I'm back with more chappies. (Crickets chirp) Yeah the enthusiasm I get from you people is great. ANYWAYS I'm proud to present to all of you the next chapter of All for Revenge. Hope you like it.
Don't own FF7, I'm not cool enough. But I do have a beta (Nando the RPS king) who reads over my stuff, which is even cooler. He also helped me with the chapter title. Read his stuff and he'll love me and you…probably.
Chapter 7: Rude, Ladies' Man In Training
As the last of Tifa's bandages were removed by Dr. Jones she sighed contently. It had been a real pain for the few days she had had to deal with them because of Reno's Electro-Mag stick. Reflecting back on it, she realized that he'd really been holding back. She'd have to be extra careful if she ever had to fight with him again.
"I hear you got a date tonight," the doctor said casually. "With Rude no less."
Tifa stiffened and laughed nervously. "Yeah, well I don't know how serious it is. We only just met. He's probably just being friendly." She slipped her shirt back on and began to button it up.
"Being friendly is more than what he usual gives people. I pride myself in knowing a lot of people here in ShinRa and the Turks best of all. Can't count the number of times that one of those guys has pulled the other into my office, either of them barely alive but begging me to help the other first. The Turks deal with things that aren't suited in nightmares, and yet they've survived thanks to each other."
Tifa eyed him warily. Just where was he going with this?
"You seem like the kind of person who thinks you can only count on yourself. I suppose you have your reasons and you probably don't want share them, and I fully respect that, but maybe opening up to your team a little might help."
"I'm going on the date, aren't I?" she snapped a little hotly. She hadn't meant to but the conversation was starting to irritate her. "Sorry. I just…"
"It's quite alright, dear. I know it can be tough to learn to trust others," he replied with a smile. "But I've found that it can be worth the risks… most of the time. Sometimes you get burned yes, but at least you feel something."
She looked at him strangely. Why did she have the impression she was missing something?
"Well anyway, have a good time my dear."
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Tifa wished she could get the discussion she had had with the doctor out of her mind. She felt incredibly uncomfortable about this date as it was. It was strange to think about it but she had to admit that she did like Reno and Rude. She probably would have been good friends with them both if the situation were different in any way. She liked them both, Reno seemed almost like an older brother and Rude … well, the jury was still out on that one. But she couldn't let herself be carried away. As friendly as they were, as much as she liked them both, and as intriguing as Rude was, she had to keep in mind her position. She was out to fight they company they worked for, and she could very well end up fighting either or even both of them.
She couldn't let herself get attached. Of course, it worried her slightly that she felt she had to remind herself of that fact so much.
When Rude came for her she was surprised by his outfit. He was still dressed in his Turk uniform and it was incredibly ruffled up. She thought maybe for a moment that Reno had shaved his head and grown several inches, or even stranger, that Rude was cosplaying as his read haired friend. Suddenly, she felt very self-conscious in her low cut black dress that had slits on both sides up to her knees. She'd never tell him, but she had actually gone shopping just for this outfit for their date. His eyebrows rose a little and she found herself blushing, deeply.
"Bad choice?" she asked.
He immediately shook his head. "It's nice. Beautiful, I mean."
"Oh," she said. She looked away, not wanting him to see how red her face was. Why was she getting so embarrassed? "Thank you."
"Um," he said as he fiddled with something behind his back. He gave her a bouquet that he'd been hiding. It was small, containing only three white lilies but Tifa appreciated it nonetheless. She didn't think she would have been able to handle it if he had given her a dozen roses or something overly romantic like that. Still, it made her stomach flutter in a scary yet comfortable way.
"I didn't know what you'd like," he explained. "I hope it's alright."
"It's wonderful," she said as she put it on her counter. She didn't have a vase to put it in but she told herself that she'd buy one soon. She than looked at him seriously. "I'm not too fancy, am I? I can change. Don't worry; I'm not like most women. I can get in a different outfit in just a few minutes."
He shook his head. "I worked late."
"I see," she said softly.
"Sorry."
"For what?" she asked him.
"This night wasn't supposed to be about work," he explained.
She actually smiled broadly. "Ah, don't worry about it. I understand. We both work for the same place so it's no big secret between us what we do. So, where were you planning to go for dinner?"
"Blue Oyster," he replied. "It's nice… I've heard."
Tifa almost sighed. She would more than willingly bet that Reno had not only encouraged Rude to take her out, but had also planned the whole date for his friend. She didn't know if she was going to have to smack or thank him later. It depended on how well the night would go.
"Well, than let's get going. Or… would you like to freshen up first?"
Rude looked at the state of his clothing and chuckled. It was a nice sound and for no particular reason, she found herself laughing as well.
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The restaurant was more than nice, it was beautiful beyond belief. Despite its name, it wasn't just a seafood place. It had the most expensive foods imaginable and it made Tifa feel a little dumb for not knowing what seventy percent of what the food in the menu even was. Even the silverware and wine glasses looked like if the were to be broken; it would have taken a credit card to pay for one of the broken dishes.
Honestly, she didn't feel comfortable. This wasn't the kind of place for her. She had grown up in the mountains and had been playing soldier for years now. The whole caviar and diamonds thing didn't fit her. Still, she didn't want to look like a country bumpkin in front of her date, so she didn't complain. She took dainty sips from her wine and ordered something she knew wasn't really baby eel in French or Italian. All in all, she tried to ignore her fancy surroundings and pay attention to Rude, whom she had noticed didn't look too comfortable either. He wouldn't even remove his glasses no matter how many tomes she had asked him.
'Score: Hit Reno: one point. Thank him: zero,' she thought to herself.
"So," she began, "how long have you lived here in Midgar?"
Small talk wasn't the best option in the world, but it was really all that she could think of. Besides, it was better than just waiting for the food to get to them in utter silence.
"Few years," he replied.
"Start with the ShinRa immediately, or was it more of a gradual thing?" she tried again, not going to let his short dialogue keep her from trying to make progress.
"Immediately."
"Where are you from originally?"
"Doesn't mat-… Junon."
She gave him a look. She could tell that he was trying but it still wasn't helping much. Why had they left the comfortableness of the date at her home? Was the scenery here really so bad? It couldn't have just been that. He was all out refusing to get in a conversation with her.
"Why'd you ask me out?" she suddenly asked. She wanted to know if it was just because Reno had put him up to it or because he had really wanted to be with her. Either way was fine with her but she wanted a straight answer. Being left in the dark about the entire situation wasn't fair to her, and she was slightly afraid of the consequences if she misunderstood the situation.
Rude seemed a little surprised by the question. "Isn't it obvious?"
"No," she replied with a shake of her head.
"I… wanted to get to know you," he told her.
"But why?" she gently urged.
He looked away and she didn't know if he was going to tell her. Maybe she would have felt like she had pushed too hard if the situation was any different but there was a small voice in the back of her mind telling her she needed to know. Just where did she stand with Rude? And maybe she also wanted to find out where Rude stood with her.
"You're enticing. You seem vulnerable, but you're strong too. You're beautiful but not vain and superficial like the other women I've met. You're intelligent and independent but not afraid of being feminine. It's so refreshing after some of the people I interact with on the job and with Reno. I suppose that I just want more of that- I mean…!"
Tifa looked at him strangely as he trailed off; cutting off his long (for him anyway) confession. Was he blushing at her? But what he had said, did he seriously like her like that? She averted her gaze but she couldn't help but smile and her heart skipped a beat. 'What's wrong with me? Why is this whole ordeal affecting me so much?' She knew she shouldn't feel this way. She knew she should just tell him that any developing feelings of romance between them were hopeless and wasn't going to work out but she found she just didn't want to. She wanted to enjoy this date with him and possibly see where it could go.
She reached across the table and took one of his hands in her own. Though sudden, he didn't pull his hand out of her grasp.
"Rude, I think… that I may just be-"
The ringing of Rude's PHS cut her off. He answered it after an apologetic look and she gave a mental huff.
"Rude here… What?… When?… No problem… And Tifa?…. Affirmative."
The brief conversation confused Tifa, especially when her own name came up. He hung up and stood from the table.
"What is it?" she asked him.
"Work," he replied. "We have to go, the both of us."
He quickly told the hostess that an emergency had come up and the two off them had to leave, and paid for the unserved food and drinks. Tifa found herself back in his car and headed to the ShinRa building before she even had a good grasp of what was going on. All she knew that it wouldn't be best ask Rude, as he was busy speeding down the street and dodging between other cars faster that survival instinct should allow.
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Somehow the two reached the building without crashing and burning to death together in some kind of tearjerker romance ending. Tifa found herself in the last place she had never imagined to be: President ShinRa's office. The place looked as if there had been some kind of struggle from the scruffs of the carpets and a broken window.
She had only ever seen the president once when she had become a soldier for ShinRa. He had made some speech that she hadn't been paying attention to at the time. She'd never met him face-to-face but she could tell that he was angry from his fat, purple face that looked like it was more fat and purple that it usually was. Besides for the three of them, Reno and Tseng were there as well with a skanky looking woman and an even fatter man than the president.
"THIS IS INEXCUSABLE! YOU SAID THAT RENO WOULD TAKE CARE OF THIS!" the president screamed into Tseng's face. "YOU'RE LUCKY THAT I DON'T FIRE YOU, MUCH LESS HAVE YOU EXUCUTED!"
Tifa didn't trust herself to say anything out of fear of getting the man's attention. Tseng looked calm, strangely enough, and didn't show the slightest emotion.
"We underestimated the situation. We thought that Reno might be able to get info from his old friends in the slums about the black market, but apparently the info had already been sold. This was obviously not just a plan by one man to make money, it was a conspiracy," Tseng answered his boss. "I promise the situation was not taken lightly."
"Really?" the woman sneered. "Than what fun were those two having? Or is that slutty dress the uniform now? I certainly hope not cause it's just about to make me throw up."
Tifa almost told the woman to go screw herself but Reno did it first.
"How dare you!" she screeched as the fat man gwuaffed in laughter.
"Reno!" Tseng snapped. "The two were off duty. We weren't aware the situation would need full supervision. Rest assured, this will be remedied immediately."
"It had better be," the president snarled. "Or else."
He nodded and indicated for the others to leave the office. Tifa booked it with the others as quickly as she could without running. She looked at Reno and her boss curiously as she asked them what that whole episode was about when they had finally reached the Turk's floor again. Tseng sighed and sat down at his desk.
"All of Midgar has been lied to, Miss Lockheart. Mr. Boir was not in the job that the news has stated he was in. He was a security guard that had stolen information on the security to the building, namely, the president's office," Tseng explained. "We thought it was simply because it was the only data he thought he could get at his position without getting caught so we didn't pay it much more mind than sending Reno, who is our attachment to the market, to try and track it down. Unfortunately, nothing came up. We didn't want to spread around that the information was out there, so we mislead the news into telling the public about the missing weapons. We figured while anyone who was interested in fighting against ShinRa would be searching for that, and find nothing, it would give Reno plenty of time to recover the what we were really looking for."
"But it wasn't just random theft?" Tifa confirmed. "It was done intentionally without any dealings in the market. That's why Reno didn't find anything?"
"Apparently it was sold directly from Bloir to our suspect. The security data was used for some body to get in the office of President ShinRa to try to kill him. Luckily, Reno and I were both there at the time to give a report and were able to sustain the assassin. He answered some question about how he was hired to go after the president but he isn't saying who hired him. We think it was the same person that bought the info in the first place but we don't know for sure. Mr. Bloir isn't talking either."
Tifa stood there, trying to digest all of this new information. She was a little angry that she hadn't known about it beforehand but she understood why Tseng had kept it to Reno. But if that was the case, than why were they telling her this now?
"So, what now, sir?" she asked.
"Now, we find whatever idiot was dumb enough to think he could mess with the Turks and kick their ass Tif'. You shoulda known that at least," Reno replied with a grin. "From now on, you're with me trying to find out who's behind this while Rude will play babysitter for the president. Fun, huh?"
"For now just go home." Tseng drew back Tifa's attention. "You'll be told of your official assignments when you come in tomorrow."
"Yes sir," she replied with a nod and left the office. As she pushed the button for the elevator, she smiled. This was finally it. She would find the person who wanted the president dead, and she'd make sure that next time they succeeded.
"Tifa."
She whirled around to find to see Rude waiting behind her. In all the talk, she had almost forgot about him. A slight knot of guilt formed in her stomach.
"I'm sorry about the date," he told her.
"It's alright. We can try again later. But… next time let's just go where we want to, okay?"
The elevator's bell rung and she quickly pecked him on the cheek before slipping into the doors and watching them slide shut. She wasn't sure but she thought she had seen him grinning.
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There it is. I was wanting to fit more Tifa/Rude fluff into this but the chapter sort of wrote itself no matter how many times I tried to redirect it to the date. Eventually I just let it stay this way and I guess it worked out. Good thing, 'cause it would've made the rest of the story hard to write if the two had been all lovey dovey on each other.
Please review and I'll love you forever.
