Chapter 16:
It was just past midnight, and Deling City was cloaked in darkness, only lit up by the numerous street lights.
The two young, male SeeDs were located on a ledge by the front of the President's residence, from which they could view the entire main street. A very empty main street, though. There were several guards, and a citizen or two would occasionally walk by, but otherwise it was dead.
One of the two was leaning against the wall, the other was pacing back and forth impatiently. It was the latter, of course, who spoke first.
"Man, I can't believe this!" Zell exclaimed, "For four days, we've been doing almost nothing else but sit here, and for four days, nothing's happened! I'm bored to death! This is pointless!"
Squall rolled his eyes and didn't reply.
"I mean, we're SeeDs! We're supposed to fight, not just hang around and watch out for enemies who don't exist," the blonde boy continued, "Don't you agree, Squall? We have better things to do, don't we? You should tell that Caraway guy that-"
"Zell," Squall put a hand to his forehead, briefly, then looked at his companion, "I know this is boring. But regardless of whether these rebels show up or not, we'll still get paid. We need the money, and we're hired for a week. Your whining doesn't do any good, so just sit down and shut up."
"Okay, okay!" Zell held his hands up, "Geez, Squall. Touchy!"
Not bothering to say anything else, Squall let himself slide down into a sitting position. He was just as fed up as Zell, only he didn't show it so clearly. Also, he knew the others were getting bored too, but there was nothing to do about it. All they could do was follow orders and wait.
At least he didn't have to face Rinoa at the moment, as she was on another side of the building. After he got to know the truth about his relation to Laguna, he had pulled away from her again, but not so much because of her as it was fear of what she was going to say. Surely, she'd ask him to speak with Laguna, and they'd just end up arguing again. The President of Esthar was one person Squall would rather stay as far away as possible from. Okay, so he did miss Ellone. It had been good to see her again, but he didn't need her the way he did before. Rinoa had taken that place now, and Ellone had hurt him one time too many to regain his trust. After all, she did seem happy with Laguna, and as long as she was happy, Squall was satisfied.
WHY she would be happy to live with Laguna was beyond his comprehension, though. In his eyes, Laguna was still a big fool - and now when things had been revealed – a big fool that couldn't be trusted. So many emotions had welled up in him that day. Anger, confusion, bitterness… and even a bit of hatred. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but at the same time, he was too proud and angry to show that he was wondering. He was afraid it would be misinterpreted as a sign of acceptance, and that was the last thing he wanted. Squall didn't want Laguna to try to be his friend. His buddy.
His father.
It was too late for that.
And he didn't want his friends to interfere. Still, the hurt look in Rinoa's eyes and the sad tone of her voice had almost made him crack, but his old self had held him back. What if Rinoa would leave him and hurt him in the same way everyone else had? Laguna's confession had ripped up wounds that had only just begun to heal. The difference was; while Raine, Ellone, and all the other children at the orphanage had no choice at the time but leave him, Laguna had known about him all the time, but he hadn't done anything about it.
Would he have wanted Laguna to raise him, anyway? Would he have wanted things to be different?
Where did all this hate come from?
The ground was hard to sit on and his back hurt from spending so many hours on this ledge. Grunting, Squall stood up, "You know, Zell, maybe you're right. I think we could need a break, an-"
"Squall, look!" Zell was pointing towards the street.
Turning around, Squall inwardly cursed at what he saw. An army of thirty or more rebel soldiers seemed to have popped out from nowhere and were rapidly approaching. The guards put up their defense, and within seconds, the battle had begun. Squall could see Quistis arrive from the left side of the building, Irvine, Xu and Nida running along with her. Obviously, they were going to join the fight in search of the rebel leaders.
"Come on, Squall, we gotta go help!" Zell was ready to run off, but Squall grabbed his arm.
"Wait!"
(There's something wrong here… Why would they attack a place so heavily guarded, and not even try to sneak in? There's no way they're going to get past the guards alive. And if the leaders are with them, they're going to be caught pretty soon.)
"Squall, come on!!!" Zell tugged his arm, "What's the matter?!"
(I don't buy it. I don't believe that two guys who have managed to make half of the population support them can be this stupid.)
More soldiers came running in, both rebel soldiers and Caraway's guards.
(The guards… The other sides are more or less left unprotected. It's a trap.)
"Zell, come with me," Squall started to climb down, then headed for the right side.
"What? Where the hell you going?"
"Zell, just follow me. I don't have time to explain," Squall paused and glanced at him, "And that's an order."
"All righty," shrugging to himself, Zell obeyed.
"Rinoa, what are you waiting for?" Selphie was jumping up and down, "All the action's at the front! I wanna go help!"
"Selphie… There's something… I don't know…," Rinoa had this strange feeling of someone or something watching them, but there was no one there. She felt reluctant about leaving the place, and was unsure whether she should trust her instincts or not, "I think there's something we've overlooked…"
"Like what?" the yellow-dressed girl looked around, "There's nothing here!"
"I know, but…," there was a movement. The lid that led down to the sewer was starting to open, "Selphie!" Rinoa's voice lowered to a whisper, "Over there. Look."
Two men emerged from the sewer, obviously a pair of rebel soldiers. Rinoa and Selphie quickly ducked down behind a bush as the two looked around for any possible threats, before signalizing to someone else under the lid. Two more men climbed up. One was young, with long, dark hair that almost reminded Rinoa of Squall, only this guy was older and less handsome. The other man was older than the first, probably well above thirty. His hair was equally dark, but short. His single eye peered hatefully up at the large building.
"It's them!" Selphie said excitedly, "It's the leaders! Xar and Lyach!"
"Not so loud, Selphie!" Rinoa hissed, but it was too late.
The four men all turned their gazes towards the bush, "There's someone there," one of the soldiers said.
"Kill them," Xar ordered, his ugly face set in a deep frown.
Rinoa took in a breath, getting ready to fight, but Selphie was quicker than her. Without warning, the spunky girl had leapt out of her hiding and was eagerly throwing her nunchaku at one of the soldiers. Rinoa rose, concentrating while the men were busy with Selphie, and then let the power flow through her and out of the tips of her fingers, striking the enemy hard.
"ULTIMA!"
It was enough to cause one of the soldiers to fall in defeat. Selphie was taking care of the remaining soldier, while Rinoa was trying to keep the two rebel brothers under control. Obviously, they were both good fighters, but not very experienced in magic. Still, they were strong, and the young Sorceress had a hard time casting spells and at the same time avoiding the bullets from Xar and Lyach's guns. She hastily cast Protect on herself.
Seeing the bullets didn't do much damage, Lyach frowned and let Xar take over for a moment while gathering his own powers. A Thunder spell hit Rinoa, almost throwing her off balance, but it was nothing compared to her own magic. Concentrating again, she cast Meteor on them, which proved to cause heavy damage. Lyach moaned in pain and flopped into a crumpled heap on the ground, but Xar got to his feet quicker than Rinoa had expected. Shooting her a hateful look, he turned and darted away.
"Stop him!" Selphie cried.
Rinoa tried to throw Flare, but Xar was already too far away. Besides, she was starting to feel … slightly nauseous.
"Well, at least we've got this guy!" Selphie stepped over and kicked the defenseless Lyach in the stomach, "Tough leader, huh? Well, that's how it goes when you try to kill the President," she turned away to go report her triumph to the others.
But Lyach wasn't as weak as he seemed. Slowly, he turned around, lifted his gun, and aimed at the retreating Selphie…
"No!" Before she could stop herself, Rinoa was casting another Ultima on Lyach, and when the explosion was over, he let out a soft whine and fell unconscious. Rinoa hoped she hadn't killed him – surely her father would like to see the one who wanted to murder him.
"Woah!" Selphie was wide eyed. Rinoa tried to say something, but was overwhelmed with the strange feeling again. Everything was spinning, the ground was swaying under her feet…
"Rinoa, are you okay?"
"I… I'm… dizzy…," was all the black haired Sorceress could say. Before she knew it, the world went black and she was out already before she hit the ground.
"Rinoa!" Squall rounded the corner just in time to see her fall. Immediately, he ran to her side, Zell tagging along behind him, "Selphie, what happened?"
"I don't know! One second she was fighting the mean brothers, the next she's falling over!" Selphie sounded distressed.
"Man, we'd better get her to Doctor Kadowaki," Zell said.
Selphie pointed to the man on the ground, "The other one got away."
Squall didn't spare Lyach much else but a glance. Instead, he lifted Rinoa's limp body from the ground as gently as he could, worry plain on his face as it shone through his frown.
(Not now, Rinoa… Don't leave. Please. I'm sorry…)
Chapter 17:
The rebel soldiers had been defeated and President Caraway had taken the very weak Lyach as prisoner, but he was certain this wouldn't be the last they would see of Xar and his army. This thought, however, was not what was troubling Squall and his friends as they were hurriedly escorted to the beach where Garden picked them up – Rinoa was still unconscious.
Five worried SeeDs were waiting impatiently in the hall outside the infirmary. The sun was barely rising in the east, and none of them had gotten any sleep this night. They were tired from fighting, but wouldn't go to rest before they knew how Rinoa was doing.
Irvine had his arms wrapped around Selphie's waist. She was staring impatiently at the door leading to Doctor Kadowaki's office. Quistis was silent, exchanging worried glances with Zell now and then. Squall seemed more impatient and exhausted than any of them as he paced back and forth – something Zell usually did, not him. He hadn't even fought the night before, but his worry for Rinoa was wearing him out. The last time she had fainted, she was possessed by Ultimecia. Was this something similar happening again? When she woke up, would she be their enemy? Or was she just very sick? Sick… Would she die?
He bit his lip at the thought.
Finally, the door opened and the Doctor stepped outside. All eyes went to her, and Kadowaki was truly surprised by the obvious worry in Squall's voice as he asked, "Is she all right?"
"What happened to her?" Zell asked.
"I feel so guilty… I should have helped her," Selphie said quietly.
Irvine hugged her more tightly, "Hey, it wasn't your fault, babe…"
The Doctor held her hands up for silence, "Calm down, young friends. Rinoa is just fine."
The tension in the room fell as everybody let out a breath of relief.
(Thank God…)
"The reason she passed out was probably that she strained herself too much during the fight. I'm no expert on Sorceresses, but my guess is that she's not quite used to the power of her magic yet. Otherwise, she has a few wounds from the bullets, but none of them hit her directly," the Doctor smiled at Squall, who had put on his usual blank expression again once he heard Rinoa was fine, "It's not good for her to fight so much in her state."
He blinked in confusion, "In 'her state'?"
She shook her head, "Never mind. Go inside. She wants to see you," she glanced at the others, "Don't worry, you'll get your chance later. Go get some sleep."
Irvine escorted a very tired Selphie to her room, while Zell headed to the cafeteria to see if there were any hot dogs left. Quistis lingered behind for a moment and stepped over to Squall.
"Show her that you care," she whispered, "You hurt her."
Frowning, Squall nodded lightly and walked into the infirmary.
Rinoa blinked her brown eyes open, and her face visibly lit up as she saw the boy sitting by the bed, "Squall…"
"Hey…," he shifted in his seat, seeming to feel a little uncomfortable, but reached out with a hand and stroked her cheek, "You had me worried there."
She smiled weakly, "I'm sorry I ruined your cool exterior," she teased, "But you don't need to worry. I'm fine."
"Doctor Kadowaki said you shouldn't fight so much. You're not used to your Sorceress powers yet."
Suddenly, Rinoa's smile faded and a strange expression crossed her face, "No… It's not that…"
He frowned, "What do you mean?"
"It's not because of my Sorceress powers I shouldn't fight… It's… I…," she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. How was she going to tell him? How would he react? She wasn't even sure how she felt about it, yet. It was all so confusing.
(What is she talking about? She looks like she's in pain… Is she sick? Is there something Doctor Kadowaki didn't tell me?)
"Rinoa," he took her hand and squeezed it, "Tell me. What's wrong?"
She looked up at him. God, he confused her so. He had been so caring and gentle, then he had practically ignored her the last week, only to show such affection again now. How would she be able to stand this? He only showed his feelings when he felt like it – most of the time he locked them up. Like he was locking up his emotions about Laguna being his father. What would he say now? Would he hate her? Leave her? What?
(Is she angry at me still? …It must be something really serious. She looks so worried. Come on, Rinoa, please tell me. Whatever it is, we'll get through it. I won't let you go. I can't.)
"Squall," she took his hands, turned around in bed to face him fully, and looked directly into his eyes. Her own were filled with confusion, worry and a hint of hope, "Squall… I'm… I'm… pregnant."
… Game over.
The words struck him harder than any blow during fight, and for a second, Rinoa thought he was going to faint. His grip on her hands loosened, and he limply leaned back in his chair.
(This can't be happening…)
(Not now.)
(It was only one night. How could…?)
(What will Cid say? It's reason enough to expel us both from Garden.)
(He wouldn't do that, would he?)
(God, what am I thinking? Who cares about Cid. Rinoa is pregnant. Rinoa is PREGNANT!)
(And I'm… I'm the… father.)
(I'll barely be 18 when it's born. I'm going to be a father before I'm adult myself.)
(Why now? Why me? Why does everything happen at once?!)
Rinoa was concerned. She had seen many sides of Squall, but never before had she seen him look so disturbed. He was still staring at her as if she had just told him she was an alien, "Squall, are you all right?" her voice was trembling, "Say something. Please?" …She was so nervous. One thing was for sure; he wasn't happy about this. Why should he be? She didn't want it to happen either, but it was obviously too late.
He blinked, once, and focused on her again, "I…"
(…am not ready for this.)
(…didn't want this to happen now.)
(…don't know what to do.)
"I… I… think I need… some fresh air."
Feeling sick, Squall rose and fled the room.
Rinoa started to call him back, but stopped herself before the words could escape her. Putting her face in her hands, she sighed heavily. While she was hurt, she couldn't blame Squall for his reaction. She realized he had just barely begun to behave like someone his age should, when the news from Laguna had put a quick end to that. Now, she had killed his last hope of ever being somewhat like a normal teenager with these news. He couldn't relax as a Commander, and he couldn't relax around her.
And she… was she ready to be a mother? No way. She couldn't even imagine the responsibility this meant, and at the moment, she failed to see anything positive about the situation. It was just one night… Couldn't they even have that together without having to face such consequences?
Warm tears of regret spilled from the young Sorceress' eyes.
Chapter 18:
As usual, rumors spread rapidly throughout Balamb Garden. Quistis had seen Squall leave the infirmary in a haste, and she went to visit Rinoa – who had poured out her story to her in a fit of sobs. Quistis had barely managed to calm her down for the moment and ordered her to get some sleep, before meeting up with the rest of her friends. Selphie was just staring in disbelief, while Irvine and Zell – after getting over the first shock – were cracking jokes about how 'Squall really did it that night'. Quistis simply glared at them.
Eventually, the news reached the Kramer couple as well. Disappointed and upset, Cid had been ready to seek out Squall and reprimand him, but Edea stopped him before he could walk out of his office.
"It's better if I talk with him first," she said, "I can imagine he's pretty upset himself."
And as usual, Cid had to give his wife right.
No one really knew where Squall had went off to, but Edea eventually found some students who had seen him head into the Training Center. From there on, it wasn't too hard to find him. The huge t-rexaur carcass lying in the middle of the training area was a pretty obvious clue. Poor animal, Edea thought. So this is how he lets out his frustration…
Soon afterwards, she found Squall sitting on one of the numerous rocks, in the shadow of a large tree. He was fiddling with his gunblade, hacking the tip into the rock, and the frown on his face seemed even more troubled than usual. Killing the t-rexaur hadn't done much to help him.
"Squall…"
Somewhat startled, he looked up at the woman who had once raised him, "Matron… I'd rather be alone right now. You shouldn't be in here anyway. There's real monsters here, you know."
She put her hands on her hips and smirked, "Don't you tell ME what to do. I can see when my boy has a problem," Edea walked closer and sat on the rock next to him.
Squall didn't say anything. He just stared at the ground.
"You didn't expect this, did you?" she put a hand on his shoulder. God, how he hated that false gesture of sympathy.
"Of course I didn't expect it," he mumbled. What kind of question was that?
"I understand that you're frightened, and that you didn't want this… But answer me this one question: You love Rinoa, right?"
He frowned deeper, pausing for a moment, then he shrugged, "I suppose…"
"Then the rest shouldn't be so hard. If you really love her, you'd want to have a baby with her someday anyway, wouldn't you?" Edea titled her head.
(How should I know? I hadn't thought that far ahead. I hadn't even considered marrying her.)
"Yeah, whatever."
"Squall," she narrowed her eyes, flipping her dark hair behind her shoulder and leaning forward in an attempt at meeting his gaze, "You can't change it now. Rinoa needs you. At this moment, she might even think you never want to see her again. Your friends are confused, and I won't lie to you: my husband is quite upset. So if even you can't try to handle this, then who will?"
Edea stood up, "It's not the end of the world… I've raised a lot of children, including you. I'm not saying it will be easy, but it will bring you a lot of happiness, too. Don't forget that you have all your friends to rely on if you need help."
(Oh, give me a break…)
She looked around, gave his shoulder a final pat, and said, "Go talk with Rinoa."
Squall watched Edea leave, partly to make sure she didn't run into any monsters. He thought about what he had promised Rinoa in his mind earlier today, before he learned what was 'wrong' with her.
(Whatever it is, we'll get through it.)
(Look at me… I'm more of a coward than Laguna is.)
It was strange. He had fought an evil Sorceress from the future without blinking, but he found it more frightening to imagine himself as a family man. The role simply didn't fit him. Edea was right, though - there was no way to undo the damage that was already done. A part of him was growing inside Rinoa, and he had no one but himself to blame for it.
Poor Rinoa… He had seen her expression when he ran out of the room. What would she think of him?
Squall guessed there was no other choice for him but to grit his teeth and get through it, push back any worries he might have, as he always did. The thought didn't help much, though. He was still confused and concerned, but the worst shock had started to fade.
He clenched his fists, then put the gunblade away and stood up, a new look of determination on his face.
Rinoa didn't feel ready to meet the others yet, but Doctor Kadowaki had clearly told her that she was fine and didn't need to stay in the infirmary any longer. Reluctantly, she walked through the hall of Balamb Garden, hoping she would be able to sneak back to her room without running into anyone.
Of course, she wasn't that lucky.
"Hey, Rinoa!" Zell called as he came running out from the cafeteria, Selphie following behind him.
She sighed and turned to them, rubbing her eyes with her hands. She had taken a glance at herself in the mirror, and she looked awful. Her clothes were dirty after the fight, her face looked tired and her eyes were red, and her hair was standing out in all directions.
"Wow! So, Rinoa… you're really… like, you know!" Selphie exclaimed, looking at Rinoa's stomach – which, of course, was still completely flat.
"Man, I didn't know Squall had it in him!" Zell said.
Rinoa winced as Zell said Squall's name. She had probably scared him away for good now, "…Do you… have you seen him since this morning?" she asked, timidly.
"Nope," Selphie answered, "Quistis saw him practically run out of the infirmary and no one's seen him since."
Feeling her heart sink, Rinoa looked at the floor, "Oh…"
Suddenly, Zell's expression changed to mild surprise and he seemed about to say something, but stopped before the words could form. He was staring at something behind Rinoa's back, but she didn't get time to turn around as she felt someone gently grab at her left arm. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked straight into Squall's expressionless face.
Selphie hopped back and forth a bit nervously, "Um, I should… go see Irvine. Yup, that's what I'll do! Tee hee!" she smiled at Rinoa, then quickly walked away.
Rinoa and Squall were just looking at each other.
Zell stood there for a while, looking after Selphie, "Uh, what's with her…," it took him another couple of seconds to figure out why the girl had left so suddenly, but when he looked back at the couple, he understood, "Oh! Yeah… I kind of… promised Bella a date when I came back, so… I better go. Yeah. Bye," he grinned sheepishly and ran towards the dormitory.
Squall glared faintly in Zell's direction, then looked around. There weren't any students present. Most of them were at class. Seeing they were alone, he let his arms slip around Rinoa's waist, but she pulled back from him and looked at the floor again.
"Rinoa… about this morning…"
"You don't have to say it, Squall," she whispered, wrapping her own arms around her stomach, "You don't want the baby," she tried to say it coldly as if she didn't care, but her voice came out full of pain.
"No, no, it's not that…," he sighed, putting a hand to his forehead.
(How the hell do you deal with this sort of thing? What does she want? Did she expect me to leap with joy?)
"Look… Rinoa…," he stepped closer to her, "All I know… is that I want to be with you. I used to think that all I wanted was to be a SeeD, but… you're the one that took away that empty feeling inside of me. I'm sorry for the way I've acted for the last couple of weeks… We can do this, okay?"
Rinoa watched him for a moment, then sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head against his chest, and he put his arms around her again. She knew it was difficult for him to express his feelings, and every time he made these very rare and awkward little talks, she couldn't help but believe he really did love her, "I'm scared, Squall…"
"I know…"
(So am I.)
Barely audible, Rinoa whispered, "I love you."
She didn't expect him to reply, and he didn't – He didn't really have to. Squall kissed her forehead and they stood there hugging each other for a while, until class was over a few minutes later and students started to appear in the hall. Then he took her hand and followed her back to the dorms. They both needed to rest.
Chapter 19:
Quistis was sitting in the cafeteria, staring out of the window. She had managed to find a secluded table of her own over in a corner, but guessed it was only a matter of time before some students from her infamous fan club would hunt her down and pester her with their questions and admiring looks. The young woman sighed heavily and sipped to her coffee.
The last four months had been tiring. Not because of her work – in fact, after receiving the pay for the mission in Deling, Garden was looking forward to a brighter future – but because of her friends. All of them were so happy, all of a sudden. Irvine and Selphie were seriously involved, now, and Selphie would make sure her boyfriend's eyes didn't trail to other girls. Of course, she didn't manage to change his nature completely, but after getting slapped a few times when looking a bit too long on other female Garden students, Irvine had eventually begun to learn. Zell was drop-dead in love with the 'library girl', Bella. Quistis was happy for him, of course, but she almost felt sick when she walked past the two of them while they were giving each other cute, little compliments and giggling like children.
Then there were Squall and Rinoa. Calling Squall 'happy' would be to exaggerate – he was still the Squall she knew, who took his job so seriously it almost frightened her and acted asocial towards everybody but his closest friends. But she could swear she would see him smile almost every day now. The fact that Rinoa was pregnant didn't seem to scare him as much any longer. The first month had been bad, Quistis recalled. He had been visibly worried out of his mind, and he and Rinoa would argue rather often. Headmaster Cid had given both Squall and Rinoa a rather harsh lecture because of their irresponsibility, but afterwards, Edea managed to talk him into letting the young couple share the same room. After all, Squall deserved a bigger room, since he was a Commander, Edea had reasoned.
Quistis had doubted Squall would like the idea of sharing room with another person again, but now he seemed to get along with Rinoa better than ever before. Everybody was watching Rinoa's growing belly with excitement, and Selphie kept squealing excitedly about how she wanted a lot of children someday. All of them had been surprised when Quistis had coldly excused herself and left.
It was all too much. Everybody – everybody, but her, had someone to love. It was such a selfish and childish thought, she knew that, but Quistis just couldn't help it. She had a bunch of admirers who would love to go out with her, but she didn't want a guy who was just helplessly in love with her beauty and her SeeD skills. She wanted someone who could love what was inside of her, and there didn't seem to be anyone like that around. There was a time when she thought she was in love with Squall, but she had dismissed that thought and said it was a big sisterly kind of love, nothing more. Still, she couldn't deny that she - more often than not - would feel a sharp pang of jealously when she saw Squall and Rinoa share a tender moment. She would wish that was her he was kissing, then the next second she would feel ashamed of herself and walk away.
"Quistis?" a female voice said softly, interrupting her dark thoughts.
Quistis looked up, meeting the friendly face and brown eyes of Xu. She was dressed in her SeeD uniform as usual, and was smiling. Xu was one of Quistis' best friends, apart from her companions whom she had aided in the battle with Ultimecia. She was a few years older than Quistis, but they had graduated at the same time and had been friends ever since.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Xu, I didn't see you…"
"That's perfectly all right," Xu answered, still smiling, "Mind if I join you?"
The younger female shook her head, and Xu pulled out a chair and sat down, taking a sip from her own cup of coffee.
"So, any news?" Quistis asked. Xu often helped the Headmaster with organizing missions and field exams, and she usually knew what was going on in the upper levels of the Garden, even better than Quistis and her friends.
"Well, things are getting pretty tense in Galbadia, apparently," Xu told her, "They're holding that Lyach fellow as prisoner and tried to question him, but he simply wouldn't let out any information at all, even when they tried to force him."
Quistis swallowed. She knew of Galbadia's ways to make people talk, and as Squall had experienced in the D-District prison, they weren't very pleasant.
"Anyway," Xu continued, "They can't find Xar anywhere, and the rebels are starting to build up their forces again. In addition to that, small groups of the population have started to argue amongst themselves. It's the poor against the rich, it seems. The less fortunate of the people are beginning to disagree with President Caraway's way of ruling, because its in favor of the rich ones' lifestyle. Everything's a big mess," she shook her head and smirked, "The GOOD thing about that is that they're going to need SeeD for plenty of missions, small as well as big, and as we have a large group ready for graduation soon, we are prepared."
Xu kept on talking and Quistis wasn't really listening, as she looked down at her coffee which was starting to get cold.
"…Trabia Garden is doing better since we helped with their funding, and they expect to be done rebuilding in a couple of years. Galbadia Garden is still missing, but I hear some of its former students are going to be transferred here, and… Quistis? Are you with me?"
Quistis blinked and snapped out of her own, little world again, "Huh?"
Xu frowned, "Quistis, is there something bothering you? Come on, you're even more absentminded than Squall."
"Sorry, sorry," Quistis shook her head and sighed, "It's nothing, really… It's just that I've been a little depressed lately. I guess I feel like I'm not important around here anymore…"
The other woman was silent for a moment, then she rubbed her chin thoughtfully with a hand, before saying, "You know, I've heard some more gossip up at Cid's office as well. I don't think I'm supposed to tell you this yet, but…," she grinned slightly, and Quistis wondered what she was talking about.
"When Garden Master NORG was still here, his faculty did the great mistake of taking the instructor license away from one of our finest instructors. They said she wasn't much of a leader type, and at the time, Headmaster Cid and I agreed with them. But now… I believe that young woman has gained the experience she needs. And apparently, Cid thinks so as well."
Quistis stared at her friend in disbelief, "You mean…"
"…you're going to be Instructor Trepe again," Xu smiled warmly, "If you want to, that is."
"If I want to? I'd love to!" Quistis exclaimed, which caused a few other students to turn their heads and look at her. She just smiled at them and looked back at Xu, "There's nothing I want more."
Well, it didn't change the fact she was still lonely, but being an instructor was something she enjoyed a lot and she had been very upset when it was taken away from her. She looked forward to teaching young students again.
Xu grinned, "Feel better? I just hope Cid won't be too upset that I told you."
Quistis giggled, "The best thing is, now I get to make sure Irvine doesn't cheat."
"Oh?" Xu cocked an eyebrow.
"Didn't you hear? I guess even you miss out on some gossip, Xu… Irvine is finally taking the written exam next week to become a real SeeD," Quistis said, "He doesn't need a field exam. It should be pretty obvious why."
Xu laughed and nodded, "Well, tell him good luck. I have to get back to the office," she rose, leaving the empty coffee cup on the table.
"I will," Quistis giggled again and leaned back in her chair. It was going to be a good day after all.
Chapter 20:
There was an open, flat area on the edge of Balamb Town, and that was where he was trying to build a small house. Of course, he had never done anything that even resembled building a house before, but could hardly afford the material and could certainly not hire anyone to do the job for him.
The stones simply wouldn't lie as he wanted them to, and when he looked at his work, he saw a bunch of rocks and wood that looked nothing like a house, and he felt ready to give up. In a sudden flash of anger, he kicked the stones he has just placed down, causing both the stones to fall and his foot to hurt. Cursing loudly, he flopped down on the ground and put his head in his hands.
He couldn't do this. He couldn't put everything behind him as if it hadn't happened, he couldn't start all over again as some ordinary fisherman living an ordinary life in an ordinary, little house in an ordinary town. It didn't work that way.
Had he been alone, he would have gone insane a long time ago. But, fortunately for him, he wasn't.
Someone's arms were suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind, and as on instinct, he flipped around to defend himself. But before he could throw a punch, he saw it was just her. He started to say something, but then just shook his head and turned away again, knowing what she was going to say and not wanting to hear it.
She wouldn't let him ignore her, though. Not anymore. Today she was determined to stop being a coward, and not let him push her away. As usual, she sat down next to him, folding her legs beneath her, and watched him.
Eventually, he got tired of being stared at, and turned to her, "What do you want?"
"HELP," was the short reply, and she continued to watch him.
"I don't need any help."
"YES."
"No, I'm fine. I just had a little… accident, that's all," he absently rubbed his right foot.
She didn't seem convinced, but she stood up and he thought she was going to leave. No such luck, though. She just slipped around him and placed her hands on his shoulders, starting to give him a massage.
"Mmm… Don't do that," he said, but didn't sound like he meant it. She smiled.
"Why are you so good to me?" he asked, all of a sudden, looking over his shoulder and up at her.
She paused, looking uncertain, then she sat down by his side again, "CARE."
"But that's what I mean," he argued, "Why do you care?"
Instead of giving a verbal reply, she lifted her hand and let a single finger slip down his cheek. How long hadn't she wanted to do that? She had always feared his reaction. But he didn't seem to dislike it, in fact, he just stared at her.
And she thought it was all a dream when he was the one to lean forward first, but when his lips met hers, she realized it was just a dream coming true.
The door to President Loire's office flew open.
"Laguna, you've been pacing back and forth in your office for the last five months. If you don't pull yourself together, there's going to be a hole in the floor!" Kiros complained.
"……" said Ward.
"Yeah, like Ward said, just go see the boy!"
Laguna seemed a bit startled as he looked at his two friends, but at their last comment, he just shook his head and walked over to his chair, sitting down and facing the window, "I can't go see him. Don't you remember? The way he looked at me, I think he'd rather see me burn in hell."
"Well, right now, I almost do agree with him," Kiros frowned and walked over to Laguna, blocking his view to the window, "You're doing the same thing all over again, Laguna. Hiding here and using your duties as an excuse while letting your own guilt drive you crazy. But guess what, Mr. President? This country is running rather smoothly by itself now. I am SURE we will survive without you for a few days."
"No, this isn't the same," Laguna stood up again, moving away from Kiros and stopping in the middle of the room to stare at the wall, "Last time… That was different. He doesn't need me now. Kiros, the kid saved the universe. What does he need me for? He's bitter and he has every right to be that, so I'll just leave him alone."
"……" Ward mumbled.
Laguna's eyes snapped up to him, "What do you mean 'see your grandchild'? Hey, wait a…," his face went pale, "Do you mean that…?"
"Seems like your bloodline will continue, Laguna," Kiros said slyly.
"Wow…," was everything the President could say, "Wow… That's…"
"Great? Wonderful?" Kiros watched him move over to lean on his desk for support, "Won't do much good if you never get to see it, will it?"
Laguna shook his head, "I'll go if I'm invited," he said, still a bit dazed by the news, "Otherwise, I'm staying right here."
Kiros shook his head and sighed, "Come on, Ward, let's go. This is like talking to a wall..."