Notes: Alright! It took me a while with this chapter because I've had a
*huge* case of writer's block...and sorry but this chapter seems to reflect
that...but at least I'm back! Heh, I'm finally into the double digit
chapters and past the 50 review mark, two major accomplishments for me. The
only thing making me sad is, winter vacation has come to a close, so it's
back to the hellhole for me. But enough of that, on with the chapter!
"Detrimal, you are truly pitiful," a woman clad in black stood over his awaking form. "What lengths you will go to, just to get laid! Honestly!" she chided, flipping her hair past her shoulder.
"You...? What are you doing here, rookie?" Detrimal groaned, climbing to his feet and pressing a hand gingerly to the back of his head. "Oww. What the hell happened to me?"
"Quistis Trepe beat the piss out of you, that's what happened. What were you thinking, spilling out all the information, simply because of a small promise of sex that wasn't meant to be kept in the first place?"
"Her name wasn't Quistis, it was Connie. Stupid. Hey, how do you know what happened anyway? Are you stalking me?"
(Hmm, she is kinda cute. I wonder if she'd have sex with me?) he pondered.
"No, I won't have sex with you, so wipe that dumb grin off your face," she replied to his unspoken thought, ignoring his previous question completely. "As for Connie...haven't you ever heard of an alias, you fool?"
"Hey! I'm the leader, and you are just a newbie! Man, women are nothing but trouble...get out of here."
She ignored his command, and pressed a pale finger to her bottom lip, thoughtfully.
"You are too incompetent to handle this position. That's it, I hereby appoint myself as leader."
"...Excuse me?"
"Your services are no longer required for my organization. Thank you Eddie, I trust I will never see you again. Don't bother showing up for the next meeting."
"What?! Now wait just a sec-"
"Bye!"
*~*~*
Seifer stepped out of the shower, carefully winding a soft white towel around his waist. No one knew this about him, but he was very meticulous about his cleansing. True, the many spars and "training sessions" he had been in had caused him to get quite grimy at times, but he always scrubbed extra hard afterwards to make up for it. Perhaps all the times Matron scolded him for not washing behind his ears was catching up to him.
He stood in front of the tiny hotel cosmetic mirror, and slicked his hair back in one fluid movement, causing rivulets of water to trail down his back and shoulders.
Something had been bothering the hell out of him during the past couple days, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. The mission had come to an annoying standstill, the team didn't know where to go next. So they had basically been lounging around the hotel, waiting for an idea to come up and bite them in the ass.
But Seifer's ass didn't have any bite marks on it.
Even so, he knew that the mission wasn't the only thing on his mind. He couldn't figure out what else... or maybe, he just didn't want to admit it to himself.
From the other room, Quistis gave a sigh. She was curled up on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest, glasses sliding down her nose. She was reading a book she had picked up at a dime store, an impossibly action-packed thriller, with just a tinge of romance. A real shitter, too.
It was absolutely fascinating.
There was only one scene that was even remotely romantic in the entire thing, but it was enough to make her fall in love with the main male character. She wished that, just once, she had a boyfriend even halfway similar to him. He was a real sweetheart, and knew all the right things to say, things that were corny in their perfection. If there was one thing Quistis Trepe longed for more than success, it would be love. A knight in shining armor. The rest of the book was about hijacking cars and blowing stuff up.
Anyway, she had given up on Squall long ago. Oh sure, there was still a small spark that she held for him, one that may not ever completely leave, but Quistis figured she had pretty much doused it.
Since she decided to end wasting her time yearning over him, Quistis discovered several hour slots suddenly open in her schedule. Filling them up quickly with missions, or paperwork, no one even suspected the emptiness that was slowly piling up inside of her. Whenever she seemed depressed, her friends figured it was because of the pressure of her job.
And it is strange how quickly a forced smile can put someone's mind at ease.
In disgust, Quistis tossed the cheap paperback across the room. Her thoughts had wandered too far from it for it to be entertaining, now. It promptly smacked Zell in the back of the head.
"Seifer! I *told* you a million times already, stop throwing crap at me!! O- Oh, it was you Quistis. Heh heh, sorry."
"I should be apologizing, Zell." Quistis giggled lightly. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay, not like it hurt. Guess the book sucked, huh?"
"I told you it would..." Seifer entered the room, clad in jeans and pulling a shirt over his head. "That shit rots your brain like candy rots your teeth, Instructor."
"Reading rots your brain? Perhaps that is why you failed the SeeD exam so many times, because I know you are *such* a little bookworm."
"Ouch. Low blow, Instructor."
"Stop calling me that."
"No."
"You know what, I really don't wanna sit around and listen to you two argue all friggin night. And I'm bored, let's do something!" Zell whined, and began to shadowbox.
"Alright..." Seifer agreed. "Let's play Spin the Bottle."
"Oh, with three people, that's a whole lot of fun," Quistis rolled her eyes.
"Truth or Dare?"
"What are you, 12?"
"Strip poker?"
"If I didn't know better, Seifer..." Quistis began, lifting an arm and waving it slightly, "I'd say you want me."
"Heh heh heh..." Zell laughed at Seifer's slightly surprised face.
"Either me, or Zell..."
"Gross!"
"Oh yeah, Zell all the way baby..." Seifer recovered and was arrogant once more.
"Sick man! You people suck," Zell stomped out of the room, into the kitchen. Seifer shrugged nonchalantly.
"I guess he doesn't love me."
"I can't imagine why..."
"Hey, me either," Seifer smiled. "Since I'm so perfect and everything."
"Yes, you definitely are," she played along.
(Why can't she just let loose and joke like this more often? I almost enjoy being around her when she does...)
Zell returned suddenly, a look of pure panic on his face.
"What's the matter, Zell? Need a fresh diaper?"
"There's no time to play your goddamn games Seifer!"
"Hey, lighten up," Seifer countered, taken aback slightly. Zell always responded to his taunts with anger, Seifer was used to and enjoyed that. But was there something different in his tone now, something that sent Seifer into a state of unease.
"What's the problem?" Quistis whispered, brows drawn together in worry.
With a look of bitter seriousness on his face, uncharacteristic for Zell, he handed Quistis what neither she and Seifer noticed he had--their copy of Deling's Dream Won't End.
The cover was plain white, the letters DDWE in a large, bold font centered on the page. A smaller, coded message was beneath it.
But now there was more writing, scrawled in magenta ink. Carefully, Quistis read it aloud.
'You three are hitting too close to home. Curious children must be punished. I am watching always...especially you, Seifer.'
Seifer narrowed his eyes at Zell.
"Is this some sick joke, Chicken-wuss?" he demanded dangerously. Zell clutched his fists, practically snarling.
"Damn you, Seifer, I *won't* be your scapegoat. Why the hell would I pull a dumbass joke like this?!"
"How the hell should I know! I don't know the inner workings of the mind of a Chicken-wuss!"
Quistis quickly stepped between them.
"Both of you, stop it now! We're allies... we're friends! Seifer, Zell definitely did not do this. I know his handwriting, and this is not it. Zell, try to keep your temper a little better. Things like this can make anyone act irrationally, so we have to stick together instead of ripping each other's heads off!" She said, trying to favor neither and appease them both.
Zell, not surprisingly, was the first to back down. Biting the inside of his cheek to calm down his anger, he glared at Seifer from over Quistis' restraining arm.
Seifer backed off a little, still visibly quite tense.
"Sorry," he muttered under his breath. Then his head snapped up, and he placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her a little.
"Seifer...! Stop it!" Quistis protested. He stopped, slapped a hand to his forehead and began to pace.
She frowned in confusion, rubbing her left shoulder.
"He's completely lost it," Zell muttered, shaking his head.
"I *thought* I was crazy! But...I'm not!" Seifer threw his head back, laughing gruffly. "I'm not crazy..." More disturbing laughter.
"Snap out of it!" Quistis slapped him.
"What the fuck was that for?" he growled, back to reality.
"I don't know what was going on, but it was scaring me," her eyes narrowed. "Would you care to explain yourself?"
"I've been hearing voices..." he crossed his arms. "Thought I was insane. It was some girl, she sounds familiar but I can't place her."
"A sorceress can communicate telepathically..." Quistis offered.
"Oh no. Man, I'm sick of this sorceress shit," Zell complained.
"I know Zell. I am too..." Quistis rubbed between her eyes.
"Nobody is more sick of it than I am," Seifer's voice was hollow.
He reached inside his back pocket, retrieving a fresh pack of cigarettes. His hand was shaking as he brought one to his lips. Quistis felt a sharp pang of pity.
She realized that though Seifer hid it well enough, he was still going through hell. Hyne knew she had gone through her share of pain, but Seifer's hurt was incomprehensible to her.
How had he possibly made it this far, on his own, support scarce? No, nonexistent was more truthful.
Such strength. Such incredible strength.
*** Poor Seifer!! . I feel so bad for him. This chapter is shorter than I'd like... I blame the writer's block. Thanks so much, again, for the reviews, guys, and keep 'em coming!
"Detrimal, you are truly pitiful," a woman clad in black stood over his awaking form. "What lengths you will go to, just to get laid! Honestly!" she chided, flipping her hair past her shoulder.
"You...? What are you doing here, rookie?" Detrimal groaned, climbing to his feet and pressing a hand gingerly to the back of his head. "Oww. What the hell happened to me?"
"Quistis Trepe beat the piss out of you, that's what happened. What were you thinking, spilling out all the information, simply because of a small promise of sex that wasn't meant to be kept in the first place?"
"Her name wasn't Quistis, it was Connie. Stupid. Hey, how do you know what happened anyway? Are you stalking me?"
(Hmm, she is kinda cute. I wonder if she'd have sex with me?) he pondered.
"No, I won't have sex with you, so wipe that dumb grin off your face," she replied to his unspoken thought, ignoring his previous question completely. "As for Connie...haven't you ever heard of an alias, you fool?"
"Hey! I'm the leader, and you are just a newbie! Man, women are nothing but trouble...get out of here."
She ignored his command, and pressed a pale finger to her bottom lip, thoughtfully.
"You are too incompetent to handle this position. That's it, I hereby appoint myself as leader."
"...Excuse me?"
"Your services are no longer required for my organization. Thank you Eddie, I trust I will never see you again. Don't bother showing up for the next meeting."
"What?! Now wait just a sec-"
"Bye!"
*~*~*
Seifer stepped out of the shower, carefully winding a soft white towel around his waist. No one knew this about him, but he was very meticulous about his cleansing. True, the many spars and "training sessions" he had been in had caused him to get quite grimy at times, but he always scrubbed extra hard afterwards to make up for it. Perhaps all the times Matron scolded him for not washing behind his ears was catching up to him.
He stood in front of the tiny hotel cosmetic mirror, and slicked his hair back in one fluid movement, causing rivulets of water to trail down his back and shoulders.
Something had been bothering the hell out of him during the past couple days, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. The mission had come to an annoying standstill, the team didn't know where to go next. So they had basically been lounging around the hotel, waiting for an idea to come up and bite them in the ass.
But Seifer's ass didn't have any bite marks on it.
Even so, he knew that the mission wasn't the only thing on his mind. He couldn't figure out what else... or maybe, he just didn't want to admit it to himself.
From the other room, Quistis gave a sigh. She was curled up on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest, glasses sliding down her nose. She was reading a book she had picked up at a dime store, an impossibly action-packed thriller, with just a tinge of romance. A real shitter, too.
It was absolutely fascinating.
There was only one scene that was even remotely romantic in the entire thing, but it was enough to make her fall in love with the main male character. She wished that, just once, she had a boyfriend even halfway similar to him. He was a real sweetheart, and knew all the right things to say, things that were corny in their perfection. If there was one thing Quistis Trepe longed for more than success, it would be love. A knight in shining armor. The rest of the book was about hijacking cars and blowing stuff up.
Anyway, she had given up on Squall long ago. Oh sure, there was still a small spark that she held for him, one that may not ever completely leave, but Quistis figured she had pretty much doused it.
Since she decided to end wasting her time yearning over him, Quistis discovered several hour slots suddenly open in her schedule. Filling them up quickly with missions, or paperwork, no one even suspected the emptiness that was slowly piling up inside of her. Whenever she seemed depressed, her friends figured it was because of the pressure of her job.
And it is strange how quickly a forced smile can put someone's mind at ease.
In disgust, Quistis tossed the cheap paperback across the room. Her thoughts had wandered too far from it for it to be entertaining, now. It promptly smacked Zell in the back of the head.
"Seifer! I *told* you a million times already, stop throwing crap at me!! O- Oh, it was you Quistis. Heh heh, sorry."
"I should be apologizing, Zell." Quistis giggled lightly. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay, not like it hurt. Guess the book sucked, huh?"
"I told you it would..." Seifer entered the room, clad in jeans and pulling a shirt over his head. "That shit rots your brain like candy rots your teeth, Instructor."
"Reading rots your brain? Perhaps that is why you failed the SeeD exam so many times, because I know you are *such* a little bookworm."
"Ouch. Low blow, Instructor."
"Stop calling me that."
"No."
"You know what, I really don't wanna sit around and listen to you two argue all friggin night. And I'm bored, let's do something!" Zell whined, and began to shadowbox.
"Alright..." Seifer agreed. "Let's play Spin the Bottle."
"Oh, with three people, that's a whole lot of fun," Quistis rolled her eyes.
"Truth or Dare?"
"What are you, 12?"
"Strip poker?"
"If I didn't know better, Seifer..." Quistis began, lifting an arm and waving it slightly, "I'd say you want me."
"Heh heh heh..." Zell laughed at Seifer's slightly surprised face.
"Either me, or Zell..."
"Gross!"
"Oh yeah, Zell all the way baby..." Seifer recovered and was arrogant once more.
"Sick man! You people suck," Zell stomped out of the room, into the kitchen. Seifer shrugged nonchalantly.
"I guess he doesn't love me."
"I can't imagine why..."
"Hey, me either," Seifer smiled. "Since I'm so perfect and everything."
"Yes, you definitely are," she played along.
(Why can't she just let loose and joke like this more often? I almost enjoy being around her when she does...)
Zell returned suddenly, a look of pure panic on his face.
"What's the matter, Zell? Need a fresh diaper?"
"There's no time to play your goddamn games Seifer!"
"Hey, lighten up," Seifer countered, taken aback slightly. Zell always responded to his taunts with anger, Seifer was used to and enjoyed that. But was there something different in his tone now, something that sent Seifer into a state of unease.
"What's the problem?" Quistis whispered, brows drawn together in worry.
With a look of bitter seriousness on his face, uncharacteristic for Zell, he handed Quistis what neither she and Seifer noticed he had--their copy of Deling's Dream Won't End.
The cover was plain white, the letters DDWE in a large, bold font centered on the page. A smaller, coded message was beneath it.
But now there was more writing, scrawled in magenta ink. Carefully, Quistis read it aloud.
'You three are hitting too close to home. Curious children must be punished. I am watching always...especially you, Seifer.'
Seifer narrowed his eyes at Zell.
"Is this some sick joke, Chicken-wuss?" he demanded dangerously. Zell clutched his fists, practically snarling.
"Damn you, Seifer, I *won't* be your scapegoat. Why the hell would I pull a dumbass joke like this?!"
"How the hell should I know! I don't know the inner workings of the mind of a Chicken-wuss!"
Quistis quickly stepped between them.
"Both of you, stop it now! We're allies... we're friends! Seifer, Zell definitely did not do this. I know his handwriting, and this is not it. Zell, try to keep your temper a little better. Things like this can make anyone act irrationally, so we have to stick together instead of ripping each other's heads off!" She said, trying to favor neither and appease them both.
Zell, not surprisingly, was the first to back down. Biting the inside of his cheek to calm down his anger, he glared at Seifer from over Quistis' restraining arm.
Seifer backed off a little, still visibly quite tense.
"Sorry," he muttered under his breath. Then his head snapped up, and he placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her a little.
"Seifer...! Stop it!" Quistis protested. He stopped, slapped a hand to his forehead and began to pace.
She frowned in confusion, rubbing her left shoulder.
"He's completely lost it," Zell muttered, shaking his head.
"I *thought* I was crazy! But...I'm not!" Seifer threw his head back, laughing gruffly. "I'm not crazy..." More disturbing laughter.
"Snap out of it!" Quistis slapped him.
"What the fuck was that for?" he growled, back to reality.
"I don't know what was going on, but it was scaring me," her eyes narrowed. "Would you care to explain yourself?"
"I've been hearing voices..." he crossed his arms. "Thought I was insane. It was some girl, she sounds familiar but I can't place her."
"A sorceress can communicate telepathically..." Quistis offered.
"Oh no. Man, I'm sick of this sorceress shit," Zell complained.
"I know Zell. I am too..." Quistis rubbed between her eyes.
"Nobody is more sick of it than I am," Seifer's voice was hollow.
He reached inside his back pocket, retrieving a fresh pack of cigarettes. His hand was shaking as he brought one to his lips. Quistis felt a sharp pang of pity.
She realized that though Seifer hid it well enough, he was still going through hell. Hyne knew she had gone through her share of pain, but Seifer's hurt was incomprehensible to her.
How had he possibly made it this far, on his own, support scarce? No, nonexistent was more truthful.
Such strength. Such incredible strength.
*** Poor Seifer!! . I feel so bad for him. This chapter is shorter than I'd like... I blame the writer's block. Thanks so much, again, for the reviews, guys, and keep 'em coming!