CONTROL.

𝙍𝙐𝙁𝙐𝙎 𝙄𝙎 𝘽𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙇𝙔 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙔𝙀𝘼𝙍 𝙊𝙇𝘿 when he takes his first steps. his mother’s voice guiding him forward, he pulls his weight with resilience   /   his father’s voice lost in the distance, loud and obnoxious, arguing with someone. he takes his first steps, but subsequently falls gracelessly into his mother’s open arms. her smile, plastic almost. and she whispers ”good job, rufus.” before picking him up and placing a kiss on his forehead. it almost felt rehearsed. 𝙍𝙐𝙁𝙐𝙎 𝙄𝙎 𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙔𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙎 𝙊𝙇𝘿  when he sees his father hand gil to another woman leaving his arms. evidently, that woman was not his mother. a fight ensued, mother and father shouting at one another. rufus was pulled away into his room by one of his bodyguards ‘ for his safety.’ until nightfall, when curiosity got the best of his childish youth. the sight of his mother crying was rare  :  this was, indeed, the first time he heard her sob, felt wet tears on his own flesh as they rolled from her cheeks unto his skin. the child, clueless but still heartbroken, sat in his mother’s lap, wiping her tears. she swatted his hands away, telling him to go to his room and not come out. 𝘙𝘜𝘍𝘜𝘚 𝘐𝘚 𝘚𝘐𝘟 𝘠𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘚 𝘖𝘓𝘋 when his mother dies. rufus runs to her bedroom when the sun rose, though to his dismay his mother did not respond to his calls. she was sleeping? he tried to wake her, but her eyes never opened. it was then that he noticed she wasn’t breathing, so he ran to his father, eyes full of tears, swollen red. he remembers, vividly, how the next morning, the black casket was buried into the ground, how no one cried at the funeral except for the child prodigy : rufus, himself. he tugged at his father’s sleeve, weeping  “when is mom coming back?” his father answered coldly with one word : “never.” a shinra footman told his father she was murdered, there were traces of toxic poisons in her liver. but his father told the world she committed suicide, however. rufus never forgot the lies his father told the world.

𝘙𝘜𝘍𝘜𝘚 𝘐𝘚 𝘛𝘌𝘕 𝘠𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘚 𝘖𝘓𝘋  when he meets hojo, a man from the science department of his father’s company. he’s to follow in his father’s footsteps, and on his tenth birthday he begins shadowing the president of shinra, to learn of the importance of shinra and its work. he does not hide behind his father when meeting hojo’s ‘assistant,’ they called him, sephiroth. but there were strange looks exchanged between hojo and his father when explaining sephiroth’s importance to shinra ——’ the boy will become a great SOLDIER, ’ they told him. though, their expressions denoted a sense of secrecy kept from the heir to shirna. the assistant looked pale, but youthful features meant he was around the same age as rufus. they did not befriend each other; they were not allowed to hold a conversation. courteously, rufus held out his hand when it came time for introductions, hoping for a handshake, but his father puled him away. that was the first time rufus met hojo’s assistant, sephiroth. there was something off about the encounter. the memory was burned his mind. another memory rufus tucked away. 𝘙𝘜𝘍𝘜𝘚 𝘐𝘚 𝘚𝘐𝘟𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘕 𝘠𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘚 𝘖𝘓𝘋 when he’s realized he and his father hold very different opinions about the world and how shinra should run its course. they have their first heated argument over his father’s spending. in the middle of a meeting, rufus spoke out of turn and decided to hand his father documents ( evidence he’d gathered ) of needless, reckless spending on his father’s behalf. money given to strangers and elitists for their continued support. the board of directors look to the president with concern, but his father scolds rufus in front of them all, telling him “ he’d no idea on how to run a company and what it truly costs to keep their allies satisfied. children who lack experience and knowledge should not concern themselves in the matters of adults. ” rufus refused to look at his father for the rest of the meeting, his features soured as the discussions persisted. his fists tightened every time his father spoke. it was then, he realized he wanted to run the company differently. and to so, his father would need to step down. miraculously.

𝐑𝐔𝐅𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐋𝐃  when he begins flaunting his status around recklessly, proving that he was disinterested in the company as a whole, and only concerned himself with ruining the shinra reputation. he’s assigned bodyguards, but he pays them no mind. rufus involves himself in various scandals, spends his father’s money without a single care. but it’s all an act. rufus has begun conspiring against his father, but he would play dumb so that no one would catch on. he’s allowed in on their meetings, but he says nothing more than snide remarks at his father every now and then, taking notes in secret. 𝐑𝐔𝐅𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 - 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐋𝐃 when his father learns that his son is the main financier for the eco - terrorist group, avalanche. his reckless spending was meant to divert their attentions, but when the evidence is found, rufus is considered a traitor. rufus has fed avalanche information to allow for their success for years. though, rufus holds no interest in the the planet or its fate, he is using the organization to amass the power to take his father down. as a result, rufus is neither killed nor stripped of his title for being a traitor; president shinra orders him to be placed under house arrest within the turks’ hidden headquarters. his absence is explained as an “extended assignment overseas.” in return for his compliance, rufus demands that tseng of the turks is not executed for his own wrongdoings to the company.

RUFUS IS TWENTY - FIVE YEARS OLD when he hears rumors of sephiroth, the war hero, died. he hears about the events of nibelheim from the turks, and some would say his expression lacked any sympathy, any hint of empathy. it’s not the first time he says sephiroth’s name, this time with more disdain. they tell him little else, save for hojo’s newest experiments. his lips curl into disgust. he’s disinterested in anything else, ignoring their reports on the rebuilding of nibelheim. he’d focus, now, on regaining his powers; to take what is rightfully his and not his father’s. RUFUS IS TWENTY - SIX YEARS OLD when he is officially named vice president of the shinra company. but he is not seen nor is there a ceremony for the news. it is announced via email sent by his father, the president. ‘he still has business oversees,’ the email read, ‘but rufus shinra is making great strides in the company and deserves this position officially.’ it’s an act of mockery, keeping rufus close but never close enough to actually obtain power. it infuriates him, to say the least, as the title holds no power. not when he is still in exile. though, as a result of sparing the head of the turks, he’s gained enough of their favor to allow him access to his father’s dealings and shinra matters. RUFUS IS TWENTY - EIGHT YEARS OLD when he’s taken full control of the turks, though still somewhat in the command of heidegger, they respond mostly to rufus. president shinra allows rufus to control the turks, knowing he cannot do much from their headquarters, having planted spies in their midst. though, unknown to his father, rufus weeded out the weak, killed those loyal to his father, and has full and complete control of the turks. an attempt to undermine his father’s control from within the headquarters goes smoothly. rufus and the leader of the turks, tseng, act in accordance to shinra laws, for all the president knows.