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All You Wanted
(_.·'`(_.·'`(_.·'`´'·._)´'·._)´'·._)
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( I'm
sinking slowly, )
( So hurry hold me, )
( Your
hand is all I have to keep me hanging on. )
(_.·'`(_.·'`(_.·'`´'·._)´'·._)´'·._)
to M*Y*S*T*-*L*A*D*Y: I made the name Abby up. I think it's so cute! People named Abby just strike me as the type who wear pigtails. I don't know why, I'm just incredibly strange.
to ALL READERS: My report card came in today. I got a C, so needless to say, I'll be grounded for a few weeks. I'll try to sneak update whenever I can! Please don't lose hope in this fic!
-- *Chapter 7: Mission Sense* --
"Remember the first mission?"
"Remember? Of course."
"A lot of things happened on that mission. To everyone.."
-- ** --
!!TWO YEARS LATER!!
"You are now a member of the Elite," Cid said for the fiftieth time. "You must be very careful now. What you do is a reflection upon Balamb Garden. Keep that in mind." He walked to each of the five people standing in his office and handed them a folder containing their field scores.
To Ami, he whispered, "...You and Selphie are doing a great job on the Garden Festival. Can't wait for the next one..."
To Minako, he whispered, "...I don't think I've ever met anyone who uses daggers so well. Keep it up..."
To a boy named Lalu, he whispered, "...Your scores were terrific. I'm glad to have you on the team..."
To Rei he whispered, "...That bow of yours is fantastic. I was surprised to see your scores come out so high..."
To a boy named Gretch, he whispered, "...I'm still waiting for that Triple Triad rematch you owe me...."
"You are dismissed," Cid said with a happy smile on his face. Five new SeeD members had just been inducted.
-- ** --
Ami ran outside the office and hastily opened up the file holding her scores in it.
Conduct: 100
Judgment: 80
Attack: 50
Spirit: 70
Attitude: 100
SeeD rank: Lv. 8
She squealed happily. She was a SeeD. She walked into the elevator, completely forgetting about anyone behind her. She closed the doors. When they opened up, Zell was there, leaning against the rails. He had been waiting for her, and he looked more nervous than she had been. Ami wrapped her arms around his neck when she got to him and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm a SeeD!" she exclaimed.
"Of course you are, Ami. What rank?" Zell asked wrapping his hands around her waist.
"Level 8! I'm a SeeD!!"
-- ** --
Minako inhaled deeply before opening the file. She hoped she had done ok.
Conduct: 100
Judgment: 90
Attack: 50
Spirit: 70
Attitude: 80
SeeD rank: Lv. 8
She couldn't contain her happiness. She jumped up and down and ran into the elevator. When the doors split apart, she saw Ami and Zell talking excitedly. She ran to them, shouting, "I'M A SEED! WOOHOO!" She had picked that little habit up from Selphie.
-- ** --
Rei didn't want to open the file that held her SeeD test scores. What if she was a level four or something? She could tell by Ami and Minako's excited reactions that they had ranked highly. She opened up the folder and pulled out her score sheet.
Conduct: 100
Judgment: 100
Attack: 80
Spirit: 100
Attitude: 100
SeeD rank: Lv. 10
She rubbed her eyes, just be sure that she wasn't seeing things wrong.
I'm a SeeD! Level 10!!! I don't believe it! Rei nearly cried tears of joy. She followed her friends' examples and went to the elevator. She got in, barely able to keep from screaming her happiness to the world.
When she got to the second floor, Ami and Minako were waiting for her. They asked her for her rank, and she answered all too happily.
"Wow!" Ami exclaimed. "We're only level 8."
"Who cares?" Rei said. "WE'RE SEEDS!"
"So you finally did it?" a familiar voice asked. Rei spun around. Seifer was there, leaning against a rail with his arms crossed in front of him.
"Yeah," Rei replied with a smile, "I finally did it! I'm a SeeD level 10, and I can kick you ass!"
Seifer laughed aloud. "You couldn't of done without me." He smirked. Rei rolled her eyes, but she smiled at him all the same. What he said was half true. Ever since she had come to Garden, Seifer had been somewhere near her, just making sure she wasn't getting herself killed. She guessed it was his way of apologizing for the Grat incident so long ago.
The elevator opened, and Selphie stepped out with Irvine, her boyfriend. They had met him some while ago, and he had past the SeeD test himself just last year. Selphie and the girls had become quite good friends, it was an unstoppable thing. Garden Festival work had kept them together, and Selphie was just so charismatic.
The Garden Festival on SK Day was a big hit. Selphie was jumping up and down backstage, exclaiming she had never had such a full Quad before. Though the girls stayed backstage to make sure everything was running smoothly, Zell reported that there was a line of students standing outside the Quad. The band that performed was called Eden's Breakdown, and weren't they the perfect band? They had a whole list of love songs to suit every person's musical tastes. It was also that day that Ami made the decision she should be with Zell.
-- ** --
!!! 1 and a half years ago, Garden Festival, SK Day !!!
Ami sat peering out from behind the stage. Couples were dancing with each other, swaying romantically. The Quad was a sea of heads held close to each other. Every now and then, an Instructor could be seen taking apart a couple that needed to get a room. She sighed a little. and remembered the day in the Library that Zell had confessed he had a crush on her. She had looked to her knees and quietly told him she wasn't ready for a boyfriend. She cursed her shyness.
Zell took it wonderfully, simply saying, "Then when you're ready for one, you know where to find me!" He laughed after that, and suddenly things were back to normal. Ami had gotten to know him a lot better and now, she had a thing for him. She wondered if he still felt the same way. A tap on her shoulder shook her from her thoughts. She turned around. The largest bouquet of white and blue flowers she had ever seen was being held up- by who, she didn't know, because bouquet was covering this person's entire upper body. Zell's head appeared on the side of the bouquet; he was leaning around so he could see her.
"Happy SK Day," he said. He handed her a little card.
It was a simple, normal sized card. On the cover was a red heart. Ami flipped it open, and she giggled at what she saw. Written in Zell's handwriting was:
Will you be my sorceress?
She looked up and saw that Zell had put the large bouquet, and he was standing nervously before her. Ami walked to him and gave him a big hug.
"Yes," she whispered, and she would have payed money to see the surprised and delighted look on Zell's face again.
-- ** --
!! present !!
"What level? What level?" Selphie asked hyperly, somewhat bouncing next to Irvine.
"8."
"Me too."
"10."
"10? Woooooow! You must've done great, Rei!" Selphie complemented. "And you guys, too! I was only Lv 7 when I started out! Come on! PARRRRRTYYYY!!!"
-- ** --
Ami, Rei and Minako walked into the Quad together. It was decorated quite beautifully, and a few chandeliers that they swore had not been there before were glittering, bouncing light around the room and off each other. Every SeeD in Balamb Garden was in there, mostly in formal clothing. The five who had been inducted that day were dressed in their new SeeD uniforms; it was tradition. Ami spotted Zell, and she left Minako and Rei with a wave to go join him at the table, where a stack of hot-dogs was sitting in front of him.
Rei and Minako giggled. They both knew that Ami was more taken with Zell that she cared to admit. They were glad for it, too. They had wondered when she was going to find something or someone she liked more than studying. Rei was approached by a wiry boy about her own age. He had asked her to dance, and Rei, looking quite flattered, accepted. Minako leaned against the wall and took a drink from the girl that was going around offering them. She was near the doorway, so she could see everyone that came in. Squall entered and looked right in her direction. He gave her a puzzled look, and Minako suddenly felt like she was invading his space. And she was; she didn't know that the spot she was right now was where Squall waited out the party every year.
He took the wall on the opposite side of the entrance, right across Minako. She laughed, and sort of guessed why he had given her that puzzled look. Being directly across from each other, it was hard not to make eye contact, which Squall didn't seem to want to do. Minako sighed and stood up resolutely. She was going to dance with Squall Leonhart. She giggled at first, wondering if he could dance at all. She walked over to him and waved.
He grunted his acknowledgment. Two years had passed, and their relationship hadn't improved. Not one bit.
"Dance with me," Minako said, more of a command than a question.
Squall raised an eyebrow at her. He shook his head.
"Why not? Oh, I get it. You can't dance."
Well, at least this time the girl hit the problem on the nail, Squall thought. Before he knew what was going on, Minako had grabbed his wrist and he was being dragged off to the dancefloor.
When they found a spot, Minako said, "Ok. Just...dance." Minako started to bob her head a little and shake her hips, but Squall just stood there, looking annoyed. Minako stopped. She considered giving up, but she shook her head no to that solution. The song had ended and a slower song was coming on. She smiled and grabbed Squall's hands. She placed on hand her hip and the other on her shoulder, while she put hers in the opposite places on his body. Looking down at her feet, she instructed him on which way to move. Squall obliged, somewhat reluctantly, and he didn't do so bad either, only stepping on her toe once.
They began to move more fluidly now, at a slightly faster pace. The tempo of the music had changed as well. Squall was letting the music get to him, Minako saw. He was looked at her face now, letting his feet move of their own accord. Minako smiled at him.
"I thought you couldn't dance," Minako said, spinning away from him. She spun back around and landed in Squall's arms.
"I never said I couldn't," Squall replied, a bit of a satisfied smirk on his face. True, he really couldn't, but he was doing fine now and decided he wouldn't tell that to Minako. A few more minutes and the dance ended. Minako walked Squall back to his wall near the entry way.
"If I ever ask you to dance again, you won't have an excuse," she claimed. Squall shrugged, and Minako left to go speak with Rei and Ami, who were anxiously waving her over. They were laughing, too, so she expected they had something funny to tell
Squall stayed against his wall, sipping whatever it was that they served every year. He was staring off into space when a familiar voice brought him back to reality.
"Squall," Quistis said, "hello?"
"Oh. Hi," he greeted lamely.
She smiled at him. "I haven't seen you dance like that in a while, it was beautiful. As is the girl you were dancing with."
"Whatever."
"Whatever."
Quistis giggled. She loved doing that. Quistis knew that of all the thing she could do, doing that would get Squall most annoyed the fastest. He was glaring daggers at her.
"Sorry. It's become a bit of a habit," she laughed. "Well, I better leave you alone, before you bite me...or something. Goodbye Squall." She waved and walked back to her little group of teachers and administrators that she often hung around with. Squall was left to ponder her words.
I haven't seen you dance like that in a while, she had said. He remembered, quite clearly, the day she was talking about. He left the hall for his dorm.
-- ** --
Rei was dancing with the same, wiry boy that had asked her to dance earlier. He was doing terrible, and Rei did her best to help lead him, but she was getting annoyed; her feet were aching from all the times he had stepped on them. They weren't long into a dance when Rei saw Seifer. He tapped the boy on the shoulder and jerked his head, signaling that the boy should leave. Without hesitation, the boy ran off. Seifer put on hand on Rei's hip and the other on her shoulder.
"You're good," Rei complemented.
"Not really, you've just been dancing with an idiot," he replied. Rei laughed in agreement. Seifer spun her around, and she twirled gracefully. "You're not so bad yourself."
"Thank you," she said, "...for everything. I really couldn't have made such a high SeeD rank without you."
Seifer laughed.
"You still look lost," Rei said suddenly.
Seifer asked, "What?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, what?"
He gave her a puzzled look. He shrugged and said, "Nevermind."
The song ended, and Rei left to rejoin Ami and Zell at the table.
-- ** --
Two weeks had past since the SeeD ball, and Minako woke up to the sound of several hands knocking on her door. She could hear Ami shouting for her. Minako rolled off her bed and walked to the door. She opened it up, surprised to see Ami and Rei standing there.
"We've got a mission!" Rei exclaimed. "We're going all the way to Trabia."
"A mission? Now? Today?" Minako asked.
Ami nodded. "Yes, yes, and yes! Hurry, get dressed. We have to meet the rest of our team at the Front Gate."
Minako quickly dressed and groomed herself. She grabbed her daggers and put them in a small travel bag, along with some other things she would need for the trip. She went to Ami and Rei, who were waiting outside. Together, they walked down to the Front Gate. Squall, Zell and Seifer were waiting there.
"Are you going on the Trabia mission?" Ami asked Zell hopefully.
"You bet," Zell replied, smiling.
"Let's go," Squall ordered. He wasn't much of a morning person, apparently.
"Yes, sir," Minako said, saluting him sarcastically. "I'm guessing you're squad leader?"
He nodded and took out of Balamb Garden.
"Um...the Parking Lot is...that way," Rei pointed out.
Seifer laughed. "Right. We're gonna drive a car, all the way to Trabia!"
"What else are we going to take?" Rei asked.
-- ** --
Rei, Minako and Ami stood in front of the Ragnarok, looking impressed.
"Wow...This is yours, Squall?" Ami asked. Squall replied yes. He ordered them to get in, and they did so. Minako immediately took of with the girls to explore the plane.
"Hey! Don't touch anything!" Seifer warned. He shook his head. "Why'd Cid assign them? The three of us could handle it- shit, I could handle it." Squall shrugged and got on the elevator to the cockpit. Zell hopped into the pilot's seat. Squall clicked a button on the control panel, the intercom, and he demanded angrily that the girls get back up to the cockpit for lift off. It was twenty minutes before they had returned to the cockpit.
"Sorry," Ami apologized. "We got lost. This is a big ship."
"Whatever. Lets go, Zell. Set the auto pilot for Shumi Village."
"Shumi Village?" Ami said thoughtfully. "I've read a lot about that place. Seems very quiet. I heard it's miles underground."
-- ** --
Seifer was watching Rei sleep in the passenger room. The girls had decided to stay there during the long trip to Trabia, and Rei had fallen asleep. When the plane landed, Seifer came down to get them. Ami refused to let Seifer wake Rei up, so he resolved on staying so he could take her to the hotel when she woke up. She stirred a little. Her eyes opened and she stretched groggily. When she saw him, Seifer put his feet up on the seat in front of him.
"They're checking in at the hotel. Ami wouldn't let me wake you up," Seifer explained. Rei laughed at that.
After a bit more stretching, Rei leaned back in her chair. Seifer watched her hands curl around the arms of her chair. She looked at him suddenly, and her gaze made Seifer uncomfortable.
"You're still lost," she said, "and you still don't know what to do. Will you ever change?"
Seifer sat up. "What?"
"That little boy in you is still confusing you," she said coldly.
Seifer drew back...out of fear? Only one person had ever spoken to him like that. And that person was dead. He had Squall to thank for that. A small voice echoed in his head.
"What happened to your dreams, Seifer?" Rei asked.
He shook his head. "Stop it, Rei."
Rei rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "Whoo...I must be really tired. I was dozing off....Let's go to the hotel, before I crash out again."
Seifer gave Rei a calculating look. He nodded and walked her out of the Ragnarok.
-- ** --
"How many rooms?" Squall asked. Rei and Seifer were just entering. Seifer looked somewhat unnerved. His usually cockiness seemed downed a bit, but Squall dismissed it.
"If they have two beds each, then three," Ami said.
"Are you sure?" Zell said, moving close to Ami with a mischievous grin. "You and I could share a bed..."
Ami giggled, playfully hitting Zell on the arm. "No. Three rooms," she told the little Shumi. Zell snapped his disappointment.
"It was worth a try," he said.
"I'm sorry," the Shumi said, "but we only have two rooms available. Tourists like to visit the Village during summer. The scenery is quite beautiful."
"Ami and I could-"
"No, Zell," Ami said, shooting a pointed look to Zell. He smiled back at her. She melted again.
They stood around for a minute, wondering what do to. Sure, someone could sleep on the floor, but no one wanted to. And there was no way Squall was going to leave the village.
"Oooh! I'll sleep on the Ragnarok!" Minako exclaimed. "The seats in the passenger room recline all the way back. I'm sleeping in the Ragnarok." She rather liked the ship. She hoped that maybe Squall would let her fly it someday...
"No," Squall said flatly.
"Why not?"
"Because you'll destroy it."
"Will not."
"Come on Squall," Seifer urged, "just let her. No one wants to sleep on the floor, and we don't have another choice."
Squall's eyes narrowed. He had a decision before him. There was no way in hell he would leave Minako on board the Ragnarok alone. No friggin' way. He figured he could sleep on the Ragnarok with her, but that would leave Zell and Seifer alone in one room. Chaos. He shook his head.
"Fine. But I'm going with you," Squall said. Minako's face fell.
"What?"
"I'm not leaving you alone in there. Zell, Seifer- don't start anything."
"Yes mommy," Seifer drawled, "I promise I won't hurt Chicken Wuss."
"What did you call me?!" Zell exclaimed.
"I called you a Chicken Wuss."
Rei said, "Shut up, Seifer. Don't worry- Ami and I will make sure they don't kill each other."
Squall nodded. He paid for the rooms he wouldn't be staying in. There were spare blankets and pillows inside each of the rooms, so Squall took two pillows and blankets and left Shumi Village with Minako, looking peeved. He should've suggested that they all stay on the Ragnarok- that would be a lot cheaper, and he could keep and eye on Zell and Seifer. He shrugged, figuring that this arrangement was ok. At least Squall had the comfort of knowing that the Ragnarok wouldn't be stolen.
Minako bounded into the ship and straight to the passenger room. She reclined a seat and made her bed with what Squall had given her. It would be a little hard, but a far stretch from the floor. Squall was sitting in his seat, apparently thinking.
"You know, no one has told me what this mission is about. Ami and Rei know, but I don't. Care to brief me?" Minako said.
Squall nodded. "There are some monsters that the Shumi don't recognize in a snowfield nearby. They've been finding dead Blue Dragons everywhere. It takes a lot to kill a Blue Dragon. We're just supposed to investigate the killings. If we find the monster, we kill it."
"A bit vague, you think?" Minako said. Squall shrugged. "What area are we supposed to investigate?"
"I have a map in the cockpit," Squall said. He waited a moment before getting up and leaving, presumably to get the map for her to look at. Minako was puzzled by his sudden leave. She shrugged and sat in a seat next to her 'bed'. A small bleep from her bag made her jump. She recognized the sound and froze. When she was able to move again, she walked ever so slowly to her bag and pulled out what looked like a compact. It bleeped again.
Her heart was pounding in her chest.
Blood was racing through her body, and she wasn't sure if she could handle the pressure she felt building up in her lungs.
Minako opened her communicator. The resolution was snowy- very, very staticy. But she could just make out the outline of a person- a girl. The coloring on the communicator was a bit off, but brownish blobs moved around. It had to be hair.
It had to be Makoto.
"........KKKKSSSHHHH....-ello?....KSSSHHHH-ako?......," the communicator buzzed. She couldn't make any of it out.
"Makoto!?" Minako said loudly. "Mako-chan?! Can you hear me?" Suddenly, the communicator bleeped off. There was no one there, and Minako stared at it. Squall entered, and Minako closed it and shoved it back into her bag. Squall gave her a suspicious glance along with a few papers. Maps with areas highlighted in red.
"Dots point out killings," Squall said, "and the red area is where we're going to search."
"It's going to take a while," Minako choked. Her voice was tight, Squall thought she might suddenly burst into tears. But she didn't, and Squall asked if she was ready to go to sleep. With an uncertain, absent minded nod, Minako curled into her bed on the Ragnarok. Squall turned off the lights and climbed into his own bed a few seats away.
They're still...I can't believe it! They're still looking for us! I didn't even bother to think about how they must have felt when we disappeared. I was so busy feeling sorry for myself- two years have gone by; I've nearly forgotten them and my other life. And they're still looking for us. Two years later- they know we're not dead. I hope Makoto was able to see me. I hope to God she and Usagi won't give up on us. There's still a chance we could go back. A very small chance- but I want to be home now.
She wept.
-- ** --
Squall heard her crying. He stayed very, very still. When he was about to enter the room, he heard Minako shouting a name. He waited for silence before entering, and he found her staring into her makeup compact. He had seen it lying around her dorm before, but he figured that was exactly what it was- a makeup compact. Apparently, it was more. That, or Minako was a schizophrenic. Which was totally possible.
-- ** --
The next morning, Squall woke up to find Minako gone. He looked around for her bag- he was hoping to find the compact and take a look at it. It was squashed beneath her seat, and Squall pulled it out. He realized how sore he was from sleeping in a chair. He popped his neck as he rummaged through her bag- a lot of girl stuff, clothes and- ah! the compact.
He withdrew it from the bag and opened it. A tiny screen with a few strange buttons were inside. It wasn't a makeup compact at all. He tapped a few buttons on it. Nothing happened. Squall pressed another and got a little fuzz, but that was it. He put it back in her bag and decided to ask her about it later.
-- ** --
The girls had all been aloof that morning. The only one who smiled was Ami, and those were only rare occasions when Zell attempted to make her laugh. They were trekking around in the freezing cold. And to believe it was summer in Trabia! They hadn't seen anything for miles, and they were just about done with the portion of the snowfield they had chosen to scout out that day. They were walking a little when 'it' happened.
Minako stopped suddenly. She shook her head violently and hugged herself.
"Ouch! It's hot! It burns!" she shouted.
"Not again...." Seifer muttered. He was convinced she was doing it to get attention.
Minako slumped to the ground. Ami and Rei ran to her, followed by Squall and Zell.
"What's the matter?!" Rei asked.
Minako shook her head. "I don't know...I feel so weak...My vitality has just gone...The burning is gone, but I feel so...so weak." Ami grabbed Minako's hand and pulled her up.
"It's better...I'm better...When you touched me- I felt better. What's happening to me?!" she exclaimed.
"Hey guys, we got company!" Zell said. He was pointing to a Gayla that was coming at them.
Seifer groaned, as did Squall. They had been walking all day, and they certainly weren't in the mood to fight off a Gayla. Squall lunged forward with Lion Heart and stabbed at the Gayla. It fell back a few feet, but it regained its bearings and made a strange noise. The Gayla seemed like it was concentrating, and suddenly, without warning, a huge beam of fire made its way at Squall. Squall slumped a little, but Seifer and Zell were attacking the Gayla. Squall charged at it again, slashing at it with all his might. Another attack from Seifer, and the Gayla was dead. Zell searched the body and withdrew 2 Mystery Fluids. Squall however, was staring at Minako hard.
"What?" she asked finally, growing uncomfortable under his gaze.
"Has this ever happened to you before?" he asked.
Minako nodded. "In the Training Center, with Seifer. My skin- it went leathery and hard...it was gross. I was scaly. I didn't have time to think about it though, because a T-Rexaur attacked us."
Squall was nodding. He said, "That's it then. You're like a human Scan spell."
"What?"
"The burning, your vitality disappeared, it was Meltdown."
"What are you talking about?" Minako asked.
"Yeah, what are you getting at?" Seifer asked, considering Squall's words.
"What you felt just now- the way you described it is exactly how Meltdown feels. It burns, and it sucks your vitality out of you. In the Training Center- your skin changed into something hard leathery. Like a T-Rexaur."
Minako questioned this in her mind. "Umm...No, I don't think so."
Ami suddenly stepped beside Minako. "Remember the day we came here," she whispered quietly, "you were getting hot. You were burning up, like you had a terrible fever. The spider thing was fire elemental. Mina-chan- he's right!"
"So I'm a freak of nature?" Minako asked. Rei laugh aloud at this, as well as Ami.
Squall looked at her, like he was sizing her up. "You're going to be very useful."
Minako scowled. He thinks of me as a tool. An ability. What a jerk. She scowled a lot more and insisted they continue with their mission.
-- ** --
Minako still didn't believe what Squall had said. She was able to sense enemies? No way. She had gotten into an argument with Squall when they arrived at the Ragnarok for that night.
"Then explain what you felt at the Training Center and today," Squall said. "Tell me what they were."
"I don't know. But there's no way I can sense enemies. I'm not that gifted."
"Yes, you obviously are."
Minako stopped. "Should I take that as a complement?"
"Take it how ever you want."
"Thank you."
"For what?" Squall asked.
"The complement," Minako said, smiling. Squall rolled his eyes. There she was, trying to get at him again.
"Whatever."
"I hate it when you say that."
Squall leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. A ghost of a smirk lingered on his face.
"Whatever," he said. Minako heard the slight laughter in his voice. There he was, trying to get at her again.
"You say 'whatever' just to annoy me, don't you?" Minako asked.
Squall turned and looked at her. He replied, "You ask questions just to annoy me, don't you?"
"I just want to know more about you."
"Why?"
"Huh?" Minako said.
"Why? What's so utterly interesting about me that you just have to ask so many questions?"
Minako paused. She didn't know. She decided on saying, "Nothing, that's just it. See, unlike you, I give people a chance. I know there are a few good things in every person. I'm still trying to find yours."
"What if there are no good things about me?" Squall asked. He was trying to corner her. "What if I'm just an all around bad person?"
"I'm beginning to think you are," Minako said. She smiled at him. "But you know what they say, innocent until proven guilty. An angel until proven a jerk. You're not doing much for yourself. Anyway, I know that you have at least a couple good qualities."
Squall laughed, "Oh really? And what are they?"
"You're a great dancer, and you're quite cute," Minako answered. Squall laughed some more. It was genuine, and Minako savored the sound of it. It was so rare that Squall ever laughed. It was such a rich and hearty noise, and she rather liked it. "You should laugh more often," she told him. She got up and turned the lights off. As she climbed into chair-bed, she said, "It's a rather nice sound."
-- ** --
Squall stared up at the ceiling of the Ragnarok. His smirked to himself in the darkness. He found it highly amusing that Minako thought he was a looker. He remembered the day he had started teaching Minako how to use the gunblade. He had wrapped his arms around her, and Minako had blushed. He liked the fact that she was physically attracted to him, it would be a lie for him to say he didn't find Minako gorgeous. He rolled over onto his side, and for one brief moment, he forgot he had vowed never to fall in love again. Needless to say, it came back to him, and that cool exterior he had shed for a moment returned to him also.
Sleep came with dreams for Squall.
-- *ZZzzZzZZzzzZZZ*--
Squall wasn't a lion this time- he was himself. He looked up and remembered the setting. He had been calling out for her- for anyone. A small feather fell from the sky. Squall's palm opened and he caught it. The edges of it were pink. He sat up, waiting for Rinoa to show up. Half of him told himself he was only in a dream. But he didn't care- he just wanted to see Rinoa. A small figure appeared in the distance. He walked over to it, sure it was Rinoa. And it was her. She smiled at him- that smile he loved to see, where she smiled with her eyes. He ran forward to embrace her, but she shook her head, a sad, sad smile suddenly gracing her feature.
"One day, you have to forget," she said.
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| End of Chapter 7 |
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