Chapter 1 – The Return
It had been nearly a year since the end of the Sorceress
War against Ultimecia. Ever since then, I'd been living in Fisherman's Horizon.
It was the only place I could go that I wouldn't get kicked out of. That didn't
mean that I was welcomed with open arms though. Mayor Bryant Dobe had
approached me several times in the past year, telling me he wanted me to leave,
but he'd never force me out. That guy was nothing but a whiner that wouldn't do
a thing but get on my nerves. There were plenty of times I wanted to punch that
guy right in the face, but everyone there hated me enough as it was, so I
resisted.
To
them, I was still the Sorceress' Knight, a villain, a criminal, and many other
things. They never said it to my face, but I'd heard them whispering as I pass
by. I think they were all still afraid of me. I'd attained the notoriety I'd
always dreamed of, but it was bittersweet. Sure, I was famous and all, but what
good was it if no one wanted to be anywhere near me? I had expected countless
loyal followers, but instead I got countless enemies.
The
only exception to all of that was Master Fisherman Greene. He didn't care what
I'd done. It was all in the past, he said. So I spent a lot of time with him
fishing. That was basically all he ever wanted to do. Greene taught me all
there was to know about the town and fishing. I enjoyed fishing, but it was
nothing compared to the heat of battle. Even though some of the fish put up
quite a struggle.
I
missed it all, but there was no fighting in Fisherman's Horizon. I hadn't
fought since me and Squall faced off in Lunatic Pandora. Since then, I hadn't
seen Squall or any other SeeDs I knew. Balamb Garden and SeeD had been on top
of the world since the end of the war. They were called saviors, heroes, and
just about anything else that completely contradicted what they called me. Even
some of the residents in town had called them those things.
They
had taken all the glory and the goals that I had reached for, partially at my
expense, but I wasn't angry at them. I knew I didn't deserve anything that I
had dreamed of for as long as I could remember. I had turned against my old
home, and aided a sorceress in trying to conquer the universe all throughout
time. Although I didn't know that was what she was after. She had lied to me
the whole time; anything it took to keep me loyal.
Now
Squall had become a hero and I had become a villain. It didn't turn out at all
like I had hoped. I wanted to have another duel with him. Nothing life-or-death
or anything like that; just sort of a sparring session to see how far we'd come
along. Kinda like the fight that ended up with both of us getting scarred.
Speaking
of which, I remember Master Fisherman Green telling me about a guy who had a
scar just like mine. I just smiled as he told me; I knew it had to have been
Squall. He had told me all about the time Balamb Garden came crashing into
Fisherman's Horizon, and he had to flee for his life. I still had the Hyperion
gunblade that had given Squall that scar. There weren't many times I could take
it out of my trenchcoat and practice, but I took every opportunity I got.
On
that day, we had gone out onto the ocean on Greene's ship – aptly named Fisherman's
Horizon- to do some fishing. It was just him, me, and my posse. Fujin and
Raijin followed me everywhere I went. They were my only two loyal followers.
They didn't have as big of a part in the war as I did, so they weren't as hated
or well known. Those two were almost exact opposites. Raijin was a tall,
strong, bronze-skinned man, while Fujin was a fairly short, slim, pale woman.
Raijin had short, dark black hair, and Fujin had shining silver hair down to
the bottom of her neck. Raijin always seemed light and never serious, while
Fujin always appeared cold, calm, and calculating. Raijin loved to talk about
anything and everything, but Fujin was a woman of few words, barely ever
speaking more than one word at a time in her low, raspy tone. Their only common
bond was their unwavering loyalty to me.
I
had always wondered why she always talked like that because I had heard her
speak normally before. Maybe she just felt like she could say all she needed to
say in a couple words. But I never asked her why, so she never told. I never
asked what happened to her left eye either. Fujin just spectated silently as
me, Raijin, and Greene continuously casted our lines out and reeled them back
in, hoping to catch a fish.
Raijin
had gotten ecstatic about catching a fish when something else caught his
attention. "Hey, look! I got one, ya kn…" he trailed off. The three of us
followed his fixed gaze. I saw something on the horizon, but couldn't tell what
it was. "What is it?" I asked.
"I'm
not sure. I can't see it good, ya know," Raijin replied.
As
it came closer, we were finally able to make out the giant jewel floating
through the sky. We were all at a loss for words, and amazingly, Fujin broke
the silence. "GARDEN."
That
was when Master Fisherman Green began panicking. "Oh no! Not again! Hurry! We
gotta get back before it crushes us all!" he yelled. He quickly turned the ship
around and started sailing back to the docks.
Before
we made it back, Balamb Garden passed overhead. Me, Fujin, and Raijin looked up
at it as Greene continued to steer the ship and freak out. Garden came to a
stop at Fisherman's Horizon as the ship pulled into the dock. Greene sighed
with relief and wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead as we stepped off.
"Whew, got lucky this time. Wonder what they're here for?" he mused. "Well,
anyway, I need to go relax after that. I'll see y'all later."
"See
ya later!" Raijin shot back as Greene walked off.
It
was only the third time since I'd seen the Garden since it became mobile. The
first time was the battle between Balamb and Galbadia Gardens. The second time
was immediately after the end of the war as they passed over us when we had
first come to Fisherman's Horizon. My gaze hadn't left it since we caught sight
of it. If Fujin noticed, she didn't say anything, but I didn't think she would.
My muscular comrade spoke up instead. "What's up, Seifer?" he asked.
"I
was just thinkin'. It's really dull here and I miss battle. I haven't had a
real one in about a year. Maybe we should go back," I said.
"What?!
They probably don't want nothin' to do with us, ya know!" Raijin protested.
"Maybe,
but I'm dyin' to fight again. We'll see how it goes and if they reject us,
we'll leave. Agreed?" I proposed.
"AGREED,"
Fujin simply accepted. "Sounds good," Raijin said. (Maybe this will give me
a chance to clear my name.) I thought. Then we all headed toward Balamb
Garden.
Author's
Notes: This is my first attempt at a story from first person P.O.V. What did
you think? Good or bad? Give me reasons to back up your claim please. It
doesn't matter if it's bad. It'll help me improve as a writer.
