In Who's Name? Chapter 5: The Posse, a final fantasy viii fanfic

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Characters and universe borrowed from Final Fantasy VIII. Not owned by Gold.

I've seen fanfics where there's Rinoa-bashing, Quistis-bashing, or Rinoa calling Quistis names unfit for ladies to utter, and vice-versa. Now I disagree with those fanfics completely. Whatever their flaws may be, neither Quistis nor Rinoa would ever call each other bad names. For one thing, Quistis would abhor such behaviour, and even if she did have a crush on Squall, she would understand that in no way should it affect her judgement of Rinoa. For Quistis, logic has always ruled over her emotions, and in any case, I believe she admired Rinoa's courage and determination throughout the game.

Rinoa, by the way, is exactly the type of girl who would look up to Quistis and admire her. All her life, Rinoa has tried to be the kind of girl Quistis is—strong, independent, and brilliant. To meet someone like Quistis, well, Rinoa has found a flesh-and-blood ideal for her to aspire towards. At the same time, Quistis, who is used to guiding others, will no doubt be a very good friend to Rinoa, perhaps even a big sister to Rinoa, who is an only child.

Throughout this fanfiction, I have tried to present what I believe to be an accurate portrayal of their relationship.

Title: In Whose Name?

Part 5: The Posse

They sat in a sort of companionable silence in his room. Quistis had been talking her throat dry for about two hours, on and off, with only a bottle of mineral water to quench her thirst. Seifer leaned back against the headboard of the bed, mulling over her words in silence. She had been trying to tell him about him—a rum task, certainly.

"Seifer?" Quistis looked at him curiously, tipping her head on one side. What was he thinking about, she wondered?

He turned to her. "What do I call you?"

"Huh?"

"Do I call you Trepe, or Quistis, or Instructor—or will you let me call you Quisty, like your other friends do? Hyne, there's bound to be some situation I have to call for you, and I'm not going to yell, 'Hey, you!' "

She looked thoughtful. "Any of those names will do," she told him finally. "I'd much prefer Quistis, and in any case, I'm not your instructor…"

Am I still your favourite student, Instructor?

Not any more. (Always, Seifer. You and Squall, both. Always. My best students, my favourite students, and Garden's finest. Where did I go wrong, Seifer, in failing to teach you and Squall to work as one? Hyne, I must not think of this now…he is not the Seifer I know…not any more…en garde!)

He watched her face. Was she always so terribly rule-bound and rigid, he wondered, stealing a glance at her beautiful profile. Her back was straight as a ramrod and she walked confidently, her arms swinging casually by her side, but every part of her screamed 'SeeD'. He had seen her pounce so quickly on an errant student that the poor fellow hadn't even had a chance to flee the scene. He had seen her eyeball students into murmuring humble apologies and offering to take themselves to the Headmaster or to scoot to detention immediately.

He had seen students follow her or go out of their way to talk to her and wave to her—they were her devoted fan club, the Trepies. Many of them were hormone-rampant males who had embarrassing crushes on her. Many were idol-worshipping females who wanted to be just like her—cool, collected and important… and adored and admired. The only other female in Garden who had fans like that was Rinoa Heartlilly, that very pretty girl with the long, dark brown hair, but whereas many of Rinoa's fans also admired Quistis Trepe and were practically half-Trepies themselves, many of Quistis' female fans were not exactly fans of Rinoa.

But there was one thing about Quistis Trepe that exasperated Seifer Almasy immensely. He wasn't exactly lacking in the brains department, and he was well aware that she had deliberately divulged only parts of the whole truth and that despite delivering repetitive summaries about his past, his notoriety and the fact that many in Garden and the world hated and feared him, she was still keeping something very important about him from him. He could see it in her eyes, in that wariness that was always so apparent. Strange to say, he felt as if it wasn't just wariness that held her back, but protectiveness—she was protecting someone or something—

"You know," he said abruptly, "you haven't told me everything."

"A life story is not one that can be told in a matter of days," she answered dryly. "I've only just begun, you know."

She was certainly a cool customer. Not a flicker of an eyelash gave her away, he thought, half-admiringly.

"That's not what I meant." He looked straight at those eyes. "You're hiding something from me."

To his surprise, her lips curved into a half-smile. "Perspicacious," she murmured, giving him a look that could only be interpreted as admiring and approving at the same time.

He wanted to blush and found himself looking away like a suddenly shy schoolboy. He also wanted a dictionary as soon as possible. 'Perspicacious' sounded like a compliment, but he wasn't sure. He wasn't certain of anything around this woman. However, before either of them could say another word, someone called out through the open door behind them.

"Seifer! Oh, good, Quistis, you're here too!"

Rinoa Heartlilly was standing at the entrance to the room, smiling cheerfully. "I've brought them."

There were two people with her. One was a hulking, dark-skinned individual who resembled an ex-prize fighter; the other was a young woman about Quistis' height, with silver-fair hair that was cut in a stylish bob level with her chin, and an eye-patch.

"Fujin…Raijin?" His mouth spoke before he could collect his thoughts. Almost immediately he frowned. Those were their names, he was certain…but who were they?

"Hey, Seifer, ya remembered us!" exclaimed the hulking individual cheerfully. "How're ya doin'?"

"SEIFER." The silver-haired young woman eyed him grimly. She gave him a small smile.

Seifer felt oddly helpless. He didn't know these people—and he was just about to say so, when Quistis interrupted. She uncurled herself with a sort of elegant grace from the only chair in the room and stood up.

"He has amnesia," she explained with a pleasant smile. "He can't remember anyone, but sometimes his mouth moves faster than his brain."

Seifer was irrationally irritated. "I can speak for myself." He turned to the two strangers, flashing them a charming smile in contrast to the sharp tone he had used on Quistis. "Hey, sorry. I've got temporary amnesia—hit my head on some rock in the sea—so I don't remember anyone." He got off the bed with alacrity and jerked a thumb indicating the interior of his room. "Come in anyway."

Quistis and Rinoa exchanged glances. Then with one accord, they both stepped out of the room. Seifer hurried to the door and poked his head out, just in time to catch the tail-end of their conversation.

"…I think he needs to talk to Fujin and Raijin first. Thanks for bringing them up here, Rin." Quistis cleared her throat, sounding a little hoarse.

Rinoa tucked her arm into the taller girl's. "Any time. Now let's go get you a drink, Quisty. Your voice sounds horrid."

"Hey!" bellowed Seifer.

They turned around, Rinoa still smiling and Quistis with a slight frown on her face.

"Don't come back any time soon, Instructor," Seifer said cheekily, and slammed the door.

"RUDE." The silver-haired girl made her feelings known to him as soon as he faced them.

The hulking young man, on the other hand, was chortling. "Nah, he's the same ol' Seifer, Fuj, ya see? No Instructor can hold him down!"

Fujin kicked Raijin. "SEIFER. RUDE." She paused. "VERY RUDE," she added.

Seifer shrugged. "So?" He snorted, outwardly cool although he was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She would probably be furious, he reflected, and add three more days in which he had to be courteous. With another shrug of his broad shoulders, he pushed thoughts of Quistis Trepe aside and turned to Fujin and Raijin.

"So…"

"…"

Fujin cleared her throat. "TALK. QUISTIS."

Seifer threw himself on his bed, leaning comfortably against the headboard, pillow at his back. "Yeah, she was telling me my life history. I'm finding out all the things about myself that I didn't know." He looked at them. "She mentioned," he said hesitantly, "that you were my posse, back before I made everyone hate me and did unmentionables." He studied them, his face growing grave. "Tell me," he said after a moment, "how bad was it?"

Raijin and Fujin exchanged glances.

"NOT YOURSELF," offered Fujin gently.

Raijin regarded him solemnly. "Yah. Fuj and I thought there was somethin' funny about ya, ya know, the way ya kept on talkin' about, oh, I dunno, but—" He broke off and shrugged. "We didn't know what happened to ya, ya know, until that lawyer lady said Ultimecia controlled you and ya couldn't have done nothing about it—"

Fujin interrupted. "LAWYER. GENIUS."

"Yah, she's great," agreed Raijin amiably. "I never really thought, ya know, that ladies could be smart—OW! OW!"

Fujin had kicked him hard, glowering.

Seifer burst out laughing. Raijin and Fujin exchanged glances again, and then Raijin grinned broadly and Fujin managed a small, pleased smile.

"SAME SEIFER," she commented.

Seifer stopped laughing, but he had a smile on his face. "Of course I'm the same," he told them. "I may have amnesia, but as Quistis points out, sometimes my mouth moves faster than my brain and recognizes things before I can process them and think them through. I'm beginning to remember things, though, not much, just little bits and pieces. For example—" he looked at Fujin—"I remember you talked like that too, in the past, because..."

His posse nodded understandingly. Fujin had a speech problem. For some reason, she was unable to talk without stuttering and stammering unless she was talking at the top of her voice.

"So, ya know, ya have any questions?" asked Raijin. "We'll be happy to answer, ya know. We're only here one day…Garden said ya need lots of rest still and Dr. Kadowaki wants to check on ya, ya know."

Fujin nodded, her face serious and anxious.

Seifer gave them a devil-may-care grin. "I'm all right. A lot of fuss over nothing," he declared, then winced as a sharp pain shot through his chest.

"Man, ya not well yet, ya know," Raijin told him anxiously. "Ya want to come back home and rest?"

Seifer's brows drew themselves together in a frown. "No," he said quietly, surprising himself. "Not yet. I—" He paused, searching for the right words. "I think I need to stay here, even after my injuries are healed. I've been here most of my life, and the people here—there are people who have known me almost all my life—Quistis and the others." He stared at the floor briefly before looking up at them. "I think I'll find my answers here. Until then, I can't leave."