"Estranged"

9. The Living

1

Seifer slumped onto the sofa and sighed. Quistis, after taking two bottles of root beer, sat down next to him. Seifer ran a hand through his hair and stared at the clock.

"...that bad?" Quistis asked.

"Worse." Seifer said, "He kept saying the same thing..."

2

"You're dead."

Seifer took two steps back, brought the Hyperion around for another opening stance. He flipped it, held it inversely and supported the blade with his free hand.

"Don't open with that unless you're further away." Squall said.

"Why not? I've opened with this before in closer quarters."

Squall slid forward. Seifer thrust the blade forward, which Squall easily dodged. Squall's gunblade slid across Hyperion and ended up an inch from Seifer's throat.

"You can only go for a forward jab and it's obvious." He said, "Try another."

Seifer took two steps back. He placed his pinky finger on the trigger and held Hyperion like a normal, two-handed sword. Squall didn't say anything. He kept his stance neutral. Seifer charged, wound his blade from the left, which was then Squall stepped forward and took a jab at his stomach.

"Too high and takes too long to wind up the blow." Squall said, "Seriously, Almasy, you're wasting my fucking time."

Seifer glared at him, but didn't say anything.

"I'm out of practice, I know."

"It's not that you're out of practice." Squall said, "It's your gunblade. Same problem I had with the Revolver. It's too unwieldy."

"It's what I trained with for years."

"Let's try it once more, then."

Two steps back. Seifer brought the tip to the ground, held the gunblade with it's sharp edge facing Squall. Squall sighed.

"I'm not even going to dignify that. You're dead already."

3

"There wasn't even a chance? Just with the opening stance?"

"I didn't think I was dead yet either." Seifer said.

4

"I said already, there is no 'yet' in this."

"I'm just saying that maybe you should-"

"You're going to take a step forward and swing it, hoping that I'll come at you with a blow from the right. If I do, you have a good chance of putting me on the defensive. If I don't, you'll shift position, use your free hand to add force and throw me off, so you can take on the offensive. It's see-through. It's bullshit, Almasy."

5

"It is bullshit!" Quistis said.

"I didn't get to the part where-"

"You don't need to. Knowing Squall, I know what he was like."

"Yeah... suppose you would."

"But the thing is, this half-assed rank-and-file system gives him two things." Quistis said, "One, he's the General... thank fuck we keep him in check."

"And two?"

"The only qualified gunblade specialist with a license to instruct. Unfortunately."

"Me actually reacting to his bullshit didn't help, I think."

"You... what?"

Quistis shifted, and looked him dead in the eye with such focus, it made Seifer shiver.

"What did you say to him?"

"Just..." Seifer said, "Sort of, y'know, spoke my mind?"

6

"Did you take this assignment just to insult me, Leonhart?" Seifer asked, "Because I am curious as to why you're the one that has to train me."

"I'm the only gunblade specialist with an instructor's license." Squall replied, "And if this is the best you've got, then I am embarrassed that you gave me a scar."

"Know what? Fuck this. Fuck all of it. I'm not gonna be a part of this. I'll get the rest of my re-training when I'm officially a cadet, how's that?"

7

"That's not even an option." Quistis said.

"I know." Seifer sighed, "Believe you me, I know. Worse still, he knew it too. He didn't say anything to that. Just turned and walked away."

"Late for his date with the bottle, I'm sure."

"Been meaning to ask you about that - I mean, I could smell whiskey in his breath when we got close."

"Selphie told me that he'd been drinking from the moment he ended things with Rinoa, and hasn't stopped."

"I'm still fuzzy on how that happened in the first place."

Quistis just glared at him.

The same way I happened to find you and love you, in the end.

She said nothing.