This is sort of a side project I'm messing around with. Don't expect anything profound. But I've never seen it done this way.
Disclaimer: I don't own FF. Never have, never will.
He was seeing red. Literally. The blood dripping from his fresh wound had dripped into his eyes, clouding his vision with that rich crimson colour. Not that his sparring partner now sitting beside him was any better off. He didn't know what happened—one minute there was pain, and then aggression had set in. He has retaliated, and he couldn't help but notice Seifer hadn't made a movement to stop him.
The blond offered him his own soiled towel, but Squall didn't think to accept it. Sighing in minor agitation, the older male simply pressed the towel against the brunet's bloody wound.
"If the bleeding doesn't stop soon, we'll take you to Kadowaki." He mumbled, unsure. Perhaps his wound was more superficial, but Squall's didn't seem to be healing.
"It wouldn't be bleeding if you didn't fight dirty." Squall grunted, finally accepting the towel with his own fingers. The smell of copper was repugnant, but with no other options, he took what he could get. "I'm supposed to go to the Fire Cavern today."
Seifer sneered. "You didn't do that yet?"
"I was going to go this morning, but you just had to drag me out here." Squall gave him the best glare he could manage from under the blood-soaked towel.
"Blame it on pent up excitement. I heard a rumor that the SeeD exam is today. I'm just dying to get out there." The blond restrained himself from grinning wickedly.
Yet, despite Seifer's intentions, it only made the younger male all the more angry. "So now I have to deal with that, too?"
Seifer gave him half a smile. "Don't let me down."
Squall could feel his nose scrunch in disgust. He didn't exactly have the energy to become angry. In fact, he didn't have much energy at all. He could feel himself become more and more spaced out.
He remembered hearing his name.
The taller male simply lifted him into his arms, and carried him back to the Garden, and straight into the infirmary. Luckily it was still early enough that most of the student body was still asleep or in the cafeteria. Seeing a man, despite how young he still was, passed out and vulnerable was just...distasteful.
Dr. Kadowaki wasn't at her desk when he entered, so he took it upon himself to take Squall back and place him on a bed. Peeling the towel away and tossing it in the trashcan next to the bed, he grabbed some gauze and a bottle of peroxide. Seeing Squall's blood covered face, however, he hesitated.
With a grimace, he knelt down, feeling his knees crack. He slipped off his right glove and reached over. Gently, he pulled at the wound, looking inside. Tilting Squall's forehead toward the light, he noticed it was a little deeper than he anticipated.
Grunting, he moved his hand to Squall's shoulder, shaking him. "Wake up."
Squall didn't move.
He placed his bare fingertips on the flesh of Squall's cheek and slapped him. Gently, but enough to wake him.
Still nothing.
Seifer had been in the infirmary enough to know where everything was. Especially the smelling salts. Reaching into the cupboard, he pulled down a fresh box and grabbed one, tossing the box onto the counter. He ripped open the packaging and wafted it under the smaller male's nose.
With nostril's flared and eyebrows pulling into his nose, Squall stirred. He looked around and saw Seifer toss something into the sink.
"—you positive or negative?"
Squall squinted in the bright light. "What?"
"I said, are you positive or negative? The rhesus gene. Your blood."
Letting out a groan, he tried to roll over. A firm hand grabbed him and pushed him onto his back again.
"Negative. Wait, why? What are you doing?"
Seifer sighed, not caring to answer his companion. He would only protest. Seifer figured Squall out a long time ago. "This is going to hurt." He mumbled.
Pouring some peroxide on a cotton-ball, he placed it in the center of Squall's wound.
He let out a hiss, and his teeth clamped together, but he made no movement to pull it away.
Once Seifer was satisfied the wound wouldn't become infected, he took the gauze and helped Squall sit up. He wrapped him as well as he could. He didn't exactly have medical training. Just basic first aid the entire school had to learn in first year. That, and from taking care of his own wound.
"Is this too tight?"
"No."
Slightly suspicious, Seifer let the gauze slack a bit before securing it together.
"Take off your jacket."
Squall sighed as he struggled out of his bomber. Seifer was too busy removing his own coat to assist him at the moment.
"You're bleeding." He grunted.
"I know. I feel it," the blond spoke softer than usual. "but it's not as bad as yours."
The taller male turned around and once again opened the cabinet above the sink. This time, he pulled out a fresh syringe and ripped the package open. He looked through the drawer to find a needle.
Squall still felt weak. Tired. Disoriented.
Finding no tourniquets, he located a rubber band, and figured it would work. He quickly moved to snap it around the upper part of his forearm.
Seeing Seifer take a deep breath and inject the needle into the vein was a bit much for Squall's stomach. He had no idea what the older male was doing, but it wasn't anything he wanted to be a part of. Once satisfied with the amount of blood he collected, he sat back down next to Squall and grabbed his arm.
"Wha—that's dangerous!" Squall instinctively moved to yank his arm back, but especially in his current condition, the taller, bigger male was stronger than him, and held him firmly.
"It's type O negative. You have no idea how lucky you are." He mumbled before flicking Squall's vein to make it more evident and injecting him slowly with the contents of the syringe. Once done, he grabbed another cotton-ball off the bed and pressed it to Squall's arm.
"Can you hold this?"
Squall grunted in response, still wildly unsure about what just happened. Yet, he still reached over and held the cotton-ball for Seifer's benefit. The blond walked over to Kadowaki's desk and ripped himself off enough scotch tape to act as a make-shift bandage. After applying it, he sighed and sat back down.
He would never admit it, but that whole thing made him queasy.
Squall closed his eyes. Seifer considered turning off the light, but he was silently trying to settle his stomach.
A drip of his own blood had rolled down his nose, and was now hanging off his lips. Oh yeah, there was that, too. Seifer closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recuperate.
Finally, he heard someone open the door, and he regained his composure enough to walk into her office and point her in Squall's direction.
"—unacceptable and irrepressible behavior!" She put her hands on her hips, and then let out an exasperated sigh. "At least you had the sense to bring him here."
Squall was trying to stay awake, but he was failing miserably.
"I...blood...should be fine." Trying to make out Seifer's words was becoming harder and harder, and finally, he surrendered.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw the doctor staring him down. "How are you feeling?"
Squall pushed himself up to a sitting position. He was feeling a lot better than he was before. No question. Still, he wondered how long he had been out. "Okay." He shrugged. Had he missed the SeeD exam?
"Takes it easy next time, you hear?" Accusatory at best. She leaned it, and then moved slightly to the side. "Looks like your eyes are focusing. Say your name for me."
"Seriously?" He asked.
The doctor shot him a look.
"Squall Leonhart, Student I.D. 41269." He grumbled. He added the I.D. Number sarcastically to match the stupidity of the situation.
If Dr. Kadowaki noticed the sarcasm, she didn't show it. "Why don't you take it easy in training? Next time you might not be so lucky."
If you could call passing out in the infirmary luck. Still, why exactly was she saying this to him? What about Seifer? Where was Seifer?
"Tell that to Seifer." He grunted.
She sighed hearing the name of the most problematic student in Garden. "That Seifer...won't listen to anyone." Squall knew that was fair. "Why don't you ignore him?"
"I can't just run away." Squall answered simply. She just...wouldn't understand.
"You wanna be cool, huh?" No. Not even a little. "Well, don't get hurt in the process. Your instructor is Quistis, correct? I'll call her to come get you." She stepped back into her office and got on the phone.
He couldn't help but be annoyed. His eye roll came naturally as he laid back and rested his head against the pillow again. Seifer's mess had been cleaned up.
Quistis had come to pick him up from the infirmary. They went into the classroom and she made the announcements for the SeeD exam. She had made a special announcement for Seifer who had received yet another lecture on injuring his training partner. Class was dismissed.
The students stood and left. Quisitis moved to talk to her the three brown-nosers of the class.
Seifer was immediately at his side. He grabbed his chin, lifting it and looking at his wound. "Looks better. Take the bandage off."
Nodding once, Squall reached behind him and gently tugged at the bandages, pulling them off in ribbons.
Seifer smiled at his handiwork. "Much better." He leaned down further, inches away from his face. "Don't let me down."
Squall glanced at him. "What are you doing until the exam?"
"I have to pick someone up at the train station."
Squall raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Just some girl." He answered simply. He looked over at Quistis feeling eyes on him. "Do your best." He left, walking out of the classroom, supposedly straight to Balamb's train station."
Squall couldn't help but think it was weird. Seifer never mentioned anything about a girl. Putting it out of his mind for now, he turned on the computer and drew his GF's. He stood and headed over to Instructor Trepe.
"You haven't been to the Fire Caven yet, have you? You won't be able to take part in today's SeeD exam if you don't pass the prerequisites."
Squall woke up early to go to the Fire Cavern. Unfortunately Seifer had also woken early that morning.
"Hey, where ya goin'?"
"I have an assignment to do."
"So early?" He grinned. "Well, sorry, but it's going to have to wait. I found the perfect spot for you to really show me what you've got."
"But I have to—"
"Not yet, you don't. Unless you, and of course you don't, feel like you have a chance in hell of beating me."
"Seifer." Squall balled his fists. "I already told you. I have something to do."
He leaned in and got closer to his ear. "Come on, I'll take it easy on you."
That had gotten him. They walked outside of Garden, Seifer lead them to a wide area Squall was pretty sure he made himself. They had gotten involved in a battle, and now he had a permanent reminder between his eyes.
"Hm? Do you have a good excuse?"
"...Not really." His constant fights with Seifer were nothing more than punishable offenses. To avoid that lecture, he decided it might be better to just allow this one.
"Then let's get going. I'll be waiting at the front gate, so come down when you're ready." She took off.
Squall only then noticed that he hadn't had anything to eat. Probably a good idea before he headed on his way. He would need the energy to take on those enemies.
Squall stepped over to the line, buying something for breakfast.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He reached in, pulling it out and looked at the screen, "Make sure to equip that Shiva of yours."
Seifer. He swallowed the last bite of his breakfast before going outside to meet Quistis at the front gate.
Entering the Fire Cavern, he heard Quistis' comments on how he and Seifer were in a class of their own. That wasn't exactly accurate. Seifer was his own class, and Squall was his unwilling student. He had to keep up with Seifer. No one else felt that urgency, that unrelenting need to be the best.
With Ifrit now in tow, he headed back to the Garden, and went back his dormitory for a quick nap. His rest was disturbed by the ringing alarm clock, reminding him it was time to go. He pulled on his school uniform. Looking in the mirror, he decided against it and unzipped the jacket. That was better.
He began walking toward the hallway, but on his way he couldn't help to see a flash of grey. "Seifer?"
Seifer turned around, apparently pacing.
"You're not wearing your uniform. There's a 100-point deduction."
Seifer snorted. "It doesn't look right on me. Besides, 100 points is nothing."
Squall crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, sure, but if you get the lowest rank in SeeD history, don't complain about it."
Seifer sighed. "You really want me to wear the stupid uniform? Fine. How's your head?"
Squall nodded once. "It's fine. Yours?"
"No problems, Leonhart." Seifer turned around and headed toward his dorm.
Squall wasn't sure to wait for him or not. He stood there, rather awkwardly for quite a few minutes before Seifer finally returned.
Seifer didn't look bad. Just different.
They walked into the hall together.
Squall sat down, perhaps nervous. Well, maybe not. He couldn't tell if he was nervous or not.
He looked over at Seifer, who was busy talking to Raijin and Fujin.
Down the corridor, he saw the headmaster approaching. He stood.
He handed Quistis a sheet of paper and waited beside her in silence.
"Leonhart, Squall. Dincht, Zell. Almasy, Seifer."
Squall looked at his teammates, disheartened. Zell was so loud, and he was sure to pick a fight with Seifer. It gave him a headache just thinking about it. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Squall, you're the squad leader."
What? Why? He didn't have any leadership qual—oh. That was why.
Seifer peered over Zell's head, eyeing him. He felt the stare.
Squall sighed, and headed for the parking lot. He would feel better once he was on the battlefield. They drove to Balamb, and once there, they headed for the vessel. Seifer grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.
"Are you nervous?"
"I don't know. I try not to think about it."
Seifer nodded once. "Listen, we're shoe-ins. Don't let Dincht drag us down, alright?"
Squall shook his head. "Just ignore him, Seifer."
He watched his teammates get on the speedboat and followed them, sitting by the door. Anticipation. He had to put his mind elsewhere. He didn't want to freeze up on the battlefield. He looked over at Seifer. His feet on the table, ankles crossed, chin resting on his palm. He was bored.
Squall looked down. He didn't want anyone to see him smiling.