Chapter Twenty-One
The Pigtail Girl Fights Back
A Visit To Trabia Garden
An Appointment With Akane
The Garden Festival
Irvine, Zell and the pigtail girl were sitting around an early morning coffee shop table beginning to discuss Rinoa's latest debacle, when they were surprised to glimpse Quistis walking into the coffee shop. Realizing she was well known for sleeping in and usually not appearing until long after breakfast had been served, they were naturally curious and waved her over to the table.
As she was seating herself, Irvine asked, "So what brings you out so early?"
Quistis, who did appear rather fatigued and somewhat sloppy in her appearance, answered, "I was up all night in bed and thought I'd get some breakfast before crashing."
Zell responded "Huh?" while the blushing pigtail girl, who understood perfectly, nudged him in his ribs to remain silent.
Irvine, who naturally realized at once what she was saying, asked "Who with? That guy you were with last night?"
Quistis, smiling mysteriously, explained, "I don't kiss and tell."
Irvine exclaimed, "I think Rinoa really outdid herself last night. That was her best ever!"
"Yeah" Zell agreed, "She was awesome!"
The pigtail girl angrily expostulated "You two are horrible! It's not funny, and, besides it wasn't her fault. She didn't have any idea it was a surprise party. She thought it was just another evening with Squall."
As Zell turned to her in surprise, she continued saying to him, "And you - you're the worst! I saw the shameless way you were staring at her. You probably wish she were your girlfriend instead of me. Well, I've had it mister!"
Standing up from the table, she stated, "I'll expect an answer from you by library closing time today or our relationship is off!" And she quickly left the coffee shop, leaving Zell with his mouth hanging open.
"As I live and breathe," Irvine said. "The rabbit has developed fangs," he laughed.
Quistis, who was holding her right hand up by her mouth to hide her laughter, suddenly noticed Selphie was missing and asked Irvine, "Where's Selphie this morning?"
Irvine answered in a surly tone, "I don't have any idea."
"Oh" Quistis responded, "I thought you always knew where Selphie was."
"I'm her boyfriend, not her keeper" Irvine snapped.
"Oh, ho!" Zell exclaimed, happy to discover someone else having relationship difficulties. "Trouble in River City because of your indiscretion with Trepie #2?"
Irvine retorted, "Oh, just shut up!" as Quistis laughed behind her right hand.
Selphie sat in the back of a Trabia Garden transport truck in the middle of some other SeeDs and upper-classmen. Unlike them, she was not on her way to help with Trabia Garden's continuing construction project, but to visit with Kaede. Kaede was easily the best friend she made during her stay at Trabia Garden and she hadn't seen her for months! Selphie brimmed with excitement in anticipation of seeing her again and also telling her about discovering who her parents were.
After alighting from the truck, checking the heel on both of her boots and entering Trabia Garden, she stopped and asked the first SeeD she noticed for directions to Kaede's room. Selphie reached the room quickly and when she knocked upon the door, she thought she heard the muffled voice of Kaede instruct her to enter.
Throwing the door open and stepping into the room, Selphie observed a tall, dark haired, extremely attractive man with an excellent physique stepping away from the bed, in which her friend lay covered with a sheet. Selphie was able to evaluate the young man's physique so accurately, because he was stark naked!
Selphie gave out with a small shriek and quickly turned her head, but not before noticing his physical attributes included a sizeable erection. While groping behind her for the door knob, she exclaimed "I'm sorry, Kaede. I see you're busy. I'll come back later."
As Selphie turned her back to exit the room, Kaede exclaimed, "Wait, Selphie! We were finished studying. Tatsu was just leaving."
As Selphie turned around, she noticed Tatsu was now somewhat dressed and holding the rest of his clothing. He stepped by her quickly and out the open door. Closing the door, Selphie commented, "You certainly have a unique approach to studying."
Kaede giggled. "You'd be surprised how it helps your power of concentration."
As the totally nude Kaede arose from the bed and began to roam her room searching for flung articles of clothing, Selphie said "But seriously, Kaede, what in the hell are you thinking about? You could get booted out of this place."
As Kaede turned to respond, Selphie couldn't help but notice that her friend's physical attributes had ripened and matured. Suddenly realizing she was staring, Selphie slightly glanced away as her friend answered, "Oh, it's okay. Things have been so chaotic here that nobody notices anything."
"You can look now, Selphie," she giggled. "I'm decent."
As Selphie returned her gaze to Kaede, who was now wearing a bra and panties, she asked Selphie, "What's happened to you? We never worried about what we were wearing, when we were together. We're both girls, for Hyne's sake."
Selphie answered "We were just kids. Things are different now because we're grown."
"Well, anyway," Kaede said, slipping into her blouse and pants. "You came to get some cheese cake, didn't you? You're in luck, the coffee shop is open."
"Yes!" exclaimed Selphie. "Let's go get some."
After Squall and Rinoa had eaten lunch together and were walking from the cafeteria, Squall asked, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Remember when I agreed to talk with my father, the deal was you would do anything I'd ask of you?" Rinoa replied.
"Yeah" Squall responded warily, never being quite certain what twisted thing Rinoa might have in her mind.
"Well, I'm calling in my chip" Rinoa explained. "I want you to go with me right now and visit Akane."
"Akane! - the spy from Galbadia, who is purported to be the Legendary SeeD's daughter?" Squall asked astounded. "Whatever for, Rinoa?"
"Because the entire time you were gone, she insisted so she wanted to meet you that I think it's only right she's given the opportunity" Rinoa answered smiling maliciously.
"I'm dead set against this, Rinoa and I think it's a horrible idea, but a promise is a promise" Squall sighed.
Rinoa smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "So let's go."
When Squall and Rinoa stepped up to the window of the disciplinary room, they were astonished to observe Akane was half nude and was attired in some sort of diaper!
"Rinoa, what the hell is going on here?" Squall said in an angry tone.
Turning to Squall, she replied, "I honestly don't have any idea, Squall, but I'm going to find out right now!"
Rinoa crossed the room to where the two young women upper-classmen were standing on watch.
"Why is Akane only wearing a diaper?" Rinoa demanded.
One of the two students, a tall, willowy blonde glanced superciliously at Rinoa and spoke in a languid voice. "Because it's the only clothing we can keep on her. She keeps ripping everything else off."
"Why would she do that?" Rinoa wanted to know.
The other student, a short, redheaded beauty, with a trim figure, answered "The doctor says it's cause she thinks she's a baby, but if you ask me - she's just doing it to be defiant. You should see us when we need to change her diaper. It takes eight of us to hold her down and it's gross, and if I were you, I'd leave her alone. She's got a heckuva of a nasty attitude."
"Yeah," the tall blonde agreed, "And you'd better take your boyfriend with you, before you all get in trouble. There's not supposed to be any men in here, for obvious reasons."
Rinoa sputtered, "My boyfriend!...that's...oh, what's the use?" Rinoa recognized that it would be well nigh on to impossible to get anything into those two heads except more air.
While crossing back to where Squall stood obliquely by the side of the window, where Akane hadn't noticed him as of yet, Rinoa vaguely remembered from one of the many books she had perused in the Garden library that Akane might be suffering from a mental condition that was known as regression where a person who finds their present reality to be so distasteful that they subconsciously choose to regress to an infantile stage. Rinoa also remembered there was only one successful therapy - attempting to reach the adult through soothing the infant.
Grasping Squall by the arm, Rinoa pulled him up to the front of the window. Akane noticed them immediately and stepped toward the window saying, "So the little Deling City slut has come to visit."
Noticing Rinoa wearing a SeeD uniform, she quipped, "Where did you steal that uniform? I know there's no way you earned it and who's that with you, your new boyfriend, now that Squall is dead?"
Rinoa smiled sweetly at her and replied, "Akane, I'd like you to meet Squall." Turning to Squall, Rinoa said, "Squall, I'd like you to meet this little baby from Deling City."
"Rinoa" Squall warned.
When Akane suddenly realized that Squall had not only escaped death, but also imprisonment, she perceived the information she had forwarded to Deling City had led to absolutely nothing. When she realized her mission had been a complete failure, her bitter, brittle facade crumbled into a near psychotic state. Akane charged the shatterproof glass again and again attempting to reach the object of her hatred - Rinoa!
Squall suggested, "We'd better leave, Rinoa. I think we've done enough damage."
"No!" she exclaimed. "You leave. I'm staying," she ordered in a voice Squall had never heard before.
Rather than becoming embroiled in a lengthy, public argument with her, he acceded to her demand and quietly left.
Rinoa approached the "air-head twins" and asked to be allowed into the disciplinary room. When she was refused by the tall blonde, she pulled rank as a SeeD and ordered the upper-classman to unlock the door.
As soon as Rinoa stepped into the disciplinary room with the door being locked behind her, Akane kicked out at Rinoa's left knee tumbling her to the floor. Akane flew through the air and landed across Rinoa in a complete body slam knocking all the air out of her. Akane quickly arose and noticed the physical activity had stressed the giant safety pin, placed perfectly behind her back so she couldn't access it, to pop open and she seized the opportunity to tear her diaper off leaving her stark naked. As Rinoa struggled to regain her breath, Akane leaned down and ripped off her blouse with the buttons flying everywhere and then tore her brassiere into two pieces. When Rinoa finally regained her feet, Akane pulled her skirt and panties down to the floor leaving Rinoa standing completely nude except for her shoes. Rinoa reached out suddenly and wrestled Akane to the floor and embraced her in an all encompassing hug, pressing as much of her bare body as she could against Akane's in an effort to provide skin contact which is all important in the soothing of an infant. She proceeded to rock her gently while telling Akane that she forgave her for all the things she had done to her and all the things she had said and asked to be forgiven in turn. The tighter Rinoa held Akane's bare body to her's, the less Akane struggled until finally she stopped completely and began to be racked with sobs. As the young girl was weeping, Rinoa continued to rock her back and forth and began to whisper terms of endearment to her.
Finally as Akane began to gain some control over her crying, Rinoa loosened her grip on the young girl in order to discover how Akane would react. Akane wiped some of the tears from her eyes and leaned over to Rinoa and kissed her full on the lips as a young child would kiss a parent.
An hour later, Rinoa stood up from their long conversation, now completely dressed except for her ruined bra, and held her arms out to help Akane off the floor.
Rinoa explained, "I'll come visit you everyday and I'm gonna try to get Cid to grant you parole to me and Selphie, so you can get outta here a little everyday."
Akane asked, "What makes you so good, Rinoa?"
Rinoa thought for a moment and then replied seriously, "I'm not good. I just have the ability to bring out goodness in others."
Leaning forward, she gave Akane a quick kiss on the cheek and promised, "I'll be back later today to visit you and I'll bring you some clothing."
Rinoa, holding her buttonless blouse closed with her left hand, signaled the upper-classmen with her right hand to release her.
Later in the afternoon just before the dinner hour, Zell rushed into the library hoping that his girlfriend was still present. Looking wildly around, he finally espied her in the second room shelving books as usual.
Rushing up to her, Zell exclaimed, "Na-."
The pigtail girl whirled around, realized it was Zell and purposely dropped the stack of books she was holding onto the floor, where they fell scattered at her feet. She threw her hands around the back of Zell's neck and, stepping up on her tiptoes, she interrupted him by passionately kissing him. Stepping back, she confessed, "I'm so happy you're here. I was so afraid you wouldn't show up."
"But-," Zell began to say. "Shh" the pigtail girl whispered, placing her forefinger to his lips. "Let it be, Zell. Just let it be."
On the following evening after dinner, Rinoa was beginning to feel some excitement concerning her involvement in the Garden Festival, despite her initial misgivings. As their performance in the Festival was due to begin in a half an hour, Rinoa was quickly changing into her costume. As she stood dressed only in a thong, she held up her skimpy outfit that consisted of just a whisper of a top that covered the bare minimum of her ample breasts and a macro-mini skirt.
The outfit was another thing Rinoa initially had misgivings over, but Selphie had managed to appeal to Rinoa's vanity by expressing to her their performance badly wanted for some sex appeal. None of Rinoa's more traditional bra and panties would have sufficed under the outfit, as they would have been larger than the top and skirt. Rinoa had adamantly refused Selphie's suggestion that she wear nothing at all beneath the extremely short skirt. They finally had to travel all the way to Esthar in the Ragnarok on that very day to locate a specialty lingerie shop that sold thongs.
Even though the stage in the Quad area had been completely remodeled by the F.H. technicians and now had a stage curtain and a large back stage area, it didn't yet have any dressing rooms. As there would be many different groups of upper-classmen and SeeDs performing various entertainments in the Festival, such as, poetry readings, dramatic readings, dance numbers, comedy acts and even scenes from plays, there would be over a hundred people back stage and Rinoa didn't trust one of them in the confusion to not knock over a dressing screen, which would be the only place she could change into her outfit, if she chose not to in her or Squall's room.
But by dressing in a dorm room, Rinoa realized the drawback was she would have to walk through the Garden from Squall's room in the dormitory down to the Quad and suffer the stares and possible catcalls from upper-classmen she would pass along the way.
Dressing quickly and how else could you dress in such a minimal outfit, she thought and double checking in the mirror on the wall that her top did cover what it was legally required to, she left the room and began walking down the dormitory corridor.
Finally arriving at the back stage area and still blushing furiously from the lewd suggestions she received on her way through the Garden, Rinoa observed Zell tuning his electric guitar and Irvine removing his cowboy hat and long cattleman's coat in anticipation of his role as lead singer.
Selphie was quickly darting hither and yon in a frenzied attempt to micromanage every activity, pertaining to the Festival. As she was stepping past, Rinoa touched Selphie on her shoulder and said "Selphie, I'm here!"
Turning quickly toward Rinoa, Selphie smirked at her and exclaimed, "Rinoa, you look absolutely fabulous in that outfit! Doesn't she, Irvine?"
"She looks incredible" Irvine replied, leering at Rinoa.
More to escape the expressions of Selphie and Irvine than anything else, Rinoa stepped toward the front of the stage and peered through the red, velour curtains and out into the audience. She ascertained every one of the red, plush theatre seats that sat row upon row were filled. The theatre seats were also part of the renovation done by the F.H. technicians, along with a small mosh pit area that was used during rock and roll performances.
Since the finale was Selphie, Irvine, Zell and Rinoa playing a medley of pop hits by the currently poplular Deling City Marauders, the mosh pit was completely filled with overly excited male upper-classmen, who were already body-slamming each other and pogoing everywhere.
When all of their electrical equipment had been set up by the backstage crew, Selphie ordered, "Everyone, hit your mark!"
Rinoa, who was playing the tambourine and singing backup, took the mark next to Irvine very near the lip of the stage. Selphie, who was playing electric bass and Zell, who was playing electric lead guitar, were standing slightly behind Irvine and Rinoa. Behind Selphie and Zell stood a preprogramed drum machine.
Ascertaining everyone was on their mark and ready to perform, Selphie ordered the curtain opened. As the curtain began to open, the activity in the mosh pit became even more frenzied.
Launching into the first song, Rinoa felt herself caught up in the excitement of the crowd and began some frenzied dancing of her own, never noticing the affect she was having on the upper-classmen males, which was significant. They had ceased all prior activity and were now all crowded at the lip of the stage intently watching Rinoa, as her extremely short skirt would fly up near her waist totally exposing her narrow thong.
Midway through the performance, one of the male upper-classmen could no longer control himself and reaching up and grasping Rinoa by the ankle, he attempted to pull her off the stage!
As Rinoa screamed and teetered on the edge of the stage, Irvine and Zell both reached out attempting to keep her from being pulled down in the mosh pit. When another male upper-classman reached up and clutched Rinoa's other ankle, she was quickly yanked completely off the stage leaving Irvine holding her skirt in his hand and Zell gripping her halter-top!
Zell cried "No way!" and quickly pushing by Irvine, he leaped down into the current melee in the mosh pit where Rinoa had quickly disappeared into a sea of hands and sexually frenzied male upper-classmen! She began screaming to elicit someone's attention, but quickly realized her cries for help could not be heard above the loud rock and roll performance, as Selphie and Irvine had continued performing beside the electric drum machine.
Rinoa kept moving in an attempt to avoid the hands that were caressing parts of her nearly totally nude anatomy. She looked wildly into the audience searching for Squall, but, of course, everything resembled a blur to her.
When Rinoa suddenly felt some hands reach down and deftly remove her thong from her body leaving her stark naked except for her high heels, she became extremely frightened because of the ever increasing wildness of the crowd of teenage boys, when suddenly she glimpsed Zell swinging his electric guitar in a wide arc knocking male upper-classmen down to the floor in every direction cutting a swathe through them straight to Rinoa!
"Oh, thank Hyne!" she cried aloud.
Finally reaching her, Zell commanded, "Run like hell, Rinoa and don't look back!"
Offering Zell a quick kiss on his cheek, Rinoa whirled and pounded through the path of fallen upper-classmen that Zell had just carved for her with his electric guitar.
When she began to rapidly run up the staircase from the Quad area, Rinoa glanced over her shoulder and perceived no one was aware of her, but that all of the audience was still engrossed with the rock and roll performance. "Thank Hyne for small favors," she thought to herself.
Luckily Rinoa didn't pass anyone at the end of the long staircase that led to the Quad area or down the corridor leading back to the rotunda.
As she continued to race around the rotunda to the corridor that led to the dormitories, Rinoa realized that, luckily for her, the only people not attending or participating in the Festival were the poor unfortunates who had drawn evening duties, and the staff had endeavored to keep them at a bare minimum.
After traveling down the corridor that was connected to the dormitories of both the men and women, Rinoa turned left at the door that led to the men's dormitory, Rinoa finally reached the sanctuary of Squall's room. She threw herself down on his bed and fell asleep almost immediately, but not before thinking, "Wait 'til I get my hands on Selphie! I'm gonna kill her!"