By: General Quistis (generalquistis@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own mind that forced me to write this thing, thank you very much.
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Rufus angrily got up from his office chair and headed for the window, gazing out at the night sky with an annoyed look on his face. "It's been five days ever since I got back here and you still haven't found Dark Nation! What kind of idiots are you?" he demanded angrily, though his voice was still stern and hard.
"Kya~h… Heidegger's the only idiot here in the first place, President Rufus! If it weren't for him…"
"Stop pointing fingers, Scarlet." Rufus faced them with a sarcastic smile on his face. "If you fools can't find her, then I'll go and look for her myself." He declared.
"Mister President, I advise that you do it tomorrow morning. It's already 9:00 and it's dangerous to go around Midgar at this hour," Reeve advised.
"I don't care. I've got tonight, who needs tomorrow?" Rufus snapped at him as he headed for the door. "Where did you look for her?" he asked as he stopped.
"Uhm… Within the building, outside the building, outside the gate, the whole of Sectors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6." Reno replied.
Rufus twitched. "What about Sector 7?" Rufus asked.
"Kya~h… we figured that your cat is very posh and she wouldn't really go to the slums…" Scarlet explained.
Rufus snorted before he headed out.
"You think one of us should go with him?" Elena whispered to Reno.
Before Reno could reply, Heidegger turned to them, "Gyah… follow him!" he commanded.
"The Horse-laugh guy said it…" Reno muttered to Elena before they followed Rufus.
Rufus began to quicken his pace, not wanting the Turks to really follow him. "I can take care of myself…" he thought as he began to run.
***
"She finally stopped meowing loudly," Aerith told Cloud.
Cloud made a face as he turned a little red. "I think Rufus isn't going to like this…" he said.
"What?" she asked as she faced him.
Cloud sat up on the bed and sighed heavily. "They mated awhile ago…" he declared.
Aertih sat up. "Really? How did you know?" she asked in disbelief.
He smiled sheepishly at her, but before he could answer, they heard someone from the front door. "Wonder who could that be at this hour?" he asked with a perplexed look.
Aerith looked at the clock and it read "10:30 pm"
"I'll get it!" they heard Tifa's voice and her footsteps going down the stairs.
"She's still up?" Aerith asked in disbelief.
"She sleeps late, remember?" Cloud asked before he lied down again.
Aerith sighed heavily.
"By the way, where's Red?" he asked.
"I think he's staying in Tifa, Yuffie & Marlene's room where Dark Nation is. You should see them together, they're so cute!" she said with a sweet smile on her face.
Cloud made a disgusted face. "I'll keep that in mind, Aerith…" he muttered glumly.
***
"Meowrrr," Dark Nation uttered as she snuggled closely to Red XIII, meaning to say, "Damn you, I think I love you…"
Red XIII's tail stiffened as he felt like melting.
Yuffie and Marlene giggled as they watched the two.
Red XIII looked up at them. "You girls are still awake? And you, Marlene, you're supposed to be asleep already." He snapped.
"Heeheehee! I have no school tomorrow so I can stay up late." She replied.
Yuffie smiled sweetly at Red XIII. "So, Red… how does it feel?" she asked with a wink.
Red XIII was thankful for his red fur or else he could've sworn that they're already laughing at his blushing. "How does it feel what? ARE YOU CRAZY?! The cat just told me she loves me!" he said frantically, meaning to stand up, but Dark Nation placed her front leg over him as if to hug him so that he won't move away. "Meowrrrrrrr…" she said as she purred.
"Aww… ain't that sweet? Why? Don't you like her?" Yuffie asked with a disappointed tone.
"Leave me alone… I can't believe this cat made me do *that*" he muttered glumly as he covered his face with his front paws.
"Is Princess going to have kittens soon?" Marlene asked excitedly.
Red XIII felt like shrinking.
"Meowrrr…" Dark Nation replied as she purred loudly, meaning to say, "I think so, Marlene…"
"Oh no…" he said out loud; though deep inside him, he felt like shouting with joy…
He just couldn't understand himself at that moment…
***
Tifa opened the door. "Yes? Good eve…" she trailed off when she realized who it was. She took a few steps backward as she froze. "P…President…" she stammered in awe with her wide crimson eyes.
Rufus gaped at her, his mouth half-open as he did so, trying to find the right words to say. "She's…" he thought silently, recognizing who she is and from what group she had come from. He frowned slightly before flipping his hair, pretending to have forgotten who she is. "Pleasant evening, miss," he began with a snobbish tone.
"P…pleasant evening too, President Rufus," she started, feeling her own head burning.
He raised his eyebrows at her, noticing the sudden blush forming on her cheeks. He tried to stop himself from smirking, but he can't, so he just smirked. Duh. "What's your name?" he asked casually.
"T…Tifa…" she replied shyly.
"T…Tifa," he repeated.
She chuckled lightly. "N…no! Just Tifa." She said.
He shrugged. "Okay… Just Tifa…" he repeated.
Tifa raised an eyebrow.
"I know… Tifa. From AVALANCHE. Just trying to make you laugh some more." He said with a wink before taking a step inside the house. "Close the door, I don't want the Turks to know that I went here," he told her.
She did as she was told to do. "I don't think you should be here, President Rufus… you know this place…" she began.
"Why are you telling that to me? I'm looking for my pet." He stated before facing her.
"Your pet?" she asked.
"Dark Nation. That's her name. She's a big panther. Colored black." He explained as he flipped his hair again.
Tifa thought for a while. "Dark Nation?" she thought silently.
"She ran away from ShinRa while I was away because of General Heidegger's foolishness of holding a leash and muzzle when he invited her to have breakfast." He continued, looking at her, examining her looks; then, looking around the place, he licked his upper lip before speaking up again, this time, changing the subject. "You live here alone or with your family?" he asked.
"Not necessarily a family, sir," she replied.
He turned back to her with a weak smile on his face. "I see, you're just starting it? Who's your husband?" he asked.
"N…no! I'm single. It's Aerith and Cloud who's starting a family…" she explained flatly, feeling a little embarrassed. "…anyway, we do have a black panther here… we let her stay for a moment because she was starving and she needed a bath. I took care of her for three weeks because she's really a nice kitty… though I don't know where she really came from. Red XIII was the one who took her here." She said, wanting to change the subject.
He gazed at her. "May I see her?" he asked.
"Yes, sir… you may… she's upstairs in my bedroom… please wait here, I'll go and get her." she said with a shy smile on her face as she headed for the stairs, but Rufus got her hand and stopped her. "No, I'd like to come up with you, Tifa," he told her before he turned to the door and then back to her again with a weak smile on his face. "The Turks could just peek inside the windows and they can see me easily here." He explained.
She smiled gently at him. "O…okay… sir…" she replied.
"Rufus," he corrected.
She nodded as her smile widened. She felt like a geeky schoolgirl with a big crush on the most popular boy on campus. "Rufus," she repeated before she withdrew her hand from him and then led the way upstairs, but she stopped midway, surprising Rufus. He frowned slightly. "Anything wrong?" he asked.
"Aren't you supposed to be hating us?" she asked without even facing him.
He looked up at her, staring at her long dark hair and her long white robe. He smiled gently. "Not really…" he said finally. "Besides, I've fixed the first six sectors… Sector 7's the next one I'll be remodeling. I hope that proves that this Neo-ShinRa under my complete control is really trying to change its reputation." He explained.
Tifa was silent for a while before she proceeded upstairs, not even looking at him. She had her head bowed down, her gaze focused on the floor.
Rufus smiled secretly before he continued to follow her. "You have a charming house, Tifa," he told her. He thought that though it looked very simple and smaller than his usually big surroundings ever since childhood, it was still homey… like everything is peaceful and relaxing in that house… compared to his own home influenced by the corporate world.
"Thank you… Aerith was the one who decorated the whole place before she got married. We just helped her." she explained as they finally reached the second floor.
***
"Who's she talking to?" Cloud asked Aerith.
"I don't know…" she replied sleepily as she closed her eyes, but she opened them again when she heard more footsteps passing outside their door. "Is Tifa with someone?" she asked as she sat up.
"I think so… maybe it's Vincent or Barret or Cid… or one of the girls…" he said.
"But there was someone at the door moments ago… and the others are asleep… Tifa's the only one who went downstairs." She said.
***
Dark Nation began to feel alert as she sat up, sniffing the air.
"Anything wrong?" Red XIII asked.
"Meowrrr!" she sprinted to the door and ran outside in the hallway.
Red XIII stiffened when he recognized the scent and heard what Dark Nation had said, "Rufus!"
"What's wrong, Red?" Yuffie asked.
Red XIII ignored her. He just walked out of the room and as he did so, it was clear to him that Rufus ShinRa was really there. He was already kneeling down on the floor, petting Dark Nation's head and stroking her lovely black fur though he was not really saying anything.
Tifa just stood beside Rufus, smiling lovingly at them as she watched him embrace his black panther. She suddenly felt so lonely again. "After this, he's taking her home… and I won't be able to see them again…" she thought miserably.
Dark Nation purred as she rubbed her head against Rufus's hand. "Tifa is the one who took good care of me, Master." She wanted to say.
Red XIII heard and understood that but he didn't say anything, until Tifa turned to him with a sad look on her face. He looked up at her with sorry eyes.
Tifa's voice seemed to falter when she spoke up, "Why didn't you tell me that she's Dark Nation?"
Rufus turned to Tifa and then to Red XIII. "What do you mean, Tifa?" he asked.
"That's Red XIII. He was the one who found Dark Nation in the streets… and took her here so that we could take care of her. He said her name was Princess." She explained.
Red XIII just sat down, facing all of them. "My apologies, Tifa. Cloud and Vincent knew that she's Dark Nation… I also knew all the time… but she's hungry and dirty and she needed someone to take care of her so I brought her here to you and Aerith. I didn't say her real name because of the fear that Barret might just kick her out of the house… I wouldn't want that to happen," he said, lowering his gaze to the floor.
Tifa was quiet, so was Rufus.
Dark Nation looked up at Tifa and then back to Rufus. "What's going on?" she thought before she headed to Red XIII and rubbed her head against his neck. "Meowrrrrrr…" she began to purr as she told him, "Thank you, Red."
Rufus saw her endearment to Red XIII and he felt his heart sinking. "Is he your boyfriend, Dark Nation?" he asked.
"Yes," Dark Nation wanted to say out loud, but she could only say, "Meowr!"
To Tifa's surprise, Red XIII actually nuzzled his head against Dark Nation's head. She smiled gently at them. "Aren't they sweet?" she asked. Then, she covered her mouth, realizing that she was speaking to the wrong person about the "sweetness of love". She just turned away. "I'm sorry… never mind…" she muttered as she put down her hand.
Rufus stood up. "Yes, I think they're sweet, Tifa," he said, keeping his eye on her.
She looked back at him but her eyes grew wide when she saw Cloud, Aerith and Barret watching them from behind.
Rufus, upon seeing her crimson eyes widen, turned around to look, but he just frowned upon seeing the three.
Barret was beginning to feel his temper shortening. "Why, Tifa, you darn foo'… you didn't even introduce us to your new boyfriend." He said with hints of sarcasm when he said the last word.
Rufus's eyes narrowed at him but just decided to look back at Tifa, then to Dark Nation. "Let's go home, Dark Nation." He said.
Dark Nation stopped purring as she looked up at her Master. "Go home? Don't you wanna stay here for Tifa?" she wanted to say.
"And what is this ShinRa guy doin' here? Isn't he supposed to be in his big home and not in this dump?" Barret continued.
Rufus clenched his fists as he approached Dark Nation, "Stop acting like that, let's go!" he scolded impatiently as he turned away from her and led the way to the stairs.
Cloud just looked at him.
Aerith was looking at Tifa to see how her friend was reacting to the situation… but Tifa couldn't move. She just stood still as she watched Rufus go down the stairs.
But she had tears in her eyes.
But the steps were too narrow and since he wasn't used to using such narrow steps when he's going down, he just tripped and fell.
Barret and Cloud watched in awe as Rufus landed on the first floor. "Ow… that's gotta hurt…" Cloud muttered with a sour look on his face.
Tifa's eyes grew wide and she rushed down the stairs. "Rufus, are you okay?" she asked in alarm.
Rufus got up, though his face was red in embarrassment. His knees felt weak but he still struggled to stand tall. "I'm okay. Not to worry about broken bones or anything…" he said with a stiff tone, followed by a soft, "Ow…"
Dark Nation slowly got down and nuzzled her head against Tifa's leg. "Please come with us, Tifa… you and Red… can't the two of you just live with Master and me?" she wanted to say.
Red XIII bowed down his head and he just lay on the floor on his stomach, feeling so low when he heard what Dark Nation had wanted to say out loud to Tifa.
Aerith approached him, knelt down and patted his head gently while stroking his back fur. "It's okay, Red… I know how much you like her…" she said sadly.
Red avoided her gaze. "Never mind…" he muttered miserably. "…can't do anything about it anymore… the Princess needs to go back to her palace. She can't stay here…in this miserable little place." He said sadly as he closed his eyes.
"Oh, Red… don't say that," Aerith said as she embraced him tightly.
Red XIII nuzzled his head against his "owner's" neck; she was surprised when she thought she heard him whimper.
Rufus headed for the door and opened it, surprised to see the Turks waiting for him outside. He just sneered at them before turning back to Tifa and Dark Nation.
Tifa had this sad look on her face as she looked down at Dark Nation. "Go to Rufus now," she said.
"Meowrrr." Dark Nation replied, meaning to say, "No."
Tifa bit her lower lip, trying to stop herself from crying as she reached down to the black panther and hugged it gently. "I'm going to miss you… now, go to Rufus, he's waiting for you. Go on… c'mon, go to him." She said gently.
"Sir, she's…" Reno started.
"I know, don't remind me. I am not an idiot like you are," Rufus snapped.
Tifa got up and led the way to the door so that Dark Nation would follow her, but the panther didn't.
Rufus frowned at his pet. "Dark Nation," he called out with a commanding voice.
The black panther looked back up at the stairs, wondering where Red XIII went. "Meowrrr?"
"Dark Nation," Rufus repeated with an impatient tone.
Dark Nation bowed down her head as she headed for Rufus slowly. "Yes, Master…" she thought miserably.
Rufus looked down at Dark Nation, then to Tifa. His face looked stern even as he said, "Thanks", but he felt his heart sinking when he saw the tears in her eyes and the look on her face that seemed to tell him not to leave her. He just bowed down his head and looked away as he stepped outside, pushing Reno and Rude away from his path.
Dark Nation followed closely beside him, her head still bowed down. She looked so miserable as she walked.
Tifa just closed the door and bowed down her head as she leaned against the wall, sighing heavily.
Aerith slowly descended the stairs, keeping her eye on Tifa as she did so.
Tifa looked up at her friend and smiled sadly as tears began to stream down her face.
Aerith approached Tifa and gave her a comforting embrace. "Shh… it's okay…" she said gently.
Tifa shook her head as she embraced her friend. "No… no, it's not okay… it's not okay…" she repeated helplessly.
"What's up with her?" Yuffie asked Barret and Cloud.
The two didn't answer.