Summary: Rinoa has been searching for her story book romance for more years than she's willing to count. And just as innocence is about to slip from her life, so walks in the war torn knight of her dreams. Garden, it seems, may be a fairytale yet unread... SqxRixSe
Princes for Paupers
Chapter One: Jack Broke His Crown
I wonder... Did Cinderella really have glass slippers? Was Snow White really stupid enough to eat unpackaged food from a total stranger? Especially a cackling hag with a freakishly huge nose. That seems to be the downfall of all these maidens. They may be sweet and kind and beautiful and have a voice the angels are envy of, but they seem to be lacking in the brain cell department. Were they really supposed to be like that back then? Stupid? Beautiful, but stupid. Did men like them better that way? Maybe, the stupider they were, the uglier the man they married. The smart ones would marry the cream of the crop, The Knights in Shining Armor. The dumb-ass lucky ones that were too good for their own good got the Prince Charmings.
But as far as I'm concerned those dumb blonde bitches could take their princes. I figured a Knight could kick a Prince's ass any day of the week. The spoiled Princes with their fancy hair cuts and smooth, beautiful skin would be loafing around the castle and be pampered. They'd get fat at age 25 and die a miserable death at 47 from a heatstroke with it being 74 degrees outside because he was so damn fat! A shame. But my Knight would be muscular, ready to do battle. He'd defend me with a mighty swipe of his steal blade. He'd eat only his meals and never anyone else's. His hair would be ragged and matted from the helmet he wore. His skin would be coarse from the battle but he would come home and I would be there, there to touch him and make him feel like he had never even known what the word 'battle' meant.
My knight would stand atop hills in shining armor, sword in hand waiting for his next adventure to call him to a destiny. He'd be scared of little. And he'd love me unconditionally...
That was my Knight. A creature I figured must have mimicked God's original design plans. I grew up on such a fantasy man. When I was little I'd make up fantastical stories with my dolls about the common girl being saved by the heroic knight from the evil prince and his men. I wrote out entire adventures in my head and then relayed them to my mother who, as I've realized now, only partially ever listened. As I grew and an ugly thing called puberty smacked me across the face with acne, I began to notice actual boys. Not just the ones in my head. I was sorely disappointed. This vision of man I created in my head was quite literally demolished by an awful reality. These boys were rude and utterly obnoxious. My friends got boyfriends and it seems as if they had never been happier, though I always questioned their true feelings. In the back of my mind I understood that maybe if I hadn't concentrated the past 8 years of my life on crafting the perfect man, I could have possibly found a boy I could have truly liked. I never truly accepted this hidden fact though. I insisted upon myself that there were men of a high caliber in this world. Somewhere. Somewhere out there was my Knight, gathering roses from a nearby field and riding to me on his stallion, ready to sweep me off my feet and marry me.
As my teen years proceeded I left my fantasy man to story books and finally began to notice real people. I realized that not all men were bad, I had just juxtaposed them with the highest possible trophy. So I set my standards a little lower and decided to compare them with the type of men I read in romance novels... this was not the best idea either. As men in romance novels tend to be fuck robots, who kiss by shoving their tongues deep down the girl's throat and all mysteriously look like Fabio (who I happen to find particularly smarmy). Thus, for the rest of my teen life, the seemingly normal concoction of boys and dating mystified me and confused me.
When my family decided I needed a change of scenery from my hometown of Deling City, they sent me to Balamb Garden. A military academy of sorts. But a very prestigious one at that. Of course I wasn't thrilled to move, but I didn't exactly resent it either. I got the chance to do what every rebellious teenager wants: live by yourself, with no parental supervision. I left home with few to little tears on my cheeks and happily moved myself into Balamb Garden. And on this small resort island I began my 'new life' as a headstrong teenager ready for love.
Being 16, I prepared myself for that awkward feeling of alienation the students were bound to give me but I thankfully received none whatsoever. The people were nice, the atmosphere was comfortable and everything was generally fantastic. I had assimilated well into my new environment. Then again there wasn't too much 'assimilating' to do I suppose. Everything was pretty much like it was back home except less of it. It wasn't necessarily a dumbed down version of home, it was just a slimmer copy of home. It was awesome.
However, I found something unexpected while I was at Garden. Well, I suppose I didn't find it. It actually found me in a way.
I had gone to the training center with Selphie, who was one of my better friends at Garden, as she had told me there was going to be a big fight today. I became excited over the idea of a real fight. Fists slamming into other people and curse words being volleyed back and forth between the two as a ring of people around them booed and hollered and what not. This is the one thing I missed about my old life, and here I was going to experience it all over again!
"Between who?" I asked, quite excited as I picked up our pace. Naturally, I doubted if I would know any of them but the curiosity I was harboring needed to be satisfied.
"Psh, I have no idea." Selphie said with a little laugh. "I think I overheard someone say that one of their name's was Slipper or something like that." Slipper?
"Selphie, I don't think that's their name." I said as I turned to her.
"Don't blame the messenger." She said as she shrugged. "I just repeated what I heard." She reminded me with a waving finger in the general direction of my face.
"Think there will be blood?" I asked, getting myself pumped up for this fight.
"Eiu!" Selphie cried as she shivered with disgust. "I hope not!" She cried as she clamped her eyes shut at the mere thought of it.
"Well, if there's no blood then I wonder if someone will get taken to the Infirmary. And the Doctor would be all like 'You've got a serious fracture in your face!' and the kid would be all like 'Damn you insert name here! I'm gonna exact my revenge on you!' and then it'd be this rivalry and it'd be all like 'ooohh... mysterious.'" I said as I let my mind (and mouth) wander around blindly in it's own darkness for a bit.
"How do you have a fracture in your face?" Selphie commented, more to herself than to me.
"Maybe if you get punched really hard... in the face." I suggested as we rounded the corner to the training center. We peered down the hallway and found no one. Just the cold steal walls reflecting the light from the fixtures above.
"I don't think there's a fight today." I commented as I turned around swiftly on the linoleum causing it to squeak painfully.
"Maybe it's just deep in the training center." Selphie added as she stepped further into the hallway.
"The fight?" Someone called from the circular hallway in front of me, obviously presuming we were just two interested students. He seemed to be in quite the hurry as he appeared to be somewhat out of breath.
"Yeah!" I called back, expecting to get the information I needed. "Where is it?" I called once more.
"On the fields!" He said, readying himself to jog off once more for his desired location which I could only assume was the fight. "Outside the Garden. Follow me!" He instructed between faint breaths as he jogged off.
"C'mon Selph!" I cried over my shoulder as I ran to catch up with this helpful mystery kid. Selphie didn't even need instructions though as she was already catching up with me.
"Gonna see a fight. Gonna see a fight!" She said under her breath in a little sing song voice as our paces began to sync up. I couldn't help but laugh at her little song even though it caused me to stumble a bit. We kept sight of the kid for the most part as we followed him through the circular hallway that enclosed the elevator and out the Garden through the security exit. We had to stop our runs to get through those needless and utterly ridiculous security exits that I can only label as 'small swinging door thingies.' We got through with quite the amount of difficulty as Selphie's skirt ended up getting stuck on the end of one of the accursed door watchamacallems. We managed to pull her free, quite desperate to see this fight now. I mean, the kid was running after all. This had to be big!
"I hate clothes!" Selphie cried as we finally pushed off from the security exits and ran down the long outdoor entrance way that lead to the road.
"Hey! You kids shouldn't be runnin' around!" An older voice yelled from behind us. I tossed a glance back and it was that random old man who just sat there in that equally random box near the security entrances and exits. I gave him no mind at all and just turned back around and focused on getting to that damn fight.
We finally managed to get to the road but I realized that even if we got to the field we wouldn't know where the hell it was! I looked around for that kid but he was nowhere to be found. We ran past the large, open iron gates and down the steps and our feet flapped against the pavement as we came to a sudden halt. I breathed in a very ragged fashion and bent myself over so my arms were resting on the tops of my knees.
"I'm exhausted!" Selphie cried, quite winded herself as she bent her back backwards and made her head arch skyward.
"Where the hell did that guy go?" I asked, more to myself than to Selphie. I was a bit frustrated in the fact that he had just disappeared on us. I made a mental note to find him and kick him in the nuts.
"Who cares about that kid! Where's the damn fight?" Selphie yelled in just as much frustration as I was currently harboring. We lazily walked on very wobbly legs on to the other side of the street where the unkempt grass of the plains began. We looked around with listless heads and found nothing of even seminal interest.
"Damn." I cursed still feeling fatigued from our previous run. Selphie was just about to speak when a sharp clang of metal sounded through the green island. Our ears and bodies perked up the second we heard this. The fight? Our minds screamed please.
"Follow the sound!" Selphie said quite triumphantly even through her current state. We jogged off towards the sound's origin and found our way into a huge green forest. Light wasn't sparse at all as it trickled it's way through branches and leaves above us. This forest seemed somehow different than other forests in the area. Other forests had a sense of foreboding about them and were dank and dark and filled with the howls of creatures which we would rather not encounter. This forest... this forest was quiet save for the occasional splinter of metal and occasional cheer of a person or two.
We continued our trail on the sound's which lead us to a ring of Garden students in all their uniformed glory. It was quite a big ring, which seemed to make everyone twice as restless. People were jumping all over each other and some were crawling between the legs of others to get even the smallest glimpse of, what we presumed to be, this astronomical fight. More crashes of metal rang through the trees and the crowd's excitement was heightened all the more.
"C'mon! C'mon!" Selphie cried with excitement as she grabbed my wrist and brought us into the ring of students which I happened to be marginally scared of. Mainly because getting trampled by hordes of students was not my idea of a good Thursday afternoon. Selphie collided with the outer ring of students with a light bump as if she had just hit a matted wall. I managed to pull away from her grip as I saw her slowly get sucked in to the sea of bodies. First her arm was caught. She tried to wriggle it loose from the packed circle but to no avail. A sudden jerk brought her in further and up to her shoulder. I went to grab on to her but it was too late as she had just been sucked in to the great moving mass blob of students.
I decided to take my chances on this whole 'vacuum into the circle' idea Selphie accidentally invented. I pushed my arm into the outer rim of the circle and I was quite literally stuck in a vice grip between about four people. Then someone shoved one of the four and I was brought in up to my shoulder. I found it oddly fun that such a thing could happen but at the same time, a little frightened because I honestly could not move my arm even the slightest. If I wanted to get out now, I'd have to cut off my arm. Another shove from another person deep within the confines of this mass and I was sucked in completely.
Everyone above me felt like giant trees, all vying for the sun's attentions for their own greedy needs. And here I was, a meek little girl hardly able to move. My face was smashed against some random guy's oddly muscular back and the armpit of another student. There were some odd wave like motions that floated through the mass suddenly and then another violent shove from armpit person. The shove sent me in a slight spin past muscular back boy and into some other random student who I cared not to meet.
More clangs of metal and I mentally cursed as I knew the crowd would only get more riled up. I decided to try my own hand at pushing through and I ended up being quite successful. My arms were free in just that particular way so I could pull myself along. And neither were my legs completely stuck so I managed to step on several people's feet and make my way towards the foreground of this little circle. I thought myself so crafty and my mind cackled at my deviousness.
I finally managed to clear out of the ring and I could breathe the now crisp forest air that surrounded me instead of the horrendous BO stench that infested the smoldering pit of students. But before I could have much of any peace I felt a hard body slam into me, pushing me back against the people behind me like a rubber band net. The person's back covered my face and thankfully the stench of BO didn't suffocate me. Instead he crashed into me then pushed off of me in an instant as if it had never occurred. Even though he had left, I fell to the ground nonetheless as if I had slid off the people behind me like an odd waterslide.
"Rin, are you okay?" Selphie exclaimed, wanting to be worried but distracted with the current fight.
"Yah yah..." I answered vaguely as I brushed myself off and stood and FINALLY viewed this damn fight. This fight that I had been wanting to view for the longest time ended up quite upsetting me. This... This fight business was much different than what I had remembered. At my old school people brawled in this same atmosphere, but definitely not with these rules. At my old school we fought hand to hand... here, however, the two men were wielding odd sword shaped weapons. And these weren't like, knives, or something. These were big-no-huge hulking weapons that shined in all their metallic strength against the sun's rays. This wasn't just some dumb fight. This wasn't amusing. This was a serious brawl to the death, and it frightened me a bit. Here were two people so pissed off at each other that they'd be willing to duel to the death.
The brunette haired boy who had earlier slammed into me dashed forward, sword-watcha-ma-jig ready to pierce his blonde opponent's skin and tear one gaping hole in his chest. He neared him and I could feel the tension in my chest rise as I suddenly stopped breathing and my eyes bugged out in pure horrific fascination. When the boy was no more than two inches away from hitting his target right in the projected area, the blonde defended the incoming stab with a quick deflective blow to the boy's sword with his own. I gasped loudly and instinctively placed my hands to my mouth in utter shock. But my short gasp was drowned out by the hordes of student cheers that echoed around me and through the otherwise abandoned forest.
Sparks exploded from the sudden contact and that piercing metallic clash sounded, deafening me momentarily. The blonde saw the advantage he had over the brunette and quickly brought his sword up above his own head. I saw the brunette's head turn toward the high guillotine in the azure and I could practically feel him bracing for impact. No matter how fast he may have been he could never have evaded the incoming swipe at this point now.
I felt a cold feeling pulsate through my body... a feeling I had never felt until just now. It was that feeling of a terrible absolution. That feeling of being cornered in the tiniest of spots. The feeling where you know every option your given is the worst possible. I know he felt it too. My mind went into a frenzy of outcome calculations. Would he die? Would the blonde only injure him? Would the blonde even do it? What should I do if he's injured? We're a long way from Garden... but before I could have anymore time to contemplate the end, the blonde finished it all for me.
His blade cut the air in two and the sun's reflections rebounded violently in all directions as the sword hurled towards the boy. The crowd became silent and I felt time pause as if every animal, every tree, every plant, the sun, the clouds and even God himself just stopped to watch this brutal finale. Time didn't pause though and I saw the blade cross across the brunette's face in the flash of a second. Silence filled the void where hollering once was. I stared with horrified shock. The brunette just kneeled there for the tiniest of seconds. Then I saw the blood pour down his body.
"Oh my God." I said in utter disgust, trying to keep my voice quiet. This break in the silence brought me back to reality and realized everyone was still just standing there, in a hypnotic state doing absolutely nothing. I was the first to do much of anything. I hesitantly put my left foot into their dueling ring. I brought my right foot out and I walked out a little bit until I sped up into a bit of a jog. I kneeled down to the brunette and I put my hands on his shoulders, making sure he wouldn't fall. I saw the injury across his face. A deep slash that started above his right eyebrow that crossed over his nose and ended under his left eye. The blood poured down his face and he looked dazed and half dead. Seeing the amount of blood that was spilling all over the place I instinctively panicked. I threw one of his arms around my neck and I lifted him as best as I could. He was at least 60 pounds heavier than me and supporting him all the way to Garden would be an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task. I began to walk with him, wanting to get out of this obstructing circle and to Garden as fast as possible. The entire ring of students continued to just watch in a horrified gaze.
"Someone..." I yelled to the students, quite irritated at their lack of doing, well, anything. "Someone run to Garden and tell the Doctor!" I screamed at them feeling his weight finally pushing down on me. I heard the shuffling of grass and twigs and the occasional front row observing students run off in the direction of Garden. I felt a spark of relief inside me as I knew some people cared. I felt that cold blood trickle down my hand and I realized that it was probably all over me at the moment but I couldn't have cared less. I saw someone push through the crowd and run towards the two of us. It was that running boy Selphie and I had found in Garden. He came up to the other side of the brunette and wrapped the boy's other arm around his neck and he began to walk. I followed suit, the weight now much lighter and far more manageable than before.
Even through my panicked state I found a certain amount of stability. Maybe in the fact that I was helping this poor cut up boy or the fact I had acted first. I was first in the line of duty and offered my services much too willingly. A trait I wondered if I had always possessed, or was simply a one time event. But in any case, it had arisen at Garden.
I couldn't think much on my own actions as I felt the brunette move ever so slightly. I looked up and saw his eyes clenched closed as if he was having a nightmare. His breathing was ragged, but not pained.
"God fucking dammit, Seifer." I heard him whisper in the clearest of voices as he spit out some blood that had dripped into his mouth. This boy...
He must have been resilient.
WE WATCHED HIM FROM A FOOT OR TWO AWAY, EYEING HIM CLOSELY. The blood, for the most part, had clotted and his face had been gently cleaned by the Doctor, who introduced herself as Dr. Kadowaki. Though he may have been cleaned, there were still huge blood stains on his face where the Doctor was afraid to wash. He seemed to have passed out by the time we placed him on the sterile white bed the infirmary offered for the injured. Unfortunately, the white virginity of the bed was tainted by the stains of crimson. I made a mental note to come back and offer to help clean the sheets for them.
He stirred infrequently, but time seemed fairly cheap at the moment. I was alone with his body now as the running boy had left in an awkward flurry as soon as the brunette's face had been cleaned. But I didn't question it. Now alone with him, a weird feeling instilled itself in me. That feeling of knowing you want to engage in conversation, but realizing that he will never respond to you, no matter what you do. But still, my mind urged me to make conversation with this comatose mystery person.
"I'm sorry." I said in the tiniest of whispers. This was even more awkward now, as my senses grasped me tightly and made me consider that I was talking to a person who was passed out. But I beat on, regardless. "It looks like a bad cut. I hope you'll get better." This time, I honestly expected him to answer. I received none and continued. "Do you think you'll have to get stitches? Stitches freak me out..." I continued in that same shy, mumbling fashion. "The fact that they sew in your skin is just nauseating to me, you know?" To this he stirred slightly. I thought of this slight movement as a sign of him being irritated in my talk and I shut myself up.
I pursed my lips delicately and my fingers unconsciously played with the end of my uniform's skirt. My eyes flitted about the room, eyeing each and every item the room had to offer, but taking nothing in. Outside, I saw the doctor pass by briskly and pick up a phone and punch numbers in. A silence. Then her lips began to move in a charmed fashion and then to a look of understanding. She hung the phone up and walked to the door and I straightened my posture ever so slightly and pretended like I was eyeing him with an important gaze.
She looked at me with a smile and she made a few steps toward me and let the door close softly behind her.
"His Homeroom Instructor will be here momentarily." She informed me as my attention quickly switched direction. I nodded and stood, taking the obvious hint that she wanted me out. "I was hoping you could help me bandage him up." She said, hopeful as she moved to a cabinet.
"Oh, of course." I said, quite eager to stay a little longer with this mystery man. I honestly wasn't interested in this man in the slightest, but I felt something captivating about the fact that I had brought him here. As if he was my project and I just wanted to see it in motion. But projects also need names I figured...
"What's his name?" I asked as she handed me some gauze wrapping from the cabinet she was sifting through.
"Squall Leonhart." She answered as if she knew all too well. She pulled back from the cabinet and closed it gently. She moved to him and stood above his face as if calculating where to begin. "I don't know him personally." She began, which actually crossed off a question I was ready to throw at her. "But he's quite famous around Garden." She said with a certain tone of finality in her voice, as if her statement explained it all.
"Famous?" I questioned, quite curious as she reached into the cradle of my arms and grabbed a roll of gauze.
"Oh definitely. He's only one of two in all of Balamb Garden that mastered the art of the Gunblade." She said as if that would impress me. What the hell is a Gunblade?
"... Wow." I said, obviously feigning my excitement.
"He is also very popular with the female population of this school." She said with a snicker, obviously trying to imply something on my half. "I'm sure when the girls hear of you being his rescuer, they'll be jealous beyond compare." She continued with a laugh. Oh, how fantastic. That was definitely the last thing I wanted to happen.
"Well..." I began, trying to find the right way out of such a situation. "I just won't tell anyone." I declared.
"That won't stop Instructor Trepe from telling everyone in ear shot..." She said with the tiniest of mumbles. She might not have thought it was audible, but I could hear it loud and clear.
"Who is she?" All these things and people I didn't know! Garden was a continent yet unexplored to me. The things I thought I had known seemed to be only the tip of this mammoth iceberg. Now I was diving into deeper waters (even if it was against my will), and the structure of Garden, which I thought was clear to begin with, became all the more vibrant and lush in my eyes.
"His Homeroom Instructor. And she is the nicest and prettiest girl you will ever lay eyes on, but she is still a teenager at heart... she can rattle off gossip with the best of them." She informed me delicately, as if she were treading on thin ice at that very moment for speaking so harshly of her comrades. Well now I had to get out of here. I didn't want the entire female student body glaring daggers at me in the hallways, I didn't want an Instructor gossiping about me and I honestly didn't care much for this poor boy anymore. I had done my part in his recovery and I was going to leave it at that.
I put the gauze down at the corner of his bed and turned to the doctor. "I think I should really go." I suggested quite formally, but my eyes were pleading for her consent. She nodded with a sigh, realizing that she had inadvertently scared me away. "Thank you." I said with a little nod of my head as I walked briskly for the exit, quite ready to escape all potential negative outcomes.
"Wait!" She called out just as I opened the door with a swing. I looked back at her, quite anxious to get the hell out of there. "We could use all the help we can get here. I was wondering if you'd be interested in working in the Infirmary sometime..." She suggested as her voice trailed off a little bit, obviously embarrassed at this situation.
I thought a moment. My head turned back towards the hallway outside and I looked at the small office. It was a sterilizing white that almost blinded me. It looked so desolate... I almost felt bad for the poor room, and it's Doctor. I turned back to her.
"Of course!" I answered with pleasantry. I had agreed mainly for pity's sake. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she could use some help that very moment, but I decided to use my first break on the job... "I can't help out right now though, I'm sorry. I've got a class worth of studies to catch up on." I said with a sad smile, a little guilty about leaving her here by herself with a patient to tend to. Of course my explanation was no lie, I had cut a class in sitting with my injured buddy. Figured that class happened to be the most difficult one I had. Tech class was always such a bitch. I didn't understand computers beyond the simple writing programs, painting programs and the Internet. But, can't be good at everything I suppose... though, I wasn't good at a whole lot actually.
"I'm sorry." I apologized once again as I walked briskly out of the infirmary, prepping my excuse in my mind for the upcoming visit with my teacher. I needed to present myself as a sophisticated young woman in front of my teacher, or he would never believe me and my excuses. 'Bringing an injured student to the infirmary?' He'd mock me, 'No one gets injured at Garden!' He pissed me off like no other.
As I passed out the door and into the stretch of walk that connected the Infirmary to the main circular hall of Garden, I saw out of the corner of my eye a blonde flash of hair pass me. Blonde was a fairly normal color on an island such as this but something about it made it feel like the shine of God. An inescapable holiness trailed and hovered around it, as if the locks had captured the sun's rays deep in their strands. There was a certain aura about it that captivated me. I turned just as this blonde vision past me. The golden hair was tied up in the back and by the skirt, this golden child was definitely a girl. She looked just as old as me and yet she wore the official Garden teacher's uniform. This piqued my interest. The administration would become infuriated at this blatant lack of respect against the faculty. How intriguing...
I lost any thoughts of catching up on lost work and decided to follow her (nonchalantly of course) back into the Infirmary. Just in case anyone had noticed me, I made a face of scorn as if to act the idea that I've forgotten something in the Infirmary. I have no idea if it worked, but I was a pretty horrid actress, so the probable answer is a no. I most likely ended up looking like someone who had just crapped their pants.
When I entered she was looking through the window at my fallen friend as he stirred ever so slightly again. Her hand was gently placed against the cool pane of glass that televised her reflection unto us. Her face held a somber tone as that little hint of frown was apparent on the corners of her red lips. Her eyes were azure, but beautifully sad as if she had always looked so melancholy. Her skin looked beautifully soft and light as if she had been painted with the softest brush and color. I envied her beauty.
She remained a moment, as if absorbing his presence through the protective clarity the window offered. She wasn't studying him or scrutinizing or judging him even. It's as if she was having a silent conversation with him at that very moment. Silent words that passed through the particles of the air that surrounded us. From one heart to another. It looked meaningful and heartfelt but, on the receiving end he was still nowhere. In a world of his own. Her silent calls to him would be left unanswered and tossed into oblivion.
Her solemn observance was curtly cut short by the voice of the good doctor. It was one of those moments where you just have to be annoyed with the polite intrusion.
"Instructor Trepe," Dr. Kadowaki began as she slowly approached the blonde student. Wait... what? Instructor? "Your students are becoming more reckless by the day." She commented with the tiniest chuckle as she eyed the patient knowingly. Instructor? You must be joking. The blonde's mood instantly lightened, almost too quickly.
"No, just stubborn." She corrected with a sweet smile that could melt any man. "Squall's just too stubborn for his own good." She said in the quietist of voices as she moved around the doctor and entered our injured friend's room. As the blonde entered the room and the door quietly shut close behind her, the doctor sighed lightly and turned back to her desk. I coughed in a tiny voice just so that Dr. Kadowaki might take notice to me.
"Oh, hello again!" She said with a combination of shock and happiness. "Back so soon?" She questioned with a laugh as she sat down behind her desk.
"Yeah..." I said with a sheepish grin as I lowered my eyes. An excuse... "I figured I couldn't just leave you here with an injured man and what I had to do... wasn't that important." I explained with a pleasant smile. It was looking as if my previous curiosity over this blonde haired beauty had killed my Tech grade. But no backing out now.
"Oh why thank you..." She paused and giggled nervously for a moment. She didn't know my name. Then I realized I had never actually introduced myself in all my time here.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" I apologized quickly for not having introduced myself earlier, though I knew the apology was pointless. "I'm Rinoa Heartilly, from class 1-B." I greeted in the customary Garden standard.
"Class 1-B?" She questioned, skipping right over my name entirely. "You're a freshmen then?" She said with an amount of disbelief coating her words. What was so hard to believe about that?
"Yes.." I said a little hesitantly, questioning her reaction, but with still a sweet giggle as to not make this situation too awkward for anyone.
"Goodness, you look..." She hesitated and I could tell she was searching her mind's library for the appropriate word. "You look so... Developed for a freshmen. How old are you?" She asked, quite curious. The 'developed' comment still had me a bit stumped and puzzled but I ignored it and just decided to focus on the easier to understand question.
"16." I answered a little bashfully, mainly because I felt so young at that moment in time.
"Kids do grow up fast these days..." She said more to herself than to anyone else. She turned to a paper lying before her and examined it which signaled the end of this conversation.
I was just about to strike up the topic of just what the hell am I supposed to do around here, when the blonde haired girl exited the patient's room. She acknowledged Kadowaki with a pleasant smile and the Doctor smiled right back, possibly beaming a little too much.
"Were you able to speak with him?" The Doctor asked, looking expectantly to the blonde
"A little," She began as she leaned back on the door she had just exited from. "I got a few mumbles out of him. It doesn't seem like his unconscious anymore. It looks like he's just sleeping now." She commented with a small smile that echoed sorrow. There was a small silence between the two and the blonde pushed herself off from the door and strode gracefully for the exit. She placed her hand on the handle of the Infirmary's exit firmly, but stopped her walk. She turned to me as if she knew who I were. We locked eyes and I stared for a moment trapped in the bewildering azure. Before much of anything else could happen though the good doctor sprang into action once more.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid you two haven't been introduced!" She exclaimed as she stood from her business and walked around her desk to us. She looked to me. "Rinoa Heartilly," She motioned to the blonde. "Instructor Trepe." She reversed our names and reapplied for the Instructor.
There was a silence.
"Well," Trepe began looking quite prepared to leave the situation, "I've got a class to teach. Doctor, I'm sure that when Squall finally revives himself you'll return him to his dorm." She said as she opened the exit's door. She gave one last look to her fallen student, then to the Doctor and me and left in what seemed like quite an indifference.
She was mysterious to a point. Her actions yielded little discussion but the expressions she held and her shimmering azure eyes captured the fascination of many. Though what had drawn people originally was probably her beauty. Her unmatchable beauty. Girls were fascinated in a jealous way while boys were fascinated in a lustful manner.
FOR THE NEXT hour or so Kadowaki instructed me in the ways of proper medical help. I learned where such things as 'Band-Aids' were and Neosporin. It was generally boring. I found the most exciting to be filing papers. I got the chance to scope through each student's medical records which were all quite fascinating in their own right. For example, Mira Dorabe had broken her leg twice, both cases were claimed to have been caused by a fall down the stairs. She also had unusually painful cramps during menstruation.
During the hour, any chance I got to break away from my task at hand, I'd check on the fallen soldier. He'd stir ever so often which was much more frequently than when we had first brought him in here. He was definitely not unconscious anymore. It's like he was just sleeping there. As if in that very room all his worldly problems simply melted into an easily passable puddle on the linoleum. He'd continue to sleep there for the next 3 hours, according to Kadowaki who had informed me later that day with a laugh.
"I don't think he was even in pain." She laughed as we sat on the ledge of the fountain in the circular hallway. She had stopped me on my walk to the cafeteria to inform of me of his condition, figuring I would be interested in his well being which I actually was.
"None at all?" I questioned, a bit of disbelief hinting through my words.
"Doubt it. When he finally woke up, he went to the bathroom, cleaned the rest of the blood off his face and walked straight out. Without a word. As if nothing had ever even happened." She recalled as she shook her head in a bit of her own disbelief. "I told him to come to the Infirmary tomorrow afternoon for just a quick checkup. Which also happens to be the time I scheduled for your assistance." She said with a sly, knowing smile. She figured that I wanted to meet him. Which, in a way, I did... but only in the sense that I'd get to know just who I had 'rescued.' She obviously had other thoughts on her mind.
I sighed with a laugh, stood and began to leave in the direction for the cafeteria. I swiveled my head back around to her with a smile and said. "I'll be there." And turned back around and continued my stride.
The hall seemed to be more lively than usual. Girls were giggling and laughing out loud while some stood in corners and whispered gossip back and forth. Actually... alot of them were doing that. And there were no men. Absolutely none. I looked around, now scouting for any sign of testosterone among the hoards of feminine chat. There were literally none. Bizarre to say the least.
I continued into the cafeteria to meet with Selphie at 12:45, as we usually planned. And there she was, sitting at our usual table at the set time but this time two other girls shared her company at the table. They were whispering excitedly and listened intently to one another. Now I would know just what this buzz was about. I wasn't all to curious to be honest but I figured that if someone I know knew, I might as well ask.
"Did she really?" One of the random girls said with disbelief.
"Yes!" Selphie exclaimed. "I saw her with my own eyes!" She continued very firmly as if trying to pound the information into this girl's gray matter.
"You're lying Selphie." Random Girl number two accused with a sly smirk. Suddenly, Selphie took notice of me and she looked as if she was a deer caught in head lights at that moment. But then her face lit up and she pointed to me, hope suddenly filling her.
"Here she is! Ask her yourself!" Selphie proclaimed to the two girls. The Random girls turned their heads to look back at me and I gave them a puzzled look. They looked as if they were in a state of shock and disbelief.
"Did you really?" Random Girl One questioned quite excitedly as she slowly stood from her chair as if to greet me.
"Did I really what?" I asked, becoming a little frightened at this whole situation.
"Save Squall Leonhart?" Random Girl Two proclaimed as she stood to follow suit with her counterpart.
"Uuumm... well, I didn't really save him." I answered sheepishly, but the girls took my humbleness to the extreme and turned upon Selphie.
"Selphie, I told you she didn't save him. Everyone knows Instructor Trepe did." Random Girl One answered quite smugly. What the fuck? Instructor Trepe? Who would tell you that...
"No she didn't! My Rinoa saved him!" Selphie quickly denied such a false statement in my defense but I couldn't have possibly have cared less about this. The only thing that puzzled me was why they jumped to the immediate conclusion of Trepe and him.
"Selphie, it doesn't matter." I said with a listless shrug as I took a seat next to her.
"But Rinoa!" She began as if she were to scold me.
"I don't know who saved him and neither does she." I told the Random Girls in the most blatant way I could muster. The two girls stood in a great huff, bring their trays with them.
"Thank God that rumor isn't true. It would have totally killed the romanticism of it all." Said Random girl one to the other as they turned away from us. Romanticism…?
"Can you believe the nerve of this Instructor Trepe bitch!" Selphie cried throwing her plastic spoon onto her tray in a little huff of irritation. "I mean, why would they even make up such crap? No teacher was there! Are they stupid? If a teacher was there, then the fight would have never even had happened!" She yelled, all the while picking up the thrown spoon and then flinging it down repeatedly into her soup, sandwich and eventually drink.
"Yeah. I am actually curious as to why they assumed Instructor Trepe saved him." I pondered under my breath as Selphie continued to rant and rave whilst throwing every utensil she had access to around.
"And what was all that 'romanticism' bull shit about, huh? I mean seriously. Some farty old instructor and some... some incredibly hot super model hooking up? Ha! Don't think so!" Selphie was on a roll now, so infuriated about nothing at all. She took a short break to gulp down her drink and slam it back onto the table. She continued her gabbing.
"Do you think they're dating?" I asked, curiously not placing the possibility in the 'hell no' category just yet.
"What? No way!" Selphie exclaimed, sounding a little irritated she was broken from her rant, but still pleased it was about the same subject. "A teacher and a student. No fucking way. No way in hell." She shook her head furiously as she spoke.
"I… I don't know." Now I was honestly considering the possibility of this. I mean, she was young and beyond gorgeous and he was probably roughly the same age and just as beautiful. It seemed entirely possible.
Selphie just gave me the most bewildered look I had ever received. Like I had said I was actually a man or something.
"You're kidding. C'mon Rinoa it's a teach-" I didn't let Selphie finish her complaint explosion as I jumped in momentarily.
"I know she's a teacher and he's a student but have you ever seen Instructor Trepe?" I questioned looking her square in the eye leaning slightly closer to her. She paused momentarily, as if checking the data banks of her mind for any picture of her she might have. She slowly shook her head. "Instructor Trepe could totally pass for being a student. She's probably no older than twenty. Plus she's drop dead gorgeous."
"Wait… does she have blonde hair?" Selphie questioned as if an epiphany was about to suddenly punch her in the face. I nodded knowingly. "Oh my God!" She squealed as she suddenly shot back into her seat, covering her mouth with her hands. "I thought that she was a student dressing like an instructor this whole time!" She exclaimed, laughing a little in this sudden realization.
"That's what I thought she was too. But nope, she's an instructor." I said, merely pushing that fact further into her reality as I leaned back in my seat.
"Wow…" Selphie still couldn't seem to get over it. "Then, I guess, it's not totally out of the question that those two might be dating…." She thought outloud.
"Gosh." I mumbled as I laughed a bit under my breath. "That is sort of romantic." Selphie had to chuckle with me on this sudden idea.
"Yeah, it kind of is, isn't it?" She said a little dreamily as she placed an elbow on the table and let her mind wander a bit…..
A/N: Okay, so chapter uno is all done and I promise you this will NOT BE A QUISTIS X SQUALL! I repeat, THIS IS NOT A QUALL. So don't even think that it is...