Summary: What if Seifer didn't hate Squall with a passion? If there was no anonymosity between the two of them? If the scars had been accidental? If Seifer wasn't always trying to outdo Squall? If Seifer never joined with the Sorceress? If Squall actually joined up with Seifer and his posse?
It's always a challenge for me to come up with a title and a summary so, I'll let the fans be the judge.
Disclaimer: I don't own FF8, well I used to but I don't own the rights to it.
Author's notes: - - is thoughts, " " is speaking. I'll also be using exact part of the game's script.
Chapter 1:
I remember the day we exchanged scars, clear as day. There wasn't any malicious intent on Seifer part, it was more of a slip in the mud on both of ours part. That's the bad thing about battling in the mud, you have to exert more force to keep your footing then on dry ground. The rain didn't help in the least bit either, even a slight drizzle can impair your vision. It was more of a slip in the mud on both of ours part. He swiped, I meant to dodge and my foot slipped and with it my head came too close to the tip of his blade as I was falling. That's it for how I got my scar. Seifer was always the type to want to push people pass their limit and liked that about him. He always wanted to go above and beyond the call of duty so to speak.
As for his scar..well..I let him tell it:
It wasn't that Squally Boy was better than me. I would say we were equals, but even equals can suffers little slips and falls that cause them to lose the match or fight, battle, what have you. I didn't mean to cut Squall, it was more of an attack to try to throw him off guard and I tried to pull Hyperion back to me as I saw him falling but my arm didn't move fast enough and before I knew it I heard the tip of Hyperion slicing clean through Squall's flesh. I was going to check on him but he got right back up and started attacking as if nothing was wrong, so I went back on the offense but I was careful this time. Squall is a strong man. Anyone that can nearly overpower me with a blade has my respect. It's all a bit of a blur but I do remember how I got my scar. It's something that will keep me and Squall forever entertwined. No, not in that way you idiots! Don't go getting any weird ideas now! Squall and me were always something like brothers. Yeah we fought, we had our friendly sparring matches, but at the end of the day, we still sat at the Cafeteria and ate dinner, talking about classes and whatnot. Well, me doing most of the talking and Squall just sitting there and nodding his head or frowning or asking the occasion question. Anyway, back to how I got my scar. Squall vision was already blurred by the blood I had spilled and his attacks were unbalanced and sporadic, nearly unfollowable. My undo was, just like his, a patch of mud, enarly like quick sand. I stepped in a patch of mud and took my eyes off of the battle for a split second to pull my foot loose, all the while keeping Hyperion on the defense. When I looked up Squall's blade was coming near my face, due to my slack ass defensive stance and I immediately shot Hyperion up and interrupted his assault but didn't stop it. I poked and prodded with Hyperion and Squall countered, then I went to jab at him with Hyperion again but had to quickly switch back onto offense as quickly as possible since his Revolver was coming inward. I held off the assault with my gunblade as best I could but my arm was getting weaker by the second. My foot stepped into that god awful patch of quicksand like mud and my foot slipped from under my, impairing my stance temporarily. Squall, losing his balance due to my slip nearly fell ontop of me but jerked his gunblade behind him to avoid decapitating me, but his blade was already too close to my face at that time and the sudden jerk caused his Revolver to slice across my face as he fell ontop of me. He quickly dropped Revolver and ran over to me to make sure I was alright. Before he got to me I sat up quickly, my pride hurt more than my face. Using Hyperion I forced myself up on my knee and regarded him through respectful eyes and held out one of my hands. "Good...fight...Squall.." After those three words, I promptly blacked out.
Regardless of how light Seifer looks, he is a heavy...well..you know the word I'm looking for. Seifer feels like he weighs about as much as Raijin does, although I've never had to lug Raijin back to Garden on my back, I think I would have been just as tired. Seifer wasn't badly injured but he was exhausted and the exhaustion probably caused him to black out, more so than the blood lost. Anyway, I shealthed Hyperion and Revolver and trudged back to Garden. "Damn..I'm going to be late for going through the Fire Cavern Exam." I thought with a grimace. "Let's just hope I can get it done before the Field Exam. I can't take the Field Exam, unless I get that done first. If Seifer caused me to miss my chance at the Field Exam, I'm so going to beat his ass." I slipped back into Garden without a hitch and made my way towards the Infirmiary, spotting Zell on the way and nodded a greeting to him and quickly got to the Infirmiary before he started asking any questions about what happened. I spotted Dr. K, sitting in her office as I walked in and she immediately jumped up. "What the hell happened here!?" She whispered harshly. "Friendly sparring match Doc." "Sit him in room 3 and place this on his head." She took a large white cloth out of medicine cabinet and shoved it in my pocket as I did as was instructed, then laid Seifer on the bed. "So close to the Field Exam too..you'll be lucky if Cid doesn't reprimand you for this and forbid you two from taking the Exam."
"I know.." Squall grimaced at the though and took the towel out of his pocket, placing it on Seifer head and applied a bit of pressure to stop the blood flow.
"What caused this?" Dr. Kadowaki asked with her hands on her hips.
"Seifer thought it would be good practice so neither one of us would be rusty for the Field Exam. I agreed."
"Well..how you two slice each other to bits?"
"We both slipped."
Dr. K chuckled softly "Yeah, you two are getting rusty. You sure you aren't too rusty to take the Exam?" She teasingly jabbed at Squall.
"Never that. Can I get something to wash the blood off and clean my self up? And him too, we both need to get to class.
"Sure thing Squall, just make sure you two don't get anymore "friendly sparring" matches in during the Field Exam. The SeeDs will flunk you for that."
-I know. I still haven't taken the Fire Cavern Exam, yet either..-Squall palmed his forehead and then winced and gasped. It was habitually and he had nearly forgot about the gash in his forehead.
"Easy now. You don't want to cause more blood to flow then need be. Here take this towel and wash the blood off. Lay down in Room 2 and I'll call Instructor Trepe."
Squall got up off the bed next to Seifer and placed the towel on his head and walked into the adjacent room then laid down, he could barely hear the conversation going on between Quistis and Dr. Kadowaki but he heard bits and pieces of it.
Dr. K: Quistis?
Quistis: Yes? Is there an emergency? I'm in the middle of class at the moment.
Dr. K: Come get your student.
Quistis: Squall?
Dr. K: Yes.
Quistis: What happened?
Dr. K: Friendly sparring match he said.
Quistis: With Seifer?
Dr. K: Yes.
Quistis[sighs heavily How bad is the injury? Will he be able to participate in class?
Dr. K: His injury's not serious, it'll probably leave a scar.
Quistis: Alright, tell him I'll be there in a moment.
Dr. K: Right. Now please come by.
Squall moved around on the bed a bit and bent one leg so that his knee pointed towards the ceiling as he fiddled with the towel.
"Alright, up and at em Squall. First you're going to have to peel off the caked blood, then spray this disnfectant onto the wound to disinfect it then use some styptic and it should heal up nicely. You do that while I wake Seifer up. "
Squall nodded slowly and got to work. It wasn't as painful as he suspected but it was painful never the less. After everything was said and done he got up and washed his hands in the nearby sink and listened somewhat to Seifer and Dr. K's conversation, then laid back down on the bed, covering his eyes with the black sleeve of his coat. Shortly there after, there was a hiss and the sound of a automaic door sliding open, then a heavy sigh.
-Instructor Trepe...she does not sound happy at all...-
End Chapter 1
Whatcha think? Read and review please.