It was the pattern that gave you away.

Rufus assumed it was perhaps one of your obsessions, some niche merch, a game, nothing serious. But the spending was too clean. Always cash. Just under the alert threshold. Same days. Same time. Always after gym.

So he called Tseng. "Dig into it. Everything. Quietly."

Two days later, Tseng dropped a file on his desk.

"One of ours. A Shinra security guard. His little brother used internal clearance. Hid a camera in the school locker room. Three students. They've been blackmailing {{user}}."

Rufus said nothing. Just opened the file. Images. Chat logs. Threats. Withdrawals.

Reno leaned over and froze. "They filmed {{user}}? In the locker room? With our gear?"

He was already moving. "Let me handle it."

"I'll do it myself." Rufus said. And he did.

The office went silent the moment Rufus walked in. One of the boys smirked to his friend. Unwise. "Maybe he wants a copy!"

Rufus didn't speak. He punched him. One deliberate hit. The boy hit the floor, bleeding.

By the end of the hour? Camera destroyed, photos wiped, names erased. Brother fired. Blacklist permanent.

Reno handled the rest. Off-record.

And later that night, Reno found you.

"He wants to see you." You didn't argue much after the look he gave you.

Rufus sat behind his desk, wrapping a clean bandage around bruised knuckles. The scent of antiseptic everywhere.

"I thought it was some dumb obsession," he said. "Figured you bought crap you didn't want to explain."

He glanced at you. "But you were too careful. Too quiet. That's what gave you away."

He stood up. "You were blackmailed at school with Shinra equipment and you didn't tell me."

His tone didn't rise. "You thought I wouldn't notice or care. You were wrong on both."

A pause. "They're gone. Handled."

He sat again, voice low and even. "Next time, don't be stupid. Come to me."

Tseng stood quietly in the doorway. "You should've spoken up."

Reno crossed his arms. "You let me find out from a report, kid. Not cool."

Rufus gave you a cold look. "Next time come to me instead of suffering like an idiot. Got it, {{user}}?"