What You Treasure

Title: Going Back

Warnings: Ummm, none I guess.

Theme: #24. the great wide open


Rufus swore as the gunfire continued to expand further in the building. Those idiots were wasting their time and would only serve to piss the angry male off further. The fear didn’t leave his stomach but his face remained stoic. The view outside his office looked more dismal as the seconds ticked by. Within minutes Sephiroth would find his way to the office. He wouldn’t run or cower, it wasn’t his way. He’d stand his ground even if it meant being slain. He’d told the guards not to react, just let the man come through. Instead those under him were getting terrorized just by the man’s presence. Violence begot more violence. At this rate the man would be bent on murder before he reached the door.


If he knew Sephiroth the man had a reason for his visit. Luckily Cloud had already left over two hours ago after informing him of destroying a clone. The search was to expand into the surrounding areas. Anywhere there was life, they’d go to feed. The turks had caught the trail of one and was fast approaching it’s destination. The sooner they took care of this problem they could focus on the main one. Bringing down the Great General. It would be hard but surely Cloud could do it. Things weren’t going well with the search of number twelve. That one would be difficult to catch, his mind being almost as crafty as the original.


“Come in and take a seat.” Rufus spoke as the door slid open. He didn’t have to turn around to know whom was standing there. He brushed an imaginary piece of lint of the white suit as a loud sound filled the air. That got his attention and he turned to see just what the man was doing. His mouth shut hard enough to make his teeth smack together. The white sheet was covered in blood at his feet. His eyes narrowed guessing that it was a corpse. “Please tell me you aren’t callous enough to deliver the girl to my door.”


“Think of it as a gift. It’s the least I could do since you made sure to send me a proper greeting.” Sephiroth didn’t state just who it was in the sheet. No doubt the man would look as soon as he left. The urge to kill the man became strong. It had been this company that he’d worked for and served. Those in charge had been the ones to create him. His eyes narrowed as he looked around the office. There were several files upon the desk. Not bothering with permission he strolled on over. Each one was detailed about some clone. Anger filled him seeing just how many attempts Shinra had made. “Should I be flattered or insulted?”


“Either, I guess it’s entirely up to you. Is this a social call or did you just come to deliver your gift? If it’s the girl you do know Strife will hunt you down regardless of whatever other threats may be out there.” Rufus touched the mass with the edge of his boot. Whatever it was, it was dead. No doubt killed by the one standing before him. Was he to be next to find death at the monster’s hands? His eyes lingered to several wounds on the man’s chest and legs. Some of his guards had gotten lucky with their aim. Pity the wounds would close immediately. “I see you are bleeding, next time try sneaking in.”


“I’ll do as I wish. I will not kill you this day. You will deliver a message for me since you will no doubt see the puppet soon. In a month’s time I’ll leave him another message of a meeting place. There we will settle this and he will meet the same fate as that one at your feet.” Sephiroth felt the twinge of pain as he shifted his weight. He should kill every last guard in this place. The bullets refused to come out and was making it hard to focus past the pain. He’d have to hurry back to the girl. He’d debated waiting to deliver the corpse but the idea of leaving it to rot made him take action. Shinra would get their failure back, he could heal later. “One more thing before I leave. I don’t appreciate being disturbed. If I see another one of those things, you’ll die with it.”


“Leaving with a threat, I’m crushed. Then you best kill me now and spare me the wait. While the others may not seek you out, one will. He will be nothing like you expect. We came so close to another perfect being, except for one flaw. It’s one desire is to kill you. At this point I’m not sure if I don’t want it to succeed. Just a warning, on my part. I’ll deliver your message to Cloud.” Rufus turned back around, giving his back to the intruder. His shoulder eased slightly as the humming of the door was heard. Quickly glancing back he saw that he was alone. Strangely there was no more gunfire as the minutes ticked by. First, he’d see just what the man brought. Then he’d go see where Avalanche was currently positioned.

Tifa couldn’t deny being startled as the man strolled back into the cabin. He’d been gone for a few days and looked like hell. She grimaced seeing the pale features as he sauntered over to the bed. The movements were jerky at best as he took off the cloak and boots. She’d told him to remain there since the wounds were refusing to heal. Instead he’d walked out without speaking. Where had he been? The food was stirred as she watched him strip. A blush crept up her cheeks until she got a good view of the chest. The one wound was getting more aggravated, plus he had a couple bullet holes.


She stilled when dull green eyes flashed at her. There was no room for argument as he settled down on the mattress. The eyes began to close while she continued with dinner. The tight black pants had been left on but she could see the many holes. Questions burned as she tried to ignore his state. The breathing became deep and shallow as she stirred the noodles. Her stomach growled as she debated forgoing her meal to attend him. If he wasn’t sleeping deep enough he’d probably wake up angry at her trying to nurse him. The man had his pride.


Twenty minutes later had her watching the rise and fall of his chest as he remained asleep. Worry made her brow lift as the pale face pinched. Even though it was slightly chilly in the place a sheen of sweat was beginning to form. Putting the plate down she walked on over to make sure. The smooth skin was burning up as she rested a palm on the forehead. He was burning with fever and the wounds looked to be infected. Wanting to see how bad it was she poked his shoulder. He continued to sleep as she shook him. Her teeth began to gnaw on her lower lip as the breathing remained shallow. An idea came to her, the longer he remained still.


She walked to the door and opened it to see if he heard. Clearing her throat she shouted, “I’m running now.” The pale form didn’t bulge as she slammed the door shut for good measure. Still no movement, which made her worry. Perhaps he hadn’t fallen asleep but had lost consciousness. Was it possible for her to escape? Escape with enough time to warn Cloud to get Marlene to somewhere safe? At least get somewhere long enough to send him a message? So if she got the chance to escape she could take it. Thought in mind she opened the door and rushed outside into the cool breeze.


With decision made she continued to run until she was deep into the forest. She had to get to a town and fast. She had no idea how long he’d be out. Her prayers were answered when she spotted a gold chocobo grazing in the pasture. With a little effort she had the bird within under ten minutes. It seemed used to having a rider. What was one doing so close to the cabin? Sephiroth’s departures came to mind. Was this his? A quick kick to the side had the bird rushing forward. At this rate she could be at a town by tonight.


Yuffie scowled as the man stormed off. She was getting real tired of his cold attitude. It seemed especially reserved for her these days. Did they all blame her for Tifa being captured? She’d been there and hadn’t been able to do much. Hell, Cloud had a trouble taking on the man when he’d just been a clone wannabe. Groaning she made her way to the materia shop to see what was in stock. Anything to get her away from Vinny for the evening. Cloud and Cid were talking to some of the town’s folks about the recent attacks.


As she walked around the stairs leading up to the shop, she felt her arm being tugged on. A startled yelp was covered by a warm hand. “Tif...” Her eyes widened in disbelief seeing the other woman before her. Was she imagining things from her guilt? The brown hair was covered in sweat and dirt but it had to be the missing martial artists. “Oh my, you’re here, you’re safe. How did you get away? You aren’t dead. Cloud has been out of his mind with worry about you.”


“Shhhh, I don’t want anyone else to know I’m here.” Tifa huffed in impatience, she had to do this. All the way here her conscious had nagged at her. She couldn’t just leave the man there dying. It should be her dead and she couldn’t let him go like that. It meant doing something totally insane but there was nothing else she could do. “Look I don’t have much time. I need you to do something for me please. First, give me any cure materia that you might have. I also need some supplies real quick. Please, I don’t have time to explain you’ll just have to trust me.”


“What?!” Yuffie had to wonder if the woman had lost her mind. Cloud would want to see her and know she’s alright. Now, the girl was asking her not to say anything. What was going on? “We’ve been looking for you. After the message Sephiroth left we thought you’d end up dead. You can’t expect me not to tell the others I saw you here. Please, tell me you aren’t leaving. What’s going on?”


Tifa slowed down knowing she’d have to explain some things or the ninja wouldn’t understand or help. “Okay, yes I’m leaving again. I can’t leave just yet if I do Marlene will be in danger. I can’t risk that right now. Tell Barrett to get Marlene somewhere safe or keep her with him and Cloud. Also I have to go back but I need a few things. I’m begging you as a friend not to tell the others. Just make sure that Marlene is taken to somewhere safe where Sephiroth cannot find her. Do this for me. I must hurry before he wakes and finds me gone.”


“Okay okay, are you sure?”At the affirmative nod Yuffie went into the local store to get what the other girl had asked for. She came out carrying a large bag with the supplies. “I still don’t understand but I know you have your reasons. Here, be careful. I’d hate myself if something happened to you and I didn’t try to stop you from leaving.” Yuffie smiled as the girl suddenly hugged her in a tight embrace. “Oh before I forget. Shinra tried to make some clones and they’ve escaped. A few of them might come after Sephiroth, so be aware of the danger.”


“Thank you, this means a lot to me. This is something I have to do. I’ll fill you in later when I’m back. Until then take care of Cloud for me.” Tifa let herself enjoy the closeness of her friend. She had to be getting back before he got any worse. She’d rather have him wake up and find her missing than going back to find him dead. She happily took the bag being offered along with the materia she noticed the ninja was trying hard to part with. “I’ll return it I promise.”


Yuffie nodded and sighed. Both of them paused when Cid’s voice was heard shouting for the ninja. “Go before they come and see you. Then I doubt you’ll be able to leave like you want. I’ll try to take care of things here. I’ll have Marlene somewhere by tomorrow.” She watched the brunette run off, leaving only the black night to view. She was curious as to why Tifa wouldn’t keep freedom while it was being offered. Her only guess was that someone was injured but who? She couldn’t picture someone other than their leader being able to seriously injure the man.


Tifa ignored the cold air as the chocobo crossed the distance at a great speed. Another three hours and she’d be back to the cabin. Did Cloud and the others realize just how close they were? Hopefully, Yuffie wouldn’t tell them of seeing her. The package was secured on the back of the bird as she tried not to fall asleep. She’d have her work cut out for her once she arrived back. It would take some work to close those wounds and get them healed. If she didn’t she had no doubt he’d die slowly. He’d be stubborn to do anything about them himself.


She left the chocobo grazing outside as she rushed into the cabin. The supplies were deposited on the floor next to the bed. The man hadn’t stirred since she’d left that she could tell. The breathing was much the same but raspier. She took the time to clean her hands before setting out to work. The man didn’t seem aware of anything as she pried the old bandages off. Some of the blood was crusted and had to be pulled. It would have caused a normal person pain.


Once that was done she started with cleaning it. She wasn’t sure if she could get the infection out. Some of the powder Yuffie had grabbed was placed in a bowel. The funky smell filled the air as the paste was made. The flippant girl had bought the medicine but not something to apply it with so Tifa had to use her fingers to rub the substance into the wound. Next came the task of prying out the bullets. Which meant taking off his pants.


The going was long and strenuous since he was nothing but dead weight. She counted removing seventeen bullets when done. They clanked in the cup set aside to be disposed of later. The flesh around those seemed to red but uninfected. One less thing for her to worry over. As soon as the injured arm was taken care of she began using the cure materia on him. It didn’t help much but the area around the wounds were no longer red. With any luck a few days would see them closed and him healed completely. It meant staying up and tending to him. A yawn escaped her as she went to cleaning up the mess. A hot shower would help wake her up. It was going to be a long day.


Next Chapter: Sephiroth wakes, Yuffie's indecision and the next betrayal..... please read and review.