Switching Places
By: General Quistis
Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.
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Chapter Four
"Are you sure that what Hojo had injected in his bloodstream is really effective?" Scarlet whispered to Heidegger as they were eating their breakfast.
"I suppose so… the boy is responding to the name Rufus." He replied with a silly smile on his face.
Reeve rolled his eyes. "All secrets are going to be revealed eventually, guys," he told them.
Heidegger and Scarlet turned to Reeve with sick looks on their faces. "Kyah… at least it should wait until the President dies…" she said.
Reeve just shrugged as he rolled his eyes again.
***
The little boy stared at his food and then to the strange man seated on the other end of the table.
President ShinRa stared at him. "Well, don't just sit there, Rufus. Eat your breakfast." He said with a nice grin on his face.
The little boy frowned slightly but he did not say anything. He just got his fork and began to eat the bacon. "Rufus? That's not my real name… I think my real name is…" he trailed off when a servant entered the room holding a newspaper.
"What's the weather report? I need to know it before I head off to Midgar," President ShinRa asked the servant.
She scanned the newspaper before handing it over to the President. "It says here that it's gonna be sunny, but outside, it's not, Sir. There are dark clouds outside." She announced.
President ShinRa and the little boy both turned to the window. The former snorted while the latter's blue eyes were wide in awe. "Cloud?" he thought. Then, he turned back to his food, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "My real name is Cloud…" he thought silently before proceeding to eat.
But he did not say anything more.
"Hmf… I'm going to Midgar, okay, Rufus?" President ShinRa asked, interrupted his thoughts.
Cloud turned to him. "Yes, father," he replied. He was surprised at himself for saying that. "Wh…what made me say that?" he thought.
President ShinRa studied him for a while and frowned slightly. "Hmf… I think this boy's still thinking about last night…" he thought silently as his eyes narrowed on him. "What are you thinking about, Rufus?" he asked aloud.
Cloud turned to him. "Nothing…" he replied.
President ShinRa didn't want to start an argument and then end up killing him when he gets impatient. "I can't risk him now… he's my only heir." He thought silently before proceeding to read the newspaper.
Cloud was just silent as he continued to eat. Somehow, he felt ridiculous with his new hairdo and his new clothes. "What do these people want with me anyway? That Heidegger said something to me this morning that if I end up telling who I really am to everyone, he'll kill me…" he thought silently as he chewed his food. "…which means I have to remain here until I get answers…" he thought miserably. Then, he looked up at the high ceiling and around him. "Well… at least I'm well-off," he thought silently, trying his best to cheer himself up.
***
"He said that he came from Costa del Sol. His father was a boatman and when he arrived home from work, he was drunk and killed his mother out of insanity. It made Rufus run away because he's afraid his father might kill him…" Tifa fibbed before taking a sip of orange juice.
Her father turned to Rufus, hardly believing the story. Rufus just nodded sadly.
Tifa smiled secretly.
Her father shook his head. "B…but why not report it to the authorities?" he asked Rufus.
"I think he killed himself afterwards… I heard a gunshot. I didn't come back because I have nowhere else to go… I just took one of his boats to arrive here in Nibelheim…" Rufus replied with a weak smile on his face.
Tifa's father just nodded his head. "Okay…" he said plainly before drinking his coffee. Then, he spoke up again with an inquiring tone. "Didn't catch your full name, young lad. Uncle if you want… but please, not Mister Lockheart. Don't wanna sound formal, you know?" he asked with a wink.
Rufus and Tifa exchanged wide-eyed looks with one another before turning back to her father. "Rufus…" Rufus began.
"…Strife!" Tifa continued for him.
Rufus and her father both turned to her. "Strife?" her father asked before turning back to Rufus. "How are you related to Cloud Strife who lives down the block?" he asked with a smile on his face.
Rufus shook his head. "No… no relation." He replied.
"Daddy, Rufus came from Costa del Sol. The Strifes there are different from the Strifes here and anywhere else in the world," Tifa explained as she crossed her fingers under the table.
Her father just nodded. "I see." He said simply before drinking again.
"Daddy," Tifa began.
"Yeah?" he asked, turning to her.
"Can Rufus live here with us?" she asked with a pleading look on her face.
He thought for a while.
"Please, daddy? The orphanage is far from here… and I don't want him to be lonely there…" she pleaded as she clasped her hands together like she was praying.
"Well then… okay… but he'll have to stay in your room… and I think you'd better hurry up with that, Tifa. Don't wanna be late for school," he said, referring to her unfinished toast.
"School?" Rufus asked, suddenly recalling that he never went to school; he had private tutors.
Tifa blinked and turned to him. "Can't Rufus come with me?" she asked.
Her father examined Rufus. "But Tifa… he doesn't study there… I can't pay for his tuition fee, you know?" he asked.
Tifa had this disappointed look on her face, but Rufus spoke up with a determined tone. "I could just borrow your notes or you can teach me when you get home… is that okay with you, Tifa?" he asked.
Tifa smiled happily. "Of course, Rufus! Sure!" she said happily before she continued to eat and then got up from her seat. "I'll go get dressed," she said before running up the stairs.
"Careful, honey!" her father called out.
Silence.
Rufus continued to eat. He somewhat missed his old home, but whenever he thought about his own father living in it, he just wanted to forget it and stay with Tifa and her father.
"How old are you, Rufus?" Tifa's father asked, interrupting the silence.
"Seven." He replied without looking at him.
Tifa's father examined him. "Is it really okay with you if you stay here? This is a small place we have here… and I'm sure you really came from a well-off place." He said.
"You mean you don't believe that my daddy is a boatman?" Rufus asked, trying to sound convincing.
He chuckled lightly. "No, Rufus… of course I believe you… but your clothes and your looks are really different from us ordinary people," he explained.
Rufus smiled slightly. "I understand what you mean, sir… but my mommy just wanted to keep me looking clean and neat all the time…" he said.
Tifa's father nodded his head slightly. "Okay… I see… well then, since you're going to be living here, you might want to help me with the household chores?" he asked.
Rufus's eyes grew wide in awe. "Chores?" he asked.
Sure, he had seen the servants clean the house and do kitchen work, but he never really got the chance to do those. He was never allowed to do chores.
"Yeah… like sweep the floor, wash the dishes, cook some food, do the laundry, dust the furniture… those kind of things." Tifa's dad told him.
Rufus just nodded without thinking. "I guess I could learn if you teach me… sir…" he replied.
He laughed. "Ohohoho! I told you to just call me Uncle, okay?" he asked.
Rufus smiled and chuckled. "Okay, Uncle." He said.
He suddenly felt safe and happy, forgetting his troubles and all his worries…