Final Fantasy : Historical Bonds
Chapter 6 - A Communal Weight Lifted
By: Fat Zombie
Why is it that you never said,
I love you more than just a friend,
I pray this gridlock never ends,
And when we get there just depends.
Taken from Alkaline Trio - Mr. Chainsaw
It was the morning of two days after the SeeDs most recent mission. The whole of Garden was going about their business as usual, blissfully unaware of the situation at the Infirmary. No one had been told of Quistis condition, that she still lay motionless and without response in a closed off room in Dr. Kadowaki's care. Xu had taken any classes that she was meant to give. The students had simply been told that she had taken a short vacation to visit some friends. Despite the fact that all of her friends lived at the Garden with her, no one questioned the word of Headmaster Cid.
The only person outside of those who took part in the mission and its repercussions was Nevaeh. She was currently running along the pathway in the main lobby of Garden. Zell dragged her by the hand, almost accidentally pulling her off of her feet. She silently wished he wasn't so athletic. A sharp turn around the corner and they were now headed toward the Infirmary.
Inside, the team that took part in the Dollet mission sat listening to the conversation between Squall and Dr. Kadowaki. "When did it happen?" asked Squall.
"Five minutes before you got here" Kadowaki answered.
Suddenly Zell and Nevaeh crashed in into the room, Zell almost fighting to make the mechanical doors part faster. They stopped and stood, looking straight back at the group who was currently staring at them. Zell noticed that they didn't seem to be looking him in the eyes. He traced their gaze to his hand, still tightly clutched around that of Nevaeh. He quickly snatched his it away, worrying that they would be hasty in their interpretation of the image.
Nida merely smirked. He knew what was going on. He would have ridiculed Zell for his blatantly obvious behaviour if he hadn't have been sworn to secrecy. He wasn't sure how much had just been given away, but he had a feeling that at least one member of the group would question him on it later. Most probably Irvine.
"I think you should go in there" Squall said, nodding towards Quistis' room.
Zell ran into the room in which Quistis had been laying the day before. Nevaeh followed him in, hazarding a quick, nervous glance towards Irvine. He deliberately shot a smug grin back towards her. He could probably infuriate even the most docile person she thought, which she wasn't. She walked into the small room to see Zell's face lit up. She could help but stifle a laugh at his dumb expression. "Quistis" he suddenly blurted out.
His former Instructor sat up on the bed, looking somewhat tired but conscious. "Hello Zell" she said wearily.
"It's so good to see you awake" he said, a beaming smile spanning from ear-to-ear.
"It's good to be awake" Quistis simply replied. She bent her head round to look past Zell's shoulder, with some difficulty.
Zell looked behind him, Nevaeh standing and smiling happily at him. "Oh" he said, ushering Nevaeh in front of him and into Quistis full view. "This is Nevaeh" he announced.
"Nevaeh Tarik" added Nevaeh.
"Nevaeh Tarik from the Trabian academy?" asked Quistis.
"Umm, yes" answered Nevaeh, frowning. She didn't recall meeting Quistis before.
"You're a member of Balamb Garden now?" asked Quistis, her tone perking up somewhat.
"Uh, yes" answered Nevaeh, still confused. "I was moved here three weeks ago".
"I wish I had been notified of your posting when you first arrived" said Quistis, smiling a little.
"I… I'm sorry, I don't think I understand" Nevaeh stuttered.
"Here at Balamb we get just one graduate from the academy each year" Quistis explained. "The rest of the graduates get sent to Galbadia Garden because it no longer trains SeeD's itself now. Somewhere between a quarter and a half of the SeeDs there are Trabian Academy graduates".
"And I'm that one" asked Nevaeh rhetorically.
"Yes" answered Quistis. Zell all of a sudden felt particularly lucky.
"But, why do you know my name?" asked Nevaeh.
"You were the best out of your whole graduating class" Quistis explained. "You showed more ability and potential than any other student ever to study at the academy". Quistis paused. "I don't suppose they ever told you this, did they?"
"No" answered Nevaeh, her tone suddenly different.
"Hey" Zell suddenly entered the conversation, bending down to look at Nevaeh. "You okay?"
"Yeah, its just that" Nevaeh paused. "My instructor was always so hard on me. He always told me how I 'needed to knuckle down if I wanted to keep up' and that 'I should look to my fellow students and follow their example'. None of this really makes any sense to me" she paused once more. "I always thought I just scraped through the exams. The average one".
"Was your instructors name Larson Finn by any chance?" asked Quistis, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes" a surprised Nevaeh confirmed.
"That man is complete bully" Quistis said. Zell noticed a slight annoyance in her tone. "It makes me wonder how he became an instructor. I'd forget about any comments he made, he doesn't like people who are better than him".
"I see" said Nevaeh, a slight grin crossing her face.
"Oh gods" said Quistis, a smile gracing her face. "It's all going to go to your head isn't it?"
"No, no" Nevaeh quickly answered. She had picked up on the humour in Quistis' tone, but wanted to stamp out any possible doubts nonetheless. "Besides, regardless of whether I did well at the academy or not I feel decidedly average around here. I mean, I've spent the morning with a bunch of people who saved the world".
"And one who tried to end it" came a voice from behind Zell and Nevaeh. They turned to see Seifer. Ironic humour seemed to be his forte. He was leaning against the doorframe, in an eerily similar posture to when Quistis had first seen him on the day he returned to Garden, she noted.
"You took your time getting here" Quistis said, smiling. Counter sarcasm with sarcasm, she thought.
"You know me and my extravagant entrances" countered Seifer. As infuriating as it sometimes was, no one could ever outwit him in a match of quick-tongues. He smiled and walked over to her. He bent down and rapped his arms around her, embracing her for a short time. Quistis looked over his shoulder towards Zell, who shrugged confusedly. Seifer let go then sat on the edge of her bed.
"What was that for?" Quistis asked.
"I'm just glad you're okay" he answered. "It's all down to you that I'm here. You've given me a chance to start out all over again".
"So I suppose you're a SeeD now" Quistis said smiling.
"I don't know about that" said Seifer, suddenly seeming a little down. "If I was really good enough then I would have had that guy covered".
"Look" said Quistis, snapping his gaze towards her. "You did as much as you could. I was just like you 'cause I also thought we were safe. It was my own fault".
"You did as much as the rest of us Seifer" Zell suddenly added.
Seifer laughed inwardly to himself. It almost seemed out of place for Zell to be saying things of this nature to Seifer. He may have ridiculed Zell in the past but he'd actually turned out to be a reasonable and friendly person, providing Seifer maintained his new-found patience with him. After all, the guy was pretty clumsy at times. All except in his martial arts. Seifer had never been able to fault Zell's fighting ability. Almost as gracious as his own fighting craft, he thought. "Thanks Spike" Seifer finally said, quickly glancing at Zell's hair. Zell was about to say something, but figured it was better than 'Chicken-Wuss'. For once he honestly believed that it wasn't meant to be condescending. Seifer just couldn't help but be sarcastic.
Irvine poked his head in through the door, making a strange clicking sound with his mouth to gain the attention of everyone in the room. "Doc says we all gotta go now. Let Quisty get her rest" he said.
Zell, Nevaeh and Seifer all looked to Quistis. "I suppose she is the Doctor" Quistis said to them all.
"Okay. I'll come and visit later" said Zell, walking backwards towards the door. Irvine patted him on the shoulder and gave him a suggestive grin as he moved through the door.
"It was nice meeting you Instructor Trepe" said Nevaeh.
"Its Quistis, please" corrected Quistis. "And I'm glad that I've finally been able to meet you too".
Seifer got up off the bed and walked towards the doorway. He turned just before he left the room. "I'll come back later, okay" he said.
"Uh, yeah" Quistis bumbled, still a little dumbfounded by his behaviour.
The whole group had now gone, as per Dr. Kadowaki's orders. Quistis couldn't help but feel a little bored already. She may have been tired, but having her friends around her seemed to awaken some kind of reserve energy locked within. To see them all again made her feel instantly better, though the evidence of the mission still arose whenever she moved, a slight and awkward pain in her lower back. Kadowaki had removed the bullet, but the wound had by no means healed yet. Quistis figured she would be here longer than she wanted to be waiting for her body to heal itself. She sat with her head tilted, looking out the window. The view was of the ocean now, rolling past calmly as the Garden sat moored just off the Balamb coast. Different when compared to the time she had come here to pick up her most reclusive student after a particularly competitive sparring session with what was his arch-rival. Before everything that had forced the team to grow up, quickly. It may have sounded bad when put like that, but it was also the start of a chain of events that forced them to remember who themselves and each other really were. As far as Quistis was concerned, it may have been tough but the benefits outweighed any sacrifices that had had to be made by far.
Dr. Kadowaki walked into the room, jarring Quistis out of daydream. She looked towards the Doctor, knowing she had to ask the question but fearing she wouldn't like the answer. "So, how's it looking?" Quistis asked, cringing slightly in anticipation of bad news.
"By all accounts you seem to be doing pretty well" Kadowaki answered. "Of course it's early days yet, but provided you rest and do everything I say, you should be back the way you always were. Plus a tiny scar of course".
"How long do you think I'll have to stay here" Quistis asked. She had a feeling it would be quite a long time, and she didn't really like the feeling at all.
"I suppose you could be moving and out of the infirmary in…" Kadowaki trailed off, screwing her face up slightly. Eventually it found its way back to its normal dimensions, and the Doctor concluded. "Two weeks. But you won't be able to take part in any missions or physically strenuous activities for a while after that".
Two weeks was longer than Quistis wanted to be told, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been either. In fact Quistis felt rather proud of herself for getting this far so quickly.
The room sat in silence after the rather straightforward conversation between Kadowaki and Quistis. While the young instructors gaze returned to the window, Kadowaki skimmed through the notes she had made about Quistis, from the time she had been brought to the Infirmary to this very day. "You know" the Doctor suddenly started. "I never thought I'd see that boy again. Not back in Garden at least".
"Who?" asked Quistis, turning to face Kadowaki.
The Doctor looked up from her notes and peered over her glasses to Quistis. "Seifer Almasy" she answered. "I never thought he'd get the chance".
"Well he wouldn't have if it wasn't for me" Quistis explained. "I got him brought back. Thought he might be a good addition to the small amount of graduates we get".
"Really?" said Kadowaki. Quistis noticed a change in her tone, but couldn't quite detect the reasoning behind it. "He seems to have been more than happy to take up the challenge".
"Yes, I know" said Quistis. "He seems to be so much more focused now. I think he's had to make some tough decisions over the last few months".
"It would appear that way, yes" Dr. Kadowaki agreed. "Now, I'll leave you to get some rest. The more you rest the faster you'll be up and moving".
* * * *
The cafeteria was only sparsely populated. Only five minutes ago, droves young cadets had pushed their way out of the doorway of the cafeteria on their way to classes, right into Zell and Nevaeh. Despite some trouble, they both eventually made it inside, and sat down at one of the many empty tables. The only people in the cafeteria now were SeeD's who had nothing better to do. Nevaeh sat looking past Zell, into the distance. Zell looked where she was looking, but nothing appeared to be there. Nothing interesting anyway. A grey wall, in-fact. "Hey" he said, just about gaining Nevaeh's attention. "Am I that bad company?"
"Oh" Nevaeh snapped back to the real world. "No, it's just I'm still a bit confused. Finding out I'm some kind of 'super-cadet' kinda freaked me out".
"Oh god" said Zell while grinning. "It has all gone to your head hasn't it?" Nevaeh smiled back, somewhat distantly Zell noticed. "You must have noticed a difference" he said to her.
"Not really" Nevaeh answered. "I was never really looking".
"But, I mean" Zell stuttered. "If you're as good as Quistis says you are, it must have been pretty obvious".
"Well not to me" Nevaeh replied.
Zell frowned. "Shouldn't you be happy about it though. I mean, you're obviously something special". The statement may have held more meaning, but Nevaeh didn't notice.
"I am, I am" Nevaeh said quickly. "I just gotta get used to it I think".
"It happens with time" said Zell reassuringly. "Imagine what saving the world does to a person". Nevaeh smiled, or was it a giggle? Zell wasn't sure, but he was glad he was able to cheer her up a bit anyway.
"But, uh, you must be pretty happy that your friend's woken up" said Nevaeh, suddenly changing the subject.
"Yeah, it's just great" said Zell. "I was worried she wasn't gonna get better".
"I know" said Nevaeh, smiling at Zell. "I could tell".
"Listen, in all the excitement of this morning, I never got round to thanking you for helping me over the last few days" said Zell. He seemed awkward.
"That's okay. I'm glad I could help" said Nevaeh. "I'm glad you're back to your old self again though. In certainly was a contrast, you being all reclusive and moody".
"Yeah I know" Zell agreed. "Can't say I enjoyed it".
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Nida appeared at the side of the table. He seemed to do this a lot, but no one ever knew how. He was just the most inconspicuous guy ever. He shot both Nevaeh and Zell a grin, then began to talk. "Umm, Squall wanted me to tell you guys that we shouldn't all go and see Quistis again today. He doesn't want us to crowd her. Could inadvertently cause her recovery to take longer and all that" he said.
"Umm, okay" said a frowning Zell, still concerned as to how Nida had appeared so suddenly. Before he could ask, Nida turned and left without saying goodbye. This was often the way with him. It wasn't being rude, he just tended do drift in and out of places with as little commotion as possible. It added some sense of mysteriousness to him, Zell thought. "Did you notice him before he was right next to us?" Zell asked, turning to Nevaeh.
"Uh, no" said Nevaeh, sounding equally confused.
"I mean, I've got used to him doing that but I still wonder how" said Zell.
* * * *
"You seem happier" said Rinoa, walking across Squall's dorm and sitting on a sofa next to him. "Are you?"
"Yeah, definitely" answered Squall. "It looks like Quistis is gonna get better. Of course I'm happy".
"Good" said Rinoa. A few moments of silence past before she spoke again. "I know you don't really like all this kind of stuff" Rinoa started cautiously. "But I thought that once Quistis was back on her feet and moving around, we could go out for a night or something". Rinoa looked at Squall, searching for approval. He didn't react, just looked back at her. She was sure he did this just to test her patience, but was never quite sure. "You know. To celebrate Quistis being okay. I mean, it was pretty close there for a while".
Squall moved and sat up more in his chair. He looked at Rinoa and smirked. "Yeah, okay" he said casually.
"Ooh you" Rinoa said, annoyance in her tone. She hit Squall on the arm.
"What?" Squall said while laughing.
"You do that on purpose" said Rinoa, trying her best to put on an angry frown. She wasn't very successful.
"Okay, okay" Squall gave in. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see how far you would go".
"That's not fair" said Rinoa, her face returning to it's normal, friendly dimensions. "Anyway, what happens now?"
"What happens now with what?" asked a frowning Squall, sitting forward and turning to Rinoa.
"With everyone" said Rinoa. "This could effect some of the others confidence".
"I don't think so. We'll all get through it" said Squall, sounding rather sure of himself.
"But, this could have got them scared" Rinoa argued.
"Okay" Squall once again caved in. "I'll talk to them all. I'll make sure they're okay".
"You're probably right" said Rinoa. "I just wanna be sure".
"You make a better leader than me" said Squall, smiling. "Lucky I've got you with me".
"Huh? I basically run this place anyway" said Rinoa giggling to herself. Squall frowned and leaned over to her, quickly grabbing her and tickling her down her sides.
As Rinoa wriggled around on the sofa in hysterics, Seifer quietly stepped into the room. He'd already knocked, but the pair hadn't heard him. He loudly cleared his throat, attempting to gain their attention. They both looked up, Squall suddenly leaning back in his seat. He looked slightly annoyed at first, but it quickly passed.
"Uh, sorry if I'm interrupting anything" said Seifer. Squall could have sworn he saw a satisfied grin quickly cross his face as he said the words. "But I'd just like to ask some questions quickly".
"Yeah, whatever" said Squall. He figured he should counter Seifer the way he always had. Not react at all.
"Uh, do you think it would be okay if I went and saw Quistis tonight" Seifer asked. Squall was half-surprised and half-amused at the fact he was even asking. "It's just that I told her I would".
Seifer looked nervous, Squall thought. Almost as if he was under interrogation. "I suppose so" said Squall. He didn't think he should drag things out any longer. "Just don't stay too long".
Seifer nodded, a slight smile forming on his face. It was quickly masked as he left the room without a word. There was still some animosity between Squall and Seifer, but Squall had noticed that their mutual respect for each others abilities had come to the forefront of any type of relationship they had right now.
"I wonder if he knows what he's getting himself into" said Rinoa, drawing Squall's attention.
"Huh?" Squall blurted cluelessly.
"Seifer. He's" Rinoa stopped. She examined the infinitely confused look on Squall's face. "Forget it".
"Whatever" said Squall. "Look, I gotta go and see Cid. Garden stuff, y'know".
"Yeah, I know" said Rinoa.
"I shouldn't be too long" said Squall.
"Well what makes you think I'll be here when you get back" Rinoa asked playfully. "I do have a life outside of you Mr. Leonheart".
Squall smiled and stood up. He walked across the room to the door, and opened it. Quickly raising his hand in a sort of wave, he smiled at Rinoa and left. He didn't particularly want to carry on with his Garden duties at the moment, but knew it was down to him to set an example. Besides, outside of the group no one else knew what was going on, and acting different would only raise suspicion.
Author's Note: - There. Finally got round to writing one of the longer chapters again. Kinda felt I had done to many short ones recently, especially as I was releasing one at a time. Anyway, I don't know how long it'll be before the next chapter comes out, because I'm not so sure what direction I want to take the fic in. I'm also working on some other stuff that should be up at some point, though I don't know when. As always, it would be cool to hear your comments on the story so far. What you say really does count, 'cos I'll keep writing this as long as people are reading it. It's become more for the people who enjoy reading it than it is for myself. But I don't mind that. It's cool to have people who enjoy reading my writing.
Anyways, I can't tell you what to expect in the next chapter or to yet, as even I'm not completely sure. They may not be too action-packed, but will be important. Character and plot development and all that.
C ya…