Chapter Seven
I laid on my bed, reading a book and enjoying my day off. My mind still wandered, though, to my thoughts yesterday. Could I really...?
"May I have your attention for an announcement, please?" a tired voice came over the intercom, "Commander Leonhart, if you're in the building, could you please report to the office? Weapons equipped and ready to leave, preferably."
That did not sound promising, I thought worriedly. I hoped everything was alright. I hurried to get dressed, quickly equipped my gunblade, and hurried to the office.
"Good afternoon," Sayaki nodded, saluting me. I noticed the cut didn't seem as bad now. Apparently she'd spent her morning with Dr. Kadowaki. "Hope you're ready to leave. Dollet's just called and a giant wing-ed GF is terrorizing the city...yeah...sounds like just another typical day, doesn't it?" she rolled her eyes, but was still smiling a little. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah... that's Griever," I said, talking about the 'wing-ed GF' she mentioned.
Part of me was terrified to face him again. I didn't know how I knew it was him…the feeling was just there. Besides, how many winged GFs were that powerful? Only Griever. Griever. The name still scared me. Stupid? Yes. Wimpy? Yes. Do I care? I don't think so.
"He's really powerful, don't underestimate him." I'd made that mistake before... And got locked in time compression for it.
"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. We'll use the same drill as yesterday, 'cept it'll probably take longer if he's stronger than Ifrit was and such. Alrighty, let's go."
She walked outside to the Ragnarok and hopped in. I got in after her, wondering briefly about her driving fetish. Ah well. I didn't mind. I stared contently over at her from the passenger seat, gazing into her attractive eyes.
"So what's up?" I asked, trying to make conversation.
"Ah, same old," she smiled. "Spent all last night memorizing extra spells just in case we'd need 'em. You?"
I nodded. "Not a lot."
"That's always nice," she nodded. "Wow, I'll miss driving this thing when its all over...I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up...I don't get chances to drive things like this much," she smiled at the Ragnarok. "Just old junky rental cars."
"Maybe sometimes I can come to Galbadia and we can go somewhere, and you can drive. If you'd like that, I mean..."
"My friends would find that amusing, a big spaceship-dragon-airplane-thingy dropping in to visit me," she smiled. "Only if you have time."
"When I'm not a commander I have plenty of time." I grinned… I'd always have time for Sayaki. I shook my head. "And it'll be nice to have a break from constant training."
"I'd imagine," she smiled. She suddenly stopped the Ragnarok in mid-air, staring straight out the window. "Is that him?" she asked, the smile completely gone.
"That's -definitely- him."
He was hard to miss... He was there, grotesque and huge and more evil and ugly than ever. I shuddered, staring out at the thing that haunted my nightmares. Griever. He made my blood run cold. This was so stupid of me to have this griever-phobia, but… He caused what felt like a lifetime of agony for me, and that was enough to make me hate him and become terrified of him. Sayaki shivered.
"It's like he's waiting for us..." she drove a little lower, landing. She was right. "I don't like this at all," she shook her head quickly, and then smiled weakly. "What am I saying? This is my job; I'd best be doing it."
"If you don't like what you do, then quit. It's that simple... what's the point in doing things that you don't like?" I should practice what I preach... "He probably -is- waiting for us... not only is he more powerful, he's smarter..." Smarter than any GF that I've ever seen.
"I owe this to Martine," she nodded. "In any case, let's....let's go...."
I held out my hand, in which were some grape potions, and I smiled weakly. She only liked grape potions, and, her being stubborn, I had bought some. Part of me panicked. What if Sayaki got hurt? Put in time compression?
"Just in case you need 'em." I stated, swallowing my fear.
She looked up at me and smiled.
"You…remembered…"
"Yeah…" Of course. I smiled back.
"Thanks, but you hang onto them. I'll survive," she beamed, but her smile was quickly replaced by a serious expression. "Good luck and be careful!"
"You too, Sayaki…" I nodded.
I was so afraid something would happen to her. I didn't know what I would do if she got hurt and I couldn't protect her… I wouldn't allow myself to think about this. Not here, not now. I didn't have time to be scared; I just had to be strong.
"Alrighty, let's go. I'll signal ya again and…" she shook her head. "You know the drill, I don't know why I'm telling you this. Let's go," she darted off towards Griever, a shruiken in one hand and a dagger in the other.
…Stay safe, Sayaki. I ran after her, keeping my items close but still using my offensive moves. That was definitely harder…intelligence and power made a difference. Sayaki wasn't really doing a lot of damage either. She obviously wasn't very physically strong. Not to mention that she didn't have limit breaks either. All of her strength was in her spells, yet she tried her hardest anyway.
I attempted another limit break, Fated Circle, before using a potion. It was better to get in as much damage as I could, and I also wanted to save my potions in case Sayaki needed them. Griever slashed rapidly at me angrily seemingly every time I attacked him, and that wasn't even counting the wave of shockwave pulsars…
"Just a few more hits! Almost there, Squall!" she called out to me, firing at a distance with her tiny gun. "You're doing good!"
"Thanks…" I nodded through clenched teeth, falling to one knee and struggling back up again. "You need a potion?"
"We're done," Sayaki said quickly, running over to me. "We're done, this is good enough. Ready? 1, 2, 3," she started chanting nervously.
Griever still needed about two or three thousand less health points, but apparently she didn't want to risk it. I chanted along with her, too late to use a potion now, but still, it hurt with every word. I hoped desperately that it would soon be over.
"Fools!" Griever laughed. "Do you take me for an idiot?!"
And then he began chanting the same words we were, only to a different rhythm, the blue aura dissipating into oblivion at once. A thin beam connected Griever and me. Panic overwhelmed me. This was so familiar… No, not again…!
Sayaki panicked too—I could tell in her tone of voice—and began chanting something different than anything I'd ever heard before…same words, new rhythm. Her green aura that was surrounding me was small and fading…she just wasn't enough to stop Griever. Suddenly all the colors faded to black, but I woke up instantly.
I knew where I was, and it scared me to the point that I would do anything to get way. I was in the place that would send me into nightmares for months at a time. I was in that awful half of a dimension created from time compression. I closed my eyes and searched for my potions, but none were there.
I ruled out my options. It felt like everything Griever had done to me, increased by about a hundred times. I couldn't help but yell in pain, but what did it matter? I knew there was no one here to hear me. There was no Rinoa to help me this time…this time I would be in here until I died. That would take forever, assuming this place had any form of measured time. This time I was hurt, and that made the time compression, if possible, even worse.
The seconds, days, hours, or years, whatever they were, dragged by with the monotony of pain. By my watch, within three minutes I felt like I was on the borderline of my sanity. I forced myself to get up, even though every inch of my body screamed in protest. I trudged along, the path frustratingly familiar. But inside I knew, however, that this time there was nothing to save me. I fell to my knees again, breathing hard.
I could hear a voice softly chanting the spell, and I wondered faintly if I was just imagining it. What was left of my sanity anyways? The spell was being spoken so fast that it was amazing the complicated words were still correctly pronounced. In a flash of soft violet light, Sayaki appeared. My hero. My friend. My savior. She blinked a few times, disorientated, then darted over to me.
"My instructor and Headmaster Martine just arrived and are finishing off Griever," she saluted me, then stopped. "What am I doing?!" she shook her head, and then knelt down beside me. "…Squall?"
I looked up to her and smiled weakly. Amazing how in the worst of times, she still had such of an effect on me. Her smile, no matter how much pain I was in, made me want to melt. There was no denying it. I was in love.
"You came for me…thanks…but why?" Each breath, every word, seemed to stab through me like a knife.
Why would anyone come to such a place like this?
"Why?" she echoed faintly.
She was digging through an assortment of remedies, and I smiled weakly, thinking to myself that they must be grape. She wouldn't look exactly at me. I panicked, hoping nothing was wrong with her. Please, please don't let her be on a death-count…! She was also blushing again, I noticed, and wouldn't look at me as she answered my question with one of her own.
"…permission to fall in love with you, sir?" she asked, almost silently.
I gazed up at her. I made mental note to give her my ring when we got out of here. I reached up and brushed my hand gently against her face. So much…so much had happened in the past months. But the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me was Sayaki Ghost.
"Only if I have permission to fall in love with you." I whispered, my knees nearly buckling.
"Permission granted, sir…permission granted," she smiled, then shook her head. "Okay, Squall, how can I help you? I have remedies. That's it. Do you have any potions?"
"I did. When Griever attacked me, I must've dropped them. But I'll be okay." I was trying to reassure both of us.
"I have a healing spell, but I'm not good at it so it's practically worthless," she sighed. She was crying but not saying anything about it. "How long can you survive in a place like this?"
"I dunno…are you okay?"
"I don't like this," she shivered. "I shouldn't have said that earlier," she whispered. "I know that's probably the last thing you wanna hear from me…I'm sorry…"
"Sayaki…no, don't be sorry," I shook my head. It gave me a reason to fight, because without Sayaki… what was left for me? "You told me yourself that there was something better for me…and now I know that. I know now that you've changed me. You've helped me find myself when I was afraid I was lost forever… I love you," I sank down, then forced myself back up.
"Sit back down," she frowned slightly, but it was more of a concerned frown than anything. "I don't know how long we're going to be here and you're hurt…"
I sat down without argument.
"Sayaki…" I wanted to tell her just how I felt but couldn't put it into words.
"I'm sorry," she shook her head. "I get kind of bossy when I'm nervous," she sighed, sitting closer to me this time. "I wish they'd hurry. I hate it here. I don't know how you could stand it…" she looked over at me, upset, and I wanted to brush all of her worries away. "You're hurt something awful…I wish it were me sending Griever away," she frowned bitterly. "…but I remembered how you described time compression that one time…I didn't want you to have to suffer through that alone…and I was worried about you, so I just came here instead…" she looked over at me, smiling sadly. "You're pretty banged up," she commented, reaching over and gently brushing my bangs out of my face. My stomach flipped. "I wish I could help you. I can try that minor healing spell, if you'd like. Or I know a spell that'll put you into a deep sleep so you won't have to think about this place or the pain…" she looked at her watch. "I hope they're okay up there…"
"Thank you..."
I couldn't believe that, after all I told her, that she would go into time compression for me... Part of me regretted telling her about it. She didn't need to know all that. It had made her come in here and suffer it with me. Stupid, stupid Squall. But that was okay. I wasn't alone now, and things didn't seem quite so bad when I had Sayaki.
"Welcome," she nodded off-handedly, still staring about the place with a look of dislike on her face. I couldn't blame her.
"...Sayaki, I don't know anyone who would do this for me... I mean, it's just..."
Like living heck here... I wish she wouldn't have come after me in a sense, because I didn't want her to go through this, but another part of me was glad I wasn't alone in this place. I decided that was an okay thing to feel.
"Of course you do," she rolled her eyes. "I mean, I'm here, and y'know me..."
I smiled at her. "I dunno anyone -else- who would do this for me... If there's anything I can ever do to make it up to you..." I was eternally in debt to her.
"I know another who'd do this for you. I had to force him to stay in the other world simply because he was the only one who could seal Griever without any help," Who the heck….? Sayaki stared up into the nothingness sky. "In any case, I think he's finished off now. We should be out of here anytime now...I think I can hear him..." she closed her eyes, focusing.
I didn't want to interrupt her thought, but I wondered who the heck would come in after me.
"Let's go," she whispered, placing her hand on my shoulder and we were suddenly back in Dollet. I had never been so relieved.
"Are you okay?! It took me forever to get Griever gone and then I'd never even used that spell before," none other than Laguna shook his head frantically. "I mean--"
"--calm down, it's just fine," Sayaki smiled, shaking her head. I'd let them do the talking, cause I felt like crap.
"Um, Squall, this is my instructor, Laguna Loire. However I think you two are already acquainted..." No kidding. She turned to Laguna. "Headmaster Martine...he was fighting Griever, right?" she asked politely.
Laguna looked around, at the sky, at the ground...everywhere but at Sayaki. I had a bad feeling about this… such a bad feeling.
"Fine, I'll go find him then! I don't care if he rants me out for leaving," she rolled her eyes, darting off.
Laguna sighed.
"He won't be ranting her out anytime soon..."
"Laguna... what happened?"
A thousand questions and realizations were exploding in my head, but they could wait. I didn't want to deal with Laguna, but I had no other choice. Still I felt a bitter resentment at Laguna that I thought would never fade.
"Well, Martine and I just showed up after you got sucked into time compression. Sayaki was freaking out, so I told her I'd go in after you. She told me no, that she'd go...I let her talk me into it because she couldn't seal Griever alone. Guess that's why she brought you along. If you wanted to know what happened to Martine..." he shook his head. "Martine's just too old to be fighting like that..." I stared at him.
It was my fault Marine was dead. A horrible realization, but a true one. It was all my fault… A wave of guilt rushed over me. He cleared his throat, ready to change the subject.
"Dangit, you're hurt pretty bad...here, take this," he pulled out an X-potion. Strawberry-kiwi flavored, if you wanted to get technical. Just like Sayaki's grape. "Sayaki's been telling me how well you've come along with this spell and such...she's very proud of you." He handed the potion to me. "...so am I."
"Thankyou." I took the x-potion gratefully and stood up. "... I... I'm sorry..."
I'm sorry I haven't had anything to do with you, I'm sorry I've been angry at you... I've been ticked off that I thought you had ignored me, but it turns out I was the one ignoring you. All at once the anger washed away, leaving me totally emotionally drained.
"I would have done anything..." he shook his head. "I didn't even know you were around until I met you...I mean, I had no idea...I would have come for you, but I didn't even know you existed." He stared at the sky, a painful expression on his face. "I'm sorry about Raine too...God, I would have given my own life just to save her, I loved her so much....I didn't want it to happen....I would have done anything, I just didn't know..." he shook his head. "I'm a failure. I just hope you can forgive me and accept me for what I am."
"Laguna, it's okay. I don't blame you anymore... I had my own issues, and I always blamed them on other people, but now I know better... It's okay."
He smiled weakly.
"Thanks..."
"Laguna!" Sayaki shrieked. "Get over here, there's something wrong with Martine! Hurry up before it's too late!"
The tone in her voice made me want to sink to my knees. Sayaki… I am so sorry.
"What am I supposed to tell her?" Laguna frowned. "How...." he shook his head. "Coming, Sayaki..."
"Nothing can save him?" I searched frantically for a phoenix down. "Are you sure?"
"...another one of those Trabian spells...don't think it can be reversed..." Just by the tone in his voice though, I could tell he didn't -think- it could be reversed, he -knew- it couldn't. "Sayaki, Martine's..."
"Fix him!" she yelled up at Laguna. This painful experience wrenched my heart, seeing Sayaki like this… Knowing it was my fault… "C'mon, you taught me all my magic! You know something to help him, do it! Please!"
I knelt next to her.
"Sayaki..."
I shook my head and put my hand on her shoulder. It had always seemed like Sayaki and Martine had a special connection, and I knew this would be hard on her. I didn't quite understand it, but this wasn't the time. She would have to let this wound heal.
"What?" she asked weakly. "You know a way out of this?"
"There isn't a way," Laguna shook his head.
"Why didn't you cure him?!"
"Because I couldn't!" Laguna frowned. "Don't blame me! I just did everything he told me to!"
"Didn't we all..." she sighed, staring down at him. She bent over him, shaking his shoulders, even though she knew it was hopeless. "Daddy...please wake up, please...just one more time, I promise I'll be good this time…"
That one word shook my world. Daddy. Martine had a kid. And it was Sayaki. I knew he had always been special to her, but this… this was… No. No, no…. I refused to think about it. I would think about it when I was alone and not afraid to cry, to let anger or fear loose.
"Sayaki..."
"He's gonna wake up, I know it," she shook her head angrily. "I know he will."
I gave her a hug. Now that I thought about it, it would probably be the same way now if Laguna got hurt. I stored away all my thoughts for later contemplation and tried to help Sayaki in any way I could. She shook her head, letting go of Martine. She turned to me, biting her lip.
"I've still got you, right?" she asked me quietly.
"Forever." I nodded, hoping she'd be okay. This wasn't fair. Not at all.
"Laguna, I don't know what to do, but--"
"--I'll take care of it," Laguna nodded.
"Should I go back to the Garden?"
"Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea. You need a break and Squall needs some recovery time, so the Garden's probably the best place to head. I'll take care of everything here," Laguna nodded.
"Thank you," she smiled weakly to Laguna. "I..."
"You don't owe me anything," Laguna smiled. "Just get going before anything else can happen."
"Alright," she said, standing up.
I didn't know what to say to make Sayaki feel better, and I went with my head lowered to the Ragnarok. So much had happened today... So much to think about. This was to much. She started driving back, not really focusing on anything, and just paying enough attention to keep us flying.
"I'm gonna be okay," she said quietly. "I mean, I'll…I'll make it through this. I just won't think about it. So I'm just gonna…not think about it. So let's talk about things that don't even involve him, okay?" she smiled over to me. "You don't have to say anything about it. We're just…not gonna mention this or anything," she nodded. "Wow, I'm so glad that we defeated Griever, or at least with Laguna's help we did. I guess it was worth it, putting up with all of this, if nothing else just to save the world…"
But was it worth it, trading Martine's life for the current reprieve of Griever's presence? I smiled back. Deep down, I knew that I was glad most of this had happened. Not the part about Martine, but the other parts of it. I was glad that Rinoa and I were just friends, if we could even be that, because Sayaki made me feel different. I had loved Rinoa in another way, not romantically like I had once thought, but…I dunno. I felt now that I had loved her as more of a sister than the way I loved Sayaki. But I knew for sure what I felt for Sayaki was real.
"Only a few more GFs left…I'm heading to college after this, methinks…not sure where yet, but I'm still thinking. …you know it would be my luck,"she smiled, "that I would finally meet someone worth meeting and then have to leave," she shook her head. "What am I saying? I guess I should just be glad I got to meet you in the first place."
"After college, I guess, and then maybe we could get together again, if you'd want."
Can I go and curl up in my hidey hole now?
"How long are you going to college?"
"…I mean, after you're done with college. I'm not going."
"Oh. I guess it's me that'll screw everything up then…stupid Sayaki…"
"No, not at all. You deserve to go to college if you wanna."
"Well, we've still got time before I go," she smiled weakly. "According to Laguna there are still a few more GFs for us to worry about. So we've still got time. We can worry about this later. I'm still on summer break anyway…so…yeah."
"Mm-hmm…" I smiled at her a little sadly. All that had happened would fade away when she was gone.
"I've always wanted to go into space," she said thoughtfully, looking around the Ragnarok.
"Maybe you will, after college," I nodded, hoping her dreams to be fulfilled.
"Dad always told me 'no'," she said. I noticed she was trying her hardest just to tell a story and not think about anything. Maybe this was just her way of dealing with grief… "He said that my sister and I was all he had left, and he'd prefer to keep us in the same atmosphere as him," she smiled sadly. "Who knows, though? Maybe I will go up there someday, now."
"Good luck…I know you can accomplish anything you set your mind to."
Gosh, I shouldn't have said that. It sounded like fortune cookie logic…
"Thanks," she smiled. "…did you get back on good terms with your father?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "I think."
"I'm glad. He really regrets not being there for you all those years," she shook her head and smiled. "Laguna is a very good person. I've known him a long time."
"I just wish that I could have known him…I didn't even know who he was or even if he existed a year ago...and I wish that I would have been on better terms with him before now."
"Well, look at it this way, at least now you have the chance to get to know him. Sure, you'll never be able to recover all those lost years, but you've still got the future ahead of you."
"Yeah, I guess…but still, I guess I'd missed having a father when I was younger…"
Shut up while you're ahead, Squall. At least you have a father to have future memories with.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say about that."
"It's okay…sometimes there just aren't things to say."
"Ever wondered if you're doing the right thing?" Sayaki asked suddenly.
"Yes.... Many times." I nodded.
"I'm glad to know I'm not the only one," she nodded slowly. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing just by being here...I'm caught up in a battle that doesn't even involve me, only because I learned a 'poem', so to speak, as a young child. Is this -really- what's meant for me?"
"Follow your heart, Sayaki. It always leads you in the direction destiny wants you to go."
"...Squall, I'll be perfectly honest with you. I've been here for what, a few months now? ...this isn't for me. I really hate Balamb, I really hate this place, I really don't like this job...you know what I'm saying?" she spoke really quickly. Obviously she had needed to talk about this for quite awhile now, but had only just gotten around to bringing it up.
"If this isn't what you want, then don't do it, Sayaki." I said gently.
"What?" she glanced over at me. "What do you mean? It's not like I've been given a choice..."
"What...?" I was confused.
She glanced up at me.
"There wasn't a sign up sheet for assistant-commander of Balamb Garden at my public high school or anything like that. Dad roped me into this because I was 'lucky' enough to know the GF sealing spell. I had no choice but to do exactly as he said..."
"You can do whatever you want, Sayaki. Nothing is really keeping you here."
"...I know," she nodded. "But, I mean...I don't think...I've got to at least finish this out...for Dad, if for no one else..."
I nodded. "Alright."
She slumped down in her seat.
"But what about when this is over? Then what?"
"Then..." I trailed off and gazed at her. "I'll do anything I can to help you do whatever you want."
Squall, better put your heart away, because it's on your sleeve.
"...but..." she looked away. "....I don't know how you can help me...I'm still not sure what I want...." she shook her head.
"Just say the word and I'll do anything."
She sighed.
"You're too nice...I wish that I didn't have to meet you in a time like this. I wish you would have just been another student at my high school...or that I had been born into this type of military life..."
I nodded, knowing just what she meant.
"I know that the circumstances make this difficult, but..." Here goes the three big words that change lives…
"...but?" she prompted, looking back down at the ground.
"But I love you." I finished quietly.
"I love you too..." she sighed. "And maybe that'll be enough to make things work out..."
"Hopefully."
"I still don't want to stay, though...I guess I should. I guess this should be enough to keep me here," she shook her head. "I don't know...I don't know about much of anything anymore..."
"Don't stay if you don't want to. It's not like you haven't already helped save the world, Sayaki. That's a lot to say, and not many people can say they've accomplished something so huge."
"I haven't saved the world yet," she said simply. "I can think of a few GFs just off the top of my head that we still have left. I know I have to stay until that's over. It's where I'm going to go afterward that's the issue..." she shook her head. "I mean, I'm graduating this year from a high school in Deling City, but I'm heading to Esthar after this. I've been thinking, and Esthar's college just seems to be the best place for me to be…not to mention that's where my sister lives too so…but, the main point is…you know…halfway across the world...no long distance phone plan covers that...."
"I dunno..." I sighed. "...I just dunno..."
She double checked to make sure the Ragnarok was still on autopilot, and content that it was, she leaned against the steering wheel.
"Maybe I'll stick around..." she mumbled.
I didn't know what to say. I wanted her to be happy. I didn't want to lose her. What -could- I say? Indecision tore at me. What could I do or say to make her feel better? What could I say to help her?
"Because...I mean, I hate it here, but...I mean..." she glanced over at me miserably. "I wanna be with you too, and it's not like you can just up and move..."
"It's all up to you. I know what you mean... I want you to be happy, yet I don't want to lose you. Whatever is best for you... By all means do so." I nodded at her. This hurt. But sometimes… you just had to make sacrifices for the one you love.
"I think maybe I should just stop thinking about it. I can always burn that bridge when I get there, right?" she smiled weakly at me.
"Yeah." I bit my lip, forcing a smile.
"And I have all summer too, so it's not like I have to leave right off anyway..."
"Mm hm." I let thought envelope me, feeling awkward.
"What do you think I should do?"
"I... I don't know." I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm torn between... what I want and what I feel you think is right."
"What do you want?" she asked me. "...because I'm willing to compromise things I want with things you want...then maybe we can both be happy."
"I want to be with you, and I want you to be happy." I want a future with you.
"You're easily pleased," she smiled weakly.
"That's really all I want." I sighed. "But I don't know about how anything can be accomplished any more..."
"Maybe that's half the fun of it," she glanced up at me. "Who knows what tomorrow'll bring...maybe as soon as I get back I'll find I have to leave forever. Who knows, maybe I'll get back and find out that Balamb's university now has a space program. We never know what the next moment is going to bring...and maybe that's why I like life so much. Unpredictable. I'm all about the unpredictable. Maybe we're not supposed to know what's coming next...or how to accomplish anything. Maybe it'll be revealed with time."
"Maybe." I smiled at her, my heart melting. She had that effect on me.
"So in that case, maybe we need to stop worrying so much about the future and just live for the moment. I mean, who knows...something might happen to me and I might never have to worry about everything we just spent fifteen minutes of precious time worrying about! I wish I would have thought of this before..." she sighed impatiently.
I laughed. "Ironic, all of it..."
"I don't know anything about anything and I'm happy with that," she smiled. "All I know is we're gonna kick some GF arse and the world's gonna be okay."
"Alright."
I grinned at her, laughing quietly. Arse. That was a new word. She pulled in for a landing, managing not to kill any trees or any 'pesky vermin', as she called them, and hopped out of the Ragnarok.
"Seeking permission to take the rest of the day off, at least, sir?" she saluted me.
"Of course." I nodded.
"...just an opinion, but I think you should take the day off too. It's been a long few months. We both deserve a two hour vacation, at the least..."
"Alright." I smiled at her.
She stretched. "Ah, I'm off to do something...I dunno...non-traditional of me. I just...gotta get my mind off everything...everything..." she shook her head quickly and walked off.
I stared after her, letting all that happened soak in for a minute before walking off as well.
A/n: Eventful…ne? Well, I hope you liked it, in any case. Chapter eight to be posted soon! Thanks to everyone!
Love and peace,
Xifa and Sefie Lynne