Her Sweetest Revenge
=Second=
"So, nice goin' with the Vice-Presidency, Tifa. How's ShinRa doin' now?" Barret asked over dinner five weeks later.
Tifa stared unbelievably at him. "How did you know that I'm the Vice-President? I didn't even come home here in this good ol' AVALANCHE HQ for more than a month!" she replied with a stunned expression on her face.
"Oh, c'mon, Tifa. It's all over the news for the past few weeks!" Yuffie replied excitedly.
She fell silent before continuing to eat, but she found that she had lost her appetite all of a sudden. "I see…" was all she could say.
"So, what's going on within the walls of ShinRa?" Cloud asked her.
"One thing I'm sure, I'm really homesick. Everyone's so stiff there! The only people that I could have a decent conversation with are Lucrecia, Elena and Reeve!" she remarked with a look of disbelief on her face.
"Lucrecia?" Cloud asked in awe.
"Why?" Tifa asked.
He thought for a while before turning to Vincent who was staring in awe at Tifa. "Nothing." Was all he replied.
"Who's Lucrecia?" Vincent asked.
"She's the new Head of the Science Department." Tifa replied, clueless on why Vincent was suddenly curious.
"What the @#$%?! ShinRa's got new executives? Are ya sure that bitch you're talkin' about isn't like that goddamn Hojo?!" Cid demanded from her.
"No! In fact, she's nice. Very nice. She's Sephiroth's…" she trailed off upon mentioning the name, realizing that she should've just shut up about it to avoid further surprises.
"SEPHIROTH?!" Everyone in the whole room exclaimed in shock.
Vincent could feel the room spinning around him and he suddenly couldn't move.
"What do you mean? Sephiroth's there too?! How… what…" Cloud stammered in disbelief, anger filling his eyes all of a sudden.
"Yeah. I don't know why the hell he is alive, but he's Rufus's personal General right now while Heidegger takes charge of the Turks and the SOLDIER full-time! Reeve's still the Urban Development Head, and Scarlet's still the bitch in the Weapons Department." She explained flatly.
"Man, we have a lot of targets… not only Rufus…" Barret said with nervous laughter.
"Man, how the hell are we going to handle this?" Yuffie asked.
"By the way, I have to comment on how you look, Tifa. You don't resemble your old self in that outfit and in that hairstyle. Tell me, what name did you give to them?" Red XIII asked.
"Tiffayne Lockheart. Didn't you hear from the news?" Tifa asked.
"Why the @#$% did you give out your @#$%^%$ real name?" Cid demanded in shock.
"The only real thing in that name is the surname!" she replied. "Man, they're really beginning to pressure me…" she thought silently as she pushed her plate slightly away from herself. "I think I'd better go back to ShinRa now… Rufus might be looking for me already," she told him.
"Hey, Tifa," Cloud called out.
She turned to him before she got up.
He handed her a gun. "Here you go." He said.
Tifa took the gun and examined it. "Wh…what is this for?" she asked, realizing that it was a small specialized pistol.
"Just in case you decided to just shoot their brains out." Barret pointed out.
She smiled slightly and just nodded her head. "Thanks." She replied plainly before hiding the gun inside the secret pocket of her blazer. "I'd better go now," she told them before she waved goodbye and ran off.
"You think she's doing her job well? She didn't tell us about what she's doing to investigate the situation inside ShinRa." Cloud asked, turning to Barret.
"She'd bettah be doin' her job well!" Barret replied.
Cloud sighed heavily before he took a sip of water from his glass. He noticed that Vincent suddenly appeared so serious and there was this sadness on his face. To everyone's surprise, Vincent just spoke up out of the blue, "What did ShinRa do to you guys anyway?"
The whole room was filled with silence for a few seconds before Barret proceeded to answer. "Ruined my life. Destroyed Corel… the place where I used to live…"
Silence again.
"They're plain @#$^%$# and I @#%%%# hate them… feh. Didn't give me enough @#$%^%$ salary when I was still workin' for them. Poo!" Cid spit out a small chicken bone onto his plate.
"They caused several bad things to happen in Wutai…" Yuffie stated flatly with a sad look on her face.
Red XIII just looked up at them. "They almost used me as a specimen to mate with Aerith so that we could reproduce." He replied solemnly.
Cloud lowered his gaze onto the floor with a sudden sadness in his eyes. "If it wasn't for ShinRa, there'd be no Sephiroth… and without a Sephiroth, Aerith would still… still be here," he stammered softly.
Silence.
Vincent just bowed down his head before he got up and started for the door.
"What about you, Vincent? What did ShinRa do to you?" Barret asked with a disappointed tone.
Vincent stopped in his tracks for a while before murmuring, "They took away my life." And he left.
Silence.
The moment Vincent got out, he sighed heavily and just proceeded to climb up on the roof to gaze at the stars. He leaned back against the chimney and gazed up at the stars with a sad look on his face. "Lucrecia…" he whispered softly against the blowing evening breeze.
When Tifa got back to the ShinRa HQ, she had been informed that Rufus was in a meeting with the Executives.
"Have you eaten your dinner yet, Tiffayne?" Elena asked.
"Yeah." Tifa replied with an apologetic look on her face, meaning to tell Elena that she couldn't accompany her to dinner in the cafeteria.
"Oh, that's too bad. Oh well, I'll just wait in the cafeteria," Elena replied.
"For what?" Tifa asked.
"Make sure that the food for Scarlet, Reeve, Heidegger, Palmer and Lucrecia are still there and then guard the food so that Reno wouldn't eat it." Elena replied.
Tifa thought for a while before smiling sweetly at Elena. "You know, I'd like you to tell Rude that he and you were just given an off by Rufus." She told her.
"Wh…what? But what about the food?" Elena asked.
"Never mind the food. There are no flies in the cafeteria and Reno is probably in a bar downtown. Don't you remember that it's his off tonight?" Tifa asked with a gentle smile on her face.
Elena giggled sheepishly. "Oh yeah! Silly me!" she said before rushing to the elevator. "Okay, I'll tell Rude that we also have an off!" she called out before she boarded the elevator.
Tifa's smile faded away. "Now to find Reno…" she thought silently before heading for the cafeteria. "I'm sorry, Elena… I know that you're really nice but I have to do this for everyone's sake!" she thought silently. She just made a fool out of Elena by making her believe that it was Reno's off… and that she and Rude also has an off. "That way, she can hang out with Reno." She thought silently.
Upon entering the cafeteria, Reno was there eating his own dinner alone. Tifa immediately walked over to him.
Reno raised his gaze to her and smiled somewhat slyly at the sight of her. He had to admit, she's a hot chick… and he sometimes wondered if she was the type to sleep around. "Heck, she must've slept with President Rufus so that she could land as his Vice President! What a slut…" he thought silently. But from the back of his head, he was thinking, "He somewhat resemble that AVALANCHE girl with the same surname… but oh well, who cares? Tiffayne's much more mature-lookin' than that Tifa,"
Tifa sat down on the chair opposite Reno's and leaned forward to him, resting her elbows on the table. "Hello, Reno." She greeted sweetly but rather seductively.
He unconsciously dropped his spoon on his plate, making a loud noise. "Er… hi, Miss Lockheart," he greeted, trying to sound suave.
"Here goes…" Tifa thought silently before proceeding. "Listen, you look like you need a break from your job. Why don't you get an off and get a drink or something outside this place?" she asked.
He blinked at her. "An off?" he asked unbelievably.
"Yeah. And if I have time, I might catch up with you. What about that bar in Sector 7?" she asked.
Reno thought for a while. "Sounds good." He told her before he got up, looking around. He realized that it was only the two of them inside the cafeteria and that the food for the other executives were still on the other table next to his. He turned back to Tifa with a silly smile on his face. "Well, thanks a lot, Miss Lockheart. I really need a break. How'd you know anyway?" he asked.
"Oh, it's in your wonderful eyes, Reno. Heeheeheehee!" She told him… though she was very sarcastic.
But the guy fell for it. "Gee… heheheh. Thanks." He told her before raking his fingers through his hair while a slight blush formed on his cheeks. He winked at her. "You're really very beautiful," he told her before he left.
She waited until he got out of the cafeteria before her facial expression changed into look of disgust. "Gross." She muttered with a disgusted tone before she got up and pulled out a packet of some kind of white powdery material. She went to the table where the executives' foods were prepared and she carefully sprinkled some of the powdery material on the foods labeled with names for their respective owners: Heidegger, Scarlet and Palmer… but the quantity of the sprinkled powder was more on Scarlet's. She waited for a few seconds until the powder had finally dissolved and had mixed within the foods.
She snickered slightly before she hid the powder again inside her pocket. "That will teach them a lesson… especially Scarlet. They're gonna be friends with the toilet bowl for seven days at the most… maybe Scarlet's gonna be the one who'll get 7 days and then the two guys will get like five days or so… heheheh…" she thought silently before walking out of the cafeteria. "They won't be able to attend several meetings and several conferences. Rufus is going to get impatient and he will eventually get mad at them and give them salary deductions… or worse, kick them out of ShinRa!" she thought as she proceeded to the 70th floor where Rufus's office is located.
Realizing that the secretary wasn't there, she just continued her way to his office and entered.
No one was there.
She smiled slightly before going to his PC, switching it on and then going to his files. At first, she thought that Rufus was stupid because there was no password, but then at the middle of her readings, she realized that the most important files about JENOVA and Mako were password-protected.
"Damn…" she thought silently before exiting the programs and then switching off the PC. It was a good thing that she was wearing black gloves so that he wouldn't be able to trace fingerprints. Turning to the table, she saw that there was an accountant's journal on top of it, opened to a page with the recent expenses. There was a note on top of it which read, "Recent expenses for Distribution of Electricity".
She bit her lower lip before thinking of going through the other pages. With that, grabbing a pencil and an eraser from his pen holder, she erased the total and replaced it with a much bigger number, and then went through some of the other numbers and then replaced them all. With that, she returned everything in their proper places and then left the office.
The moment she got into her office, she saw that Rufus was there, standing by the window and looking up at the stars. "P…President Rufus!" she said in awe.
Rufus instantly turned to her and smiled slightly. "Tiffayne," he said.
"Wh…what are you doing here, sir?" she asked as she approached him.
"I just thought that I'd meet you here instead of calling you to the conference room. I just adjourned the meeting moments ago," he told her.
She nodded uneasily. "I see, President Rufus…" she stammered.
"Rufus." He corrected.
"Huh?" she asked.
"I want you to quit the formality. Just call me Rufus." He told her.
She smiled uneasily. "R…Rufus…" she replied.
He flipped his hair.
"Is that your nickname?" she asked him with a curious tone, not really knowing what else to say to him.
"It's actually my first name already… and it's also a nickname." He told her.
She giggled. "Why not Ruffy?" she asked playfully.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Ruffy?" he asked.
"Yeah. It sounds cute!" she said.
He smiled and chuckled lightly at what she had mentioned before flipping his hair again. "You know, you never fail to make me laugh," he told her.
She frowned at him. "Oh, so I'm a big joke to you?" she asked.
He shook his head before flipping his hair. "No, you misunderstood. I meant it in a more positive way. You see, I'm always stressed out from work and… it wouldn't really hurt to get some amusement once in a while from my executives," he told her.
"Why, the others don't amuse you?" she asked.
"They anger me." He admitted.
Silence.
"What about you? Is Tiffayne already your nickname?" he asked her.
"No, it's…" she trailed off. She almost revealed the truth: "No, it's not my real name. My real name is Tifa." But she just shut up.
"It's what?" he asked curiously.
She smiled sheepishly at him. "You can just call me Tifa." She told him sweetly.
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Tifa?" he asked.
She froze. "Uh-oh… wrong move," she thought silently.
He smiled at her. "Why not Tiffy?" he asked her rather playfully.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" she asked unbelievably.
"We should be even! You want call me Ruffy and so I must call you Tiffy." He pointed out.
She laughed at what he said. "No way! Okay, I'll just stick to calling you Rufus; and in return, you call me Tifa." She told him before unconsciously reaching out for his hand and squeezing it gently against hers.
He was quite amazed at her sudden action, but didn't say anything… though his thoughts could be clearly seen in his eyes. Upon realizing what she had done, she immediately let go of his hand and acted like nothing happened.
"So, you've had your dinner already?" she asked him.
"Not yet. Still have so much to do," he told her.
"I think you should eat first." She told him as she took his hand again and led the way to the door.
"Wh…where are we going?" he asked her.
"I love seafood! Do you love seafood?" she asked as they boarded the elevator.
He had this confused look on his face. "Y…yeah. Why?" he asked.
She giggled sweetly. "Then we're eating at that new seafood restaurant in the Wall Market!" she told him.
His eyes widened in awe. "Wall Market?!"
Slummy Area alert.
"I… I…" he stammered.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm here! No one will harm you! Oh yeah, you can also remove your white jacket and trench coat so that you wouldn't look too formal." She told him as she forcefully undressed him from his white jacket and trench coat, revealing to her eyes what he was wearing underneath those tops: a black long-sleeved turtle neck. She tried to ignore the fact that he has a great body but it wouldn't work. His shoulders were broader than Cloud and his poise is like a prince's. She had to turn her head away from him for a few moments so that he wouldn't see her blushing intensely. "Did it suddenly become hot inside this place?" she thought silently before they got out of the elevator and placed his jacket and trench coat on top of the receptionist's desk.
Rufus smiled at her. "Okay then, I'll drive." He told her as he led the way to the parking lot.
During the drive to the Wall Market, Tifa suddenly had a new idea: "This is how I'm going to put Rufus ShinRa down: I'm going to get him closer to me and then get rid of him… that would definitely hurt his feelings and then that will bring him down until he goes insane… and then the last person whom I'm gonna have to think of getting rid of is Sephiroth… but I think I'll leave that to the others. I'll stick with Rufus and the executives coz I know how weak they are. I just started off with the executives by giving them laxative… I'll start tonight with Rufus too…" she thought silently. She hid her smile from him. "And it's gonna be like slow and painful death." She thought silently.
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Author's note: I'm sorry for the OOC. It's for the sake of the fic. Anyway, I'll continue this later after I finish my thesis proposal…
