Longing to Be Loved - Fuujin's Story
Fire Angel
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I never actually intended to write a sequel to 'Longing to Be Loved', but one of
my only reviews was a request for one, so I figured I may as well! Uhh… don't expect this to have
a happy outcome, because that's the way I chose to write it. I've heard rumours that Fuujin and
Raijin are brother and sister; I'm ignoring them, as there seems to be no proof. So deal with it.
Comments can be sent to rinoa_heartilly86@hotmail.com
Have fun, and enjoy the story! ^.^
Longing to Be Loved - Fuujin's Story
PROLOGUE
Dear Diary,
Rinoa and Squall's wedding was today, and they've just left on their honeymoon. God only knows
where they went; they won't tell us, they just promised to bring back presents. They'll be back
in a couple of weeks, apparently.
As for my love life, it's not getting any better. Seifer's over Rinoa, that's for sure. But at
the wedding, he was with Quistis. I guess when they both ran away, they got pretty close.
I don't know what to do. I want to tell Seifer how I feel about him, but I don't want to ruin our
friendship… and I really don't want to spoil everything for Quistis. I admit that I hate her for
taking him away from me… but she's still my friend, and I don't want her to get hurt again. Not
because I'm jealous of their relationship.
I just wonder if there's anyone out there for me… or am I destined to be forever alone, with no
one to love, or to be loved by? All I want is to be loved. To know what it feels like to have
your heart flutter as a man holds you in his gentle embrace and touches his lips to your own.
I've never been kissed in my life, and I'm nearly twenty.
One lover, one kiss. Is that too much to ask for?
* * * *
It had started with a fight for a young woman's love. It had ended in a marriage, and a new
beginning for two people that thought they would never love again. But for Fuujin, there had been
no fairy-tale ending; no lover to come home to. How could she be happy, when the one that she
loved happened to love another woman?
To all that knew her, Fuujin was a tomboy with a patch over her eye and cropped hair, who always
wore baggy shirts. A tomboy who hid her emotions and spoke simply, preferring one or two words to
long sentences. A tomboy who was better to have as a friend than as an enemy. The shuriken she
wielded in combat was deadly.
But no one really knew the real Fuujin at all. Every day she had to work hard to conceal her
emotions. Deep inside, she loved Seifer, and she hated Quistis for taking him away from her. But
she knew that if she let her emotions show, she'd lose Seifer's friendship. She'd kill Quistis.
Or herself. Whoever, as long as the heartache would stop.
She just couldn't bear it anymore…
CHAPTER 1
"Good morning, people of Balamb!" Seifer Almasy hollered, waltzing into Balamb Garden's
cafeteria, with wide-open arms. As everyone looked at him, their faces confused, he added
cheerfully, "Don't worry about me, my friends. Enjoy your breakfast!"
He scanned the cafeteria and gave a sigh of contentment as he saw Quistis Trepe sitting in the
far corner, staring at him in amusement.
"What's got you so happy today?" she asked as he approached, a lilt in her voice as she tried not
to giggle.
Seifer kissed her on the cheek and sat down next to her.
"Yesterday, at the wedding… well, let's just say I realised who I've got and how lucky I am to
have her… and how stupid I would've been to pass up the opportunity."
Quistis blushed, but a smile spread over her face. Then she winked at him and joked, "Well,
that's a bit sad, really, because I realised that I was on the rebound, and that I'm not really
in love with you, and that I don't want to be with you anymore."
Seifer blinked at her, thinking she was serious. But then he laughed.
"Is there any way I can change your mind?"
"Oh, I don't know," Quistis replied. There was a teasing gleam in her blue eyes. "There's this
guy… this tall, guy wicked blue eyes, and blonde hair cut in a buzz-cut. He used to be a real
jerk, and he was a bit crazy, but he's changed so much… and he can dance, too."
"Never seen him before in my life," Seifer laughed, and bent forward to kiss her teasingly.
"What's his name?"
Quistis was laughing too hard to reply.
* * * *
"G'morning, Fuujin. Mind if I join ya?"
Her train of thoughts broken, Fuujin looked up from the table to see Raijin standing with a tray
of food.
"RAIJIN. HELLO," she murmured, pushing aside her own un-eaten breakfast as he sat down across
from her.
"So, how are ya?" he asked, between mouthfuls of bacon and eggs. "I haven't seen ya for a couple
of days, ya know. Been too busy preparing for the wedding and all, ya know? Yo - Fuujin?"
When she didn't answer, he looked up at her. A dazed, mournful expression was on her face. She
wasn't even paying any attention to him, but instead she was gazing across the cafeteria. Raijin
followed her gaze, and his own spirits fell. So, Fuujin still loved Seifer. For as long as Raijin
had known both of them, Fuujin had spent all her time chasing after Seifer, hoping her feelings
for him would be returned some day. What she didn't know was that Raijin had feelings for her,
and in turn, he had spent his years at Garden trying to impress her, like she had been trying to
impress Seifer.
"Fuujin," he said softly.
She looked over at him, tears welling in her eyes. Wiping at them quickly, she smiled at him
warmly.
"YES?"
"Are… are you all right?" he asked hesitantly.
Fuujin laughed, and replied, "FINE. WHY?"
"You just don't seem very happy, ya know?"
"SILLY," Fuujin's voice was teasing. "WORRY MUCH. NO NEED."
Raijin went back to his food, but when he snuck a look at her, she was looking at Seifer and
Quistis again, and that sad look was back on her face. Raijin felt like his heart was breaking.
"I'll seeya later, Fuujin," he said uncomfortably, getting to his feet. He couldn't sit with her
while she was looking like that over another man.
"GOING?" she asked, without looking at him. "WHY?"
"I'm just not hungry anymore, ya know?"
She didn't answer, so he grabbed his tray and dumped the remainder of his food in the bin. He
turned to look at her. Seifer was leaving the cafeteria with Quistis, and Fuujin's eyes were
following them every step of the way. Raijin's stomach twisted itself into little knots. She
hadn't even noticed that he'd left.
CHAPTER 2
"Well, here she is," Squall Leonhart said, flinging open the door of the hotel's most expensive
bridal suite. For a second, he and his young wife stood, looking in complete awe at the room.
"To think we paid thirty-thousand Gil for this," Squall murmured. "It looks like it's worth a
million!"
"Here's your luggage, sir," a voice said from behind him. Squall moved aside to let the porter
into the room. He sat the luggage by the bed and made his way out of the room.
Rinoa Leonhart giggled as Squall scooped her off her feet and carried her inside, closing the
door behind them. He sat her down gently on the bed, and then sat beside her.
"Pity about the shared bathroom, though," she said.
Squall laughed and said, "What, are you worried some other married couple will walk in on us?
Don't worry; they said the porter would keep it locked at all times."
"Wow." Rinoa gazed at the ring on her finger. "I still can't believe this. Mrs. Leonhart… it
sounds so weird, don't ya think?"
"I like it," Squall replied. "It sounds perfect. Rinoa Leonhart. Has a certain ring to it."
"You'd better hope so, because that's what I'm gonna be for the rest of my life!" she retorted.
"Well, it sounds better than Squall Heartilly."
Rinoa just looked at him for a moment, and then started laughing.
"Oh Squall, you're such a riot!" she giggled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "That was so
funny!"
"Oh, shut up," Squall grumbled. "It wasn't that funny."
"Yes it was," she insisted, but she stopped laughing. "Squall, I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he replied, and kissed her softly.
When they broke apart, Rinoa yawned.
"Oh, I'm so tired," she muttered. "Do you mind if we hit the sack? It's been a long day."
Without waiting for an answer, she kicked off her shoes and slipped under the covers, still fully
clothed. It was only a minute before her breathing evened.
Squall took off his shoes and changed, then climbed in beside her.
"You're beautiful," he told her sleeping figure. She just smiled and turned over, as if she could
hear what he said.
"Sweet dreams, Rinny."
* * * *
Cid Kramer took one look at the innocent smile on Seifer's face and the pleading look in his eyes
as the young man strolled into his office, whistling cheerfully.
"All right Seifer, out with it," Cid said good-naturedly.
Seifer grinned, replying, "And what's that supposed to mean, Headmaster Cid?"
"It means I know you either want something or you've done something really stupid and
embarrassing."
"It could be either of those," Seifer admitted.
"What was the stupid thing you did, Almasy?"
Seifer bent close to the Headmaster. ". I… err… I told Quistis that she and I are going on a
vacation… and… ahhh… that we had your permission to go, sir."
"Well, that's not that bad, Seifer. What is it you want from me?"
"Sir, I'm asking your permission for Quistis and I to go on vacation."
Headmaster Cid cracked up laughing. "Well, I can't really say no, now that you've got the poor
girl's hopes up. Why do you want to go on vacation though, when you've just returned from one?"
"That wasn't a vacation, that was a recuperation," Seifer retorted.
"Fair enough," Cid replied. "You needed to get over Rinoa, and Quistis needed to get over Squall,
and you did that and got together in the meantime. Now you want some time alone." He winked.
"Yeah, alright, you can leave this afternoon. But remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Oh God, that rules out drinking, partying, staying up late, speeding, swearing, sport, sex, not
to mention the thousands of other things you just don't do. Sorry, Ciddy-boy, but I think I'll
sit the 'Headmaster Cid Way of Life' out this time around."
Cid laughed again, and replied, "Well, have fun on your vacation."
"Thanks, Headmaster Cid. I'll see you in a couple weeks time."
Seifer sauntered out of Headmaster Cid's office, feeling very pleased with himself.
* * * *
"Quistis! Seifer!"
Quistis turned around to see Fuujin and Raijin running to catch up with Seifer and herself.
Putting down her heavy suitcases for a moment, she waved as they stopped, panting for breath.
"Where are you going?" Fuujin asked quietly. Raijin looked at her. The only time she seemed to
talk like a normal person was when Seifer was around.
"We're going on vacation," Seifer said seriously. "Just for a couple of weeks. We need a bit of a
break. Why so worried?"
"It would help if ya told us, ya know?" Raijin said angrily, but he was only angry because they'd
hurt Fuujin. "We've been running round all afternoon, trying to find out why ya're leaving, ya
know? We thought it was serious!"
"Sorry," Quistis said sincerely. "We didn't think about it. We've been so busy packing and
everything…"
Raijin opened his mouth to yell again, but Fuujin kicked him in the left leg, and smiled at
Quistis. "It's all right," she said quickly, putting her hand on Quistis' shoulder. "Really,
it's all right. Don't worry about Raijin."
Quistis smiled and said, "Thanks, Fuujin. I'll see you in two weeks."
"See you guys later. Raijin, take care of Fuujin for me, or I'll kick you ass when we get back."
Seifer winked at Fuujin. "You tell me if he's been a right dickhead, okay?"
"I'll make sure to do that, Seifer," Fuujin laughed, trying to hide the pain she was feeling. The
only feelings Seifer obviously had for her were those of an older brother. "Have fun."
She stood there, waving, until she could see them no more. And even then, she stood and waved.
She waved until the sun set, until the stars came out and the moon rose, and then finally, with
tears streaming down her face, she retired to her dormitory, and cried herself to sleep.
CHAPTER 3
"I love trains," Seifer crowed, as he and Quistis strolled into Deling in the early evening, hand
in hand. "They get you where you need to go so quickly. We've been from an island to a continent,
and then travelled to the middle of the same continent, all in a few hours' time. And we've made
it to Deling in time for dinner and an overnight stay. I like it."
"Let's go book a hotel room first," Quistis said, resting her head on his shoulder. "The Deling
Hotel is always packed. Then we can go have dinner at that restaurant across the road from the
Hotel. I ate there with Zell, Rinoa and Squall once. It's delicious."
"Okay, let's do that then," Seifer replied. He ran a hand through her hair. "And let's make it
quick, because I am absolutely famished."
They walked into the hotel, and approached the reception desk.
"Hello," the young woman at the desk said. "How may I help you?"
"We're after a room," Seifer replied. "How much a night?"
The woman flipped through the bookings for the night, and looked up at Seifer. "The only room
left is a bridal suite. A bridal suite usually costs thirty-thousand Gil, but because you didn't
specifically ask for it, we'll give it to you for half the normal price, if you still want it."
"We'll take it," Quistis said quickly.
Seifer yelped, and protested, "Quistis, I don't have fifteen-thousand Gil to throw away!"
"It's all right," she assured him, taking the key to the room. "We'll go halves, okay? That's
only seven-thousand, five hundred Gil each."
They forked over the money, and left the hotel.
"Now," Quistis said, rubbing her hands together. "How about dinner?"
* * * *
Rinoa awoke the next morning to the sound of running water. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes,
taking a moment to remember where she was. When she'd adjusted to her surroundings, she twisted
so she could talk to Squall, but he wasn't there.
"Duh," she muttered to herself. "He's in the shower." Looking at the clock, she sighed. "6:30. He
always was an early riser."
With a groan, she pulled herself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. "You're up early," she
commented to the shower curtain. "I thought you'd wanna sleep in. We had such a long day
yesterday."
"You know me," Squall replied from behind the shower curtain. "I'm always up early. It's been
that way since I was a kid. You should remember."
"Aah, hello? Is anyone in there? I didn't know you when you were a little kid, you dolt."
"Of course you did," he answered. "You were at the orphanage too."
Not even thinking about the fact that Squall was taking a shower, Rinoa flung open the curtain.
"What the hell are you…"
Rinoa's voice trailed off as the blonde-haired man in the shower turned around to face her. His
blue eyes widened, and for an instant, they stood there, frozen. Then she shrieked and ran out of
the bathroom into the safety of the bridal suite.
Squall was sitting at the table, drinking a mug of coffee and reading a 'Weapons Monthly'
magazine. As she ran in, still screaming, he tipped over the mug, startled, and his coffee spilt
all over the magazine. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around her.
"Rinny, calm down," he said soothingly. "What happened?"
"Where were you?" she almost-screeched, looking up at him with wide brown eyes and pink cheeks.
"I was downstairs picking up a magazine," he replied. "It came in first thing this morning, and
the porter slipped a note under the door to say that it had. But what happened to you?"
"I woke up and the shower was running, and you weren't there, so I figured you were in the
shower. I went in and started talking to you, and you started saying about how we've known each
other since we were kids in the orphanage."
Squall raised an eyebrow. "But you weren't in the orphanage."
"Right," Rinoa said emphatically. "So I asked what the hell you meant, and flung open the shower
curtain. And it was… it was…"
Before she could finish, there was a knock on the door. Squall answered it, to find Quistis
standing outside.
"Quisty, what are you doing here?" Squall asked incredulously. Then he turned and looked at
Rinoa. Without turning back to Quistis, he gestured for her to come in as he strolled back to
Rinoa.
"Seifer?" he breathed in her ear.
She looked up at him, her cheeks flaming red. She nodded dumbly. Squall held his breath, trying
not to laugh. He just stood there, shuddering with repressed laughter, until he absolutely could
not hold it in any more. He cracked up laughing and continued to laugh uproariously until he was
on the floor with tears running down his face, holding his sides and gasping for air.
"It's not that funny," Rinoa said stonily, glaring at him.
"No, it's not," Quistis agreed, struggling to keep her giggles quiet.
Squall kept laughing, and Rinoa opened her mouth to have another go at him, but there was a knock
on the door. She got up and answered it. It was Seifer.
"Uh, hi," Rinoa said, her cheeks flaming red again. "C-come in."
Seifer walked in, and smirked as he saw Squall rolling around on the floor, laughing. He smiled
at Quistis, and then said, "Hey, Squall."
"Oh, hello Seifer," Squall said, sitting up as he stopped laughing. He looked Seifer up and
down, and added, "Nice to see you're fully dressed." Then he cracked up laughing again.
This time, everyone joined in.
CHAPTER 4
Selphie Tilmitt woke to the clunking of heavy boots against steel coming from above her. She
looked at the roof of her Balamb Garden dormitory, wondering who could possibly be making all
that noise.
"What in the seven hells…?" She turned to Irvine Kinneas as he sat up, looking up at the roof
like she was. He looked at her. "Something weird is goin' on, Sef."
"Students and Instructors of Balamb Garden; we are under attack." Selphie jumped as the speaker
on her wall stirred to life with Headmaster Cid's voice. "Please follow the normal procedures
that are carried out under this situation. Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas, Zell Dincht, Fuujin
and Raijin, please come to my office, and quickly. We might need your help."
Selphie stumbled out of bed, quickly changing from her nightclothes into her yellow overall
dress. She ran a brush through her chestnut brown hair, looking at Irvine
"Who d'ya think it could be, Irvy?"
"Could be anyone," Irvine replied. "Galbadians, maybe?"
"Don't think so," Selphie disagreed. "They were only attacking us last time `cause of Edea and
Seifer."
"Well, it's not the Trabians…" Irvine muttered. "And it couldn't be the White SeeDs."
"Who said it had to be a SeeD faculty? It could be anyone."
Irvine looked at her thoughtfully.
"You know what? You're absolutely right…"
* * * *
Zell Dincht ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair, and started pacing up and down the corridor
impatiently. Above him he could hear the sounds of SeeDs fighting their attackers. Through the
double doors that led to the Garden's office/cockpit he could hear Cid, Edea and Xu talking in
hushed, nervous voices.
He turned as Selphie and Irvine stepped out of the elevator and ran up to him, somewhat perfectly
groomed. Selphie stumbled as an explosion rocked the Garden. Irvine hurried to help her up.
"What the hell is going on?" Selphie asked Zell.
Zell shrugged, and replied, "Matron asked me to wait until everyone was here, and then come in.
Something about not wanting to waste time explaining twice."
"Ah," Irvine acknowledged, nodding. He winced as gunfire came from above them. "This is really
bad," he observed.
"No shit," Zell said bitterly, a frown on his face. "Where the hell are Fuujin and Raijin? They
should be here by now."
At that moment, the elevator whisked up again, and Fuujin stepped out, closely followed by
Raijin.
"SORRY," Fuujin apologised.
"We had other things we had to attend to first, ya know?" Raijin added quickly.
"Yeah, well next time attend to them a little bit quicker," Zell said coldly. "We've been waiting
for you." He rapped on the door, and then opened it quickly.
Edea looked up, and said, "Oh. Come in. Quickly, quickly."
Irvine looked at Selphie. He'd never heard Edea speak in such a hastened way. She nodded at him,
and then looked back at Edea.
"What is it, Matron?" she asked worriedly. "Who's attacking us?"
"They're warriors," Xu said quietly. "Technologically advanced warriors. They're attacking us
with weapons we could only hope to have created in twenty years time."
"WHERE FROM?" Fuujin asked, her cold face concealing any worry that she was feeling.
"We're not sure," Cid said. "But they look human enough. At the time, we can only assume they are
from our planet."
Selphie frowned and pawed at the ground with her feet.
"What's wrong, Sefie?" Irvine asked, concerned. "Something's troubling you, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Selphie admitted. "Matron, why are they attacking us?"
Edea shook her head, and said softly, "They keep telling the SeeDs to bring them the Angel. I'm
assuming by that they mean…"
"Rinoa!" Zell and Raijin said together. Zell snapped his fingers, and started pacing the room.
"But she's in… ahh… we don't know."
"Well we're going to have to look for them!" Selphie shrieked. "We need to let her know she's in
danger!"
"Matron, what do these people call themselves?" Irvine asked suddenly, a thought flashing like
lightning through his brain.
Edea looked at him, her face solemn.
"They say they are from the 'Cult of Ultimecia."
* * * *
Selphie shifted the Ragnarok into gear, launching it from the ground as several missiles landed
where it had previously been standing.
"They're gonna blow us up if we don't hurry, ya know?" Raijin said, pressing his face against the
window.
"Thankyou ever so much, Raijin," Selphie said sarcastically. "I really need that extra pressure
on me right now." She manoeuvred the airship sharply, narrowly missing another missile.
"Selphie." The voice came from the Ragnarok's communications link, and was very fuzzy. After a
second, the voice came back, sounding stronger. "Selph, can you hear me?"
"Irvy!" Selphie said happily. "Yes, I can hear you. How did you…"
"I'll explain later," Irvine said. "It's something Cid had hooked up a few months ago, just in
case. Are you guys all right up there?"
"Yes, we're fine, but they keep shooting at us," she said tensely.
"Zell and I are gonna go on board their ship," Irvine said. "You won't be able to communicate
with us while we're there. It's too dangerous. If you need anything, you'll have to speak to
Cid."
"Irvy, it's too dangerous…"
"Selphie, stop worrying about me and get your ass outta there before you guys are hit. Godspeed,
Sefie. I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered back brokenly, although the link was broken. Then she turned
around to Fuujin and Raijin, her eyes narrowed. "Right. Let's get the hell out of here!"
CHAPTER 5
"You know, this is actually quite hilarious," Seifer said, taking a sip of his coffee before
looking back at Squall. "Out of all the places you could have taken your honeymoon…"
"Out of all the places you could have gone to on vacation…" Rinoa interjected.
"We managed to pick the same place!" Quistis and Squall finished together, laughing.
"Well, at least now we know we've got a joint bathroom," Squall laughed. "I mean, we knew it
joined to your room, but they promised to keep it closed. Which they didn't, may I add."
"Much to the embarrassment of Rinoa and Seifer," Quistis giggled.
"Hey, I didn't ask for her to walk in on me!" Seifer protested.
"Ah, don't worry about it too much, Seifer. I'm sure it wasn't that big a deal," Squall said,
carefully emphasising the word 'big'.
Seifer scowled as everyone at the table started to laugh.
"At least I've actually got one, Leonhart," he said half-heartedly.
"And you'd know - how?" Squall asked, a sardonic grin on his face.
Seifer just glared at him in reply.
"Hey, boys. Cut it out," Rinoa said firmly. "You're acting like little kids."
Squall looked at Seifer. Seifer looked at Squall. They blinked.
"He started it!" both of them yelled at the same time.
* * * *
"SELPHIE."
"Yes, Fuujin?" Selphie asked, twisting in her seat. Seeing the look on her friend's face, she
asked, "Raijin wants us to stop here?"
"YES," Fuujin replied. "RINOA HERE. HE THINKS, ANYWAY."
The elevator rose up to the cockpit, bringing Raijin with it.
"Raijin, what makes you think we should stop in Deling? We've stopped in Timber, Esthar and
Fisherman's Horizon at your command, and she hasn't been in any of those places."
"I've just got this feelin', ya know?" Raijin said awkwardly. "For their honeymoon, they'd go to
a place close to the heart, ya know?"
"Okay, okay. I understand Timber, Esthar, and Deling now. And yes, I'm landing the Ragnarok. But
Raijin, if I may ask, why Fisherman's Horizon?"
"Well, it was where they had their first date, ya know?"
Selphie smiled, and said warmly, "Raijin, you're really a big softie, aren't you."
Raijin blushed slightly.
"Let's just see if they're here," he said gruffly.
* * * *
"Do you understand how much danger we're in? Did you think about that before you opted to do
this?"
Irvine pressed his back against a wall as a soldier walked past him in an adjacent corridor.
"Yes Zell, I thought about it," he hissed into his radio. "I thought about it a helluva lot. And
do you know what? I decided to do the right thing by Balamb Garden. So stop being a fricking wuss
and do your goddamn job!"
He turned off the radio and peered around the corner. There were two guards patrolling in front
of a set of double doors. They looked fully alert. Nothing was going to get past them.
Irvine pressed himself against the wall again, and turned his radio back on.
"Zell, things are about to get heated up here," he muttered. "Don't try to contact me for a
while. And don't do anything stupid."
He turned off the radio again, and drawing his gun, he strode into the main corridor.
* * * *
"Thanks for coming shopping with me, Quistis. It's good to get away from the boys and their
constant squabbling."
Quistis looked up from the shirt she was holding and smiled at Rinoa.
"I know what you mean. Even now, all they seem to wanna do is fight, fight, fight. Hey… what do
you think of this top?"
Rinoa plucked the shirt from Quistis' hands and scrutinised it carefully, before handing it back.
"It's pretty cool," she said. "And it'd look good on you. How much?"
Quistis looked at the price-tag and shrieked, "A thousand Gil?!"
"Quistis, if you could afford seven thousand for the room, you can afford one thousand for a cute
shirt." After a second she added slyly, "And I'm sure Seifer would like to see you in it."
"You think?" Quistis asked doubtfully. She thought for a second, before concluding, "Okay, I'll
take it. What about you? Are you going to buy anything?"
Rinoa looked around the shop, and cried out in delight as her eyes fell upon a black leather
mini-skirt.
"Ooh, it's perfect!" she cried. "I love it!"
"What will you wear with it?" Quistis asked curiously. "You don't really have anything to match."
"Then I'll buy something," Rinoa declared. "A girl can never have enough clothes."
Picking up a white shirt similar to the one Quistis was holding, she held it up to the skirt.
"Not bad," Quistis said approvingly. "It looks cute; school-girlish, if you know what I mean."
"That settles it. I'm buying them." Looking at the price-tag, she giggled nervously. "Squall's
gonna kill me. Three thousand Gil for both of them."
The girls approached the counter. At that moment, a voice behind them cried,
"Rinnnnoooooooaaaaaa!"
They spun around as Selphie ran up to them, panting. Fuujin and Raijin followed her at a slow,
casual walk.
"Selphie?!" Rinoa gasped. Then, "Fuujin! Raijin! What are you all doing here?"
"Gar… tack… Ult… Cult…" Selphie gasped. "We… caped… Ragna… sent… you… bec… cult… look… Angel."
"GARDEN ATTACKED," Fuujin said. "ULTIMECIA CULT."
"Cid told us to escape in the Ragnarok and find you." Raijin said by way of explanation. "The
Cult of Ultimecia, they're looking for who they call the Angel, ya know?"
Rinoa's face went white, and she asked, "The Angel?"
"But Rinoa, that's…" Quistis' voice trailed off as she saw the scared look on her friend's face.
"You're in serious danger while this cult are around," Selphie said, her breath fully back. "We
need to get you back to Garden and then Cid will tell us what to do with you."
Suddenly, Fuujin turned to Quistis, as if noticing her for the first time. Then she looked back
at Rinoa.
"QUISTIS…?" she asked tentatively. "RINOA…?"
Rinoa and Quistis laid the clothes down on the counter.
"We have to get out of here and find the guys," Rinoa said quickly.
"We'll explain later," Quistis said to Fuujin, knowing she had been about to ask why both women
were in the same place. "Where would they be?" she asked Rinoa.
"Didn't they say they were going to… oh, I can't remember!" Rinoa cried angrily.
"Let's go and find them, then!" Selphie yelled.
Ignoring the annoyed yells of the man at the counter, they ran from the shop.
* * * *
Zell crouched nervously behind a small wooden crate as a heavily armed sentry walked past,
looking around the room so carefully it looked like he was inspecting it for bugs. He had been
crouched precariously there for the last hour, waiting for Irvine to get back to him. Every time
a sentry walked past, he got more and more nervous. Where the hell was Irvine? What if something
had happened to him? What if he'd been caught?
At that moment, his radio clicked to life. Zell jumped as a familiar voice came through the
speaker.
"Yo, Zell. Dude, are you there? This is Irvine. Come in, Zell! Yo, Zell? Ya there?"
Zell took a deep breath before replying, "Yeah, I'm here Irvine. Sorry. You scared the… well,
let's just put it this way, I won't be needing the toilet for the next week."
Irvine laughed wickedly.
"Sorry man. I'm in the control room. They know I'm in here, but I've barricaded up the doors and
they can't get in."
"Dude, how did you manage to…"
"That's not important right now," Irvine snapped. "However, there is some important news I have
to tell you… and I can't guarantee it's necessarily good."
"Tell me."
There was a pause, before Irvine replied, "They've found out where Rinoa is. The ship's course
has been changed. We're heading towards Deling City. Towards Rinoa. And she probably doesn't even
know what's going on."
CHAPTER 6
"This is unbelievable," Squall muttered, looking at Rinoa. "Why doesn't everyone just leave us in
peace?"
Seifer laughed, and replied, "Because Rinoa's a sorceress with the powers of the three most
powerful ex-sorceresses, and you're her knight. These guys probably want to kill Rinoa and take
Ultimecia's power back from her."
"Geez Seifer, be a little sensitive, would you?" Quistis chided him, seeing her friend's face go
pale again.
"Oops, sorry Rin," Seifer said quickly, smiling apologetically at her. He felt a small pang of
concern when Rinoa didn't reply, but after a second she turned to him and winked.
"It's okay," she whispered, smiling. "I know you didn't mean it."
Suddenly, an airship rocketed over their heads. Selphie looked up at it and gasped.
"That's the ship Irvy and Zell sneaked onto!" she exclaimed. "It's the ship that's looking for
Rinoa!"
"Uhh… well, they've found her now, ya know?" Raijin said
matter-of-factly. "I think we should get out of here, ya know?"
"I agree," Fuujin said quietly as the airship circled and came back past them. "I think they know
she's here."
The airship stopped, hovering above their heads.
"Give up the Angel," a voice roared. "Give up the Angel or everyone in this city will perish
slowly and painfully. You have five minutes, Squall Leonhart. Bring us Sorceress Rinoa."
"Squall…" Rinoa sobbed. "Squall, I'm scared."
He pulled her firmly against his side, whispering, "It's okay, Rinny. I won't let them hurt you,
it's okay."
"What are we gonna do?" Selphie asked, her brow furrowed deeply. "We can't give Rinoa to them."
"We'll have to fight them, ya know?" Raijin said quietly.
"That's ridiculous!" Selphie retorted. "We'll all die!" After a second she added, "And besides,
Irvy and Zell are in that airship. If we succeed, they'll die."
"It's either us or thousands and thousands of innocent people," Quistis snapped. "We've got no
choice."
"But Quisty…" Seifer protested.
"Let me go," Rinoa said bravely. "I'd rather die then let you guys…"
"Rinoa, I'm not going to let you go to them," Squall cut her off, sounding scared. Tears welled
in his eyes. "I love you. I can't let you just leave!"
"Then we'll have to fight them," Quistis said firmly. Seeing the pained look on Seifer's face,
she added quietly, "I'm sorry, Seifer. There's nothing else we can do."
Seifer nodded dumbly. Fuujin's heart thumped painfully against her ribs as she saw the expression
on his face. He didn't want Quistis to die, because he loved her more than anything on the face
of the Earth. More than life itself.
"I don't want you to die either, Seifer," Fuujin murmured. "And I don't want you to be sad
because Quistis…" suddenly she found herself speaking out loud. "I'll go. I'll go and fight
them."
"Fuujin, no." Raijin's voice was harsh. "This isn't even your battle. I won't let you put
yourself…"
"Raijin, shut up," Fuujin said firmly. Looking at the others, she added gently, "Look, all of you
have some significant other that will die with heartbreak if one of you die. Rinoa… Squall.
Selphie… Irvine. Quistis………" she hesitated before continuing, "Seifer. In the past, every single
one of you has been a hero. At some stage, you've all had a part in saving the world. It's my
turn now. My turn to save you, to be a hero. I'm taking the Ragnarok and I'm going to fire
directly at the ship."
For a moment, everyone was silent. Then Seifer came forward and wrapped his arms around his
friend. For a moment, he said nothing, but he pulled away and whispered, "Fuujin, you've always
been a hero. You've always been brave, and strong, and the best friend a guy could have. You've
never given up in the face of danger, and I've always respected you for that. Godspeed, my
friend."
Fuujin felt tears welling in her eyes. She looked at Squall.
"You take care of Rinoa," she said firmly. "If I put myself through all this for nothing…"
Squall laughed, but his heart wasn't in it. He whispered, "Thanks, Fuujin. Take care of
yourself."
Rinoa and Quistis were both sobbing too hard to speak, but they looked at her and smiled gently.
"I'll get Irvine and Zell back for you, Selphie," Fuujin said quietly. "I'll make sure they're
not in the ship when it…"
"Thankyou so much," Selphie said. She started to cry softly. "Be brave, Fuujin. Be brave."
Raijin stepped forward and tilted his head to the side, staring at the woman he was in love with.
"Fuujin, I…"
"You don't have to say anything, Raijin," she whispered, smiling. She kissed him lightly on the
cheek. "I've known all along. I'm sorry."
Turning to the others, she announced, "I love you all. You are the best friends anyone could wish
to have. Take care of yourselves, all of you. And never give up."
With that last comment, she walked bravely towards the Ragnarok, her shoulders back, her head
held high. As she disappeared into the distance, she turned to them and waved.
Her last wave.
* * * *
"We can't let her do this!" Raijin yelled, tears streaming down his face as he watched the
Ragnarok lift into the air. "We just can't!"
Quistis turned to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, at the sadness in her
eyes as she spoke calmly and serenely.
"Raijin, Fuujin is a hero. She's giving her life to save many other people. She will go down in
the history of the world as…"
"She's not doing it because she wants to be a hero," Rinoa interjected. "Couldn't you feel her
emot… oh, hang on. Sorry," she apologised. "I keep forgetting you guys aren't… like me."
"What were you saying?" Selphie asked curiously.
"I know what she was saying," Raijin snapped. He turned on Seifer and snarled, "She's in love
with you. That's why she's up there, ya know? She loves you and she knows you're never gonna love
her back. You hear me, Seifer?! You're the reason she's up there!"
Seifer stared at him, shocked.
"Raijin, I…"
"That's not fair, Raijin!" Rinoa cut in. "For God's sake, how the hell was Seifer supposed to
know about Fuujin's feelings for him?!"
Raijin rounded on her and yelled, "You could see it on her face, plain as day!"
"Well, maybe Seifer's not as good at reading emotions as you are, and that's not his fault!" she
shot back. "It's not fair to dump the blame on him because you're in love with her!"
There was silence for a minute, and then Rinoa started crying again.
"I don't want her to die any more than you do," she whispered. "And I know how it is to feel like
you're going to lose someone you love…"
"Me too," Seifer added. Squall, Quistis and Selphie nodded in agreement.
"But when I thought I was gonna lose Rinny, I didn't blame anyone except for myself," Squall
sighed. "I knew I'd been an idiot for letting her go, and then Quisty convinced me of that… and
so we went after her."
"Does she know?" Quistis asked suddenly. When Raijin looked at her quizzically, she asked again,
"Does Fuujin know that you love her?" Raijin nodded, and she said, "There's not much we can do to
save her life now, Raijin. But at least, if she dies, she'll die knowing at least that someone
cares for her."
Raijin looked at her with sad acceptance.
"Yeah. At least she'll know."
CHAPTER 7
"Irvine. Zell. Come in."
Irvine turned away from the control panel and looked at his radio like he'd never seen it before.
"Wassup, Fuujin?" he asked worriedly.
A second later, Zell's voice came through the speaker, confirming he was also safe.
"Listen carefully," she said quickly and quietly. "The ship you two are in is going down. I
promised Selphie I'd get you out, but you've only got two minutes, otherwise these guys will
destroy the city."
"How can they do that?" Irvine asked. "I'm in the control room."
"You wouldn't be in the actual control room," Fuujin said. "You'd be in the back-up control room.
They announced something to us before…"
Irvine's attention wandered as two lights lit up on the board in front of him.
"…Oh, you're right," he cut in. "The main guns are powering up. We've got… uh… two and a half
minutes, Fuujin."
"How do we get out?" Zell asked.
"As long as you're not in a passage, you should be able to find escape suits in any room of the
ship," was Fuujin's terse reply.
"What do they look like?" Irvine asked, looking around the room.
"A royal blue armored body-suit. It should have a black jetpack attached to the back."
Irvine dropped to his knees and started frantically searching.
"Got one!" he said, starting to struggle into it.
After a few seconds, Zell said, "Yeah, me too."
"Get them on quickly," Fuujin said. "In one minute I'm blasting open the back of the ship. Be
there and ready to jump out. As soon as you start falling, activate your jetpacks and you'll
reach the ground safely. If you're not there in one minute, I'll give you an extra fifteen
seconds, but that's as long as I can stall the enemy. Got it? Over and out," she snapped, without
giving them a chance to reply.
Irvine looked at the timer.
"Only two minutes left," he warned Zell. "I'll meet you at the back of the ship."
"Good luck, Irvine."
"Good luck to you too, pal. Over and out."
* * * *
As six SeeDs and thousands of innocent civilians watched, a beam emitted from the Ragnarok and
smashed a hole in the back of the Cult's airship. A short man with blonde hair stood there, clad
in royal blue armor. He looked behind him, and then jumped, flicking a switch at the back of his
suit as he jumped. After a second of falling, two bright jets of light burst from the armor, and
he hovered safely above the tall buildings of the city.
"Zell!" Selphie called happily. After a second, she murmured, "But… where is Irvy?" A panicked
tone overtook her voice. "Where's Irvy?!"
Rinoa went to her friend and took a tight grip of her hand.
"Where is he?!" Selphie cried, as the Ragnarok lanced towards the Cult's airship. "No!"
Lasers shot from the Ragnarok, and hit the ship on the underside. The Cult's ship maneuvered so
it could return fire, but the Ragnarok stayed hot on their tail, firing at the bottom and back of
the ship.
"Irvy!" Selphie screamed, crying.
As if to answer her call, a shaky figure appeared at the back of the ship, followed by a heap of
soldiers. He leapt and activated his pack, then spun and started firing at the soldiers with his
gun.
"He's all right!" Selphie cried, relieved, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "He's all
right!"
* * * *
Irvine turned to face the oncoming Ragnarok. Squinting, he could just see Fuujin's determined
face through the window.
"Get outta the way, you idiot!" she screamed into the radio. There were tears running down her
face.
Irvine saluted, and obediently flew out of the way. Into his radio he whispered, "Good luck,
Fuujin."
He fled as the airships collided with a huge explosion.
* * * *
"She has to be in here! She HAS to!"
As the others watched sadly, Raijin dropped to his knees and frantically started searching
through the burnt, charred wreckage of the airships.
"No one coulda survived that explosion," Zell said quietly. Irvine nodded, clutching onto
Selphie.
Rinoa shivered, leaning against Squall.
"It's getting cold."
Seifer looked over at them, smiling sadly as he said, "You guys go back to the hotel. All of you.
I'll wait with Raijin. I owe him… and her… that much."
"Seifer, are you okay?" Quistis asked.
"I'll be fine," he whispered. "Just go."
As they walked off, he sunk to his knees and started looking through the rubble with Raijin.
"Fuujin," he muttered. "If you can hear me…"
"Seifer…" a weak voice called.
His eyes widened, and he started pulling frantically at the rubble.
"Raijin, I've found her!" he called after a moment. When he saw his friend's face light up, he
said, "I'll give you two a moment alone… then can I speak to her?"
Raijin nodded.
"Give me five minutes."
EPILOGUE
With tears in his eyes, Seifer looked down at the woman who had been his closest friend for so
long. He crouched down next to her as she smiled bravely at him.
"I'm not going to make it, am I." It was a statement, not a question, and looking at her crushed,
bleeding body, Seifer knew she was right. He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.
"Don't lie to me. Give it to me straight."
"You're lucky you lived this long," Seifer said bluntly, trying not to cry. "Oh Fuujin,
couldn't we get Rinny over here? She's a sorceress, she could…"
"No, it's okay," Fuujin said gently. "I'm ready to die, Seifer. I know that sounds weird, but…
well, it's the truth."
Seifer blinked, and a single tear leaked onto his cheek. A second later, he started sobbing,
tears pouring down his face like a waterfall.
"Fuujin, I'm sorry. I didn't know how you felt about me. This… this is all my fault…"
She smiled at him, tears welling in her own eyes.
"It's okay. Don't feel responsible. It was my choice to do this."
"Yes, but maybe if I had…"
"Seifer, forget it!" she snapped, wincing. "I don't want you to think that this is your fault.
After this day, if you think, even just once, that you caused me to do this… I swear I'll come
back and haunt you until you change your mind!"
Seifer laughed, despite himself. Then his voice took on a serious tone.
"Fuujin, you've been my best friend all my life… and I'm sorry I couldn't return the stronger
feelings that you had for me."
"It's okay, Seifer. But there are two things you have to promise me. First, I want you to take
care of yourself, and Raijin too, and make sure that you're always, always happy." She smiled as
she continued, "And I want you to have a happy life with Quistis. Looking at you, I can see that
the two of you belong together. You have my blessing."
"Thankyou, Fuujin," Seifer murmured, his voice rough with emotion. He choked back the lump in his
throat.
"Seifer, there's… there's one more thing I have to ask you."
He smiled at her, knowing what she was going to say. Bending forward, he kissed her gently on the
lips. When he finally pulled away, her eyes were closed, and she was smiling. She choked, and
blood gushed from her mouth.
"Seifer… I love you. I always have… always will," she whispered listlessly, her eyes opening
slightly. "Tell everyone else that I love them, too."
With a smile on her face, she closed her eyes and died.
"I'll tell them, Fuujin. I'll tell them."
* * * *
Two days later, Fuujin was cremated in a small ceremony at Balamb Town's docks. Seifer stood on
the end of the pier, holding an urn in his arms. Quistis stood next to him, holding a bunch of
flowers. Seifer opened the lid of the urn and offered her ashes to the winds.
Quistis handed him the bouquet, and crying, he flung it out to sea. Then they stood, hand in
hand, and watched as the waves carried it away into the sunset. He smiled down at her, and
noticed that she was crying too.
"It's what she would have wanted," he told her.
She nodded dumbly and said, "She really loved you, you know."
He smiled sadly at the sunset.
"I know, Quistis. I know."
~Fin~
Fire Angel
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I never actually intended to write a sequel to 'Longing to Be Loved', but one of
my only reviews was a request for one, so I figured I may as well! Uhh… don't expect this to have
a happy outcome, because that's the way I chose to write it. I've heard rumours that Fuujin and
Raijin are brother and sister; I'm ignoring them, as there seems to be no proof. So deal with it.
Comments can be sent to rinoa_heartilly86@hotmail.com
Have fun, and enjoy the story! ^.^
Longing to Be Loved - Fuujin's Story
PROLOGUE
Dear Diary,
Rinoa and Squall's wedding was today, and they've just left on their honeymoon. God only knows
where they went; they won't tell us, they just promised to bring back presents. They'll be back
in a couple of weeks, apparently.
As for my love life, it's not getting any better. Seifer's over Rinoa, that's for sure. But at
the wedding, he was with Quistis. I guess when they both ran away, they got pretty close.
I don't know what to do. I want to tell Seifer how I feel about him, but I don't want to ruin our
friendship… and I really don't want to spoil everything for Quistis. I admit that I hate her for
taking him away from me… but she's still my friend, and I don't want her to get hurt again. Not
because I'm jealous of their relationship.
I just wonder if there's anyone out there for me… or am I destined to be forever alone, with no
one to love, or to be loved by? All I want is to be loved. To know what it feels like to have
your heart flutter as a man holds you in his gentle embrace and touches his lips to your own.
I've never been kissed in my life, and I'm nearly twenty.
One lover, one kiss. Is that too much to ask for?
* * * *
It had started with a fight for a young woman's love. It had ended in a marriage, and a new
beginning for two people that thought they would never love again. But for Fuujin, there had been
no fairy-tale ending; no lover to come home to. How could she be happy, when the one that she
loved happened to love another woman?
To all that knew her, Fuujin was a tomboy with a patch over her eye and cropped hair, who always
wore baggy shirts. A tomboy who hid her emotions and spoke simply, preferring one or two words to
long sentences. A tomboy who was better to have as a friend than as an enemy. The shuriken she
wielded in combat was deadly.
But no one really knew the real Fuujin at all. Every day she had to work hard to conceal her
emotions. Deep inside, she loved Seifer, and she hated Quistis for taking him away from her. But
she knew that if she let her emotions show, she'd lose Seifer's friendship. She'd kill Quistis.
Or herself. Whoever, as long as the heartache would stop.
She just couldn't bear it anymore…
CHAPTER 1
"Good morning, people of Balamb!" Seifer Almasy hollered, waltzing into Balamb Garden's
cafeteria, with wide-open arms. As everyone looked at him, their faces confused, he added
cheerfully, "Don't worry about me, my friends. Enjoy your breakfast!"
He scanned the cafeteria and gave a sigh of contentment as he saw Quistis Trepe sitting in the
far corner, staring at him in amusement.
"What's got you so happy today?" she asked as he approached, a lilt in her voice as she tried not
to giggle.
Seifer kissed her on the cheek and sat down next to her.
"Yesterday, at the wedding… well, let's just say I realised who I've got and how lucky I am to
have her… and how stupid I would've been to pass up the opportunity."
Quistis blushed, but a smile spread over her face. Then she winked at him and joked, "Well,
that's a bit sad, really, because I realised that I was on the rebound, and that I'm not really
in love with you, and that I don't want to be with you anymore."
Seifer blinked at her, thinking she was serious. But then he laughed.
"Is there any way I can change your mind?"
"Oh, I don't know," Quistis replied. There was a teasing gleam in her blue eyes. "There's this
guy… this tall, guy wicked blue eyes, and blonde hair cut in a buzz-cut. He used to be a real
jerk, and he was a bit crazy, but he's changed so much… and he can dance, too."
"Never seen him before in my life," Seifer laughed, and bent forward to kiss her teasingly.
"What's his name?"
Quistis was laughing too hard to reply.
* * * *
"G'morning, Fuujin. Mind if I join ya?"
Her train of thoughts broken, Fuujin looked up from the table to see Raijin standing with a tray
of food.
"RAIJIN. HELLO," she murmured, pushing aside her own un-eaten breakfast as he sat down across
from her.
"So, how are ya?" he asked, between mouthfuls of bacon and eggs. "I haven't seen ya for a couple
of days, ya know. Been too busy preparing for the wedding and all, ya know? Yo - Fuujin?"
When she didn't answer, he looked up at her. A dazed, mournful expression was on her face. She
wasn't even paying any attention to him, but instead she was gazing across the cafeteria. Raijin
followed her gaze, and his own spirits fell. So, Fuujin still loved Seifer. For as long as Raijin
had known both of them, Fuujin had spent all her time chasing after Seifer, hoping her feelings
for him would be returned some day. What she didn't know was that Raijin had feelings for her,
and in turn, he had spent his years at Garden trying to impress her, like she had been trying to
impress Seifer.
"Fuujin," he said softly.
She looked over at him, tears welling in her eyes. Wiping at them quickly, she smiled at him
warmly.
"YES?"
"Are… are you all right?" he asked hesitantly.
Fuujin laughed, and replied, "FINE. WHY?"
"You just don't seem very happy, ya know?"
"SILLY," Fuujin's voice was teasing. "WORRY MUCH. NO NEED."
Raijin went back to his food, but when he snuck a look at her, she was looking at Seifer and
Quistis again, and that sad look was back on her face. Raijin felt like his heart was breaking.
"I'll seeya later, Fuujin," he said uncomfortably, getting to his feet. He couldn't sit with her
while she was looking like that over another man.
"GOING?" she asked, without looking at him. "WHY?"
"I'm just not hungry anymore, ya know?"
She didn't answer, so he grabbed his tray and dumped the remainder of his food in the bin. He
turned to look at her. Seifer was leaving the cafeteria with Quistis, and Fuujin's eyes were
following them every step of the way. Raijin's stomach twisted itself into little knots. She
hadn't even noticed that he'd left.
CHAPTER 2
"Well, here she is," Squall Leonhart said, flinging open the door of the hotel's most expensive
bridal suite. For a second, he and his young wife stood, looking in complete awe at the room.
"To think we paid thirty-thousand Gil for this," Squall murmured. "It looks like it's worth a
million!"
"Here's your luggage, sir," a voice said from behind him. Squall moved aside to let the porter
into the room. He sat the luggage by the bed and made his way out of the room.
Rinoa Leonhart giggled as Squall scooped her off her feet and carried her inside, closing the
door behind them. He sat her down gently on the bed, and then sat beside her.
"Pity about the shared bathroom, though," she said.
Squall laughed and said, "What, are you worried some other married couple will walk in on us?
Don't worry; they said the porter would keep it locked at all times."
"Wow." Rinoa gazed at the ring on her finger. "I still can't believe this. Mrs. Leonhart… it
sounds so weird, don't ya think?"
"I like it," Squall replied. "It sounds perfect. Rinoa Leonhart. Has a certain ring to it."
"You'd better hope so, because that's what I'm gonna be for the rest of my life!" she retorted.
"Well, it sounds better than Squall Heartilly."
Rinoa just looked at him for a moment, and then started laughing.
"Oh Squall, you're such a riot!" she giggled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "That was so
funny!"
"Oh, shut up," Squall grumbled. "It wasn't that funny."
"Yes it was," she insisted, but she stopped laughing. "Squall, I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he replied, and kissed her softly.
When they broke apart, Rinoa yawned.
"Oh, I'm so tired," she muttered. "Do you mind if we hit the sack? It's been a long day."
Without waiting for an answer, she kicked off her shoes and slipped under the covers, still fully
clothed. It was only a minute before her breathing evened.
Squall took off his shoes and changed, then climbed in beside her.
"You're beautiful," he told her sleeping figure. She just smiled and turned over, as if she could
hear what he said.
"Sweet dreams, Rinny."
* * * *
Cid Kramer took one look at the innocent smile on Seifer's face and the pleading look in his eyes
as the young man strolled into his office, whistling cheerfully.
"All right Seifer, out with it," Cid said good-naturedly.
Seifer grinned, replying, "And what's that supposed to mean, Headmaster Cid?"
"It means I know you either want something or you've done something really stupid and
embarrassing."
"It could be either of those," Seifer admitted.
"What was the stupid thing you did, Almasy?"
Seifer bent close to the Headmaster. ". I… err… I told Quistis that she and I are going on a
vacation… and… ahhh… that we had your permission to go, sir."
"Well, that's not that bad, Seifer. What is it you want from me?"
"Sir, I'm asking your permission for Quistis and I to go on vacation."
Headmaster Cid cracked up laughing. "Well, I can't really say no, now that you've got the poor
girl's hopes up. Why do you want to go on vacation though, when you've just returned from one?"
"That wasn't a vacation, that was a recuperation," Seifer retorted.
"Fair enough," Cid replied. "You needed to get over Rinoa, and Quistis needed to get over Squall,
and you did that and got together in the meantime. Now you want some time alone." He winked.
"Yeah, alright, you can leave this afternoon. But remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Oh God, that rules out drinking, partying, staying up late, speeding, swearing, sport, sex, not
to mention the thousands of other things you just don't do. Sorry, Ciddy-boy, but I think I'll
sit the 'Headmaster Cid Way of Life' out this time around."
Cid laughed again, and replied, "Well, have fun on your vacation."
"Thanks, Headmaster Cid. I'll see you in a couple weeks time."
Seifer sauntered out of Headmaster Cid's office, feeling very pleased with himself.
* * * *
"Quistis! Seifer!"
Quistis turned around to see Fuujin and Raijin running to catch up with Seifer and herself.
Putting down her heavy suitcases for a moment, she waved as they stopped, panting for breath.
"Where are you going?" Fuujin asked quietly. Raijin looked at her. The only time she seemed to
talk like a normal person was when Seifer was around.
"We're going on vacation," Seifer said seriously. "Just for a couple of weeks. We need a bit of a
break. Why so worried?"
"It would help if ya told us, ya know?" Raijin said angrily, but he was only angry because they'd
hurt Fuujin. "We've been running round all afternoon, trying to find out why ya're leaving, ya
know? We thought it was serious!"
"Sorry," Quistis said sincerely. "We didn't think about it. We've been so busy packing and
everything…"
Raijin opened his mouth to yell again, but Fuujin kicked him in the left leg, and smiled at
Quistis. "It's all right," she said quickly, putting her hand on Quistis' shoulder. "Really,
it's all right. Don't worry about Raijin."
Quistis smiled and said, "Thanks, Fuujin. I'll see you in two weeks."
"See you guys later. Raijin, take care of Fuujin for me, or I'll kick you ass when we get back."
Seifer winked at Fuujin. "You tell me if he's been a right dickhead, okay?"
"I'll make sure to do that, Seifer," Fuujin laughed, trying to hide the pain she was feeling. The
only feelings Seifer obviously had for her were those of an older brother. "Have fun."
She stood there, waving, until she could see them no more. And even then, she stood and waved.
She waved until the sun set, until the stars came out and the moon rose, and then finally, with
tears streaming down her face, she retired to her dormitory, and cried herself to sleep.
CHAPTER 3
"I love trains," Seifer crowed, as he and Quistis strolled into Deling in the early evening, hand
in hand. "They get you where you need to go so quickly. We've been from an island to a continent,
and then travelled to the middle of the same continent, all in a few hours' time. And we've made
it to Deling in time for dinner and an overnight stay. I like it."
"Let's go book a hotel room first," Quistis said, resting her head on his shoulder. "The Deling
Hotel is always packed. Then we can go have dinner at that restaurant across the road from the
Hotel. I ate there with Zell, Rinoa and Squall once. It's delicious."
"Okay, let's do that then," Seifer replied. He ran a hand through her hair. "And let's make it
quick, because I am absolutely famished."
They walked into the hotel, and approached the reception desk.
"Hello," the young woman at the desk said. "How may I help you?"
"We're after a room," Seifer replied. "How much a night?"
The woman flipped through the bookings for the night, and looked up at Seifer. "The only room
left is a bridal suite. A bridal suite usually costs thirty-thousand Gil, but because you didn't
specifically ask for it, we'll give it to you for half the normal price, if you still want it."
"We'll take it," Quistis said quickly.
Seifer yelped, and protested, "Quistis, I don't have fifteen-thousand Gil to throw away!"
"It's all right," she assured him, taking the key to the room. "We'll go halves, okay? That's
only seven-thousand, five hundred Gil each."
They forked over the money, and left the hotel.
"Now," Quistis said, rubbing her hands together. "How about dinner?"
* * * *
Rinoa awoke the next morning to the sound of running water. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes,
taking a moment to remember where she was. When she'd adjusted to her surroundings, she twisted
so she could talk to Squall, but he wasn't there.
"Duh," she muttered to herself. "He's in the shower." Looking at the clock, she sighed. "6:30. He
always was an early riser."
With a groan, she pulled herself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. "You're up early," she
commented to the shower curtain. "I thought you'd wanna sleep in. We had such a long day
yesterday."
"You know me," Squall replied from behind the shower curtain. "I'm always up early. It's been
that way since I was a kid. You should remember."
"Aah, hello? Is anyone in there? I didn't know you when you were a little kid, you dolt."
"Of course you did," he answered. "You were at the orphanage too."
Not even thinking about the fact that Squall was taking a shower, Rinoa flung open the curtain.
"What the hell are you…"
Rinoa's voice trailed off as the blonde-haired man in the shower turned around to face her. His
blue eyes widened, and for an instant, they stood there, frozen. Then she shrieked and ran out of
the bathroom into the safety of the bridal suite.
Squall was sitting at the table, drinking a mug of coffee and reading a 'Weapons Monthly'
magazine. As she ran in, still screaming, he tipped over the mug, startled, and his coffee spilt
all over the magazine. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around her.
"Rinny, calm down," he said soothingly. "What happened?"
"Where were you?" she almost-screeched, looking up at him with wide brown eyes and pink cheeks.
"I was downstairs picking up a magazine," he replied. "It came in first thing this morning, and
the porter slipped a note under the door to say that it had. But what happened to you?"
"I woke up and the shower was running, and you weren't there, so I figured you were in the
shower. I went in and started talking to you, and you started saying about how we've known each
other since we were kids in the orphanage."
Squall raised an eyebrow. "But you weren't in the orphanage."
"Right," Rinoa said emphatically. "So I asked what the hell you meant, and flung open the shower
curtain. And it was… it was…"
Before she could finish, there was a knock on the door. Squall answered it, to find Quistis
standing outside.
"Quisty, what are you doing here?" Squall asked incredulously. Then he turned and looked at
Rinoa. Without turning back to Quistis, he gestured for her to come in as he strolled back to
Rinoa.
"Seifer?" he breathed in her ear.
She looked up at him, her cheeks flaming red. She nodded dumbly. Squall held his breath, trying
not to laugh. He just stood there, shuddering with repressed laughter, until he absolutely could
not hold it in any more. He cracked up laughing and continued to laugh uproariously until he was
on the floor with tears running down his face, holding his sides and gasping for air.
"It's not that funny," Rinoa said stonily, glaring at him.
"No, it's not," Quistis agreed, struggling to keep her giggles quiet.
Squall kept laughing, and Rinoa opened her mouth to have another go at him, but there was a knock
on the door. She got up and answered it. It was Seifer.
"Uh, hi," Rinoa said, her cheeks flaming red again. "C-come in."
Seifer walked in, and smirked as he saw Squall rolling around on the floor, laughing. He smiled
at Quistis, and then said, "Hey, Squall."
"Oh, hello Seifer," Squall said, sitting up as he stopped laughing. He looked Seifer up and
down, and added, "Nice to see you're fully dressed." Then he cracked up laughing again.
This time, everyone joined in.
CHAPTER 4
Selphie Tilmitt woke to the clunking of heavy boots against steel coming from above her. She
looked at the roof of her Balamb Garden dormitory, wondering who could possibly be making all
that noise.
"What in the seven hells…?" She turned to Irvine Kinneas as he sat up, looking up at the roof
like she was. He looked at her. "Something weird is goin' on, Sef."
"Students and Instructors of Balamb Garden; we are under attack." Selphie jumped as the speaker
on her wall stirred to life with Headmaster Cid's voice. "Please follow the normal procedures
that are carried out under this situation. Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas, Zell Dincht, Fuujin
and Raijin, please come to my office, and quickly. We might need your help."
Selphie stumbled out of bed, quickly changing from her nightclothes into her yellow overall
dress. She ran a brush through her chestnut brown hair, looking at Irvine
"Who d'ya think it could be, Irvy?"
"Could be anyone," Irvine replied. "Galbadians, maybe?"
"Don't think so," Selphie disagreed. "They were only attacking us last time `cause of Edea and
Seifer."
"Well, it's not the Trabians…" Irvine muttered. "And it couldn't be the White SeeDs."
"Who said it had to be a SeeD faculty? It could be anyone."
Irvine looked at her thoughtfully.
"You know what? You're absolutely right…"
* * * *
Zell Dincht ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair, and started pacing up and down the corridor
impatiently. Above him he could hear the sounds of SeeDs fighting their attackers. Through the
double doors that led to the Garden's office/cockpit he could hear Cid, Edea and Xu talking in
hushed, nervous voices.
He turned as Selphie and Irvine stepped out of the elevator and ran up to him, somewhat perfectly
groomed. Selphie stumbled as an explosion rocked the Garden. Irvine hurried to help her up.
"What the hell is going on?" Selphie asked Zell.
Zell shrugged, and replied, "Matron asked me to wait until everyone was here, and then come in.
Something about not wanting to waste time explaining twice."
"Ah," Irvine acknowledged, nodding. He winced as gunfire came from above them. "This is really
bad," he observed.
"No shit," Zell said bitterly, a frown on his face. "Where the hell are Fuujin and Raijin? They
should be here by now."
At that moment, the elevator whisked up again, and Fuujin stepped out, closely followed by
Raijin.
"SORRY," Fuujin apologised.
"We had other things we had to attend to first, ya know?" Raijin added quickly.
"Yeah, well next time attend to them a little bit quicker," Zell said coldly. "We've been waiting
for you." He rapped on the door, and then opened it quickly.
Edea looked up, and said, "Oh. Come in. Quickly, quickly."
Irvine looked at Selphie. He'd never heard Edea speak in such a hastened way. She nodded at him,
and then looked back at Edea.
"What is it, Matron?" she asked worriedly. "Who's attacking us?"
"They're warriors," Xu said quietly. "Technologically advanced warriors. They're attacking us
with weapons we could only hope to have created in twenty years time."
"WHERE FROM?" Fuujin asked, her cold face concealing any worry that she was feeling.
"We're not sure," Cid said. "But they look human enough. At the time, we can only assume they are
from our planet."
Selphie frowned and pawed at the ground with her feet.
"What's wrong, Sefie?" Irvine asked, concerned. "Something's troubling you, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Selphie admitted. "Matron, why are they attacking us?"
Edea shook her head, and said softly, "They keep telling the SeeDs to bring them the Angel. I'm
assuming by that they mean…"
"Rinoa!" Zell and Raijin said together. Zell snapped his fingers, and started pacing the room.
"But she's in… ahh… we don't know."
"Well we're going to have to look for them!" Selphie shrieked. "We need to let her know she's in
danger!"
"Matron, what do these people call themselves?" Irvine asked suddenly, a thought flashing like
lightning through his brain.
Edea looked at him, her face solemn.
"They say they are from the 'Cult of Ultimecia."
* * * *
Selphie shifted the Ragnarok into gear, launching it from the ground as several missiles landed
where it had previously been standing.
"They're gonna blow us up if we don't hurry, ya know?" Raijin said, pressing his face against the
window.
"Thankyou ever so much, Raijin," Selphie said sarcastically. "I really need that extra pressure
on me right now." She manoeuvred the airship sharply, narrowly missing another missile.
"Selphie." The voice came from the Ragnarok's communications link, and was very fuzzy. After a
second, the voice came back, sounding stronger. "Selph, can you hear me?"
"Irvy!" Selphie said happily. "Yes, I can hear you. How did you…"
"I'll explain later," Irvine said. "It's something Cid had hooked up a few months ago, just in
case. Are you guys all right up there?"
"Yes, we're fine, but they keep shooting at us," she said tensely.
"Zell and I are gonna go on board their ship," Irvine said. "You won't be able to communicate
with us while we're there. It's too dangerous. If you need anything, you'll have to speak to
Cid."
"Irvy, it's too dangerous…"
"Selphie, stop worrying about me and get your ass outta there before you guys are hit. Godspeed,
Sefie. I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered back brokenly, although the link was broken. Then she turned
around to Fuujin and Raijin, her eyes narrowed. "Right. Let's get the hell out of here!"
CHAPTER 5
"You know, this is actually quite hilarious," Seifer said, taking a sip of his coffee before
looking back at Squall. "Out of all the places you could have taken your honeymoon…"
"Out of all the places you could have gone to on vacation…" Rinoa interjected.
"We managed to pick the same place!" Quistis and Squall finished together, laughing.
"Well, at least now we know we've got a joint bathroom," Squall laughed. "I mean, we knew it
joined to your room, but they promised to keep it closed. Which they didn't, may I add."
"Much to the embarrassment of Rinoa and Seifer," Quistis giggled.
"Hey, I didn't ask for her to walk in on me!" Seifer protested.
"Ah, don't worry about it too much, Seifer. I'm sure it wasn't that big a deal," Squall said,
carefully emphasising the word 'big'.
Seifer scowled as everyone at the table started to laugh.
"At least I've actually got one, Leonhart," he said half-heartedly.
"And you'd know - how?" Squall asked, a sardonic grin on his face.
Seifer just glared at him in reply.
"Hey, boys. Cut it out," Rinoa said firmly. "You're acting like little kids."
Squall looked at Seifer. Seifer looked at Squall. They blinked.
"He started it!" both of them yelled at the same time.
* * * *
"SELPHIE."
"Yes, Fuujin?" Selphie asked, twisting in her seat. Seeing the look on her friend's face, she
asked, "Raijin wants us to stop here?"
"YES," Fuujin replied. "RINOA HERE. HE THINKS, ANYWAY."
The elevator rose up to the cockpit, bringing Raijin with it.
"Raijin, what makes you think we should stop in Deling? We've stopped in Timber, Esthar and
Fisherman's Horizon at your command, and she hasn't been in any of those places."
"I've just got this feelin', ya know?" Raijin said awkwardly. "For their honeymoon, they'd go to
a place close to the heart, ya know?"
"Okay, okay. I understand Timber, Esthar, and Deling now. And yes, I'm landing the Ragnarok. But
Raijin, if I may ask, why Fisherman's Horizon?"
"Well, it was where they had their first date, ya know?"
Selphie smiled, and said warmly, "Raijin, you're really a big softie, aren't you."
Raijin blushed slightly.
"Let's just see if they're here," he said gruffly.
* * * *
"Do you understand how much danger we're in? Did you think about that before you opted to do
this?"
Irvine pressed his back against a wall as a soldier walked past him in an adjacent corridor.
"Yes Zell, I thought about it," he hissed into his radio. "I thought about it a helluva lot. And
do you know what? I decided to do the right thing by Balamb Garden. So stop being a fricking wuss
and do your goddamn job!"
He turned off the radio and peered around the corner. There were two guards patrolling in front
of a set of double doors. They looked fully alert. Nothing was going to get past them.
Irvine pressed himself against the wall again, and turned his radio back on.
"Zell, things are about to get heated up here," he muttered. "Don't try to contact me for a
while. And don't do anything stupid."
He turned off the radio again, and drawing his gun, he strode into the main corridor.
* * * *
"Thanks for coming shopping with me, Quistis. It's good to get away from the boys and their
constant squabbling."
Quistis looked up from the shirt she was holding and smiled at Rinoa.
"I know what you mean. Even now, all they seem to wanna do is fight, fight, fight. Hey… what do
you think of this top?"
Rinoa plucked the shirt from Quistis' hands and scrutinised it carefully, before handing it back.
"It's pretty cool," she said. "And it'd look good on you. How much?"
Quistis looked at the price-tag and shrieked, "A thousand Gil?!"
"Quistis, if you could afford seven thousand for the room, you can afford one thousand for a cute
shirt." After a second she added slyly, "And I'm sure Seifer would like to see you in it."
"You think?" Quistis asked doubtfully. She thought for a second, before concluding, "Okay, I'll
take it. What about you? Are you going to buy anything?"
Rinoa looked around the shop, and cried out in delight as her eyes fell upon a black leather
mini-skirt.
"Ooh, it's perfect!" she cried. "I love it!"
"What will you wear with it?" Quistis asked curiously. "You don't really have anything to match."
"Then I'll buy something," Rinoa declared. "A girl can never have enough clothes."
Picking up a white shirt similar to the one Quistis was holding, she held it up to the skirt.
"Not bad," Quistis said approvingly. "It looks cute; school-girlish, if you know what I mean."
"That settles it. I'm buying them." Looking at the price-tag, she giggled nervously. "Squall's
gonna kill me. Three thousand Gil for both of them."
The girls approached the counter. At that moment, a voice behind them cried,
"Rinnnnoooooooaaaaaa!"
They spun around as Selphie ran up to them, panting. Fuujin and Raijin followed her at a slow,
casual walk.
"Selphie?!" Rinoa gasped. Then, "Fuujin! Raijin! What are you all doing here?"
"Gar… tack… Ult… Cult…" Selphie gasped. "We… caped… Ragna… sent… you… bec… cult… look… Angel."
"GARDEN ATTACKED," Fuujin said. "ULTIMECIA CULT."
"Cid told us to escape in the Ragnarok and find you." Raijin said by way of explanation. "The
Cult of Ultimecia, they're looking for who they call the Angel, ya know?"
Rinoa's face went white, and she asked, "The Angel?"
"But Rinoa, that's…" Quistis' voice trailed off as she saw the scared look on her friend's face.
"You're in serious danger while this cult are around," Selphie said, her breath fully back. "We
need to get you back to Garden and then Cid will tell us what to do with you."
Suddenly, Fuujin turned to Quistis, as if noticing her for the first time. Then she looked back
at Rinoa.
"QUISTIS…?" she asked tentatively. "RINOA…?"
Rinoa and Quistis laid the clothes down on the counter.
"We have to get out of here and find the guys," Rinoa said quickly.
"We'll explain later," Quistis said to Fuujin, knowing she had been about to ask why both women
were in the same place. "Where would they be?" she asked Rinoa.
"Didn't they say they were going to… oh, I can't remember!" Rinoa cried angrily.
"Let's go and find them, then!" Selphie yelled.
Ignoring the annoyed yells of the man at the counter, they ran from the shop.
* * * *
Zell crouched nervously behind a small wooden crate as a heavily armed sentry walked past,
looking around the room so carefully it looked like he was inspecting it for bugs. He had been
crouched precariously there for the last hour, waiting for Irvine to get back to him. Every time
a sentry walked past, he got more and more nervous. Where the hell was Irvine? What if something
had happened to him? What if he'd been caught?
At that moment, his radio clicked to life. Zell jumped as a familiar voice came through the
speaker.
"Yo, Zell. Dude, are you there? This is Irvine. Come in, Zell! Yo, Zell? Ya there?"
Zell took a deep breath before replying, "Yeah, I'm here Irvine. Sorry. You scared the… well,
let's just put it this way, I won't be needing the toilet for the next week."
Irvine laughed wickedly.
"Sorry man. I'm in the control room. They know I'm in here, but I've barricaded up the doors and
they can't get in."
"Dude, how did you manage to…"
"That's not important right now," Irvine snapped. "However, there is some important news I have
to tell you… and I can't guarantee it's necessarily good."
"Tell me."
There was a pause, before Irvine replied, "They've found out where Rinoa is. The ship's course
has been changed. We're heading towards Deling City. Towards Rinoa. And she probably doesn't even
know what's going on."
CHAPTER 6
"This is unbelievable," Squall muttered, looking at Rinoa. "Why doesn't everyone just leave us in
peace?"
Seifer laughed, and replied, "Because Rinoa's a sorceress with the powers of the three most
powerful ex-sorceresses, and you're her knight. These guys probably want to kill Rinoa and take
Ultimecia's power back from her."
"Geez Seifer, be a little sensitive, would you?" Quistis chided him, seeing her friend's face go
pale again.
"Oops, sorry Rin," Seifer said quickly, smiling apologetically at her. He felt a small pang of
concern when Rinoa didn't reply, but after a second she turned to him and winked.
"It's okay," she whispered, smiling. "I know you didn't mean it."
Suddenly, an airship rocketed over their heads. Selphie looked up at it and gasped.
"That's the ship Irvy and Zell sneaked onto!" she exclaimed. "It's the ship that's looking for
Rinoa!"
"Uhh… well, they've found her now, ya know?" Raijin said
matter-of-factly. "I think we should get out of here, ya know?"
"I agree," Fuujin said quietly as the airship circled and came back past them. "I think they know
she's here."
The airship stopped, hovering above their heads.
"Give up the Angel," a voice roared. "Give up the Angel or everyone in this city will perish
slowly and painfully. You have five minutes, Squall Leonhart. Bring us Sorceress Rinoa."
"Squall…" Rinoa sobbed. "Squall, I'm scared."
He pulled her firmly against his side, whispering, "It's okay, Rinny. I won't let them hurt you,
it's okay."
"What are we gonna do?" Selphie asked, her brow furrowed deeply. "We can't give Rinoa to them."
"We'll have to fight them, ya know?" Raijin said quietly.
"That's ridiculous!" Selphie retorted. "We'll all die!" After a second she added, "And besides,
Irvy and Zell are in that airship. If we succeed, they'll die."
"It's either us or thousands and thousands of innocent people," Quistis snapped. "We've got no
choice."
"But Quisty…" Seifer protested.
"Let me go," Rinoa said bravely. "I'd rather die then let you guys…"
"Rinoa, I'm not going to let you go to them," Squall cut her off, sounding scared. Tears welled
in his eyes. "I love you. I can't let you just leave!"
"Then we'll have to fight them," Quistis said firmly. Seeing the pained look on Seifer's face,
she added quietly, "I'm sorry, Seifer. There's nothing else we can do."
Seifer nodded dumbly. Fuujin's heart thumped painfully against her ribs as she saw the expression
on his face. He didn't want Quistis to die, because he loved her more than anything on the face
of the Earth. More than life itself.
"I don't want you to die either, Seifer," Fuujin murmured. "And I don't want you to be sad
because Quistis…" suddenly she found herself speaking out loud. "I'll go. I'll go and fight
them."
"Fuujin, no." Raijin's voice was harsh. "This isn't even your battle. I won't let you put
yourself…"
"Raijin, shut up," Fuujin said firmly. Looking at the others, she added gently, "Look, all of you
have some significant other that will die with heartbreak if one of you die. Rinoa… Squall.
Selphie… Irvine. Quistis………" she hesitated before continuing, "Seifer. In the past, every single
one of you has been a hero. At some stage, you've all had a part in saving the world. It's my
turn now. My turn to save you, to be a hero. I'm taking the Ragnarok and I'm going to fire
directly at the ship."
For a moment, everyone was silent. Then Seifer came forward and wrapped his arms around his
friend. For a moment, he said nothing, but he pulled away and whispered, "Fuujin, you've always
been a hero. You've always been brave, and strong, and the best friend a guy could have. You've
never given up in the face of danger, and I've always respected you for that. Godspeed, my
friend."
Fuujin felt tears welling in her eyes. She looked at Squall.
"You take care of Rinoa," she said firmly. "If I put myself through all this for nothing…"
Squall laughed, but his heart wasn't in it. He whispered, "Thanks, Fuujin. Take care of
yourself."
Rinoa and Quistis were both sobbing too hard to speak, but they looked at her and smiled gently.
"I'll get Irvine and Zell back for you, Selphie," Fuujin said quietly. "I'll make sure they're
not in the ship when it…"
"Thankyou so much," Selphie said. She started to cry softly. "Be brave, Fuujin. Be brave."
Raijin stepped forward and tilted his head to the side, staring at the woman he was in love with.
"Fuujin, I…"
"You don't have to say anything, Raijin," she whispered, smiling. She kissed him lightly on the
cheek. "I've known all along. I'm sorry."
Turning to the others, she announced, "I love you all. You are the best friends anyone could wish
to have. Take care of yourselves, all of you. And never give up."
With that last comment, she walked bravely towards the Ragnarok, her shoulders back, her head
held high. As she disappeared into the distance, she turned to them and waved.
Her last wave.
* * * *
"We can't let her do this!" Raijin yelled, tears streaming down his face as he watched the
Ragnarok lift into the air. "We just can't!"
Quistis turned to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, at the sadness in her
eyes as she spoke calmly and serenely.
"Raijin, Fuujin is a hero. She's giving her life to save many other people. She will go down in
the history of the world as…"
"She's not doing it because she wants to be a hero," Rinoa interjected. "Couldn't you feel her
emot… oh, hang on. Sorry," she apologised. "I keep forgetting you guys aren't… like me."
"What were you saying?" Selphie asked curiously.
"I know what she was saying," Raijin snapped. He turned on Seifer and snarled, "She's in love
with you. That's why she's up there, ya know? She loves you and she knows you're never gonna love
her back. You hear me, Seifer?! You're the reason she's up there!"
Seifer stared at him, shocked.
"Raijin, I…"
"That's not fair, Raijin!" Rinoa cut in. "For God's sake, how the hell was Seifer supposed to
know about Fuujin's feelings for him?!"
Raijin rounded on her and yelled, "You could see it on her face, plain as day!"
"Well, maybe Seifer's not as good at reading emotions as you are, and that's not his fault!" she
shot back. "It's not fair to dump the blame on him because you're in love with her!"
There was silence for a minute, and then Rinoa started crying again.
"I don't want her to die any more than you do," she whispered. "And I know how it is to feel like
you're going to lose someone you love…"
"Me too," Seifer added. Squall, Quistis and Selphie nodded in agreement.
"But when I thought I was gonna lose Rinny, I didn't blame anyone except for myself," Squall
sighed. "I knew I'd been an idiot for letting her go, and then Quisty convinced me of that… and
so we went after her."
"Does she know?" Quistis asked suddenly. When Raijin looked at her quizzically, she asked again,
"Does Fuujin know that you love her?" Raijin nodded, and she said, "There's not much we can do to
save her life now, Raijin. But at least, if she dies, she'll die knowing at least that someone
cares for her."
Raijin looked at her with sad acceptance.
"Yeah. At least she'll know."
CHAPTER 7
"Irvine. Zell. Come in."
Irvine turned away from the control panel and looked at his radio like he'd never seen it before.
"Wassup, Fuujin?" he asked worriedly.
A second later, Zell's voice came through the speaker, confirming he was also safe.
"Listen carefully," she said quickly and quietly. "The ship you two are in is going down. I
promised Selphie I'd get you out, but you've only got two minutes, otherwise these guys will
destroy the city."
"How can they do that?" Irvine asked. "I'm in the control room."
"You wouldn't be in the actual control room," Fuujin said. "You'd be in the back-up control room.
They announced something to us before…"
Irvine's attention wandered as two lights lit up on the board in front of him.
"…Oh, you're right," he cut in. "The main guns are powering up. We've got… uh… two and a half
minutes, Fuujin."
"How do we get out?" Zell asked.
"As long as you're not in a passage, you should be able to find escape suits in any room of the
ship," was Fuujin's terse reply.
"What do they look like?" Irvine asked, looking around the room.
"A royal blue armored body-suit. It should have a black jetpack attached to the back."
Irvine dropped to his knees and started frantically searching.
"Got one!" he said, starting to struggle into it.
After a few seconds, Zell said, "Yeah, me too."
"Get them on quickly," Fuujin said. "In one minute I'm blasting open the back of the ship. Be
there and ready to jump out. As soon as you start falling, activate your jetpacks and you'll
reach the ground safely. If you're not there in one minute, I'll give you an extra fifteen
seconds, but that's as long as I can stall the enemy. Got it? Over and out," she snapped, without
giving them a chance to reply.
Irvine looked at the timer.
"Only two minutes left," he warned Zell. "I'll meet you at the back of the ship."
"Good luck, Irvine."
"Good luck to you too, pal. Over and out."
* * * *
As six SeeDs and thousands of innocent civilians watched, a beam emitted from the Ragnarok and
smashed a hole in the back of the Cult's airship. A short man with blonde hair stood there, clad
in royal blue armor. He looked behind him, and then jumped, flicking a switch at the back of his
suit as he jumped. After a second of falling, two bright jets of light burst from the armor, and
he hovered safely above the tall buildings of the city.
"Zell!" Selphie called happily. After a second, she murmured, "But… where is Irvy?" A panicked
tone overtook her voice. "Where's Irvy?!"
Rinoa went to her friend and took a tight grip of her hand.
"Where is he?!" Selphie cried, as the Ragnarok lanced towards the Cult's airship. "No!"
Lasers shot from the Ragnarok, and hit the ship on the underside. The Cult's ship maneuvered so
it could return fire, but the Ragnarok stayed hot on their tail, firing at the bottom and back of
the ship.
"Irvy!" Selphie screamed, crying.
As if to answer her call, a shaky figure appeared at the back of the ship, followed by a heap of
soldiers. He leapt and activated his pack, then spun and started firing at the soldiers with his
gun.
"He's all right!" Selphie cried, relieved, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "He's all
right!"
* * * *
Irvine turned to face the oncoming Ragnarok. Squinting, he could just see Fuujin's determined
face through the window.
"Get outta the way, you idiot!" she screamed into the radio. There were tears running down her
face.
Irvine saluted, and obediently flew out of the way. Into his radio he whispered, "Good luck,
Fuujin."
He fled as the airships collided with a huge explosion.
* * * *
"She has to be in here! She HAS to!"
As the others watched sadly, Raijin dropped to his knees and frantically started searching
through the burnt, charred wreckage of the airships.
"No one coulda survived that explosion," Zell said quietly. Irvine nodded, clutching onto
Selphie.
Rinoa shivered, leaning against Squall.
"It's getting cold."
Seifer looked over at them, smiling sadly as he said, "You guys go back to the hotel. All of you.
I'll wait with Raijin. I owe him… and her… that much."
"Seifer, are you okay?" Quistis asked.
"I'll be fine," he whispered. "Just go."
As they walked off, he sunk to his knees and started looking through the rubble with Raijin.
"Fuujin," he muttered. "If you can hear me…"
"Seifer…" a weak voice called.
His eyes widened, and he started pulling frantically at the rubble.
"Raijin, I've found her!" he called after a moment. When he saw his friend's face light up, he
said, "I'll give you two a moment alone… then can I speak to her?"
Raijin nodded.
"Give me five minutes."
EPILOGUE
With tears in his eyes, Seifer looked down at the woman who had been his closest friend for so
long. He crouched down next to her as she smiled bravely at him.
"I'm not going to make it, am I." It was a statement, not a question, and looking at her crushed,
bleeding body, Seifer knew she was right. He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.
"Don't lie to me. Give it to me straight."
"You're lucky you lived this long," Seifer said bluntly, trying not to cry. "Oh Fuujin,
couldn't we get Rinny over here? She's a sorceress, she could…"
"No, it's okay," Fuujin said gently. "I'm ready to die, Seifer. I know that sounds weird, but…
well, it's the truth."
Seifer blinked, and a single tear leaked onto his cheek. A second later, he started sobbing,
tears pouring down his face like a waterfall.
"Fuujin, I'm sorry. I didn't know how you felt about me. This… this is all my fault…"
She smiled at him, tears welling in her own eyes.
"It's okay. Don't feel responsible. It was my choice to do this."
"Yes, but maybe if I had…"
"Seifer, forget it!" she snapped, wincing. "I don't want you to think that this is your fault.
After this day, if you think, even just once, that you caused me to do this… I swear I'll come
back and haunt you until you change your mind!"
Seifer laughed, despite himself. Then his voice took on a serious tone.
"Fuujin, you've been my best friend all my life… and I'm sorry I couldn't return the stronger
feelings that you had for me."
"It's okay, Seifer. But there are two things you have to promise me. First, I want you to take
care of yourself, and Raijin too, and make sure that you're always, always happy." She smiled as
she continued, "And I want you to have a happy life with Quistis. Looking at you, I can see that
the two of you belong together. You have my blessing."
"Thankyou, Fuujin," Seifer murmured, his voice rough with emotion. He choked back the lump in his
throat.
"Seifer, there's… there's one more thing I have to ask you."
He smiled at her, knowing what she was going to say. Bending forward, he kissed her gently on the
lips. When he finally pulled away, her eyes were closed, and she was smiling. She choked, and
blood gushed from her mouth.
"Seifer… I love you. I always have… always will," she whispered listlessly, her eyes opening
slightly. "Tell everyone else that I love them, too."
With a smile on her face, she closed her eyes and died.
"I'll tell them, Fuujin. I'll tell them."
* * * *
Two days later, Fuujin was cremated in a small ceremony at Balamb Town's docks. Seifer stood on
the end of the pier, holding an urn in his arms. Quistis stood next to him, holding a bunch of
flowers. Seifer opened the lid of the urn and offered her ashes to the winds.
Quistis handed him the bouquet, and crying, he flung it out to sea. Then they stood, hand in
hand, and watched as the waves carried it away into the sunset. He smiled down at her, and
noticed that she was crying too.
"It's what she would have wanted," he told her.
She nodded dumbly and said, "She really loved you, you know."
He smiled sadly at the sunset.
"I know, Quistis. I know."
~Fin~