People live who deserve to die, people die who deserve to live



Tifa rushed toward the door and pushed her way out. She spotted a small crowd of people and hurried over.

'Rufus, I don't want Tifa hurt'

'For fucks sake Cloud, Tifa's a big girl now, let her handle her own battles, and what makes you think I'm gonna hurt her? My grudge is against YOU AND YOURE FAMILY, NOT TIFA AND HERS!!!'

Tifa watched Cloud slowly draw out his sword. Rufus, smiling his icy smile reached into his coat and pulled out two pistols.

'I'm not gonna fight you, unless you make a move, Cloud I'm violent when I have to be'

Cloud glared at Rufus.

'Well, then this is one of those times when you're gonna have to be'

With this, Cloud lunged foreword, holding his sword out. Rufus swept to the side, like a bullfighter when the bull starts charging, and smiled.

'Cloud, you are about to find out, how REAL solders fight'

Rufus aimed and fired at Clouds right shoulder. Cloud yelped, and lunged foreword again with his sword, cutting Rufus's hand so he dropped the pistol.

'One down, one to go'

Rufus began firing at Cloud, often hitting him, but Cloud kept going. Tifa couldn't take this much longer, she stepped into the circle and kicked Cloud hard, making him drop his sword, she then whirled around and punched Rufus, hard, making him drop his pistol. Now that they were both unarmed, the crowd grumbled and began to fade away.

'Good, now will you two stop behaving like children?'

Rufus looked sheepishly at Tifa, while Cloud looked furious and stared at the ground.

'For God's sake, CLOUD! LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKIN TO YOU!! HOW DARE YOU, IF RUFUS WAS GOING TO HURT ME, DON'T YOU THINK I SHOULD HANDLE IT?? YOU'RE NOT MY BODYGUARD, AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE MY FRIEND FOR MUCH LONGER IF THIS CARRIES ON!!'

Cloud looked surprised at Tifa's outburst, while Rufus grinned.

'Rufus, wipe that Fuckin grin off you're face, why exactly did you start coming under the plate? And how come you seem to appear when Cloud does, am I just…'

Rufus looked shocked and stepped over to Tifa until he was right in front of her. She looked up into his eyes and melted.

'Tifa, Cloud 'appears' because he knows I'm there, he doesn't want me to hurt you, but I don't want to..'

Tifa sighed and stepped away. She turned toward Cloud, who had a look of loathing on his face.

'Cloud, is this true?'

Cloud glared at Rufus.

'Yes, Tifa but you of all people should understand, Shinra isn't as great as all people think'

At this point Tifa looked at Rufus and noticed his eyes fixed on Clouds, his face beginning to pale as Cloud carried on.

'Shinra put the plate there, hoping to get rid of people like us, we survived so now they're working on something else…something bigger…'

Rufus strode over to Cloud and smirked.

'Took you long enough, you stupid fuck. You wonderin why I'm coming down here?'

'No, I know why you're down here, you're blackmailing people to join Shinra'

Tifa looked at Rufus who was already looking at her, pleadingly.

'Cloud, my boy you got us again, you would have made a great Shinra mercenary, oh that's right you were and got fired, would you like to remind me why?'

Tifa winced, knowing this was a painful subject for Cloud to bring up. But to her surprise, Cloud was smiling.

'Actually I'd love to, don't you remember, for you're father killed my father, and I tried seeking revenge… You don't know how good it felt, to slide the knife into him, like he was butter…pity he survived, after all.. There are people who are dead that deserve to live, and people..'

Rufus cut him off.

'..Who live that deserve to die'

Tifa gasped, she had never known this, Cloud had told her he had been fired for getting into a fight with a Turk, she had no idea he had tried to murder.. The president of Shinra.

'They have no idea you're down here and if they did, I'm sure they would love to… put you into the same place you're father is right now, that is, if he made it, after all, he is YOU'RE father'

Cloud looked at Tifa, then he looked at Rufus menacingly

'tell them'

Rufus hadn't quite heard what this guy had said, so he asked him to repeat it.

'TELL THEM!! GO ON, WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO BACK TO YOU'RE POSH LITTLE APARTEMENT AND YOU'RE POSH OFFICE WHERE EVERYTHING IN YOU'RE ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN HANDED TO YOU ON A SILVER PLATE AND TELL THEM I'M HERE, WAITING FOR THEM TO BRING THIR SORRY ASSES DOWN HERE, IF IT'S NOT TOO..COMMON FOR THEM!!!!'

Rufus stepped foreword and stared into Cloud's eyes.

'Because you don't seem to realise what we're doing, do you, you shouldn't act all clever when you can't even kill an old man.'

Cloud laughed mockingly.

'If you don't think I'm clever, you better watch you're back'

Tifa watched Cloud disappear. She swallowed hard and turned to Rufus, who was lighting up a cigarette.

'That guy is seriously gonna be dead if he doesn't watch his back and let go of his jealousy for you, Tifa'

Tifa walked slowly over to Rufus and put her hands on his hips. Rufus's smile slowly faded as he saw the expression on her face.

'Why are you blackmailing people to become part of Shinra?'

Rufus dropped the cigarette and sat down on a step.

'My father has created a small force called.. Grazers, I think, they are going to be smaller and less experienced than the Shinra, but this is his plan, for he wants people from the Slums, so that they'll…they'll die in action'

Tifa gasped.

'You're in on this??'

Rufus shook his head violently.

'You wouldn't understand what it's like Tifa, If I don't please that bastard that calls himself my father, I could die, I have to do it..'

Tifa glared at him. Cloud was right, he was a piece of shit.

'I want to help these people, how can I?'

Rufus brought himself to bring his eyes to Tifa's. He could see the love in her eyes for this place. He silently pulled a small hardback notebook out of his coat pocket and handed it to her. She took it from him questioningly.

'It's got the peoples names, date of well, pickup, I suppose you could call it, the reason we're blackmailing them, their families.. And their addresses.

Tifa opened the notebook and noticed how many of them had been ticked off, either in red or green, She asked Rufus about the red or green ticks. Rufus swallowed and looked at the ground.

'If it's green, it means they willingly came along, if it's red, it means they wouldn't so we have to…have to…we come back and kill them silently, well this Turk Reno does'

Rufus laughed

'He should have been born with my name, he loves this kind of stuff..'

Tifa turned a page of the notebook and let out a small scream, Rufus stood up and walked behind her, glancing at the notebook.

'Yeah, I remember him, cute daughter, he wouldn't do it, the bastard, I really wish I could have told him about it, just to spare his daughter all the turmoil, he would have made a good solder too, with that gun thingy on his arm…Well he'll be dead in the next hour, Reno wanted to go out early to do his rounds, Barrett was his name, I think……'