Note: Hey, I know that last chapter was kinda... eh... weird, but hey at least Selphie was not actually raped! Now that's a good news for all of you! I just hate it when something like that happens to any of the girls in FF8! Well, here's chapter 17. I was hoping for more reviews, but hey, at least I got some! Heh heh... here we go! ENJOY!
HEY! Who's seen "A Walk To Remember?" It was sooo sad! And I loved the songs too!
Chapter 17 - Forwards
She opened her eyes, her memories were unclear of what happened. She dreamed of being carried off to a shelter by someone tall and wearing a gray trench coat. Why wouldn't any woman dream of that?
Sitting up from her sleeping position, Quistis found herself in a small, dark cave. She leaned forward, placed her feet on the ground and stood up. She never noticed the coat that was used as a blanket fall on the ground. There was no light to let her see where she was going, but she was just too tired to even care. She winced as a pain surged through her body. She glanced at the source and was staring at something on her right shoulder. A large, leaf-like bandage was wrapped around her armpits and around the wound. In a tired gaze, she removed her eyes from the wound and began to walk forward. She was unaware of someone sleeping on the ground.
For some reason, she needed to get back to Balamb. She took another step and gasped a bit too late, when her toe hit something hard. She heard someone curse as she flailed her arms fearfully, trying to find her footing, when she fell forward, on top of something soft. The next thing she knew, she was staring at a pair of green eyes.
"Trepe! What the hell?!" Quistis blinked. She had landed on top of Seifer, who was staring at her in anger. He had his arms wrapped around her, trying to hold her steady, but removed them quickly when he realized they were too close. Much too close.
The blond woman did not know what to say. Quistis lifted herself up and quickly straightened her posture. Seifer stood up as well, staring at her. The blond woman didn't know what to make of this. He wasn't wearing his usual trench coat. He was just wearing a black shirt that showed his muscular chest. She stared at the necklace that was usually covered when he wore his coat and she had this chance to see what it said. Like what Matron mentioned before, it was a silver cross attached to a black and blue band.
"Is there something you found amusing on my shirt, Instructor?" Seifer smirked, folding his arms across his chest... a very typical Seifer posse.
She removed her eyes from him and looked around frantically."Where- where am I? Why am I here?" Quistis stared back at Seifer, waiting for an answer. She reached for her weapon, but grabbed nothing but air. She glanced at the holster and looked back up at the tall blond. "Where's my weapon?"
Seifer rolled his eyes and pointed to his left. Quistis followed his finger and there, lying across another rock, laid her Save The Queen. Quistis grabbed it quickly and replaced it back on her holster. Pain suddenly struck her. The blond woman grabbed at her shoulder and winced.
The blond man watched her in pain. Inside, he was concerned for her, but in the outside... he was empty. Why did this woman affect him so much? What was so special about her? He kept asking these questions in his head, yet no answers were ever given to him. He noticed Quistis was still wincing in pain. Seifer stepped forward, but withdrew quickly when Quistis brushed pass him.
Seifer quickly turned around. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"
Quistis paused and glanced over her shoulder. Turning around, she gave Seifer a curious look. "What? Don't you want to find your weapon?"
Seifer shook his head. "Not in your condition, you're not. You have to go back and get that checked out by Dr. Kadowaki."
The blond woman smirked. "Who are you, my mother?" She was somewhat curious about what he just said. Was Seifer Almasy concerned for the well being of Quistis Trepe?
The ex-knight scowled. "FINE... GET HURT! See if I care!" He grabbed his coat from the ground, walked pass her and through the bushes he went. Quistis arched her eyebrow and followed him.
****************
He thought it over. There was no other place they could look of where she was. She was missing for several hours now. What if something happened to her? What if that bastard Seifer kidnapped her to get back at him?
"That's not possible." Squall heard the door opening and he looked up to see Rinoa walking towards him, her blue duster trailing behind her. "Don't even think about that, Squall."
"Rin, stop reading my thoughts," Squall murmured. He sighed, tapped his pen on the table and sighed the second time. "Seifer is the reason Quistis isn't here. He kidnapped her so he could get back at me and the others."
Rinoa walked over and frowned. She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. Squall had his reasons to worry about Quistis. Quistis was like a second sister to Squall. Since Ellone left, the blond Instructress had always been the closest older sister to him and the rest of the gang. "Squall, maybe Quistis went after him."
Squall looked up, angrily. The way Rinoa said those words made him curious. She knew something he didn't. "What are you talking about, Rin? Is there something going on between them?" He stared at her accusingly.
The dark haired girl furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head in disbelief. How cold Squall ever accuse her of hiding something? "Squall, please stop interrogating me," Rinoa spoke, sitting down on the chair in front of him. "Honestly, I don't know. I don't interfere in anyone's lives, Squall."
"Yet, you interfere with my thoughts," Squall put in, taking his eyes away from her.
"You know that's not true. Squall, I only listen when the thoughts are important. I listen when-"
"When it comes to Seifer," Squall interrupted.
Rinoa frowned. She stood up and planted both her fists on her hips. "What is wrong with you?! Why do you keep referring back to Seifer?"
"Because every time you see him, you act like nothing happened, Rin!" Squall yelled. "Have you forgotten what that ass-whole did to you? Have you forgotten how he tortured me and sacrificed you to Adel?"
"Of course not, Squall!" Tears fell from her eyes. She looked up, her eyes flooded with tears. "I would never forget that! I would never forget everything you've done for me to save my life, but Squall... Squall, you have forgotten the value of forgiveness. I have forgiven him a long time ago, because I knew what he was going to do. Everyone seemed to have forgiven him and even Matron, so why can't you?"
Squall stood up, turned around and stared out the window. "Because I want him out of our lives, Rin. I want nothing to do with him. I want us to be happy without his presence."
"Well, I'm sorry for not forgiving him. He's still my friend and I choose my friends, Squall, not you." She wiped the tears from her eyes, turned and began to walk out. Rinoa paused by the door and looked at him. "I think you should put yourself in Seifer's shoes, Squall and see why he did what he did. Quistis, a woman who was in the same position as you, started to forgive him. It may not seem that way, but she has, a long time ago. She's just too stubborn to admit it, but her forgiveness is there." She turned back around and walked out of the room.
****************
Tired as he was, he kept going. He could hear Quistis' footsteps trailing close behind him. "I don't know why you bothered to come with me, Trepe, but I think you're just being stupid. You can't use your weapon with your injured arm."
Quistis rolled her eyes."Why don't you keep worrying about your weapon and stop worrying about me?" She was flattered that he was, but Seifer would never admit to that.
Seifer snorted. "Worry? About you? Hah! That's rich! Why would I worry about you? Don't you have Squally boy and his Troopers for that job?" He moved a branch out of the way, almost smacking Quistis in the face, but she managed to keep it from hitting her.
The blond woman growled. "For your information, Squall has his own woman to worry about, so stop referring back to Squall, all right?"
"Oh, that's right!" Seifer slapped his hand on his forehead, pretending he didn't know anything and chuckled. "He dumped you for Rin, didn't he? It's too bad though, 'cause you'd look cute together." He paused and looked at her. "I can see it now..." He stared up at the sky in a pretend dreamy state and lifted up his hand to write something. "The Ice King and Queen!"
Quistis frowned. She lifted up a clenched hand and targeted for his arm. Without a moment's hesitation, she prepared for contact in his arm, but Seifer, as quick as he was, grabbed her hand and pulled her to him.
"You better watch where you aim that thing," he whispered in a warning in her ear. They stared at each other and for that one intense moment, they couldn't keep their eyes off of each other, until Quistis pushed him away with her other hand. It was too bad that it was her injured arm that she used, because she grabbed at her injury and moaned. The pain was even more gruesome than before.
Seifer, quickly taking his mind off of the quarrel, went to her and grabbed her hand that was about to take out the bandage. Quistis looked up at him as she noticed him shaking his head.
"You should know better than to touch a bandage, Trepe. You can't expose your wound to the open air like this, so I suggest you keep it on there for awhile, until you get that checked by a Doctor." He removed his hand from her and turned back to the general direction where he planned on going. In truth, he didn't know where he was going. He was just trying to buy some time until Trepe gives up and leaves him so he can be alone. It would be wonderful to be alone again and to see Fujin and Raijin.
Quistis watched his back, shocked beyond disbelief of his knowledge about things that only she knew about. She underestimated him. Blinking, she caught up to him and looked at him in amazement.
Seifer glanced at her and furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you want?!"
The blond woman smiled. "You know, underneath all that arrogant and proud attitude, you are a very smart person, Almasy. I applaud you for passing your test. Now, you can go on as SeeD."
A part of him broke in half. Seifer glared at her. "Stop mocking me, Trepe. If I had a weapon, I would easily kill you right now."
Quistis lifted up her chin proudly. "Well, you don't, so you can just forget about that." She walked ahead of him, pushing away all the branches out of the way that hit Seifer's face.
Seifer scowled, mumbling some curses under his breath. Why did he ever agree to bring her? He removed his eyes from her for a second, to examine the environment around him. Nothing but bushes surrounded them. It was like they were trudging through the jungle terrain, looking for treasures. He almost felt like Indiana Jones. That thought made him smirk. Now he's starting to feel like an idiot for thinking that. He looked back up ahead of him and realized that Quistis was gone. He looked around, behind him, beside him and even pass the green bushes that covered his eyes. There was no sign of her.
"Trepe?" He was beginning to feel worried. Great, she goes off on her own with an injured arm, he thought.
"Seifer!" he heard someone call. Seifer craned his neck further over some more bushes and paced faster forward. He suddenly found himself surrounded by cut out trees, some left to die on the earth. Seifer regarded Quistis staring at something in her hand. She turned and smiled. Seifer looked at her and into her hands, where she held Hyperion, the weapon he's longed for the longest time. It still had its silver colour and Seifer, was even glad that it was still in good shape. He grabbed the weapon from her and swung it around. It felt good to have his weapon in his hands again.
"Great," he spoke, grinning. He had the weapon, now all he has to do is lose Trepe. He looked at her and nodded seriously. "Well, thanks for finding it for me. I think I better go now." He turned around.
Quistis stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, Seifer..."
Seifer took a deep breath, telling himself not to blow at her and turned around. "What is it?" He was getting impatient now.
The blond woman frowned. "Why not give Balamb a second chance?"
"I have given Balamb a second chance, Trepe, but Balamb hasn't. Good bye." He began to walk away.
"Seifer, please don't go."
Seifer paused.
Quistis stepped forward, wanting to reach out and touch him, but she withdrew her hands quickly, before she could get a chance. She wanted to say more, but all she could say was.... "I guess we're even then."
Seifer nodded his head. "I guess we are." He turned and grinned, saluting Quistis awkwardly and winked at her. "Well, I'm off. See you around Trepe!"
Quistis watched him disappear in the darkness. She's never felt all alone in her life.
GoodGurl: Oooh, Squall and Rinoa fight yet again! What is up with that? Anyway, Quistis and Seifer... you guys were hoping for Queiferness, eh? Well, you have to be patient! So, that's it! I hope you enjoyed it!
Will Seifer return and admit his true feelings towards Quistis?
Will Quistis go after Seifer or go back to Balamb?
Will Squall and Rinoa ever make up?
And what's going on Zell and Selphie? Are they really going to go out for real this time?
Find out soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEY! Who's seen "A Walk To Remember?" It was sooo sad! And I loved the songs too!
Chapter 17 - Forwards
She opened her eyes, her memories were unclear of what happened. She dreamed of being carried off to a shelter by someone tall and wearing a gray trench coat. Why wouldn't any woman dream of that?
Sitting up from her sleeping position, Quistis found herself in a small, dark cave. She leaned forward, placed her feet on the ground and stood up. She never noticed the coat that was used as a blanket fall on the ground. There was no light to let her see where she was going, but she was just too tired to even care. She winced as a pain surged through her body. She glanced at the source and was staring at something on her right shoulder. A large, leaf-like bandage was wrapped around her armpits and around the wound. In a tired gaze, she removed her eyes from the wound and began to walk forward. She was unaware of someone sleeping on the ground.
For some reason, she needed to get back to Balamb. She took another step and gasped a bit too late, when her toe hit something hard. She heard someone curse as she flailed her arms fearfully, trying to find her footing, when she fell forward, on top of something soft. The next thing she knew, she was staring at a pair of green eyes.
"Trepe! What the hell?!" Quistis blinked. She had landed on top of Seifer, who was staring at her in anger. He had his arms wrapped around her, trying to hold her steady, but removed them quickly when he realized they were too close. Much too close.
The blond woman did not know what to say. Quistis lifted herself up and quickly straightened her posture. Seifer stood up as well, staring at her. The blond woman didn't know what to make of this. He wasn't wearing his usual trench coat. He was just wearing a black shirt that showed his muscular chest. She stared at the necklace that was usually covered when he wore his coat and she had this chance to see what it said. Like what Matron mentioned before, it was a silver cross attached to a black and blue band.
"Is there something you found amusing on my shirt, Instructor?" Seifer smirked, folding his arms across his chest... a very typical Seifer posse.
She removed her eyes from him and looked around frantically."Where- where am I? Why am I here?" Quistis stared back at Seifer, waiting for an answer. She reached for her weapon, but grabbed nothing but air. She glanced at the holster and looked back up at the tall blond. "Where's my weapon?"
Seifer rolled his eyes and pointed to his left. Quistis followed his finger and there, lying across another rock, laid her Save The Queen. Quistis grabbed it quickly and replaced it back on her holster. Pain suddenly struck her. The blond woman grabbed at her shoulder and winced.
The blond man watched her in pain. Inside, he was concerned for her, but in the outside... he was empty. Why did this woman affect him so much? What was so special about her? He kept asking these questions in his head, yet no answers were ever given to him. He noticed Quistis was still wincing in pain. Seifer stepped forward, but withdrew quickly when Quistis brushed pass him.
Seifer quickly turned around. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"
Quistis paused and glanced over her shoulder. Turning around, she gave Seifer a curious look. "What? Don't you want to find your weapon?"
Seifer shook his head. "Not in your condition, you're not. You have to go back and get that checked out by Dr. Kadowaki."
The blond woman smirked. "Who are you, my mother?" She was somewhat curious about what he just said. Was Seifer Almasy concerned for the well being of Quistis Trepe?
The ex-knight scowled. "FINE... GET HURT! See if I care!" He grabbed his coat from the ground, walked pass her and through the bushes he went. Quistis arched her eyebrow and followed him.
****************
He thought it over. There was no other place they could look of where she was. She was missing for several hours now. What if something happened to her? What if that bastard Seifer kidnapped her to get back at him?
"That's not possible." Squall heard the door opening and he looked up to see Rinoa walking towards him, her blue duster trailing behind her. "Don't even think about that, Squall."
"Rin, stop reading my thoughts," Squall murmured. He sighed, tapped his pen on the table and sighed the second time. "Seifer is the reason Quistis isn't here. He kidnapped her so he could get back at me and the others."
Rinoa walked over and frowned. She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. Squall had his reasons to worry about Quistis. Quistis was like a second sister to Squall. Since Ellone left, the blond Instructress had always been the closest older sister to him and the rest of the gang. "Squall, maybe Quistis went after him."
Squall looked up, angrily. The way Rinoa said those words made him curious. She knew something he didn't. "What are you talking about, Rin? Is there something going on between them?" He stared at her accusingly.
The dark haired girl furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head in disbelief. How cold Squall ever accuse her of hiding something? "Squall, please stop interrogating me," Rinoa spoke, sitting down on the chair in front of him. "Honestly, I don't know. I don't interfere in anyone's lives, Squall."
"Yet, you interfere with my thoughts," Squall put in, taking his eyes away from her.
"You know that's not true. Squall, I only listen when the thoughts are important. I listen when-"
"When it comes to Seifer," Squall interrupted.
Rinoa frowned. She stood up and planted both her fists on her hips. "What is wrong with you?! Why do you keep referring back to Seifer?"
"Because every time you see him, you act like nothing happened, Rin!" Squall yelled. "Have you forgotten what that ass-whole did to you? Have you forgotten how he tortured me and sacrificed you to Adel?"
"Of course not, Squall!" Tears fell from her eyes. She looked up, her eyes flooded with tears. "I would never forget that! I would never forget everything you've done for me to save my life, but Squall... Squall, you have forgotten the value of forgiveness. I have forgiven him a long time ago, because I knew what he was going to do. Everyone seemed to have forgiven him and even Matron, so why can't you?"
Squall stood up, turned around and stared out the window. "Because I want him out of our lives, Rin. I want nothing to do with him. I want us to be happy without his presence."
"Well, I'm sorry for not forgiving him. He's still my friend and I choose my friends, Squall, not you." She wiped the tears from her eyes, turned and began to walk out. Rinoa paused by the door and looked at him. "I think you should put yourself in Seifer's shoes, Squall and see why he did what he did. Quistis, a woman who was in the same position as you, started to forgive him. It may not seem that way, but she has, a long time ago. She's just too stubborn to admit it, but her forgiveness is there." She turned back around and walked out of the room.
****************
Tired as he was, he kept going. He could hear Quistis' footsteps trailing close behind him. "I don't know why you bothered to come with me, Trepe, but I think you're just being stupid. You can't use your weapon with your injured arm."
Quistis rolled her eyes."Why don't you keep worrying about your weapon and stop worrying about me?" She was flattered that he was, but Seifer would never admit to that.
Seifer snorted. "Worry? About you? Hah! That's rich! Why would I worry about you? Don't you have Squally boy and his Troopers for that job?" He moved a branch out of the way, almost smacking Quistis in the face, but she managed to keep it from hitting her.
The blond woman growled. "For your information, Squall has his own woman to worry about, so stop referring back to Squall, all right?"
"Oh, that's right!" Seifer slapped his hand on his forehead, pretending he didn't know anything and chuckled. "He dumped you for Rin, didn't he? It's too bad though, 'cause you'd look cute together." He paused and looked at her. "I can see it now..." He stared up at the sky in a pretend dreamy state and lifted up his hand to write something. "The Ice King and Queen!"
Quistis frowned. She lifted up a clenched hand and targeted for his arm. Without a moment's hesitation, she prepared for contact in his arm, but Seifer, as quick as he was, grabbed her hand and pulled her to him.
"You better watch where you aim that thing," he whispered in a warning in her ear. They stared at each other and for that one intense moment, they couldn't keep their eyes off of each other, until Quistis pushed him away with her other hand. It was too bad that it was her injured arm that she used, because she grabbed at her injury and moaned. The pain was even more gruesome than before.
Seifer, quickly taking his mind off of the quarrel, went to her and grabbed her hand that was about to take out the bandage. Quistis looked up at him as she noticed him shaking his head.
"You should know better than to touch a bandage, Trepe. You can't expose your wound to the open air like this, so I suggest you keep it on there for awhile, until you get that checked by a Doctor." He removed his hand from her and turned back to the general direction where he planned on going. In truth, he didn't know where he was going. He was just trying to buy some time until Trepe gives up and leaves him so he can be alone. It would be wonderful to be alone again and to see Fujin and Raijin.
Quistis watched his back, shocked beyond disbelief of his knowledge about things that only she knew about. She underestimated him. Blinking, she caught up to him and looked at him in amazement.
Seifer glanced at her and furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you want?!"
The blond woman smiled. "You know, underneath all that arrogant and proud attitude, you are a very smart person, Almasy. I applaud you for passing your test. Now, you can go on as SeeD."
A part of him broke in half. Seifer glared at her. "Stop mocking me, Trepe. If I had a weapon, I would easily kill you right now."
Quistis lifted up her chin proudly. "Well, you don't, so you can just forget about that." She walked ahead of him, pushing away all the branches out of the way that hit Seifer's face.
Seifer scowled, mumbling some curses under his breath. Why did he ever agree to bring her? He removed his eyes from her for a second, to examine the environment around him. Nothing but bushes surrounded them. It was like they were trudging through the jungle terrain, looking for treasures. He almost felt like Indiana Jones. That thought made him smirk. Now he's starting to feel like an idiot for thinking that. He looked back up ahead of him and realized that Quistis was gone. He looked around, behind him, beside him and even pass the green bushes that covered his eyes. There was no sign of her.
"Trepe?" He was beginning to feel worried. Great, she goes off on her own with an injured arm, he thought.
"Seifer!" he heard someone call. Seifer craned his neck further over some more bushes and paced faster forward. He suddenly found himself surrounded by cut out trees, some left to die on the earth. Seifer regarded Quistis staring at something in her hand. She turned and smiled. Seifer looked at her and into her hands, where she held Hyperion, the weapon he's longed for the longest time. It still had its silver colour and Seifer, was even glad that it was still in good shape. He grabbed the weapon from her and swung it around. It felt good to have his weapon in his hands again.
"Great," he spoke, grinning. He had the weapon, now all he has to do is lose Trepe. He looked at her and nodded seriously. "Well, thanks for finding it for me. I think I better go now." He turned around.
Quistis stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, Seifer..."
Seifer took a deep breath, telling himself not to blow at her and turned around. "What is it?" He was getting impatient now.
The blond woman frowned. "Why not give Balamb a second chance?"
"I have given Balamb a second chance, Trepe, but Balamb hasn't. Good bye." He began to walk away.
"Seifer, please don't go."
Seifer paused.
Quistis stepped forward, wanting to reach out and touch him, but she withdrew her hands quickly, before she could get a chance. She wanted to say more, but all she could say was.... "I guess we're even then."
Seifer nodded his head. "I guess we are." He turned and grinned, saluting Quistis awkwardly and winked at her. "Well, I'm off. See you around Trepe!"
Quistis watched him disappear in the darkness. She's never felt all alone in her life.
GoodGurl: Oooh, Squall and Rinoa fight yet again! What is up with that? Anyway, Quistis and Seifer... you guys were hoping for Queiferness, eh? Well, you have to be patient! So, that's it! I hope you enjoyed it!
Will Seifer return and admit his true feelings towards Quistis?
Will Quistis go after Seifer or go back to Balamb?
Will Squall and Rinoa ever make up?
And what's going on Zell and Selphie? Are they really going to go out for real this time?
Find out soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!