The dull aching in the of his head told Squall he was alive. It was like someone was beating a Galbadian drum against him, but the pain told him he wasn't dead and that was okay in his book. It was ironic to find himself in Dr. Kadowaki's informatory, lying on the bed with the sheets pulled crisply around his body, once again. Why did his adventures always start out with him laying in here half dead?
The light hurt his eyes, it was as if a sour dagger was being plunged right into his sockets each time his eyelashes fluttered. Squall let out a weak groan, shakily raising his hand towards his face to rub the temples of his forehead and tried to roll over on his side but the sheets were in the way. They were like a piece of plastic spread over him, holding him down.
"You just can't stay out of here can you?" The voice cracked through his skull as if he had been his on the head with Quistis's whip. It actually hurt to hear. "You're such a pansy Squall."
"But I… still got the girl didn't I?" He said through a cracked voice while a smile played at his lips. "You're still empty handed Seifer."
"I'll be happy to give you another scar to match the first one." Seifer said and balled his gloved hands into fists.
"JERK" Fujin roared and kicked the bed sending Squall yelping as his head hit the back board.
"Ow jeez! What was that for?" Squall moaned and pushed a pillow over his face.
"You should know better than to insult me Squally."
"Why did they have to let you back into the Garden?"
"Because I'm the only other Gunblade user that can whip you."
"Piss off."
"After you."
"Will you two boys stop it?" A new voice entered the room.
"Ah, Dr. Kadowaki, it's a pleasure to see you, as always." Seifer said warmly and smiled a dazzling smile.
"Seifer, please, save your compliments for a more naïve woman." Dr. Kadowaki smiled and approached Squall's bed.
"Touche dear doctor," He said simply before motioning for Fujin and Rajin to leave with him, Squall hadn't seen them go. He still have the pillow covering his face.
"Did a truck run over me or something?" Squall asked in a grim voice.
"No, but the trunk of one of the trees fell on top of you. You're lucky it didn't crack your skull, you only got a few bumps and bruises and I'm sure Rinoa had a part in keeping you safe also"
Though she spoke in her clear, strong yet gentle voice, Squall could hear some uncertainty in it with a hint of fear and dread. Rinoa! Was she okay? Was she dead? Panic bubbled inside until it whistled from his ears and he bolted upright in bed.
"Is Rinoa alright? Where is she?" He looked at the twin bed beside him and saw it was empty, the white sheets had been undisturbed. "What happened!?" His voice rose with fear, the pain in his head had become irrelevant now. Squall tried to jerk the sheets off his body but Dr. Kadowaki stopped him, laying her hands on his shoulder gently.
"If you move your shoulder like that, you'll rip out the stitches." She said. "If you go easy there will be little scaring, but if I have to redo them you'll have a nasty mark on your shoulder.
"It'll have company" Squall muttered and motioned to his forehead.
"Oh stop it, Squall." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. "Rinoa wasn't in the training center, which was completely destroyed also. We looked in the remains and found nothing. She wasn't there Squall. It was if she had just disappeared."
"You mean someone took her?" Squall's eyes widened as his stomach leapt into his throat. "I'm going to go look for her."
"Not until you get clearance from me to go back into the field."
"You can't hold me here."
"Oh, yes I can, and you know it also. You can leave if you like, but it won't be as a licensed SeeD,"
"Damn it…"
"If you tear your shoulder again, or get in a fight and hit your head, you'd just be in here again and with a longer stay. The staples will come out in 2 days and I'll give you something to ease the pain in your head." She stood from the stiff metal stool she'd been sitting on and walked over to the cabinet on the side of the room, taking out a needle and a bottle.
"How long have I been here dr. Kadowaki?"
"Four days. Seifer's been dropping by to check on you regularly also you know."
"Hmmm."
"What is it?" She asked and arched one of her brown eyebrows.
"Nothing…"
She let out another sigh before walking over and injecting the needle into his arm.
~*~
"I thought you were training to be a SeeD?" General Caraway asked as he watched his daughter sit down on her bed which she'd slept in as a child.
"I am…" Rinoa said. Her voice was gentle and almost timid. She couldn't look her father in the eyes as she plopped on the bed, and let her heavy black boots swing back in forth in a childlike motion.
"And why are you here? It's a pretty long ways from Balamb, I thought you'd have been taking your exam about now? You didn't just come see me for a friendly visit." he said and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his tone was as if he hadn't believed her.
"But I did."
"You're my daughter Rinoa, I can see through your lies. Even when you were a teenager."
"I just wanted to come home for a little while. My exam isn't for another couple of days and I wanted to see a familiar face." She shrugged, letting her opal hair fall in front of her eyes.
"Rinoa…" He started, taking a step forward towards her daughter. But as he saw her shoulder shudder and her head fall even lower, he knew his words wouldn't sink in. His daughter never listened to him. "Dinner's at eight." He turned on the heel of his shinny military boots and walked out of the room.
Rinoa knew she couldn't go back to Balamb Garden, it was too dangerous now, and she knew inside that it was wrong of to just run away, but if she had stayed, what then? The headmaster would probably kick her out for destroying property of the Garden, and even if he did she couldn't take the isolation from the students and teachers. She hadn't known what had happened in the training center, Rinoa only remembered being very, very cold and disconnected from her body.
But it had all happened so slowly, she saw the ground give away as parts begin to rush out of the ground and some collapse. The roots of the trees broke the dirt and the glass around them shattered, she only had enough time to case herself and Squall in a bubble of protection until the it all stopped. Rinoa knew she had been the one who caused it, she just released this wave of power that destroyed the whole section, and truthfully it scared her.
"I don't want to be alone.." Rinoa whimpered as she hugged her legs to her chest, rocking softly back and forth. "I'm so sorry." Power fluttered in her veins for a moment, it caused her to look in the mirror hanging on the wall across from the bed. She was shocked to see that her eyes had a twinge of gold in them. "What's happening to me?" She thought for a moment that she resembled Edea.
The light hurt his eyes, it was as if a sour dagger was being plunged right into his sockets each time his eyelashes fluttered. Squall let out a weak groan, shakily raising his hand towards his face to rub the temples of his forehead and tried to roll over on his side but the sheets were in the way. They were like a piece of plastic spread over him, holding him down.
"You just can't stay out of here can you?" The voice cracked through his skull as if he had been his on the head with Quistis's whip. It actually hurt to hear. "You're such a pansy Squall."
"But I… still got the girl didn't I?" He said through a cracked voice while a smile played at his lips. "You're still empty handed Seifer."
"I'll be happy to give you another scar to match the first one." Seifer said and balled his gloved hands into fists.
"JERK" Fujin roared and kicked the bed sending Squall yelping as his head hit the back board.
"Ow jeez! What was that for?" Squall moaned and pushed a pillow over his face.
"You should know better than to insult me Squally."
"Why did they have to let you back into the Garden?"
"Because I'm the only other Gunblade user that can whip you."
"Piss off."
"After you."
"Will you two boys stop it?" A new voice entered the room.
"Ah, Dr. Kadowaki, it's a pleasure to see you, as always." Seifer said warmly and smiled a dazzling smile.
"Seifer, please, save your compliments for a more naïve woman." Dr. Kadowaki smiled and approached Squall's bed.
"Touche dear doctor," He said simply before motioning for Fujin and Rajin to leave with him, Squall hadn't seen them go. He still have the pillow covering his face.
"Did a truck run over me or something?" Squall asked in a grim voice.
"No, but the trunk of one of the trees fell on top of you. You're lucky it didn't crack your skull, you only got a few bumps and bruises and I'm sure Rinoa had a part in keeping you safe also"
Though she spoke in her clear, strong yet gentle voice, Squall could hear some uncertainty in it with a hint of fear and dread. Rinoa! Was she okay? Was she dead? Panic bubbled inside until it whistled from his ears and he bolted upright in bed.
"Is Rinoa alright? Where is she?" He looked at the twin bed beside him and saw it was empty, the white sheets had been undisturbed. "What happened!?" His voice rose with fear, the pain in his head had become irrelevant now. Squall tried to jerk the sheets off his body but Dr. Kadowaki stopped him, laying her hands on his shoulder gently.
"If you move your shoulder like that, you'll rip out the stitches." She said. "If you go easy there will be little scaring, but if I have to redo them you'll have a nasty mark on your shoulder.
"It'll have company" Squall muttered and motioned to his forehead.
"Oh stop it, Squall." Dr. Kadowaki sighed. "Rinoa wasn't in the training center, which was completely destroyed also. We looked in the remains and found nothing. She wasn't there Squall. It was if she had just disappeared."
"You mean someone took her?" Squall's eyes widened as his stomach leapt into his throat. "I'm going to go look for her."
"Not until you get clearance from me to go back into the field."
"You can't hold me here."
"Oh, yes I can, and you know it also. You can leave if you like, but it won't be as a licensed SeeD,"
"Damn it…"
"If you tear your shoulder again, or get in a fight and hit your head, you'd just be in here again and with a longer stay. The staples will come out in 2 days and I'll give you something to ease the pain in your head." She stood from the stiff metal stool she'd been sitting on and walked over to the cabinet on the side of the room, taking out a needle and a bottle.
"How long have I been here dr. Kadowaki?"
"Four days. Seifer's been dropping by to check on you regularly also you know."
"Hmmm."
"What is it?" She asked and arched one of her brown eyebrows.
"Nothing…"
She let out another sigh before walking over and injecting the needle into his arm.
~*~
"I thought you were training to be a SeeD?" General Caraway asked as he watched his daughter sit down on her bed which she'd slept in as a child.
"I am…" Rinoa said. Her voice was gentle and almost timid. She couldn't look her father in the eyes as she plopped on the bed, and let her heavy black boots swing back in forth in a childlike motion.
"And why are you here? It's a pretty long ways from Balamb, I thought you'd have been taking your exam about now? You didn't just come see me for a friendly visit." he said and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his tone was as if he hadn't believed her.
"But I did."
"You're my daughter Rinoa, I can see through your lies. Even when you were a teenager."
"I just wanted to come home for a little while. My exam isn't for another couple of days and I wanted to see a familiar face." She shrugged, letting her opal hair fall in front of her eyes.
"Rinoa…" He started, taking a step forward towards her daughter. But as he saw her shoulder shudder and her head fall even lower, he knew his words wouldn't sink in. His daughter never listened to him. "Dinner's at eight." He turned on the heel of his shinny military boots and walked out of the room.
Rinoa knew she couldn't go back to Balamb Garden, it was too dangerous now, and she knew inside that it was wrong of to just run away, but if she had stayed, what then? The headmaster would probably kick her out for destroying property of the Garden, and even if he did she couldn't take the isolation from the students and teachers. She hadn't known what had happened in the training center, Rinoa only remembered being very, very cold and disconnected from her body.
But it had all happened so slowly, she saw the ground give away as parts begin to rush out of the ground and some collapse. The roots of the trees broke the dirt and the glass around them shattered, she only had enough time to case herself and Squall in a bubble of protection until the it all stopped. Rinoa knew she had been the one who caused it, she just released this wave of power that destroyed the whole section, and truthfully it scared her.
"I don't want to be alone.." Rinoa whimpered as she hugged her legs to her chest, rocking softly back and forth. "I'm so sorry." Power fluttered in her veins for a moment, it caused her to look in the mirror hanging on the wall across from the bed. She was shocked to see that her eyes had a twinge of gold in them. "What's happening to me?" She thought for a moment that she resembled Edea.