Author's Notes: It's finally here, and only at the price of major woes at home. Then again, this seems to be the time of the year to write major woes so people will feel less bad about their own. Because, hey, look at it this way, your life at this moment has got to be a bit better than Nida and Squall's. Right? Of course I'm right. Sad to tell you I'm nearing the end of this, leaving two, maybe three proper chapters left if you include this one.

Good news? I've actually made a little soundtrack for these last few parts. Yes, I know it is lame, but I need something to write to, and the songs just ended up so 'this is how Nida feels', 'this is how Rei feels right here', and 'woah, they are probably both feeling this but not saying it'. I've enjoyed it, and if I could get my burner to work I'd have my own disk of Victim'eye'zed music to carry around.

Oh, and hail to the new wireless keyboard and mouse. Had to say it.


Chapter 7: Bad Days

He wasn't bound, he wasn't gagged, and he didn't even have a gun pointed to him. It wasn't those kind of things that kept Squall in his seat without moving. It wasn't those that kept him silent or made him behave. No, it was the threat against Nida that hung in the air like the sword of Damocles. One wrong move, one wrong word, and Nida would suffer for it, not Squall. He knew that. Rei knew that he knew that. It was the only thing that kept him from freaking out about the situation as it now stood.

If his internal clock was to be trusted, and it probably was, then it should be about midnight. There was no way of telling of course, because the windows were all painted black, the doors all closed, and it wasn't like there was some sort of clock to be found in an abandoned warehouse. That wasn't the point of an abandoned warehouse after all. The only things that were there were the chair he was sitting patiently in, Rei with his crazy grin, and the single lamp between them. There was the waiting of course, but that wasn't an actual thing.

"He won't come," Squall said softly. He had to say something. Even if he got hurt. He needed to KNOW what Rei intended to do. To him and to Nida. "The Nida I know won't come here. He'll let the police handle it!"

"You don't know the Nida I know," Rei chuckled. "You only know the face he dares to present to you. A man who acts kind and sweet. A man who seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. You don't know him as he really is."

"And you think you do? You've been following him from what I hear. And killing. Those poor people. Have you no regrets for that?"

Again the asian just smirked. "You really are foolish. Don't you understand? Nida has been working with me this whole time. He picked our marks. We had a bit of a fight. He wanted to kill you already. I said we needed you as an alibi. But we came up with a better one. The fight and him in jail. Me covering for him, him covering for me. And now we're using you as our card out of this hell hole. We'll disappear and start again somewhere else. Different victims, different style. But we'll keep going. Why do you think we've been to so many cities?"

"You're lying," Squall hissed angrily. He really hated being lied to. More than anything he hated people who couldn't find it in them to tell the truth. Maybe that was why he was such a good history major. He liked to find out both sides, to figure out what really happened, what the god's truth was.

"Now what would be the purpose of that Squall? I'm a very honest person. I will admit to killing those boys. But I will also admit that Nida was my partner in it all. I do it all for him after all, my sweet love. And before you die, you will get to see, for but a moment, what his love is really like. Poor thing, thinking you ever had a chance to know it. You were never worthy of my sweet little Nida."

"He's not yours!" Squall growled, jumping to his feet.

"That is where you are quite wrong Loire. You really don't know what is going on after all. Just a pitiful little outsider to our world. It is a shame it is that way of course, we don't much like outsiders…"

The young scholar whirled quickly towards the sound of the voice. A small side door had been opened and in it stood a man clad in black. He was beautiful like that, some sort of avenging angel or other. Nida had almost always made of point of not wearing black, said it made his already light skin look sickly pale. But, in truth, he practically glowed. Like that he looked as beautiful as he did terrible. Just like this Rei. But it was the words that made him shudder. Was Nida saying… Could it be true?

"My love. You came," Rei said, voice filled with joy. "Oh, I have been waiting for you! I'm so glad you have come. I was almost worried that you wouldn't. After that little argument…"

"I'm here aren't I?" Nida said, making his way closer to the waiting pair. "How could I resist after all? The offer you made to me was too sweet… My love."

There was little Squall could do but sit, unable to really understand what was going on. It was all just too much. Nida had been using him all along? It… It wasn't right. But there was Nida, slinking up to Rei, a soft and sweet smile on his face. The same smile that Squall had received some nights over a candle light dinner. The same smile he loved to see on that sweet face. But tainted, oh so tainted. There was none of the warmth he had known, but at the same time, all of the love. Squall couldn't understand it.

Or maybe he just didn't want to believe. Could he be blamed really? Years of love and devotion, suddenly forced away by watching the one you cared so dearly for kissing another man? A man that had tried to kill him, who had killed countless others. All at once Squall could feel his heart breaking, and his stomach protesting at the sight. He was going to be sick. There was nothing he could do but turn away.

"What?" Nida's voice came, mockingly sweet, "Can't you handle the truth Loire? You're nothing but a tool. And we are done with you. Be gone."

"But Nida," Rei protested, all the murderous intent suddenly fading into a very submissive nature, "I wanted to give him to you as a gift."

"The only gift I've ever needed was your love Rei," Nida purred, leaning against the slightly taller asian. "So can we just throw him to the street and go home?"

"Absolutely."

"Then be gone Loire," Nida laughed. "And be sure to tell that silly detective that while it was a lot of fun, he was just too easy to manipulate… You all were."

It was taking all of his will not to cry, and oh how his eyes stung. How could Nida be so cruel? He'd always been sweet and loving and so kind to him. This wasn't right, this couldn't be Nida. Nida loved him. Had said so many times. How could it all change so fast?

"Get out of here, before we add you to the list," Rei hissed, nipping at Nida's ear and raising his gun towards Squall.

All he could do was run, run for the door, for his life. He kept running too, when the tears finally came. He only made it a few blocks though, when all hell broke lose in the form of an explosion in the building he had just fled from. A blast that changed his life in an instant.