Author's Note:
I don't own Final Fantasy, but I love its sexy bishounen anyway...
Chapter Six: The Truth Revealed
"I'm back!" Called Rinoa as she opened the door to Squall's room. She had a couple small shopping bags hidden behind her and quickly slid them behind a nearby piece of furniture.
"THANK HYNE!" Squall cried as he ran up to Rinoa and glomped her.
"Uh... Did you guys have fun?" She asked.
"Lots of fun!" Selphie replied cheerfully.
"...Huh?..." Said Irvine as she yawned and sat up on the couch. "Oh, hey, Rinoa."
"Oh... by the way... You're almost out of food..." Zell added quietly.
"Well, we'll be going now. We should do this again sometime." Said Selphie. Squall shivered at the thought.
"Yeah," continued Zell. "Then I can show you some more moves. Oh... uh... and sorry again for accidentally kicking your shoulder, Squall..."
"See ya, Rinoa. Take care, Squall." Said Irvine as he made his way out the door.
As soon as they had all left, Squall breathed a huge sigh of relief. "NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE WITH THOSE THREE AGAIN!"
"Oh, c'mon Squall," replied Rinoa. "It's not like they tortured you or anything..."
"THEY DID! WITH FLUFFY CHOCOBOS AND ROUNDHOUSE KICKS AND! AND! THE PAIN!"
Wow... He must really need some sleep...
-Meanwhile...-
Quistis could hear footsteps behind her. Is he following me? What more does he want... She turned around, then stopped dead in her tracks.
"Y'know, it's not right for such a pretty lady to be all alone. Why don't you come with me? We could have some dinner and for desert... heh... heh..."
Quistis turned around and kept walking. What a pig...
"Hey, bitch!" A swift, strong hand grabbed Quistis's arm and twisted it behind her back. "I thought I told you- augh!"
Suddenly, the hand released its grasp and the man landed on the ground nearby.
"You all right?" Seifer asked.
Quistis looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, thanks."
Meanwhile, the man had managed to pull himself off the ground and onto his feet. "Betcha think you're really somethin', dontcha?" He spat. "Not when I get through with you." He whistled and three burly men ran to his side.
"Awww, did you train them all by yourself?" Seifer replied with a devilish grin.
"That impressive, huh? Just wait and see what they can really do." The man snapped his fingers and the three pulled out carefully concealed gunblades. They were quite thin and not highly-upgraded, but still demanded caution.
Damn... If I had Hyperion... Guess it's the old fashioned way for now... Seifer crouched down a little, waiting for one of them to make a move.
"What the hell?! You're gonna fight unarmed?! AHAHAHA! That's rich..." The man held his large stomach as he laughed.
Save the Queen sang through the air once more. "Mind if I have the first turn?" Quistis asked. Her eyes were burning bright violet, which meant only one thing.
She was royally pissed.
"Ladies first," Seifer replied and stepped out of the way.
"Ha! He's gonna let the chick fight! Gee, you're a real winner, pal. All right, lady. We'll make this quick, okay?" Said one of the men with a gunblade.
"Quick it is." Quistis replied with a nod. With chilling speed, Save the Queen darted past and whipped around the man's throat. The man clutched the whip, but it remained tightly wound. Quistis yanked the whip backward and it released its grasp, sending the man spinning and falling to the ground. "Next?"
The two other men bolted forward, swinging their blades at Quistis. She met them with Save the Queen's sharp tip. They darted out of the way, but Quistis increased her speed every second, whipping at their hands. The men growled through the pain and kept advancing towards her. She caught one by the leg and sent him flying, then hitting the ground on his back.
"And then there was one..." Quistis said coolly. She sent her whip flying at the man and soon he fell near the rest of his friends. "Now for you..." She glared at the heavyset man who had started the whole ordeal. She swung Save the Queen and sent it screaming towards the man's neck.
"STOP!" The man shouted as he cast the spell of the same name. When he saw Quistis's form remain motionless, he breathed for a moment...
...Which was a mistake.
WHAM! Seifer's fists came flying at him. With every second, he became more and more infuriated. The scum in front of him had dared to cast a spell on Quistis and for that, he must pay. The man tried to counter as many of Seifer's blows as possible, but the tall blonde was just too fast for him. Finally, though he was able to get a shot at him. His fist careened straight for Seifer's head, and Seifer pulled away. He wasn't fast enough, though. The man grazed Seifer's forehead and what was covering it.
"HOLY SH... YOU! HEY LOOK! IT'S SEIF-"CRACK!
Save the Queen silenced the man.
Quistis looked around and noticed people starting to look their way. "Let's get out of here." She grabbed one of Seifer's hands while he held his forehead with the other hand and the two of them ran down the street.
They darted in and out of the crowd and finally made their way to the hotel Quistis was staying at. Not wanting to chance the elevator, they raced up two flights of stairs and rounded the corner. They were nearly there when...
WHAM! One of the hallway doors opened, sending Seifer flying backward.
"You lustful young'ns! There's plenty of time for all of that! Mind where you're goin' next time!" Yelled an old woman as she stepped out of her room and hobbled off on her cane.
"Are you okay?!" Quistis cried as knelt by Seifer's side. He remained silent. "Stupid old hag!" Quistis yelled down the hallway. Damn... She carefully bent down and gathered the tall man as best she could, then dragged him the rest of the way to her room.
-Meanwhile...-
"Just look at this!" Cried Cid as he held up a newspaper ad. "Crystal clear beaches, excellent shopping venues, dining, dancing, spas... We should go to Dollet next chance we get."
Matron laughed softly. "You say that about every place someone visits. Last time it was Winhill and it's cozy bed and breakfasts. The time before that it was Fisherman's Horizon."
"Well... I just like to see new places." Cid explained. "It's good to broaden one's horizon."
Matron nodded. "I wonder how Quistis's trip is going..."
-Back in Dollet...-
Great trip this has turned out to be. Thought Quistis as she laid Seifer out on her couch. He's not going to be too happy when he wakes up... I hope that crazy old woman stays away for awhile... for her sake.
Quistis glanced over his body. Apparently, their mad dash hadn't been as clean as she thought. Seifer's shirt was slashed at several places on the right side and there was already a bruise forming near his eye.
I should clean him up a bit... Of course, Quistis realized that in order to do that, she'd have to remove his shirt. Please don't wake up yet... I'll never hear the end of it otherwise... She cautiously slipped the shirt up, lifting his arms and finally slipping it off completely. He stirred a little, but stayed asleep. Whew...
Quistis grabbed a facecloth from the bathroom and ran it under warm water. Carefully, she dabbed the cloth across the shallow wounds. She noticed that one of them ran all the way to his back. Carefully, she rolled him onto his side. Her eyes went wide and her hand flew over her mouth, barely depressing a gasp.
There were hundreds of thin slashes etched into his back. They had long since healed, but the scars still shone clearly. A few were thicker than the others and Quistis assumed they must have been much deeper.
Who did this to you?
"...Unghh..." Seifer stirred and started to roll onto his back. His eyelids fluttered open and he blinked a few times. "...Quistis?..." As he sat up slowly, he noticed the thin line of tears welling in her eyes. "Hey... What's wrong?..."
"Who did that to you?..."
Seifer finally realized he wasn't wearing his shirt and knew exactly what Quistis was referring to. He scratched the back of his neck. "It happened awhile ago. Don't worry about it."
"Who did that to you?" She persisted.
"...I didn't know them, but they knew me..." He replied softly. Quistis took a seat next to him. "It's all kinda blurry in my mind. All I remember is running as fast as I could. All around me, I could hear creatures shrieking and growling β creatures specifically caught and starved to be released on me. I could feel their warm breath getting closer. I finally lost them, but not before they each gave me a little parting gift." ...And that's not even the extent of it...
In truth, there had been many other times. At first, Seifer would fight back using anything he could find lying nearby β brooms, crates, trash cans, even a pair of discarded high heels. But over time, he got so tired of the daily encounters with people hungry to take his life. What really began to scare him were not the increasing number of threats, but the fact that some part of him was beginning to cheer them on, silently hoping one of them would succeed in their mission and end this unending cycle. From that moment, he had no longer felt like Seifer Almasy, but his ghost.
Without looking, Seifer could easily tell where Qustis's gaze fell now.
"These..." He said pointing to the deepest cuts. "Are the reason I left for Dollet. I was fishing with Fuu and Rajin. I remember I was just thinking what a peaceful day it was." He lowered his gaze. "And then someone decided I didn't deserve peace. He gave me these and told me it was repayment for what Ultimecia did to his family. I didn't even touch anyone related to him, but since I was part of Ultimecia's court..." His voice trailed off. "From then on, I was a marked man. I didn't want to put Fuu or Rajin in any more danger, so I left. They still don't know where I am. I didn't want them to try and follow me."
Quistis wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her forehead into his arm. "I'm so sorry..."
"Hey, it's like I said, it happened a long time ago..."
"No. You should never have had to go through any of that. Balamb found Matron and made sure she had a full pardon. We should have done the same for you. Forgive me..."
Seifer could feel her warm tears against his arm. "Hey..." He began softly. He moved her so that her head was resting against his chest. "Shhh... Listen to me. It's not your fault... or anyone else's for that matter. I made sure no one could find me."
"No, no, no." Quistis continued. "I was your instructor. It was my job to-"
"Tch, like I would've listened? You know how hard-headed I was back then. Well... still am kinda..."
Quistis laughed softly into his chest.
"I'm fine, Quis." Seifer whispered as he traced small circles on her back.
She pulled away from him gently and looked into his eyes. "Not until your name is cleared." She lightly traced the scar that ran along his forehead. "Not until your life is restored. Come with me back to Balamb."
Seifer looked away and stood up. "I... can't... Not after what I almost did..."
"They'll forgive you. Just give them a chance. I once thought I never could... but I do. I know they will, too..."
Seifer turned around and looked into her pleading cerulean eyes. "Tch...All right, all right... I'll go... Dry your eyes." He tossed her a small package of Kleenex and Quistis caught it. He shrugged. "Besides... I'm sure that loud mouth has already begun to spread the word. I wouldn't want to be ambushed by a mob with torches and pitchforks at work. They might ruin my suit." He added with a smirk.
Quistis laughed again as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
Just then, Seifer caught sight of the bruise forming by his left eye in a nearby mirror. "Ooohh... That bastard did catch me... Heh... Lucky shot."
"It'll get worse if you don't put something on it. Uhmm... let me see..." Quistis walked over to the phone. "Hello, room service? Yes, this is #27. Could you send up a raw steak? Yes, yes, I'm sure. All right, thank you." She added as she hung up. "Geez.. You try to get something as simple as a raw steak and they act like you don't know what you're talking about. Some service."
"Not many people specifically order raw steak." Said Seifer resuming his seat.
"Even so... Oh!" She dialed the phone again. "Hello? This is room #27 again. ...Yes, the one with the raw steak." She rolled her eyes. "Listen, could you add two dinners to the list βer... the order? Yes... okay... Thank you."
Seifer half smirked, half smiled at her.
"Don't look at me like that... I just don't think you're fit to be seen right now..." She added with a playful grin.
"Right... You just want me all for yourself... Admit it."
"Oh yeah... That black eye is so sexy."
Seifer gently touched the bruised spot. "Man... Puberty Boy's gonna have a good laugh at this..."
"Why?" Asked Quistis as she sat down beside him. "After all, you did save me."
"Yeah... from some weird, little fat man..."
"One little man?... Why... I thought there were at least ten, big, burly rouges..." She replied with a wink.
"Heh... I like the way you think, Quistis..."
