Sweet Music
Chapter Eleven: Boyfriends
and Grooms
By PasifiKStaR
All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything associated with it.
Heavy eyes opened slowly and squinted in the near darkness of the room. Nida frowned and moved his head slightly, a dull throbbing pounded at his temples. Frowning, the manager scooted over the to side of the bed and stood up.
Nida frowned even more so as he realized that the bus had stopped. He glanced towards the small back window of the tour bus and realized that it was night time. 'How long was I out...?' he thought to himself.
Rubbing his temples, Nida walked towards the door and slid it open loudly. Several pairs of eyes rose and met his. "Look who finally woke up." Seifer grinned.
There was a blond woman sitting on the couch and Nida narrowed her eyes. "Hey, who let a woman-" A white handkerchief was brought down over his nose and mouth and immediately, Nida inhaled. Someone grabbed his shoulders and held him firmly back as his hands rose to the arm and struggled to pull it off.
After a brief moment of struggling, the Scars manager fell limp in Rufus' arms. "Took you long enough." Elena snorted as she leaned back against the couch.
"Move over," Rufus ordered. Elena grumbled and stood up. The blond male Turk dumped Nida's body over the couch and looked down at him. "That should keep him out for the rest of the night."
From the kitchen table, Seifer was going over guitar chords on some sheet music. Across from the table, Squall was sitting on the bench by the window, reading one of Seifer's cook books. The sound of the shower being used was promptly turned off, meaning that Irvine was done with his evening shower.
"Rufus, where are we going to sleep tonight?" Elena asked. Reno had crashed on the driver's seat down below. They had pulled the bus over to the side of the road for the night. Rufus glanced over at the table. There was a booth attached to the wall around it, complete with padded leather seating.
"We'll take turns. You can sleep in the booth," Rufus told her coolly. Elena snorted with disdain. "Elena..." he scolded.
"Fine." The blond stood up and began her way through the narrow walk way towards the table when the door to the bathroom slid open. A wave of hot, fresh steam gushed out and Elena growled. A warm body slammed into her.
"Oh, 'scuse me, miss," Irvine winked at her as he held his arms out to steady her. "Didn't see you." He stood in the middle of the narrow hall, clad in flannel pajama pants and a towel around his neck. He was in the middle of running the towel through his hair.
"Get your slimy hands off of me!" Elena barked. She quickly shrugged his hands off and Irvine stepped cautiously back into the bathroom and waited for her to pass. As soon as she was in the kitchen, Irvine came out.
"Whoever wants the shower - it's free!" Irvine called out to the other two.
Seifer closed his notebook, music sheets pinned within their pages, and stuck his pencil in the spiral. "About damn time, Kinneas!" Seifer grumbled as he stood up. He tucked his notebook under his arm and put it in a small shelf by the kitchen, where a few cook books stood. "You better not have used all the hot water again!"
"I didn't take that long," Irvine told him. Seifer merely glared at him and Irvine slipped into the bedroom. "Well, I'm off to bed! Do you need to search me or anything?" He asked as he passed Rufus.
The blond struggled to keep from looking disturbed. "No. Just get in there." Rufus snapped. Irvine smiled and headed into the small bedroom. It was composed of three beds stacked up. His was the bottom bunk. Squall got the middle, as he didn't mild the smaller space, and Seifer got the top because he felt it offered him the most privacy.
Irvine grinned as he lowered his head and sat on the lowest bunk. While Seifer had been cooking earlier, he had gone to check on Nida. He had also climbed up the ladder and looked over Seifer's bunk. Not a single sheet was out of place and everything was folded neatly. However, what caught his eye was a silver heart shaped frame with Quistis.
'Heh...Seifer's such a softie...' Irvine chuckled to himself. 'I bet he misses Quistis...' He sighed to himself and glanced over at his phone. "I miss you, Selphie..." he whispered softly.
He narrowed his eyes and glanced at the door. It was half way closed and the sound of the shower, along with Seifer's profanity from within after discovering that Irvine did use up all the hot water, virtually shut out any noise. Irvine glanced at the phone once more and then darted his hand out to snatch it from it's charger.
He flipped it open and saw that he had a few missed messages from a number he didn't know. He frowned and looked over his shoulder. He saw Rufus, in his white suit heading towards the kitchen. Casually, Irvine slipped into his bed and prepared to enter the phone number.
Suddenly, the little phone exploded with sound, making the drummer nearly drop it. He sat up in bed quickly and slammed his head against the middle bunk. "Ow! Hyne damn it!" He grabbed the phone and flipped it open.
Just as he opened his mouth to answer, the phone was plucked from his hand by a dainty pale one and held against a blond woman's ear. Irvine paled several shades as Elena glared at him. "Hello?"
"Irvine?" Irvine's hands grabbed the edge of bed. He could hear Selphie's surprised voice on the other line clearly.
"No, he's busy at the moment. Who is this?" Elena demanded.
"Who is THIS?" Selphie countered. "Let me speak to Irvine!"
"Irvine isn't available," Elena retorted. "Now tell me who this is!" Elena demanded once more.
"This is Irvine's GIRLFRIEND."
"Girlfriend?" Elena laughed. "He has a GIRLFRIEND?"
"Why are you laughing?" Selphie shouted. "Who ARE you!"
"He never mentioned a girlfriend." Elena laughed. Through the phone, Irvine could hear Selphie's shocked, pained gasp.
"Give me the phone...please..." Irvine pleaded quietly. Elena glared at him.
"You're not supposed to be making phone calls, buddy," Elena told him. Irvine looked away. "You'll have to call him another time. He's unable to talk."
"Who are you...?" Selphie asked weakly. Irvine closed his eyes tightly. She sounded so hurt.
"None of your business, girl-hey!" Elena gasped as Irvine stood up to his full height, which towered over her. He had grabbed the phone.
"Selphie? Selphie, are you there?" Irvine asked as he turned his back to Elena and faced the wall, as if trying to get privacy in the tiny area.
"You JERK!" Selphie screamed into the phone, forcing Irvine to hold it away from his head as she screamed. "You've been on the road for ONE day and you already have someone else?" Selphie cried. "How could you? You...you..."
"Selphie, it's not like that!" Irvine gasped. He held the wall to support himself. He'd never heard Selphie be other than her happy-go-lucky, loving self. Hearing her now, probably crying and hurt, scared him.
"Liar!" Selphie cried. "It doesn't take a genius to put together what's going on, you...meanie head!" she choked out.
"Selphie, wait," Irvine begged desperately. "It's not like that! She's a Tur-"
"I HATE YOU!" Suddenly the line went dead. Irvine's body stiffened as her final words resounded in his head.
"What's her problem?" Irvine heard Elena's voice behind him and he gripped the phone tightly in his hand.
"Get out."
"Excuse me?" Elena snorted proudly. "I think you're forgetting who is in charge here-"
"Just get out!" Irvine shouted. He whirled around, his fact twisted with anger and sadness as he looked at her. "Just get out, okay? Here!" He nearly ripped the battery off of his phone and tossed it at her. "I can't make any more phone calls, are you happy? Now get out!"
"Elena, what's going on in there?" Rufus called from outside.
The female Turk took a step back and swallowed nervously as Irvine swept past her furiously and sat down on his bed. He ran his hand down his face and bent over his long legs. Elena lowered her eyes and stepped outside. "Nothing," she said as she emerged. "Just confiscated his phone battery."
She waved the little battery and tossed it on the couch, over Nida's sleeping body. Rufus nodded and looked at his watch. "It's getting late. Go downstairs and bring Reno some food. Wake him up, it's almost time for his watch to start."
Elena nodded and took the plate that had been prepared from the table and walked out the little door that lead to the driver's area and the exit. As soon as her head disappeared, Rufus locked the door closed and sat down across from Squall on the kitchen table.
"I'd like to ask you a question." he began confidently. Squall didn't lift his eyes from the book he was reading.
"You already know everything." he replied.
Rufus ignored his disregard. "It's about Rinoa," he said. He watched Squall for any sign of acknowledgement, but the blue eyed guitarist didn't respond. "What do you want with her?"
Squall stiffened in his seat, but continued to look at the cook book. He'd read the page on Korean BBQ eight times now. "I thought you knew that, too," Squall said behind gritted teeth. He stood up abruptly and snapped the book closed. "I'm supposed to be trying to turn Rinoa against her father or setting her up as a tool to be used by mine. Something absurd like that." he replied bitterly.
He walked over to the counter and put the book down. He was going to head to the bedroom, but Rufus' voice stopped him. "I'm serious," The man's voice was low. "Rinoa is my cousin. And even though we're under orders to keep YOU away from her, we all care about her well being. So tell me seriously, what do you want with Rinoa?"
Squall took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His hand gripped the edge of the counter. "All I want is for her to be happy with me," Squall said. He turned around and looked at Rufus. "When I met her, I didn't know who she as. She was just Rinoa, the girl at the train station. I lo..." Squall paused and mentally collected himself. "I care about Rinoa very much. I don't want to see her hurt. I think she's happy with me. I'm more than happy being with her. I don't want to use her. I don't want her money or her father's empire. All I want is Rinoa. No strings attached - just one petite, brown eyed, dark haired teacher in training."
"He'll never let you be with her," Rufus said slowly and truthfully. "Caraway loves Rinoa, but he'll gladly have her hate him if she is safe from you."
"What the hell have I ever done to make him hate me so much?" Squall spat out. "My father? Is that it? Because I was BORN to Laguna Loire?"
"If you were another kid of another man, it would've been a different story," Rufus admitted. "But Caraway and his beef with your father go way back. There is no way he'll change his mind."
Squall narrowed his eyes. "You can't keep me away from her."
"We already are." Squall's hands turned into fists at his sides. He whirled around and stomped towards the bedroom at the back of the bus.
Quistis paced her the living room of her condo worriedly. She'd just received more information from some of her father's men and needed to contact Selphie and Zell immediately. "Come on...answer the phone..." she murmured for the millionth time.
Finally, someone picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Zell? How are you and Selphie?" Quistis asked. She stopped pacing in the middle of the room. Zell seemed out of breath. "Are you okay?"
"Not really," Zell said. "It's Selphie-"
"Oh my Hyne! Why? What's wrong? Is someone after you two?" Quistis asked, immediately assuming the worst. Zell shook his head on the other side of the line and looked towards the couch, where Selphie was sprawled, still crying.
"No..." Zell quietly. "I wish that were the case."
"What's going on, Zell?"
"Selphie called Irvine's cell and a woman answered," Zell said. "Selphie says that Irvine never told her that he had a girlfriend and...well..."
He trailed off and from the couch, Selphie let out another wail as she buried her face in a pillow. Quistis closed her eyes and took a deep breath. At least they weren't in any physical danger. "Is that Quistis?" Selphie asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Yeah...let me put her on speaker," Zell said. He pressed a button and put the phone on the table. "Go ahead, Quistis."
"Selphie, are you okay?" Quistis asked.
"Yeah..." the green eyed brunette sniffled. "I'll be fine."
"You will be. The woman who picked up the phone is probably Elena. She's the newest of the Turks and Rinoa is related to her through marriage." Quistis said.
Selphie froze. "What?"
"The tour bus got hijacked by some of the Turks," Quistis said. "From what I've gathered, Reno, Rufus, and Elena are on that bus. Seifer sent me an email SOS."
"So...he's not cheating on me?" Selphie asked.
"No," Quistis assured her with a slight smile. "She probably confiscated his phones so he can't call for help."
Selphie's eyes looked at the table ahead of her. Her eyes widened as she realized what was going on. She gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh no! I yelled at him and everything!"
"He'll understand, Selphie-"
"Wait, their bus has been hijacked?" Selphie gasped. "What are we going to do-"
"Calm down," Quistis chuckled. "I've already taken care of it. A friend of mine is already on the job. But I do have news about Rinoa."
"Did you send someone after her, too?" Zell asked.
"Just to watch...it's too dangerous to try to sneak Rinoa out from right under her father's nose," Quistis replied. "But I confirmed the rumors. She is definitely engaged. I checked the records for the crime lords in Centra. The big three...one is married. But the other two..."
"Who is it?" Selphie and Zell asked at the same time.
"I'm not sure," Quistis frowned. "The other two are men in their 40's. However, I don't like the prospects of one of them being Rinoa's groom. However, if I were a betting woman, I would put my money on Seymour Guado."
"Eww!" Selphie yelped with a tone of disgust. "That blue haired freak with who likes barely legal girls?"
"That would explain him marrying Rinoa," Zell nodded. "She still looks like a teenager sometimes."
"Calm down," Quistis said. "The other is Sephiroth...but he has three sons; triplets, that are all Rinoa's age. His wife...er...vanished shortly after the triplets were born."
"So...you think it's the pedophile?" Selphie asked. Quistis rolled her eyes. She didn't the crime lord either. She felt he was the more disturbing of the prospects. Perhaps not the most dangerous, but she just didn't like him.
"Probably...the Centran rumor mill has been saying that he's looking for a wife. Someone young, go figure."
"Rinoa is old enough to be his daughter!" Zell complained.
"It's a political marriage," Quistis reminded him. "Although, Selphie's right...he has a reputation for his affinity for...ahem...'younger' women."
Selphie snorted. "I'd rather her be engaged to Sephiroth...at least he's hot for someone past forty."
Both Zell and Quistis were silent for a moment. "Selphie..." Quistis said finally. "Did you not get the part where his wife and mother of his triplets 'mysteriously disappeared'?"
"That doesn't take away from his hotness..." Selphie insisted and was met with silence. She frowned and crossed her arms. "Okay, FINE."
"Hold one a second...I just got a message from one of my contacts..." Quistis sat down on the edge of her couch and looked at the screen of her laptop. "Strange...Sephiroth and his sons have arrived in Deling City..."
"Then she's marrying HIM!" Selphie concluded.
"Not so fast," Quistis murmured. "Guado's been sighted there, too. This is starting to worry me."
"What would two competing Centran big wigs be doing in Deling City?" Zell frowned.
Quistis frowned. "A suspect a deal is going to go down...and Rinoa is a major bargaining chip," she said. "Guys, I'm going to Deling City."
Her bedroom door opened and she took a deep breath. Brown eyes fringed with thick, dark lashes opened and she stepped out into the brightly lit hall way of the second floor of her father's house. She pulled the door closed behind her and began her walk down the corridor.
Dark hair was pulled into a swept up do. Her highlighted bangs escaped the rest of her updo, falling lazily over her forehead and framing her heart shaped face gently. Her body was clad in a body hugging, thigh high black dress. Thin straps held it up as moved freely through the house. A black choker with a diamond star pendant dangling from the center matched with the diamond earrings. She wore little make up.
As she neared the top of the stairs, her heeled feet echoed on the hardwood floor. The moment she had walked out of her door, she had already seen many of her father's men around. Two flanked her door alone. Even through their dark sunglasses, she knew they were watching her as she swept by them.
After all, she'd gotten playing the mafia don's virgin daughter down to an art form and was used to being in her father's limelight. As she reached the stairs that curved down into the foyer, a frown almost marred her emotionless face. There were three times as many guards in dark suits as usual.
"Your father's 'guests' have taken the liberty of adding a few men to secure a pleasant visit." a deep, disapproving voice said behind her.
"Rude," Rinoa looked up at her first cousin as he extended his arm to escort her down. He, too, was wearing sun glasses. "It's a bit much, isn't it?"
He snorted. "You know what isn't a bit much? Your dress," Rinoa immediately blushed and cringed. "Does your father know you're wearing that?" Rinoa hooked her arm in his.
"I bet if he did, he'd tell me to take a little off top and go for one with a plunging neckline." she commented bitterly as he began to escort her down the stairs.
"Rinoa, you shouldn't be wearing that dress. I don't like all these strange men staring at you," Rude grumbled. "You make it too much work to be your personal guard dog."
Rinoa smiled slightly. "I'm old enough to wear a dress like this," she asserted. "Don't worry, it's going to stay on."
"You better hope it does," he added in a weary voice. They reached the foyer and headed for the formal dining room. Rinoa could still feel eyes on her, some of them leering. However a cold, hard look from Rude put those men in their places. "Are you ready for this?"
Rinoa closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. "No..." she admitted. "I don't want to do this."
"I wish I could help, Rinny, I really do," He told her sadly. "Be careful." He whispered as the doors were pushed open. Rinoa stiffened at his arm as the brightly lit room came into view.
There was a long table stretching from her father, at the head of the table, to two men at the other end. To one side, next to the darkly dressed man with the long silver hair, were three younger men with silver hair. Perhaps his sons. And then across from the silver haired man was a blue haired guest that made Rinoa want to puke.
"Rinoa, good to see you could make it," her father said as he stood up. All the men at the table stood up and Rinoa couldn't help but see their mockery of being gentlemen with the motion. "Everyone, this is my daughter, Rinoa."
She stood beside her father and lowered her head slightly in a simple bow. Rude gave her hand a final reassuring squeeze before handing her over to her father. He walked her to her seat, which unfortunately, was beside the blue haired guest.
"Rinoa," he purred as he extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Your father as told us SO MUCH about you." His eyes ran down her slender body, making Rinoa want to shiver. She felt her father let go of her arm, meaning she had to extend it and offer it to their 'guest'.
"Rinoa, this is Seymour Guado of the Southern Centra Syndicate." General Caraway said amiably.
She felt his breath against the back of her hand and nearly snatched her hand away as she felt a hot, wet tongue slide across the back of it. Her eyes narrowed into disgusted slits as she twitched. He let go of her hand and gave her a lecherous smile. Rinoa struggled to stop herself from wiping the back of her hand on her new black dress.
"A...pleasure..." Rinoa said. She willed herself to keep from snarling the last word. Her attention was turned to the other men. All of them were standing up. 'What are two crime lords doing here...?'
"And this is Sephiroth of the Northern Centra Syndicate - Jenova," Caraway introduced. Rinoa bowed her head towards them and then bowed their heads back in a respectful manner. "And of course, his three sons."
"Rinoa, it is about time we met," Sephiroth told her, his deep voice rolling out calmly. "We have heard all about you."
'I wish I could say the same...' Rinoa thought to herself. She offered him a slight smile.
"These are my sons, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo." the man introduced. One by one, the sons gave her an acknowledging look.
"Now that we've all been introduced, why don't we start?" the General said. He returned to his seat and Rinoa sat down, allowing the other men to sit down as well.
Rinoa kept her eyes down on her plate as she was served dish after dish. She was poured a glass of white wine to go along with the salmon she had eaten and was about to take a sip, when her father broke the monotonous conversations with something that had been haunting her all night.
"Now before we go on to dessert," Caraway began. "I'm sure my daughter would like to know who she is marrying," All eyes briefly darted over to Rinoa, who clutched the stem of her wine glass angrily. "I would like to thank both of you for coming, as I have finally decided who to give my daughter to."
Rinoa's head snapped up and she turned to her father. With accusing brown eyes, she stared at the man. "You do not know?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as respectful as possible. However, her face was now flushing with anger.
"If you must know, my dear," Seymour said beside her. "Both Sephiroth and I have made bids for your hand."
"Bids...?" she piped, her eyes wide. She didn't know what else to say. She was being auctioned off.
"I have decided to accept Sephiroth's bid for Rinoa's hand," her father announced, as if Rinoa were not even sitting merely three paces from him. Her body paled as she slumped back into her seat, unsure of how to feel. "He has given me the best reasons to allow him to wed my daughter."
"That's a shame..." Seymour said as his eyes raked over Rinoa's body once more. "I was hoping to win."
Rinoa closed her eyes. Win? Bid? What the hell was she, cattle? Suddenly, her groom-to-be's voice rang out and she lifted her head weakly.
"Actually, General Caraway, I wanted to speak to you about changes in the details of the deal." Sephiroth said.
The General's lips formed a tight frown. "What are you talking about?" he snapped. He stood up and slammed his hands down on the table. "After all I've done to see this go through, you'll throw it all in my face?" he shouted. Tseng and Rude took a step forward from their places by the closed double doors.
As soon as Caraway stood up, Sephiroth's sons had all stood up as well. "Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo... sit down, boys," he said calmly. His eyes drifted back to the man at the head of the table. "Actually, just one change. Remain calm, good general. The details on the merger, the gains for each party, the safety for your daughter," he added as his eyes looked in Rinoa's direction briefly. "All remain the same."
Caraway narrowed his eyes. "Fine." he said. He reached into his the inner breast pocket of his jacket and immediately, guns were drawn. Caraway froze, his hand, still in his pocket as Loz aimed his gun at his said. Yazoo aimed at one of the Turks and Kadaj had his aimed across the table at Rinoa.
Suddenly, Guado began to laugh. "Excellent! Excellent!" he laughed as he watched the group. "I see you've done an excellent job at training your daughter. She is, in fact, your child, after all."
It was then that Caraway noticed Rinoa standing up as well, her own gun aimed at Kadaj's head with cool concentration. Sephiroth smirked from across the table. "Put your guns down, boys," he told them with amusement. "The good general wasn't pulling out a gun."
Slowly, the trio lowered their guns and Rinoa pulled back, but remained standing. She was right with going with the gun that evening, as Rude had suggested before she changed. "Rinoa, sit down." General Caraway ordered. Rinoa narrowed her eyes coldly and sat back down on her seat. She slipped the gun back beneath the view of the men. From his pocket, Caraway took out a folded series of papers.
"I have to admit, I am impressed with your daughter," Sephiroth said. Rinoa's lips were in a tight line. She had a name, damn it. "At first, I thought she was just little trophy child. I see now, she's more capable than you had let on."
"I hope that Rinoa's outburst," Caraway said as he shot a warning glare at Rinoa. "Did not sour our deal."
Rinoa grit her teeth. "Of course not," Sephiroth chuckled. "I'd like the women in my organization to be able to defend themselves."
"Well, out with it," Guado said as he leaned across the table. "I'm curious myself as to what your change will be."
Sephiroth smirked and looked at his sons. "I propose that one of my sons wed your daughter, General Caraway."
Rinoa's eyes widened and darted to the trio of silver haired young men. Kadaj raised an eyebrow and Yazoo looked indifferent to the whole thing. Loz shot her a smirk. "Your sons?" her father asked in question.
"I'm an old man," Sephiroth said, glancing over to his competitor to see his reaction. Guado just leaned back against his chair and smirked. "I believe that a beautiful young woman such as Rinoa, would feel more comfortable with a younger man. I think it suits us both for our children wed, don't you think so, General?"
Rinoa gripped the edge of her seat, her gun safely tucked away. She awaited her father's verdict. "All right..." the General said calmly. "Which one?"
Sephiroth glanced over at the younger men. "Well?" he said. "Which one of you wants to marry Rinoa?"
She couldn't take it any more. She wasn't going to stay and listen to them judge her and then give her away like some prized cow. With gritted teeth, Rinoa took a deep breath. Suddenly, Rinoa slammed her hands down on the table, surprising everyone. "Rinoa!" General Caraway gasped.
"If you'll excuse me, father, I do not feel well," Rinoa said as she stood up abruptly and angrily tossed her napkin on her plate. "I am finished here. It was good to meet you all." She added in a rush.
Rude offered his arm as she passed and she shook her head and walked past him without a second look. Rinoa left the room and all eyes returned to her father.
"She's very fiery," Guado said. "Quite a challenge."
"Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo?" Sephiroth asked. "Well?"
"She's too much trouble, father," Yazoo said. He swept his hair over his shoulder. His deep, masculine voice countered his feminine features as he shrugged. "I don't want her."
"Hmm..." Loz said. "I do like a good challenge."
"Count me in as well," Kadaj added. "She's...interesting..." He said with a slight smile.
"Very well," Caraway said as he sat up straight. "I'll give you until the end of the weak to decide which one of you will wed my daughter," As he said that, a few maids walked in with the desserts. "Rude, bring a plate up to Rinoa," Caraway said as he waved his hand. "You know how much she loves chocolate."
Rude nodded and took a plate before slipping away. He walked through the halls and up the stairs to Rinoa's room. He looked at the two guards at her door and gave them both a curt nod to dismiss them from their duty. They left and Rude knocked on the door.
"Rinoa? Rinoa, it's me, can I come in?" he asked worriedly.
"Go ahead..." came a muffled reply. Rude pushed the door open and stepped inside. She was sitting on the bench built into the wall, by the window. It was raining outside and the young woman, who now wore an unbuttoned pajama top over her dress, had curled her knees up to her chest and was hugging a stuffed lion in the dark.
"Rinoa?" Rude put her slice of cake and ice cream on her desk as he closed the door, then walked over to her.
"I'm his daughter..." Rinoa said as tears streamed down her eyes. She had wiped off the make up and her heels had been kicked off by the door. He sat down in front of her and removed his sunglasses. Tears filled her eyes as she choked back a sob. "I'm his daughter, Rude. And he sold me off...to the highest bidder like I was some sort of vase."
"He has his reasons...he wants to save the syndicate."
"But to sell ME?" Rinoa gasped, looking at Rude with disbelief. "I'm his own flesh and blood! His own daughter! And he SOLD ME! He never asked me, just engaged me without question. I've never felt so... so...disgusting in my entire life! I felt like a slab of meat out there!"
"I know..." Rude agreed, looking down. "I wanted to drag you out..."
"I've never been so humiliated and disrespected before," Rinoa shook her head. "It's like he wasn't even father, you know? He acted as is if all of this were natural. As if I was BORN to be sold. But you know what hurts the most from my father?"
Rude shook his head. There were so many things that must've hurt her in the last 24 hours, he didn't know where to begin. "What?"
"He promised me..." Rinoa admitted as she looked away. "He promised me right after mom died that I'd never have to be part of the organization if I didn't want to. I thought he really meant it, you know? But now this..." Rinoa buried her face in her knees. "My friends are gone. I was ripped out of a place I was just starting call home...and Squall..." Rinoa sucked in her breath as if she had been hit in the gut. "Oh, God...Squall..."
Sobs wracked her body and Rude reached forward and cradled his younger cousin in his arms. She cried loudly, her shouts calling desperately for Squall and it was breaking his heart to hear her. She sounded sad, desperate, regretful, and most of all utterly hurt. For almost an hour, she sat there, seeking comfort in her cousin's arms. Rude had practically raised her, after all. That was saying much as they were only five years apart, but the ten year old had looked after the five year old after her mother died.
"I love him so much..." Rinoa whimpered.
"Who?" Rude asked cautiously.
"Squall..." Rinoa said, with a tear filled smile. "I love him...he...I don't know, but when I'm with him it's like I'm the prettiest, smartest, luckiest woman in the entire world. "
Rude chuckled. "Then he has good taste."
Rinoa smiled weakly as her eyes began to feel heavy with sleep. "If I could see him one more time...hold him once more... just one more time..." she whispered. "Squall..."
Rinoa fell asleep in his arms and Rude looked down at her. She would always remain the feisty five year old in his eyes. He carried her to her bed and gently placed her there. He brought the blanket up to her neck and even tucked in the stuffed lion next to her.
He looked at her once more as he stood at the door way. He narrowed his eyes and put his sunglasses back on before closing the door. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a little black cellular phone and dialed a number. "Rufus."
"Hmmm?" Rufus felt a small vibration in his pocket and lifted up his phone. He flipped it open. "Rude? How's our little Princess?"
"Rufus, we need to talk." Rude stated blandly. The blond male was about to open his mouth when he heard a thump. The bus shook a bit and he narrowed his eyes.
"Sure...can I call you back in a minute?" Rufus asked as he looked up.
"Make it fast." Rude said before hanging up. Rufus flipped his phone closed and slipped it back into his pocket. He walked over to where Elena was sleeping and nudged her awake.
"Elena," he mumbled. "Elena, get up!"
"What?" she groaned, annoyed.
"I heard a noise." Rufus told her. The blond female stood up and looked around, her eyes narrowed.
"Uh...okay?" She rubbed her eyes and grabbed her gun. Rufus opened the door and headed down to the driver's area. Reno was snoring, reclined on the driver's seat. "Get up!" She kicked his leg and Reno jumped awake.
"What? What? What's going on?" he gasped. Rufus reached over and pulled the lever to open the door.
"I heard something outside," Rufus said as he stood on the steps. "Elena and I will go check it out. You stay here and keep an eye out." Reno nodded as the two blondes exited the bus. Reno immediately closed the doors.
Upstairs, the emergency hatch on the ceiling opened. Quietly, a petite, short haired girl slipped into the vacant kitchen area and grinned. She landed quietly and headed towards the front of the bus. She opened the door to the driver's area and looked down. The red head driver was mumbling something in a half sleepy daze.
Giggling to herself, she sneaked down until she was right next to him and tapped his shoulder. Reno turned around. He jerked his head back and almost fell off his seat as he came face to face with a brightly smiling face. "Hey, who are you?"
"Yuffie," she answered brightly. She pulled back her arm and slammed it into his face. Reno's eyes widened and his head snapped to the side before slumping forward, unconscious. The girl grinned. "And YOU are knocked out."
Outside, Elena walked towards the front of the bus. It was a dark night and her eyes were still getting used to the lack of light. She held her gun up and pressed herself against the front of the bus as she heard a noise behind the corner. She counted to three and jumped out.
"Hi." A white haired woman greeted passively and Elena's eyes widened as a white cloth was shoved into her gaping mouth. Before she had a chance to move, her gun was ripped from her hands and she was brought to her knees by a quick kick to the shins. She felt the woman tying her with a rope.
Rufus took the back of the bus. As he peeked around the corner, he saw no one and frowned. His gun was still raised and as he looked to see if a window had been opened, he caught a flutter of dark red standing at the top of the bus. "Who the hell are-"
A rag was pressed against his mouth and in a similar move to how he held Nida earlier, the blond Turk was subdued. A tall figure jumped down from the top of bus. "Good job, Raijin."
"No problem, ya know." Raijin said as he dragged the now unconscious Rufus to the side of the road. By the side of the road was a ditch and Fujin had just finished placing a hog tied Elena gently over the weeds in the ditch.
"Red head?" Fujin asked as Rufus' body was rolled down. He landed next to Elena, who was trying to scream, despite her gag.
"Yuffie's taken care of him." the dark haired man said. They looked back towards the bus as it started up. The door opened and a petite young woman jumped up forward.
"Well? Are we going or not?" Yuffie grinned.
Fujin grinned as she, Raijin, and Vincent all headed into the bus. "Barrett's taking the transport back to Esthar City," Vincent said. He glanced at Fujin and Raijin as they began ascending the steps to the main part of the bus. "Go check on those guys. Make sure they're all there."
"Affirmative," Fujin said. She opened the door and walked inside. Suddenly, the bus lurched to a start. "Yuffie!"
"Sorry!" a voice piped from downstairs. The bus began to move and the door to the bedroom opened. Seifer walked out, yawning and rubbing his head.
"What the hell is going on out here-" he froze as his eyes widened. "Fujin! Raijin?"
"Surprise." Fujin grinned.
"We're here to rescue you, ya know!" Raijin said as he sat back on one of the seats. Fujin nodded.
"Just you two?" Irvine joined Seifer and stretched. "Hey..." he said as he gaze the two new comers a lazy grin. "Haven't seen you two in a while. Centran fishing lost it's allure? When did you take up rescuing?"
"When they were ordered to." a deep voice said. Their attention went to the darkly dressed man and Seifer narrowed his eyes.
"Vincent," he spat out. "Nice to see you again."
"Hello to you, too, Seifer..." Vincent rolled his eyes. "Still haven't gotten over it, I see."
"Who the hell are you?" Squall asked. He stumbled out, dressed in the jeans he had worn that day and a tank top. He gave a nod to Fujin and Raijin. They were old friends of Seifer. He looked at the tall blond. "Do you know him?"
"Vincent Valentine," the man said as he walked towards them smoothly, despite the rocky movement of the bus. "Quistis Trepe sent me," Seifer opened his mouth to talk, but Vincent cut him off. "And she called ME. I am not, nor have I ever been attracted to Quistis. And I thought I already apologized about that black eye."
"Black...eye?" Irvine began to grin from ear to ear. The only time Seifer had gotten a black eye was from that night when he got into a fight with one of Quistis' law student classmates. He thought they were having an affair when the classmate had just saved her life. Irvine began to laugh.
"Hey shut up!" Seifer snapped.
"So where are we going?" Squall asked.
"To Deling City. Rinoa's father took her back there and, if I'm correct, she's going to be married tomorrow night," Vincent said, earning him a wide eyed look from Squall. "We have to stop her."
"How are we going to get there in time?" Irvine asked.
Vincent walked over to the window and pulled apart the curtains. Parked in the middle of the deserted road was a jet with Highwind written across the side. "That's how."
A.N. - I completely forgot about those guys from Advent Children. So I thought I'd use them. How will Squall and the others save Rinoa? Will she end up getting married? And to which son?