Disclaimer: I only own Terra, Chloe, Shiloh and Akira. Oh, and this fic
idea too. ^-^
A/N: I'm sooo sorry for my laziness. I just hope none of you hate me because of it... But the good news is that I'm only one review away from hitting the 100 mark! This is the first fic I ever did that had this many reviews and I thank you all for it!
A/N 2: Quistis, I'm sorry for making Akira OOC the way I did. In this chapter, I'll make her more of an Almasy, 'kay? ^-^ FloralBlackMoon, I brought Squall into this chapter as you suggested, and I'm sorry about the mushiness between Quistis and Akira, it can't be helped. But as for Seifer... I'm not sure how to bring him back yet, so if you have ideas, lemme know! lestatsdarkrose, sorry, but this is gonna be a Seiftis/Quiefer. I don't like that pairing too much myself, but it somehow fits, especially because of the idea I have for later on. acoles, I don't think it's stupid to be inches from tears! It just lets me know that my writing is that good! So thanks!
Shiloh sat in his dorm, cleaning the precious weapon he'd been given by his father. He always did that when he was angry. It sort of helped him to relax. He was so angry with Akira. How could she go and break a promise within hours of making it? Maybe his father was right about her. When he'd first met her, he felt unlike anything he'd ever experienced in his entire life. When he found out she was Seifer Almasy's daughter, the man he'd been taught to despise ever since he could remember, everything totally changed. His feelings for her included. He didn't want to feel the way he did about her, but he couldn't help it. The things Squall had told him about Seifer only infuriated him, and everytime he saw Akira, he saw Seifer.
"Honey?" came his mother's voice from the doorway. He glanced over at her, seeing a gleam of concern in her chocolate colored eyes. Then he returned his gaze to the gunblade in his lap. "What's the matter sweetheart? I know something's bothering you."
"It's nothing, Mom. Trust me."
"Shiloh, don't pull a Squall on me. Tell me what's wrong." Rinoa smiled a bit, but Shiloh's expression didn't change.
"I told you, it's nothing."
"Well there's an 'it', isn't there?"
"Mom, please. I just wanna be left alone."
Rinoa sighed, inwardly cursing Squall for having given their son his genes. "Well if you ever *do* wanna talk to me about it, you know where to find me, all right?" Shiloh sighed, yet remained quiet as Rinoa kissed his forehead and left the dorm.
~*~*~*~
Akira was hurrying down the hall. She promised she'd meet Chloe for lunch at noon, and she was already ten minutes late. She hated doing that, especially to people she'd just met. It made her look bad, and everyone already had sour opinions of her the way it was. She didn't want to put salt on the wound.
As she rounded the corner, she ran head-on into someone a lot taller than her. She didn't look at right away, as she was busy clamping her teeth due to the pain in her pelvic bone. She stood up and looked in front of her, only to see Squall glaring at her from the floor.
"Oh man, I am *so* sorry, sir," she said immediatly. She held out her hand to help him up but he completely ignored it. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he snapped. "But I've been meaning to speak with you."
She held her breath. "What is it?"
"Don't you dare think you can come here and stir up trouble. I heard about what happened yesterday with Vessa. I just can't believe the headmaster went so easy on you." Squall had dissapointment and contempt dripping from his voice.
Akira scoffed, although she hadn't meant to. "But she started with me!" she exclaimed.
Squall was taken aback. He thought he'd had her with her tail between her legs, but apparently he'd been wrong. "Don't take that tone with me," he said, still rather calmly, but yet with an authoritive tone.
"You only hate me because of my dad," she said scornfully.
Squall's icy eyes only narrowed. He saw the fire burning inside her emerlad orbs that he had only ever seen in one individual: Seifer Almasy. "No. I feel the way I do because you're *acting* like him."
Akira crossed her arms defiantly. "Well, if you think you can just push me around when I never did one thing to you, you're crazy."
Squall was about to open his mouth and respond, but Quistis came up behind Akira. She put her hands on the girl's tense shoulders and gave Squall a cold glare. "What are you doing Squall?" She didn't even need to really ask. She could see what was going on; it was written all over his still handsome face.
"This has nothing to do with you Quistis," he told her. Akira was surprised Squall talked with an attitude even to Quistis.
"Squall, please. Don't be like this," Quistis told him gently. Squall let out a loud sigh and shook his head. He eventually turned around and retreated. Quistis turned Akira around to face her. "Are you all right sweetheart?"
Akira roughly shook off Quistis's gentle grasp on her shoulders. "I don't need your help. I can take care of myself just fine," she snapped.
Quistis almost rolled her eyes, thinking for only a split second that it was Seifer she was standing in front of. "You really are just like him. On the inside and the outside."
Akira couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Well maybe I don't wanna be just like him! Maybe I don't wanna be Akira Almasy anymore! I don't wanna *look* like him! I don't wanna *act* like him! I don't wanna remind anyone of him anymore!!" Her shouts caused people to stare, but she didn't care. She didn't care what they did or thought at the moment. All she knew was she was an Almasy, and she absolutely hated it.
Quistis grabbed her shoulders again, this time harder than before. She made her look into her eyes. "But you do. You remind *me* of him. And that is not a bad thing, Akira. I want you to remind me of him, because I love him. Don't let what anyone says about you stop you from being who you really are."
"So basically, you're only acting like this because I remind you so much of him? There's a shocker..." she said sarcastically.
"No! That's not it at all."
"And even if I do remind you of him, that's no good. Apparently he was the most hated guy that ever went here."
"Everyone else is seeing the Seifer that went against Garden and joined up with Galbadia in you. But I see the misunderstood Seifer that no one else saw. I see the Seifer that was a good man. I see the same fire in your eyes when you get angry. I see the same attitude that the both of you have. I see your determination to fit in, even though you don't want anyone else to know it. The both of you have the exact same face. And your smile? That's how I know you're his daughter."
Akira found herself smiling at Quistis's words. "Well, at least I know one person here who doesn't completely hate me..."
"Just give it time. You'll see. Everything will fall into place with time." And Quistis left.
Akira sighed. That was another thing she had in common with Seifer. Neither of them had a lot of patience...
~*~*~*~
Akira saw Shiloh standing across the main hall, talking with Chloe. At first she hoped neither of them saw her, but then remembered what Quistis told her earlier that day - not to be afraid of who she was. She was going to actually *try* to be more like Seifer, but yet still not get herself into any messes to prove that she wasn't *exactly* like him. Then maybe more people would accept her. She walked right over to the two teens and smiled over at them. "Hey," she said.
"Hi Akira!" Chloe said cheerily. "I haven't seen you a lot today. What's up?"
Despite Shiloh's cold glare, she remained collected. "Nothing really. Shiloh, we still have to train for our exam together, or did you forget?" she said with an almost mocking tone.
Shiloh rolled his eyes and Chloe shot him a funny look, but didn't say anything. "How about some other time, okay?" he asked her rudely.
"How 'bout not?" she said, taking a step closer to him and looking directly into his eyes. "There really isn't a lot of time left Shiloh. We have to train *sometime*."
"She's right, Shi," Chloe told him as she nodded knowingly. "Me and River already started training this morning. Four weeks isn't really a long time, you know."
"Whatever," came Shiloh's response as he headed for the Training Center. Akira turned and followed behind him, telling Chloe a quick goodbye.
"There's only Grats and occasional T-Rexaurs in here. You know that right?" Akira asked.
"Yeah, but maybe if we stay there long enough it'll be enough experience to last us a little while."
"Good logic," she told him with a roll of her eyes. Now, she wasn't even trying to be cocky like her father was. It sort of just came naturally. She just didn't know if that was good or bad.
"Besides, it's starting to get dark out. You don't wanna go out into the wilderness *now* do you?"
"You're only saying that because you're chicken," she told him, smiling slyly.
"Yeah right," was the only reply she got.
"Fine then." She stopped walking. "Prove it."
Shiloh stopped walking as well and placed a hand on his hip as he held his gunblade in the other. "Will you knock it off? You know all too well that it's dangerous out there at night. Especially with all the monsters that hang out near Garden."
"So basically... you're scared."
"I'm *not* scared," he told her.
"Yeah, yeah..."
"All right, fine. Let's go. We'll see just how chicken I am."
Well there's chapter 10! I already know what's gonna happen in the next chapter, maybe even the next 2. It's gonna get pretty exciting so stay tuned!
A/N: I'm sooo sorry for my laziness. I just hope none of you hate me because of it... But the good news is that I'm only one review away from hitting the 100 mark! This is the first fic I ever did that had this many reviews and I thank you all for it!
A/N 2: Quistis, I'm sorry for making Akira OOC the way I did. In this chapter, I'll make her more of an Almasy, 'kay? ^-^ FloralBlackMoon, I brought Squall into this chapter as you suggested, and I'm sorry about the mushiness between Quistis and Akira, it can't be helped. But as for Seifer... I'm not sure how to bring him back yet, so if you have ideas, lemme know! lestatsdarkrose, sorry, but this is gonna be a Seiftis/Quiefer. I don't like that pairing too much myself, but it somehow fits, especially because of the idea I have for later on. acoles, I don't think it's stupid to be inches from tears! It just lets me know that my writing is that good! So thanks!
Shiloh sat in his dorm, cleaning the precious weapon he'd been given by his father. He always did that when he was angry. It sort of helped him to relax. He was so angry with Akira. How could she go and break a promise within hours of making it? Maybe his father was right about her. When he'd first met her, he felt unlike anything he'd ever experienced in his entire life. When he found out she was Seifer Almasy's daughter, the man he'd been taught to despise ever since he could remember, everything totally changed. His feelings for her included. He didn't want to feel the way he did about her, but he couldn't help it. The things Squall had told him about Seifer only infuriated him, and everytime he saw Akira, he saw Seifer.
"Honey?" came his mother's voice from the doorway. He glanced over at her, seeing a gleam of concern in her chocolate colored eyes. Then he returned his gaze to the gunblade in his lap. "What's the matter sweetheart? I know something's bothering you."
"It's nothing, Mom. Trust me."
"Shiloh, don't pull a Squall on me. Tell me what's wrong." Rinoa smiled a bit, but Shiloh's expression didn't change.
"I told you, it's nothing."
"Well there's an 'it', isn't there?"
"Mom, please. I just wanna be left alone."
Rinoa sighed, inwardly cursing Squall for having given their son his genes. "Well if you ever *do* wanna talk to me about it, you know where to find me, all right?" Shiloh sighed, yet remained quiet as Rinoa kissed his forehead and left the dorm.
~*~*~*~
Akira was hurrying down the hall. She promised she'd meet Chloe for lunch at noon, and she was already ten minutes late. She hated doing that, especially to people she'd just met. It made her look bad, and everyone already had sour opinions of her the way it was. She didn't want to put salt on the wound.
As she rounded the corner, she ran head-on into someone a lot taller than her. She didn't look at right away, as she was busy clamping her teeth due to the pain in her pelvic bone. She stood up and looked in front of her, only to see Squall glaring at her from the floor.
"Oh man, I am *so* sorry, sir," she said immediatly. She held out her hand to help him up but he completely ignored it. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he snapped. "But I've been meaning to speak with you."
She held her breath. "What is it?"
"Don't you dare think you can come here and stir up trouble. I heard about what happened yesterday with Vessa. I just can't believe the headmaster went so easy on you." Squall had dissapointment and contempt dripping from his voice.
Akira scoffed, although she hadn't meant to. "But she started with me!" she exclaimed.
Squall was taken aback. He thought he'd had her with her tail between her legs, but apparently he'd been wrong. "Don't take that tone with me," he said, still rather calmly, but yet with an authoritive tone.
"You only hate me because of my dad," she said scornfully.
Squall's icy eyes only narrowed. He saw the fire burning inside her emerlad orbs that he had only ever seen in one individual: Seifer Almasy. "No. I feel the way I do because you're *acting* like him."
Akira crossed her arms defiantly. "Well, if you think you can just push me around when I never did one thing to you, you're crazy."
Squall was about to open his mouth and respond, but Quistis came up behind Akira. She put her hands on the girl's tense shoulders and gave Squall a cold glare. "What are you doing Squall?" She didn't even need to really ask. She could see what was going on; it was written all over his still handsome face.
"This has nothing to do with you Quistis," he told her. Akira was surprised Squall talked with an attitude even to Quistis.
"Squall, please. Don't be like this," Quistis told him gently. Squall let out a loud sigh and shook his head. He eventually turned around and retreated. Quistis turned Akira around to face her. "Are you all right sweetheart?"
Akira roughly shook off Quistis's gentle grasp on her shoulders. "I don't need your help. I can take care of myself just fine," she snapped.
Quistis almost rolled her eyes, thinking for only a split second that it was Seifer she was standing in front of. "You really are just like him. On the inside and the outside."
Akira couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Well maybe I don't wanna be just like him! Maybe I don't wanna be Akira Almasy anymore! I don't wanna *look* like him! I don't wanna *act* like him! I don't wanna remind anyone of him anymore!!" Her shouts caused people to stare, but she didn't care. She didn't care what they did or thought at the moment. All she knew was she was an Almasy, and she absolutely hated it.
Quistis grabbed her shoulders again, this time harder than before. She made her look into her eyes. "But you do. You remind *me* of him. And that is not a bad thing, Akira. I want you to remind me of him, because I love him. Don't let what anyone says about you stop you from being who you really are."
"So basically, you're only acting like this because I remind you so much of him? There's a shocker..." she said sarcastically.
"No! That's not it at all."
"And even if I do remind you of him, that's no good. Apparently he was the most hated guy that ever went here."
"Everyone else is seeing the Seifer that went against Garden and joined up with Galbadia in you. But I see the misunderstood Seifer that no one else saw. I see the Seifer that was a good man. I see the same fire in your eyes when you get angry. I see the same attitude that the both of you have. I see your determination to fit in, even though you don't want anyone else to know it. The both of you have the exact same face. And your smile? That's how I know you're his daughter."
Akira found herself smiling at Quistis's words. "Well, at least I know one person here who doesn't completely hate me..."
"Just give it time. You'll see. Everything will fall into place with time." And Quistis left.
Akira sighed. That was another thing she had in common with Seifer. Neither of them had a lot of patience...
~*~*~*~
Akira saw Shiloh standing across the main hall, talking with Chloe. At first she hoped neither of them saw her, but then remembered what Quistis told her earlier that day - not to be afraid of who she was. She was going to actually *try* to be more like Seifer, but yet still not get herself into any messes to prove that she wasn't *exactly* like him. Then maybe more people would accept her. She walked right over to the two teens and smiled over at them. "Hey," she said.
"Hi Akira!" Chloe said cheerily. "I haven't seen you a lot today. What's up?"
Despite Shiloh's cold glare, she remained collected. "Nothing really. Shiloh, we still have to train for our exam together, or did you forget?" she said with an almost mocking tone.
Shiloh rolled his eyes and Chloe shot him a funny look, but didn't say anything. "How about some other time, okay?" he asked her rudely.
"How 'bout not?" she said, taking a step closer to him and looking directly into his eyes. "There really isn't a lot of time left Shiloh. We have to train *sometime*."
"She's right, Shi," Chloe told him as she nodded knowingly. "Me and River already started training this morning. Four weeks isn't really a long time, you know."
"Whatever," came Shiloh's response as he headed for the Training Center. Akira turned and followed behind him, telling Chloe a quick goodbye.
"There's only Grats and occasional T-Rexaurs in here. You know that right?" Akira asked.
"Yeah, but maybe if we stay there long enough it'll be enough experience to last us a little while."
"Good logic," she told him with a roll of her eyes. Now, she wasn't even trying to be cocky like her father was. It sort of just came naturally. She just didn't know if that was good or bad.
"Besides, it's starting to get dark out. You don't wanna go out into the wilderness *now* do you?"
"You're only saying that because you're chicken," she told him, smiling slyly.
"Yeah right," was the only reply she got.
"Fine then." She stopped walking. "Prove it."
Shiloh stopped walking as well and placed a hand on his hip as he held his gunblade in the other. "Will you knock it off? You know all too well that it's dangerous out there at night. Especially with all the monsters that hang out near Garden."
"So basically... you're scared."
"I'm *not* scared," he told her.
"Yeah, yeah..."
"All right, fine. Let's go. We'll see just how chicken I am."
Well there's chapter 10! I already know what's gonna happen in the next chapter, maybe even the next 2. It's gonna get pretty exciting so stay tuned!