A/N: I'm back again! Somehow, I feel you're not all that excited. Sorry,
it's late, I'm not of sound mind. Anyway, here's the next chapter, as
requested. Also..... What the hell do you people consider 'R'
rated?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I was afraid too put to much in the last chapter, for
fear that I would over step the 'R' boundry, yet still someone says it
still not 'R' rated. I'm not complaining. I love all good reviews But
can someone tell me exactly what it or isn't appropriate, so that I may
better serve you?
Chapter 6
Rinoa gazed out the window at the stormy sky, and watched the rain fall slowly from the solid cloud of gray. It had a beauty all its own, though it it was somewhat depressing.
As she stood reflecting on this beauty of darkness, there came a light knocking upon her door.
"What is it?" she called, expecting it to be Fujin.
Squall slowly entered the room and looked around. "Fujin gave you a bigger room than she did me."
"Of course," replied Rinoa. "I'm the princess, after all."
A few hours had passed since they had arrived at the castle. Fujin had shown Squall and Rinoa to the rooms in which they would stay while they were there. Rinoa had tried several times to ask her why Edea had sent her, and why they had to stay at the castle, but she always seemed to be busy. Rinoa realized that this whole thing was probably a lie, but what could she do right now? They had no where else to go.
"I doubt Fujin realizes who you are," Squall replied.
Rinoa shrugged and sat down on her bed. "So what's up?"
Squall sat down beside her. "I was just wondering if you were as worried as I am about this whole thing."
"You mean, do I really believe it? No. I'm worried, too," she answered.
"Then, what do we do?"
"Suddenly, you're asking my advice?"
"I was just curious to see what was going through your head, this morning. Since you like to pry into my thoughts so much, I'd thought I'd look into yours."
Rinoa turned to him with a wicked grin on her face. "Are you sure you can handle my thoughts?"
He smiled for a moment then looked away nervously. "Um... about that.....I was a little worried."
She cocked her head to the side and arched an eyebrow. "About what?"
"Last night," he clarified.
"Oh. That. What about that?" she asked, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks.
"We, um.... didn't use anything. What if....?"
"Oh, I see. I honestly don't feel... pregnant. I mean, it's too early to tell, but I'm pretty sure I'm not." The worried and embarresed look left her face, and that wicked grin spread over it again. "I guess we'll just have to be careful from now on."
"From now on?" Squall repeated slowly.
She leaned closer to him and placed her hand on his thigh. "What, you didn't enjoy yourself last night?"
He looked away and blushed at the memory. "It definately isn't that. I guess I'm just.... confused."
She smiled slightly. "That's okay. I'm confused, too. Let's just try to get out of the trouble we're currently in before trying to figure out our relationship."
"Yeah I....RELATIONSHIP?!"
The smile quickly faded from her face. "Yes, our relationship."
"We.... have a relationship?"
Rinoa resisted the urge to slap him. "Of course we do! I mean, what did you think... shit!" She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "You think I slept with you because I'm some kind of whore?"
"No!" he exclaimed, panicked. "I-I just. Like I said, I'm confused."
"Yeah, sure," she said softly, in a hurt tone, before standing from the bed and walking over to the window. "If you're done talking, maybe you should leave," she said in a cold voice without even looking at him.
He stood and was about to leave the room, when Fujin opened the door and stepped inside.
"COME. MASTER MEET."
In a icy silence, the two followed Fujin out of the room and down the stairs to a dining room. The room was dimly lit, casting half of it in darkness. There was a long table in the center of the room, covered with a white, lacey table cloth. Beautiful, classy paintings and tapesrties graced the walls, completeing the elegant air of the room.
"SIT," Fujin said, indicating to two chairs at the end of the table nearest the door. It appeared that there was someone seated at the other end of the table, cast in shadow.
"Welcome," a dark voice said. "I hope you're enjoying your stay."
"Who are you?" Rinoa asked.
The person leaned up so that they were somewhat in the light. It was a female, with pinkish-red eyes and a devious face hidden behind a black veil.
"My name is not important, Rinoa," she replied.
"How do you know my name?" Rinoa asked.
"I know many things, to which you will never be able to guess."
"Why did you bring us here?" Squall asked.
"I want to help you. I understand that you're in grave danger. You need someone to help you through it. And I'm just the person to do it."
"What's in it for you?" Squall asked.
"You'll see," she said.
Rinoa shook her head. "No deal. I'm not staying here."
The stranger gave a grave nod. "Very well then. I understand. It is kompletely your choice. But it is fastly approaching evening, and a journey from here shall take a long time. Would it not be best for you to stay and rest for the evening?"
Squall looked to Rinoa for an opinion, but she nochalantly ignored him and held her shoulders rigid against his gaze as she said, "Just for this evening. But no longer."
"Very well, then. You may be off to your rooms for the rest of the night. I wish I kould offer you something to eat, but I fear I have nothing. So be off, if you will."
Rinoa nodded, said thank you, then left quickly, with a bewildered Squall trailing behind her.
Once they had gotten outside the door, Squall caught up to Rinoa and grabbed her by the arm. "What the hell were you thinking?! Shouldn't I get a say in this?"
She whirled around to face him with an uncharacteristic scowl upon her face. "Go ahead and leave! I'm not stopping you!"
"Rinoa, I think-"
"I really don't give a fuck what you think, Mr. Leonhart," she hissed coldly. "Now if you would be so kind as to remove your hand from my body, I will be off to my room," she said in a very prim and proper tone which she had used often when she was living in her palace.
Squall watched her as she walked off, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. But why?
($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)( $)($)($)($)($)($)
Rinoa was half asleep when she heard someone enter her room. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, as fear shot through her. Certainly it wasn't Squall. He wouldn't bother. So who was it?
Rather than sitting up to confront the person, she turned her back to them, as if still alseep, and curled up into a ball.
She felt the bed dip on the other side as weight was rested upon it. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Rinoa?" she heard Squall whisper.
She let out her breath and turned to look at him, feeling foolish that she had been so worried. She wasn't sure what it was about this place, but it definately made her uneasy.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"I just... wanted to apologize to you," he whispered.
"For what?"
He slowly, uncertainly placed a hand on her face and said, "I know you think that last night didn't mean anything to me. But it did. It meant a lot. More than I can express to you in words. I've never been good with these kind of things."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. You were probably just horny and saw me as an easy lay."
"Rinoa it wasn't like that! I never would have slept with you if I didn't care about you!"
"Please!" she burst out. "You've probably slept with Quistis before, haven't you?"
"Rinoa I told you then that I'd never been with anyone before!"
"Okay, if all that's true, then did you just expect it to be a one time thing, and not have any consequences?"
"I'm just not used to all this. I've never been in a relationship before, to tell you the truth. I don't understand what I'm feeling."
She sat up to get a better look at his face through the darkness, and saw the look of pain, and exasperation on his face. "What are you feeling?" she asked breathlessly.
"Something....I'm not sure....I can handle," he said, a lump rising in his throat as he looked into her probing eyes.
She leaned closer to him, feeling her anger subside, and slowly met her lips with his. For the first time since he'd entered her room that night, Squall realized that she wasn't wearing anything but her undergarments. He felt that longing again, that had once been so foreign to him a short while ago. She wrapped her arms around his waist and started to pull him down. He kissed her deeper and began to lean into her, but stopped himself.
"What's wrong?" Rinoa asked.
"I'm not doing this again," he said.
"Squall!" she groaned.
"Alright. But only on one condition," he replied.
"What?"
"Don't question my feelings about you tomorrow. I don't want to go through this everyday."
She laughed. "Of course. You definately have a deal."
($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)( $)($)($)($)($)($)
Rinoa awoke to a pleasant morning. The sun cast a beautiful glow upon the room and she had never been so relaxed in all her life. A small smile crept over her lips, and she rolled over to look at Squall, who was still sleeping.
At that moment, that beautiful, peaceful moment, the door burst open and in walked Fujin and the strange woman who they had met the day before.
Fujin suddenly pulled a Gunblade out from behind her back and ran at the bed where Rinoa lay horrified, and Squall was still asleep. She plunged the Gunblade into Squall's chest, who never even had the chance to wake up. As Rinoa opened her mouth to scream, she recognized the Gunblade as being Squall's. The lion symbol on it was unmistakable. More over, she realized she had seen it before.
Before Rinoa had time to finish her scream, the strange woman stepped forward and pointed a finger at her, while mouthing words in a language Rinoa was not familiar with.
Rinoa felt a pressure building in her chest and a stinging in her eyes as she realized Squall was dead. How would he feel about being killed by his own Gunblade?
Just when she though the awful feeling in her chest would cause her to explode, her eyes snapped open, and she found herself locked up in chains in a dark, damp room.
"Welcome back to life, Princess," the woman said. "I suppose now would be an appropriate time to tell you my name. I am Ultimecia. And you are my chance to have revenge upon those who have wronged me for so long."
"What are you going to do to me?" Rinoa asked in a trembling voice. "What have you done with Squall?"
She smiled slightly in a manner that sent chills of fear down Rinoa's spine. "You'll see, Princess, you'll see. All in due time."
Fujin entered the room then, carrying a black leather jacket with her. Rinoa knew immediately that it was Squall's. They'd been set up. Fujin tossed it to the ground, which was slick and moldy from the water that had gathered there. As it hit the ground, something long and silver fell out of it and clattered to the floor. Fujin bent down to inspect it, and gasped as she saw what it was.
"IT 'S HIM!" she exclaimed.
"Who?" Ultimecia asked in her cold, dark voice.
With trembling hands, Fujin picked it up, and held it high for Ultimecia to see. "LION."
A black scowl came over Ultimecia's face, "It is him, isn't it? We'll have to rid ourselves from him, quickly, before he does something!"
Rinoa squinted her eyes to see through the darkness better, and realized the object in question was the necklace she had bought while at the Mountain People's market.
Ultimecia walked over to a stone table and picked something up from it. It was Squall's Gunblade, much to Rinoa's horror. It was just like her dream. She handed it to Fujin with a nod, and Fujin walked out of the room with it.
Rinoa shut her eyes tightly again, feeling her mind begin to scream for him.
(Please Squall) she thought desperately. (Get out of here while you can.)
($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)( $)($)($)($)($)($)
Squall's eyes snapped open as a familiar voice entered his head. He turned over to see if Rinoa was asleep, and was starteled to see that she was gone. The voice came again, this time with more urgency in it.
(Rinoa...?) he wondered.
As he looked around the room, he noticed that things were knocked over and out of place, as if there'd been a struggle. Of course, by now, he had realized that something was wrong. He quickly stood from the bed and put his clothes on, then started out the door.
As he was turning the knob, it stopped suddenly, and he felt someone turning it from the otherside. He puched the door open just a crack, and just long enough to see who was on the otherside. It was Fujin.
(Get out!) he heard Rinoa's voice yell in his mind. (Fujin's going to kill you!)
Fujin was still on the other side of the door, trying to open it. He opened the door quickly the slammed it shut again, taking her by surprise. Then he wheeled around and ran for the window. He was on the second story, but there was tree right below, so he jumped down to it, then climbed down the rest of the way.
He dodged around a wall as Fujin stuck her head out the window. When she didn't see him, she lowered herself out the window and down the tree. Before she could get very far on foot, Squall jumped out from behind the wall, snatched his Gunblade out of her hands, and pressed the blade to her thoat.
"Where is Rinoa?" he demanded.
"NO TELL," she said, though she was trembling in terror.
He shoved her into the side of the castle and pressed the blade harder into her flesh. "Where?!" he growled.
"DUNGEON. BELOW CASTLE."
Squall grabbed her roughly by the wrist and began dragging her inside. "You had better not be lying to me, or I WILL kill you."
Fujin nodded quietly as he pulled her along angrily to the dungeon which she had pointed out. As he reached it, he shoved Fujin down the stairs, causing her to stumble.
"Fujin what is the meaning of this disturbance?!" Ultimecia demanded angrily as she turned to confront the frightened girl. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Squall, Gunblade in hand.
"Let Rinoa go," he said through gritted teeth.
Ultimecia went pale and her body started to tremble slightly. She began to take on an older, inhuman appearance. "You may have won this time, Lionheart," she said in a hoarse, ragged voice, "but the battle is not yet over."
With that, she dissapeared into a cloud of black smoke, leaving Fujin to deal with her problem alone.
Squall walked over to where Rinoa was chained up and freed her, asking her if she was okay.
"I'm fine," she answered. "But how did you know?"
"It's weird. It was like I could here your voice," he replied.
Rinoa decided not to say anything. Now was not the time nor the place. If she ever decided to, that is. Was this whole thing about her powers? Of course. It had to be.
"Let's just get out of here," Rinoa said and picked up his leather jacket, along with the necklace, from the floor. "Look what I found," she said, tossing him his jacket.
He smiled, happy to have it returned to him, but scrunched his nose up at it. "Geez, what did they do to it? It smells like shit!"
She giggled and started to shove the necklace in her pocket, but Squall stopped it, saying, "What's that?"
She held it up for him to see. "It's just something I bought when we were having our little visit with the mountain people."
Squall studied it closely then said, "That looks like the symbol on my Gunblade."
"Does it?" she asked, trying to act like she hadn't realized that. "Well, when Ultimecia saw it, she freaked out. It seems like she's afraid of you."
Squall shrugged, "Well, whatever the case may be, let's just get out of here."
They left the dungeon behind, leaving a quivering Fujin behind, cowering against the wall. Luckily, Saiph was stilled tied up outside, so they rode away from the castle, into the nearby jungle.
"The battle's not over yet," a voice repeated from out of nowhere. "Not anywhere near."
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A/N: No suckiness!!!!!!! Unless you, the reader, thinks so. Anyway, R&R!!!!!! Hope you enjoyed.
Chapter 6
Rinoa gazed out the window at the stormy sky, and watched the rain fall slowly from the solid cloud of gray. It had a beauty all its own, though it it was somewhat depressing.
As she stood reflecting on this beauty of darkness, there came a light knocking upon her door.
"What is it?" she called, expecting it to be Fujin.
Squall slowly entered the room and looked around. "Fujin gave you a bigger room than she did me."
"Of course," replied Rinoa. "I'm the princess, after all."
A few hours had passed since they had arrived at the castle. Fujin had shown Squall and Rinoa to the rooms in which they would stay while they were there. Rinoa had tried several times to ask her why Edea had sent her, and why they had to stay at the castle, but she always seemed to be busy. Rinoa realized that this whole thing was probably a lie, but what could she do right now? They had no where else to go.
"I doubt Fujin realizes who you are," Squall replied.
Rinoa shrugged and sat down on her bed. "So what's up?"
Squall sat down beside her. "I was just wondering if you were as worried as I am about this whole thing."
"You mean, do I really believe it? No. I'm worried, too," she answered.
"Then, what do we do?"
"Suddenly, you're asking my advice?"
"I was just curious to see what was going through your head, this morning. Since you like to pry into my thoughts so much, I'd thought I'd look into yours."
Rinoa turned to him with a wicked grin on her face. "Are you sure you can handle my thoughts?"
He smiled for a moment then looked away nervously. "Um... about that.....I was a little worried."
She cocked her head to the side and arched an eyebrow. "About what?"
"Last night," he clarified.
"Oh. That. What about that?" she asked, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks.
"We, um.... didn't use anything. What if....?"
"Oh, I see. I honestly don't feel... pregnant. I mean, it's too early to tell, but I'm pretty sure I'm not." The worried and embarresed look left her face, and that wicked grin spread over it again. "I guess we'll just have to be careful from now on."
"From now on?" Squall repeated slowly.
She leaned closer to him and placed her hand on his thigh. "What, you didn't enjoy yourself last night?"
He looked away and blushed at the memory. "It definately isn't that. I guess I'm just.... confused."
She smiled slightly. "That's okay. I'm confused, too. Let's just try to get out of the trouble we're currently in before trying to figure out our relationship."
"Yeah I....RELATIONSHIP?!"
The smile quickly faded from her face. "Yes, our relationship."
"We.... have a relationship?"
Rinoa resisted the urge to slap him. "Of course we do! I mean, what did you think... shit!" She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "You think I slept with you because I'm some kind of whore?"
"No!" he exclaimed, panicked. "I-I just. Like I said, I'm confused."
"Yeah, sure," she said softly, in a hurt tone, before standing from the bed and walking over to the window. "If you're done talking, maybe you should leave," she said in a cold voice without even looking at him.
He stood and was about to leave the room, when Fujin opened the door and stepped inside.
"COME. MASTER MEET."
In a icy silence, the two followed Fujin out of the room and down the stairs to a dining room. The room was dimly lit, casting half of it in darkness. There was a long table in the center of the room, covered with a white, lacey table cloth. Beautiful, classy paintings and tapesrties graced the walls, completeing the elegant air of the room.
"SIT," Fujin said, indicating to two chairs at the end of the table nearest the door. It appeared that there was someone seated at the other end of the table, cast in shadow.
"Welcome," a dark voice said. "I hope you're enjoying your stay."
"Who are you?" Rinoa asked.
The person leaned up so that they were somewhat in the light. It was a female, with pinkish-red eyes and a devious face hidden behind a black veil.
"My name is not important, Rinoa," she replied.
"How do you know my name?" Rinoa asked.
"I know many things, to which you will never be able to guess."
"Why did you bring us here?" Squall asked.
"I want to help you. I understand that you're in grave danger. You need someone to help you through it. And I'm just the person to do it."
"What's in it for you?" Squall asked.
"You'll see," she said.
Rinoa shook her head. "No deal. I'm not staying here."
The stranger gave a grave nod. "Very well then. I understand. It is kompletely your choice. But it is fastly approaching evening, and a journey from here shall take a long time. Would it not be best for you to stay and rest for the evening?"
Squall looked to Rinoa for an opinion, but she nochalantly ignored him and held her shoulders rigid against his gaze as she said, "Just for this evening. But no longer."
"Very well, then. You may be off to your rooms for the rest of the night. I wish I kould offer you something to eat, but I fear I have nothing. So be off, if you will."
Rinoa nodded, said thank you, then left quickly, with a bewildered Squall trailing behind her.
Once they had gotten outside the door, Squall caught up to Rinoa and grabbed her by the arm. "What the hell were you thinking?! Shouldn't I get a say in this?"
She whirled around to face him with an uncharacteristic scowl upon her face. "Go ahead and leave! I'm not stopping you!"
"Rinoa, I think-"
"I really don't give a fuck what you think, Mr. Leonhart," she hissed coldly. "Now if you would be so kind as to remove your hand from my body, I will be off to my room," she said in a very prim and proper tone which she had used often when she was living in her palace.
Squall watched her as she walked off, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. But why?
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Rinoa was half asleep when she heard someone enter her room. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, as fear shot through her. Certainly it wasn't Squall. He wouldn't bother. So who was it?
Rather than sitting up to confront the person, she turned her back to them, as if still alseep, and curled up into a ball.
She felt the bed dip on the other side as weight was rested upon it. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Rinoa?" she heard Squall whisper.
She let out her breath and turned to look at him, feeling foolish that she had been so worried. She wasn't sure what it was about this place, but it definately made her uneasy.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"I just... wanted to apologize to you," he whispered.
"For what?"
He slowly, uncertainly placed a hand on her face and said, "I know you think that last night didn't mean anything to me. But it did. It meant a lot. More than I can express to you in words. I've never been good with these kind of things."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. You were probably just horny and saw me as an easy lay."
"Rinoa it wasn't like that! I never would have slept with you if I didn't care about you!"
"Please!" she burst out. "You've probably slept with Quistis before, haven't you?"
"Rinoa I told you then that I'd never been with anyone before!"
"Okay, if all that's true, then did you just expect it to be a one time thing, and not have any consequences?"
"I'm just not used to all this. I've never been in a relationship before, to tell you the truth. I don't understand what I'm feeling."
She sat up to get a better look at his face through the darkness, and saw the look of pain, and exasperation on his face. "What are you feeling?" she asked breathlessly.
"Something....I'm not sure....I can handle," he said, a lump rising in his throat as he looked into her probing eyes.
She leaned closer to him, feeling her anger subside, and slowly met her lips with his. For the first time since he'd entered her room that night, Squall realized that she wasn't wearing anything but her undergarments. He felt that longing again, that had once been so foreign to him a short while ago. She wrapped her arms around his waist and started to pull him down. He kissed her deeper and began to lean into her, but stopped himself.
"What's wrong?" Rinoa asked.
"I'm not doing this again," he said.
"Squall!" she groaned.
"Alright. But only on one condition," he replied.
"What?"
"Don't question my feelings about you tomorrow. I don't want to go through this everyday."
She laughed. "Of course. You definately have a deal."
($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)($)( $)($)($)($)($)($)
Rinoa awoke to a pleasant morning. The sun cast a beautiful glow upon the room and she had never been so relaxed in all her life. A small smile crept over her lips, and she rolled over to look at Squall, who was still sleeping.
At that moment, that beautiful, peaceful moment, the door burst open and in walked Fujin and the strange woman who they had met the day before.
Fujin suddenly pulled a Gunblade out from behind her back and ran at the bed where Rinoa lay horrified, and Squall was still asleep. She plunged the Gunblade into Squall's chest, who never even had the chance to wake up. As Rinoa opened her mouth to scream, she recognized the Gunblade as being Squall's. The lion symbol on it was unmistakable. More over, she realized she had seen it before.
Before Rinoa had time to finish her scream, the strange woman stepped forward and pointed a finger at her, while mouthing words in a language Rinoa was not familiar with.
Rinoa felt a pressure building in her chest and a stinging in her eyes as she realized Squall was dead. How would he feel about being killed by his own Gunblade?
Just when she though the awful feeling in her chest would cause her to explode, her eyes snapped open, and she found herself locked up in chains in a dark, damp room.
"Welcome back to life, Princess," the woman said. "I suppose now would be an appropriate time to tell you my name. I am Ultimecia. And you are my chance to have revenge upon those who have wronged me for so long."
"What are you going to do to me?" Rinoa asked in a trembling voice. "What have you done with Squall?"
She smiled slightly in a manner that sent chills of fear down Rinoa's spine. "You'll see, Princess, you'll see. All in due time."
Fujin entered the room then, carrying a black leather jacket with her. Rinoa knew immediately that it was Squall's. They'd been set up. Fujin tossed it to the ground, which was slick and moldy from the water that had gathered there. As it hit the ground, something long and silver fell out of it and clattered to the floor. Fujin bent down to inspect it, and gasped as she saw what it was.
"IT 'S HIM!" she exclaimed.
"Who?" Ultimecia asked in her cold, dark voice.
With trembling hands, Fujin picked it up, and held it high for Ultimecia to see. "LION."
A black scowl came over Ultimecia's face, "It is him, isn't it? We'll have to rid ourselves from him, quickly, before he does something!"
Rinoa squinted her eyes to see through the darkness better, and realized the object in question was the necklace she had bought while at the Mountain People's market.
Ultimecia walked over to a stone table and picked something up from it. It was Squall's Gunblade, much to Rinoa's horror. It was just like her dream. She handed it to Fujin with a nod, and Fujin walked out of the room with it.
Rinoa shut her eyes tightly again, feeling her mind begin to scream for him.
(Please Squall) she thought desperately. (Get out of here while you can.)
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Squall's eyes snapped open as a familiar voice entered his head. He turned over to see if Rinoa was asleep, and was starteled to see that she was gone. The voice came again, this time with more urgency in it.
(Rinoa...?) he wondered.
As he looked around the room, he noticed that things were knocked over and out of place, as if there'd been a struggle. Of course, by now, he had realized that something was wrong. He quickly stood from the bed and put his clothes on, then started out the door.
As he was turning the knob, it stopped suddenly, and he felt someone turning it from the otherside. He puched the door open just a crack, and just long enough to see who was on the otherside. It was Fujin.
(Get out!) he heard Rinoa's voice yell in his mind. (Fujin's going to kill you!)
Fujin was still on the other side of the door, trying to open it. He opened the door quickly the slammed it shut again, taking her by surprise. Then he wheeled around and ran for the window. He was on the second story, but there was tree right below, so he jumped down to it, then climbed down the rest of the way.
He dodged around a wall as Fujin stuck her head out the window. When she didn't see him, she lowered herself out the window and down the tree. Before she could get very far on foot, Squall jumped out from behind the wall, snatched his Gunblade out of her hands, and pressed the blade to her thoat.
"Where is Rinoa?" he demanded.
"NO TELL," she said, though she was trembling in terror.
He shoved her into the side of the castle and pressed the blade harder into her flesh. "Where?!" he growled.
"DUNGEON. BELOW CASTLE."
Squall grabbed her roughly by the wrist and began dragging her inside. "You had better not be lying to me, or I WILL kill you."
Fujin nodded quietly as he pulled her along angrily to the dungeon which she had pointed out. As he reached it, he shoved Fujin down the stairs, causing her to stumble.
"Fujin what is the meaning of this disturbance?!" Ultimecia demanded angrily as she turned to confront the frightened girl. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Squall, Gunblade in hand.
"Let Rinoa go," he said through gritted teeth.
Ultimecia went pale and her body started to tremble slightly. She began to take on an older, inhuman appearance. "You may have won this time, Lionheart," she said in a hoarse, ragged voice, "but the battle is not yet over."
With that, she dissapeared into a cloud of black smoke, leaving Fujin to deal with her problem alone.
Squall walked over to where Rinoa was chained up and freed her, asking her if she was okay.
"I'm fine," she answered. "But how did you know?"
"It's weird. It was like I could here your voice," he replied.
Rinoa decided not to say anything. Now was not the time nor the place. If she ever decided to, that is. Was this whole thing about her powers? Of course. It had to be.
"Let's just get out of here," Rinoa said and picked up his leather jacket, along with the necklace, from the floor. "Look what I found," she said, tossing him his jacket.
He smiled, happy to have it returned to him, but scrunched his nose up at it. "Geez, what did they do to it? It smells like shit!"
She giggled and started to shove the necklace in her pocket, but Squall stopped it, saying, "What's that?"
She held it up for him to see. "It's just something I bought when we were having our little visit with the mountain people."
Squall studied it closely then said, "That looks like the symbol on my Gunblade."
"Does it?" she asked, trying to act like she hadn't realized that. "Well, when Ultimecia saw it, she freaked out. It seems like she's afraid of you."
Squall shrugged, "Well, whatever the case may be, let's just get out of here."
They left the dungeon behind, leaving a quivering Fujin behind, cowering against the wall. Luckily, Saiph was stilled tied up outside, so they rode away from the castle, into the nearby jungle.
"The battle's not over yet," a voice repeated from out of nowhere. "Not anywhere near."
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A/N: No suckiness!!!!!!! Unless you, the reader, thinks so. Anyway, R&R!!!!!! Hope you enjoyed.