You Noticed
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By Kattz Maricle--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why hadn't he noticed it before?
~ ~ ~
Why hadn't he, Seifer Almasy, the knight, seen it before? Had he really been that damn oblivious?
The way her short silver hair tossed when the wind blew. Her slow, subtle movements she used when she walked that turned quick and deadly when she was engaged in battle, or kicking Raijin in the shin. The way every now and then, only on occasion, a smile would cross her lips.
Fujin had erected a shield around herself, causing everyone to think that she was nothing but that mean, uncaring, PMSy bitch. Seifer recalled hearing a few students say that Fujin probably didn't even cry when she had lost her eye. He had been there when she had gained her scar, watching as a mixture of blood and tears ran down her cheek. He hadn't known how to console her back then. A selfish, arrogant bastard was what he was.
Hell.
At least she wasn't like that chick Rinoa. Now that was one ditzy bitch if he had ever seen one. He wouldn't wish her on anyone.
"Seifer!" Rinoa ran up and grabbed Seifer around the waist, hugging him tightly. He held up his hands, looking at her as if thinking 'Get her off me! Quick!' Rinoa hugged even tighter. "You left me sitting there alone. You know I don't like being alone."
"Yeah, yeah." He tried to pry her hands off of him. "Will ya let go already?"
"What?" She let go and stepped back, observing him carefully. "You don't like it?"
"Right now I need to train. It's only a few more days till I have to go back to Garden and I wanna be in top condition." Seifer drew Hyperion, letting it hang from his hand, holding it at his side.
"That's right. You're studying to be a SeeD. I can't believe they have teenagers studying to become mercenaries. You're only 17." Rinoa clasped her hands behind her back, constantly shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Suddenly she seemed to get excited and hopped in place once. "Will you teach me how to use that?" She pointed to Hyperion.
"It's called a gunblade. It's too heavy for you." He propped it on his shoulder arrogantly and smirked. "You couldn't handle it even if your life depended on it." He mentally pictured what it would be like........... Rinoa getting torn apart by a T-Rexaur or a Glacial Eye.........
"Fine then, MEANY!" She put her hands on her hips. When his expression didn't change, she crossed her arms. "Like it or not, I'm gonna follow you everywhere from now on, then."
"Do you think I care?" His simple uncaring reply. Maybe he'd actually get to see a Glacial Eye tear her apart.......
For the rest of the summer she had insisted on following him around, clinging to him like a small girl would a rag doll. At first he hadn't thought much of her remarks, or threats as it would seem, not really caring if she followed him. He'd still do as he damn well pleased and it didn't matter if she followed him or not. He didn't get in much training that day, if he remembered correctly. Rinoa was constantly talking and scared away every single monster within a mile.
Why he even chose to date that damn girl was unknown to him. Hurt his head when he thought about it.
That reminded him of what he considered very important news. Fujin was always training about that time of day. Perhaps he could find her somewhere outside of town.........
~ ~ ~
In a patch of trees not far outside of Balamb, Fujin was dispatching a particularly annoying T-Rexaur. She had come a long way since she had lost her eye to a similar beast. Now she could easily destroy the monster with a few slashes of her shuriken, a couple of Thundaga spells, and a few more slashes just for good measure. The T-Rexaur didn't have a chance. After a semi-long battle, it fell to the ground, charred by electricity and gushing blood from open wounds.
Silver-Blue shuriken in hands almost the same color, she looked around for another opponent. Perhaps another T-Rexaur would show itself. Highly unlikely, though. Just the day before, Seifer had disemboweled what seemed like half of the T-Rexaur population on one of his usual 'training' trips. She knew him, though. He just had to go off and think, or perhaps beat out his frustrations on the nearest monster. Being an expert Seifer observer, something she wouldn't ever admit to, she knew him. That was just his way.
She also wouldn't admit to loving him as she did. At first, it was only loyalty she felt towards him, mostly because he had saved her from the T-Rexaur that had taken her eye. She touched the eye patch tenderly. Loyalty? Was that it?
No. She had grown to love everything about him since then. The way he smirked in that trademark way of his. The way he wielded Hyperion with ease. Even the way he made her mad at times. It wasn't loyalty that made her notice those things. Love and loyalty didn't go hand in hand that way. The only way those two joined together was that love made her loyalty unconditional.
Even back at Lunatic Pandora, before time compression, she and Raijin hadn't truly left him. They were only waiting for the true Seifer to come back to them. They knew their posse leader better than that. He wouldn't just brush them off as if they had never existed. He might have done that to anyone else, but not to them. It just wasn't his nature.
Just as it wasn't in his nature to do the sneaking around that he was doing at that very moment. The very Seifer that haunted her thoughts, looking rather ridiculous in his attempt to hide behind a tree, watched as she came upon a Caterchipillar. One slash from her shuriken and the monster was dead before it even knew what had hit it. He watched as she brushed away her bangs from her forehead. With her sleeve, she wiped away the newly formed sweat from her forehead. Perhaps that T-Rexaur had actually given her more of a workout that she had given it credit for.
Seifer shifted his weight slightly, snapping a twig by accident as he did.
Damn! He thought as she turned around to face the sound. She'll completely ignore me or Raijin but she just HAD to hear that!
Of course, jerking around to face the sound wasn't all she did. With swift reflexes, the shuriken went flying from her hand, twisting around the tree in a curve and barely missing giving Seifer another scar as it returned. Stunned, he found himself stumbling back, tripping over one of the tree's unbove ground roots as he did, and fell flat on his back in the open.
He propped himself up on his elbows and smiled. "Hey, Fuuj."
"SEIFER? WHAT..." She started in her usual loud monosyllabic speech, then decided to start speaking normally on the last instant. "What do you think you were doing? I could have killed you!"
"You didn't." He answered as he stood up and brushed his coat off. As he brushed his hand through his hair, he realized that the shuriken had come closer than he had thought. He was missing about a quarter of an inch of hair. "Guess I won't have to get a haircut any time soon, will I?"
"You didn't answer my question."
The blue eyed knight racked his brain hard to come up with an excuse that even Fujin would believe. "Dammit! Do I have to explain everythin' I do?" He drew his gunblade and propped it on his shoulder, still looking at her. That reason sounded as good as any to him.
"Maybe." Fujin pointed to Hyperion. "Train?" Back to one word sentences. At least she wasn't talking in that monotone voice of hers. Just as he started to answer, she suddenly shouted. "DUCK!"
Seifer turned around just in time to see a T-Rexaur swing its tail around. With practiced ease, Hyperion sliced through the oncoming tail. The beast backed up slightly, roaring in pain. Fujin prepared to attack as well, but Seifer had it handled. When the T-Rexaur bent down to gather up the knight in its jaws, Seifer leaped upon it, stabbing it through the eye. The gunblade went deep and true to its mark. Seifer let go, allowing the monster to stagger around until it finally realized its death. It fell, causing the ground to shake slightly.
Fujin put her hand on his shoulder and roughly made him turn around. His eyes widened. Two more T-Rexaurs appeared in front of them. He spun around again as a roar echoed behind them. DAMN! Another one?
"I thought I took care of these things?" He yelled as he grabbed Hyperion, pulling it from the dead T-Rexaur.
"RUN?" Fujin suggested.
"Fuckin' things got us trapped on three sides." Seifer raised Hyperion level to his chest, taking on his battle stance. He raised his chin slightly, chuckling. Three against two.........
He lunged for the first one, a well aimed blow to the monster's stomach. The T-Rexaur didn't seem affected by its new wound as it charged towards the duo, using its jaws to attack. It met a shuriken head on. Dazed, it stumbled back. The second T-Rexaur tried its luck but was cut short by a Blizzaga spell. The third monster just stood a short ways away, watching the battle closely, as if planning its move. As long as it didn't attack, Seifer didn't care. In a joined effort, Fujin and Seifer easily took the first one down.
The second proved to be stronger than its counterpart, though. It didn't go down as easily.
By the time the battle with that monster was finished, Seifer could feel over half his HP gone. He was bent over but still holding his ground. Fujin, on the other hand, had fallen to one knee, looking as if she was in a much worse state. He could see pain in her one crimson eye.
He started to concentrate on a Curaga spell, focusing it on her first. Just before he was able to find the spell, something caught his attention. He surged forth, pulling Fujin to the ground just in time to avoid the fatal blow from the third T-Rexaur's tail. Hyperion flew from his hand, striking the beast in the chest. It hit the ground and lay still.
"Thank you." He heard Fujin say. He looked down at her.
Usually it would have been an embarrassing situation, him still next to Fujin and all with his arm around her protectively, but he was Seifer Almasy. Seifer Almasy didn't have very many embarrassing situations.
So he just smiled in answer.
"Care to explain why you did that?" She asked.
He just looked at her again. Damn did she look beautiful..........
Oh, fuck it, Seifer. You know you wanna kiss her. Do it already! Now's your chance! His conscience echoed.
"Do I have to explain everythin' I do?"
Everything went foggy as he felt her lips come softly, almost timidly, in contact with his. He hadn't kissed her. Fujin had kissed him. With one arm, he drew her closer and kissed her back.
~The End~