You know, your destiny was laid out for you, just as Squall's was. Some of us are born to walk a path that we must take or risk losing everything. I think this was the case for me. If I stood helplessly by, it would have meant the death of everything and everyone I loved. I couldn't do that, Daddy. They call me a hero now. The truth is, I didn't have a choice. I couldn't just watch all of you be taken one by one from me. I couldn't do that. Maybe that's what it means to be a hero, and it doesn't matter. What is important is that I did what I did to protect all of you. It was also a matter of survival. Kill or be killed. Kill or sit back and watch your friends and your family be killed. I loved you all too much to let that happen. Maybe it's selfish of me to have thought that way, but I think I'd do it again if someone were to threaten your lives.
It was that last official mission that almost got me killed. A year ago. I was twenty. You know what mission I'm talking about, but until now, you never knew the details. Mom wouldn't allow it, of course. In fact, most of the missions I went on you knew nothing of, and it was probably better that way. In the last several years, much of SeeD's work has been in espionage rather than direct assault. Most of it was spying on the Galbadians to keep them in check. I guess most of this was sponsored by Esthar, but of course, I'm not sure. That's my guess. Anyhow, this particular mission involved Timber rather than the Galbadian government. As you know, Timber has become a sort of capital for the drug trade, and I ended up right in the middle of it.
The Timber authorities were looking for a way to cut down on the amount of trafficking and trade that went on in the city, and all I had to do was a little snooping around where I didn't belong. Nothing fancy, just a little observation at first. The more I learned though, the more involved I became. At first it seemed that there was no telling who controlled the trading, and I was about to give up when one of my contacts in Timber gave me a name.
Zoran Danau. You remember him? Thought so. I'm sure he remembers you too. But back to the story. This guy Danau, Danny to his friends, was the drug lord I'd been looking for. He was the major distributer, the man in charge. He supplied any kind of drug you can think of, but his major profits came from coccaine. The thing was, we didn't have enough hard evidence to prove it.
It was known that Danau was a connoisseur of women. Several young ladies in town called themselves his girlfriend, and there were several more thought to be part of his smuggling ring. All of the girls were in their early twenties, very intelligent, but all from broken homes and apparently in need of a father figure. He charmed them into his business, he wined them, dined them, bedded them, and then talked them into doing his dirty work for him. It seemed they all went easily, and were utterly devoted to him. He called them his Valkiere.
It was for this reason that I was asked to go under cover. All I had to do was get him interested and I'd be in.
A pair of colored contacts and a bottle of brown hair dye later, that's exactly what I did. Under the guise of Rogue Amos, an ex-G-Army elite from Deling City, it was easy to get in on the dealing. He took to me right away, and I played along with this game, though I never let him touch me. I could say with confidence that he was intrigued by my skills, and within a month, I was given higher position within his Valkiere than any of his other girls. Specifically, I was allowed to go along on deals that involved large sums of cash and cocaine.
He was also intrigued because I wouldn't let him take me into his bed. Maybe he saw me as a challenge, and it made the other girls jealous. Not that I cared. Anyway, sex was always off limits on a mission. My personal decision. I know of other SeeDs who think it's a fail safe, and they use it to their advantage. For me it was more fun to use my mind to get the information I wanted anyway.
After about four months of working for Danau, I had more than enough evidence to bring him down. But the thing was, I uncovered more than just his drug trade. I learned that he was merely a small man on the totem pole. There was far bigger game out there. Galbadian officials were in on it. I won't say who, but I will say that they were people of high rank. Historically, Galbadia has always been corrupt, so it didn't exactly come as a shock. It seemes about ten years ago, Timber residents began to speak out once again about regaining their lands and their freedom. They wanted to be their own country again, to regrow their forests, to live independently. The old resistance groups reformed, including Rinoa's old group, the Forest Owls. Galbadia, fearing riots brought in the drug dealers, and within months, all but a few of the resistance factions disbanded. What a simple solution to a nasty little problem, no?
And it worked too. I guess it was once a beautiful city. Mom said that was long before she was born, but that it was pretty even when she was a teenager, though the forests were long gone by then. These days it's a slum. Theft, murder, rape - they became the norm. The people have adjusted, or given up hope for anything better. You can see it in their faces. It's still like that, I guess, though I hear it's getting better.
After four months, I was on a train home to visit you. You, mom
and Aida met me at the station. Julien was supposed to come home
from Esthar, but he couldn't get away. I was disappointed, but I
was happy to see all of you, and amazed at how much Aida had grown.
As I stepped onto the platform, my hands full of bags, Aida began to
squeal with delight. "Kalie!" she cried and threw herself at me.
I dropped my bags and knelt down to hug her. At age four, she was
the smartest and sweetest kid I knew. Always full of questions and
energy. We used to call her the solar child. From sun up to
sun down she did nothing but talk and keep herself busy exploring whatever
crossed her path.
"What's wrong with your hair? It looks funny," she said, eying me with suspicion, as if I might be an impostor.
"I had to dye it." I told her and kissed her plump little cheek.
"Your pretty hair's dead now?" she asked. There was sympathy and concern in her big blue eyes.
"No, silly, I had to change the color for work. It's called dye, like what they use to make clothes a different color."
"Why'd you do that?"
"So I can catch the bad guys," I explained.
"I liked it better when it was yellow," she said, adding a pout. "Now you don't look like mommy anymore."
I bopped her over the head with her stuffed bear, a toy that she treasured more than life itself. "Don't worry, I can change it back."
Her face brightened. "Good. Hey, didja know that Maia Leonhart is a SeeD now like you? They had a dance for her an everything. I got to go, and daddy danced with me."
Maia was so much like Squall. She was exceptionally serious and quiet. It was hard to get to know her, let alone like her.
But, she was a decent gunblader, in fact, she was quite skilled at it, but I've always thought she lacked the physical strength to use it properly. Still, she made it further than Gideon, who had the talent and potential to be the best, yet he didn't apply his talents where he should have. Anyway, Maia was the one we never expected to excel. She wasn't aggressive, nor did she show any particular initiative or enthusiasm for the job. But then, they said I'd never be a SeeD either.
I looked at mom and she nodded. "Yes, Maia became a SeeD about two weeks ago. Graduated, Rank 10."
"Not bad," I mused, then I hugged both of you. You nearly broke my ribs, I think. You didn't miss me or anything, did you?
"Hiya kid," you said
"How's the shrimping been lately?" I asked, knowing the season was about to peak.
"Had to buy another boat," you said with pride.
I remember when you started your shrimping business. Just you, Fujin, Raijin and a boat. You guys became pretty good at it, and after a few years, the small business became a larger one. Though I guess you're the only one who still goes out on the boat, Fujin and Raijin are still around. Fujin handles the books now, and Raijin works as fleet manager, though he's not terribly good at it. Do I have that right?
As a kid, I loved to play with Raijin, who always let me win at chess (or maybe he was just really bad at it), but I was afraid of Fujin. I thought she was mean, especially to Raijin who did everything she ever told him to do. I told her this once, and she looked at me with that stone cold gray eye of hers and said, "BRAT!" and chased me off the boat. That's the last thing I recall her saying to me. Ever.
"What do you say we grab some seafood at Nida's Shrimp Shack?" you asked. "I'm so hungry I could eat a whole Ochu by myself."
"Ewww!" Aida cried. "Daddy, those are poison!"
"Like I said, I'm hungry," you told her in a serious voice.
Aida looked up at him with that same look of suspicion she'd given me earlier then her face broke into a smile. "You're so silly. People don't eat that. They eat shrimp and fish fries."
"French fries, honey," mom corrected. "And anyhow, Seifer, Micala's to report to Squall's office immediately."
"So what? Tell Squall you're having dinner with the assistant commander. Hell, tell him to join us."
"Sorry dad," I said with a smile. "It's classified stuff. Can't talk about it at Nida's."
"That's right," mom said with a self-sastified grin. "Orders are orders."
"Aww, live a little, will ya?" you pushed. I knew you were kidding, but I could tell you wished I would, for once, defy the law of SeeD.
"We'll have dinner when I'm finished, ok?" I promised.
"Don't keep me waiting too long. I might just have to eat that Ochu . . ." you said, throwing Aida a look.
"No, daddy!" she cried. "I told you, they're poison. Besides, you can wait till dinner. Like you tell me all the time, you won't starve to death."
You laughed and swept her up into your arms. She giggled and threw her arms around your neck. At moments like that, it was hard to imagine you the way you were at seventeen. It was even hard to believe you'd done the things you'd done then. You have always been a good father, and you've always been good to mom, so whatever you did then, it doesn't matter to me. I want you to know that.
I felt a pang of guilt at being away as I watched you with Aida. I loved you all so much, it hurt to look at you. And maybe, that's the point at which I should have decided to slack off on the missions.
But mom and Squall wanted me to do differently. And I did.