The next morning Tifa woke up before the break of dawn. Even though she didn't feel tired she never wanted to leave her bed. She didn't want to go back into that building and work with the creepy members of the science department. Tifa closed her eyes and rested for what seemed like only a little while before Elena knocked on her cellar door. Tifa opened her eyes to find it was now fully light outside. "Let's go Tifa" Elena opened her cell. Tifa stepped out and followed close behind Elena back up to the lab. She was going to try and take a few thing tonight, when she left for dinner she planned to pocket some scissors or anything she could use to pick the door of her cell.
Tifa passed by the main doors of ShinRa every day. Every time she did she wanted to run through them and hope she wasn't killed. But Tifa knew better, they had got her the first time. Next time they wouldn't be so nice and Tifa knew it. She still remembered Rufus' threat, if she was going to die she didn't want it to be by his hands and she knew Barret would come for her soon.
Tifa waved good bye to Elena and headed inside the lab. Scarlet wasn't there so Tifa just sat and stared at Hojo. He was working on some sort of experiment. Tifa took her chance and looked for a pair of scissors. She found a pair and slipped them into her pocket. She spotted some short steel wires and pocketed them as well.
"Looking for something?' Scarlet asked when she entered and saw Tifa walking around.
"No" Tifa jumped and turned to her. "Just looking" She sat back down at her computer. It was time to get back to work.
Late that night after the awkward dinner and long work day Tifa was back in her cell. She waited quietly until she heard the guards leave on they're break. Tifa guessed another reason ShinRa was so easy to break into was because the guards never excepted anything to happen. Tifa removed a wire from her pocket and moved towards the door. She made sure her arm wouldn't touch the bars allowing her not to get a shock. Tifa picked the lock slowly. It took several tries and a couple broken pins until the lock finally clicked and the door swung open. Much to her surprise no alarms went off, Tifa noted this was another flaw in the ShinRa prison.
Tifa made her way down the hall and to the mirrors. She took out the scissors and held her breath as her long locks fell to the floor. She cut it so it fell to the middle of her back. Tifa evened it out and brushed through it. She thinned out her bangs next. Tifa managed to smile, her hair was no longer in her way. She really needed a shower though, she hoped it was on the agenda for tomorrow.
She was a mess every where besides her hair. Dirt covered her knees and tiny bits of her face. Her lips were dry and cracked. Tifa frowned, she didn't like feeling worthless, her thoughts were soon interrupted by two hands slipping onto her shoulders. Tifa froze, she was caught, what would happen? She didn't dare and look to see who it was. Tifa stopped to think clearly for a second, it couldn't be guards, they would have attacked her but the hands on her shoulders were gentle and soft. Tifa turned around and looked up, to her surprise and horror Rufus was looking down at her.
Tifa remained frozen, she didn't move a muscle. She remained still as Rufus ran his hand through her hair.
"It suits you, Tifa" He purred, Tifa shivered, she wanted to get away from him and his touch, "but I have to ask, what are you doing out of your cell?" Tifa looked to the ground, she had been thinking about escaping. She figured if no one knew she was out she had a fair chance of running away. She had now discovered that any attempt to get out was futile since Rufus appeared to have a constant watch over her.
"I don't know" Tifa told him quietly. Rufus pulled her to him and stared down into her eyes. Tifa wanted to die at that moment. She already knew what death would be like since she had seen hell in his eyes. Tifa squirmed in his tight grip and soon found it was no use struggling.
"You don't know? Your figured you'd just take a walk?" Rufus hissed.
"I… I'm sorry" She choked out. She didn't know what else to say, mentally kicking herself for her weakness.
"Sorry doesn't work for me" Rufus snapped. When Tifa finally found the courage to look up into his eyes she was surprised at what she saw. His face was as it always was, he didn't look mad at all. Tifa realised what he was doing, he was doing this to make her scared. Tifa wasn't going to take it and she pushed him away from her.
"Leave me alone" She snapped under her breath, Rufus' eyes grew wide for only an instant before his expression returned to normal.
"What?" He stepped towards her. He towered over her but Tifa refused to back down.
"I did nothing wrong. I didn't run, I didn't hurt anyone. You have no right to be mad at me" Tifa said but soon regretted her words and she saw anger flash through his eyes.
"You broke out of your cell" Rufus started.
"I was going to go back" Tifa lied, her mouth was running a mile a minute and she couldn't stop it.
"Don't talk back to me" Rufus yelled at her and she became afraid of him again. She shrunk into herself and wasn't standing tall anymore. Rufus wasn't angry anymore, he had control of her again and that was all he wanted.
Rufus advanced towards her and Tifa stepped back, she could feel her anger growing as he came towards her again. She wanted him away from her but if she pushed him again she would surely pay for it with her life. Tifa took another step back into the wall. Damn, no endless hallway. Rufus walked straight up to her and leaned closer to her. Tifa clenched her fits and pressed herself into the wall. She hoped to fall through it, but it didn't happen, damn physics.
"You seem to have forgotten who's in charge" Rufus' tone was menacing and harsh.
"No" Tifa shook her head, wanting him to go away. Rufus moved past her face and put his lips by her ear.
"Good, remember who I am. I can do anything I want" Rufus hissed. Tifa's knees almost buckled when he place his hand on her hip and stroked her side gently. Tifa despised ever second of his torment because she knew he was only doing this scare her. If Rufus had a heart Tifa would have believed he liked her but Tifa knew better.
"Please stop" Tifa wanted so desperately to run away.
"Are you forgetting again?" Rufus questioned. Tifa shut her eyes tightly and refused to let herself cry. Rufus lightly kissed her jaw. Tifa almost fainted, he placed soft kisses along her jaw line until he stopped at her lips. Tifa's eyes widened. No! He wouldn't. "Tifa, never forget the power I hold over you" and then he added "and the rest of this world."
"I wont" Tifa told him, maybe he would stop tormenting her now. Rufus backed away from her, he was pleased at what he had accomplished.
"Now go back to your cell and stay there" Rufus snapped. "Don't forget I'm watching you if you ever try and escape again." Tifa took her chance and ran down the hall back into her cell. She shut the door and jumped onto her bed. Tifa sat and hugged her knees to her chest. She never want to go through that again.
Rufus strolled down the hall and out of the prison. He had put her back in her place and that's what he had wanted to do. The disgusting girl would never stand up to him again. Something about her pushing him back like that made him like her for an instant but that soon turned to hate when he realised she was defying him. Rufus had to commend her bravery, the last person who did that to him wound up dead.
Tifa had somehow managed to fall asleep that night. She didn't want to go back into the lab, she was too tired and scared to move. To her surprise Elena never came to pick her up and Tifa decided Rufus was so furious with her he didn't want her anywhere near him. Tifa was glad, she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.
A week passed without any confrontations between Rufus and herself. Tifa worked in the lab by herself or with Scarlet. Tifa had now convinced Scarlet that the walls in the prison were too weak and Scarlet instantly agreed and sent workers out to strengthen them. Spending ShinRa's money could be very entertaining. Elena and Reno came to visit Tifa often. Reno snuck her chocolate a few times.
"Nothing better then chocolate! It's the cure for the common everything" Reno chuckled and Tifa gave a small smile.
"Thanks" She slipped it into her pocket to save it for later. They would never stay long for Scarlet would yell at them to get back to work. Sometimes Reno would make a funny face behind her back and then leave. Tifa always missed them, they were the one good thing in her day.
Dinners were becoming less of a chore for her. She had learned that staying quiet the whole time meant no attention would be drawn to her and she could slip out when no one was looking. Tifa was allowed to walk around the ShinRa building without any trouble. She figured Rufus believed he had scared her so badly she would never think about leaving, unfortunately it was true.
Tifa had also chosen to invest in her own self protection. At night she would do push ups and sit ups to make herself stronger. Her body was once again toned and appealing. She planed to beat Rufus up one of these days and was preparing for it. She knew that she would be killed in the process but a day would come when she would no longer fear death and at that moment she would punch him.
All the wishing that Barret would save her was diminishing with each day. Barret must have thought she was dead and decided not to come looking for her. Tifa knew it was for the best. She didn't want others getting killed on her account.
Tifa made her way to her cell once again. She lay down on her bed and watched as the sun disappeared from sight leaving her in darkness. Tifa closed her eyes and fell asleep.
When Tifa woke up the next morning she wasn't cold. In fact she was warm and covered by a blanket. Tifa opened her eyes and blinked, when did this get here? She wondered.
"Hey Tifa, glad to see you're warm" Elena smirked.
"You gave this to me?" Tifa asked, sitting up.
"Yup, Reno and I thought you needed it. Just make sure to hide it under the bed when you leave so no one takes it" Elena warned and left. Tifa grinned and folded the blanket. She slide it under the bed and headed out of her cell. Elena waited as Tifa showered. Tifa was happy to receive her freezing cold showers everyday. Tifa emerged once again in her navy suit.
"Okay lets go" Tifa sighed. She, once again, didn't want to go back to the lab. Elena gave a nod and they walked back up to the lab. Tifa was able to roam around ShinRa during the day but still had to be supervised at night and in the mornings. Tifa felt so babied but there was nothing she could do about it.
Scarlet seems more hissy then usual when her sat down at her work station. Questioning her about it was not an option so Tifa waited till Scarlet spoke.
"I need to look over the budget" Scarlet sighed, "I think we've just about spent to our limit but Mr. Shinra said to do everything to make things better" Tifa smirked inwardly. She wanted to make ShinRa lose all its money, though that was not going to happen but she could still dream. "Go ask Rufus about it, then report back to me"
"What?" Tifa almost snapped. She did not want go see him.
"Go ask him if we can spend more money" Scarlet commanded.
"But…" Tifa started.
"Go" Scarlet pointed towards the door. Tifa slugged out the door and headed towards the elevator. She went through the doors and her heart started pounding. Tifa stepped into the dim office, Tifa remembered his warning about not warning to be bothered but she didn't know how to ask.
"Rufus? Can I come in?" Tifa asked, no one answered. Tifa cautiously walked farther in. The room was dark and Tifa couldn't see more then three feet in front of her. She stepped in further and stopped in front of Rufus' desk. "Um, Rufus?' Tifa looked around. She wanted more then anything to run out of his creepy office and never return but if Scarlet found out she'd just send her back again.
Tifa bit her lip and waited, she wasn't sure what to do. There was no answer anywhere so she figured Rufus wasn't here. Tifa turned around and headed towards the door. With her back turned to the open room she got a eerie feeling. Tifa was more then right to feel that way because soon enough her hand was grabbed and she was swung into the wall. Tifa knew it was Rufus, he seemed to enjoy cornering her like that.
"What are you doing in here?" Rufus poured fire from his eyes into hers. He stood over her and put his two arms over her head, trapping her.
"I… Scarlet, s… she wanted me to ask about money" Tifa stuttered.
"What did I say about entering my office? Are you forgetting who's in charge again?" Rufus asked in a menacing tone.
"No… I, I thought, no one said, but I" Tifa tired to find her words but she couldn't. Rufus glared down at her, he removed his arms and Tifa prayed he'd let her go back to the lab but then Tifa straightened up and glared back at him. She had a new goal, she didn't want to give into him anymore, she was tired of playing his games. He wasn't going to kill her, if he had wanted to do that he would've done it a long time ago. Rufus saw the bravery in her eyes, so she was challenging him? Rufus thought about what he could do to make her regret it. Physical pain would have been the easiest way but that was no fun. Rufus wanted to scare her deeply and he knew a way to use her hate for him to do it.
"You'll knock next time" Rufus told her, Tifa nodded but she then stopped being so compliant.
"Why do you treat me like this?" Tifa asked.
"Like what?" Rufus acted innocent.
"You torment me, tease me, you have no reason, no right to" Tifa snapped as lightly as she could.
"I have every right to" Rufus frowned at her and Tifa narrowed her eyes.
"No, you don't" Tifa moved away from him. Rufus grabbed her arm and pulled her back in front of him.
"You have no authority, saying that" Rufus hissed.
"Stop being a baby" Tifa actually snapped at him this time. "I'm not yours to control and I never will be. I want you to stop this right now" Tifa was finding her courage again. Rufus was a little taken back at first but his expression soon returned to the way it was.
"What are you planning to do?" Rufus asked.
"Hurt you" Tifa told him, she saw his eyes momentarily widen but soon they narrowed.
"How?" He placed his hand on her hip. Tifa's eyes shot towards his hand as it started slowly moving up her side. She moved her gaze to meet his eyes again.
"You really want to find out" Tifa clenched her fist. Rufus knew she was going punch him.
"Not unless your ready to be thrown out that window" Rufus threatened and tilted his head to the side to indicate the window to which he was referring. Tifa wasn't sure what to do now. She wanted to shock him the same way he was trying to shock her. Tifa reached her hand up and touched his face softly. The look on his face was priceless, Rufus looked at her with wide eyes.
"I love you," Tifa purred and Rufus' clenched his jaw and backed away from her. Tifa laughed softly. Rufus quickly returned to his normal self and this time he got angry.
"What are you laughing at" He snapped.
"You" Tifa giggled, "The looked on you face was priceless" Tifa stopped giggling when she saw how mad he was becoming. She had said what she should not have but Tifa didn't care. She planned to punch him before he threw her out the window. At least she'd get a shot in before she died. Rufus marched over to her once again, he pushed her against the wall once again and Tifa winched. Rufus forced her arms up above her head. He held them in place with one of his hands.
"You love me? Fine, you're mine then. Tell me when you give up" Rufus smirked in a way that made Tifa shiver. He looked so evil at that moment. Tifa was regretting everything she had just done. Rufus moved his hand down her side and started kissing her jaw line. Tifa moved her head to the side in an attempt to get away but this only allowed Rufus better access to her neck. Rufus took advantage of this and continued kissing his way down her neck. Tifa knew he wouldn't go too far, would he? She was starting to get nervous. Rufus ran his finger around the inside top part of her slacks. Tifa freaked out, he WAS going too far with this. His hand traveled up the inside of her shirt and inched its way to her chest. Rufus looked up at her with his wicked eyes. He resumed kissing her along her collar bone.
"Stop" Tifa sniffed and tear flowed form her eyes. He was to close to her chest and she was terrified. "I give up." Rufus let go of her and she dropped to the floor.
"See? I control your mind. How far I was going to go was all in your head, and I knew everything you were thinking" Rufus smirked. Tifa wanted to disappear into the floor at that moment. 'Just go away' she wanted to yell at him. Rufus bent down and removed the tears from her face. "I'm glad you've learned your lesson. Tell Scarlet she's not to go over budget and I'll make sure to tell my dad we have no more use for you." With that he left his office and she was all alone.
"I hate you" Tifa hissed but he didn't hear her. Tifa rose to her feet and walked into the elevator. She whipped the tears from her face and straighten herself out. She felt so dirty, she needed a shower but that would be delayed till the next day. Tifa went back into the lab.
"What'd he say?" Scarlet asked.
"No, nothing over budget" Tifa told her and started crying again. Scarlet gave her a puzzled look.
"Are you really that torn up about it?" She asked dumbly.
"No, it's not that" Tifa shook her head. She didn't know why she was still crying. She tried to stop but could not.
"Then get it together girl, we have to plan out the money" Scarlet snapped, losing her patients.
"May I go early today?" Tifa asked.
"No" Scarlet was furiously all of a sudden and Tifa did not know why. Scarlet slapped her across the face. Tifa's head snapped to the side and her eyes grew wide. "Get back to work." Tifa sat in her computer chair in a sullen heap. Her cheek burned and she could feel a burse starting to form. Her knotted hair fell in front of her face. Tifa was ready to punch Rufus now.