Disclaimer: I own nothing in association to FFVIII.
I've reached 10 reviews! Thank you to all of my reviewers. Although I only had two reviews for my last chapter, it's better than nothing.
Ink
Phoenix Blade
The both of you deserve cookies! Thanks!
Due to the better quality and ease of writing in first person, I'm going to switch the story into the perspective of either Squall's or Rinoa's, literally. I hope that you guys like it better that way, because writing in third person is harder for me.
I'm sorry for the very long wait in between these two updates. I had the flu and then went straight another illness that doesn't seem to want to go away.
This chapter's going to include a bit of horror. Sorry guys. It may be confusing in the beginning, but it'll all make sense towards the middle of it. Alrighty, here's the chapter!
Chapter 4: Fatal Premonition
RINOA
I stood there, with my torn cape and all, before the door of Squall. It was adorned with blood that trickled down to make a crimson puddle on the floor. Walking forward slowly, I stepped into the house by gently touching the door to the entrance. Before I had even traveled far, Squall had jumped out of the sunroof to briskly wrap his arms about my neck. He held his gunblade only a few centimeters away from my trachea.
I gasped, unable to comprehend what he was trying to do. If it was a joke, it certainly wasn't funny. Moving frantically, I placed my hands on his foreharm to try and remove his arms from my neck. To no avail, I attempted to try and talk to him.
" What the hell are you doing!?"
His reply seemed to be drowned in acid that flowed from his mouth and burned the flesh off of my shoulders. After recovering himself, he spoke in a low, demonic voice that made the little hairs on the back of my neck rise.
" I'll wrap each layer of your skin around your body so that you won't die cold.... I promise...."
My heart began to race in fear. " What are you talking about!?"
But I wouldn't be alive long enough to hear his reply. He then promptly lowered his gunblade to my stomach and sliced it clearly through. The last thing I remember is feeling the blood run down my stomach, eyes, and mouth to create a blood-stained carpet. Squall's face could be seen with an unmistakable smirk that spoke only hatred.
I woke up with a start as beads of sweat oozed down my back. Laying back down slowly, I began to remember what had happened the day before.
*Xu.... Did I kill her? And Squall... he was there, too. I hope I didn't kill him.*
I turned around on my bed to lay on my side.
*And if I killed Xu, would Squall be mad? Maybe they had become more than friends in these past three years. I wouldn't know. What's with me lately, though? I could have prevented what happened. How could I have let myself go like that? It's not like me. Maybe I *am* troublesome....*
Yawning, I rise from my bed and walk around the room. Noting my open window, I travel to it and smile at the wind as it sends chills down my spine.
* What was with that dream, anyway? Am I paranoid? Xu did tell Squall to kill me, and Squall can be obedient at the at the strangest of times. Would he dare?*
And with that, I gathered my belongings, which wasn't much, placed them securely in my arms, and hurdled out of the window.
__________________________________
SQUALL
I strode along the long corridors of the Garden. My shoes clicked loudly in the empty building. Scoffing, I sat down on a nearby bench and balanced my elbows on my knees and put my hands on my forehead. I stared lifelessly at the ground.
* Rinoa tried to kill Xu. I suppose Xu wanted me to protect her, but I can't protect her at the risk of hurting Rinoa. No matter how long I've been separated from her, my feelings won't change. It's hopeless for Xu to try and change that. But, why would Rinoa try and kill someone? She's always been afraid of fighting on her own. Could she have changed that much over the course of three years? Even so, she wouldn't kill one of her friends, would she?*
Removing my arms from my knees, I leaned backward on the bench and sighed.
" Rinoa's not... the same."
Faint clicking sounds were evident in my immediate area. So, I bolted my head upward to see who was heading my way. My eyes rolled by themselves upon seeing my Commander.
" What do you want now?"
Xu rested her right elbow in her left hand and put her right hand dramatically on her face. She rolled her eyes in mock imitation.
" Why are you mad at me? I'm not the one that tried to *kill* you earlier."
I laughed at her mistake and smirked. " Funny, I thought it was *you* that she tried to kill. But I suppose you wanted to forget that, right? I mean, Commanders aren't supposed to scream like scared little five-year-old girls at the sight of danger." Shifting, I turned to the side so that I wouldn't have to look at her, " Maybe you just don't have leadership qualities."
Surprisingly, Xu didn't snap back at me. Instead she sat down next to me on the bench and laid her head on my back. I was ready to throw her over my shoulder, but she began speaking in choked syllables that sounded more pathetic than anything that I'd ever heard before.
" Oh, Squall.... You should know that I care about you so much. Much more than that Rinoa person. She was only with you for show. She's nothing more than a whore. But I..." she began to run her finger along my back, " I've loved you for so long, and there is no love any greater. Please just forget about her and stay with me."
Needless to say, her actions made me snap. I dashed up from where I was sitting at an alarming speed and began walking hastily away to the exit of the Garden. Xu made a loud clatter as she lost her balance and stood up to run after me. Annoyed, I began running faster to get out of there before she caught me.
" Squall, please! Come with me to the restaurant in Balamb. We can talk this out!"
" Forget about it."
" This is an order from your Commander, Squall Leonhart!"
I stopped dead in my tracks. " Whatever...."
*In Balamb*
I walked in front of Xu, careful not to make anyone think that we were together. Frankly, I was disgusted with her. She didn't make things easier, though, and was constantly meeting up with me to put her hand on my arm. I had to shake her away every time. It was nothing short of bothersome.
I was apprehensive of the idea of Xu sitting at the same table as me when we arrived at the tiny restaurant. However, I was compelled to comply with Xu's guileless demand. We sat on the chairs at a table for two. Instantaneously, I shot the menu over my face. She ordered us two drinks while I hid. I heard a clinking noise when it arrived and the rustling of a bag, but I ignored it. My attempts to veil myself were in vain, though, because Xu speedily pulled the menu down to the table. She presented me with her most dazzling smile, but it was nothing compared to Rinoa's.
" Squall, honey," she stopped talking for a moment as she saw me making a gag face, " we need to talk about the Master Plan. You see, the plan was to *kill* Rinoa. But, you made no effort to do so when we found her in Balamb Hotel. There's no need to make this difficult; this has gotta be your easiest assignment yet. If you don't kill her on your own, I'm afraid that I'll have to force you."
I snorted and took a long guzzle of my glassed drink. " You? Force me? That's a joke, right?"
Xu smiled in response and put her right hand to my cheek. I would have swiped it away but I suddenly felt dizzy.
" I thought you would feel that way."
My vision whirled into little bubbles and my head felt like it weighed a ton. I glared at Xu and reached for my gunblade with a trembling hand. But I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop what was coming next.
" You...." I hissed.
Xu only snickered at my antics and neared my waning body. That was the last thing I saw, until the world seemed to fade into darkness.
*Rinoa....*
~***********************~
A/N: YAY! Chapter four, DONE! Finally! Sorry that this chapter was shorter than my other ones, but my mind really isn't back to normal yet. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review! By the way, it'd be really cool if you looked at my other fanfic: Blind Love. Thanks! Bye! ~Bianka-chan
I've reached 10 reviews! Thank you to all of my reviewers. Although I only had two reviews for my last chapter, it's better than nothing.
Ink
Phoenix Blade
The both of you deserve cookies! Thanks!
Due to the better quality and ease of writing in first person, I'm going to switch the story into the perspective of either Squall's or Rinoa's, literally. I hope that you guys like it better that way, because writing in third person is harder for me.
I'm sorry for the very long wait in between these two updates. I had the flu and then went straight another illness that doesn't seem to want to go away.
This chapter's going to include a bit of horror. Sorry guys. It may be confusing in the beginning, but it'll all make sense towards the middle of it. Alrighty, here's the chapter!
Chapter 4: Fatal Premonition
RINOA
I stood there, with my torn cape and all, before the door of Squall. It was adorned with blood that trickled down to make a crimson puddle on the floor. Walking forward slowly, I stepped into the house by gently touching the door to the entrance. Before I had even traveled far, Squall had jumped out of the sunroof to briskly wrap his arms about my neck. He held his gunblade only a few centimeters away from my trachea.
I gasped, unable to comprehend what he was trying to do. If it was a joke, it certainly wasn't funny. Moving frantically, I placed my hands on his foreharm to try and remove his arms from my neck. To no avail, I attempted to try and talk to him.
" What the hell are you doing!?"
His reply seemed to be drowned in acid that flowed from his mouth and burned the flesh off of my shoulders. After recovering himself, he spoke in a low, demonic voice that made the little hairs on the back of my neck rise.
" I'll wrap each layer of your skin around your body so that you won't die cold.... I promise...."
My heart began to race in fear. " What are you talking about!?"
But I wouldn't be alive long enough to hear his reply. He then promptly lowered his gunblade to my stomach and sliced it clearly through. The last thing I remember is feeling the blood run down my stomach, eyes, and mouth to create a blood-stained carpet. Squall's face could be seen with an unmistakable smirk that spoke only hatred.
I woke up with a start as beads of sweat oozed down my back. Laying back down slowly, I began to remember what had happened the day before.
*Xu.... Did I kill her? And Squall... he was there, too. I hope I didn't kill him.*
I turned around on my bed to lay on my side.
*And if I killed Xu, would Squall be mad? Maybe they had become more than friends in these past three years. I wouldn't know. What's with me lately, though? I could have prevented what happened. How could I have let myself go like that? It's not like me. Maybe I *am* troublesome....*
Yawning, I rise from my bed and walk around the room. Noting my open window, I travel to it and smile at the wind as it sends chills down my spine.
* What was with that dream, anyway? Am I paranoid? Xu did tell Squall to kill me, and Squall can be obedient at the at the strangest of times. Would he dare?*
And with that, I gathered my belongings, which wasn't much, placed them securely in my arms, and hurdled out of the window.
__________________________________
SQUALL
I strode along the long corridors of the Garden. My shoes clicked loudly in the empty building. Scoffing, I sat down on a nearby bench and balanced my elbows on my knees and put my hands on my forehead. I stared lifelessly at the ground.
* Rinoa tried to kill Xu. I suppose Xu wanted me to protect her, but I can't protect her at the risk of hurting Rinoa. No matter how long I've been separated from her, my feelings won't change. It's hopeless for Xu to try and change that. But, why would Rinoa try and kill someone? She's always been afraid of fighting on her own. Could she have changed that much over the course of three years? Even so, she wouldn't kill one of her friends, would she?*
Removing my arms from my knees, I leaned backward on the bench and sighed.
" Rinoa's not... the same."
Faint clicking sounds were evident in my immediate area. So, I bolted my head upward to see who was heading my way. My eyes rolled by themselves upon seeing my Commander.
" What do you want now?"
Xu rested her right elbow in her left hand and put her right hand dramatically on her face. She rolled her eyes in mock imitation.
" Why are you mad at me? I'm not the one that tried to *kill* you earlier."
I laughed at her mistake and smirked. " Funny, I thought it was *you* that she tried to kill. But I suppose you wanted to forget that, right? I mean, Commanders aren't supposed to scream like scared little five-year-old girls at the sight of danger." Shifting, I turned to the side so that I wouldn't have to look at her, " Maybe you just don't have leadership qualities."
Surprisingly, Xu didn't snap back at me. Instead she sat down next to me on the bench and laid her head on my back. I was ready to throw her over my shoulder, but she began speaking in choked syllables that sounded more pathetic than anything that I'd ever heard before.
" Oh, Squall.... You should know that I care about you so much. Much more than that Rinoa person. She was only with you for show. She's nothing more than a whore. But I..." she began to run her finger along my back, " I've loved you for so long, and there is no love any greater. Please just forget about her and stay with me."
Needless to say, her actions made me snap. I dashed up from where I was sitting at an alarming speed and began walking hastily away to the exit of the Garden. Xu made a loud clatter as she lost her balance and stood up to run after me. Annoyed, I began running faster to get out of there before she caught me.
" Squall, please! Come with me to the restaurant in Balamb. We can talk this out!"
" Forget about it."
" This is an order from your Commander, Squall Leonhart!"
I stopped dead in my tracks. " Whatever...."
*In Balamb*
I walked in front of Xu, careful not to make anyone think that we were together. Frankly, I was disgusted with her. She didn't make things easier, though, and was constantly meeting up with me to put her hand on my arm. I had to shake her away every time. It was nothing short of bothersome.
I was apprehensive of the idea of Xu sitting at the same table as me when we arrived at the tiny restaurant. However, I was compelled to comply with Xu's guileless demand. We sat on the chairs at a table for two. Instantaneously, I shot the menu over my face. She ordered us two drinks while I hid. I heard a clinking noise when it arrived and the rustling of a bag, but I ignored it. My attempts to veil myself were in vain, though, because Xu speedily pulled the menu down to the table. She presented me with her most dazzling smile, but it was nothing compared to Rinoa's.
" Squall, honey," she stopped talking for a moment as she saw me making a gag face, " we need to talk about the Master Plan. You see, the plan was to *kill* Rinoa. But, you made no effort to do so when we found her in Balamb Hotel. There's no need to make this difficult; this has gotta be your easiest assignment yet. If you don't kill her on your own, I'm afraid that I'll have to force you."
I snorted and took a long guzzle of my glassed drink. " You? Force me? That's a joke, right?"
Xu smiled in response and put her right hand to my cheek. I would have swiped it away but I suddenly felt dizzy.
" I thought you would feel that way."
My vision whirled into little bubbles and my head felt like it weighed a ton. I glared at Xu and reached for my gunblade with a trembling hand. But I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop what was coming next.
" You...." I hissed.
Xu only snickered at my antics and neared my waning body. That was the last thing I saw, until the world seemed to fade into darkness.
*Rinoa....*
~***********************~
A/N: YAY! Chapter four, DONE! Finally! Sorry that this chapter was shorter than my other ones, but my mind really isn't back to normal yet. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review! By the way, it'd be really cool if you looked at my other fanfic: Blind Love. Thanks! Bye! ~Bianka-chan