One Good Deed
By Caelia
Chapter Three: johnny got his gun
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The minute the door closed Seifer was off, heading towards his own room. Thoughts were speeding through his head, but he refused to slow down long enough to give credit to any of them. All he needed to do was change and meet up with his friends. He didn't have time to contemplate his attitude right now. He still had that boy to punish. I should talk to Squall… and Rinoa.
Seifer turned left at the next corridor, heading towards the male dorms. Ever since they had made SeeD, Seifer had been living with Raijin. I really hope Squall gets this dorm shortage worked out. I'm tired of living with a slob, even if he is my best friend. Upon opening the door, he scanned the apartment, taking note that both bedrooms were empty as was the living area. Good, this will be the first time I've had this room to myself in weeks. Seifer walked briskly into his room, picked up his usual outfit and headed towards the bathroom.
Once completing the cleaning rituals, Seifer left his room, this time heading towards the cafeteria where he had promised to meet Fujin and Raijin. Maybe they can think up a better punishment for this kid because my gut reaction is to expel him. With that in mind Seifer took a final glance down the female dorm corridor, and headed off to meet his friends.
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Raijin stared at the woman waiting in line for food. He couldn't think of anyone more perfect: smart, beautiful, deadly, and concise and the list could go on. They had been together before even Seifer came along. Growing up together in Balamb had been tough. He had been a disproportional youth, never quite looking as though he fit into his body. And Fujin, well, everyone has his or her own awkward stage. By the end of it she was wearing an eye-patch and shouting at everyone.
And then Seifer entered their lives. He gave them purpose and power, but more than that he created the posse. And then the Sorceress entered his life, but still they covered him. That's what a posse is for. But Raijin wouldn't have gone if Fujin didn't. His loyalty might be with Seifer, but his heart followed Fujin. Raijin's biggest concern, however, still laid in Fujin's feelings for Seifer. Sometimes he wondered if her admiration of their leader was more than just a simple crush.
Raijin looked up as the one he had just been thinking about approached.
"So, how we gonna handle the kid, ya know?" Raijin immediately brought them to the issue that they had been thrown into only twenty minutes earlier.
"SUSPEND," offered Fujin.
"Yeah, I guess. Something about him makes me want to expel the little runt, but that's too extreme I guess," Seifer said as he tried to reason through his own thoughts. "I was also thinking. Find out if he's up for the SeeD exam next Friday, will ya Raijin? With actions like these he is obviously not ready for it."
"Yeah, no problem. I'll get right on it, ya know?" Raijin agreed easily.
"AFFIRMATIVE," Fujin said.
"You offering to help?" asked Raijin.
"JERK," Fujin kicked him in the shin. "TEAM."
Even as the pain shot up his leg, Raijin couldn't be happier. Fujin had already picked up the soda she had bought from the lunch lady and was walking away. Raijin just stayed there, bouncing on one leg while holding the other, grinning like an idiot. It wasn't until he looked at Seifer, who stood there smirking at him, that he composed himself.
"Women, ya know?"
"Not yet, but somehow I think I'm going to after tonight," Seifer said looking off at the door that Fujin had disappeared through. He turned back to Raijin. "I bet if you run, you can catch up with her."
Raijin looked at Seifer and blinked twice. How did he know… and with that he took off after his "teammate" while Seifer stood there, laughing at his two best friends.
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"…so the Discipline Committee is suggesting that you suspend him for a week and then re-evaluate his SeeD candidacy, sir," Seifer reported to Headmaster Cid. "Also, off-the-record, I suggest that he seek counseling."
"Yes, well, Squall and I will take your suggestions into serious consideration. You three are dismissed now," Headmaster Cid saluted them, turned and walked back to his desk.
Seifer dropped his salute as Fujin and Raijin walked out to the elevator. "Hey, Squall." The dark haired boy with Rinoa at his side turned to face Seifer. "Raijin, Fujin and I were thinking. The monsters in the training center are weak. They're low-level and, many times, one hit kills them, even T-Rexaurs. We were wondering if it was possible to import some high-level monsters, you know, one's that offer a challenge."
"You know I'm with you on this one, but we can't. Too many untrained members of the Garden go in there. We can't put monsters in that they would never have the chance of beating. But…" Squall looked around, a hint of conspiracy in his gray eyes. "If you can con Selphie out of the keys to the Ragnarok, then you can go out and train in the field with high-level monsters," Squall then nodded to Seifer and walked over to where Cid was standing in order to discuss Caine's punishment. Seifer watched as Squall walked away thinking about how much candy he would need for Selphie to give him the key. He was so lost in his calculations that the tapping on his shoulder startled him.
"A little bird told me you're taking the girl in that report out tonight, is it true?" Seifer looked down and met Rinoa's gaze.
"What little bird?" Seifer said, narrowing his gaze.
"Oh, just one that mentioned you might be taking this mystery girl out tonight. Why?"
"I don't know, you tell me," Seifer replied in a snotty tone.
"Fine, so you don't know. Here is a better question, where are you going to take her?" Rinoa tried again to pull information from Seifer.
"Ah, and another answer I don't have. You know there are still plenty of places that I'm not welcomed. Plus I don't want this to be a date. I'm not going to be anyone's knight, ever again," Seifer said, unable to keep the raw tone from his voice.
Sounds like you already are to me, Rinoa thought. Aloud she said, "Why don't you just take her to train in the field with you? You wanted to practice on high level monsters, so here is your chance."
Seifer just nodded, acting completely uninterested in her idea. "Yeah, thanks," he said absently and headed for the elevator. He had a shitload of candy to buy.
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If this is some joke or if that fucker ditches me, so help me Hyne, I'll do it, Skyeli thought as she stood in front of the directory at 6:54pm. Come on, come on, come on. Okay, calm down, breathe in and don't be hysterical. Today is just like every other day. Getting invited out by one of the most attractive SeeDs here is just an everyday occurrence. Who the hell am I trying to kid? No it's not! He's probably got a fan club just like all of them do. Maybe I should join… Oh, now that's just sick…
It was at this moment, when Skyeli's thoughts were becoming even more twisted than ever, that Seifer strode up. She stood there, looking out towards the entrance, oblivious to his arrival. He took the moment to look her up and down. No longer in her Garden uniform, Seifer could almost describe her outfit as indecent. The jean skirt she was wearing was so short that it cut off only two inches bellow her butt. Around her waist was a striped belt of blue and pink. Her tee-shirt was a light blue-purple color with a collar. Skyeli's shoes were probably the most sensible part of the outfit, white Adidas with three blue stripes.
"Didn't feel very formal tonight," he said in her ear, causing her to jump and to spin around and face him. He caught her eyes. They were such a pale blue color, not very remarkable at all…
"Something told me this wasn't going to be an average night on the town," she retorted, "Besides look at you, gray coat, blue shirt, and leather pants. Bet you brought that gunblade along too…"
"It has a name, you may call it Hyperion. Speaking of which, did you bring your weapon?" he asked.
"Yeah," she reaches into the special cosmic rip where all weapons/magical items are stored for anime and RPG use. Pulling out the glaive she said, "You know, is it healthy to name these things or is that a male thing? You name what you consider to be your most valuable appendage and then you have to name one of the many other phallic objects you own? Doesn't it seem a little absurd?" She looked up at him; he stared down at her, mouth open in surprise. He quickly composed himself.
"No, it's not stupid. Let's go. I managed to get the key for the Ragnarok off of Selphie's neck."
"How did YOU ever manage that? Is she okay? Is she conscious?" she asked, trying to look as genuinely concerned as she possibly could.
Seifer glared at her. "I didn't beat her up! All I did was offer her some pixie sticks and gumdrops. And then, while she was bouncing around the room, I helped myself to the key…" Skyeli sighed and shook her head.
"I shouldn't have asked. Let's go…"
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Seifer landed the Ragnarok easily in the middle of the Esthar continent. He looked to the brunette sitting at his right. The land in front of her captivated her, a land she had never seen before. The almost excited expression on her face made Seifer believe that she had no understanding of the dangers of Esthar. Hyne, I really hope she is that level 65 that she claims to be. Suddenly, Skyeli sat up straight, folded her hands in her lap and grew very professional.
"So, let me see if I've got this right. In an effort to cheer me up, you've stolen," she was cut-off here by Seifer.
"I didn't steal it!"
"Fine, you borrowed the keys to the Ragnarok from Selphie, dragged me off to Esthar and now we are going to fight whatever we encounter?" Skyeli looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.
The blonde giant smiled his approval. "Yeah, pretty much…"
"And this is going to make me feel better about myself how?" Although he was unprepared for the question originally, Seifer recovered quickly enough.
"The adrenaline rush before the fight, the action during the fight and the glory after the fight, how could you not feel better about yourself?"
"I won't be feeling too great if whatever out there kills me," and even though all Seifer heard was, "I… feel… grrrr… whateve… kill…" he was still smart enough to piece it all together.
"What… oh, please," he rolled his eyes, "I'll protect you, come on." Seifer said as he jumped out of his seat, grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door.
"Oh, my knight…" she muttered too quietly for Seifer's ears.
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While the young pair of warriors made their way through Esthar, life was slowly passing by for those on board Balamb Garden. The Garden was currently stationed in the ditch where it used to permanently reside. Outside, in the small town of Balamb, Rinoa sat across from Squall at a small table in the restaurant section of the Balamb Inn. The raven-haired girl stared at her boyfriend, and then glanced down at her watch. Five minutes and thirty-four seconds since he last moved. Eight minutes forty-six seconds since he last spoke. She tilted her head, making a last attempt to catch Squall's eyes, when that failed, she spoke.
"Um, Squall, would you like to share what you're thinking about or should I just keep guessing?" Rinoa asked lightly.
"Hmm, sorry, did you say something?" he replied after looking around to find the speaker and when he finally realized it was his girlfriend, he focused on her.
"Yeah, are you going back to your introverted phase, because if so, let me know, so I can kick your ass right now."
"No, no, I was just thinking about things," Squall tilted his head back and gazed out through the glass ceiling. "Look up, Rinoa," he said softly.
As she turned her eyes to the skies above, Rinoa caught a glimpse of the tail end of a shooting star. It was of course what Squall had intended for her to see. He had looked through the almanac two weeks earlier in order to find the date and time of the next such occurrence. Rinoa wasn't aware of all this planning though, she just experienced exactly what he had known she would. She looked up at the motionless stars and saw the shadows of a shooting star from two years before. She was transfixed by her memories and only snapped out of the trance when she felt a slight tug on her finger. She looked down.
Taking a deep breath Squall began his speech, "I know that I'm difficult. I'm usually self-contained and moody, but I've been changing, Rinoa. Because I love you, and I want you to be happy. Our lives are about to get even more complicated by my promotion and your SeeD exam, but I want to do this. Will you marry me?" he finished, letting the rest of his breath out and vowing not to draw another until she answered. When she didn't answer immediately, he looked up.
Rinoa's eyes were filled with tears and fixed on him. It seemed for the first time in her entire life, she was absolutely speechless. Squall reached across the table to rest her cheek in his hand. She slowly nodded into his hand, whispering, "Yes."
Squall just smiled and moved around to the side, standing above her he offered his hand. "Forget dinner, I'll make you something nice."
Rinoa smiled through her tears and nodded.
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Selphie picked up the note labeled "Last One" off the plant in the library. She loved this game. The spunky girl had been tracing these notes throughout the Garden for the last half an hour and she was finally going to see what Irvine was up to. Of course it was him who made this set-up. No one else was quite so slick. Opening the card, she read the final direction: "Go to the location of the Garden Festival." This one was way too easy, Irvine, she thought as she shot off towards the Quad.
Quistis leaned against the railing outside of the Infirmary. Adjusting the glasses on her nose, she sighed and waited for Zell to meet her. She had just been covering for Dr. Kadowaki while she was on break. The slim blonde surveyed her area; Zell was late, but he would no doubt arrive in a rush. Quistis turned and faced the hallway coming from the dorm, assuming that Zell would be coming from his room. As a result of this change of direction, she never even saw the yellow blur targeted at her.
Selphie was reaching top speeds trying to get to the Quad in the least amount of time possible. She hadn't even noticed the pink figure in front of her until it was much too late to turn. When they collided, Quistis went down and Selphie flew over her landing with her butt popped up into the air, the two women both groaned in pain. Zell, who was coming down from the classroom, regarded the accident scene with much amusement.
"Yo, Selph, I'm going to have to give you a ticket for speeding in the hallways," he said as he pulled Quistis to her feet and leaned her against the guardrail. He walked over to his friend, still sprawled on the floor, and perched down beside her. "So is there any reason you were trying to break the sound barrier?"
"Uh… no… I just left something in Quad, and I wanted to get it really quickly," she lied lamely, and pulled herself into a sitting position. Zell stood and helped her the rest of the way up.
"You okay now?" Selphie bounced from one foot to the other, then smiled and nodded. "So going to take it a little slower now?"
"Tee hee, yeah. See you guys," the last comment was thrown back at them as Selphie again took off in the direction of Quad, this time going only slightly slower than the speed of light. Zell shook his head and chuckled as Quistis lead him off towards the dorms.
"So…" the instructor prodded.
"Right, so, I didn't really plan anything for tonight, do you want to just chill? We could…" Zell never got the chance to finish because Quistis smacked him upside the head with the handle of Save the Queen.
"Come on, hopeless, we'll find something interesting to do if it kills us…"
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Selphie entered the Quad cautiously. She had only assumed it was Irvine that wrote the notes, but it could have been one of her psycho stalkers. All of them had had them since the arrived back from Ultimicia. The Trepies were, of course, the worst as they had been around for the longest time. Even D.C. had little wannabes following them around. When she thought of any girl who would actually like Seifer, Selphie shuddered in disgust. Sure, they had all formed a mutual truce with him, but he never changed much. He was still cocky and mean most of the time.
By this point Selphie had made it down to the stage without detecting anyone and without being detected herself. Irvine sat on the stage looking at the flowers in his hands. White roses. Irvine's ponytail was falling over his shoulder in a distracted manor. Selphie approached slowly, as she managed to keep from bursting into laughter. "Waiting for someone, stud?" she said, even closer to laughing than before.
Irvine spun around like he had been struck. When he finally registered that it was Selphie standing before him and not one of the students he gave her a lazy smile. But the smile ill-concealed his nervous demeanor, "I've been thinking about us a lot lately. We've been together for nearly two years now, and so, I was wondering… that is, I thought maybe it would be right if we… oh forget it, I'm just going to say this, Selphie Tilmitt, will you make love to me tonight?"
Selphie's jaw dropped, but she slowly fixed her face and lead Irvine off to the dorms, forgetting the flowers on the stage.
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"Seifer, I'm not going in there," Skyeli said, making reference to the forest the elder boy was heading straight for. "It's getting too dark, besides I'm tired."
"Oh don't worry so much about it. We haven't fought anything worth talking about yet. Just some low level…"
"Uh, Seifer…" she warned softly, backing away from him.
"Don't interrupt, kid!" he sneered the word, "Come on, I must have had a lapse this afternoon when I met you, but I feel normal now. I came here to fight something up to the challenge, so let's get going!" he shouted at her.
"Fine then, Sir Almasy. You want a fight, I've got one for you. Turn around Seifer," she smiled tartly and adjusted the Glaive in her hands. Seifer glanced over his shoulder, then immediately swung around reaching for Hyperion. He was a foot away from a Hexadragon.
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A/N: So there's chapter three. I'm sorry it took forever and a day. My school sucks. Also I'm really sorry about the sap, even I was gagging. But this is the romance section, and I'm required to give you sappy love scenes. Next chapter should earn its "R" rating. Also, do you think Seifer got back into character this time? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and tell me. Thanks.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them and I'm not strong enough to fight off everyone on FF.net for them. Skyeli Paige, Caine Morningstar and Reiko, so please don't steal them. They're all a little nuts anyway. . .
