Switching Places

            By: General Quistis

            Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh.

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            The seven year-old Rufus ShinRa rushed out of the ShinRa Mansion as fast as he could, not caring if someone was running after him, yelling, "Master Rufus! Master Rufus! Come back!"

And then another voice yelling, "Rufus! You little bastard! Come back here! How dare you talk to me like that!"

Rufus continued to run, his hair already disheveled from sweat and his white clothes stained with blood.

Blood from his mother when his father shot her and she was still holding him in her arms, protecting him from the bullet. He clenched his teeth in too much rage as he stopped running and hid behind the well.

He was never used to the surroundings outside of the Mansion, but he made it out alive.

He started to cry but avoided sobbing so that no one would hear him. He could remember leaving his pet panther in the house who just hid under the table during the events. He suddenly missed his mother and his pet… He covered his face with his bloody hands and just continued to cry. "I hate my life… if I go back there, daddy will kill me…" he thought miserably before wiping his tears away when he sensed someone watching him. He looked up at the person standing before him, expecting it to be General Heidegger, but it was not.

It was a little boy with the same features as his, except that he had spiky hair.

Rufus sniffed and got up, dusting himself. "What do you want?" he demanded.

Rufus and the little boy both turned to the streets when they saw some Turks and some guards running around the area, and General Heidegger shouting at them, "Faster! That boy is weak, he can't run that fast!"

Rufus clenched his fists. "But I just did…" he thought miserably before turning back to the little boy.

"They're looking for you," the little boy told him.

"No, that's not me," Rufus lied as he moved away.

"If you stay here they'll find you," the little boy said.

Rufus kept quiet.

The little boy shrugged and just left him, walking down the street.

General Heidegger saw him and halted him, "There you are!" he said victoriously.

The little boy looked up at the fat man and frowned. The General stopped. "Oh… sorry, kid. Thought you were someone else… have you seen a boy in white?" he asked.

"You mean a ghost? There are plenty of those in the forest," the little boy replied.

General Heidegger shook his head. "No, you ninny! Oh never mind… you're just a child." He turned away and continued to run. "I could've sworn that was Rufus… if not only for that spiky hair and those class-less clothes…" he thought.

The little boy waited until everyone had gone off before he headed back to the well. "They're gone now," he told Rufus.

Rufus stared at him. "I thought you were going to turn me over to them…" he said.

The little boy shook his head. "No, I didn't. They're mean people. I don't like them." He admitted before finally leaving.

Rufus watched silently as the little boy entered a house. He somewhat felt envious. "Hmf… I'll bet he has a happy home…" he thought miserably before tears streamed down his face again upon remembering his mother.

Then, he stopped when someone spoke up from behind him. "Why, hello there, little fellow! Whatcha doin' outside your house at this hour?"

Rufus turned around and took a few steps backward when he saw a big man who looked nice.

The man focused his gaze on Rufus, studying his bloodstained clothes, his face and his hands. "Oh my… are you injured, little fella?" he asked as he bent down to check on Rufus's hands.

Rufus neither squirmed nor moved away from the man. He also noticed that the man had an empty pail beside him. "He's probably going to get some water," he thought silently as he looked into the man's eyes.

Crimson.

"I don't see any wounds… what's with the blood? Playing a Halloween game or something?" the man asked.

Rufus shook his head sadly as more tears streamed down his face.

The man's heart sank as he saw Rufus crying again. "Aww, c'mere…" he said before giving the little boy a hug.

Rufus somewhat wished that his own father could be like this man. "Whoever is the child of this guy is really lucky to have a father like him…" he thought bitterly as he sniffed.

The man let go of him and smiled. "Where do you live? Let me take you back to your house, I'm sure your parents are already looking for you," he said gently.

Rufus moved away from him and frantically shook his head. "NO! D…don't! Please don't… I don't wanna go back… my daddy is going to kill me! He killed my mommy and then…" he stammered, trembling helplessly. He just cried.

The man approached him again and embraced him. "Oh man… really?" he asked, thinking where that boy really came from.

Rufus cried helplessly as he hugged the man. "My daddy is an evil man… I don't want to go back to him…" he said.

The man thought for a while. "Poor kid… must be hard for him," he thought silently as he examined his clothes. "I think he came from the elites… man, those people are weird. They have everything they want but they've got unstable families…" he thought silently with a sad smile on his face before patting Rufus's head. "Okay… but will you allow me to just get some water and then I'll take you back to my house?" he asked.

Rufus looked up at the man with curious eyes.

The man chuckled lightly. "I just can't leave you out here by the well! And looks like you haven't even had dinner yet. Don't worry, I just live in a house down the block with my daughter, so there's still room for a guest tonight." He told Rufus.

Rufus lowered his gaze to the ground and nodded his head, suddenly feeling so tired.

As he waited for the man to get some water from the well, Rufus sat down on the ground and he just fell asleep there.

The man had to carry him on his back as he headed back to his house. As he neared his house, he smiled gently when he heard someone playing the piano from upstairs and then heard the voice of a little girl singing, "…and stay there as I whisper: how I love your peaceful eyes on me… but did you ever know that I had mine on you? Darling so there you are…"

The man entered the house and closed the front door gently before putting down the pail of water in the kitchen and transferred Rufus in his arms before proceeding upstairs.

The singing and the piano stopped as he began to climb up. "She probably heard me," he thought silently. As he reached the second floor, he went straight to one of the rooms and was surprised to see that the door was opened. He stepped inside and saw his daughter "asleep" on her bed that was a lot bigger than her. He shook his head in disbelief as he placed Rufus beside her. "Tifa," he said gently.

The little girl opened her eyes, revealing their crimson color. She smiled and embraced her father. "Hi, daddy!" she greeted happily.

The man chuckled. "Careful, you might wake him up," he said, referring to Rufus.

Tifa moved away, clutching the blanket closer to her neck. "Wh…who's he?" she asked.

"I don't know… just saw him by the well. He looks so tired. Just took him home," he explained with a shrug as he ran his hands through the boy's hair. "Such fine hair… he must've come from the rich people." He said softly.

Tifa examined Rufus and touched his face. "Why is he bloody?" she asked.

"Don't really know, honey. But I gotta clean him up… wanna help me?" he asked.

Tifa made a face before moving away. "O…okay. I'll just get you the basin with water and some washcloth and then I'll step out of the room first." She said shyly before getting out of bed.

"Why?" he asked with a curious look on his face.

"You'd have to take off his clothes, I don't want to see naked boys! They're icky!" Tifa said with a disgusted look on her face before she ran downstairs.

Her father chuckled before he started to unbutton Rufus's white blazer.

After a few seconds, Tifa returned with a small basin of water and a clean washcloth. She placed the items on the bedside table.

"Can he sleep here?" her father asked.

Tifa stared at the Rufus for a while before nodding her head. "Okay… he seems harmless…" she thought silently before running out of the room.

***