"Hi."
Davis
looked up from his Weapons Monthly magazine to see Sophia standing in front of
him. Today she was wearing a bright red T-shirt and white pants. Davis thought
that she looked absolutely gorgeous, but he didn't say so. Instead he said,
"Hi."
Sophia
sat down next to him. "About last night…" she began.
"What
about it?" Davis asked, not looking up from his magazine.
"That
kiss…"
"That
should never have happened," Davis said quickly. "But it was a great
kiss, and she's a great girl… What am I doing, acting so cold towards her
like this?"
Sophia sighed. "I can see that you're busy right now. I'll see you later, OK?" she said hopefully. Davis just shrugged.
"Whatever."
Sophia
was silent as she stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. Felicia, who had
been watching, was not impressed. She marched over and ripped the magazine from
Davis' hands.
"What
the hell are you doing?" Davis said. Felicia stared at him.
"I
know what happened last night, Davis Leonhart! I know that you care about
her!" she said, almost yelling. Davis sat back calmly and looked at her.
"I
don't know what you're talking about," he said. But Felicia knew better.
She grabbed the chair and flipped it over, sending Davis to the floor. Before he
could move, her foot was planted on his chest.
"Now
you listen to me: you had better apologise to Sophia, got it?" she said,
grinding her foot into Davis' ribs. "If you don't there will be hell to
pay!"
With
that, Felicia stormed off and Davis stood up. All of the students in the
cafeteria were staring at him. "What?" he said. They all looked away.
"Great,"
Davis
thought. "I hurt Sophia's feelings, and I've gotten Felicia mad at me.
What else can go wrong today?"
Davis
sighed and went to find Sophia so that he could apologise to her. It didn't
take him long to find her; she was upstairs on the second floor balcony, staring
into space. He leant on the railing right next to her and cleared his throat.
"I,
uh…" he began. Sophia turned to look at him. Her face was red and puffy. Had
she been crying?
"Yes?"
she said rather coldly. "What do you want?"
"I
just wanted to apologise for what I said in the cafeteria," said Davis. "But
we barely know each other…"
Sophia
stared at him. "Has he forgotten?" she thought. "Has his GF
really erased the memory of our childhood friendship?"
"…And I just feel that if we move too fast, we'll regret it later."
Sophia
eyed him. "Later?" she said. "Hey, are you trying to ask me out?"
Davis
nearly choked. "Well, I, uh…" he said. "Dammit, now she's gotten me
all nervous! OK, so I was going to ask her out. I mean, she's really
beautiful, and I feel…attracted towards her for some reason."
"Well?" Sophia said, almost grinning. Davis sighed.
"Yes,"
he said at length. "I was trying to ask you out."
Sophia
smiled. "Maybe, just maybe, there's some fragment of his early childhood
memories when we used to play together in the fields outside Winhill," she
thought. "Of course I'll go out with you!"
Davis
seemed surprised, but he smiled. "Shall we meet in the secret area tonight?"
he said. Sophia nodded.
"Sure
thing!" she said cheerfully. "Around eight?"
"Yeah,
around eight."
Sophia
smiled and walked away waving. Davis watched her leave and turned to look over
the balcony.
"See
how easy that was?"
Felicia
popped her head around the corner and smiled.
"Were
you eavesdropping?" Davis asked. Felicia shrugged.
"I
didn't mean to. I was talking with Quistis and was on my way back when I heard
you and Sophia talking. I'm glad that you two are going out. You're really
suited for each other, you know that?" she said. Davis waved his hand
dismissively.
"Whatever,"
he said. "But she's right: Sophia and I seem to make a very good
couple."
The intercom blared to life: "Will Sophia Almasy and Davis Leonhart please report to the bridge. I repeat…"
Davis
listened and sighed. "I have to go," he said. "Well, I guess I'll see
you later."
Felicia
nodded. "Yeah, later."
Davis
got into the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. The doors
closed and he was carried up. He stepped off of the elevator and went onto the
lift that took him to the bridge. Sophia was already there, and so were his
father, and his mother. She had a worried look on her face.
"I
have a mission for the two of you," said Squall. "You've been hired to
investigate rumours of a Sorceress in the town of Kikon near the outskirts of
the Dingo Desert in Galbadia. If or when you find this Sorceress you are to
ascertain whether or not she is a threat. If she is indeed a threat, do not try
and engage her in battle, call for backup instead. On the other hand, if she
isn't a threat, you are to leave her be, as we do not want to start the Third
Sorceress War. Davis is the squad leader. Sophia, you are to follow his orders
and support him to your fullest."
"Yes,
sir," Sophia said, saluting. Davis also saluted, but was silent. This was his
first mission in, what, four months?
"When
do we leave?" Sophia asked.
"As
soon as we reach Kikon," Squall said. "And we'll be there in about…10
minutes. You have until then to get ready."
The
two SeeDs saluted and got onto the lift. They went down. When they were the
office, Davis sighed.
"I
guess that we have to postpone our date," he said.
"Not
at all."
Davis
blinked at her.
"I've
heard that the desert is really romantic at night," Sophia said. "We can
have our date in Kikon."
Davis
sighed. "She just doesn't give up," he thought. "Sure, that
sounds like fun…if you want to freeze to death in the cold desert night."
Sophia
frowned. "Oh my, I can see that I have my work cut out for me," she said.
"That is, if I want to make you come out of your proverbial shell."
Davis
shrugged. "Good luck," he said.
--------------------
The
town of Kikon was every bit a desert town. The houses were made from wood, and
the streets were just tracks in the dirt where the people, chocobos, dogs and
cats walked every day. The houses were built in rows on either side of the
'road'. There was a pub,an inn, a jailhouse and (to both Sophia's and
Davis' surprise) a Junk shop. Not to mention the general store. But the most
amazing thing was the building in the center of the town: it was large,
beautifully painted and it was the only building that was not made of wood. It
was the Town Hall where the mayor of Kikon, one Gary Jones, resided. It was the
biggest building there, with statues of gargoyles guarding the door from above.
The stairs leading up to the huge double doors were polished and made of marble
with two marble lions standing guard on pedestals at the top of the steps, their
mouths open and baring their teeth. But what amazed the two SeeDs the most were
the doors themselves: they were made from polished bronze that was kept cool
with some kind of cooling system at the sides of the doors.
"I
wonder what the cost of this building was?" Davis said. "I mean; it's so
grand compared to the rest of this town."
Sophia
nodded. "I know, but we have to go and see the mayor about this Sorceress,"
she said. "Come on, Mr. Leader."
Davis
shrugged. "Yeah, of course," he said. "And after that we have to get a
room at the inn."
Davis
noticed the sly look on her face. "With two separate beds," he added
quickly. Sophia giggled.
"You're
too serious!" she said. "Come on, how old are you? You're still a teenager
for crying out loud! Act like one for a change!"
"Whatever,
let's just go and see the mayor."
They
walked up the stairs and into the building. It was even more stunning than the
outside. The carpet was made from some kind of soft material, and the walls were
draped with tapestries depicting scenes from battles long forgotten. Except for
one: it showed two men with gunblades standing on a parade float duelling. Davis
didn't notice this, and it would be that lack of observation that would cost
him dearly in the near future, because right next to that was an image of a
tall, brown-haired SeeD falling in battle in defence of a blonde-haired woman in
front of a huge floating structure: Balamb Garden.