Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 and all that's associated with it are not mine but Squaresoft's.

A/N: For those who have read this story from the beginning… I know what you're thinking… You thought this story was dead, didn't you? Heheheheh… Well, I though so too, but well… I decided to put up some more chapters until I decide to end it… And well, I was reading it some days ago and then thought that the story was annoyingly taking too much time… I mean… Things happen too slowly! That's why I then decided to speed things up a little… Well, here goes… I'm really sorry for the great delay!

CHAPTER 6

Anticipation

Damn it… I'm dreaming again…

He was running… Running away… No one was chasing him though… But he knew he had to get somewhere… Got to get somewhere fast…

And get help…

His legs were tired now… but he can't stop… He couldn't… He mustn't…

Or else they'll…

Finally… the path widens…

I'm here… Finally… How long was I running? I'm tired… My legs are tired…

Help… Help… Help me… Please help me…

"Whoa! Slow down, boy! What's wrong with you?"

Help me…

"Please…" I can hear myself pant, taking in deep breaths desperately.

"What's wrong? Where'd you come from? What's your name?"

My name?

"Please… you have to help…"

"Alright, I'll help you. Tell me your name."

My name?

"… Shinra…"

Yes, Shinra… That's my name…

--- --- --- --- ---

"I'd get up if were you."

Rufus squinted against the bright sunshine that welcomed him to a new… boring day. He grunted and turned against the light and covered himself with a thick blanket that seemed to swallow up the puny bed he was in.

"Oh c'mon!" He heard the woman say and suddenly the blanket was pulled away from him and a great part of his scalp with it.

"Aaargh!" he exclaimed, but too late, the woman seemed to have scraped a great portion of his hair from his head.

When Tifa realized that she had been tugging on his hair, she immediately let go and grinned in a stupid way.

"Oops, sorry. Guess I pulled something else other than the blanket, huh? Didn't mean it. Promise," she said almost incoherently quick. Rufus rubbed his head and made sure his hair is still intact, and when he concluded that it still gloriously is, he started boring holes on Tifa's head.

"I said I was sorry," Tifa repeated when Rufus didn't seem to take his good morning greeting too well and was glaring at her as if she's some unwanted pest. Well, I probably am with what I did. Hehe… Good for him…

Finally, "What do you want?" Rufus demanded, now sitting up, his hand still placed upon his head.

Tifa raised a fine eyebrow at that and placed her hands on her hips, "Well, you have the nerve to ask that, you big baby. Get up! We have the whole day ahead of us. I have lots to do! And you are going to help me with them." When Rufus just stared at her, she added, "What? You don't like it? Well, too bad. You just have to until that big useless mansion is ready for you," When Rufus still didn't budge and was still looking at her in that condescending way, "Quick, you! I still have a job, you know!" With all her might, she then pulled on the blankets to the floor, taking Rufus with it…

--- --- --- --- ---

The early morning hostility at his neighbor's house made him look at that direction, and then heard a man shout like a madman. Vincent closed his eyes and sighed exasperatingly. Gee, good morning, Tifa, Rufus. I'm glad you're both enjoying breakfast… immensely. He then smirked at that. He saw Rios leave the house a few minutes before, bag, books, and all, with an unusual happy grin. Funny, the serious-type kid seemed to be skipping his way to school today. Just then, Reeve joined him in checking out the house by the window where Vincent was facing, settled on his seat. His hands were at the small of his back, and seemed to be in deep thought.

"Do you really think that it's a good idea for Rufus Shinra to be there?" Reeve asked after a few moments of silence, "Tifa would not be too happy about this, as you very well know. Especially that which you are concluding."

"Concluding? What are you talking about?" Vincent asked him, trying to wonder if the direction of his thoughts were that obvious to the other man.

"You know very well what I'm talking about," Reeve replied, walking away from the window, his back towards Vincent, "We really can't be thinking about that. It's impossible!"

"It's not impossible. It's mad. But not impossible. Just what you expect of that madman, isn't it," Vincent sat up from his chair, still looking out the window, "Didn't you recognize him, Reeve? You should, you know, since you're the one who saw him grow up. In my case, I only remembered him when he was just a baby, yet that was enough."

Reeve sighed deeply and stared at Vincent's back, trying to remember. When he still did not find his thoughts and Vincent's to be colliding at all, he sighed again and said, "Even if it were true, how do you suppose that happened? Don't you think that that is completely impossible?"

Vincent smirked and faced Reeve slowly, "I am still alive, am I not?

--- --- --- --- ---

Blue eyes against blood red ones. Over the table. Staring. Glaring. Challenging.

First the mushroom soup was gone. Then the mashed potatoes. Then the beans. Then the steamed fish. The contents of the table seemed to have been swept away… At an alarming rate… Until the both of them happened to mistake admantoise oil for water and gulped it down simultaneously. A few milliseconds after the hideously-bitter-tasting liquid entered their mouths, both of them came sputtering it out and tried to scrape away the taste with the edge of their spoons. The "aaa" and the "yuck" sounds that came from them made Tifa giggle.

"Hah," Tifa interrupted their little game, "tastes great, doesn't it?"

At that, the pair of blue eyes and the pair of blood red ones turned to her, glaring because of the assumption that she placed those glasses of admantoise oil on the table, just to spite them.

"What?" Tifa asked feigning innocence, "Admantoise oil is actually good for you, mind you."

"Adman…? Admantoise oil?" Rufus narrowed his eyes and realized that he just swallowed a little of the one that he most hated in the world. "Admantoise oil! What did you do that for!"

"Eee…yuck… that again," Rios joined in, "hate that…" Then he started wiping his tongue with the palm of his hand, trying to take out the ever-grasping oiliness of the liquid off his tongue, and mumbling something like, "I just knew you were looking for something to distract me and feed me that thing… eee… yuck…"

"Rios, stop that. Well, admantoise oil is good for the gastrointestinal tract – improves digestion and absorption and all; it's also good for your kidneys and your bladder, yes. It helps tone your muscles, and relieve you from lactate accumulation… It improves bone formation and ossification making you grow taller and your bones stronger. And well, it improves memory and reflex… Quit a lot of things, it does, actually. Oh yeah… Lastly, it also…"

"You don't want to say that last part…" Rufus interrupted in a threatening way.

Tifa ignored him. "It also improves interpersonal relationships," Tifa finished with a big smile, and started glaring at Rios and Rufus, who were also glaring back at her. "What's the matter with you two, anyway? You two seem to be behaving strange. Something I should know, hm?"

Rios and Rufus did not say a word, but just kept staring at her. After a while, the both of them turned to each other and started having a glaring contest.

"Hey!" Tifa interrupted them and ordered them to take their plates to the sink if they were finished with their meals. They obeyed her, excused themselves from the table, mumbling their thank you's for the food and carried their plates, with some other things, to the sink, still glaring at each other, and then went to their rooms – Rufus went to Rios' room which was temporarily his and Rios went to Tifa's. Tifa shook her head and folded her arms on the table, thinking deeply about their behavior.

Strange, Rios never really acted childish like this before. He was always serious. He never acted spontaneously around people. His actions were always well thought of – like a mature adult's. Even when he was with Vincent or Reeve… Rios never shows this side of himself when he's with them. If he ever had that side of him, that is. Tifa smiled and even though her mind says otherwise, she was somewhat glad that Rios had acted that way. Like a child… Spoiled and bratty. Tifa then realized how much she had hoped for her son to act like the rest of his age. Not the way their circumstances have forced him to act. Inwardly, even though she does not want to think of it, she realized that Rufus may really become something to him. Something that he never had, yet inwardly had hoped for. At that, Tifa shook her head and narrowed her eyes.

No. I can't… That would be… Too painful. When he leaves, that would be too painful.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Wraith?" Tifa called out from the door to Rios' room.

Rufus was sitting on the side of the bed facing the window, thinking… about something… or someone. Tifa's voice interrupted his thoughts, surprised that she called him Wraith even though it was clear from her eyes that she knew he's Rufus Shinra.

"Here," he replied and smiled a little upon seeing her face arising from the side of the door. He didn't quite understand it, but he kind of seemed pleased and felt calm whenever he sees that face, or even hear her voice. There was really something about her… and about that boy that seemed quite… pleasant… to him. Something that was… missing. Rufus shook is head from where his thoughts were leading him again. "What's up?"

When Tifa emerged fully from the door, Rufus saw that she was holding a white small-sized box on one hand and a bottle of alcohol on the other. Oh yeah, it was that time again, Rufus realized. Oooh, happy me… He started to grin like crazy but then stopped himself. What the hell? He moved a little towards the pillows to give space for her to sit on while she will be doing what she came there to do. He took off his shirt and revealed a well-toned torso wrapped in bandages in the middle portion where that damned ugly monster decided to split me open! But well, he liked times like this, when she would be changing his bandages. Her hands are soft and gentle. And her breathe was like the early morning mist, soothing and relaxing… Then suddenly he snorted. He knew he had just to stop where his thoughts were leading.

What he didn't know was Tifa's short intake of breath whenever he does that – take off his shirt in front of her and waiting for her to come to him. Tifa sat on the edge of the bed beside him and settled her first-aid things on the other side of her, trying not to notice how handsome he looked at that instant. He just woke up from a 2-hour sleep after his first lunch with Rios. He usually eats in his room, so Tifa was only a little surprised at that game which her son and he played at the dining table. She had had a little suspicion that something would happen between the two. The thing she just didn't expect was that, for Rios to act so "not-Riosish". So she was not expecting the expectable to happen, which happened anyway.

Actually, Tifa was just forcing herself to think about her son again instead of the man beside her who happened to look so gorgeous at the moment. His hair was disheveled with it falling all over his face and he had this light puff to his eyes, making him look like a boy – an adorable, gorgeous young man. Tifa sighed, scolding herself, and then made extended her hands towards Rufus' torso to take off the bandages. What's wrong with me?

When the heat of her skin made contact with his through the bandage, Rufus felt his skin tingle underneath. He should try to control his heartbeat and his breathing though, if he impossibly can, so that Tifa wouldn't so much as notice it and think of him as a perverted idiot. Then Tifa began to unwind his bandages gently, little by little revealing that big red gash the accident left.

"Oh good," Tifa said a few moments after, "It's healing nicely. A few more days and you're good as new." She smiled and looked at him, "Just don't try to do something heavy." She then turned back to the closed wound and traced a finger along it.

Gee, I wish you wouldn't do that, Rufus thought as he tried to keep himself from making any sound. When she kept at it without considering his feelings, Rufus grabbed her hand gently to stop it from moving.

Tifa looked at him, surprised, "Is that bothering you? Sorry," she said quickly. Rufus stared at her. 'Is that bothering you?'? Well, that's an understatement. Stupid girl, Rufus thought. Then he made that mistake again – of looking through her eyes – and sinking slowly, yet deeply.

Catching himself, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Well, go on and be over with it. You're making me wait again. You're too slow doing things, didn't you know that? You should be quicker. That way, you could be more reliable," he said as sternly as possible so she wouldn't get any ideas, completely forgetting that his hand was still wrapped comfortably around hers.

His stupid comments about her should have annoyed her to oblivion, but his hand on hers sent a jolt of satisfaction through her, making her forget the unnecessary things he just said. She couldn't understand it really. This guy is Rufus Shinra. Why am I so affected like this? When he didn't let go even after sounding so mean to her, Tifa did not say anything about them holding hands. She liked it. Even though the second thing she wants to do to him is to kick him for being evil. The first is stay like this – his hand on hers as if nothing matters in the world. Stupid Tifa. Must be beans I had for lunch. I know I had to eat more if I had to think clearly.

"Well?" Rufus urged, now facing the window. Tifa smiled and pulled her hand slowly from his grasp. As for Rufus, he noticed it and blushed. Alright, that was embarrassing.

Suddenly, she poked at his wound, making Rufus jump, utter "damn!" at the same time and glower at her as if he's going to murder her. Tifa just grinned evilly at him and said, "Well, that didn't hurt now, did it? You must be getting better and better, yes? For your mouth to shoot stupid things like that, you must be the healthiest person in the planet!"

Rufus only continued to glare at her instead of replying some other comment. Tifa shrugged, exasperated and took out a little bottle of green liquid from the little box she brought. She poured a little of it into a ball of cotton and began swabbing across Rufus' great big wound. Hmmm… reminds me of my own, Tifa thought referring the scar on her chest where Sephiroth slashed her years before. When she was done cleaning it up, she took out clean bandages from the same little white box and began wrapping Rufus' torso with it.

All the while, Rufus was having the time of his life, being taken care of by a damnest most beautiful, sexy, gentle, evil lady he had ever met. All the while she was applying that foul-smelling green liquid on him with her head bowed down like that, his face was hovering over her, smelling the sweet scent of her hair. Smell like apples… and roses too, Rufus thought happily. Hmmm… she must have bathed thoroughly and carefully smelling like something pleasant, just to impress me. Hehehe… Well, I'm impressed… But I'm not going to tell her, now am I?

"You smell like crap,"

Tifa's head snapped up and since Rufus' face was still hovering above her, the back of her head smashed against his nose, eliciting another "damn!" from Rufus. Rufus, feeling his nose broken to thousand pieces, looked to the ceiling and grabbed his nose, trying to stop an imaginary flow of blood from it, all the while moaning as if she had killed him.

Tifa glared at him and said, "You're overreacting." She pulled Rufus' hand from his nose and began examining it. Seeing that the contact didn't as much as crinkle that nicely-shaped nose of his, she announced, "Hah! Good for you, you dummy! It's funny hearing a comment like that, especially coming from a man who hasn't taken a bath for God knows how long. And just to let you know, you baby, YOU smell like the end of planet! I was trying to close my nose off from your smell THE WHOLE TIME. You should try to get over your fears of getting cleaned, WASHED by water so that everyone will not fear your smell! You rank!" Then she grabbed her white box and alcohol bottle and quickly left the room before he can retaliate.

When the door banged on him, Rufus just continued to stare at her, trying to memorize that look she had as she was delivering her speech about his smell. Damn cute. He raised his arm pits and smelled them. Hmph… I just took a bath this morning. I don't smell. Then he smiled. He grabbed his shirt, put it back on and lied back on the puny little bed he was in. He folded his arms behind his head and thought happily, I guess I have to make Lockheart get geared and heated up like that… Takes away that deathly pale look she always has nowadays. Damn cute…

--- --- --- --- ---

The lone figure shot his head up as he saw that he was approaching his destination. His eyes focused on the town that was getting bigger and bigger every time he visits it. Nestled among great terrorizing mountains with great factories and buildings occupying its central portion, Nibelheim could be the next town upgraded to a Midgar-like state.

He smirked. He was not going to let that happen. Especially when HE is there. He has to get to HIM before HE is called. He had to destroy HIM to atone for his sins. It's the only way. The only way to save the world. Save the world from an abomination that he thought he had destroyed, yet because of his own weakness, it has reared its ugly head again. Yes, his weakness. He knew it was his fault. But there's still time. The spirits would not stop haunting him unless he finishes what he is supposed to do – stop HIM from … stop HIM from achieving his full state of strength… stop HIM from returning to her… destroy HIM… destroy Sephiroth.

His hand went to touch blade that was attached to his back. The blade that once destroyed Sephiroth would destroy him again. He could not wait. He has been haunted for far too long. They needed to stop. Unless he'll go crazy.

What have I done? He thought to himself again and again. I have been swayed. I shouldn't have done it. I should have been satisfied. I was loved. I loved. I was happy. But why this? I should have stayed. And continue to be happy… But no… I had to do it… I had to manifest my guilt… And now this… Why this? I'm sorry… So sorry… I'll know you'll never forgive me… But it's the only way…

I'm sorry… But I'll have to kill you again.

- End of Chapter -

A/N

Yay! Finished a chapter! The next one's already in the making… So read on! I hope I didn't disappoint you guys with this one… Since I'm kind of disappointed with myself – I haven't gotten the story where the true beginning of the action is… But well, I'm getting there. I made this chapter to show a little Rufus x Tifa interaction, since they haven't had much in the past chapters. They're developing physical attraction with each other, which in my opinion is a start of a relationship initially and then gradually goes deeper as they spend time with each other… Oh well… I'm rambling… Thanks for reading and please do drop by a review…

I got to med school! Ain't that cool? I'll be a doctor soon! Can't wait! Cheeries!

Oh yeah… I watch Naruto now! I dunno why I just started, but well, I think it rocks!

Valen Locke

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