Breathless

By Tyrael aka LiangFeng

Also With Kooritenshi

Chapter Two: Someday

How the hell we wind up like this?
Why weren't we able
To see the signs that we missed
And try to turn the tables

I wished you'd unclench your fists
And unpack your suitcase
Lately there's been to much of this
Don't think its too late…

Someday, Somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now
I know your wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
Someday, Somehow
I'm gonna make it alright but not right now
I know your wondering when

--Nickelback, "Someday"

Rinoa led the blonde down the halls, through the winding corridors of the dormitories and at last arrived at what was probably the most secluded dorm room in all of Garden. The walk had been somewhat long and Quistis' wound was deep and continued to bleed freely. So much blood had been spilled in fact that Rinoa worried that Quistis could suffer from blood loss. However, when questioned, the instructor merely waved her off with her free hand, bloody as it was. Quistis made a note to herself to get someone to clean up the trail of blood she had left.

Rinoa held open the door and made a silly bow. A bow not unlike a chauffer would make opening the door of his vehicle for his client to step into. The scene was so comical that Qustis couldn't help but crack a smile before entering the room.

It was large and fairly pleasant. And Quistis noticed that it was considerably better than any student, SeeD, or instructor dorm. But of course Squall was commander and Cid insisted he have the best. But good old Squall. Quistis had never seen him protest to something so much! It was almost funny had it not been so embarrassing to the poor guy. But however the headmaster was not to be denied.

And when Quistis looked about her, she had to admit that she was impressed. Oak-paneled walls with plush carpet? That must've cost a fortune! Not too mention all the other furnishings in the room. If she was not mistaken that computer on the desk in the corner was a state of the art Mach NP 4000! Goodness, the grades she could file with that! But that wasn't the only thing that awed Quistis. The entire opposite wall was made of sliding glass doors, bulletproof of course, that extended to a broad balcony surveying a breath-taking view of the Balamb Sea.

"Beautiful…" Quistis breathed.

"I know, isn't it?" Rinoa said coming up from behind her. "Isn't Cid such a great man?"

Quistis just nodded.

They stood together for a second, each watching the sun high above shine it's light upon Balamb's crystal-clear waters. Birds soared across the sky's bright blue as boats skimmed across the sea's wavy surface, cutting a rift through the water before the waves smoothed it out again. It was peaceful; it was serene. And for the first time in a long time Rinoa felt the darkness within Quistis thin out and recede just a little bit. There was a storm inside of her, Rinoa thought as she glanced discreetly over at Quistis who stared out to the sea. It ebbed and flowed like the tides. And soon it would consume her. She would drown in her own sorrow.

There was a ghost of a smile that lingered on Quistis' face. Not like the one she had worn when she had discovered her slinking about in the hallways. This one was of small enjoyment, like Quistis was afraid of letting herself enjoy this moment of peace. Like she was guilty she was letting herself indulge. As if the moment of contentment would shatter if she did smile. And behind that caution, was a little love. And a little bit of hope for…something better.

However the moment of contentment did shatter. Disrupted by a small "plat-platting" noise. They both looked down to find Quistis' arm still bleeding heavily, dripping crimson liquid onto the carpet, running from the ribbons of blood that decorated her arm.

"Oh shit…" Quistis groaned.

"Hey! NOW who needs to watch their mouth?" Rinoa joked, remembering Quistis reprimanding Selphie at the cafeteria for similar accounts. Quistis managed the weakest of smiles as Rinoa walked off towards what Quistis guessed was the bathroom. "No sweat, Quisty. We'll clean it up later." She said as she disappeared around the corridor. "Right now, let's have a look at your arm. Make yourself at home!" She called out.

Quistis looked about her, finding a suitable resting place on the couch. Seating herself, she held her arm up and held her other hand under the wound, to catch the drippings that fell into her palm. She couldn't help but feel a sort of embarrassment about the whole situation. But before she could delve into the subject, Rinoa came walking out of the bathroom with a pan of warm water and a strip of clean white cloth in her hands.

"Scooch." Rinoa commanded, nodding to her.

Quistis obliged, moving over so that Rinoa could seat herself next to her. She did so with caution, taking care not to spill the pan of water. She set it on the coffee table in front of them before dipping an edge of cloth into the water, drawing it out, and wiping the hand Quistis used to catch the blood dry before proceeding to the wounded hand, dabbing at the opening carefully.

"After we clean it we'll see if we can take it out. If not, we're going to Dr. K."

"Dr. K?" Quistis stared. "She lets you call her that?"

Rinoa giggled a bit girlishly. "No." She said dipping the cloth into the water again before squeezing it damp. "It just annoys the heck out of her."

Quistis rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. Rinoa noticed as she glanced up with her eyes as a real full-blown smile tugged at the instructor's lips. It brought a grin to her own face.

"You should smile more." She said quietly.

"Didn't you say that to Squall once upon a time?"

"Yeah." Rinoa snickered but it soon faded off into a frown as she examined the object embedded in Quistis' limb. "How did you do this? It's really deep…"

"I dropped a cup and tried to clean it up." Quistis answered grimly.

"How'd it get stuck in your hand like that?" Rinoa eyed her, fully suspicious. This conversation was quickly headed downhill and it didn't look like it was getting up anytime soon.

"Slipped."

"I'll bet." Rinoa muttered under her breath as she turned her head away and prodded Quistis' hand with her forefinger. The mug handle was caught fast somewhere in between the blonde's wrist and palm, making a gut-twitching sight. "You think I don't see you, Quistis?" She tried to say 'Quistis' but because of her agitation, the words came out a whisper.

The instructor looked at the girl and blinked through her glasses. "What?"

"Nothing." Rinoa sighed. "We need to get this out before we can do a healing spell. You ready?"

Quistis nodded, bracing herself. She didn't even flinch when Rinoa yanked the cup fragment from her hand. Her other hand flew to the wound again, to stall the flow of new blood as Rinoa quickly disposed of the obstructing object in a nearby trash can. "Curaga." Quistis murmured, and almost immediately the wound began to repair itself. In a matter of seconds, all that was left of the angry gash was a faint scar. Quistis judged that after a few days it would fade completely.

Rinoa handed Quistis the clean towel with which to wipe off the blood that had dried to almost a layer of crusty flakes on her forearms, before sitting down beside the blonde. She watched as Quistis scrubbed the blood away with the damp cloth, turning the once white washcloth a pale red. She leaned back into the couch staring out the window walls, far off into the horizon. Almost absently, her hand flew to her throat, her fingers finding the chain that held her mother's wedding band and the ring Squall had given her. "Do you think about your parents, Quisty?"

Quistis looked up and blinked, caught off guard by the question. She wrung the damp washcloth out into the pan before giving her hands a quick final wipe. "Sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Rinoa looked at the blonde questioningly.

"I don't remember them really." Quistis shrugged falling back into the comfort of the couch with Rinoa, her hand folded in her lap, the cloth still interlocked with her fingers. "I think my mom was pretty, long red hair with green eyes…And my father was tall with short blonde hair. And I've always got the feeling that he wasn't exactly the happiest man ever."

"What makes you think that?" Rinoa asked, shifted her body to face Quistis, pulling her feet up to fold them in front of her, hugging her knees.

Quistis shrugged again. "I really don't know. The GFs sort of killed all of the memories."

Rinoa frowned. "That's so sad…"

"What is?"

"Not being able to remember your family." Rinoa sighed, a bit sorry for Quistis that she had no memories of her mother or father.

I seriously doubt that. Quistis thought to herself. She didn't know why but a part of her didn't want to remember her parents…her father in particular. She guessed that her childhood before she went to the orphanage wasn't a pleasant one.

"I don't know. Matron and Headmaster Cid always made me feel like the orphanage was my home. Squall, Selphie, Ellone…even Seifer in a way; they were my brothers and sisters."

"Happy times?" Rinoa grinned, hoping to get another smile from the instructor.

"Best times." Rinoa's wish was granted.

It was uplifting to remember the times she, Selphie, Zell, and Irvine ran around in the surf, splashing through the ocean waters and building sand castles. Sometimes, when they were angry or frustrated with each other because the other didn't know how to build a battlement right, they would kick sand at each other. However, now, as Quistis thought back on it, it was amusing to see in her head, a picture of Zell running away from a furious Selphie who was pelting him with clumps of sand. But as suddenly as the smile had appeared, it disappeared.

"What?" Rinoa asked, in concern, fearful about Quistis' sudden change in mood.

"Memories are nice…but that's all they are. Memories." Quistis said a bit wistfully.

"That's not true…" Rinoa protested, a bit taken back. "You can look back on them and feel happy. You can remember how it was to feel warm and what it was like to be in their company."

To this, Quistis had no reply but could only stare out to the open sea with emotionless eyes. It scared Rinoa to see Quistis' eyes so blank and devoid of feeling. Eyes were the windows to the soul…but to see Quistis' ice blue eyes…it was almost as if she had no soul.

The phone on the corner of table rang. Rinoa gave a jump into the air that was at least ten feet. She blushed in embarrassment. Quistis however just turned to stare at the phone with a bit of relief.

Rinoa leaned forward to grab the phone. "Hello?"

"Rinoa?" A voice Rinoa identified as Squall's answered.

"Oh, hi sweetie! How's it going?" Rinoa visibly brightened and her voice grew lighter, however somewhere far back in her mind she felt Quistis surrender to the darkness.

Quistis felt herself sink into misery once more. In a way, she hated Squall and everything that he had but she didn't. What made him better than her? What was it about him that made everyone feel like they should rally to him? What did Rinoa see in him? For the first time in her entire life, she understood Seifer and what made him despise Squall so much.

Deciding that this was the appropriate time to make her exit, she mouthed a quick, "I'll see you" before leaving for the door.

Rinoa nodded, making a weak attempt to smile and waved as her friend left the dorm, watching as the blonde closed the door quietly as she could behind her, as if not to disturb her conversation with Squall.

"It's hell. Have you seen Quistis lately? We've been looking all over for her!"

"Well um…she just left actually." Rinoa blinked. "Is there something wrong?"

She heard Squall sigh on the other end of the phone. "Can you find her? It's really important. She was supposed to pick up the new students at the Balamb Train Station today but she didn't. Can you call her for me?"

Rinoa ran over to the door and opened it with a bang. She glanced outside quickly but the blonde was nowhere in sight. She gave a heaving sigh of frustration before closing it. "I don't have her dorm number."

"It should be in the phone book. Sorry, but I really need to go."

In the background, Rinoa could hear Xu and Cid calling to Squall, no doubt shouting something that seemed important but wasn't. "Okay, okay. But be home for dinner, alright? I'm making beef stroganoff."

She could almost see Squall's slight smile and nod as he hung up. After talking on the phone so much with him, she could read him like a book. Almost like Quistis had, once upon a time.

Squall…Quistis…

That was when the startling realization hit her.