A TIME OF MY OWN
By
Vanguard Ziggy
Most people wonder who I am, what is my story. I realize you would not recognize me by the way I am talking now. But to tell my story the only way is to actually talk.
First let me tell you, my name is Fujin. I was a member of the Balamb Garden's Discipline Committee, the second in command actually, right after Seifer. I was also the captain of Edea Kramer's Galbadian forces after Raijin and I followed Seifer out of the Garden. But I'm getting ahead of myself. To tell a story, one must start it at the beginning.
I was born at Fisherman Horizon. Yes, the F.H. Does that surprise you? It does most people. Everyone in the story is born in the larger cities. Of course Squall was born in Winhall so I guess where one was born doesn't really determine your success. I was born on a Wednesday, on a very stormy night. My father was a pacifistic fool, and the only thing my mother knew was how to drink herself into a stupor. I got my gray hair from my father, and my anger from mom.
Five years after I was born, my mother was feeding me when my father came home penniless again. He had tried to tell her that he believed that gil was the foundation of all evil, and that all we needed was loved to get by. To bad that's not the way the world really works. At the time we lived in the corner of an old railroad station, huddled in the dark. "Dad" could have gotten a job when the station was working, but refused because of the Sorceress War. He insisted that Esther was going to use it to invade other countries and that his working for it would have aided in furthering the war.
"Oh damn it to Hyne, Roger, how many times is this going to happen," my mother roared. She gritted her teeth and glared at him with her dark red eyes, that's where I get my red eyes by the way. "Where the hell have you been these last few hours?"
My father smiled and played with his thick mustache. "Now Maria, let's not get too worked up, we have each other that's what counts, right?"
This was too much for my mother. Her body shook like a wild fire took over her body. "Bastard," was her only word. My mother rose to her feet and tossed the only thing she could find, which unfortunately for me, was me. I flew across the station, father made a half hearted attempt to catch me, but he wasn't very fast. I crashed on the left side of my face. I screamed for hours, even though my face grew numb just five minutes after I crashed into the ground. Blood flowed over the rails and down into the gravel.
A normal parent would have consoled me, but my mother rushed after my father, completely insane. As he tried to calm her down, she leapt at him, her claws ready to tear his face off. It was at that time that the last train to use the tracks before the railway closed down, roared into the station, and crushed both my mother and father under its weight. The last memory I have of my parents where their torn bodies, my father's face in a shocked grimace, my mother's face in a demonic scowl directed at my father, the whole right side of her face torn off and under the wheels of the train.
A kindly old woman who lived in a house just right around the corner from the station heard my cries and rushed to my aide. With the help of the train director she got me to a small hospital and away from the grizzly sights.
"Who is this child," the doctor inquired, hovering over my face. I looked up at him and could tell that he was getting nauseous just looking at me. His eyes were growing darker as he stared, and his lips quivered.
I was wearing rough brown clothes, soaked in my and my parents' blood. I hated my clothes, my father bought them for me, and they were three times bigger than what I really needed. Now that I think about it, I have a gut feeling he found them in the trash somewhere, even though he swore they were a gift from a friend. How do I know? Dad didn't have that many friends.
"Poor thing," the neighbor woman said. "Her parents were white trash who lived in the train station where they were killed by the train." The neighbor, Selma was her name, looked down at me, her cold eyes strong and determined. "Can you help her?"
The doctor sighed and shook his head. "She'll live, but there's nothing I can do for her left eye." He sighed and lowered his head. "I suppose we'll have to send her to child healthcare now."
Waves of fear ran down my spine. I swallowed and I could feel tears start to roll down my cheeks. My mother had always warned me of such people. "If you are a bad girl, the child healthcare will come and take you away. If you don't do what I tell you, they'll steal you in your sleep and make you work without any food." Did I mention my mother was a psychotic bitch?
"Well, we can't have that," Selma said, her voice as sweet as honey. "I'll take care of her."
The doctor frowned and looked at her. "Do you have Medicare? Can you take care of such a little child?"
Aunt Selma, I called her aunt because she is the only adult that I really cared about, glared at the doctor and scowled. With a swift kick to the rump the doctor knew that she wasn't such a senior citizen as much as he thought she was. She was truly the jewel in the garbage dump that was my early childhood.
And so I came to live with Aunt Selma for a while. It was one of the happiest times of my life. She taught me how to read, how to cook, and even a few self defense tactics. It seemed that Aunt Selma had been a lieutenant in the Timber army, who had escaped after the capital fell to Galbadia. Imagine my father's anguish over his daughter's living with a military person. She even taught me how to fish. That's where I met one of my best friends; and one of the major pains in my life, Raijin.
It was a Saturday evening when Aunt Selma took me to the docks and showed me how to string a worm on the hook. While I was doing this, I heard a high pitched squeal and saw a dark skinned boy around my own age leaping around as his pole thrashed in his hands. He might have pulled it in correctly had the line not been tied around his legs. His father chuckled and tried to help him, but both of them soon ended up in the water below.
My first thought was, idiots. Who were these fools to distract me in my attempts to catch fish? Why would they allow such clowns near the docks? My anger was soon erased by the calm laughter of my aunt.
"First time taking your son fishing, Donald?" she cackled. Her eyes bright and alive, she patted me on the shoulder and rushed over to lend them a hand. The tall dark skinned man with long black hair smiled and accepted her hand.
"Raijin has the reflexes of his mother sometimes," Donald Saiz said with a chuckle. "He has he mother's fear of worms too." He looked over and smiled at me. "Cute little girl, I see she has a little problem with worms too."
White hot anger burned through me. I narrowed my red eye and looked down at the hook. Clutching the worm in my right hand, I squeezed a little and stuck it on the hook, tossing the line into the water as my aunt had showed me. I smirked and looked back at him.
Aunt Selma smiled at me, her face mixed with both pride and sorrow. I knew she didn't like it when I got so angry, but I just couldn't help it. I had too much of my mother's blood in me. I looked down in shame, and didn't feel the tug at my line. Then next thing I knew, I was being pulled closer and closer to the edge of the dock and into the water. I had caught something big, far bigger than I had expected. My mind raced, my heart pounded against my small chest. As I struggled to keep from falling in, the dark skinned boy rushed to my aide, and helped me reel in the twelve pound fish. For such a runt he was strong, and just as determined as I was.
Our eyes meet and I could see he was happy, but a little scared of me. It was my eye patch. It frightened most of the children around F.H. Rage began burning its way through my skin again. It wasn't fair; it wasn't as if I asked for the eye patch, or to lose my eye.
"Are you a pirate," he asked sheepishly.
"What?" I roared at him. Was I a pirate? What a stupid question was that?
He swallowed and pointed at my eye patch. "Are you a pirate? I like your eye patch, ya know. It's cool, ya know."
I frowned. He had to be kidding. "Cool, what do you mean?"
"It makes you look tough, ya know. I wish I could be tough, but I'm always getting picked on." He looked at his feet and swayed his legs back and forth.
His father walked up and smiled down at me. "Well, I stand corrected; you handled that worm pretty good." He chuckled and ran his hands over his son's hair. "You've also brought my son out of his shell. I've never heard him talk this much."
"Perhaps the children will become good friends Donald. I think we should bring the two of them down here tomorrow," my Aunt Selma said, putting her hand on my shoulder. She squeezed it, and I knew better than to protest. That was the beginning of my friendship with Raijin.
My happy days would end a year and a half later. I was six in a half. Raijin and I were down by the docks, fishing when his father rushed down to his, his eyes wide with horror. His face was drenched with sweat and his tongue seemed to have gotten thicker. "Children, he wheezed, "you have to leave."
"Pop, what's the matter?" Raijin shot to his feet, a good foot taller than me now, but still a klutz. His father grabbed his chest and dropped to his feet.
"Son, go to Mr. Hein and ask him for a ride on the boat," he could hardly breathe now. "Your mother is dead son. So is Ms. Angela. Bandits broke in and attacked our house," he collapsed to his knees. "They were from Esther; they wanted Fujin for their sorceress."
My mind raced. Ms. Angela, Aunt Selma Angela. She was dead, because of me. I bit my tongue and shook my head. "Liar," I roared at him. I rushed by him, pushing by Raijin. I ran so fast I thought my legs would fall off. I rushed halfway into town, when another neighbor stopped me.
"No Fujin," he said with a harsh whisper. In the air I could see dark smoke rise into the air. "Those thugs are looking for any little girl to steal away. Your aunt died to protect you." My heart began to ache. Tears were running down my cheeks.
"I want to go to her," I said in a low voice.
"She's gone," he told me. "She wouldn't want you to be kidnapped." He grabbed my shoulder and ran with me back to the docks, where Raijin was holding his father's limp body. He put his hand on Raijin's shoulder and gently pulled him away. He led us to the boat owned by Mr. Hein and told him what happened.
Before we left, the man took me aside and looked down with a frown. "It was the mayor who let Esther know about the girls in the town. He betrayed us." Why he told a little girl such a thing, I don't know, but at that moment I knew nothing but hard, cold hatred for small towns.
Mr. Hein took us to another small town, Balamb. Once we got there, a chubby man in a red vest and thick bifocals looked down at us and smiled.
"Hello, Raijin, Fujin. My name is Cid Kramer, the headmaster of Balamb Garden. I received your admissions letters a few weeks ago, but I never expect the unexpected events to bring you two here so soon."
Mr. Hein must have seen my frown because he leaned over my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "Your aunt signed you up for a military school, as did Raijin's father. You both got in." I blinked and felt my heart break a little bit more. So, either way I was to be sent away from the only woman I ever considered family.
Once we arrived at the Garden my worse nightmare came to life. Almost immediately the children picked me out as a human punching bag. They tormented me for the color of my hair, the color of my eye, and the fact that I wore an eye patch. They tormented Raijin too, for being to tall, and for being so soft.
Three days after we arrived I got into no less then ten different fights. One time I was even jumped and pulled into the boy's bathroom. They held me down, and tormented me. They pulled my hair, mocked my F.H. accent, tried to pull off my eye patch. I put up with this on a daily basis for over two weeks. One day, as they had overcome me and pulled me back into the bathroom, a tall blonde boy burst through door.
"What do you want Seifer?" one of the boys demanded.
I had heard of Seifer. He had been the only one besides me to get into the most fights, usually with another student called Squall. He narrowed his thick brown eyes and frowned. "Let her go," he snapped. Right behind him was Raijin. He looked sheepishly at me, knowing I didn't like help in my fights, but I had to admit, this time I was glad that he hadn't done what I asked.
"Are you nuts," one of the boys asked, "there's eight of us, and only one of you." He craned his neck and looked straight at my best friend. "Well, two of you if you count the little cry baby."
David Yoi had pinned my shoulders to the floor, as was normal for the sick freak to do. What he didn't have pinned were my feet. With a swift kick I nailed him right in the groan, and felt satisfied as he dropped like a rock in water.
"Three," I howled, beating off another of the boys. I rose and stood in a defensive posture. Seifer looked at me and smiled. He and Raijin rushed to my side. The group of boys carefully looked at us, considered their options and made a half hearted attempt to fight. To say we kicked their butts was a major understatement. David himself had to be sent home with a broken arm. He never came back.
However, it did catch the attention of Cid Kramer, the headmaster. We were swiftly called to his officer, where he sat in his desk. He glared at us, folding his fingers between each other as he rested his chin on the backs of his hands.
"What am I going to do with the three of you?" he sighed. None of us answered. All he looked at were five unrepentant eyes. He groaned and looked at his papers. "I could have you expelled. But then without parents, you'd be sent to child healthcare." For the first time I felt a tinge of fear, hearing the name of the dreaded organization. Seifer was unrelenting.
"So send us," he snapped.
"Mr. Almasy, that attitude will not be tolerated. Do you understand me?" Seifer narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. Cid Kramer frowned. "I could expel the three of you, but I understand that all three of you are being bullied. You actually work better standing up for each other, and I was going to expel Mr. Yoi for his actions against Fujin and other girls as well anyway." He thought for a moment and nodded. "From now on, the three of you are an important part of this Garden. It is going to be your jobs to make sure the rest of the students obey the dress code and other rules imposed by myself and the staff." He smiled for a moment. "Do you understand?"
"So, we're like cops now?" Raijin asked, blinking.
Cid laughed and nodded. "Of a sort," he said. "That of course doesn't make you three immune to the laws you'll be enforcing, but I suppose you could consider yourselves cops."
"That's a dumb title," Seifer said. "I think I like the Discipline Committee better."
The Discipline Committee, I had to smile at the sound of that. I nodded and look Seifer straight in the eyes. "Agreed," I snapped. That was the beginning of our ten year reign.
Then one day, ten years later it began to fall apart. Seifer, Raijin and I stood in the cafeteria, trying to decide what we should have. The rest of the students gave us a wide birth, especially Luke Yoi, David's younger brother. Like David, Luke was a sexist ass. Unlike David, the fourteen year old Luke knew far better than to drag a girl into the boy's bathroom to torture her. Not on my watch.
Earlier that day, Seifer had come into my room holding his hand over his head. My heart skipped a beat as red blood flowed from his face. I immediately rushed over and helped him to my bed. I ran to my bathroom and grabbed my room mate's towel from the sink. I ran back to my bed and laid it on his head. "Attacked?" I asked.
"You could say that," he groaned. "That damn, Leonheart. I was messing with him, and challenging him to a duel. I didn't mean to cut him," he startled chuckling, groaning as the pain ran through his head. "Actually I do think I meant to. But damn it all I didn't think he'd have the guts to strike back like that."
The rivalry between Seifer and Squall was legendary in Balamb Garden. Squall was the only student who didn't fear us one bit. He even challenged to take all three of us on at once. If Instructor Aki hadn't walked by, we would have fought.
"Raijin, I'll get him, and," for one of the few times I was actually communicating with someone in actual sentences.
He shook his head. "Its nothing Fuji," he said, using his little nickname for me. I had to admit I rather liked it, though I would have never admitted out loud. He rose to his feet and gave me back the towel, a long gouge crossing his face handsome face. "We have to get to class anyway. I'm sure Instructor Trepe will have enough to say about the fight as it is."
We walked to class and sat down. Neither Squall nor the Instructor was there. Raijin glared at Seifer and turned back to me, concern etched on his tanned face. "What happened to him?" he whispered.
With my left foot I kicked his ankle as hard as I could. "Idiot," I snapped. He wailed and complained that he was only asking, after which I kicked him again. I felt a little better now. Right after that the Instructor and her little pet walked in the room. Squall sat down in his regular place, right across from Seifer and glared for a moment. The instructor told us there was going to be a field test for SeeD applicants and those that hadn't scored high in the written test were to stay in study hall. I leaned over and bore a hole in Raijin's chest with my eye. If I hadn't been up all night trying to help him study, we would have been going on that test, instead of staying here at the Garden. He sank in his chair, shamefacedly, and crossed his arms.
Seifer, as always though, had gotten high marks on the written test. He would be going again. As far as Raijin or I were concerned, he should have only gone once. But politics forbid his admission into the ranks of SeeD. He was too "reckless" for their little tastes. He took too many chances and "gambled" with the lives of his squad. I bit my lips feeling the iron taste of blood trickle into my mouth. If only Raijin and I could go with him, if only we could join the same squad, we'd be able to back him up. Except I knew there would be "three disgraces" other than just one. The first time he had come back empty handed I knew that Cid would never allow him to become a SeeD. The old man was scared of Seifer.
So there we were, at the cafeteria. Raijin was whining on about just wanting water. Seifer really didn't care what we got. I had just gotten my "allowance" a word I hate, since by being on the Discipline Committee we were part of the inner circle of politics at the Garden. We were employees of the Garden, and thus were receiving pay cheeks, just like the SeeD's did. But because we were not SeeD's, instead of a pay cheek it was called a damn allowance. Anyway, I had just gotten my money, and decided to treat my posse to lunch, before Seifer was to leave. I had actually hoped to try the new cappuccinos that they were offering. As we stood waiting, Squall walked into the cafeteria and stood behind us.
"Hi, Squall," that idiot Raijin blurted out, "you want something? Fujin's treating ya know?" I felt my blood boil. As if I was going to order something for that snot. I kicked Raijin's ankle and turned around. It was a well known fact that the Discipline Committee did not talk to Squall Leonheart.
We stood there a moment longer, and I had finally made up my mind to try the cinnamon cappuccino that had sounded so good, when a blur of blonde hair and blue clothes rushed past us. Us! The damn Discipline Committee!
There stood our favorite punching bag, Zell Dincht. He huffed and puffed, looking at the cafeteria woman. He asked if there were any more hot dogs left, only to discover that the last one had been sold just a few moments before. Now let me just say that I've had one of those hot dogs, and to be perfectly honest, it was one of the grossest tasting things I have ever eaten. Why my classmates kept going on about how wonderful they were, I would never know.
We watched Dincht walk slowly away, defeated and upset. For a moment, non of us said anything. Then Seifer shook his head and sighed. "Running in the halls of the Garden," he groaned. "Let's go arrest that student." He turned and rushed after Dincht. I smiled and nodded, followed by Raijin. I halfway expected Squall to stop us, but he just stood there and watched us go.
After catching, and roughing Dincht up a little, we walked over to the Quad to relax. Of course with our luck that was impossible. A new student, one with a perky brown hair do, and a bright yellow dressed literally bounded towards us the moment we walked through the doors.
"Hi, do any of you guys play an instrument?" she asked in a high, way to perky voice. I already knew that I wasn't going to like this girl. Seifer stared at her for a moment and groaned, motioning us to continue walking. "He, hey, don't ignore me, come on," she wailed, rushing after us. "Look, I just want to know if you guys would like to join the Garden Festival Committee, it's going to be really fun, and," she continued to squeak.
My fingers began to twitch, and my ears were starting to blood with the sound of her voice. I looked over and stared at Seifer, silently pleading him to do something. He smirked at me and grabbed an apple from one of the trees, plopping down to eat it. I turned and looked at the girl, glaring at her with my eye. Maybe no one would notice if I grabbed her and pulled her into the girls' bathroom, and gave her a swirly. I looked at Seifer again, who was chuckling at my discomfort. He knew what I wanted to do, but also knew that I wouldn't do anything against his will. And I knew if I swirlied the girl, the Discipline Committee would get a demerit, and that would possibly cost Seifer his chance of going to the field test today.
"You guy's are really big meanies," she groaned. "Come on, just help us out, what's it going to hurt?" She stared at our emotionless faces and stomped a booted foot. "Meanies, meanies, meanies," she snapped. "Don't you know how to have fun?"
My whole body was beginning to twitch now, and I smirked. Oh, how I long to show you what I think is fun. Seifer cackled as he watched me and stood up. About time, I thought. He glared down at the girl, who shut up as she stared into his eyes.
"We're already part of a committee," he snapped. "So shut the hell up and leave us alone." He motioned us to stand and we walked away, leaving the shocked little thing to just stand there. Seifer tossed his apple core into the trash, and we walked back to the main hall of the Garden, where Cid had asked all students going on the field test. They were just announcing the members of the squad, when Seifer's name came up, as the commander of one of them. I smirked. About damn time they let him command one of the squads. Maybe this time he's finally make SeeD. I couldn't believe it when I saw his members, that chicken wuss, Zell Dincht, and Squall Leonheart. I bit my lips. Damn it, they're going to screw him again, I thought bitterly.
At any rate, Cid came down from his throne and began talking about the importance of the mission and the code of the Garden. I groaned as I listened to him babble on, and on, and on. Finally the group was dismissed, and Raijin and I followed Seifer as far as the garage. We saluted our commander, and watched him enter the car with Leonheart, Dincht, and Instructor Trepe. They drove off and we turned around.
"Want to go train in the center?" Raijin asked. I glared at him, and kicked his ankle. He jumped and whined at me. I was used to it. I turned and walked back to the Quad, hoping that the stupid little brunette was still there. I figured they couldn't punish Seifer once he was already on the field test. To my disappointment, she had gone to the field test too. With a groan I walked back to the cafeteria and bought one of the cappuccinos. It was okay, like the hot dogs, nothing to get excited about.
A few hours later I went to Raijin's room and dragged the big lug out of bed. We grabbed one of the cars and left for Balamb. I never liked Balamb; my neighbor's words still haunted me after all these years. We arrived just in time, the ships pulled in to port. Seifer came out, his eyes hard, ready for more action. I inquired how it went.
"Nothing to it," he replied confidently, "but all those two did was get in my way."
I glared at Squall and Zell, who were joined by the annoying little brunette. Gotten in his way why was, I not surprised. I snarled and joined Seifer and Raijin in the car. We waited as Squall and Instructor Trepe talked for a few moments and then Seifer groaned.
Leaping over the seat to the driver's wheel, he started the ignition and smirked as he put the car in reverse.
"Hey, we have to wait for the others, ya know?" Raijin said.
Seifer chuckled under his breath and looked at Raijin. "Said who?" He pressed on the accelerator and backed up, waving at Squall and Zell as we drove off. "The walk will do them good, the chicken wuss was getting too pudgy for his good." For one of the first times in a while I broke out laughing.