Disclaimer: ....... *sniff*... don't own FF8..... *sniff*... but just watch when I infiltrate Square when I'm older and construe a hostile takeover!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA..........
Just kidding..
Author's note: First, I gotta convey my deepest thanks to the ones who wrote such nice reviews. Thank ya'all!!! So here's another chapter, and I hope it fulfills some Quiefery (is that even a word ? O_o) wishes!
The Lonely One
(Chapter 1: Show You the Way)
The man opened his eyes to be met with a soft light.
".... RAGE... SEIFER AWAKE..!!!!!" he heard a loud voice cry as a familiar form came into view. Her platinium hair dishevelled, and her face drawn. She'd obviously not gotten a good rest in the last while.
"...Hey Fu..." Seifer croaked giving her a genuine smile. She smiled back as she looked into his face. He could hear running coming from the corridor then a screeching noise of someone sliding across the floor. A moment later, a panting Raijin jerked into view, his eyes bright and joyful.
Seifer tested sitting up, but found that all his muscles were extremely sore. Ignoring the pain, he slowly came into a sitting position.
"..How long have I been out?" he asked placing a hand to his forehead.
"A couple days." Raijin piped up, "We found you a little ways from the outskirts of Balamb, so we brought you here to the motel. We thought you were dead ya know!"
(..So did I...) "Is everything back to normal....?"
Fujin shook her head, "...CONFUSED..."
"Ya, ya know. Of course everything's normal. Was it not supposed to be?"
(..Guess they don't remember...)
"......Nothing... Guess I just hit my head...." he sighed running his hand through his hair. Fujin crossed her arms.
"...You kept mumbling that instructor's name in your sleep, ya know....." Raijin said, a quizzacal tone presented in his voice.
"QUISTIS." Fujin cut in, wrinkling her nose at the mention of the blonde woman's name.
Raijin laughed hardily, "Havin' wet dreams 'bout some broad in your coma ya know!"
Seifer's face reddened and in a blink of an eye, he right hooked Raijin in the stomach, surprising both the unfortunate target and their female companion.
"I.... was just ...joking... ya know...." the dark man wheezed as he collapsed to the floor. Seifer still sat, watching the man's form, fist still clenched.
"Think about what your gonna say before opening that wide trap of yours!" Seifer yelled before swinging his legs off the bed and stepping over the body on the floor.
He walked up to the window and crossed his arms. The view from their motel room was amazing. He could see people rushing about below them, and beyond them, he could the vast ocean spread across the horizon like a band of aquamarines. He lowered his gaze to the window sill, his brow furrowing in thought.
(......She saved my life....I'm sure of it...)
(.....But why...?)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*
Quistis walked along a grassy knoll in the Quad. A slight breeze playing with the tendrils of her hair. She was savoring the look and feel of all the familiar things she had grown up, which pleased her to her core. The battle with the 'Hell Bitch', as Zell had christined her, was brutal. The event that occured upon her defeat was just as bad..
Quistis crossed her arms and leaned against a tree, her eyes set on the falling sun on the horizon.
~* Flash back*~
"Don't fall into a time warp!" Quistis cried to Selphie and the others. She ran ahead a bit, then stopped, her azure eyes searching the white space she was suspended in. She could find neither Squall or Rinoa, and silently prayed that they would be able to find their way home.
She was afraid. She was truly and utterly terrified........
Even the previous battle was not as nerve racking. At least then they knew they would either live or die... but now... who knows....
"......Aw... dammit..." she sighed softly to herself. She could reason herself through every situation..... why would this one be any different..?
"..... Because you don't know where the hell you are......" she muttered scuffing what seemed like the bottomless space below her feet. The gears in her head turning at top speed, desperate for a solution to her current problem. After what seemed like an eternity, her eyes lit up and she pounded her fist against her palm.
"That's it!!!!" she cried happily. She didn't really have to worry about looking silly just standing there, because no one else was even around, causing her to wonder where everyone else had disappeared off to. Assuring herself they would be fine, she closed her eyes and concentrated.
Laguna's words...... She remembered about him droning on about friends, and concentrating on their destination. That was the solution, all she needed to do was think about going home.... her friends... Hopefully they would meet again.
A picture of the Garden came into her mind:
The cafeteria..... Zell eating hot dogs...
The library.... Rinoa thumbing through a book.....
The Quad...... Selphie running around with decorations...
The Quad..... Irvine following Selphie...
She smiled slightly at the last thought
Her old classroom........ Squall brooding in the back corner.... not alone..
Seifer....... smirking....
Annoying Seifer.........
She felt lights flash by her closed eye lids... Her body falling into the unknown. Too afraid to open her eyes....
Until she finally felt ground beneath her feet.
She opened one eye slowly... then the other. The dusty wind nipped her face as she looked around in confusion and disappointment.
She hadn't gone home. She was in some bleak wasteland. Why hadn't her plan worked..? Even the white area of nothingness was more hopeful than this place.... Not seeing anything resembling anything nearby, she did the only logical thing that there was to do.
She walked.
And walked...
And walked......
Still... there was nothing.. salty droplets sprung to her eyes....Shaking her head, she tried to will them away. She didn't want to cry. Not now. But after her futile attempt failed, she let the crystal orbs fall. And so she continued, leaving fallen tears in her wake....
"..I feel so lost....." she wept quietly, still glancing around herself.
Like a child.......
The blonde woman stopped suddenly. Something was ahead of her.... it just didn't seem to be apart of the bland scenery.... Squinting, trying to see...
"SEIFER!!!!" Quistis cried breaking into a run....... She faltered... He was her enemy. A monster.... Why should she bother if he was lying in the middle of this hell-hole...? It would be the least he deserved after everything he's done to them....
But she was afraid, and lonely..... Being with him would be better then suffering on her own. So, she took a step, then another, then another until she was running. His form becoming clearer and clearer. Stopping only a meter from his prone body, she stared at him in horror.
(Is he .......dead..?)
She fell to her kness at his side and stared into his calm face. It was pale and drawn.
"Oh no.. I won't let you die on me now.." she said trying ot think of what to do. She gripped his shoulder and shook it.
"Seifer....."
"Seifer......!"
"Seifer.....Wake up!!!"
The more she cried, the harder she shook him... About to give up... she turned her face down.....
(..I'm alone......)
Feeling something stir against her knee, she looked at him again. His eyes were partly open, a whole variety of emotions visible.
Fear... Surprise.... Weariness..
He reached his hand towards her, a smile forming on his pale lips...
"...Quistis...?"
Then he passed out. Her eyes wide, she looked over him. He had called her...
......Quistis.......
His voice taught with relief...maybe even sincerity ... No smart remark.... No hatred.
She reached down and pulled him into her arms, his head resting above her breast. holding him tightly, she closed her eyes....
"....Don't worry Seifer........" she leaned her head against his own, "..I'll show you the way home......"
~*End Flashback*~
After that, she had woken up in the Infirmary with light injuries. No Seifer in sight. She dared not ask about him in fear of what would happen. Everyone still hated him so much... but now, no matter how hard she tried... she couldn't. Strange, she knew, but it was true. After seeing him in that position... just lying there exhausted and helpless, she knew that the Seifer she held in her arms was not the one they had faught over and over. He was different....
Turning her azure eyes to the sky right above her.. she sighed.
(..... Seifer... wherever you are.. I hope you are safe....and happy..)
And with that, she turned away and headed back into the Garden.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer sat on the couch, pretending to watch some talk show. His body was there, but his mind definetly wasn't.
He couldn't stop thinking about Quistis. Sure, he couldn't really say that they were always on good terms, but the worry that played upon her face made him somehow feel........ cared for. She had found him in the desert, and he was positive that he had her to thank for bringing him home. He reached for the phone, but then hesitated. Thanking her for something like this over the phone... even for him was a little cold and ungrateful.. Getting up from his seat on the couch, he pulled out a pencil and a paper and wrote Raijin and Fujin a note. After reading it over, he folded it and set it on one of the desks. Grabbing Hyperion, he looked over the room once, then left, shutting the door behind him.
He was going to thank her in person.
The woman who showed him the way......
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To be continued
Author's note: Well, here's another chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it, and the next one should be up soon. Until we meet again......
See ya!!
Just kidding..
The Lonely One
(Chapter 1: Show You the Way)
".... RAGE... SEIFER AWAKE..!!!!!" he heard a loud voice cry as a familiar form came into view. Her platinium hair dishevelled, and her face drawn. She'd obviously not gotten a good rest in the last while.
"...Hey Fu..." Seifer croaked giving her a genuine smile. She smiled back as she looked into his face. He could hear running coming from the corridor then a screeching noise of someone sliding across the floor. A moment later, a panting Raijin jerked into view, his eyes bright and joyful.
Seifer tested sitting up, but found that all his muscles were extremely sore. Ignoring the pain, he slowly came into a sitting position.
"..How long have I been out?" he asked placing a hand to his forehead.
"A couple days." Raijin piped up, "We found you a little ways from the outskirts of Balamb, so we brought you here to the motel. We thought you were dead ya know!"
(..So did I...) "Is everything back to normal....?"
Fujin shook her head, "...CONFUSED..."
"Ya, ya know. Of course everything's normal. Was it not supposed to be?"
(..Guess they don't remember...)
"......Nothing... Guess I just hit my head...." he sighed running his hand through his hair. Fujin crossed her arms.
"...You kept mumbling that instructor's name in your sleep, ya know....." Raijin said, a quizzacal tone presented in his voice.
"QUISTIS." Fujin cut in, wrinkling her nose at the mention of the blonde woman's name.
Raijin laughed hardily, "Havin' wet dreams 'bout some broad in your coma ya know!"
Seifer's face reddened and in a blink of an eye, he right hooked Raijin in the stomach, surprising both the unfortunate target and their female companion.
"I.... was just ...joking... ya know...." the dark man wheezed as he collapsed to the floor. Seifer still sat, watching the man's form, fist still clenched.
"Think about what your gonna say before opening that wide trap of yours!" Seifer yelled before swinging his legs off the bed and stepping over the body on the floor.
He walked up to the window and crossed his arms. The view from their motel room was amazing. He could see people rushing about below them, and beyond them, he could the vast ocean spread across the horizon like a band of aquamarines. He lowered his gaze to the window sill, his brow furrowing in thought.
(......She saved my life....I'm sure of it...)
(.....But why...?)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*
Quistis walked along a grassy knoll in the Quad. A slight breeze playing with the tendrils of her hair. She was savoring the look and feel of all the familiar things she had grown up, which pleased her to her core. The battle with the 'Hell Bitch', as Zell had christined her, was brutal. The event that occured upon her defeat was just as bad..
Quistis crossed her arms and leaned against a tree, her eyes set on the falling sun on the horizon.
~* Flash back*~
"Don't fall into a time warp!" Quistis cried to Selphie and the others. She ran ahead a bit, then stopped, her azure eyes searching the white space she was suspended in. She could find neither Squall or Rinoa, and silently prayed that they would be able to find their way home.
She was afraid. She was truly and utterly terrified........
Even the previous battle was not as nerve racking. At least then they knew they would either live or die... but now... who knows....
"......Aw... dammit..." she sighed softly to herself. She could reason herself through every situation..... why would this one be any different..?
"..... Because you don't know where the hell you are......" she muttered scuffing what seemed like the bottomless space below her feet. The gears in her head turning at top speed, desperate for a solution to her current problem. After what seemed like an eternity, her eyes lit up and she pounded her fist against her palm.
"That's it!!!!" she cried happily. She didn't really have to worry about looking silly just standing there, because no one else was even around, causing her to wonder where everyone else had disappeared off to. Assuring herself they would be fine, she closed her eyes and concentrated.
Laguna's words...... She remembered about him droning on about friends, and concentrating on their destination. That was the solution, all she needed to do was think about going home.... her friends... Hopefully they would meet again.
A picture of the Garden came into her mind:
The cafeteria..... Zell eating hot dogs...
The library.... Rinoa thumbing through a book.....
The Quad...... Selphie running around with decorations...
The Quad..... Irvine following Selphie...
She smiled slightly at the last thought
Her old classroom........ Squall brooding in the back corner.... not alone..
Seifer....... smirking....
Annoying Seifer.........
She felt lights flash by her closed eye lids... Her body falling into the unknown. Too afraid to open her eyes....
Until she finally felt ground beneath her feet.
She opened one eye slowly... then the other. The dusty wind nipped her face as she looked around in confusion and disappointment.
She hadn't gone home. She was in some bleak wasteland. Why hadn't her plan worked..? Even the white area of nothingness was more hopeful than this place.... Not seeing anything resembling anything nearby, she did the only logical thing that there was to do.
She walked.
And walked...
And walked......
Still... there was nothing.. salty droplets sprung to her eyes....Shaking her head, she tried to will them away. She didn't want to cry. Not now. But after her futile attempt failed, she let the crystal orbs fall. And so she continued, leaving fallen tears in her wake....
"..I feel so lost....." she wept quietly, still glancing around herself.
Like a child.......
The blonde woman stopped suddenly. Something was ahead of her.... it just didn't seem to be apart of the bland scenery.... Squinting, trying to see...
"SEIFER!!!!" Quistis cried breaking into a run....... She faltered... He was her enemy. A monster.... Why should she bother if he was lying in the middle of this hell-hole...? It would be the least he deserved after everything he's done to them....
But she was afraid, and lonely..... Being with him would be better then suffering on her own. So, she took a step, then another, then another until she was running. His form becoming clearer and clearer. Stopping only a meter from his prone body, she stared at him in horror.
(Is he .......dead..?)
She fell to her kness at his side and stared into his calm face. It was pale and drawn.
"Oh no.. I won't let you die on me now.." she said trying ot think of what to do. She gripped his shoulder and shook it.
"Seifer....."
"Seifer......!"
"Seifer.....Wake up!!!"
The more she cried, the harder she shook him... About to give up... she turned her face down.....
(..I'm alone......)
Feeling something stir against her knee, she looked at him again. His eyes were partly open, a whole variety of emotions visible.
Fear... Surprise.... Weariness..
He reached his hand towards her, a smile forming on his pale lips...
"...Quistis...?"
Then he passed out. Her eyes wide, she looked over him. He had called her...
......Quistis.......
His voice taught with relief...maybe even sincerity ... No smart remark.... No hatred.
She reached down and pulled him into her arms, his head resting above her breast. holding him tightly, she closed her eyes....
"....Don't worry Seifer........" she leaned her head against his own, "..I'll show you the way home......"
~*End Flashback*~
After that, she had woken up in the Infirmary with light injuries. No Seifer in sight. She dared not ask about him in fear of what would happen. Everyone still hated him so much... but now, no matter how hard she tried... she couldn't. Strange, she knew, but it was true. After seeing him in that position... just lying there exhausted and helpless, she knew that the Seifer she held in her arms was not the one they had faught over and over. He was different....
Turning her azure eyes to the sky right above her.. she sighed.
(..... Seifer... wherever you are.. I hope you are safe....and happy..)
And with that, she turned away and headed back into the Garden.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer sat on the couch, pretending to watch some talk show. His body was there, but his mind definetly wasn't.
He couldn't stop thinking about Quistis. Sure, he couldn't really say that they were always on good terms, but the worry that played upon her face made him somehow feel........ cared for. She had found him in the desert, and he was positive that he had her to thank for bringing him home. He reached for the phone, but then hesitated. Thanking her for something like this over the phone... even for him was a little cold and ungrateful.. Getting up from his seat on the couch, he pulled out a pencil and a paper and wrote Raijin and Fujin a note. After reading it over, he folded it and set it on one of the desks. Grabbing Hyperion, he looked over the room once, then left, shutting the door behind him.
He was going to thank her in person.
The woman who showed him the way......
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To be continued
Author's note: Well, here's another chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it, and the next one should be up soon. Until we meet again......
See ya!!
