Title: The GF Mage
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: I own neither the "Inuyasha" universe, nor the world of "Final Fantasy". AU Inuyasha, AU FF8 (mainly because I'm not following FF8's story line).
YES—I am aware of how many stories I have going. I write what I'm interested in, and obviously I can't randomly stick Squall and company in any of my current stories so… Enjoy!
Chapter four
Kagome rolled out of bed, surprised that she'd fallen asleep early in the day. She was used to being awake from early morning to late evening, even at her age. Yawning and stretching, she sat up and realized she'd been sleeping on her foreign languages book. Pressing a crease flat on a bent page, she looked around the room for her best friend.
She didn't see him but Quistis was sitting on her bed at the other end working on something with her glasses half falling off. She looked quite silly with spectacles almost as big as her head, but Kagome wasn't so callous to laugh at the girl.
While Kagome wouldn't laugh at the girl, though, she wasn't exactly friends with Quistis either. The high strung blond girl once made the mistake of calling Kagome fat, so Kagome had given Quistis a fat lip. Since then, they didn't talk and Quistis stayed as far from Kagome as possible.
Kagome still managed to get to school a couple days before most people would, so there were six people who hadn't yet filled her ten-bed dorm up. However, Squall's bed was made up neatly and his pajamas were carefully folded on his pillow where he always kept them during the day. Squall's area of the dorm was always very tidy and disciplined, unlike Kagome's which usually got to be rather messy.
As always, Seifer's bed was across the room… except it wasn't labeled 'Seifer Almasy' as it was ordinarily. His closet was empty except for his school issued uniforms and the school issued boots. He never had any non-issue clothes, but somehow the closet seemed a little bare, probably because the shoes weren't strewn along the bottom of the closet, and the uniforms were hung in a neat row. Seifer's class books weren't stacked up on the bedside table either.
Kagome frowned and looked at her bedside table again. Her hand reached out and touched the slightly wilted blue flower. She had to ask Squall about the flower. As she picked up the flower, she found herself rather surprised as a blue light encompassed her hand and the flower. The light was cold and tingly and the wilted flower seemed to rejuvenate from the light and it was soon encased in a thin layer of what seemed like ice.
"How…strange…" she murmured and examined the flower. It looked like a multi-faceted jewel… like her mother's diamond jewels, only a soft glacier blue color instead of clear. She could feel the magic flowing through herself and into the flower. She couldn't explain how she knew, but somehow she just knew that the magic was her doing.
It didn't excite her. She hated magic. She never wanted to use magic, but she could recall being the only person SeeD Lulu ever praised in class for her magic abilities. It didn't make a difference that none of the other students were allowed to even try magic yet. SeeD Lulu never praised anyone. She was as critical as anyone came and no one was ever spared the harsh lash of her whip-like tongue.
Until Kagome. For some insane reason, she liked Kagome despite that Kagome never lost the opportunity to tell her superior exactly what she thought of magic. She liked Kagome despite the fact that the little girl was always insubordinate.
Magic was for pansies, of course. Headmaster Cid couldn't keep her from the sword forever. And when that day came, Kagome would be fighting fiends out in the big and dangerous world without the help of magic. She'd do it with nothing but her sword and her best friend at her side. Obviously with her blade she would be as fast as lightning…
She flipped the flower in her hand, grasping it like a small blade just like Rikku taught her and tried the lunge-and-slice the woman was so fond of. Unfortunately she stubbed her toe on the bedside table and simply felt silly trying the motion. She quickly reached out and steadied the lamp and table, then looked to see if Quistis had seen her embarrassment. The other girl was rolling her eyes, probably wondering how long it would be before Kagome gave up trying to be a warrior.
Kagome wasn't stupid. She heard the whispers of the other students. They all thought she would eventually quit trying because she was so bad, and she never seemed to improve physically. Even Kagome knew physical achievements were the biggest part to success in her chosen career path, and honestly she was the worst there was. Book learning could only take her so far before a talon finished her off. At that point, as Paine had pointed out, a book wouldn't save her life.
She did very well at Paine's school, practicing with the other girls there. It was just that she couldn't become a warrior there. Not like she wanted to… Not like she could at Balamb… And certainly not with Squall…
Kagome narrowed her eyes at Quistis. "You got somethin' ta say, why don't ya say it, Goggles!" she shouted across the dorm and watched as Quistis turned her nose up and let out a faint 'hmph' before returning to her book work.
It was not a secret among the school; Kagome disliked most of the students, although the majority of them disliked her as well so she cared a lot less. It was especially easy to dislike the other cadets when they called her ugly and she had to beat them up.
That was one thing she was sure she would miss from the Gullwings' School for Girls. The other girls never looked at her for her size or beauty. They liked her. They smiled without reservations.
Kagome knew she was supposed to wait for Ashe to return from wherever she was at, knew she promised to, but she wasn't going to stay in the dorm with Queen-of-the-goggles-Quistis. She wanted to find her best friend and ask about the flower.
Rushing out of the dormitory hall, she thought the first place to look for him would be the cafeteria. If he was there, he was probably mopping for fighting with Seifer. Then again, there was a small chance he might be eating, but Kagome and Squall both spent more time in detention with SeeD Balthier than they did anywhere else.
She searched every nook and cranny of the cafeteria and yet she found no sign of Squall, but SeeD Balthier was there eating with several familiar faces. Kagome recalled a lot of the people who sat with Balthier had tried and failed to teach Kagome different fighting styles the prior year.
Nervous about talking to the adult who was always conducting her detention time, she hesitated. However, she was going to be a warrior, so she steeled herself and crossed the distance to him. When standing beside him didn't attract his attention, she tugged on his uniform jacket. He turned to look at her, and his face lit in surprise.
"Yo." He said in greeting.
Standing nervously at attention under her superior's gaze—in spite of the fact that she was the one to initiate the contact—she asked, "Do you know where Cadet Squall Leonhart is, Sir?" She wasn't sure if Balthier recalled who Squall would be, but she thought he would have to be dumb not to; they had detention with the SeeD on a daily basis it seemed.
"Well, look at you… Someone finally taught you some discipline," Kagome thought of her father for a moment and how he had hit her and shouted at her. "At ease, Cadet Higurashi," Balthier chuckled when Kagome did not relax. It was surprisingly harder to just relax after being told 'at ease'. "Alright, I haven't seen him in a couple days now that you mention it. Must not be fighting with Seifer." Kagome noticed the different forms of address between herself and Seifer and wondered about it only briefly before dismissing the fact.
Kagome nodded nervously and—as if she'd been dismissed—she saluted to Balthier. Her unusual behavior caused him to lift an eyebrow, but she said, "Thank you, Sir!" and turned to march away.
Where could Squall be? She knew summer class time was over; it was dinner time. She thought maybe she might have just missed Squall. He could have left the cafeteria just before she got there, or even before she finished searching.
She was about to leave the cafeteria when the hairs rose on the back of her neck. She felt eyes on her. Turning, she scanned the cafeteria once more. Nothing… Squall better not be hiding from her, she thought. If he was, he would be in so much trouble. She'd chase him all the way to Esthar to beat him up if she had to!
Pursing her lips, she glanced down at the flower again. It was so strange… It was like a blue lily, and the ice wasn't melting with the heat of her hand. It remained cold and perfect… just a thin layer protecting the entire flower, but not changing the shape of it. Even the fact that the flower had thorns wasn't hidden within the ice, but it was instead accented.
Where was he?
Thinking he might have gone back to the dorms if he had indeed been in the cafeteria, she ran back that way. Of course, students their age weren't supposed to be out of the dormitory hall without their dorm assigned SeeD chaperoning them. However it was still summer. Students were still returning to the school. With the considerably smaller population—mostly just older students who wanted to get ahead in their studies—the chaperoning was more lax.
Kagome checked the dorm room for Squall, and then headed for the dormitory hall's recreation room when she didn't find him in the dorm. Students milled about; some practiced their hand-to-hand combat against the padded dummies, some played air hockey and foosball, and others grabbed nutritional snack bars and water from the concession attendant while they did their class work. None of these cadets were Squall.
Pouting, she left the dorm and checked the dormitory hall's outdoor courtyard. A few cadets milled about on the grass beneath the apple trees. Kagome knew none of them were Squall because everyone knew the outdoor courtyard was for Senior Cadets. It wasn't a spoken rule, but was more something the Junior Cadets just learned to stay out of the outdoor courtyard or they would risk being pushed about.
She didn't go in, but kept herself peering around the edge of the outdoor courtyard's entryway. Kagome gulped slightly when she saw a senior cadet sitting alone with a book at one of the park benches. His name was Sephiroth. No one knew where he came from or anything about him, just that he was always silent and incredibly strong. Even his age and surname was a mystery at least to Kagome, but Kagome was sure he had to be under twenty. If he were older than that, he wouldn't still be a Cadet for the SeeD program which people said he was.
Kagome squeaked nervously when she found herself staring into his eyes and ducked back into the hallway. She cursed herself for being afraid of him. A warrior feared nothing, she told herself. Still… something felt weird about him. A glance down at her hand was all she needed to kick herself back into motion and think of alternative options to find Squall.
Then she thought summer lessons. Squall had summer lessons to attend! And he probably had to practice more with Sir Auron… That meant he would be in the specially designed Gunblade Specialist training room in the Training Center!
Kagome made that her next destination. She ran as fast as she could, her grip on the ice flower tightening to where the thorns could scratch her palm a bit—not that she noticed.
As she approached the training center's main hall she slowed to a walk. She'd never actually been to Squall's training room before but she was sure she could find it. Down the main hall just before two very large double doors was a smaller door on the left and one on the right. Squall had said those doors led to a handful of shooting ranges, but at the end of the right range was the Gunblade Specialist training room. She pulled on the door handle but found it wouldn't open for her. Next to it was a card reader, so she assumed she would only get in there with an ID that allowed entrance.
Throwing her lip out in a pout she muttered, "Figures."
Just as she was about to turn away, the door was roughly shoved open and knocked her aside. She winced and rubbed her behind, then realized her opportunity and instead of yelling at the older cadets to watch where they were throwing doors, she darted forward and grabbed the door, entering into another hallway lined with doors. She could hear soft 'popping' noises coming from behind the doors.
Walking toward the door at the end, she found it to be unlocked. She entered and frowned when she saw nothing of her best friend. The room was dark but there was light shining from an open doorway across the room. Maybe he was in there, she thought. She crossed the room, knowing full well that if she'd been wearing school issued shoes she would've clopped across the place. Instead she wore soft shoes that made no noise at all.
Halfway there she heard voices filtering toward her. "I will tell you I disapprove of your idea," said a deep male voice. The voice caused Kagome to pause in her step and wonder if she should come back later.
"Oh?" That voice was recognizably the headmaster's. Kagome was in trouble enough with him to never forget his voice. Kagome turned around, figuring she wasn't about to give up the opportunity to ask Auron about Squall but at least she could wait out side in the training hall since she surely had to run into him when he came out. However, the headmaster's voice stopped her as he said, "I fear it is for the best. It is not a matter of whether Squall is a Sorcerer any longer; we couldn't be sure which of the three had received Edea's powers and now that we know which one we must keep him safe."
Kagome turned to look at the light beaming into the training room from Sir Auron's office. Squall was a what? Her mouth formed the word… Sorcerer… Knowing what that was wasn't hard. SeeD Lulu taught them about Sorceresses and Sorcerers; they were humans with a special affinity to magic. For the most part, these humans ran magic shops. They would 'bottle' magic for the use of ordinary people who couldn't use magic. According to SeeD Lulu, the business was very profitable.
Kagome moved closer to the office, wondering who Edea had been and what her best friend had to be protected from. Whatever tried to hurt her best friend, she would always be there to protect him obviously. Squall was the damsel and she was the knight, after all.
"Is it really the boy you wish to protect, Cid?" Auron's deep voice inquired. Kagome pondered what that statement was to imply.
Cid responded, "I fear what may happen if we allow young Squall to continue in his training with a Gunblade. I do not think it wise to give him power for the day yet to come. Should he lose himself, I believe we would all be in grave danger."
Kagome gasped but then quickly covered her mouth to silence herself. Was Cid really thinking of stopping Squall's training with the Gunblade? He wouldn't dare! Squall would be so upset! …Or… maybe not… Squall didn't ever tell her what he thought about being a SeeD… Did he even want to be one? Would Squall really be a danger to people because he was a Sorcerer?
"You are rather quiet, Auron… even for your nature… Did you have something to say?" Cid asked.
"You know the Magic Guild is already rather angry Garden started to use Guardian Forces."
"I come to you with an open mind, Auron… What are you thinking?"
Kagome inched forward more, leaning against the wall just beside the door frame. She was both nervous and anxious to hear more. She knew she should not be listening in. It was not a conversation meant for her ears, and yet there she was… hearing it.
"Cadet Leonhart is a troubled, cowardly orphan." Kagome's fists clenched and she ground her teeth, ordering herself not to burst into the office and scream at Auron for saying such rude things about her friend. Sir Auron continued, "He is dispassionate about his training and in my opinion, he works only to the extent that he is ordered. He will forever be nothing more than acceptable as a fighter. I believe he still has nightmares of the day the orphanage was attacked, and because of that he still fears fiends to the extent that he will freeze on the battle field against a fiend."
"This is your professional opinion, Auron?" Cid asked.
Kagome heard movement and wondered if she was about to be caught, but it sounded more like someone leaning back in their chair. It was a few moments before Auron spoke again. "Yes, Cid. The boy is quiet and I have observed real emotion from him only in the presence of Cadet Almasy and Cadet Higurashi."
"I see… and what action do you propose in this situation?" Cid sighed, "As you know, Auron, I must take extra care with this… Squall should have not only his own power as a Sorcerer, but Edea's will have joined with his. Edea was rather powerful on her own as you know…"
"I would recommend continuing to observe Squall. It would please the Magic Guild if he were allowed to become SeeD. It would show them we are not a mercenary force that exists solely to kill the Natural Magi. You can learn what kind of person he is by observing his enemies and his friends. I do not know enough of Cadet Higurashi to formulate an opinion on what influence she would have upon Cadet Leonhart. I do believe Squall chose a proper rival in Cadet Almasy."
"Young Kagome… she is quite the problem as well… Her father has written to me, wishing to become an official sponsor of the school. With the money he wishes to contribute we could easily pay off NORG, and still move on to more projects…"
"What does he wish in return for his contribution?" Auron mused.
"Only that his daughter is successfully made into a SeeD."
Kagome frowned. She wasn't sure why her father had to give the school more money just so she could be a SeeD… Why did they have to pay the school? Or was her father just paying the school to say she became a warrior?
Auron asked, "Where is the problem with that, Cid? Is the girl lethargic or dim-witted?" Kagome felt her teeth grinding. No, she wasn't!
"Oh, no, no, she's the brightest child her age… At the rate she excels in her studies, she'll be taking Senior Classes by age ten, I'm sure… No… the problem is that I believe she is a Natural Magi…" Kagome's eyes went wide. Did the headmaster really think so highly of her schooling? She supposed her class books were rather advanced this year… did that mean in a couple years she would be stuck in classes with all the older cadets? With cadets like Sephiroth… And without her best friend…?
"By Natural Magi, you mean…"
"No, no not like Squall… More like… Yuna. I believe young Kagome has the ability to convert her emotions into magic. I have witnessed her raise a very sturdy Protect barrier when she felt threatened, and I believe she casts Berserk upon herself when she is angry." Kagome knew all that… Cid had explained to her before that was why she wore her lightning bolt pendant…because the chain would absorb Berserk magic.
"Yet you still seek my opinion…" Auron said. There was a moment of silence before Auron said, "Cadet Leonhart could be dangerous as all Natural Magi have the ability to be if they lose themselves. One way to find out if he will fold under pressure before he is a real danger would be to test him. If Cadet Higurashi is also a Natural Magi, it would be wise to test her as well, although it sounds like she'll probably lose her mind well before she could even make SeeD."
The words hit Kagome like an avalanche. Her hand automatically reached for the chain around her neck. The tourmaline gem was hidden beneath her clothes, and while her uniform usually hid even the chain, the plain clothes did not.
Grinding her teeth, she glared at the door. They could call her a Magi all they wanted, but they couldn't make her be one. Just because Natural Magi were born with the ability to do magic, that didn't mean she had to use it! She would show them all! She would prove to her father that his money wouldn't make her a SeeD, and she would prove to the stupid headmaster that she wouldn't go mad.
Kagome was going to storm away at that point and find someone else to tell her where Squall was when once more Cid's soft, breathy voice stalled her. He said, "Have you finished your report of Squall's encounter with Shiva?" Kagome waited to hear more of this. After a moment, Kagome heard movement, like the sound of rustling papers. She wanted to know what Cid was reading but she wasn't about to risk being found if they weren't aware she was there. "Very interesting, Auron… This explains his injuries… I will make note of this…"
"Before you leave, Cid… I would like to recommend one more thing." Auron said, and Kagome knew she needed to get out of there quickly because from the sounds of movements they were going to be done with the conversation in a moment. As much as she wanted to know what they were saying, she couldn't wait because the footsteps were shuffling toward the door. Kagome hurried toward the exit and nearly ran into a couple of surprised older Cadets in the hall outside.
But at least she had gleaned one bit of information: Squall was hurt. That was probably where he was now… The pudgy girl ran for all she was worth toward the infirmary. Doctor Kadowaki was quite surprised by her abrupt appearance, but after a moment she put a hand on her hip.
"What have I told you about running? Are you trying to injure yourself again?" she asked in a teasing voice.
"Where is Squally?" Kagome demanded.
Doctor Kadowaki's brow furrowed and she wagged a finger at Kagome in admonishment. "Shush, child. Keep your voice indoors. We don't need Balamb's mayor coming over…"
"No, don't shush me," Kagome yelled. "I want Squally. I want Squally now."
Doctor Kadowaki sighed and waved to the seat by her desk. "Come, sit… I should explain something…"
The sad tone of the doctor scared Kagome but she held her chin up and put her hands on her hips. She wasn't moving until she was being taken to Squall, and that was final. The doctor would just have to understand that.
Doctor Kadowaki shrugged. "Alright." She then explained quietly, "Kagome, Squall is sick…"
"Sick?" Kagome looked around at each of the curtained off areas. Was Squall in one of those beds? She unconsciously kept her voice down, worrying she might disturb Squall now when it wasn't really an issue before. "How did he get sick?" She wondered if Squall was sick because he met Shiva the Guardian Force…
"About a week ago, his training master took him and Seifer out of Garden… Squall fell through a weak point in the ground into the Ice Cavern of Shiva. At first upon their return, Squall had Pneumonia but that was easily cured. Now, Squall simply doesn't do anything… He refuses to eat or drink…"
Kagome glared at the doctor. "Then you make him! Sheesh, I have to do everything around here! Where is he?"
"Well I won't let you see him if you're going to go yelling all about." Doctor Kadowaki put her hands on her hips and looked sternly down at the child. Kagome snapped her mouth shut, feeling her cheeks warm up. "That's better, child. If Squall were half as loud as you and you were half as quiet as him, I think the two of you might have something."
"I'm not loud," Kagome muttered and followed the doctor to one of the curtains surrounding her office space.
Doctor Kadowaki put her hand on the curtain but then said seriously, "You be extra quiet. He needs to rest." Kagome nodded and slipped between the curtains. The doctor followed her into the curtained area and set a seat just beside the bed. Leaning down over the bed, Doctor Kadowaki said, "Squall? There's someone here to see you…" Squall didn't respond.
Kagome moved to the chair and climbed up onto it. She looked at Squall and her eyes widened. He had fading bruises, and bite marks on his face, neck, and left arm. His right arm was in a plaster cast. He was curled up in the fetal position on the bed, staring straight toward Kagome with eyes that seemed to see nothing at all.
"Squally?" Kagome asked tentatively. She got no reply so she asked the doctor, "Why won't he say anything? And how come he's beat up? I thought fixing people was your job!"
"It's Sir Auron's orders, Kagome… his students are not allowed to be healed using magic, although he made an exception for the Pneumonia… and I don't know why he won't—"
She trailed off as Squall shifted, turning his eyes onto Kagome. She saw the frightened look he wore, and heard the scratching noise in his voice as he spoke for the first time in days. "Kagome, you're late…"
"Oh, dear me! I must inform the headmaster right away…" Doctor Kadowaki said but she bustled toward Squall instead and started preparing to examine him. Squall slapped her hand away. "Squall?" the older woman asked anxiously.
He said nothing, but looked down at the sheets of the bed. Kagome looked at Squall, then the doctor and told her, "Go away."
"Squall, I need to," the doctor began, but Kagome cut her off.
Kagome stood on the chair and jumped onto the bed. "Go away!" Kagome yelled at the doctor. The woman huffed but left the enclosure.
Squall tried to sit up, but Kagome saw he was unable to manage doing so. She helped him move the pillows to the best of her ability so he could prop himself up, and had him hold the Ice Flower while she did so. When her self set task was completed, Kagome situated herself beside him, staring intently at him.
Several moments of surprising silence passed before he scratched out, "You're upset…"
"I am not!" she said defensively before looking away from his blank stare. "Alright, fine… I am… But my best friend is hurt, so I should think I would be!" Squall looked away from her toward the curtain. "What happened?" She asked. She knew the story from the doctor, but that wasn't good enough for her. Not when she saw him… And so what if she was upset for more reasons than she was letting on, but who cared?
"It's none of your business," he attempted to say to her, although that certainly would not fly with her.
"It's none of my what?" Kagome reached out and pinched the flesh on Squall's upper chest and he yelped. "Of course its my business, you jerkface!" she yelled.
He shushed her quickly, "Keep it down, Kagome! You'll have the whole school listening in!"
"You bet I will! And I'll tell the whole school everything I just heard Headmaster Cid saying about you too, if you don't start talking!" Kagome bluffed.
Squall took the bait. "What did you hear?"
"Well that's obviously not your business!" Kagome sniffed.
"It is too." Squall insisted.
"It is not, and times a million!" He was silent for several long minutes before he gave in. She was glad he did first, because she was about to do so herself.
"Alright fine, I'll tell you, but you have to spill too," he reasoned, his curiosity too much to ignore. She nodded in agreement to that compromise and watched as he glanced at the ice flower. It still wasn't melting. In fact, the ice appeared thicker than it had at first.
Squall began slow, his voice still sounding sore. "Sir Auron took me and Seifer into the mountains to camp and train in cold weather. We set up camp and Seifer and me fought each other and the ground gave out beneath me. I fell a long way into a cave that glittered with ice and all these flowers were everywhere."
Kagome took the flower from Squall, glancing it over. It was now encased in a spike. It only confirmed what she heard earlier about him. He had to be a Natural Magi, and his magic was probably strongly based toward ice. Did that mean hers was too, because she made the flower a bit iced as well? Her magic was probably not too strong at any rate, since Squall did a lot more with just his touch. Not that she wanted to be a Sorcerer anyway.
Squall continued, "My arm broke, and all these creatures came at me… I ran, Kagome… I know you'll think I'm a chicken but it was scary… Everywhere I go, fiends always are there to attack me. I… I'm scared of fiends… So I ran and kept running, and then… I can't really explain her better than to say she had to be a goddess…She came from the ice… just walked right out of it. She was three times as tall as Sir Auron, and she was blue, and she felt like ice… but the fiends went away and she said she was Shiva, but she didn't look like the same Shiva who Instructor Eiko summoned…"
Enthralled by the story thus far, Kagome leaned forward causing Squall to wince and move his leg out of the way. "Oh, sorry, Squally…" she murmured.
"Stop calling me that…" Squall complained.
"Squally," she muttered and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Kaggy." He countered and glared at her half-heartedly, but she just giggled at him.
"You look like my nanny when she's drinking prune juice." He stuck his tongue out at her and she said, "What? It's true!"
"Anyway… If you're done interrupting me like always…"
"I don't always!" she said, interrupting him. He gave her a pointed look and she blushed. "Well, fine, I'll be quiet…" So she had interrupted him… that one time…
"Yes, you do that," he favored the arm in the cast, trying to scratch under it with no success—especially after she slapped his hand away. "It itches," he complained.
"You wouldn't let me scratch last year when I had a rash." She pointed out.
"Doctor Kadowaki told me not to let you." He said in his defense.
"The story," Kagome said impatiently.
"Fine… As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted—"
"Would you just tell the story?"
"Would you just shut up?" Kagome's lower lip pushed its way out, and unknowingly made her look uglier than normal. Squall continued, "Shiva picked me up and carried me for a long time. She was cold but the cold didn't bother me."
Kagome asked, "So how come you won't eat or drink anything?"
Squall was quiet for a moment but then he said, "She left me and all those fiends came back out. I can summon her again if I need her help; that's all she said before she disappeared." Squall shuddered and Kagome understood what he was saying.
"You couldn't summon her 'cause you haven't been taught to junction yet."
"I'm not you." Squall sniffed and brushed a hand over his eyes irritably. "You like this stuff… I just have to do it."
Kagome sat back, her mind processing what she'd overheard Headmaster Cid and Sir Auron talking about, and what Squall just told her. "Today I heard the geezer talking to Sir Auron… They said you and me are Natural Magi, Squally…"
"…I don't understand…" Squall admitted softly. "What does that mean?"
"Remember when I told you about Kikyou the greatest Warrior ever to live?" He nodded slowly, his eyes still shining with uncertainty. "She was a Natural Magi. She could use magic without junctioning, or without using bottled magic from the store. Me and you are like that, at least that's what the old man said."
"Fat lot of help that was," Squall muttered, looking ill at ease.
"But… the thing is, the Headmaster is gonna test you… I think they want to see how you do under pressure… and I think this could be a chance for you."
Squall looked at Kagome, his expression nervous. "A chance for what?"
"It's an opportunity… you know… if you don't want to be a SeeD… maybe you could talk to the old man. He said something about…" Kagome gulped, and paused to think for a moment. Did she really want to continue her thought? In the best interests of her best friend, she knew she needed to. It was as her father told her: Don't do anything unless you plan to do so with everything you are. If Squall didn't want this path, he would be putting himself and other people in danger.
"What?" Squall urged her to finish.
Kagome hugged her legs, looking away from him. "They said something about a Magic Guild, Squall… Cid could probably send you there instead… or else there's lots of families… you could live with them and be a normal kid with a normal family…"
Squall looked like he'd been slapped. "Go away from where you are…?"
"Well, I mean… I have to stay here… It's my only chance left. I went to Galbadia and Trabia, and neither of those schools kept me, and before that I had a lot of schools that I went to. I think using magic is bad and I hate the idea of using it. And then Sir Auron said something about us going crazy and I think the best way not to go crazy is if I don't use magic… Plus, I want to be a warrior, not some kind of Sorcerer like they said you are."
Squall shook his head, "I don't want to leave you, Kagome… they can't make me…"
"Well, Cid said he was going to take you out of the SeeD program… What else would you do here?" Squall shrugged but looked less certain still. "Well, look… if you want to stay, I think you should only do it because you want to be here… not so you and me can be together… We can always write to each other, and when we're all grown up we can see each other again. But being a warrior isn't something you should do unless you want to. Otherwise you'll get hurt or else the people you're trying to protect will get hurt."
Kagome looked at the silent boy for a long moment and then reached under her shirt, pulling out the Griever pendant from there and unclasping the toggle. "Here…" she said, unjunctioning the GF to take it off and put it around Squall's neck.
"No matter what happens or what you decide to do, you'll need this more than me. Junctioning isn't hard… you just have to open your mind to the GF and Griever'll do the rest." He looked confused as she wrapped it around him and tucked the toggle through one of the links in the chain. "You can practice, but don't tell anyone you have it… promise me…" He simply nodded.
Squall lifted the pendant into his view and looked at it, turning it to see the symbol of the lion's head atop the cross. "This is a GF?" he asked her. She nodded. He said, "I had a trinket just like this… It was all I had with me when I was…" he trailed off.
Kagome scooted closer, leaning against his propped up pillows beside him. "When what, Squally?" she asked softly, tucking the pendant under his robe. He shifted and leaned against her. Kagome brushed his bangs from his face like her nanny used to do for her when she was upset, like she could tell Squall was at the moment.
"When I was left at the orphanage… I remember sis saying it was my mother's, and that someday my father would find me 'cause he'd recognize it… but…" Kagome felt her shirt gather moisture but she didn't say anything about it or tease her friend. "But now, my father won't find me… because when we got out of the cave, it was missing…"
Kagome hugged him, causing him to wince, but he didn't make a sound of complaint. "Then I'll go find it." She wasn't sure she could, but she certainly would try… His stomach growled and she said, "You're gonna eat, young man!" just like her nanny would say to her, sans the 'man' part. "You're too skinny."
"I am not."
She pinched him and he yelped but he was too exhausted already from his weakened state. "Are too. Don't argue with me. I'll go get you a hot dog." He made a face. "Hot dogs are the best, and they'll have you better in no time!" she insisted.
Squall said, "Hot dogs are nasty. I'd rather not…"
The curtain to his enclosure was thrust open and quickly filled with people. Headmaster Cid was there with Doctor Kadowaki; she probably called him. Sir Auron and Ashe had also arrived. Their presence annoyed Kagome greatly, but when Ashe said, "Kagome, come with me," Kagome found herself moving instantly to obey the authority figure.
"Kagome, where are you going?" Squall asked in a small voice.
Kagome looked at him before hugging him. "I'm not going to say goodbye," she said, returning the words he'd said to her before summer began. "Saying goodbye would be pointless, right, princess?"
He glared at her and she jumped from the bed to the floor, landing with a thump. Turning, she reached up and grabbed the icicle containing the flower. "Ice princess!" she giggled before turning to the Headmaster, saluting him, and then racing ahead of Ashe out of the enclosure.
She didn't really want to leave him alone, but she knew she couldn't stay. She told herself things would be okay, but she worried he might not want to be a warrior. As much as she told him they could write, she still hoped to see him every day like she grew used to last year.
Ashe took her to get her uniforms—Ashe said nothing to the fact that Kagome was wider than the previous year—and lectured her for a few minutes for disobeying orders and leaving the dorm rooms. That night, Squall had to sleep in the infirmary with Doctor Kadowaki, and Ashe refused to let Kagome stay with him. She thought she would have gotten to see him in the next few days as well, but still she was unable to. The summer ended and cadets returned. School began; still Squall was in the infirmary.
Kagome had plenty of time to think, and her thoughts were very troubled. Seifer's bed remained empty all that time. She had no clue where he went to, but he was never in class or anywhere else.
A week later as Kagome and her seven other roommates prepared for the day, Ashe stepped in as she usually did every other day with mail. "Good morning, everyone," Ashe greeted them all pleasantly.
Kagome ignored Ashe. She was still upset that Ashe was firmly keeping check on her. She had tried upwards of a dozen times to sneak off to Squall, but every time she'd been caught. Ashe had eyes everywhere it seemed. Kagome buttoned her uniform shirt up as morning mail was delivered.
Ashe set a letter on Kagome's bed. "Here you go, Kagome," Ashe said, not unkindly before she turned around and went back to the dorm door. "You have six minutes to be ready, Cadets. Do not waste that time on your packages; they will still be there waiting for you when you return from the day's lessons." Ashe said that every day, and though others might have groaned, Kagome did not. She grabbed up the letter, figuring it was probably from Maria her nanny, and stuffed it in her satchel with her other things.
Kagome firmly tied on her school issued boots. Other students still needed help with their uniforms, but Kagome was completely independent of Ashe. It was something Ashe noted to the Headmaster once and Kagome overheard.
Quistis was first in line, and Ashe was knelt down assisting the blond in lacing her boots. Kagome joined the growing queue of cadets waiting to head to homeroom. The students who took longer than six minutes to join the line were given detention, and Ashe lectured the group about being punctual before leading them to class.
Kagome was unable to slip away, yet again. She made it to homeroom without being able to see Squall, yet again. Sitting back in her usual seat at the back of the classroom, she looked at Squall's empty chair. How long would he be in the hospital, she wondered.
Their homeroom teacher that year was Instructor Lulu. For some reason, Kagome had always thought Lulu looked strange in the SeeD uniform, but she had to admit that black definitely was Lulu's color. As soon as the cadets from two dorms were situated, Kagome realized someone had taken Squall's seat and she glared at the boy. She then noticed something strange: Seifer's seat across the aisle was also filled in.
Instructor Lulu went through role call and they were then given half an hour to proceed through their unfinished work. Since Kagome always had her homework complete at night before bed, she pulled out her letter and looked at it. The hand writing was too big and shaky to be from Maria. Turning it over, she found a return address on the back, and to her shock, Squall's name was the addresser.
Frowning, she read the address: Squall Leonhart, Magic Guild, 3204 Zanarkand Way, Galbadia City, Galbadia. Why was Squall mailing her from Galbadia? She looked back and reread 'Magic Guild' and her heart fell into her stomach. He left her, didn't he? He didn't want to be a SeeD… he would rather use magic, while she hated magic and wanted nothing to do with it.
She carefully opened the envelope, not wanting to destroy the return address. Pulling out the letter, she unfolded it and started reading.
Dear Kagome,
I did what you said and took my oppertonity. I don't know what I want, but I will figer it out and for now I told headmaster Cid I know I'm a sorcerer and I want to go to the magic guild. He told me he wood talk to them and then I was on my way to the train in Balamb the next day. The headmaster said there wasn't enuf time to see you first, but he gave me the address to send you letters.
The headmaster took me to the train station, and I had to ride by myself to Timber. Someone from the magic guild waited for me in Timber, and we got on another train and got off at a train stop near Galbadia City, then got in a car that waited there for us and drove the rest of the way.
There is less people who learn from the magic guild than from garden. There is less instrukers to. There is one girl who is a student here who is very quiet. She was very nice to me; I asked why she bothered and she said it is her duty as a princess to be kind to everyone. She says she's princess of burmesea or something, but I never heard of it. After the day finished, she was asking me a lot of questions so I told her it was none of her business and she wasn't very nice after that.
The work is hard to do, but I think I managed to junction the Griever GF you gave me. Just like I promised, I haven't said anything to anyone about it. I was keeping it under my shirt, and a instrukter noticed it. He tried taking it away since we're not allowed jewelry, but then I was afraid I would lose it so I summoned Griever and she came, swords for legs and arms and wings and she protected me. Now, no one will talk to me, even if that isn't a bad thing.
But Griever asked me why I had her, and I told her cause you gave me her. I thought I did something wrong, but she said I remind her of someone from long ago. Then two days later, a woman showed up. She said she was Paine, and we talked a lot… well, I talked, she listened, but I felt I could talk to her.
She comes back tommorrow too so I get to talk to her again. She wants to take me to lunch. I asked the magic guild master why she was coming, and he said I should expect a lot of visitors because they will find me a home.
I miss you a bunch already. I'm scared if they find me a home, I won't see you ever again. Please write back to me. Tell me I'm being dumb again. Squall Leonhart.
Kagome found the letter with a pre-addressed envelope that already had postage on it. Smiling at her stupid best friend, she took out a sheet of paper. Her penmanship was notably better than his, as was her grammar and spelling. She wrote out the letter and then wrote in every single bit of free space on the paper, "Don't be dumb!"
She told him about her classes. She told him how at some points in the day, Ashe walked her from the normal class to a class with older students so she could take a foreign language course and a computer course. She told him how the cadets in that class laughed at her in the beginning and told the instructor to stop joking around and send the 'little girl back to her classroom'. Kagome told him then how she—on the first day of class—outshone all the other students by knowing answers to questions they didn't simply because she remembered them from her text book.
She wrote about Seifer's mysterious disappearance, and of her summer, omitting the fact that her parents found a new 'special' child… one that could bring her parents together, while she could not. She also chose not to tell Squall of the strange experience she had with Quezecotl, deciding it was best left spoken in person… not trusting to write it in a letter that anyone could read…
For the most part, she wrote her summer as if she'd been taken to the school for additional learning, rather than saying she'd run away and was found by the headmistress.
She sent the letter off with a pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope enclosed later that day, utilizing the letter collection box in their dorm room.
When her first week of classes finished up, she spent the weekend getting up early and going to the recreation room to practice the things she learned over the summer with Rikku, Yuffie, Paine, and the other teachers at the Gullwing's School. She knew very well that she did most of the motions wrong, and continued to try correcting herself.
Wanting to be a warrior was a hard path to follow, but she continued to go down the path with determination.
Week two started up her training with Yuna once more, and Kagome trained diligently, however bad she seemed to be at it. Between her classes and the work they assigned, training with Yuna, and weekends spent training in the recreation room, she hardly had the time to fight imaginary fiends.
However, she quickly made habit of making time for writing to Squall every time he wrote to her. He would tell her of the things they were having him learn, and of the annoyances he had to deal with every day. She would return with stories of her own lessons and explain in great detail a fight she had gotten into during the week—usually after being called 'ugly'. Sure, she could stop herself from beating on people what with having her tourmaline gem pendant, but she chose not to. Because of that, she ended up in detention more often than not.
When he wrote to her, proclaiming no surprise at Seifer's disappearance, she wrote back about how Seifer would never have made it as a warrior anyway.
Squall continued to write to her about visits that he had from 'potential families', but the only one who seemed to come back to visit him was someone named 'Paine', who he appeared to take a liking to. Kagome was surprised when she received a picture along with one letter, and found that the woman who her best friend liked spending time with was the headmistress of the Gullwings' school in Esthar's lowest levels. She hadn't thought really about how his Paine and her Paine shared a name, until that moment.
The picture of Squall and Paine was of the two of them in a park in Galbadia. They looked…eerily similar… Neither of them smiled. Squall was throwing food to some ducks on a pond, and Paine was seated on a nearby bench with a cup—probably containing duck feed—in her hands as she watched Squall quite expressionlessly.
When Ashe saw that picture, she later gave Kagome a picture frame, and the picture went into the frame and sat next to Kagome's bed. Before too long, Kagome started going to the recreation room to practice in the morning after waking up. She practiced the things she learned with the Gullwings' at that time, because after two months of weekends, she felt she wasn't working hard enough. If she didn't do everything with her whole heart, her father would be displeased…
She wrote to Squall, telling him he needed to work on smiling more. She was oblivious to the fact that she hadn't smiled in a month.
She put everything she had into her training, and then one late Saturday morning when Kagome was in the Recreation Room practicing her punches against a dummy she was startled to find hands correcting her footing… even more stunned to note that it was Sephiroth, the elusive Senior Cadet, who had done it. She rushed into her training again with renewed vigor after that.
December came around and Kagome received a letter from Squall stating he'd been adopted by Paine, the woman who often came to visit him.
I'm really happy. I like Paine. She's very strong and a very nice lady.
With the letter, Squall had sent a dozen pictures of himself and Paine. Paine was actually smiling in one, although it was more like a smirk. Squall was smiling as if his face never knew a frown. Squall was hugging Paine.
In that same letter, Squall wrote to Kagome that he told the Guildmaster he wanted to go back to Balamb. Squall promised he wasn't coming back just to be with Kagome. He said he wanted to be strong like Paine, and fearless like Kagome; he also said that the students at the guild were jerks and he didn't like being there with them.
The letter excited Kagome and she stuck the pictures in her bedside table drawer. The one with smiling-Squall and smiling-Paine was put in the frame, replacing the other one.
To pass the time until Squall's return, she threw herself into her work and training. She was excelling to the front of all of her classes. Even the classes she took with older students, she had top ranks. Her only problem was the math class, which Quistis was beating her in again.
As for her physical training, she remained sub-par in that. She continued to have to go to detention for beating up other cadets, but the most notable time was for being up a fourteen-year-old after he called her fat and ugly. Sure, she could have stopped, but she felt he deserved it.
Thank you for reading! Sorry about the crappiness of the chapter, but I've had a tough time getting anything out at all, so hopefully it was okay anyway. Let me know what you thought, please...