Chapter VIII – Tsunami

A feral tsunami of sensations…

Born within hearts of confusion…

All because of one dance.

"Isn't it a little too chilly to be out star-gazing, Instructor?" Seifer asked as he stepped closer to Quistis.

"Not exceedingly," she replied with the usual emotionless look upon her face. "But I see you're actually dressed for the weather and the occasion for a change."

"I had no choice. Just something I picked up in Balamb Town. Not many have an amazing body like mine, so obviously they would have one left in my size." Quistis almost rolled her eyes at his cockiness. "Besides, why would I go to the trouble of renting a suit from somewhere as far as Dollet just for a small event?"

"Small event? Seifer, this is Squall and Rinoa's wedding."

"Exactly. Not my wedding."

Quistis arched an eyebrow. "Hmm. I never knew your mind was capable of thoughts like the prospect of your own marriage."

"The things that go through my mind might be too much for you, Trepe." He looked at her then, causing her to turn away. He laughed. "Someday, Instructor, I'll tell you about my romantic dream."

She knew he had dreams, but romantic dreams? She never would have thought— "You're surprised, aren't you?" he interrupted her musings. "Didn't think a traitor like me could have dreams like that? Well, you're wrong." Deciding to change the subject, he carried on. "Since when did you start playing the piano again?"

"…Again?" Quistis was confused.

"Yes, Instructor. Again. In case you don't remember because of those stupid GFs, Matron used to teach you when you were little. You'd practice a little every day, but you were almost always disrupted by Chicken-wuss and his screaming." Quistis thought back and vaguely recalled breaking up many a fight between Seifer and Zell. "I guess it got too frustrating for you, so one day, you quit and never touched a piano again. I've explained, so now you should answer."

Glad that he had started talking about something else, Quistis responded, "During the War, Selphie organized a concert at FH to boost morale. She found an old score for a song. She let Irvine assign the parts and I got the piano accompaniment. Playing felt very…soothing. After the concert, I continued playing here and there, as a hobby or stress relief." She sighed. "But after tonight, I probably won't have time to play for a long time, unless I really need to get away from marking papers."

"You've got your job back. Isn't that what you wanted?"

She nodded slowly. The two of them stood, still leaning on the ledge. Finally, Seifer put down his champagne flute and turned to her again, speaking in an uncharacteristically hesitant manner. "Hey. I have a request."

"What is it?"

She gave him a confused look when he held out a hand. He in turn gave her a handsome lop-sided grin.

"A dance, my dear Instructor. Before I'm officially your student again."

Quistis was stunned but dared not show it. When she didn't reply, he teased her as he often did when he felt that he deserved more of her attention. "What's the matter, Instructor? Are you afraid?"

"Certainly not!" She nearly shouted, offended with the accusation.

"If you're worried about your reputation, don't. No one's even looking out here, and I need to do everything I can do show off in this suit, otherwise it would've been a waste of my Gil."

How typical, Quistis thought. He's still as arrogant as ever. But since this is the first time he has ever made such a polite request, I suppose it can't hurt. "All right, Seifer. If you insist." With great caution, she placed her right hand in one of his.

Seifer's hand closed around hers with an unusual gentleness. They've never felt each other's bare hands before. Even outside of battle, their hands were often gloved. He placed his warm palm on her shoulder blade and slowly pulled her to him to lead her into the dance, their feet moving in time with a tender string arrangement that had floated out to the balcony. His strong arms graceful and her agile steps regal, not a beat was missed. One of the two would occasionally observe the other for a few moments, then rest their gaze elsewhere.

When their eyes eventually locked, they stayed that way for the remainder of the dance, and neither wanted to concede defeat and look away. The song had ended now, but they did not let go. They were now closer than they had ever been, with only an inch of space between their bodies. Seifer's arm had drifted to her waist halfway through the waltz, but that had gone undetected. Quistis's heart was pounding from slight exertion and the closeness, as was his.

Little by little, still in the trance, Seifer unconsciously dipped his head until he could feel her warm breath touch his lips. He became aware of her heavy breathing almost instantly, taking note of his as well. He moved his mouth down further and further until—

A cheer from inside the ballroom interrupted the moment and broke the spell. Both turned and saw Squall and Rinoa sharing a kiss in the center of the room. Rinoa threw her bouquet into the air as dozens of desperate young girls stretched their arms and reached. The bouquet bounced off Zell's head (emitting a small cry of protest) and landed in Lydia's arms. The crowd shifted and blocked Seifer and Quistis's view of the newlyweds.

Finally acknowledging that perhaps they shouldn't be this close, the two awkwardly moved apart. What would've happened if they hadn't been interrupted was something they tried to push out of their minds. One of Seifer's hands went up to run through his hair.

"It's getting late," Quistis started. "I should go, as should you. Classes start early tomorrow."

"I know," he grumbled.

"Goodnight, Seifer." She turned to leave. If she had bothered to look back one more time, she would've caught his focused stare.

Quistis's alarm clock buzzed at 0700 hours. She sat up and stretched, reaching out to tap the snooze button.

One hot shower later, she was in full uniform with her hair in its usual style, still a little damp. Sitting down at her desk, she opened her black leather briefcase and pulled out some papers. It wouldn't hurt to go over the lesson plans and seating arrangements again to make sure everything was in place.

After a quick scan of her plans for the day, Quistis was satisfied. Since she was teaching the Cadets' first class, it was mandatory for her to introduce them to the basic rules of Garden, and ways to submit assignments and the like, which meant one less "Basics of Junctioning" class for the whole duration of the course. She hoped her students wouldn't fall behind because of this delay. There was a lot to cover even in a one-hour class.

She switched her attention over to the class list. Over the course of two days, she had learned the first and last names of all her students; all she had left to do was put faces to the names. She was somewhat concerned worried about the boys in her class, and really hoped they would at least be more mature than the typical young Cadet at Garden. Most of all, she hoped they wouldn't be as troublesome as Seifer once was.

Once was? Isn't he still a troublemaker? Quistis folded her arms and sat back in her armchair. Well, I suppose he's changed, in his own way. Her thoughts drifted back to the night before and what happened. Well, what almost happened. She bit her lip.

Why didn't I move? Did he even know what he was doing? She shook her head and changed the subject. I hope he does well this year, but the field exam is what I should be worried about. Quistis checked her clock. 0815 hours. Shutting her papers and supplies into her briefcase, she left her dorm promptly.

On her way to the classroom, a few early risers greeted her and she smiled back. She opened the classroom door with her key card and stepped inside. Quistis arranged the items on her desktop to her liking. Sitting back, she let the feeling of nostalgia wash over her.

So long. It had been so long since she had last taught. Her missions were stimulating in their own ways, but she'd rather be teaching and doing paperwork. Her head turned quickly to the door when it opened, revealing a blond in a trademark trench coat. She exhaled slowly, wondering why he was here so early, where his Cadet uniform was, and whether or not he remembered (or gave any thought to) what happened last night.

"Good morning, Instructor." Seifer strolled into the classroom with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his lips. He didn't wait for a reply and took a seat at the pair of Garden workstations at the very back of the classroom.

Quistis stood up from her desk and walked to the front of the workstation, gently leaning her body on the smooth edge. "Hello, Seifer. I see you're early. That's very unlike you."

"Would you rather I be late, Instructor?" His eyes darted up and down her form, but their movements were so quick, they went unseen.

I don't need this. Not on my first day, Quistis thought. "That's not the point. But if you have nothing else to do, then by all means, you may show up for class however early you'd like."

Sitting back in his chair, Seifer sneered. "Whatever you say, Instructor."

He hasn't been in here for a full five minutes and already I'm starting to want medication for inevitable headaches. She resisted the urge to place a hand on her head.

Her prayers were answered when other students filed into the classroom. Quistis and Seifer both turned to look at them. The students stopped in their tracks and stared at the Instructor. Seifer knew what this was – he had seen these expressions before. They were witnessing the birth of a whole new troop of Trepies. Nearly every one of them took seats in the second or third row, and a few that were more daring sat in the first.

The Garden bell rang at precisely 0900 hours, signalling the beginning of the first class. Quistis stood in the front and began. "Good morning, class. Welcome to the first day of your SeeD training. Before we begin, you will cooperate with the assigned seating arrangement imposed by Garden. Please stand and line up by the wall at the back of the room." Everyone obeyed, and even Seifer did what he was told. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, she thought.

"When you hear your name, please take a seat at the workstation starting from the back of the room." She looked down at her list. "Ferris Abram." An average-sized boy went to take the correct seat, and Quistis tried to memorize his face. "Maxwell Ainsworth." Maxwell took a seat beside Ferris.

Quistis didn't quite know what to expect from this next name. "Talman Aki." A boy near his late teens wearing a pair of stylish rectangular frames pushed himself off the wall and sauntered to his seat. As he sat down, he pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and looked at the Instructor with a small smirk. The resemblance between him and another well-known man in the room did not go unnoticed.

Oh, Hyne, not another one… Quistis gave the boy a small smile to hide the disturbance she felt.

"Seifer Almasy."

Murmurs went about the room but were shushed as soon as Quistis put a finger to her lips. Surprisingly obedient, Seifer took his seat beside Talman. The two completely ignored each other. Noticing the tension, Quistis took a breath and continued calling out names with accurate pronunciation. Soon, everyone was in place.

"Since this is your first class in Balamb Garden, there are a few things I'll need to explain. Please leave all questions until the very end." She walked down the aisle separating the class into halves and continued. "To begin, you will address me as Instructor or Instructor Trepe and those titles only. All superior officers and staff members must be treated with the same respect.

"Balamb Garden is a military academy, where those who want to become mercenaries, or those who have been nominated for this type of occupation are educated. Here, you will be trained in the areas of physical combat, utilization of magic, weapon maintenance and usage, civil conduct, and more. All graduates of this institution are referred to as SeeDs. One thing I want to make very clear is that this is not a game. If you're here for fun, then you shouldn't be here. Is that understood?" Her voice had a definite edge of authority and most students in the class nodded, some more vigorously than others.

"Good. I'm sure you've gone through the Garden handbook. If you haven't, you're not taking this seriously enough. I'll address some of the most common misinterpretations of the rules. First, there is…"

Not even fifteen minutes into class and already Seifer was growing restless. He had gone through this numerous times before and he had hated it every single time. Maybe that was why he was on the Disciplinary Committee. Hearing all the rules over and over again was bound to make a man remember them. He glanced around the room, watching all the new Trepies practically drooling over the Instructor.

He scowled and looked to his right, where Talman was seated beside the aisle. Seifer hated these workstations. Sometimes, people would sit too far to his side of the bench, invading his personal space. But it looked like Talman won't be moving any time soon. Seifer watched as Talman ran a hand through a head of coffee-brown hair. Talman suddenly looked at him and said, "What are you staring at?"

Seifer snorted in response. "Nothing, that's for sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Talman adjusted his glasses. "Just because you were a Sorceress's Knight doesn't mean you're better than the rest of us, you know."

"Oh, look!" Seifer feigned surprise. "The boy knows who I am! What a smart cookie."

"Are you mocking me, Almasy? Do you know who I am?" Talman crossed his arms and leaned back, answering his own question quickly. "I'll have you know that I'm Instructor Hadrian Aki's son." He said haughtily. Seifer didn't even know Instructor Aki that well, except that he apparently played a role in protecting Garden during the War.

"Do I look like I care?" Seifer raised an eyebrow. He could probably scare the wits out of this one within a week or two. Even his last comment seemed to shut Talman up as shifted his eyes to the talking Instructor near the front of the classroom.

"Quite easy on the eyes, our Instructor Trepe," he commented. Seifer rolled his eyes.

"You're not supposed to talk while she's talking."

"Then you're breaking the rules, too. Why are you, of all people, talking to me about rules? I hear from my father that you used to defy them all the time."

"I was on the Disciplinary Committee, kid. Had to break some rules to enforce them."

"I'm no kid, Almasy. I'm eighteen. But whatever."

Seifer scoffed. "Eighteen? You're a baby."

"At least I'm not a lap—" Before one of Seifer's most hated words could fall from Talman's lips, Quistis's voice intruded. She's stealthier than I remember, Seifer thought.

"Would you like to share your debate with the rest of the class, gentlemen?" Her arms were crossed and she looked down at them with a neutral expression. Quistis's glasses reflected the glow from the light fixtures on the ceiling.

"No, Instructor Trepe. We're fine," Talman answered. Seifer saw Talman steal a glance at Quistis's chest. He clenched a fist slowly.

"This is no place for banter, Mr. Aki. The information is for your own good, so I suggest you listen carefully. If anything, this would certainly improve your listening skills."

"Yes, Instructor," Talman said, slightly embarrassed. Seifer snickered.

"The same goes for you, Mr. Almasy." She tapped his clenched fist twice and added, "If you're more relaxed, things will go much faster." Quistis lifted her head to face the class again and started going over the functions of the workstations.

Time to go in for the kill.

"Did you see that, Aki? She touched my hand. She obviously likes me more. You don't stand a chance."

Talman snarled and stared angrily at the dim screen of his workstation.