2. "I'm supposed to ride that thing?"

The news was met with slight disbelief and nervousness.

None of them could see how it was going to be having Rufus on their team, but everyone knew they wouldn't trust him to cover them! The trip to Rocket Town was done in silence, and as dusk was slowly turning into night, Rufus sat on the bed in his room at the inn. He gazed absently at his once so white coat while he was shoving bullets into his new shotgun, loading the weapon with a quick movement, when there was a gentle knocking on the door.

"What?" Rufus snapped annoyed at the interruption.

The door opened and Tifa came in. "Hi... "

Relaxing, Rufus placed the gun on the nightstand and got up. "What do you want?"

Tifa's eyes flickered uncertainly, even as she wasn't sure why she couldn't meet the blue eyes. "Uhm, just wanted to check if everything was alright. If there was anything you needed."

Rufus crossed his arms and gave a slight smile. "Everything is peachy."

Tifa smiled back and finally let her eyes take him in. Rufus ShinRa was himself, no doubt, but his once so spotless exterior had faltered.

The white pants were ruined, and had been replaced with black ones, while the white shirt were more grey, as was his coat. His hair was ruffled and only barely in place in his usual style, only his eyes hadn't changed.

Arrogant, cold and challenging.

Tifa suddenly became aware of how several seconds had passed and she had merely stood staring at him. Quickly she changed her attention over to another part of the room, where her gaze fell upon his discarded coat. A thought struck her. "Do you want me to wash it? I'm sure I can get it back to it's old colour again!"

Rufus frowned confused, then followed her gaze to his coat, and blinked surprised. "You think? It looks beyond rescue to me..."

Tifa grinned. "No challenge is to big for Tifa Lockhart!"

Shrugging, Rufus waved a hand at it. "Go ahead."

She walked over at took the coat down, placing it over her arm and returned to linger in the door way. Rufus lifted his eyebrows and waited.

"Do you..." Tifa turned back to him with a slightly embarrassed look. "Do you want me to take that too?"

Rufus frowned confused again. "What?"

She nodded towards him, "The, uhm, shirt. Since I'm already washing this," she hoisted the coat slightly, "then it would be no trouble... If you want me to, that is..."

Rufus actually got a true smile as she stumbled her way through the words. "If you're sure it's no trouble..."

Tifa shook her head quickly. "No, no. No trouble at all." She bit her lip, trying to act nonchalant as she watched Rufus began unbuttoning.

"Here," he pulled off the shirt and threw it over to her.

Catching it, Tifa placed it over the coat and forced herself not to stare at Rufus' chest that was only showing too nicely with that black turtleneck sweater! "Okay then, I'll b-bring these back tomorrow."

Before he could reply, Tifa darted out of the room and shut the door behind her. Shaking his head with a slight smile, Rufus walked over to his bed. "Strange girl..."

He sat down on the bed again and picked up the shotgun bought in Rocket Town's weapon shop. Not quite as powerful as his previous weapon, but it would have to do. They were to load up on materia tomorrow and set course for the Northern Crater, and that meant Sephiroth!

The ex-president closed his eyes and leaned his head to the wall.

He wondered if the others were alive; Heidegger... Palmer... and Scarlet.

Rufus felt a slow smile stretch across his lips. Scarlet was alive, that much he was certain of. She would help him rebuild ShinRa inc! Heidegger and Palmer, Rufus couldn't care less about, but they did have their usefulness sometimes. He put the shotgun away again and placed his hands behind his neck.

First Sephiroth, then ShinRa!

Rufus never were a morning person, so when he was rudely awakened by the break of dawn the next day, he knew his mood probably was ruined for the rest of the day! Combing his hair back, his eyes suddenly registered a package left just inside his door.

Curious, Rufus grabbed the package and opened it.

His eyes widened in surprise and satisfaction, as he stroke a hand over his shining white coat. Maybe the day wasn't doomed to be so bad after all?

Rufus smile grew wider, first when he found his shirt as white as before, then even wider when he saw the pair of white pants added.

"Tifa... you really shouldn't have..." He drawled, but still couldn't entirely hide the fact that the surprise was appreciated.

Half an hour later, Rufus ShinRa was finished dressing and gazed at his reflection with a smirk. He finally recognized himself now, and his steps were a little lighter as he walked out of the room.

Outside, AVALANCE had gathered outside Cid's and Shera's house and the conversation halted completely as Rufus approached them. As a breeze danced across the plains, his white trenchcoat spread out behind him and they all saw the confidence in the walk as well as the threat of the shining shotgun by his side.

"People," Rufus greeted with a smug grin, "I hope I haven't kept you waiting?"

Barret snorted angrily. "Damn right you have, you jackass! We ain't got all day to wait for you finishing up with your grooming!"

Rufus lifted an eyebrow slightly amused, but didn't reply.

Tifa started when she realised Rufus was looking at her and gave him a quick, uncertain smile. She hadn't been sure if he would approve when she'd gotten the pants as well, but something inside her told her that he was just as fond of that suit as she was of her tank top. And when he came out of the inn; her heart jumped. Rufus ShinRa oozed of power, arrogance and self-confidence! Tifa smiled again when he gave her a slight nod of gratitude.

Then a door slammed and everyone glanced over as Cid came stomping out of the house.

Cursing loudly, the pilot flung his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with the heel of his boot with such intensely it made Cloud raise his eyebrows. "Uh... problems, Cid?"

Glaring angrily at them, Cid kicked up a cloud of dust. "Damn right there is! The Highwind took quite the beating, remember?"

Cloud managed a quick nod before Cid continued revealing the problem; "The steering is shot to hell, and we don't have the spare-parts we need here!"

Red frowned thoughtfully. "We need the Highwind to cross the sea... It would take forever to get the Tiny Bronco and the underwater Weapon is making sure we can't use the submarine."

Rufus snorted and flicked back a lock of his hair. "You're not giving up already?!"

Cid glared at the ex-president as he lit up another cigarette. "Hell, no! I didn't say that, you numb-skull! We just need to travel to another town and buy the damn parts I need to fix that frigging steering!"

Cloud nodded. "True, but where do we go?"

"Nibelheim got a man living of selling mechanical parts..." Vincents offered silently.

Tifa shrugged. "Nibelheim it is then. So, who should go and get the parts?"

Cid tipped the ashes of his cigarette and shrugged as well. "I gotta work on the Highwind, the steering ain't all that is broken."

Cloud saw Barret glaring at Rufus and quickly gazed over at Tifa. "How about Vincent, you, Rufus and Yuffie?"

Tifa blinked surprised and glanced over at Rufus. "Sure."

Yuffie jumped up. "Yay! I'm so bored of this old town anyway! Maybe we'll find some materia on the way? Time to kick some ass! I hope we meet some real tough monsters!"

She started punching at thin air, much to Rufus' irritation.

"Do we have to bring her?" He asked with a voice as cold as Summon Shiva.

Trying hard not to show his irritation, Cloud crossed his arms. "Yes. She's a good fighter if you should get into trouble and this way she stays out of trouble here! We don't need the inhabitants of Rocket Town after us because she stole their materia!"

Yuffie froze and jumped around to face Cloud. "Hey! I wouldn't do that! ...Well, I wouldn't get caught anyway!"

Tifa tried a weak smile. "Then it's settled. Anybody need anything before we leave?"

Rufus frowned as he checked the slots on his shotgun. "I need some strong attack materia."

Tifa turned her fighting glove and removed two stones; "Here. Take these."

Rufus took the two materias she reached him and attached them to his shotgun. "Summon Bahamut and Fire3... Hmm, not bad."

And after receiving Restore, EnemySkill, Bolt3 and a couple of All's, Rufus declared he was ready.

Cid had drilled Vincent umpteen times about the names of the parts and anything relevant they might run into before the former Turk was allowed to join the awaiting Tifa, Rufus and the impatient Yuffie.

"Alright," Vincent said, "let's get going."

It didn't take long before they encountered several monsters, but nothing that gave them any problems. Vincent hardly said a word, Yuffie hardly kept her mouth shut, and Tifa spent most of the time worrying over what Rufus was brooding about.

But during a rough fight against dragon-like monsters, Vincent straightened and closed his eyes; shape-changing in front of their eyes.

Rufus instinctively stumbled a step back at the sight, and his eyes widened with shock. "What the...?" He began, but had to dodge a monster lashing out after him and forced himself to focus on the fight again. Questions would have to wait.

As victory was theirs, Vincent turned back to his true form and Rufus sighed relived as he placed his shotgun back in it's holster again. He waited until Vincent and Yuffie were slightly ahead, then took a hold of Tifa's wrist. She gazed a little too quickly over at him,and Rufus felt a little annoyed at the fear he saw in her eyes. "That guy..."

"Vincent," Tifa corrected, at least he was going to learn their names.

"Vincent," Rufus repeated,."What...?"

Slowly withdrawing her hand as she gazed down at the ground, Tifa swallowed hard. "Hojo. He did... 'something' to him. Something horrible."

Rufus nodded absently as he gazed at the red-cloaked figure. Imagine a ShinRa army of such power! What possibilities!

Not sure what he was thinking, Tifa still didn't like the fascinated look on Rufus face. She frowned displeased,and cleared her throat to regain his attention. "But Hojo couldn't change his soul and so Vincent decided to fight on the right side."

Rufus glanced over at her and Tifa could have sworn he was smiling, an amused smile at her naiveness, but it seem to miss the usual patronizing touch. It shut her up much faster then any words ever could have and Tifa returned to stare at the ground as they walked on.

Thirty minutes later, Yuffie came running back from her scouting and was grinning widely from ear to ear. "Hey, guys! We lucked out! Two chocobo's up ahead! Seems like we can catch a ride for the rest of the way!"

Rufus frowned. - Chocobos?

Tifa smiled relived. "And the monsters? Not too tough?"

Yuffie shook her head violently. "Nope! But," she punched at thin air, "no monsters are too tough for me!"

Vincent shifted his weight slightly and gazed over at them. "Did anybody bring chocobo greens?"

Rufus got a confused look as Tifa dug into her pockets. - Chocobo greens?

The brunette held four greens triumphantly in her hand. "Always prepared!"

Vincent nodded and began walking towards where Yuffie had spotted the birds. "Me and Yuffie will defeatthe monsters. Tifa, you and ShinRa take care of the chocobos."

Tifa shoved two greens into Rufus hand. "Sure thing!"

Rufus glanced puzzled down at the strange objects but snorted as Tifa gazed quizzically at him, not intending to reveal he had absolutely no idea whatsoever what he was supposed to do with the damn greens!

"What are we waiting for then?" He snapped and motioned for her to take the lead.

Tifa blinked surprised at his angry tone."N-nothing." She avoided his gaze and started walking as well.

With a sigh, Rufus shoved the chocobo-food into his pocket and followed. It wasn't like he hadn't seen a chocobo before! He'd ridden many a chocobo-carriage! It was just... He'd never been around a wild chocobo before...

As Vincent and Yuffie jumped into a fight with the monsters, Tifa ran towards the two puzzled birds.

"Come on!" She called out to Rufus, who trotted after her with a fair amount of hesitation. The two yellow chocobos warked cheerfully to the humans approaching them, but was clearly ready to run off.

"The greens!" Tifa ordered hastily and held out one to the chocobo closest to her.

Rufus swallowed hard and reached into his pocket and fetched one. "I have to hand it to it?"

Tifa stroke the neck of the chocobo eating of her hand and glanced over at Rufus. "Of course! How else do you plan to hold on to it?"

Rufus saw the other chocobo turning to run off and stuck out his hand. It was pure will power that held him in place when the chocobo warked and used it's sharp beak to eat the green in his hand.

"Bite me and I'll strangle you with your legs!" Rufus sneered quietly to the giant bird and sent Tifa a stiff smile to return the beaming one she sent his way.

"What is taking them so damn long?!" Rufus exclaimed as he was down to feeding the second green to the chocobo who only seemed to inch closer and closer to him.

Tifa glanced worried over at Vincent and Yuffie who were still fighting against the largest monster, and stroke the chocobo absently. "The monsters were obviously a little tougher then Yuffie thought obviously..."

Rufus snorted and jumped slightly when the chocobo warked. "Yuffie is unable to think! To do that; it requires a brain!"

Tifa laughed silently. "She's not that bad! She just... She's impulsive."

Rufus merely snorted again.

It would take another two minutes before the fight was over and Vincent and Yuffie made their way over.

"What the heck took so long?!" Rufus demanded to know while trying to lean inconspicuously away from the clingy animal.

Vincent glanced over at Yuffie, who instantly set course for the chocobo by Tifa. "Young Yuffie here had a couple of problems..."

Rufus rolled his eyes and took a step away from the chocobo hoping it would find more greens in his pockets. "That is exactly why kids shouldn't be out in the battlefield!"

Yuffie jumped around and punched rapidly in the air. "I'm no kid!!!"

Tifa walked over and stood between Yuffie and Rufus, lifting her hands to signal for silence. "Alright, alright. Could we just focus on the reason we're out here? And perhaps even get moving?"

Yuffie crossed her arms with an offended sound and Rufus merely shrugged.

"But I'm not riding with that jerk," the young ninja exclaimed while pointing at Rufus.

Tifa sighed. "You don't have to, Yuffie. You and Vincent share that one and me and Rufus will share this one. Ok? Everybody happy?" She exhaled relived when Yuffie stomped over to where Vincent were already sitting on the chocobo, but froze when she saw the look on Rufus' face. "What?"

He gave a slow shake of his head and took a step back. "I'm not getting on that thing!"

Tifa felt her patience growing dangerously thin. "And why not?" She scratched the chocobos neck, and tilted her head. Waiting.

Rufus crossed his arms tightly and his mouth were a thin line. "I, well, that... "

Tifa jumped up and settled nicely on the chocobos back."Yes?" She demanded to know, steering the chocobo over, noticing how he took a step back.

Rufus saw how Vincent and Yuffie stared at him, also waiting.

He gazed down and shifted his weight uneasily before admitting in a low voice; "I've never ridden a chocobo before... Okay?"

Tifa smiled gently. Who would have thought it possible? Rufus ShinRa was human after all! "There is a first time for everything, right? Now, I promise you that this is actually quite safer than you strolling around in your trademark suit and drawing all that attention."

Rufus gazed up and found her smiling encouraging to him, and he actually dared to take a step towards the chocobo. "Right... "

Praying the chocobo would stand still, Tifa held out a hand towards him.

He took her hand, but got a doubting look. "Are you sure it can take two people? And how do you know I wont fall off and break my neck?"

Tifa laughed softly and tugged gently at his hand. "You know very well how strong chocobos are, and I know you wont fall off and break your neck as I'm in control of this bird. Tifa Lockhart has never fallen off a chocobo in her entire life!"

Rufus drew a deep breath, hesitated, then jumped up. The chocobo warked a half-hearted objection at a second rider, but couldn't really be bothered to do anything about it. Meanwhile, Rufus felt everything but safe as actually sitting on the bird's back made him realise just how tall it was.

Tifa reached back and took Rufus' hands and placed them on her hips. "Just remember to hold on. Ok?"

Just as Rufus was to object, the chocobo started walking and Tifa giggled as Rufus' arms went around her waist in an iron tight grip.

"Relax. It's not that bad now, is it?" She asked gently after a few minutes of neither falling off to a violent death..

His chin resting lightly on her shoulder, fighting to stay unaffected by seeing the world jump up and down, Rufus swallowed hard. "No. It's worse, actually."

Tifa laughed and set the chocobo off to run along with the other. "How is it that you've never ridden a chocobo?"

Rufus forced himself to focus on something besides the feeling of being shaken to death. "Never had use for one. When I travel it's usually by chopper or boat..." He closed his eyes hard as the chocobo jumped over a ditch. "And I hope by everything sacred that I never have to again!"

Tifa's cheerful laugh actually brought a tiny smile to his lips and Rufus pried his eyes open again, hoping to spot Nibelheim before he embarrassed himself by throwing up!