Peek Behind the Scar
7/15/00
Squall was the last one into the room. Well, that was only because he was right behind Zell, the last of the group to be hearded together. All of them--Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Zell and Quistis--were waiting him, plus two more. Headmaster Cid and a young woman named Ellone awaited him. He had gathered them there for one reason.
Rinoa chewed on her lip as she watched Squall enter. They were gathered in a classroom of Balamb Garden. Squall had called them all there for some unknown reason. She was sitting on a desk in the front row. Selphie was fiddling with the computer on that same desk. Irvine relaxed against the blackboard while Zell immidiately started boxing off to the side. Quistis was reading over some papers at the teacher's desk. Headmaster Cid and Ellone were standing near a window in the back of the room, talking quietly to themselves. When Squall closed the door, silence filled the room.
"Squall?" Rinoa asked softly. "You wanted something from us...?" For a moment he said nothing, but then shook his head.
"I want something from Ellone. But I wished everyone else here to see it." He said softly. At the mention of her name, Ellone looked up at Squall wordlessly. Cid took her arm and lead her to the front.
"Squall had discussed with me his idea, and I think it would be an... interesting path to pursue." Cid said as he and Ellone joined the other in the front of the room. Ellone stood next to the teacher's desk and Squall walked over to her.
"You can show the past, correct?" Squall asked. Ellone nodded.
"But only if I've met the person of whom I am to show." She said softly. Squall nodded.
"Have you met Seifer?"
"The young, blonde man with the long grey coat?" She asked and Squall nodded again.
"I want you to show us his past. Anything about it. Enough to help us understand why he may have joined the Sorceress..." He trailed off as Ellone nodded.
"I... I'll try. Um, this may put you all to sleep... that seems to be a side effect of my powers." She said bashfully.
"It's all right, do whatever you do." Cid said, patting her arm. "We'll be allright."
"Okay... here we go." She whispered. She closed her eyes, and everyone one in the room suddenly became very, very sleepy. The last thing Rinoa thought as she drifted off to sleep was if they would show her part in his past....
When everyone's concsious awoke, they were no longer looking into the classroom. Instead, they saw a small, sunny kitchen. A woman in a blue dress with very long yellow-golden hair was busily making what seemed to be breakfast. She was humming to herself and buzzing from stove to table and back. At the table, in a chair, was an child. The child looked to be maybe a four years old, and already had a head of golden-yellow hair like its mother. The hair was longer than normal for a child of its age and masked the child's gender at first glance.
Just then a man came in, wearing dress pants and a dress shirt with a vest. This man had a striking resemblance to Seifer. The only expection was that this man had red hair, was older and had no scar. He looked a little bitter and arrogant. He gave the woman a quizzical look before sitting down.
"Why are you always so damn happy in the morning?" He asked from the table. She sat down a plate of scrambled eggs and toast before him.
"Because it's the start of a new day! And today, it's very beautiful!" The woman said with a smile. The child squealed in happiness. The man actually glared at the child.
"And when are you going to cut that boy's hair? He looks like a girl." The man snarled at the boy. The little boy looked taken back.
"Oh, Kerwin, do be quiet. Seifer's hair is beautiful! He's never expressed any want to cut it, so why would I?" The woman asked, beaming at the little boy. Little Seifer's scared expression became once again one of happiness when his mother smiled at him. The man mumbled something insulting under his breath.
"That's my son, not a stupid little girl. You're going to raise him to think he's someone's daughter, Claire. I want that damn hair cut by the time I come back from the war!" Kerwin snapped at the woman. Her smile dropped and she looked down.
"O... of course, Kerwin." She said quietly. She sat down, and only picked at her breakfast. The atmosphere of the kitchen died down as the scene faded to blackness.
"Whoa. Those were Seifer's parents?" Selphie asked in the darkness.
"Seemed like it to me." Quistis said. "But he looked about four there... how did he end up in the orphanage? Those of us who were there got there around five."
"I think we're about to find out." Irvine said. "It's getting lighter..." He said as the darkness faded and a new scene apeared.
The scene was an emmense field of bright green grass. There was one, well-worn road cutting through it, over the soft rolling hills off into the distance of one direction. In the other direction, it led to a small, stone house against the blue ocean. A woman was walking down the road, with a small child at her side. She wore a dark blue dress, with a large floppy hat covering her head. Her long, golden-yellow hair was flapping softly in the breeze. Next to her, in dark blue pants and a vest-shirt, was a young boy with shoulder-length yellow hair. He clutched his mother's skirts as they walked towards the house.
They were met at the door by a woman in a loose black dress with long black hair. She smiled and hugged the woman, while the little boy hung back.
"Claire! It's so nice to see you. You visit so rarely." Matron said as she led the two in.
"Well... Kerwin doesn't like it when we go to far. With the war, he thinks it isn't safe."
"That's true, true. Well, come in! No reason to stay out here. I've just made some tea. Cid will be so happy to see you!" Matron said, smiling cheerfully and taking Claire's hand. She turned to Seifer. "Sweetheart, why don't you go play with the others? They're outside, near the beach."
"Near the beach?" Claire asked, surprised. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Oh, don't worry, dear." Matron said. "Ellone is with them, she watches over them." She pointed to the door leading out. "Do you want to go, Seifer?" The little boy looked up at her with big, blue eyes. "It's okay. They won't hurt you." Shyly, Seifer went down to the beach.
All the little ones were there playing. Zell, Irvine and Selphie were playing Tag. Squall was watching them from the side, and Ellone and Quistis were playing a make-believe tea party. Seifer went down the stairs slowly. When got within viewing distance, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
"Oh! Pretty hair!" Little Selphie squealed. She ran to him, and tripped over her own feet, falling in the sand. Seifer went to help her, but she popped right up and grinned at him. One of her front teeth was missing. "Hiiii!" She said, waving at him. "Pretty hair!" She said again. Irvine and Zell ran over to the new comer.
"Yeah!" Irvine said. "You have hair like me!" Irvine said, pointing to his own long hair.
"No!" Zell said, giving Irvine a playful shove. "It's yellow, like mine!" He said with a laugh. "I'm Zell! This is Irvine and that's Selphie, but we all call her Sephie!" Ellone and Quistis had joined them, with their shadow, Squall.
"I'm Ellone." Ellone said, smiling. "This is Quistis, and that's Squall. What's your name?" She asked the bashful Seifer.
"S.. seifer." He mumbled. She reached out and took his hand. Just then, his mother called him from the house. Reluctantly, he broke away and ran back up the stairs. His mother waited for him at the top of the stairs. She took his hand and led him to a window by the front of the house. Matron was no where to be scene. She then sat him down near the window.
"Seifer... you wait right here, okay? Mommy will be right back." She said, leaned forward and kissed his forehead. He smiled at her and stood tip-toe to look at the window as she walked off into the distance. As she walked, the scene faded.
"She never came back." Cid said in the darkness. He sounded sad. "She left, and we could never find her after that."
"So that's how Seifer came to the orphanage? That's... kind of sad." Zell said quietly. "Hey... look, more." He said as the dark got lighter.
Young Seifer was still standing at the window. A few months had pasted since the last scene. His hair was a little longer, and it was raining outside. The other children were playing indoors, not to far. Whispers about Seifer could be heard, mostly "what is he doing?" and "is he waiting for something?" discussed. He ignored them, still gazing out the window at the storm. Matron approached him.
"Seifer? Don't you want to play with the others?" She asked softly. He shook his head. "There's nothing outside, dear." He whipped his head back at her, glaring.
"My mommy is coming to get me." He said softly. "I'm not like those kids." She sighed and reached out for him.
"Seifer-" She said before he hit her hand.
"I told you!" He shouted. "My mommy is coming back! I'm not like them!" He turned back around to the rain. But his shoulders were shaking. He put his arms up and leaned his forehead against them. Matron put a hand on his shoulder when she heard him sniffling. "She's.. she's not coming back, is she?" He asked. Matron just squeezed his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder at her and glared. "Let go of me!" He shouted, tearing away from her. "I'm not some little girl! I'm not crying! Don't give me that look!" He shouted, and ran off into another room. Matron watched him with a sigh. After a few minutes, she followed him. When she opened the door, she gasped.
"Seifer! What are you doing?!" She shouted. He was standing in front of the dresser mirror, with scissors. His locks of his hair were on the dresser. He grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling on it and then cut it. His hair was extremely uneven all over. She rushed to him and grabbed the scissors in one hand and his hand in her other, but it was too late. There was no way to save his hair. The little boy twisted and turned, trying to get away from her, but she held firm. He stopped fighting as she dragged him into a small bathroom. "Stand right here." She said, pointing in front of the sink. He sulked and stood there. She got a washcloth, wetted it and wiped his red face. "Now.. hold still. I'm going to finish what you started." Then she started to cut his hair as the picture faded.
"Oh..." Selphie said. "He did have pretty hair."
"I remember that night, too." Cid said. "It wasn't too long after that when the Sorceress came to Matron, and then... well... years after that.. we started the Garden. All of you from the orphanage were the first class of students."
"Hey, wait..." Irvine said. "There's still more!"
When the dark faded, the scene showed Balamb Garden. A young Seifer, of about 13 or 14, was running through the halls, being chased by some of the staff. They were calling for him to stop, but he was grinning and having too much fun. He ran, entwining between students, jumping over obstacles and trying to loose the staff. Eventually, he ran into the Training Zone and right smack into someone else, knocking them completely over.
"What the--" A girl's voice said. "Watch where you're going, idiot!" The girl said, trying to get up. He had fallen on her, and hadn't gotten up.
"I'm an idiot? You were the one who got hit!" He snarled, sitting back. He looked her over. She wore the normal girl's school uniform. She was rather pretty, looking to be of Asian decent. (Yes I know there's no equavilant of Japan or what-not in the FF8 world, but if Xu can be Asian, so can someone else!) Her long, purple hair was pulled back into a single braid. She looked about a year or so older than him, and very mad.
"You are the idiot who came running in here blindly." She growled. He stood up and dusted off his pants. He was now wearing his normal dark blue pants and vest shirt.
"Well, aren't you going to help me up?" She asked, still sitting there. He snorted.
"Why should I?"
"Because you knocked me down, you little.." She was cut off by him sharply giving her his hand. She took it and he yanked her up. "Ah!" She landed on her feet, but facing away from him. "You are the most disrespectful boy I've ever met!" She snapped, turning around. He was just standing there, arms crossed over his chest and smirking. She glared at him again, but then walked off. She picked up something off the ground. As she raised her arm, the light caught the blade of her gunsword. Seifer's eyes widened.
"Th-that's a--!" He stammered. She raised and eyebrow as she looked at him.
"It's a gunblade, dummy." She said. She rested it against her shoulder. The gunblade's blade was a katana's, thing and long. The gun was of an old, European style pistol. "Ever seen one?"
"Ever seen one?" He repeated. He snorted, suddenly going back to being cocky. "I'm the best gunblade fighter in this Garden. You must be new here if you didn't know that."
"That's true." She said with a nod. "I'm a recent transfer from Galbadia Garden. My name is Ryuuen. Who are you?"
"Seifer Almasy." He said, smirking at her. "Wanna duel?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Students aren't supposed to duel."
"I guess that means you're not so good after all, huh?" He chuckled. She sighed as she walked past him.
"Fine. Met me here tonight at midnight."
Seifer waited for her. The Training area corresponded to the day, so the students could learn to fight in the light and the dark. He waited for her, practicing his moves and stretching a bit. Shortly before midnight, he heard her approach.
She was dressed differently this time. She wore a black skirt and a white tank top. She wore knee-high boots, and over it all she wore a long, grey coat with red-crosses on the sleeves. However, it was huge on her, but she seemed to move effiently all the same. When he saw her in that coat, he smothered a laugh. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head, loosing the coat. She placed it on a rock, and held up her gunblade.
"You want to duel? Fine." Her eyes were narrowed. "I'm not going to play with you." He stood up, and brought his blade up as well. He barely had anytime to think before she rushed at him and swung at his blade. Metal hitting metal rang clear through the Training zone. Seifer, completely caugh off guard, was thrown back. He almost didn't bring up his blade in enough time to block her second blow. Then he recovered, lunging at her. She nimbly moved out of the way, swinging her blade in an arc, and knocking his sword from his hand. The whole fight lasted less than a minute. An amazed Seifer just stood there, eyes wide. "I told you." She said softly, resting her gunblade on her shoulder. "I wasn't going to play." She picked up her coat and started to walk away.
"Wait!" He said, reaching out. "You surprised me... can we do it again?" She raised an eyebrow. He smiled at her. "I've only fought one other gunblade fighter in my life."
"I've only fought against one other as well." She confessed.
"Then.. why don't we learn from each other? And when it's over... we'll duel again." He said, starting to grin. She eyed him for a second, then shrugged.
"Okay, why not?" She said with a smile.
The scene quickly faded, but instead of being replaced by darkness, there was a collage of scenes. First it was Ryuuen and Seifer practicing together. Then the two in class. Then Seifer being chased by the staff again. The Ryuuen reading to an almost sleeping Seifer from a book, before sharply given him a kick to the leg. The scenes all showed Seifer and Ryuuen, doing many things. Then it stopped at the two in the woods. There were two others with them; one other Garden student and a real SeeD member.
"All right. This is your field exam." The SeeD member said. He looked them over. "You are to stay here and secure the area. If we are attacked, we'll fight. But that's all. Be on alert." He told them before leaving. They were in a small clearing. Seifer was pacing, his gunblade out. Ryuuen sat on a rock near by, in her coat. The other student faced in the oppopsite direction, watching the woods.
"Stop pacing, Seifer." Ryuuen said. "If nothing happens, then nothing happens."
"If nothing happens, then we fail." He said with a frown. He looked her over. There was something different in his gaze. He no longer looked at her like some rival, but as a friend.. maybe even more than a friend... he shook his head. He walked over to her. "Hey. Tell me a story." She raised an elegant eyebrow and looked up at him.
"What?" She asked.
"Tell me how you got that ridiculously big coat." He said with a grin. She chuckled.
"This coat was my teacher's coat. He taught me how to use the gunblade. His name was the Crimson Cross. I started lessons with him when I was seven. He wouldn't teach me at first because I was a girl. Then I showed him I was willing to learn, and he showed. The day before I went to the Garden, he gave me his coat. He said he wanted to give me something to remember him by." She smiled and looked up at him. "I plan on giving it to my best student, too." He chuckled. Just then, they heard a rustle in the woods. The other student tensed up as a large, unknown monster stumbled into the clearing. This monster was taller than all of them, and just as wide. The SeeD member, hung back as the three fought it. However, they weren't enough to defeat it. Right before the SeeD member could react, the monster fled back into the woods.
"Hey!" Seifer shouted at it. "Coward!" He started to run after it.
"Student! Stay right where you are!" The SeeD shouted.
"Seifer, come back!" Ryuuen shouted, but it was useless. Seifer was chasing it with a wild grin. She shed her coat and chased after them.
It didn't take her too long to catch up. They reached a clearing and the monster whipped around at the two of them. They both brought up their gunblades, ready to fight.
"You fool, chasing it out here. Now we'll both fail." Ryuuen said, shaking her head.
"You didn't have to follow me." Seifer said, grinning. She sighed.
"Yes, I did." She muttered as he ran at the monster, slashing it. The monster roared and Ryuuen jumped into the battle, narrowly missing it's claws. She drove her blade into it's shoulder, and shot it. Then she jumped back, and landing.
She didn't see it's tail, with the sharp spur at the end, headed towards her til it was too late. The spur embedded itself into her chest, and then the monster flung her hard against a tree. Seifer was only able to watch in horror. He did nothing as the monster pulled it's tail out of her, and fled into the woods. Only once it was gone was he able to move. He ran to her, picking her up carefully with his arms.
"Ryu.. ryueen.." He whispered. She opened her eyes half-way, and smiled slightly at him. Blood trickled down from her mouth.
"Seifer.. you dummy." She whispered. Her voice was raspy.
"Hey, hold on, Ryuuen." Seifer whispered. "The others are on their way, you'll be all right." Her blood was flowing freely from the extremely large wound at her side. It was getting all over his arms and shirt. She shook her head softly.
"They won't.. make it on time." She whispered. "Seifer... come here."
"I'm right here, Ryuuen."
"No.. closer." She whispered. "I want to tell you something." He bent down, his face close to her's. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. When her head fell back, his lips her red with her blood. "I wanted to tell you... even though you're a hot-headed dummy... who does things without thinking... that I really liked you." She started to cough. She smiled again. "You made things really fun." She closed her eyes. "Thank you, Seifer." Then she went completely limp.
The scene faded, and faded back on a graveyard. There were many people in black, gathered around a casket. Flowers were everywhere. From a distance, Seifer watched everything, with the grey coat on. Then everything went black.
"Oh, my God." Rinoa said softly. "I had no idea... "
"I remember her." Quistis said quietly. "That was my test, too. I remember hearing a student died. I didn't really know her, though..."
"What in the world could be next?" Zell asked.
"Nothing." Ellone's voice echoed through the darkness. "I've reached the limit of my powers. I could to this again, some other time, but I'v been doing this too long." Then the light flooded the room.
They were all back in the classroom. Cid was supporting Ellone, and the whole room as quiet.
"I guess we got a bit more than we bargained for." Irvine said quietly.
"But it's what we wanted to see." Squall said. He stood up, and walked out. What he had seen had bothered him... the person he was fighting, and had been fighting for years, was once just a person. An obstacle. Now this obstacle had depth... more than Squall had ever bothered to know.
'Sometimes, it really sucks when you gain a conscious.' Squall thought with a sigh.
Started: 8:00 PM 7-15-00, ended 11:00 7-15-00.
7/15/00
Squall was the last one into the room. Well, that was only because he was right behind Zell, the last of the group to be hearded together. All of them--Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Zell and Quistis--were waiting him, plus two more. Headmaster Cid and a young woman named Ellone awaited him. He had gathered them there for one reason.
Rinoa chewed on her lip as she watched Squall enter. They were gathered in a classroom of Balamb Garden. Squall had called them all there for some unknown reason. She was sitting on a desk in the front row. Selphie was fiddling with the computer on that same desk. Irvine relaxed against the blackboard while Zell immidiately started boxing off to the side. Quistis was reading over some papers at the teacher's desk. Headmaster Cid and Ellone were standing near a window in the back of the room, talking quietly to themselves. When Squall closed the door, silence filled the room.
"Squall?" Rinoa asked softly. "You wanted something from us...?" For a moment he said nothing, but then shook his head.
"I want something from Ellone. But I wished everyone else here to see it." He said softly. At the mention of her name, Ellone looked up at Squall wordlessly. Cid took her arm and lead her to the front.
"Squall had discussed with me his idea, and I think it would be an... interesting path to pursue." Cid said as he and Ellone joined the other in the front of the room. Ellone stood next to the teacher's desk and Squall walked over to her.
"You can show the past, correct?" Squall asked. Ellone nodded.
"But only if I've met the person of whom I am to show." She said softly. Squall nodded.
"Have you met Seifer?"
"The young, blonde man with the long grey coat?" She asked and Squall nodded again.
"I want you to show us his past. Anything about it. Enough to help us understand why he may have joined the Sorceress..." He trailed off as Ellone nodded.
"I... I'll try. Um, this may put you all to sleep... that seems to be a side effect of my powers." She said bashfully.
"It's all right, do whatever you do." Cid said, patting her arm. "We'll be allright."
"Okay... here we go." She whispered. She closed her eyes, and everyone one in the room suddenly became very, very sleepy. The last thing Rinoa thought as she drifted off to sleep was if they would show her part in his past....
When everyone's concsious awoke, they were no longer looking into the classroom. Instead, they saw a small, sunny kitchen. A woman in a blue dress with very long yellow-golden hair was busily making what seemed to be breakfast. She was humming to herself and buzzing from stove to table and back. At the table, in a chair, was an child. The child looked to be maybe a four years old, and already had a head of golden-yellow hair like its mother. The hair was longer than normal for a child of its age and masked the child's gender at first glance.
Just then a man came in, wearing dress pants and a dress shirt with a vest. This man had a striking resemblance to Seifer. The only expection was that this man had red hair, was older and had no scar. He looked a little bitter and arrogant. He gave the woman a quizzical look before sitting down.
"Why are you always so damn happy in the morning?" He asked from the table. She sat down a plate of scrambled eggs and toast before him.
"Because it's the start of a new day! And today, it's very beautiful!" The woman said with a smile. The child squealed in happiness. The man actually glared at the child.
"And when are you going to cut that boy's hair? He looks like a girl." The man snarled at the boy. The little boy looked taken back.
"Oh, Kerwin, do be quiet. Seifer's hair is beautiful! He's never expressed any want to cut it, so why would I?" The woman asked, beaming at the little boy. Little Seifer's scared expression became once again one of happiness when his mother smiled at him. The man mumbled something insulting under his breath.
"That's my son, not a stupid little girl. You're going to raise him to think he's someone's daughter, Claire. I want that damn hair cut by the time I come back from the war!" Kerwin snapped at the woman. Her smile dropped and she looked down.
"O... of course, Kerwin." She said quietly. She sat down, and only picked at her breakfast. The atmosphere of the kitchen died down as the scene faded to blackness.
"Whoa. Those were Seifer's parents?" Selphie asked in the darkness.
"Seemed like it to me." Quistis said. "But he looked about four there... how did he end up in the orphanage? Those of us who were there got there around five."
"I think we're about to find out." Irvine said. "It's getting lighter..." He said as the darkness faded and a new scene apeared.
The scene was an emmense field of bright green grass. There was one, well-worn road cutting through it, over the soft rolling hills off into the distance of one direction. In the other direction, it led to a small, stone house against the blue ocean. A woman was walking down the road, with a small child at her side. She wore a dark blue dress, with a large floppy hat covering her head. Her long, golden-yellow hair was flapping softly in the breeze. Next to her, in dark blue pants and a vest-shirt, was a young boy with shoulder-length yellow hair. He clutched his mother's skirts as they walked towards the house.
They were met at the door by a woman in a loose black dress with long black hair. She smiled and hugged the woman, while the little boy hung back.
"Claire! It's so nice to see you. You visit so rarely." Matron said as she led the two in.
"Well... Kerwin doesn't like it when we go to far. With the war, he thinks it isn't safe."
"That's true, true. Well, come in! No reason to stay out here. I've just made some tea. Cid will be so happy to see you!" Matron said, smiling cheerfully and taking Claire's hand. She turned to Seifer. "Sweetheart, why don't you go play with the others? They're outside, near the beach."
"Near the beach?" Claire asked, surprised. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Oh, don't worry, dear." Matron said. "Ellone is with them, she watches over them." She pointed to the door leading out. "Do you want to go, Seifer?" The little boy looked up at her with big, blue eyes. "It's okay. They won't hurt you." Shyly, Seifer went down to the beach.
All the little ones were there playing. Zell, Irvine and Selphie were playing Tag. Squall was watching them from the side, and Ellone and Quistis were playing a make-believe tea party. Seifer went down the stairs slowly. When got within viewing distance, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
"Oh! Pretty hair!" Little Selphie squealed. She ran to him, and tripped over her own feet, falling in the sand. Seifer went to help her, but she popped right up and grinned at him. One of her front teeth was missing. "Hiiii!" She said, waving at him. "Pretty hair!" She said again. Irvine and Zell ran over to the new comer.
"Yeah!" Irvine said. "You have hair like me!" Irvine said, pointing to his own long hair.
"No!" Zell said, giving Irvine a playful shove. "It's yellow, like mine!" He said with a laugh. "I'm Zell! This is Irvine and that's Selphie, but we all call her Sephie!" Ellone and Quistis had joined them, with their shadow, Squall.
"I'm Ellone." Ellone said, smiling. "This is Quistis, and that's Squall. What's your name?" She asked the bashful Seifer.
"S.. seifer." He mumbled. She reached out and took his hand. Just then, his mother called him from the house. Reluctantly, he broke away and ran back up the stairs. His mother waited for him at the top of the stairs. She took his hand and led him to a window by the front of the house. Matron was no where to be scene. She then sat him down near the window.
"Seifer... you wait right here, okay? Mommy will be right back." She said, leaned forward and kissed his forehead. He smiled at her and stood tip-toe to look at the window as she walked off into the distance. As she walked, the scene faded.
"She never came back." Cid said in the darkness. He sounded sad. "She left, and we could never find her after that."
"So that's how Seifer came to the orphanage? That's... kind of sad." Zell said quietly. "Hey... look, more." He said as the dark got lighter.
Young Seifer was still standing at the window. A few months had pasted since the last scene. His hair was a little longer, and it was raining outside. The other children were playing indoors, not to far. Whispers about Seifer could be heard, mostly "what is he doing?" and "is he waiting for something?" discussed. He ignored them, still gazing out the window at the storm. Matron approached him.
"Seifer? Don't you want to play with the others?" She asked softly. He shook his head. "There's nothing outside, dear." He whipped his head back at her, glaring.
"My mommy is coming to get me." He said softly. "I'm not like those kids." She sighed and reached out for him.
"Seifer-" She said before he hit her hand.
"I told you!" He shouted. "My mommy is coming back! I'm not like them!" He turned back around to the rain. But his shoulders were shaking. He put his arms up and leaned his forehead against them. Matron put a hand on his shoulder when she heard him sniffling. "She's.. she's not coming back, is she?" He asked. Matron just squeezed his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder at her and glared. "Let go of me!" He shouted, tearing away from her. "I'm not some little girl! I'm not crying! Don't give me that look!" He shouted, and ran off into another room. Matron watched him with a sigh. After a few minutes, she followed him. When she opened the door, she gasped.
"Seifer! What are you doing?!" She shouted. He was standing in front of the dresser mirror, with scissors. His locks of his hair were on the dresser. He grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling on it and then cut it. His hair was extremely uneven all over. She rushed to him and grabbed the scissors in one hand and his hand in her other, but it was too late. There was no way to save his hair. The little boy twisted and turned, trying to get away from her, but she held firm. He stopped fighting as she dragged him into a small bathroom. "Stand right here." She said, pointing in front of the sink. He sulked and stood there. She got a washcloth, wetted it and wiped his red face. "Now.. hold still. I'm going to finish what you started." Then she started to cut his hair as the picture faded.
"Oh..." Selphie said. "He did have pretty hair."
"I remember that night, too." Cid said. "It wasn't too long after that when the Sorceress came to Matron, and then... well... years after that.. we started the Garden. All of you from the orphanage were the first class of students."
"Hey, wait..." Irvine said. "There's still more!"
When the dark faded, the scene showed Balamb Garden. A young Seifer, of about 13 or 14, was running through the halls, being chased by some of the staff. They were calling for him to stop, but he was grinning and having too much fun. He ran, entwining between students, jumping over obstacles and trying to loose the staff. Eventually, he ran into the Training Zone and right smack into someone else, knocking them completely over.
"What the--" A girl's voice said. "Watch where you're going, idiot!" The girl said, trying to get up. He had fallen on her, and hadn't gotten up.
"I'm an idiot? You were the one who got hit!" He snarled, sitting back. He looked her over. She wore the normal girl's school uniform. She was rather pretty, looking to be of Asian decent. (Yes I know there's no equavilant of Japan or what-not in the FF8 world, but if Xu can be Asian, so can someone else!) Her long, purple hair was pulled back into a single braid. She looked about a year or so older than him, and very mad.
"You are the idiot who came running in here blindly." She growled. He stood up and dusted off his pants. He was now wearing his normal dark blue pants and vest shirt.
"Well, aren't you going to help me up?" She asked, still sitting there. He snorted.
"Why should I?"
"Because you knocked me down, you little.." She was cut off by him sharply giving her his hand. She took it and he yanked her up. "Ah!" She landed on her feet, but facing away from him. "You are the most disrespectful boy I've ever met!" She snapped, turning around. He was just standing there, arms crossed over his chest and smirking. She glared at him again, but then walked off. She picked up something off the ground. As she raised her arm, the light caught the blade of her gunsword. Seifer's eyes widened.
"Th-that's a--!" He stammered. She raised and eyebrow as she looked at him.
"It's a gunblade, dummy." She said. She rested it against her shoulder. The gunblade's blade was a katana's, thing and long. The gun was of an old, European style pistol. "Ever seen one?"
"Ever seen one?" He repeated. He snorted, suddenly going back to being cocky. "I'm the best gunblade fighter in this Garden. You must be new here if you didn't know that."
"That's true." She said with a nod. "I'm a recent transfer from Galbadia Garden. My name is Ryuuen. Who are you?"
"Seifer Almasy." He said, smirking at her. "Wanna duel?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Students aren't supposed to duel."
"I guess that means you're not so good after all, huh?" He chuckled. She sighed as she walked past him.
"Fine. Met me here tonight at midnight."
Seifer waited for her. The Training area corresponded to the day, so the students could learn to fight in the light and the dark. He waited for her, practicing his moves and stretching a bit. Shortly before midnight, he heard her approach.
She was dressed differently this time. She wore a black skirt and a white tank top. She wore knee-high boots, and over it all she wore a long, grey coat with red-crosses on the sleeves. However, it was huge on her, but she seemed to move effiently all the same. When he saw her in that coat, he smothered a laugh. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head, loosing the coat. She placed it on a rock, and held up her gunblade.
"You want to duel? Fine." Her eyes were narrowed. "I'm not going to play with you." He stood up, and brought his blade up as well. He barely had anytime to think before she rushed at him and swung at his blade. Metal hitting metal rang clear through the Training zone. Seifer, completely caugh off guard, was thrown back. He almost didn't bring up his blade in enough time to block her second blow. Then he recovered, lunging at her. She nimbly moved out of the way, swinging her blade in an arc, and knocking his sword from his hand. The whole fight lasted less than a minute. An amazed Seifer just stood there, eyes wide. "I told you." She said softly, resting her gunblade on her shoulder. "I wasn't going to play." She picked up her coat and started to walk away.
"Wait!" He said, reaching out. "You surprised me... can we do it again?" She raised an eyebrow. He smiled at her. "I've only fought one other gunblade fighter in my life."
"I've only fought against one other as well." She confessed.
"Then.. why don't we learn from each other? And when it's over... we'll duel again." He said, starting to grin. She eyed him for a second, then shrugged.
"Okay, why not?" She said with a smile.
The scene quickly faded, but instead of being replaced by darkness, there was a collage of scenes. First it was Ryuuen and Seifer practicing together. Then the two in class. Then Seifer being chased by the staff again. The Ryuuen reading to an almost sleeping Seifer from a book, before sharply given him a kick to the leg. The scenes all showed Seifer and Ryuuen, doing many things. Then it stopped at the two in the woods. There were two others with them; one other Garden student and a real SeeD member.
"All right. This is your field exam." The SeeD member said. He looked them over. "You are to stay here and secure the area. If we are attacked, we'll fight. But that's all. Be on alert." He told them before leaving. They were in a small clearing. Seifer was pacing, his gunblade out. Ryuuen sat on a rock near by, in her coat. The other student faced in the oppopsite direction, watching the woods.
"Stop pacing, Seifer." Ryuuen said. "If nothing happens, then nothing happens."
"If nothing happens, then we fail." He said with a frown. He looked her over. There was something different in his gaze. He no longer looked at her like some rival, but as a friend.. maybe even more than a friend... he shook his head. He walked over to her. "Hey. Tell me a story." She raised an elegant eyebrow and looked up at him.
"What?" She asked.
"Tell me how you got that ridiculously big coat." He said with a grin. She chuckled.
"This coat was my teacher's coat. He taught me how to use the gunblade. His name was the Crimson Cross. I started lessons with him when I was seven. He wouldn't teach me at first because I was a girl. Then I showed him I was willing to learn, and he showed. The day before I went to the Garden, he gave me his coat. He said he wanted to give me something to remember him by." She smiled and looked up at him. "I plan on giving it to my best student, too." He chuckled. Just then, they heard a rustle in the woods. The other student tensed up as a large, unknown monster stumbled into the clearing. This monster was taller than all of them, and just as wide. The SeeD member, hung back as the three fought it. However, they weren't enough to defeat it. Right before the SeeD member could react, the monster fled back into the woods.
"Hey!" Seifer shouted at it. "Coward!" He started to run after it.
"Student! Stay right where you are!" The SeeD shouted.
"Seifer, come back!" Ryuuen shouted, but it was useless. Seifer was chasing it with a wild grin. She shed her coat and chased after them.
It didn't take her too long to catch up. They reached a clearing and the monster whipped around at the two of them. They both brought up their gunblades, ready to fight.
"You fool, chasing it out here. Now we'll both fail." Ryuuen said, shaking her head.
"You didn't have to follow me." Seifer said, grinning. She sighed.
"Yes, I did." She muttered as he ran at the monster, slashing it. The monster roared and Ryuuen jumped into the battle, narrowly missing it's claws. She drove her blade into it's shoulder, and shot it. Then she jumped back, and landing.
She didn't see it's tail, with the sharp spur at the end, headed towards her til it was too late. The spur embedded itself into her chest, and then the monster flung her hard against a tree. Seifer was only able to watch in horror. He did nothing as the monster pulled it's tail out of her, and fled into the woods. Only once it was gone was he able to move. He ran to her, picking her up carefully with his arms.
"Ryu.. ryueen.." He whispered. She opened her eyes half-way, and smiled slightly at him. Blood trickled down from her mouth.
"Seifer.. you dummy." She whispered. Her voice was raspy.
"Hey, hold on, Ryuuen." Seifer whispered. "The others are on their way, you'll be all right." Her blood was flowing freely from the extremely large wound at her side. It was getting all over his arms and shirt. She shook her head softly.
"They won't.. make it on time." She whispered. "Seifer... come here."
"I'm right here, Ryuuen."
"No.. closer." She whispered. "I want to tell you something." He bent down, his face close to her's. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. When her head fell back, his lips her red with her blood. "I wanted to tell you... even though you're a hot-headed dummy... who does things without thinking... that I really liked you." She started to cough. She smiled again. "You made things really fun." She closed her eyes. "Thank you, Seifer." Then she went completely limp.
The scene faded, and faded back on a graveyard. There were many people in black, gathered around a casket. Flowers were everywhere. From a distance, Seifer watched everything, with the grey coat on. Then everything went black.
"Oh, my God." Rinoa said softly. "I had no idea... "
"I remember her." Quistis said quietly. "That was my test, too. I remember hearing a student died. I didn't really know her, though..."
"What in the world could be next?" Zell asked.
"Nothing." Ellone's voice echoed through the darkness. "I've reached the limit of my powers. I could to this again, some other time, but I'v been doing this too long." Then the light flooded the room.
They were all back in the classroom. Cid was supporting Ellone, and the whole room as quiet.
"I guess we got a bit more than we bargained for." Irvine said quietly.
"But it's what we wanted to see." Squall said. He stood up, and walked out. What he had seen had bothered him... the person he was fighting, and had been fighting for years, was once just a person. An obstacle. Now this obstacle had depth... more than Squall had ever bothered to know.
'Sometimes, it really sucks when you gain a conscious.' Squall thought with a sigh.
Started: 8:00 PM 7-15-00, ended 11:00 7-15-00.