Faithless Memories

To Junon

Chapter 69

At Rufus' announcement, a general uproar exploded. Several people were trying to talk at once, including Genesis, Sephiroth, and Veld. Though Rufus was just sitting back and watching it all with a smirk. Kris was trying to get everyone to stop so they could talk it out, but no one was willing to listen. At least not until her eyes widened and she ran off to the other side of the helicopter. All of the men suddenly stopped talking at once, and the sound of retching could be heard in the silence.

Genesis and Zack both rushed to where Kris had gone, but the rest of the men stood there uncomfortably. When the three of them finally returned, none of them could look in her eyes except for Reno. He tried to look sympathetic, but his words were anything but. "You know, that's kinda gross."

Before he could say anything else, Kris pinned him with a glare. "So sorry. Why don't you try growing an entire human inside you? It isn't exactly the easiest thing to deal with jackass. I can imagine that you wouldn't even be able to handle the everyday pain."

The redhead took a step back and put both hands up. "Woah there. Commander Cranky rubbin' off on ya?"

Genesis glared at him, but Kris just huffed. She already felt bad for snapping at her friend since his attitude was expected. "Sorry, just don't go on about it. I wished to god I could keep stuff down enough already, as it is."

Reno patted her shoulder awkwardly, even though Genesis was glaring hard enough to kill. Kris ignored the look as she took advantage of the silence and turned to Rufus. "I have no objections about going to Nibelheim, but there are a couple of requests I have. Could we negotiate?"

Rufus raised a brow at her. She was full of one surprise after another. He smirked slightly before he answered. "You do realize you don't have much leverage here?"

She returned the look with one of her own. "Really? Because I thought I was the one with most of the big picture. You could always dismiss it, of course, but you and I both know that is not the wisest course of action. Is it worth it if I'm right?"

Rufus didn't speak for several moments. When it looked like Veld would in his stead, he held up a hand. He gave Kris a slight nod of his head. "I'm listening."

She gave him a respectful nod in return. "I won't ask much. I would like to be able to stop at a doctor. Junon should have sufficient enough facilities since we will be passing through there. I would also like to request to stop for a day in Gongaga. We have to pass close to there anyway, so it should not add much to our time."

Rufus looked her over for a moment before his gaze turned to Genesis. Her fiancé looked like he was ready to kill someone, but he didn't get to speak before the Vice-President turned back to Kris. "Those are reasonable requests. I don't see why we can't accommodate you. Especially as it might benefit us all given your condition."

A frown flitted across Kris' face, but she smoothed it away before she answered. "Thank you. The only other thing I would like to suggest is that Commander Hewley not be allowed to accompany us."

As soon as the words left her mouth, there was another uproar. Kris sighed at how stubborn these men could be. She wasn't impressed when Rufus managed to get everyone's attention when he shot a round into the air. All eyes turned to the young future-president. Despite the many glares, he turned to Kris with a frown. "I am unsure why you feel the need to exclude him specifically, but I cannot allow it. Too much is at stake if anyone outside this group were to find out. For now, we all travel together, or not at all."

Kris was not happy with his response, but she already knew it was likely to be the one request he denied. She gave him a nod. "I understand. If that is settled, then will we be on our way?"