Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Obviously.

Note: This chapter might be a bit confusing.

So, to help avoid confusion (I'm sorry!):

Host: Possessor of the Garden

Garden: Powerful being. Not a school like in FFVIII.

BodyGard: "Bodyguard". Spelling derives from Garden.

Gardian: "Guardian". Spelling derives from Garden

Garden Force: "Guardian Force" or GF. Spell change to fit story.

SeeD: A Host who has realized their full potential. Unlike the mercenaries in FFVIII.

SeeDing: An adventure that ends in a Host becoming a SeeD. Kind of like the exams in FFVIII.

BodyGarden - Chapter I

Birds fluttered away as the steam powered machine made it's short-distance stop from Timber to Balamb station. As it came to a screeching halt its old, tired gears protested; the horn sounded. People came piling out of the nearby station house.

Among the crowd was a group of dark clothed men, all wearing black-as-pitch suits. They surround something, protecting it as if it was a precious relic or a fragile package. The people hurrying by stayed their distance, giving the men a wide birth. The man out front went to talk to a young employee when they reached the train. They were discussing something in whispers before leading the men to a private room. He bowed as he left.

The men opened the door and stood out of the way as their "package" made its way into the room. They each bowed lowly as they closed the door, leaving their precious cargo in private. The boy who had walked into the room, who they had been protecting so overtly, was young and short. He had soft blonde hair and a dark tattoo on the left side of his face. His eyes were crystal blue. His eye lids covered his oceanic eyes as he sighed to himself. He turned away from the door to scan the room he was now in.

The room is small and consisted of nothing more than a bench-like couch against the wall on his right, and a few small cabinets on the opposite wall. It has a large window on the opposite wall from where he was standing. The small occupant walked over to the window and stared out it.

The boy's name is Zell Dincht and he was indeed worth protecting. He is a member of a family the descends from a long line of very important people. But he, at the age of only eighteen, is more important than any member before him. Why? Because he was the Host to the Balamb Garden.

The Balamb Garden. How Zell detested that it had found a Host in him. He didn't mind the luxury, or the protection from dangers, but he hated the loneliness and the quiet solitude that he has to endure almost every day.

There was a sharp rap at the door, snapping Zell out of his silent thoughts. He sighed heavily and dropped his shoulders. He turned toward the door and clear his throat. "Come in" Zell said, almost eagerly. Maybe he had company. The door opened and one of the darkly dressed men standing outside his door walked in. Zell frowned. These guys were boring and poor conversationalists.

"You have a visitor" the man said plainly before turning and leaving. Zell smiled at this, almost jumping for joy. But his reaction was cut short when he realized who his visitor actually was. His frown returned.

"What do you want?" Zell asked, almost rudely. Almost.

The person standing before him was a woman with short dark hair and an intelligent, but cold, aura about her. Commander Xu was head of the Balamb Protection Services and was therefore in charge of protecting Zell. She made his life miserable. "Today is your eighteenth birthday. You know what that means, correct?" she spoke with a monotonous voice, dragging Zell's mood down further. He did know what this meant. He was going to start his SeeDing, which was just a fancy way of saying "journey". Every new Host of a Garden must start their SeeDing once they become eighteen. They have to travel the world meeting people and training their powers against vicious beasts. Zell was happy that he would finally get some freedom, but there was a catch. There was always a catch.

"We have found you the best BodyGard." Xu announced this in her dull voice. The catch. A bodyguard. Every Host must be accompanied by a BodyGard on their SeeDing. A BodyGard was someone who gives their life to protect their Host master. Zell didn't like them. He had never met one before but he could just imagine how overprotective and stuff they were. "And? I know all this." Zell was getting rather irritated with the woman. He hated her emotionless voice and her blank stare.

"He is here. It is time for you to meet him." Zell mumbled something at this and then sighed.

"Whatever. Let him in. At least he can't be as bad as you..." Zell trailed off. He hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. The blonde looked up at Xu's face slowly but nothing had changed. There wasn't even a twitch. She just bowed and turned to leave.

"Oh. And his name is Seifer Almasy. You've heard of him, correct?" She walked out on this. Her face seeming almost smug, but that was impossible. She was an emotionless robot as far as Zell knew.

Seifer Almasy, The Swift Blade, The Blonde Fury. He had many names and Zell knew them all. He was a man who protected different towns and cities from outward threats, most notably monsters. He was amazing and someone who was worth admiring. But why would a gun for hire become a BodyGard? Granted they were capable fighters but mercenaries are often times loners. And BodyGards? Not so much a loner. The door opened again and in stepped a tall blonde man with piercing green-blue eyes. Zell couldn't help but stare at his brilliant eyes, and realized he was doing so a little too late.

"What? You like what you see or something?" The man's voice was mature and strong, but had a flirtatious and playful tone to it. At least he wasn't another emotionless zombie.

"Uh... well, uhm." Zell flustered while stumbling over his words. He bowed swiftly, his hair falling into his face. "T-thank you for choosing to be my Gard..." he began but was cut short by a strong hand on his head.

"Eh. Had nothing better to do and you seemed pretty defenseless and fragile in the picture I saw." Zell looked up as the man dropping his hand. Seifer shrugged. "Besides, I had to see that stupid hairdo for myself, in person."

Zell's hair was rather hard to explain, but it resembled the tail of a chicken or a chocobo. It was sticking up in front, bangs and all, and was flipped back slightly at the top. Zell liked his hair.

"What?" Zell was shocked. He had never been so insulted in his life. "What did you say about my hair!" He was steaming.

Seifer chuckled. "It looks like the ass of a chicken!" Zell quickly turned on his heels and stormed toward the window. He actually would rather be alone now, surprisingly. "Ah. Good laugh. This is going to be fun, eh Chickie?" Seifer plopped down on the couch-bench after shutting the door behind himself.

Chickie? How dare he. Zell turned around swiftly and pointed toward the door. "Leave. Now."

Seifer slumped on the couch and shook his head "Jeez, learn to take a joke Zell."

Zell glared at the smirking man sitting down. "Since when were we on a first name basis? I don't remember giving you permission to speak to me so informally."

Seifer stood, towering over the small blonde. He looked down at Zell with a horrible glare. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together so you better get off that fucking high horse Zell."

Zell opened his mouth to say something but cowered at the look the other man was giving him. He turned away. His cheeks red from anger and embarrassment. He noticed that the train was moving. When did that happen?

"Now." Seifer sat down and patted the seat beside him "Sit down so we can talk. We gotta get to know each other." Zell didn't move. He was still beet red and didn't want that ass to see. How had he ever admired this man? He was a complete jerk!

"Stop being such a Chicken Wuss and sit down." The taller blonde reached over and tugged Zell's arm, pulling him backward. Zell slipped and fell with his back against Seifer's side. The man laughed. "I didn't realize you wanted to sit so close! No wonder your face is so red! Hey, you're cute, but we just met. Sorry." Seifer laughed again.

Zell felt more heat rise to his cheeks at being called cute and sat up straight, his hands folded in his lap. He slowly looked up at the taller man and studied his features. The man had a long scar across his face, starting in the middle of his forehead and running diagonally down across the bridge of his nose and under his right eye. It hardly pulled attention away from his strikingly handsome face. His hair was short and blonde, and was sleeked back. His lips were curved into a small teasing grin. "You're starring again Chickie. Am I really that hot?" Zell's face turned up in a scowl has he looked away.

"No. I was just realizing how hideous that scar is." Zell crossed his arms across his chest and smirked smugly.

"Oh, this old thing?" Seifer ran a long finger along the scar. "I got it from a... friend." He said this putting the sarcasm on heavily.

"A friend? Why would a friend hurt you like that?" Zell looked over curiously.

"Naiveté. How expected." Seifer frowned and cleared his throat. "I was being sarcastic. He wasn't really a friend."

"Oh. Well... what happened?" Zell was actually getting quite interested. At least it was keeping the other man from calling him rude nicknames.

"We were fighting and he cut me. I got him too though." Seifer shrugged as if it wasn't all that important. "Hurt like a bitch though."

"You swear a lot. Or at least more than anyone I've ever met. I thought BodyGard's were supposed to be more civil."

Seifer scoffed. "Are you serious? You can't be too civil out in the real world. You'll get eaten alive. You have to learn that. Sooner rather than later too."

Zell pondered this before speaking again.

"So... how old are you anyway? You seem pretty, uh, knowledgeable." Seifer raised a hand to Zell's tattoo stained cheek. The boy flinched and his cheek was stained red, a nice contrast to the black tattoo.

"Aww, are you worried that I might be too old for you?" Zell flinched again when Seifer gave his a flirty wink. Seifer dropped his hand and laughed. "I'm nineteen. So I'm only a year older than you." Zell looked at him in shock. But... he seemed so much older. Seifer had his own chin resting in the palm of his hand, watching Zell's reaction. "What?"

"You seem older is all. Just surprised me."

"Hmm." Seifer hummed thoughtfully. "So, enough about me. Let's talk about you Master Zell." Zell grimaced. He hated the look Seifer was giving him and the way he emphasized 'master'.

"W-what about me?"

"It must be a real luxury being a Garden Host."

"Hardly. Everyone treats me like I'm a baby or some fragile antique. I just want to live in peace and freedom. That's why I was so looking forward to my SeeDing." Zell started to smile. "I can't wait to get to Timber and get started!"

"Looking forward to being a SeeD of the Garden?" Seifer was leaning back in his seat now looking more comfortable.

"I don't know. Not really. Seems like I'd have more problems once I become a SeeD after my SeeDing." Zell was also getting more relaxed.

"Hmm... yeah. Maybe. So what's with the tattoo?" Seifer waved his hand at Zell's cheek.

"I got it last year for my seventeenth birthday. Isn't it awesome?" He smiled widely and let his excitement loose. "Everyone was surprised when I told them I wanted a tattoo for my birthday, they thought it would hurt my image." Zell looked up at Seifer. "Don't you like it?"

Seifer shrugged and poked Zell's cheek. "I guess. But I bet it hurt. You're a tough little Chickie aren't you?" Zell's anger rose again. Why did he have to ruin their conversation by calling him that?

"Whatever" was all Zell replied with.

Seifer chuckled quietly. He enjoyed how easily he could manipulate the younger man's emotions. He wasn't sadistic or controlling, at least not too much so. But for some reason he found a lot of pleasure in Zell's red face. He took the time it took for Zell to calm down to study what the boy was wearing. He had a white t-shirt on, and a black jacket. Both had a small Balamb insignia on it. He wore faded blue jeans and a pair of black and red gloves. His shoes were plain and an off-white but Seifer could tell how expensive every piece of clothing the boy wore was. "What's with the gloves?"

"Tsk. Why do you keep asking me questions? It's not like you care." Zell turned away again and huffed. "I just like martial arts is all."

"Martial arts? That's surprising. I thought you'd be some useless rich brat who'd be a major burden, but this might actually make it a little less of a hassle." Seifer pondered.

"Are you mocking me?" Zell turned back to Seifer. "I'm actually pretty good you know!" Seifer raised his hands in front of himself defensively and grinned.

"Alright. I believe you." Zell punched at Seifer's shoulder playfully when there was a loud, firm knock at the door.

"What now?" Zell didn't know why but he was actually pretty irritated about being interrupted. The door flung open and a woman with silver hair and an eye patch over one eye walked in.

"SEIFER." She was mature looking and stood perfectly straight. She glanced at Zell briefly, who still had his fist against Seifer's shoulder, before looking back at Seifer. She wore a dark blue top, that looked almost like a military uniform, and dark pants that were straight and professional.

"What do you want Fujin?" Was that irritation that Zell heard? No, it couldn't be.

"HURT?" She spoke with a sharp but caring tone.

"I'm fine Fu. He's too weak to hurt me. Now go relax with Raijin for once. You're way too protective. Hyne..." Zell had lowered his hand and raised his head to look at Seifer. He had a nearly blank expression on his face but Zell could make out the hint of a teasing smile, mocking Zell. Zell bolted up and walked back over to the window, what an ass. He wasn't that weak!

Fujin looked at Seifer with a doubting stare before turning to leave. "FINE."

Seifer sighed and stood, stretching his long limbs. "Now. We'll be in Timber soon so you better get ready. I have something fun planned for when we get there." Zell turned around at this and blinked.

"Fun? Like what?" Seifer just winked at him before he picked up something Zell hadn't seen him place on the floor. It was Seifer's famous gun blade, Hyperion. Zell stared at it.

"I might be needing this. Let's just go with that." Zell hadn't noticed the clothing the tall blonde had been wearing until now. His shirt was white and pulled tightly against his muscles. He wore a long grey trench coat over this and his tight, dark pants. He was also wearing a black belt that looked old and worn, Zell blushed as he found himself starring at the exposed flesh of Seifer stomach that was revealed when the taller man had raised Hyperion up onto his shoulder. Seifer's shirt had rode up very slightly revealing pale skin just under is belly button. He shook his head and averted his eyes.

Coughing nervously he gave Seifer a questioning look. "W-what do you need that for?" Seifer just grinned and bounced Hyperion on his shoulder.

"You'll see." This irked Zell. He hated when people kept things from him, especially when they involved him. Zell shook his head again and stretched. He hadn't realized how tight his joints were. They stood in silence for a while after Zell let out a satisfying groan.

After a short time Zell started to get uncomfortable. He was never one for silence. He's always been scolded for being too hyper or too loud. He asked the first thing that came to mind. "Who was that? Your girlfriend?" "No. She's a good friend of mine. Her and another friend of mine will be joining us."

"Joining us? I thought it was taboo for anyone other than the Host's BodyGard to accompany a Host on their SeeDing." Zell was confused.

"You haven't heard? Don't they teach you anything at that damn Garden School?" Zell glared at him briefly.

"Anyway. It's a new law that was just recently passed. Every Host can have up to two Gardians accompany them along with their BodyGard. Basically the Gardians have the same responsibilities of a BodyGard but are not allowed within 50 feet of the Host unless the Host is accompanied by the BodyGard or if Host give them permission. Just like an ordinary citizen. They must also follow the BodyGard's orders as well as the Host's and once the Host is half way through their SeeDing they are required to leave. From that point on it becomes the traditional BodyGard-Host duo. It only came to be like this because of a few radical threats again Hosts and the increase in vicious monsters. Nothing too serious really but it's a precaution." Seifer stood again. "Hey, mind if I take a drink?"

Seifer grabbed the complimentary bottle of water and Zell shook his head. "Go ahead." Seifer pulled the cap off and tilted his head back, chugging down some water. The water that escaped his mouth and ran down his chin became Zell's new favourite thing to stare it. The water ran from the corner of the man's mouth down to his chin, slowly dripping on to the floor. Zell felt his face warm up.

Seifer dropped the bottle and his head down slightly and sighed with contempt. "Hadn't had a drink in a little while. Was thirsty." He had his eyes close while he was enjoying the liquid run down his throat, but now he had them open meeting those of a flustered Zell. "What are you staring at now? It's getting kind of creepy. And you blush a lot." Zell's eyes widened in shock and horror.

He turned his head to advert his eyes. "N-nothing. Shut up." He clenched his fists. Why did he keep staring? Seifer was very handsome, sexy even, but he was also the biggest ass Zell has ever met. And those stupid nicknames...

"If you want me to strip for you all you have to do is ask. Don't be such a chicken, Chicken." Seifer said this rather loudly, hoping the people outside the door would hear. He loved embarrassing his new master.

"Why you-!" Zell was half way through winding up a punch when he was cut off by a pinging sound.

"Attention! We will be arriving in Timber shortly! Please remain seated until we stop, and please double check your luggage before deboarding! Thank you and have a pleasant day!" The cheerful female voice was almost too cheerful for Zell's taste.

"I had better go get my stuff. I'll see you when we get to Timber. Bye for now Chickie." Seifer waved and left the room.

The men outside gave him and Zell odd looks. Oh Hyne! They heard him! Zell was mortified. He shut the door quickly and slumped on the couch. "What a jerk..." Zell mumbled to himself as the train made its way to a screeching halt.

"Timber. I repeat. Timber." the voice this time was mumbley, bland, and male. Completely opposite of the first voice that came over the intercom. The door opened and Zell walked out. Timber. He had never been here before. This might be fun.