Final Fantasy Chronicles – Quistis
On the tiny island of Balamb, just east of Galbadia and south of Trabia, there is an installation called Garden. Within this installation, children, from the ages of five to twenty, are trained in the use of paramagic – the ability to draw magical properties from monsters and use those properties in an elemental way.
This is also the place where Garden – a special, international mercenary agency, is run from. These children, the best of these children, are selected from the crowd and placed in the ranks of glory. SeeD, famous for their precision attacks, their skilful manovoues, their unabiding strength and determination.
One of the most famous of the SeeDs is also the most beautiful. The youngest ever to become a SeeD at 15, also the youngest to become an Instructor at 16, the woman's exquisite features and unique magics, known as Blues, gave her an almost goddess status within the SeeD community. However, when someone more powerful and more beautiful came along, this workaholic SeeD took it a little more harder then most people thought…
* * *
There is a woman. Her slim features were covered in a orange dress, her lengthy and smooth legs covered in long black boots. Golden blond hair was professionally bundled up into a bun, and cool blue eyes glinted behind a small pair of scholarly spectacles, which were perched on the bridge of a perfectly perfect nose.
Her adversary, a large, oil-spewing monster, turned towards her. The white blob seemed to utter a bubbly snarl, before a flap of lumpy skin suddenly flicked up, black gunk oozing it's way through the air towards her.
She skipped past the gunk lightly, the splattering oil smacking into the iron wall behind her. The area began to smoke almost immediately, and she turned to her two other comrades. "Watch out! The oil is mixed with some kind of acid!"
A boy dressed in black leather wielding a shining gunblade spared a glance at her. "Of course, Instructor." He said coolly, deflecting another spurt of oil with a blast of the gunblade, the gun shot echoing around the metallic chasm.
The women almost cringed as she watched the boy turn and help the third of their party up, from where she had rolled to dodge the oil. The girl was nothing short of gorgeous, and although the woman knew for a fact that she was the more beautiful, it didn't help the worried glances that the boy threw to the girl – but not to her.Unfurling a large piece of rope that was wrapped around her waist, the woman flicked it out, the whip snapping in the air just above what might have passed as the monster's head. She repeated the attack, putting her fury into the snap of the whip as it now bit into the flabby hide of the beast, causing it to turn and roar at her.
"That's right! I'm here!!" She screamed, the whip slashing through the air around her. "Come and get me!!"
* * *
"I mean, what exactly is love? Is it an emotion, something we cannot harness or control, something that takes hold of us and drags us along until we stop through exhaustion? Or is it some kind of chemical reaction when we see something that we know we can't have, but want so desperately…"
Quistis turned her perfectly beautiful face towards the screen, a frown furrowing the perfect brow as the silence grew. "Well? Impart some wisdom! You are the qualified psychiatrist, after all."
The screen swivelled to face her, an elderly visage appearing in the computer's display. Apparently, this was supposed to sooth the patient, reminding them of an elder imparting wise advice. "The fact that you want something that you cannot have is irrelevant in this case, Miss Trepe. The fact that you think you cannot work under the conditions you have been providing yourself is why you are here, with me."
The elderly face frowned slightly, creating more wrinkles in the already shrivelled features on the image enhanced face. "Might I ask, again, for the third time, why you decided to take on not only three Instructor classes – your Whips class, your magic class, and your Blue class – and neglect to appear at any of your end of semester conferences with the Commander?"
Quistis sat up on the lounge that she had been lying on, smashing a perfectly manicured fist into the soft red suede. "Because, you metallic numbskull, that would mean having to see…him!"
"You mean Commander Squall?" The computer confirmed for the third time in the session.
Quistis rolled her eyes in exasperation, flopping back onto the couch reluctantly. "Yes. Squall. My Commander." She sighed.
The screen moved a little closer from it's floating perch just a few meters from the couch, coming within a few feet of Quistis's head. "And why does that disappoint you?"
"I told you! Because…oh, why am I still here?! You're no help at all!!" She stood suddenly, shoving the floating screen out of the way and moving for the door.
The screen followed her slowly, the elderly man's voice still as calm as it had been a few minutes ago. "Wait, Quistis. Our time isn't up."
"It is for me!!" Quistis spat at the screen, slamming a fist on the door-closing knob, the door sliding shut viciously, cutting the screen off from it's patient.
Quistis stomped out of the booth, brushing past Dr. Kadowaki with no more then a grunted 'excuse me', before the doors opened for her in a hurry. Walking out of the infirmary, she was immediately assaulted by a dozen boys and girls.
"Instructor! You still haven't given me my finals for the Fire Cavern! I'll be needing them soon!!"
"Instructor, you said you'd be giving me more pointers on my Blue magic! I'm still blowing up my cell phone whenever I use it!"
"Will you go out with me!?"
"Instructor, I need to ask you – when are you going to take us on that field trip to the Forgotten King's place?!"
"When will you be getting around to marking the mid-terms??"
"Can I have your cell phone number?!"
Quistis suddenly stamped her foot to the floor. Almost on que, the whole garden seemed to rock on it's foundations as a loud crash sounded, followed by an almighty explosion. Quistis, in her anger, didn't hear, but from the student's point of view, it seemed like their Instructor wasn't in a very good mood.
One student stepped back, allowing the glowering SeeD some space. "I t-think we'll ask you l-later…"
Quistis heard that, and swallowed her anger. "Thank you." She muttered quietly, walking past the flock of students and into the corridor.
Ever since Squall had become Commander of Balamb Garden, things had been a little hectic because of his fascinating job. Somehow he had managed to triple the work-speed of the entire Garden, making almost everyone and everything more productive and proficient. This meant that Instructors had more time to work with their students, students had more time to improve, and allowed the SeeDs to get more missions done.
Quistis, having seen Squall take everything in stride, tried to match his workload, almost as if to compete with him. Her now over-loaded schedule had her sleeping only six hours nights, with only one meal a day. But that wasn't the only reason why she buried herself within the load.
As she walked through the Garden's main corridor making her way to her Dorm, she spied a young couple sitting on a bench, watching one of the fountains flanking the elevator up to the Deck and the Headmaster's office. The woman, her hair a bouncy blond, giggled as the boy, a red-head with a goofy smile, pointed something out and laughed. The two of them shifted closer together, the boy draping his arm over the girls shoulder evenly and confidently. The girl snuggled closer, smiling up at the boy.
For some reason, this infuriated Quistis. Stomping up to the couple, she stood before them. "Beta! What are you doing?!"
The boy withdrew his arm from the girl and stood abruptly, his arms by his sides. "I don't understand the question, ma'am!" he said, a perfect soldier's answer.
It only caused to build the raging fire within Quistis's belly. "I mean what are you doing with her?!" she almost screamed, pointing an elegant finger at the blond, who was sitting with her hands in her lap, looking slightly embarrassed.
Beta's face twisted more into confusion. "Ma'am…this is my girlfriend, ma'am. We're spending time together…"
"Need I remind you, Beta, that you are at the lowest rank in your Blue class! I told you to practise!!"
"Ma'am! I've been practising all weekend, ma'am! This is the first time I've had a break in three days!"
Quistis walked right up to the now frightened boy, pushing her beautiful face into his. "How do you expect to improve your Blue magic if you waste your time with pretty little tramps! You'll get nowhere if you continue to slack off, mister!!"
Beta blinked at the harsh words, and Quistis stepped back as the severity of her words suddenly sank in. The blond, now in tears, bolted from the bench and ran in the direction of the Training Centre, tears streaming down her face as she wept openly. Beta gave Quistis a deathly look, before giving chase. "Electra! Wait!!"
Quistis blinked again, frozen to the spot. What's wrong with you? A voice in her head muttered. You can't have a relationship with the man you love, so no one else is allowed? I can't believe they made you Instructor again!!
Quistis looked around her, the ten or so people in the corridor staring at her, the looks in their eyes evident – Bitch, skank, whore.
She shook her head, fighting back the tears as she walked onwards.
"Quistis." A voice called, the cold, calm tone only belonging to one man.
She froze then, unable to move as Squall walked out of the Dorms. She watched his even stride, calm and in control. He nodded a small greeting to a person as they walked past him, and he finally arrived before her. "I've been trying to find you for weeks. You seem to have been avoiding our conferences."
Quistis found herself fumbling for words. "Um…well…I've been very busy, you see…as have you, obviously…"
Squall's face seemed to brighten slightly as a rare smile flashed onto his face. "Not really. I've managed to finish off most of my work, at least for a couple of days."
His rare smile grew even bigger as he saw the look on her face. "B-but how I that possible?! You have…Commander duties, Fire Cavern Exams, Gunblade classes, as well as the basic Magic classes…"
Squall shook his head, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "We're not here to talk about me, Quistis. We're here to talk about you."
Quistis looked down at the hand on her bare shoulder, the only thought that the warm grip would never leave – before the voice whispered in her mind again. What, are you insane? Squall would never love you. He loves Rinoa, and has for the past three years. You have no chance. No chance in all of Gaia.
"Umm…sorry, Squall, but I have a lot of work to catch up on, and I'd better get onto it, you know, so…"
She quickly brushed past the tall man. His protests fell on deaf ears as she broke into a run, almost bowling over several students as she skidded around the corner and into the Dorms, palming her door open and slamming it shut, pressing her back to it, her breaths coming in short gasps.
See. What did I tell you? He didn't even give chase, didn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you, doesn't even care about you…
She placed both hands on her head, the fingers digging into her skull painfully. "Shut up! Just shut up!!" She screamed through gritted teeth, trying to kill the chattering voice.
In the bathroom the mirror quivered slightly, before shattering.
* * *
"That's right! I'm here!!" She screamed, the whip slashing through the air around her. "Come and get me!!"
"Quistis! No!!" Squall bellowed, but the flabby Oily jumped up out of the oil pool in which it had been wallowing in and slammed down, cutting the woman off from him.
She cracked the whip again, the tip bursting into flame as she junctioned Fire to it, the weapon's power now fully boosted. The Oily seemed to roar at her again as she cracked the whip once more, scoring a white piece of skin, the fiery tip of the whip slicing straight through, reddish-black blood spurting out of the monster, signifying the score.
The Oily the tried to ram her, the blob seeming to squirt oil underneath it and push off the ground and slide at her, squirting oil as it went.
The woman threw up a Protect spell as the oil splattered around her, and she dove out of the way.
Not in time, however, as the Oily suddenly turned in it's slide and caught her foot, causing her to spin into a wall, slamming into the rusty iron and slide to the floor, the wind knocked out of her.
There was a loud crash as the monster suddenly ran out of space to slide with, crashing into the wall just to the woman's right, slamming into the wall with a loud squelch. The white blob seemed to simply slide up and over the wall, before sliding back, looking slightly dazed – if you could find its face.
The woman managed to pull herself to her feet groggily, cracking the whip once more. The monster seemed not to register her, it's crash seeming to have knocked the wind out of it.
She lifted her hands, closing her eyes as she concentrated. The ball of fire that grew between her hands sputtered and boiled within the oil-rich atmosphere, the Fira growing double it's size then it would have in the usual air.
"Eat this!!" she screamed, drawing her hand back and throwing the ball of fire at the monster with all her force. Like a rocket launched from a rocket launcher, the medicine-ball sized Fira blasted a fiery trail towards the Oily – before exploding brilliantly against it, the fire-ball burrowing into the flabby white flesh before the oil within it's system ignited, the explosion blowing the woman off her feet ad into the wall again.
Shaking her head, she looked up to see the still flaming remains of her now-dead opponent. "Now that's taken care of, lets see what we can do about going lower, Squall…"
Her voice trailed off as she saw him slash his gunblade through the belly of one of the beasts, Rinoa nowhere to be seen.
* * *
Pushing off from the door, she moved hesitantly towards the tiny bathroom, twisting the tap in the sink on and cupping her hands, drinking in long smooth draws. When she had sated her thirst, she looked up at her shattered image.
"You look like shit…" she muttered at her reflection, who mimicked her perfectly, albeit in a very shattered kind of way.
Pushing away from the basin, her footing now a little smoother, she walked back into the main room. Looking at the huge pile of papers and other works on her Desk, she sighed. "Better get into it."
She set to work. Marking reports, categorising them and finally filing them away, she had gotten through half when there was a knock on the door.
She ignored it. Whoever it was, she didn't want to see them, even if it was Headmaster Cid himself –
"Instructor?"
Quistis narrowed her eyes. "Seifer?" She muttered to herself slowly. What does he want?
Getting up slowly, she moved to the door, opening it only slightly. Seifer stood outside, in all his cold glory. "I've been getting reports on you, Instructor."
Quistis opened the door fully, crossing her arms and looking at the Head Of Security over her spectacles. "This better be important, Seifer. I'm very busy, and can't be disturbed…"
He cut her off. "Maybe we ought to speak inside?" He asked, pointing with a finger into her room.
She rolled her blue eyes. Even through she was an Instructor, Seifer's rank as Head Of Security overrode anything she would order. "Fine." She spat, opening the door fully and waving him in.
He strode in purposefully, one hand on his Hyperion, the other on his hip. He looked around the messy room with a critical eye – bed not made, empty dishes stacked up in piles along the walls, clothes tossed about on the floor, papers strewn at random about the room – but said nothing.
Quistis began to feel a little self-conscious, and shut the door, flicking the 'Busy. Please return later.' sign onto her door plaque. She turned and rested agains the door, crossing her arms defiantly. "You're in. Now talk."
The taller man turned then, setting his cold eyes on her. "I've been getting reports that you've been acting…strangely lately."
Quistis cocked an eyebrow. "Strangely? Who would say a thing like that?"
"Squall. Dincht. And several students. How hard have you been pushing yourself, Instructor? How much work have you been trying to do."
"Enough. Now if you're not here for anything important, I suggest that you leave. I've got a lot of work to do…"
Seifer's hand suddenly slammed into the door inches from Quistis's head, his face sterner then usual, his icy blue eyes locking onto hers. "How do you get off telling other people when and when not they can have a relationship? How do you think you'll survive much longer with the work you've been doing? How long do you think you'll last?"
"Why the hell would you care?" Quistis spat, her face curling into a snarl. "That's all I've got, my work. And that's all I need. If other people want to waste their times with false relationships and fake love, then let them!"
"I've seen the computers files, Quistis. You've been going to the phyce-doc on and off for years now. Can't you let him go?"
Her hand seemed to take a life of it's own, reaching up and slapping across his face with an earth shattering slap. The sound of one hand clapping seemed to echo forever in Quistis's mind as the initial shock of Seifer's blatant invasion of her privacy was overcome by her own shocking action. Seifer's right cheek began to glow a bright red from the blow, but he didn't seem to register it. He simply looked into her eyes, a foreign sadness suddenly within the cold gaze.
"You have everything, Quistis. Good friends. A great job. There's no point in burning out. You're stronger then that." His mouth twisted into what might pass as a smile. "I know it."
The two adults continued to stare at each other, their eyes locked seemingly for an eternal gaze – before Quistis suddenly pushed her face into his, their lips meeting, their tongues pressing against each other as she roughly wrapped her arms around him and pulled his body closer.
Their bodies grinded together, her mind in a whirl. She pulled herself back from the passionate embrace suddenly, running her fingers through her hair whilst the other hand trace it's way across his mouth. "Oh Hyne…I've never done something like this…maybe I am going mad…" She looked up at him.
The look he was giving her was something that she had never seen on Seifer's face before. It was that of humanity. "Just…go with the flow." Seifer said quietly, taking her hand into his. "That's what Dincht would say."
All sense left as she found herself suddenly pushing him towards the messy bed, her body not wanting to leave his for a second more. She suddenly released him, watching as he fell to the bed, his face now suddenly full of shock. "Quistis…what the…"
She ripped her bun off her head, shaking her long golden hair loose. "Shut up." She growled, suddenly pouncing on him. "I need this."
She attacked his face once more, her hands moving to pull up his shirt, feeling his rock hard chest. His hands moved up her chest, the three buttons which held the thin orange cotton together seeming to be cut by his fingers, the blouse springing open almost immediately. She didn't pull her face from his, her tongue mapping his tooth structure, as she began to tug at his belt, the thick leather flapping out of the belt buckle and slashing out of the belt holes as she threw it away from him, her fingers now moving to his zipper –
There was a knock on the door.
"Oh fuck!" She blurted suddenly, the both of them freezing like statues. All her senses suddenly rushed back, and she looked down to see Seifer's face – which was equally worried.
Well, at least you're not alone. She thought to herself as she traced her eyes down his body. She had managed to do some damage, the shirt almost ripped off his body, her hand down his underpants and gripping –
There was a second knock, followed by some words. "Quistis? Are you in there?" The unmistakeable voice of Irvine asked.
The equally worried look on Seifer's face suddenly turned to pure rage. "Dammit, Kinnes, I'm gonna fucking gut him and…"
Quistis slammed both hands onto his face and performed the most quiet 'shhhhh' that she possibly could. "Just shut up…" she whispered into his ear. "And maybe he'll leave."
"Quistis, I can hear you moving in there. Open up! I got to talk to you."
It was Quistis's turn to curse now, and she did so quietly. "Fuck…quick, hide in the bathroom." She muttered to the Head Of Security, yanking his hand out of her panties and pulling herself off the bed, doing up her blouse as Seifer bolted for the bathroom.
Making sure the bathroom door was adequately closed, she quickly rolled her hair up into a bun and composed herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Irvine had always tried to sneak his way into her life – but he wasn't going to do it now. Along with being a womaniser and a scoundrel, she also put 'bad timing' on the list of things that she hated about him. "What do you want?" she asked harshly, the words spilling out.
Amazingly, he looked very cowed, one hand resting the shotgun on his shoulder whilst the other was shoved deep in his pocket. He looked down at he spoke, his fedora hat blocking his handsome features from her view. "I…I need…to talk to you about something…"
You've got to be kidding!! "I'm busy." She said with a smirk. Trying to pull a fast one on me? Think again, buster. "Come back later." Or how about never?
She began to close the door – but he suddenly jammed his boot in between the doorframe and the door, making it impossible to close the door without making Irvine foot-jam in the process. He removed his hand form his pocket and place dit on the doorframe, looking up at her now. His eyes were full of desperation. "Please! He pleaded pitifully. "I need to talk to you!!"
Quistis suddenly couldn't take any more. "Oh, come on!" she spat. "You've tried every other way to get me into bed, but pulling a desperate plea is a little too much, don't you think? Isn't that a little too undignifying, even to you?!"
She opened the door a little – before slamming it shut on his foot, the leather managing to keep it from breaking. She felt a small amount of satisfaction in the grimace of pain he gave – but saw the look in his eyes when he looked back up. They were now full of sheer desperation. "Please…" he whispered.
"You…you really just want to talk…?"
"Yes…" Irvine said, letting out a huge sigh. "I just want to talk."
Forgive me Seifer… Quistis tried to telepathically send the message to the Head Of Security, who would most probably be cowering in the shower recess in the bathroom by now. Opening the door fully, she waved the gunslinger in, who walked in gratefully.
Shutting the door, she turned – to see Seifer's Hyperion lying beside a stack of dishes!
She gulped slowly, watching Irvine look about the room slowly, before walking over to the Desk and grabbing the chair. Spinning it around, he sat down, resting his chest against the backrest.
From his position, the Hyperion was unable to be seen, and she mentally sighed. "Okay…" She muttered in her best 'angry' voice. "I've just put off…marking some very important papers, all just so I can talk to you." She looked at him with muted anger. "So you'd better make this good."
Irvine nodded sadly. "Oh, it's going to be good. I'm sure you're going to get a real kick out of what I've got to tell you…"
* * *
Her voice trailed off as she saw him slash his gunblade through the belly of one of the beasts, Rinoa nowhere to be seen.
She quickly threw a Protect around him as the oily acidic guts of the beast spilled over from where the monster had jumped form the oil to him, the greasy acidic contents splattering all over the Protect – but not over Squall.
Two lightening slashes later, and the Oily's body was cut to ribbons.
The woman allowed the Protect to drop – before watching as Squall threw the gunblade down and dove into the oil, the slick blackness enveloping him as he disappeared beneath the dark liquid.
"Squall!!" She screamed, dropping her whip and running to where he had dove in.
His gunblade was buried up to the hilt from where he had thrown it. It was the only sign that he had ever been there.
"Squall!! Where are you?!" The woman screamed in vain, ignorant of another monster as it launched itself from the oil pool to the catwalk, landing behind her with a loud splat.
There was no way he could have survived the swim. His body was lost amongst the oil, to be taken by the monsters as much as possible. She was all alone once more.
Something burned within her, a deep rage that seemed to make her whole body tremble. Turning slowly, she watched the large monster slurp it's way forward, ready to kill it's opponent and return to the inky blackness…the blackness which was now Squall, the one she loved, grave.
Her scream was that of shrill rage as she ripped her spectacles off her eyes as they burned a bright blue – before twin lasers erupted from them, the bright blue light slashing straight through the monster's glutenous body, cutting the giant beast in twain.
It seemed to set of a furious flury of monsters, all suddenly jumping up and out of the oil at her. She blasted them all evenly, her rage unmeasurable as halved, quartered, diced bodies continued to fall at her feet, her eyes blazing blue light.
Finally there were no more contenders, and the woman blinked, the blue light in her eyes finally dissipating. As always when she used her Blue magic, she felt drained of all power, like someone had sucked the energy out of her. Falling to her knees, she wept openly at the lost of her beloved Squall.
Suddenly, a black, oil covered hand hammered into the catwalk.
The woman looked up, her wide eyes growing wider as Squall pulled himself heroically onto the catwalk, before turning and grasping something, pulling it up with him.
Rinoa. She must've fallen into the pool when the Oily had emitted the shockwave.
"Rinoa! Rinoa, can you hear me?!" Squall cried, rolling her onto her back. He spread her arms and began to perform CPR, pumping her chest before pinching her nose and breathing air into her lungs.
The woman simply sat there, watching as Squall continued to fight to save her. Covered in oil and black as death, his eyes were the only clear parts on his body – and they were trained solely on Rinoa, the worry growing with each breath forced into her body.
The woman sighed once more, before raising her hands and pointing them at the couple.
A slight breeze began to whip at the oil pool, droplets of black gunk flying up and around as a stiff wind began to build. Squall looked around to see the woman walking forward, her eyes glowing a bright blue, ad the White Wind did its work.
Rinoa suddenly coughed, forcing black liquid from her lungs, and Squall looked back down at the girl as she gripped his shirt tight with her hand, looking up at him as she was brought back form the brink of death.
Once he was sure that she would be all right, Squall stood. Walking over to the woman, he patted her on the shoulder. "Good job, Quistis. Now we have to get to the control room." Walking past her, he opened a small hatch at the end of the catwalk. "Down here!!" He shouted. "Let's go!"
"Coming!" Replied the newly revived Rinoa, running to meet the oil-covered boy – before stopping before the woman. The girl bowed low, before grasping the woman's hands tightly. "Thank you, Quistis. You saved my life."
The woman could do nothing but shrug and smile, watching as the girl ran to Squall and followed him down.
* * *
Quistis looked at Irvine in a new light. The story he had just told her – which had been more or less, his whole life story, compressed into an hour – had been almost mind boggling.
"…And that's the whole story." He finished, sagging against the backrest of the chair slightly. "I've never been able to cast or draw magic. Ever."
Quistis couldn't help but frown in confusion. "But…I've seen you! On numerous times! You've used Blizzard, Fire, Demi…"
Irvine interrupted with a wave of his arm. "Haven't you been listening?! It's all the bullets! I buy them from weapons stores!!" He lowered his head to his hands sadly. "And they aren't cheap, I can tell you…"
It explained a lot. Why Irvine always used Items instead of magic's to heal them during the Sorceress mission… "I always wondered why you fired your guns when you cast magic…" she said out loud, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She frowned once more. "So, why tell me? How am I supposed to help you with this Jeheyt kid?"
She watched his expression turn from one of sadness to slight confusion. "I dunno…aside from Rinoa, you're the best magic user in all the Gardens…"
Even the mention of Rinoa made Quistis's blood boil. "What's that got to do with anything?" she spat. "You expect me to help you fight this guy? You did pretty well against Edea. This kid ought to be no problem for the likes of you…"
"That's the thing!" Irvine said, throwing his arms up in despair. "He's got his Desk rigged so that if he dies, a message will be spread across the Board saying that I had a vendetta on him because he knew my secret…not that I want to kill him or anything. If I defy him, he'll expose me, and if I do what he wants me to do, Hyne knows what he might do!!!" He shook his head. "I might be a womaniser to you – but I do have a reputation as a SEED to uphold."
Quistis couldn't help watching him wallow in self-pity for much longer. She stood up feeling infuriated, her arms rigid and trembling by her sides. "Will you stop thinking about yourself for one second and think about what might happen if this guy does get into the Instructor files? He might mess up our entire scoring system, he might plant a virus of some kind – he might even be a spy for Galbadia!! He might draw some really powerful magic – he might even draw Eden!!"
The mention of Eden got a rise out of Irvine, who looked up instantly at the mention of the Guardian Force's name. "If he got Eden…" He muttered to himself in shock.
Quistis smiled and crossed her arms. "Now you're thinking with your head instead of your…"
Irvine cut her of suddenly, jumping to his feet and grasping his shotgun, the chair tumbling over beneath him. "You're right! I don't know what I was thinking! I was such an idiot! A reputation can be rebuilt! I'm a SeeD for crying out loud!!"
He suddenly pushed past Quistis, bursting out of the room and bolting down the corridor at high speed.
Quistis closed the door and placed he back against it, sighing an almighty sigh. Silly boy… she thought to herself…before someone coughed surreptitiously.
"Oh my Hyne! Seifer!!" Quistis gasped, placing a hand to her mouth as she opened the bathroom door. "You heard…"
"Everything." Seifer finished coldly, walking briskly out of the tiny room. "I got to hand it to Kinnes, he sure knows how to fool people."
Quistis stood before him, grasping her left elbow with her right hand, feeling very, very awkward. "Umm…listen…about before…"
Seifer walked across the room and picked up his Hyperion, strapping it around his waist once more. "We'll talk about it later." He muttered, tightening the belt around his waist with a jerk. "If what Irvine said is true, we have a spy in the Garden. I need to go tell Squall right now."
She opened the door for him silently, allowing him the space to walk out. He brushed past her, the cold, analytical, all business Seifer back in place for all to see.
She was about to close the door before a hand was placed on the doorframe.
Seifer poked his head in around the door. "I'll see you later…Instructor." He said, a small grin on his lips, before he winked and was gone.
Quistis closed the door and placed her back against it for the fourth time that day, sighing a sigh that she hadn't sighed since she had seen Squall walk in through the front door of the Garden, all those years ago…
She looked about the room. What had she been doing to herself? Suddenly, something from the morning popped in her mind, and she turned and bolted from the room, desperately searching for someone…
* * *
She arrived at the Library breathless, her hair a mess. She had just raced all over the Garden in search for him, and he had been nowhere to be found…
She suddenly spied the Library Girl, and walked up to her. "Um…" Quistis began, suddenly realising that she didn't know her name.
The girl turned. "Oh! Instructor Trepe! I didn't see you there." The smile on the girls face was genuine. "Would you like me to help you with something?"
"Ah, no…well, yes." Quistis admitted. "I'm looking for a boy in one of my classes…called Beta. About 6'1", red hair, has a goofy smile?"
"Yes! I know Beta! He's in the study area. He said he needed to hit the books before you got on his ass…" The girl's voice suddenly trailed off, but Quistis waved her off.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I was just having a rough day, that's all."
"Oh. Ok." The girl said, before turning and pointing down the centre of the stacks. "Well, he ought to be that way."
"Thank you…uh, I don't know your name."
"It's Angel, ma'am. Angel Lee."
Quistis nodded a goodbye to Angel before walking purposefully down the centre of the stacks, reaching the study area in no time. Looking about, she finally spotted Beta's red hair, bent over a book that he was noting furiously.
Quistis walked right up behind him, before speaking in her sternest voice yet. "Beta!!"
Beta instantly jumped to his feet. "Yes ma'am!" He said automatically.
"Stop that at once and take the rest of the day off! You have a girlfriend who needs your love and compassion!"
Beta blinked, before smiling his goofy smile. "Yes, ma'am!!"
She watched the student quickly collect his book and scuttle off before sighing, crossing her arms, and deciding to try and find where Squall was. She had a lot of meetings to catch up to.
