Kunsel sighed as he walked towards the set of Cirque De Shinra, rubbing his temples. This was the day of the job switch and he was not looking forward to listening to all of the cast members complaining. At the very least Kay would have to suffer with him, that was a small form of retribution.
Holding his coffee mug, the elusive SOLDIER entered the security code and pushed the steel door open revealing the darkened set. Kunsel laughed when he saw the condition of the set. It was almost completely destroyed, stuffing was coming out of the chairs, the tables were all cracked, but his humor came to an end when he saw the coffee machine destroyed. Unbeknownst to the fans, Rufus wasn't the only caffeine addict on the show. Sephiroth was practically unbearable without his three cups of coffee, and don't even get him started on Hojo and Angeal….Most wouldn't believe how easily the normally calm Commander flew of the handle without his cup of sweet black caffeine.
"Goooood Moring Kunsel. Beautiful day isn't it?" Kay strolled out from behind one of the fake walls, twirling a key chain as she came. She was smiling as though her show's entire set didn't look like it was attacked by a pack of wild dogs….or mako drugged SOLDIERs, both could cause this amount of damage easily.
"Uh, Kay?"
"Yes Kunsel?"
Clearing his throat, Kunsel gestured to the set. Kay's eyes followed his arm, and once it clicked as to what he was referring to, Kay's smile grew even larger (if that was even possible).
"Ahhhh, how perceptive you are Kun! Yes, the set is in utter destructive ruins. I am running a little experiment. We both know what's going to happen now that they have to switch jobs, so I figured that if the set was already destroyed they wouldn't have anything to take their rabid anger out on." Kay smiled, placing a hand on her hip as she sipped her own coffee.
"But," Kunsel began, "Wouldn't that mean the only things they would have to take their anger out on would be each other? Or us?" Kay frowned instantly.
"I didn't think of that," Kay shrugged, "Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it then."
Kunsel just gaped at the girl. In that moment he couldn't decided who was crazier, Hojo or the girl humming something that sounded strangely like Last Friday Night….
Rufus growled as he dressed for the day. How dare they!? How dare they make him work for those disgusting animals named Avalanche!? Kay was going to get an earful, that was for sure.
"Sir, I…do not believe it will that bad. It can not be as bad as being a….princess, sir." Tseng said, his voice void of emotion as always. Rufus inwardly considered his TURK's words. It was probably true. Tseng could possibly be correct. He, at least, didn't have to wear a dress. Then again, Avalanche could very well turn him into a drag queen if they wanted.
"Whatever. Why did we agree to this show Tseng?" Rufus said foully, slamming the door to his penthouse apartment as he did.
"Kay has backed Shinra with funding. And she assisted us in our rise back to the top." Sometimes, Rufus really wanted to slap Tseng. It wasn't normal for a man to always be right.
The ride to the new Shinra Tower was relatively short, and Rufus was itching to get his coffee. He still felt half dead as he exited the car and slumped towards the door. After blindly punching numbers into the key pad for twenty minutes, snapping at Tseng whenever he attempted to help, the vice president finally resorted to kicking the door and shouting at Kay and Kunsel to let him in.
"Good morning Rufus! Good morning Tseng!" Kay earned a growl from the former and a polite nod from the latter. Kay just smiled, following behind the duo as they made their way further onto the set.
"That's what I like about you two, you're always here early." Kay said, attempting to make casual conversation. Rufus just grunted while Tseng nodded in acknowledgment.
"So, have you heard about that new thing they're building in Wutai? It's supposed to be something similar to the Shinra Tower. I think it will be-" Kay was cut short, as she ran into Rufus's very stilled backside.
"Hey Rufus? What's the matter?" Kay asked, circling around to look Rufus in the eye. Tseng also stopped and traced his boss's line of vision to the busted coffee machine. Kay also followed the blonde haired man's line of vision, and smiled when she saw what the man was looking at.
"Oh, yeah. I didn't want you guys too hyper when the job switches took place." A long flow of silence followed afterwards. The tension in the air was so thick; you could have sliced through it with a butter knife. Rufus stood there, left eye twitching slightly.
"I. WILL. KILL. YOU!" Rufus roared, drawing his shotgun only to be stopped as Kay tackled him to the ground.
"Oh hush Rufus," Kay said from where she had the twenty year old pinned to the ground, "It'll be good for you to go a day without coffee. Now, would you two mind helping me lay out all of the uniforms for everyone's new jobs?"
Sephiroth was in a downright horrible mood as he made his way onto the set. Not only had he woken late, but his hair dryer refused to cooperate so his silver silk was a frizzy mess. And, to top it all off, he had to start a ridiculous new job today. Hair dresser? How in Ifrit's nine hells was he, the General of an army, supposed to know how to style hair. The only hair he had ever touched was his own.
"Good morning Sephiroth!" Kay's voice shook him out of his thoughts. He looked at the smiling girl with undisguised venom. The girl was far too cheery today and he was in far too foul a mood.
"Hey, don't be like that," The girl said, as if reading his mind, "It won't be as bad as you think. You have one of the better jobs. You could've ended up as a prostitute, like Genesis. Who has already arrived by the way." Sephiroth almost snorted. He was used to the girl by now. Kunsel stood nearby, holding a coffee mug and appeared to be observing the two of them. Then again, one could never tell, considering the helmet was always in place on his head.
"Your new uniform is in your dressing room. When everyone has changed, we'll all meet in the center room." Kunsel said, sipping the liquid in the mug. Sephiroth grunted and walked to his dressing room.
Genesis stood there, staring at himself in the full length mirror.
"For you are beloved by the Goddess…" He quoted dreamily, staring at his own image for far longer then necessary. Sighing, the Crimson Commander turned to face the white box that had been placed on his grooming table.
He shouldn't have to be doing this, he was Genesis Rhapsodos by the Goddess! And with such a degrading job. Genesis made a sound of disgust as he pulled the lid off of the dreaded thing.
His wail of outrage echoed through every room in the Shinra Tower.
Cloud nearly fell out of his seat at the horrifying sound. It sounded like someone was being brutally murdered. Maybe he should….
No, Kay and Kunsel said to wait in the dressing room. The blonde cadet was only grateful that his new job was in no way degrading or perverted. Vice President, how lucky could he get?
Sitting in the new suit that had been lain out for him, the young blonde waited patiently for the show's producer and host to come and get him. Not knowing the whirlwind of trouble and insanity that awaited him and his cast members.
Author's Note: You guys can still send in questions! They just won't be answered until this little escapade is over. As I said, the conversational format won't be used for these chapters. Also, I was wondering if any of you would be interested in occasionally seeing what goes on behind the scenes of Cirque De Shinra. This kind of gives you a glimpse, but not much. Anyway, thanks for reading and tell me what you think! The next chapter will definitely get into them actually starting their jobs. Sincerely, Kay.