Cid's head was spinning.
Two hours ago, he had been sitting here in his office peacefully trying to make sense of all the legal paper and documents as well as the various missions which entailed the job of being the headmaster of Balamb Garden. It was a relatively boring job, he had to admit, but someone had to do it. And since he was basically the master gardener, so to speak, of this whole SeeD affair, there was no one more competent than him. Not that he was complaining. He actually found the job quite relaxing and peaceful. Others might call him too mundane, but he preferred routine in his daily activities. At least then, he'd know what to expect everyday. That was what he personally liked about this job--predictable and peaceful.
Until Quistis strode into his office and gave him a letter and said "I quit," that is. He was as prepared with that happening almost as much as he was prepared with Galbadia Garden attacking Balamb Garden right now. For a whole minute, he thought he was hearing things wrong. Quistis Trepe, resigning? Quistis Trepe, whose excellent and untarnished reputation was known around the whole of Garden? She, who had legions of followers who call themselves Trepies from the freshest of freshmen to the hardiest of seniors?
Quitting?
When she repeated it, he thought she was just kidding. The expression on her face, however, told him that she was not. She was, indeed, quitting from being a SeeD. She handed her resignation letter, and he looked at it for a while, as if expecting it to bite him. Swallowing hard and utterly confused, he opened the envelope and read it. It was perfectly worded, as usual. He immediately skimmed to the reason of her decision. It only contained two words: Emotional Duress.
When he asked her just what the hell that meant, she merely bit her lower lip, and then asked again that her request be granted the soonest time possible. He thought he sensed a slight trembling in that voice. When he tried to look at her face closer to somehow divine from it the deeper reason, he noticed that her left cheek seemed to be slightly redder than the right. He opened his mouth, meaning to ask her about that, as well. Courtesy, however, prevented him from doing so. He saw some sort of trouble in her face, and although it was his job to look after the welfare of his employees, he somehow sensed that however hard he might prod the young Instructor, she still won't relent.
Quistis was one of his best Instructors, and one of the most respected. She was also one of the heroes during the Sorceress war, and she had encountered situations that would chill even the roughest of cadets. She had suffered time compression, and had come back from it alive. Whatever the problem was, it could not be physical. Could it be because of the last mission? He can't hardly believe so. It went without a hitch! He tried to coax Quistis into talking to him. He tried to show her that what she was doing was something that might destroy the years of hardship she had to endure to become a SeeD. He tried to convince her to think things over, before hastily giving him a letter asking him to let her go. It was not easy being a SeeD, and promoted into an Instructor status. It was not especially easy to just leave everything behind. This, and some more he tried to show her; reason with her. But she was resolute. She wanted to quit. And in the end, he had to grant her wish. Now, thinking about everything, he wondered if he made the right decision?
"--last thing I expected her to do! I mean, she--...Headmaster? Are you listening?"
Cid looked up, peering through his eyeglasses at Xu who had been pacing in front of his desk as if staying still would mean the end of her. She was still holding the letter Quistis left her. And her face was anything but calm.
"Yes Instructor," Cid sighed, hands covering his face tiredly. "I'm listening. I just want to know why! I mean you are her closest friend. Surely you have noticed anything which would cause her to just...quit like that?"
"I told you, headmaster," Xu sighed, massaging her temple with her hands. "I am quite positive that this has to do with Commander Leonheart. Yesterday, she was crying about him. And you know Quistis wasn't the type to cry over a man!"
"I'm afraid that emotional problems aren't exact--" Cid started. He never got to finish it, however, as there was a loud knock on the door.
"Headmaster! Open up! Please! We need to talk to you!"
"Damn nosey students!" Cid said, not paying enough attention.
"No, I think I recognize that voice," Xu said. "Oh, yeah! It's Irvine Kinneas, the SeeD from Galbadia Garden."
"Oh Hyne," Cid said, letting out a breath. "What the hell does he want?"
"Headmaster! Yoo-hoo?! Open up!" It's a new voice now. And more incessant knocks followed.
"Now its Dincht," Xu said. "Shall we let them in, Headmaster? They are among Quistis' closest friends, after all."
"Might as well," Cid said. "Maybe they can help us puzzle this out." He pushed a button beneath his desk, and the door unlocked with a "CLICK!" "Come in!"
Irvine's face appeared, and he started to walk in, followed closely by Selphie, Zell, and Iris. All wore the faces of people who had heard news they couldn't, or wouldn't, believe.
"Headmaster!" Irvine said, not caring to take off his hat. "Is it true what we heard?! Has Quistis really quit?"
"Yes," Cid replied.
"B-but why?!" Selphie asked, her face getting sadder and more confused by the minute.
"It doesn't make sense! Not at all!"
"Oh great," Xu said. "Does this mean you haven't the slightest idea as well?"
"Look," Zell replied, a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "Would we have come here right now if we did?"
"People, please!" Cid said, trying to calm everyone down. Nothing good would come out of things if they'll start trading repartees and sarcasms now. "We are gathered here for the same reason: to find out just what the hell's been going on lately. Can we please try to not get into each other's nerves?"
Zell leaned on the wall, his lips put up in a sulk. Irvine shook his head and walked up to Cid's table, placing his hands squarely on the top.
"Headmaster, what did Quistis say?"
"Emotional duress," Cid replied, leaning back on his swivel chair. "And don't ask me what the hell she meant by that either."
"I told you it had something to do with Squall!" Xu repeated. "And if we can only find out where he is, then we might be able to get to the bottom of this and maybe, convince Quisty to come back!"
At this, Zell made a face. "I suppose this'd mean that Seifer's involved?"
"Huh?" Xu and Cid asked, looking at the young martial artist, perplexed.
"Seifer threatened to make a punching bag out of my face," Zell said. "Unless I tell him where Squall is. I don't think I've ever seen him that angry before. If I knew any better, I'd say that this time, it's personal."
"With Seifer, everything's personal," Xu retorted.
"Could Quistis' decision be because of Rinoa?" Iris suddenly piped up. She looked around hesitatingly. "I mean...with what happened...?"
"And what happened?" Cid asked the pony-tailed girl. "Confound it! Why am I the last one to know everything that goes around here?"
"Well, it's not exactly confirmed yet," Iris said, biting her lower lip hesitatingly. "But I heard that, well, Rinoa stormed into Quistis' classroom this morning and...slapped her...they said Rinoa was crying...and then Quisty broke down...and...well, I can't exactly confirm it..."
At that, Cid closed his eyes and slumped back tiredly on his chair again. Slapped? A red mark on Quistis' face.
"I-it's true..."
Everyone turned around, to see Rinoa standing there timidly, and so very vulnerable. Her left hand was clasped on her right arm, as if to protect herself from an unseen force. Her cheeks were matted with dried, unwiped tears, and her usually cheery demeanor was all but gone. She softly closed the door behind her, and just stood there, unsure of what to do next.
"Rinoa..." Selphie said. Then, she run towards her and gave her a comforting hug. "What's the matter, girl?" Never mind the fact that she was younger than the young sorceress.
"So...Quistis has left?" Rinoa asked everyone.
When they nodded, Rinoa closed her eyes. Everything was really getting out of control. Before, she would have been happy with the decision Quistis made. It would mean that, at least, she won't be seeing Squall anymore. She had considered her a traitor. A betrayer of their friendship and of the trust she gave her. But after hearing what Seifer said hours ago, and seeing the pain in his eyes she caused him, she was not sure anymore. Looking at everything in a detached perspective, she realized that she had no right to label Quistis anything, when they had been two similar sides of a coin. Both betrayers of trust and hearts.
"I'm sorry," Rinoa said, and then covered her face with her hands. "It's my fault she left..."
"Rinoa," Irvine said, trying to console his friend. So, what he had been suspecting was true. Rinoa did know. And heaven knows just how much it hurt both her and Quistis. Now, if only he could find out where the hell Seifer fit in.
"Is it true?" Xu asked. "You slapped Quistis in front of her class?"
Rinoa nodded subtly.
Xu's eyes narrowed visibly. However, she tried to maintain a civil demeanor. The anger in her voice, however, was clearly defined. "I suppose it would be fair for us to be told of the reason? Rinoa, do you realize how much of an asset Quistis was to the Garden? Do you realize how much her absence would mean? Do you realize that she's my best friend?!"
"Xu!" Cid said.
Xu unclenched her hands, and looked down, trying to show a face of apology. "I-i'm sorry, headmaster."
"I'm sorry!" Rinoa said to Xu. Her eyes clearly showed remorse. "I-I can't tell you the details...exactly...but...Quistis and I had a fight...over Squall. I was angry...and I couldn't control myself...I learned that...." At this, Rinoa broke down, and Irvine embraced her, trying his best to comfort her. He didn't want everyone to know that he knew exactly what was going on. Damn it, Squall he thought. Don't tell me I have to clean this mess up for you?
"Look," Irvine told the others. "We can find out the reason later. Right now, we have to discuss what we have to do next."
"Find Quistis and bring her back here," Selphie said. "And Squall."
"Right," Irvine said. He softly let go of Rinoa, and Selphie took his place. "Okay, here's what we do.
"I doubt Quistis could've gotten very far. It had only been a few hours since she left. Now, we don't know where her final destination is, so we'll just have to play catch-up. Xu, you and Iris try to go to Balamb town. Try and see if she's still there, or if she's not, try to find info on where she'll be headed next."
Xu and Iris nodded. "Right."
"Selphie and I will try to get in the Ragnarok and go over to Galbadia," Irvine continued. "If, by any chance, she had left Balamb, she'll most probably be there. From there, it'd be harder to catch up with her. Zell..."
Zell perked up. "Huh?"
"You try and find out where Squall is."
"Oh man!" Zell complained. "You do know Seifer was looking for him, don't you? And his eyes were screaming bloody murder! Look, Squall already gave me a busted lip yesterday. And Seifer almost gave that one a twin! And you want me to look for them? I bet you a year's supply of hotdogs that where Squall is right now, Seifer's bound to be there too! And I don't want to be near two gunbladers who seem to be having their period!"
"W-wait!" Rinoa asked suddenly, her voice suddenly masked with fear. "S-seifer was looking for Squall?"
"Oh no," Zell said dryly. "Seifer was hunting Squall."
Rinoa blanched.
When Squall finally reached the top of the hill, rain had started to pour. The dark clouds had become thicker, and lightning flashed every now and then. The wind was howling; its roar softly rising to a crescendo, and then lessening again.
Seifer was patiently waiting for him, still on that same position, with his hands atop the other on the handle of his Hyperion stuck on the ground. The wind made his white trenchcoat dance every which way around him. It had only been after noon, but with the weather, it might as well be twilight. When lightning crashed occassionally, it showed Seifer's eyes reflecting cool, deadly composure. And that grin which had seemed to have bceome more evil.
"You're late," Seifer said. "For a minute there, I thought you had chickened out."
"What do you want, Seifer?" Squall shouted. "What has this got to do with Rinoa?"
Seifer ignored him, however, and raised a hand as if to take in everything around them.
"Look Squall!" he shouted with an almost childlike glee. As if they were in a play. "The heavens are watching us! And they agree with what is happening! Can you almost feel their approval?!" Lightning crashed.
Squall, face and hair drenched with rain, narrowed his eyes. Seifer, calling him 'Squall'? He never did that before. Has Seifer gone mad?
"Can you remember the last time we fought, Squall?" Seifer continued. "Just the two of us! Without those meddling wussies you call your friends! You gave me something to remember you by!" With that, his hand softly touched the scar on his face.
"You gave me one too, Seifer," Squall replied.
"Oh, yeah," Seifer said, as if he forgot and remembered. "How alike are we really, Squall?"
"We are nowhere alike!" Squall shouted angrily. "Now cut this crap and tell me what I did! And what this has got to do with Rinoa!"
"You're right," Seifer said. "We are nowhere alike. You are a bastard who didn't realize what he got. I am a bastard who just realized that I still want what you got, but can't! Because you still has a grip on her heart. And she loves you still. But you're too much of an idiot to realize that!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Squall shouted, confused.
"Rinoa!" Seifer shouted back, taking a grip on his gunblade and uprooting it from the ground. He raised it, pointing it at Squall. The wind howled more, and lightning screamed, making the metal blade of the Hyperion gleam. "You wrenched out her heart, and you made her cry! And it was not the cry of a simple heartache, but one of a thousand deaths! You betrayed her, Squall! And she hurt like hell!"
The hell?! Squall thought. What has this got to do with him?!
"And what the hell does this has got to do with you, Seifer?" Squall shot back. "You and Rinoa are over a long time ago! Why the fuck are you meddling with our affairs?!"
"You forgot Squall!" Seifer said, even as he started to bring his gunblade sideways, in the first position of offense. "I was a Sorceress' Knight! She was a Sorceress...!"
"You're crazy!" Squall said, both hands clasped on Lionheart, and taking on a stance. "You are not a Sorceress' Knight anymore! And she's not a Sorceress anymore! You're trapped in the past!"
"You're right, Squall," Seifer said, his body tensing as he was ready to strike. "I am trapped in the past. I still love her."
With that, Seifer ran towards Squall with blinding speed, Hyperion screaming vengeance at his side.
"Wow," Selphie said as they entered the Garden aeroport. "I never thought I'd get to see this baby again."
The sleek, dragon-shaped Ragnarok was still as breathtaking as when they first laid eyes on it during the Sorceress war. After then, it hadn't seen much use, mainly because of the fact that everyone had been so busy rebuilding what had been destroyed.
"C'mon," Irvine said. "You still know how to work the controls, right?"
"Are you kidding?" Selphie grinned. "I can manipulate anything technical, even though they're much more harder then manipulating men."
"Was that supposed to mean something?" Irvine asked, stopping. He looked at Selphie quizzically.
Selphie laughed mischievously and gave her boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips. "C'mon cowboy. There're still hearts we got to save!"
"So what happened?" Zell asked, as they started to run towards the Quad. they had been searching most all of the prospective places Squall could be in, but without much success.
"I don't want to talk about it Zell," Rinoa said solemnly. "Please, just...drop it."
"Jeesh," Zell muttered. "You'd think that with everything that has happened to me as of late, what with a busted lip and all, I'd be entitled to at least an explanation of why everyone's so acting damn freaky lately. But noooo! It's better if we keep Zell in the dark! Dammit. I can't even properly French kiss Iris for now!"
"Zell?" Rinoa asked. "H-how are you and Iris?"
"Huh?" Zell asked, confused at the question. "What was that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, have you both had fights and stuff?"
"Of course," Zell said. "A relationship isn't a relationship until you both share at least one fight with each other. It just sort of shakes things up, you know. Breaks the monotony of everything. Especially the jealous stuff..."
"Iris gets jealous?" Rinoa asked.
"Who doesn't?" Zell replied. "Especially when she catches me talking to a girl much more intimately than usual. Not that I mean anything in it or whatever. There are just girls whom I am comfortable joking around with."
But its different with Squall, Rinoa thought. Something actually happened between her and Quistis. "H-how did you both manage to smooth things out?"
"Talk," Zell replied. "It always helps. Of course, a bunch of roses gives me an advantage. And a box of chocolates too."
They entered the Quad. Zell looked around the whole place. Right now, a retractable plexiglass roof covered the used-to-be open environment. There were students milling around, but no Squall nor Seifer.
"Dammit," Zell said. "I wonder if someone here knew where they could be?"
"Zell?" Rino asked again.
"Humh?" Zell replied rather absentmindedly.
"W-what if...you found out that Iris was...real intimate with someone...what would you do?"
"I might break the guy's legs," Zell said.
"W-would you still trust Iris?" Rinoa asked.
Zell looked at her for a moment. "I love Iris. I don't think I've ever loved anyone as much before. And I know how much she loves me. And because of that, I am never insecure. If she ever does do something real intimate with a guy, maybe she has a good reason for doing it. And until I can hear that reason from her mouth, I'll still trust her. After she'll tell me, it's now up to me whether that reason was valid enough. This is about Squall and Quistis, isn't this? What did they do, Rinoa?"
"I promise I'll tell you all after...after I talk with Squall," Rinoa said, slightly trembling. "And Quistis. I promise."
Sparks flew as metal clashed against metal. Squall, face grimacing from the strength of Seifer's attack, tried his best to hold his ground. Their gunblades were crossed now, and their faces were inches from each other. Squall looked into Seifer's eyes and saw in them a mixture of absolute resolution and unbound anger. The rain that ran across their faces mingled with their sweat.
"The..problem I have...with Rinoa...is none of your damn business, Seifer!" Squall growled.
"I...don't know...what she saw in you..." Seifer answered. "But...you have no idea...how much she loves...you! And I can't...stand it...when you made her cry...like that...when her love...could've...been...MINE!"
With that, Seifer lodged his boot in Squall's midsection and kicked. Squall fell down, unable to maintain his balance. Not giving any pause, Seifer brought down his gunblade in a deadly arc, straight down the SeeD commander's head.
Squall saw the deadly blade rain down on him with the rain, and he immediately rolled aside. He heard the deadly "thump!" as the blade embedded itself on the wet ground where his head used to be. Getting halfway up, Squall delivered a kick that sent Seifer flying backwards. Without missing a beat, Squall extended his right arm and cast Firaga on the still hurtling fighter. The massive fire-based magic assault produced a cloud of smoke where Seifer used to be.
The wind carried the smoke away almost immediately. Squall gasped in surprise as he saw Seifer crouched there, looking at him as the smoke cleared. The shimmering rainbow hues of the Shell spell still lingered, some of the smoke grasping on it until the wind blew them away. He stood there, amazed that the blonde-haired cadet could even cast Shell at that short span of time.
Quick as the lightning that gave their battle now light, Seifer hurtled himself at Squall, gloved fists on the ready. Squall was slow to react, still amazed at the quickness in which Seifer managed to counter his magic like that. The sound of knuckle bones hitting jaw followed even as Squall let out an "Uuugh!"
Grasping Hyperion which was still thrust in the ground, Seifer made a slashing upward cut on the still groggy Squall. It was just pure luck that Squall managed to parry it with his Lion Heart. And their dance of thrusts, parries, and slashes began.
When Seifer was acknowledged by most everyone in Garden as the best fighter, they had more than valid reasons to. Seifer was a master of the art, even more so than Squall. While he was just plain temperamental and unstable in social interaction with his peer and superiors, he was precise and calculating in the battlefield. Every slash and thrust was delivered with absolute accuracy. There was a saying that you should never give a sword to a man who cannot dance. If dancing was equated to swordfighting, then Seifer was a savant in it.
Not to say, however, that Squall was a slouch in that department. He did not rise to his commander rank for nothing. People had often marveled at how he learned to adapt to new situations and techniques mere moments after he had seen a move. And he had also discovered moves of his own. The famed Lionheart limit break was still one of the most devastating the students of Balamb Garden had ever seen.
I have never seen him fight like this, Squall said to himself, amazed. It seemed like this is a differenr Seifer I am facing now!
Delivering counters and attacks at Seifer, Squall couldn't help but marvel at the intensity the young man showed. There was nothing of the bravado or the smirking taunt which seemed to characterize every spar that he made with the other students in the Garden. There was nothing of the reckless chances he made during all those training. Looking at him now, he wondered if this was how the real Seifer fought.
"I did not realize I still cared for her, Squall," Seifer suddenly said, while thrusting at him. He deftly parried it, and delivered an arching slash, which Seifer immediately threw away as if it was nothing. "When you both were squabbling in that balcony this morning, I was secretly amused at seeing her cry. What was it you did, Squall? What was it you did with that lovely instructor of ours?"
Quistis?! Squall asked himself, even as Seifer's blade almost nicked his cheek. Strands of brown hair fell down. He knew about Quistis too?! Why does everything lead to what we did?!
"To see her crying like that," Seifer continued. "I knew I had to make you pay. For her."
Seifer brought Hyperion on a sideways slash with his left hand, which the young commander easily blocked. However, he did not see the right punch that soon followed after. Fueling his rage, Squall snarled as he twisted his right wrist and brought their gunblades on the side. Then, using his left, Squall punched Seifer on the solar plexus, which made the former Knight double over. Then, Squall brought up his left knee on Seifer's face, which was followed by a kick which sent Seifer sprawling down.
Licking his tongue on his lips, Seifer tasted the sweet taste of his own blood. Grinning evilly which was accentuated more by his scar, he wiped the blood away with his gloved left.
"That's it, Squall," Seifer said. "Let's see whose love for Rinoa is greater. Yours, or mine."
"Come again?!" Irvine said through the com-link. "I can't hear you! Damn storm!"
"--s here...b---...train....half---r ago....over!" came Xu's voice, which was interrupted by so much static.
"Sef," Irvine said. "Could you increase our altitude a bit? Above the storm clouds. Maybe the signal'll become clearer there."
"'kay," Selphie said. "Hang on."
The red frame of Ragnarok rose higher, its metal-alloy skin shining with the wetness of the storm. After climbing up about a thousand feet or so, Selphie levelled the ship.
"Come again Xu!" Irvine repeated.
"I said Quisti--...'s boarded the train to Ga---dia half hour ago! If you go the-- you might still ove--ake her!" Xu said again.
"Roger on that Xu. And thanks!" Irvine said.
"No prob---!" Xu said. "Just make sure you bring --r back, y'hear? Bring h-- back! Even if you had to drag her to do it!"
Despite everything, Irvine could only smile. "Don't worry Xu. We'll bring her back."
There is poetry in fighting. The flow of graceful motions and quick counters were the rhythms of each syllable, be it be iambic or pentametric. The fluid movements as fighters tried their best to attack and counterattack were the words which rhymes at the end of each line. And the reasons that drive each fighter to become a poet of their crafts were the ideals that are conveyed behind those lines of words, which seamlessly integrated itself in the movements of the fighters themselves.
And under that angry sky on top of that hill, occasionally framed by flashes of lightning and echoed by thunder, Squall and Seifer were master poets of the craft.
