Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy VII: Awakening ❯ Rudah The Junk Dealer ( Chapter 13 )

Leira thought about the true meaning…if there was one…behind her getting together with Sephiroth. Was it really some perverse approach of Hojo's to mate them in hopes of creating a god?

Sephiroth was silhouetted against the nighttime sky. "Go back to sleep."

Leira noticed his tone bore the familiar ring of disappointment. He behaved this way ever since Vincent decided to come along. This attitude of his seemed to support the coupling theory. She walked out of the room to be with Vincent and did not look back. She never noticed the general's fixed stare on the outside.

Sephiroth sighed as he stared out through his window at a man covered in black. "I need more time." At those words, a shiny white light gleamed for an instant and disappeared as the figure nodded and walked into the concealing night air.

The sound of the door slowly creaking open was enough to wake Vincent from his sleep. He pulled a handgun out from underneath his pillow and took aim at the person who entered.

"Whoa, it's just me!" Leira smiled stretching her hands high above her head.

Vincent returned the gun to its resting place and approached her. "What happened to you?" He noticed the dried blood and semi-opened gash on her chest.

Cautiously she lowered her hands and looked at her wound. "It's just a promise that I made to myself and someone else."

"That wouldn't happen to be Sephiroth would it?" Vincent asked with a hint of skepticism.

"I need a shower,” she said as she brushing against him as she passed. Leira peeled off her uniform and started a hot shower. "Can you find some dressings for this?"

"Do you think you'll need stitches?" Vincent was growing concerned. "I'm good with treating most types of wounds."

Leira stepped into the shower and stuck her head out. "You pervert." She returned to her cleansing.

"What did I…?" Vincent blushed as he remembered where her gash was located. "I only meant that as…"

"I know. If anything, I don't want it to close. Hopefully, it will leave a nice scar."

"Why?" Vincent found himself hanging on her words.

"I had a friend-big on symbolism. You've heard of spit brothers before right?"

Vincent nodded. "Yes."

"Well, this friend of mine was from Wutai. I guess over there they took friendships just a little more seriously than other people."

"They cut each other like that." Vincent suddenly had an image of Yuffie trying to slash him with a knife.

"I don't know if it's all of them…I just know that this guy sure did, and so did his cousin."

Vincent searched through his bags and found some white bandages. As soon as she was out of the shower, he helped her wrap her wound tightly. He tried so hard not to stare at her chest. Leira tried hard not to laugh at him.

After wrapping her hair in a towel, the Turk pulled an oversized nightshirt on and lie down on her bed.

"Did you talk to Sephiroth?" Vincent asked.

"Yes." Lieandra said simply.

"I wouldn't doubt he told you about what we are supposed to be doing in the morning."

"I guess we're going to Midgar."

"Midgar?!" He thought to himself. His curiosity was piqued but he decided to wait until morning to hear it from the ex-Shinra general himself. "What is it about Sephiroth that draws you to him?"

The Elite was not prepared for that question. "What was that?" She remembered him voicing his concerns about Cloud too.

"I'm sure it isn't curiosity that draws you to him." The ex-Turk continued.

Leira often wondered about it herself. If he were just a curiosity like Vincent suggested she would not have gone this far for him. "You're really the jealous type aren't you?" she smiled and looked at her fingernails.

Vincent felt his cheeks begin to warm. "I just don't like to wait for answers…that's all."

"Didn't Reeve tell you that I was supposed to be made into Sephiroth's sex slave…or something like that…" She paused and checked her toenails. "He is a gorgeous guy and all. That long sexy hair and killer bod. Who could refuse someone like that? I can tell that you make him uncomfortable too. Don't worry though. I'm really just in this to finish up my job for Tseng and to get back at him for killing everyone that I've been close to."

Vincent suddenly realized Leira was not told about the Nibelheim creatures. "Reeve said you two had a history together."

The Turk sat upright at his remark. "How did you know?"

"It was part of a briefing…you were unconscious…"

Leira suddenly recalled a couple of her dreams. "I guess we were but I can assure it was long before he killed…" Faces started to appear in her head. A man with flame red hair and blue eyes, a man with short black hair and brown eyes, a woman with long blonde hair, Rufus Shinra, a man with black spiky hair, a little girl with short hair, Tseng…what were these faces? She wrapped her hands around her face.

Vincent leaned forward. "Are you alright?"

"I feel like I've got a bad hangover, all of a sudden…" She removed the towel from her hair and walked into the bathroom. "Was there a reason why you asked me about Sephiroth?"

"Not really." he lied. With a yawn, Vincent stretched out and slowly went to sleep. Leira watched him relax and after a few minutes, she joined the dead man's slumber.

The Turk was suddenly walking down a long hallway. She stopped in her tracks. There was a woman standing with her back to her. The long golden brown braid was quite pretty. The girl suddenly spun around. Leira glanced at her shiny Turk issue shoes and her dark blue trouser legs. The formal Elite uniform worn by this other person was quite form fitting. Leira could not help but stare at this woman's curves.

"You'll never guess what's happened to this old girl!" The braided woman drawled.

She felt herself answer uneasily. "What?" Her transfer was only a couple days away.

"I'm in love!” She grabbed Leira by the shoulders. "He's great! He seems to be genuinely interested in the Elite project. You don't know how good it is to have that type of backing. Have you seen him fight yet?!"

Leira was frozen. Whom was she talking about? Who was this person period?

The three set out the next morning for their Midgar expedition. Traveling by chocobo from Kalm to Midgar lasted only a couple hours. Vincent pulled his cloak tighter. He could not believe this other world existed in the place he and Cid used for scrap. Sephiroth and Leira both seemed unfazed. The dead man watched them travel on ahead. He tried not to let it bother him.

"You do know what we're supposed to be looking for?" Leira asked Sephiroth with uncertainty.

"There should be evidence of some sort left over. Meteor couldn't have destroyed everything." Sephiroth said as he let his eyes slide over to Vincent.

Leira blinked. "Evidence? That sounds like a long shot. I know where there's a junk dealer close by. I never thought to ask him about anything concerning Shinra. His prices are rather steep though...we might end up losing fingers or something."

Sephiroth raised his white eyebrows at the thought of losing limbs. He was also surprised at how resourceful Leira became.

Vincent came up beside them. "Just what is it you hope to find?" He asked Sephiroth with a hint of distrust.

Sephiroth ignored him and kept walking.

Leira shook her head and continued. The last time she visited the junk shop she was vaguely remembered a large file cabinet. It reminded her of one Hojo kept in his offices.

The two men were quick to catch up with her. They followed Leira through huge canyons of towering wreckage. There were small-unmarked graves lining the walls. Meteor and Holy had claimed so many lives. To walk through the aftermath and be emotionless was impossible.

Sephiroth and Vincent stared in awe at the sights before them. Leira could have cared less. She had been revisiting the ruins for a number of months. They reached an area consisting of part slum and part plate. Neither of the three could decipher which sector they were in.

"Whoops." Leira's foot became tangled in an old cable that ran across the ground. Her legs became so tired from walking she was unable to keep her balance.

Vincent ran to her aid but Sephiroth was there first. The slender man in black caught her by the wrist and wrapped his other arm around her waist pressing her body tightly to his. His cat like eyes stared right into hers. "You alright?"

Vincent stood his ground coldly and tried not to let the son of his lost love anger him.

"Oh, my! What a sight for sore eyes, doll face!" said a gruff elderly voice.

Leira looked at Sephiroth and blushed. His hold on her was making her feel warm. "I'm fine." She said redirecting her eyes to the ground. Sephiroth nodded and released her.

"Hey, Rudah. How's it going?" Leira asked regarding the tiny old man.

Rudah wore a red shirt with a black back brace. His old blue jeans showed years worth of wear and tear. His skin was surprisingly healthy looking despite several wrinkles. The old man stroked his long braided white beard and huffed. "You always seem to make the strangest friends."

"I'll say." Vincent growled softly to himself.

"This is the junk dealer I was telling you about,” said Leira outstretcung a hand.

"Actually I like to refer to them as lost antiquities." he smiled and scratched the back of his baldhead.

"His name's Rudah. He was a salesman for Shinra until he got fired." Leira pointed out.

"Speaking of antiquities." He marched up to the white haired man. "Isn't that Sephiroth?" The junk dealer began to rub his chin as he stared up at the former Shinra general. He grabbed the man's wrist and checked for a pulse through the tall man's thick black gloves. "Anything you want, the price just doubled! Just business is all. Never expected to see this guy in person."

Leira's jaw hit the floor. Sephiroth and Vincent both glared at the four foot eleven inch man. "What was that?!" she stammered.

"I'm sure he's got tons of money. All that fame!” Rudah could see nothing but huge amounts of Gil lining his pockets. "It's been hard to make a living here but that's what you get while hoping to come across a walking gold mine, I guess."

Sephiroth smiled. Apparently, this man was unaware he died and was resurrected after meteor and holy hit. He was still alive but his popularity was not the same as it had been so many years ago.

"By the way," asked the old man, "What is it you're wanting?"

"We're looking for some papers...or anything that Hojo might have kept concerning experiments,” said Sephiroth as he let his smile drop.

"That's impossible!" spat Vincent. Leira pushed Valentine and the junk dealer aside and glared into Sephiroth's eyes. "Hojo destroyed all his work after he quit! Everyone knows that!” she growled and pushed a finger into Sephiroth's chest.

Vincent and Leira were so caught up with what Sephiroth said; they did not notice Rudah saunter.

"Here we are!" shouted the ex-Shinra employee. He wheeled out a huge rusted file cabinet.

Leira spun around after she noticed Sephiroth grinning from ear to ear. Vincent puzzled over the large metal box. He noticed several keyholes in each red orange drawer. "I'd assume all the doors are locked."

"Yep. Just wanted to take a few souvenirs after I got the shaft. Got no keys for it, though. Got tired of trying to crack it open so figured I'd sell it." Rudah shrugged.

Sephiroth placed his gloved hands on the cabinet. "This is just what we need." His sudden confidence made Vincent uneasy. "How much do you want for it?"

The junk dealer cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "How much you got?"

"Well, we've got materia that's fully mature." said Leira.

Rudah laughed. "No one that lives in this place has spirit enough to use materia. You got money, right?"

Leira turned to her fellow party members.

"We need this gil for supplies!" Vincent growled.

"My employers just keep me alive." Sephiroth put in with a touch of humor.

"Hey, Rudah. You don't take plastic do you?!" Leira remarked.

"Come on, girl. You know better than to ask me that."

"The only other thing we have besides our supplies are..." Several loud "Warks" interrupted Vincent.

The three gold chocobos broke loose and somehow managed to find their owners.

The birds were not the only ones that had arrived. Four masked bandits tailed them.

"Well, lookee 'ere boy's if it ain't the chick from before." gestured one of the bandits.

"I remember that chicky well, Grubs,” said another bandit. "She doesn't have the kid with her this time so she should be easy pickins."

The masked bandits lined up shoulder to shoulder. Their eyes seemed to contain nothing but white. Tanned muscles bulged through tears in their clothes.

Rudah picked up an old piece of pipe from off the ground. "You guys go. I'll stay her and try to ward them off!” He swung the crowbar from left to right.

Sephiroth covered his face in his hand and tried not to let his impressions of the old man show.

Vincent took out Death Penalty and rotated it in his hand. He did not care about the old man. He just wanted to save his curiosity, Leira, from any harm.

Leira crossed her arms underneath her chest. "You guys are really insulting me! I'm surprised that you found me at all!" she laughed and cracked her knuckles. "Thinking I need a kid to kick your asses..."

"Tell you what?" Rudah said. "You guys kick some ass and I'll cut the price down."

Vincent's mouth hung open as he tried not to insult the old man. Leira leaned against him and put a finger to his lips. "If you argue with him now we'll never get the damn thing." she kissed the top of her fingernail before she removed it. "Rudah, you got yourself a deal." Leira tilted her head towards the thugs while keeping her back to them. "You're going to wish you never saw me."

Vincent removed Death Penalty. He was craving a fight for a while now.

Sephiroth lowered his head and let his hands drop to his sides. His eyes focused on the new threat and exuded a cold glow.

Leira was not fond of waiting for an attack so she ran and ducked a punch thrown by a thug. Her body arched to one side as she slammed her fist into an open palm and swung her right elbow into his midsection. Her long brown hair looked like nails as it followed her movement.

The thug ended up in a half turn as his stance became distorted. His left arm went out as he tried to balance himself. From behind, her next victim was waiting. To help him on his way to the dirt Leira delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to his throat. "One down." she muttered as she put her right thumb to her nose and raked it across the tip. A crunch of metal gave away the man behind her. She pivoted and swung out her left hand grabbing him by the throat. She bumped her body against his, slammed her forehead into his, and pushed him away with a right hand to the solar plexus.

Rudah dropped his weapon and glared at Sephiroth. He was not sure if he was seeing things or not.

Another punch was thrown from someone new. "Can't you guys do anything else?" she wondered. She snatched his hand between hers and drew him into a harsh flat back-fist to the side of his face.

With blinding momentum, Leira dropped herself to the ground and swept the man’s legs out from underneath. "Sorry, Grubs. You've been canceled." She drew out her Glock and did not even bother to aim it. The Elite knew she would not miss.

BLAM!

One shot between the eyes insured that Grubs would not be causing any more problems. The fourth man was starting to feel sick. Grubs' corpse fell less than a foot away from him. He had the unsavory privilege of watching the crater in his friends head begin to ooze. "I got one too, bitch!" he shrieked and pulled a handgun out of his back pocket.

Vincent took note of the turn of events and aimed his weapon. "I've got a clear shot,” he said to no one in particular.

"No you don't." Sephiroth removed Masamune from its sheath in his coat and used it to lower the former Turk's weapon.

"He's got a gun!" Vincent pushed.

"What's your point? So does she."

The dead man could not believe the attitude of the Elite's former general. Leira, however, was amused at the change. Her eyes closed in thought and a wry smile quickly unfolded. "Good!" she shouted and she sent her side arm flying toward her opponent.

Sephiroth closed his eyes as well. It was good to see that she was not completely dependent on guns.

The black Glock flew end over end knocking the man's weapon from his hand. All he could do was watch the it hit its mark and fall to the ground. Should he bend down and pick it up? Should he find another weapon?

The Elite was not about to let him explore any more options.

Sephiroth covered his face with his hand and began to laugh. His body shook with each hearty guffaw.

"What's gotten into you?!" Vincent could not grasp the situation.

Sephiroth looked like he was about to cry when he finally lifted his head. "She was just getting warmed up too…!" he managed to let out before going back into hysterics.

Leira shook a finger at her attacker as he stooped down to reclaim his weapon. She kicked it out of the way and seized the back of his head with her hands. "Nighty night!" Her supple lips never lost their smile. She pulled the back of his neck down and slammed him into her elevated right knee. Like a rag doll, she threw his limp form behind her.