A/n: Ok, here's another chapter. I'm trying to get these up, and I really
*am* trying not to be lazy! Keep up the reviews please!
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, I don't own cities, but I do own the idea for the story.
Chapter 10
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*The next morning*
An extremely large pounding headache was what woke him; he opened his mako green eyes and checked out his surroundings. He was back in his dorm at HQ. "Damn, I've got one hell of a headache..." Reno mumbled, holding his head. He felt utterly sick, dizzier than he'd ever felt. He turned on the lights, wincing when his head pounded harder. "I swear to God, I'm never drinking again..." He vowed, checking his reflection.
His lip was cut; the only other damage was a bruise on his cheek. But he couldn't remember what for. "Musta been a fight at the bar last night. Hope I got whoever roughed me up." He took an aspirin, turned off the lights and went back to bed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You up boy?" A guard asked through the door.
Rufus winced as he stood to walk over to the barred threshold. "Why the hell am I in this cell?" he demanded, clutching his head.
"Your father ordered us to. Sort of a punishment for running off the way you did. He's on his way to see you now."
"How'd you know I'd left?" He asked, wondering how his plan of escape had been foiled.
"Heh, we saw Rude without Reno. When that happens, something big is going down, and you weren't at training *or* the meeting you planned to attend, so we knew you were linked. Sure enough, you were." The guard gave a toothy grin, as if it had been him who figured it out.
The blonde opened his mouth to speak, but the loud clanking of the door to the cell area cut him off.
"Ah, President ShinRa. Nice of you to join us. I was just giving..."
"Shut up." Barked the president. He looked at his son. "What the HELL where you thinking?! You could have been identified? You could have been seen down there with those filthy excuses for human beings! Do you *want* to ruin your reputation before it starts?"
Rufus narrowed his eyes at his father. "I was just getting out and having fun, like a *normal* teenager. *You* do it all the time." He said hatefully.
The older man silenced and stared at his son. "You have a lot to learn about this business, son. Certain places are ok, but only with expressed permission. If you want to go to a bar, there are plenty inside the headquarters."
Rufus smirked.
The guard corrected the president. "Sir, he was in the back room of the bar with a girl."
The president's eyes grew wide. "Is this true, Rufus?"
He nodded slowly. Hey only said 'with a girl', not any specifics, and he was with Tifa, so he let their minds wander.
His father shook his head, smiling wide, and let out a hearty laugh. "It's already started! Just don't let it get out of control." He opened the cell door. "Don't cause trouble again. This is only a warning. It will be worse the next time you screw up."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tifa looked around the bar again. This time it was neat and clean, no shattered glass littered across the room, no liquid dripping from counters like the night before. She smiled to herself; a feeling of accomplishment flooded her thoughts, almost rivaling the feeling of failure. Once again, she had lost.
The emotion followed her everywhere. It had been there when he was helpless to assist Rufus the first time they met. It had been there when cloud had left her for SOLDIER. Once again when the town of Nibelheim burned to the ground, and when Sephiroth killed her father. She had tried to avenge his death, picking up the Masamune carelessly dropped by her father's body. She charged the silver haired man, yet he stopped her mid- slash and turned the sword on her. How foolish she'd been, thinking she could take on ShinRa's highest ranking SOLDIER.
Tifa put a hand to her chest, feeling the whole effect of failure through the scar that had formed there. It was a painful reminder of her weakness. Barrett's coughing from the other room shattered her thoughts. She had dragged the 6'1", two hundred and seventy-five pound man to the back room. It had been no easy task, and it was a slow process, but she had managed. She went to the room where Barrett sat, leaning against her refrigerator. There was no way she was going to be able to lift him onto the bed.
"Wha' happened? Why the *@%# am I back here?" He scratched his head.
Tifa smiled. "I dragged you back here. You were out cold. You've got a nasty bruise on the back of your neck, so be careful."
Almost as if ignoring her, he rubbed the back of his neck. "OW! What the *%@# happened?"
Tifa sighed and rolled her eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Reno threw on his jacket, half-heartedly straightened his loose tie, and tucked in his wrinkled shirt. The president had just called him into his office, and he didn't sound happy. He took a deep breath as he neared the doors. His palms were sweating as he knocked on President ShinRa's door.
"Come in Reno." Said a voice over the intercom. "Sit down."
Reno obediently sat in an overstuffed chair.
The president gave a long sigh and stared at him. "Reno, you are a Turk. A very skilled one at that. You may leave the office anytime you like, as long as you are not on a mission, or on call. Rufus on the other hand, is not allowed to leave the Midgar office unless he has permission, or it is ordered for him to leave. May I ask why you felt it was under your power to allow him to leave?"
The redhead gulped loudly. "Uh, I'm sorry sir, I felt that since it was his birthday, I'd take him to have a little fun undercover, show him how the lover—I mean *lower* class works..."
A vein pulsed in the president's forehead. "Reno, I am very close to firing you. But then I would lose an excellent Turk. Unfortunately, I've seen you slacking off lately. Do you *want* to get demoted to guard again?!"
Reno shook his head violently. It wasn't so bad starting out as a guard, but to be demoted *that* far would be devastating to his image.
"What do you propose I do, Reno?"
"Quit asking me questions you already know the freaking answer to!" Reno thought. "Please sir, give me another chance. It won't happen again! I'll be the best Turk you've ever had! I really need money right now sir, since Nibelheim burned down, mom had to move back here." Reno knew that the president didn't care, but he did know that he was the fastest and stealthiest Turk at ShinRa Corps., and that guaranteed him a little leeway.
President ShinRa closed his eyes and sighed.
"That means he's considering it..." Reno thought.
"All right Reno, look. I'll give you another chance. But I am docking this month's pay, and if you're not careful, I'll keep docking it. You hear me?"
The younger man jumped up. "Yes sir! Thank you sooo much sir, it'll never happen again!" He was about to grab the president's hand to shake it, but an icy glare froze him to the spot. "Uh, I'll be leaving now, I guess. Thank you again sir!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/n: Ok, yes, a considerably shorter chapter than last time, but I can't just start the next events in this chapter! So stay tuned, another chapter is soon on its way!
~Kage
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, I don't own cities, but I do own the idea for the story.
Chapter 10
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*The next morning*
An extremely large pounding headache was what woke him; he opened his mako green eyes and checked out his surroundings. He was back in his dorm at HQ. "Damn, I've got one hell of a headache..." Reno mumbled, holding his head. He felt utterly sick, dizzier than he'd ever felt. He turned on the lights, wincing when his head pounded harder. "I swear to God, I'm never drinking again..." He vowed, checking his reflection.
His lip was cut; the only other damage was a bruise on his cheek. But he couldn't remember what for. "Musta been a fight at the bar last night. Hope I got whoever roughed me up." He took an aspirin, turned off the lights and went back to bed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You up boy?" A guard asked through the door.
Rufus winced as he stood to walk over to the barred threshold. "Why the hell am I in this cell?" he demanded, clutching his head.
"Your father ordered us to. Sort of a punishment for running off the way you did. He's on his way to see you now."
"How'd you know I'd left?" He asked, wondering how his plan of escape had been foiled.
"Heh, we saw Rude without Reno. When that happens, something big is going down, and you weren't at training *or* the meeting you planned to attend, so we knew you were linked. Sure enough, you were." The guard gave a toothy grin, as if it had been him who figured it out.
The blonde opened his mouth to speak, but the loud clanking of the door to the cell area cut him off.
"Ah, President ShinRa. Nice of you to join us. I was just giving..."
"Shut up." Barked the president. He looked at his son. "What the HELL where you thinking?! You could have been identified? You could have been seen down there with those filthy excuses for human beings! Do you *want* to ruin your reputation before it starts?"
Rufus narrowed his eyes at his father. "I was just getting out and having fun, like a *normal* teenager. *You* do it all the time." He said hatefully.
The older man silenced and stared at his son. "You have a lot to learn about this business, son. Certain places are ok, but only with expressed permission. If you want to go to a bar, there are plenty inside the headquarters."
Rufus smirked.
The guard corrected the president. "Sir, he was in the back room of the bar with a girl."
The president's eyes grew wide. "Is this true, Rufus?"
He nodded slowly. Hey only said 'with a girl', not any specifics, and he was with Tifa, so he let their minds wander.
His father shook his head, smiling wide, and let out a hearty laugh. "It's already started! Just don't let it get out of control." He opened the cell door. "Don't cause trouble again. This is only a warning. It will be worse the next time you screw up."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tifa looked around the bar again. This time it was neat and clean, no shattered glass littered across the room, no liquid dripping from counters like the night before. She smiled to herself; a feeling of accomplishment flooded her thoughts, almost rivaling the feeling of failure. Once again, she had lost.
The emotion followed her everywhere. It had been there when he was helpless to assist Rufus the first time they met. It had been there when cloud had left her for SOLDIER. Once again when the town of Nibelheim burned to the ground, and when Sephiroth killed her father. She had tried to avenge his death, picking up the Masamune carelessly dropped by her father's body. She charged the silver haired man, yet he stopped her mid- slash and turned the sword on her. How foolish she'd been, thinking she could take on ShinRa's highest ranking SOLDIER.
Tifa put a hand to her chest, feeling the whole effect of failure through the scar that had formed there. It was a painful reminder of her weakness. Barrett's coughing from the other room shattered her thoughts. She had dragged the 6'1", two hundred and seventy-five pound man to the back room. It had been no easy task, and it was a slow process, but she had managed. She went to the room where Barrett sat, leaning against her refrigerator. There was no way she was going to be able to lift him onto the bed.
"Wha' happened? Why the *@%# am I back here?" He scratched his head.
Tifa smiled. "I dragged you back here. You were out cold. You've got a nasty bruise on the back of your neck, so be careful."
Almost as if ignoring her, he rubbed the back of his neck. "OW! What the *%@# happened?"
Tifa sighed and rolled her eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Reno threw on his jacket, half-heartedly straightened his loose tie, and tucked in his wrinkled shirt. The president had just called him into his office, and he didn't sound happy. He took a deep breath as he neared the doors. His palms were sweating as he knocked on President ShinRa's door.
"Come in Reno." Said a voice over the intercom. "Sit down."
Reno obediently sat in an overstuffed chair.
The president gave a long sigh and stared at him. "Reno, you are a Turk. A very skilled one at that. You may leave the office anytime you like, as long as you are not on a mission, or on call. Rufus on the other hand, is not allowed to leave the Midgar office unless he has permission, or it is ordered for him to leave. May I ask why you felt it was under your power to allow him to leave?"
The redhead gulped loudly. "Uh, I'm sorry sir, I felt that since it was his birthday, I'd take him to have a little fun undercover, show him how the lover—I mean *lower* class works..."
A vein pulsed in the president's forehead. "Reno, I am very close to firing you. But then I would lose an excellent Turk. Unfortunately, I've seen you slacking off lately. Do you *want* to get demoted to guard again?!"
Reno shook his head violently. It wasn't so bad starting out as a guard, but to be demoted *that* far would be devastating to his image.
"What do you propose I do, Reno?"
"Quit asking me questions you already know the freaking answer to!" Reno thought. "Please sir, give me another chance. It won't happen again! I'll be the best Turk you've ever had! I really need money right now sir, since Nibelheim burned down, mom had to move back here." Reno knew that the president didn't care, but he did know that he was the fastest and stealthiest Turk at ShinRa Corps., and that guaranteed him a little leeway.
President ShinRa closed his eyes and sighed.
"That means he's considering it..." Reno thought.
"All right Reno, look. I'll give you another chance. But I am docking this month's pay, and if you're not careful, I'll keep docking it. You hear me?"
The younger man jumped up. "Yes sir! Thank you sooo much sir, it'll never happen again!" He was about to grab the president's hand to shake it, but an icy glare froze him to the spot. "Uh, I'll be leaving now, I guess. Thank you again sir!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/n: Ok, yes, a considerably shorter chapter than last time, but I can't just start the next events in this chapter! So stay tuned, another chapter is soon on its way!
~Kage