"HAVE YOU SEEN MY FEET?"
by Soul Hunter
He points his trigger-finger to the air, a gesture of complete confidence characterized by the calm in the sub-appendage that attracted an unsuspecting butterfly. It perches innocently on the tip of his finger. Irvine smiles, then feigns a recoil action as if a bullet had just fired from the make-believe muzzle that would have blown the dainty insect to smithereens had it been a real gun.
"Umm… this is the life…" he mumbles leisurely. "No SeeD business, no mission orders, no freakin' Wendigos…"
He lifts his head and turns to the left, where Rinoa and Selphie lay silent, clad only in skimpy one-piece bathing suits and dark glasses to protect their eyes from the sun, whose radiant rays are presently giving their complexion a curiously coveted shade of tan. The gunslinger tips his sunglasses slightly to get a better view of the eye-pleasing scene.
"And gorgeous girls to keep me company. Ahh!" he sighs. "Life can never get any better than this!"
"You were saying something, Irvy?"
"Just appreciating the pleasures of life, my love." Irvine retorts.
"Heh, this is nice, isn't it?" Rinoa joins in. "We don't get too many days like this so try to make the most out of it, guys."
"You don't have to tell me that, Ms. Heartilly." The gunman comes back anew, prior to the approach of an individual who made him sit up in attention. "Aw man… angel incoming!"
She was truly a sight to behold, with her long blonde hair flowing down past the base where her smooth neck and shoulders meet. Standing at a statuesque five feet and six inches, the newcomer strikes a breathtaking figure, clad with a slightly undersized shirt held in place by a mere knot tying together the two hems, but still leaving her lower abdominal area exposed to the gunslinger's feasting eyes. Tight-fitting denim jeans, sheared high enough to display her long and nearly sculpture-perfect appendages complemented the apparel. It was all made complete by expensive-looking sunglasses that sharply contrast the milky complexion on the newcomer's alluring face.
Irvine wasn't even able to gasp when the newcomer came within one yard of him.
"Excuse me, is this spot taken?" she echoes with a most enchanting voice. His mouth gaping with stunned awe, Irvine just sat there, muttering gibberish in the midst of the unbridled giggles coming from Selphie and Rinoa. The newcomer can't help but join the pair in a frenzied laughing fit.
"Irvine, you dork!" Rinoa exclaims with delight. "You are so hopeless! Look closely!"
"… … …" he finally breathes. "… Quistis? … … Oh shoot, it is you!"
"Cut that out, Irvine. Don't tell me you didn't recognize me."
"No, honest! I… Oh man, what did you do to yourself? You look… you look…"
The gunman was so engrossed with the instructor that he failed to notice the change in Selphie's mood. On the other hand, Rinoa abruptly ceased laughing upon seeing the transmogrifying expression on her friend's face
"Oh, I get it. Tell me all you want that there will never be another. But then all Quisty had to do is lose the hair clip and change into something scanty, and then here you come slobbering like a moron."
"Uh-oh, LQ alert!" the Galbadian princess hollered, trying to stifle another fit of laughter when Irvine hurriedly rushed to sit beside his incensed girlfriend.
"It's not that, Selphie my love." He remarks with a sheepish look on his face. "You know I only have eyes for you."
"Yeah, right. Then when I'm not looking you'd just help yourself with every 'cutie' that runs into you. You didn't even spare Quistis, for cryin' out loud!"
"No, of course not." The gunslinger disagrees, his face starting to assume a contorted shape in trying to labor for an explanation that he hopes will quell Selphie's ire. "Look, it's like this. Us guys are naturally appreciative of the visually aesthetic. You can even ask Zell and Squall."
"Nope, not Squall. I'm pretty sure he never looks at anyone but me." Rinoa butts in.
"Okay, Squall is a bad example." Irvine reverts. "Anyway, my love… look at it this way. When we guys look at a pretty girl, we just admire her the same way we do a… like… a sports car. It's just nice to look at, but there's nothing else besides that. No big deal."
Selphie reacts with a pout, turning her head away from Irvine. He subsequently tosses a scowl at Quistis and Rinoa who were beginning to break out with frenetic snickers.
"It's true! … Quistis, tell her."
"Irvine has a point, Sef." The instructor complies. "Guys normally stare at things because they're nice to look at. Think about his example regarding the sports car. Men are quite fond of looking at all the flashy cars they see on the road, right? It's a given, and it's their nature." Irvine looks back hopefully at Selphie while Quistis continues.
"Then after admiring a car, naturally a guy will want to ride it, too."
"Yeah, listen to Quis… … ride? No, not ride! No riding!"
But it was too late.
"IRVINE KINNEAS!!!"
"Sefie…!" the beleaguered Irvine gropes. "Quisty's just kidding!"
"DON'T TALK TO ME!!!"
"Honeybunch, please…"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"
"But… but…"
"I HATE YOU!!!"
Consequently, the warmth of the imposing Winhill sun was negated by a storm of orange juice coming down in torrents over Irvine's head, after which Selphie hurls the empty pitcher aside before furiously walking out on him. Rinoa and Quistis didn't know whether to laugh out loud or feel guilty when Irvine ran after the irate SeeD.
"Oh you are sooo wicked, Quistis. How could you do something like that to Irvine?"
"Heh! Remind me to apologize to him later on." The instructor remarks. "But you have to admit that was fun, wasn't it?"
"Well, yeah." Agrees Rinoa. "Did you see the look on his face? Pity I don't have a camera with me."
It carried on as such as the pair traversed the wide expanse of turfland circumnavigating the Winhill Governor's Mansion, making a scene unabashedly amidst the predominantly male crowd who attended the yearly Orientation Day for Balamb Garden freshmen. As expected, not a few male students began picking up on their trail, like ravenous Grendels following the scent of their prey. The raven-haired half of the beauteous pair then naughtily tosses a cute smirk towards the boys before turning to her blonde partner.
"Quisty, are you sure you wanna go on wearing only that?"
The instructor looks down on herself before answering. "Well, I am feeling a bit uncomfortable. I don't usually don something like this."
"I know. And I'd like to think these guys behind us are milling because of me, but it looks like they're more drooling over you."
"Really?" Quistis mocks a delightful façade. "In that case, I'll just change later."
"Quistis!!!" a surprised Rinoa blurts out. "This is so not like you! What happening to you?"
The instructor laughs. "Hey, don't look at me like that. Can't a girl have fun once in a while?"
"Yeah… but… I don't know, I guess I'm just not used to you acting that way."
"I guess it's just one of those days…" Quistis comments. "Funny, we've been together for quite sometime now and yet you guys really don't know me that well. I can become quite comic whenever I feel like it, you know."
"Really? Heh! That I'd love to see."
"Don't tempt me, Rinoa."
"No, really. Show me a good one, Quis."
Quistis pauses for a second, as if pondering on a good enough antic to brandish to her curious friend. Her face suddenly aglow, the instructor gently pushes Rinoa aside in preparation for her 'routine'.
"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you, Rin…" after which she turns with a teasing smile on one of the neophytes following them. "Um, Hi…!"
The art of teleportation was lost to the wide-eyed freshman as he hardly took a second to come before the luscious instructor. Assuming her sexiest pose, Quistis removes her sunglasses, batting her eyelashes on the eager youngster while trying to bellow a teacher's authoritative timbre.
"What's your name?"
"Umm... ahh..." the novice stutters.
"'Umha'? Your mother doesn't like you or something?" Quistis further teases, prompting a glaring look from a surprised Rinoa.
"No... hehe... I ahh... I'm Zidan." he replies, set a bit at ease by the instructor's joke.
"Hello, Zidan. Where's your tail?
"Huh?"
"No... just kidding." she grins. "Anyway, I have a bit of a problem. I just lost a bet to my friend here, and because of that I need to go beyond the town limits and catch a Geezard for her. But I really don't feel like fighting anyone or anything right now. I mean, it is such a nice day to just lie around the swimming pool… you know…"
Rinoa opts to walk away from the two, covering her mouth to avoid another giggling fit as she watches almost unbelievably her friend who at current is giving her a run for her money in the fine art of flirting. But nothing could possibly have prepared the Galbadian lass for the next words uttered by the Balamb instructor.
"So I was kinda hoping if you could catch one for me."
"Wow! Sure thing, Miss Trepe. Just a Geezard?"
"Yeah, but... there's one more thing..." Quistis adds while trying profusely to keep herself from smiling. "It has to be a Geezard with a ring around one of its claws."
"A ring around..." the perplexed student stammers anew. "A Geezard with a... ring?"
"Oh my, I can't look!" Rinoa mumbles while using her hands to cover her eyes.
A few moments later, a smiling Quistis walks over to Rinoa, who was still covering her eyes.
"Rinoa, wake up. He's gone." The sorceress SeeD looks around with relief. Finding no one in proximity, she then lands a startling finger jab on the instructor's exposed belly.
"You're really so bad, Quisty! You could at least have given him something less insulting. A Geezard with a ring? What's next, a Malboro with a toothbrush?" She then trains her gaze around again. "I hope you didn't offend that poor freshman. So what did he say?"
"Oh, like, he asked me what kind of ring should the Geezard be wearing..."
Rinoa's jaws dropped, not exactly sure whether she'd find the moment amusing or just plain annoying. "And he's supposed to have passed the entrance exam?"
"Well, in fairness to Zidan, I saw the result of his exam last week. And he happens to be the topnotcher for this batch."
"Oh okay. And yet you still got him to fall for the ringed Geezard bit, huh."
"Um... I suppose I'm partly responsible for that."
"And... I almost feel sorry for this, but may I dare ask why?"
Quistis pulls Rinoa toward her, giggles mixing with the faint words she's whispering into the sorceress' ears.
"Say what?!? You actually made that deal... ... huh??? Oh my... oh..."
"Heh heh..."
"You really are insane, Quistis Trepe!"
"I told you I can be quite nutty sometimes."
"Yeah, tell me about it! How could you?!?" Rinoa then chose to calm down after her outburst. "... Okay, given. The idea does sound too stupid to actually happen. But what if he does find a ringed Geezard?"
"Well, in that case... ... ... care to join us?"
"WHAT?!? Quistis... I'll get you for that!!!"
Frantic squeals tore through the air , bellowing from the instructor under siege by a hail of finger pokes and pinches being relentlessly hurled her way by the young sorceress. A hail of girlish laughter then followed it as the pair eventually collapses on the grassy ground. Rinoa and Quistis then rested their exhausted bodies on top of the green, uncontrolled chortles mixing with their frenzied gasps for air. Shortly after, Rinoa sits up to gaze at the comely face of her comrade.
"What... what's that face?" Quistis asks.
"Nothing... you're just so cute when your being crazy..." Rinoa replies affectionately.
"Yeah... thanks." the instructor replies while lifting herself up. "Guess you can say I really need this sometimes..."
The last word trailed of a different pitch that, Rinoa thought, almost seems like a blunt sadness. She ignored it at first, then takes notice nevertheless that Quistis has grown silent. All of the sudden, the aura of gaiety she was displaying only a mere moments ago seemed to have disappeared.
"Quisty..."
"Yeah...?"
"Uhh..." Rinoa was unable to continue what she was going to say. She's known Quistis long enough to recognize when she's ready to talk, and when she'd rather hold her piece. As of now, the Galbadian lass perceives the latter being prevalent. And she respects Quistis too much to press when she knows the instructor would rather not talk about whatever's on her mind.
However, the faculties of a sorceress sometimes prove to be a failing in this kind of situation. Unwittingly, Rinoa detects a deeply hidden thought in the mind of the instructor. She then felt a blunt spade gorge her heart upon perceiving a nagging emotional echo from the innermost crevices of Quistis' psyche.
"A misunderstood love...?"
"Actually, I had completely given up when Rinoa came into the picture."
"Completely given up..."
"Completely..."
"..."
"Completely...?"
As if aware of what's going on, Quistis looks at Rinoa, sadness and a trace of guilt written in her eyes.
"Should have known better than to be around you at a time like this..." she utters, after which a long silence permeated between them. A silence that was thoughtfully broken by Rinoa.
"We never really talked about this, did we?"
"I don't know..." Quistis sighs. "Do we have to?"
"I hope not..." Rinoa utters back solemnly. "But sometimes I can't shake this feeling... you know... that this is something that we need to settle between the two of us."
"Okay..."
"Okay what?" Rinoa reacts quizzically.
"Okay, let's settle this. Once and for all." the instructor answers, trying her best to raise a firm voice.
"Okay..."
However, the appropriate words suddenly became scarce for them. Rinoa sighs deeply, a look of indecisiveness in her eyes as she trains them intently toward Quistis.
"I... I don't know what to say..." the sorceress opens anew.
"Me neither." Quistis retorts. "But I do have a question for you..."
"What is it?" Rinoa nearly enthuses, as if she's hoping for the spark that will further this sensitive subject en route to a much-needed resolution.
"Do you actually believe that I will someday... steal him from you?"
But not that spark, Rinoa hollers in her mind. The last thing she would ever do is to come up with words that she knows will only hurt Quistis with the implication that no matter how long they've been working together, she still hasn't come to a point of trusting the instructor when it comes to her relationship with Squall.
But that's just it, she says to herself. Rinoa hated it, and she hated herself for it. But the truth mercilessly remains that she does in fact have no complete trust for Quistis. She would have exerted an effort to hide this truth if she hadn't dallied with her answer. Her long hesitation was more than enough to send the message to the astute instructor.
"Never mind, don't answer that." Quistis quips with obvious disappointment. She then felt Rinoa's hand on her arm.
"Well... will you?"
Blue meets dark brown as the instructor resolutely locks her gaze on the sorceress.
"No. I won't. I never have and never will even think of stealing him from you."
Rinoa's facade softens, followed by an equally frail question.
"... Why?"
Again, Quistis fixes her eyes on Rinoa, uttering words with an even fiercer resolve than before.
"Because I can't. And don't ask me anymore what I would do if ever I can do it. Because that's a moot point. I just know I can't, and I have to live with that."
And with her last utterance, the instructor begins to gather herself. The look in her face was still stern when she finally stood up from the ground. But before she can walk away, Quistis heard a voice from behind her. Almost pleading, the echo of a friend who owns the one thing in this world that she wants most inadvertently subjected her heart to an unstoppable onslaught of emotions.
"Quisty, I still want to be your friend..."
Quistis felt a weakening as her heart seemed to give up the fight. She can't deny it anymore. Whether she's using reckless humor or a feigned heart of steel to protect herself from this failing, Quistis knows she cannot turn her back to a soul who yearns for her friendship.
A soul whose friendship she also yearns for.
"Come here..." Quistis echoes while pulling Rinoa towards her.
-fin-