Title: Spy v. Spy
Fandom: Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Characters: Tifa, Cloud, Reno, Rude, Tseng, Rufus, Elena
Prompt: 040 - Sight
Word Count: 866
Date finished: 08/10/2006
Rating: PG-13 (language)
Summary: Tifa and Cloud take on the Turks.
Author's Notes: I wrote this, had 1,000 words, and scrapped it. It was horrid. This is much better.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Square Enix and Sony Pictures as far as I know.

The situation was Rufus Shinra's fault.

Tifa still wasn't sure she liked it. Oh, going up against the Turks was fine - although if she were honest, she wasn't sure how well she'd hold up against Tseng - but it seemed a little odd.

She glanced at Cloud, who beckoned her toward a small opening - at one time, probably a window - and ducked inside. She joined him and sighed softly in relief.

"Seen any of them?" he asked. He looked nervous, probably because he didn't have any of his blades on him.

"No," she said softly. "Although I thought I might have seen Rude." She reached up to tug on the cap over Cloud's blonde hair, pulling it further down.

"I think I might have seen Elena," he mused softly.

"Should we split up?" she asked.

His eyes narrowed in thought, then he nodded. "For a very short time. If we can manage to take one out, all the better, but if not, then I'd rather stick together as much as we can, in case they rush us. Meet back here in five?"

She nodded, and followed him back out.

It turned out she saw Reno before the five minutes were up. Tifa studied the situation and decided it was just too good to pass. She slipped up behind the red-head Turk, wrapped an arm around his neck, and expertly tugged. She heard a satisfying crack, and a sigh, and then he slid down to rest in the rubble at her feet. Tifa ghosted off, but she wasn't quite out of range of the muttered "shit" behind her.

Cloud caught her eye and beckoned her over before she reached their meeting place. When she joined him, he pointed Rude out to her. "Care to play decoy?" he whispered in her ear.

Tifa smiled and nodded. They quickly worked out a plan, and then she scrambled to get where Cloud needed her. Once there, she slipped down - and actually slipped, on purpose - to a spot Rude couldn't possibly miss seeing her.

And he didn't. He gave chase immediately, and she ran, exactly the way she was supposed to. His footsteps behind her stopped, and she turned to see the bald Turk collapse to the ground. Cloud slipped around him, but then his eyes widened.

Before she could move, there was an arm around her throat, the hand obviously male, and she sighed. "Drat. I knew you were going to get me."

Tseng breathed a laugh and let her go; she slid down him to the gravel. "Now for your partner."

Cloud was already gone. Tifa wished him luck as the head of the Turks went after him. Fishing the small electronic device out of her pocket, she pressed the "dead" button, leaned back, and stared up at the blue sky until that same little device buzzed.

They met at the old Shinra building, now more dilapidated than ever. Cloud's face was a study in disinterest; he kept his eyes on her until she stood next to him, then on Rufus Shinra as he joined them.

"Interesting, for the first trial run," he said slowly. "What did you think?"

"I think Tifa is damn sneaky," Reno muttered, rubbing his neck. "Thanks, by the way. That helped."

"Sure," she said, biting off the 'anytime' that came to her tongue first. She wasn't willing to put that kind of invitation - because he would see it as an invitation - in his mind.

"I think it is a worthwhile activity," Tseng said. "I was… not pleased."

Tifa glanced at him, then stared at Cloud - along with everyone else. "I was lucky," Cloud said. "I found him first."

"Revenge," Rude said, nodding. "I saw that."

Rufus's eyebrows went up. "Revenge?"

Cloud's cheeks went a slight pink. "I guess," he said.

Rufus continued to look at him with interest. "That bears looking into," he said slowly.

"We probably can't use it - not like he did," Rude said, "but we can be sure our targets will."

Tseng nodded, his eyes calculating.

"Cloud, Tifa, I'd like to speak to you about what you noticed, at your convenience. And separately, if you don't mind," Rufus said. "It will help me set up for the next opportunity."

It was clearly a dismissal. Tifa took Cloud's proffered hand and let him lead her back to where he'd parked Fenrir, once again glad she didn't work for Rufus. He was likely to yell at them for this. Once away from the others, she sighed. "Wow," she said, and leaned on him. "That was tiring."

"Yes, it was," he said, and mounted the massive bike.

"I'm looking forward to the next one," she said as she mounted behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and lay her head on his shoulder blade.

"Promises to be interesting." He started the bike but didn't drive off. She lifted her head to see where he was looking, and found her eyes resting on the top of the building where she thought he'd died. She wasn't sure she wasn't wrong, but he'd never said, and she didn't want to ask. After a moment, he pushed the bike off, and they roared back to Edge and home.

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