'Aquarians are an enigma. On one hand they are warm, kind and outgoing, the sort to make friends easily and willingly. On the other hand they are quite aloof people, who do not actively seek out relationships, and resent any infringement on their time or resources.'

Zodiac Signal

A Final Fantasy Tactics fanfic

By Tenshi no Ai

I don't own the characters and locations in the game that are presented in this work, Square-Enix does.

XI. The Water-Bearer, Aquarius

I like going to school.

It's a privilege for me. After all, I'm a commoner. I know how lucky I am to be attending school, not to talk of an academy for aristocrats. I learned how to read and write and a bit of arithmetic from my parents before...but I hadn't realized there was so much to study until I arrived at the academy. Though the academy mainly teaches noblewomen how to properly behave, they also teach more intellectual things like advanced vocabulary, proper mathematics and history. Alma says that we learn these things so that we won't bore men during parties and the like, yet we're not taught so much that we could potentially embarrass a prospective husband by knowing more than he...but it is something of a start. It's more than I ever thought I would learn in my life.

Alma says that I look almost hungry for knowledge, by the way I tear through each new textbook. I don't think I'm that bad, and I do think--just a little!--that she takes all this information for granted. Even though she's a woman, her rank allows her some freedom in this area. As for myself, I was lucky enough that the late Sir Beoulve allowed me this opportunity, even going as far as to send a letter to the headmaster of the school to inform him of my desire and, most importantly, my ability to learn. I was so happy at the news that I toppled over my poor brother; how he scolded me over my 'unladylike antics' afterward!

I really love learning, and I like the school itself. However...

"Oh, look, it's Tita."

I'm a commoner, and I know that the nobles aren't obligated to be nice to me. That's fine. But most of the girls who go to this school really dislike me, and a lot of them don't hold back. Alma really worries about me, but it's alright. I won't squander this chance to...I don't know...just to learn. So I always keep my head down and hurry away as quickly as possible.

"Ignoring us? I don't think so." One girl grabs me by my upper arm. I try to pull away, but right when I free my arm another girl trips me and I go crashing down onto the hard stone floor. When I try to stand up, using my arms as leverage, someone kicks one of my arms and I fall back down. They laugh when I cry out, just like always.

"Aww, little Tita can't get up."

"She probably likes it there, rolling around on the ground like a porky."

"Hey, get over here and lick my boots clean. I just had riding practice and those stupid chocobos--"

"Leave her alone!"

That's the warning cry of Alma. I hear it a lot. Maybe these girls hear it a lot too; I've never looked up at my attackers. They run away, and I feel hands on my shoulders. I look up at Alma, who is staring at me with such concern. I feel bad. I can't do anything but worry her. "Teta, are you okay?" she asks quietly. "They didn't bruise you, did they?"

I shake my head. My knees and hands hurt, but I've gotten a lot of practice in how to fall properly. "I'm sorry, Alma," I whisper. I really am.

"Oh, it's not your fault, not one bit! Those stupid..." She helps me up, then starts dusting off my dress like it's the most normal thing in the world for someone of her rank to do. "I think I recognize one of them," she continues, "let's report her to the dean!"

Looking away, I sigh. "He's not going to care," I start patiently, "just like last time. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"How can you say that?!" she very nearly screams, grasping my shoulders and shaking me lightly a few times. "At least it's something, right? You can't keep taking this. Come on, let's try again."

"I'm sorry." There's no use...even if the dean acted, the other girls would just be that much crueler to me. I don't think I could stand it if I saw Alma in even more pain than right now.

She doesn't say anything for a long moment, taking that time to stare at me strangely. Finally she looks away, a sad look on her face. "Teta, you're always so calm. I don't know if I could ever be that strong."

I smile, taking her hands off of my shoulders and holding them tightly. "You're such a thoughtful friend."

No, I don't think I am strong. I'm just surviving, just like in those days when Mother and Father were sick and Delita and I could only depend on each other. Those days before Sir Beoulve took pity on us and brought us to his large manor and told us that we could call it home.

Other than the surroundings, nothing has really changed.

-----------

I want the bullying to stop so much, but what can I do?

--Stop pretending you're one of us! Why don't you go back to the gutter you crawled out of!--

Alma says that I should fight back. At least do something, she's pleaded with me, they'll be intimidated if I just did something other than ignore them. Show them that I'm a red panther with claws. She thinks that if I did something other than submit to their abuse, they'll go away.

--Haha, look at that little commoner trying to learn! Isn't that just so cute? Why don't you show us some more tricks?--

I really like Alma, but I don't think she understands. I'm not her, not in personality, not in rank. If I fought back, they'll report me to the dean immediately. He'll side with them, and they'd force me to leave this school. If I become the 'uppity little commoner', there's no way the elder Beoulve brothers will support me. And then, what about Delita? He's trying his very hardest to become a knight so that we won't have to depend on the Beoulve family's charity. If I get kicked out of school, he'll be so disappointed with me. So, I have to take it.

--Looking at you just makes me sick--

I know my place.

--Get out of here. You're just a stupid little commoner. You think you have the right to be here?--

This chance is a blessing. I'm not going to squander it by fighting people who don't matter.

-----------

Alma and I enter the class, one of the last before the end of the fall term in December. We're supposed to go back to Igros for the break before the spring term in April. The school affords long breaks because there really isn't that much to the curriculum. Other than what I'm interested in, the other subjects seem to be different ways to seduce a noble of high rank through beauty and charm.

"I can't wait to go back to Igros," Alma murmurs. If she talks too loudly, all the other students start acting as if she'd asked them for their opinion. They won't even let me have the pleasure of her company.

"Mm."

She glances at me, a pleading look on her face. "Teta..."

I shake my head. We don't talk often in public; the noble girls really dislike that Alma is nice to me. A Beoulve and a commoner...it'd be tragic, if one of us were male.

We sit at our seats and wait for the professor to arrive. After going through our requisite drills and the lesson--a study on mathematical procedures, advanced level--the professor stops the class. "Now, I must admit to being surprised at your exams. While a number of you did quite well, I'm proud to say that Miss Teta Hyral has achieved the highest grade of the class." She smiles at me, and it reminds me of Mother's smile.

I smile back.

----------

"Aaah!"

I was left alone in the days after the professor's announcement. Was I foolish to think that...maybe I had freed myself? I didn't think I had won, of course, but...

I glance up at the girls who ambushed me. Five of them, identical with their beautiful dresses and cruel eyes. One of them has an empty bucket. The northern wind blows, and with my drenched clothes I'm chilled through.

I've never looked up before. Are these noblewomen really so ugly?

"Oh, Tita dear, I saw all this dirt on you and I thought I'd help you clean off," the girl with the bucket titters, "guess it'll take more than that to clean off a commoner."

It's the same insults, over and over again. Alma's busy with packing. I don't know how to get out of this...

"By the Holy Saint, look at her. She's like a soulless little doll."

"No wonder Alma likes playing with her." This girl walks up to me. "Hey, I bet you didn't even realize it. Your dear little 'friend' just likes using you as entertainment."

"Heh. You can't possibly think that she really wanted to be your friend."

I stand up. All their voices sound the same as they caw out their little remarks, but I won't just lie there while they insult my friendship with Alma. Even if they're nobles, even if I'm below them in rank...I won't take that! I don't like fighting, but I can't just look down and hope for the best. Not after that.

One of them pushes me, though it's not hard enough to make me fall. "What's this? Do you honestly think you can just stand up and leave when you want to? We're not through with you, not until you learn your place."

"Do you think you're better than us?"

I look this one in the eye. My mouth's moving, and my mind doesn't want to stop it. I've always had a soft voice, but my next word sound so loud that maybe Delita heard me in Gariland.

"Yes."

-----------

Alma and I sit on the academy steps, clutching our bags as we wait. Sir Zalbag himself is picking us up today, even though he's a busy commander and the Death Corps are still active. But Alma said that he wanted to do this, so maybe the Death Corps aren't really that bad.

Stifling a yawn behind one hand, she looks over at me. "Teta, I'm sorry I suggested that you attend school with me."

But I'm not sorry. "But I like school. I can't wait for the next term."

"But...all those girls...I wish I could've done more to protect you."

"Thank you," I smile at her, adding, "you're really sweet."

"What?" Alma looks stunned at my words. She pulls her ponytail over one shoulder, methodically running her fingers through it in what I know to be something she does when she's nervous. "Not as much as you are. I would've understood if you at least acted like you hated them." Glancing at me, she frowns slightly. "I really hated them. But you don't, do you?"

I laugh, uneasily. I never thought they were worth hating. "There's no point in it. I came here to learn. If I had wanted to fight, I would've joined Delita."

"You really like learning, don't you?"

Looking down, I smooth out the wrinkles in my dress. How do I explain it to her? She knows exactly who she is: Alma Beoulve, the youngest sibling and only woman of the noble knight family. I'm just a commoner with...a chance. And I want to take that chance so badly...

With education, maybe I can find out who I really am, and what I do for others.

"Yes, I like learning."

Alma looks thoughtful when I turn to her. "You know," she starts, something glinting in her eyes that makes me...uncomfortable, "Lesalia has this incredible university, and it's actually for learning, not just to mold noblewomen. Maybe if you went there, something good will come out of it."

'University'? That sounds grand. "It doesn't sound like the kind of place that would take in someone of low rank..."

"I'm going to talk to Zalbag," she says in a confident tone, "and once I convince him, he'll go talk to Dycedarg and convince him. And then..." she grins, tossing back her ponytail and clasping her hands in front of her, "you'll get to go! Can you imagine how proud everyone will be? Teta Hyral, future scholar!"

Is that possible? "It sounds kind of simple," I murmur, and she pouts at me.

"But you already have what it takes! You're my friend, and I'm going to help you to the end!"

I sigh. There's no stopping her once she has a plan. "Alright, but don't say anything to anyone until it's confirmed with Sir Dycedarg."

She nods, a wide smile on her face before she turns and grasps my arm. "Look, the carriage is here!"

The carriage is indeed here, drawn by a yellow chocobo. Before Alma has the chance to grab her things and run off, I touch her softly on the shoulder and say, "Alma, please don't tell my brother about...the things that happened to me here. I don't want him to worry, not when he's about to achieve his dream of becoming a knight."

She looks at me in a funny way before nodding. "Sure, I won't tell Delita. Well, let's go!"

They never stopped trying to hurt me, but I think those noble girls are getting tired of being mean to me. I wonder if the students at Lesalia will be mean...but I don't think it really matters. I can keep surviving, no matter what.

I can't wait to see the look on Delita's face when I tell him that I'll be going to a university!

-Aquarius fades into Pisces...-

I complained up and down about the quality of Sagittarius. After searching my soul for something, anything to write about Aquarius, I've now realized how lucky I was before. What can I say about the Aquarians Teta and Cloud, especially when Teta only partakes in conversation in one cutscene before getting kidnapped, and since I've never played FFVII? I have read enough about Cloud to understand that his being switched from a Leo in VII to an Aquarius in Tactics is no mere accident. While I'm pretty sure he's not at the genius level of intelligence the sign suggests of its members, I do know he's eccentric (well, that's a way to put it) and what I've read suggests that he fits the beginning quote well enough.

Teta, however...well, we are given a few facts about her: She goes to the same academy as Alma, she gets picked on a lot (enough for Alma to tell Ramza, at least), and she doesn't like worrying Delita over her problems. That would mean that she's intelligent enough to handle the course material, despite the limitations her status would've placed onto her before she was taken in by the Beoulves. The other two suggest the problems of status that the game so likes to delve into, as well as her own method of handling things. Perhaps that quote for this part helps here as well?

One final thing I've picked up is that Aquarians have the potential to be more unsure of their true identity than most other sun signs. That would make perfect sense for Cloud from what I've read, but this can also hint at Teta's inner struggle as a commoner supported by a noble family. Hence, the whole 'being picked on at school' comment would strengthen this idea of being unsure of her own social status.

Aquarius is the fixed air sign of the zodiac, which apparently means that even the most original or strange ideas will become fixed, or steady, once formed. Its opposite sign is Leo, which means Teta and Alma have worst compatibility with each other. Geez.

-I have a new one-shot out, called Ragnarök. If you'd like to read it, I won't stop you.

-For all the people who wondered who the hell Rofel was, he's the guy who gives the Capricorn stone to Dycedarg. He also opens the gate to Murond Death City, and destroys the gate back before he dies.

Reviewers!

Hi, TobyKikami! I know that American FFT has the birthday selector on January 1st, but unlike the Japanese version supposedly starting in Capricorn 10 when the zodiac calender starts on Aries 1, January 1st happens to be our new year. No one would really see that as out of place, I'd think.
I'm also glad that you liked Ragnarök, though I was worried if it would be at the same quality of Gemini. Yours was the first fic that I've ever been inspired to write a meta-fic for, not to talk of the fact that Zodiac Signal might not have existed if it weren't for Gemini. You gotta have a little more pride for your work!

Yo, The Burning Misery. I should have more self-restraint, but...I know that the Calculator has an excellent skillset, I'm saying that it's a crappy class.You can put the Math skillset on any other class and it'd still work--in fact, it usually works better than it does on the Calculator itself. It's exactly like the Samurai class and its Draw Out skillset, where the skillset has everything from healing to attacks, but the class doesn't have the MA to adequately support the skillset.
Anyway, I'm glad you liked Capricorn. Meliadoul happens to be one of my favorite characters because of the force of personality that she has in the few times she says something. Yes, you do fight Vormav in a sense, along with Rofel and Kletian, in the 'hall of St. Murond' battle. But when you see him again in the Graveyard of Airships, he turns into Hashmalum and you have to fight that instead.

Hey, Luna. Sibling love is at an extreme in this game. I played the game the other day and watched the scene where Ramza hands over the Germonik Scriptures to Vormav and company just to see Alma...even though he's been betrayed and lied to so many times already. I'm not sure if that's love or stupidity, though...
I don't know, but...my senior year (well, semester) was insanely easy. But ew, speeches. Good luck with that.

Hello, Hawk of Death. I'm not so sure if Meliadoul is charismatic...Rofel might be, though. I don't think it would've been possible for Meliadoul to contract with a Lucavi, just like Izlude, probably because they haven't really faced the evils of war and such personally. I'm still working out the kinks to my 'Lucavi Host Theory'. And you're right, the 'one man's trash is another's treasure' is the perfect analogy.
I'm glad you liked Ragnarök, by the way. I didn't think you were waiting so impatiently for it, though.

Uh, bye Evil Mina! I'm just a lurker at the FFT board, there's just so much useful information over there...though a little less these days.
Heh...I've been told about my slow pacing before. That's just how it is.

TruebornChaos, you've been reading my stories for that long? Well, it's nice to meet you now, that's for sure.
I like Meliadoul, she just impresses me. She's not as high up on my favorite character list like Reis and Izlude, but she's definitely there. And, I'm so glad you noticed that the chapel in Capricorn comes from the Zalbag boss battle! I thought I had fought through all the St. Murond battles just to examine that one room for nothing...
I don't remember having problems with Velius, but at least I remember it. However, I don't remember Adrammelech at all, because of how insanely easy that battle is. But the Sacred Precincts battle...it's really the worst one for me.
You know, every time someone announced that they were looking forward to a particular zodiac story, I've always felt that I've let them down. Hopefully you won't feel the same.