Fleet

As they waited in the infirmary for Dr. Kadowaki to emerge from an appointment with another patient, the anxiety that Fujin had worked so expertly to bury over the past few days started to bubble up in the pit of her stomach. Somehow, this moment of reckoning made it more real … and it seemed like they'd arrived at there faster than she'd wanted to. Of course, she wanted to tell someone at Garden about these problems. Of course she did. But she had just found peace with Seifer… of course she had. Things were supposed to be easier now …

Time ran at warp speed earlier in the morning. After breakfast they'd packed up their things quickly. Despite the joyous news of Fujin and Seifer finally being an item, a heaviness hung over them as the reality of the situation sank in. Fujin, for her own part, couldn't stop thinking about how the recent information hinged heavily on Seifer. And by the look in his eyes—that nervous darting they did when he was panicked about something and trying not to show it—she could tell he was doing the opposite. Seifer was worrying about how the news hinged on her.

Fujin thought it was Raijin who had the worst of it though, in some respects. He was left to worry for both of them, not having seen what they'd experienced and not having the depth of understanding that they had. He stood separate from them, an outsider looking in on his two best friends as danger built up around them.

Raijin also seemed to vacillate between giddiness that they'd finally found happiness, and a silent moping that they'd found happiness without him. He'd smiled when Seifer gabbed Fujin's bag as they disembarked from the boat, and grew quiet and she and Seifer weaved together through the busy Balamb streets to rent a car for their journey home and talked about going to see Dr. Kadowaki. Fujin could tell it was going to be a hard transition for him.

Which was why she allowed Raijin to take shotgun and ride next to Seifer on the journey to Garden, staying quiet as the two of them talked about lighter things—killing bite bugs, food in the cafeteria … anything that wasn't sorceress-related, or Seifer-Fujin related. She felt a pang of nostalgia, as the bright afternoon sun stung her eyes and the salty sea air wafted through the rolled down windows; she was transported to summers of the past, when they were young and invincible. When sorceresses were just fictional things in the movies Seifer watched, and Raijin regaled them with the story of kissing a girl for the first time—he'd beaten Seifer to it. Meanwhile, Seifer would sit on the dock with her, planning more sailing trips … all a guise to be the next one to score a kiss.

The memory of those days brought back the feeling of sand under her toes, the smell of seagrass drying in the sun, and that one night when Seifer kept her out late to show her what nautical twilight was. He'd been right—you could see the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars all at once.

You're awfully quiet back there … Seifer stated, looking into the rearview mirror after laughing raucously with Raijin about a joke she'd missed while lost in thought.

Just listening. Her eyes connected with his for a moment, before Raijin turned around to look at her.

That's our Fuu. Always listening. He'd reached back to slap her knee, and she smiled at his mention of 'our Fuu.' You probably know every secret in the world by now … you hear everything, ya know. Seifer glanced sideways at Raijin with a feigned look of panic at the idea of an all-knowing Fujin. Raijin snickered, and she could tell the brief moment of normalcy gave him a little peace.

When they made it to the parking garage, Raijin and Seifer stepped out of the car first—both stretching their legs before moving to the trunk to grab their bags. Raijin asked Seifer if he wanted to meet up in the Disciplinary Committee office later to 'catch up on paperwork,' which just meant hanging out. Seifer agreed, as he peered through her window and tapped on the roof of the car.

Hey Fuu, you planning on driving away or are you coming with us? His fingers gripped the handle of her door, prying it open and holding his hand out for hers. Raijin sidled up behind Seifer, clapping his shoulder and smiling down at them.

I'm gonna go ahead, ya know. Get settled in our room. His expression changed then, knowing the question would let on that he was worried he'd be left out. … Can you guys come get me, after you meet with Dr. K?

Of course Raijin, Fujin spoke from the back seat, peering past Seifer. She'd bring him with them if she didn't also have to address other, more personal matters with Kadowaki.

Yeah man, you're our first stop after that. Seifer turned to grasp Raijin's shoulder in kind, the two of them sharing a knowing look. You're coming with us to see Cid, too. This involves all three of us. Raijin nodded, smiling.

Okay, I'll be in our room then man. You want me to do anything while you're gone?

Drawing up a report on what you saw in Deling would be good. Seifer shrugged, and looked to Fujin as she nodded in agreement. They'll want that when we tell them about it … if we tell them about it. And with that, Raijin nodded and left them together in the garage.

C'mere. Seifer smirked, as he grabbed Fujin's hand and pulled her out of the car, closing the door behind her. He dropped their bags to the ground, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

You doing okay? You were quiet the whole way home. Something on your mind … other than the impending apocalypse? His dark humor made her smile. Everything about him made her smile.

Raijin. She sighed, reaching into her pocket to fish out her eye patch instinctively now that they were back at Garden. He let go of her so she could place it over her eye. I just want to make sure we don't forget him.

Of course. Seifer leaned down to grab their bags with one hand, and touched her lower back with the other to urge her forward down the corridor. We'll be careful with him. Now, let's get to your room and call Kadowaki.

As they turned right at the end of the hallway to make the short walk to the dorms, throngs of women stopped to say hi to Seifer. He only nodded at them, embarrassed as they stared at him and glared at Fujin. He made a point to stop at the entry to the dorms to pull her in for a deep kiss, just in case one of them had any question to where his allegiances lay.

You're making a scene. She'd nudged him away.

He laughed and reached down to hold her hand, lacing his fingers in hers. Get used to it.

When they'd arrived back at Fujin's dorm to find her roommate gone, Seifer's hands—without needing to ask—made quick work of removing Fujin's pants. He'd lifted her and pressed her up against the door as her legs wrapped around him; it had been fast and with such a fever she'd barely had time to get the door closed. Hyne, he'd exhaled shakily afterward, and wiped sweat from his brow as he kissed her and pulled away to gently let her feet touch the ground again. I still can't believe we get to do this now.

Get used to it. She mimicked him, breathless, picking up her discarded clothing and walking towards her bathroom to take a shower. She heard his footsteps following her after she closed the door, and the light thud of his hand against the hollow wood as he pressed his palm against it.

Hey Fuu, do you think that maybe when you talk to Dr. K today … we should get you on something? She chuckled at his delicate vagueness. It's just, I plan on doing a lot more of this …. and we're playing it a little fast and loose here.

She opened the door a crack, and he craned his neck so his green eyes could peer at her.

I mean, no pressure. His fingers wrapped around the edge of the door to pull it open a bit more so he could read her face. She smiled at his uncomfortableness with the topic. Seifer Almasy, made nervous by women's issues. That would be the thing that made him uncomfortable.

Yes, Seifer. That's on my list of asks today. He nodded, relieved.

Hey … he hesitated, as a smirk stretched across his face as he nodded to the shower stall. Think I could join you? I was planning on getting cleaned up anyway … two birds, one stone. It's strategic, really.

And now, wet haired and tired, they waited in the infirmary for the good doctor to emerge from dealing with the patient who'd beaten them to the punch while they were busy with each other. They could hear Kadowaki's voice murmuring from one of the adjacent rooms.

"Hey, isn't it weird that she doesn't have chairs or something to sit on that aren't behind her desk?" Seifer gestured around the room and then kicked the bench they sat on with his heel. "I mean really; I'd see everything she entered into that computer from here." Seifer's attempt at small talk to calm her nerves was minimally impactful at best—Fujin's stomach was in knots.

"You'd have to have good vision." She mused, motioning to the screen. "That's six feet away; the print is too tiny."

"Oh ye of little faith." Seifer touched her knee. "I have perfect vision."

"Of course you do." She rolled her eyes. "Is there anything about you that isn't perf—"

Fujin stopped talking abruptly when Dr. Kadowaki emerged from a room to their left—her hair pulled back into a tight brown bun and a clipboard clutched in her hand.

"Well, I think you're in good shape then. Don't come back to see me unless you don't feel well," Kadowaki spoke, as she made a few final notes on her paperwork. When Fujin saw who the patient sauntering out with doctor was, she glanced sideways at Seifer. He arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, muttering something under his breath.

"Oh! Fujin, isn't this a surprise." Dr. Kadowaki finally looked up from her paperwork, realizing that more people had filtered into her office. "And you too, Seifer …" She reluctantly acknowledged him and he waved back at her without turning his head. "I thought your crew had gone off for the summer on a vacation. I'm surprised to see you back so soon."

"Well Dr. K, we came back just to see you." Seifer turned to look at her smirking. "But if you need to keep bottle feeding Leonhart, we can come back later." Squall Leonhart—the only other gunblade specialist at Garden besides Seifer, and thus Seifer's self-proclaimed arch rival—only crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head at the remark.

"Seifer, no unnecessary barbs." Dr. Kadowaki scolded him as she moved to sit in her chair.

"Can I go now?" Squall threw his hand up in the air flippantly, palm first, growing agitated with Seifer's mere presence in the room.

"Be patient, Squall. Let me enter this information and get you scheduled for a physical next year." The room grew silent as the doctor typed the notes into the computer, and discussed the next date she'd see Squall. Seifer leaned close to Fujin's ear to whisper.

"See, I'm ninety percent sure she just typed 'delayed puberty.'" Fujin began to chuckle, and swatted his arm. "I'm telling you, that's what it said."

"Stop—we don't need a fight right now." He made a face at her suggestion that it would even be a fight.

"Hey Squall," Seifer raised his chin as Kadowaki handed Squall a slip and he readied to leave. "Wanna spar sometime this week? I think I got the upper hand last time—care to try again?"

"You got the upper hand because you fight dirty." Squall folded the paper and shoved it in his pocket. "If you let it be a fair match, I'll win again."

"What, you think that in a real battle everyone's just going to follow the rules? Going to be fair?" Seifer's smirk grew wider. "I fight how real men fight. I'm only trying to teach you how to not get killed."

"Well thanks professor," Squall turned his back and walked towards the exit. "Maybe when you actually pass the SeeD exam I'll take tips from you." He was gone before Seifer could come up with a witty retort.

"Fucking Leonhart." Seifer spat. Kadowaki wheeled around in her chair.

"Language, Seifer. Watch your language. And by the way, you shouldn't be talking about sparring off-campus with another student in front of me. It's against the rules and you know it." Seifer leaned back against the wall, grumbling, as Dr. Kadowaki shifted her focus to Fujin.

"So, which one of you am I seeing today?"

"BOTH." Fujin spoke, forgetting herself now that she was in the walls of Garden. "Both of us." Dr. Kadowaki's eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, if it's all the same I'd like to speak with you first, separately." Kadowaki motioned to Fujin before spinning around in her chair to pull up her file.

"It's okay Dr. Kadowaki—Seifer knows everything." The doctor nodded with her back turned to the two of them.

"Yes, yes. I knew he would. I'd like to speak with you one-on-one first, all the same." She spun back around to look at the both of them as Seifer began to protest. "It's a common patient privacy practice, Seifer. I know your group is attached at the hip, but I follow my rules. Not yours." She smiled as he rolled his eyes.

"Come now, Fujin." She tapped Fujin's knee with her pen. "Let's catch up."

Seifer crossed his arms indignantly, as Dr. Kadowaki led her into the room that Squall Leonhart had just departed, and closed the door behind them.

"I'm glad you came by." Kadowaki motioned for Fujin to sit down on the examination table, and moved to sit in an adjacent office chair. "You've been on my mind. Have things gotten worse?" Fujin sighed, placing her palms on her knees and kicking her heels against the metal table.

"Well, before we get into that … I'm actually partially here because I had unprotected sex yesterday … and today." Kadowaki raised her eyebrows.

"Okay. Well this is an interesting start to the review of your summer. Can't wait to hear what the other news is." She leaned back in her chair. "We'll get you a pill to take before you go. No unprotected sex for seven days, and ideally never, by the way. And—"

"I know, I know. I learned about it all in my Covert Ops class." Fujin waved her hand to stop the conversation. It already felt awkward enough, no need to go into the details.

"Yes, I forgot they teach you this." She sighed and shook her head at the complicated pitfalls of being a successful member of SeeD. "So, do you want to go on something long-term? I recommend the implant for female SeeD—especially when they're going out on missions."

"Long-term. The implant would be fine."

"Okay, we'll get that going for you too. Now …" Kadowaki paused, making more notes on her clipboard. "Would you like to be tested for STDs? I'd recommend it." It honestly hadn't occurred to her that it would be necessary. Fujin furrowed her brow as she tried to remember if Seifer ever mentioned anything about tests.

"I don't think I do …" Her gaze darted to the door absentmindedly, and Kadowaki's eyes lit up at the realization that Seifer was here with her as the other half of the irresponsible pair.

"Oh Hyne Fujin, Seifer Almasy?" She placed her clipboard in her lap and peered over her glasses. "I know this is overstepping, but that boy is nothing but trouble." Fujin shrugged, and continued to kick her heels against the table.

"Well, we'll at least get you on that birth control straight away." Kadowaki said in a tone that also seemed to be saying you'll need it, as she picked her clipboard back up and pressed the center of her glasses with one finger to push them onto the bridge of her nose. "He is a bit of dreamboat, I suppose." She arched an eyebrow at Fujin as the corner of her mouth rose into a small smile. Fujin blushed, and abruptly changed the subject.

"Dr. Kadowaki—before I talk with you about anything else, I need to ask you if we can keep this off the record. And … if we can go back and redact any record of mine involving … the problems I was having when I left." Kadowaki, perplexed, took off her glasses and let them hang round her neck.

"Sure, Fujin. Do you have privacy concerns?"

"I do, actually—General Caraway from Galbadia somehow accessed my file and told me about it when we had dinner with him in Dollett. He told me …" Her voice trailed off, realizing she hadn't received a firm answer to her question.

"General Caraway? But why would—" Fujin interrupted her.

"Listen, I just need to know that we can remove that information and that I can trust you."

"Of course Fujin, on both counts. We can go to my computer right now if you want. You're starting to alarm me a bit, though. Is everything okay?" Kadowaki placed her hand on Fujin's knee, which finally caused her feet to cease their incessant swinging. "You can trust me."

"No … I don't think everything is okay." This past week, Fujin hadn't really let herself feel the fear in the back of her mind. But under the florescent lights of the infirmary, with the gentle and helpful voice of Dr. Kadowaki urging her to lay her problems down on her, the fear was tangible. "We should probably include Seifer though—he's a big part of this too."

"Alright, let's go back into the waiting area and I'll lock the infirmary door. We can continue this conversation with Seifer while I correct your file." Fujin nodded, and stood from the table to walk out of the room only to find that her knees were weak. She wobbled a little, as Dr. Kadowaki placed a hand on her arm to steady her, her eyes heavy with concern.

"Seifer," Dr. Kadowaki said as she entered the room with Fujin. "Pull that bench closer to my desk—I feel as if we're in for a long chat. And be a dear and help Fujin have a seat." Seifer stood quickly, dragging the wooden bench across the floor before darting over to grab Fujin.

"Hey," Seifer leaned in close to wrap his arm around her shoulder. "Hyne, you look paler than normal, which is really freaking me out." Fujin heard the click of the lock on the door, as Seifer led her to the bench to sink down beside him. When he kissed her temple, Dr. Kadowaki sighed.

"Well, don't you two make a handsome couple?" Fujin flashed her a wry smile, and Dr. Kadowaki clapped her hands together. "Alright, where should we begin?"

When Fujin couldn't speak, Seifer filled the silent space with his own version of events. He started the tale in a Seifer-centric manner—in hopes that Fujin would decide to speak up at some point—by describing the nightmares he'd been having for the better half of a year, and how they seemed so incredibly real—the horror of being chased, being surrounded by the cold void of space and stars, and then being rescued by a warm white wind.

Fujin continued to stay silent, so Seifer assumed his natural leadership role and spoke for her. He worried that Kadowaki would think he was being controlling instead of being helpful, so he made sure to keep looking at Fujin and asking her if that he was correctly relaying the information. He wondered if he would've even thought about the perception at all if they weren't dating now. He didn't want people to get the idea that he mistreated her. He didn't want people to think—as Dr. Kadowaki clearly seemed to think—that Fujin would be better off without him … and then convince her of that too.

Seifer carefully talked about the night Fujin revealed she'd passed her SeeD exam, and how he'd first learned about Pandemona through Fujin's intoxicated admission that she could hear the wind blowing through her ears. The streets were dead quiet, Seifer had noted, barely a breeze and Fujin talked the whole way home about a howling tornado. He told Dr. Kadowaki that Fujin had admitted that it was painful at times, and that he could see changes in her that others might not notice—she was paler than normal, she was exhausted but didn't sleep well, and she was a little more emotional than normal. At the sound of an aggravated huff from Fujin, he clarified that they'd been going through some difficult transitions within the Posse so that could have had something to do with the emotions.

The dinner with General Caraway, and the message for Cid about the potential threat of a new sorceress, just sounded even weirder when explained within the context of everything else. Seifer hadn't realized just how connected everything seemed to be. He'd been telling Fujin to calm down, when she'd probably been right to worry.

The odd thing was that Kadowaki seemed to covered her mouth in feigned shock—or at least misplaced shock—at the news from Caraway and the suggestion that Pandemona was a hybrid of a Guardian Force and the spirit of a sorceress. There was a suspicious lack of surprise. Seifer even thought that'd he spied a sort've recognition, or acknowledgement, in her eyes. He glazed over it for the sake of getting through the story, but he was sure as hell going to circle back around to that.

As he described their last night on the boat together, Dr. Kadowaki canted forward her in chair and listened with bated breath. She had the most questions about that bit—So the dream and the event happened simultaneously? Are you sure it was trying to talk to you? That it was trying to say something about you? Her brow furrowed at the mention of the voice talking about destiny, death and time—as if the three, which were already inextricably linked, shared an even greater meaning within their story.

The look on the doctor's face made him uneasy, but he was mostly irritated that it seemed to be making Fujin more upset. Every second Kadowaki betrayed her usual professional façade, Fujin's leg shook and she grew even more distant. Seifer squeezed her knee several times to try and bring her back to reality—if anything just to make sure he wasn't missing important details that would be relevant.

"Fuu, did you hear all of that? Did I get everything?" She jumped a little, and nodded.

"Yeah, I think that's everything. Sorry—I'm a little out of it today. Yesterday took a lot out of me." Kadowaki leaned away from them again and crossed her arms.

"I'm so sorry the two of you have been dealing with this on your own. And about General Caraway. He never has been very concerned about tact, I suppose." There it was again—that hesitation was resonating in the doctor's voice now, not just in her facial expressions.

"It's okay Dr. K.—Fujin's pretty tough, and you already know I can handle a little crazy." Seifer let go of Fujin's knee, and leaned into the space that the doctor had just evacuated, looking at her intently. "What I don't appreciate is you advising her to not tell me about all this. Who knows what could've happened this summer. You kinda made her go through this on her own."

"Seifer, it wasn't just Dr. Kadowaki. I—" Seifer waved her off.

"Sure Fuu, I know. You didn't want to tell me about SeeD. Conveniently it wound up working as a dual excuse though." Dr. Kadowaki folded her hands on top of the clipboard that rested in her lap, and waited for Seifer to ask her the question she knew had been coming.

"You know, you don't seem very surprised about Pandemona, or by any of this really." Seifer arched an eyebrow and his jaw stiffened as his temper began to flare a bit, edging his voice. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you already knew about the sorceress."

"Seifer." Fujin's fingers touched his forearm. "That's not true. This isn't a conspiracy."

"Actually … " Kadowaki let out a heavy sigh, and looked directly at Fujin with apologetic eyes. "It was a theory we'd floated."

"We?" Seifer's rage began to peak.

"Headmaster Cid and I." Kadowaki turned to place her clipboard on her desk. "And we need to include Cid in this conversation if you want to know more."

Of course Cid and Kadowaki already knew. Of course Garden, in all of it's ethical glory, was morally ambiguous when it came to protecting their students first. Seifer wasn't surprised, he was just royally fucking pissed.

He glanced over to Fujin to discover her staring down at her boots in shock at the deep betrayal. It struck a chord in his chest, to see her taken by surprise without any of her defenses up. She'd seemed so vulnerable lately … or maybe, it's just that his eyes were looking at her through newer, more tender lenses.

Rather than unleashing a verbal assault on the good doctor, Seifer instead chose to sling his arm around Fujin's shoulder and pull her close. Reacting how he'd normally react would only cause her more pain and confusion, and not get them the answers they wanted. The deception was worthy of a tirade, but instead he put what was better for her first. Hyne, how much he'd changed this summer.

"Well, then let's go see Cid right now and get some answers." He made a point to glare at Kadowaki. "But first we need to get Raijin—the three of us are doing this together now; that's how we always do things. We follow our rules … not yours."

"AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin agreed with him in the tone she reserved for people she didn't like—which was most people. She was renewed by his shared strength as she reached up to absentmindedly grab his wrist that dangled around her shoulder. "RAJIN COMES TOO."

"That's fine." Dr. Kadowaki stood from her chair to lean towards her phone, pressing a button to activate her intercom. "Rajin Kazeno, please report to the infirmary as soon as possible." The message played over the loudspeaker.

"Fujin, it was a hard choice to keep it from you." The doctor folded her arms over her chest. "I'm very sorry. … let me call Cid's office and get in touch with Xu while we wait for Raijin."

Kadowaki busied herself at the phone to schedule an on-the-fly meeting with the Headmaster. Seifer didn't listen to anything she said—he only continued to gaze at Fujin, whose eyes were fixed on an imaginary point in the distance.

"Fuu, you in there?" She blinked and turned to face him, and he reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear with his free hand, revealing her eyepatch. He'd forgotten she'd put it back on after the shower. He playfully slid his finger under the string and snapped it lightly. "You're quiet, even for you. Did I cover everything you wanted covered?"

"Yes, you did great." She released his wrist, and moved to touch his chest. "Sorry … I feel like this is just … about to spiral out of control." Seifer nodded, and glanced at Dr. Kadowaki as she talked sternly and lowly over the phone with what must have been Xu resisting a last-minute meeting.

"I feel the same way. But hey … as long as we have each other, we have nothing to worry about. Strength in numbers." As if on cue, the doorknob to the infirmary jiggled, and Raijin knocked in frustration upon finding it locked.

"Dr. K., ya just called me ya know?" He whined from the other side. "How can ya be closed?" Seifer, in what was becoming a habit, kissed Fujin's temple before standing to let their friend in the room.

Now the Posse was at it's strongest—they were going into this as a unified fleet. Which was a good thing, because Seifer genuinely had no fucking clue what was going on.