XIX: Going or Staying?
One day passed since the funeral of the Ice Warrior, and now it was time for Sailor Mercury to go home. Rinoa Heartilly-Leonhart was as ready as she could get, and Amy herself was prepared for the journey, so in theory, everything was set.
The only problem was… how to say goodbye.
Amy couldn't do it.
"I'm sorry," she said, hanging her head in dejection. "I just… can't go through with it!" She let out a sigh, shaking her head in defeat. Her voice was understandably weak. "…I can't say good-bye to such good friends."
"Well, we don't wanna see you go either, Ames," pointed Seifer. "But… this ain't your world. You gotta return to your own place, right?" She sighed, moaning just slightly at her friend's words.
"Yes, you're right," she wailed. "I should… just… get it over with and… leave…" With a trail of tears obviously falling down her face, Amy slowly walked over to Seifer, gazing into his blue eyes sadly. Though he had been a rogue and a maverick in his life, Amy still loved him very much. There was a good side to the young man as well, and although he had a tendency to be rough even now, she still loved and respected him very much. Amy held him close and let tears stain his coat a little.
"I…"
"Ssh," whispered the surprisingly-compassionate Seifer, stroking her blue hair. "Long farewells were never necessary. I know it feels like you're leaving this world a second time, Amy, but… at least we know where you'll be going." His attempt at humor failed, but Amy let a smile on her face shine out anyway. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek, and backed away as she paid respects to her next friend.
Of the Savage Six she took their hands into her own, and of Vera she gave a quick hug. She merely smiled at Squall and Rinoa, of whom she did not know that well, then went to Nida for another tight embrace. Once she whispered her thanks to the ordinary young man, the hardest parts of her farewell awaited her.
Fujin's face was unreadable as Amy held her best friend.
"TAKE CARE," was all the older woman could say. Amy sniffled and looked into her friend's pale face.
"Is… is that all you're going to say, Fujin?" she asked. The woman of wind let a smile crease on her lips and played with Amy's hair a little.
"WHAT ELSE?" she asked. "WILL MISS YOU? LOVE YOU? DON'T GO? ALREADY EXPRESSED. NOTHING LEFT BUT FAREWELL."
"That's…" Amy shivered slightly at Fujin's cold reception, but stopped herself before saying anything else. Of course. Fujin was absolutely correct. She had already expressed every single feeling there was, and there was really nothing left to say except goodbye. Fujin had no regrets, none at all.
"…Sorry," said Amy, holding her friend closer. "…I just thought…"
"TEARFUL FAREWELL?" smiled Fujin wryly. She winked, and ruffled Amy's hair more. "TRUE, WILL MISS. BUT… MADE ME HAPPY. SPENT LITTLE TIME TOGETHER, BUT… WILL NOT FORGET. LITTLE HAPPINESS BETTER THAN NONE. BRIGHTENED LIFE." She smiled warmly, and wiped Amy's tears off with her pale hand. Amy sighed and apologized for being like that, and Fujin forgave her as always, and the girls held each other one last time before parting for good.
Shyly, Amy walked across the icy ground towards Zell, who thankfully showed a little more emotion than everyone else. Zell was never a good stoic; he always expressed himself, even if the end result of these expressions was disastrous. That was but one of many qualities of his that Amy adored, and she would probably miss him more than anyone else.
"…Ahhh…" Zell sniffled as she approached, and tried not to cry as he smiled.
"…Well…"
"…Uhhh…"
"…Jeez…"
"…Umm…"
"…Err…"
"IDIOT!!" yelled Fujin suddenly. "KISS HIM, GET IT OVER WITH!!!" Amy turned around to stare at her friend in shock, and couldn't decide whether the woman was angry, impatient, or overjoyed. Amy suddenly burst out laughing, and rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you kiss him?" she demanded. Fujin coolly crossed her arms and snorted.
"WILL, IF NOT QUICK." Amy grinned, and took her friend's threat seriously as she dashed towards Zell and tackled him with a big hug and a full-on liplock. Zell nearly burst out in a laugh himself as he heard the girls' verbal skirmish, and had hoped that Amy would take the incredibly sound advice. As he held the petite and beautiful Amy in his arms, and pressed loving lips against her own, he was glad she did.
Almost everybody whistled and clapped, and the kiss lasted for some time before the unlikely couple broke it. Amy sighed, her face very flushed, and nearly giggled.
"Wow!" she blurted. "That was amazing!!"
"D-definitely!" whispered Zell in amazement. "That was, like……… whoa!!" They both chuckled, and their faces turned as red and innocent as apples. But their elated mood slowly died away, and a thick sense of gravity overcame them. Amy grew serious, and held Zell in her thin arms. This was going to be the last time that they could say anything to each other, and though there was no real time limit, how in the world could they convey so much?
"…This sucks," muttered Amy. Zell chuckled slightly, and patted her back.
"Yeah, for real… I… I don't want you to go…"
"I don't want to go either," sighed Amy, rubbing his shoulders gently. "I mean… I really don't want to go… and not just because of you!"
"Yeah, I know," he smiled. "You've gotten to be pretty popular around here." She hummed softly, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his nose. Though at first they seemed the unlikeliest of couples, they really had been pieces to a wonderful puzzle--she the meek and intelligent, he the outspoken and strong… They might have been opposites, but they were opposites that attracted each other strongly: through several bizarre yet memorable events, they had been united, in Mind and in Body, and were now all but inseparable.
"…But I admit," continued Amy softly, "you are one of the biggest reasons why I want to stay behind." Zell grinned at her flattery, and for the first time since he had met the blue-haired lady, he didn't brush off a compliment.
"Yeah… I really grew to like you a lot while you were here…"
"Mmm, me too…" As Zell and Amy held each other, there came from Seifer's direction a most rude coughing sound, and the two turned around to see him glare at them coolly.
"Excuse me for interrupting this tender moment," he said flatly. "But if you two lovebirds don't mind, I would like to make a suggestion." They had both blushed at the mention of "lovebirds", but thankfully regained their fair faces by the time they asked what he had in mind. Throwing off the rebellious leer he usually had, Seifer grew unusually somber and looked off into the distant sky. Even Nida could tell that he was about to say something tender and deep.
"…I have decided to go with you," he said. A few protests and inevitable "What?!"s were spewed out, but the rogue ignored them all. "No, I'm serious. I've been thinking these past few days… thinking about what I did, and how it affected me, and how much this place really means to me. I… still don't know a whole lot about myself, and just for the record, I don't wanna, either.
"It's obvious that I can no longer stay in this world," he continued with a touch of sadness. "After what I did, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at the way I was treated when I first arrived at Balamb Garden. I guess I'm to blame, and I guess they all had a right to be mad at me… So, I figured that I'd be doing them all a favor by leaving this world and going somewhere else."
"Seifer…" Rinoa, somebody who had had romantic interests in the rebellious young man, stepped forward and gently looked into his eyes. "…Are you certain that's what you want?"
"Yeah," he sighed confidently. "I can't stay here. What little memories I do have are all bad, except for the ones with Fu and Raij and Ames. If I go with Amy, then… well, maybe I can have a chance to truly start over, with a clean slate. Think about it," he insisted. "I'll be in another world, where nobody knows who I am except for Amy. She can help me adjust, and I can live the rest of my life in a place that knows nothing of my crimes.
"So yeah," he said, "I'm going. Please, Rinoa…" Seifer stepped forward, looking gentle for the first time in years, and took her hands into his. "Please," he begged, "let me follow Amy into her world. Please…" The young sorceress sighed, and realized that there was little she could do to convince him otherwise. Not wanting to ruin his "romantic dreams" even further, she nodded her head once, and permitted him to go.
"Thanks," he smiled. "You were always good to me, even when I was a jerk."
"Seifer…?"
"Forget it," he said with a happy snort. He grinned, and Rinoa could not fight back the smile. She leaned forward and gave him a brief hug, and whispered for his luck. Squall, who had been observing everything with his usual silence, stepped forward and gazed at his archrival. The two longtime nemeses paused, calculated each other's moves, and nodded their heads in silent agreement. Squall then snapped a salute, making Seifer smile just barely. He had wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything powerful or endearing--as always.
"SEIFER…" Stepping in front of the blonde was Fujin, one of her hands being kneaded by Nida. She swallowed, cast her face downward shyly, and managed to croak out her feelings. "…WILL GO WITH YOU."
"Fu…"
"NO," she said, anticipating his response. "WON'T STAY. WILL COME WITH YOU. PERIOD." Seifer blinked in confusion, and had to wonder what was on his friend's mind. Fujin suddenly gave him a warm smile, and placed her hand on his face.
"You're my friend, Seifer," she said in her "real" voice. "And you'll always be my friend. Back when we were running around for Edea and Galbadia, I followed you simply because you were my friend, my only real friend after Amy… left us… and I didn't want you to do all that by yourself. I stuck with you to the bitter end, even though I hated what you were doing.
"And now, now that you're going away again, I have to follow," she continued. "We're part of the same posse, you and I, and if you leave me behind, what'll that say about us?" Keeping her smile, Fujin searched Seifer for answer, and he slowly returned her smile as he realized that she was right.
"…I see," he said slowly. "All right, I'll let you tag along, too. I know it'll make Amy happy to have you with us."
"It sure will!" exclaimed the girl. Fujin grinned.
"And what about 'him'?" said Seifer, pointing at Nida. The average young man snorted, and released his girlfriend's hand.
"Hmph… I guess I'd better keep Fujin company… She's not gonna like it without me around, and besides, I'd like to know Miss Mizuno more. And Seifer? I just wanna say one thing to you."
"What's that?"
"You're a jerk," pointed Nida. "A big jerk, and a reckless man, and a pain in the rear, and an annoyance, and a fool, and a cocky, arrogant, spiteful person. ………I LOVE YOU, MAN!!!!" Nida suddenly pounced on Seifer, hugging his neck fiercely and grinning like a lunatic. Fujin burst out in riotous laughter, as did Zell, Rinoa, and Amy, and even Squall let out a chuckle.
Seifer stared at Nida in horror.
"…Sure… right…" was all he could say. Fujin smiled warmly at the two men closest to her, and hugged their heads together.
"It's scary how similar you two really are," she whispered. Both Nida and Seifer gave each other puzzled looks.
"So if we're so alike, and you love him, then why'd ya dump me?" wondered the rogue. Fujin smirked wryly at her friend, and took Nida into her powerful and gentle arms.
"NIDA SEXIER," she hissed seductively. Two faces turned blood-red at this--one angry, one flustered.
"HEY!!!" yelled Seifer. He dove towards Fujin, who burst out laughing as she wrestled Seifer to the snowy ground. With a sultry finger she beckoned her boyfriend over to join the mock-fight, and soon the three of them were fighting on the ground like a bunch of little kids, or else just three friends who were close.
Amy's attempt to keep a straight face was in vain.
She looked over at Zell, who had long ago lost his own battle to the chuckles, and gave him an impish smile. He noticed her, and bore into her eyes in slight confusion. The look she was giving him was quite mysterious; it could have suggested anything.
"What?"
"Well?" she said, raising her eyebrows. The young man didn't have the slightest idea what she was talking about.
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to come with me as well?" she offered. Zell did a double-take, and nearly spit out the hot dogs he had eaten a few months ago.
"Say WHAT?!"
"Yes!" squealed Amy. "Why don't you come with me?! Everyone else is, and if you don't, I'll miss you so much!! Pleeeeeease???" Zell's gaping-wide mouth gaped open even more as he heard Amy beg, and his eyes were the size of bowling balls by now. But despite his initial shock, Zell had to admit that it was a pretty good--though unbelievable--idea.
"…Uhh… well… I, uh…"
"You what?" demanded Amy, growing slightly angry from his response. "What, do you have something important over here? Something more important than me? Something that would prevent you from being with me? Do you honestly have anything to accomplish over here, anything at all?"
"Well, I--" A pause. Zell was certainly not the best thinker in the world, but after hearing Amy's argument (more like her shouting), he really and truly couldn't come up with any good reason not to go with her. It was true that he called this place home, and he had friends too, and he loved this place……
But he loved Amy more.
"…Aww, what the heck!" he exclaimed. "You're right! I don't have a reason to stay behind! Nope, not one! Heh, I guess I'm going with you after all!!" Amy squealed with delight, and rushed over to give Zell the biggest hug/kiss combination he had received in… well, minutes.
"Great," grumbled Rinoa happily. "That just makes things harder for me."
"Aw, shut up!" cackled Zell. "You're strong enough to take a million people over to Amy's world!!"
"Yeah, you can do it, Rinoa!" cheered Nida. Giggling softly, Rinoa waved away their praise and took a deep breath.
"I swear," she muttered, "you all will be the death of me--or should I say, 'would have been the death of me', now that you're all leaving?"
"Whatever," shrugged Amy. Squall rolled his eyes.
