"You
awake?"
Davis
opened his eyes and saw Sophia standing over him. She looked absolutely stunning
when the light reflected off of her blonde hair, like an angel.
"I
am now," he said. Sophia smiled.
"I'm
glad you're OK," she said. "We had a huge battle in Kikon on Saturday, and
Mayor Jones got away. We're currently investigating his background, his
hometown, and his birthday. And where he might go now to avoid the
authorities."
Davis
got the feeling that she wasn't telling him everything. "What aren't you
telling me?" he asked. Sophia let out a deep breath.
"The
man that attacked you had Reflect, Shell and Regen cast on himself, and he was
wearing body armour that, according to Felicia, would take an armour-piercing
rocket to break. Your gunblade would have been useless, and his strength was
augmented somehow. We think that he found a GF and Junctioned it to himself and
used an Str-J ability," she said. Davis nodded.
"So
there was no way that I could have defeated him?" he said. Sophia nodded.
"None
at all. You're lucky that Felicia is such a brilliant shot. She hit him right
in the forehead with that machine gun of hers."
"You're
not very encouraging."
"I
try," said Sophia
Sophia
chuckled. "Hey, when you're well enough, how about we go on that date that
was so rudely interrupted?" she said. Davis smiled.
"Sure.
I'll take you to see the sights of Deling City," he said. "That is, if
we're still in Galbadia."
"We
are. You're father is busy talking to General Caraway about the G-soldiers in
Kikon. He thinks that they might have been deserters."
Davis
smiled. "Well then, we can go as soon as I'm feeling better."
"At
the rate you're healing, that will be a while."
"Funny."
There
was a knock at the infirmary door, and Xu looked inside. "Sophia, you have
visitors."
Sophia
looked at her, and smiled when she saw her parents in the doorway.
"Mom,
Dad!" she said, running over and hugging each of them in turn. "What are you
guys doing here?"
"Paying
a visit to our daughter, what else?" Seifer said. He looked over at Davis and
let out a breath. "What happened to you?" he asked. Davis just looked at
him.
"I
got into a fight and lost," he said. Seifer grinned.
"Like
father like son," he said. "Your old man lost to me once."
"I
believe that that was a training session. If I hadn't fought the guy that
attacked me, your daughter would be dead right now. I gave her a Remedy after my
nameless attacker poisoned her. Right after that I fought him, and woke up two
days later in the infirmary."
Seifer
and Fujin looked at each other. "That true?" he asked Sophia. She nodded.
"And
he's also my boyfriend," she said. Seifer looked at her in disbelief.
"You're
going out with Squall's son?" he asked.
"And
what's wrong with that?" said an angry sounding voice from behind Seifer.
They turned and saw Rinoa standing in the infirmary.
"Hello
Rinoa," Fujin said. She had stopped speaking in short sentences years ago, and
now spoke normally. Rinoa smiled.
"Hi,
Fujin. How are things with you and Seifer?" she said.
"Relatively
normal," replied Fujin. "Except for the way he snores, it keeps me up at
night."
"I'm
standing right here, you know!" Seifer said. Rinoa and Fujin glanced at him,
and laughed in unison.
"Sorry
about that, Seifer," said Fujin. "But your snoring does keep me up at
night."
Seifer
looked at her. "Well, maybe if you learnt to cook…"
Fujin
kicked his shin hard. "What was that?" she said. Seifer, who was now rubbing
his shin, looked at her.
"Nothing,"
he said. Sophia packed out laughing. The three of them stared at her.
"And
what are you laughing at?" Fujin said.
"What
else? You two! How did I ever end up with parents who are always beating each
other up, and still manage to stay married?" Sophia replied between laughs.
Seifer sighed.
"Well,
we have to get going. Fujin has an appointment with a cooking instructor…"
he began. Fujin punched him in the gut.
"I'm
kidding!" Seifer said. "But seriously, we have to visit Raijin in FH."
"Have
fun," Davis said. He wasn't as amused by Seifer and Fujin's little show as
Sophia was. He just found it annoying.
Seifer
just looked at him and walked out. Fujin shrugged.
"Bye
Rinoa, good seeing you again," she said. "Bye Sophia! Hey, Davis! Take care
of my daughter, OK?"
Davis
waved his hand. "No worries there," he said. Fujin nodded and walked out.
--------------------------
GENERAL
CARAWAY'S RESIDENCE
Caraway
read through Squall's reports and sighed. "Well," he said. "It's true
that about 150 soldiers deserted about three months ago, and it's possible
that they were hired as mercenaries by Jones. What I don't understand is why
they deserted in the first place. There's nothing serious going on in Galbadia
right now, and I know for a fact that the citizens are happy with President
Williams in power."
Squall
looked at him and leaned back in his chair. "Maybe the deserters felt that you
weren't paying them enough," he said. Caraway glanced at the SeeD.
"That
is a possibility," he confessed. "Or maybe they weren't happy with the new
system that Williams has in place in the military."
Squall
leaned forward. "What new system?" he asked, his interest peaked. Caraway
sighed.
"We
are currently experimenting with using a Draw system like you SeeDs do," he
said. "But so far, all of our attempts have failed, and one of our more
successful soldiers escaped from the lab and went on a killing spree…"
"He's
dead," Squall said. "He attacked my son and was taken out by our best
sniper, Felicia Kinneas."
Caraway
looked at Squall. "How did you manage to kill him? He was wearing bulletproof
armour and had Shell, Reflect, and Regen cast on him. Nothing short of an
armour-piercing missile could have downed him."
"Felicia shot him in the head," Squall said. "It's a basic rule of thumb that you should go for a head-shot before anything else."
Caraway
thought about that for a second. "That makes sense," he said. "It's no
wonder that SeeD is considered one of the best Military Institutions in the
world."
Squall
shrugged. "Whatever."
Caraway
put the papers in a neat pile and stood up. "Thank you for seeing me about
those deserters Squall," he said. "And…say hello to Rinoa for me."
"It's
not like she'll appreciate it," Squall thought. "I'll do just that."
Squall
stood up and left the house with new worries. So the person that attacked Davis
and Sophia was part of some sort of experiment to give Galbadian soldiers a Draw
system? This was not good. Squall headed back to Garden just as Seifer and Fujin
left.
-------------------------
Davis
stood up, expecting pain. There was none, which meant that the elixir that he
drank earlier was doing its job. That was good, as it meant that he and Sophia
could go on that date. He got dressed and headed for the showers. It had been a
while since he had had a good shower, and he felt dirty, and he hated to feel
dirty.
-------------------------
Davis
had checked his wounds earlier before he had gotten into the shower, and was
surprised to see that they were almost healed. Either that elixir was doing an
extraordinary job of healing him, or he suddenly healed fast. He had put the
thought into the back of his mind for later. Right now he needed something to
eat before he collapsed from hunger. When he got to the cafeteria, he ordered a
grilled cheese sandwich along with some tea. He found a table where he could be
alone and sat down. He ate his food quickly and drank his tea even faster. He
took his plate and cup to the counter before heading toward the Garden exit to
meet Sophia.