Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, nor am I a part of Squaresoft. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
Authors Note: So Seifer's out of Deling! Seems almost too good to be true, huh? Well, the end of the story isn't here, folks! ^^
Please read and leave a comment afterwards! It would be much appreciated! Thank you to all the loyal readers of this story. Without you guys, this story wouldn't be where it is now! ^^
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Orphan At Heart
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Written by: Lixia
CHAPTER 10 – Preparation
Watching him with a distant caution, Quistis felt Seifer's uneasy tension. "Is something the matter?" she finally asked.
Seifer seemed to snap out from his reverie. "No, I'm fine."
Quistis reached for his hand, and squeezed it with a loving reassurance. Seifer squeezed it back, and tried to smile.
No. Nothing is the matter anymore. Fletcher's gone. We're away from Deling now.
Seifer turned his head to the window for a moment again, realizing that there really was nothing to worry about anymore. Deling's tall buildings were no where to be seen anymore. Everything was going to be fine. Headmaster Cid would allow them to be part of Balamb Garden's population and they would get their wheels back on track, so to speak.
Seifer and Quistis held hands a while longer, before she let go to reach for her purse. Curious as to what she was doing, Seifer watched as she unzipped her bag.
She pulled out a small cellular phone, and turned it on. "I'm going to tell Headmaster Cid that we're coming," she explained, noticing Seifer's bewildered expression.
Seifer nodded, then leaned back against his seat, shutting his eyes. Please let us be re-admitted…he thought in his mind.
Quistis left their little cabin to gain a better reception with her cellphone. Seifer sighed, anxiety eating at his stomache.
"Hyne, when was the last time I was this nervous?" he muttered to himself grumpily.
"Check it out, Seif!" Raijin called, breaking Seifer's thought. Seifer looked up to see Raijin and Fujin standing at the entrance of his cabin.
"LOOK." Fujin held up a set of towels, and other hygienic accessories.
"Can't remember the last time we actually had money to use these things, ya know?" he grabbed one of the clean towels and stuffed it in his face. "Mmm…clean towels!"
Seifer burst out laughing. "You're such an idiot, Raijin!"
Raijin grinned. He chucked the towel at Seifer's face. "Well, it's true, ya know! I may actually be likin' this idea of going back to Garden now."
"FREE MEALS."
"Yea! The cafeteria! I wonder if they've improved the food. They always had a shortage of hot dogs, ya know?"
Seifer nodded, glad that his friends were here to distract him. It calmed his distraught nerves a bit to know that his friends were enthusiastic about going back now. He didn't want to have to convince them anymore.
Quistis reentered the cabin. "Looks like a full house here," she remarked. Raijin smiled. "Hey, Instructor. How are ya?"
"Not too bad, Raijin. I spoke with the Headmaster, and he'll greet us at the entrance when we get there. I suspect he wants to see you three for himself. But there's a good chance he'll re-admit you three," Quistis explained. Her voice, as she spoke, sounded like she was describing a mission to them, Seifer noticed. It reminded him of the first time they were on a mission together—back when he took the SeeD exam. It was there that Quistis explained to them what they would be doing—much like she was here—and he didn't even listen to her. Hyne, he never wanted to listen to her, because he thought she talked way too much.
Now, listening to her, he knew he was so wrong. Everything she did, she did it because she wanted them to know what they were doing. It was for their own good, and he failed to see it.
"GOOD." Fujin nodded, bringing Seifer back to reality.
* * * *
Quistis turned her gaze to Fujin, studying her stone-faced features. Fujin's tone never changed, and she hadn't added more words to her monotonous sentences, she noticed. Both she and Raijin seemed to have remained the same throughout the years of their disappearance. It was only Seifer who seemed to have changed because he was really, the leader of their small 'posse'. He had become much more cautious of what he was getting himself into, knowing that the first time he had acted on instinct; it got him into a bad situation with a Sorceress intent on stopping the world.
In a way, it had changed him for the better. No longer was Seifer as arrogant and confident about what he was doing: he was more willing to listen to someone else than he had before. Of course, when Quistis met up with Seifer for the first time since the Sorceress Wars, Seifer seemed to be the same old arrogant bastard she knew long ago.
Yet, he had opened up to her; eventually…it was something he'd never done before. Not until after the wars. He had actually taken a chance to get to know her, and she did too.
And it worked out for the better, which made Quistis smile.
"What are
you smiling about?" Raijin asked, picking up a
toothbrush and inspecting it.
Quistis shook her head, "Nothing, sorry." She cleared
her throat. "So I hope you three will look presentable when we arrive in Balamb Garden."
Raijin lifted his hand in a salute, "Yes Instructor. I know what I'm doing, ya know? I'll make the Headmaster an offer he can't refuse." He raised the toothbrush in front of him as if he was wielding the sword.
Fujin threw a pillow at him. "FOOL." She laughed. The rest of them followed.
In a moment's time, Seifer stopped laughing. There was something edging at the back of his mind, dark and suffocating. Suddenly he felt warmth touch his hand. "Are you okay?" Quistis asked softly.
Seifer watched the scenery pass them by, then nodded, "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." He said to her, though it seemed arguable that he was trying to reassure himself. He usually didn't feel this edgy, not unless there really was something out there. But their train was moving, and there was no way anyone could find the exact cabin they were in.
Or so he thought.
