No One Knows Like I Do
I'm not making profit from this and it's a damn shame...ah well! At least I have reviewers!! Thanks guys!!
Chapter 13 - Arrival in Esthar
"All right everyone, listen up," Xu announced. All of the SeeD candidates had gathered into the seating area of the Ragnarok anxiously awaiting further instruction. Nervous chatter was reduced to complete silence as Xu spoke. "Squall will now present you with explicit detail of your mission." Xu nodded towards Squall who stepped forward.
Squall cleared his throat uncomfortably and glanced around at the students before he spoke. "Before we arrive at Esthar, Instructor Trepe will split you into groups of four. The most qualified student in the group will be the Squad Leader and the rest of you are the Squad Members. Make sure you listen to the instructors your Squad Leader gives. Upon arrival, each group will be assigned to a certain section of Esthar in which you will investigate by a staff of Senior SeeDs." Squall blandly gestured at the small group of Senior SeeDs. "From there on out you are on your own. If you fail to complete your part of the mission the Senior SeeD will step in and you will fail the field exam. Instructor Trepe will now review the rules of the field exam."
Hands clasped in front of her, Quistis briskly stepped forward and sternly regarded the group. "Remember that there is absolutely NO talking. You may talk amongst your group, but there are to be NO interactions with other groups or the citizens of Esthar. Each time that you talk to someone outside of your group, points WILL be docked. Senior SeeDs will be watching your every move, so be careful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Irvine or Selphie."
"Now then, you're all free to talk amongst yourselves or explore the ship." Xu smiled warmly at the candidates. "Try to relax and have faith in your training. It does no good if you're tense before an important mission." Xu turned and walked out of the area, heading to the bridge. The group of candidates dispersed into different areas of the Ragnarok, exploring or rambling to their fellow classmates.
Fujin had no desire to explore the majestic ship. She sat down in one of the chairs and rested her head on the back of it. She looked up at the ship's glass windows and watched clusters of large white clouds whiz by the dragon like ship. She slowly closed her eye and let the hum of the ship's engines lull her to sleep.
~*~*~
"I asked you a question Seifer. What did you do to Fujin?" Rinoa stood fast in front of Seifer and wasn't leaving until she got an answer.
"What the hell do you care for? She's not your friend!" Seifer snapped back heatedly.
"But we're not exactly enemies either! I have a right to be concerned! I saw her earlier and she wasn't her usually get-the-hell-outta-my-face self. She looked really out of it and I know YOU have something to do with it!"
"You know what you need to do? Mind your own damn business! What's wrong? Your little Squally-poo can't keep you busy enough?" Seifer scoffed while folding his arms.
"I'm not even gonna justify that. You need to grow the hell up Seifer. You always had a problem with that." Rinoa smirked slightly and cocked her head to the side.
"I guess you would know all about that since you still haven't! You can't even stand on your own two feet. Always needing saving...and now you feel that you have something to prove? Please. We don't need any weaklings for SeeDs, princess. Riding on Squall's balls will not make YOU a SeeD. It's gonna take a lot more than that!" Seifer knew that Rinoa despised being called princess and that she wouldn't take his comment to well. He was having a little too much fun trying to push her buttons.
"I don't believe you just said that!" Rinoa shook with fury and began breathing heavily. "This has nothing to do with Squall!"
"Sure it doesn't," Seifer sneered accusingly. "We'll see."
Rinoa exploded with rage. "You know what Seifer? This is why you can't keep a girlfriend...why you couldn't keep me. You're too fucking arrogant for your own good! And that's why Fujin won't be around for you! Face it, you're nothing but an egotistical asshole! This is why Squall is still better than you'll ever be. At least he got the girl in the end! What do you have to show?! Nothing and that's the way it's gonna be for you. So live with it."
Seifer was silenced by fury. He didn't even bother retorting with anything clever. What was there to say? He knew Rinoa was right. Both teens stood in silence; calming themselves until Rinoa spoke once more.
"Seifer." He brought his gaze to her slowly. "Look, I mean everything I say. I'm only telling you because I DO care. Your pride is getting you nowhere. I hate to say it, but look what happened the last time. You went on the other side and nearly destroyed the world! Don't you remember how traumatic that was for you? Even though I wasn't there, I know you took it hard. It was hard wasn't it?" Rinoa leaned against the cool metal wall and slip down to the floor.
Seifer sat on the cold floor next to Rinoa and listened. "Believe me, I also know what it's like to not be accepted. After I got my powers, I was scared. Scared at how everyone would look at me; how they would judge me. Everyone in Garden knew that I had become a sorceress. I thought that no one would accept me...not even my friends. After a while, I realized that not everyone would accept me. All that should matter is if your friends do or not. If your friends don't, who's left?"
Rinoa glanced at Seifer to check if he was still listening. Seeing that he was she continued. "Fujin and Raijin were there for you. It might even be safe to say that Fujin was more so. She loves you Seifer...I realized that while we were still seeing each other. I knew that she wanted to be in my place...it's a wonder that she can tolerate me..." She sighed softly feeling slightly guilty. "That's all in the past now though... and now she's free to pursue you and she did. Why did you push her away?"
Seifer ran an exasperated hand through his cropped blond hair. "Because...!"
"Because what Seifer?"
"Because she...I don't have to answer to you!"
Rinoa scornfully smirked to herself. "Oh I get it now...it's because she's DIFFERENT."
"Don't say it like it's a disease."
"Why? You act like it is!" Rinoa shot back. "I can't believe you Seifer! That shouldn't even matter to you! So what if she's a little different in appearance! What matters is what's on the inside! I don't know how many times you've heard that, but it's true! So stop it already!" Rinoa rose to her feet and looked down at Seifer. "I'm gonna leave you to think about it. I hope you'll do the right thing...don't break anymore girls' hearts."
Seifer watched Rinoa as she left rolling over what she said in his head.
'I know all that already...she has no idea...'
~*~*~
Fujin woke from her sleep slowly. She tried to adjust her blurry vision and wondered where she was. When she heard the Ragnarok's engines, she remembered that she was on her way to Esthar to take that dreaded field exam once more. She rose from her seat and stretched in an attempt to wake her muscles up as well.
"Hey Fujin!"
Fujin turned upon hearing the voice addressing her. Fortunately, it was Raijin. She waited in place until the large, dark-skinned man ran up to her.
"Hey, ummm you okay? I saw you were sleeping so I didn't wake ya, ya know. You sure you're okay? You sure don't look like it, ya know."
"I think you know what the problem is."
"Oh....right." Raijin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, well something like that won't happen again, ya know." He laid a reassuring hand on her small shoulder. You're stronger now, Fuj...and I won't let it happen, ya know. I won't let anything hurt ya."
Even though she remained emotionless, Raijin knew that she was grateful for his reassurance.
"What about anyone?" She asked softly.
"I...." Raijin had chose to stay out of Fujin and Seifer's problems, but with Fujin asking him that he could help getting upset. "You two really need to talk, ya know."
Fujin nodded somberly. "Yeah...but I don't want to look at him or even think about him right now."
"Okay Fuj."
Before either could say anything more, Zell's voice came over the intercom.
"We'll be arriving in Esthar in approximately forty five minutes. Make sure you have all your belongings."
"I'm gonna do some last minute stretches," Fujin said.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go get ready too. See ya when we get there," Raijin answered. Fujin watched him walk out of the entryway.
'We're so close to Esthar now...I can't back down...' Fujin sighed heavily before beginning to do her last minute stretches.
~*~*~
Children and civilians in Esthar watch as the massive crimson Ragnarok soared over the city. It was a wonder as to why there were so amazed since the city of Esthar was bizarre in structure. Light blue glass skyways cut in between glass buildings with lights flashing simultaneously. Chairlifts traveled through cerulean glass tunnels carrying its passenger to their next destination. Esthar was a lively city and was once hidden from the naked eye. How anyone could hide a city like this was truly amazing.
As soon as the Ragnarok landed at the Airstation Laguna, Kiros and Ward greeted the young SeeD candidates and the senior SeeDs.
"Heyyyy, hiya everyone! So you're all here to take the SeeD field test, huh?" Laguna greeted warmly.
"That's right," Squall answered.
"Oh Squall! How's it goin'?"
"Laguna...," Kiros cut in, "we really need to begin as soon as possible. I'm sure that Ward would agree."
Ward nodded in silence being that he had lost his voice about eighteen years ago.
Laguna regarded the dark skinned man and sheepishly cleared his throat. "Oh right of course! Well I'm pretty sure all of you know what the mission is. We've been having a series of malfunctions all over the city for some time now. Soooooo, we need you all to get to the root of the problem. You can all handle that, right?"
"Absolutely sir," Xu responded dutifully.
"Good good. All right! Let's get down to business!" Laguna jumped up excitedly and pumped his fist in the air.
"You really need to calm down," Kiros quipped laughingly.
"What? Oh sorry about that everyone!" Laguna awkwardly placed a hand to the back of his head.
Squall simply sighed while the rest of his friends tried to contain their laughter.
"All right then," Xu spoke up, "now all of you will be assigned to groups of four. Selphie and Irvine will call out your names and arranged you into groups that they see fit."
Irvine and Selphie arranged the students into groups of four. Some students groaned in protest.
"Now, now don't get like that. You have to learn how to work with people you don't like either," Irvine reasoned.
After the groups were arranged, Fujin noticed that she was teamed with a know-it-all student named Isazu from her class and....
'Seifer?! Oh no...this WOULD happen. I bet Rinoa ran her mouth to the cowboy and little miss sunshine and they figured they would pair us together....' Fujin was in disbelief of her luck. To make things even worse...
'Oh hell no...not that snob Rose! How the hell did she pass the written? Someone up there does NOT like me....'
Xu spoke up after Selphie and Irvine finished their task. "Now then. Since you're all assigned to your groups, now you'll be assigned to different sectors of the city. You have approximately four hours to complete your mission. After you all leave here, remember that there is no talking except amongst your group. Please refrain from idle chatter. Your grade will be docked."
Fujin and Seifer's group found out that they had been assigned to the Presidential Palace.
"Oh wow...the Presidential Palace huh?" Rose breathed.
"Yeah...it's unbelievable," Isazu responded with amazement.
"SILENCE," Fujin hissed. "LET'S GO."
"Hey I'm the Squad Leader. I give the orders," Isazu huffed importantly. "All right everyone, let's go."
Once they stepped out of the Airstation, the group looked ahead at the Presidential Palace constructed out of glass like many of the other buildings. However, its importance was apparent due to the large structure on top of the building complete with blinking lights.
"Do we have to WALK all the way there?" Rose asked incredulously. "That sure is a long way from here....."
"Of course we have to walk all the way there Princess," Seifer mocked. "We're not allowed to use the chairlifts."
Rose folded her arms in annoyance and sighed. "Very well then."
Fujin chuckled to herself at how pathetic Rose was being. She wondered if Rose would hold them back from completing their mission.
Seifer gazed at Fujin almost sadly since he was thinking about what Rinoa had said to him earlier. He hated the tension between him and Fujin, but he knew that now was not the time to ask for forgiveness. An important mission lied before him and he was willing to plunge headfirst into that before apologizing to Fujin.
Simultaneously, Fujin was thinking about the same thing. She didn't like the tension either, but she wasn't willing to apologize to Seifer since she figured she had done nothing wrong.
'He has to be the one...not me. I can't stand this.'
Rose felt the apprehension between the couple and it suddenly occurred to her how she could take advantage of that. Smiling deviously to herself, she immediately ran various situations through her mind trying to find one that fit.
'I know just what to do now....'
This could only mean even more trouble.
I hate to leave you all kinda hanging like that, but I figured I'd save Rose's plot for the next chapter. It's guaranteed to be something idiotic....but it still means trouble for our favorite couple. I'm sorry that it took me so long to update...school just started and I had to find the right time to do this. Until next time everyone! Big hugs to all!!
I'm not making profit from this and it's a damn shame...ah well! At least I have reviewers!! Thanks guys!!
Chapter 13 - Arrival in Esthar
"All right everyone, listen up," Xu announced. All of the SeeD candidates had gathered into the seating area of the Ragnarok anxiously awaiting further instruction. Nervous chatter was reduced to complete silence as Xu spoke. "Squall will now present you with explicit detail of your mission." Xu nodded towards Squall who stepped forward.
Squall cleared his throat uncomfortably and glanced around at the students before he spoke. "Before we arrive at Esthar, Instructor Trepe will split you into groups of four. The most qualified student in the group will be the Squad Leader and the rest of you are the Squad Members. Make sure you listen to the instructors your Squad Leader gives. Upon arrival, each group will be assigned to a certain section of Esthar in which you will investigate by a staff of Senior SeeDs." Squall blandly gestured at the small group of Senior SeeDs. "From there on out you are on your own. If you fail to complete your part of the mission the Senior SeeD will step in and you will fail the field exam. Instructor Trepe will now review the rules of the field exam."
Hands clasped in front of her, Quistis briskly stepped forward and sternly regarded the group. "Remember that there is absolutely NO talking. You may talk amongst your group, but there are to be NO interactions with other groups or the citizens of Esthar. Each time that you talk to someone outside of your group, points WILL be docked. Senior SeeDs will be watching your every move, so be careful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Irvine or Selphie."
"Now then, you're all free to talk amongst yourselves or explore the ship." Xu smiled warmly at the candidates. "Try to relax and have faith in your training. It does no good if you're tense before an important mission." Xu turned and walked out of the area, heading to the bridge. The group of candidates dispersed into different areas of the Ragnarok, exploring or rambling to their fellow classmates.
Fujin had no desire to explore the majestic ship. She sat down in one of the chairs and rested her head on the back of it. She looked up at the ship's glass windows and watched clusters of large white clouds whiz by the dragon like ship. She slowly closed her eye and let the hum of the ship's engines lull her to sleep.
~*~*~
"I asked you a question Seifer. What did you do to Fujin?" Rinoa stood fast in front of Seifer and wasn't leaving until she got an answer.
"What the hell do you care for? She's not your friend!" Seifer snapped back heatedly.
"But we're not exactly enemies either! I have a right to be concerned! I saw her earlier and she wasn't her usually get-the-hell-outta-my-face self. She looked really out of it and I know YOU have something to do with it!"
"You know what you need to do? Mind your own damn business! What's wrong? Your little Squally-poo can't keep you busy enough?" Seifer scoffed while folding his arms.
"I'm not even gonna justify that. You need to grow the hell up Seifer. You always had a problem with that." Rinoa smirked slightly and cocked her head to the side.
"I guess you would know all about that since you still haven't! You can't even stand on your own two feet. Always needing saving...and now you feel that you have something to prove? Please. We don't need any weaklings for SeeDs, princess. Riding on Squall's balls will not make YOU a SeeD. It's gonna take a lot more than that!" Seifer knew that Rinoa despised being called princess and that she wouldn't take his comment to well. He was having a little too much fun trying to push her buttons.
"I don't believe you just said that!" Rinoa shook with fury and began breathing heavily. "This has nothing to do with Squall!"
"Sure it doesn't," Seifer sneered accusingly. "We'll see."
Rinoa exploded with rage. "You know what Seifer? This is why you can't keep a girlfriend...why you couldn't keep me. You're too fucking arrogant for your own good! And that's why Fujin won't be around for you! Face it, you're nothing but an egotistical asshole! This is why Squall is still better than you'll ever be. At least he got the girl in the end! What do you have to show?! Nothing and that's the way it's gonna be for you. So live with it."
Seifer was silenced by fury. He didn't even bother retorting with anything clever. What was there to say? He knew Rinoa was right. Both teens stood in silence; calming themselves until Rinoa spoke once more.
"Seifer." He brought his gaze to her slowly. "Look, I mean everything I say. I'm only telling you because I DO care. Your pride is getting you nowhere. I hate to say it, but look what happened the last time. You went on the other side and nearly destroyed the world! Don't you remember how traumatic that was for you? Even though I wasn't there, I know you took it hard. It was hard wasn't it?" Rinoa leaned against the cool metal wall and slip down to the floor.
Seifer sat on the cold floor next to Rinoa and listened. "Believe me, I also know what it's like to not be accepted. After I got my powers, I was scared. Scared at how everyone would look at me; how they would judge me. Everyone in Garden knew that I had become a sorceress. I thought that no one would accept me...not even my friends. After a while, I realized that not everyone would accept me. All that should matter is if your friends do or not. If your friends don't, who's left?"
Rinoa glanced at Seifer to check if he was still listening. Seeing that he was she continued. "Fujin and Raijin were there for you. It might even be safe to say that Fujin was more so. She loves you Seifer...I realized that while we were still seeing each other. I knew that she wanted to be in my place...it's a wonder that she can tolerate me..." She sighed softly feeling slightly guilty. "That's all in the past now though... and now she's free to pursue you and she did. Why did you push her away?"
Seifer ran an exasperated hand through his cropped blond hair. "Because...!"
"Because what Seifer?"
"Because she...I don't have to answer to you!"
Rinoa scornfully smirked to herself. "Oh I get it now...it's because she's DIFFERENT."
"Don't say it like it's a disease."
"Why? You act like it is!" Rinoa shot back. "I can't believe you Seifer! That shouldn't even matter to you! So what if she's a little different in appearance! What matters is what's on the inside! I don't know how many times you've heard that, but it's true! So stop it already!" Rinoa rose to her feet and looked down at Seifer. "I'm gonna leave you to think about it. I hope you'll do the right thing...don't break anymore girls' hearts."
Seifer watched Rinoa as she left rolling over what she said in his head.
'I know all that already...she has no idea...'
~*~*~
Fujin woke from her sleep slowly. She tried to adjust her blurry vision and wondered where she was. When she heard the Ragnarok's engines, she remembered that she was on her way to Esthar to take that dreaded field exam once more. She rose from her seat and stretched in an attempt to wake her muscles up as well.
"Hey Fujin!"
Fujin turned upon hearing the voice addressing her. Fortunately, it was Raijin. She waited in place until the large, dark-skinned man ran up to her.
"Hey, ummm you okay? I saw you were sleeping so I didn't wake ya, ya know. You sure you're okay? You sure don't look like it, ya know."
"I think you know what the problem is."
"Oh....right." Raijin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, well something like that won't happen again, ya know." He laid a reassuring hand on her small shoulder. You're stronger now, Fuj...and I won't let it happen, ya know. I won't let anything hurt ya."
Even though she remained emotionless, Raijin knew that she was grateful for his reassurance.
"What about anyone?" She asked softly.
"I...." Raijin had chose to stay out of Fujin and Seifer's problems, but with Fujin asking him that he could help getting upset. "You two really need to talk, ya know."
Fujin nodded somberly. "Yeah...but I don't want to look at him or even think about him right now."
"Okay Fuj."
Before either could say anything more, Zell's voice came over the intercom.
"We'll be arriving in Esthar in approximately forty five minutes. Make sure you have all your belongings."
"I'm gonna do some last minute stretches," Fujin said.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go get ready too. See ya when we get there," Raijin answered. Fujin watched him walk out of the entryway.
'We're so close to Esthar now...I can't back down...' Fujin sighed heavily before beginning to do her last minute stretches.
~*~*~
Children and civilians in Esthar watch as the massive crimson Ragnarok soared over the city. It was a wonder as to why there were so amazed since the city of Esthar was bizarre in structure. Light blue glass skyways cut in between glass buildings with lights flashing simultaneously. Chairlifts traveled through cerulean glass tunnels carrying its passenger to their next destination. Esthar was a lively city and was once hidden from the naked eye. How anyone could hide a city like this was truly amazing.
As soon as the Ragnarok landed at the Airstation Laguna, Kiros and Ward greeted the young SeeD candidates and the senior SeeDs.
"Heyyyy, hiya everyone! So you're all here to take the SeeD field test, huh?" Laguna greeted warmly.
"That's right," Squall answered.
"Oh Squall! How's it goin'?"
"Laguna...," Kiros cut in, "we really need to begin as soon as possible. I'm sure that Ward would agree."
Ward nodded in silence being that he had lost his voice about eighteen years ago.
Laguna regarded the dark skinned man and sheepishly cleared his throat. "Oh right of course! Well I'm pretty sure all of you know what the mission is. We've been having a series of malfunctions all over the city for some time now. Soooooo, we need you all to get to the root of the problem. You can all handle that, right?"
"Absolutely sir," Xu responded dutifully.
"Good good. All right! Let's get down to business!" Laguna jumped up excitedly and pumped his fist in the air.
"You really need to calm down," Kiros quipped laughingly.
"What? Oh sorry about that everyone!" Laguna awkwardly placed a hand to the back of his head.
Squall simply sighed while the rest of his friends tried to contain their laughter.
"All right then," Xu spoke up, "now all of you will be assigned to groups of four. Selphie and Irvine will call out your names and arranged you into groups that they see fit."
Irvine and Selphie arranged the students into groups of four. Some students groaned in protest.
"Now, now don't get like that. You have to learn how to work with people you don't like either," Irvine reasoned.
After the groups were arranged, Fujin noticed that she was teamed with a know-it-all student named Isazu from her class and....
'Seifer?! Oh no...this WOULD happen. I bet Rinoa ran her mouth to the cowboy and little miss sunshine and they figured they would pair us together....' Fujin was in disbelief of her luck. To make things even worse...
'Oh hell no...not that snob Rose! How the hell did she pass the written? Someone up there does NOT like me....'
Xu spoke up after Selphie and Irvine finished their task. "Now then. Since you're all assigned to your groups, now you'll be assigned to different sectors of the city. You have approximately four hours to complete your mission. After you all leave here, remember that there is no talking except amongst your group. Please refrain from idle chatter. Your grade will be docked."
Fujin and Seifer's group found out that they had been assigned to the Presidential Palace.
"Oh wow...the Presidential Palace huh?" Rose breathed.
"Yeah...it's unbelievable," Isazu responded with amazement.
"SILENCE," Fujin hissed. "LET'S GO."
"Hey I'm the Squad Leader. I give the orders," Isazu huffed importantly. "All right everyone, let's go."
Once they stepped out of the Airstation, the group looked ahead at the Presidential Palace constructed out of glass like many of the other buildings. However, its importance was apparent due to the large structure on top of the building complete with blinking lights.
"Do we have to WALK all the way there?" Rose asked incredulously. "That sure is a long way from here....."
"Of course we have to walk all the way there Princess," Seifer mocked. "We're not allowed to use the chairlifts."
Rose folded her arms in annoyance and sighed. "Very well then."
Fujin chuckled to herself at how pathetic Rose was being. She wondered if Rose would hold them back from completing their mission.
Seifer gazed at Fujin almost sadly since he was thinking about what Rinoa had said to him earlier. He hated the tension between him and Fujin, but he knew that now was not the time to ask for forgiveness. An important mission lied before him and he was willing to plunge headfirst into that before apologizing to Fujin.
Simultaneously, Fujin was thinking about the same thing. She didn't like the tension either, but she wasn't willing to apologize to Seifer since she figured she had done nothing wrong.
'He has to be the one...not me. I can't stand this.'
Rose felt the apprehension between the couple and it suddenly occurred to her how she could take advantage of that. Smiling deviously to herself, she immediately ran various situations through her mind trying to find one that fit.
'I know just what to do now....'
This could only mean even more trouble.
I hate to leave you all kinda hanging like that, but I figured I'd save Rose's plot for the next chapter. It's guaranteed to be something idiotic....but it still means trouble for our favorite couple. I'm sorry that it took me so long to update...school just started and I had to find the right time to do this. Until next time everyone! Big hugs to all!!