Author's Note: This chapter might be a bit messy, okay? The mood focus shifts from one person to another. You'll see what I mean. It will concentrate on Rinoa first, then Squall, then Seifer…blah.
flare draco – Hey, it's okay. I know how annoying school can be. It keeps me busy, too. But it doesn't too often anymore since classes are over. Thank you for reviewing. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. It's about a hundred or two words longer than usual.
kuramaHasPrettyEyes – He would have been more brutal but Rinoa interrupted. Besides, I didn't have time to put detail and too much blood and gore. Anyways, I appreciate the review, thanks!
lostfallenangel – Well, I wanted him to hear what Seifer had to say so I didn't let him die just yet. But he did die, no worries. Thank you for the review!
The wise – Hm…you'll see, you'll see. I hope you'll like this chapter, though I don't have time to proofread it. I'm currently obsessed with Blitzball in FFX-2 and am so itching to play! Haha! Anyway, thank you for reviwing.
diamonddust1414 - I'm glad you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY enjoyed that chapter. I like it when people like my story. Just read the chapter to calm your anxiety. Thank you for the review!
yummychocolatexD – Well, tempting for Rinoa, at least. I'm sorry that there was no mention of Squall. But the next chapters will start determining how Rinoa really feels about a certain, cold, quiet someone. Thank you for reviewing.
SquallsGIRL – I'm sorry. I wanted to make it a surprise for you guys, too, but even if I tried it still wouldn't have been. You're glad Seifer did it? Well…originally, he wasn't supposed to be. You'll see why. Thanks for the review.
Tai-Style – School…ah, yes…I hate school. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing my story first. Makes me so happy. And be patient, Rinoa needs a lot of mental preparation to open the door, ya know!
LionHeart823 – I get this feeling you really wanted him to die. You sound so ecstatic…but anyway, thank you for reviewing. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Twenty-Six
For about five minutes, Rinoa stood in front of the door, trying hard to resist the temptation of opening it. She knew very well what Zeon has done – and could do – to her and that it wasn't a very wise decision to go into his study. But still. There were things that danger can't stop her from doing. This seemed to be one of those things.
'Seifer's hiding something,' she thought. 'I know he is. And I have to find out what he's hiding from me.' A strong feeling of doubt was burning inside her and she had to satisfy that doubt. 'This would have never happened with Squall…' She shook her head. She was comparing Squall and Seifer again.
She grasped the doorknob, forgetting Squall for a moment. As she was about to turn it, strangely, her heart began to pound in her chest and her ears refused to hear any other sound but her heartbeats.
"Hey, Rinoa!"
For a moment, Rinoa had feared it was Seifer. But when she let go of the doorknob and turned to look, it was only Raijin. Unconsciously, she breathed out a sigh of relief. She mustered an innocent smile.
"The dog wants to go out, ya know?" Raijin said, tossing the leash to Rinoa.
"Oh…" she said, catching the leash. "I almost forgot." Angelo, as if on queue, suddenly came dashing up from downstairs and ran to Rinoa barking at Fujin, who was following close behind him.
"GIVE!" demanded Fujin.
It was only then that Rinoa realized that Angelo had dropped Fujin's shoe at her feet. He was barking madly, wagging his tail. Rinoa couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm sorry," she said, apologizing on behalf of the dog. She picked up the mangled shoe and handed it to Fujin, stifling a laugh.
Fujin looked furious as she accepted the shoe, soaked in dog drool. "Come on, Angelo," said Rinoa. "Let's go before Fujin decides to get some payback."
Angelo ran back downstairs and Rinoa and Raijin followed. The trio then went out and it wasn't long before Angelo's silly antics had forced Rinoa's curiosity out of her mind. She had forgotten completely about wanting to know what lay in Zeon's study.
- : - : - : -
Squall drank down what was left of the beer he had and ordered another one. He was seated at a table in the corner of the bar, alone as usual. Zell had finally returned to Garden and Squall had gone back to his normal loner activities. But this time seemed different and he knew why; he had just attempted murder and witnessed a murder.
Shaking his head, he thought about the events that occurred earlier. He had been ready. He had decided on it days ago and when he reached the manor, he knew nothing would stop him from achieving what he sought to do. He already knew the interior of the manor from everything Rinoa says. But he only needed to know one thing. And thanks to Rinoa, he knew what he needed to know.
"I hate it when I'm outside and he's staring at me from the window of his study. He looks almost ready to kill. And the curtains of the window make it even more eerie. You see, his curtains are maroon and from outside it looks like blood," he could remember her saying before.
All he had to do was look for the window with curtains the color of blood. The other curtains were white and it was pretty easy to spot. Once he had seen it, he checked the street for passersby or anyone that might see him. There was none. He had scaled the wall with a rope and took a peek into the room. And what he saw made him almost let go of the rope.
Seifer slashed at his father and the old man fell on the floor. He had stayed there, frozen, until Seifer suddenly left the room, closing the door. He left after that and headed to the bar. And here he was now, thinking about it. He had wanted to kill Zeon himself so Zeon wouldn't hurt Rinoa anymore. And, in the irony of it, Seifer got there first.
Just then, Seifer walked into the bar and sat on one of the stools at the counter, ordering a beer. He caught Squall's eye for a moment then looked away. He wasn't in the mood to think about Squall. He drank the beer and sighed. He had killed before but he had never killed a person, not to mention his own father.
He wondered what Rinoa was doing right now. He hoped against all hope that she wouldn't open the door. He should have just stayed there. But it would have been weird and she would have felt more doubt if he didn't leave. 'She won't go into his study,' Seifer assured himself. It was enough to calm his mind and he relaxed for a minute. Well, until he remembered Raijin and Fujin. But that quickly faded, too.
'Even if they do open the door, there's nothing there that would link the murder to me,' he thought. 'Rinoa wouldn't tell. I know she wouldn't.'
Then he saw Squall again, his Gunblade in his hand. He was probably going to do some nighttime monster-killing spree. His Gunblade…"Shit!" Seifer cursed aloud. He had dropped his Gunblade on the floor! He had to go home now!
- : - : - : -
Some time had passed and Rinoa, Raijin and Angelo returned to the manor. Raijin sat down on the sofa, appearing exhausted, while Rinoa and Angelo headed upstairs. Halfway up the stairs, Rinoa remembered Zeon's study. But she frowned. She had promised Seifer. 'Wait a minute!' she thought. 'Why does it matter now? It didn't matter a while ago.'
As she reached the top of the stairs, a strange metallic scent filled her nostrils "What is that?" she asked no one in particular. Angelo seemed to have noticed it, too. The moment they got upstairs he had begun sniffing around.
The smell became stronger as Rinoa walked along the corridor and she couldn't help but notice that it seemed strongest near Zeon's study. She wrinkled her nose a little. "Is it coming from this room?"
Angelo began pawing at the door and Rinoa's curiosity rose. She reached for the doorknob. "That smells horribly like---" she was cut short as she opened the door. "B-blood!" Angelo barked and circled Rinoa. She knelt down and hugged him. "Hush, stop barking," she murmured to the dog.
He calmed down long enough for Rinoa to take in the sight. Zeon was on the floor, apparently dead, in a pool of drying blood. How long had he been dead? What could have happened? It was then that she noticed a Gunblade on the floor…Seifer's Gunblade. She felt tears burn her eyes. "No…he wouldn't…" she said. "Hyne…he couldn't have…"
She started to cry, trying desperately to think of an explanation. But none came to her. All she could remember was Seifer's urgent and troubled expression earlier when he was telling her how much he loved her. And she could recall the panic in his voice and alarm in his eyes when she saw him here, in front of his father's study. Could this be what he was doing? Murdering his father…?
Angelo whimpered and nuzzled her, as though in understanding. "He didn't do this," Rinoa said. She stood and picked up the Gunblade. "No…he didn't do it…" she muttered, even though she felt as if she was just lying to herself. She rushed to the bathroom and hastily rinsed the blood off the blade. Then, wiping it dry, she brought it to the bedroom before going back to Zeon's study.
After a while of trying to calm herself down as best as she could…she picked up the phone and called the police. It seemed to be the only thing she could do now.
"Raijin, where's Rinoa?" Seifer demanded, rushing into the house. Raijin gave him a questioning look. "Just answer me, damn it!"
"Upstairs," answered Raijin.
"Shit!" Seifer shouted. He rushed up the stairs, followed by Raijin. 'Please…don't let her be doing what I think she is…' he thought. Somehow he felt as though he knew she had opened the door. Somehow he knew that she knew what he had done.
"Hey, what's up, ya know?" asked Raijin, noticing the urgency of the moment.
Seifer didn't bother to answer as they got upstairs and he saw Rinoa. She was leaning against the wall, beside the open door to Zeon's study. She was crying and trembling, Angelo whimpering in front of her. "Rinoa…" he said.
She looked at him and ran into his arms. "Seifer…" she said, her voice cracked from her sobs. "I'm sorry…" He wasn't able to reply because at that moment, shuffling of feet could be heard and the next thing they knew there were policemen here and there and Fujin, who had gotten upstairs with them, appeared utterly furious at their intrusion.
"Rinoa, did you…?" he asked.
She nodded once. Seifer felt panic in his chest. He was sure she knew he did it. Did she tell the police? His fears, however, were not realized for the police seemed clueless. "Who phoned in?" asked one of the men.
Rinoa answered and the policeman began asking her questions, then proceeding to everyone else. The most they could get was that Rinoa was the only one upstairs when she discovered the dead body. Raijin had been downstairs. Before that, she and Raijin were outside and Fujin was alone. Seifer left the house some time earlier. Fujin had not heard anything such as a break in or such.
After some thinking, the policeman shook his head. "I'm sorry, miss, but you're going to have to come with us for further interrogation."
"What!?" said Seifer.
"As far as we can see, she is the only suitable suspect for now," said the policeman. "Unless you have something that can prove her innocent, that is…"
Seifer grit his teeth, looking at Rinoa. The look in her eyes almost made him speak the truth but he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk people knowing what he had done. "I…I have nothing more to say," he said. Rinoa kept her gaze away from his as the policemen led her outside. Seifer could only watch. What has he done?