Talking Bushes: Part Seven
By. Bento Box
07/05/04

--

By the time Squall had pried Rinoa off of himself and leapt to his feet to stand at a safe distance, he had acquired several new bruises. The marks of a battle barely won. His eye twitched as he stared, otherwise impassively, at the buoyant girl.

"Squall! Aren't you happy to see me? I came all the way out here just to see--"

"What... are you doing here." Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue.

Rinoa blinked wide eyes at him in puzzlement. "Hm? Oh! I thought I'd give you some time to yourself before coming to stay with you again since you seemed so stressed out and delirious--"

"... we broke up." You cannot kill a civilian. You cannot kill a civilian.

"Don't be silly! We didn't break up, sweetie! We just took a break--I'd never break up with you!"

"We. Broke up...." ... maybe just a bit? Strangulation just enough for her to pass out? A missing limb or two? Tying her up, gagging her, and tossing her into a locked closet for an hour... or two... or three? All were wonderful ideas, really.

Rinoa's large eyes glistened and filled with tears. "Stop saying such awful things! We didn't break up! We didn't!"

Squall started to edge away as Rinoa's shrill voice went up several notches higher. He eyed the trembling lips and teary eyes with a wariness usually reserved for wild, unpredictable monsters. Perhaps... Quistis? She could handle this. Then he wouldn't be blamed for any drastic measurements. Must not kill...

"I love you Squall! I love you!"

Squall silently walked to a control panel and lightly tapped in the number code for Quistis's line.

"This is Quistis Trepe."

"........"

"Squall?"

"....."

"What's wrong?"

"...... ..... Rinoa."

Quistis's exasperated sigh could be heard even over the faint buzzing of the intercom. "Not again. Alright, wait right there, I'll be over in a few minutes. You're near the garden, right?"

"...."

"Try not to strangle her this time?"

Squall's eye twitched again but he relented, albeit regretfully and with great hesitancy. "... fine."

The connection ended and Squall turned to find Rinoa still standing where he had left her, now openly weeping and still denying vehemently that they were done and through. Hyne, was it his fault his first tentative reach for human contact had landed him with the stalker ex-girlfriend from the pits of doom and darkness?

Well, maybe just a bit.

As promised, a familiar blonde head with the long strands of hair elegantly done up in a artless bun appeared, boot heels clicking against the hard ground with a purposeful stride. Squall gave a small sigh of relief.

One brow rose smoothly on Quistis's face at the pinched expression Squall wore, a wry quirk tugging at her full lips. Rinoa had always seemed to bring out Squall's feelings to the surface quite well--for better or for worse. Deciding to give the young man a break, she made slight shooing motions towards him, conveying with another quirk or her lips that she would be able to handle the situation from here on out.

The small release of tension around Squall's eyes was payment enough for Quistis for having to put up with a blubbering, watery mess that was Rinoa Heartilly.

Squall swiftly made his escape, telling himself that he was not running away. Merely... retreating in a strategic fashion.

--

Seifer was having a great day so far. First, incriminating pictures and fliers up all over the Garden regarding the Chicken wuss and Laguna. Then, successfully embarrassing and stealing a kiss from the Chicken wuss. Oh, not to mention Rinoa suddenly showing up for the second time in as many weeks to deter Squall from detaching his head from the rest of his body.

Of course, with Squall, one never knew which head he'd have removed... which made Rinoa's appearance even more of a good thing.

Whistling cheerfully to himself, he snatched a freshly cleaned, as of yet uneaten, apple out of a startled cadet's hand. He sneered at the younger boy, watching in obvious glee as the other tried to burrow himself into his books.

Taking a bite out of the crisp, red fruit, Seifer continued on his way, not noticing the tall, dark man watching him obscurely from around the corner.

--

Kiros had decided to take a walk around Garden to formulate a plan on getting the media off of Laguna's back. How said media had found their way onto a topnotch school of training elite mercenaries made him scoff at Garden's security--or lack thereof--but subterfuge was everywhere so he couldn't really fault the Headmaster for not being able to control each and every one of his students.

Which was why it was a good thing Kiros was there to keep an eye out for his long-time friend and (there really wasn't a better word for it, his paycheck in essence did stem from Laguna) employer.

Coming across the garden where Laguna's ill-timed excursions into his favorite pastime had landed him his hot seat on the front cover of E-STARR GLOBAL, Kiros found a nice little enclave at the base of a large tree surrounded by grass and flowers. He settled down and leaned against the rough bark, idly watching the breeze gently play through the blues and reds of the petals belonging to the flowers near his outstretched feet.

A sudden disturbance caught his attention, and he rose silently to his feet, moving closer to the source of the sounds.

"And now, in return for having been blessed by my benevolence, I'm going to have to demand a kiss."

Hm. That voice sounds familiar...

He edged closer and found himself staring at a large form sprawled across another body against the ground. Kiros's brows rose in surprise at the sight, then lowered as he gave a slow smile.

Perhaps... perhaps here was his much needed distraction.

He watched the by-play of scenes, smile firmly etched into his face. A plan was forming rapidly, and all he had to do now was hash out the details and maybe request the tall, gray-coated blonde to be his partner in crime?

Ah, I haven't felt this sneaky in ages! Time for a frazzled PR man to have some fun.

After waiting for Zell to disappear down the hall, he quickly walked in the direction Seifer had gone, intent on catching the tall man when he was alone.

--

Notes: Sorry this is so short, but as you can see I'm starting to draw in other characters and it's hard trying to juggle all of their point of views and ties into the plot (plot? what plot? XD) without frying my brain into a crisp. I hope that you guys continue to read the series! I'm not sure when I'll be finishing this bloody thing but one can hope for SOON, ne? Until next time everyone, my thanks to all of you for sticking with me! Review and gimme all of your feedback!

I also hope I answered your question Avion Jade, as to why Rinoa's back. And to anyone else who also remembered the little tidbit that Squall had broken up with Rinoa.