Business As Usual:

Chapter 6

By Miyamashi

Miya's Note: Lookie! The chapters have NAMES! (just in the chapter select pop-down) Aren't you proud of me? Oh, and if you want to see a picture of Gerome Pulitz and Malita Cunningham, I'm posting one on my DeviantART account. I'm Miyamashi there, too, so just head over to miyamashi . deviantart . com, minus the spaces.

And oh, wow! Thank you guys so much who reviewed! One more, and this will be my most popular fanfic. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! :D

To Amatsu: Sorry! I did reply to your review in the last chapter, but forgot to save after I did so! (Silly me!) There really isn't enough Runo stuff out there, is there? But, I've been surprised at how many people support the couple! Now, if all of them would just contribute something…:D Thanks for the review!

To Gothic…Err…Kuro Yokai (you changed your name!): Yeah, poor Rufi! Don't worry, I feel sorry for Rude, too.

To Mashimaro-Byul-012: NOOO!!!! Why'd you have to go and say Rude's real name in your review? …Oh well! Life moves on! . I'm glad that you liked it. Reno did deserve that kick, though. Don't worry. He's not hurt too badly.

To pewp: Yeah, I have AIM, but I'm NEVER on it. In fact, I haven't used it in almost two/three years now. I do still want to see your art, though. If you like, you can e-mail them to me, or we can figure something else out! You shouldn't have quit drawing! Never quit! And STOP PUTTING YOURSELF DOWN! Grr. If you want to go with the e-mail route, just put the magic word, SPLEEN, somewhere in the title so that I know what it is and don't delete it. My e-mail is on my profile page. (Spleen? That came from nowhere!)

To roxi: Nothing much to say but "YAY!"

Oh, and Cindie, (my best bud, to those of you who don't know me) Reno flicks his ashes onto you! XD (Don't ask. It's an inside joke.) Aren't you HAPPY?!

No matter how hard he tried, Reno could not sleep. He tossed. He turned. He flipped with his head facing the other end of the bed.

He kicked off the covers. He opened the window.

And he thought.

In the quiet of his room, thinking was all that he could do as his head raced through images of that day, back to images from when he was in SOLDIER…

Pulitz.

He was dead, killed by Reno's own hands, so why wouldn't he go away? Perhaps it was because he was…right?

"Have a puff, Kiribani."

"I don't smoke," Reno murmured aloud as he remembered.

"You do now," Pulitz sneered, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. He handed it to Reno. "Have a puff, or would you like to go back on the streets? I can arrange that."

Reno took the cigarette, inhaling the smoke. Instead of coughing, the smoke coated Reno's throat and lungs soothingly.

"I knew you were a smoker, Kiribani."

"I used to be, but I quit…"

"That's what life is like, Kiribani. You take a drag of the poison and you're hooked. Then, you can never fully turn back--you're already corrupted. One puff and you're as black as the smoke."

"What's the point of this, Pulitz?"

"You think you're something, the way you defy my orders and mouth off all the time. You're not. You're a corrupted pile of shit, Kiribani, and you're no different than me. We're two of a kind, down to the Mako in our blood, down to the last red hairs on our heads."

"We may look similar, Pulitz, but I'm nothing like you." He handed the cigarette back to his boss. Pulitz grabbed his subordinate's hand and put the ember out in his palm. Reno winced.

"I still have that scar, the bastard," Reno grumbled, looking down at his hand. He stood and changed into a shirt and a pair of baggy pants, grabbed the cigarettes that he hadn't been able to quit the second time, and walked out the door, closing it behind him. He lit a cig, taking a puff and flicking the ashes into a potted plant before heading outside and sitting down on the front steps of the Shinra building.

"Maybe I am just like him. Maybe I am corrupted. I'm as black as smoke…as black as sin…"

And, as Reno sat on the stairs, thinking, the doors burst open and two men in lab coats walked out, a white-wrapped bundle between them, and opened a mako vent. As they threw the bundle in to its destruction, Reno could swear that he saw blood on the sheet.

"What the…?"

And the men walked back inside, not even seeming to notice that the Turk was there.

"I think that I like you better this way, boy," Shinra sneered, pulling the bandages on his son's right shoulder tight over the wound. Rufus groaned, his eyes unfocused and the pain next to unbearable. "You're much less obnoxious."

The world spun around Rufus at a dizzying pace, the amount of blood lost from his freshly bleeding gunshot wounds making it harder to stand with each passing moment. Still holding the bandages around the strawberry blonde's shoulder, President Shinra shoved him against the wall. Rufus' head drooped in front of his chest, but he used what little strength he had to pick it up slowly and stare his father in the eye.

The father slammed the son up against the wall a second time, but harder. Rufus' head hit, then fell back down limply. The President let go, and his son slid down the wall, leaving streaks of blood above him.

"Tomorrow morning, back to work, and you had better not be late."

Rufus sat, almost unconscious and slumped against the wall.

Reno put out his cigarette on the step and followed the men into the building.

"It's a shame, really," said the first, a small man with slicked-back brown hair, as Reno slid behind a corner to eavesdrop. "She really was a good doctor."

"Shinra's crazy, I tell you," stated the other man, who was taller and had lighter brown hair and thick glasses.

"I know. I heard that she stood up to him and that's why he shot her," said the small man.

"She was a brave woman, and that's what got her killed. That's why it pays to be submissive to the big-shots, I always say," retorted the man with glasses.

"Especially when it comes to the boss. If we ever stood up to him, he'd do more than just shoot us. She was probably lucky that it was Shinra and not the Professor.

The two men walked off, and Reno couldn't follow without risk of being seen.

"He shot the doctor? Maybe he isn't such a nice guy after all." And the redhead went back to his room, knowing now, more than ever, that he would have a sleepless night.

Rufus awoke slowly to the heat of the sun's morning rays on his face. He opened his eyes slowly, letting the light of day into them. It gave him a headache.

He tried to move, but couldn't even do so much as to pick up his head. He was surprised that he was alive, much less awake, and he sat for a long while, trying to gather up enough strength to crawl to his desk. He finally succeeded in picking his head up and resting it back on the wall, but that was all.

He was going to die. He could feel it in the way that his body refused to respond. Everything hurt. More than anything, Rufus Shinra wished at that moment that death would hurry up and take him away.

He let his head loll back to his side and fell asleep, expecting--hoping--never to wake back up.

And President Shinra stormed into his son's office to find the boy out cold in his place against the wall.

Reno was angry. He had stewed all night in his puddle of hatred and regret, and was now almost to the breaking point.

'Deception,' Reno thought to himself. 'Corrupted in deception. That's what he is…'

As much as Reno had hated Pulitz, he had grown to hate Rufus Shinra even more. The young Vice President was a demon with an angelic face in Reno's mind, his eyes the only things giving away his true disposition.

"He shot her. She did what she could to keep him alive, and he shot her," the redheaded Turk mused aloud. "And here I was thinking that he was actually an okay guy, but he's a bastard. He was almost acting like he was my friend or something, but he…" Reno screamed and flung his pillow at the wall.

There was a knock at the door. Reno stormed to it and opened it up to see Rude standing there.

"Don't take your anger out on me, Reno, but I wanted to tell you that Tseng wants to see us. What are you so pissed about, anyway?"

"Nothing," Reno grumbled, throwing his coat on haphazardly and stepping into the hall.

"You still beating yourself up about letting the V.P. get shot?"

"…No. I'm beating myself up for saving the bastard."

"…What?" Rude shrugged it off. "Well, what Tseng says that he wants to see us about is the V.P."

"Great."

"Reno, I think that you deserve some congratulations on a job well done, as do you, Rude."

Rude nodded. Reno sneered and turned the other direction.

"But the mission has provided us with another problem now," Tseng continued. "Vice President Rufus was taken from his care in the doctor's hands, and has now dropped into a worse state. The president found the boy unconscious against the wall in his office, and the doctor has vanished, most likely killed, as there was blood on the wall that somebody had tried to wash away. We are to figure out exactly what happened."

"Taken from the doctor's care?" asked Reno coldly. "He went willingly, shooting the woman in the process. It's his own damn fault and I want nothing to do with him!"

Tseng paused. "Where did you hear this, Reno?"

"I heard it straight from the men who dumped the body."

Rude gaped.

"It is true that the doctor disappeared, but the Vice President was unarmed, so it is impossible that he shot her."

"But those guys said that she defied him and he killed her."

"That is impossible. Unless somebody else was in the room, there is no way that Rufus could have gotten access to a gun, since weapons are prohibited in the infirmary and the V.P. had lost too much blood to have left to get one," Rude stated, glancing over the mission file.

Reno had a sudden thought. Rude was right. He had seen Rufus only hours before the crisis, and, even then, he had been in no state to get a weapon, fire it, and then leave the room. Then, he remembered something farther back, back to the day that he had first met Rufus.

"'Sir' or "Vice President Rufus' will do, but never call me 'Shinra'."

"Shinra is his father…" the redhead stated aloud.

"What?" Tseng asked.

"It wasn't Rufus, it was the President."

"Reno, that's absurd. The President just found his son this morning."

"Unless he's trying to cover something up, like the fact that he mucked up and almost got his own son killed. Do you know where Rufus is now?"

"Yeah, he's in his room, but…"

"Where is that?"

"On floor seven, but don't…"

And Reno sprinted out of the room, leaving Tseng staring at the empty doorway.

"Who the hell are you?" Asked President Shinra.

"Reno, Sir. I'm a Turk, and I need to interrogate your son about last night's events.

"That is impossible and highly unnecessary," said the President, his voice cold.

"I have strict orders from my boss that I am to interrogate the Vice President, so if you'll excuse me," Reno said nonchalantly, attempting to step past Shinra into Rufus' room, but the large man blocked his path.

"I am your superior as well, Turk, so I suggest you leave and tell your boss that you and the other Turks will have to find a different way. My son is in no condition to speak to anyone."

There was an uncaring, almost loathing tone to Shinra's voice, Reno noticed. The President glared at the Turk, obviously not moving until he was gone. Reno walked off, but just far enough that he was out of sight. He ducked into a closet as the President passed.

"Well, that was the easy part," Reno murmured to himself. "Now I have to get in there and talk to Rufus without getting caught…" He snuck out of the room and slowly opened the door of the Vice President's apartment.

"Whoa, this place is big…"

Reno searched around a bit, opening each door in turn.

"Who's there?" came Rufus' voice from the bedroom as Reno cracked the door. It was like a plea, quiet and almost afraid.

"It's Reno."

"You're not supposed to be in here."

"I know. You're father made sure that I knew that little fact. I've never been a very good listener."

"You need to leave. Your being here is dangerous."

Reno stepped fully into the room. Rufus laid on his enormous bed, looking tired and pale and small. In his eyes was something that Reno had never seen there before. There was an overwhelming sadness, and the intensity of it showed so clearly that Reno could almost feel it himself.

"Was it him?" Reno asked softly.

"You mean my father?"

"Yeah. Was he the one who killed the doctor?"

"Yes. She told him that I shouldn't be taken from her care because I was too weak. He didn't listen. Instead, he killed her so that he wouldn't have to hear it. Then, he brought me up to my office and left me slumped against the wall, and told me to get back to work in the morning. Now, here I am. I'm surprised he didn't let me die."

"Does he hate you that much?"

"Yes."

Reno stood silent as Rufus pushed back the covers and slowly propped himself up on his headboard. He feigned a smile. Reno thought that he looked very thin, almost feminine in build, his shoulders much more narrow than his jacket made it seem. Though Reno knew that Rufus was both taller and less skinny than he was, the blonde somehow seemed the smaller of the two. Reno instantly knew why Rufus wore his coat. It was to make him look bigger. It was hard to imagine this strangely petite man as the threatening, fearful being that he had heard rumors about.

Rufus Shinra looked like a sick child.

"When was the last time you ate?" Reno asked

"I don't know. Not since before I was shot. I know that much."

"You need to eat something."

"I'm…not hungry."

"You still need to eat. You've lost a lot of blood, and if you don't get something in your system, you may die after all."

"…Would that…be so bad? The only reason that I'm alive is to run Shinra Incorporated. There is no other reason, so why should I live?"

"Because I don't think that you're supposed to die yet."

"Why?"

"Because you're too young."

"I've lived quite long enough to tell that there's no purpose to my being here. My life is meaningless."

"That's not true."

It was Rufus' turn to fall silent.

"Listen. Somewhere out there, there's somebody your life has affected. If you died now, you'd be leaving loose threads that never got tied off. You'd be leaving that person without letting them understand exactly who you are."

"And maybe there's not. Maybe there's nobody out there who cares."

"Or maybe it's me."

Rufus laughed. It was an expressionless cackle, void of any trace of happiness. It was the laugh of a monster, and it sent Reno's skin crawling. "You? You don't know anything about me. I'm not the type of person that you want to make friends with. I'm cold, heartless Rufus Shinra, remember? My name is known to many, and those who say it fear it and worship it like the name of a god. My father is not the one that they fear. I am."

"Then they're afraid of the wrong person."

"I'm worse, you know. I'm the real power behind this company. When there's something that needs to be done, I'm the one who gets my hands covered in the dirt and the blood. I'm stained. That white coat that I wear is a direct contrast to who I really am. I'm corrupted."

"I'm as black as smoke…as black as sin…"

"Then, we're two of a kind…"

"Please leave, Reno Kiribani, and let me die in peace."

"No."

"I'm ordering you to leave, Reno."

"I know, but I told you I'm a bad listener."

"I'm just so tired of being here. I just want to go to sleep and never get up. Why won't you give me that?"

"I told you already. You'd be leaving too many loose threads."

"You're not doing me a favor by keeping me alive, if that's what you think."

"Okay, so maybe I'm keeping you alive for purely selfish reasons. You're not the only corrupted one, you know."

Reno walked out, leaving the door open behind him. Rufus stared after him, puzzled.

The redhead walked back in a few minutes later with a box of crackers.

"Now eat."

"You know, I've never been force-fed into staying alive before," Rufus mused, brushing cracker crumbs off of his chest.

"Do you mean that literally or figuratively?"

"I guess both. I'm really mad at you, you know."

"I know. But you're still alive, right?"

"Yeah, thanks to you," sneered the blonde sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

"I thought that I told you that he was in no condition to speak to you."

Reno did a double take, cursing to himself as he spun around to see red. President Shinra was standing in front of him.

"Who are you to defy my orders like that, Turk?"

Reno didn't respond.

Rufus stood slowly, supporting himself with his right arm and wincing in pain as the wound in his shoulder throbbed under the pressure.

"He is here at my request."

Reno gaped.

"Who is he to you, boy?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Father?"

Reno turned to stare at the strawberry blonde. There was mischief in the blue eyes, even though the small man swayed slightly in his weakness.

"Do not play these games with me, Rufus. You are in no condition to face my wrath."

"You won't do anything to me. You need me too much."

"I don't need you for anything."

"But if I die, then you'll actually have to work for a change, and I know how much you hate that."

Reno suddenly understood. Rufus wanted to die out of spite.

Shinra turned Reno around and grabbed him roughly by the collar.

"Leave him be," Rufus growled.

"The Turk is worthless to me, and his death would have no impact on my life whatsoever. Why do you defend him?"

"I said leave him be."

"You act like he's your boyfriend or something, Rufus. Maybe that's why you won't take a wife. Is that it?" Shinra sneered.

"Maybe it is."

"You're lying Rufus. I can see it. You're just trying to make me angry."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Fine, then prove it." Shinra shoved Reno in Rufus' direction.

Although he knew that Rufus was doing it purely as a means to spite his father, Reno shivered involuntarily as the blonde leaned against him and ran a thin finger along his jaw, a devilish glint in the blonde's eye and an impish smirk on his lips.

And, before Reno knew it, those lips were on his own.

Shinra screamed, knocking a picture off of Rufus' nightstand as Reno found himself returning the kiss.

Rufus was pulled away harshly and practically thrown backwards against the side of his bed. Shinra brought a hand down upon Reno's head. The redhead crumpled to the floor.

"You vile, petulant wretch! I'd be better off if you died!" And Shinra stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Reno got slowly to his feet, walking up to Rufus and looking down at the blonde, who looked even smaller than before.

"Reno, please leave. I'll be fine, just please leave."

And he did.

Miya's note: I am so freaking evil! Of course, those of you who've been following this story know that the next chapter will be coming soon (in a day or two)! This is one of my favourites so far. The only part that I like better than the second half of this chapter is the first part with Rufus in Junon in Ch. 4. What do you think? It's longer, to make up for the last update.