Disclaimer: After searching around my parent's house, all that I've found
that actually belongs to me besides the clothes on my back is the stereo,
playstation, and dog........wish I owned Final Fantasy VIII. Guess I can't
have everything.
Author's notes- this one was fun. I guess that's all I really have to say about this chapter. Oh yeah...there are some references to things going on in Irvine and Zell's life in this chapter. They'll be explained more in depth later, but not right now. And not in this fic for that matter. I've got a whole series of fics waiting to be uploaded. Each one deals with a different character, and each one corresponds to one another. Hope I can make it work. Anyway thoughts are '...' and spoken words "..." Lapse of time ~*~*~*~*~ Enjoy, I hope.
Onslaught of the Antagonist
The morning had went by insanely slow, and Rinoa leaving him alone with only Angelo didn't speed things up. Squall rested his head on the foot of his bed and numbly stroked the dog's head. Under his palm, Angelo squirmed a little closer so that he could rest his head on Squall's lap. Squall sighed and continued stroking the animal. It was this repetitive hand movement that was keeping him awake.
Rinoa had gone out with Selphie, Quistis, and Chloe, the library girl, on a shopping trip in Deling. She hadn't wanted to go at first, but he had tried to be a sensitive boyfriend and told her he'd be fine. Sure he was fine. That feeling diminished as soon as the dormroom door closed. He sat silently as he listened to Angelo snore. He sighed again and wondered how much time it had been since she'd left. Squall had always considered himself a loner, at least before the Ultimecia incident. He'd thought that a few hours alone would do him good. He needed time to think.
Unfortunately he was discovering how wrong his assumption was. The more time that seemed to pass by the more paranoid he was becoming. He should've known that this would happen. Being left to only the company of his thoughts brought back the disturbing insecurities that were mounting in his mind. It had been nearly three months since the evening at the ball when Fujin had pulled him aside and said those horrid four words. 'He still loves her,' They were driving him crazy. He worried about Seifer every minute Rin was away from him.
"Could Seifer be the one Rin was going out with? No," Squall chided himself for even assuming she'd lie to him. "Irvine just called because she and Selphie had just left to get Quistis," Squall spoke quietly. He felt Angelo raise his head up and utter a little whine. "Yeah I know she wouldn't leave us."
Squall adverted his thoughts to Irvine and Selphie instead. It was right after the SeeD inauguration ball that Irvine had told a few select people that he had a kid. He'd thought that Irvine was joking, everyone in their group had, except Selphie. Squall still wasn't sure if he believed it, he'd never heard the kid running around, much less held the thing. Without his sight to prove him otherwise, Squall still believed that Irvine was just pulling their legs. He had noticed Rinoa talking a lot here lately about their future. She hadn't really done that excessively until Irvine's announcement. Squall wasn't so sure about being a father or anything like that, but Rinoa's recent talk did assure him of one thing; she wasn't planning on leaving him.
'That just proves how silly it is for me to fret over Seifer,' Squall thought. 'He's always competed with me and he's always tried to take what I want. But he won't get Rin. I'll die first.' He was shocked at his own train-of-thought and sat quietly; thinking only of what he'd just realized. A few knocks brought him from his contemplations, followed by the door sliding open. Two sets of footsteps entered; one sounding a bit more energetic than the other.
"Hey man!" Zell announced his arrival as he hopped onto the bed. The mattress under Squall bounced a bit, sending a panicked Angelo to run for cover in the bathroom.
'Poor dog,' Squall thought of how nervous the animal had become around him and his friends.
"No time for courtesies," Irvine interrupted. "We've only got two hours."
"Two hours....for what?" Squall asked; suddenly worried about their presence.
"We're gonna go train!" Zell could barely control his excitement.
"I thought you guys were just coming here? Wait a minute Zell. You're not even supposed to be in the training center. Didn't you manage to get one of you lacerations infected or something?" Squall asked.
"Details," Zell countered. "Besides, its healing up fine."
"Look, we came here to bust you out of this place. You have to be going insane just sitting in this room all the time," Irvine replied nonchalantly. The sound of shifting boxes and a few loud thumps made Squall uneasy.
"I work with Cid some in his office," Squall tried to argue.
"Psh," Irvine answered. "Doesn't count."
"What are you doing?" He asked as he stood up and hurried over to where the noise was resonating from. He grabbed what he assumed to be Zell's shoulder, it was lower than his own, and pulled him backwards.
"Hey?" He heard Zell cry out before he landed on the floor.
"What are you looking for?" Squall asked as he pushed Irvine away from the closet. He heard the heavy heels of the cowboy's boots as he backed away quickly.
"Where's your gunblade?" Irvine finally asked.
"What?" Squall asked in disbelief. 'He can't honestly expect me to wield that, can he?' Squall found himself pointing to the bed before he had time to really comprehend what they were expecting him to do. A loud thud echoed as he heard Zell groan as he no doubt was attempting to crawl under the bed.
"Got it!" Zell's voice sounded muffled from his position on the floor. "Damn this thing is heavy." Squall rolled his eyes to his friend's complaining.
"Let me have it," Squall reached out his hand until the case's handle was placed in his palm. He easily hefted the case up onto the desk and flipped the latches open with his thumbs. Behind him he heard both Irvine and Zell take a few steps backwards. Squall grinned a bit to himself as he pulled the blade from it's case and swung it around. He pulled it up to his chest and for the first time in months, ran his fingertips along the side of the cold broad blade. The metal was slick and smooth to the touch. Part of him longed to be able to wield it in battle again; to use it as deftly as if it were but an extention of his own arm.
"So.......you want to go or what?" Irvine asked.
"We'll only fight grats if you want," Zell piped up. Squall ran his hand along the blade once again, admiring how it felt.
"Why not?" He finally answered.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The air of the training center was thick and heavy. Squall inhaled it deeply noting that it almost had a suffocating thickness about it. Whenever they left he'd have to get someone to readjust the environmental controls. It was also hot and humid. He hadn't even begun to train and he was starting to sweat. 'Good thing I chose not to wear the leather,' Squall thought to himself. In front of him he heard Zell's normally quick footsteps come to a sudden stop.
"Looks like we have a grat," Irvine announced from behind him. Squall could hear his friends fall into position beside him. Squall swung Lionheart out in front of him and prepared himself for a fight even though he sincerely doubted that he'd get a swing at it. Zell cried out and launched himself forward. "Watch out for its arms!" Irvine yelled. Squall jumped backwards but was still clipped by the tip of the monster's arm. He was knocked face first on the ground. Squall grimaced as he expected to have landed on his gunblade. When he didn't, he sat up and groped for it on the ground.
He felt something familiar bump into the side of his cheek. He froze while he tried to figure out what it was. It tapped his cheek again, and then ran under his chin to tilt his head up. Squall swatted at it, and realized it was his gunblade handle when his hand made contact with its grips. He wrapped his right hand around the handle and then knelt there as he tried to figure out who was holding the other end.
"Booya!" Zell cried out from behind him.
"Hey Squall, I didn't realize grats could fall so fast," Irvine's voice called out from behind him as well. Squall tilted his head back a bit further. A familiar smell, whether it was a cologne or shampoo, Squall wasn't sure. Neverthless he realized who it was and jumped up to his feet, pulling his gunblade with him. Seifer.
"That was a too easy," Zell was still going on behind him.
"Let's hope so," Seifer finally spoke. Behind him, Squall could hear Irvine and Zell turning around quickly. In front of him, Squall could hear Seifer snicker.
"Seifer," Squall said trying to mask the relief and anxiety his presence brought. 'Good. If he's here he can't be bothering Rin.' Squall released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. 'He's probably looking for a fight.' Seifer didn't say anything at first, just paced around Squall.
"Cid'll be pissed when he finds out what the Commander of his garden's been doing," Seifer stated. "He might get hurt." Seifer's voice mocked him.
"Seifer," Squall's voice came out as a slight groan which earned him a laugh from the man in front of him.
"What's wrong...Commander?" Seifer's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Squall didn't answer, he just turned and walked towards Irvine and Zell. "Haven't seen you in months. Not even at mission briefings." Seifer continued to taunt.
"Just ignore him man," Zell said as Squall reached him.
"Sure, ignore him," Seifer mocked. "Sure, just ignore me. If you can. But in all honesty, you've been avoiding me haven't you."
Squall just sheathed Lionheart and crossed his arms.
"What on earth have I done to deserve this cold treatment?" Seifer feigned innocence. Squall could pick up on his carefully placed footsteps. They were nowhere near as heavy as they were that day in the hall. It made Squall feel like he was being hunted. He instinctively pulled out his gunblade. "Two can play that game."
"Hell no you don't!" Zell shouted out beside him. Squall was confused until he heard the distinctive sound of a blade sliding against its hoister. It was a sound so minute that only a gunblade specialist would pick up on it.
"Stay out of this," Squall said sternly as he pulled Lionheart out in front of him.
"Huh?" Zell and Irvine said in unison.
Squall swung his gunblade around in a few arcs as he resumed his previous position. "I would challenge you, but I can't fight what I can't see."
"Bullshit. That didn't stop you in the hall. I guess I'll just have to be sure to make noise," Seifer's voice carried a smirk. "You can take the offense if you want." Squall stood skeptically of the man in front of him. "I'm sure you'd like to take a few swings at me. Especially after what Fujin said." Squall's blood ran cold and he hoped that his face hadn't paled. "I see she did talk to you." Squall followed his footsteps as he walked towards his two comrades. "She's grown soft....ya know." Seifer mimicked the other male member of his disciplinary committee.
Squall could hear where Zell wanted to say something in protest, but the words died in his mouth.
"That's right chicken-wuss. Its all your fault she's gone soft," Seifer began picking at Zell. "Let's just say Raijin wasn't too far away from your table and so help me. She's like a sister, if you hurt her."
Squall felt an arm wrap around his neck. "Mind telling me what's going on?" Irvine's voice sounded right next to his ear. Squall could only shrug in response. The weight of Irvine's arm was suddenly removed as Squall heard his friend cry out in protest. "Hey!"
"Fujin wasn't lying," Seifer said as he pulled Squall closer to him. Squall found that breathing was becoming difficult. "But I'm not going to devise some contumaciously brilliant plan to steal her away from you. She's too happy right now for me to even attempt putting her under that kind of emotional stress." Seifer pulled Squall closer so that his mouth was near Squall's ear. "But so help me, you fuck up once, and she'll be gone."
Squall pulled away from him quickly and pushed him backwards. "Don't you so much as speak to her!" He shouted.
"Whatever," Seifer mocked him as he sheathed Hyporion and walked off. Squall was left standing in his wake, emotions running rampant throughout his body.
************************************************************************
Don't you guys just love Seifer? I know I do. *Sigh* (j/k) Well there's chapter ten! This one was easy. So what'd you guys think about it? How about Seifer and Squall? Or....what about Zell and Fujin? And Irvine? I'm afraid not all these questions can be answered in this fic. Actually there are two others that will follow this one up. They won't build onto it, just around it. I'm still not sure about a sequel to this one though. The other stories will just correspond to this one and happen around the same time; they however will describe what's going on in the lives of the different characters.
Author's notes- this one was fun. I guess that's all I really have to say about this chapter. Oh yeah...there are some references to things going on in Irvine and Zell's life in this chapter. They'll be explained more in depth later, but not right now. And not in this fic for that matter. I've got a whole series of fics waiting to be uploaded. Each one deals with a different character, and each one corresponds to one another. Hope I can make it work. Anyway thoughts are '...' and spoken words "..." Lapse of time ~*~*~*~*~ Enjoy, I hope.
Onslaught of the Antagonist
The morning had went by insanely slow, and Rinoa leaving him alone with only Angelo didn't speed things up. Squall rested his head on the foot of his bed and numbly stroked the dog's head. Under his palm, Angelo squirmed a little closer so that he could rest his head on Squall's lap. Squall sighed and continued stroking the animal. It was this repetitive hand movement that was keeping him awake.
Rinoa had gone out with Selphie, Quistis, and Chloe, the library girl, on a shopping trip in Deling. She hadn't wanted to go at first, but he had tried to be a sensitive boyfriend and told her he'd be fine. Sure he was fine. That feeling diminished as soon as the dormroom door closed. He sat silently as he listened to Angelo snore. He sighed again and wondered how much time it had been since she'd left. Squall had always considered himself a loner, at least before the Ultimecia incident. He'd thought that a few hours alone would do him good. He needed time to think.
Unfortunately he was discovering how wrong his assumption was. The more time that seemed to pass by the more paranoid he was becoming. He should've known that this would happen. Being left to only the company of his thoughts brought back the disturbing insecurities that were mounting in his mind. It had been nearly three months since the evening at the ball when Fujin had pulled him aside and said those horrid four words. 'He still loves her,' They were driving him crazy. He worried about Seifer every minute Rin was away from him.
"Could Seifer be the one Rin was going out with? No," Squall chided himself for even assuming she'd lie to him. "Irvine just called because she and Selphie had just left to get Quistis," Squall spoke quietly. He felt Angelo raise his head up and utter a little whine. "Yeah I know she wouldn't leave us."
Squall adverted his thoughts to Irvine and Selphie instead. It was right after the SeeD inauguration ball that Irvine had told a few select people that he had a kid. He'd thought that Irvine was joking, everyone in their group had, except Selphie. Squall still wasn't sure if he believed it, he'd never heard the kid running around, much less held the thing. Without his sight to prove him otherwise, Squall still believed that Irvine was just pulling their legs. He had noticed Rinoa talking a lot here lately about their future. She hadn't really done that excessively until Irvine's announcement. Squall wasn't so sure about being a father or anything like that, but Rinoa's recent talk did assure him of one thing; she wasn't planning on leaving him.
'That just proves how silly it is for me to fret over Seifer,' Squall thought. 'He's always competed with me and he's always tried to take what I want. But he won't get Rin. I'll die first.' He was shocked at his own train-of-thought and sat quietly; thinking only of what he'd just realized. A few knocks brought him from his contemplations, followed by the door sliding open. Two sets of footsteps entered; one sounding a bit more energetic than the other.
"Hey man!" Zell announced his arrival as he hopped onto the bed. The mattress under Squall bounced a bit, sending a panicked Angelo to run for cover in the bathroom.
'Poor dog,' Squall thought of how nervous the animal had become around him and his friends.
"No time for courtesies," Irvine interrupted. "We've only got two hours."
"Two hours....for what?" Squall asked; suddenly worried about their presence.
"We're gonna go train!" Zell could barely control his excitement.
"I thought you guys were just coming here? Wait a minute Zell. You're not even supposed to be in the training center. Didn't you manage to get one of you lacerations infected or something?" Squall asked.
"Details," Zell countered. "Besides, its healing up fine."
"Look, we came here to bust you out of this place. You have to be going insane just sitting in this room all the time," Irvine replied nonchalantly. The sound of shifting boxes and a few loud thumps made Squall uneasy.
"I work with Cid some in his office," Squall tried to argue.
"Psh," Irvine answered. "Doesn't count."
"What are you doing?" He asked as he stood up and hurried over to where the noise was resonating from. He grabbed what he assumed to be Zell's shoulder, it was lower than his own, and pulled him backwards.
"Hey?" He heard Zell cry out before he landed on the floor.
"What are you looking for?" Squall asked as he pushed Irvine away from the closet. He heard the heavy heels of the cowboy's boots as he backed away quickly.
"Where's your gunblade?" Irvine finally asked.
"What?" Squall asked in disbelief. 'He can't honestly expect me to wield that, can he?' Squall found himself pointing to the bed before he had time to really comprehend what they were expecting him to do. A loud thud echoed as he heard Zell groan as he no doubt was attempting to crawl under the bed.
"Got it!" Zell's voice sounded muffled from his position on the floor. "Damn this thing is heavy." Squall rolled his eyes to his friend's complaining.
"Let me have it," Squall reached out his hand until the case's handle was placed in his palm. He easily hefted the case up onto the desk and flipped the latches open with his thumbs. Behind him he heard both Irvine and Zell take a few steps backwards. Squall grinned a bit to himself as he pulled the blade from it's case and swung it around. He pulled it up to his chest and for the first time in months, ran his fingertips along the side of the cold broad blade. The metal was slick and smooth to the touch. Part of him longed to be able to wield it in battle again; to use it as deftly as if it were but an extention of his own arm.
"So.......you want to go or what?" Irvine asked.
"We'll only fight grats if you want," Zell piped up. Squall ran his hand along the blade once again, admiring how it felt.
"Why not?" He finally answered.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The air of the training center was thick and heavy. Squall inhaled it deeply noting that it almost had a suffocating thickness about it. Whenever they left he'd have to get someone to readjust the environmental controls. It was also hot and humid. He hadn't even begun to train and he was starting to sweat. 'Good thing I chose not to wear the leather,' Squall thought to himself. In front of him he heard Zell's normally quick footsteps come to a sudden stop.
"Looks like we have a grat," Irvine announced from behind him. Squall could hear his friends fall into position beside him. Squall swung Lionheart out in front of him and prepared himself for a fight even though he sincerely doubted that he'd get a swing at it. Zell cried out and launched himself forward. "Watch out for its arms!" Irvine yelled. Squall jumped backwards but was still clipped by the tip of the monster's arm. He was knocked face first on the ground. Squall grimaced as he expected to have landed on his gunblade. When he didn't, he sat up and groped for it on the ground.
He felt something familiar bump into the side of his cheek. He froze while he tried to figure out what it was. It tapped his cheek again, and then ran under his chin to tilt his head up. Squall swatted at it, and realized it was his gunblade handle when his hand made contact with its grips. He wrapped his right hand around the handle and then knelt there as he tried to figure out who was holding the other end.
"Booya!" Zell cried out from behind him.
"Hey Squall, I didn't realize grats could fall so fast," Irvine's voice called out from behind him as well. Squall tilted his head back a bit further. A familiar smell, whether it was a cologne or shampoo, Squall wasn't sure. Neverthless he realized who it was and jumped up to his feet, pulling his gunblade with him. Seifer.
"That was a too easy," Zell was still going on behind him.
"Let's hope so," Seifer finally spoke. Behind him, Squall could hear Irvine and Zell turning around quickly. In front of him, Squall could hear Seifer snicker.
"Seifer," Squall said trying to mask the relief and anxiety his presence brought. 'Good. If he's here he can't be bothering Rin.' Squall released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. 'He's probably looking for a fight.' Seifer didn't say anything at first, just paced around Squall.
"Cid'll be pissed when he finds out what the Commander of his garden's been doing," Seifer stated. "He might get hurt." Seifer's voice mocked him.
"Seifer," Squall's voice came out as a slight groan which earned him a laugh from the man in front of him.
"What's wrong...Commander?" Seifer's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Squall didn't answer, he just turned and walked towards Irvine and Zell. "Haven't seen you in months. Not even at mission briefings." Seifer continued to taunt.
"Just ignore him man," Zell said as Squall reached him.
"Sure, ignore him," Seifer mocked. "Sure, just ignore me. If you can. But in all honesty, you've been avoiding me haven't you."
Squall just sheathed Lionheart and crossed his arms.
"What on earth have I done to deserve this cold treatment?" Seifer feigned innocence. Squall could pick up on his carefully placed footsteps. They were nowhere near as heavy as they were that day in the hall. It made Squall feel like he was being hunted. He instinctively pulled out his gunblade. "Two can play that game."
"Hell no you don't!" Zell shouted out beside him. Squall was confused until he heard the distinctive sound of a blade sliding against its hoister. It was a sound so minute that only a gunblade specialist would pick up on it.
"Stay out of this," Squall said sternly as he pulled Lionheart out in front of him.
"Huh?" Zell and Irvine said in unison.
Squall swung his gunblade around in a few arcs as he resumed his previous position. "I would challenge you, but I can't fight what I can't see."
"Bullshit. That didn't stop you in the hall. I guess I'll just have to be sure to make noise," Seifer's voice carried a smirk. "You can take the offense if you want." Squall stood skeptically of the man in front of him. "I'm sure you'd like to take a few swings at me. Especially after what Fujin said." Squall's blood ran cold and he hoped that his face hadn't paled. "I see she did talk to you." Squall followed his footsteps as he walked towards his two comrades. "She's grown soft....ya know." Seifer mimicked the other male member of his disciplinary committee.
Squall could hear where Zell wanted to say something in protest, but the words died in his mouth.
"That's right chicken-wuss. Its all your fault she's gone soft," Seifer began picking at Zell. "Let's just say Raijin wasn't too far away from your table and so help me. She's like a sister, if you hurt her."
Squall felt an arm wrap around his neck. "Mind telling me what's going on?" Irvine's voice sounded right next to his ear. Squall could only shrug in response. The weight of Irvine's arm was suddenly removed as Squall heard his friend cry out in protest. "Hey!"
"Fujin wasn't lying," Seifer said as he pulled Squall closer to him. Squall found that breathing was becoming difficult. "But I'm not going to devise some contumaciously brilliant plan to steal her away from you. She's too happy right now for me to even attempt putting her under that kind of emotional stress." Seifer pulled Squall closer so that his mouth was near Squall's ear. "But so help me, you fuck up once, and she'll be gone."
Squall pulled away from him quickly and pushed him backwards. "Don't you so much as speak to her!" He shouted.
"Whatever," Seifer mocked him as he sheathed Hyporion and walked off. Squall was left standing in his wake, emotions running rampant throughout his body.
************************************************************************
Don't you guys just love Seifer? I know I do. *Sigh* (j/k) Well there's chapter ten! This one was easy. So what'd you guys think about it? How about Seifer and Squall? Or....what about Zell and Fujin? And Irvine? I'm afraid not all these questions can be answered in this fic. Actually there are two others that will follow this one up. They won't build onto it, just around it. I'm still not sure about a sequel to this one though. The other stories will just correspond to this one and happen around the same time; they however will describe what's going on in the lives of the different characters.