Beyond Seven

By: General Quistis (generalquistis@yahoo.com) and Xu (zhakeena@yahoo.com)

Disclaimer: Oh, ya know… it goes a little somethin' like this… we don't own anything but the story plot and our sanities… duh… whatever… -_-

Authors' Notes: This is part of our plan to sow the seeds of the Rufus/Tifa shipping um… whatever! So there!

Chapter Ten

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            Rufus raked his fingers through his hair as he got out of the bathroom and went to his bed. He was already wearing his pajamas made of expensive blue silk. He plopped down on his bed and Dark Nation jumped up the bed, snuggling close to him and whimpering. "Merrrwrgh…" she told him.

Rufus patted her head as he stared up at the high ceiling. "I know, Dark Nation… you want Tifa to be here?" he asked.

Dark Nation nodded.

Rufus smiled sadly. "Too bad, she isn't here…" he told her.

Dark Nation hid her head under the pillow and snarled.

"Get out of there, are you trying to suffocate yourself? You spoiled cat!" he scolded.

Dark Nation obeyed and looked up at him with a sneer. "Meowrh." She replied before she jumped off the bed and went to the beanbag on the floor and laid her head on it.

Rufus continued to stare at the ceiling. He sighed. The ticking clock eventually hypnotized him to close his eyes and drift off quietly into sleep…

            "Rufus?"

Rufus opened his eyes and he found himself in an awfully-familiar place which gave him the creeps. "Oh no…" he muttered.

The Lifestream…

"Did I die?" he thought in panic. He tried to keep calm, but the whole place was beginning to freak him out.

Finally, Aerith appeared before him, surprising him and it made him jerk and gasp. Aerith giggled. "Sorry about that, Rufus," she said.

"You…" Rufus was about to say something, but he stopped himself when he remembered Cloud. "I've already spoken with your boyfriend, ya happy now?" he asked.

"Yes, I could see that…" she replied.

Silence.

Rufus looked around. "I can't be dead. I still have to do something…" he told her.

"Oh, you'll be back. All you have to do is learn something valuable for yourself and then you can come back here to take my place and don't worry, I'll take yours," she told him simply as if nothing else mattered.

"What the fuck do you mean by that?!" he demanded. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. "Are you trying to tell me that I have to die so that you can live again? You are being selfish, you know?!" he hissed.

She smiled and her smile gave him the creeps. She somewhat looked scary because of the unusual glow from her face. "I know… just like you," she told him before she disappeared and reappeared again behind him

Rufus turned to face her with an angry look. He didn't know what to say. He sighed heavily and he could feel his heart beating faster. "Why me? Why not the others or… Hey! I know what! I'm not going to let you win! You are just taunting me, but the truth is, you can't really do anything. I'll just prevent myself from doing something that'll make me die." He told her angrily with a mocking smile.

"I don't think so, Rufus, because I think that you're already starting to do something to change yourself," she replied with a sweet smile.

"Oh yeah?" he challenged.

"You are falling in-love," she told him.

Rufus swallowed hard. "You're goddamn right, I am. Now wouldn't it be unfair to the person if I suddenly die?" he asked, thinking that at times like these, he should already be frank with the girl who's going to eventually take his place when he dies. For him, it was very unfair… like he's being used so that another person could benefit from it. "Heck, I am being used by this bitch!" he thought angrily to himself as he looked away from the Flower Girl. "What did I ever do to you?" he asked.

Aerith was surprised that he suddenly sounded helpless.

Rufus looked at her with hurtful eyes. "If you want Cloud, I can just kill him for you, just leave me alone. I need a new life and that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to change but then… then you're going to take my happiness away from me? I can't let that happen," he told her.

Aerith was silent for a while and she looked up. "I think they're calling for you already…" she said before she faded away…

            Rufus's eyes jerked open when he felt someone shaking him. "President Rufus!"

He sat up and scanned the room. It was already 9 in the morning and Elena was there, holding him and crying.

Rufus eyed her curiously. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Heidegger cheered happily. "Gyahaahahaha! He's alive! Thank God, he's alive!"

Reno sighed in relief.

Dark Nation climbed up the bed and snuggled close to Rufus and licked his face.

"Hey, what's going on?" he demanded.

"President Rufus, I thought you've gone already!" Elena said.

"Gone where? I've been right here all along!" he snapped.

"Well, you usually wake up at around 6:30 and when it was already 8:00, we wondered why you're not up yet so we got up here and saw you lying on your bed unmoving… and you weren't breathing anymore! Oh, President Rufus, you got us really worried! You looked so pale and… and…" Elena began to cry again as she moved away from him.

Rufus was stunned. "Stupid Aerith…" he muttered.

"We're glad you're okay, President Rufus… otherwise…" Reno said with a weak smile.

"I was about to go out and call Tifa if you still didn't wake up…" Elena trailed off when she saw Scarlet giving her dagger looks.

Rufus raked his fingers through his hair. "Whatever…" he replied before he got up. "Get me Cloud Strife NOW! I have to talk to him." He told them.

"But…" Reno, Scarlet, Heidegger and Reeve began.

Rufus eyed them angrily. "I see, you don't want Strife here? Well then, leave me alone now. I'm gonna get dressed and take a walk around town." He told them before he entered the bathroom.

"Isn't it dangerous for him to walk around alone?" Scarlet asked in a hoarse whisper.

Dark Nation hissed at her.

"Darn it… well then follow him in secret!" Reeve stated.

"Who'll do it?" Reno asked.

"You and Elena." Scarlet said.

"Why us?! Are you crazy?" Elena screeched.

"SHHHHH!" Reno covered her mouth. She bit his hand which sent him running out of the room just to scream outside.

"Kya~! For all I know, he'll pass by that slut's house and visit her. I don't want to see that slut, you know? Kya…" Scarlet explained with a snobbish look on her face.

"Hey, if you ask me, Tifa isn't that bad!" Elena told them.

"Oh yeah? What's making you say that, girl?" Scarlet demanded.

"She's just a nice simple girl, that's all! And she isn't a slut." Elena stated defensively.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Scarlet asked.

"Leave Elena and Tifa alone," Rude said from one corner of the room.

All eyes turned to him. "Oh, so the bald guy spoke up! What should we do, listen? Gyahahahahahahaha!" Heidegger mocked.

They stopped talking when they heard a warning shot from behind them. They jerked and turned to the blonde man dressed in his old white suit from way back. "P…President Rufus," they had managed to say.

Rufus clutched his shotgun tightly. "I thought I told you to get out?" he asked angrily.

"I… uh…" Scarlet said before she bowed down her head.

"Gyahahahahahahaha! We're sorry, President Rufus," Heidegger said.

Rufus twitched.

"But sir, where are you going?" Elena asked.

"None of your beeswax," Rufus snapped harshly before he went to the door. "Let's go, Dark Nation," he called.

The panther-like animal rushed to Rufus and before they got out of the room, she hissed at Scarlet, Heidegger and Reeve.

"What'd I do?" Reeve asked in confusion.

Dark Nation turned away snobbishly from him.

"Gyahahahaha!" Heidegger laughed.

"Stop that horse-laugh! It's annoying!" Rufus shouted from outside.

"Gya…" Heidegger bowed down his head.

***

            Rufus walked quickly out of the Mansion, not wanting to hear his 'employees' bicker further. Once out, he took a look around, deciding where to go. He just followed his instincts and walked wherever his feet would take him.

The Nibelheim folk, Rufus was surprised and pleased to see, never gave him a second glance.

"Well… If I were Cloud Strife, where would I be?…" He thought of the Inn, the bar, Tifa's house… but his thoughts were interrupted when he saw a little girl crying.

He turned away. "Bah, why should I care?" he thought. But the little girl looked at him, and ran up to him.

"Sniff… s'cuse me, Mister… I'm lost!!!" she said in between sobs.

Rufus rolled his eyes, and tried to walk away. "Yes, that's nice, kid…" he muttered.

"Please, mister! Help me!" she sobbed.

Rufus sighed, and knelt down. "Fine, kid… What's your name? Who were you with, anyway?" he asked. "Maybe then you'll leave me alone…" he thought.

"M-m… my name's Marlene, mister… I was with my Daddy…" the girl sobbed.

Rufus thought the name was familiar. Marlene… "Maybe it's the kid Reeve kidnapped… Yeah, what's your Daddy's name, then?"

Marlene sniffled. "I-I-I… I don't know!! WAAAAH!!!!" she said, squeezing Rufus's hand.

Rufus grunted, suddenly getting annoyed. "Ugh… you don't know your own Daddy's name?!?!?!" he said, irritation clearly in his voice.

She sniffed, again. "Th-the C-c-captain calls him a smelly old bear, sir…" she said, hoping that would help her find her dad.

Rufus thought for a while. "Nope… don't know anything about that." He told himself silently. "What captain?" he asked as he patted her head.

Dark Nation began to feel sleepy so she just sprawled on the floor.

Marlene looked at the big animal and smiled happily. "KITTY!" she cheered happily before she went to Dark Nation.

Dark Nation looked up at the little girl and waited for her to embrace her and snuggle against her black fur. "Does she belong to you, Mister?" she asked happily.

Rufus hesitated for a while but he nodded his head. "Yeah… her name's Dark Nation. Been with me ever since I was 6 years old." He said.

"I think Red XIII would like her very much! Does she have kittens?" she asked happily as Dark Nation began to purr.

Rufus had never seen his pet so happy before in other people's presence. So far, Dark Nation's only been happy with him, Tifa and Marlene. He smiled and wondered if he could have children. He blushed slightly when he thought about having a family.

"Mister, does she have kittens?" Marlene repeated.

Rufus snapped out of his thoughts. "Kittens? Uh… no…" he replied.

"Does she ever go in heat?" she asked. Dark Nation jerked and her purr stopped.

Rufus scratched his head. "Who taught her that? Oh well…" he thought miserably as he forced himself to smile at the girl and answer without any trace of uneasiness. "I don't know… but sometimes, she really acts weird and she meows loudly like she sees monsters or whatever…" he replied.

"Oh, that would mean that she's in heat." Marlene replied.

Rufus nodded. "I see…" he said, pretending to be interested.

Marlene patted Dark Nation's fur and the animal began to purr again.

Rufus observed the little girl. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

Marlene looked up at Rufus. "Well… yeah… but it's okay, I can take starvation." She replied.

Rufus frowned. "Who the hell is her father and he still haven't fed her?" he thought as he flipped his hair and bent down to get Marlene and carried her up on his shoulder. "Let's go have breakfast first before we go look for your daddy." He said.

"Wheeee!" Marlene cheered happily, suddenly forgetting about her problem. "By the way, what's your name?" she asked.

Rufus smiled. "Rufus." He replied.

"You know what, you remind me of that bad man named Rufus ShinRa whom daddy hated so much. But anyway, you're different because you're a good man and you seem to love kids and pets." She said happily.

"Well what would you do if you found out that I am Rufus ShinRa?" he asked, rather jokingly.

"Hmm… Well then that'd prove my daddy wrong. You're such a kind man… but, are you?" she asked inquiringly with wide eyes, looking down at Rufus.

Rufus shrugged. "Yeah, I am Rufus ShinRa." He replied. He replied softly.