No One Knows Like I Do
You know the deal. I own nothing accept people I make up in this here story.
Small change: In chapter 1, Fujin lost her eye a couple years ago. Now timing makes more sense.
Author's Note: Ah, another chapter finished! I could've posted it yesterday, but no. Let's get on with the story!
Chapter 2 - Some Gil for Your Thoughts
Seifer silently cursed himself as he walked down the dormitory halls of Balamb. He struck a nearby wall squarely with his fist. He didn't do it hard enough to dent it though; he didn't want to be held responsible for property damage. That would be just another annoying fine to his record.
'That shouldn't have happened,' he thought to himself. Things were getting like that lately between him and Fujin. He couldn't understand what made him accuse her of being jealous. 'Why the hell would she be jealous? It's not like she's into me.' He always considered all of them to be a posse…like family. It wasn't anything more between him and Fujin as far as he was concerned.
Seifer headed toward the main lobby of Garden. He just stared at a nearby fountain lost in thought. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that someone was coming up right behind him. Only when the offender was right on his heels did he notice and whipped around.
"Boo! Hey lover!" It was Samantha. Seifer was about to put her in a headlock when he realized who it was.
"Don't do that! Hey, how did you get in here?" he asked. "Oh of course. A visitor's pass."
"I decided I wanted to come here to see you. I always wondered what it was like at a Garden!" She exclaimed looking around. It was so beautiful here with all the fountains and shrubs that were a part of the scenery. "If you're wondering how I found you, I asked some guy wearing a jacket with fur around the collar if he had seen you. He muttered something about a disciplinary office and pointed me here."
"Oh. Hey, wanna try the famous Balamb fish?" Seifer had seen Fujin just then and she was heading in the direction of the training center. 'Must've finished the site already,' he thought to himself. Seifer just wanted to leave Garden so he could try to forget what happened earlier. After all, Balamb was one of his favorite towns for down time.
"Yeah! I heard Balamb has the best fish on the whole planet! Let's go there!" Samantha wrapped her arm around Seifer's and they began heading toward the front gate. Seifer didn't notice Rinoa as they walked by a nearby bench. He was still replaying the incident in his mind. Samantha didn't even notice that he wasn't paying attention to her since she was marveling at all her surroundings. Rinoa looked up from the book she was reading to regard the both of them.
"Hey!"
"Huh? Oh, hey Rinoa. What's up?" he managed to ask even though his mind was preoccupied. Samantha turned and waved absently, then resumed to looking at the scenery.
"Nothing much. You seemed preoccupied even though you're on a date. Something the matter?" Samantha didn't know it, but Seifer and Rinoa used to be an item. Currently, Rinoa was seeing Squall (who Samantha ran into earlier) and neither had remaining feelings for the other.
"Nah. Gotta go. Samantha and me are going to Balamb. She wants to try the Balamb fish. See ya."
"Bye, have fun," As they walked away, Rinoa wondered why Seifer continued to date slutty looking girls. Even so, he still had his pride and he never went far with them. Who knew where they had been? She continued to watch them go until the passed the library. Then it hit her.
'Something must have happened between him and Fujin. Every time they were on the outs, he could never think straight,' she speculated. Maybe there was something she could do. Maybe she could talk to Fujin. She was scared to because she didn't want to seem like a meddler. 'She knows him better than I do anyway.' Rinoa decided it wasn't her place and resumed her reading.
~*~*~
In the training center, Fujin took out all her frustrations on a couple of Grats. It was their own fault for trying to attack her. Fujin hurled her pinwheel in the air with terrific ease. It whizzed by a couple of palm trees and then struck both Grats at once killing both instantly. She caught it and continued to eliminate any foe that dared to bring her any harm for the next three hours.
Raijin was nearby, closer to the secret area when he heard another monster cry in defeat. He instantly knew it was Fujin. No one took out enemies like that other than her when she was very angry. Suddenly he heard a familiar roar. 'T-Rexaur's coming.' Realizing he had no sleep magic on him he broke into a sprint in Fujin's direction.
"Hey Fuj! A T-Rexaur is coming this way! Wanna take him out?" Raijin wasn't afraid to fight the humongous prehistoric animal, but it wasn't wise to do it alone.
Raijin readied his Bo staff and Fujin retrieved her pinwheel, which was implanted in a Granaldo. The T-Rexaur rounded the corner sharply and instantly spotted the duo. In a slow spin, it sent it's massive tail in their direction. Fujin immediately cast Protect on both to soften the blow. Raijin drew sleep magic from Fujin and put the T-Rexaur to sleep. Fujin cast Death and instantly killed it.
"I think we're getting even better than before, ya know. I guess you were really angry huh sis?" Raijin asked still concerned.
"FINE." Fujin replied. "FATIGUED." She wiped sweat off her brow. Fujin just realized that she was training for three hours. 'No wonder.' She started in the direction of the large steel doors.
"Yeah, me too." He wiped sweat off his brow, but he knew he was sweating profusely. 'I need a shower.'
They reached the main lobby and headed toward the dorms. Raijin told Fujin about his classes making small talk since he wanted her to think of other things. "Instructor Nomura is a toughie, ya know. She gave us all these chapters to read on understanding forbidden magic, ya know. She kept stressing why it was forbidden, but I fell asleep halfway through. You still got Instructor Trepe?"
"AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin found no need to talk to Raijin that way so she resorted to normal speech. "I fall asleep sometimes too. Maybe I should take the SeeD exam again soon."
"Yeah! I think I will too, ya know. Seifer even said he would try again-" Raijin cut himself off mid sentence, but not soon enough to stop Fujin from kicking him in the shin. "Owww!"
"DON'T bring him up. I'm going to my room. See ya." It was still pretty early by it being dusk, but Fujin had things to think about.
"See ya. Sleep well, ya know." Raijin headed toward the boys' dorm not bothering to look back. He didn't want to see her expression this time. 'She should just tell him.' Raijin couldn't figure out why it would be so hard. 'If it were me and I liked some girl, I would have said something by now.' Raijin stopped in front of his door and wondered if Seifer was back. He knew he was when he heard Seifer's boom box blasting some heavy metal music through the door. Not Raijin's thing, he went more for easy listening. Raijin unlocked the door and walked in.
"Sup Seifer. Where's your girl?" Raijin noted that Seifer sometimes brought a girl back to his dorm to "watch" a movie. Seifer was sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchenette eating his lunch from earlier in the day. It tasted awful when heated up, but Seifer was too preoccupied with other thoughts to even notice.
"She went home and she's not my girl." Seifer was more worried about what Fujin was up to. "How's Fujin?' he asked finally looking at Raijin. "She still mad?"
"Yeah. She'll probably cool down tomorrow, ya know." Raijin only said that to ease Seifer's worrying, but he knew tomorrow would be no different. "Maybe you should talk to her, ya know." Raijin couldn't believe that Seifer could actually eat the steak. It should have really been like rubber.
"Hey, don't worry about what I should do! Shit, what am I supposed to say? Gee Fuj I'm really sorry, blah, blah, blah? Sheah right." Seifer finished the rest of his lunch/dinner and threw the container in the trash. "I'm going to bed." He went in his room and turned off the music and his lights and attempted to get some rest.
Seifer couldn't manage any sleep with all of Raijin's snoring and his thoughts. 'I'm sorry Fujin. You've taken enough shit from me…what should I do? Apologize? Too lame. But it's right…what do I know about something being right?' Seifer also realized that perhaps he and Fujin weren't just family. There was something more and he always knew it. Fujin wasn't the type of girl that Seifer would usually go for. 'Should that even matter? Ah, this can't be right.' Seifer let his thoughts overtake his mind and he soon fell into a sleep that was plagued with jumbled thoughts.
~*~*~
Fujin was disappointed to find that her roommate was in the dorm for once. Rose was talking on the phone with one of her three boyfriends. She didn't even notice that Fujin had come in. Fujin headed straight to her room and changed into a T-shirt and sweats. She wasn't tired at all. Her stomach growled loudly and she headed toward the kitchenette to fix herself some ramen noodles. Quick and easy. Once they were ready, she sat down and ate in silence. Rose got off the phone and headed to the kitchenette for a light snack. She immediately noticed Fujin's presence.
"Oh, you're back. What's wrong with you?"
"MIND BUSINESS."
"Hyne, I was just asking! No wonder no one likes you," she said as she rummaged through the cabinets.
"AND?"
"You really don't care? I don't believe it." Rose finally found some trail mix she stashed away.
Fujin finished her meal quickly and washed her dishes. Without another word she headed to her room to try to get some sleep. She would confront Rose another time about her sexual "adventures". All Fujin could think about was the way Seifer always treated her.
He doesn't love you fool. Besides, there are others far prettier than you'll ever be. Did you really think he would love someone like you?
'He wouldn't,' Fujin thought bitterly.
Right. Always remember that.
She finally came to terms with the situation and decided to let it go. What was the use of thinking otherwise? 'I give up.' Fujin didn't know what else to do.
Rose could hear her roommate talking in her sleep that night. She sounded as though she were lost and could find her way.
"How sad," Rose said aloud. "There's more to her than I thought."
Much more than she could ever know.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
I hope that was okay. I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter. Well, reviews, flames, and suggestions are welcome. Thanks a lot!
You know the deal. I own nothing accept people I make up in this here story.
Small change: In chapter 1, Fujin lost her eye a couple years ago. Now timing makes more sense.
Author's Note: Ah, another chapter finished! I could've posted it yesterday, but no. Let's get on with the story!
Chapter 2 - Some Gil for Your Thoughts
Seifer silently cursed himself as he walked down the dormitory halls of Balamb. He struck a nearby wall squarely with his fist. He didn't do it hard enough to dent it though; he didn't want to be held responsible for property damage. That would be just another annoying fine to his record.
'That shouldn't have happened,' he thought to himself. Things were getting like that lately between him and Fujin. He couldn't understand what made him accuse her of being jealous. 'Why the hell would she be jealous? It's not like she's into me.' He always considered all of them to be a posse…like family. It wasn't anything more between him and Fujin as far as he was concerned.
Seifer headed toward the main lobby of Garden. He just stared at a nearby fountain lost in thought. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that someone was coming up right behind him. Only when the offender was right on his heels did he notice and whipped around.
"Boo! Hey lover!" It was Samantha. Seifer was about to put her in a headlock when he realized who it was.
"Don't do that! Hey, how did you get in here?" he asked. "Oh of course. A visitor's pass."
"I decided I wanted to come here to see you. I always wondered what it was like at a Garden!" She exclaimed looking around. It was so beautiful here with all the fountains and shrubs that were a part of the scenery. "If you're wondering how I found you, I asked some guy wearing a jacket with fur around the collar if he had seen you. He muttered something about a disciplinary office and pointed me here."
"Oh. Hey, wanna try the famous Balamb fish?" Seifer had seen Fujin just then and she was heading in the direction of the training center. 'Must've finished the site already,' he thought to himself. Seifer just wanted to leave Garden so he could try to forget what happened earlier. After all, Balamb was one of his favorite towns for down time.
"Yeah! I heard Balamb has the best fish on the whole planet! Let's go there!" Samantha wrapped her arm around Seifer's and they began heading toward the front gate. Seifer didn't notice Rinoa as they walked by a nearby bench. He was still replaying the incident in his mind. Samantha didn't even notice that he wasn't paying attention to her since she was marveling at all her surroundings. Rinoa looked up from the book she was reading to regard the both of them.
"Hey!"
"Huh? Oh, hey Rinoa. What's up?" he managed to ask even though his mind was preoccupied. Samantha turned and waved absently, then resumed to looking at the scenery.
"Nothing much. You seemed preoccupied even though you're on a date. Something the matter?" Samantha didn't know it, but Seifer and Rinoa used to be an item. Currently, Rinoa was seeing Squall (who Samantha ran into earlier) and neither had remaining feelings for the other.
"Nah. Gotta go. Samantha and me are going to Balamb. She wants to try the Balamb fish. See ya."
"Bye, have fun," As they walked away, Rinoa wondered why Seifer continued to date slutty looking girls. Even so, he still had his pride and he never went far with them. Who knew where they had been? She continued to watch them go until the passed the library. Then it hit her.
'Something must have happened between him and Fujin. Every time they were on the outs, he could never think straight,' she speculated. Maybe there was something she could do. Maybe she could talk to Fujin. She was scared to because she didn't want to seem like a meddler. 'She knows him better than I do anyway.' Rinoa decided it wasn't her place and resumed her reading.
~*~*~
In the training center, Fujin took out all her frustrations on a couple of Grats. It was their own fault for trying to attack her. Fujin hurled her pinwheel in the air with terrific ease. It whizzed by a couple of palm trees and then struck both Grats at once killing both instantly. She caught it and continued to eliminate any foe that dared to bring her any harm for the next three hours.
Raijin was nearby, closer to the secret area when he heard another monster cry in defeat. He instantly knew it was Fujin. No one took out enemies like that other than her when she was very angry. Suddenly he heard a familiar roar. 'T-Rexaur's coming.' Realizing he had no sleep magic on him he broke into a sprint in Fujin's direction.
"Hey Fuj! A T-Rexaur is coming this way! Wanna take him out?" Raijin wasn't afraid to fight the humongous prehistoric animal, but it wasn't wise to do it alone.
Raijin readied his Bo staff and Fujin retrieved her pinwheel, which was implanted in a Granaldo. The T-Rexaur rounded the corner sharply and instantly spotted the duo. In a slow spin, it sent it's massive tail in their direction. Fujin immediately cast Protect on both to soften the blow. Raijin drew sleep magic from Fujin and put the T-Rexaur to sleep. Fujin cast Death and instantly killed it.
"I think we're getting even better than before, ya know. I guess you were really angry huh sis?" Raijin asked still concerned.
"FINE." Fujin replied. "FATIGUED." She wiped sweat off her brow. Fujin just realized that she was training for three hours. 'No wonder.' She started in the direction of the large steel doors.
"Yeah, me too." He wiped sweat off his brow, but he knew he was sweating profusely. 'I need a shower.'
They reached the main lobby and headed toward the dorms. Raijin told Fujin about his classes making small talk since he wanted her to think of other things. "Instructor Nomura is a toughie, ya know. She gave us all these chapters to read on understanding forbidden magic, ya know. She kept stressing why it was forbidden, but I fell asleep halfway through. You still got Instructor Trepe?"
"AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin found no need to talk to Raijin that way so she resorted to normal speech. "I fall asleep sometimes too. Maybe I should take the SeeD exam again soon."
"Yeah! I think I will too, ya know. Seifer even said he would try again-" Raijin cut himself off mid sentence, but not soon enough to stop Fujin from kicking him in the shin. "Owww!"
"DON'T bring him up. I'm going to my room. See ya." It was still pretty early by it being dusk, but Fujin had things to think about.
"See ya. Sleep well, ya know." Raijin headed toward the boys' dorm not bothering to look back. He didn't want to see her expression this time. 'She should just tell him.' Raijin couldn't figure out why it would be so hard. 'If it were me and I liked some girl, I would have said something by now.' Raijin stopped in front of his door and wondered if Seifer was back. He knew he was when he heard Seifer's boom box blasting some heavy metal music through the door. Not Raijin's thing, he went more for easy listening. Raijin unlocked the door and walked in.
"Sup Seifer. Where's your girl?" Raijin noted that Seifer sometimes brought a girl back to his dorm to "watch" a movie. Seifer was sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchenette eating his lunch from earlier in the day. It tasted awful when heated up, but Seifer was too preoccupied with other thoughts to even notice.
"She went home and she's not my girl." Seifer was more worried about what Fujin was up to. "How's Fujin?' he asked finally looking at Raijin. "She still mad?"
"Yeah. She'll probably cool down tomorrow, ya know." Raijin only said that to ease Seifer's worrying, but he knew tomorrow would be no different. "Maybe you should talk to her, ya know." Raijin couldn't believe that Seifer could actually eat the steak. It should have really been like rubber.
"Hey, don't worry about what I should do! Shit, what am I supposed to say? Gee Fuj I'm really sorry, blah, blah, blah? Sheah right." Seifer finished the rest of his lunch/dinner and threw the container in the trash. "I'm going to bed." He went in his room and turned off the music and his lights and attempted to get some rest.
Seifer couldn't manage any sleep with all of Raijin's snoring and his thoughts. 'I'm sorry Fujin. You've taken enough shit from me…what should I do? Apologize? Too lame. But it's right…what do I know about something being right?' Seifer also realized that perhaps he and Fujin weren't just family. There was something more and he always knew it. Fujin wasn't the type of girl that Seifer would usually go for. 'Should that even matter? Ah, this can't be right.' Seifer let his thoughts overtake his mind and he soon fell into a sleep that was plagued with jumbled thoughts.
~*~*~
Fujin was disappointed to find that her roommate was in the dorm for once. Rose was talking on the phone with one of her three boyfriends. She didn't even notice that Fujin had come in. Fujin headed straight to her room and changed into a T-shirt and sweats. She wasn't tired at all. Her stomach growled loudly and she headed toward the kitchenette to fix herself some ramen noodles. Quick and easy. Once they were ready, she sat down and ate in silence. Rose got off the phone and headed to the kitchenette for a light snack. She immediately noticed Fujin's presence.
"Oh, you're back. What's wrong with you?"
"MIND BUSINESS."
"Hyne, I was just asking! No wonder no one likes you," she said as she rummaged through the cabinets.
"AND?"
"You really don't care? I don't believe it." Rose finally found some trail mix she stashed away.
Fujin finished her meal quickly and washed her dishes. Without another word she headed to her room to try to get some sleep. She would confront Rose another time about her sexual "adventures". All Fujin could think about was the way Seifer always treated her.
He doesn't love you fool. Besides, there are others far prettier than you'll ever be. Did you really think he would love someone like you?
'He wouldn't,' Fujin thought bitterly.
Right. Always remember that.
She finally came to terms with the situation and decided to let it go. What was the use of thinking otherwise? 'I give up.' Fujin didn't know what else to do.
Rose could hear her roommate talking in her sleep that night. She sounded as though she were lost and could find her way.
"How sad," Rose said aloud. "There's more to her than I thought."
Much more than she could ever know.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
I hope that was okay. I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter. Well, reviews, flames, and suggestions are welcome. Thanks a lot!