Disclaimer: All FF8 characters are courtesy of Squaresoft Enix
Advent of the Necromancer: Book I
Chronicles of Past and Present
¿Desde cuándo te empecé a amar?
¿Desde cuándo te empecé a amar?
La la la la…Oooh, oooh…
Dime cuándo comenzó el dolor
Dime cuándo comenzó el dolor
La la la la…Oooh, oooh…
Amores Perros, amores perros
– Ely Guerra –
Chapter 28: This Is Not The End
– 06.05.23 AU – Balamb Garden SeeD Quarters –
Thin slits of morning sunlight penetrated through the blinds and touched Ahnyang Hideyoshi's face, stirring her slowly awake. Sighing, she readjusted her cheek on the warmth of her pillow. –Hmmn– It was so warm and so hard. She heard the steady beat of her own heart, even as she listened to another beat… slowly lulling her back to sleep… –Hmmn– Another heartbeat… Suddenly her eyes flared open, only to stare at her own hand nestled on the slight blonde fuzz that covered the expanse of a beautifully muscled golden chest. She could feel something solid and heavy draped possessively across her back …and she was, naked? Her mind completely cleared of sleep, she craned her neck up and met the full power of Gabriel Almasy's deep blue gaze. He was wide awake and was staring at her with amusement…the bastard! 'Probably used to this,' She thought sourly.
Ahnyang was in a bit of a dilemma, if she got up he would see her bare breasts, but if she stayed where she was… They happened to be plastered to his naked chest! The choice was taken out of her when a warm hand cradled her face, lifting it for an incredibly hot tongue-thrusting open-mouthed kiss! She was still trying to gather her wits together, when the warm covers were wrenched from her and she felt a hard slap on the butt as he said, "Rise and shine, Hideyoshi! We're to report to the commander's office in less than thirty minutes!"
"What?"
Not caring that she was now giving him a full frontal view of all her charms, she got up on her hands and knees to glare at him and say accusingly, "You bastard! Why didn't you wake me up sooner!" Then suddenly, she gulped, her eyes the size of saucers as her mouth hung open, her gaze travelling down his body. Gabriel Almasy was standing in front of her completely in the nude and looking supremely unconcerned, as if he did that everyday. Hyne Dammit! The bastard was beautiful! …Everywhere! She felt a blush travel all the way from her hair to her toes as she said to him in a strangled voice, "For Hyne's sake, cover yourself!"
He just arched an eyebrow over sky-blue eyes. Gabriel could feel himself harden as he let his gaze travel lazily over her smooth nude body in obvious enjoyment at what he saw, even as he said suavely, "Stop being such a prudish bitch Hideyoshi, specially after last night … Unless …that pose happens to be an invitation?" Ahnyang had been so fascinated staring at his body, that she hadn't realized she was kneeling on all fours. With a suppressed oath she grabbed the bed sheet he'd so carelessly tossed aside, and proceeded to cover herself with it. "Bastard! You did that on purpose!" In her struggles to wound the large sheet completely around her slender frame and to tame her long hair, which was trailing wildly all over the place, she failed to notice that Gabriel had finished dressing and was closing in on her.
"W-What? …What the hell are you doing? … Almasy! …Let me dowmmmMMmm … hmmn … …" The sheet was wrenched from her body a second time, and a pair of brawny arms scooped her up to carry her to the bathroom. Once there, her mouth was seized again for another searing kiss, before he allowed her on her feet, "Shut up and shower, Hideyoshi. You have less than twenty minutes now to report to duty."
After saying that, he left.
§ § §
–Balamb Garden, Gabriel Almasy's Quarters–
He'd broken a cardinal rule he'd set out for himself: Not to get involved with anyone in Garden! It was just not worth all the trouble! How the fuck did he allow it to happen? And with someone who was best friends with Meijin and Sylvie! He knew from the moment he'd set eyes on her that she'd be trouble, but now that he'd had a taste of her… there was no fucking way he'd stop himself from going back for a second helping …and many more. Many, many more.
She'd intrigued him from day one, but he'd thought –arrogantly– that he had everything under control. When he found himself thinking about her in the middle of a mission for no reason whatsoever, he knew he was in trouble. The attraction between the two of them was potent. Maybe had it just been him, it would've been easier to resist, but she'd wanted him too. Gabriel grimaced when he thought of Foehn, he hoped he didn't have to hurt his childhood friend… He decided to tell Foehn that from today on, Hideyoshi was off limits.
It hadn't been his original intention to spend the night in her bed, hell, all he'd wanted was to alert her of their mission and their meeting with the Commander, but somehow he got sidetracked …It must've been the sight of all that dark inky hair streaming down that luscious body and the heat that had flashed out of those almond eyes …and now that it had happened he didn't regret it. The bitch was hot! She'd been so aggressive that it had surprised him to find her intact, but then…with her sour disposition… Who would've dared? He'd had to restrain her when she'd slammed herself down his full length. The feel of her was indescribable! He'd noticed her grimace of pain when he felt her barrier give way. It had taken all of his control to force her to stop, to allow her body the time to adjust to his deep penetration, when all he truly wanted was for her to ride him wildly… In any case, she'd be sore today for sure. Too bad about that, he wouldn't have minded giving her a practical demonstration of the wonders of showering together… 'I wouldn't be taking this cold shower now…'
Gabriel stepped out of the shower and towelled himself dry. In less than five minutes he was fully dressed in his SeeD uniform and halfway to the Commander's office.
§ § §
– Balamb Garden Ahnyang Hideyoshi's Quarters –
Ahnyang took a careful inventory of herself in the shower. Apart from feeling a very distinct soreness between her thighs and the presence of muscles she'd never felt before, she seemed to be all in one piece. She'd expected some pain, but the sharp sting of his penetration had surprised her, –Humph– perhaps it shouldn't have …now she knew the bastard was impressive everywhere. She let the warm shower water pour down her face, and down her body… Hyne! She'd allowed that bastard to fuck her brains out last night.
Of course she'd been attracted to him from the very first meeting. The force of the attraction had shocked her. She'd been attracted to other people before, but the mild curiosity that had characterized such attachments usually faded when she got to know them better. Not so with that bastard, his pull on her senses was devastating, outside the realm of reason and logic! In the beginning she'd tagged it onto his good looks, –Sigh– such an old excuse, not to mention a lame one as well… But she'd been in the middle of a mission, she didn't have the time to be mooning over her squad leader, of all people! Maybe had theirs been a normal team-leader to team-member relationship, she wouldn't had reacted so badly to his criticisms. She'd worked with total assholes before and their comments had not ever bothered her. She'd just done her job and let her record stand for itself, but apparently unsatisfied lust made things more complicated.
She should've known better than to follow him out of the cafeteria yesterday, but her curiosity had been her undoing…
…
They'd walked in silence until they reached the relative seclusion of the Eastern Quad, which had a view of the mountains. Most people preferred the other Quad, because of its breathtaking view of the sea. As they were walking, Ahnyang felt the stares of people; some were curious, many envious…
"Don't let it bother you."
There was a distinct undertone of amusement in Gabriel's voice.
"How can you stand it?"
She'd looked up at his impassive face curiously. He'd shrugged powerful shoulders.
"You get used to it."
They stopped when they reached the observatory, beneath the shade of a massive tree.
"Well?" She prompted, they were there at his request. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his answer. It was swift in coming. Almasy was not known for his timidity, if anything he was known in Garden for tackling problems head on.
"We'll probably have to work with each other again in the future, don't you think we should clear up some issues between us?"
She'd been staring off into the distance trying to act cool, but the moment she heard his question and the emphatic way he said 'issues' she'd known immediately what he meant; however, she chose to ignore it because she hadn't wanted to deal with the situation yet. Apart from the occasional glimpse in the cafeteria, they had successfully managed to avoid each other ever since their return to Garden. She turned to look into his face.
"Name one, Almasy."
She knew she was not being very cooperative, his eyes had narrowed in obvious displeasure.
"Allow me to show you instead…"
Quick as lightning, he seized her waist with his arm pulling her body flush against his, trapping her hands, which she had held up in pure reflex, against his chest. His other hand held her head in place as his mouth descended on hers. As with his previous kiss, a wave of pure pleasure coursed down her veins, making her open her mouth wider to allow him to deepen the caress. A few seconds later, he raised his head but did not relinquish his hold on her.
"Do you get it now?"
"No. I need you to show me more."
Standing on her toes, she'd reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck drawing his golden head down to hers for another sizzling kiss.
…
She shook her head at the hot memory. They would've probably gone further than a little kissing had Gabriel not been interrupted by the incessant blip of his comm unit. His sister had been injured, but Dr. Kadowaki had taken care of everything, he just needed to notify the commander and his parents. Ahnyang blushed when she remembered the kiss he'd given her before he left…
What was it about Almasy? All the bastard had to do was look at her to turn to mush! Like last night, he'd come over to let her know about their new mission and somehow they had ended up all over each other… In spite of herself, she felt a blush suffusing her face, the incredible explosion of the senses had been so unexpected, had he not smothered her cry with his mouth, all of Garden would've heard! …'Shit, Hideyoshi! Pull yourself together, you've got a meet with Commander Squall in less than ten minutes!'
Ahnyang sighed, there was no point in obsessing over the bastard or in trying to figure out the why or how it happened because it already did… The saddest part of it all was that she might be joining the ranks of all those people who lusted after the arrogant jerk …Except that she'd rather kiss a Malboro than allowing him or anyone else know about it!
§ § §
– Balamb Garden, by the Central Library –
Gabriel made his way to the set of stairs that would lead to the main lift, his mind already on logistics of the mission ahead. They would probably be boarding the afternoon bullet train express from Balamb to Deling, and from Deling rent a vehicle to get to the town of Minos. They should be checking into the hotel by late afternoon, at the latest. As he waited for the lift, he spotted Hideyoshi hurrying to catch up with him. –Scoff– In typical fashion, she was wearing the male version of the SeeD uniform. Who was she fucking trying to fool?
"Hideyoshi, I see you made it on time."
That only got him a glare from her.
"Not thanks to you, Almasy."
The elevator doors glided open and they both went inside. They rode the lift up to the Commander's office in absolute silence. Ahnyang tried to not look at him, she knew that if she did something stupid would happen, like her blushing as she recalled all the things they did last night. Gabriel fixed his eyes on her and thought that she looked like a damn model for the SeeD regulation manual! Her long hair was once again restrained in a long braid, her uniform starched to death and in pristine condition. She was gazing straight ahead. If he had the time he would've loved to make her look dishevelled, but the elevator doors were already gliding open into the receiving area before the Commander's office.
"Hey, Gabe! Hello, Ahnyang! The commander's waiting for you."
"Good morning, sir!"
" 'Morning Ren! Do I smell coffee brewing around here?"
"Sure! Help yourself to a cup, boy!"
Gabriel smiled at Reinaldo Zuleiga, the SeeD that acted as assistant to B-Garden's Commander. He used to be 'Club', a member of his mother's legendary C.C. group, and the best babysitter ever! Good ol' Ren would practically let all the children under his supervision do anything they wanted.
Ahnyang stared at the easy relationship Almasy had with the commander's secretary, 'Of course, he practically grew up here!'…
"How 'bout you Hideyoshi? Want a cup?"
She snapped out of her reverie, "No. Thank you."
Gabriel frowned at her formal manner, but before he could say anything, the door to the commander's office opened and Squall was there inviting them inside.
"Ahnyang, Gabriel, come inside!"
As they entered the commander's office he could sense Hideyoshi becoming stiffer beside him. Curious he looked in her direction and his eyes widened when he spotted Aunt Xu. He couldn't help but blurt out.
"Aunt Xu! What're you doing here?"
She smiled at him and replied, "What? I can't come over and check-out the hottest guy in Garden?"
To his great annoyance, he blushed at her bluntness even as he inclined his head so the petite woman could give him a loud smack on the cheek.
"Xu, I don't need to introduce the other member of this mission."
Ahnyang bowed deeply and said stiffly, "Mother. Commander Leonhart."
The effusive Xu became serious and just nodded a greeting at her own daughter, ignoring the obvious surprise in Gabriel's beautiful blue eyes. However, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly when she noticed the body language between Gabriel and her daughter. Was she imagining things or did Gabe just move his body protectively closer to Ahnyang's? –Oh, well …Che sera, sera…
"Gabe, I was entrusted by your mother to deliver this to you in person." She grabbed his hand and pressed a microchip onto his palm. "Quistis wants you to read it with great care."
Gabriel stared at the tiny object on the palm of his hand and knew what she was referring to: his mother's journal. He just nodded his head without saying anything, he was still reeling from the shock of finding out that she was Xu's daughter! Hideyoshi was not an uncommon name in Trabia, so he'd never even associated them together. She didn't look even remotely like Aunt Xu! Squall interrupted his thoughts with his clipped voice.
"Now, for mission details…"
§
…Afterwards
They were walking together in silence. After the meeting, when they have left Squall conferring with Xu, Ahnyang had tried to put a distance between them but he had stopped that by simply clamping his hand on her upper arm. She'd tried to pry her arm loose, but had been unsuccessful. It was obvious that glaring at him would accomplish nothing, so she'd just let herself be steered into the cafeteria. She was immensely thankful that it was sufficiently early for the crowd here to be quite thin.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He hadn't spoken a word to her until now.
"Tell you what?"
"That you were Xu's daughter."
"I wasn't aware that it was a secret."
"You don't look like her."
She didn't reply, but tried to shake loose from his hold again. To her surprise, he released her, then she realized they were at the counter. One of the ladies there winked flirtatiously at him, before looking at her inquiringly.
"Coffee and toast, please."
"You need to eat more than that Hideyoshi if you want to keep up with me."
She ignored his innuendo and grabbed her tray. She sat on the first empty table she saw, hoping that he would sit elsewhere, like on that other table with those two girls who'd been drooling at him ever since he'd entered the cafeteria. Not a chance. A tray filled to the brim with food and drink was deposited beside hers. Ignoring the empty seat in front, he chose to sit on the one right next to her. She stared daggers at him, the cafeteria might not be as busy as usual, but the few people that were there were all staring at the two of them. She didn't appreciate the attention. He just ate unconcernedly.
"You're going to eat or just stare at your food?"
He'd said the last word as if he had doubts about the validity of it. She could only stare at the way he'd polished off his breakfast.
"Where does it go?"
She blurted out before she could help herself. Her outburst caused him to answer her with a slight smirk on his sinfully beautiful face.
"What? You ask me that after last night?"
"Bastard!" She muttered under her breath, of course he heard her. Thankfully, Foehn showed up at their table.
"Hey, guys! Anything good for breakfast?"
He slapped Gabriel on the back and gave Ahnyang a blinding smile. Smiling slightly back at Foehn, she got up and said.
"Time for me to go, I need to get ready fo…HmmnMmm…"
Almasy had gotten up with her and was giving her a most thorough kiss, right in the middle of the cafeteria, right in front of his friend, right in front of everyone!
"Report to Parking Lot B25 at eleven hundred hours."
She didn't want to make a further scene, so with her lips still throbbing from the sizzling kiss she left the cafeteria as swiftly as she could with her head held high. Meanwhile, at the table she'd left, there reigned an absolute silence. Foehn just stared at Gabriel before sighing.
"So it's like that, huh?" It was more a comment than a question.
Gabriel replied gravely, "Yes."
Suddenly, Foehn became Foehn again and slapped Gabriel on the shoulder.
"Man! You're just one lucky dog!"
"Foehn if you slap me again I fucking swear…!"
"Awww, Gabe! Chill, man! Y'know my ol' man sending me to FRT with Meijin? Man! Maybe I can score with her this time…!"
Gabriel could only stare incredulously at his childhood friend, and wondered not for the first time if his Aunt Rina had been on some kind of hormonal medication before Foehn was born…
§ § §
– Timber Train Station –
"Excuse me, could you tell me when's the next train to Windhill?"
The woman at the station ticket booth stared in astonishment at the youth asking her the question … Wow! He was so pretty! Those hazel eyes somehow looked familiar, but her sense of professionalism made her direct her thoughts into answering the question of a potential passenger.
"You've just missed the afternoon express, lad. The next one leaving won't be until late this afternoon."
"Oh, well… I'll get a ticket for that one then, please."
She printed out the fare and said, "That'll be 3,000 gil, lad. The train will be leaving at 4:45 from track 'D'."
At the lad's confused look, she elaborated, "That's the track located on level 2, just take the elevator and turn to your left."
The young man paid for his ticket in cash, which was very unusual, "Thank you."
–Humph– She looked at the boy's retreating back and wondered whether a pretty lad like that one would be visiting his 'significant other'. She shrugged her shoulders, it was none of her business.
§ § §
– Grandidi City, Ganryu Mansion –
She had given her staff the entire weekend off –sent them all off to the Ganryu retreat at Bika Hot-Springs– . It was the least she could do for them, 'They're such a hardworking lot … so loyal, so overprotective of me!' Her butler, Jomei Hoffmann, with his typical stubbornness had outright refused to take the leave, citing the fact that to leave Mistress Tahera to fend for herself the entire weekend was clearly unseemly, not to mention unworthy of a man of his stature. She had just laughed it off and called Jomei an old codger, too set in his ways… 'He knows…how could he not know…'
Jomei had loved her for the longest of time, ever since they'd trained together under the tutelage of Master Otsu. When she'd been forced to marry into the Ganryu clan, instead of moving on as she'd begged him –ordered him– to do, Jomei had chosen to be by her side and be her most loyal retainer… No, he'd never been one of her many lovers, but she didn't regret that– Lovers came and went…she hadn't wanted to taint what she had with Jomei by taking him as a mere lover, when he was so much more… Her only one great regret would be in not defying her family, and taking the easy road of acquiescence that so many in her situation had done. But that had been in the long forgotten past…
As head of the powerful Ganryu organization, she'd given her niece Fujin her full support when she'd gone against familial wishes and married Raijin Kumo, an orphan of unknown parentage. The Naosu clan hadn't cared that the young man was an accomplished SeeD, or that Fujin could have interests that were outside those of the immediate family circle. Tahera allowed herself a tiny smile, in the end, time had proven to be Fujin's greatest ally. The twins Meijin and Rei, both so beautiful so talented, were the darlings of the family. All the Naosus ever did nowadays, during any kind of gathering, was to boast about the twin's long list of accomplishments as top notch SeeDs.
She took a look around her favourite room, decorated in shades of green, blue and pink. 'Such a cheerful and lovely place…'The room contained some of the best pieces in her Tessen and Sensu collection. Slipping her favourite fan out of it's secret holder inside her left sleeve, she placed the Murasaki back into it's wall bracket. In time, this fan would go to Meijin, 'The only one capable of wielding it to full power.' She still remembered when she'd received the Murasaki from her old master. It had been his way of apologising for doubting her skills with the Tessen, which in his chauvinistic opinion could only be wielded by men. To prove him wrong, she had defeated Jomei, his other star student, with a Tessen.
The Murasaki was indeed a very rare fan, made of phoenix pinions held together with adamantine; it had a secret mechanism that would reveal hidden cactus thorns. It's very beauty and apparent fragility were very misleading. Light and flexible, it was capable of deflecting the deadliest missiles or the sharpest of blades, and with its sharp cactus thorns the Murasaki was a deadly weapon… A very slight rustle brought Tahera out of her musings. She turned to face the source of the sound.
"Well met, Mistress Ganryu! You never disappoint."
Suddenly, Tahera found herself surrounded by shadowy figures. She smiled. She could've been in the middle of a cocktail party, exchanging pleasantries with other guests.
"I'm flattered by all this attention, none less than from the very top of the ladder!"
"I'm rather saddened that we have to part like this, but traitors must be punished. You do understand, don't you?" The voice was filled with real regret.
Tahera arched a supercilious eyebrow, every inch the Ganryu Matriarch, "You don't actually expect me to answer that inane question?"
"Ah, but I shall miss you! Perhaps in death you shall render the service denied to us in life." And signalled the others to attack.
Tahera smiled again and pushed the hidden remote in her ring, 'Oh, I don't think so…' Before the others could get to her, they were attacked by a myriad of Shruriken. As they jumped to dodge the missiles, they failed to deflect the two carefully placed kaiken blades that pierced through Tahera's heart and liver making them useless to their cause. A split second before taking her last breath she though, 'Let that be my atonement, my death shall buy them time.'
§
They found Tahera's jisei when they uncovered her will:
With no regrets
I close-up my house
Shut the windows
Leave through the open door
Outside, the scent of a thousand blooms
Envelop
me as I take the path
§ § §
To be continued…
a/n:
Translation from the Spanish
Since when did I start to love you?
Since when did I start loving you?
La la la la…Oooh, oooh…
Tell me when this painful feeling began
Tell
me when this painful feeling started
La la la la…Oooh, oooh…
Love's a bitch, love's a bitch
– The song Dime cuándo comenzó el dolor is by Ely Guerra from the soundtrack of Amores Perros
A jisei is a 'death poem' written in anticipation of death.
