A/N This chapter is an extended cut; I redid it because I just wasn't quite happy with it. So if you had a hard time with it, this one is much better, but if you diligently muscled through, plot wise nothing has actually changed, so carry on (ushers forth)
Chapter Three
A Knight To Remember
The night hung oppressively over the city, the many street lamps dotting the road fought it back, but could not extinguish the darkness that stubbornly remained beneath. Even in the bright shopping district, patches of shadow seemed to cling to the ground as though to testify to the true nature of the town. The cat's eyes winked along the road as the boy strolled down the pavement, littered with cigarette butts and spots of chewing gum. He adjusted his black beanie hat, blonde tufts of hair still peeking beneath. His sleeveless off-white trench coat ruffled in the breeze.
Yeah, Deling City really is a great town, he thought, kicking a broken glass bottle out of his way and watching it skitter down the abandoned street. Despite the sarcasm, he smirked. It was far from home, and as different from his peaceful coastal hometown as could be; and he liked it for that.
Seifer knew that as a fourteen-year-old boy he had felt quite at home in that moment. However, like the light fighting the inevitable approach of night, the scene seemed to fade back as the eighteen year old, realising what came after, fought away from it. He embraced his present heart, even though it was beating erratically in apprehension.
Dammit. I don't need to see this again.
A familiar voice spoke faintly, "I think you have to see this."
The scene came back to life around him as a scream peeled out from the street to his left. Seifer was propelled away from his present self into the breathing memory.
The armless trench coat flapped behind him as his black boots beat the ground and he turned down the street. Looks like I might not have to wait for the training centre to test out Hyperion's upgrade, he had thought.
Two figures were spotlighted beneath a streetlamp. A girl in a navy blue top and cropped beige combats struggled as a man held her forearm in a bear like grip. He raised his fist and the girl was obscured from view, but her piercing scream attested to the moment it came down. It felt like someone had cast slow on him. The beat of his heart out raced that of his boots on the tarmac and his arms pumped the air as he ran.
He glimpsed her, crumpled on hands and knees, head held in her hands as her long silver hair fell in front of her like a shield to hide behind. His gut twisted, but that feeling did not attest to how the image would imprint itself on his nightmares for years to come.
The fist rose again and Seifer was there, feet apart as he stood between girl and man. He drew Hyperion, and the fist met the width of the blade with a crunch of bone. As the brute bent over, cradling his most likely broken hand, Seifer whacked his torso with the blunt of the blade and he fell onto his back.
"Next time, I'll use the sharp side," he said casually.
"I'm not being beaten by some punk kid!" the brutish man bellowed vehemently, raising himself up on his arms.
"Heh. If you're not getting beaten by a punk, you'd better beat it outta here!" He swished the blade through the air, ending with it vertical in the air as he pulled off the safety and added in a dangerously cold tone. "Now."
The guy didn't move an inch, nor had Seifer really expected him to. He knew he only saw a kid with a toy, not a military candidate with thinly coiled muscles in his arms that attested to nine years training. Still, he would be happy to amend the brute's opinion of him.
Doesn't look like I'm the first person he's underestimated tonight, Seifer thought, noting in a glance the red marks on the brute's muscular arms, promising bruising, and his swelling eye. Wouldn't want to be him in the morning. Someone else defended her before I got here. She couldn't have done all this.
He glanced over his shoulder at the silent girl, her shaking hand still covering the left side of her face. Her gaze was remarkably clear as she regarded him through her uncovered eye, despite the watery sheen of tears. He raised a brow; he knew from experience that kind of composure in the face of such violence was hard won. Few people were born with it. Either way, he found himself impressed by her demeanour, and was surprised at his own admiration and sympathy for her.
Not bad, for a girl. Maybe some of that damage came from her, after all. It would be hypocritical of me to underestimate her.
"I think I'll add this guy to my 'take out' list. What do you say?" He asked her mildly before levelling voice and gunblade at the brute getting to his feet ahead of him. "And, no pops, I'm not talking about fancy restaurants."
Arm raised, the brute charged towards him. Seifer caught alcohol fumes from him even as he slashed down with the blade. A knife clattered to the ground from the brute's bleeding hand as he fell back once again. Seifer wondered vaguely if he would ever learn.
"I warned you. And I'll make this your last warning; next time, I'll show you why it's called a gun-blade"
A look of fear flashed across the brute's face, and, cocky even at that age, Seifer threw back his head and laughed.
The brute's brows furrowed, but the fear was still evident in his skittish eyes. "Just you wait! I'll get even with you some day!" was his passing shot. He stumbled away, and seemingly as an after thought pointed at the girl still kneeling and holding a hand to her face behind Seifer. "And I'll be back for you!"
Seifer slashed his blade through the air, and the guy began legging it in earnest. Seifer chuckled. He wouldn't be back in a hurry. He smirked over his shoulder at the girl, but the expression was instantly wiped clear.
"Hey." He said. He sheathed the gunblade and knelt beside her. Blood seeped through her fingers, giving clotted highlights to her silver hair, her one visible red eye wide. Now that the threat to her was gone, it seemed aftershock was setting in on her. He carefully helped her to her feet, and as she wobbled wordlessly scooped her up into his arms. He began walking back the way he had come; it was the shortest route to the hospital.
"Wait," she said softly. "We have to go back…"
"For what? If you dropped something, it can wait."
"No… we have to get… him…"
Seifer paused, frowning down at her. "Later. He'll get what's coming to him, trust me."
The girl shook her head once, before clutching it as though the action had worsened the pain. "He's back there… he tried… to…" the girl stopped, shaking.
Before Seifer had time to reply. A bellow rent the night and Seifer spun around.
"FUJIN!!!"
A silhoetted figure clung to the rails, proceeding towards them with an unsteady gait. He held a pole in his free hand, which Seifer took to be a detached piece of the railing, and likely the source of the brute's other injuries. "Put her down- now!"
Seifer looked askance at the girl. "Your boyfriend?"
She shook her head so emphatically that Seifer laughed. "I see."
This last movement had cost her; her head fell against his chest. She was slipping into unconsciousness.
"You'll be alright," he whispered. "Promise."
He could have sworn a slight smile touched her lips before she passed out.
"Yo, dude, what's so funny? Look just put her down, y' know?"
He sighed. Help a girl out, and all you get is hassle.
The guy struggled closer. There was blood in his short spiky black hair. He had a wide mouth, small brown eyes and a dark complexion. His red vest top had black fire etched into the shoulders, and black trousers with a red sports stripe along the side.
"As much as I'd love to stand here and chat, I think I'd better get your girlfriend here to the hospital. You know, before she bleeds to death." He cast a look up and down the guy's battered body. "Feel free to tag along."
"I'm alright," the guy said, his body disagreeing as he collapsed to his knees. He looked up, desperation flashing in his eyes. "Just take care of Fujin."
Seifer nodded and ran ahead. He squinted in the light of the hospital reception, bright after the street. He placed the girl carefully in a grey plastic chair, and hailed the woman behind the desk. "Sort her out," he called as he ran back outside, ignoring the shocked exclamations that followed him.
He retraced his steps uphill. The boy had made it to the end of the alley. A car drove past, lights sweeping over him. But if the driver had seen the state of the boy, he made no effort to stop and help.
"I don't think you'll be needing that," Seifer said as he reached him. The boy dropped the pole, and Seifer flung the freed arm over his shoulders.
"You… rescued Fujin?"
Seifer shrugged his free arm. "So, what happened? Her Daddy caught you two love birds out past curfew?"
"You…helped Fu, didn't you… thanks… y' know..." His speech slurred, he seemed to be slipping out of consciousness.
Why the hell am I even doing this? I'll never make the last train back to Balamb at this rate!
"Oh, for gods sake. If you conk out too, don't think I'm carrying ya!"
Another voice spoke clearly around him, the fourteen-year-old Seifer looked up sharply, whilst the eighteen-year-old Seifer remembered that it was a memory he viewed; that he lay in the Garden infirmary and his feet weren't scuffing the streets of Deling City.
The voice, like a wind chime, had said, "don't stop fighting, okay?"
It was like an anchor to draw him out; the scene began fading out around him, the weight of the boys arm lifting off his shoulders. The aches of his present filtered back in. It almost seemed an unfair trade, but Seifer welcomed it.
It's probably just the lack of attitude that is making him look innocent. Xu thought, looking down at Seifer.
His dark eyelashes rested against his pale cheek, blonde hair spread out over the white pillow. She balled her hands into fists, curbing an impulse to brush a strand from his forehead. He seemed peaceful, but she had a bad feeling about it. Dr Kadowaki had not seemed pleased at the change, either.
Xu had spent the best part of the past hour on the bridge trying to contact the Ragnorak's radio, but to no avail. She tried Esthar next, thinking that the President may have some information on Ellone and Rinoa's current whereabouts, but he was yet to return. His aide told her rather grumpily that Mr Loire was still involved on the sorceress mission, and they knew no more than she did. She left a message with him in case he returned, though had little hope it would be delivered. Meanwhile, she relied on Nida to continue attempting to contact the Ragnorak.
She yawned. Why didn't anyone ever warn me that increasing responsibility equals decreasing sleep? With great responsibility comes not-so-great insomnia!
After leaving the bridge, she took over from the doctor, whom slept reluctantly in the spare infirmary cubicle. Dr Kadowaki had wanted Xu to rest first, probably due to the telling bags under her eyes, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. In the end, she had pulled rank on the doctor twenty years her senior and sent her to bed. In turn, the doctor had firmly ordered Xu to wake her if Seifer's condition changed.
"Don't stop fighting, okay?" she said. "Neither will I."
She shook her head at her own foolishness; he could hardly hear her. She began to turn away, but out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a flash of emerald. When she looked directly at him, his eyes remained shut as before. She became convinced she had imagined it, probably due to lack of sleep. The only trace of open eyes on the bed belonged to the strange grey creature that sat stubbornly at the bottom of his bed. Its head was rested on its small paws as it peered up at Seifer.
Why? She thought, and flopped down on the small round stool; oblivious to the ruined trench coat they had earlier flung across it. Why do I feel so compelled to save you? Was it your actions in the lobby tonight? Or maybe it's just my SeeD instinct to protect? Not that you deserve the protection of any SeeD. In fact, most SeeD's instincts would be to let you suffer.
Finding it hard to be mad at him whilst he looked so innocent, and not wanting to examine her motivations any further, she drew the curtain around his cubicle and strode to the doctor's desk. She sat in the office chair heavily enough to make it bounce slightly and wrapped her fingers around the steaming mug of coffee that awaited her there like a lifeline. She let the warmth seep comfortingly into her hands.
Unfortunately, she didn't drink in any fresh inspiration with the beverage. Her searches in the library and on the Internet had been fruitless. The screen of her laptop was blank and accusing. People always admired her for her ability to grasp situations quickly and she was known for her strategic brilliance. But she felt at a loss when it came to this situation.
Or maybe I'm just at a loss when it comes to Seifer.
Covering a yawn with one hand, she typed "Seifer Almasy" into the search engine on impulse, anything to occupy herself until the hoped for idea struck. High on the list of results was a web site called "D-Seifer."
What the hell is this? Under the heading "Project D-Seifer," a large photograph of him scowled out of the red front page. She recognised the clock and plant in the background of the photo; it was his Garden ID photo, taken in the second floor classroom. It was a few years old now and didn't include the scar on his forehead.
She clicked on the link to enter the main site, and drummed her fingers. My laptop's about as fast as a tonberry. Technology hates me!
She tapped the mouse again impatiently, which only slowed it down. It did so every time, but she could never resist trying. She speculated on the sites content as she watched the little green loading bar fill. D-Seifer…is that a wordplay, like decipher? Maybe it's a fan-site, like the trepes. Not a very clever one, obviously, but he has always had a way of gathering followers… how come everyone except me has a fan site anyways?
Three loud dings sounded from the Garden's speakers, and before the bulletin had even began Xu had closed the page and sprang to her feet.
"Xu, please report to the bridge. I repeat, Xu…"
Not wanting to waste time, she threw a water spell at Dr Kadowaki, yelling "sorry" over her shoulder as she dashed out of the door. Not exactly what they'd agreed on, but she hoped the doctor wouldn't be too mad at the rude awakening given the circumstances. She'd probably just berate her for wasting more magic.
She reached the elevator at a run, either the potential lead or the caffeine giving her a surge of energy. As the elevator crept slowly up the floors, she decided that technology really did hate her, and her mind continued to loiter on the site she had found.
It looked a bit oppressive for a fan site. Well, I guess it's not relevant now, unless Ellone and Rinoa are members. She smiled. Yeah, you've got a great theory there, Xu. I'm sure Ellone had tons of Internet access, sailing around the world on that SeeD ship of hers…
In her hurry out of the Infirmary, she hadn't noticed Seifer twitch at the sound of her voice, before sinking back into his sub conscious.
He was not alone there.
A/N Thanks for reading! As always, reviews are appreciated, and feel free to speak your mind, honesty is the best policy and all that! But if you honestly think my writing sucks I don't mind if you pass up reviewing lol. Anyway, the reviews help keep me motivated and give me a kick up the butt when I'm too lazy to write, so thanks to everyone who has left them so far.
Next TimeThe person behind Seifer's unconscious state reveals more of their motives, whilst Seifer faces more skeletons from his closet. It's make it or break it time!