The President's Son

By generalquistis

Author's Note: Another product of my weird mind coming from its deepest, darkest recesses. I'll try to make this brief, but if ever it turns out to be as long as the others (God forbid), please forgive me. These hands have a mind of their own and they're being commanded by my subconscious. In case you have plans of reviewing this piece, please, let me remind you, constructive criticism is welcome, but if you are just going to complain or bash this fic, never ever review and just keep it to yourself. Oh yes, this is sort-of an AU, and take heed, it's a RufusxTifa.

oOoOo

In a place known as Midgar, there existed an Electric Power Company called Shinra, owned by the Shinra family; but, not only does the family own an electric company, but they practically own the whole country… plus other countries in the Planet which they conquered through the expansion of their reactors to provide electricity to their citizens.

The President, Mr. Shinra, is already in his fifties, and his wife, Mrs. Shinra is still in her forties, but their business and their family's power are going strong. Mrs. Shinra has always been the kind of woman who stood by her beloved husband's side no matter what happens.

The President and the First Lady had a son whom they named Rufus. Since he is the only heir to their family, he was treasured by his parents and was over-protected to the point of seemingly being too pampered and spoiled. Yet, he never appeared to be pleased in having everything life could ever to him.

Stress had surrounded Rufus ever since before he was born. Being a part of the most powerful and influential family in the Planet has never been easy for him. He was like a Prince, and his parents were the King and Queen. He knows that one day, he would be taking over the Presidency and the ownership of everything his father owns, and he would secretly despise the idea.

Now if you think that he is a helpless incapable heir, well, let's just say he's not. He took self-defense and martial arts as his electives in his elementary school days, while at the same time, learning from the Turks on how to handle guns and use them as his weapon. The young heir did very well in school and he was accelerated several times. When he turned 15, his father knew that he was already capable of handling the Vice-Presidency of the company and the whole country itself. It was added mental torture for the young heir, and balancing schoolwork with his duties in the office was very difficult for him; yet he still tried hard. The young heir, after all, had an obsessive-compulsive behavior of being perfect all the time, especially on his work.

But there was a point in Rufus's life wherein work became a priority than his studies, and he blamed it on his father. His father had to pull him out of school just when he was about to enter his senior year in an exclusive university in Junon where he was taking up a degree in BS Business Administration with a major in Marketing and a minor in E-Commerce. He was only 17 when that happened.

When Rufus turned 21, his father lessened his workload, and with the help of his mother's persuasion, President Shinra allowed him to go back to school and finish his final year in college.

The President had a farewell party for his son on a Monday evening before Rufus leaves for Junon the next day.

Socializing with other people with whom he isn't familiar with was not Rufus's cup of tea so during the party, he just stayed in one corner with his small circle of friends consisting of Sephiroth, Cloud and Zack, who also happen to be his personal bodyguards, assigned by his father.

"Leaving for Junon again for quite some time again." Sephiroth said, sighing heavily before looking at his glass of wine. "This red wine is nasty. Don't you have any beer?" he asked Rufus.

"You know they don't serve that here." Rufus said.

"You want beer? Go someplace else. This is a fancy-shmansy party." Zack pointed out to Sephiroth.

"Maybe later after this party. Who's coming with me?" Sephiroth asked excitedly.

"Have to sleep and get up early tomorrow." Zack told him.

"Rufus?" Sephiroth asked, turning to his friend.

Rufus frowned slightly. "No." he answered.

"You're asking the wrong person." Zack told Sephiroth.

Sephiroth grunted before turning to Cloud, "Hey, what's eating you? You haven't been speaking ever since we got here!" he told him.

Cloud just continued to stare at something, and when his three friends followed the trail of his gaze, it led to a pretty young lady with long wavy hair brown hair and green eyes wearing a silk pink cocktail dress and a white frilly cardigan.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Aerith Gainsborough. Daughter of one of our scientists here. Her mother is friends with my mother." He said.

"Why is she here? How come I haven't seen her here before?" Cloud asked in a low voice.

"Because you're always hanging around me and I avoid her." Rufus answered simply.

Zack, on the other hand, was gaping at the other young lady speaking to Aerith. "And who's with her?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Rufus turned to the other girl. "Blimey. Don't tell me you like her?" he asked in disbelief.

"What's wrong with her?" Zack asked.

"She's Wutaian royalty. Yuffie Kisaragi. Daughter of Lord Godo, one of my father's friends. She's spoiled and conceited. You won't like her." Rufus warned.

"Well I do." Zack said before excusing himself from his friends and went over to the girl with short brown hair wearing a dark green dress.

"I can't believe he went for her." Rufus muttered.

"Well, maybe you don't like her attitude, but Zack likes 'em rugged. Haha." Sephiroth kidded. "It's back to school again for you tomorrow, how do you feel about that?" he asked.

Rufus looked away from Zack who was already citing a pick-up line on Yuffie. "Relieved, maybe, because for once again in my life, I belong to the same age group as my graduating class." He told him light-heartedly.

"What's so bad about being younger or older than your batch?" Sephiroth asked.

"It just feels awkward. I was 10 when I began my high school junior year and I was the shortest." Rufus muttered before gulping down the contents of the wine glass that he was holding.

"Easy on the drink, kiddo." Sephiroth joked.

Rufus eyed him warningly before turning to Cloud. "For crying out loud, Strife, if you're going to make a move, better do it now." He said, interrupting Cloud's trance.

Cloud Strife turned to him, his blue eyes wide in surprise. "…easier said than done." He told Rufus.

"Would you like me to introduce you to her?" Rufus asked rather impatiently.

Cloud could feel his cheeks flushing. "No! No, thank you." He said.

"For crying out loud, you've been eyeing her ever since you became a SOLDIER!" Sephiroth snapped at him.

Cloud smiled quite dreamily. "No. Actually… ever since childhood…" he said softly.

Rufus turned to Sephiroth with a disgusted look on his face. "Alright, game plan for tomorrow and for the rest of my stay in senior year, please, avoid trailing behind me all the time. I only need one bodyguard." He said.

"One?" Sephiroth asked.

"But you have the three of us!" Cloud pointed out, his attention completely shifting from Aerith back to Rufus.

"Your father pointed out that the three of us should accompany you everywhere you go in campus." Sephiroth told Rufus.

"Well I only need one. I can defend myself anyway. Besides," Rufus flipped his hair. "Who would even dare harm me?" he asked rather airily.

"Everyone who wants to end your family's legacy. Those are your assassins." Sephiroth pointed out.

"That's bull crap. They can't do that." Rufus said.

"That's what you think. There are many rebels out there who would want you dead." Sephiroth said.

But Rufus would not listen. He did not want too many bodyguards following him around in school because it made him feel helpless and very important. He did not want too much attention from people, and having bodyguards surround him all the time whenever he's away from Shinra premises made everyone look at him, when all he wanted to happen sometimes was to blend in with the crowd; something that hasn't happened before in his lifetime. He knew that if he wanted things to go his way, he would have to go straight to the source of the problem: his father.

Excusing himself from Sephiroth and Cloud, he began to look for his father who was in the same ballroom socializing with friends. "Typically I'd find him where most of the old men are…" Rufus thought to himself while searching for a certain location: by the bar. "Splendid." He smirked upon seeing his father socializing with his businessmen friends.

As he approached, his father's friends were the first ones to notice him coming. "Your son, Shinra." One of them announced to the President.

President Shinra turned his attention to his son. "Hello, sonny boy! Where's your mother?" he asked in a jolly manner.

"You seem happy." Rufus said rather sarcastically before getting straight to the point, "Father, I'd like to have just one bodyguard following me around in campus." He said.

"That I cannot allow." President Shinra said, his face turning serious before turning back to his friends and smiled again. "Anyway, as I was saying," he began.

Rufus dragged his father away from his friends for a moment while saying in a low whisper, "Old man, I am serious. I'm 21, I am capable of defending myself; I am basically a grown man. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if people will think that I am incapable of standing up for myself at this age?" he asked.

"Sonny boy, where are your manners? I was talking to my friends!" President Shinra protested in annoyance.

"Listen to me!" Rufus snapped with a stern tone.

President Shinra eyed his son carefully.

Mrs. Shinra approached them with a concerned look on her face. "Is there a problem, dear?" she asked her husband.

"Our son here wants me to lessen his security once he goes back to school tomorrow." President Shinra answered.

"Mother, I believe I am old enough and also capable enough to make that decision. Wouldn't it be embarrassing in my case if people will think that I am still incapable of standing up for myself at this age?" Rufus reasoned, looking into his mother's dark brown eyes.

Mrs. Shinra thought for a while as she took a deep breath. She turned her attention to her husband. "Dear, I think Rufus is right." She decided.

"What?" President Shinra exclaimed in disbelief. "Dear, I'm only concerned about the safety of our son! Why should I lessen his security…" he began to reason.

"He's 21 and we did not allow him to take those self-defense lessons and teach him how to fire a shotgun and not even find some use for those." She said before turning to her son. She smiled. "But you're taking Sephiroth with you." She told him gently.

Rufus kept a straight face, but deep inside, he was relieved. "Thank you, mother." He said before turning his attention to his father. "Thank you, Old Man." He said in sarcasm before walking away from them to go back to Cloud and Sephiroth.

President Shinra grunted. "What's on your mind?" he asked his wife.

Mrs. Shinra smiled.

He looked at her with a serious look on her face. "Seriously, dear, I think you just made the worst decision ever." He told her.

"No, I didn't." she answered before turning around to make eye-contact with a couple dressed in simple party clothes standing in one corner of the room.

The couple smiled at Mrs. Shinra before bowing their heads in greeting to the President.

President Shinra wondered who those two were and then turned his attention back to his wife. "Your friends?" he asked. "How come I haven't seen them around in other social gatherings we've held?" he added, feeling suspicious.

"Old childhood friends of mine from my hometown. I'm just helping them out." She answered. "Come, dear, I'll introduce you to them so that you wouldn't be worrying so much about Rufus anymore." She said, taking his hand and leading him to the couple.