Chapter 43
The pools of concentration that subsisted in Sifan Leonhart's eyes were directed straight at his opponent. He waited with his hands wrapped decisively around the handle of his gunblade. Setzin played the eye contact game as well as his opponent, if not better. Not once did his glare stray away from Sifan. As they circled around, they reviewed each and every motion and flow their bodies made. Setzin of course, had the upper hand when it came to attentiveness. Simply because he had a steadfast mind. Sifan on the other hand was half-attentive. Plainly because his mind kept going back to the Avatar confrontation like an infinite emotional loop.
The young Leonhart decided to divert his attention to making the first move. He took a step back, heaved and rushed into Setzin. The one-eyed warrior gave a mock laugh and shoved his unrealistically large weapon in front of him for a block. The reverberation of the gunblade meeting the giant sword almost deafened the brown-haired boy. He retreated and quickly began to think of another way to affront his opponent.
Setzin was determined to put his inexperienced adversary to a full test of his abilities, "Well, kid... I am coming at ya... get ready to block..."
Sifan sighed at Setzin's warning and waited for all hell to break loose. Unfortunately for him, it did. Setzin was in front of him in a flash, with his sword heading directly for his chest. Somehow, Sifan managed to squeeze his gunblade in between his opponent's blade and his body. Another clang of metal smashing metal echoed through the air. Setzin gasped as if he was afraid and took a fake step backward. Sifan's eyes however read the authenticity of his opponent's fake stride. He did a little forward fake step of his own and Setzin fell for it. He tried to punch his opponent who was SUPPOSED to come forward. Unfortunately for the poacher, his punch missed his challenger by miles and went over his shoulder. And to his annoyance, he realized that it was Sifan who had scored with the artificial step and not him.
Sifan knew only a fool would miss the opportunity to counter a misdirected punch. Before his contender could rewind the arm he had thrown for the fruitless punch, Sifan swung his gunblade upward at this opponent's torso. The phoenix gunblade tore through Setzin's defense and its tip connected with Setzin's chin and it proceeded to slice his cigar vertically into two. Setzin clenched his chin and stumbled backwards as the cigar pieces fell to the ground.
The one-eyed warrior eyed his adversary with a glint of paramount astonishment, "Not bad, kid... your blade actually touched me..."
Sifan shrugged and quickly returned to his fighting stance. Setzin hurried towards him and swung his monstrosity of a weapon towards Sifan. Sifan's mind immediately offered the suggestion of blocking with his gunblade. But he knew the rewind from the block wouldn't buy him a chance to counter attack. Swiftly, he bent low as the giant sword went over his head by inches. Confident that there was another counter attack from him to grab, Sifan proceeded to break through Setzin's defense. He knew he had to pull off an attack before Setzin could bring back his sword from his failed attack. However, Sifan's confidence and judgment of the situation betrayed him this time. When he tried closing in for another sword attack, Setzin's right knee made full contact with Sifan's jaw. The impact of the kick sent Sifan stumbling backwards and before he knew anything else, his opponent's sword grazed his ribs, drawing blood at once.
"Damn..." Sifan sunk backwards, clenching his ribs.
"Be happy I didn't make complete contact with that sword shot, kid...." Setzin muttered, "Else your ribs would've been all over the ground now..."
Setzin paused when he saw Sifan laugh, "What's so funny kid?"
["Pain.... frustration... and fatigue... the three ingredients for the Renzokuken..."]
The words were as clear as they were when his father had uttered them to him. Pain was something that was more than present. Even emotional hurt seemed to act as a fuel. Fatigue was more or less getting to both his mind and body. And when it came to frustration, Avatar's memory brought it about in a way he had never imagined.
He took a step back and gave his arms every bit of energy he could congregate from his body. Soon, the young Leonhart rushed at his opponent to wreak the Renzokuken on him, and perhaps end the battle.
The first swing ended up missing, the second one smashed into Setzin's sword and the third one missed again. But the Renzokuken was nowhere near a three-swing sword attack. At least, Sifan's version wasn't. The fourth one landed again on the blade with a slow speed, the fifth one did the same with a higher velocity and the sixth one smashed harder than Setzin had anticipated. It caused him to lose his grasp on his sword. Sifan's eyes caught this immediately, but his arms were too weary to pull off another swing. After all, he had managed to deploy over six attacks in a matter of few seconds. He ignored the inertia and proceeded to enforce more slashes.
Setzin's underestimation and over-confidence proved costly. To make matters worse, his grip on the sword was too languid. In a flash, he became a naked target to the final part of Sifan's Renzokuken. The boy planted more gunblade shots than Setzin could've visualized. They foraged his body left and right, and before he knew it, Sifan's Renzokuken had already incised various places in his torso. Bloody lines were clearly seen on his clothes as he fell back on the ground, overwhelmed.
Setzin slowly got up and managed to sit on the ground after a few seconds, his torso still stinging with the wounds. He inspected his abrasion while Sifan knelt down, panting wildly with gunblade still in hand. Setzin took out an elixir and quickly took a draught. Soon enough, the wounds in his skin closed and the blood disappeared along with the stinging pain. He took out another one and gave it to Sifan. The young Leonhart emptied it fully into his mouth and soon, the cut he had earlier received in his ribs was gone. The tiredness of the situation however, stayed with both men. They both sat on the ground, breathless from the battle with sweat dripping down their faces. Setzin abruptly broke into maniacal laughter as Sifan eyed him oddly.
"I'll be damned KID!!!" he said, laughing vociferously, "I swear... who taught you to fight like that?"
"My father..." Sifan Leonhart replied, wiping the droplets of sweat from his forehead.
"Then why the HELL were you sneaking past that dragon in the omega caves?" Setzin said, still smiling, "You coulda pounded the hell out of the damn thing, kid..."
Sifan didn't respond. He knew the only reason he had defeated Setzin was because of the Renzokuken. And the only reason, he was able to pull off the Renzokuken was because he had ignited it using the painful sentiments left behind in his mind by Avatar. The two warriors wordlessly proceeded towards the town as the sun leisurely brought out the first trace of dawn over the snow-white hills of Lichita.
************************
"What do you say now, Goshen?" percolated the voice of Goddess Aeris from the glossy green HOLY materia.
Her servant was self-effacing and humble in spite of his wisdom and old age, "Yes, your highness... the young Leonhart undeniably has potential... but regrettably, seldom does he realize it or even notice it..."
"True..." the voice spoke in a venerable demeanor, "... and that is where Goshen, I need you..."
"Yes, my goddess..." Goshen responded, "I shall serve you, no matter what the circumstance...."
"I am pleased to hear that, Goshen..." the voice replied, "It is your obligation and servitude to the Gods that has made you live this long..."
"I am grateful, your majesty..."
"I desire your assistance in simply one thing, Goshen..."
"Yes, your highness...?"
"I require you to help the young Leonhart find his competency... little does he know that his capabilities far surpass his father's..."
"Yes, of course, Goddess Aeris... but then... has Lord Cervantus found the young Leonhart worthy?"
"I don't know, Goshen... rarely does Cervantus talk about it..."
"Unless lord Cervantus confers him with the Soul of Honor..."
"... Yes, I know, Goshen... The Soul of Honor... the Lionheart is nothing when it is weighed against that, is it?"
"Ultimecia was fragile enough for the Lionheart, your majesty.... But the one winged angel is far more supreme..."
"................................."
"And if by any wiry probability, Lord Cervantus DOES WISH to bequeath the Soul of Honor on the young Leonhart...."
"Yes... then Cervantus would personally face Sifan Leonhart in battle...."
"And THAT is what scares me, Goddess Aeris... can the young Leonhart stand against a GOD...?"
"................................."
"AND he still has wounds that have to be recovered, your majesty..."
"Yes, Goshen.... bottomless wounds left behind my someone he trusted like his own flesh and blood..."
"And the only way to heal that would be to..."
"Open his heart, Goshen.... open his heart...."
************************
As the sunrays began to illuminate everything around them, Sifan and Setzin arrived at the entrance of the small Lichita town. Setzin stopped near one of the log cabins and lit another cigar casually as he leaned on its wall. Sifan was already taking a hurried step away from the poacher when he interrupted him, "Hold your horses, kid..."
"What...?" Sifan uttered nonchalantly, putting a hand to his forehead.
Setzin tapped the cigar and placed it back into the edge of his dry mouth, "Who stabbed you last night...?"
"W-What...?" Sifan reiterated with a paroxysm of surprise.
"You hearing right?" Setzin muttered, puffing a quick smoke, "Who stabbed you with a sword, last night...?"
Sifan just stared blankly into the poacher's eyes before turning away and watching the sun rise lazily in between a couple of pale mountains.
"Some Shin-Ra sword soldier...?"
Little did Sifan Leonhart intend to articulate the truth, "Yes... it was a Shin-Ra sword soldier...."
"Oh..." Setzin responded, almost sarcastically, "I think I DID see a body back there in the snow..."
"Er... yes..." Sifan said at once, recalling the soldier Avatar had killed the previous night, "I... uh... killed him in self defense...."
"Liar..." Setzin remarked, tapping his cigar again, "It was Avatar, wasn't it...?"
Every word hit Sifan Leonhart's eardrum like a hyper-accelerated bullet. He tightened his jaw as his eyes widened with rude surprise. He just gaped at the man who had said Avatar's name. Finally, Setzin decided to speak.
"I found you lying on the hills last night..." he said, taking a quick inhalation from his brown cigar, "A dragon was planning to make a meal out of you..."
"So you killed the dragon for its nail, brain or whatever...?" Sifan muttered, folding his arms tightly.
Setzin laughed loudly, "Don't be stupid kid, you were dying out there...."
"Whatever..." Sifan replied characteristically, fastening his gaze to the ground.
"Well..." the poacher continued, "As I was on my way down the hill with you on my shoulder, you became conscious for a while... but all you kept mumbling was 'Avatar, why...?' and 'Avatar, how...?' After that, you passed out again..."
"..............................."
"Anyway...." Setzin crushed the cigar under his boot, "I brought you here and I must say, kid... you scared me to death when you showed us vital signs of a dead cadaver..."
"................................"
"You should've seen the poor girl crying..." Setzin said, leaning his head on the wall as staring at the early morning sky, "She must really love you kid...."
The irony in the words Sifan Leonhart heard was partly because they were coming from a seemingly heartless warrior and partly because of the way he had said it. There was a dreamy, almost lost look in the poacher's eyes, as if he was recollecting something long gone or long past. He didn't notice Sifan staring at him and he reached for another cigar but Sifan slapped it out of his hand. Almost immediately, Setzin returned to his senses. He glared at Sifan with his single eye and gave a happy grunt, "Yer lucky, kid.... Don't let her go..."
"Setzin... a piece of advice..." Sifan said with a stone cold voice, "I'd feel comfortable with a bite bug pretending he is omega weapon but not with a guy like you talking about stuff like-"
"Love?" Setzin interceded in his usually harsh tone, "Why can't I take about Love, kid...?"
".................................."
"Yer trying to tell me, guys like us don't know love...?" Setzin said, almost with an angry look in his eye.
"................................."
"I had a family, kid... and a son like you...." Setzin muttered, "Till those damn Shin-Ra-"
He stopped uncomfortably. He heaved a loud sigh and quickly sauntered away from Sifan. As he watched the poacher walk away towards the bar, the words Setzin had uttered returned to his head, much to his annoyance if not to his surprise.
[... "Yer lucky, kid.... Don't let her go..."]
He brushed away the 'irritating' thought and strolled groggily towards the inn. He was about to cross the item shop boorishly but something made him pause. He heaved a pointless sigh and slowly pushed open the door of the shop. Trex was nowhere around. Phillona was staring at the sunrise through a window at the far end of the room. Sifan was about to close the door when he heard Phillona's voice ring out from the corner, "I think he's left, Marlene...I searched all over-"
Sifan opened the door fully. Still, Phillona refused to turn in his direction. She continued to stare at the sunrise as Sifan walked in quietly. He walked to where she was standing, quietly. He didn't know why she was so immersed in watching a sunrise but soon, he realized she was crying. Her sniffs seemed to be the only things that filled the room.
"I am still here...." was all he managed to cough out in a dry voice.
"SEEF!!??" she spun around, her eyes sparkling with tears. The next thing he heard was a louder proclamation of 'Seef' and soon enough, Phillona Strife was holding him in something that felt like a spine-shattering bear hug.
He felt warm for a moment but he resolutely broke the hug immediately and turned away from Phillona. He didn't want any of it. His own voice kept ringing in his mind repeatedly.
[No... No more affection... No more warmth... No more fondness or no more friendliness.... I received all of them from him.... and then... he almost killed me...]
"Seef...?" she said in a concerned voice, placing a hand on his shoulder
He slapped her hand away as if it had burned him. His reaction only made Phillona even more worried, "Seef.... what happened...?"
"Nothing..." he said quietly, gathering the materia he had earlier left on the table, "Just don't touch me..."
"What happened between you and Avatar...?" she said clearly, almost sending the words into his head as painfully as Setzin had.
Sifan Leonhart had had enough.
[Hell, I'll tell them... then they can pity me, talk about me, even gossip about it and announce it to the whole goddamn world....]
He spun around, a look of utter pain and angst in his eyes, "You wanna know what happened between me and Avatar!? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED!!!!"
"HERE!" he shouted, pulling down the neckline of his shirt, revealing the scar, "THAT IS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED!!!! HE SENT HIS DAMN BLADE THROUGH ME! BUT I SURVIVED! YES, HIS POOR LITTLE BEST FRIEND SURVIVED BY SOME GODDAMN MIRACLE!"
He couldn't believe the way he was shouting to Phillona. He turned away from her and grabbed the remaining materia hastily. When he turned back to her, she was trying hard to choke back tears that were starting to well in her eyes. She was about to say something when Sifan put his hand up, his eyes colder than Shiva herself, "Save your sympathy for someone who needs them..."
He planted the materia in his coat pocket and marched away out of the item shop, almost slamming the door behind him to splinters.
{You're not making this any better for yourself, you know...}
[You!]
{..............}
[You knew this was going to happen! That's why you were giving me that 'don't be a loner' speech the other day!]
{.............}
[Why the hell didn't you TELL ME?]
{..............}
[Answer me, dammit!]
{It was in Avatar's hands till the very end, Sifan...}
[But you knew!]
{It was just a fear of what might happen... not knowledge....}
He didn't want to hear anymore of anybody. Even Lyris for that matter. He shut her out of his head and proceeded up the stairs leading to the inn. He stormed inside and headed straight for the corridor containing his room when the receptionist called out his name. He sighed and walked over to the inn reception. The short man took out a small envelope and placed it on the desk. He hurriedly muttered a barely perceptible 'Thank you' and walked to his room, while examining the envelope. There was just 'Sifan Leonhart' printed in bold letters on the front. He hurriedly turned the envelope over to see whether it had the sender's name or address.
On small but comprehensible letters were written the words, 'From Squall Leonhart...'
*************************
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A/N: well guys, please review more... I didn't get as many revs for the last chapter as I usually do.... Oh well... you might have noticed my style of writing underwent a major surgery in this chapter (see the first part of it...) tell me whether this is better or my previous one is better...
Till next time, adios....
The pools of concentration that subsisted in Sifan Leonhart's eyes were directed straight at his opponent. He waited with his hands wrapped decisively around the handle of his gunblade. Setzin played the eye contact game as well as his opponent, if not better. Not once did his glare stray away from Sifan. As they circled around, they reviewed each and every motion and flow their bodies made. Setzin of course, had the upper hand when it came to attentiveness. Simply because he had a steadfast mind. Sifan on the other hand was half-attentive. Plainly because his mind kept going back to the Avatar confrontation like an infinite emotional loop.
The young Leonhart decided to divert his attention to making the first move. He took a step back, heaved and rushed into Setzin. The one-eyed warrior gave a mock laugh and shoved his unrealistically large weapon in front of him for a block. The reverberation of the gunblade meeting the giant sword almost deafened the brown-haired boy. He retreated and quickly began to think of another way to affront his opponent.
Setzin was determined to put his inexperienced adversary to a full test of his abilities, "Well, kid... I am coming at ya... get ready to block..."
Sifan sighed at Setzin's warning and waited for all hell to break loose. Unfortunately for him, it did. Setzin was in front of him in a flash, with his sword heading directly for his chest. Somehow, Sifan managed to squeeze his gunblade in between his opponent's blade and his body. Another clang of metal smashing metal echoed through the air. Setzin gasped as if he was afraid and took a fake step backward. Sifan's eyes however read the authenticity of his opponent's fake stride. He did a little forward fake step of his own and Setzin fell for it. He tried to punch his opponent who was SUPPOSED to come forward. Unfortunately for the poacher, his punch missed his challenger by miles and went over his shoulder. And to his annoyance, he realized that it was Sifan who had scored with the artificial step and not him.
Sifan knew only a fool would miss the opportunity to counter a misdirected punch. Before his contender could rewind the arm he had thrown for the fruitless punch, Sifan swung his gunblade upward at this opponent's torso. The phoenix gunblade tore through Setzin's defense and its tip connected with Setzin's chin and it proceeded to slice his cigar vertically into two. Setzin clenched his chin and stumbled backwards as the cigar pieces fell to the ground.
The one-eyed warrior eyed his adversary with a glint of paramount astonishment, "Not bad, kid... your blade actually touched me..."
Sifan shrugged and quickly returned to his fighting stance. Setzin hurried towards him and swung his monstrosity of a weapon towards Sifan. Sifan's mind immediately offered the suggestion of blocking with his gunblade. But he knew the rewind from the block wouldn't buy him a chance to counter attack. Swiftly, he bent low as the giant sword went over his head by inches. Confident that there was another counter attack from him to grab, Sifan proceeded to break through Setzin's defense. He knew he had to pull off an attack before Setzin could bring back his sword from his failed attack. However, Sifan's confidence and judgment of the situation betrayed him this time. When he tried closing in for another sword attack, Setzin's right knee made full contact with Sifan's jaw. The impact of the kick sent Sifan stumbling backwards and before he knew anything else, his opponent's sword grazed his ribs, drawing blood at once.
"Damn..." Sifan sunk backwards, clenching his ribs.
"Be happy I didn't make complete contact with that sword shot, kid...." Setzin muttered, "Else your ribs would've been all over the ground now..."
Setzin paused when he saw Sifan laugh, "What's so funny kid?"
["Pain.... frustration... and fatigue... the three ingredients for the Renzokuken..."]
The words were as clear as they were when his father had uttered them to him. Pain was something that was more than present. Even emotional hurt seemed to act as a fuel. Fatigue was more or less getting to both his mind and body. And when it came to frustration, Avatar's memory brought it about in a way he had never imagined.
He took a step back and gave his arms every bit of energy he could congregate from his body. Soon, the young Leonhart rushed at his opponent to wreak the Renzokuken on him, and perhaps end the battle.
The first swing ended up missing, the second one smashed into Setzin's sword and the third one missed again. But the Renzokuken was nowhere near a three-swing sword attack. At least, Sifan's version wasn't. The fourth one landed again on the blade with a slow speed, the fifth one did the same with a higher velocity and the sixth one smashed harder than Setzin had anticipated. It caused him to lose his grasp on his sword. Sifan's eyes caught this immediately, but his arms were too weary to pull off another swing. After all, he had managed to deploy over six attacks in a matter of few seconds. He ignored the inertia and proceeded to enforce more slashes.
Setzin's underestimation and over-confidence proved costly. To make matters worse, his grip on the sword was too languid. In a flash, he became a naked target to the final part of Sifan's Renzokuken. The boy planted more gunblade shots than Setzin could've visualized. They foraged his body left and right, and before he knew it, Sifan's Renzokuken had already incised various places in his torso. Bloody lines were clearly seen on his clothes as he fell back on the ground, overwhelmed.
Setzin slowly got up and managed to sit on the ground after a few seconds, his torso still stinging with the wounds. He inspected his abrasion while Sifan knelt down, panting wildly with gunblade still in hand. Setzin took out an elixir and quickly took a draught. Soon enough, the wounds in his skin closed and the blood disappeared along with the stinging pain. He took out another one and gave it to Sifan. The young Leonhart emptied it fully into his mouth and soon, the cut he had earlier received in his ribs was gone. The tiredness of the situation however, stayed with both men. They both sat on the ground, breathless from the battle with sweat dripping down their faces. Setzin abruptly broke into maniacal laughter as Sifan eyed him oddly.
"I'll be damned KID!!!" he said, laughing vociferously, "I swear... who taught you to fight like that?"
"My father..." Sifan Leonhart replied, wiping the droplets of sweat from his forehead.
"Then why the HELL were you sneaking past that dragon in the omega caves?" Setzin said, still smiling, "You coulda pounded the hell out of the damn thing, kid..."
Sifan didn't respond. He knew the only reason he had defeated Setzin was because of the Renzokuken. And the only reason, he was able to pull off the Renzokuken was because he had ignited it using the painful sentiments left behind in his mind by Avatar. The two warriors wordlessly proceeded towards the town as the sun leisurely brought out the first trace of dawn over the snow-white hills of Lichita.
************************
"What do you say now, Goshen?" percolated the voice of Goddess Aeris from the glossy green HOLY materia.
Her servant was self-effacing and humble in spite of his wisdom and old age, "Yes, your highness... the young Leonhart undeniably has potential... but regrettably, seldom does he realize it or even notice it..."
"True..." the voice spoke in a venerable demeanor, "... and that is where Goshen, I need you..."
"Yes, my goddess..." Goshen responded, "I shall serve you, no matter what the circumstance...."
"I am pleased to hear that, Goshen..." the voice replied, "It is your obligation and servitude to the Gods that has made you live this long..."
"I am grateful, your majesty..."
"I desire your assistance in simply one thing, Goshen..."
"Yes, your highness...?"
"I require you to help the young Leonhart find his competency... little does he know that his capabilities far surpass his father's..."
"Yes, of course, Goddess Aeris... but then... has Lord Cervantus found the young Leonhart worthy?"
"I don't know, Goshen... rarely does Cervantus talk about it..."
"Unless lord Cervantus confers him with the Soul of Honor..."
"... Yes, I know, Goshen... The Soul of Honor... the Lionheart is nothing when it is weighed against that, is it?"
"Ultimecia was fragile enough for the Lionheart, your majesty.... But the one winged angel is far more supreme..."
"................................."
"And if by any wiry probability, Lord Cervantus DOES WISH to bequeath the Soul of Honor on the young Leonhart...."
"Yes... then Cervantus would personally face Sifan Leonhart in battle...."
"And THAT is what scares me, Goddess Aeris... can the young Leonhart stand against a GOD...?"
"................................."
"AND he still has wounds that have to be recovered, your majesty..."
"Yes, Goshen.... bottomless wounds left behind my someone he trusted like his own flesh and blood..."
"And the only way to heal that would be to..."
"Open his heart, Goshen.... open his heart...."
************************
As the sunrays began to illuminate everything around them, Sifan and Setzin arrived at the entrance of the small Lichita town. Setzin stopped near one of the log cabins and lit another cigar casually as he leaned on its wall. Sifan was already taking a hurried step away from the poacher when he interrupted him, "Hold your horses, kid..."
"What...?" Sifan uttered nonchalantly, putting a hand to his forehead.
Setzin tapped the cigar and placed it back into the edge of his dry mouth, "Who stabbed you last night...?"
"W-What...?" Sifan reiterated with a paroxysm of surprise.
"You hearing right?" Setzin muttered, puffing a quick smoke, "Who stabbed you with a sword, last night...?"
Sifan just stared blankly into the poacher's eyes before turning away and watching the sun rise lazily in between a couple of pale mountains.
"Some Shin-Ra sword soldier...?"
Little did Sifan Leonhart intend to articulate the truth, "Yes... it was a Shin-Ra sword soldier...."
"Oh..." Setzin responded, almost sarcastically, "I think I DID see a body back there in the snow..."
"Er... yes..." Sifan said at once, recalling the soldier Avatar had killed the previous night, "I... uh... killed him in self defense...."
"Liar..." Setzin remarked, tapping his cigar again, "It was Avatar, wasn't it...?"
Every word hit Sifan Leonhart's eardrum like a hyper-accelerated bullet. He tightened his jaw as his eyes widened with rude surprise. He just gaped at the man who had said Avatar's name. Finally, Setzin decided to speak.
"I found you lying on the hills last night..." he said, taking a quick inhalation from his brown cigar, "A dragon was planning to make a meal out of you..."
"So you killed the dragon for its nail, brain or whatever...?" Sifan muttered, folding his arms tightly.
Setzin laughed loudly, "Don't be stupid kid, you were dying out there...."
"Whatever..." Sifan replied characteristically, fastening his gaze to the ground.
"Well..." the poacher continued, "As I was on my way down the hill with you on my shoulder, you became conscious for a while... but all you kept mumbling was 'Avatar, why...?' and 'Avatar, how...?' After that, you passed out again..."
"..............................."
"Anyway...." Setzin crushed the cigar under his boot, "I brought you here and I must say, kid... you scared me to death when you showed us vital signs of a dead cadaver..."
"................................"
"You should've seen the poor girl crying..." Setzin said, leaning his head on the wall as staring at the early morning sky, "She must really love you kid...."
The irony in the words Sifan Leonhart heard was partly because they were coming from a seemingly heartless warrior and partly because of the way he had said it. There was a dreamy, almost lost look in the poacher's eyes, as if he was recollecting something long gone or long past. He didn't notice Sifan staring at him and he reached for another cigar but Sifan slapped it out of his hand. Almost immediately, Setzin returned to his senses. He glared at Sifan with his single eye and gave a happy grunt, "Yer lucky, kid.... Don't let her go..."
"Setzin... a piece of advice..." Sifan said with a stone cold voice, "I'd feel comfortable with a bite bug pretending he is omega weapon but not with a guy like you talking about stuff like-"
"Love?" Setzin interceded in his usually harsh tone, "Why can't I take about Love, kid...?"
".................................."
"Yer trying to tell me, guys like us don't know love...?" Setzin said, almost with an angry look in his eye.
"................................."
"I had a family, kid... and a son like you...." Setzin muttered, "Till those damn Shin-Ra-"
He stopped uncomfortably. He heaved a loud sigh and quickly sauntered away from Sifan. As he watched the poacher walk away towards the bar, the words Setzin had uttered returned to his head, much to his annoyance if not to his surprise.
[... "Yer lucky, kid.... Don't let her go..."]
He brushed away the 'irritating' thought and strolled groggily towards the inn. He was about to cross the item shop boorishly but something made him pause. He heaved a pointless sigh and slowly pushed open the door of the shop. Trex was nowhere around. Phillona was staring at the sunrise through a window at the far end of the room. Sifan was about to close the door when he heard Phillona's voice ring out from the corner, "I think he's left, Marlene...I searched all over-"
Sifan opened the door fully. Still, Phillona refused to turn in his direction. She continued to stare at the sunrise as Sifan walked in quietly. He walked to where she was standing, quietly. He didn't know why she was so immersed in watching a sunrise but soon, he realized she was crying. Her sniffs seemed to be the only things that filled the room.
"I am still here...." was all he managed to cough out in a dry voice.
"SEEF!!??" she spun around, her eyes sparkling with tears. The next thing he heard was a louder proclamation of 'Seef' and soon enough, Phillona Strife was holding him in something that felt like a spine-shattering bear hug.
He felt warm for a moment but he resolutely broke the hug immediately and turned away from Phillona. He didn't want any of it. His own voice kept ringing in his mind repeatedly.
[No... No more affection... No more warmth... No more fondness or no more friendliness.... I received all of them from him.... and then... he almost killed me...]
"Seef...?" she said in a concerned voice, placing a hand on his shoulder
He slapped her hand away as if it had burned him. His reaction only made Phillona even more worried, "Seef.... what happened...?"
"Nothing..." he said quietly, gathering the materia he had earlier left on the table, "Just don't touch me..."
"What happened between you and Avatar...?" she said clearly, almost sending the words into his head as painfully as Setzin had.
Sifan Leonhart had had enough.
[Hell, I'll tell them... then they can pity me, talk about me, even gossip about it and announce it to the whole goddamn world....]
He spun around, a look of utter pain and angst in his eyes, "You wanna know what happened between me and Avatar!? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED!!!!"
"HERE!" he shouted, pulling down the neckline of his shirt, revealing the scar, "THAT IS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED!!!! HE SENT HIS DAMN BLADE THROUGH ME! BUT I SURVIVED! YES, HIS POOR LITTLE BEST FRIEND SURVIVED BY SOME GODDAMN MIRACLE!"
He couldn't believe the way he was shouting to Phillona. He turned away from her and grabbed the remaining materia hastily. When he turned back to her, she was trying hard to choke back tears that were starting to well in her eyes. She was about to say something when Sifan put his hand up, his eyes colder than Shiva herself, "Save your sympathy for someone who needs them..."
He planted the materia in his coat pocket and marched away out of the item shop, almost slamming the door behind him to splinters.
{You're not making this any better for yourself, you know...}
[You!]
{..............}
[You knew this was going to happen! That's why you were giving me that 'don't be a loner' speech the other day!]
{.............}
[Why the hell didn't you TELL ME?]
{..............}
[Answer me, dammit!]
{It was in Avatar's hands till the very end, Sifan...}
[But you knew!]
{It was just a fear of what might happen... not knowledge....}
He didn't want to hear anymore of anybody. Even Lyris for that matter. He shut her out of his head and proceeded up the stairs leading to the inn. He stormed inside and headed straight for the corridor containing his room when the receptionist called out his name. He sighed and walked over to the inn reception. The short man took out a small envelope and placed it on the desk. He hurriedly muttered a barely perceptible 'Thank you' and walked to his room, while examining the envelope. There was just 'Sifan Leonhart' printed in bold letters on the front. He hurriedly turned the envelope over to see whether it had the sender's name or address.
On small but comprehensible letters were written the words, 'From Squall Leonhart...'
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A/N: well guys, please review more... I didn't get as many revs for the last chapter as I usually do.... Oh well... you might have noticed my style of writing underwent a major surgery in this chapter (see the first part of it...) tell me whether this is better or my previous one is better...
Till next time, adios....