A/n: Hey guys, I'm back to working on this after a long hiatus. I've been
working on my other fic, 'Beauty, Love, Trust'. It's also a Rufus and Tifa
fic, so if you want something else to read while waiting for more chapters
on this fic, I'll be posting another chapter on that one soon. Anyway, as
always, I beg you to read and REVIEW! I cannot express how much I
need/enjoy reviews, even if they tell me I'm doing something wrong. I have
humility; I can take feedback as long as it's in a polite manner.
Disclaimer: I'm only allowed to claim the storyline, so uh, yeah.
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Rufus' eyebrows drew down. "You're crazy." "Then again..." He thought, "It is possible, father *does* have a lot of mistresses."
Elena shook her head. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. You're probably spoiled rotten up there. Mom told me you probably get treated like a prince."
Rufus' anger rose. "Excuse me, we've never met personally, you do *not* know me. Don't judge me by my father or where I live. I *hate* my father. *You're* the lucky one, to have a mother. I have absolutely no parental figure that cares for me. My father would probably kill me if I weren't his heir. If you really were my sister, you'd understand that."
Reno's eyes widened; the girl was silenced.
"I... I'm sorry. I'm just surprised to see you here. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions. But really, what *are* you doing down here?"
"I'm getting away from the HQ for a day. I'm tired of it. Besides, I owe it to myself. It's my birthday."
Elena's eyes brightened. "Really? Happy Birthday! Oh, and by the way," she whispered. "Your friend is hot." She smiled.
Reno quirked an eyebrow. "What are you looking at me for?"
Rufus took Elena by the shoulders. "Elena, look. I'm sorry about your life. Since I'm your brother, I'll give you some brotherly advice. Why don't you and your mother threaten my father to get yourself a high position at ShinRa HQ?
She snickered. "Us? Threaten the President of ShinRa? Like how?"
"By telling him that if he doesn't, you'll go straight to the media with blood tests proving you're his illegitimate child, if you pardon the phrasing. He's always afraid something like that's going to happen, he wants a 'family man' look to him, trust me." He stated, knowing his father's nature.
Elena's eyes brightened again. She ran at Rufus and hugged him. "That's a great idea! Thanks, Rufus. You'll be hearing from me very soon!" She ran to relay the idea to her mother.
"That chick was kinda cute." Reno stated.
Rufus chose not to answer. His thoughts were lingering on how many brothers or sisters me might truly have.
Reno stopped abruptly, Rufus, not looking up as he walked, bumped directly into Reno's back.
"Hey! Whadja stop for?"
"We're here." The redhead answered.
Rufus looked up at his surroundings. "Sector 7?" 7th Heaven was painted neatly across the top of the small building. Its homey atmosphere invited the two into its wooden doors. "Reno, why are we in a bar? I don't drink-- ."
"Shh!" Reno silenced the blonde. He sat on a stool, waiting for the bartender to come out of the back room.
Rufus sat next to him, confused. Music from a jukebox played, almost drowned out by the voices of men and women who were quickly becoming inebriated. The 18 year old scanned the room. The bouncer, a large black man with a gun-arm, looked at him menacingly. Rufus shuddered and continued his scan. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary, except there was a pinball machine that was lit but didn't seem to be working. He turned back forward; this time the bartender was there, her back facing them, making a drink. Long dark hair cascaded down her back. The way it was tied back shot Rufus to the past.
"Alright Reno, I'd better not get in trouble for this." Rufus grinned, about to order a drink, something new on his mind.
The bartender turned around, upon hearing new customers, and place Reno's drink in front of him. Those cherry eyes still sparkled, even in the dim bar lighting. He'd recognize those eyes anywhere.
"Tifa?!"
Reno grinned.
Tifa turned to the young man that called her name. "What can I...?" Her friendly smile turned into a gasp. "Rufus?!" *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Why didn't you return any of my letters?" She asked, slightly annoyed at the fact that she hadn't heard from him since Nibleheim, yet still overjoyed about seeing him. She was on her break; thirty minutes to be free from the small room filled with smoke and drunks.
Rufus quirked an eyebrow. "Return any of your letters? You didn't send me any letters, or at least none of them made it to me. The only mail I get is from my father. Besides, I sent you letters too. You can't tell me that you didn't get those."
She shook her head. "I didn't. But if you didn't any of my letters, and the ones you sent me didn't make it, the must be getting held up somewhere. Someone doesn't want us communicating."
Now it was Rufus' turn to shake his head, this time with understanding. He sighed. "Figures. And I never called you because I knew that they have the line tapped. It's probably the training department. They took everything from me. My casual clothes, most forms of entertainment, *and* my mail."
Tifa patted his back. "I'm sorry. How 'bout we go back up front and I fix you up something on the house, on account of your birthday?" She smiled cheerfully when he nodded with a somber look.
She stopped at the door. "Uh oh... You may want to stay her for a sec, Rufus. Be right back." She walked out, closing the door to a crack behind her.
Rufus walked to the door and peeked out. He saw blue suits. "Can I help you boys with something?" He heard Tifa say politely.
One particularly gruff looking guard stepped forward. "We're looking for Vice President Rufus ShinRa. Hand him over." He said rudely.
She laughed. "I know my regulars, and *don't* think the vice president of the ShinRa Electric Co. is one of them."
"We saw him come in here girl, don't lie."
Tifa's expression turned serious. "How dare you call me a liar?! Rufus ShinRa, is there a Rufus ShinRa in here?" She yelled mockingly.
The guard closed his eyes, angered. Without warning, his hand shot out and back handed Tifa across the face. The room fell silent.
The blow was so hard, Tifa's head snapped to the side, eyes wide in shock.
Rufus's heart skipped a beat, a primal instinct told him to jump out and tear the guard to pieces, but there was also an unnatural urge to stay put. He fought and defeated the strange urge and nearly flew to Tifa's aide.
Her eyes watered from the stinging pain, her hand clutched her burning cheek. She glared at the guard who was now grinning down at her with a smug look plastered to his face.
"Are you ok?" Rufus inquired, checking her face for major damage.
The soldier looked pleased. "Vice President ShinRa, please come with us. Your father is anxious to speak with you."
Rufus shook his head. "I'll go back on my own."
"I can't let you do that, sir."
Tifa joined in soon after finding her voice. "Get out of my bar, please. That will be the only time I ask nicely." She said firmly, containing her rage.
Reno stood, rather woozily, trying to hide his drunken state. "Dude, its ok, I'm here protecting him."
"You are also in trouble, Reno." The guard said, still smiling.
The large man with the gun arm came over. "'Scuse me, but yo' scarin' off customers. I seggest yo' leave Tifa here alone, or I'll have ta take matters inta my own hands." He said, menacingly running a hand over the rather large machine gun he had for an arm.
"Don't threaten the soldiers of ShinRa." The man in blue said.
Soon the whole place was in an uproar. The argument had taken a physical level. After flailing fists, guns were being shot. Tifa took on two men in blue, Rufus surrounded by three, Reno taking on one to himself, and the bouncer and the head guard still going at it. Customers screamed and ran for their lives, dodging flying bodies and bullets.
Tifa uppercut on guard and kicked the other in the groin. Both fell to their knees.
Rufus wasn't blessed with under trained guards. He swung at one and tried a roundhouse with the other, but both dodged and tried keeping him busy while a third crept up behind him.
Tifa looked over to see how he was faring and saw his predicament. "Rufus! Behind!" Tifa was cut off as the head guard cupped a hand over her mouth.
Rufus turned to see what she said and saw she was being held hostage. "Tifa!" He started toward her, but was caught off guard as one of the men in blue hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun.
Tifa could only gasp in horror as she watched Rufus' eyes grow wide, then dim as his knees buckled from under him.
He nearly missed the base of an overturned table and broken glass as his body hit the ground.
Tifa's eyes were tearing up; she stopped struggling. She surveyed the scene: broken glass, windows, overturned chairs and tables, and puddles of the various drinks scattered the ground. Thankfully, no, miraculously, no one was dead; Tifa saw Barret the bouncer was still breathing. Reno had passed out, and the two guards she had fought lay whimpering.
The guard let go of her. "Good girl. Thank you for assisting in Rufus' capture." They picked up their fallen, including Reno, and dragged the two eighteen year olds out of the building.
The room was quiet now; silence deafened her. Her legs quivered with shock, and they quickly gave out on her. She took another look around the room; Barret started to stir.
This incident shook her back to the past, three months ago to be exact. The day 'he' came back. Cloud Strife. And he'd brought that abomination with him. Cloud, an old crush, had come back with Sephiroth to Nibelheim to check out an old reactor in the Nibelheim Mountains. Sephiroth. The man that killed her father. Sephiroth had started out nice, gentlemanly and polite, good looking too. But that all changed in a night; he changed to a crazy lunatic. And then Cloud ran off again in her time of need...
Tifa shook her head. "No. That's the past." She thought, closing her eyes. She thought about Rufus and how his own soldiers had turned on him. "Is that how they treat their own kind? His life must be a living hell. How does he stay sane?" She leaned against an overturned table. "Rufus, I hope you're all right..."
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His ice blue eyes opened slowly. Pain shot through his skull as he tried to sit up. The room was dark, but lights danced across his vision. He remembered what happened at the bar, but just barely.
The only clear thing was the exploding lights and colors when he was hit. He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as he gingerly touched the large lump forming there. His thoughts then turned to Tifa. He prayed that they'd spared her, that she'd been left unharmed at the bar. "Tifa, I hope you're ok..."
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A/n: Whew. Another chapter done, and another on the way! I hope I get this thing moving a bit more often. Again, while you're waiting for the next chapter, please read and review my other fic being written at the moment, Beauty, Love, Trust. Please Review!
~Kage
Disclaimer: I'm only allowed to claim the storyline, so uh, yeah.
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Rufus' eyebrows drew down. "You're crazy." "Then again..." He thought, "It is possible, father *does* have a lot of mistresses."
Elena shook her head. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. You're probably spoiled rotten up there. Mom told me you probably get treated like a prince."
Rufus' anger rose. "Excuse me, we've never met personally, you do *not* know me. Don't judge me by my father or where I live. I *hate* my father. *You're* the lucky one, to have a mother. I have absolutely no parental figure that cares for me. My father would probably kill me if I weren't his heir. If you really were my sister, you'd understand that."
Reno's eyes widened; the girl was silenced.
"I... I'm sorry. I'm just surprised to see you here. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions. But really, what *are* you doing down here?"
"I'm getting away from the HQ for a day. I'm tired of it. Besides, I owe it to myself. It's my birthday."
Elena's eyes brightened. "Really? Happy Birthday! Oh, and by the way," she whispered. "Your friend is hot." She smiled.
Reno quirked an eyebrow. "What are you looking at me for?"
Rufus took Elena by the shoulders. "Elena, look. I'm sorry about your life. Since I'm your brother, I'll give you some brotherly advice. Why don't you and your mother threaten my father to get yourself a high position at ShinRa HQ?
She snickered. "Us? Threaten the President of ShinRa? Like how?"
"By telling him that if he doesn't, you'll go straight to the media with blood tests proving you're his illegitimate child, if you pardon the phrasing. He's always afraid something like that's going to happen, he wants a 'family man' look to him, trust me." He stated, knowing his father's nature.
Elena's eyes brightened again. She ran at Rufus and hugged him. "That's a great idea! Thanks, Rufus. You'll be hearing from me very soon!" She ran to relay the idea to her mother.
"That chick was kinda cute." Reno stated.
Rufus chose not to answer. His thoughts were lingering on how many brothers or sisters me might truly have.
Reno stopped abruptly, Rufus, not looking up as he walked, bumped directly into Reno's back.
"Hey! Whadja stop for?"
"We're here." The redhead answered.
Rufus looked up at his surroundings. "Sector 7?" 7th Heaven was painted neatly across the top of the small building. Its homey atmosphere invited the two into its wooden doors. "Reno, why are we in a bar? I don't drink-- ."
"Shh!" Reno silenced the blonde. He sat on a stool, waiting for the bartender to come out of the back room.
Rufus sat next to him, confused. Music from a jukebox played, almost drowned out by the voices of men and women who were quickly becoming inebriated. The 18 year old scanned the room. The bouncer, a large black man with a gun-arm, looked at him menacingly. Rufus shuddered and continued his scan. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary, except there was a pinball machine that was lit but didn't seem to be working. He turned back forward; this time the bartender was there, her back facing them, making a drink. Long dark hair cascaded down her back. The way it was tied back shot Rufus to the past.
"Alright Reno, I'd better not get in trouble for this." Rufus grinned, about to order a drink, something new on his mind.
The bartender turned around, upon hearing new customers, and place Reno's drink in front of him. Those cherry eyes still sparkled, even in the dim bar lighting. He'd recognize those eyes anywhere.
"Tifa?!"
Reno grinned.
Tifa turned to the young man that called her name. "What can I...?" Her friendly smile turned into a gasp. "Rufus?!" *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Why didn't you return any of my letters?" She asked, slightly annoyed at the fact that she hadn't heard from him since Nibleheim, yet still overjoyed about seeing him. She was on her break; thirty minutes to be free from the small room filled with smoke and drunks.
Rufus quirked an eyebrow. "Return any of your letters? You didn't send me any letters, or at least none of them made it to me. The only mail I get is from my father. Besides, I sent you letters too. You can't tell me that you didn't get those."
She shook her head. "I didn't. But if you didn't any of my letters, and the ones you sent me didn't make it, the must be getting held up somewhere. Someone doesn't want us communicating."
Now it was Rufus' turn to shake his head, this time with understanding. He sighed. "Figures. And I never called you because I knew that they have the line tapped. It's probably the training department. They took everything from me. My casual clothes, most forms of entertainment, *and* my mail."
Tifa patted his back. "I'm sorry. How 'bout we go back up front and I fix you up something on the house, on account of your birthday?" She smiled cheerfully when he nodded with a somber look.
She stopped at the door. "Uh oh... You may want to stay her for a sec, Rufus. Be right back." She walked out, closing the door to a crack behind her.
Rufus walked to the door and peeked out. He saw blue suits. "Can I help you boys with something?" He heard Tifa say politely.
One particularly gruff looking guard stepped forward. "We're looking for Vice President Rufus ShinRa. Hand him over." He said rudely.
She laughed. "I know my regulars, and *don't* think the vice president of the ShinRa Electric Co. is one of them."
"We saw him come in here girl, don't lie."
Tifa's expression turned serious. "How dare you call me a liar?! Rufus ShinRa, is there a Rufus ShinRa in here?" She yelled mockingly.
The guard closed his eyes, angered. Without warning, his hand shot out and back handed Tifa across the face. The room fell silent.
The blow was so hard, Tifa's head snapped to the side, eyes wide in shock.
Rufus's heart skipped a beat, a primal instinct told him to jump out and tear the guard to pieces, but there was also an unnatural urge to stay put. He fought and defeated the strange urge and nearly flew to Tifa's aide.
Her eyes watered from the stinging pain, her hand clutched her burning cheek. She glared at the guard who was now grinning down at her with a smug look plastered to his face.
"Are you ok?" Rufus inquired, checking her face for major damage.
The soldier looked pleased. "Vice President ShinRa, please come with us. Your father is anxious to speak with you."
Rufus shook his head. "I'll go back on my own."
"I can't let you do that, sir."
Tifa joined in soon after finding her voice. "Get out of my bar, please. That will be the only time I ask nicely." She said firmly, containing her rage.
Reno stood, rather woozily, trying to hide his drunken state. "Dude, its ok, I'm here protecting him."
"You are also in trouble, Reno." The guard said, still smiling.
The large man with the gun arm came over. "'Scuse me, but yo' scarin' off customers. I seggest yo' leave Tifa here alone, or I'll have ta take matters inta my own hands." He said, menacingly running a hand over the rather large machine gun he had for an arm.
"Don't threaten the soldiers of ShinRa." The man in blue said.
Soon the whole place was in an uproar. The argument had taken a physical level. After flailing fists, guns were being shot. Tifa took on two men in blue, Rufus surrounded by three, Reno taking on one to himself, and the bouncer and the head guard still going at it. Customers screamed and ran for their lives, dodging flying bodies and bullets.
Tifa uppercut on guard and kicked the other in the groin. Both fell to their knees.
Rufus wasn't blessed with under trained guards. He swung at one and tried a roundhouse with the other, but both dodged and tried keeping him busy while a third crept up behind him.
Tifa looked over to see how he was faring and saw his predicament. "Rufus! Behind!" Tifa was cut off as the head guard cupped a hand over her mouth.
Rufus turned to see what she said and saw she was being held hostage. "Tifa!" He started toward her, but was caught off guard as one of the men in blue hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun.
Tifa could only gasp in horror as she watched Rufus' eyes grow wide, then dim as his knees buckled from under him.
He nearly missed the base of an overturned table and broken glass as his body hit the ground.
Tifa's eyes were tearing up; she stopped struggling. She surveyed the scene: broken glass, windows, overturned chairs and tables, and puddles of the various drinks scattered the ground. Thankfully, no, miraculously, no one was dead; Tifa saw Barret the bouncer was still breathing. Reno had passed out, and the two guards she had fought lay whimpering.
The guard let go of her. "Good girl. Thank you for assisting in Rufus' capture." They picked up their fallen, including Reno, and dragged the two eighteen year olds out of the building.
The room was quiet now; silence deafened her. Her legs quivered with shock, and they quickly gave out on her. She took another look around the room; Barret started to stir.
This incident shook her back to the past, three months ago to be exact. The day 'he' came back. Cloud Strife. And he'd brought that abomination with him. Cloud, an old crush, had come back with Sephiroth to Nibelheim to check out an old reactor in the Nibelheim Mountains. Sephiroth. The man that killed her father. Sephiroth had started out nice, gentlemanly and polite, good looking too. But that all changed in a night; he changed to a crazy lunatic. And then Cloud ran off again in her time of need...
Tifa shook her head. "No. That's the past." She thought, closing her eyes. She thought about Rufus and how his own soldiers had turned on him. "Is that how they treat their own kind? His life must be a living hell. How does he stay sane?" She leaned against an overturned table. "Rufus, I hope you're all right..."
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His ice blue eyes opened slowly. Pain shot through his skull as he tried to sit up. The room was dark, but lights danced across his vision. He remembered what happened at the bar, but just barely.
The only clear thing was the exploding lights and colors when he was hit. He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as he gingerly touched the large lump forming there. His thoughts then turned to Tifa. He prayed that they'd spared her, that she'd been left unharmed at the bar. "Tifa, I hope you're ok..."
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A/n: Whew. Another chapter done, and another on the way! I hope I get this thing moving a bit more often. Again, while you're waiting for the next chapter, please read and review my other fic being written at the moment, Beauty, Love, Trust. Please Review!
~Kage