Author's Note: The next chapter is here, and this is where the story actually starts moving. I'll probably get the next chapter up tonight too. Apologies for the last chapter only setting the scene, but it will get more interesting from now on!
Disclaimer: Why am I still doing these? I think everyone knows I don't own this.
It was a night like any other. Rufus was wandering the streets once more, looking for Reno, but not expecting to find him. From behind him, two monsters began charging towards a house. The kids outside who had been playing in the garden screamed and a redheaded man leapt out of the house, brandishing his EMR at the monsters. The man expertly fought them off and Rufus managed to catch a glimpse of a red tattoo under one of the man's eyes as he turned away. The blonde's breath caught in his throat as he simply watched on. The redhead had turned to the crying kids.
"Hey, ya alright?" he asked. The familiar voice rang in the blonde's ears, soothing some of the longing that he'd been suffering. The kids nodded in response to the redhead's question.
"Thank you Uncle Red" they chorused in unison.
"Now get inside before anymore turn up. It's getting dark ya brats" 'Uncle Red' ordered.
"Reno..." Rufus said sadly; glad to see the redhead unharmed and safe. The redhead didn't turn around, and Rufus wouldn't have been surprised if he had been ignored on purpose. One of the kids tugged on 'Uncle Red's' trouser leg.
"Axel, that man's staring at you." She whined, worried.
"Just ignore him, he's probably thinking how pretty ya are Namine!" 'Axel' replied with forced cheerfulness. The girl called Namine smiled and dragged the redhead inside the house.
Rufus allowed a rueful smile to grace his features and he decided to stick around to protect this family from anymore monsters. For a while, the blonde found it easy, but he had too many openings in his defence and soon enough, he was completely surrounded. Seeing the impossibility of his situation, Rufus just gave up, having been granted his wish to see his redhead, or at least what he thought was his redhead, one last time.
"Axel! There's a man getting beaten up outside by monsters!" one of the kids cried from inside the house.
The blonde saw a flash of red go past him, and heard the roar of a monster being defeated before his world went black and he dully acknowledged the feeling of hitting the ground before he became completely numb to the world.