Chapter Eleven

Reno had just seated himself on the couch in the relaxation room when Tseng came before him. "Reno," he said, and Reno sat up instantly. "President Shinra wishes to speak to you."

"Now, yo?"

"Are you busy?" Tseng asked drily.

"No…"

"Then yes, now."

"Sure thing." He jumped to his feet. Tseng inclined his head and walked away. Running a hand through his hair, Reno headed for the hallway that led to the room Rufus spent most of his time in these days. He gave a brief knock before striding right on in without waiting on an invitation.

Letting out a sigh, Rufus turned in his chair to look at him.

"What's up, boss?" Reno threw himself in a chair opposite the desk and looked at the man now eyeing him with clear practiced patience.

"I have a job for you."

"Name it, yo." Reno ran a hand through his hair, looking at Rufus. His boss leaned forward on his desk, leaning on his elbows.

"We are increasing our efforts to find a cure for Geostigma."

"Right…" Reno nodded, watching as Rufus tugged his sleeves down slightly. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Yes."

Reno nodded again, looking Rufus over. Sometimes when his boss was acting a little weirdly, he would suddenly find himself talking to Rufus, who could oftentimes just be his friend. It was clear, however, that right now, he was speaking to his superior. "Okay…"

Rufus let out a deep breath. "Tseng tells me that Elena knows an apothecary woman with some skill… I want you to look into her."

Reno felt his blood run cold. So, Aura was on ShinRa's radar. The very thing he had tried to avoid had, after all, been for nothing. "You… Uh… What do you wanna know, yo?"

"If we could trust her." Rufus said, leaning back in his chair, "If we recruit her to work on the cure, would she give us any problems… Some background… The usual…"

"You wanna recruit?"

"Not like we used to." Rufus answered, "We don't have the need we used to have. But, for this… This cure must be our top priority…"

"And despite having the facilities we have… and professional medical officers… you want an apothecary?"

Rufus looked amused for a moment. "I would have thought you of all people saw value in the work people like that do…"

"Oh, I do, yo." Reno nodded, "I just didn't realise you did."

"You should know, Reno." His boss replied, "That I value talent wherever I may find it." Reno didn't reply. That was true enough, and he did know that Rufus did indeed value all kinds of talent from wherever it came. That was one of the things that he liked best about the man. It was one reason that he truly respected Rufus. He supposed that he was just a little shaken by the fact that Aura was now a focus of his attention.

"Right… So… The apothecary. The usual background… all that stuff."

"All that stuff." Rufus agreed. Reno knew that he was dismissed, yet he remained in his chair, not quite ready to leave. Rufus just looked at him, waiting for him to speak. When he did not, the blond raised an eyebrow and leaned forward on his desk. "Do you have a question, Reno?"

"If she passes… I mean, if I don't find anything wrong with her… What do you want to do…?"

"You're to bring her here, and I'll speak with her."

"Yes, sir." Reno nodded, his mind racing. If Aura was made a ShinRa employee, then he wouldn't have to hide his connection to her. He would openly be able to spend time with her. He could see her more often. She would be able to afford a decent life. Getting to his feet, he walked absently for the door and headed outside.

There was a danger to the possibility, however. Now was not really the best time to be a ShinRa employee. Aura could defend herself a little, he had made sure of that. But, she couldn't fight like he could. She wasn't properly trained. If someone attacked her, she could be killed. Standing outside, Reno looked up at the sky. Did he want Aura working for Rufus? She had seen a lot of horrible things in the slums. He knew that. But since working for ShinRa, Reno had seen and, in fact, done a whole lot more of these things. Now, while Aura would likely not be expected to do a lot of the things he did, she would also lose a lot of her choices about what she did do.

He couldn't make that decision for her, he realised. So, setting off for the town, Reno resolved to talk to Aura and ask her what she wanted to do.

Elena walked into the training room and knelt down to tighten her shoelaces. It had been a while since she had had a proper workout. Despite not being as busy as they used to be, she still found that things always got in the way. Not wanting to lose her skills, she had promised herself that she would practice at least once every two days. Even if just to maintain her fitness.

"Elena…"

Looking up, Elena's voice caught in her throat, preventing her reply.

"Come and spar with me." Tseng said, heading for the mat by the far wall. Getting to her feet, Elena trailed behind him, watching as he pulled his long dark hair back and tied it. When he reached the centre, he turned to face her and Elena couldn't help looking him over. Gone was the usual immaculate suit, and in its place more relaxed casual wear. Through the loose shirt she could definitely make out the toned body he usually kept hidden. Looking away quickly, Elena prayed that her thoughts hadn't been visible on her face. That was the last thing she needed. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

Taking her jacket off, Elena straightened her shirt and turned to face him more properly. "I'm ready." Tseng moved into a defensive stance and looked at her. Knowing he wanted her to attack him, she balanced herself before she quickly did so. He moved like lightening. She had forgotten just how fast he was, and before long she had become so distracted being in awe of how fantastic he was, and then she was on her back on the mat looking up at him.

"Focus, Elena." He told her.

"Yes, sir." She answered, getting to her feet and turning to face him once more. He resumed his defensive position and Elena attacked again. He blocked her every attempt and before she knew it she was defending as he advanced upon her. Being unprepared for the sudden shift, Elena was trying hard enough to keep her balance as she fought to keep up with him. A moment later she was on her back again.

"Are you out of practice, Elena?"

"No, sir." She ground out between her clenched teeth as she got to her feet once again. She would not let herself look like an untrained rookie. She was damn good at hand to hand, and he knew it.

"Good, then show me."

She leaped at him, trying to catch him unprepared, but Tseng was never unprepared. He met her every move, back and forth. Once again he forced Elena into the defensive and she shifted her weight as she attempted to block him. He kept coming at her and Elena was forced back further across the mat. Ducking as his fist came at her head, Elena let out a slight cry as she was lifted off her feet and then somehow was once again on her back with Tseng pressing her into the mat. She didn't know how it had happened. He was too fast.

Blinking at him in surprise, she tried to ignore her breath catching in her throat. A piece of his hair had come free of the tie and now fell about his face as he looked silently at her, and Elena wanted to take it between her fingers. Feeling the heat in her cheeks, Elena also tried to ignore how pleasant it felt to have Tseng's body pressing down on her the way it was. It was just the exercise. Definitely had nothing to do his firm body against hers. Definitely.

Tseng suddenly made a soft noise in his throat and quickly got off her. "… Good job, Elena." He murmured.

"You swept the floor with me three times…" She replied, getting to her feet indignantly. He flashed her a rare smile.

"You still lasted longer than most."

Rolling her shoulder, Elena nodded slightly. "I guess I'll take that…"

"Good." Tseng answered, "I'll expect you changed and back to work within the hour."

"Yes, sir." She murmured, heading for the showers.

Aura frowned when Reno said nothing. He had walked into her house the instant she had opened the door, seated himself upon her couch, and said nothing.

"…Is this about being at the bar?"

He just shook his head, still not saying anything. Aura began to get scared. As if sensing that, Reno looked up at her. "I have… to talk to you about something…"

"So talk…" she breathed.

"So, my boss knows about you…"

"Rufus Shinra…"

"Yes. After Elena introduced you to Tseng and Rude… Word got back to Rufus that Elena knows an Apothecary. Now Rufus wants me to look into the possibility of you working for him to create a cure for Geostigma."

Aura just stared at him, waiting for her brain to catch up to what Reno was saying. Work for ShinRa? It was ShinRa's fault that her father had died. Half the horror she had seen under the Plate had been because of ShinRa. But, she reasoned, ShinRa was the reason that she and Reno were alive today. She doubted very much that they would have survived long without Reno getting work with them.

"It's up to you." Reno told her.

"I don't know." She replied softly. "I… I just don't …" She ran her hands through her hair. "Reno… How do I even think about that…?"

"Just… Weigh everything…" He told her gently. "If you agree with Rufus… You will be a part of ShinRa. Everything that has been going on lately will include you. People won't be as friendly. It will be dangerous." He looked at her, "But… You will have access to a lab. Ingredients. You will be able to make your potions and anything else you want. You will work on a cure for Geostigma. You may even develop it." He smiled gently, "And I would get to see you every day."

Aura smiled back.

"You…" He frowned for a second, "You will want to negotiate with him. Rufus respects that. " He looked at her, "No matter what his offer is, counter it. Make your own demands."

"He doesn't seem like the type to enjoy being told he can't have what he wants."

"Oh, he doesn't." Reno agreed, "But he respects strength."

"I think I will." Aura said, "I'll work for him." She watched as a strange look passed across Reno's face for a second before it was gone. A moment later he got to his feet.

"Okay. I have to head back."

Aura got to her feet and followed him to the door. "… When…?"

"I'll probably be back tomorrow or the day after." He replied, "I'll have to take you to Rufus then."

"Okay. Be careful." She breathed, reaching out to touch his arm. Reno turned before the door and wrapped his arms around her. Aura's eyes closed immediately as he held her tightly to himself. "You're not comfortable with me working for ShinRa, are you?"

"I just want you to be safe." He answered, his hand moving slowly through her hair. "I tried to keep you away from them for that reason, and now it seems that it's even more dangerous to work for them than to stay away from them…"

Aura leaned into him, wrapping her own arms around his waist. "If I'm working in a lab, then it's not as if I'll be wandering the streets in some obvious uniform, yo."

"I know." His hand stroked her hair softly, "It just worries me."

Aura looked up at him. "Good thing you'll be able to check on me every day, then."

He smiled then. "It is." Releasing her, he stepped back and opened the door. "I'll see you soon."

"I'll be here…" She said as he hurried out the door and onto the street. Closing the door, she locked it carefully and then peered out the curtains to watch as Reno disappeared around the end of the street. Working for ShinRa; not something that she had ever thought she would be doing. The prospect of getting to work in a lab and create things to help people was just too great. She would be able to make so many useful concoctions. ShinRa were sure to have ingredients she had never even been able to get her hands on. It would definitely be worth it, not to mention if she did manage to come up with a cure for Geostigma. Yes, ShinRa was absolutely a risk that she needed to take.

Author's Note:

Thanks for anyone actually reading this.

Especially those who decide to leave a review. xx