Chapter 8
"You ready for a break?" Squall asked.
"I don't care," Rinoa lied. They had been walking since dawn, and it was well past lunchtime by now. She had had to keep pace with Squall and was exhausted.
"Fine." He sat down with his back against the tree, causing the rope on Rinoa's wrist to pull tight. She crashed to the floor.
"Thanks," she muttered dryly, brushing the dirt off her clothes. Squall pretended not to notice. He pulled out some food from the pocket of his jacket and handed it to Rinoa who turned away, ignoring his offer.
"Just take it. We mught not be stopping again for a while."
"Fine." She snatched the food from his outstretched hand.
"Look, I'm sorry."
"What? Am I hearing things? Was that an apology?" She laughed. "Don't tell me you do have feelings?"
"Fine, be like that. I have the decency to apologise and you just go and bite my head off. I won't bother in the future." Rinoa may have been angry but she knew how much courage it had taken Squall to apologise.
"Sorry." Her voice softened. "I know you're just doing your job."
"Why don't you want to go?" Rinoa was puzzled at the interest he was showing her.
"It doesn't matter," she said, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. Squall wiped it away gently.
"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it." She looked up into his eyes and saw that he was genuinely concerned.
"He's my father."
"What? But he's the head of the army and you lead a resistance faction."
"I know. He made my life hell when I was younger. After my mother died, he became a different person. I couldn't stand living in the same house as him so I left for Timber and saw how badly the army was treating the townspeople. I couldn't just stand around and let my father do that."
"Why do you think he asked us to kidnap you?"
"I'm really not sure. I've been thinking about that a lot but I can't come up with an answer. He hasn't come after me before now."
"Look, Rinoa. If I had a choice I wouldn't take you."
"Thanks. And Squall?"
"Yeah?"
"I should probably tell you this. I think my father wants to destroy SeeD."
"What? Why would you think that?"
"I found a document on his desk just before I left. It didn't say anything explicitly. It just hinted at his intentions."
"You must be mistaken. He's our biggest client. He's been using SeeDs on missions for years."
"Maybe. I just thought I should let you know."
"Thanks." He smiled. "You ready to leave?"
"I guess." She tried to stand up, forgetting that her wrist was bound to Squall's. She fell, onlyto find Squall's arms reaching out for her. Before she knew it, her head was buried in Squall's chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around her, his chin resting on the top of her head. After a few moments, they pulled away from each other awkwardly.
"I...erm. I'm sorry," he muttered, blushing.
"No, no. It's my fault. If I hadn't..." She found herself quietened by Squall, who placed a finger over her mouth, signalling her to be quiet. He loosened the rope around their wrists, allowing him to slip free and draw his gunblade.
"Stay here," he mouthed to her. He had heard a slight noise in the bushes nearby. Not much, but his SeeD instincts had tought him to be extremely wary. In the next instant a soldier dressed in uniform flew at him, sword raised high in the air. He was no match for Squall, who easily brought his gunblade up to block before plunging the tip through the soldier's heart.
Seeing this, four other men emerged from the undergrowth, heading for Rinoa.
"Where are Quistis and the others?" thought Squall, rushing to protect her. Before they could even get near, Squall had placed himself between the attackers and Rinoa.
They didn't even stand a chance.
Three fell swiftly to quick flashes of Squall's blade. The fourth, Squall knocked unconscious with punch to the head. He took the rope that once bound him to Rinoa, and tied he soldier to a nearby tree.
"You alright?" he asked Rinoa. She nodded, looking shaken. Satisfied, he turned his attention back to the soldier, who was now coming around. He pointed the tip of his gunblade to to his throat. "who sent you?" he snarled. the soldier didn't reply. Squall made a swift cut down the side of the man's face.
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed in shock. He ignored her.
"Who sent you?"
"Nobody," stuttered the wounded soldier. "Really, it was nobody." Squall made an identical cut down the opposite side of his face.
"Talk. Now."
"Squall. Stop it"
"Rinoa. Stay out of this."
"But you're hurting him!"
"He's a soldier. They're prepared for pain. They're prepared for death."
"That doesn't matter. It doesn't mean that it's right to hurt him." She turned to the soldier. "Please, just tell him what he wants to know. I swear he won't hurt you if you do."
"You...you mean it?"
"I promise."
"Well, alright. It was General Caraway, but I don't know why he sent us, I swear." Squall was about to bring his gunblade down on the soldier once again when Rinoa stopped him.
"I think he's telling the truth." She out her arm on his, lowering it to his side. "So you can stop with the interrogation."
"What do you know about it?"
"Squall, why did Caaway send you on this mission?"
"I don't know. He didn't tell us."
"Exactly. Why would he tell this soldier then?" Squall fell silent and Rinoa knew she had won. "So you can let him go now."
"Let him go? So he can go and tell Caraway what we've done to his men?"
"The punishment for giving information in the army is execution. If he says he escaped, they'll know that he'd been talking to us. They'd exexecute him. He's not going to tell anyone." Rinoa looked into Squalls eyes, pleading with him.
"Fine." He made sure that he had no weapons before untying the ropes. "Go."
"Thank you," the soldier gushed at Rinoa before running in the direction of Timber.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Squall asked Rinoa.
"A little shaken I guess. I'm not used to all this death. I guess you are."
"Yeah."
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen"
"Realy?"
"Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?"
"I guess it's just because you've seen so much death, and you're always so serious. I thought you were much older."
"On the battlefield, you mature or you die."
"Wow, thats realy harsh. Don't you ever get to just act like a teenager?"
"I don't know. To be honest, I'm not really sure how other teenagers act. That must sound really stupid."
"No, its not. I just feel sorry for you. You missed out on so much."
"Whatever." Rinoa started to laugh. "What?"
"It's just funny. You start to open up and talk, and then you go right back to your usual self again. Well as I see I've hit hit a brick wall with this conversation, I think I'll start another. Why would Caraway send out a squadron of soldiers to find you?"
"I don't know. It looked like they were after you though."
"But why? I thought he paid you to kidnap me?"
"He did."
"So why would he send out soldiers to kidnap me from you?"
"He did."
"So why would he send out soldiers to kidnap me from you?"
"Have you ever heard Caraway tell anybody else about SeeD contracts?"
"No. I didn't. Why?"
"If this contract was a secret, he could easily make out that we kidnapped you with thw intention to hurt you. Nobody would know any different, and you said he was trying to destroy SeeD right?"
"Yeah."
"What better way than for a group of soldiers to find SeeD members kidnapping his own daughter?"
"That makes sense. He wouldn't want me back because he cares."
"We have to find the others and get to Garden quickly. We need to warn them."
Thanks to:
Renegade Seraph for some of the ideas in the chapter. I finally managed to write them in.
Rinoa Leonhart73
Dark Raion
Rinoa
Carie Valentine
CTHKSI
"You ready for a break?" Squall asked.
"I don't care," Rinoa lied. They had been walking since dawn, and it was well past lunchtime by now. She had had to keep pace with Squall and was exhausted.
"Fine." He sat down with his back against the tree, causing the rope on Rinoa's wrist to pull tight. She crashed to the floor.
"Thanks," she muttered dryly, brushing the dirt off her clothes. Squall pretended not to notice. He pulled out some food from the pocket of his jacket and handed it to Rinoa who turned away, ignoring his offer.
"Just take it. We mught not be stopping again for a while."
"Fine." She snatched the food from his outstretched hand.
"Look, I'm sorry."
"What? Am I hearing things? Was that an apology?" She laughed. "Don't tell me you do have feelings?"
"Fine, be like that. I have the decency to apologise and you just go and bite my head off. I won't bother in the future." Rinoa may have been angry but she knew how much courage it had taken Squall to apologise.
"Sorry." Her voice softened. "I know you're just doing your job."
"Why don't you want to go?" Rinoa was puzzled at the interest he was showing her.
"It doesn't matter," she said, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. Squall wiped it away gently.
"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it." She looked up into his eyes and saw that he was genuinely concerned.
"He's my father."
"What? But he's the head of the army and you lead a resistance faction."
"I know. He made my life hell when I was younger. After my mother died, he became a different person. I couldn't stand living in the same house as him so I left for Timber and saw how badly the army was treating the townspeople. I couldn't just stand around and let my father do that."
"Why do you think he asked us to kidnap you?"
"I'm really not sure. I've been thinking about that a lot but I can't come up with an answer. He hasn't come after me before now."
"Look, Rinoa. If I had a choice I wouldn't take you."
"Thanks. And Squall?"
"Yeah?"
"I should probably tell you this. I think my father wants to destroy SeeD."
"What? Why would you think that?"
"I found a document on his desk just before I left. It didn't say anything explicitly. It just hinted at his intentions."
"You must be mistaken. He's our biggest client. He's been using SeeDs on missions for years."
"Maybe. I just thought I should let you know."
"Thanks." He smiled. "You ready to leave?"
"I guess." She tried to stand up, forgetting that her wrist was bound to Squall's. She fell, onlyto find Squall's arms reaching out for her. Before she knew it, her head was buried in Squall's chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around her, his chin resting on the top of her head. After a few moments, they pulled away from each other awkwardly.
"I...erm. I'm sorry," he muttered, blushing.
"No, no. It's my fault. If I hadn't..." She found herself quietened by Squall, who placed a finger over her mouth, signalling her to be quiet. He loosened the rope around their wrists, allowing him to slip free and draw his gunblade.
"Stay here," he mouthed to her. He had heard a slight noise in the bushes nearby. Not much, but his SeeD instincts had tought him to be extremely wary. In the next instant a soldier dressed in uniform flew at him, sword raised high in the air. He was no match for Squall, who easily brought his gunblade up to block before plunging the tip through the soldier's heart.
Seeing this, four other men emerged from the undergrowth, heading for Rinoa.
"Where are Quistis and the others?" thought Squall, rushing to protect her. Before they could even get near, Squall had placed himself between the attackers and Rinoa.
They didn't even stand a chance.
Three fell swiftly to quick flashes of Squall's blade. The fourth, Squall knocked unconscious with punch to the head. He took the rope that once bound him to Rinoa, and tied he soldier to a nearby tree.
"You alright?" he asked Rinoa. She nodded, looking shaken. Satisfied, he turned his attention back to the soldier, who was now coming around. He pointed the tip of his gunblade to to his throat. "who sent you?" he snarled. the soldier didn't reply. Squall made a swift cut down the side of the man's face.
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed in shock. He ignored her.
"Who sent you?"
"Nobody," stuttered the wounded soldier. "Really, it was nobody." Squall made an identical cut down the opposite side of his face.
"Talk. Now."
"Squall. Stop it"
"Rinoa. Stay out of this."
"But you're hurting him!"
"He's a soldier. They're prepared for pain. They're prepared for death."
"That doesn't matter. It doesn't mean that it's right to hurt him." She turned to the soldier. "Please, just tell him what he wants to know. I swear he won't hurt you if you do."
"You...you mean it?"
"I promise."
"Well, alright. It was General Caraway, but I don't know why he sent us, I swear." Squall was about to bring his gunblade down on the soldier once again when Rinoa stopped him.
"I think he's telling the truth." She out her arm on his, lowering it to his side. "So you can stop with the interrogation."
"What do you know about it?"
"Squall, why did Caaway send you on this mission?"
"I don't know. He didn't tell us."
"Exactly. Why would he tell this soldier then?" Squall fell silent and Rinoa knew she had won. "So you can let him go now."
"Let him go? So he can go and tell Caraway what we've done to his men?"
"The punishment for giving information in the army is execution. If he says he escaped, they'll know that he'd been talking to us. They'd exexecute him. He's not going to tell anyone." Rinoa looked into Squalls eyes, pleading with him.
"Fine." He made sure that he had no weapons before untying the ropes. "Go."
"Thank you," the soldier gushed at Rinoa before running in the direction of Timber.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Squall asked Rinoa.
"A little shaken I guess. I'm not used to all this death. I guess you are."
"Yeah."
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen"
"Realy?"
"Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?"
"I guess it's just because you've seen so much death, and you're always so serious. I thought you were much older."
"On the battlefield, you mature or you die."
"Wow, thats realy harsh. Don't you ever get to just act like a teenager?"
"I don't know. To be honest, I'm not really sure how other teenagers act. That must sound really stupid."
"No, its not. I just feel sorry for you. You missed out on so much."
"Whatever." Rinoa started to laugh. "What?"
"It's just funny. You start to open up and talk, and then you go right back to your usual self again. Well as I see I've hit hit a brick wall with this conversation, I think I'll start another. Why would Caraway send out a squadron of soldiers to find you?"
"I don't know. It looked like they were after you though."
"But why? I thought he paid you to kidnap me?"
"He did."
"So why would he send out soldiers to kidnap me from you?"
"He did."
"So why would he send out soldiers to kidnap me from you?"
"Have you ever heard Caraway tell anybody else about SeeD contracts?"
"No. I didn't. Why?"
"If this contract was a secret, he could easily make out that we kidnapped you with thw intention to hurt you. Nobody would know any different, and you said he was trying to destroy SeeD right?"
"Yeah."
"What better way than for a group of soldiers to find SeeD members kidnapping his own daughter?"
"That makes sense. He wouldn't want me back because he cares."
"We have to find the others and get to Garden quickly. We need to warn them."
Thanks to:
Renegade Seraph for some of the ideas in the chapter. I finally managed to write them in.
Rinoa Leonhart73
Dark Raion
Rinoa
Carie Valentine
CTHKSI