Sewers and Judgment

By kimetara

One-shot

Disclaimer: FFVII isn't mine.

AN 10/21/03: Oh gosh, I'm sorry you guys!  This is going to be a one-shot, at least for the next year, since I already have so many other multiparts I'm working on.  I'm really sorry, I don't know how that multipart label slipped out!  Argh, I think I get careless when I'm depressed...  *frown*

AN: Something I wrote a while ago and felt like tossing out; inspired by Pip Malloy's "Beautiful Brown Eyes."  Yeah, I know I probably didn't do it justice.  Sorry about that.  Reviews are welcome.

          I can't believe I missed it.

          Yeah, I know my friends say I miss a lot.  But it was obvious.

          Reno, the drunk that knows all the good bars in Midgar.  How come I never saw him in Seventh Heaven?

          That time on top of the plate, when he grabbed Tifa's hands and spun her around.  She was washing and wiping her hands for an hour after.

          And in Gongaga, that tone of shock, then careful neutrality when Rude said he liked Tifa.

          How come I never guessed they had a history?

          Well, I'm finding out now.  We're in the filthy sewers of Midgar, heading up to destroy Shinra, once and for all.  And here they are.  The infamous Turks.

          The Turks that have just offered to let us go by for free.  Offered to let us go to Shinra's headquarters without a fight.  I glance at my companions, Tifa and Yuffie, and wonder why I brought the girls.  Oh yeah.  Stealth work.  Well, should we take them up on it? I'm about to ask.

          "Go to hell."

          My eyes whipped over in surprise at Tifa's deadpan statement.  I never heard her cuss.

          But she did it just now, glaring at Reno.  She wasn't even trying to conceal how much she...hated him.  Loathed him.  Despised him in every corner of her soul.

          And I thought she wasn't capable of hate.

          "Tifa?" Yuffie asked, sounding confused.  Tifa didn't even blink.  She just kept staring at Reno.  It was about now I started figuring I missed something.

          "I know you," Tifa spoke silkily.  It was a tone I've never heard her use.  "You're just trying to get the best deal, huh?  Win-win situation.  Shinra's dying, and you know it.  So you'll offer us the chance to let us go by, because if we take it, it means maybe you've got a shot after this to be remembered well.  And if we don't, then there's no chance of forgiveness anyway, and you get to go back to Shinra saying you did your job.  The loyal Turks til the end," she mocked.

          Reno only smirked and pulled his nightstick out.  It looked like Elena, Rude, and Yuffie were just as lost as I am.  Well, at least that much is reassuring.

          "Guess you figured me out," Reno drawled.  "I knew I let you stay too long."

          Tifa's grinning now, but it's creeping me out.  It's a strange, flickering smile.  "Oh, no.  I only know what you told me.  You're never going to change.  You like killing.  You enjoy it," she continued, tauntingly.  "You like the look in people's eyes when they realize they've reached their last moments in life.  You like hearing them beg, listening to the soft moans of prayers they send out when they can't run anymore.  And it's fun for you to see the light fading from their eyes; it makes you feel better than I ever could."  She practically purred this last part.  What the hell was between these two?

          Reno raised an eyebrow at her.  "I'm flattered you remembered all that for so long, beautiful."

          That was it.  I thought Tifa was going to explode right there, was going to punch him to high heaven then toss him down into bitter hell, but she only continued wearing that small, flickering smile.  "Still the same as ever."

          "`Fraid so."  He pulled the nightstick up to his shoulder, seemingly careless of its crackling end.  Tifa's grin grew wider, almost as if she were baring her teeth, and she shifted her weight back into her fighting stance.

          "I feel sorry for any woman that falls in love with you," she declared suddenly, quietly.  "Because even if you told me that just to scare me off Reno, you know as well as I how true it is.  You'll never change."  She spoke quietly still, but you could feel – it was the punishment, the sentence she had given Reno.  Tifa, who believed the best in everybody, who felt everyone had a chance for redemption.

          I don't think anyone else caught Yuffie's stifled gasp right then, or seen how her eyes had kept flying back and forth between Reno and Tifa.  They were all too busy getting ready for the fight.

          At least I didn't miss everything this time.