Here's chapter eight, I hope you enjoy it. I really hope you liked last chapter as well! It didn't get many reviews, I actually only got one, but a lot of people viewed the story as a whole. But that's alright! Hopefully more people will review this time.
I also need to give credit to City of Disfor helping me with the story. He helped me find a different way to break the connection. Thank you! You're awesome dude. :)
Please review!
-Crimson
Redemption
Chapter Eight – Some Nights
Blue eyes stared at each other as Rufus Shinra finally finished his prepping. He looked at himself in the mirror, and even though he had seen himself this way his whole life, it felt oddly strange. His hair was slicked back, and even though his forehead was visible he put enough makeup on it so no scars could be seen. The white suit clashed with the black dress shirt he was wearing and for once he could say that he looked like his old self. He put his cologne on and then glanced over at the pile of clothes that were on the floor.
However, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to look like that. He wasn't sure if he wanted to feel like that.
For the past three years, all he had wanted was the ability to go back in time and change that day. He had wanted life to go back to how it had been before, and of course no matter how much he tried to fool himself into thinking that maybe, just maybe he would be the same one day – it was nothing more than a small lie that he kept telling himself to stay alive. But now, he was in a place where if he could just get himself together, maybe it could be possible. Maybe if he just tried, and just forgot what happened – he could go back to being who he was.
That could never happen.
He grabbed his cigarettes off the sink and shoved them in his pocket. His hands lingered on his weapons and slowly he picked up both of his pistols and situated them so they were on the inside of his suit. He left his knives where they were, not having any way to conceal them properly. He glanced at himself one last time, and even though he knew the face in the mirror, he couldn't help but think it wasn't the same one. It was merely a shade.
Rufus Shinra tore his eyes away from the mirror, feeling numb, and then slowly made his way to the door. He opened it and then walked into his old office, the feeling of déjà vu hit him and he tried to shake it off. He walked over to his desk and stared at it for a moment. The ashtray was still there, and surprisingly he saw that it hadn't been emptied. The phone still sat at the top left corner of the desk and the calendar that Reno had gotten him as a 'Office warming gift' was still sitting beside the small lamp in the right corner.
He thought back to that day, and slowly he watched the events play out right in front of him. He saw himself talk on the phone with Tseng, he saw himself turn around and look at the snow, and then finally he saw the glace break, and that was the last thing he could recall other then the frantic footsteps that were coming down the hallway.
You have the eyes, they're just a little more mature since the last time I saw you.
His hands started to shake, and he felt a strange sensation rumble through his chest. He hated thinking about those eyes – those cold, glowing blue eyes. He started to feel so angry that he had to clench his fists together so the shaking would stop.
You're not like they said you were.
Rufus Shinra, if you want any form of faith again you'll follow me.
You'll see, in the end you'll be the one who dies, while I walk out of this place.
He couldn't stop the constant flow of memories that started to flood through his head. He closed his eyes abruptly; the outside world suddenly seemed too harsh.
I am so happy to see that you're alright.
You don't have anything to say?
What the hell happened to you?
Welcome back.
If they die Rufus Shinra, you will be no better than the people who took them.
Are you back to that? Telling people what they want to hear so they'll leave you alone?
He couldn't take this anymore. Who was he trying to fool? Nothing would ever be the same again. He would never be the same again. There was no way Rufus Shinra could ever look back and even hope that he'd be the same person. In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be.
He started to throw everything off the desk across the room, breaking the lamp, ashtray and even the small little glass figurine that Elena had given him. He flipped the desk over and kicked it into the wall. He picked up the chair and then threw it at the desk so hard that he saw some wood chippings fly off. The shaking started to get worse. He glanced over at the huge window that had been repaired and right when he was about to walk over to it, he felt someone wrap their arms around his whole body, encircling his arms to his sides.
His mind went into such a state of panic that he didn't care who saw him try to throw whoever it was off of him. His mind flashed back to the day that he had been taken, and he all of his rational thinking was gone. He struggled against whoever it was; trying to shake his shoulders and break their grip. His breathing started to grow hysterical, and finally when he couldn't get free he felt hot tears stream down his face. He went limp, and slowly, whoever had been holding onto him lowered him to the ground.
Rufus slowly turned around after a few seconds of just sitting, and saw that Reno was looking at him with wide eyes. He felt embarrassed immediately, and when he tried to open his mouth to speak nothing came out but a cracked breath. The tears were still falling and even though he knew he was safe, he couldn't shake the feeling that had settled over him.
"Rufus, it's just me, yo. It's alright." Reno whispered, keeping his hands on the ex president's arms, "Just breathe."
He shook his head, "I – " He thought back to his earlier train of thought, and then glanced down at his appearance. "I can't do this." He finally managed, and even though he didn't want to admit it, he had to. "I can never be this person."
Reno didn't say anything, he just kept his hands on Rufus's shoulders, and finally when the ex president started to calm down he spoke. "No one expects you to be." The red head smiled lightly and then glanced around the destroyed office, "You don't have to be the same person, you don't have to prove anything, and you don't even have to be here if you don't want to be." He stood up slowly, and brought Rufus up with him, "You don't have to wear that if you don't want, and if you don't ever want to step foot into this office again, you don't have to. You don't have any obligations. Just do what you want."
Rufus stared at the other man, and wasn't quite sure what to say. Earlier Reno looked like he hated him, and now here he was comforting him. He glanced down at the white suit he was wearing, and then sighed. This wasn't him anymore, at least not at that moment. "Thank you." His voice was quiet and despite the fact he had been crying moments ago, he felt oddly calm.
"No problem, yo." Reno glanced around the room again and then scratched the back of his head, "I'm sorry about earlier…I didn't mean it."
The ex president felt a small smile tug at his lips, "It's fine."
Reno looked at him then, "I'm actually glad I came when I did…I thought you were going to break the window." He laughed, and Rufus decided it was best not to comment on it, because he actually did have the intentions of breaking the window. It was quite, and even though Rufus had calmed down he still couldn't get the tight feeling in his chest to go away. Reno glanced at the door, and then back to Rufus, "Elena and Rude want to see you."
Rufus nodded, and then took a look at himself, "I'm not sure if I want to wear this when I see them."
Reno looked him over and then smirked, "We can switch. I always wanted to see what I'd look like in white."
"No."
"Awww, come on, yo."
"Absolutely not."
"That kinda of hurts, you don't think it'd look good on me?"
Rufus rolled his eyes and then shook his head, "I can't show favoritism." He thought back to when he had told Cid that the Turks weren't his anymore, and after spending some extra time with Reno, he realized that that was a joke.
"Did it work?" Tseng's voice broke through the heavy silence that had fallen over the group, and even though Sephiroth had known the man for what seemed like years, he wasn't used to him talking.
Vincent looked at them, and then closed his eyes and fell over. The ex General would have found it more comical, however the circumstances ruined the fact. He let his cat like green eyes glance over at Cloud, who was once again sleeping on one of the beds. Just looking at the other man made the heaviness in the room grow.
When the blonde had woken up the first time, it was almost like looking at an enraged animal. Sephiroth wasn't sure whether he was supposed to avoid a fight, or take one in open arms. The decision was almost made for him, until the silver headed man realized that Cloud had lost almost half his strength. He had quickly grabbed the blonde's arm, tore off the ribbon off and casted sleep on him.
That was where they were at now.
It had taken awhile to figure out what to do, and finally he had grown slightly impatient and walked downstairs and asked for a fork. When he came back up the stairs, he had shoved the fork to Tseng and then walked over to take his place leaning against the wall.
The fork was in the gunslingers hand, and finally after a few seconds passed his crimson eyes shot open and he sat up. He wasn't surprised that the shock didn't have any life threatening effects on the gunslinger. They had all done worse things that shove a fork into an electrical socket. He immediately looked at Sephiroth, who had his arms crossed over. "I believe it worked."
He raised an eyebrow, "How were you able to come to that conclusion?"
Vincent sat there for a moment, and then finally he answered, "My head hurts."
"Just breathe, yo. They won't bite." Reno's voice broke through the small panic that had started to settle over Rufus, and even though he knew the red head was trying to be helpful, he just wanted him to be quiet.
Rufus had finally just put back his other clothing, and even though he felt strange walking through the WRO looking like a refugee, he dismissed it when he remembered Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi walking around in their strange attire in the past.
They were standing in front of the door that led to the Turk's office spaces, and even though Rufus had been there plenty of times, he felt like he didn't know where he was. His heart was beating so fast that he thought that it might explode, and before he could change his mind Reno opened the door and pushed him in.
He stepped in and caught his balance, shooting Reno a glare when he walked up beside him. The red head shrugged, "Sometimes you just need a push! I heard that in a movie once."
"I'm sure they meant that metaphorically." Rufus said blankly, resisting the urge to punch the man next to him.
"No, I think they meant it – "
"Shut up Reno." Rufus said while shaking his head. He couldn't go through another session of bantering with the red head.
Reno was about to respond, but someone spoke before he could. "S-Sir!?"
Elena's voice squeaked through the small talk that the other two had created. Rufus immediately looked her way, and tried to prepare himself for the panic and anxiety that he assumed was about to hit him. It didn't come though, instead his heart softened at her appearance; her blonde hair was longer, hanging a few inches below her shoulders. Her brown eyes looked glossed over as she stared at him, and before he could react she had walked over and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry sir. I'm just so happy to see you!" Her voice was muffled against his clothing and when she pulled away he saw that the smile on her face was something he hadn't really seen on anyone else yet. She laughed nervously and then shook her head. "I – um. That was inappropriate, I apologize."
"Geeze Elena." Reno mumble, "You think you could have been any more dramatic?"
She shot the other Turk a glare, "Shut up."
Before he could stop himself he started to chuckle. He shook his head at her; the panic he felt earlier seemed to disappear. He wasn't sure what it was, but for whatever reason seeing her face didn't send him into a strange state of hysteria. "It's fine." He said as he glanced over as Rude walked into the room. He let his eyes fall onto the woman in front of him again, and it was then he thought back to the comment Reno had said in the helicopter.
He put a ring on it.
He glanced down at her left hand and saw that there was in fact a ring on her hand. He looked up at her then, and then he felt the guilt in his stomach return.
"Welcome back sir." Rude's voice broke through the thoughts that started to fill the ex president's head. He held a hand out to him, and slowly Rufus took it, feeling strange.
"Thank you." He finally managed. He let his hand fall back to his side, and as they all stood there awkwardly. He glanced over at the door, and had to keep himself calm as a realization hit him.
Tseng wasn't going to walk through that door.
"Beer!"
"It's three o'clock in the afternoon!" Elena protested, "You aren't serious?!"
Reno looked at her and then looked at Rude, "Beer?"
Rude nodded, "Beer."
The red head then looked over at Rufus, "Beer?!"
The ex president thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Beer." He was going to need one with the direction his thoughts were going.
I know the chapter wasn't really amazing, but it was still a chapter. I didn't get a lot of reviews last time, kinda kills the motivation. That's alright though.
Please though, if you get the chance please review.
I'll post the next chapter in a few days. There will be more going on in that one. A lot more Sephiroth, and a lot more Organization.
Also, I've just posted another story. It's called "Fields of Gold." It has Rufus, the Turks and AVALANCHE in it. It's not so much like this, it's more of a drama. But please, if you get a chance I'd love for you to read it.
-Crimson