Three months later …
The cafeteria was buzzing today, but that the white noise of activity never bothered her, one way or another. If anything, the chaotic sound helped her focus—more than likely another side-effect of Garden's training. A battle was loud, and you'd need to be able to think through the sound to survive. Balamb Garden always had music filtering through every room in the building, conditioning them without even realizing it.
Shrugging and biting her cheek, she thumbed through the paperwork in front of her and proofed her own short-hand for errors. Reading through the droll text was about as exciting as writing it the first time, and only slightly less exciting than living it the time before that. But she didn't have much of a right to complain—she'd done this to herself.
The coffee she'd bought earlier had gone cold, but she snagged it off the table took a swig anyway. Something had to keep her awake and stave off the boredom. Grimacing as the bitter tang spread across her tongue she continued working on her report.
3 blue bite bugs killed. Dropped 2 potions—unclear if method of defeat played a factor in items dropped. No injuries incurred. One additional bite bug with red wing killed. No items dropped but could potentially be a new mutation. 4 bite bugs total—a 50% decrease from the previous day. Delivered new specimen to Dr. Kadowaki's lab for preservation and study …
Ugh … this is the worst.
Her head surged, and Fujin pressed her fingertips to her temple in a futile attempt to settle Pandemona down. It'd become commonplace for the GF's energy to roll around languidly in there, readjusting within her as a slumbering cat might laze and stretch on a sunlight-flooded veranda. Fujin was glad she was getting comfortable and all, but since her houseguest played a pivotal role in her near untimely demise over the summer, she thought she might at least get a chance to ask the Guardian Force a few questions. It was maddening to know that Pandemona was holed up inside of her, refusing to talk. She wouldn't come when summoned—nothing new there, really—and with a nudging command would only purr, stare back at her mind's eye, roll over, and drift away to sleep again.
It was fine, in the grand scheme of things. Fujin wasn't in any pain lately and hadn't been since that episode a few months back. She was alive, and she and Seifer and Raijin were together again, and things were relatively normal. She should be happy with that, all things considered.
So then why in the hell did she miss hearing the wind?
It was crazy to so desperately miss something that played a part in nearly killing her, and Fujin fully understood that. But it left a strange void in her, all the same. Fujin thought about it all the time: on patrol in the Balamb woods, when she was lecturing students, and whenever she was with Seifer and Raijin and their banter provided her enough space to slip away into the confines of her own mind.
She'd never had a mother, so it took a few weeks for Fujin to realize that what she was really missing was the idea of finally having her, and fear that what happened in Deling meant she'd never hear her voice again. For all the pains that came with Pandemona's blustering, the raging wind between Fujin's ears was bearable because it meant that, somehow, there was a bond between them.
She drew her hand away from her face, and instead pressed her fingertips to the silver band on her hand, twisting the ring in a circle to feel the blue stones gliding against her skin. With each raised bump, she wondered what would happen—really—if she took it off: would Pandemona and her mother return, or would Sorceress Edea … or Ultimecia … find her?
Compelled by some force outside of reason, Fujin slid the ring towards the tip of her finger for a moment, thinking it was possible that she'd misinterpreted what Pandemona told her, or at the very least that she should do the opposite of it since the unexpected seemed to be the theme of her life lately. Besides, she wasn't someone who placed much value in vagueness; wouldn't it be better to know, now, what this thing was? Who was she to deny an opportunity for a controlled experiment? After all, Kadowaki brought her back from the brink once before, and right now she was at least safe within the walls of Balamb Garden with all of SeeD at her back, and Raijin and Seifer at her side.
Seifer … if something went wrong, she couldn't put him through all that again. Fujin swiftly shoved the band back in place.
She still hadn't told Seifer about the ring and Pandemona's warning about taking it off, and she rationalized it by classifying it as more of an omission than a lie. If he came up to her one day and specifically asked if the ring on her hand cast some sort've magical veil that kept her safe, then sure—Fujin would tell him immediately: Funny you mention that, Seif—this ring here does exactly that. There'd been a few moments when she'd almost come clean, but Pandemona's warning against telling anyone about the bewitched bauble echoed through the bones of her skull whenever the thought traveled closer to her lips. It was as if the slumbering Guardian Force jolted awake only to remind Fujin of danger.
It was just as well, she supposed. It wasn't like he was being honest with her about everything, either. And on top of that, Seifer was worried enough with Fujin as an active member of SeeD; there wasn't any need to add to the burden.
Fujin had essentially been on fully active SeeD duty ever since they returned from their meeting in Dollet with Rinoa Heartilly a few months back. She was surprised that Cid wanted her in the field so soon. Sure, Fujin had been itching to get her training privileges back, but that didn't mean that there weren't still some real concerns—namely the fact that there was a benevolent sorceress in her head and another malicious sorceress wanted it, or her, or some mixture of the two.
Maybe you should just go on monster patrol for a while. Missions, Seifer pointed out the day the Headmaster's office summoned her for a briefing on an upcoming operation especially what you're trained for, require concentration, reliability, and stamina; you can't guarantee any of those right now. He'd kissed her forehead to soften the blow. You're not ready.
A few short months ago Fujin would've called that an insult, but after gassing out in Dollet and—of course—the disastrous conclusion she'd led them to in Deling, it seemed like an astute assessment.
… Deling … It made her throat feel tight and dry to even think about it. She still hadn't forgiven herself for that yet.
The pragmatic parts of her brain understood that there was nothing she could've done to stop that day, but in the pit of her stomach she still felt responsible for the entire timeline of events that led them there; from making the choice to keep her symptoms of the wind secret, to getting them involved in the entire thing—maybe even hailing all the way back to the day she was born to an apparent sorceress. It was impossible to determine where the fault began, really …all Fujin knew was that she felt like it was solely hers.
Regardless of her own feelings on the Deling mission, Cid was pleased with how quickly and neatly she'd tied up the Rinoa Heartilly issue and pitched the idea of sending Fujin on a high-paying covert operation in Centra as a "reward" (Cid barely tried to hide the fact that it was more of a way to rub salt in Seifer's wounded pride). Along with it he made the rare offer of a permanent mission partner in Raijin. Despite Cid's initial stance on Raijin not starting his appointment until the following year to keep a low profile, their bronze friend was inducted into SeeD immediately after his successful solo clean-up mission in Deling. There was a small ceremony in Cid's office, with Seifer and Fujin serving as the only witnesses to his life's crowning achievement. Raijin wouldn't have had it any other way—Fujin and Seifer were all he cared about. Fujin was just thankful that she wouldn't have to deal with the fallout of Seifer having to stand on the periphery of a crowded room, brimming with shame and resentment as she pinned the stripes on Raijin's uniform. The privacy at least softened the blow.
You're not the sort of SeeD I like to start out small with, Cid explained as he tucked the details of the mission she'd refused away in his desk. You have a lot of skill and talent. I know there's a factor of the unknown with your health, but until we sort out what's going on, you'll be living with that for the foreseeable future. It might be a good idea to truly learn how to *live* with it.
Sir, I'd be putting other people at risk. NOT RELIABLE … I … I can't guarantee that I'm ready. Seifer's words permeated her thoughts, spilling from her mouth in reworked, anxious sentences. I'd like to be put on patrol here on the continent.
Patrol, eh? Is that Almasy's idea? The headmaster paused and leaned onto the desk with his elbows to draw himself closer. He stared her squarely in the eye and looked as if he was readying some strong words, but thought better of it, and took a measured breath instead. The great Cid Kramer, the man responsible for her entire universe—Balamb, SeeD, even her friendships—knew all of his pushing was no match for Seifer's pull. Cid might've created them, but Seifer was a planet, and the gravity that he spun out kept her in his orbit. Kramer couldn't compete with that.
Alright, patrol it is then. But know that I'll never give you this sort've opportunity again. He gave her a dismissive scan before waving her off towards the door and turning his attention back to the paperwork on his desk. You can report to Xu at the Directory tomorrow morning. We're short-handed on teaching assistants, so you'll be joining a classroom as well—she'll have the details for you then.
Thank you, Sir. Fujin nodded in understanding at the thinly veiled threat to her career and stood from her chair.
Oh, and tell Kazeno to report with you. Cid added and Fujin's eye snapped back to his.
Headmaster, Raijin's overqualified. He deserves more—
I told you he was a permanent team member. Wherever you go, he goes. Unphased by her alarm, Cid moved to thumb through a stack of paperwork on his desk. Choices have consequences.
"Heya Fuu-sama!" Raijin bounded up to her table and sat down across from her. Whatever slop he was eating for breakfast somehow spilled and migrated its way from his tray to the stack of papers she'd bee judiciously buttoning up.
"COME ON. JUST FINISHED THIS REPORT … The only thing more boring than writing it once is rewriting it." It came out a little more snipey than she'd intended, and it wasn't lost on her bronze friend.
"Geez, sor-ry. It was a mistake, ya know." He dabbed his napkin on what Fujin could only assume was maple syrup, given the massive stack of buttery pancakes on his tray. "Cid could use a little more sweetenin' these days anyway." He chuckled at his own joke and flashed her a toothy grin, but Fujin was less than amused.
"I'll let you tell him that," she grumbled as she wiped the spot with her own hand. "Hyne, these are supposed to be spotless, Raijin. Error proof. They go in the permanent record."
"Geez, I'll re-write 'em. Chill out a little." His sticky fingers pulled the papers out from under her hand, and he ignored her exasperated sigh as he shuffled them into a haphazard stack and laid them in the seat beside him. "Why don't you go get some food? I think you're hangry, ya know."
"ALREADY ATE," Fujin grumbled through her teeth.
"Well, maybe ya need to grab some more protein or somethin'. Didn't seem to help much."
"I can't with you today," she slapped her palm to her forehead and sighed. "SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME TOGETHER."
"Aww, really?" He stretched his arm in front of her to stab the tines of his fork into a hash brown left on her plate. "I was just thinkin' I was gonna miss ya while I'm out on patrol today," he winked as he popped the bit of potato into his mouth. "Can't ya just go to Kadowaki and get a note? Tell her you're sick or somethin'."
"This isn't like ditching Tactics 101 back in the day, Raijin." Fujin retaliated seamlessly by stealing his coffee and dumping some of the hot liquid into her own mug—it at least made her leftover coffee lukewarm. "I'm an assistant instructor. I can't just say I'm sick. They need me."
"C'moooooooooon," he moaned as he spread a hand across the back of her neck and shook her lightly. "Ya can too. Seifer says ya don't even hafta do much, so they can't need ya that bad. I can't go out there by myself one more time. Just bite bug, after bite bug, after—"
"SEIFER SAID WHAT?" She grimaced, but it was lost on Raijin, who was still preoccupied with the prospect of his own dismal day.
"-after bite bug, after bite bug. Maybe a caterchipillar sometimes. I'm goin' fuckin' crazy here." He ran a hand over his face and sighed.
Fujin would like to say he was being dramatic, but it was a little like traveling back in time and reliving the exact same day over and over again. It was sad when the most interesting thing about a SeeD report was a potential new bite bug species.
"SEIFER?" She pressed him again, and Raijin snapped out of his temporary existential crisis to reach for a foil-wrapped breakfast sandwich on his plate.
"Oh, ya—he's not gonna make it. He wanted to know if you'd bring this to him." Raijin slid the sandwich across the table to her, missing her point again and surfacing an entirely new issue. "He says 'sorry he can't make it and he won't do it again,''' he put air-quotes around what must have been Seifer's words, "Or whatever."
"REASON?" Raijin paused mid-bite and tried to work out whether or not her tone meant he'd just gotten his friend in trouble somehow.
"How should I know? I heard him crawl in early this morning, so he must've been at your place last night I'm guessin' … " He awkwardly began shoveling food in his mouth again to make the between-the-lines reality of that statement easier to swallow. Poor Raijin didn't even have the luxury of getting his own SeeD apartment yet—a late graduation meant the rooms were booked up, which meant he still had to be an eyewitness to all of Seifer's late-night comings and goings between Fujin's room and their own. "I didn't really talk to him much. He was on the phone. He just asked me to have ya bring him breakfast."
"The phone again …" Her face scrunched in confusion as she tried to make sense of it. "Who the hell is he talking to before 8 a.m.?"
"I dunno. Anyone," Raijin suggested with a casual shrug.
"EVERYONE SEIFER KNOWS, HERE." Fujin splayed her fingers out along the smooth tabletop to emphasize their location.
"… Naaaah, there's plenty of other people he could call." His lips pulled into a momentary disapproving frown when he lifted his coffee cup to his lips and felt its new lightness.
"GIRLS, MAYBE." Fujin concurred with an irritated huff.
"Wha? Oh. Oh, ya right," Raijin sputtered sarcastically between a few more mouthfuls of pancakes, practically finishing off the full-plate in those few short minutes. "I can't even get him to train with me lately because the two of ya are …" He paused and rolled his eyes as his hand disappeared to shuffle with the papers that he'd just stolen from Fujin. "Trust me, he ain't got the time for that."
"He'd find time if he wanted to." Fujin sighed, twisting her mug in her hands and staring off towards the cafeteria entrance; habitually keeping watch for Seifer despite knowing he wasn't coming.
"Things … OK with you guys?" Raijin asked the question because he was her loyal friend, and not because he really wanted to talk about any of it. The three of them already set an unhealthy precedent of ignoring that Seifer and Fujin were a pair now.
"He's being secretive. Or distant, maybe. I don't know," she shrugged, and fixed her gaze on the lukewarm liquid in her coffee cup. "It's probably nothing."
Raijin grew quiet on his side of the table, cautiously gathering Fujin's stack of papers up from the chair he'd moved them to as he ruminated on what to say next. He took a moment to wipe the sticky syrup he'd spilled on the otherwise neat pages with the edge of his hand—a sad attempt at fixing the problem he'd created—cleared his throat, and paused a moment longer before trying to ease her worry.
"Listen, everyone's got secrets," he admitted, "but I know Seif, and I know he'd never do that to ya." He lightly shoved her shoulder to force her attention to him. "So whatever it is you're pickin' up on, it can't be that." Fujin nodded and gave him a wry smile.
"It's not like ya to worry about stuff like that," he observed as he glanced at the watch on his arm. Noting the time, he jerked his head at the exit to signal they both needed to head out. "I think this whole dynamic is messin' with ya both." Raijin stood up, and Fujin stood along with him, relinquishing the remaining papers she'd been keeping far away from his messy breakfast.
"You're probably right," she agreed, knowing that Raijin truly was right. Both of them knew Seifer better than he knew himself, and as a spectator in Seifer's life for so many years, there's no way she'd miss the signs of him straying. She knew exactly what that looked like. Seifer feeling emasculated because she was assisting in a class he was taking, and being weird about it as a result? That sounded more realistic. Still not entirely the root of whatever was going on … but at least more realistic.
"I don't envy ya," Raijin chuckled as he stuffed the papers into his bag, and then stacked both of their trays together before strolling towards the exit with Fujin in tow. "I don't know which of us he'd rather hafta go through this with."
"When Cid said there were consequences, he wasn't kidding," she sighed. "At least the semester's almost over, and then everything can get back to normal. Relatively normal, anyway." An agreeable murmur emitted from Raijin as they made their way down the corridor. Things wouldn't truly be normal for them until Pandemona retracted her claws.
"Well, I'll get this paperwork taken care of later. I'm headin' to the garage now and gettin' a move on. Those bite bugs won't kill themselves, ya know." He slung his bag over his shoulder and paused to look at her again in earnest. "Are ya alright?"
"FINE." If that concentrated, concerned look of his kept boring into her she might let more feelings loose, so she attempted a smile. "EVERYTHING FINE. JUST AN OFF DAY."
"Still, do ya want me to stop and give Seif a kick in the ass?"
"ALWAYS." She rolled her eyes at Seifer's inability to be punctual for anything, and Raijin let out a deep laugh.
"One ass-kickin' comin' up. See ya in the DC office later." Fujin nodded, and Raijin signed-off with a mock-salute before turning to greet the torture of his mundane day.
A mundane day that was entirely her fault.
As she made her way towards the second-floor classroom, Fujin was grateful that Raijin didn't seem to hold his plight against her. He had an enviable, graceful way of accepting the hand he was dealt and didn't wallow in anger or self-pity—he was too busy caring about everyone else.
Seifer, on the other hand, was having a harder time with acceptance. He felt like they'd been deceived and betrayed, and Fujin could empathize with that—even though she wasn't sure she agreed with him fully.
All three members of the Posse were altered by the events of the summer, but Seifer seemed to be grappling with it on a deeper, philosophical level. Which, come to think of it, wasn't all that surprising. Seifer assessed everything through the lens of his own world-view—why should this be any different? In a few short months, his criticism of Cid Kramer as a hypocrite was forever sharpened, and he'd developed a deep disdain for SeeD's core mission—possibly a permanent one.
When Fujin reached the classroom with a mere five minutes to spare, and Seifer was nowhere to be seen, she settled against the wall and waited, mentally chiding his tardiness. It wasn't unlike Seifer to take issue with all the formalities and bureaucracy of SeeD, but this utter defiance of Garden norms—being late for class, backtalking to instructors—was taking things to a whole new level. Fujin didn't even know that an exceptional cadet like Seifer could physically act like this without short-circuiting. The basics were routine for them—a reflex; trained into them day in and day out. Was he purposefully trying to reprogram himself and undo everything they'd worked for before even getting a chance to retake the exam?
To make matters worse, Raijin's SeeD induction wasn't exactly easy on Seifer. After the pitiful ceremony in Cid's office, Seifer did a good job masking his jealousy and even suggested the three of them hit up the pub in Balamb afterward to celebrate. But he was pensive the whole night; he chimed in occasionally when Raijin and Fujin talked about what their futures in SeeD might look like, but he didn't engage in his normal impassioned way. That intensity—that fire—that came over him when he dreamed about the future was missing … like he wasn't sure that he'd get to be a part of it.
It was hard for him to feel like the other in their trio. Fujin and Raijin experienced otherness in the Posse in different ways over the years—mainly along the gender divide: Fujin being excluded because she wasn't one of the guys, and Raijin being excluded because Seifer didn't want to sleep with him (and vice versa). But Seifer … he was always the leader: the rubric for what his two friends wanted to be a part of.
Regardless of all that, Seifer's aggravation with Garden and envy of SeeD was making him nearly impossible to manage. Inside of the classroom, outside of the classroom… he was a bit of a loose cannon lately. Definitely hard to keep tabs on …
"Hey, watch it, you little shithead."
Speak of the devil …
Seifer appeared at the end of the corridor; his head a foot above the crowd and his white coat marking a stark contrast to the other cadets clad in their dreary gray—and for the record, institutionally appropriate—SeeD uniforms. He'd been rounding the corner when a poor junior classman made the unfortunate mistake of taking an uninformed backward step and colliding into Seifer's chest. The scrawny little kid cowered as Seifer glowered down at him.
"S-Sorry man. I wasn't paying attention," the boy stuttered and scrambled to create a few steps of much-needed distance.
"You weren't paying attention?" Seifer mocked as he slowly continued his walk towards Fujin. "You don't pay attention out in the field and BOOM," he clapped the back of his hand against his palm. "One day you're just dead weight everyone else has to carry. You may as well save everyone the trouble and jump into a body bag right now." The boy blanched and Seifer smirked as he marched forward into the crowd, parting the bodies from his path with his wide stride and broad shoulders.
"MEAN." Fujin shook her head in disapproval as he approached her. "TRAUMATIZE." Seifer chuckled and only shrugged.
"What? It's true. Eagle-eyes over there will thank me someday," he palmed her elbow and gave it a light squeeze when he finally reached her. "Sorry about breakfast. I had some stuff to take care of." Fujin quirked an eyebrow, but Seifer either pretended not to notice, or didn't care. "What'd I miss?"
"RAIJIN. SULKING ABOUT PATROL. NOTHING NEW." She shrugged, keeping her eyes fixed on his. Seifer pivoted to lean against the wall beside her. He bent down to attempt to kiss her, but Fujin held up the foil-wrapped sandwich between them.
"Not here. Class is about to start," she admonished, and he smirked as he tugged the sandwich from her hand.
"Raijin said you were on the phone." She tried not to let it sound like an accusation.
"Oh …. yeah. I had to call the registrar. It was the stupidest thing," he peeled the foil back with deft fingers as he offered an explanation. "They had me on the roster for 201, and they kept leaving messages telling me I was missing class. I had to call and tell 'em I was in 301, again, before I flunked something I wasn't even taking," he paused to take a bite, and chewing and swallowing before finishing his story. "No big deal. It's all sorted out now."
"Big enough of a deal for you to bail on us." She may as well permanently affix her eyebrow in this arched position—she was consistently quizzical about Seifer's whereabouts lately. This wasn't the first time he'd been late or ducked out early on something to vaguely 'run errands' or 'take care of some stuff.'
"What, you mad I didn't bring you breakfast this morning?" He snaked his arm around her waist and tugged her farther down the corridor to hide at the more secluded end of the hall. He positioned her back against an emergency exit and shielded her from prying eyes. "I guess that's fair. I kept you up late."
"STOP … You're not as cute as you think you are," she chided, but he settled his shoulder against the wall and pulled her closer anyway. He chuckled and leaned towards her, his lips just a slight lean away from hers.
"Really?" He bit his approaching lower lip for a second as he stared into her eyes. "Because my tiny, adorable girlfriend's red face kinda makes me think that I am, in fact, as cute as I think I am." Fujin grimaced and Seifer smirked and pressed a fingertip to a button on her uniform and corrected himself. "My tiny, adorable, badass girlfriend."
"Better." She agreed, deciding not to seize this moment to press him about this morning's absence. Class was about to start, and she didn't have the bandwidth to manage Seifer's righteous anger at Garden, SeeD, and her. Better to wait until tonight when the external irritants were gone, and it was just the two of them.
"I knew you'd be easy to break, Sanada," he chuckled lowly as he retreated to respectfully press his lips to her forehead, only for a moment so as not to push his luck. Seifer didn't care about much lately, but he at least he seemed to care about keeping Fujin's reputation as a hard-ass intact. Making out with a student in the hallway softened the image and wasn't exactly appropriate 'assistant instructor' etiquette.
"So, what's on the docket today …" He pivoted against the wall next to her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Some shit that I already know, or some other shit that I already know?"
"FIRST ONE," she replied as a small smile snuck onto her own lips. Seifer exhaled with a whining groan and leaned his head against the wall in exasperation.
"I can't be the only person who's ever needed to repeat advanced paramagic field training for no reason. Someone else had to give feedback on how redundant and fucking boring it is."
"It wouldn't be much of a punishment if it was fun," Fujin reasoned.
"Alright, wise-guy," Seifer scowled and reached over to playfully tousle her hair. "Whose side are you on, eh?"
"Whatever side gets you here on time," she glanced at her watch and then back to him. "Which you shockingly managed to do today."
"Didn't want to keep all my fans waiting," he moved to crack his knuckles. "Especially Leonhart."
"Here we go again …" Fujin groaned as she pushed away from the wall and took a step towards the classroom door, where other students—including the aforementioned Squall Leonhart—were beginning to trail in. "You realize you're going to be with him all year, right?"
"So?" Seifer's shoulders rose up in a defensive half-shrug as he tightened his crossed arms over his chest.
"So, leave it be." She took another step backward, coaxing him away from the wall as the last few students filtered past them into the room. "At least under my watch."
"S'not my fault the guy's generally irritating," Seifer stared at the open doorframe, his countenance shifting to reflect a fit of low, seething anger. "The way he sits. The way he breathes. Hyne, everywhere I go there he is. Like another fucking shadow I never asked for."
"A temporary shadow. It's only for the rest of the year," Fujin reasoned, moving again and causing Seifer to reluctantly follow. "Once you pass your exam and you're in the clear, we'll add him to the top of 'The List.'"
"Right," Seifer rolled his eyes. "Once Cid lets me pass. That'll be a cold day in Ifrit's hell …"
"COME," Fujin commanded with flitting fingers as she motioned him towards her. "INSTRUCTOR HERE SOON." He groaned again and placed a hand low on her back as they made their way towards the classroom.
"This fucking sucks," he exhaled as they edged closer. "Being with you is the only thing that makes it bearable."
She was relieved to hear him say she brought him some comfort since his absences as of late paired with his touchy mood made her worry she'd been doing something wrong: that she'd embarrassed him in class somehow, wasn't relinquishing control when she was back in the role of a subordinate on the Disciplinary Committee, or that there were still underlying issues with Raijin that hadn't dissipated.
While they were still out of the line-of-sight, Fujin tugged Seifer's arm to bring him to a halt and stretched upward on the tips of her toes to kiss him. She wouldn't normally be so public with her private affection … but she understood how hard this was for him: being stuck with the burden of someone—or something—while you were just trying to go about your day and keep your head above water.
Seifer beamed with a triumphant, goofy smile and walked ahead of her into the room to keep up Fujin's ruse of a low-profile. Everyone at Garden obviously knew that Seifer and the female member of the Posse were suddenly something of an item—most people speculated that they'd been together for years. But Fujin needed to compartmentalize things into neat, manageable boxes: her personal life kept separate from the professional. Seifer hated it, but wasn't that what a good soldier should do?
"Good morning, Instructor Sanada," an aged, gravelly voice interrupted Fujin's thoughts.
"OH. MORNING, INSTRUCTOR AKI." Fujin gave the old man a formal salute as he merely waved and meandered towards the classroom.
"Ready for another day of practice?" He paused to examine her raised hand, the length of his long white beard rising as his lips pursed curiously. "I see you healed up well from yesterday's errant Fira spell." The old instructor winced as he began to walk again. "We'll let you train a more experienced cadet today … give you a break from burning."
"FAVORABLE SOLUTION," Fujin nodded, dropping her salute and resisting the urge to lend an arm to the man as he feebly made his way past her. Aki was a well-respected instructor at Balamb Garden, but battles and time had worn down his joints so much that every movement seemed to pain him. He wasn't in fit condition to train students in any physical capacity, and that was the very reason Fujin was assigned to his classroom. Aki was the brain, who lectured the class on all things elemental, and Fujin was the muscle who brought students to the training center to practice what they'd learned one-on-one. It was a tolerable arrangement—whenever Fujin pictured herself in SeeD, she didn't imagine sitting behind a desk and pontificating about status effects and elemental junctions to a room of bored teenagers … at least she got to be outside.
"Ah … wait a moment," Aki paused again, pivoting towards her slowly with one foot in the classroom. Fujin could see over his shoulder that the students were awkwardly sitting at attention waiting for him to enter … all but Seifer, who was ignoring Aki's presence altogether typing something into his terminal. "Are you sure you aren't too tired? I heard about some trouble last night. Something to do with a theft?"
"MINIMAL ISSUE, INSTRUCTOR. CAFETERIA FREEZER BANDIT," Fujin confirmed. "DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE ON THE CASE. WON'T INTERFERE WITH SCHEDULE."
"Well, that's good. Hope you, and ah … ah …" with his memory coming up short on the name, he motioned at Seifer instead as he ambled into the classroom, "well, I hope you and your team solve the case. Hmpf … thievery … the student responsible should be expelled."
"Don't worry, Aki—we'll catch the guy. We found some evidence at the scene. A pair of men's gloves," Seifer piped up from the back of the room with a lilt of mischievousness in his voice. "A bunch of hot dogs were missing, and the gloves clearly belong to a martial arts cadet. We at least know the crime was poorly thought out, and that it was homoerotic in nature." A low mummer of laughter erupted in the classroom.
"Homo—eh—what do you say, now?" The instructor half-repeated distractedly as he unpacked his briefcase and flipped through a notepad. "Yes, yes, very well." Seifer shrugged innocently at Fujin and looked around to gauge how many of his peers were stifling giggles.
"Alright, quiet down now," he instructed sternly, unsure of what the impetus of the laughter was and not caring in the slightest. "Today we're going to revisit junctioning water elementals. Open your terminals to the junction index and we'll get started." Fujin surveyed the room, observing the slumping of many students' shoulders. Seifer, on the other hand, threw his head back dramatically and glared at the ceiling.
"And ah … let's see," Aki's hand fished for the attendance sheet. He pressed the bridge of his glasses up on his nose as he ran through the names. "Favell went yesterday, and ah … nearly started a forest fire … Mueller has the flu …" he muttered as his eyes ran down the list. "Leonhart. Squall Leonhart?" The instructor's gaze lifted to survey his waiting pupils.
In the far back corner of the classroom, Squall perked upright ever so slightly at the calling of his name.
"Ah—there you are. Get your things. You'll be training with instructor Sanada today."
Squall looked to Fujin reluctantly and quirked a chestnut eyebrow, and then turned towards Seifer to do the same. Fujin—deeming all of her gut reactions inappropriate—only stared back and blinked.
The days since they'd returned to Garden weren't exactly the best days Fujin ever lived. Menial patrols along the Balamb territory weren't the grand adventures she'd been promised when she'd been told about the glory of SeeD. The Posse was also still living with the fact—and trying to live around the fact—that the silver member of the trio had an unstable force inside of her head. But Fujin would take a thousand boring patrols and would rather get burned a thousand times by one shitty student, over spending the day with Squall Leonhart. Not because she couldn't tolerate him, but because she wasn't sure she'd be able to tolerate Seifer in the aftermath. As it stood now, he was staring forward, his eyes unfocused, with the tendons along his jaw flexing from an angry clench. The shadow he never wanted, indeed …
Nothing to be done about it now—Fujin knew she'd have to train with Squall, eventually. Better to get him out of here before Seifer lost all self-control.
"GET THINGS," she echoed Aki's command hurriedly. "MEET ME AT TRAINING CENTER ENTRANCE IN 10 MINUTES."
"… Sure, whatever." Squall shrugged in the direction of Seifer's reddening face, but not at anything in particular, and pressed his palms against his knees as he foisted himself from his chair. "See you in 10," he blandly confirmed, as he strolled by her and out the door.
Fujin didn't bother looking at Seifer again before she followed Squall out the door. There was no point—there'd be hell to pay one way or another, even though this wasn't her choice. He'd act wounded, salty, or a little coarser towards her in general because she didn't protest Aki's demand in the slightest. It highlighted a difference between the old Cadet Fujin and the new SeeD Fujin that she wasn't sure Seifer liked all that much—the need to be obedient to someone besides him.
Blinded by awkwardness and dread, she didn't realize that she was directly on Squall's tail until her footsteps fell apace with his. That eyebrow of his stayed quirked as the rounded the corner and headed to the elevator.
" … Do you really need 10 minutes," he inquired coolly as he pressed the button for the first floor, "or should we just head there together now?"
"A-AFFIRMATIVE," Fujin stuttered and nodded too emphatically. As the elevator doors opened, she realized she wasn't answering his question. "GO NOW, TOGETHER."
Squall's brow lifted in surprise, but instead of commenting he only nodded in return and stepped into the elevator and settled against the back wall in silence. Fujin followed suit, equally as silent, the two of them only blinking as the buttons lit up with the passing floors.
Well, this was certainly going to be a riveting experience for the both of them.