Chapter I : Hate Solidified

"So how long you been a SeeD at Balamb Garden?"

Fujin tried hard not to scowl but it wasn't easy. Her opponent kept pestering her with questions and idle small talk. She loathed small talk. Who cared how a person was or what the weather was? It was all so stupid and yet, for the moment, she had to remain polite. She held up one finger as she contemplated her remaining cards.

"One year?"

"ONE," she affirmed, laying down a Jumbo Cactaur card.

"Not bad," the Card Master praised. He promptly overturned her card with a well placed and super-rare Siren card. "You know you're the second person to ever beat me into playing here in my Secret Room? That ain't too shabby at all girl."

Fujin managed a small smile, her spirits rising slightly. The last card in her hand was her beloved Pandemona card and using it would give her a Same Plus Combo, enabling her to finally win the game. She carefully and smugly lay the card onto the last remaining spot. At long last she had won.

"Well I'll be damned," the Card Master muttered, studying the cards intently. "You beat me again. It's been years since I've seen a Pandemona card, you know? You've been saving it."

She nodded, relief washing over her. The Card Master was known all over Dollet as the most cunning of card players and Fujin had found out first hand that he did indeed live up to his reputation. The guy was friggin' tough. He played cards better than anyone Fujin knew, even Squall Leonhart, Commander of Balamb Garden. It had already taken seven tries to beat the guy into playing in his Secret Room.

"Well I owe you then." He flashed her a toothy grin. "It's an honour to be defeated by such a crafty player. Last person to beat me before you was old Jed Berwyn, some fifteen years back."

"TOUGH."

"I am aren't I?" The Card Master preened as he dug around through the clutter that topped his desk. "I've got a few gifts for you. You gave me one hell of a challenge girl."

Fujin accepted the pile of cards he handed her, including the glossy, beautiful Siren card. He also gave her three Elixirs, a Flare Stone and a Fury Fragment, informing her that as a SeeD the magical items were bound to come in handy one day.

"Oh and feel free to look through all these old magazines," he added, leaning back and pouring Everweed into his pipe. "I've been trying to get rid of them for years now. They're all junk but they're rare junk. You just might be able to find something of value."

Fujin smiled again, elated. This was what she'd been waiting for, for ages and ages. This was why she'd played endless games of Triple Triad with Squall and Quistis and Xu and that hyper idiot Zell. All for this one chance. "THANKS," she intoned, shoving her cards into the pockets of her brown cargo pants. "KIND."

He blew a series of rings at the ceiling. "The pleasure is mine."

Fujin knelt down and began rummaging through the stacks of tattered magazines, hardly daring to breathe. Could it be here? Were the rumours correct? Would she finally be able to see what had consumed the lives of her parents so completely and entirely?

Her exploration took a while because of the sheer volume of literature the Card Master possessed but in the end her search paid off. She found what she was looking for plus another editions. The out-of-print, nearly non-existent Occult Fan, issues II, and IV were now hers, in addition to the Occult Fan I she'd found in the Balamb Garden library, hidden behind a row of Galbadian Medical documents.

"Find anything good?"

Fujin showed him the magazines. "HAVE?"

"Oh yeah be my guest," the Card Master said pleasantly. "So you're a fan of things mysterious eh? That's a great series then. Full of all kinds of strange, unsolved things. You can't find Occult magazines anywhere these days. They've been out of print for years."

"KNOW."

"You'll have to come back soon so we can have a rematch, okay? No one else gives me a challenge these days."

Fujin stuffed the crinkled magazines into her knapsack. "AGREE."

The Card Master shook her hand once before allowing her to leave. Fujin quit the pub, happier than she'd been in a long, long time. There had only been rumours about the Card Master's hidden lair and hoards of unusual items but for it to be true...she just couldn't believe her luck. Normally she had all the luck of a Snow Lion in the Fire Cavern but at last things seemed to be looking up. Now she could finally start unlocking some of the secrets her parents had been working on before their deaths. She'd spent years trying to get to this moment and now that she was here...words couldn't describe how great it felt.

Normally Fujin didn't like eating in restaurants but today, as a tiny celebration of sorts, she decided to have supper at the fancy Trabian restaurant near her hotel. She sat outside at a tiny table upon the cobblestone path and watched the world go by. The evening was warm and breezy. Loads of people were milling about, chatting and laughing. By the fountain there were musicians and street performers. Dollet was busier and merrier than she'd ever noticed before.

She listened to the music and gazed around for a while before ordering her meal. Then, while sipping leisurely on a Starburst Shine Soda, she took out her two new magazines and began to read. As always, the articles were cloaked in obscurity, giving vague references to places and monsters and strange magical items. By the time her food had arrived, she'd finished reading. She pondered what she'd read as she ate, in particular the piece about Malboros. While having never actually seen a Malboro, Fujin knew all about the Status-altering creature. They were especially dangerous, which was why Malboro Tentacles were so expensive. Maybe the article was referring to Malboro Tentacles? Or something about a Malboro lair. In all honesty, she had no clue.

"Can I get you anything else Miss?"

Fujin looked up at the smiling waiter and realized that she'd long since finished her food. She shook her head. "CHEQUE."

"Sure thing," he replied, sweeping away her dirty dishes.

She paid and then left the restaurant. It was such mild, warm weather that she decided to go for a walk before heading back to her hotel room for the night. She wove through the crowds, heading for the waterfront. Dollet had beautiful docks and in the distance, you could see Balamb, looking like a tiny island against the horizon.

Passing beneath the stone bridge and into the Town Square, Fujin became aware of someone yelling. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a young boy sprinting through the crowds, shouting and waving. She rolled her one lone eye, her expression souring. She detested little kids, especially ones who disrupted the peace like this little shit. In her opinion kids were nothing more than grubby, stupid, annoying-

There was a sudden tug on Fujin's hand. "Hey!"

The dark-haired kid was beside her, looking up at her with huge brown eyes. She scowled, yanking her hand away. "WHAT?!"

He wasn't intimidated. "Are you a SeeD?"

Why the hell would the runt wanna to know that? "YES."

"My mom's the Card Queen, di'cha know that?"

Fujin blinked. She played the Card Queen every now and then at the Balamb Train Station but never knew that the Queen had a son. She never thought of the Card Queen as having any sort of a personal life. "SO?"

"So some guy's looking all over for you." The boy bobbed his head earnestly. "It's true. My mom saw you playing in the pub and told me to find you. She said the guy looks dangerous. He beat the Card Master and he wants something you got."

Was some deranged card fan looking to challenge her for the Siren card? So much for enjoying her winnings in peace. "OKAY," she muttered grudgingly. "THANKS."

"You should come by and see my grandpa's paintings sometimes," the kid said, heading back towards the pub. "He doesn't paint bad!"

As she grew closer to the waterfront, she surreptitiously studied her surroundings but could see no one tailing her. In any case, she could handle whatever was going to come her way. She had Pandemona junctioned, a load of magical items and all her stats were pretty high. No one was going to take anything from her without getting their ass kicked.

She stood watching boats drift in and out of the harbour for a while before eventually leaving. It was getting late and she had days of extensive research ahead of her. Tomorrow morning she would hit up a bunch of Dollet's used bookstores, which were renowned for rare finds and since her SeeD Level was above Fifty, she had access to a variety of governmental databases and storage areas. Then once she finished seeking and studying in Dollet, Timber, and Deling City were only a train ride away. Even Winhill was just a day drive from Deling City. She had a whole month of vacation since last year she'd been required to work in Trabia over her vacation so she could give this her all.

She took an alternative route back towards the hotel, winding her way through the Shopping Kiosk. Only a handful of shops were open so the area was relatively quiet. She peeked into the windows of closed bookstores here and there but saw nothing of interest. As soon as she turned from the main road onto a quite street, Fujin was aware that she was indeed being followed. Her spine tingled with a rack of cool shivers.

Abruptly, she headed into a nearby, quiet little park. If she was going to fight than she'd rather it be out of sight and away from the public. If some innocent bystander got injured then she'd be in shit with the Garden. She strolled along a winding path before finally stopping near a large duck pond.

"WHAT?" she demanded loudly, folding her arms across her chest. Because Fujin was afraid of no one.

There was an audible rustle from the opposite pathway and a figure strode out from the greenery. In the buttery lamp-light, Fujin could see that the guy was tall and very blond, with that sort of aristocratic-style good looks. His bearings were self-centered and there was a smirk the size of the Centra Continent plastered across his face. Fujin liberally decided that she hated the guy on sight.

"So you could tell you were being followed. Not bad for a SeeD." He sneered as he said the last word, as if her title disgusted him. Condescension literally dripped from his words and tone. "Too bad you're as subtle looking as a dead Hexadragon."

What a fucking winner. Fujin was quite familiar with this breed of jackass. He was obviously the type of guy who knew he was attractive and thought he was the best thing since sliced Chocobo. "POINT?"

He arched an eyebrow but to his credit didn't remark upon her speech impediment. "You have something that I want."

She smirked right back at him. "TOUGH."

All traces of cheery disdain vanished from his face. His features darkened and Fujin could see why the Card Queen had described him as dangerous. "I don't think you understand what I'm all about," he said softly. His eyes glittered in the delicate light. "When I want something, I make sure I get it. I don't let anything stand in my way, especially not some low-level SeeD."

"THRILLING," she barked sarcastically. She narrowed her eyes, irritated. Low-level SeeD her ass. "WANT?"

"You collected Occult Fan II and IV from that Card guy before I could play him." He took a step forward, openly attempting to intimidate her. "I want them. Now."

"NO." She shook her head emphatically. There was no way in hell that she was going to give her hard-earned magazines to this bimbo. "NEVER. DUMBASS."

He stared at her in disbelief, obviously not used to being contradicted or ridiculed. "What the hell did you just say?"

"HEARD," she spat, giving him the finger. What a bullshit waste of time this was. She jerked around and stomped up the dirt pathways. Naturally dumbass followed her, grabbing hold of her arm in a grip like an iron chain.

He yanked her close. "You're not going anywhere SeeD," he hissed. The guy was pissed off.

"ASSHOLE," she snapped, snatching her hand away. "GIVE NOTHING! TRAINED! FIGHT!"

"You think you can beat me?" He smirked, his lips twisting maliciously. "You have no idea how strong I am. I could kill you right now and no one would ever find your scrawny body. I have the entire Galbadian Army in my goddamn pocket, bitch."

"LYING!"

"Why the fuck would I lie? You're not worth the fucking effort." He grabbed her chin with gloved fingers, forcing her to meet his flashing gaze. "A Sorceress' Knight has no reason to lie, especially not to some shitass SeeD."

Fujin blinked her good eye. It took a helluva lot to stun her but this guy had succeeded. Was she really standing face to face with a Knight, the most scared and powerful man under a Sorceress? Not that this conceited dipshit was apt to lie. It would be much too easy to check out whether he truly was a Knight or not.

"Give me the magazines."

"NO!" She roughly pulled herself free. "SCARED NOT. MINE. FUCKTARD!"

"You want to fight me that badly?" He considered her, raking his eyes over her entire length in an obvious and disgusting manner. "You look pretty shitty to me. I prefer some challenge at least. I'll bet a low-level Aero spell could finish you off."

Fujin seethed. Words couldn't even begin to describe how much she abhorred this egotistical prick. The guy had some nerve, Knight or not. Did he seriously believe that she'd just hand over the magazines to him with a smile and a wave? Was he that fucking stupid? She'd show him a goddamn challenge!

"Your face is all red," he commented, clearly enjoying her rage. "Getting pissed are we?"

How dare he mock her! Fujin yanked out from the pants of her brown cargo pants the Flare Stone the Card Master had given to her. She cast the glowing Stone and scorching bursts of flame engulfed the blond Knight. A great feeling of satisfaction welling up inside her. She then cast Double upon herself, so that she'd be able to work two magical spells at once.

The fiery light dissipated. The Knight looked half impressed and half pissed that she possessed such high level Flare magic. He brought his gloved hand to his forehead and called the name, "Alexander." He and the entire park disappeared as his GF fell down from the skies and banged into the earth. Thick rays of shimmering Holy magic poured out from the GF and rocked her existence. Scathing illumination and pain soaked into her bones. Fujin gasped as the GF vanished and fell to her knees.

"Had enough?" The Knight looked down at her, sneering. "That was my weakest GF. I wouldn't want to actually hurt you before I take what's mine."

Fuming, Fujin healed herself with a Curaga and then turned a Demi spell onto the arrogant bastard. The inky blob clung to him, wavering and eating up his HP.

"STRONG," Fujin proclaimed, her voice gritty with fury. "DEFEAT!"

He healed himself with an Elixir. "Your magic is decent but you're far from defeating me." Pillowy froth spit from his fingers and before she could retaliate, the familiar waves of Sleep descended upon her. Her body began to relax. Her eye drifted shut.

The last thing that entered into her mind was a vehement curse.