Chapter 9

Aura smiled her usual grin at the young Leonhart before he demanded again, his voice showing no signs of humour, "Who are you? Answer me..."

"Er... can't we talk about something else?" She smiled sheepishly, "There are so many-"

"No."

"In that case..." Aura took a step back, "Adios!"

She spun around and bolted across the shiny hallway and disappeared around a corner, almost knocking down a passer-by. The SeeD considered going after her but his fatigue decided otherwise. He shot a tired glance down the shiny hallway before making his way to the locker room, his hand still clenching his wounded neck.

The locker room was empty much to his content as he sat down on a bench, his body still exhausted from the fight. He removed his sheath from the side of his belt and opened up the revolver of his gunblade. He ran his finger along it's circumference, his eyes surveying every detail put into the metal finish. It was a work of art. He knew his father would've probably helped him upgrade it into a better weapon by now if he had been around. He decided he would leave those honors to Trex once he got back to the village. He felt his stomach growl with hunger as he pushed the gunblade revolver back into its compartment. Just as soon as he finished putting the sword back into it's sheath, he heard the door behind him click.

Phillona Strife walked in to the room, carrying a cardboard box in her arms. She set it down near Sifan's feet as he lazily watched the contents of the box. A number of strangely colored bottles with weird transcriptions, cotton rolls, bandages, ointments and complimentary tissues.

"Uh..." Sifan started, when Phillona removed a bandage from the box, "You know, I think I can manage on my own... Just remind me to pay you for all this stuff later..."

"Oh... okay..." Phillona said, standing up and shrugging, "Go ahead..."

Sifan rummaged through the box, randomly picking up bottles, ointments and reading the minute lettering on their surfaces. Unfortunately for him, the long list of organic chemicals didn't give him a clue as to which one to use. The names were unfamiliar and none of them had instructions or even guidelines for that matter. He sighed and picked up a blue fluid and emptied some of it onto a cotton wad when he heard Phillona sigh.

"Er... something wrong?" he looked up at her, "This stuff will work right...?"

"Well... Yeah... "

"See... I told you I can-"

"You're supposed to drink it..." Phillona pointed out, "Not use it on your wound like that..."

"Hey... I was gonna do just that..." Sifan insisted, the dampened wad of cotton still in hand.

"Yeah, sure, you're gonna squeeze that cotton and empty the drops down your throat?"

"Er... No..." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as Phillona knelt beside him and replaced the bottles Sifan had randomly picked.

"It's just one stupid wound..." the young Leonhart muttered, "It's not like I am going to bleed to death..."

"Okay. Have it your way-"

"Actually..." he sighed when he felt his wound twinge slightly, "Tell me which one to take-"

"Take off your shirt..." she said casually as she opened up a small bottle.

"No way. Uh uh. Forget it."

"Just do it... I don't wanna get this stuff all over your clothes..."

"...No. Don't they have male nurses around this-"

"Sifan Leonhart!" Phillona grew irate, "Will you co-operate for God's sake? I am not asking you to drop your pants, am I? Just your goddamn shirt!"

"Okay... Stop yelling... People might overhear ..."

"I don't care..." she snapped, "Hurry up, before someone else decides to use this locker room..."

Sighing to himself, he removed his coat as Phillona waited behind him. She couldn't help but wear an evil smirk as the young Leonhart removed his T-shirt and sat down on the bench.

While Phillona treated his wounds, Sifan examined the condition of his clothes.

Bahamut's flare had eaten away the threading of his T-shirt and all that remained was a tattered piece of cloth that looked like one of those 'fashionable' T-shirts with long-striped openings. His coat was even worse. Just as he had expected, every strand of the expensive fiber was burnt away and a large, gaping hole stared back at him. Sighing, he flung the coat and the shirt into the bin at the corner of the room, feeling stupid that he had actually wanted to keep them on a minute ago.

After a few complaints of occasional burning, complaints of her being too slow and complaints of her being evil, Phillona finally finished treating Sifan's wounds.

"You make too much of a fuss for a 17-year old, Sifan Leonhart." Phillona remarked as she washed her hands in the restroom, "It's time you grew up a little. There's a T-shirt under the bandages in that box... A Black one... "

Sifan rummaged through the box and removed a T-shirt from it.

"Thanks..." he muttered as he put it on, "And, er... I'm 18 now..."

"What?" Phillona asked in surprise as she walked up to where he was seated, "You mean... you just had your birthday?"

"Two days ago..." Sifan mumbled, "Doesn't really matter, so drop it..."

"You know... you could've told me about it..." Phillona said, "I-"

"Drop it..." Sifan said abruptly as he stood up, "It doesn't matter..."

"Of course it does, Leonhart!" said a familiar voice from behind him, "I remember really well how you liked all that attention you got on your birthday..."

Relafen Almasy walked in with the usual smirk on his face, "Too bad nobody here gives a damn..."

The Shin-Ra commander walked over to the SeeD and shot a sarcastic glare at him, "Happy Birthday, oh son of the Lion heart..."

Phillona looked at Relafen for the first time after their last not-so-wonderful time at Junon. She assumed that Relafen had gotten over her but that didn't prevent her from feeling a little bit uncomfortable. Relafen had openly admitted that he thought Phillona had something for Sifan and that was the reason she had refused to be with him. Back then, Phillona had told the Shin-Ra commander that it wasn't true and the fact was, it wasn't. However, in the eventual flow of things, what Relafen said had come true. She was now, very much in love with the commander's SeeD rival.

"Uh..." she said in a soft voice, "I am gonna go get something for myself to drink..."

She left hurriedly through the exit as Relafen sat down on the bench, his Shin-Ra badge gleaming brightly.

"I watched your little dragon fight Leonhart." Relafen muttered, "You got lucky... you won't be so lucky when you face me... you'll realize that when you watch me beat Fenis tonight..."

"What?" Sifan looked up, "You're facing Avatar? I thought I was..."

"No way Leonhart." Relafen smiled, "First of all, those two morons, Edge and Taurus, disqualified themselves, shortening the number of fixtures. I had one fight, against that Shinobis guy. Fenis had one against that one-eyed guy..."

Setzin.

"You had two. One against that Aura and the other one where you tried flying around on Bahamut. That means I and Fenis square off tonight, leaving you to face the winner, which, of course, will be me... "

"Once I beat your ass, I'll face of against the other fighters from the other arenas." Relafen said as he fixed the Ifrit materia to his gunblade, "And I'll emerge victorious..."

"I am sure, Relafen." Sifan sighed, "I am sure..."

"That brings me to ask..." Relafen mumbled, "What's with Fenis? How the hell does he know General Keiara? Why isn't he hanging around with you anymore? "

"..."

"Oh... I get it..." Relafen laughed out aloud, "He realized just like I did, that by joining Shin-Ra, he can make something out of himself. I don't like him Leonhart, but hell, I have to say he did the right thing by joining General Keiara. If he's good, I am sure he'll be a commander in no time too..."

"Look what's happening around you Leonhart." the flame-haired commander continued, "Squall Leonhart's reputation and name isn't gonna get you crap around here. There ain't gonna be anyone who'll look at you like that. Ya can't live off your father's glory anymore Leonhart. Not even a single dame is gonna look at ya and drool. 'Leonhart, who?' is probably the response you'll get from people around here. So be wise, get yourself recruited for Shin-Ra and do something with your life. Don't be such a goddamn, pathetic loser..."

Happy that he had made himself heard, Relafen Almasy walked out of the locker room, winking at a few girls that passed by him. Sifan heaved a tired sigh as Phillona walked in with a paper bag in her hand. She removed a can of cola and tossed it to Sifan as she took a seat near him. Sifan quietly drank the cola as Phillona rummaged through the paper bag and removed a box from it.

"Here..." she placed a box on his lap, "open it..."

"What is it...?" Sifan said, undoing the taped corners of the box, "Don't tell me you bo-"

It was a dark blue leather jacket, with the outline of a phoenix neatly embroidered in silver. The material felt amazingly authentic as Sifan ran his hand down the back of the jacket. He turned it over and the first thing he noticed was that the buttons too, had the same design of the phoenix carved on them. A small price tag was hanging from the collar but Phillona snatched it away the moment he tried to read it.

"Happy birthday, Seef..." Phillona said smiling at him, "I hope you like it. It was all I could manage in such a.. uh... short notice..."

"This is gold saucer, right..." Sifan muttered, "Isn't it supposed to be the most expensive place around these parts...?"

"Uh yeah..." Phillona said, "But... uh... that jacket was really nice..."

"Take it back..." he put the jacket back into its box, "I can't take this..."

"I got it for you... so shut up and take it..."

"..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "Thank you..."

"Uh..." Sifan dug into his pocket, "Let me at least pay you for the shirt..."

"It's okay..." she assured, "Keep it..."

"Please don't do stupid things like this in the future..." he mumbled putting on the new jacket, "Oh.. by the way... Avatar's facing off with Relafen first..."

"Relafen...?"

"Yeah..."

"Uh... I haven't really seen Relafen fight but is he good? I mean can he beat Avatar?"

"No... He'll be lucky if he can even touch him..."

"But you've told me before that Relafen has Ifrit with him...right?"

"Yeah but Relafen keeps popping out Ifrit in every fight he enters..." Sifan pointed out, "Avatar's not stupid... he'll be expecting it..."

"Oh C'mon..." Phillona smiled, "Avatar can't take on Ifrit..."

"..."

"... right?"

"Don't know..." Sifan sighed, "He's getting stronger every minute... he's got that Fenis guardian training him... and besides, back in Balamb, we were taught about each guardian force's weakness... how else do you think I pulled off that stunt a while ago? There are ways to irritate Bahamut... and that's his weakness.. he gets irritated and angry way too fast... he's strong but if you get on his nerve it's only a matter of time before he loses his composure... that's what happened back there..."

"You're cute..." Phillona smiled, "But, uh... what's Ifrit's weakness? Besides ice magic..."

"He's got too many..." Sifan explained as he and Phillona walked out of the locker room to have lunch in the crowded Golden Saucer Restaurant, "Avatar will probably exploit all of them..."

"So It's going to be Avatar for sure...?"

"Probably..." Sifan replied, "Avatar won't lose... not to Relafen... besides he'll be looking forward to facing me..."

"Why...?" Phillona said as she placed her order, "What does he want?

"He'll probably want to know how I've taken all this madness..." the young Leonhart replied, "He'll make out by the way I fight him.. He always has and always will..."

"He can read my mind, Phillona..." he continued, "Like nobody ever has..."

A numb silence came between the two as they sat on the table at the corner of the restaurant.

Phillona remained silent despite her normal self. She had no words to tell him. What could she say? 'I am sorry Seef, I am sure he meant a lot to you'? She knew he would just pass that for some sympathetic bullshit. If she touched his hand, she knew he'd shy away, like he always did.

Then again, she could always tell him what she wanted to. And that was exactly what she did.

"Let me..." she said slowly looking up at him, "Let me take Avatar's place, Seef..."

He looked at her quietly, surprised at what she had just said.

"I know... it's stupid..." she whispered, "I know you were closer than brothers, I know you've spent years growing up together... and I know I am an idiot to think I can just walk in one fine day and take his place in your life and in your heart... I know I can never measure up to what he was to you but... give me a chance... I-"

"No..." he said bluntly, "You'll never be more than someone helping me out in this new world... that is all..."

He got to his feet and walked out the door.. He walked away to the far end of the hallway till he found a balcony overlooking the desert. He quietly settled himself on the balcony, hoping he could find some solitude. This time, however, Phillona wasn't going to let him get away with what he had said.

"Don't lie to me!" She said, walking up to where he stood, "Don't tell me I am just somebody in this new 'world' of yours..."

"Hah..." he scoffed, "And why do you think I am lying? Is this some stupid intuition you're getting about 'Seef'?"

"I see the way you look at me, Seef..." she replied, "I see the need... I seed the void he's left behind.. I see the pain... You're just one big fucking mess and you can't even come to terms with it... so you just walk away when you get a chance to fix it... I was hurt every time I tried to get close to you... for a while, I thought you didn't want me... but you know what... I realized something... you push me away only because you're afraid... you're afraid I'll leave you too... you're scared I'll hurt you too..."

I don't need this...

"Stop it..."

"Why should I?" Phillona said bluntly, "If you can't figure yourself out, why don't you allow me to? You never saw any of it coming, did you? Till one fine day, the only guy you've trusted over the last decade decided to fuck you over... "

"Shut up...I don't wanna fucking talk about it!"

"See... look at yourself, you can't even handle it..." she continued, "After Avatar left you to die that night, you died on the inside even if you made it out alive the next day... it was that simple... From that day on, you woke up every morning, feeling like you can't even get out of bed. You're sick of it, aren't you? Feeling like a reject that never meant anything to anyone... not even to Avatar Fenis... the person with who you shared your entire childhood..."

"..."

"Oh yeah and then, I came along... didn't I? You knew it, Seef, the way I looked at you... the way I smiled at you... the way I took care of you... you knew I loved you..."

She finally broke into tears.

"Hell, you didn't want it..." She continued wiping the tears from her eyes, "But you knew you were in need of it... I made you smile in the middle of all those conflicting emotions you were feeling because of Avatar... I had become so much of a comfort that the other night, you could sleep well only after I had sat down and talked to you... I checked on you later but you were sleeping too peacefully in case you didn't know... what's the matter Sifan? You thought I am gonna just sit back and let you hurt me and say things like 'You're nothing more than a person who helps me out'?"

"I am sick of it..." she said, "I am sick of being in love with you while you walk around saying things like that and act like I mean nothing to you..."

"..."

"Sooner or later I had to get it out..." she said locking his eyes in her gaze, "This has gone far enough, Seef. It's time you got past this. Avatar's becoming strong. Relafen's a commander. You're getting nowhere sitting around still wondering why Avatar did what he did. Seef, that's why I am asking you... please.. let me love you... let me take away all the pain... let me be the one to hold you at the end of every day in this world... let go of everything about Avatar that you've believed... he's gone now... I'll make you my world… I'll make you my life… my e-everything… I'll spend every minute trying to make you happy… I'll never let you hurt a single minute… I am asking you, Seef… I am asking you with all my heart… be mine... let me fill that void... You know I can... I know you want me Sifan Leonhart, hell, you need me...otherwise, you wouldn't have tears welling up in your eyes..."

Sifan looked away from her into the desert that stretched in front of him, doing his best to hold back tears that were threatening to ebb out.

"I...I need time..." was all he could manage to say.

"Okay..." She whispered, looking at the beautiful sands sparkle under the sunlight in front of them.

She intertwined her fingers around his and for the first time in his life, Sifan Leonhart couldn't bring himself to pull away...

A/N: Yes... Mushy/Sugary/Syrupy ...I know... If you were looking for action, please forgive me... :-) Please review...