved far more interesting than he'd anticipated.
On the second day, it was deliberate.
Having witnessed Sephiroth's strange lunch-time behavior the day before, and the other subsequent events of note, Rufus had taken the time to investigate possible reasons for the General's actions, and had come across a signed 'Disciplinary Committee' Order that insisted a group of delinquent SOLDIER Prep. Cadets required escort to and from meals as part of their temporary suspension. The Order was signed by a surprising number of important individuals, most notably Sephiroth and Tseng. The order did not explain, however, why the General had deigned to provide the escort HIMSELF, and with such sadistic satisfaction. With his curiosity properly piqued, Rufus arranged his schedule so as to be 'passing through' again the following day, he arrived earlier this time, and since he was already on the lookout for unusual behavior, it was no difficulty spotting the cadets and their escort.
Of course… the red trench-coat certainly helped.
With his favorite book held in one hand, and the gleaming length of Rapier in the other, Genesis Rhapsodos himself seemed to be 'prodding' the terrified cadets along with his sword. Rufus could not make out what the infamous Lieutenant was saying as he grinned behind his book at his charges, but the pale, sweat drenched faces of the teenagers was more than enough to determine it wasn't encouragements. Much like Sephiroth the day before, Genesis seemed to be enjoying himself at the Cadets expense rather more than Rufus would have expected of such a menial task.
Much like with the General, Lieutenant Rhapsodos escorted the cadets to the doorway of the Mess Hall. Unlike Sephiroth, he nearly gouged the last in line with his blade as he rather manically forced them inside. The boy barely made it out of reach of the sword tip as he jerked forward with a yelp at the opportune moment, though if that was by Genesis' design, Rufus was not quite close enough to tell. Once the doors closed behind the last unfortunate youth, the auburn-haired SOLDIER lounged back against the wall next to the door, indolently reading LOVELESS, and resting his precious Rapier against his leg.
Now fully intrigued, Rufus continued onward. Genesis' name had not been amongst the signatures on the Discipline Order, and while he was a close associate of Sephiroth's they often seemed closer to rivals than friends, either way it did not explain why the normally self-absorbed Lieutenant would lower himself to 'escort duty'.
It was, Rufus decided, a curiosity worth pursuing.
On the third day, it was enlightening.
Intrigue dragged him back to the Cadet halls during lunch yet again, his mind whirling with possibilities, would he see Sephiroth again? Or perhaps his other Lieutenant Hewley this time… with a secret thrill of curiosity he scanned the crowds of teenagers. It actually took him a few passes before he spotted the Cadets he was looking for. When he did, his whole body stilled in astonishment. A dark shape walked quietly behind the group rather like an eel amongst minnows, with dark hair and a dark suit, and a deceptively mild demeanor, Second in Command of the Turks, Tseng calmly followed the nervous youths on their scheduled trip to the Mess Hall. Despite the notable lack of threatened physical violence, the Cadets did not seem appreciably less terrified to have a Turk as their escort, usually Tseng was rather overlooked in that regard. Rufus briefly entertained various ideas as to what could have put such fear into the boys, but finally gave himself a mental shake and focused his attention once more on the spectacle before him. Unlike his predecessors, Tseng did not wait by the door once the Cadets had entered, and instead turned immediately and began walking away. One glance in Rufus' direction however and the black-haired Turk changed course to meet with the young Shinra.
"Vice President." The stoic Turk murmured softly, "What can I do for you?"
"A passing fancy," Rufus replied, equally quietly, "I happened past here recently, in time to witness a group of SOLDIER Prep. Cadets under escort by you, the General, and his Lieutenant, Rhapsodos. Why are such important Shinra personnel undertaking this assignment?"
Tseng paused, his dark eyes reading Rufus' own, the Vice President recognized the expression of Tseng silently assessing how much information his superior would probably already possess. "Sephiroth is under the belief that the group of Cadets in question did not receive satisfactory punishment for their crimes, The General, along with Rhapsodos seem to harbor a rather disturbing homicidal impulse when thwarted, and I determined that a less… lethal, relief of their frustrations would prove prudent. I myself stop by to insure the continued longevity of the Cadets, but I have no desire to babysit them longer than necessary, should they require further escort I can always assign someone else."
"Would not the indiscretions of Cadets be below the General's notice?" Rufus murmured in return,
"The General was present to witness the original transgression," Tseng explained,
Rufus carefully digested this information, Tseng's reasoning was sound, it did not explain why the General was dissatisfied with the assigned punishment, but sometimes the SOLDIERs could be rather unstable… "The three firsts do have rather a disturbing excess of violent tendencies … perhaps something to address to the Professor?"
"Unnecessary," Tseng returned calmly, "I would advise against it, particularly in light of the good Professor's recent complications."
"hmm, yes, a solid point. You have the situation under control then?"
"Yes sir, Vice President." Tseng bowed slightly a neat and economic movement that Rufus had always secretly envied. "We have the General and his Lieutenants handled."
"Good." Rufus, nodded curtly, half turning before he finished his comment, "keep me appraised of any changes." With that said, he left the area. Having 'officially' assigned Tseng to the case, there was no longer a good reason for him to adjust his route down this hallway, but that did not mean he had any intention of letting the situation lie. He had plenty of other means of acquiring information at his disposal.
Rufus smiled to himself as he walked, this week was proving to host more entertainment than he'd allowed himself to anticipate.
On Cloud's third day of 'enforced bed rest' he was woken quite startlingly by the sensation of needle-like pinpricks across his cheek. With a yelp he jolted into a sitting position, his good hand clapping to his face. When he pulled his fingers away though, they were clean, glancing down at the bed beside him, Cloud found the little Tortoise-shell kitten bristling and fluffed in startlement, her green eyes wide, the pupils narrowed to slits. The sight of them was still a bit unnerving to the blond, but nevertheless he reached out a hand to pet the small animal. Tentatively, the kitten leaned forward to sniff his fingers. Cloud watched with a smile as she apparently decided against a morning pet and leapt off the bed to scrounge around underneath it. With a shrug the blond padded off towards the bathroom to take care of his morning ablutions.
Later, when he was sitting at the table enjoying a simple cereal breakfast, Reno came in through the front door. Cloud was surprised to note the red-head was fully dressed, and equally startled to realize he had no idea when the Turk had left to work.
"Mornin' Cloudy," Reno greeted with a yawn, "Jus' had a few little things ta take care of, don'cha worry 'bout nothin' I got'cha covered." This disjointed sentence was followed by a small stack of envelopes dropping on the table, nearly in the blond's bowl. Glancing down, Cloud realized they were all letters addressed to him!
"Wait… what?" he sputtered, floored by the names on the return address line. My mom has been sending me mail? Since when? And why didn't I know? Cloud sat for a moment wracking his brain, but he just couldn't remember if his mom had sent him mail or not the first time around. Before he could finish his train of thought, Reno continued.
"wen' ta check tha mail for ya man, guy said ya'd never picked up anythin' yo… I don' mind grabbin' it or nothin' … but I jus' gotta know one thing, … how d'ya know Bugenhagen?"
Cloud blinked several times before he managed to assimilate the import of Reno's question, Bugenhagen? Oh Cetra…"Um…" He stalled, hastily twitching through the letters, sure enough one of them was from Bugenhagen in Cosmo Canyon. "Ah… well,… I just… he uh… has interesting work? We… er… we're kind of. … um… penpals?"
"Penpals? With Bugenhagen?" Reno whistled, "Ya really get around yo, that guy's like crazy mystic or somethin'."
"Yeah…" Cloud smiled weakly, "He's definitely that."
"So what's he sayin'?" Reno leaned over to look at the envelope again, as if he could read it while it was closed.
"Er… well I was gonna read it a bit later actually." Cloud mumbled, he had no idea what Bugenhagen might have written him, he had thought the note he sent with the box of Rarabs was thorough enough…
"Oh I see how it is..." Reno huffed, "Don' trust yer own partner? Tch!"
When the red-head folded his arms over his chest and pouted for good measure, Cloud couldn't help but snort, the pout quickly turned into a scowl. "I'm serious yo! Don'cha trust me Cloudy?"
Cloud smiled, "I trust you for all sorts of things Reno, I trust you to watch my back, and take care of me when I'm hurt, but I simply prefer privacy when it comes to my personal correspondence. If there's something I decide I'd like to share, then I certainly will. I imagine you would feel the same if I were nosing into your personal business, wouldn't you?"
Reno shuffled in place disgruntled for a few moments, reminding Cloud once more that the Turk was still startlingly young. "Fine, whatever yo, prob'ly not that interesting anyways."
Cloud chuckled, "Sour Grapes, Reno." He chided gently,
"Sour grapes what?" Reno's eyebrows pinched in confusion, "I don' get it."
"Oh, it's an old proverb story about a Carbuncle who spies some grapes too high to reach, and decides that they must have been 'sour' anyways."
Reno stared at Cloud strangely for a few more moments before sighing ruefully, "No wonder yer penpals with that old fart… ya sound like a grandpa yourself most the time."
I do? Cloud blinked in astonishment, He knew he often FELT like a grandfather, surrounded as he was by energetic teenagers all day, but he hadn't thought he acted like one. I wonder who else might have noticed something like that… the blond wondered with a shiver of apprehension.
"Um…" Cloud began, wincing slightly at the turn of the conversation,
"Ah, jus' forget it yo! Sorry 'bout that, didn' sound very complimentary said like that did it?"
Cloud just shook his head with a wry half-smile, "No, not very, but don't worry about it, no offense taken." Still smiling, he deliberately moved to finish his cereal, and sure enough, after a few more moments of squirming awkwardly in discomfort, Reno sighed and moved off to the cupboards to fish out some food of his own. The rest of the morning passed companionably, punctuated by the gentle clink of utensils on dishes.
A short while later, both Cloud and Reno retired to their respective rooms. Cloud, to read his correspondence in peace, and Reno, to do whatever it was he did in the privacy of his bedroom in the middle of the day, not exactly a subject the blond had put a great deal of contemplation into.
It was with no small amount of trepidation that Cloud eyed the stack of letters the Turk had delivered to him. He was admittedly terrified to read the ones from his mother, he hadn't seen, or spoken to her in nearly a hundred years… what would he say? Surely she would notice something wrong with him…With a heavy sigh he reached for Bugenhagen's letter first. One quick, practiced motion smoothly separated the glued envelope, allowing him to pull out the folded papers within.
Dear Mr. Strife,
It is good to hear from you, and better to see such an aspiring young man with so solid an interest in the Planet and her inhabitants. Though perhaps I should say such an amazing gentleman?
I've met a few friends of yours, who knew you from before. They told me some fascinating tales about you, quite a strong character you have, I'd love to meet you. It's not often someone like me finds an individual with as much gathered wisdom as I've heard purported you do.
You have some amazing friends out there, they both asked me to pass on that they're very proud of you. It eases this old man's heart to know you have the Planet's best interests in mind, and I hope you keep up the good work.
Yours in utmost Sincerity,
-Bugenhagen.
P.S. – Z. and A. send their love.
Cloud was unable to stop his jaw from dropping, nor was he able to tell how long he sat, staring in shock at the writing that lay tauntingly on the page before him. What? … Cloud read the letter again as his mind whirled, WHAT! The words seemed strangely cryptic as if Bugenhagen was privy to some secret code, and somehow expected Cloud to know it. Maybe the old man IS off his rocker… Cloud worried in befuddlement as he scanned the letter again. Z. and A.? What the planet is he talking about? The use of initials instead of full names in the Post Script supported his weird 'spy-lingo' theory.
Cloud hoped that if the old man had lost his marbles that he at least had enough sense left to take care of the Rarabs, and not feed them to Nanaki or something.
The blond sighed, looked from the cryptic letter in his hand to the unopened stack of missives from his mom, groaned internally, and set the puzzle from Bugenhagen aside to figure out later.
((Author's Note: Hello again readers, new and old, a little less of a gap between updates this time, but a better reason for it nonetheless. For those of you who don't follow my DeviantArt account, (or didn't read the Journal there.) My Maternal Grandmother passed away late March of this year. After the Memorial services, it came out in the Will that my Mother, inherited her house. Consequently, her, my father, and those of her children who still live with her have been moving in. (myself included.) … we're STILL moving in surprisingly,… there's a lot of work. But between the work and the stress, I just haven't had much time or inclination to write. I wrote THIS chapter (like the previous chapter,) during one of my infrequent 'Graveyard' or overnight Security shifts. Anyways, I hope you guys all enjoy, and I'll try to work on the next chapter as soon as I get another chance. ^_^
-Jianre M. A.K.A … Illusor Meaneld.))