Author's Note: First, gotta thank a couple of people! The wise, thanks for reviewing again. Hehe! Thank you, PasifiKStaR. I try to update as fast as I can but I might not be able to do that that often now. You guys read so fast…I'm only working on Chapter Ten. I'll try to speed things up but I'm not sure if time will bend my way. And thank you to diamonddust1414. I'm glad you guys are still reading. Haha!
I also have to add some more thank you notes for readers of "Denial". Thanks, SquallsGIRL and to Kiamito.
Okay…about what I said in Chapter One…well, this story is gonna be a bit longer than I planned. I've decided to extend it since I noticed that Seifer and Squall need to get things going a little more. Of course, there won't be much because I don't have that much time on my hand. I hope you will still enjoy the story.
Chapter Nine
"You should have just gone with Seifer, ya know," Raijin said. "I bet it would have been much better than spending a whole darned week here. There's nothing to see in this place, ya know? Am I right, Fu?"
"AFFIRMATIVE," Fujin answered.
"Well, I like this place," Rinoa said. "It's nice and peaceful. It's really relaxing. It will help me stop thinking of a couple of things that Seifer said I shouldn't think about anymore. I should just keep my thoughts on things that I am supposed to think about he said, whatever that means. I'm glad that I have my memory back, though."
Raijin frowned. "What's so nice about this place? It's filled with nothing but flowers, ya know? The whole darned town smells like nothing but flowers."
"I like flowers," Rinoa said with a smile.
Raijin rolled his eyes. "I should have just gone with Seifer. Fujin is enough to watch over you, ya know? You flower-loving girls could have made well on your own."
"Seifer's just afraid that I might get kidnapped again," she said. "Besides, I didn't really want to face Squall's father. I just noticed…it's pretty late, isn't it? Three months? I guess Squall never told his father then."
Raijin sighed and said, "You have to forget, Squall, ya know?" Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Seifer said you shouldn't be thinking about him."
"I know. That's what I said," Rinoa told Raijin.
"IGNORE," Fujin told Rinoa, indicating Raijin. Rinoa laughed and said, "Come on, why don't we go back to the house and rest a while? Then we could go take a walk at the beach or something like that. What do you say?"
"Here we are, Squall," Quistis said. "Winhill…nice place, don't you think?" Squall chose to ignore Quistis and instead walked into town.
"I guess I'll see you two in a week," Nida said. "Good luck with Squall, Quistis. Ever since Rinoa left he's been colder and more distant than usual. Personally, I think the Headmaster should have asked Zell to accompany him. Zell's the only person Squall minds."
"I'll manage somehow, Nida," said Quistis. "See you in a week."
Quistis caught up to Squall at the hotel. He had already asked for a room and found there was only one left. The hotel had few rooms due to the fact that the people of Winhill were wary of outsiders.
"I'm going to sleep," Squall said as he went up the stairs to his room.
"Alright," Quistis answered. "I will just go walk around town." Squall didn't reply and Quistis left the hotel. There wasn't really anything she could do here. No offense, Winhill is a beautiful, peaceful town, but it could be very boring most of the time. She walked around town for a while and she came to a house that seemed small yet elegant. And surprisingly, outside was Raijin, frowning and muttering things to himself.
"Hey, Raijin. How are you doing?" Quistis greeted as she walked towards him. "I never thought a guy like you would want to go to a place like Winhill."
Raijin shrugged. "Didn't go here 'cause I wanted to, ya know? Winhill is nice and all, ya know, but it isn't really a guy's kind of place. I'm not trying to offend anyone, though, ya know. Uh…sorry…but what was your name? Quistis?"
"Yes," Quistis answered. "So if you didn't want to go here, what brings you here?"
"Raijin!" called a familiar voice from inside the house.
"Yeah?" Raijin called back.
"Could you please take Angelo for a walk? The poor baby is getting so restless with being cooped up inside…" answered the voice.
"Wait here a minute," Raijin said and he went inside the house. When he came back out again, he had a brown dog with him on a leash.
Quistis joined him on his walk and said, "Please don't tell me Rinoa is here…"
"Well, ya know," Raijin said. "She didn't wanna go with Seifer to meet with this Laguna Loire person. So she said she'd just vacation here awhile, ya know?"
"Laguna Loire…isn't he Squall's father? He's in Esthar, right?" Quistis said.
Raijin nodded. "He was saying something about a formal apology on his son's behalf. It's pretty late to do that now, ya know? So…is Squall here?"
"Unfortunately, yes," said Quistis. "The Headmaster said he needed a break so that he could forget about Rinoa. If he sees Rinoa here…"
"So…you're saying we should keep them away from each other?" Raijin asked. "Like, make sure they don't see each other, ya know?"
Quistis nodded. "That's really the best option." They were walking by the Chocobo Crossing sign when they heard a whistle. Angelo stopped walking and turned around, barking. Raijin held tightly onto the leash as Rinoa reached them. She knelt down, at first not noticing Quistis. "Hello, little puppy," she cooed. "You really are a smart dog." She kissed him on the head and got up.
"Oh," she exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there, Quistis." She laughed. "Wow. I can't believe you're here."
"Hi, Rinoa. How are you?" Quistis asked.
"Great," she said. "Deling's a nice place, though I still miss the calmer atmosphere of Balamb. How's everybody?"
"Zell and Selphie are the same as ever," Quistis said. "Irvine…he's a little guilty but otherwise he's doing well. Nida and Xu are also the same as ever. Headmaster Cid is his usual busy self." Then, with a laugh, she added, "And as you can see, I'm alive and well."
Rinoa nodded. "That's good. Um…what about Squall? How is he?"
Quistis paused. Could Rinoa still have feelings for Squall? If she said Squall was doing okay, Rinoa would probably take it that Squall already forgot about her. On the other hand, if she told Rinoa Squall missed her, she might get ideas of going back to Garden to see Squall or something of the sort.
"Quistis?" she asked.
"Squall's okay," Quistis answered. "But he's become his old self again. He's always quiet and keeps to himself. I tell you, Rinoa, you changed him for a while."
"Does…does he ever talk about me?" she questioned.
"RINOA!"
"Oops…" Rinoa said. Fujin walked up to her. "Sorry, Fu…" Rinoa said. "I…I just…I just needed a little bit of air. I really thought you wouldn't mind…so…"
"NOT SAFE," Fujin said. She looked at Quistis for a moment and looked at Raijin.
"Here, Rinoa," Raijin said, handing Rinoa the leash. "You and Fujin take Angelo for a walk." He leaned down and whispered, "I think Fujin needs a lot of air, ya know?"
"RAGE!" Fujin said and she kicked Raijin in the shins.
"I'm going, ya know!" he shouted. He and Quistis left. Rinoa removed Angelo's leash and the dog ran straight into the fields, chasing a helpless little chicobo.
"Angelo!" Rinoa shouted. "A chocobo might get you!" She shook her head as a chocobo came out of nowhere. Angelo immediately started pouncing on the chocobo as though in play. "You're smart, but you can be really naughty sometimes…."
She looked up at the sky. 'Squall…' she thought. 'I wonder if you miss me just as much as I miss you…I wish I could hold you close right now. I want to tell you I still love you…I don't know. I can't find it in me to love Seifer…at least…for now."