Disclaimers: I don't own anything Final Fantasy VII/VIII but this story.
A/N: Annnnnnd out comes a new chapter! I'm so glad I got this one off my chest. Haha! Although…I think people just might hate me for this one. -looks away guiltily-
This chapter is a whooping fourteen pages long! O.o Please don't be put off by the length. I tried editing as much as I could, even with my editor, but it just. Wouldn't. Stay. Small. D: Ahem. But then again, I did warn you guys about longer chapters right? Hurr hurr hurr. All and all, I hope this moves the story along because I am just getting started. -evil grin- Anyways I hope you enjoy! This one is by far my favorite (and no, not for reasons of what happens in this chapter…)!
I'd like to give a big thanks to all my readers and reviewers once again! You guys are truly awesome and I'm glad I still get reviews even after a long hiatus! :D To my reviewers: Nagia Heartilly, Fun3y Fr3sh, crepusculo4ever, saya, Niqsta, rinny, Galneryus, and Scribbleness! I love you all so much! Thanks again!
PS: Just wanted to let the FF8 community know that… LAGUNA LOIRE, THE MAN WITH THE FRIGGING MACHINE GUN, IS GOING TO BE IN DUODECIM! -fangirl scream ensues- This is a truly epic moment! XD Yes, I was on the bandwagon for hopes of Rinoa being in -coughsquinoacough- but this is just as good! We might have father-son moments between…well the father and son. LOL
I WANT MY HANDS ON THIS GAME NAO!
…Ahem… Remember to R&R! :D
"Who knew a wrong mistake would turn out like this
Who knew you, who I lean on, would hurt this much"
~Big Bang: Until Whenever
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Rinoa let out another sigh as she looked up at the sky, leaning against the fence lining the rooftop. She was dazed before a tap on the shoulder made her aware that she was still in the company of her blond boyfriend. She turned her head to smile at him, "Sorry. What was that Cloud?"
Cloud stared at her for a moment then shook his head as he leaned against the fence beside Rinoa, "No it's nothing... You've been quiet since this morning though. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Rinoa shook her head.
However, Cloud wasn't buying it. He was willing to let it slide on their date yesterday, thinking Rinoa was having an off-day, but Cloud wasn't going to overlook the issue anymore. Rinoa just forced a smile and he hated the fact she hid her true feelings underneath a happy façade. The blond walked in front of her, momentarily brushing his hands past her shoulders to grab the fence, trapping Rinoa between him and the fence. Rinoa had her eyes trained on Cloud, slightly confused but also somewhat fearful. Why she looked scared, Cloud could only assume two things: Rinoa was afraid of him...or afraid of someone else.
Just ask what's on her mind, Cloud recited to himself. He fought to let the words out, but Rinoa's frightful look made him nervous. Cloud felt like such a coward at that moment. He was worried about Rinoa and yet he couldn't bring himself to ask what the problem was for fear he'd done something wrong. Rinoa was suffering…and he was being selfish to protect his own feelings. Cloud hated being helpless since it reminded him too much of past wounds.
Letting out a sigh, the blond gave up as he gently rested his forehead on Rinoa's shoulder. He felt her tense, adding to his supposed guilt. He let out without removing himself, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Rinoa asked in surprise.
"For anything I did wrong," Cloud hesitated to say. He closed his eyes, "You're not being yourself and if it's because of me—"
Rinoa quickly answered back, "It's not your fault!" Cloud lifted his head immediately, seeing Rinoa glare at him. His mouth pursed into a thin line, surprised he was being scolded. Rinoa reprimanded his thinking, "It isn't your fault, Cloud; you're not in the wrong at all! I just—I just... It's complicated, but I'm not blaming you for anything."
She dropped her head slightly before grabbing her courage to look at Cloud. They stared at each other for a moment, but the blond saw something intensifying beneath Rinoa's brown orbs…and he envied her. Whatever was bothering her was gone in this moment and Cloud only saw strength in her eyes. If he had the resolve to stand his own ground like her…maybe he would've been stronger back then. Rinoa's frown slowly turned into a smile, causing Cloud's heart to relax.
"I'm sorry Cloud," Rinoa sighed apologetically, "I didn't mean to worry you…"
Cloud didn't respond. Instead, he smiled back sincerely and slowly leaned towards her. He wasn't going to repeat the past. With Rinoa, Cloud was going to move forward and become stronger himself.
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"She left early?" Squall asked, slightly taken aback.
Selphie nodded as she pulled a chocolate stick out of a plastic container, "Yup. Rinoa said something about seeing the teacher during her break."
"No, no, no. I'm pretty sure she went to see Spiky," Yuffie corrected, biting down on Selphie's chocolate before the spunky brunette could. Yuffie ignored Selphie as she looked at Squall, "I swear! Those two are always together that it's makes me sick!"
Selphie rolled her eyes with a grin, "Aw, you only feel that way because a certain someone isn't paying attention to you!"
Yuffie's eyes went wide with surprise as she started flailing her arms in denial. The other girl laughed out loud as she tried in vain to protect herself, leaving Squall to his thoughts as he remained standing by the classroom door.
Okay; she's not here. I expected that, Squall rationalized, thinking more on the positive side than his willful negative nature. Nodding his head, Squall quickly said thanks and walked away, uncaring if the hyperactive duo heard him or not. He thought of all the places Rinoa, and to a small degree Cloud, could possibly be in the school.
He wanted so badly to apologize to Rinoa for what happened yesterday. Luckily Ellone hadn't pestered him before she left, but as karma goes, Rinoa was being evasive. She left home earlier than him, sat away from him during class, and even walked down the busier hallways of the school just to get lost in the crowd and avoid him. Squall tried all morning to see her, but it just wasn't happening. He knew he couldn't blame her though, but Rinoa's disregard for him was tormenting. If Squall were to lose her now, he wouldn't know what else to do.
"Hey! Do any of you know where Cloud is? He owes me a lunch!" Zack's playfully voice asked with a grin. Squall stopped in his steps to eavesdrop on the conversation happening around the corner. If anyone knew where Cloud was, it was Zack the Puppy.
"I think I saw him go to the roof with a girl earlier…"
Bingo.
Zack replied with a laugh, "Oh. Well then, I guess I'll catch him later. After all, this makes for great teasing material!"
Squall nodded his head to himself silently and turned around to walk the other way towards the rooftop access. The brunette wouldn't care if Cloud was there. As long as Squall could pinpoint Rinoa, that was all he needed.
He took the shortest path to get to his destination, which was down a lonely hallway near the gymnasium and Squall liked the idea that it was partial isolated. It would be easier talking to Rinoa about…things in the open. Squall sighed once he rounded a corner to the empty corridor…only to hear a clanking sound. Squall craned his head and immediately saw who he needed to see.
"Hmm… Would he want apple or orange juice?" Rinoa pondered to herself as she kneeled down in front of the vending machine. She examined a juice box in each hand before shrugging, "Oh well, whatever."
She made to stand and immediately looked forward to see Squall. Rinoa jumped back with a gasp and dropped the juice boxes to the floor. Squall cringed at her reaction, but most of all, the watchful eye she was giving him as she placed her hands over her chest. Squall pretended to act indifferent as he walked up to her slowly, "Rinoa."
"W-What is it Squall?" Rinoa questioned, giving him a small glare, yet she couldn't hide the fear behind her eyes.
Squall was walking on eggshells now. Rinoa obviously didn't want to see him, but what else could he do? Squall made her paranoid and reluctant to be alone with him, but most of all, he broke her trust. The pain in his chest couldn't take that kind of rejection from her. All Squall wanted to do was rush over and hold her in his arms, repeating several times how sorry he was… But this was reality; it didn't work that way.
The brunette took a deep breath, finding his courage to approach Rinoa without backing down. He took more confident strides as he locked eyes with the raven haired girl, "We need to talk—"
"Later," Rinoa cut in, taking a few steps back with his approach. Her eyes were on the ground, "We'll talk, but…not now."
Liar, Squall's mind scoffed. There was no "later" and Squall knew that. If the conversation ended now, Rinoa would only continue to run away and he couldn't have that. Squall shook his head as he pressed forward, "No. Not later, Rinoa. We need to talk now."
Rinoa's eyes darted down the hall and Squall guessed her next move. Rinoa gave him a quick look, narrowing her eyes before she turned the other way, "Well I say later, Squall."
She turned on her heel in hopes of escaping, but Squall quickly lunged at her, grabbing her wrist and stopping her, "Wait!"
"Let go!" Rinoa snapped, trying to free herself. She began to shake as her resolve crumbled, "Please…let go…!"
"Rinoa…" Squall let out, hurt evident in his voice. What was he going to do? She was truly terrified of him. Was he too late to make amends? He cursed his stupidity. Maybe it was, but that small part of him wanted her to understand. He only loved her, but she didn't want anything to do with it. A part of him wanted to stop hurting her any further, but the entirety of his ego wanted to force his feelings on her that she would have no choice but to accept it.
"HEY!" Squall snapped out of his inner battle as he turned his head slightly, seeing sky-blue eyes glaring at him. Cloud's figure approached closer in haste as he practically growled at Squall, "Let Rinoa go!"
Squall simply narrowed his eyes, ignoring the fact that Rinoa was still struggling to free her wrist from his hold. The brunette shot back, "I need to talk to Rinoa."
"Well she obviously doesn't want to talk to you. Now let her go," Cloud retorted, immediately prying Squall off of Rinoa once he closed the distance. The blond shoved Squall fiercely away as he hid Rinoa protectively behind him. Cloud gave Rinoa a concerned glance and the only thing she did was look down and cling to the back of his shirt tightly.
At this point, Squall's mind was void of any thought except one: he was playing the bad guy. His eyes darted from Rinoa to Cloud and then settled on Rinoa again. She was clinging to Cloud for dear life and her "boyfriend" was doing his best to protect her from harm…like a knight.
Why?
So many questions flew through his mind. What did Cloud have that he didn't? Why did Cloud get to play the protector? Why did Squall have to be the bad guy? Squall was just as capable to play the knight, so why couldn't he be Rinoa's?
Why? Why? WHY?
Tightening a fist, Squall began to see red. Glowering, Squall marched up and threw his fist into the blond's jaw, purposely tuning out Rinoa's gasp of surprise. Squall immediately followed up by grabbing Cloud's collar, thrusting him to stand as another punch was thrown in Cloud's face. Seeing the blond's blood sent an undeniable thrill through his body; it was exhilarating. He prepared to throw another punch, but something grabbed his arm. Narrowing his eyes, Squall looked to see the perpetrator and Rinoa was using all her might to stop him.
"Please Squall! Leave Cloud alone!" Rinoa begged, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Leave him alone?" Squall bitterly chuckled, harshly pulling his arm away from her grasp. He gave her a dead smirk, "Why not 'leave Squall alone, Cloud?' It's always Cloud this and Cloud tha—!"
The brunette suddenly felt a fist hit the side of his cheek. Caught off-guard, Squall dropped Cloud in an instinctive act to cradle his pained cheek. He moved back in uncertainty, hearing Rinoa cry out Cloud's name. Frowning, Squall saw the blond rushing towards him and they collided. The impact of Cloud's tackle sent Squall hitting the wall. The brunette groaned in annoyance before trying to pry the blond off with a knee to the stomach. It proved effective, but Cloud simply ignored it to throw a punch to Squall's side. It only made Squall retaliate and the exchange of attacks cycled between them. They grappled on the floor with Rinoa simply yelling at them to stop, but neither of them cared. All they saw was the other and both of them agreed to a silent objective: they wanted the other to fall dead.
Rinoa's cries attracted the attention of other students, and sure enough, a small crowd started to gather and form. Cheers and other cries rang out in the small hallway, fueling the already violent atmosphere. Against the rally, the only thing Squall could hear was Rinoa's helpless pleas. However, even that didn't get him to stop. He managed to knock Cloud on his back, resulting in an opportunity to attack. His ragged breath gave him the tempo to carry on, but before Squall could connect his fist into his intended target, a blur quickly covered the defenseless Cloud.
It was enough to snap Squall out of his rage, blinking immediately as if waking up. He looked down and was surprised to see Rinoa lying protectively above Cloud. Her face was stained with tears that wouldn't stop falling as she stared angrily at him. It made his heart drop and he instantly knew he was the cause.
She wrapped her arms tighter around Cloud's form as she shakily spoke in a hiss without diverting her eyes from his metallic blue ones, "Enough! You proved your point!"
"R-Rinoa—"
"I hate you," there was no trace of doubt in her tone that it seemed impossible for Squall to comprehend.
There was no way Rinoa could truly hate right? She would forgive him like always wouldn't she? He was family… She would forgive him regardless right?
"Rin—"
"That's my answer, Squall!" she didn't give him the luxury to reply; her heated look finalized that. The last of her tears ran down her face as she numbly concluded while burying her face in Cloud's shirt, "I hate you. Leave me alone."
"I hate you."
Her answer to his confession.
His world ended there.
His chance for anything completely gone.
She hated him.
"What is going on here?" a stern voice demanded. Cutting through the crowd, Cid Kramer, the school's headmaster looked at each of the crowding students before settling his eyes on the three figures on the floor. All the students immediately silenced at the appearance of the headmaster…and to the tall, silver haired man who was following closely behind the headmaster himself. Cid knitted his eyebrows together as he pressed impatiently, "Well?"
"A fight obviously," the biology teacher, Sephiroth, answered coolly. He pushed through the students and immediately pulled Squall off of Cloud, not that Squall really cared anymore. Rinoa glanced at Sephiroth before immediately turning her attention to Cloud. She helped him sit up gently, but her efforts were for naught as Sephiroth yanked the blond to his feet regardless of wounds. Sephiroth exchanged his gaze between the bantered teenagers before looking directly at the headmaster.
Cid cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Yes, quite. Bring them to my office, Mr. Crescent. I need a word with both of them."
Sephiroth nodded and barked orders to the observing students, "Get back to class!" His voice alone was enough for the students to cower and listen. The crowd began to disperse, but the chattering never ceased.
Squall and Cloud were both sporting cuts and scrapes everywhere as Sephiroth forced them to start walking, all the while holding both of them by the collar. Rinoa tried to explain the situation to Sephiroth and begged him to be more considerate as Squall and Cloud were in definite pain. Her requests went unnoticed as the biology teacher didn't care. Voices crowed on and the pain ached like no tomorrow, but Squall was starting to go numb. There was no pain anymore; just a hallow feeling deep inside his chest.
I can't stay here, he thought somberly with a monotone.
Immediately, he shook himself free of Sephiroth's hold and began to walk down the corridor. What little pain there was shot up through his body, but Squall bit down his cry; the thought of leaving his main priority.
"Mr. Loire!" Cid grabbed hold of his upper arm, "Where are you going?"
Squall shrugged him off and continued down the corridor with a frown. The students cleared a pathway for him, seeing a deadly aura form around the brunette. Squall wouldn't complain; at least they got the message that he didn't want to deal with anyone right now.
He was probably halfway done the hall when Rinoa's voice called after him, "Squall!"
It was enough to stop him in his tracks. Hesitantly, Squall slowly looked behind him. Rinoa glanced at him with a furrow of her eyebrows. Her mouth was twitching to move, but her voice wouldn't come out. That look of hate was no longer on her face and was replaced with one of regret.
Squall sighed. She was regretting what she told him; that much he knew. He was near sensible again and Squall didn't want her to have any regrets. What he did today ultimately decided his fate by her hands…and he would accept it. Mustering what he could, he gave her a slight smile that caught her off-guard. It wasn't a cold smile nor was it happy. It was one of sadness in sorrow for the pain he caused her.
And with that, he walked off.
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He walked for hours now, losing track of time once he left the school grounds after his fight with Cloud. All Squall knew was that it was evening and it was snowing. Squall was numb against the cold and he ignored the strange looks people were giving him as he walked aimlessly down the streets simply spacing out from time to time. Squall nudged a few people here and there, but none of them bothered with him. If they did, all Squall had to do was glare and scare them away.
What was he going to do? How would he go home? Surely Headmaster Cid called Laguna and Julia by now. Squall lacked the confidence to face them and answer for his behavior. He had finally cracked. All the anger and jealousy he had kept in check for years imploded on Squall and made him go into a frenzy against Cloud. When he thought about it, it was scary how he lost himself in the rage. Was he always a violent person deep down? And then there was Rinoa, staring helplessly and afraid of him.
Looking down at his hands, Squall was surprised to see small patches of dry blood on his knuckles. His hands were dirty in the figurative and literal sense. Blood, Cloud's blood, stained his hands. Squall had made him bleed…and he liked it.
Suddenly, Squall felt very sick. Rushing deep inside an empty alleyway, Squall heaved. As he hunched against the building, throwing out whatever was in his stomach, Squall panicked. What was wrong with him? Why had he enjoyed the brutality of beating up Cloud? It was never like him to enjoy such violence. What made him change? He wrecked his mind over that simple question.
After he finished vomiting, Squall stood there; wiping his mouth and leaning against the wall. He looked up at the night sky, watching the whitest snowflakes fall untainted. Squall suddenly wondered if Rinoa was watching them fall from the sky too.
Rinoa…
His thoughts were always filled with her. It was almost like…
An obsession, Squall chuckled darkly.
He ran a head through his hair as he continued to watch the sky. Yes, that was it. Rinoa was his obsession; his drug. Every little thing about her piqued his interest. Her favorite hobbies, her likes and dislikes, even the subtle little quirks Rinoa herself was unaware of. Squall wanted to know everything about her. He always thought it was normal behavior… How wrong he was. Squall was as close to being a stalker as defined in a dictionary. His relationship with Rinoa was fine until Cloud came around. The blond was the trigger to unleash Squall's ugliest personality.
If he couldn't have Rinoa, then no one could. That was how he felt deep down the instant the blond came into the picture. Squall was in love with Rinoa to the point where he was near obsessive. Feelings like that were dangerous and he knew that now. Squall, at that moment, knew himself on a whole other level.
"I can't live like this…" Squall whispered to himself, banging the back of his head lightly against the wall. He had a problem, a sickness, and it had to be cured. If it stayed, he'd only continue to cause trouble for everyone; especially Rinoa. His definitive solution was to let go of her…but how could he ever do that?
"Squall!"
Turning to face the voice, Squall saw Seifer squeezing his way past the crowd and finally up to him. Seifer's brows knitted together and Squall wasn't sure if the blond was truly worried about him or simply scrutinizing his appearance. Squall assumed the latter only because it was easier to imagine the blond that way. Seifer began with a hint of masked concern, "Damn, you look like a mess."
"Whatever," Squall replied, walking down the alleyway.
Seifer didn't give him a chance to walk away scot-free, simply following close behind, "What the hell have you been doing? You run off around lunch time and all you do is wander around Esthar?"
Squall scoffed without giving Seifer his complete attention, "It's my life; I'll do whatever the hell I feel."
"Listen to yourself idiot!" Seifer pulled him firmly to a stop and glared, shouting, "It's already eight in the evening and you haven't told anyone where you are! Everyone's been searching for your high and mighty ass since school ended!"
"So what?" Squall glared back, "I never asked you to look for me!"
Seifer was unfazed by Squall's retort. Instead he simply frowned at him, "Really? Even Rinoa?"
Squall took sharp intake of breath before looking away. She was looking for him? But why? He wanted to ask Seifer, but his pride wouldn't let him; at least what was left of his pride. He wasn't worthy of Rinoa's compassion anymore…
Shaking his head, Squall turned his heel on Seifer again to resume his pointless wandering, sharply whispering, "I don't care."
"And what do we have here, hmm?" a strange voice questioned from within the alley. Squall broke away from his thoughts as he and Seifer saw a group of five men stepping out from behind the shadows. The one who spoke grinned maliciously, flanked on each side. He shared a look with his men as he continued to mock, "A pair of 'high-class' pretty boys!" The other men complied, some chuckling darkly.
Squall didn't say anything, blinking instead at the group with disinterest. They were probably some punk gang looking for trouble and to Squall, they didn't look threatening at all. Some were bigger and meatier than him, but Squall wouldn't be intimidated by appearances. If they wanted trouble…bring it.
"Whatever," Squall sighed, looking away without a care. He crossed his arms showing that he wasn't the least bit scared by numbers.
The leader frowned, "What was that pretty boy?"
The brunette spared the bandana wearing leader a glance, "Oh nothing. But if you're trying to scare us…I'm not very impressed." Squall was irritated right now. Why the hell did he have to put up with this nonsense?
"The hell are you doing, Loire?" Seifer questioned under his breath, shooting Squall a suspicious glare.
Squall ignored Seifer and stayed quiet for a moment, seeing the gang leader shake with impatience. A small part of Squall smirked, knowing he was in control of the current situation. However, Squall knew this confrontation was completely pointless, especially when he had bigger things to deal with. Shrugging, Squall gave Seifer a silent signal before haughtily turning away and began to leave with hands in his pockets.
"…And where do you think you're going?" the leader growled, obviously not taking the pair's sudden departure well. Squall turned slightly to look at him while Seifer kept moving before shrugging again and continuing on his way. However, he stopped once Seifer grunted under his breath, noticing the way out of the alley was blocked by several more men. Squall narrowed his eyes as the gang leader seriously commented, "You've gone and pissed me off. I'll give you one last chance to grovel for mercy and I just might consider finishing you off quickly and painlessly…pretty boy."
Squall smirked coolly, cocking his head to look back at the leader without fear, "Seems you like calling me that. Are you suggesting to yourself as metaphorical ugly?"
"What?" the leader barked in anger, tightening fists at his side.
Again, Squall simply smirked. Taunting was usually Seifer's department, but Squall didn't feel like playing the pacifist. In fact, that same feeling he had earlier today was looking for trouble and he needed to satiate it. Maybe it was the only way he was going to vent his negative emotions. Or perhaps…he only wanted trouble in hopes of committing destructive suicide. After all, what good was he now that Rinoa practically hated him deep down? Nothing.
"A gang, huh…" Seifer whispered with a sigh. He narrowed his eyes at the lanky leader with an arrogant smirk, "I'm sorry; you guys are a gang right?"
The leader fumed at Seifer, "What was that blondie?"
"You heard me. But you know what? You could be girl scouts and I still wouldn't give a damn," Seifer taunted.
That remark made the leader snap. No longer putting up with Squall and Seifer's attitude, the leader barked orders to his men. They followed his command and slowly circled and trapped the two teens against the wall with little to no escape. However, their attempts to intimidate the pair of teenagers, even as they took out knives, brass knuckles and the like, failed poorly.
Squall skimmed his eyes across each of their faces, mentally counting how many of the men there were. He and Seifer were obviously outnumbered by more than a dozen, but Squall believed they wouldn't have a problem taking most of them down… If he was strategic about his offense should they fight.
"Any last words before I damage those pretty faces of yours?" the gang leader offered with a smirk as if he'd already won.
Squall analyzed his situation for a moment, sighing in annoyance as he leaned coolly against the cold wall. He once again scanned over his situation before noticing something of use sitting on top of the garbage dumpster close to his left. He continued to stare from the corner of his eye, …It'll have to do.
The blond smirked, quickly realizing Squall's intent. He carefully watched for any conspicuous movement, "Are you really gonna beg?"
"Not unless I see you beg first, Almasy," Squall answered coolly, simply remaining firm in his spot.
"WELL?" the gang leader roared taking two steps forward and puffing out his chest.
At last, Squall narrowed his eyes at the leader as he quickly reached over to his left using his right hand and grabbed the steel pipe sitting on top of the dumpster. In one swift movement, Squall swung the pipe in one quick slash; the pipe smashing against the closest gang members in front of Squall in succession. Seifer had read Squall's movements and kneeled down to his knees to avoid the attack. The blond couldn't help but let out a wicked grin as he observed the shocked expressions of the few gang members stepping back in complete surprise.
Squall ignored the cries of pain coming from the fallen men, eyes remaining as steel as his weapon and his tone of voice dangerously low, "Whatever."
"What are you idiots waiting for? I want them on the ground!" the leader shouted in anger, snapping his men out of their scared trance.
Both teens immediately dashed off in separate directions with incredible speed, gaining the upper hand. Seifer let out a battle cry as he body-slammed a trio simultaneously before ramming them into a wall. Squall on the other hand narrowly missed an assault from both sides. He sidestepped in time to dodge a hasty punch, retorting by swinging the pipe against one gang member's back and turning rapidly around to grab another's face in his palm. It momentarily stunned the knife-wielding hoodlum before Squall darted forward. Dragging the man by the face, Squall violently pushed him down to the ground. The white snow exploded into the air, falling around Squall as he looked like a lion on the hunt, kneeling fiercely with weapon in hand and his expression telling the gang to come at him if they dared.
The alleyway brawl lasted for another ten minutes, yet the assault was endless.
Squall blocked an incoming attack from a gang member with a bat, but unfortunately the impact of hitting the pipe vibrated and recoiled on Squall. The brunette let out a wince, giving another gang member opportunity to strike him in the gut. Squall felt the force of the attack and he fell to his knees, dropping his weapon.
The gang leader grinned, finally finding leeway in Squall's defenses. He mocked, "What? Done already?" He let out a small laugh before nodding his head to one of his underlings. The subordinate nodded with smirking intent as he bent down to grab Squall's pipe.
Squall's first instinct was to move, but he knew he wouldn't be quick enough to evade. The lesser member shouted out as he viciously began to drop the pipe and Squall waited for the inevitable… But it never came. Instead, the gang member fell to his side unconscious with the pipe clanging to the ground.
"That's a damn good situation yougot yourself into Loire."
Squall quickly looked up, "Seifer!"
Sure enough, the arrogant blond was standing behind the fallen gang member clapping his hands clean of his so-called "dirty work." He bent down to grab the pipe before standing up and tapping his shoulder with it. Smirking, he taunted Squall, "Are we just going to sit on the ground all night or are we going to show these ladies who's boss?"
Squall slowly returned the smirk with one of his own. He stood up, back to back with Seifer, as he scanned the reminder of the gang. The leader, from what Squall saw, wasn't too thrilled that Seifer had outdone his men. How Seifer still had the energy to keep going was a mystery, but Squall would put that thought on hold.
Seifer cut though Squall's thoughts, "You know, you're a real pain in the ass to watch."
"…Shut up, Seifer."
The second round started, Seifer striking thugs left and right with the steel pipe and Squall used as much close combat tactics to stay on top. His mind couldn't process the sequence of events as they occurred. Pain ran through his body from time to time, but Squall knew he was doing the most damage as he felt his opponents break bones and limbs. Like his fight with Cloud, this simple gang attack sent a thrill through him. His energy level was high and Squall felt his lips tugging into a crazed smile.
He managed to pin down one of the gang members to the ground, seeing his face was already beaten in. The thug cowered in fear and practically begged Squall for mercy. A cold smile plastered itself on Squall's lips as he panted heavily. Tightening his fist, Squall quickly brought it down. But before he could land a solid hit, an image of Rinoa flashed in his mind.
"Enough! You proved your point!"
Squall gasped and snapped out of his rage. The look in her eyes was burned into his memory… He was giving into his hate again. He was the monster from earlier today that Rinoa loathed. No, he didn't want to be hated by her again in the same way…!
Suddenly, Seifer's cry rang out in the dark alleyway. Squall immediately swerved his head in the blond's direction, seeing the once arrogant Seifer kneeling on the ground clutching his face as he sharply breathed. Squall wasn't sure what had happened, but what little light the streetlamps gave, Squall saw a dark liquid lining the once white snow around Seifer. The same liquid began to spill from Seifer's hand.
"Seifer!" Squall called out in panic.
Before he could get to his feet however, a blunt object collided with the back of his head; causing him to collapse on his side. He struggled to get up, a sharp pain throbbing on the back of his head and his ears beginning to ring. Squall let out a pained gasp as he tried to push himself up. The attempt was in vain as someone immediately kicked his stomach. Squall cried out again, falling on his side as he clutched his stomach. He could hear laughter from above him and Squall knew that it was the gang leader and his men. Squall cussed them out, but it only earning him another kick to the ribs.
"You son of a—!" Seifer snarled, but was silenced when a punch collided with his body. The next sound that followed was Seifer groaning in pain.
Squall clutched his stomach harder; the adrenaline he felt earlier disappearing only to leave the sensation of pain behind. He felt like a broken rag doll and Squall knew that it was over. His high was gone and the only thing left on his mind was seeing how much of an idiot he was for dragging himself and Seifer into this mess!
He wasn't given time to ponder as two pairs of arms forced him on his knees, intentionally pulling at his arms with much force that the brunette winced. He saw the leader of the gang approaching him, but Squall was losing focus. His head lolled to the side only to have a bunch of his hair pulled violently and he was compelled to face the gang leader's grin. Squall tried his best to look angry, but he wasn't much of a threat with him breathing heavily and looking like dirt at the moment.
The leader of the gang stared tauntingly at him for a moment before unceremoniously dropping Squall's head and walking a few feet away to laugh with a roar of victory, "What do you guys think? Are they really troublesome to mess with us?" A lot of hollers and whoops followed after. It was like they were celebrating the kill of the century.
Squall used the last of his strength to once again glare up at the leader. Yes, his body was wracked with pain, but there was no way Squall was going down that easily. He still had his pride and he would salvage it. They could kick him down, but Squall would keep his head high.
His glare didn't go unnoticed. The gang leader frowned at Squall, hating the look the brunette was giving him. Pulling out a pocket knife, the leader trotted over to Squall and slowly traced the cool blade against Squall's bruised cheek, "I don't like that look you're giving me pretty boy…"
Seifer shouted out in protest as he tried to free himself of the hold he was in. Squall was unafraid as he narrowed his eyes at the leader and spat in his face, "Go to hell."
The leader's frown deepened and before Squall knew it, a sharp pain rolled down his face from the right side of his forehead across the bridge of his nose. Squall's head turned to the right instantly as he cried out in pain. He could taste blood on his lips and he cringed. The sting on his face was hurting immensely and Squall grinded his teeth together. He was dropped to the ground and Squall's hand immediately covered his face, but all he could feel was a warm, sticky substance smearing across his facial features.
Seifer's shouts persisted with empty threats and other profanities, "You bastards! I'll kill you! I swear to Hyne I'll kill you!"
"Shut him up!" commanded the leader, wiping the bloodied blade of his pocket knife. Three thugs immediately ganged up on Seifer and began to beat down on him.
Squall couldn't feel anything anymore; he was starting to feel cold. Voices began to mix together and his vision began to fade in and out. He could see Seifer taking the beating while lying on the ground. Squall tried to get up, but he was too weak. Was he finally going to die here? This was what he wanted right? To disappear…
"Seifer!"
It was a female voice that distinguished itself among all the others in Squall's mind. He fought to keep his eyes open as he saw a blurry, womanly figure ran towards the fight. Squall couldn't make out the finer details of the woman, except her voice. It was filled with worry as it got louder. Squall wanted to tell her to run since the situation was too dangerous, but he couldn't find his voice.
His eyes began to close and the noise began to fade away. But even as he numbly watched an ensuing fight with the mysterious woman, Squall could only think of one thing during his darkest hour before falling unconscious:
"Rinoa…"
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Muffled voices rang in his ears as he began to wake up. Battling to open his eyes, Squall twitched and willed himself awake. Slowly, his eyes opened, refluxing to the sudden amount of light. Squall made a groan when he tried to move, but his body disapproved the motion as pain shot up throughout him. His vision tried to focus as questions began to drift in his mind.
Where was he? What happened to Seifer? What about the gang? What had happened to the mysterious woman? Was he…dead?
"You're awake!" chirped a tender voice.
Squall made another groan. He closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again in hopes to achieve a sufficient amount of focus. Squall immediately felt someone squeeze his hand and he turned his head gradually to look at the stranger. His eyes went wide with whom he saw.
"I'm so glad you're alright! I was worried you wouldn't wake up," she sighed in relief. She gave Squall's hand one last squeeze before releasing it and sitting down on her folded legs. Pushing hair behind her ear, the dark haired girl turned to grab a cloth soaking in a water basin. She continued to make conversation, not realizing Squall had staggered to sit up, "You and Seifer were beat up pretty badly. Try to relax—"
He immediately threw his arms around her in a tight grip lock. Squall couldn't believe it; he couldn't believe the figure sitting before him was worried about his well-being. He buried his face against the exposed skin of her shoulder and let out a tired sigh, Rinoa...
"Hey, don't move around too much," her arms encircled Squall to support him. She rubbed his back for comfort, trying to get him to lie down again, but Squall shook his head in objection.
He didn't want to fall asleep again where he couldn't touch her. All Squall wanted was to be right beside Rinoa and he would endure the pains and bruises he had just to stay awake. He lifted his head to bury his face against Rinoa's hair and closed his eyes. Squall breathed calmly as he whispered her name, "Rinoa…"
She flinched at his gentle touch and blushed while whispering to herself, "…Rinoa?"