Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ❯ Working in a Coal Mine ( Chapter 21 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 21: Working in a Coal Mine

The building and hallways were unfamiliar, but there was no mistaking the charged atmosphere and the smells of a busy hospital such as the temporary one under Midgar. It was almost like another day at work for Tina Carter, except for the fact that she was underneath the city in a familiar environment but unfamiliar building. There were still the typical patients like the sick child or woman in labor, but thankfully there weren't the typical gang related injuries or deaths caused in the lower plates. Those had been replaced by people getting hurt walking around the city without a flashlight. There were still the occasional muggings or attempted homicides, but with ShinRa soldiers stationed all over old Midgar, hardly anyone dared to do anything. That alone was a relief to the citizens of Midgar along with the fact that they were able to miraculously use the old hospital. Unfortunately, things were never perfect and the hospital was expected to be fully functional even if it didn't have everything.

Tina knew first hand what it was like working in less than adequate conditions. She walked through the halls of the hospital trying to find the supply room, which was somewhere in the large building. She, like everyone else, was still trying to familiarize themselves with the old hospital. The chaos was irritating to Tina, but she knew that if she wanted to give the patient a tetanus shot after cutting himself on a rusted beam, she would have to find a fresh supply of shots.

Finally, she found the room with a large white sheet of paper taped to the front with the words “Supply Room,” written crudely with a black marker. Inside the supply room, she saw boxes upon boxes of opened and unopened containers. Two nurses were busy trying to sort through the supplies, putting them on shelves while a doctor was shuffling through the boxes looking for something.

“Hey, have you guys found any supplies of tetanus shots yet?”

“No, we haven't. Check the boxes over where Doctor Graham is searching,” one of the nurses replied.

“Oh, Doctor Graham, how are you doing?” Tina asked the Doctor who was busy sorting through a box.

“Huh? Oh, Miss Carter. How are you? I take it you're looking for something?”

“Yeah, tetanus shots. How about yourself? What are you looking for?”

“Formaldehyde and body bags. There are a few items that the morgue can't risk being low on and those are two of them. I pray that we won't need more of it though.”

“I'll let you know if I find it.”

“That would be great,” the older man smiled as he continued to search through a box.

The pair worked silently rummaging through all the unlabeled boxes of supplies. The two nurses in the room were still sorting through their boxes and shelving medical supplies. So far Tina had been successful in finding all the cotton swabs and bandages that she would ever need, but still no shots.

“Oh, Miss Carter. Did you say you were looking for tetanus shots?” Doctor Graham politely asked.

“Oh yes, did you find them?”

“It seems I have the lucky box,” the doctor laughed as he handed the box full of shots to Tina.

“Oh thank you Doctor Graham,” Tina graciously took the box.

“I'm glad you found what you were looking for. I however, have yet to find my lucky box,” pointing to the room full of boxes.

“I'm sure it's in here. I hope you won't be searching too much longer.”

“Oh, I'm sure I won't. If those two nice nurses weren't doing their job and would help me look, I'm sure I'd find it a lot faster. Though it's not like any of my patients are going anywhere,” Doctor Graham winked as his comment caused the nurses to giggle.

“Say Miss Carter. Do you know if you'll be transferred to the surface once they finally make a tunnel to get the people out of Old Midgar?”

“I think so. Doctor Griggs already put me on the list of nurses and physicians that would first head to the surface to take care of patients there.”

“Oh, that's good. Do you think you could do a favor for me?”

“Certainly,” Tina replied eagerly.

“I have a memento of a poor man in the morgue that needs to get to his relatives. I've already heard from one of them and am trying to find a way to get the memento to a female relative. Do you think you can take it to the surface and get it in her hands?” Doctor Graham asked as he pulled out a small black box.

“I'd love to do it. But who should I look for when I get to the surface?”

“I'll call them up and tell them who you are. They'll come and look for you. I think that'll make things easier.”

“Alright. I'll be sure to give it to her when she asks for it,” Tina took the small box and looked at it. “What happened to him?”

“That poor man was in the ShinRa tower when Weapon attacked it. He had no chance of getting out in time,” the older man said sadly.

“Oh, that is very sad. I'll be sure to give this to his relatives.”

“Thanks. I'm sure that man's family will be very grateful. But don't let me hold you up any longer. You have some shots to give and I have to find some formaldehyde and body bags.”

“Your welcome. I hope you find your lucky box,” Tina laughed as she left the storage room.

She looked down the halls trying to reorient herself to where her patient was in the unfamiliar building. The small black box banged against her leg as she walked down the hall and Tina wondered what the small memento was that was resting in her pocket. She knew she wouldn't open it up, because that would be rude. She hoped that Doctor Graham remembered to call the woman about the memento. However, Tina couldn't think about those things as she found the room with her patient. It was time to get back to work and give the pale-faced man his shot. Now came the challenge of giving him the shot without him fainting.

* * *

Thomas was busy scribbling down some numbers as he heard the constant banging of Cid and Shera's digging machine. Everyone was surprised at how well the machine was doing, even Captain Highwind. The miners kept out of the machine's path out of fear and respect of the machine's female operator. No one wanted the same fate as Dirk.

Work had been going much faster than Thomas had initially predicted, mainly because of that machine. It would take a few more days before they would reach the other side and at least one more day to put-up the support beams and widen the tunnel enough so it was safe for citizens to travel through. The coal miners were already working hard digging and carting debris out of the mines. His next worry would be setting up a camp near Fort Condor to house citizens who had no place else to go.

“Hey kid!”

Thomas looked up to see Captain Highwind popping some gum in his mouth while strolling over to him.

“How much further do we got to dig?”

“Well, at the rate we're going, we'll probably reach Midgar in two or three days.”

“Ya sure about that?” Cid glared.

“Well, not 100, but relatively sure,” Thomas nervously replied.

“Good enough for me,” Cid nodded. “Hey Wallace! I'm sticking to my guns and putting my twenty gil into the pot.”

“I'm telling ya Highwind. Ya gonna lose. Even with that machine `o yours, it's gonna be four days til we get to Midgar.”

“Less talk, more dig,” Cid spat.

“Whatever Highwind,” Barret laughed as he shouldered a pick ax with his good arm.

Thomas blinked a few times as he watched the exchange between the two AVALANCHE members. Coal miners were all laughing along with them. Everyone seemed engaged in their work or some menial task. Even Pete was helping some miners load debris onto some carts. Thomas felt very awkward as he stood idly as everyone worked around him.

“Don't worry about them. They're always like that,” Nanaki said as he crept alongside Thomas.

“Oh, Nanaki. I'm glad to see you. I kinda feel a little useless right now just standing here.”

“I know how you feel. I don't have any arms that can lift up rocks and my claws can't dig through anything in his cavern.”

“I'm starting to wonder if there's anything else that I need to do here. Cid's really the one supervising the entire project and with Shera here, any calculations can easily be done by her.”

“Try not to be too hard on yourself. We wouldn't be down here digging in the first place if you hadn't brought those maps. I think everyone has a role and you can't expect someone to do everything.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. I just feel awkward when I'm standing around while everyone else is busy,” Thomas glanced at all the busy miners.

“I have the same feeling as well. But I've come to learn that as long as you do everything that you possibly can do, then there's nothing you should be ashamed of.”

Thomas processed Nanaki's thoughtful words and nodded, “I guess you're right. Thanks for the advice.”

“Think nothing of it. Perhaps you'd like to join me in exploring the rest of these mines. I'd like to have some time away from all the noise and I don't have a map to where all the tunnels lead,” Nanaki said as he scratched his ears.

“I think that would be great,” Thomas smiled as he walked with Nanaki.

* * *

Cid Highwind's hands shook slightly as he popped another stick of gum into his mouth. He hadn't had a cigarette in seven hours, thirteen minutes, thirty four seconds and counting. Cid needed to smoke and he needed to smoke badly. He had considered leaving the mines to take a cigarette break, but he didn't trust any of the men in the mines. Especially since Shera was working right beside him. Nobody was going to get friendly with his Shera.

Surveying the work, Cid impatiently tapped his foot on the floor as he checked his watch every other second. Shera watched Cid fidget relentlessly as she looked up from the digging machine she had been monitoring. It bothered her whenever the Captain was agitated and right now Cid was beyond agitated: he was a nervous wreck.

“Captain, er um, Cid. Is something the matter?” Shera asked with concern.

“Is something the matter? Hell, Shera, something's always going wrong here. Of course something ain't right. Damn Meteor almost destroying Midgar, fucking Chaos going all ape-shit and that stupid punk Cloud, god bless his soul, dying; hell, I think things are fucking peachy right now,” Cid said maniacally.

Shera flinched as she tried to find a way to comfort the man. “Well, is there anything I can do to help?”

Cid looked at Shera for a minute and realized that if she went with him outside, then he could take his long awaited cigarette break without having to worry about any of those grubby miners getting too friendly with her.

Cid's eyes lit up as he looked at Shera with a crazed look and quickly asked, “Shera, come with me. We gotta go outside.”

Shera didn't even have time to respond as Cid grabbed her by the arm and dragged her through the tunnels until they reached Fort Condor's entrance to the mines. Shera panted catching her breath after Cid practically sprinted toward the exit. The bright sunlight was soothing as Shera breathed in the fresh country air. Outside, Shera could see the soot and dust covering her white coat and hands. At least it's not machine oil.

“Ah, that's the stuff,” Cid sighed as he blew out a puff of smoke.

Shera watched Cid smoke in blissful satisfaction, realizing that he hadn't had a cigarette all day since they've been in the mines.

“Cid, is this your first cigarette today?”

“Yeah, it is. And it's so fucking good right now,” Cid smiled as he leaned back against a wall and savored the nicotine rush.

Now Shera knew why Cid had been acting antsy all day. He was going through withdrawal and Shera knew quite well that Cid Highwind would go crazy if he couldn't smoke.

“Why aren't you smoking in the mines?”

“Cause Wallace says I can't smoke there. Something about fumes blowing things up. Hell, if I know, but better safe than fricasseed.”

“That doesn't make sense. Why would Barret say that? We have gas lanterns in the mines and cigarette smoke isn't strong enough to ignite a fire,” Shera mused.

“What? Come that by me again,” Cid said with an intense look in his eyes.

“Cigarette smoke shouldn't light a fire in the mines,” Shera said before her eyes lit up in understanding. “I think Barret was trying to get you to quit.”

“That stupid muscled-brain fathead! I should give him a piece of my mind and stick my Venus Gospel so far up his ass he'll be spitting it out,” Cid seethed as he kicked the wall.

“Shera, let's get going. I have some ass I need to kick and we've got a tunnel to dig,” Cid marched forward into the mine with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

“Yes, sir!” Shera smiled, trying her best not to laugh as she followed behind Cid.

Never in a million years would she have guessed that Cid would have fallen for a trick like that. Cid had always done everything possible to smoke whenever he could and would probably give his right eye for a cigarette. Nicotine was his lifeblood and Barret seemed determine to cut Cid off of his habit. She just hoped that Barret was ready for some punishment because the Captain was ready to dish it out.

* * *

“The Mythril Mines aren't actually that hard to navigate through. There aren't many tunnels that lead you to nowhere and since this mine has two entrances, it's very easy to find a way out,” Thomas explained to Nanaki as they walked through the tunnels.

“I remember it being quite easy to navigate from one end to the other. Though there were a few monsters that we had to fight along the way.”

“Monsters?” Thomas asked with an edge of fear.

“Yes, but they were small monsters. Don't worry.”

“Do, do you think that the miners are in any danger?”

“I don't think they will be. The creatures living in these mines tend to stay away from large groups of people. They'll only attack small animals or weak looking creatures. But try not to worry. They're actually pretty harmless,” Nanaki said to reassure the nervous executive.

Thomas looked all around the mines as he tried to convince himself that there were no monsters hiding behind him or lurking in the shadows. He hadn't heard that these mines were infested. Right now he wished that Pete were here with him so he could have someone else to fight off anything that might attack him.

Walking a bit closer to Nanaki, Thomas nervously led them to another turn in the tunnel. He kept his senses heightened as he tried to make sure that there were no hungry monsters just waiting for the pair to walk around the corner before making a snack out of them. Suddenly, Nanaki stopped causing Thomas to nearly jump back and hide behind the large beast.

“I smell something else here in the mines with us,” Nanaki whispered.

“Is it a monster?”

“I don't think so. I've never smelled this before though.”

Thomas nearly screamed when he heard the soft tapping of whatever was behind the corner. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared with morbid curiosity at the bend. Nanaki was already crouched down ready to pounce at whatever was making the noise and Thomas looked around not sure what he should do. He didn't have any weapons besides the map of the tunnels, flashlight and a pencil. Grabbing the pencil tightly in his hands, he raised it high as he stood next to Nanaki and held his breath.

The tapping sounds grew louder and louder until the pair could hear someone or something shuffling against the rock. A light could be seen flashing around the corner bouncing up and down. Thomas's eyes widened. The creature probably had glowing eyes used to illuminate its way through the mines and with any creature with bright glowing eyes, large razor-sharp teeth had to follow.

The creature with the light finally made it around the corner and Thomas flashed his light at it as the creature's brightly lit eyes flashed over Thomas. Thomas screamed as he fell back on his ass and heard the creature scream too in a somewhat high-pitched feminine squeal. Readjusting his flashlight, Thomas stared in disbelief as he saw on the ground not the razor-sharp teeth of a carnivorous monster with glowing eyes, but a beautiful blue-eyed, blonde-haired woman holding onto a flashlight as if her life depended on it.

“Thomas, are you alright?” Nanaki asked as he switched glances between Thomas and the woman.

“Yeah, I am,” Thomas got up as he walked toward the woman.

“It . . . it talks!” The woman pointed at Nanaki.

“Miss, are you alright? Sorry if I scared you back there. Don't worry about Nanaki, he isn't going to harm you in any way,” Thomas held his hand out for the woman.

“Oh, don't worry about scaring me, I'm just amazed that I'm face to face with a talking lion. This is a major scoop that the Science and Technology journalists would love,” the woman locked her gaze on Nanaki, ignoring Thomas's kind gesture as she helped herself up.

“I beg your pardon ma'am, but I'm not a talking lion. My name is Nanaki from Cosmo Canyon and I'm the last of my tribe,” Nanaki said as he sat down somewhat annoyed.

“Well, whatever you are, you're still news, that's what,” the woman continued to stare at Nanaki.

“I'd prefer it if you not examine me like some specimen,” Nanaki growled.

“Hey, are you interested in being interviewed? You'll get your name and picture in the papers?” paying no attention to his obvious signs of discomfort.

“No thanks,” Nanaki snorted.

“Oh, I'm sorry. That's too bad. Here, let me give you my card in case you want an interview.” The woman pulled out a business card.

Thomas watched as the woman still continued to ignore him. Irritated that she seemed to have no regard for what was going on here, he finally found the nerve to speak, “Miss, sorry to ask, but . . . what are you doing in the mines? No unauthorized personnel are allowed in here.”

The blond-haired woman turned to Thomas and glared at him. She walked over to Thomas assertively as she pulled out her press pass and waived it tauntingly in Thomas's face. “Unauthorized personnel or not, the public has a right to know the news.”

Thomas grabbed the pass and read it: Miss Autumn Noval, reporter for the Junon Star. He glanced back and forth between the press pass and the woman, realizing that the sour faced woman before him matched the smiling woman in the picture.

“Well Miss Noval. It seems you are a member of the press. But I still can't allow you to roam around these mines. It's dangerous in here and I'm sure that ShinRa is giving the press hourly updates.”

“Yes, yes they are. But I'm not interested in just the hourly updates. I need current news, news in the now. As you're aware, thousands of people are trapped underneath Midgar and every one of them has family or friends around the world just waiting to hear how they're doing. The people have a right to know what's going on here and I have a right to be here to report it.”

“Well, that's all well and good, but I can't let you—”

“Are you saying you can't let the world know that their loved ones are going to be safe? Are you saying that they can't have the reassurance that the people who they're praying for everyday are going to come out of this alive?” Autumn flailed her arms.

“No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it's dangerous for you to be here,” Thomas added defensively. “There are monsters in these mines.”

“The only monsters I see so far are you and Red Rover. Besides, if I'm not here, then who's going to report to the people, to the world about this? You?”

“Not me personally, I mean. I usually call into Junon and then they—”

“So what good is that if I have to wait an hour for an update that I can give citizens, now? What good are you?”

Thomas sighed in anger as he tried to restrain himself from raising his voice as he spoke through clenched teeth, “Miss Noval. I understand that you're trying to do your job as a reporter, but having you here would only delay the miners from working and getting those thousands of people out to safety. If you value the welfare of the citizens trapped in Midgar, I suggest you exit the mines and wait like all the other reporters for the hourly update because right now you're wasting my time and you're being a distraction.”

Autumn raised an eyebrow as she stared at the young angry executive. She hadn't thought that he would have lasted as long as he had and she was impressed that he wasn't as meek as he looked.

“I guess President Anderson does know how to pick his men. Fine, I'll leave the mines but on two conditions.”

“What?” Thomas crossed his arms.

“One, you give me updates every thirty minutes about the dig and two, you get me a front seat when they finally break into Old Midgar. If you do that, I promise to be a good little girl and wait outside the mines. Deal?” Autumn held her hand out.

Thomas looked at it hesitantly at first. He didn't want this woman in the mines when they finally broke through to Old Midgar, but he definitely didn't want her in the mines right now. He knew he wasn't making a deal with the devil, but a reporter was no different.

“Deal,” Thomas finally relented. “But you have to stay at the entrance near the swamps and don't go across the swamps without an escort.”

“I wouldn't be here in the first place if I hadn't cross the swamps now, would I? But fine. I'll follow your rules. Just be sure to keep your end of the bargain,” Autumn pointed her finger in Thomas's face before turning and heading for the exit.

Thomas sighed in relief as he closed his eyes in a moment of peace. It had been quite taxing on him to keep up with her fiery nature. The image of her crystal blue eyes shining in a burning rage at him gave him the shivers. He was glad that she wasn't unattractive so he could keep his eyes locked on her soft pink lips and luscious eyes.

In fact, she was pretty cute when he thought about it long enough, just too pushy. Her curly blonde hair really matched with her spunky personality and it gave her a certain class that made her stand out. Though her blue jeans and white button-up shirt certainly made her look more causal and easygoing, that didn't change the fact that she could have easily smeared his ego on the cavernous walls if she was given the chance. He was glad that she had left, but a part of him couldn't wait to see her again.

Not a moment sooner, Thomas saw Autumn rounding the corner again and walk straight up to him with a determined look on her face.

“Don't forget to update me every thirty minutes, starting from . . . now. I expect to see you outside in half-an hour, got that?” Autumn yelled as she headed back for the entrance, not even waiting for Thomas to respond.

Nanaki shook his head as he watched the two bicker at each other.

“So do you think she's going to wait outside the cave?” Nanaki eyed the flabbergasted man.

“Well, I hope so. There's no telling with her, but as long as I go talk to her every thirty minutes, she should be okay. She's . . . she's quite a woman, isn't she?” Thomas asked, not hiding his interest in the woman.

“I suppose she is. I haven't quite figured out how you humans determine attraction in the opposite sex yet,” Nanaki sighed, remembering how demanding she had been.

“I don't know either. Though I have heard that the females of our kind are more deadly then the male and now I know why.”

Nanaki laughed at the insightful comment, “If my friends Tifa or Yuffie heard you say that, they would have given you a black-eye.”

“I have no doubt that Ms. Noval could do the same to me. And the scary thing is, most men like me are the suckers that take it.”

“I don't see how you humans do it. But it seems to make both sexes happier in the long run so I suppose there's some benefit in the end.”

The soft clicking of shoes on rock alerted Thomas and Nanaki that someone was headed their way. Thomas half-hoped it was Autumn again, but frowned when he saw a sweaty, out of breath Pete running towards them.

“Hey, there you are,” Pete panted. “I was looking all over for you.”

“Sorry, I should've told you I was exploring the mines,” Thomas apologized.

“Nah, it's all good. I just didn't want to find you half-eaten by some monster or something.”

“Yeah, thanks for the reassurance,” Thomas said flatly. “But I guess we should get back to check on progress.”

“Um, I'd actually wait out here for a little bit longer,” Pete scratched his head.

“Huh? What's wrong?”

“Well, Highwind and Wallace are going at it right now and it's not a pretty sight. I've learned several new swear words that I didn't know even existed.”

“Oh geez, should we go down there and break it up?” Thomas asked worried.

“I wouldn't worry about them. They won't do anything to physically harm each other. Give them ten minutes and everything will be back to normal,” Nanaki said as he shook his head. “I was wondering when this was going to happen. It had been a while since they last argued.”

The sound of a large explosion jostled the mines as the trio stared wide-eyed down the tunnel where the noise came from.

“On second thought, perhaps it would be wise to check on them,” Nanaki sighed.

* * *

Rufus stared down at the deep blue water below him as it sailed past at ungodly speeds. He was amazed. Never in his life would he have believed that chocobos could walk across water, but here he was riding across the ocean.

“Dude, John. Keep your eyes up. You're making me sick watching you stare at the water,” Yuffie said as she held her hand to her mouth.

“Sorry, I've just never been across the ocean like this before,” Rufus still stared in awe at the chocobo's speed.

“You can stare all you want, just don't let me see it,” Yuffie swallowed hard.

“Try talking more Yuffie, doesn't that usually help you?” Tifa asked.

“Yeah, it does. Let's talk about anything except the ocean.”

“I didn't realize that you got seasick,” Rufus said sympathetically.

“John! Let's not talk about that right now!” Yuffie said clutching her stomach.

“I heard that if you repeatedly push a pressure point on your wrist, that helps relieve your naus--, er problem,” Rufus said as he demonstrated on himself.

Yuffie poked the pressure point as she breathed heavily, “This had better work City-boy.”

“Does that really work?” Tifa asked.

“It should. I've seen it work on people before,” Rufus said, remembering how Scarlet couldn't stomach riding in a boat and used that technique to ease her nausea.

“I'm not feeling any better yet!” Yuffie complained as she continued to poke at her wrist.

“Start counting or something. The relief isn't instantaneous or anything,” Rufus replied.

“One! Two! Three! Still nothing yet. Four! Five! . . .” Yuffie counted.

“Remember to breathe deeply,” Tifa added.

“Six! Seven! What do you think I'm doing Tifa? Eight! Nine! Ten! When are we getting toward land?” Yuffie practically cried as she still poked at her wrist.

“Soon, I think we have a few more minutes,” Tifa answered as she bit her lip.

“Just keep your mind occupied. Think about things like what the others might be doing now or what you're going to do when you get to Costa Del Sol,” Rufus tried to think of a solution to ease Yuffie's seasickness.

“You know that Barret and Cid are probably blowing something up in the mine and Red is sniffing someone's butt. The first thing I'm going to do at Costa Del Sol is kiss the ground, that's what I'm going to do.”

“Well, is any of this helping?” Rufus asked.

“A little, but I'm still not looking down,” Yuffie breathed heavily.

“The poor girl, has she always had that problem?” Rufus asked Tifa.

“Yeah, ever since we met her. I hope that technique you showed her will last.”

“Well, I've never used it myself so I'm not sure. For our sakes I hope so,” Rufus whispered. “Is it even possible to get sick riding a chocobo?”

“I didn't think it was, but I guess so,” Tifa whispered back.

“So how long will it take for us to get across the ocean?” Rufus asked.

“Honestly, another fifteen to twenty minutes. I hope Yuffie doesn't notice,” Tifa smiled shyly.

Rufus looked over at Yuffie who was still poking at her wrist. The energetic ninja was sweating and breathing deeply as her pale face continued to stare straight ahead of her. It looked like she was going to reintroduce herself with her lunch at any moment.

“Yeah, I think it's best that we not mention that to her. There are some things best left unsaid,” Rufus quietly said to Tifa.

“I agree,” Tifa smiled. “I have to admit. I'm surprised you're showing so much concern for her.”

“What's so surprising about that? She's a poor kid with seasickness.”

“True, but the way she's been teasing you, I'd thought you'd take this opportunity to tease her back.”

“Who me? I'd never do that. I hate attacking those who can't defend themselves,” Rufus smiled as a few stray bangs fell into his face.

Tifa smiled back as she watched him tuck his brown hair behind his ear. She thought that he was very sincere and caring for an ex-ShinRa employee. He wasn't afraid to fight, but also wasn't devoid of emotions like a cold-blooded killer. She still hardly knew her new companion, but it felt so comfortable being around him; it was like they had already met before.

“Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that. You know, you really aren't like any of the ShinRa soldiers we fought in the past. They were always so arrogant and bastardly. How come you're so different?”

“Hey, not everyone working for ShinRa was like that. It's not like that was a pre-requisite for getting a job there. I think most of it was because the old President Augustus ShinRa was so corrupt that it seeped down to the administration and other employees.”

“Do you really think that? What about President Rufus ShinRa? I know he tried to rule through fear,” Tifa recalled the fight on top of the ShinRa Tower when Sephiroth murdered the late President.

“Really? He said that?” Rufus asked confused. “He always told us that he was going to reform the government after defeating Sephiroth.”

“Ah, but you weren't there during what he quoted as his inauguration speech. This was right after we found President Augustus ShinRa murdered with Sephiroth's sword through his back. Rufus ShinRa just seemed so cold and callous.”

Rufus smirked, realizing that Tifa had met his half-brother John that night. He wondered how warped the reputation of Rufus ShinRa was because of John. Tifa seemed to think that Rufus was an arrogant, cold, perverted megalomaniac, which he knew he wasn't.

“I guess you wouldn't believe me if I told you that Rufus ShinRa is actually a nice guy.”

“No, I don't believe you,” Tifa laughed.

“It's true though. I've met the guy personally. He is a nice guy. I think he just comes off the wrong way to some people. It really depends on when you catch him.”

“Oh? I guess I've always caught him on his bad days. He was always rude to me,” Tifa shrugged.

“He probably wasn't himself those days. I know that the Rufus ShinRa I know would have treated you like a lady,” Rufus said sincerely as he watched Tifa laugh.

He started to really love listening to her laugh and watching her smile. He had started to notice the small features of her face such as the small dimple in her right cheek or the way her laugh would always start with a small hiccup, which Rufus thought was rather adorable. He liked seeing this side of Tifa and hoped that he would see it more.

“You really admire him, don't you?” Tifa asked.

“I wouldn't say that I admire him. I think the best way to put it is to say that I know where he's coming from,” Rufus sighed.

“I know there are a lot of things that I don't know about him. But you seem to be honest and I think I can trust your judgment.”

“Thanks. I'm glad you're being so open-minded,” Rufus smiled.

“Well, I remember what happened last time I expressed my very opinionated views on ShinRa,” Tifa flushed. “I'm still not quiet over that little embarrassment.”

“I wouldn't worry too much about that. It was really cute watching you become so flustered,” Rufus slipped out as he watched her. “You're really too beautiful for me to ever get angry at you.”

Tifa blushed as she heard his words and kept her eyes on the back of Sabina's head. She was too afraid of looking up and staring into his deep-blue eyes. Tifa didn't want to pay attention to the quick beating of her heart or the flutter of her stomach. She wasn't ready to develop a crush on anyone; she wasn't ready to fall for someone else. It was too soon.

“Well, that's good to know. So Yuffie, how are you feeling?” Tifa quickly changed the subject.

“Huh? Who me? Oh, wow! That trick City-boy showed me really works. I just feel so . . . mellow,” Yuffie smiled as she stared off over the horizon.

“That's good. I'm glad you're feeling better,” Tifa smiled as she turned toward the horizon.

Rufus rode silently as he watched Tifa and Yuffie chat. He felt embarrassed for practically blurting out his feelings to Tifa. He wished there was a nice dark hole for him to crawl into so he could disappear. Rufus ran his fingers through his hair as he watched Tifa. He thought he saw her peeking over at him, but she turned her head quickly away and Rufus sighed. Great Rufus, way to scare the poor girl off. I have no company, I'm having an identity crisis and now I've turned off the prettiest girl I've ever met. Maybe I should have gotten blown-up in the ShinRa Tower after all.

(continued…)