Chapter 18
Disclaimer: I do not own any single one of these characters. Go rant at the Squaresoft people who refused to put these characters on sale. But don't bother trying to get a deal on the characters. They are a bunch of old geezers who refuses to share their intellectual properties, which is why I'm typing out this freaking disclaimer.
Quistis POV
"Quisty, hurry up! The ragnarok will be leaving in one hour's time! Do you need my help?" Selphie was exclaiming by my doorway, bouncing on her balls and gazing at her watch. (Author's note: The balls of her foot.)
"Thanks, but I already have Rinny here to help. But I have an errand for you. Can you please go tell Irvine to wait up? I'm aware that we have to rush but I only just got out of the lecture hall! It's not my fault that the class happens to have a few weak student s who need my help." I remarked from behind a pile of clothes while walking across the room to the luggage bags, almost bumping into Rinny who was busy helping me shovel the clothes into the four luggage bags. I know I should have listened to seifer and packed up last night. Really, I tried to pack last night but I had some last minute marking to do. Seriously, why is there a neccessity for us to go globe trotting? Why can't the client tell us about the mission?
"Okeydokey, I'll go tell him on my way to the Cafeteria so that I can grab a bar of my favourite white chocolate. And no, Rinny, I won't have to worry about pimples as I have already gotten past the age where one sprout's pimples from eating chocolate. See you later at the deck!"she added, upon seeing Rinny's grimace. She bounced out of the room to go and seek her white chocolate bar.
"Done! And we still have 50 minutes to go!" commented Rinny with some satisfaction.
"Thanks! You're simply the best luggage packer I know! If you didn't come, I wonder if I would even be able to finish packing by the time this mission is over!"
"You're welcome. I'll go get you a hovercart on the way to get some stuff which I might've left behind in my room." She said, putting on her sandals at the same time.
"Once again, thanks. See you later."
"See you."she turned and left the room, palming the door shut. I decided to do something about my hair to make it look more presentable. I was combing my hair when the doorbell buzzed. Ah, it's my hovercart. I went to open the door. To my surprise, it was Seifer who was pushing the cart. Oh, I'll bet that he was using it earlier for his own luggage.
"Thanks for passing me the cart." I managed to choke out. For some reason or another, I suddenly recalled about the interference which we had while we were.
"You're welcome. Need some help?" he seemed to have some trouble with words too. Looks like he still remembers the incident.
"I'll really appreciate it, seeing that I've got such gigantic bags to handle." I said truthfully, gesturing at the luggage which I miraculously managed to pile up by my door.
He picked up the bags one by one without saying a word. Then he said, "Since I already helped you to load up your luggage, I might as well continue helping you by helping you push the trolley to the dock. Have you finished packing up all your belongings which you'll need for the trip? If you're almost done, I don't mind waiting for a couple of minutes and accompany you to the docks."
I was like, "Thanks. I've only got to pack up my daily essentials and I'm done. I should be done in a moment or two. So, do you mind waiting?"
"No, I don't. You're my. Girlfriend." He said, after ensuring that there wasn't a single soul in the corridor. Not that he would mind the world knowing that he already chose me, but he was keeping mum due to the fact that SeeDs are advised not to have a relationship and that students are forbidden to have them. What will happen if the whole Garden knows about this?
"Great." I blushed a little and turned to grab my toothbrush, facial wash and the two bags which contained the rest of my essentials and my wallet and mobile. Sure enough, I took less than a minute. Then, we walked to the elevator, and took the lift to the second floor and walked towards the dock. On our way there, we had another converstion.
"So, do you remember yesterday's incident?" He asked.
"Obviously yes. Why?"
"I was thinking that, since that stretch of beach is usually very deserted, the girl couldn't possibly consider that stretch of beach as an ideal place to set up shop right? If my inference is correct, that means that someone either knew that we were going there or actually followed us there. And he or she decided to call the girl to go to the beach so as to ruin our date. If the person knew about the date, this person would have to be in Balamb Garden in the first place. Plus, we are capable of detecting anyone, except for those who were trained in a Garden. And only a jealous fan would do such a thing. I can't imagine an instuctor doing such a thing. So, the prime suspect would be either the Trepies or the 'Almasies', as my stupid, unofficial fanclub decided to call themselves. Hyne, they even gave themselves the same surname as me! God, I wish they wouldn't. It makes me sound as though as I have loads of mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives and daughters! And I don't want or like any single one of them!" He said in a huff. "Not that I would mind if you gave yourself my surname." He added hurriedly, thinking that I forgot that the last few comments wasn't meant for me.
"I know. I was wondering if that new student was your sister or your relation and almost wanted to ask you about her when I checked on her background and realised that the reason why she called herself that was because of that unofficial fanclub. Well, no point crying over spilt milk. What's done can't be undone, so we have to be a bit more discreet when we go on a date." I said, with a shrug.
At that point, we reached the docks and had to act as though we were merely an instuructor and her ex-student. I took the trolley away and pushed the whole pile of luggage onto the mobile conveyor belt which was leading to the small luggage holding area in the Ragnarok. Half an hour before departure, the whole groupof us were already sitting in the main area in his or her own fashion and waited patiently for Squall to start the routine before-the-mission briefing.
"Right, as you know, we are going to depart for Deling City in half an hours time. The specific Meeting point is the Caraway Mansion. Actually, the amount of Gils we are paid has just been increased. The 1.5 million was only the deposit. They promised to pay another 1.5 to 2.5 million, depending on the success of this mission. As for the rest of the details, I really have no idea. But I can infer that the mission also concerns General Caraway, seeing that he allowed the mansion to be used. So, Rinoa, did you overhear anything over the past month or so?"Squall said, sounding really disturbed.
"To be honest, I didn't really hear anything of great importance. But, I did hear of a series of burglaries in the city. Maybe that's the reason why there is this mission!" She exclaimed.
"Maybe, though I doubt that that's the case. No one would ever invest 3 million gils just to have a burglar captured! Sorry to disappoint you Rinny, but I seriously think that the mission concerns something else. Any ideas anyone?"
Selphie waved her arm in the air."Well, if we will know about the full details in approximately 1.5 hours, what's the point of guessing? Why don't we discuss something else? Such as the room allocation." She pointed at Zell, who was snoring away.
"Fine. Selphie, if you don't mind, cast thunder on him. To wake him up ONLY!"
"Thunder!"
"Yeeeuch!!! What the freaking. Oh. Oh! Sorry, Squall, I must've dosed off. Where were we?"
"Never mind. We are now about to discuss the room allocation. Right, as you know, we have three rooms aboard the Ranarok with sufficent beds for every single one of us. The first room contains a double-decker bed, sufficent for two of us. The second one contains a Queen sized bed, usually used for an important guest but in this case, it has to be shared. But it is big enough for two of us. The last room contains three normal beds. Now we have a problem. I was planning on letting the girls take the room with three beds, while the guys took the other rooms. So who wants to make the sacrifice and share the room with Seifer? Though I honestly can't think who will be generous enough."
"No, not me." said Zell immediately.
"Who wants to sleep with you, Chicken Wuss. And no, I don't intend to sleep in the same room as the Commander, I seriously don't deserve the 'honor'! And definitely not Mr Perverted, I seriously don't want to be mistaken for Selphie."
There was an uproar at this. But Irvine walked from the bridge and said, "No, definitely not. Who knows if you'll blow us through the ship while we're asleep!"
"Then, one of us will have to sleep in the main area."
"No, there's no need for that. Besides, it's not fair for you. Nah, I've got a better idea. Since the guys won't fight each other, other than Seifer of course, it won't be a problem if we shared the room with three beds. So, two of the girls will share the Queen sized bed, while one of the girls will share the double-decker bed with Seifer. Plus, I seriously doubt that he will attack any of the girls. And of course, it should be Quistis who shares that room with Seifer."
I was originally half-listening to the entire conversation, but when I heard the comment made by Irvine, I had a shock. "WHAT? Why me?"
"You are, after all, his instructor and should have less problems handling him should he decide to attack you due to some unknown score. Plus, the other girls have boyfriends. Surely, you don't want there to be disputes during this mission of such great importance?"
Well, as you can see, I had no choice but to give in. I mean how hard can it get to share a room with a male comrade in arms? So long as you don't think sick.
"Fine. So be it." I then turned and dragged my luggage to the bedroom to the left, which contained the double decker bed. But Rinny waved her hands in the air. The conversation that continued from this point made me regret giving in to the idea of sharing the bedroom with Seifer.
"Er. Sorry to say this, but I really can't share a bed with Selphie. I think we all know why. I seriously don't want to wake up all bruised like an apple thrown down a flight of stairs."
"So. What do you expect us to do? Make the guys squeeze into that puny bed? Please. What makes you think that we aren't messy sleepers? We'll kill each other before dawn!" Squall said, sounding very exasperated.
"Excuse me, but I've got a suggestion. Sorry, Quistis and Seifer, about making you the scapegoats but if we were to kill each other, we can't succeed in this mission. So, I suggest that Quistis and Seifer share the room with the Queen-sized bed."
If there were anything that could send me into unconsciousness, Irvine's comment would be one of them. I stood stock still in the passage to the bedroom. Honestly, though I was dating Seifer, I can't possibly share a room with him. For a very obvious reason. I mean, we already had a close shave recently. Would he be able to actually control himself? We seriously don't need an extra burden for this mission.
"If Quistis doesn't mind, I'm definitely fine with the arrangement. So, is that fine by you?"
God, that was Seifer! Has he gone nuts too? Why must he make things so difficult for me? I dragged my bags towards the other bedroom. But before doing so, I spun around and said, "Don't you dare lay your hands on me, you son of a b*tch!"
**************************************************************************** *************** Right, I know it's been a million years since I last updated this fic and for that I'm really sorry. But I really have real life commitments which made updating this fic practically impossible. So I hope you'll understand. However, I should be free enough to be able to keep to the promise, which is a chapter per fortnight, seeing that the period of extreme stress is over. So, CHEERS!!! ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own any single one of these characters. Go rant at the Squaresoft people who refused to put these characters on sale. But don't bother trying to get a deal on the characters. They are a bunch of old geezers who refuses to share their intellectual properties, which is why I'm typing out this freaking disclaimer.
Quistis POV
"Quisty, hurry up! The ragnarok will be leaving in one hour's time! Do you need my help?" Selphie was exclaiming by my doorway, bouncing on her balls and gazing at her watch. (Author's note: The balls of her foot.)
"Thanks, but I already have Rinny here to help. But I have an errand for you. Can you please go tell Irvine to wait up? I'm aware that we have to rush but I only just got out of the lecture hall! It's not my fault that the class happens to have a few weak student s who need my help." I remarked from behind a pile of clothes while walking across the room to the luggage bags, almost bumping into Rinny who was busy helping me shovel the clothes into the four luggage bags. I know I should have listened to seifer and packed up last night. Really, I tried to pack last night but I had some last minute marking to do. Seriously, why is there a neccessity for us to go globe trotting? Why can't the client tell us about the mission?
"Okeydokey, I'll go tell him on my way to the Cafeteria so that I can grab a bar of my favourite white chocolate. And no, Rinny, I won't have to worry about pimples as I have already gotten past the age where one sprout's pimples from eating chocolate. See you later at the deck!"she added, upon seeing Rinny's grimace. She bounced out of the room to go and seek her white chocolate bar.
"Done! And we still have 50 minutes to go!" commented Rinny with some satisfaction.
"Thanks! You're simply the best luggage packer I know! If you didn't come, I wonder if I would even be able to finish packing by the time this mission is over!"
"You're welcome. I'll go get you a hovercart on the way to get some stuff which I might've left behind in my room." She said, putting on her sandals at the same time.
"Once again, thanks. See you later."
"See you."she turned and left the room, palming the door shut. I decided to do something about my hair to make it look more presentable. I was combing my hair when the doorbell buzzed. Ah, it's my hovercart. I went to open the door. To my surprise, it was Seifer who was pushing the cart. Oh, I'll bet that he was using it earlier for his own luggage.
"Thanks for passing me the cart." I managed to choke out. For some reason or another, I suddenly recalled about the interference which we had while we were.
"You're welcome. Need some help?" he seemed to have some trouble with words too. Looks like he still remembers the incident.
"I'll really appreciate it, seeing that I've got such gigantic bags to handle." I said truthfully, gesturing at the luggage which I miraculously managed to pile up by my door.
He picked up the bags one by one without saying a word. Then he said, "Since I already helped you to load up your luggage, I might as well continue helping you by helping you push the trolley to the dock. Have you finished packing up all your belongings which you'll need for the trip? If you're almost done, I don't mind waiting for a couple of minutes and accompany you to the docks."
I was like, "Thanks. I've only got to pack up my daily essentials and I'm done. I should be done in a moment or two. So, do you mind waiting?"
"No, I don't. You're my. Girlfriend." He said, after ensuring that there wasn't a single soul in the corridor. Not that he would mind the world knowing that he already chose me, but he was keeping mum due to the fact that SeeDs are advised not to have a relationship and that students are forbidden to have them. What will happen if the whole Garden knows about this?
"Great." I blushed a little and turned to grab my toothbrush, facial wash and the two bags which contained the rest of my essentials and my wallet and mobile. Sure enough, I took less than a minute. Then, we walked to the elevator, and took the lift to the second floor and walked towards the dock. On our way there, we had another converstion.
"So, do you remember yesterday's incident?" He asked.
"Obviously yes. Why?"
"I was thinking that, since that stretch of beach is usually very deserted, the girl couldn't possibly consider that stretch of beach as an ideal place to set up shop right? If my inference is correct, that means that someone either knew that we were going there or actually followed us there. And he or she decided to call the girl to go to the beach so as to ruin our date. If the person knew about the date, this person would have to be in Balamb Garden in the first place. Plus, we are capable of detecting anyone, except for those who were trained in a Garden. And only a jealous fan would do such a thing. I can't imagine an instuctor doing such a thing. So, the prime suspect would be either the Trepies or the 'Almasies', as my stupid, unofficial fanclub decided to call themselves. Hyne, they even gave themselves the same surname as me! God, I wish they wouldn't. It makes me sound as though as I have loads of mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives and daughters! And I don't want or like any single one of them!" He said in a huff. "Not that I would mind if you gave yourself my surname." He added hurriedly, thinking that I forgot that the last few comments wasn't meant for me.
"I know. I was wondering if that new student was your sister or your relation and almost wanted to ask you about her when I checked on her background and realised that the reason why she called herself that was because of that unofficial fanclub. Well, no point crying over spilt milk. What's done can't be undone, so we have to be a bit more discreet when we go on a date." I said, with a shrug.
At that point, we reached the docks and had to act as though we were merely an instuructor and her ex-student. I took the trolley away and pushed the whole pile of luggage onto the mobile conveyor belt which was leading to the small luggage holding area in the Ragnarok. Half an hour before departure, the whole groupof us were already sitting in the main area in his or her own fashion and waited patiently for Squall to start the routine before-the-mission briefing.
"Right, as you know, we are going to depart for Deling City in half an hours time. The specific Meeting point is the Caraway Mansion. Actually, the amount of Gils we are paid has just been increased. The 1.5 million was only the deposit. They promised to pay another 1.5 to 2.5 million, depending on the success of this mission. As for the rest of the details, I really have no idea. But I can infer that the mission also concerns General Caraway, seeing that he allowed the mansion to be used. So, Rinoa, did you overhear anything over the past month or so?"Squall said, sounding really disturbed.
"To be honest, I didn't really hear anything of great importance. But, I did hear of a series of burglaries in the city. Maybe that's the reason why there is this mission!" She exclaimed.
"Maybe, though I doubt that that's the case. No one would ever invest 3 million gils just to have a burglar captured! Sorry to disappoint you Rinny, but I seriously think that the mission concerns something else. Any ideas anyone?"
Selphie waved her arm in the air."Well, if we will know about the full details in approximately 1.5 hours, what's the point of guessing? Why don't we discuss something else? Such as the room allocation." She pointed at Zell, who was snoring away.
"Fine. Selphie, if you don't mind, cast thunder on him. To wake him up ONLY!"
"Thunder!"
"Yeeeuch!!! What the freaking. Oh. Oh! Sorry, Squall, I must've dosed off. Where were we?"
"Never mind. We are now about to discuss the room allocation. Right, as you know, we have three rooms aboard the Ranarok with sufficent beds for every single one of us. The first room contains a double-decker bed, sufficent for two of us. The second one contains a Queen sized bed, usually used for an important guest but in this case, it has to be shared. But it is big enough for two of us. The last room contains three normal beds. Now we have a problem. I was planning on letting the girls take the room with three beds, while the guys took the other rooms. So who wants to make the sacrifice and share the room with Seifer? Though I honestly can't think who will be generous enough."
"No, not me." said Zell immediately.
"Who wants to sleep with you, Chicken Wuss. And no, I don't intend to sleep in the same room as the Commander, I seriously don't deserve the 'honor'! And definitely not Mr Perverted, I seriously don't want to be mistaken for Selphie."
There was an uproar at this. But Irvine walked from the bridge and said, "No, definitely not. Who knows if you'll blow us through the ship while we're asleep!"
"Then, one of us will have to sleep in the main area."
"No, there's no need for that. Besides, it's not fair for you. Nah, I've got a better idea. Since the guys won't fight each other, other than Seifer of course, it won't be a problem if we shared the room with three beds. So, two of the girls will share the Queen sized bed, while one of the girls will share the double-decker bed with Seifer. Plus, I seriously doubt that he will attack any of the girls. And of course, it should be Quistis who shares that room with Seifer."
I was originally half-listening to the entire conversation, but when I heard the comment made by Irvine, I had a shock. "WHAT? Why me?"
"You are, after all, his instructor and should have less problems handling him should he decide to attack you due to some unknown score. Plus, the other girls have boyfriends. Surely, you don't want there to be disputes during this mission of such great importance?"
Well, as you can see, I had no choice but to give in. I mean how hard can it get to share a room with a male comrade in arms? So long as you don't think sick.
"Fine. So be it." I then turned and dragged my luggage to the bedroom to the left, which contained the double decker bed. But Rinny waved her hands in the air. The conversation that continued from this point made me regret giving in to the idea of sharing the bedroom with Seifer.
"Er. Sorry to say this, but I really can't share a bed with Selphie. I think we all know why. I seriously don't want to wake up all bruised like an apple thrown down a flight of stairs."
"So. What do you expect us to do? Make the guys squeeze into that puny bed? Please. What makes you think that we aren't messy sleepers? We'll kill each other before dawn!" Squall said, sounding very exasperated.
"Excuse me, but I've got a suggestion. Sorry, Quistis and Seifer, about making you the scapegoats but if we were to kill each other, we can't succeed in this mission. So, I suggest that Quistis and Seifer share the room with the Queen-sized bed."
If there were anything that could send me into unconsciousness, Irvine's comment would be one of them. I stood stock still in the passage to the bedroom. Honestly, though I was dating Seifer, I can't possibly share a room with him. For a very obvious reason. I mean, we already had a close shave recently. Would he be able to actually control himself? We seriously don't need an extra burden for this mission.
"If Quistis doesn't mind, I'm definitely fine with the arrangement. So, is that fine by you?"
God, that was Seifer! Has he gone nuts too? Why must he make things so difficult for me? I dragged my bags towards the other bedroom. But before doing so, I spun around and said, "Don't you dare lay your hands on me, you son of a b*tch!"
**************************************************************************** *************** Right, I know it's been a million years since I last updated this fic and for that I'm really sorry. But I really have real life commitments which made updating this fic practically impossible. So I hope you'll understand. However, I should be free enough to be able to keep to the promise, which is a chapter per fortnight, seeing that the period of extreme stress is over. So, CHEERS!!! ^_^