Disclaimer: Okay, one more time. FF8. Belongs. To. Squaresoft. Happy? Good, because I'm not, in fact, I think I'll cry. (Sobs) I don't own anything…
Warnings: Just some language, mild Rinoa bashing, and another case of me not having any clue where I want the story to go and making it all up as I go along ^^
And another thing…why did you guys have to look so much into the wings? Now I have to find a really good meaning =P don't worry, I love you all, no biggie ^^
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[Seifer]
It feels weird to be walking down the halls of Balamb Garden again in peace, considering the last time I was intent on blowing everything up. Since no one can see me I decide to take my time and look around the old stomping grounds. Wandering around without really knowing where to go I decide to head for the Quad, mainly to see how well they fixed up my mistake. The wings keep bouncing as I walk, throwing me slightly off balance. I wonder if Hyne would really care if I just took a gunblade to them and cut them off? I'll have to look into that. If only Loki hadn't taken off on me. That idiot, I can't believe Hyne made him my guardian angel. No wonder my life was so screwed up, because somebody wasn't doing his job.
I turn down the entry walkway and glance into the water pools over the side. It always bothered me why the builders bothered to put them in. In all the time I had been here, I had never seen anyone use it for anything. It didn't even look good. With a small laugh I remember the time Zell and I had bought a hundred gil worth of live fish and dumped them into the water. Unfortunately there had been chlorine in the water; the poor fish never had a chance. Looking back, I think that's where my relationship with the Chicken went wrong. Hmm, look at what he missed.
I walk down the stairs to the Quad nonchalantly, and then stop dead in my tracks. The walls and section of the floor have only been half fixed, and there is nobody there. I walk over to the large hole in the floor and look down at the ground far below. I don't get it. You would think that since the Garden officials are so anal about how the place looks it would have been fixed long ago. Realization suddenly hits me like a slap in the face. I have absolutely no idea how long I've been dead, and I can't exactly ask anyone.
I quickly turn around and run out of the quad, back into the main hallway. There is very few people wandering aimlessly around, another thing I never understood. You would think that since this is a military run school people would have some sort of destination, and don't even get me started on that damned kid who runs a gazillion laps a day. I decide to follow a group of girls who, if I remember correctly, were always willing to share the latest gossip if you tagged after them.
"Are you going today?" One of the girls asked her friends.
One of the other girls' answers, "I don't know, he was always such a jerk."
Girl number one shrugged. "So? He was hot." The friend that had yet to speak covered her mouth and giggled.
I breathe out impatiently. You would think they would be a little more informati…
"Hey, how do you pronounce this guys name anyway?" Girl number two waves a piece of paper in the air. "I've heard it pronounced so many ways, is it like 'Cypher'?"
The silent friend frowns. "I always pronounced it 'Sea-fur'. Sounds better, don't you think?"
The other two shrug, and the second friend drops the paper in the trash next to her. "I didn't know him, I don't think I'll go…"
I stare after them for a second before running to the garbage can and tearing the paper out. I scan it quickly.
Seifer Almasy
(Valued student and Sorceress Knight)
Will be laid to rest today in a simple ceremony.
Only well wishers welcome
Come to outer training area at precisely 16:00 hours
Sincerely, Cid Kramer
A dozen questions run through my head. Where did they find my body? Why am I special enough to have a solitary burial? What was so hard about my name? Fuck, this is too much to deal with, might as well go and pay my last respects to…myself. That sounds too weird, but there it is. I find a passing student and walk next to them, my headed tilted at an angle so I can read his watch. Thank Hyne no one can see me; I imagine I look like a total idiot. His watch reads 15:37. Great, if I run I can make it. With a mock salute to the bouncy man I set myself towards the exit and run. And, of course, my wings smack my butt on the way out.
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The outer training ground is incredibly easy to find. It was my favorite spot to be, and this is where Squall and I exchanged scars. It was winter then and the ground was frozen and bare, but now the first beginnings of grass can be seen. For some reason, nobody is here yet, but the casket is. I decide to see how badly they messed up my body. The walk is a short one, and I'm somewhat put off by the fact that no one is here to see me. Here I am all shirtless… Hmph. What a waste.
The casket is on a stand about four feet above the ground, and a casket skirt hides the bottom of the stand so as to not distract from my godliness. They dressed me in the clothes I always wore; I even have my trench coat on. Somebody took the time to slick my hair back just the way I liked it and my boots are polished to the point of looking new. Not bad. Even though I'm a dead rigor mortis driven corpse I'm the hottest thing around. I allow myself a small smirk. Somehow I would have thought it would be a tiny bit scarier to be looking down at my own body, guess I've come along way from what I was before the war.
I start slightly as I hear voices coming up the hill behind me, and on reflex duck under the caskets skirt. I slap myself in the head, cursing myself to all Hyne. Now I'm stuck in this cramped little space for the next couple of hours. Damn. Maybe I can sneak out while the visitors are busy discussing my great looks and legend-worthy life. I pull the fabric aside s little so I can see what's happening, promising myself I'll kick my own butt later.
The first person I see is Quistis, followed by Irvine and Selphie. Zell follows behind them, wearing his old dejected 'I didn't get a hot dog' look. Mhm, guess he really cared. Or they actually were out of hot dogs. I guess the second is more likely. A few more people trudge up behind them, none really worth mentioning. As they show up they file silently into chairs, some of them obviously not even wanting to be there. A few of them have the audacity to check their watches every few minutes, some look off into space, but no one speaks.
God, you would think we would start already; my butt's falling asleep. I wiggle around trying to find a more comfortable position and almost miss the VIP entrance. I wouldn't have seen them if I hadn't whacked my wing on the stands support and arched my head in pain. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a person shaped blur, and when I turned to see it better I discovered it was a three person shaped blur. Squall, Rinoa, and Cid were walking towards us. I wonder briefly what the hell took them so long, but then I realize that instead of finding any place to sit they advance to the podium. Cid takes his place behind the microphone thing and taps on it to make sure it works. I wince at the loud muffled booming noise and glare at the man. Obviously it's on, doesn't he see the little red power light? Squall whispers something to Rinoa and turns to take a seat behind Cid. She pouts at him, and then turns to find another seat. Awe, poor little princess has to sit with the common folk. I roll me eyes. I dated her for the royal looks, but dropped her for that damned royal attitude. Maybe I'm supposed to save Squall from her? If that were the case I'd gladly drop her off a cliff somewhere.
I smile at the lovely vision until I'm brought back to reality by Cid ahem-ing into the microphone. Great, I just love listening to the old fart talk about nothing whatsoever. He waves around at everyone. "I would like to think you all for coming today!" He drops his hand and smiles brightly, leaning forward against the podium. "It's nice to see Cadet Almasy had so many good friends." Someone in the crowd muffles a laugh, and I glare in his general direction. Cid goes on regardless. Somehow I doubt he even noticed. "Aside from assigning various punishments for that lively young mans various endeavors, I never fully got to know Cadet Almasy." Okay, would you stop calling me that? "Taking that into consideration I asked one of our most famed SeeD's to speak on behalf of Cadet Almasy. May I present to you, Squall Leonhart."
Awe, how sweet. That little tight ass decided to speak on my behalf. Wonder if he's going for sainthood or something. Thankfully he doesn't tap on the microphone. Instead his 'efficient SeeD' mode kicks in and he begins to talk in his slow thoughtful voice. "We all …" He stops and swallows. "We all knew Seifer Almasy…" He sighs and looks away. "I can't do this." He crumples up the speech and throws it to the side. He looks back over the crowd, some who look duly confused. "Rinoa wrote that speech, and I can't read it. None of it is true, and I'm sure it would only give that bastard more material to bitch about. Seifer and I never really cared for each other aside from he was the best damned sparring partner I ever had." I smirk at him and mutter under my breath, "thanks Leonhart, you just made my day." Obviously he ignores me and continues. Pointing to his scarred forehead he states, "Only a man that fights that incredibly dirty could have gotten under me and scarred me for life, but he did it too. And when I scarred him back he counted it as a well-worn mark of honor. I know some of you thought he didn't like it, but if he hated it why didn't he cure himself? Seifer had more honor than any man I ever knew, and he always strove to be the best he could be. The reason he's dead is because of his honor. He only joined Ultimecia because she called him a boy, and he had to uphold his honor to her." He looks around at the people, some who at least have the decency to look shocked. I smile widely; this has got to be the best funeral ever. Squall never could do things by the book. Cid stood and tried to get the microphone from Squall, but of course that did no good. "Seifer Almasy was an asshole, okay? Very few of you here cared about him, so why are you here?" He looks at Quistis. "You always hated the man, even when we were kids. Are you trying to make it up to him? Well do it now, while you still have the chance." He looks at the casket, and despite the extremely unexpected burst of words he seems to be almost bored. He gives my body a SeeD salute, and then starts to leave.
Rinoa starts to go after him, but Zell grabs her around the waist and forces her to sit. That little blond always was a smart one, although in this case he should have let her go. Squall just might have killed her. Quistis stands, looking quite angry, and yells after Squall. "You never gave a damn about him either! What makes you so special then? He hated you!" I stare at her in surprise. She's not very smart for an instructor. I know I practically said I did hate him to Hyne, but I never really disliked him after the fact that he was simply a rival, and a very worthy one at that.
Squall doesn't even pause- he just keeps walking. As he disappears over the hill a sharp pain tears at me, and I feel like I'm about to cry. I swipe at my eyes but it doesn't go away. I look at my hand and whisper, "What the fuck?" As if in answer to my question there is a small ding and a little envelope falls into my lap. I raise an eyebrow at the cliché method, but nevertheless I open the envelope.
Hello Seifer,
I just though I would say that your 'what the fuck' equals whatever Squall feels, you feel. In the beginning you will only feel extreme emotions, but eventually you will share everything, including such simplistic emotions as happiness or even the pain of a stubbed toe.
Sincerely, Loki
(PS: I suggest you go after him, the farther apart you are the more it hurts. Payback is a bitch)
I glare at the little happy face he included on the bottom of the letter and then shove the whole thing in my pocket. I climb out from under the casket, ignoring the 'whoa, did you see that thing move?' comment, and start running. Loki was right, the sharp pain begins to fade, but the feeling of tears is still there. Soon Squall is just a hundred yards or so ahead of me and I run slightly faster. When I am within ninety or so feet the feeling completely disappears and I slow down to a walk.
The wings won't stop bouncing, so I wrap them around myself and grasp the edges with the opposite hands. I sigh happily and look up to continue my progress, only to find myself looking at the business end of a fist. The hard punch knocks me to the ground, and the wings fly up to cover my head. I once again, for what seems to be the twentieth time that day, utter a long string of colorful curses at the damned brunette. I punch the wings off of me and look up at the mans face. He seems to be in total shock, and I'm kind of put off. If he can't see me, why would he punch air that hard? He blinks at me. "Seifer?"
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BS: Woo, the first chapter in over a month, go me ^^ okay, I know this chapter made no sense, but it should all come together next chapter, whenever that is. Please bear with? And thanks for reading ^^ By the way, did you notice the longer-ness of this chapter? I'm so proud of myself =P