"If they just stay quiet... I can do this. Come on you damn fish, get on my hook!" Seifer thought, staring angrily at the water. Of course he had the patience to fish. He had to, Fujin and Raijin had said he didn't. He sat quietly watching the water rocking back and forth.
"I got one! I got one!" Raijin cried out, pulling a healthy sized fish from the water.
"What!? Man, screw this crap!" Seifer yelled, throwing down his pole angrily. Fujin and Raijin laughed at him as Raijin danced merrily on the pier. It wasn't long before Raijin had his back to Fujin, and she just could not resist... With one foot, she kicked his butt, sending him into the waters. Seifer and Fujin fell out laughing.
Seifer could not remember a time when he had laughed from his heart, or a time that he and his friends had this much fun. Dear gods, it had been so long... He was lucky they had forgiven him. Only his real friends would forgive him for deserting them in his quest to fulfill his dream. He was glad he had lived it, and that he could move on.
"Oh God," Fujin said, her laugh ending abruptly.
"What?" Seifer asked, following her eyes to the sky. His eyes filled with wonder at what he saw flying overhead.
"That's my Garden!" was Seifer's first thought upon seeing the massive craft hover into view. Although its shape was heartbreakingly familiar, and Seifer knew its halls better than he knew the dark tunnels of his own mind, Balamb Garden was no longer Seifer's. No, it now belonged to Squall. Seifer's thin lips curved into a genuine smile, a shape to which they were thorougly unaccustomed.
Slowly, surrounded by the tranquil beaches and bays of Fisherman's Horizon, the cold ball of hate at Squall that had resided in his chest had, over the past months, melted into a hazy feeling of indifference, and then peace. Anger had been at the core of Seifer's being for as long as he could remember. Anger at his parents, who had consigned him to life in an orphanage; anger at Garden, for thwarting his dream of becoming a SeeD; anger at his fellow students, for hating him and loving Squall. Anger at Squall, for being what he desperately wanted to be, but never could manage to attain. But now Seifer was not angry, for what seemed like the first time in his life.
"Hey! Seifer!" Fujin called.
"Yeah, man! I'm all wet, ya know? Mind helpin' me up?" Raijin stuck his hand up; droplets flew from his brown skin.
"All right, I'm coming," Seifer said, and grasped Raijin's hand. But instead of pulling himself up with Seifer's help, Raijin pulled Seifer into a bellyflop. A mushroom splash of water accompanied Seifer's astonished yelp.
Instead of pushing Raijin and becoming angry, Seifer just laughed. Maybe he should pay a visit to Garden and see how everyone was.
*****
Squall sighed as he walked down the hallway leading to the Training Center. He really wasn't paying attention to the things around him because he was lost in his own thoughts again. He just really wanted to get into the Center and take out some frustrations. That was when something grabbed him by one of his belt hoops and made him stumble backwards.
He whirled around with wide eyes ready to yell when he saw his angel in blue. A smile immediately came upon his lips as she jerked his loop again, pulling him to her. He placed his hands innocently on her hips and looked down into her eyes. "What are you doing?" he asked softly.
"Waiting for you," Rinoa said, smiling back at him.
He placed a small kiss on her forehead. "Why?"
"You're seeming distant again. I want to know why and I want to know now." She reached up and brushed some hair out of his big blue eyes.
Squall sighed. He could stall all he wanted to, but eventually he'd have to tell her. "I've been thinking a lot about what may have happened to Seifer and his friends."
"You're worried about him," Rinoa said calmly.
"No... I just have been wondering about him. I've still got a lot of anger pent up inside, I guess." Squall looked away from her eyes.
"But if it hadn't of been for Seifer, you wouldn't have that sexy scar," Rinoa giggled, touching it gently.
Squall allowed himself a moment to blush before regaining his composure. "I just sometimes wonder what would happen if he came back. He's still a student here."
"Yes, I know that. I know Seifer pretty darn well, Squall."
His eyes shot back to hers. He had known that they had dated, even that she thought she loved Seifer, but... "How well?"
Rinoa looked into his eyes for a few moments, searching his face hoping that he wasn't seriously asking her that. "This isn't the place to have that conversation, okay?"
Squall's heart fell. "Okay." He leaned down and kissed her briefly, glad that she could not feel the tight lump in his throat.
"We'll talk more later. I'll let you go play with the monsters. You be careful. And here, take this." Rinoa handed him a potion. "I'm sure it's all you'll need, right?" she asked grinning.
"Yeah. Right," he said, tossing it into the air and catching it. He placed it into his jacket pocket and headed into the Center.
He walked slowly inside and looked around. He spotted a T-Rexaur and stood looking at it for a moment. It didn't see him.
"I know Seifer pretty darn well, Squall."
"So?" he asked himself, trying to convince himself that he didn't care.
"I know Seifer pretty darn well, Squall."
He pulled out his gunblade and ran at the T-Rexaur with all his might. He fought the huge beast as if killing it would take back Rinoa's words. He slashed at it with all his might, pulling his Renzokuken and going back for more.
The poor beast, already injured from a fight with another SeeD, fought back uselessly. Although it did get in one good tail swing knocking Squall down, Squall jumped right back up and delivered the coup-de-grace. It fell over silent.
Squall fell to his knees overwhelmed by the simple fight. "Rinoa..." he whispered with ragged breath.
It was then that he heard it. The sound of three crisp, sharp claps coming from one person followed by claps of applause by others joining in. He had heard that clap before. The day he had came back from the SeeD exam... He slowly rose to his feet and turned around slowly.
"Knew I'd find you here. But of course, I always found you here, didn't I?" Seifer said, a smirk on his face.
He stood in front of one of the trees that littered the jungle-like Training Center, flanked by Fujin and Raijin. Squall was so shocked, and so confused about what exactly he was feeling, that he simply stood there and said nothing.
Raijin waved, and Fujin gave him a short, sharp nod.
"Been a while, Seifer," Squall said in as neutral a tone as he could muster. Seifer was back. Rinoa was here. Seifer… Rinoa…
Rinoa…
Why would Rinoa love him, stay with him, when Seifer was here?
Seifer leaned back against the tree. "So, how've you been? Squall, the head SeeD at Garden. There's a huge surprise. To be honest, Squall, I never knew you were that much of a leader."
Seifer regretted his words as soon as he had spoken them. He had come here to make peace with Squall, not to anger him. He had thought the anger was gone, had melted away like the remnants of a candle. But somehow, seeing him in person with gunblade in hand seemed to relight the feeble wick of his rage.
Squall was breathing easier now; the months he had spent out fighting had put him in excellent shape, and even the most difficult monsters in the Training Center provided minimal challenge to him. He shook the hair out of his eyes. He had to get away; he would not allow himself to be sucked into a conflict. Not right now.
"Look, Seifer, I'd like to stay and talk, but I'm meeting Rinoa pretty soon, so I'll see you around. We'll exchange stories," Squall said, smiling as much as he was able in a feeble attempt at friendliness.
Seifer's eyes narrowed. "Fine."
"Raijin… Fujin…" Squall nodded to each, sheathed his gunblade, and ran out of the Training Center.
Back in his dorm room, Squall leaned his gunblade against the wall by his desk and down heavily upon his bed. Did Rinoa know that Seifer was back? Maybe she was preparing him for the news that she still loved Ultimecia's ex-Knight.
Had Rinoa and Seifer…? No, he wasn't even going to think about that.
Squall lay back against his pillow, only to be startled by a knock at his door. He sighed, got up, and opened the door to Rinoa, who stood there, her cheeks damp with tears.
"Squall, he's back."
"Shhhhhh… I know." Squall opened his arms to her, and she stepped into his embrace, clinging to him tightly, as if she was drowning in the sea of her own emotions and needed a grip on something solid.
"Squall, when I said I knew Seifer pretty well, I meant that. We were together for more than two years." She looked up at him, as if begging him not to make her elaborate any more.
Squall turned his head away; he couldn't meet her eyes. So they had had a serious relationship. And all that it entailed.
"But Squall," Rinoa turned his face back towards her, brown eyes pleading," I never loved him the way I… the way I love you."
Squall had no answer.