By: General Quistis
Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…
Author's Note: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_;
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Chapter Fifteen
"I still don't understand why you people are telling me to dress up for dinner," Cloud told them as Scarlet helped him with his necktie.
"Kyahahahaha! Because we have a very beautiful surprise for you!" she said with a wink as she started to knot his tie.
He frowned at them, then turned to Dark Nation, motioning for the black panther-like animal to come near him, but the animal just growled angrily at him before rushing out of the room.
Cloud raised an eyebrow. "I ought to have that cat spayed…" he muttered glumly.
Scarlet laughed nervously. "Kyahahahahahahaha! President Rufus, forget about Dark Nation tonight, will you?" she asked.
Cloud was just silent. As soon as she was through with his necktie, he proceeded to get his white blazer.
She was hesitant for a while but she finally spoke up, "Kyah… what did you see in that Aerith anyway?" she asked.
"I don't know… it just hit me." He wanted to say out loud, but he couldn't. He felt embarrassed. "Mind your own business." He snapped as he put on his blazer and buttoned it. "What's for dinner?" he asked.
"Stuffed crab, asparagus soup, buttered vegetables… some red wine… kyah… and some strawberries and cream for dessert." She explained.
With that, they headed out of the room and proceeded to the dining hall.
The moment Cloud got inside the dining hall, his eyes grew wide in awe upon seeing a girl wearing a long pink gown. She had her back to him and he could see her long braided hair very clearly. She was gazing up at the night sky from the window.
"Kyah… her name is Aerith Gainsborough, sir." Scarlet introduced with a wink before stepping out of the room.
Upon realizing that someone was watching her, Aerith turned around; her green eyes widening in awe upon seeing Cloud, but she smiled happily as she approached him.
He watched her, like he was in a trance, as she walked gracefully and naturally to him. As soon as she was already near him, she bowed down gracefully at him with a gentle smile on her face, "Pleasant evening, President Rufus," she said.
***
Rufus's hands were already beginning to go numb as he continued to walk around Sector 7 with Reno, Elena and Reeve. "Do you have money with you, President Rufus?" Reno asked.
"A little… plus some credit cards." He told them.
"We will not use your credit cards. But we'll be using your money plus ours if needed so that you can stay in a decent inn." Elena said with a cheerful smile on her face.
"It's colder in this place than in the other sectors," Rufus thought miserably as he looked up at the night sky.
As they passed by some people, they kept on looking at them, especially on Rufus. He just ignored them, feeling a little annoyed. "We've been roaming around this Sector ever since we got here this afternoon and we still haven't found a nice decent little inn." He told them.
"Because we really don't know where to find it," Elena said sheepishly.
"Reeve, you're in-charge for Urban Development; I believe you should know the ins and outs of this place." Rufus pointed out with an impatient smile on his face.
"Eh… I'm sorry, sir, but your father despised the slums so he didn't really give a damn about its ins and outs." Reeve replied with a sheepish look on his face.
Rufus grunted as he rubbed his hands together before turning to Elena. "Nice work on my hair, Elena, I think those people are already thinking that I'm Cloud." He said, referring to his hairdo.
Elena, Reno and Reeve stifled their smiles as they turned to Rufus, examining his hair.
"However, they're going to be identifying Rufus with this spiky hair… which is a big no-no!" Rufus continued. Then, they were about to round a corner when they sensed something running after them from behind. The four instantly turned around, their eyes widening at the sight of a big black panther-like animal rushing to Rufus.
Rufus's mouth dropped open. "Dark Nation!" he recognized easily.
The big animal pounced on him, causing him to fall down to the snowy ground.
Reeve, Elena and Reno took a few steps backward, not knowing what to do; for all they know, the big animal could be attacking its real master.
But it didn't.
Dark Nation started to purr and she nuzzled her head against Rufus's face and neck. "Meowrrr!" she said happily.
Rufus laughed gaily as he embraced his pet.
It surprised Reeve, Elena and Reno to hear him laughing like that. "Cloud never laughed like that…" Reeve told the two in a whispery tone.
Elena smiled. "Maybe if you guys were able to find him when he ran away as a child, he wouldn't be like this… he'd probably be like Cloud… cold and uncaring…" she said gently.
Reno raised his eyebrows and smiled slyly. "He must've been really happy with Tifa in all those years." He said.
Reeve sighed heavily as he watched Rufus sit up, petting Dark Nation's fur. "Funny how the simplicity of life could turn a person into someone perfect… and how riches could turn one into someone very greedy and cold…" he said with a low tone, comparing Rufus and Cloud in his mind.
"Maybe it's better this way," Elena said with a gentle smile on her face as she stared at Rufus and Dark Nation.
With that, Rufus stood up, chuckling lightly as he patted Dark Nation's head. "Good girl," he said gently.
"Meowrrrr!" she responded happily.
"How did she get out of ShinRa?" Reno asked.
"Maybe she got fed up with Cloud. Does he even care about her?" Rufus asked with a frown on his face.
"Not as much as you care for her, sir," Reeve explained. Which was true.
Sure, Cloud lets Dark Nation sleep in his room and sometimes go with him anywhere, but he never really understood the true value of having her around with him.
But Dark Nation was looking up at Rufus, her head tilting to her left as she said, "Mew?" as if meaning to ask, "What's with the hairdo? Are you sure you're Rufus?"
Rufus touched his hair again. "It's me, okay?" he asked, as if really understanding Dark Nation. With that, he turned to Reeve, Reno and Elena. "Let's go?" he asked.
The three nodded and with that, they continued to walk around Sector 7.
"Don't you think we should be having dinner first?" Rufus asked.
Reeve looked at his watch and saw that it was already 8:30 in the evening. He frowned slightly, suddenly feeling hungry. "Okay, where are we going to eat?" he asked.
"Dark Nation, you wouldn't mind sniffing around for a place where we can eat, huh?" Rufus asked, turning to his pet.
Dark Nation rubbed her head against Rufus's right leg before proceeding to smell the surroundings. However, while Dark Nation did her job, Rufus had other thoughts in his mind, "At this hour, Tifa and I would be finished with dinner and we'd go up to her room and I'd play the piano and she'd be singing… sometimes, I join her and we do duets and…" he looked down to the ground, suddenly feeling his heart sinking as he clenched his fists, realizing the fact that that was just seemingly like another dream without her...and he was now in the reality of life "…that was in Nibelheim," he muttered with a low voice, making Reeve and Elena look at him. "Anything wrong, President Rufus?" she asked.
Rufus forced a smile at them. "Nothing," he told them, but at the back of his mind, he was really thinking, "Tifa, where are you?"