Title: Thousand Cranes
Author: Kuri Tessy
Feedback: Yes, please!
Pairings: Quistis/Seifer
Rating: PG
Warnings: Angst and Death
Disclaimer: FF8, characters, and other nice things don't belong to me. It's sad, but true.
Notes: In Japanese class I watched a video on Sadako Sasaki and the story of the one thousand paper cranes. I was touched by the video's message and got the idea of writing a fanfiction piece about it.
Thousand Cranes
When Seifer opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that he left the door open. Yawning loudly, he stood from the bed and crossed the room to close it. Thinking to himself, that he would have sworn he saw someone peeking in on him a few seconds ago, he smirked. Hoped they liked the show. Peering outside into the hallway, he noticed a lone suitcase. Shrugging, he picked it up and looked for a name. Nothing. Psh, somebody obviously didn't travel right.
Hefting the object in the room, Seifer paused. Should he open it? Or, should he be the nice, thoughtful person that he wasn't and bring it down to the front office for the owner to retrieve? Stupid question. Finding no lock, Sefier mused that once again this person did not know how to travel.
Turning a light on in the darkness, an assortment of women's clothes greeted him when he opened the case. Ignoring those, he checked the pockets and side departments. Bingo. Inside the top compartment was folds of money. Stealing was exactly his forte, but when you're broke, hungry, and without a job, it starts to look very appealing.
He rummaged through a little longer, looking for and jewerly or other valuables. Opening a heavy black bag, he tipped the contents out onto the bed. Various stones, which he identified as magic stones, and a coiled rope of some kind fell out. Rope had small spikes and smelled like sulphur. Years of studying weapons and materials at Garden was good for something, Seifer noted. This rope wasn't just a rope, it was a marlboro tentacle.
He remembered a time as a junior class man, looking at various primary weapons that were open for students to choose. Numerous guns, swords, and whips. Of course, earlier in his life he had already made up his mind that a gunblade would be his choice. However, he never forgot the feel of holding a whip specially made with marlboro tentacle. It was light, sharp, and had a distinct odor. It was deadly.
The person that carried these supplies with them might not be a wise traveler, but they were most likely a seasoned warrior. They would not be pleased that he had stolen their money. Ah well, not like he couldn't handle them, but, he had more important things to do. Like finding a place to get away to. Living in hotels and scrounging off the lower part of society was getting tiresome.
Glancing at the clock he saw that it was only 8:00. Great, have the rest of the night to scout the town for a cheap train ticket. He needed to get away from the crowds and into the countryside. Maybe Dollet. He heard the living prices were lower on that side of the eastern part of the continent. He would leave in the morning, as soon as possible.
Maybe he would do something selfless for once and drop off the suitcase since he was in a good mood tonight. Making sure that Hyperion was hidden before exiting the room, Seifer started down to the lobby with the stranger's property in hand. The receptionist, who was talking with a blonde haired lady, stopped their conversation to give him a lustful wink. Obviously annoyed, the young woman softly huffed and turned around to see who the wink was intended for. Seifer's grin soon turned into a scowl as he recognized who it was.
Standing with her back straight and nose in the air, was one of his least favorite people of all, Quistis Trepe. Her usual look of self determination surrounded her, but something had changed. She looked more confident, not the Quistis Trepe who used to wrap her arms around her waist when she was emotionally insecure. As ever, her beauty was unflawed and radiant. Her eyes weren't hidden behind wire rimmed glasses, and had a peculiar lavender hue to them.
Not particularly intrigued with her beauty, Seifer looked past her to the receptionist. "I found this outside my door," he put the case on the counter.
Quistis glared at him, "Yes, that is my suitcase."
"Is it Instructor? Seems to me that is doesn't have a name on it," Seifer teasingly scoffed.
Blinking several times, Quistis finally responded, "I can assure you, it is mine. Would you like me to open it and show you."
Before he could stop himself, Seifer blurted, "That's all right, I already have."
Taken aback, Quistis opened her mouth and then closed it. A frown rested on her pretty features. Soon an embarrassed rage came forth, "Oh, and I suppose you enjoyed looking through it, you perverse-"
He waved his hand to cut her off, "Please. There wasn't much to look at, don't get so uptight." He grinned when her eyes narrowed even further.
"If I find one thing gone, Seifer Almasy, I won't have to bother to going to the police," her words rang out as she caressed the grip of Save the Queen.
Suddenly, the money in his pocket seemed to burn. He could leave tonight before she noticed anything missing. But, knowing her she would open the suitcase right now to check if anything was missing. Her sharp eyes and quick mind would catch on fast. He had to think of a diversion, anything not to get caught.
"Everything's safe, I promise. How about I treat you to dinner right now for the unnecessary stress I caused you?" he hastily offered.
Quistis blinked again. Well, she wasn't expecting that. Seifer Almasy, a criminal and murderer at best, asking her on a dinner date. She could decline and spend the rest of the night safely staring at the wallpaper in her hotel room, or she could accept. Accepting could lead to danger. Accepting could lead her to becoming possibly killed. Accepting could actually lead to an interesting night. Quistis congratulated herself on not over analyzing the situation too much. Selphie was helping to coach her on letting go and living life to the fullest. Maybe she should do just that. Be that as it may, Quistis decided that she should not let her guard down. Not with this particular man.
"I accept your offer Seifer," Quistis pleasantly responded.
Seifer just stared at her and cocked an eyebrow.
"Just let me return my suitcase, and I'll be right back down," she pointedly looked at him and walked towards her room.
When her figure turned the corner, the majority of Seifer's mind was screaming at him to get out of the hotel with the money and come back later for Hyperion. However, the small percentage of his brain was reasoning with him to wait for her like any normal person should. What was wrong with him? If she realized that her money was lost, he would be on the receiving end of her wrath. He should just walk out the door right now. Turning on his heel, he strode over to the revolving door.
A series of footsteps followed behind him, "I see that you weren't willing to just wait a few minutes for me."
Seifer groaned, "You have no idea."
What did he mean by that? Quistis wondered how Seifer could change his personality so quickly. She also hadn't seen Seifer in a few years, and things change people she reminded herself. Seifer's bitterness wasn't looked over. In fact, she could reason why he acted the way he did. Being the Sorceress' Knight wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.
Quistis shook her head, she was overanalyzing the situation again. She would have to keep working on that.
Matching his strides she walked down the road beside him. If anyone would have told her that she would be eating dinner with Seifer Almasy she would have ignored that person's foolishness. But as this unlikely golden haired pair graced Deling City's streets with their presence, any bystander would have sworn that they were a blessed couple.
This couple would agree on one thing, how wrong that bystander was.
Kuri's note: I know, I'm evil. Seifer and Quistis' date is coming soon! Any suggestions or comments are happily accepted.
Author: Kuri Tessy
Feedback: Yes, please!
Pairings: Quistis/Seifer
Rating: PG
Warnings: Angst and Death
Disclaimer: FF8, characters, and other nice things don't belong to me. It's sad, but true.
Notes: In Japanese class I watched a video on Sadako Sasaki and the story of the one thousand paper cranes. I was touched by the video's message and got the idea of writing a fanfiction piece about it.
Thousand Cranes
When Seifer opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that he left the door open. Yawning loudly, he stood from the bed and crossed the room to close it. Thinking to himself, that he would have sworn he saw someone peeking in on him a few seconds ago, he smirked. Hoped they liked the show. Peering outside into the hallway, he noticed a lone suitcase. Shrugging, he picked it up and looked for a name. Nothing. Psh, somebody obviously didn't travel right.
Hefting the object in the room, Seifer paused. Should he open it? Or, should he be the nice, thoughtful person that he wasn't and bring it down to the front office for the owner to retrieve? Stupid question. Finding no lock, Sefier mused that once again this person did not know how to travel.
Turning a light on in the darkness, an assortment of women's clothes greeted him when he opened the case. Ignoring those, he checked the pockets and side departments. Bingo. Inside the top compartment was folds of money. Stealing was exactly his forte, but when you're broke, hungry, and without a job, it starts to look very appealing.
He rummaged through a little longer, looking for and jewerly or other valuables. Opening a heavy black bag, he tipped the contents out onto the bed. Various stones, which he identified as magic stones, and a coiled rope of some kind fell out. Rope had small spikes and smelled like sulphur. Years of studying weapons and materials at Garden was good for something, Seifer noted. This rope wasn't just a rope, it was a marlboro tentacle.
He remembered a time as a junior class man, looking at various primary weapons that were open for students to choose. Numerous guns, swords, and whips. Of course, earlier in his life he had already made up his mind that a gunblade would be his choice. However, he never forgot the feel of holding a whip specially made with marlboro tentacle. It was light, sharp, and had a distinct odor. It was deadly.
The person that carried these supplies with them might not be a wise traveler, but they were most likely a seasoned warrior. They would not be pleased that he had stolen their money. Ah well, not like he couldn't handle them, but, he had more important things to do. Like finding a place to get away to. Living in hotels and scrounging off the lower part of society was getting tiresome.
Glancing at the clock he saw that it was only 8:00. Great, have the rest of the night to scout the town for a cheap train ticket. He needed to get away from the crowds and into the countryside. Maybe Dollet. He heard the living prices were lower on that side of the eastern part of the continent. He would leave in the morning, as soon as possible.
Maybe he would do something selfless for once and drop off the suitcase since he was in a good mood tonight. Making sure that Hyperion was hidden before exiting the room, Seifer started down to the lobby with the stranger's property in hand. The receptionist, who was talking with a blonde haired lady, stopped their conversation to give him a lustful wink. Obviously annoyed, the young woman softly huffed and turned around to see who the wink was intended for. Seifer's grin soon turned into a scowl as he recognized who it was.
Standing with her back straight and nose in the air, was one of his least favorite people of all, Quistis Trepe. Her usual look of self determination surrounded her, but something had changed. She looked more confident, not the Quistis Trepe who used to wrap her arms around her waist when she was emotionally insecure. As ever, her beauty was unflawed and radiant. Her eyes weren't hidden behind wire rimmed glasses, and had a peculiar lavender hue to them.
Not particularly intrigued with her beauty, Seifer looked past her to the receptionist. "I found this outside my door," he put the case on the counter.
Quistis glared at him, "Yes, that is my suitcase."
"Is it Instructor? Seems to me that is doesn't have a name on it," Seifer teasingly scoffed.
Blinking several times, Quistis finally responded, "I can assure you, it is mine. Would you like me to open it and show you."
Before he could stop himself, Seifer blurted, "That's all right, I already have."
Taken aback, Quistis opened her mouth and then closed it. A frown rested on her pretty features. Soon an embarrassed rage came forth, "Oh, and I suppose you enjoyed looking through it, you perverse-"
He waved his hand to cut her off, "Please. There wasn't much to look at, don't get so uptight." He grinned when her eyes narrowed even further.
"If I find one thing gone, Seifer Almasy, I won't have to bother to going to the police," her words rang out as she caressed the grip of Save the Queen.
Suddenly, the money in his pocket seemed to burn. He could leave tonight before she noticed anything missing. But, knowing her she would open the suitcase right now to check if anything was missing. Her sharp eyes and quick mind would catch on fast. He had to think of a diversion, anything not to get caught.
"Everything's safe, I promise. How about I treat you to dinner right now for the unnecessary stress I caused you?" he hastily offered.
Quistis blinked again. Well, she wasn't expecting that. Seifer Almasy, a criminal and murderer at best, asking her on a dinner date. She could decline and spend the rest of the night safely staring at the wallpaper in her hotel room, or she could accept. Accepting could lead to danger. Accepting could lead her to becoming possibly killed. Accepting could actually lead to an interesting night. Quistis congratulated herself on not over analyzing the situation too much. Selphie was helping to coach her on letting go and living life to the fullest. Maybe she should do just that. Be that as it may, Quistis decided that she should not let her guard down. Not with this particular man.
"I accept your offer Seifer," Quistis pleasantly responded.
Seifer just stared at her and cocked an eyebrow.
"Just let me return my suitcase, and I'll be right back down," she pointedly looked at him and walked towards her room.
When her figure turned the corner, the majority of Seifer's mind was screaming at him to get out of the hotel with the money and come back later for Hyperion. However, the small percentage of his brain was reasoning with him to wait for her like any normal person should. What was wrong with him? If she realized that her money was lost, he would be on the receiving end of her wrath. He should just walk out the door right now. Turning on his heel, he strode over to the revolving door.
A series of footsteps followed behind him, "I see that you weren't willing to just wait a few minutes for me."
Seifer groaned, "You have no idea."
What did he mean by that? Quistis wondered how Seifer could change his personality so quickly. She also hadn't seen Seifer in a few years, and things change people she reminded herself. Seifer's bitterness wasn't looked over. In fact, she could reason why he acted the way he did. Being the Sorceress' Knight wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.
Quistis shook her head, she was overanalyzing the situation again. She would have to keep working on that.
Matching his strides she walked down the road beside him. If anyone would have told her that she would be eating dinner with Seifer Almasy she would have ignored that person's foolishness. But as this unlikely golden haired pair graced Deling City's streets with their presence, any bystander would have sworn that they were a blessed couple.
This couple would agree on one thing, how wrong that bystander was.
Kuri's note: I know, I'm evil. Seifer and Quistis' date is coming soon! Any suggestions or comments are happily accepted.