X


It was dark by the time another visitor came. The only way to tell the time was by the fact that the sky outside the window above his head was black, and that Kadowaki had left, leaving one of the junior adjuncts in charge.

The door to the infirmary opened with a hiss, and Squall could see a figure step in. Muted conversation was audible from the other room:

"Sir?"

"I'm taking over for the time being. Take twelve."

"Twelve--"

"Go away for twelve minutes. Leave. Shoo. Vamoose."

There was a pause, and then the junior adjunct got up and left. The second figure turned, entering Squall's room.

"You're up late," Nida said, moving to Squall's side and bending down. Pulling Squall's arm across his shoulder, he helped him out of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Squall asked groggily. He had only woken a few minutes ago.

"Moving you to another room," Nida responded. "You can thank me later."

Squall's brain wrestled with that for a moment before he gave up. "Why?" he asked.

Nida started dragging him towards the exit, and Squall tried to walk as well as he could. He felt extremely weak--probably blood loss. "Simple," Nida said, hissing through gritted teeth. "We're trying to keep this entire affair a secret--as much as we can, anyway. Rumors are flying all over the place anyway, but we figure if we can keep you out of sight for a bit, they'll subside. ...Hyne! How much do you weigh?"

"Who's 'we?'" Squall asked, ignoring Nida's question.

"The Administrative Committee," Nida said. "We stick together, remember? We're there for each other."

It suddenly occurred to Squall that Nida was annoyed with him. Closing his eyes, he tried to think of something to say--something to defend his position.

"Nida--" he started.

"Never mind," Nida snapped. There was silence until they reached the dormitory section of the Garden. Nida stopped at Squall's door, using one hand to support the Commander and the other to punch in the medical emergency code. The door hissed open, and Nida staggered in. Noticing Squall's glance flick around the room and his eyes narrow, Nida explained "ValHalla confiscated your gunblade and... a few other things. If you want them back, you can take it up with her."

Squall grimaced, imagining the conversation that would likely follow that request.

Reaching Squall's bed, Nida set him down and turned to leave. Reaching the door, he turned back.

"Is there anything you need?"

Squall considered for a moment. Nida was notoriously sarcastic and skeptical--and if Squall had a chance of getting anyone as an ally right at the moment, it would have to be someone with a good dose of skepticism. Someone who wouldn't take appearances for granted.

Squall considered for a moment longer. Nemo had made a good point--the story would probably make people--especially skeptical ones--concerned for his sanity to an even greater extent than they already were. However, he needed some safeguard against what Nemo had planned for him. At the very least, he needed some way to defend himself. He fully believed that Nemo would try to kill him again--what he wasn't sure about was the man's promise that he would let Squall recover first.

"I need a favor," he started, trying to push himself into a sitting position. Spears of pain shot through his wrist and, grimacing, he collapsed again.

Nida crossed his arms. "Name it," he said.

"Bring me a knife," Squall said, before he had stopped to consider how that would sound coming from someone in his position.

Nida stared at him for a moment. "You've gone insane," he said. "Stark raving mad. You're crazier than a malfunctioning Gesper if you think I'm going to help you out with that."

"...for my own protection," Squall amended.

"From what? Life?"

There was a moment of silence. "Nida," Squall began. "Do you honestly think that I would try to kill myself?"

"It was one of those things I said I'd believe when I saw it," Nida said. "I never actually believed I'd see it, though. You're not getting a knife."

Squall almost brought a hand to his forehead. "I'm the Commander of Garden," he said darkly. "If I gave you an order--"

"I would override it on my authority as Adjunct Medical Officer."

Dammit. Nida wasn't making this easy--and neither making requests nor explaining himself came easily to Squall anyway. He closed his eyes, trying to think of something to say.

There was the rustle of fabric, and Squall opened his eyes to see Nida pulling a knife out of a concealed sheath on his forearm. "It this what you want?" Nida asked--his voice implying that it was a purely rhetorical question. Stepping forward, he turned it slowly, so that Squall could see the light glinting off the blade. "Well?"

Nida held it out, hilt first, just a few centimeters away.

"Take it," he growled.

For a second, Squall didn't more. There was something strange about the angle at which Nida held the knife, about the poised readiness of his arm. Guessing that the SeeD was going to snatch it away as soon as he made a move, Squall relaxed. Nida's eyes locked on his, daring him to take it.

With all the speed he was capable of, Squall snatched at the handle. His fingers closed around it just as Nida's released, the SeeDs hand twisting to draw his own wrist across the edge. Squall dropped the blade in shock as Nida held out his hand, blood dripping from the cut and onto Squall's palm. Instinctively, Squall pulled his hand away.

"I take it you don't like having my blood on your hands," Nida said wryly. Slowly, he placed two fingers on his wrist. With a brief moment of concentration, he summoned up the cool glow of a Cura. The cut sealed, leaving only a bit of blood to dry on his skin. He wiped it off on his other sleeve absently. "Now think about how it would feel for me to have your blood on mine," he said, bending to retrieve the knife.

Squall stared at the red liquid running across his hand. He sighed, clenching his fist. "If you don't want to have blood on your hands," he said softly, "you'll help me."

"Not if you intend to die."

"I don't." Squall fixed his gaze on the ceiling, studying the play of light on the uneven surface. "Someone intends to kill me."

Nida stared at him for a while. "Who?" he asked.

"Nemo," Squall answered.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mean 'nobody' in Centran?" Nida asked. Squall was silent, and Nida heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Describe him," he said.

"About my height. Blonde hair, green... eye."

"Built like an ox?" Nida asked. Squall nodded. "He's the one who brought you in, Squall," Nida said. "It wouldn't make much sense for him to try to kill you."

Insane people don't make sense. "You'll have to trust me," Squall said dully. He was all too aware that in his present position, he was going to be trusted with little to nothing.

"Play devil's advocate, you mean?" There was another stretch of silence. Finally, Nida shook his head. "I want you to know that I don't believe this at all," he said. "It's not exactly a credible point."

Squall tried not to be disappointed. After all, Nida couldn't be expected to believe something Squall could hardly make sense of himself.

"...but if it makes you feel any better," Nida continued, "I'll keep an eye on this... nobody. Fair enough?"

A sense of partial relief flooded through Squall. "Fair enough," he said.