SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Disclaimer: not mine..............anybody still reading this.enjoy. Reviews aren't necessary since I'm doing this for myself. Sounds selfish, its not. Its for you too. All readers are loved, all passerby's too.
chapter 6 ----------
It had been three weeks of nonsense, from the students from the residents' altogether. The tapes were a mess; someone decided to play with them and got them spilt over the office floor. Now everyone has to go through the different names and separate them as they review the tapes, since the second thing that met the tapes was rain. Someone had left a cigarette on and it burned the trashcan, then the sprinklers came on and smudged off all the labels. Now, three weeks later the tapes are still being reviewed and interviews are still going on. So far, the orphanage gang is back to square one. Much to Quistis' relief, though she did have to deal with reorganizing it was better than telling her personals to the camera. It had been over two months since she came, two months since this started, and they haven't been able to interview any of the gang. Quistis had been working all last night in those tapes and when she got to bed, it was late.
**
She stared down at her hands, the blood dripping from the tips. She silently paced herself as she tried to walk back to the room. The smudges left her prints, her breathes were loud. She hadn't been crying, so who was crying? She asked herself. Slowly, down the dark hallway she made her way to a room. It seemed to take her a lifetime to reach it.
The sensations of every emotion that was rushing at her sent her mind whirling. Each step was unfocused and tentative as she stared gapingly at the door in front of her. The floor was so hard against her feet, every step pounded into her feet. The atmosphere was naturally black and white. This seemed so natural to her at the time, like it would be a sin to have the setting with color. As though it was inappropriate, that's exactly what color would have felt like! She thought shortly before another loud sob of anguish filled and flew from the room.
Her eyes were clouded by something, or had they been clouded all her life and were now clear. Whatever the case, she was sure of what she had to do. Only thing she feared now was the reaction towards what she was going to try. To pick up a broken glass is to risk both breaking it even more beyond repair and to risk cutting yourself.
She held the handle in place, thin delicate but strong hands slowly turned the knob and with her eyes locked as the door opened, she entered.
**
Still in a dream-like state, she clutched her stomach as she felt her head spin inside her brain. She opened her eyes expecting to find the person behind the door only to meet with the white sheets. Wide eyed she ran into her bathroom, the liquids seemed to dance in her passage of food before erupting.
The sick sound of her throwing up was wrongly even to her. Sighing as the terrible episode ended she sat on the floor of the bathroom positioned by the toilet with her hands folded in front of her and her head resting against them as she felt a light headedness consume her. With a sicken face she lifted herself off the floor after a few minutes. She had bags under her eyes, probably from getting to bed so late she assumed. Groaning from the aftertaste, she flushed the toilet and sprayed some flagrance before grabbing her toothbrush and repeatedly scrubbing her tongue.
She walked out of the bathroom; maybe she was catching a cold. She usually never got sick, it was from the constant training it had built up her immune system, and so what was wrong with her? People don't normally throw up for no reason, she reasoned. She mentally went over the possibilities of her sudden sickness: bad weather and climate change....not possible and even if it was plausible the fact the it had to be a rapid change in temperature she hadn't been anyplace. Food? ........then she realized she was eliminating possible vomit reasons and thought that being a seed has really messed with her head. What if I'm just catching a bug, I can't get paranoid, what am I getting worked up over? nothing. I need to relax. Just then she suddenly had a urge to flee to the toilet to throw up the toothpaste taste from her mouth. After her stomach emptied yet again she sighed as she got out.
Having no idea of why she was throwing up so much she told herself that if it happened again she would see Dr. Kadowaki for a check up. What if she had gotten a bug? She had to make sure. She got her change of clothes and went back into the bathroom, turning on the water she needed to get rid of that feeling of vomit. She took a long shower with the water soothing her muscles and cleansing her from the stench of herself.
When she got the main hallway, she had thought of, first, going to the cafeteria. The cafeteria had long lines and hotdogs, this thought made her change her mind. She went to the parking garage and walked onto the street feeling just a little hungrier than normal, this was normal since she threw up on an empty stomach. She used the parking lots driveway to get out of garden it was faster then walking traversing by the front gate.
Balamb was only a thirty minute walk anyway she thought. She kept to the roads and took in her surrounding just to observe things. In seed you didn't do that much, mostly because you're to busy running or chasing or fighting your way out of something to stop and say hey look at the beautiful tree! She thought pointlessly as she walked.
When she went inside the town she was greeted with the pleasant smell of the harbor, though Balamb itself was and island when you got into the towns the smell always got stronger. She loved its smell, it was the kind of thing that wouldn't bother anyone who smelled it. She walked by ma Dinchts' house and before passing it completely she bit her bottom lip and wondered if she should pay a visit, in the end she knocked and waited for the lady to open up for her. Smiling she entered the small pleasant home, Ma Dincht smiled warmly at her before turning to close the door.
"My dear! Quistis come in! Make yourself at home, any friend of Zells is welcome here." she told her when she noticed Quistis stand by the door like a stranger. Quistis smiled and walked to seat in a chair by the kitchen. Ma Dincht looked at her for a moment, thinking over something.
"Would you like some breakfast Quistis?" she asked the blonde-haired woman.
"Oh I couldn't possibly!" Quistis was hungry but she wasn't going to impose.
"Nonsense! Come now, what would you like?" Ma Dincht was already setting up the kitchen before she had Quistis' answer. Quistis shrugged and thought, well, it would save me money and I'll have some company.
"Well, if it's not too much trouble Ma Dincht. What are you making?" she asked as Ma Dincht rummaged through the kitchen.
"I have pancakes, eggs, bacon, and Zells favorite: hotdogs, oatmeal, fruit, fish, cereal, your pick Quistis." Quistis sighed; she was always so nice to the gang.
"Ma Dincht I shouldn't be bothering you." she spoke as she got up to leave. Ma Dincht shut her up and forced her to sit back down as she muttered about how kids today did not know how to take a offer and please their elders. Quistis chuckled under her breathe.
" well, then, I know this sounds strange but if you could make some oatmeal and boil an egg I'd really appreciate it ma Dincht." she told her, ma Dincht hummed as she worked in her kitchen the foods smell got to Quistis and her stomach made complained about the lack of. Tutting ma Dincht took something out of the frig and put it on the table.
"Dear I say don't they feed you at that garden!" setting the plate down she turned back to the food. Quistis looked at the mini-sandwiches of some kind of stuffing or something taking a bite she waited for it to settle in her stomach. And Quistis suddenly had the urge to use the bathroom. Running towards where she remembered the bathroom being the last time she came she retched into the toilet for the third time that morning. Sighing she rested her head against her arm while the other held her stomach. Ma Dincht was standing over her with a strange expression on her face.
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked Quistis softly as she walked into the small room and held the girls hair as she felt the need to deposit nothing all over again. Coughing she took the offered water and sipped it cautiously afraid of negative reaction. Ma Dincht thought of what this reminded her of and she asked Quistis one thing.
"Quistis have you gone to a doctor?" she looked at the woman on her bathroom floor and watched as a frown appeared there.
"Why would I need to? It could be a cold? Its only happened today. Ma Dincht I'm fine really I've just had a bad morning." she explained. Ma Dincht was skeptical and the fact remained that it wasn't normal for a perfectly health young woman was vomiting a bite of her famous sandwiches. A thought occurred to her.
"Are you sick?" she asked the blonde-haired woman.
"No Ma Dincht really its nothing." Ma Dincht sighed in relief and helped the girl up as the waked back to the kitchen. Once they sat down Ma Dincht stared with an interrogation.
"Why did you throw up?" she asked after looking at Quistis. Quistis looked at her with unknowing eyes.
"I'm not sure, I just had to.," she stated after a second, the doubt apparent.
"When did this start? Is this the first time this has happened?" Ma Dincht asked in a more understanding tone.
"No... its happened this morning before I came into to town. Twice" Quistis told her, her voice steady despite her current embarrassed state.
"How do you feel?" Ma Dincht asked.
"I got light headed after I threw up but I just feel hungry now. I haven't eaten anything today and I've retched three times." ma Dincht got up and gave her the oatmeal and egg she had cooked. She continued talking.
"So what do you think it is?" she asked as she watched the girl smash the egg into the oatmeal, mixing the two foods into one strange looking oatmeal, strangely after she added sweet and sour sauce.
"I'm not sure, it's probably just something I ate or a cold or bug." she told her as she ate the meal, Ma Dincht frowned and began eating her own food.
"I want you to visit a doctor." she told her stubbornly. Quistis shook her head as they stood outside, Quistis was eager to leave already, the woman was a saint but a very persistent one.
"Ma Dincht. I can take care of myself." she told her, I do not need anyone telling me how to take care of myself I've been doing so all my life, she thought.
"Now, I know this Quistis, but well, remember when you made Zell go see a doctor when you were both training and he got hurt?" she told her. Quistis thought back, shook her head.
"He fractured a ligament...you made him go to the doctor in garden...well, he told me the story, anyway, you made him go. Now I"m making you go."
"Ma Dincht this is completely different." she told her after she remembered.
"Quistis! Don't be a hypocrite."
Quistis always knew Ma Dincht cared for the gang a lot, and she knew that Ma Dincht knew about how they were all in the orphanage together, maybe that's why she treats us like family, she mused as she prepared for hug hell. Quistis shook her head and mumbled a yes ma'am before she was pulled into a fierce hug, smiling to herself she left with a wave.
"Call me after you see the doctor I want to know what they say!" before she went inside, she told her. Quistis walked back to the garden after that, still a little hungry, she thought. Back at Garden, she went first to the cafeteria to see the gang and then she headed to the infirmary.
The doors opened releasing a gust of wind, the lightness of the corridor a comfort to her. The clearness of the day will never be forgotten and the number of steps, even they'd be remembered by her. Briefly, for no reason known to her she remembered the day of the field exam..........
The day was early and she had just finished taking a student to the fire cavern to get a G.Fs. she was walking back to her room to get changed when a figure brushed past her. A rough hand brushed hers and she chilled from the suddenness of it, she wasn't used to it. She looked at her hand as she brought it in front of her face. Her brows lifted in surprise as the blood dripped from her finger tips looking up quickly she saw the one person who she didn't expect to be there....Seifer!
She saw him lift his hand to his face for a second before he brought it down again, being careful not to dirty his coat in the process. She rolled her eyes at that and ran up to him, the closer she got the more banged up he looked. Shaking her head she ran in front of him and stopped him, he didn't so much as blink before walking around her. Growling he pushed her when she tried to help him when he had lost balance; a part of her always hurt when he pushed her away. He pushed her off and then hissed as a arm wound taunted his strength. She went back up to walk next to him; he looked at the blood drip down in front of his face as he growled.
"Leave me alone...Trepe!" he said it harshly, she winced and closed her eyes and lowered her gaze before walking away. she looked back as he stumbled past the rooms biting her lip she frowned but kept to her own way. It was early so not a lot of people were wandering the halls, when Quistis heard the thud of a body fall to the ground she knew immediately who it was. Turning around she saw him collapsed and for the first time she noticed the three slashes across his back. They had seeped through the coat. Gasping she ran back to him and kneeled as she grabbed his arms and helped him up. His heavy frame surrounded hers, with some effort and a few mild curses from him she got him up.
Digging around his pocket, she found his keycard. He had collapsed in front a door so she tried it, hoping it was his she slipped it through. Several beeps later it opened, she smiled at the easiness and then remembered who she was dealing with and almost cursed at her bad luck, he would be pissed. .......I could just dump him in the room and leave, she thought but right after felt terrible thinking about doing that to him. She didn't know why she couldn't just deposit him on the floor and leave, but some of her just felt wrong not helping him.
After closing the door she set him down on the bed and crawled out from under him, he was unconscious so far but she was being quiet because if he woke up he would scream and kick and be a big ass about it. She disentangled his hand from his gunblade and belt and then took off his gray trench coat. The blue vest literally dampened with his sweat and blood. After removing that, she took off his pants, albeit after a few minutes of inner debating. She was surprised at the beating he took. He had a few scratches on his thighs and calves had bruises, his looked trampled on. She thought of what could've done this to him and breathed out as she turned him over seeing the slashes. Three clawed wounds were still flowing out blood, not a lot but it wasn't stopping. She concluded that he ran into a T-Rexsuar, and being Seifer he didn't run, the prick she thought. She took some cures from her stock and prepared to use the little she had left on him, what a waste she thought briefly before focusing on his wounds.
Seifer awoke by the tingling sensation of a warm and cold flush in his system. He felt certain areas of his leg react to it by stretching and pulling of muscles, the blood in his veins went cold, icy and then warmed almost seconds later, he opened his eyes to see black. Moving his head, he found his bedroom wall. When did I get to bed? He asked himself. He looked the other way and saw Quistis' face as her hands were above his back now. He was about to say something when a different sensation overtook his torso. It felt like million of fingertips were sliding around certain areas.......... were his slashes were. So slow he thought, it felt like if sand was washing over him, but it wasn't rough it was sensitive and calm. So strange he thought briefly. He looked at her and saw her eyelids flutter as she did whatever she was doing to heal him. Why is she helping me? I can take care of myself, that's why you were beaten to hell by a dinosaur, and then collapsed, a little voice told him. He opened his eyes only just realizing he had closed them to see Quistis eyes glow for a second, his mouth hung open as he saw her little change. Millisecond later she opened them completely and the slashes tingled one last time before he felt the same stretching. His back stayed warm for a few minutes before that went away also. She seemed dazed and he was staring at her trying to figure out what the hell she did. That was no cure spell, he told himself as he saw her eyes focus on his. Tears brimming them, probably from what she did for him.
"Seifer?...." she asked, for a second he thought he saw her look through him confused, unsure of why she was here. What the hell did she do? He asked himself again. She seemed to answer is unasked question. He was so close to her, he could smell her.
"I cured you. I ran out of cures just before I got to your back. I had to use my own energy." she told him vaguely. He frowned about to scream at her but just before he did something else came out of his mouth. I can be nice, she won't think anything of it……fuck! I'm a chicken wuss if I think I care about what she thinks! He thought to himself.
"Thanks..." he told her. why? He thought. He saw her leaning towards his face, he lost his frown of anger and replaced by confusion and wonder, she smiled at him and tried something to help it get better. Her breathe passed over his face, the whirling breathe covered his eyes before it was absorbed by the gash on his face, healing it considerably. She backed off; sighing out of exhaustion, she got up and walked to a chair. Damn, so close, he thought.
"Sorry I can't make the scar go away." she said slowly, trying out her tongue, I wish I could try out her tongue, he thought distractedly. He smiled inwardly at the thought, I always.....hyne forbid he thought ever out the word,(a/n: okay, what that meant was that what he was thinking was taboo so he didn't even let himself think it out in his head) doesn't mean I'll be nice though, he reasoned with himself.
"Why the hell did you do that?" he asked with his regular tone arrogant tone. She looked at him, her eyes avoiding his, in case he could see behind the glasses.
"Might as well, right? Well, I have to leave. I reek of your blood." she told him before she went for the door. He got up and walked up to her, stopping her from leaving. She turned around by the pull and came face to face with him. A hand came up to wipe a tear that had escaped her eyes, unknowing from her. She didn't know she had cried, when did I cry? She asked herself. She blinked in confusion and a few more tears escaped. His hand moved to remove them; she would never forget the gesture. It wasn't like Seifer, it was gentle and soft. The movements slow and careful as his lips came to thank hers. Soft as cotton, he didn't penetrate her mouth but it was like they danced. His bottom lip moved with her bottom lip and his right lip rubbed with her right. Each and every line accounted for and every move was slow so it tingled. He broke away and whispered a special thanks to her before she turned around stunned and walked away.
**
Looking around she grabbed her head, getting a memory awake was too much for her head. She looked in front of her, the doctors' office? She asked herself, the memory still having a thought consuming affect on her. She walked in, the doors sliding open with a hiss like sound.
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