In the Eye of the Squall
Chapter 5: Squalls' Smile.
By Sephiroth 4000.
"Yes sir." Tidus kept his arms
stiffly by his sides, almost standing at attention, as Leonhart tended to do in
formal occasions. His intense studying
of the man had paid off.
"Very impressive," the supervisor
murmured. This man was the last hurdle
Tidus needed to overcome. Then he could
waltz out of this abominable place, and take life up as
Squall Leonhart forever, and ever and ever. He realised he was starting to grin asininely,
and quickly smoothed out his expression to one of proper blandness.
"Let's see,
Mr. Leonhart. How can you really prove
that you're cured of your chocolate addiction?" The man gestured with a lit
cigar, Tidus noticed. And he was the
head of a rehabilation centre. Brilliant.
"It's all
in my files sir." He said gravely to the despicable little man. Grr, if only he had his waterblade here, or
that superior Lionhart! He'd mop up
that smug little man in ten seconds. "The counselors all had me rigorously tested."
"Hmm, hmm,"
The man mumbled, and swung up his feet to rest them on the desk. Tidus idly noted that they were in need of a
good clean. Of course Squalls' precious
boots were never in need of polishing. The almighty Commander of SeeD took a break from his duties every
Saturday night to polish them so lovingly that one could see one's reflection
in them. Soldiers. He wondered if Squall polished his pants or jacket. All that leather, and it never cracked, and
always seemed supple and clean. . .maybe bee's wax. . .
"What!? You managed to sit still and not eat a piece of rich Dollet chocolate!? And it was in front of you for at least ten hours!!??" The man was going to have an apoplexy. Tidus regarded his pink shiny sweating brow with some distaste. For some reason, having his head dipped in chocolate, and then have Leonhart attempt to gnaw his hair off had made him go off the confectionary.
"Hyne's
Tastebuds, are you crazy boy? Refusing
Dollet chocolate??? Do you know how
expensive that stuff is??? And the
taste!!!"
Tidus
yawned politely. "I believe that
Counselor Biggs took off with it. He
told me that it was the least I owed him, from last time we were in Dollet, and
Galbadia." He frowned momentarily. "Don't know why he was so hostile. I've never met him before in my life."
But it was
clear that the supervisor was not listening. In fact he had flung Tidus' report behind him in a cascade of paper, and
yelled, "You're free to go, my boy! I
have something to discuss with Counselor Biggs!"
Tidus
snickered, at the sight of the fat supervisor waddling furiously down the
hall. Obviously, Squall Leonhart wasn't
the only one around with an addiction to chocolate. He grinned. And felt gloriously free, as he realised he could go
from this hellhole.
He might
see Yuna. Or better still, he might see
Rinoa Heartilly, Squall Leonhart's very pretty girlfriend.
Da. . . .
ark. . . . .No. . .light. . . . . .Ow. . . . .
Squall woke
painfully, realising he was lying on something very cold, hard and lumpy. It felt like a mosaic floor, one of the more
uncomfortable things to sleep on. But
more comfortable then a railway line. He had tried that on the way to Esthar, while he had carried that lazy
Rinoa, who had pretended to be posessed just so she could catch up on her
'beauty sleep.' Bah. Or that was what Selphie had said Rinoa had
told her.
And right
now it was so dark he wasn't completely sure that he had really opened his
eyes. For good measure he closed his
eyes again, and then opened them again. It was as dark in here as the inside as a sock. Well, that was a really bad description
since a sock would let in light through the material and all. . .it was dark
as. . .his shoe polish. Yes. That was a good description.
"Squall."
"AHHH!!!!!"
he yelled in good measure. "GET IT AWAY
FROM ME!!!"
"Squaall."
It was a
very dry dusty voice, rusty as though it had never been used before. Behind
that, it seemed to be very light in timbre, and oddly familiar. . .
"Squaaaaaaall."
He quivered
in fear, and huddled up in his leathers, clutching his jacket around
himself. It served in place of a
security blanket, or a good solid piece of chocolate for the moment.
"Murderer. Do you know who I am?"
"N-n-n-no."
"I'll tell
you who I am."
"Puh-lease
don't kill me!!! I'll do anything you
want!!!!"
"I want
vengence!!!!"
And from
the dark, came something truly terrifying.
"He such a
meanie!!! A
super-duper-mega-one!!!!" Selphie snivelled
into her tissue, and Rinoa wearily rested her head on her knees, idly playing
with the two rings threaded onto her necklace. Any more of this and she was going to go batty. Or maybe she already was. She had managed to escape the drunken singers
from the CCIM building, get a good night, or days sleep, and then have the
misfortune to run into Selphie at the cafeteria. Oooh, she had to rescue her Squall soon!
A hand
rested itself on her shoulder.
"Squall!?"
she exclaimed, jumping to her feet, and spinning to face him. "Is that really you!?"
He grinned,
as he nodded. Squall Leonhart actually
grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners in good humour.
Rinoa
fainted in shock.
A horror,
one born from countless dreams of guilt.
It was a
duck.
Squall
screamed in despair and fainted dead away.
Rinoa woke
dazedly, feeling something soft and . . .well. . .good underneath her. A bed.
"Rin? You okay? I carried you to the sick bay. Kadowaki said it was just nerves."
He. . .
.used a nick name? Squall. . .grinned.
. .then gave me a nickname. . . ? Has
he really gone crazy. . . ?
She peered through her lashes at him. He actually wore an expression of complete concern on his face. Apart from that, he was his usual handsome self, except for the bizarre clothes he was wearing. And his hair looked a little more lank then usual. Must not have had conditioner at the Rehab. Centre. Back to the clothes.
He had no shirt at all, and his chest was quite tanned. Rinoa didn't mind that bit. But, over a short blue and yellow jacket, he wore dennim overalls, one leg longer then the other, and a rather cool logo emblazoned on it. A long red gauntlet covered his left arm up to the elbow.
And he was wearing no leather at all.
She started up with a small scream. "Who are you?" she said wildly. "You're not Squall! You're not wearing any leather!! Why??? You look like Squall, but you're not!!! Squall without leather's like. . .like. . .Selphie without her horrible haircut! Like. . ."
She floundered to a stop, while he backed a step away, hands up. A typical Squall look of bland stoicness covered his features, and curiously, Rinoa felt better about him. "They took away my leather at Rehab. Good thing I have more copies of that outfit in the dorm. I'd hate to have to wear my SeeD uniform."
He was talking too much. She backed up to the head of the bed, and looked at him with wide terrified eyes. He shook his head. "Look Rinoa, I have to go. I was just waiting for you to wake up. I'll see you later, and you can talk about what's bugging you."
He left, and Rinoa began to shake. What had those horrible people at that centre done to her Squall?
He couldn't tell how long this nightmare had lasted. The duck just stood there, poised in its' ray of light, while he huddled terrified in the darkness. It seemed to be waiting for something. . .absently preening its' fluffy white plumage. . .plumage like the feathers that formed the collar of his precious jacket. . .
And then it moved. Forward, closer to him, a look of real menace in its' dark beady eyes. "Squaaall. . ." It hissed.
"Y-y-yes. . ."
"Squaaaaall. . .Do you know how many ducks died so that you could have twenty copies of that jacket?"
"N-n-n-n-n-no. . . "
"Twenty. And I am the duck that died so you could have that foul garment you are presently wearing." It's eyes were wide with anger and disgust and it gave a loud quack of fury.
"I'm s-s-sorry. . ."
"Sorry won't fix everything, Duck Killer!!!! You must pay!!!!!!! QUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Squall quivered in his shiny boots, backing away in shameful fear and guilt. He hung his head in shame. And vaguely, in the absolute silence, he could hear a low voice. No, two low voices.
"Quahahahaha? Isn't that a little. . .well understated? Come on, why don't you go for the whole thing! Just say, "Quackhackhackhack!" and be done with it!"
And even quieter was the hissed, "Shut up, Tidus."
Squall squalled. "Stop it!! Shut up!!!!! I do NOT have voices in my head, like the counselors said!!!!! That was a just a side effect from Ellone sending me bsack to the past!!!!! That's all!!!!! There is nothing wrong with me!!!!!!!"
A dead silence met his words. The duck thankfully faded away in confusion, and everything was swallowed up into blessed darkness.
Squall whimpered, and wished for the oblivion of sleep.
Something was very wrong. Rinoa adjusted her super big sunglasses so they didn't pinch her nose as much, and turned the collar of her trenchcoat up a little higher so it concealed her face. Of course she had to turn it down again almost at once because it cut off her peripheral vision. Both items had been borrowed from Agent Doggin, who had been only too delighted to oblige.
She had of course been, well not spying on Squall. That was an awful word. She had been. . .observing him. That was right. Observing. And his behaviour had been bizarre to say the least. He had answered at least eleven of the people that had greeted him, and with relative good cheer, and had actually shaken someone's hand when introduced. True he was back in his leather, but he had doffed his gloves and kept that weird gauntlet thing, and was wearing it under his jacket. And he had replaced his beloved boots; boots he had spent weekends laboriously polishing with a toothbrush, with some bright yellow sneaker type shoes. And he had smiled several times; Rinoa had lost count.
In short, the melancholy, brooding young man she had fallen in love with was behaving. . .normal.
Something was definitely wrong.
Author's Note: Heheheheheh. Yes I know the duck bit is shamefully childish. In fact this whole fanfic is painfully
immature, but hey, I am immature occasionally. Sometimes. Alright almost
all of the time. Anyway, thanks for
reading and all the kind reviews!