Chapter 10: Lost

Fujin's POV

Day after endless day passed by before my eyes, as the weeks rolled on into the next, becoming months, always being the same. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter had each come and gone in their own turn, bringing and leaving their warm and cold atmospheres. It only seemed like yesterday that I had stepped into the front gates for the very first time in my life, staring in awe and wonder at the building. I would still sometimes do that now, even a year later, to relax myself.

Lately I had been doing that a lot…Something in the air was making me feel uneasy, and I could sense that Pandemona knew too. I only came to know the source of my magic very recently as our lessons took us to look at GFs. As soon as I saw her pictured form on my terminal screen I immediately identified her as that spirit inside me. That was the first time I was told her name as well. I finally knew the name of the presence that filled my body, giving me the wind magic that I possessed. Rajin had a GF too: his was Quezacotl, a thunder governing bird. A new part of us both had been uncovered that had laid dormant for so long.

Every day since then I had been training, learning how to control my power. The training zone was completely empty except for the lurking monsters and myself as it always was early in the morning. I heard a snarling noise come from my right and immediately jumped away to give me some distance. The beast came crawling out of the bushes looking at me with disgust, but I just smiled and concentrated all my energy into the palm of my hands. The beast leaped up into the air coming directly toward me, but I stopped it in its tracks. My wind flew from my hand and rendered the monster helplessly floating in mid air. As I kept it there with one hand keeping my Aero attack going, I concentrated my focus to the being inside of me. Unconsciously I began to mumble words of comfort to the GF trapped in my soul, slowly coaxing it to come forth and help me win the battle.

Then from nowhere, the great purple being came thundering to my side. Within seconds the beast lay lying on the floor, breathing its last few breaths as Pandemona vanished from sight. I let out a gasp of relief and I wiped my brow. It was becoming easier and easier to summon her now. After all my practise and training, I think it was finally paying off.

Suddenly a voice came from behind me, and I cringed inside as I recognised who it was. His dark, teasing voice taunted my ears as he spoke to me.

"Training again are we?" I turned around to some face to face with the most hated student in the garden, Tema Heren. He and his gang were the outcasts in our class, always making fun of people, and making life hell for anyone they felt like picking on that particular day. I was surprised to find him alone today, but I could sense that his lackeys weren't far away.

"Yes." I answered him.

"You know I bet you couldn't defeat a whole pack of monsters at the same time with that GF of yours…" Anger rose up in me, as he doubted my skills. But there was something in his voice that was telling me that I was going to walk straight into a trap. But I couldn't back down from his challenge, not now. Fighting was the only thing I could do, and that was the task I had set out to do, to prove myself to anyone that doubted me.

"I could and I'll show you!" I flung my pinwheel into the air skimming the tops of the bushes to attract attention. As I waited for my blade to return to my hands, I was sure that I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye. But I put that to the back of my mind as my spinning pinwheel flew back into my hand. Sure enough, growls and hisses came from all around as they made there way to the battle clearing.

Before any of them were even remotely near me I began transferring my wind energy into my pinwheel in an effort to make a tornado in one clean sweep.

But unfortunately I had attracted more monsters than I had bargained for. One after another they came walking out of the bushes and shrubbery around me. Then it suddenly struck me that creatures were also coming from my left side, which was my blind side. I was in trouble if I didn't summon Pandemona quickly. Before I could finish transferring my desired amount of Aero in my pinwheel, one beast leaped at me again from my right. Instantly I let my pinwheel fly and concentrated on my magic powered blade to release the fury of the wind upon the monsters.

It successfully created a wind barrier around me, but I could tell that it would last for long as the breeze was weak, and would only hold the lighter beasts for much longer. At once I closed my eye and began to summon Pandemona, but in doing so I forgot about Tema completely. I didn't see him wave his hand behind him to call forth his lackeys, and I didn't see until it was too late that one had let a spear fly in my direction.

But I could tell that there was something present in the air that hadn't been there before. I opened my eye and felt it widen as I saw the sharp staff hurl towards me. All my concentration left me as I dodged out of the way quickly. But in that time my wind wall had become weaker and weaker, allowing the beasts to be able to jump through it with ease. Before I knew it I was knocked to the ground, with claws digging into my skin and my clothes, and I screamed as loud as I could as pain surged through my body.

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Seifer's POV

My stomach rumbled as I walked towards the cafeteria. I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday lunchtime and I absolutely famished. I let out a yawn in the empty hallway as I realised how tired I actually was. I had woken up early this morning, probably from the lack of food.

Suddenly a pair of hands placed themselves on my shoulders and a body swung themselves in front of me.

"Hello!" Rinoa said happily.

"Hi." I smiled down at her as I hugged her good morning.

"Where are you going?" her hand slid down to meet mine and we walked along hand in hand.

"To get something to eat."

"I'll come with you then."

However our peaceful silence was suddenly broken like shattered glass. A scream penetrated the atmosphere, which came from the training centre. A sudden déjà vu came into my mind as I remembered that almost fatal day a year ago.

But I wiped it from my mind as I rushed towards the sight of the scream. I called back to Rinoa to go and get my Hyperion and her own weapon, and she turned and left me.

As I sprinted through the training zone doors, my fingers scrambled at the lock pad, desperately trying to punch in the code as quickly as I could. I could hear laughing as I finally opened the gate and rushed inside. The screams were becoming louder and louder and I ran towards the growing noise. I pushed my way through the bushes, finally coming to the horrific sight before me.

"Fujin!" Instantly I ran over to her and threw off the hungry beasts tearing at her bleeding skin. I picked up her pinwheel and threw it towards the circling monsters in a circle, slicing through each one of them. But once the blade had left my hand, I desperately searched around for any sign of a pulse. I pushed my fingers deep into her neck, and sighed as I felt the faintest of beats.

I was surprised that she was even alive. Slowly I gathered the half-alive girl in my arms, cradling her close to my chest. My gaze then fell on the culprits of this hideous crime: the laughing fools who would soon be joining Fujin in the infirmary.

"What kind of sick joke is this?" I shouted across to them. I recognised the leader as Tema, and he looked across towards me.

"Who in mankind are you to come barging in?" he shouted back. My anger was rising by the second with this idiot. If Fujin hadn't been in my arms I'd have charged straight at him and knocked him out cold. I would have beaten him to such a pulp his face would have been disfigured for life. But the fragile girl in my arms needed attending to.

Her pinwheel had now fallen to the floor and I picked it up, not letting it become a victim of Tema's meddling ways. The monsters around us had now either escaped or fallen to the floor, so my path lay clear. I walked over the dead bodies of the monsters towards Tema and his posse. He glared at me with hatred in his eyes and I glared back. I could tell that this rivalry wasn't over here. He would play for what he did to Fujin, and I would personally take care of it.

Then unexpectedly he spat in my eyes, causing me to flinch away from him off guard. I felt Fujin slip from my arms as she was pulled away from me by my enemy. I wiped away the grim in my eyes and reached for my gunblade, only to find it wasn't there. Where was Rinoa? She had been gone for a while now…

"Looking for this?" Tema said smirking as he held out his hand to direct my vision towards one of his friends. There stood Rinoa trapped within his grasp, her mouth covered by a piece of cloth, and Hyperion in the brute's fat hands. Another one stepped out from behind him holding a tall, razor sharp staff and sword.

"If you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you play along." His dirty smile covered his menacing face. I growled and clenched my hands into fists as I seethed with anger.

The boy who had Fujin dropped her to the floor and laid her on her back. Tema then stood over her and closed his eyes. His hands came up and hovered around over Fujin's body. My eyes widened as I realised what he was going to do. He was planning to draw out Fujin's GF for himself! That dirt, rotten !!!

I stepped forward to try and stop him, but the boy with the spear pushed his sword in front of me. I knew I hadn't much time, but as I looked round I saw each one of them had something in their hands. None of them were free to stop me from doing anything, except disturb Tema. As I glanced towards Fujin who lay lifelessly on the ground, I saw her eye snap open and her mouth drop. Her breath became short and her back arched and twisted as a part of herself was being ripped from her soul. I knew I hadn't much time, and so I dashed towards my Hyperion beside Rinoa. I elbowed the boy in the face, forcing him to drop my gunblade in an instant.

I caught it before it hit the ground, and ran towards the one holding the staff. Before he knew what had happened, his spear had been cut into two and his sword had flown to the other side of the clearing. I held my gunblade up to his face, daring him to try and stop me. Instead the coward ran for the exit along with his friend who held Rinoa captive.

But as I turned back to Fujin, my heart sank as I saw I was too late. The blue light of the GF had glided through the air and had entered Tema's body. He turned back towards me with an evil smile on his face.

"Done." He said, but he was soon running, as I ran straight towards him with my gunblade poised in the air. I swung it down and slashed his back, just missing his neck. He fell to the floor, blood seeping through onto his clothes. I immediately ran back and dropped to Fujin's side.

Her eye was wide and she was still breathing hard. She needed help and quickly. I picked her up in my arms once more and ran blindly out of the training centre.

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Fujin's POV

Unconsciousness gathered my broken soul into its depths, but I saw people, buildings, and places that I'd never seen before in m life. Everything was overlapping into one picture and I couldn't figure out what was happening…I felt like a huge void had opened up inside me, letting all these images flow into my head…and it had…Something had be taken from me…

…The grey metal shone in the sunlight as the boy swung it back and forth…

…"My name's Seifer. What's yours?"…

…"You looked lonely staring out of your window all day."…

…"Why? Why would you even care?"

"Because you're my friend!"…

…"Don't you recognise me? Fuu..."

"It's me Se…"…

I remembered…I remembered everything that happened! My memory was being rebuilt, restored and filled with colourful memories. I remembered the orphanage, my friends, my journey here, and the one question that had been plaguing me ever since I first saw his face was answered. I knew that boy's name!

That faceless boy from my dream, the same one I met at the orphanage, the same face I saw before darkness engulfed me.

Seifer…