The Elemental Cycle XI: Turn Your Back

by kazeno

When things get out of control, sometimes you have to turn your back...

A/N: This was originally two stories, one planned and one tentatively entitled 'Breakaway'. But I thought it would be too short, so I joined them together. Good choice. I think.

the elemental cycle xi: turn your back

She glared at him. In the elegant splendor of the Balamb Hotel, the young woman felt like a soldier in a mansion. A stone among pearls. Seifer was with the sorceress - Hyne she hated the sorceress - and he'd asked Fujin and Raijin to lead a platoon of Galbadian soldiers to take control of Balamb Town and root about for information on Ellone's whereabouts. Find Ellone for the sorceress. Why did she feel as if it was the sorceress herself giving the orders, speaking through Seifer's lips?

Raijin had come running in, chased by a dog, babbling something about catching the dog sleeping on the job. Bullshit. She knew he had been sleeping again - Hyne knows where, he couldn't have been stupid enough to sleep behind the car again, not after she'd almost run him over the last time she'd tried to take a car out.

'RAGE!' They were close enough o the doors that Raijin went flying out. She was certain he'd don't it on purpose, just to get away from her. She heard him whine something. Raijin was so immature sometimes. Slamming the door shut, Fujin stalked over to the desk and leant on it, trying think through the chaos in her mind.

Goddamn but I hate this.

**o**

Heels pounded on the metal floor of the Lunatic Pandora relentlessly. It sounded like a pulse, a rapidly hammering heartbeat that echoes Fujin's own and then stopped as she slid to a stop inside the door, Raijin beside her.

Seifer was standing on a dais to one end of the room, leaning on his gunblade, a faraway look in his eyes. Ellone was standing, her posture pensive, hands clasped in front of her. As of late Seifer'd become dreamier, and unusually harsh when he gave orders. He'd slapped Raijin yesterday, and since then the dark-skinned boy had had a confused look in his coffee-brown eyes.

'SEIFER.' Fujin scrutinized his face when he turned, wondering about the strangely faraway look in his eyes.

'What is it, Kazeno?' Kazeno. It was always 'Kazeno' with him now. Gone were the times when he'd respectfully call her 'Fujin-sama', or affectionately label her 'Fuu'. It was the same with Raijin. Seifer never used their first names any more, the formality confusing them both.

'NOTHING,' she muttered. Seifer regarded her coldly.

'Next time do not bother me.'

Ellone chose that moment to speak up. 'What do you want with me?'

Seifer smirked. 'Nothing. Ultimecia, however, wants you. And a knight must always serve his sorceress, nee?' Cocking his head, he addressed Raijin. 'Watch her for me.' The dark-skinned boy moved forward and grabbed Ellone's hand, muttering an apology. Always the polite young man.

Seething inwardly, the silver-haired girl stalked back and forth, boots soundless on the carpet, Raijin remained standing in place, holding Ellone's arm, too awed of Seifer's new impersonal aloofness to fidget. Fujin almost Seifer would chastise her, would explode and scold her or something. Not this coldness. Not this - Hyne but she had to admit it - sorceresslike aloofness.

Goddamn but she hated this.

**o**

Fujin glanced at the door suspiciously. She'd heard a few bangs from outside in the past few minutes, and one particularly loud one had just sounded. She wondered what Raijin was doing. She hoped he wasn't hurting himself.

Suddenly the door was flung open, and three people stormed inside. Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht and Rinoa Heartilly. Fujin blinked, startled. She definitely hadn't expected them here. Hadn't they been in Galbadia? How could they have known... waitamoment. The townspeople said that Balamb Garden had flown over the town some days earlier. Fujin hadn't been worried. Seifer could deal with it - along with his sorceress.

Now it became apparent - they'd gotten out and warned Balamb Garden about the missiles, then somehow flown it out of harm's way. And then come back to check on the town or get supplies or something, and found out that the commander and captain by the name of Fujin and Raijin had taken it over.

'Give it up, Fujin,' Squall said. 'You're alone; are you still gonna fight?' Fujin hardened her expression and her resolve, but inwardly she was worried. Raijin. What happened to Raijin?

The answer came immediately. Said young man came dashing in, staff brandished. He looked terrible - blood spotted his vest and tears were apparent in the baggy pants, but he appeared okay.

'I'm back, ya know? Never felt better, ya know?'

Staff and shuriken were pointed at the three intruders.

Time for battle.

**o**

The door swung open, revealing a slightly battered Zell Dincht, a grimly angry Quistis Trepe, and a solemnly unemotional Squall Leonhart. All three had weapons gripped tightly in their hands. Zell's pants were torn, Squall's jacket sported a tear in one arm, and Quistis' hair was still spotted with blood from a wound she'd received earlier from Fujin. They tensed when they saw all three ex-Disciplinary Committee members waiting for them, clearly expecting another fight from their expressions.

Seifer smirked, swishing his gunblade around in a complicated figure either. 'Looks like we have guests. Show 'em your hospitality, guys!'

Raijin passed Ellone to Fujin and moved for his staff.

**o**

Fujin looked angrily at Squall and Co., her body still aching with ghost pains from the wounds she'd sustained. Beside her, Raijin struggled to his feet, looking sad and forlorn.

Squall spoke first. 'Why are you working for Edea?'

She exchanged a glance with Raijin. Edea? She was not working for Edea! She wouldn't work for that goddamned witch if Edea had offered her her eye back.

'NOT EDEA!' was the angry protest.

'We're not working for Edea, ya know?' As always, Raijin took it upon himself to explain, while Fujin crossed her arms and glowered. 'We're helpin' Seifer, ya know? He asked us to find Ellone for him, an' told us to sorta ask around in Balamb Town, ya know?'

Squall sucked in a deep breath. 'Are you two gonna keep continuing with this? Following Seifer - against Garden?'

Fujin retorted immediately. 'POSSE! ALL LOYAL!' she shouted.

Raijin was no less agitated. 'We're a posse, ya know? We gotta help Seifer, ya know?'

The dark-haired young man suddenly looked old, as if something had been laid on his chest. 'Alright. Next time, we won't be holding back. Now get out of Balamb.'

Both of them nodded, then ran out of the hotel, the three SeeDs watching them go.

Fujin knew she was betraying Garden. She had no choice.

Sometimes you have to turn your back.

**o**

'RAIJIN, STOP!' The dark-skinned boy looked back at Fujin, and saw the look in her pale eye. He understood.

Nodding, Raijin stepped back, that in itself acknowledgement of what she was doing - had to do - and acceptance... agreement.

'What's up?' Seifer asked in an annoyingly casual, slightly baffled, and yet completely confident way. As if he knew it would be all right.

She wished she could share that confidence. As Raijin piped up 'We've had enough, ya know?' she released Ellone, giving the brown-haired girl a little push back towards her friends.

'GO.' Looking faint with relief, Ellone ran to Squall, who grabbed her hand and gave her a little push towards the door.

'Wait outside,' he said. 'Laguna should be here soon.'

'Hey, hey, come on people.' Seifer, still with that supremely confident tone, but this time there was a trace of doubt there.

Raijin answered for her. 'Seifer, we're quittin', ya know? Don't know what's right anymore, ya know?'

'Exactly my thoughts,' the misled, manipulated, blind knight answered. 'I thought we were a posse.'

Fujin sucked in a breath, feeling like her heart was being ripped apart.

'POSSE...' she said, as the emotions started bubbling up, anger, fury, rage and pity, sadness and loss.

'We are. We always will be.'

Face flushed now, she continued, memories bubbling up with each sentence, each word torn from her throat by necessity, not want.

'Because we're a posse, we want to help you.'

Laughing at 'chicken-wuss' Zell together; watching Seifer cleaning his gunblade in the Disciplinary Committee Room; Raijin and Seifer sparring in the Training Center; fighting Bite Bugs with him; sitting in class, Seifer folding paper airplanes and secreting them in his desk.

'Whatever it takes to fulfill your dreams, we're willing to do.'

Catching bugs with the two boys, mouth firmed in a scowl; planting them in Zell's bed, and the lecture afterwards; Seifer buying the last two hotdogs - more than they could finish - just so that Zell couldn't have them; suffering through endless reruns of knight movies; listening to Seifer recite medieval babble in the Disciplinary Room.

'But... you're being manipulated, Seifer.'

Seifer with that strange look on his face he always got when he spoke of his dream; Seifer at the Presidential Residence, face filled with a joyous wonder; Seifer telling them to find Ellone, face a mask; moments later when she asked him why, angry and hurt; his answer - 'because Edea wants her.'

'You've lost yourself and your dreams. You're just eating out of someone's hand.'

Seifer over the radio, 'Squall escaped'; the bleak anger in his voice; him kneeling at Edea's feet, submissive and obedient; scolding Raijin, taking out his anger on the younger boy.

'We want the old you back!'

Meeting Seifer in Lunatic Pandora; him at the Pandora's controls, a bit of the old self showing for a moment; the night she confronted him, all 'Edea' and 'Ultimecia' and 'knight' and 'duty'; the anger on his face as he stalked away.

'Since we can't get through to you, all we have to rely on is Squall!'

Seifer and Squall, fighting; Seifer on the subject of Squall - 'That Leonhart brat?' ; Seifer telling Edea about Squall - 'He's good. But not good enough.'; Seifer smirking when he saw the younger boy.

'It's sad... sad that we have only Squall to rely on...'

Seifer in the Training Center, glorious and magnificent; Seifer casting magic, golden in sunlight; Seifer using a limit break, all fire and speed; Seifer - her friend, her bother, her love...

Fujin pointed an accusatory finger at Seifer, coming closer to tears than she had ever been before. 'Seifer! Are you still gonna keep goin'?'

Seifer raised his gunblade in salute, cocking the gun with a click. 'Raijin, Fujin! It's been fun!'

The tears almost came. Fighting them, Fujin turned and ran blindly towards the exit, struggling to hold her emotions in check. She saw a blur of faces passing her by - Quistis, shaking her head sadly; Rinoa, hand at her mouth; Zell, not bouncing for once.

Then she was outside, the thudding of running feet behind her announcing that Raijin was still there. She ran, trying to keep despair at bay by physical exertion and failing miserably.

Fujin knew she was betraying Seifer, and it hurt. But she had no choice.

Sometimes you just have to turn your back.