Right Hand of Evil
By generalquistis
Chapter Six
oOoOo
By nine in the evening, Rufus was finished with his new business and marketing plans.
"You sure worked fast today." Tifa said with a pleased look on her face. She had been reading as he was typing and she was impressed by his work. "When are you planning to discuss those with your executives?" she asked.
He smiled slightly. "Not anymore. They'll just reject the ideas and I don't want to hear what they have to say about mine for now. I'll just give these plans to their respective departments. I'm sure Palmer, Heidegger, Scarlet, Reeve and Hojo can read. I wouldn't want any questions from them. Besides, I have instructed in a note in all the documents that I have printed for them that everything that I will say should be implemented immediately." He explained with a proud look on his face before hiding Tifa under his desk and pressed a button. "Urgent material to be delivered to all department heads." He announced.
In a jiffy, Rude, Reno, Elena and Tseng arrived.
Rufus motioned for them to take the sealed big brown envelopes piled on his desk. "And I want the chopper prepared around 9 in the morning tomorrow. I'll be going back to Midgar." He instructed.
"Yes, sir." The four answered before leaving.
Rufus waited until they have fully exited before putting Tifa on the table again. "I thought you're talking to Sephiroth tonight?" she asked.
"I am." He said as he got up to leave his office and proceeded back to his bedroom. "But you didn't specify to him where?" she asked.
"In my room." He told her.
"Your room?" she asked in disbelief.
"Just like before. We always talk in my room." He told her.
Tifa looked at him uncomfortably. "Aren't you afraid of what other people might think?" she asked.
"As long as we're not doing anything bad, I don't care." He told her coolly. "And as far as I'm concerned, he's not a homosexual. Trust me. I've been friends with him for a long time already." He said seriously.
She eyed him.
He glared at her. "And I'm not gay in case that's what you're thinking." He told her.
She shrugged. "I didn't say anything… although I've noticed that you have a lot of facial and skin care and hair products in your bathroom and dresser…" she began with a silly smile on her face, meaning to tease him.
"Haven't you heard of the term metrosexual?" he asked airily.
"Of course I know that, Rufus. I'm not that stupid." She said, crossing her arms. "I was just playing with you." She said.
"Well I'm not in the mood for games tonight…" he breathed in. "not now that I'm concerned about our lives…" he muttered.
"You are?" she asked, surprised at him.
"We are going to talk to Sephiroth, right? If I say something wrong that can provoke his crazy mind, he might snap and in one slash with his Masamune, we're both dead." He muttered.
"Oh yes, and don't forget to discourage him from summoning the weapons. Remember what the Diamond Weapon had done to you?" she reminded him.
He shuddered. "Blimey… I'll make sure he changes his mind about his plans…" he muttered s they finally reached his room. He opened the door, stepped inside and switched on the lights.
He wasn't surprised to see Sephiroth seated by his window, waiting with his arms crossed. The Masamune was leaning against the wall beside the window. "Good evening, Sephiroth." Rufus greeted coolly as he shut the door.
Sephiroth stared at him and at Tifa. "I don't know if that's a puppet or not but you still owe me an explanation." He said.
Rufus and Tifa both know that Sephiroth might now understand anything if they tell him that they both came from the future… "To tell you the truth, she is just a puppet and I am her ventriloquist." Rufus told him.
Sephiroth stared at Tifa, then back to Rufus. "At least I can be assured that I'm not really insane?" he asked.
"No you're not. I think you're just misunderstood. And remember, this girl on my hand is just a puppet." Rufus said as he sat down on a couch. "So tell me what's bothering you…" he began.
oOoOo
Tifa and Rufus were surprised themselves that they got Sephiroth to blab about what's bothering him. By the third hour from when he began to talk, Tifa was already beginning to feel sleepy.
Rufus, surprisingly, was still all-ears to Sephiroth. This also surprised him because usually he would have just spaced out and would mind the time. He turned to Tifa to see any reaction from her, but her eyes were already closed. He just decided to let her sleep. By doing so, he and Sephiroth could continue conversing without her even bothering to listen. Maybe then he could open up even more serious topics.
Sephiroth sighed heavily, finishing his last sentence.
Rufus just stared at him.
"Well?" Sephiroth asked.
"But did you start summoning those Weapons already?" Rufus asked.
Silence.
"…yes." Sephiroth said.
Rufus's eyes widened.
"I'm just joking." Sephiroth said with a sly smile on his face.
Rufus stiffened. "You bastard!" he snapped.
"Mwahahah!" Sephiroth just laughed at him.
Silence.
"So what are you planning to do now?" Rufus asked.
"I don't know what got into your head and you decided to talk to me but… thanks." Sephiroth said with a sheepish look on his face, lowering his gaze to the floor.
"What are good friends for?" Rufus asked, shrugging.
"But I killed people… and caused trouble. I even killed your father for crying out loud." Sephiroth told him.
"I won't tell them you're here or where you plan to go." Rufus said. "Tell you what, you can stay in one of my residences in Costa del Sol." He urged.
Sephiroth frowned at him "Are you kidding me? Hojo is currently in Costa del Sol right now." He told him.
Rufus frowned, "Oh. Yes. That second-rate scientist…" he muttered.
Sephiroth clenched his fists. "I want to kill that bastard…" he muttered.
Rufus was about to oblige to his idea, but stopped himself. "He won't be there any longer. I've had things delivered to his lab in Midgar and I expect those plans to be implemented immediately. If he doesn't oblige, he shall be punished." He said.
"Oooh. Can I be the one to punish him?" Sephiroth asked with an evil grin.
Rufus just stared at him with a serious look on his face. "Are you still pursuing the Promised Land?" he asked, not wanting to answer the question.
Sephiroth shook his head. "Nah. I suddenly lost interest, thanks to you." He replied.
Rufus was not sure whether he was being sarcastic or not but he just shrugged it off and told Sephiroth, "Now if you'd be nice enough to do me a favor…" he began.
Sephiroth looked at him. "Shoot." He urged, staring at the "puppet" attached to Rufus's hand. "That sure looks real… like that girl herself." He said.
Rufus just shrugged. "Of course. Only the finest puppets for me." He fibbed, rolling his eyes before proceeding, "I need something from Aerith Gainsborough."
Sephiroth eyed him carefully. "You talked me out of destroying the Planet and now you want the White Materia for yourself?" he demanded in disbelief.
"No, no, you misunderstood. I don't need the White Materia from her. I need the pink ribbon on her hair." Rufus stated flatly.
Sephiroth guffawed. "Mwahahahah!" It was so loud that Tifa woke up. He stopped laughing and pointed at her, "Nice move there, Rufus. Making your puppet wake up. Cool. Can you make it talk again?" he asked.
Silence.
Tifa blinked. "No." she heard Rufus reply. She looked up at him. "What's going on?" she asked him.
Rufus ignored her and kept his eyes on Sephiroth. "I'm serious. I need that ribbon." He said.
"Why?" Sephiroth asked with a ridiculous look on his face. "You can buy that ribbon somewhere else." He pointed out.
"I want… my little puppet here to have a pretty pink ribbon on her hair!" Rufus said, trying to sound pleasant.
Sephiroth thought that Rufus was the one losing it and not him. "I don't think so." He said with a disapproving look on his face.
Rufus eyed him. "I know what you're thinking. You think I'm insane." He pointed out.
"Yes I think so." Sephiroth admitted and he got up. "And for a moment you must've thought you had me fooled! Not this time, ShinRa!" Sephiroth snapped at him.
Rufus just stared at him in disbelief, same with Tifa.
Sephiroth guffawed again. "Damn! I just love your reaction!" he cheered.
Rufus and Tifa breathed out; they though that they would die at the instant Sephiroth got up.
"I was just kidding, Rufus," Sephiroth told him with a reassuring look on his face and pointed at the "puppet". "Interesting. She also reacted. Where'd you get that puppet anyway?" he asked.
"It's from one of my nieces… she's the daughter of a very distant cousin. She left it during one of the family reunions and I decided to keep it." Rufus fibbed.
Sephiroth just nodded. "Anyway, I'll see what I can do about that ribbon without them thinking that I'm out to kill her." He said as he walked to door and stopped in his tracks.
Silence.
"I thought you were leaving?" Rufus asked, perplexed.
"Eh… I forgot that I couldn't pass through there. Otherwise, I'll get caught." Sephiroth muttered.
"Then go through the window." Rufus suggested.
"Can't do that anymore. Can't I just spend the night here? I'll sleep on the floor." Sephiroth said.
Rufus stiffened and eyed Tifa as if searching for an answer in her. She just looked at him like saying "I don't know…" His frown deepened as he turned back to Sephiroth. "Sure. What are friends for?" he said, giving up; figuring that he needed to act extra-nice towards Sephiroth.
Sephiroth smiled at him, pleased. "Thanks, buddy." He said before rushing to the bed and plopped down there. "Aaah." He said in ecstasy.
Rufus stared at him horridly. "Get off my bed!" he snapped.
But Sephiroth has closed his eyes already and was already snoring.
Rufus clenched his jaw. "Blimey! Where are we going to sleep now?" he muttered to Tifa.
She shrugged. "The couch, perhaps?" she asked.
"I'm a ShinRa. I don't sleep on couches." He muttered to her.
"But you can't sleep beside that big man over there. I'd deem it wrong." She told him with a playful tone.
Rufus just stared indifferently at her as he proceeded to the bathroom. "Close your eyes." He muttered.
"Why are we going to the bathroom?" she asked before shutting her eyes.
"I'll change into my sleepwear and then you'll change into yours too before we sleep on the couch." He stated flatly.
oOoOo
The sound of his mobile phone ringing woke him up. Hojo lazily reached for his phone and answered the call, "Who's this?" he answered as he glared at the digital clock resting on his bedside table in the bedroom of his penthouse in Costa del Sol.
"Professor Hojo, an urgent package arrived just tonight here in your lab in Midgar. It's from the President." The voice from the other line told him.
Hojo grunted. "Is it that urgent?" he asked impatiently.
"Yes, sir."
He hung up. "Looks like I have to go back to Midgar immediately…" he muttered miserably to himself as he got off the bed.
Hojo had to pay an expensive price for a ship to take him to Midgar, but it did not seem to bother him because he has enough cash thanks to the late Old Man ShinRa's support to him. By 5 in the morning, he arrived in Midgar and he went straight to the HQ with a cab. As soon as he got to the building, he went straight to his laboratory and walked to his desk, seeing the package. Upon opening it, he sat down and began to read it carefully.
And he did not like what he had read there.
"This kid has no leadership skills." He was thinking to himself before sending the document to the paper shredder and then turned to his PC and switched it on. "Looks like I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands…" he said to himself.
oOoOo
The next day, by 9 in the morning, Rufus was back in Midgar. Since he did not want anybody recognizing Sephiroth, he made him wear a Second Class SOLDIER's uniform and told everyone that he was an intern and he had chosen this "intern" to be his personal bodyguard; and when anybody would ask for Sephiroth's name, he would reply "Valentine."
Sephiroth thought it was a cheesy name-slash-surname but Tifa insisted that he took that name because of the Lucrecia thing with Vincent, and Lucrecia is his real mother. Sephiroth wanted for her to elaborate on Lucrecia but Rufus said that they would not tell him unless he helped them with Aerith's ribbon.
Sephiroth wanted so bad to learn about Lucrecia so he decided to just oblige.
Upon arrival in Midgar, Rufus decided to call for his executives for a meeting. During the meeting, he was taking down notes on a notepad regarding his executives' reports… with his left hand.
The executives were surprised because they did not know that Rufus was ambidextrous.
But he's not.
They just could not see that his handwriting with his left hand looked like a 5 year-old child's scrawl.
Rufus took note of who were there: Reeve, Scarlet, Heidegger and Palmer.
Hojo was missing.
"Where is Hojo?" he asked, interrupting Heidegger's report.
Heidegger exchanged glances with his Scarlet, Reeve and Palmer before turning back to Rufus. "We don't know, sir. He was not in his lab this morning although the receptionist claimed that he has been here ever since dawn." He explained.
Rufus just took a deep breath and impatiently tapped his pen on the table. "Never mind. Go on with your report." He instructed flatly.
oOoOo
Sephiroth reached Sector 7, realizing that the rebuilding process was already starting. "Rufus is going to be pleased to hear about this…" he thought to himself as he continued to walk, patrolling around. "I wonder where Cloud and Aerith are staying right now…" he thought as he stopped walking. He decided to turn back. "Looks like I have to be wandering around in Sector 6… and if I don't find them, I'll search around the Planet." He said to himself with a sly smile on his face before walking off.
oOoOo
"Meeting adjourned." Rufus said with a stiff look on his face.
It was past 1 in the afternoon and the executives thought that the meeting would never end. They could tell that Rufus was not in a good mood because he hardly said anything. It was like he just sat on that meeting that lasted for more than two hours and just listened, paid attention to detail, wrote in his notebook and doodled.
They wondered if his attention span was really that long.
"And tell Hojo that if he doesn't show up on the next meeting tomorrow, I'll be firing him. Make sure he locates a new power source by tomorrow." Rufus commanded with an impatient look on his face as he got up from his seat, took his notes and exited.
Rufus went straight to his office and took a deep breath before unwinding the bandages from his right "hand". "I felt that my right hand had fallen asleep." He said with a slight smile on his face.
She yawned once the bandages were completely off from her face. "Well the meeting was boring. You hardly said anything and you did not even remark on their activities!" she told him.
"Well at least we know that Reeve has begun with the rebuilding of Sector 7. It's going to be a huge project for me. And Scarlet did not push through with her Sister Ray project. She wondered how I knew about it and I said I had spies." Rufus said.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.
"Because I felt you falling asleep when Scarlet took the floor." He replied as he sat down comfortably on his seat.
Tifa shrugged, smiling at him, "Did the rest of the meeting go well anyway?" she asked.
"So far so good. But Hojo wasn't there. That bastard. I wonder what he's up to…" Rufus was saying before somebody just barged in. He quickly hid his "right hand" under his desk and stared at the intruder with a surprised look on his face. "…Yes, Tseng?" he asked nonchalantly.
Tseng blinked, wondering why Rufus looked surprised. "Sorry for barging in, President Rufus, but I just received some news from Heidegger that you increased our salaries?" he asked.
Rufus was silent for a while before nodding his head. "Yes." He replied simply.
Tseng bowed down to him for gratitude and respect. "Thank you, President Rufus. The other Turks are also extending their gratitude to you." He said gratefully.
Silence.
"It's part of my… improvement project for ShinRa." Rufus told him reassuringly before motioning for him to exit. "Please leave. I'm busy." He instructed with a frown on his face.
Tseng nodded with a pleased smile on his face before leaving the room.
As soon as Tseng shut the door, Reno, Elena and Rude approached him. "So Boss, you saw anyone?" Reno asked curiously.
Tseng shook his head. "But you heard the voice too, right?" he asked.
"Yeah. It's, like, clearly a girl!" Elena said.
"It's Tifa." Rude told them.
All eyes turned to him. "How do you know it's Tifa?" Tseng asked.
"And who's Tifa?" Elena asked.
Rude just kept quiet.
"We go to the 7th Heaven bar sometimes to have drinks. She's the bartender there. But lately the bar is closed and she's been reported missing by her friends who happen to be members of AVALANCHE." Reno explained casually.
Tseng shrugged. "Well I barged in as planned to surprise them—catch them in the act. But there was no one there. But strangely enough, he placed his right hand underneath his table." He pointed out.
"What? What's he doing?" Elena asked.
"I'm not sure. He's probably holding a phone or something else… but the bandages he used to wrap his injured hand were on the table." Tseng replied.
"Maybe his hand looks hideous. I wonder what really happened to it." She said, thinking about what could have caused Rufus's "hand" problems.
"He said it's caused by an allergy but I don't think I would like to believe him because it's been so long since he got that allergy and there's no proof that he's doing something about it!" Reno told them.
"You're right. And I always hear him talking to a woman especially in his bedroom or whenever he's alone. And I'd catch him sneaking some food from the dinner table and putting it under the table." Elena pointed out.
"He could be giving it to Dark Nation." Tseng said.
"Nope. Dark Nation has her own food and she's always by her bowl eating away from her master." She explained.
Silence.
"And he completely did a complete change on everything here in ShinRa. Increasing our salaries, being nice to employees? That's so… strange. And he's putting up projects to improve the Planet… and he has put a stop to all his dad's previous projects and replaced them with his own!" Reno pointed out.
"Another strange thing is, he didn't announce this to people during his speech. He didn't make promises like other politicians did." Elena said with an amused look on her face.
"The question is, where did he meet that girl and when did he start talking to her?" Tseng asked skeptically with a puzzled look on his face.
"He doesn't have a night life. He doesn't go out. And it's impossible that he went to the slums and met her." Reno explained before his face lit up as an idea flashed into his head. "Hey! Why don't we make him slip out the truth or something?" he asked brightly.
"What?" Elena asked, turning to him.
"Talk about anything under the sun with him and then pop up the question: Hey Prez! Do you have a girlfriend already? Yeah, that should do the trick." He explained with a silly smile on his face.
"As if that will work? Like, President Rufus's brain is well-calculated and he always thinks before he answers!" she protested.
"We haven't tried it yet. Maybe it could work. Elena, you do it." Tseng commanded.
"What? Me?" she cried out in surprise.
"You're the talkative one among us. He would suspect something if it's Rude who just started talking all of a sudden." Tseng urged.
Elena thought for a while before shrugging. "Alright." She said. "But wouldn't it look weird if I just barged in there and started talking? I might piss him off or something," she stated flatly.
"You'll think of something." Reno said, pushing her inside the office again.
Elena looked up at the stairs and breathed in before running up. Once she reached the elevated part of the President's Office where Rufus was staying, she flashed him a happy grin. "Hey, Prez!" she greeted happily.
Rufus was surprised. Elena noticed that he placed his hand under the table again. "Yes, Elena?" Rufus asked, trying to sound casual.
Elena blinked and giggled. "Oh. You know, I'm just here to… uh… thank you personally. You know as Turks we're quite underpaid by your father and oh my gawd, I'm sorry about your dad, it must be hard losing a dad like that but anyway I think I heard somewhere that you don't like your dad or something but anyway, that's sad because you're his only son and you hated him or something but oh well whatever don't mind me I just heard about it and it's just plain gossip I guess because you don't seem to be a mean person like what other people think and you know what when I heard about bad stuff being whispered by mean people during your inauguration in Junon I wanted to prove them wrong because they just don't see the big picture that you're a nice man after all and you're the best President ShinRa and this city could ever have! Heehee!"
Rufus and Tifa were stunned. "…Oh." Was all he could respond.
Tifa pursed her lips, rolling her eyes. "She really talks too much!" she thought to herself as Rufus kept her hidden under the table, resting her on his lap.
Elena realized what she had done and she felt sheepish. "Like, oh my gawd! Did I do it again? Like, you know, talk too much? Like, oh my gawd, please don't tell Boss Tseng because he'll get mad and don't let Reno know because he'll tease me to death and when he teases me he really bugs me because you know he really likes to bug me and I don't know why but probably because I'm a girl and he's a male chauvinist pig and maybe because I'm a newbie too and he never leaves me alone sometimes like he constantly annoys me like I'm the only 'annoyable' person in this building like hey why can't he annoy Tseng or Rude instead or even Scarlet? Like, oh my gawd…" she stopped herself.
Rufus looked down to Tifa as if asking "What am I going to say?" but she just shrugged and mouthed, "Whatever!" With that, he turned back to Elena with a slight smile on his face. "Well… maybe Reno likes you? That's why he likes to annoy you?" he asked.
Silence.
"I don't know if this is the right time to react but I think it's a good opportunity to manipulate the situation…" Elena was thinking to herself. "Like, ew? Why would he even like me?" she asked, flipping her hair and sitting down on the new couch facing Rufus's desk. "Gee, cool couch! Now this office looks more accommodating compared to the time when your dad was here! Teehee!" she said happily.
Rufus blinked. "Well… sometimes boys do that… they make fun of the girls… but really, they like girls. Or something like that. It's human psychology." He told her rather uncomfortably.
"What about you, sir, do you do that?" Elena asked.
"What is wrong with her?" both Rufus and Tifa were thinking to themselves.
"It's none of your business." Rufus replied simply.
Silence.
"You're really the coolest President around here, sir." Elena said, losing track of the situation all of a sudden.
"I am the only President around here, Elena." Rufus pointed out with a cold look on his face.
"I mean, you're so cool that you changed everything here. Are you inspired or something?" she asked.
"What do you mean, inspired?" he asked with a frown on his face.
"By a girl or something?" she pointed out directly. She clearly noticed his jaw clench.
Tifa bit her lower lip, feeling nervous all of a sudden.
"What?" Rufus asked. Elena and Tifa clearly heard that he choked on his reply but he just swallowed hard.
"Like, you know, you have a girlfriend or something?" Elena asked happily as she got up from the couch.
"Girlfriend?" Rufus asked.
"Good. I've caught him off-guard!" Elena thought victoriously before proceeding to elaborate, "Heehee! Don't worry sir, you can tell me everything! I know I'm talkative and all but I can keep secrets! Teehee! Do you have a girlfriend? Coz you know if you have one but you're hiding her or something, well I think there's nothing to hide about because your dad's gone and even if she's not from your caste no one would mind! I wouldn't! We Turks won't mind! In fact we can help you too! Teehee!" she giggled.
"I don't have a girlfriend." Rufus replied sternly. But he could feel the blood rushing up to his face. Tifa felt him getting warmer and she looked up at him. Her jaw dropped and she gasped slightly, "Blimey! Don't blush!" she whispered softly in a voice audible enough for only herself to hear.
But he did.
Elena raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Okay. Sorry if I bothered you, sir. But in case you want someone to talk to, we Turks are just here." She said happily before leaving.
As soon as Rufus heard the door from the lower part of the 70th floor close, he leaned back on his seat, breathing out in shock. "Blimey! I thought I'd die! They're suspecting something, Tifa!" he told her.
"Why? I'm not your girlfriend, am I?" she asked innocently, wondering why Rufus was suddenly bothered so much by the situation.
"Well maybe they think you are because maybe they heard me talking to you and they even heard your voice." He replied through a clenched jaw.
She just laughed at him, "Why should you even be bothered by something that isn't true?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
He listened to her laughter and just shook his head. "I just don't like… the people to think about wrong things about me." He said before he got up. "Now let's have lunch. I'm famished." He told her.
oOoOo
After hearing Elena's report on the incident, the other Turks were stunned.
"This is the first time he has ever blushed when that question was asked of him. It means it's true. He has a girlfriend!" Tseng formulated.
"Whaddya mean?" Elena asked in surprise.
"When his father was still alive, his father's friends would ask Rufus if he has a girlfriend already. Rufus would angrily say no like it's the most offensive question anyone could ever ask him." Tseng pointed out.
"Oh yeaaah! I remember during one of his birthday parties that his dad had arranged for him, there were a bunch of old men… probably his dad's friends… and they asked him if he has a girlfriend and if he has bed her already and stuff like that. Rufus was really ticked-off by the question." Reno said with a silly smile on his face.
Rude was just quiet, listening to them.
"Okay so what are we going to do about his girlfriend-hiding situation?" Elena asked, rolling her eyes with a silly smile on her face. They could tell she was thrilled to know that the President has a girlfriend. She found it rather sweet and cute that the President was hiding something from them all along.
"First we won't tell the others. We'll keep it confidential… just us Turks." Tseng told them.
"But don't you think we have to gain the President's trust on this? I mean one day might arrive and he finds out that we knew all along and then he'll get pissed at us and fire us!" Elena pointed out.
"Oh but how do we tell him, like 'Hey Prez! Heard you got a girlfriend! Don't worry we won't tell the others! Teehee!'" Reno said mockingly as he laughed in the process, trying to imitate Elena's tone and voice.
Elena just sneered at him. "You never really lose the nerve to annoy me, you…" she looked away, crossing her arms. Then her facial expression hardened when she recalled what Rufus had told her about men annoying women as a way to conceal their true feelings from them. And she could not help but blush.
"Let's talk about this some other time. I've got an errand to run." Tseng said as he glanced at his wrist watch. With that, he walked away from them. "Meeting tonight at 9." He reminded them.
"Yessir!" Elena was the only one who answered. She turned to Reno and Rude. "I'm gonna be in the lounge chillin'." She said with a smile on her face before walking away.
Reno watched as she walked away until she got to the elevator. He turned to Rude. "So, you wanna patrol around?" he asked.
Rude just kept quiet.
"You've been quiet ever since it started." Reno pointed out.
Rude just bowed down his head. "Let's go." He said, agreeing to patrol around, leading the way.
Reno began to think about the situation until he finally got it. "You wanna go to the 7th Heaven?" he asked probingly.
Rude shook his head.
"You have a crush on Tifa, don't you?" Reno asked with a silly smile on his face.
Rude turned to Reno and pointed an accusing finger at him. "I'll pretend you didn't say anything. And if you blab to the others about this, I'll make sure they find out that you have a crush on Elena." He said with a hard tone.
Silence.
Reno just cleared his throat and laughed. "Eheh. Okay… Heheh…" he said before patting Rude's back. "Come on, we're buddies! You sound like you don't trust me." He said slyly as they began to walk again.
Rude just smiled slightly at him but did not say anything more. He was just glad that Reno was there to understand him.