Enemy's Caress

The two very pretty blonds do not belong to me.

Anyway...turns out that the bashing was not really to this fic in specific as much as the stereotype that Rufus is a rapist. I'm sorry that I have typed a clearly over used and illogical theme.

So, I continued for the nice people who told me not to stop. Thanks to all.
Unfortunately, as I said before I didn't like the way that it was going in my mind. It's really angsty and stupid...But, I couldn't really think of anything else. ^-^;

Also, this isn't really that great of a chapter, but I had fun fitting all of the Turks in. I love those guys/girl.

Onwards!!

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“Good morning, Rude,” Rufus said as he strolled down the hall.

“Morning, Sir,” came the response from the somber Turk. “You seem…happy.”

“Well, Rude, that’s what happens to a man when he finally gets some after so long,” the arrogant redhead said as he came out of nowhere.

“Just keep it up, Reno. It’s been a while since any of our employees simply…disappeared.” Rufus continued the walk to his office listening to Reno’s incoherent mutterings fade into silence.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

He had to have the most boring job in the world. Rufus was pretty sure that he liked being vice-President a whole lot more than this.

Before all he had to do was oversee some things or maybe make an appearance. Even some of that he ended up sneaking his way out of.

Now all he did was sign papers, or at least that’s what it felt like. He put his pen down and gave a long sigh. His mind wandering to the captive blond in his bedroom.

He then pulled out his phone. “Tseng, if you would please join me in my office.” He needed to vent his frustration somehow. Tseng just happened to be the first one that came to mind.

After several minutes Rufus heard a knock on the door and watched the dark-haired man enter and approach his desk.

“Tseng, give me your honest response. Do you or do you not think that a trained Tonberry could do my job?” Rufus said this as he rested his head in his hands.

“Well, Sir, Tonberrys are supposed to be quite smart. Not to mention--”

“That’s not what I’m asking. This isn’t exactly the idea of being a President of Shinra that I had in my mind growing up. I want to visit all of the different areas, not do this boring paperwork.”

“Sir?”

“How about we just find some random employee to sign all of this?”

“Sir, I don’t think that--”

“Good…then I’m taking the rest of the day off.”

Rufus stacked the papers neatly and walked around his desk.

“Come on.”

“Am I coming with you, Sir?”

“Yep, I want an escort as I go shopping.”

“Shopping?”

“Yeah, I need to pick up some things.”

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Rufus slid the key into the lock leading to his room.

“Cloud, I’m back.” His voice rang through the silent bedroom.

He figured that the younger man was still sleeping and walked over to the bed to give him a proper waking. As he got closer, he saw that it was empty.

Rufus then looked to his right and saw the closet door open. When he looked inside, he didn’t see anything. He closed the door and walked into the main room, assuming him to be in the bath.

As he opened the door, he didn’t hear the running water that he expected. There was only one more place that Cloud could be and that was in the other section of the bathroom.

Rufus sat down and leaned against the wall, waiting for Cloud to come out.

“Cloud, I went shopping for you today. I got you several new outfits that should fit you just right. I also bought you some books and a television with a video game console to keep you occupied during the day. I got some other things too, but you’ll see later.”

Rufus sat in silence for a couple more minutes before he began to get worried. He quickly stood up and opened the door to the dark room.

“Cloud?” He turned the light on. There was no one there.

Rufus began to panic. He ran out of the bathroom and began to search the room again. As he entered the room with his bed, he noticed a piece of stationary lying on the desk to the right of the bed.

He slowly walked up to it and picked the paper up, the content leaving a sore spot.

It consisted of one single written word, ‘goodbye.’

Rufus stared at the paper in disbelief. How could this happen? There was no way.

The instant he came back to his senses he took out his phone.

“Tseng, we have an escaped prisoner. Seal the building.”

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Earlier that day:

Cloud shuffled in his sleep before slowly awakening. He looked over at the clock. It was 10:21. So, he’d been asleep for about an hour, and he wasn’t tired anymore. Now what?

He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. He decided he might as well take a shower since that last one hadn’t done him much good.

He entered the bathroom and grabbed another towel before turning the water on. He stepped inside and let the cool water refresh him and bring him to the state of being fully awake.

Cloud found his mind wandering to the subject of his captor. He shuttered when he realized that they weren’t thoughts of hatred, but he was wondering things like: when would he be back, what would they have for dinner, or at least when he gets back I won’t be bored anymore. This was the epitome of Stockholm Syndrome.

Cloud turned the water off and stood in a near state of shock. He was supposed to be escaping. When had he forgotten?

He tied his towel around his waist and stormed out of the bathroom. He was escaping all right. He just needed a plan.

Cloud walked over to the phone sitting on the desk that Rufus had insisted he use for room service. He dialed and ordered some easy to carry food.

While he waited, he changed back into his clothes and found himself content with the same plan he had been trying before, dashing out when the door opened.

He heard a knock followed by the sound of the door being unlocked and opened. Cloud rushed and met the woman at the door. He was about to run out while grabbing his food before he looked around the hallway and saw several soldiers in either direction.

The woman gave him a strange look as she handed his food to him.

“Will that be all, sir?”

Sir? Whatever…Cloud nodded and watched as the door to freedom closed on him.

He opened a sandwich and leaned against the wall looking through the window outside. He longed for the exterior world just beyond his reach.

It was then that a thought struck him. It was something that would probably get him killed, but he was going to try it.

He walked over to the closet as he finished his snack. Now, where was it? He searched until he found the object he was seeking.

Cloud held the ropes up that Rufus had used to bind his legs. He searched some more until he found a bag to stuff his food and a change of clothes inside.

He strapped the bag around his shoulder and walked back to the window. On his way, a thought occurred to him. He could at least do what he hadn’t had the decency to do that morning.

Cloud moved over to the desk in the corner of the room and took a piece of paper and a pen out of a drawer. He scribbled down a note, nothing too sappy or considerate though. Just the simple word, ‘goodbye.’ That was good enough.

He took out the ropes and tied them together to ensure that it was long enough. He just needed to go down one story.

Cloud opened up the window and became glad of the fact he wasn’t afraid of heights because otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to do what he was about to.

Tying the rope to the sill, he threw the rest outside. He then grabbed on and thought for a moment if he should reconsider before jumping out.

He dangled for a minute until he got a good grip and lowered himself down. As he looked in the window of the floor below he felt like some luck had finally come his way when he saw that it was empty.

Cloud hoped that there was no one around to hear what he was about to do though. He steadied himself against the glass before concentrating all his strength into his right leg and kicking in the window.

It shattered rather easily and the unexpected surprise caused him to slightly release his hold on the rope before he realized and grabbed at it once more after falling a couple of inches.

He knocked in some of the rest of the glass around the edge to prevent being cut and swung inside. However, as he landed on his feet he noticed where the window still managed to catch his upper right arm causing profuse bleeding.

Cloud looked around and noticed that he was in an office. He went to the door and opened it slowly sticking his head outside to survey the hall. No one was coming so he figured he was safe.

He dashed back inside the room searching for a first aid kit. After several minutes of looking, he found a pathetic looking one inside of a desk. It only contained enough bandages to go around his arm twice, and that wasn’t exactly good.

He walked outside and after turning a corner saw the elevators. There were many people in front of them though and Cloud began to act as natural as possible. No matter how ordinary he posed though he felt stares from the people as he waited on the elevator.

Black pants and a bloody white shirt weren’t exactly standard Shinra issue. To avoid an onset of questions he let them all get on one elevator and waited for the next one.

As he heard the ding, he let the people exit before stepping inside. The doors began to close and he saw some blonde girl running towards him and yelling to stop it for her. He noticed her uniform though and thought it best not to be caught in an elevator with a Turk.

However, she ran up just in time and practically jumped inside, ramming right into Cloud’s arm releasing a painful groan from him as they both hit the floor.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said sitting up and getting off the poor man.

“Ah…that’s okay.” Cloud sat up clutching his arm before releasing it and noticing his left hand was covered in blood.

“Oh, my god. What happened?”

“It’s nothing you need concern yourself with.”

“Well, still…let me bandage that properly for you. I have some stuff in my car outside.” Cloud stood and pondered the repercussions of such actions and decided to chance it because he knew that otherwise he wouldn’t get very far.

“Thanks, I think I’ll take you up on that.”

“Okay…so…What brings you to Shinra?”

“I…I, uh…Had some business with the President.” Well, it was the truth…kind of.

They walked into the lobby and Cloud tried to avoid the scope of the numerous cameras. Luckily, her car was parked a ways off from the building so Cloud didn’t have to avoid the suspicious looks of the soldiers standing around outside.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

“There you go.” Cloud pulled his shirtsleeve back over his newly bandaged arm.

“Thank you…uh…”

“Elena. Is there anything else I can get you, Mister…?”

“Strife…Cloud Strife. And, if it’s not too much trouble…could I get a ride to the edge of Midgar?”

“Sure thing. I’m on my lunch break right now and it’s the least I could do to apologize for running into you like that.” Elena pondered that name in her mind. Strife…Cloud Strife…sounded familiar.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

The ride there was quiet enough. Cloud wished that she would just shut up all together, but she kept asking questions because apparently she didn’t like awkward situations.

“So where is it that you’re going?”

“I’m headed for Gongaga.”

“Oh, really? My boss just went out that way. Do you live out there?”

“No, I’m just meeting up with some friends.”

When they arrived at the gate, Cloud noticed that it was locked.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get it open for you.”

Cloud began to feel that their meeting was a gift from God. He watched as she took out a card and slid it into the gate.

“Are you going to be okay on your own?”

“Yeah, I’ll just hitch a ride,” Cloud said as he walked through. “And thanks…for everything.”

“Don’t mention it.” The doors closed and Elena got back in her car and drove to her apartment to get a quick meal.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

When she had sat down with her lunch, she heard her phone ring. She took it out and looked at the number. It was Tseng.

“Hello?”

“Elena, we’ve got a situation.”

“Sir?”

“A prisoner escaped. Rufus seems very keen on the recapture too.”

“How can I help?”

“Just get back to the building as soon as you can. In addition, keep a lookout for a man about five-foot-eight with blond spikey hair. His name is Cloud Strife.”

Elena froze. She’d helped an escaped prisoner.

“Elena?”

“Tseng, sir…I-I, um…”

“Yes?”

“He’s not in Midgar anymore.”

“Did you see him?”

“Y-yes, sir. And I helped him get out too.”

Elena began to cry, and her sobs were so loud that Tseng heard them on the other line.

“Don’t worry. Just get over here as soon as you can. I try and smooth things over with Rufus.”

“Yes, sir.”

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Elena opened the door leading to the President’s office. When she peered inside, she saw Tseng and a very irritated Rufus.

“Come in and close the door.”

She did as she was told and took a seat next to the desk.

“It is my understanding that you helped Cloud Strife escape.”

She looked to Tseng who merely gave her a considerate look and a nod to go ahead.

“Yes, sir. But I didn’t--”

“It’s immaterial if you knew yet or not. Simply inform me on if he told you anything.”

“Well, um…he said that he was going to Gongaga to meet up with some friends of his.”

Rufus blamed himself for not thinking of that sooner. Apparently, Cloud had overheard that morning.

“Tseng.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Gather some troops and head for Gongaga. You are to apprehend the prisoner. Feel free to use force as long as he is brought back alive.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll head out at once.”

“Good.”

“Um…” Elena spoke up. “Am I to be punished, sir?”

“I was considering it, but thanks to your cooperation, I’m merely going to put you on probation.”

“Oh, um…thank you, sir.”

As Elena left she could hear Rufus saying to himself barely above a whisper, “You really hate me…don’t you, Cloud?”

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

A couple of cars and a boat ride later, Cloud arrived in the outskirts of Gongaga. He remembered what the Turk said about their arrival time and thought that it should be rather soon.

It was getting dark and Cloud decided to make a small camp for himself. He started by looking for some firewood.

After he had a strong fire built up he took out some food, what he had left, and decided to change out of his bloody and dirty clothes into an outfit that was relatively the same. Rufus seemed to have a penchant for black and white.

Cloud leaned against a tree and found his mind slipping back to the man responsible for making him feel lonely for the first time in his life. Did he miss him?

He was then brought to full attention as he heard rustling around him. He never should have told that ditzy girl where he was going.

“Cloud?”

Cloud looked around for the source of the feminine voice.

“It is you! Cloud!”

He watched as Aerith came running into view and pulled him into a hug.

“Cloud, I’m so glad you’re safe.” This time it was Tifa.

Cloud saw as Barret and Red XIII completed the picture.

“These two haven’t stopped worrying about you, Spikey.” He could tell that Barret seemed a bit relieved to see him again too.

“I hope you don’t mind if we join you,” Red XIII said lying down.

“Whatever.” He pulled Aerith away as she started to rub against the cut on his arm. “So, you were worried about me, huh? Not enough to come and help though, right?”

“Cloud?” He looked at Aerith’s and Tifa’s hurt expressions.

“What the heck are you saying, Spike?”

“We…we wanted to help, but…” Tifa was beginning to tear up.

“I wouldn’t let them,” Barret said callously, “I wasn’t about to let them go in to save your butt only to get caught.”

“Yeah, well thanks for the thought. I’m leaving.” Cloud got up and began to walk away.

“Cloud…” Aerith began to get up and follow.

“Let him go. He’ll be back. It’s not like he has anywhere else to go.” Barret said this as he grabbed her arm.

Cloud sat down on a ledge and thought about what just happened. Why had he done that? He was getting mad at them for no reason.

No, it was for a reason, he thought upon further consultation. That entire time he’d been worried about them, wondering if they were okay, and they barely even thought about rescuing him.

He wasn’t wanted here. They were perfectly fine without him apparently. There was only one place that he felt he belonged now and he probably screwed that up with his escape.

Did he really want to go back to Rufus? Sure, the man was a bit domineering, but he kind of made Cloud feel wanted. It was a feeling that he liked to experience.

Of course, it would probably be near impossible to break back in by now. Maybe he could write a note first, a real note this time.

He reached in the bag he still wore and took out some paper and a pen he had taken. It was hard in the moonlight, but he managed to see enough to jot down his message.

Cloud then stood up and tried to get his bearings in order to find the town. He set off and after a short amount of time found it. He entered and walked up to the first person he saw.

“Excuse me, miss…Would you mind mailing a letter for me? Here,” he handed her a hundred gil that he had been lucky enough to find forgotten in the bottom of the bag, “that should cover it. And keep the rest that’s leftover.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll mail it first thing tomorrow.”

“No, thank you. Goodnight now.” And with that, Cloud strolled off.

He didn’t know where he was going to go for the time being. He didn’t want to go back to the others. He didn’t want to see them.

Cloud decided that while he thought it over he would rest against a tree, seeing as how tired he seemed to be. He then heard a rustling noise again.

It must be one of those annoying girls again. The ones that said they were worried.

He waited for them to come up. Then he felt a sharp kick to the head knocking him to the ground.

Cloud felt hands around him and by the time one of his hands was cuffed, his reflexes jerked to life and he was on his feet and knocking anyone down who came near.

However, after a minute they were all on him at once and pushed him down to the ground assaulting him with punches and kicks the entire time. When they got off, Cloud was handcuffed on both wrist and in grave pain.

He tried to stand, but someone gave him a swift kick to the stomach causing him to double over and fall back down. Then another took out a gun and Cloud assumed this was the end.

“Stop, Rufus said not to kill him.”

“Oh, yeah…right.”

He watched as the older man flipped the gun and hit Cloud in the head with the end rather forcefully, sending him into a reluctant slumber.

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Yeah...not my favorite chapter...Nothing sexy in it. :'(
However, the next one is the last and will rap it all up.