Chapter 14: Trust Me
"Are you ready?" Rufus asked coldly, Reno stifling back a yawn from on top of his chocobo, Rude as silent and stony as always. Tseng and Vincent were quiet, their eyes roving around the scenery in what seemed to be disinterest, though both were intently surveying their scenery.
The sun was barely peeking its sleepy gaze over the horizon, and its yellowish rays were seeping into the town, not even the tumble weeds showing their faces, and all was deadly silent.
"Yea, let's get this over with." Reno complained, a sour look on his face, obviously not a morning person. He still had a major hangover from last night, and even though he had a couple of hours to sleep it off, it wasn't enough. He still felt like crap, and even though the sun was barely up, it pierced into his head and made him squint. Not to mention the fact that Rude was staring at him with that 'I-told-you-so' tug on his lips. He couldn't see the man's eyes, though he could already picture it, only serving to make his mood even sourer.
Without another word, Rufus turned to spur of his chocobo, only to stop short when he heard a loud squawk from a chocobo and its female rider.
"Stop right there Rufus Shinra! Ah'll make ya regret kidnappin' Tifa!" The short petite girl hollered, waving a fist in the air, her short brown hair whipping around her as she yelled over a black haired man's shoulder, who looked somewhat agitated.
Without even waiting for the chocobo to stop, the girl, since he presumed by the lack of figure, leapt off the chocobo, landed somewhat gracefully for her face looked a tinge green and instantly turned for Rufus. Only to be met by a gun from Vincent, who looked down at the girl in disinterest.
She instantly stiffened, though gave a warning growl, a visible vein popping up on her forehead, and she looked as if she might kill someone.
"Get that outta my face before Ah kill ya!" She cried, while her partner calmly strode over, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yuffie, calm down. Ya don' wanna get killed before rescuin' Tifa." The black haired man cautioned, while the one called Yuffie took deep breathes, though her face was flushed with anger, and her teeth were gritted.
Rufus's ears perked up with the mention of Tifa, and he turned to the black haired man, whom he assumed was the more sensible one of the two.
"Tifa Lockheart, you know her?" Rufus turned his blue eyed gaze to the other blue eyed man, who gave a wolfish grin, raking a gloved hand through his already spiky hair.
"Naw, but Yuffie here does. We're here ta take her back but. . . " He paused, raising an eyebrow at the party, and with a dry sigh stated, "seems someone else got to her, eh? Geez Yuffie, seems ya friend's more popular than ya." Yuffie glared at him, wagging a fist in his face.
"Aw what do ya know? Ah'll kick ya arse so hard ya won't be able to sit for a week!" She screeched, and Rufus was sure even Rude flinched, though the black haired character rolled his eyes, turning his gaze back to Rufus, his lips pulled up into something close to a smirk.
"Anyway Shinra, we're here ta take Tifa back, but Ah guess we might as well kick the Don's arse too, yea?" He said, turning back to Yuffie, who nodded vigorously, pumping a fist into the air.
"Whoop arse to whoever kidnapped Tifa!" She paused as she whirled around, pointing to Rufus with a positively demonic look on her petite face, her eyes narrowing to brown slits. "Includin' ya Shinra, so don' be surprised when Ah whoop ya too!" She promised, cracking her fist, though Vincent put his gun back to her temple, and she glared at him through the corner of her eye. "Ya ain't bein' spared neither, so put that gun before ya hurt someone! Ya messin' with Yuffie Kisargi here!" Yuffie snapped, her companion putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Yuffie, calm down before ya get ya shot, an' Ah ain't explainin' to ya friend why ya missin' a limb when we do find her." He said, a cocky grin still on her face while she screeched.
"Be quiet Zack before Ah whoop ya too!" Tseng leaned forward to Rufus, his eyes trained on the bickering pair, an eyebrow arched.
"Should we let them come Sir?" He asked, and Rufus let out a slight sigh. He had a feeling that it would complicate matters if they let someone loud and rambunctious like Yuffie come along with them, but people like her usually tagged along anyway, so it would be a waste of time to tell her to stay back, and he had wasted enough time watching them.
"Enough!" Rufus's voice boomed, and Yuffie quieted, looking up at him, her brown eyes wide. "You can come under one condition." Yuffie and Zack looked at each other, obviously some silent communication passing between them before Yuffie piped up.
"What?" She grumbled, adding silently to herself, 'it better not be anything nasty'. Rufus paused for a moment, eyeing them seriously for a moment, his gaze boring deeply into their skin, making Yuffie shudder a bit.
"My orders are law, and to disobey them," He paused as Vincent let his gun whirl on his fingers, his emotionless eyes glaring at the two, and Yuffie's face scrunched up, "is death. Remember that and we should have no problems." Rufus added, turning and spurring his chocobo off, the rest of his companions following after him, Yuffie boarding up with Zack.
"Gawd, what a jerk!" Yuffie huffed, while Zack looked back at her, a devilish gleam in his blue eyes.
"We got off lucky Miz Yuffie, that guy could've killed ya." Zack said, indicating with a nod of his head to the guy who had pointed a gun to her head. Yuffie let out a low giggle, shaking her head, for once her mind off of her motion sickness.
"Yea well, Ah would have kicked his arse, since Ah am Yuffie Kisargi." Yuffie stated confidently, while Zack gave a slight laugh, shaking his head in amusement.
"Yea, Ah don't doubt ya Miz Yuffie." Zack said with a slight grin, while Yuffie scrunched up her nose in distaste, giving a loud, exaggerated sigh.
"Zack, it's Yuffie, not 'Miz' since it sounds so. . . so. . . formal." Yuffie said in a haughty voice, and Zack gave a somewhat soft smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief not unlike Yuffie's.
"A'ight, M- Yuffie." Zack said, a grin on his face while Yuffie nodded her head, not noticing at all the tone in his voice. She was far too interested in how the scenery blurred back together and how not to keep from spewing the contents of her stomach all over Zack.
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Tifa glared angrily at the man before her, or maybe he wasn't a man at all. His face was smashed together like that of a pig's, his nose even turned up, and his double chins wiggled in excitement. His small beady black eyes stared out at her lustfully from beneath rolls of skin. His fingers looked more like tan sausages stuffed into gold rings, and his clothing barely stretched over the generous round of his stomach, indented with ever roll of fat. He was short and had a mop of blonde hair on him that looked like a pig wearing a blonde wig.
It was disgusting to look at him, let alone think about being within five feet of him, which the two women on either side of him were doing, giggling and cooing as they played with tuffs of his hair. It was sickening to think that she, Tifa Lockheart, could have been one of those girls if it hadn't been for her mother. Mentally she praised her deceased parent, struggling against the bonds that bound her, gagging when the Don turned his beady gaze to her chest area.
She mentally cursed her gene pool, sighing as she felt the man who had capture her, 'Dio', and she ground her teeth together. How could she have been so stupid? Obviously she had started becoming soft during the years she hadn't used her martial arts. Zagan would be ashamed of her!
"And who is this?" Don Corneo squealed, the fat along his mouth folding and bobbing along with his double chins, and Tifa gave a slight groan of disgust, trying to inch away from him. It was so disgusting.
"Tifa Lockheart sir." Dio reported, and Tifa didn't know what she would suffocate first from. The space of Dio's ego occupying the room or the Don's mass. Oh god, she had gotten herself into trouble with this one.
"Yes, she's lovelier in person." The Don said, eyeing her, while Tifa inwardly groaned, shaking her head. Great, just great. The girls on the side of the Don tried to win his attention back by cooing compliments to him or by rubbing his rolls of fat, though his gaze was fixated on Tifa, who would have traded seats with anyone at this point in time.
Suddenly her ears perked up, as she looked out the window, her eyes widening, her mouth beneath the gag instantly pulling up into a wide smile. Rufus! He gave her a charming wink, her heart instantly filled with gladness, and she was never happier to see someone, even Rufus Shinra most wanted outlaw in the west, ever.
The Don, thinking she had finally come around into seeing his 'charm', squealed back, ready to launch himself at her, until a loud bang was heard, shattering glass around him, making his girls scream and run out of the room crying, the Don not being able to run as fast on his stubby legs fell over. Dio said nothing, whipping out his gun and ducking behind Tifa, whose eyes instantly narrowed angrily as she struggled, him pulling her roughly up.
"Don't even move Shinra!" Dio boomed, ignoring Corneo as he cried and whimpered, crawling on the floor to get away from Rufus, who had frozen once he saw Tifa being held up, gagged and tied, with a gun to her head. He knew how bad these situations got, and it could only go from bad to worst.
"Let her go, she has nothing to do with this." Rufus said calmly, though inwardly he was running every vile word he knew. If he even plucked on hair from Tifa's head, he would die a slow, painful death. Rufus himself would see to it.
Dio sneered, laughing at him with a jeer, snorting.
"You're in no position to make threats Shinra! Turn yourself in! You know better than I that I deserve to be sheriff instead of Corneo!" Dio snarled, pressing the cold metal even harder against Tifa's skin, and she shut her eyes, trying to stay calm. Rufus was here, he couldn't leave her, now would he?
"Tifa." Rufus said calmly, and she opened her eyes, blinking in shock as Rufus pointed the gun to her, a small smirk on his face. "I never liked you anyway, more trouble than you're worth. Hopefully the bullet will pass through you and kill two birds with one stone so to speak." Tifa's eyes instantly widened, and the world stopped. Inwardly part of her was screaming it wasn't true, not to listen to him, but the look in his eyes told her what he was saying was true.
Rufus? She wanted to utter, biting back the tears, though part of her had said not to fall for him, not to think anything. He was a bandit after all, but those words. . . It was painful how her heart wrenched in her chest. Why? She had thought. . . he was leading you on, Lockheart, her brain sneered, though all she wanted was to believe. . .
She had remembered how his blue eyes had softened when they looked at her, affectionately, as if he was burning the image of her in his mind, or so she wanted to believe. 'I never liked you anyway' the words stung, they pierced deeply, and she kept the tears back with a large gulp.
His gun came up in what seemed an impossibly slow sped, and he caught her eye, giving her a slight wink, and instantly she grew angry. Was this a game for him? To toy with her emotions like this?
Sadness gave way to rage, and she kicked out at Dio, and he cursed, releasing her just as Rufus sent a bullet whizzing toward him, hitting him square in the chest with deadly accuracy. Dio's body snapped back, his form sprawling across the floor, blood trickling from his wounds while Corneo let out a squeal like a pig, his beady eyes looking around quickly for an exit, crawling toward the door.
It swung open, revealing a black haired man and Yuffie, who peeked around the door, tilting her head to the side.
"Ah thought Ah heard a thud when ya opened the door. Zack!" She scolded, turning to the black haired man who looked a bit sheepish, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "ya hit someone! Oh, no wait, it's just the guy who kidnapped Tifa. Ya can open the door again if ya want." Yuffie said seriously, and the man identified as Zack grinned, going to close the door again when Reno stepped in.
"Aw man, ya knocked him unconscious! Ah wanted to do that!" Reno whined, while Rude brushed past his whining companion, raising an eyebrow as he saw Tifa get up, Dio's blood splattered all over her, and she was looking at Dio's body in shock, obviously she had never seen a dead man before.
Rufus went to help Tifa up, but she jerked away from him, looking up at him angrily, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Did you really mean all those things? That you never like me anyway? What are you? Some heartless b******?" Tifa cried, glaring at him angrily while Rufus just stood there calmly, as if waiting for her to be finished. Disgusted with his attitude, Tifa quickly got up and walked out of the room, while Yuffie blinked and looked after her friend, turning to eye Rufus coldly, and following after her.
Rufus sighed, rubbing his temples slightly, ignoring the slight concerned look Tseng spared him.
"Get Corneo out of here and do whatever you like with him, preferably not killing him, but if he does get that annoying. . . " He let the sentence hang, turning to walk after Tifa. How was he supposed to know she didn't know how these situations worked? Didn't she know he wasn't serious?
He sighed, turning his gaze upward, his blue eyes clouding over. He would rather they be on friendly terms, and that shocked him, making him stop in his tracks. He usually didn't care what people thought about him at all, so why would that make Tifa so different?
"Here." Rufus glanced up, seeing Vincent handing him something cautiously, a slight shrug of his shoulders. "If you want her to forgive you, it's safer to use that." Vincent explained, as if that was all there was to it before turning and walking off, and for once, Rufus decided he would take his advice. Vincent knew about these kind of things.
With a confident smirk he was known for Rufus turned and headed down the hallway.
~*Author's Notes*~ M'kay, this chapter was weird, but at least everyone is in one place, ne? Maybe I'll do it later after I torture the Don. Oh yes, much fun in that. Sorry Dio's death was kinda. iffy, yea, but I thought the idea was good at the time. Sorry that Tifa seems a bit ungrateful here, but I'm trying! Kinda off subject, but does anyone know how to get italics or bold onto FF.net? Yea, well, anyway, please read and review! Thanks to all who do!
Anyway, was thinking about making this thanking stuff permanent, but it's not like it matters much any way.
Anyangel: you love cliff hangers? I don't think I've ever met anyone who did. *sighs* Anyway, sorry, I guess I forgot to include Aeris in here, but you'll find out who her knight is, and hopefully you won't be so disappointed. Thanks for reviewing!
Fire Fly: Ugh! I just noticed that she gets kidnapped in both fics! Ugh! Bad author! How unoriginal! Yes well, anyway, I always thought that when Rufus lost his temper, he lost it. That's what happens for guys who are cold and stony all the time. *grins* Thanks for all your support and reviewing! *sniffles*
Siren: Hehe, um, I guess I love you too. In that non-gay way, y'know? Well, anyway, sorry it wasn't romantic when Tifa was rescued, but I guess that is so over played I got tired of it. Besides, what I have in store will be way more romantic, promise!
Yuffie-Girl: Yup, not a fan of Cloud or Aeris, but I usually pair them together since there really is no escaping it and I don't really care for them either. However, I'm planning on pairing Aeris with someone totally different. Hey, I think some people will hate me for it, but hopefully you'll still read and review, right? Right?
Volk Zyta: Thanks so much for sticking around! Anyway, was wondering where you went. Well, anyway, I have to agree I'm starting to think Elena/Tseng would be cute, but then again, that's just me. Thanks for reviewing!
Kage: Checked your story, and it's lovely. Don't call it sucky! *is hypocrite* I think authors are way too hard on themselves sometimes. Well, anyway, I think it's more fun to write an angry Rufus than a stony one, so I had to get it in there! Thanks for reviewing!
"Are you ready?" Rufus asked coldly, Reno stifling back a yawn from on top of his chocobo, Rude as silent and stony as always. Tseng and Vincent were quiet, their eyes roving around the scenery in what seemed to be disinterest, though both were intently surveying their scenery.
The sun was barely peeking its sleepy gaze over the horizon, and its yellowish rays were seeping into the town, not even the tumble weeds showing their faces, and all was deadly silent.
"Yea, let's get this over with." Reno complained, a sour look on his face, obviously not a morning person. He still had a major hangover from last night, and even though he had a couple of hours to sleep it off, it wasn't enough. He still felt like crap, and even though the sun was barely up, it pierced into his head and made him squint. Not to mention the fact that Rude was staring at him with that 'I-told-you-so' tug on his lips. He couldn't see the man's eyes, though he could already picture it, only serving to make his mood even sourer.
Without another word, Rufus turned to spur of his chocobo, only to stop short when he heard a loud squawk from a chocobo and its female rider.
"Stop right there Rufus Shinra! Ah'll make ya regret kidnappin' Tifa!" The short petite girl hollered, waving a fist in the air, her short brown hair whipping around her as she yelled over a black haired man's shoulder, who looked somewhat agitated.
Without even waiting for the chocobo to stop, the girl, since he presumed by the lack of figure, leapt off the chocobo, landed somewhat gracefully for her face looked a tinge green and instantly turned for Rufus. Only to be met by a gun from Vincent, who looked down at the girl in disinterest.
She instantly stiffened, though gave a warning growl, a visible vein popping up on her forehead, and she looked as if she might kill someone.
"Get that outta my face before Ah kill ya!" She cried, while her partner calmly strode over, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yuffie, calm down. Ya don' wanna get killed before rescuin' Tifa." The black haired man cautioned, while the one called Yuffie took deep breathes, though her face was flushed with anger, and her teeth were gritted.
Rufus's ears perked up with the mention of Tifa, and he turned to the black haired man, whom he assumed was the more sensible one of the two.
"Tifa Lockheart, you know her?" Rufus turned his blue eyed gaze to the other blue eyed man, who gave a wolfish grin, raking a gloved hand through his already spiky hair.
"Naw, but Yuffie here does. We're here ta take her back but. . . " He paused, raising an eyebrow at the party, and with a dry sigh stated, "seems someone else got to her, eh? Geez Yuffie, seems ya friend's more popular than ya." Yuffie glared at him, wagging a fist in his face.
"Aw what do ya know? Ah'll kick ya arse so hard ya won't be able to sit for a week!" She screeched, and Rufus was sure even Rude flinched, though the black haired character rolled his eyes, turning his gaze back to Rufus, his lips pulled up into something close to a smirk.
"Anyway Shinra, we're here ta take Tifa back, but Ah guess we might as well kick the Don's arse too, yea?" He said, turning back to Yuffie, who nodded vigorously, pumping a fist into the air.
"Whoop arse to whoever kidnapped Tifa!" She paused as she whirled around, pointing to Rufus with a positively demonic look on her petite face, her eyes narrowing to brown slits. "Includin' ya Shinra, so don' be surprised when Ah whoop ya too!" She promised, cracking her fist, though Vincent put his gun back to her temple, and she glared at him through the corner of her eye. "Ya ain't bein' spared neither, so put that gun before ya hurt someone! Ya messin' with Yuffie Kisargi here!" Yuffie snapped, her companion putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Yuffie, calm down before ya get ya shot, an' Ah ain't explainin' to ya friend why ya missin' a limb when we do find her." He said, a cocky grin still on her face while she screeched.
"Be quiet Zack before Ah whoop ya too!" Tseng leaned forward to Rufus, his eyes trained on the bickering pair, an eyebrow arched.
"Should we let them come Sir?" He asked, and Rufus let out a slight sigh. He had a feeling that it would complicate matters if they let someone loud and rambunctious like Yuffie come along with them, but people like her usually tagged along anyway, so it would be a waste of time to tell her to stay back, and he had wasted enough time watching them.
"Enough!" Rufus's voice boomed, and Yuffie quieted, looking up at him, her brown eyes wide. "You can come under one condition." Yuffie and Zack looked at each other, obviously some silent communication passing between them before Yuffie piped up.
"What?" She grumbled, adding silently to herself, 'it better not be anything nasty'. Rufus paused for a moment, eyeing them seriously for a moment, his gaze boring deeply into their skin, making Yuffie shudder a bit.
"My orders are law, and to disobey them," He paused as Vincent let his gun whirl on his fingers, his emotionless eyes glaring at the two, and Yuffie's face scrunched up, "is death. Remember that and we should have no problems." Rufus added, turning and spurring his chocobo off, the rest of his companions following after him, Yuffie boarding up with Zack.
"Gawd, what a jerk!" Yuffie huffed, while Zack looked back at her, a devilish gleam in his blue eyes.
"We got off lucky Miz Yuffie, that guy could've killed ya." Zack said, indicating with a nod of his head to the guy who had pointed a gun to her head. Yuffie let out a low giggle, shaking her head, for once her mind off of her motion sickness.
"Yea well, Ah would have kicked his arse, since Ah am Yuffie Kisargi." Yuffie stated confidently, while Zack gave a slight laugh, shaking his head in amusement.
"Yea, Ah don't doubt ya Miz Yuffie." Zack said with a slight grin, while Yuffie scrunched up her nose in distaste, giving a loud, exaggerated sigh.
"Zack, it's Yuffie, not 'Miz' since it sounds so. . . so. . . formal." Yuffie said in a haughty voice, and Zack gave a somewhat soft smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief not unlike Yuffie's.
"A'ight, M- Yuffie." Zack said, a grin on his face while Yuffie nodded her head, not noticing at all the tone in his voice. She was far too interested in how the scenery blurred back together and how not to keep from spewing the contents of her stomach all over Zack.
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Tifa glared angrily at the man before her, or maybe he wasn't a man at all. His face was smashed together like that of a pig's, his nose even turned up, and his double chins wiggled in excitement. His small beady black eyes stared out at her lustfully from beneath rolls of skin. His fingers looked more like tan sausages stuffed into gold rings, and his clothing barely stretched over the generous round of his stomach, indented with ever roll of fat. He was short and had a mop of blonde hair on him that looked like a pig wearing a blonde wig.
It was disgusting to look at him, let alone think about being within five feet of him, which the two women on either side of him were doing, giggling and cooing as they played with tuffs of his hair. It was sickening to think that she, Tifa Lockheart, could have been one of those girls if it hadn't been for her mother. Mentally she praised her deceased parent, struggling against the bonds that bound her, gagging when the Don turned his beady gaze to her chest area.
She mentally cursed her gene pool, sighing as she felt the man who had capture her, 'Dio', and she ground her teeth together. How could she have been so stupid? Obviously she had started becoming soft during the years she hadn't used her martial arts. Zagan would be ashamed of her!
"And who is this?" Don Corneo squealed, the fat along his mouth folding and bobbing along with his double chins, and Tifa gave a slight groan of disgust, trying to inch away from him. It was so disgusting.
"Tifa Lockheart sir." Dio reported, and Tifa didn't know what she would suffocate first from. The space of Dio's ego occupying the room or the Don's mass. Oh god, she had gotten herself into trouble with this one.
"Yes, she's lovelier in person." The Don said, eyeing her, while Tifa inwardly groaned, shaking her head. Great, just great. The girls on the side of the Don tried to win his attention back by cooing compliments to him or by rubbing his rolls of fat, though his gaze was fixated on Tifa, who would have traded seats with anyone at this point in time.
Suddenly her ears perked up, as she looked out the window, her eyes widening, her mouth beneath the gag instantly pulling up into a wide smile. Rufus! He gave her a charming wink, her heart instantly filled with gladness, and she was never happier to see someone, even Rufus Shinra most wanted outlaw in the west, ever.
The Don, thinking she had finally come around into seeing his 'charm', squealed back, ready to launch himself at her, until a loud bang was heard, shattering glass around him, making his girls scream and run out of the room crying, the Don not being able to run as fast on his stubby legs fell over. Dio said nothing, whipping out his gun and ducking behind Tifa, whose eyes instantly narrowed angrily as she struggled, him pulling her roughly up.
"Don't even move Shinra!" Dio boomed, ignoring Corneo as he cried and whimpered, crawling on the floor to get away from Rufus, who had frozen once he saw Tifa being held up, gagged and tied, with a gun to her head. He knew how bad these situations got, and it could only go from bad to worst.
"Let her go, she has nothing to do with this." Rufus said calmly, though inwardly he was running every vile word he knew. If he even plucked on hair from Tifa's head, he would die a slow, painful death. Rufus himself would see to it.
Dio sneered, laughing at him with a jeer, snorting.
"You're in no position to make threats Shinra! Turn yourself in! You know better than I that I deserve to be sheriff instead of Corneo!" Dio snarled, pressing the cold metal even harder against Tifa's skin, and she shut her eyes, trying to stay calm. Rufus was here, he couldn't leave her, now would he?
"Tifa." Rufus said calmly, and she opened her eyes, blinking in shock as Rufus pointed the gun to her, a small smirk on his face. "I never liked you anyway, more trouble than you're worth. Hopefully the bullet will pass through you and kill two birds with one stone so to speak." Tifa's eyes instantly widened, and the world stopped. Inwardly part of her was screaming it wasn't true, not to listen to him, but the look in his eyes told her what he was saying was true.
Rufus? She wanted to utter, biting back the tears, though part of her had said not to fall for him, not to think anything. He was a bandit after all, but those words. . . It was painful how her heart wrenched in her chest. Why? She had thought. . . he was leading you on, Lockheart, her brain sneered, though all she wanted was to believe. . .
She had remembered how his blue eyes had softened when they looked at her, affectionately, as if he was burning the image of her in his mind, or so she wanted to believe. 'I never liked you anyway' the words stung, they pierced deeply, and she kept the tears back with a large gulp.
His gun came up in what seemed an impossibly slow sped, and he caught her eye, giving her a slight wink, and instantly she grew angry. Was this a game for him? To toy with her emotions like this?
Sadness gave way to rage, and she kicked out at Dio, and he cursed, releasing her just as Rufus sent a bullet whizzing toward him, hitting him square in the chest with deadly accuracy. Dio's body snapped back, his form sprawling across the floor, blood trickling from his wounds while Corneo let out a squeal like a pig, his beady eyes looking around quickly for an exit, crawling toward the door.
It swung open, revealing a black haired man and Yuffie, who peeked around the door, tilting her head to the side.
"Ah thought Ah heard a thud when ya opened the door. Zack!" She scolded, turning to the black haired man who looked a bit sheepish, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "ya hit someone! Oh, no wait, it's just the guy who kidnapped Tifa. Ya can open the door again if ya want." Yuffie said seriously, and the man identified as Zack grinned, going to close the door again when Reno stepped in.
"Aw man, ya knocked him unconscious! Ah wanted to do that!" Reno whined, while Rude brushed past his whining companion, raising an eyebrow as he saw Tifa get up, Dio's blood splattered all over her, and she was looking at Dio's body in shock, obviously she had never seen a dead man before.
Rufus went to help Tifa up, but she jerked away from him, looking up at him angrily, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Did you really mean all those things? That you never like me anyway? What are you? Some heartless b******?" Tifa cried, glaring at him angrily while Rufus just stood there calmly, as if waiting for her to be finished. Disgusted with his attitude, Tifa quickly got up and walked out of the room, while Yuffie blinked and looked after her friend, turning to eye Rufus coldly, and following after her.
Rufus sighed, rubbing his temples slightly, ignoring the slight concerned look Tseng spared him.
"Get Corneo out of here and do whatever you like with him, preferably not killing him, but if he does get that annoying. . . " He let the sentence hang, turning to walk after Tifa. How was he supposed to know she didn't know how these situations worked? Didn't she know he wasn't serious?
He sighed, turning his gaze upward, his blue eyes clouding over. He would rather they be on friendly terms, and that shocked him, making him stop in his tracks. He usually didn't care what people thought about him at all, so why would that make Tifa so different?
"Here." Rufus glanced up, seeing Vincent handing him something cautiously, a slight shrug of his shoulders. "If you want her to forgive you, it's safer to use that." Vincent explained, as if that was all there was to it before turning and walking off, and for once, Rufus decided he would take his advice. Vincent knew about these kind of things.
With a confident smirk he was known for Rufus turned and headed down the hallway.
~*Author's Notes*~ M'kay, this chapter was weird, but at least everyone is in one place, ne? Maybe I'll do it later after I torture the Don. Oh yes, much fun in that. Sorry Dio's death was kinda. iffy, yea, but I thought the idea was good at the time. Sorry that Tifa seems a bit ungrateful here, but I'm trying! Kinda off subject, but does anyone know how to get italics or bold onto FF.net? Yea, well, anyway, please read and review! Thanks to all who do!
Anyway, was thinking about making this thanking stuff permanent, but it's not like it matters much any way.
Anyangel: you love cliff hangers? I don't think I've ever met anyone who did. *sighs* Anyway, sorry, I guess I forgot to include Aeris in here, but you'll find out who her knight is, and hopefully you won't be so disappointed. Thanks for reviewing!
Fire Fly: Ugh! I just noticed that she gets kidnapped in both fics! Ugh! Bad author! How unoriginal! Yes well, anyway, I always thought that when Rufus lost his temper, he lost it. That's what happens for guys who are cold and stony all the time. *grins* Thanks for all your support and reviewing! *sniffles*
Siren: Hehe, um, I guess I love you too. In that non-gay way, y'know? Well, anyway, sorry it wasn't romantic when Tifa was rescued, but I guess that is so over played I got tired of it. Besides, what I have in store will be way more romantic, promise!
Yuffie-Girl: Yup, not a fan of Cloud or Aeris, but I usually pair them together since there really is no escaping it and I don't really care for them either. However, I'm planning on pairing Aeris with someone totally different. Hey, I think some people will hate me for it, but hopefully you'll still read and review, right? Right?
Volk Zyta: Thanks so much for sticking around! Anyway, was wondering where you went. Well, anyway, I have to agree I'm starting to think Elena/Tseng would be cute, but then again, that's just me. Thanks for reviewing!
Kage: Checked your story, and it's lovely. Don't call it sucky! *is hypocrite* I think authors are way too hard on themselves sometimes. Well, anyway, I think it's more fun to write an angry Rufus than a stony one, so I had to get it in there! Thanks for reviewing!