Chapter 3

First Suspect

(From this chapter and so on, there may be slight Rinoa bashing. I'm so, so sorry to all the Rinoa fans out there! I'm very sorry! Also, I'm terribly sorry, (if anyone noticed) about Fujin's last name misspelled in the first chapter, not the prologue. Her last name's supposed to be Sanada, my bad…or at least that's what I think…oh well, nobody's perfect...^_~;)

After General Caraway's briefing of their mission, the two SeeDs saluted him and walked away without another word. But as they got to the doorway, a familiar figure dressed in blue arrived.

Scowling at the two figures at first, she finally smiled. "Seifer," she said, walking up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"We're just here to pay a visit, that's all," Seifer answered nonchalantly.

"A visit, huh?" Rinoa thought for a moment. "Really? And what for?"

Fujin glared at Rinoa in frustration. Same old bitch. Can't even keep her nose out of other people's businesses, she thought silently to herself.

Seifer smirked and replied, "It's a free country. Well, what about you? What's the Princess of the Forest Owls doing out of her kingdom? Here for a visit as well?"

"That's none of your business. And besides, I'm here to see my father. I used to live here, you know," Rinoa retorted. She then walked away, slamming the door to her father's office shut.

Fujin rolled her eye and walked out of the mansion, not bothering to wait for Seifer. Feeling her partner's presence behind her she announced, "SUSPECT."

Her partner smirked, matching Fujin's quick pace. "Already? We haven't even interrogated her enough to know anything," he replied, stuffing his gloved hands into his pockets.

The albino just shrugged. "KNOW," was her dry response.

"So, you're suspecting that Rinoa has something to do with this problem here in Deiling?" Seifer asked.

Fujin nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself.

At this Seifer scoffed, "You've always hated Rinoa, even when I used to date her. How am I supposed to believe that you're not accusing her only out of hate?" His piercing, emerald eyes gazed into Funjin's crimson eye.

"Because I–" Fujin stopped abruptly and covered her mouth with her pale hand. Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! I can't believe I slipped like that! she scolded herself. Looking away from Seifer's gaze, she quickly walked ahead, trying to recover her cold composure.

Watching the skinny woman quickly walk away, Seifer's face changed into a look of interest. Fujin had never spoken to him with her normal speech, except for when she and Raijin had turned their backs on him.

"Seifer! Hey, Seifer!"

At that moment, Seifer's train of thought was disrupted. Turning around to see where the voice came from, Seifer caught sight of Rinoa running towards him.

"Hey, I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow night," Rinoa said, catching up with him.

Seifer kept his face still as he studied Rinoa's face. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking if you weren't busy that we could go out some time, you know like old times," Rinoa answered, grinning mischievously.

Fujin's partner thought for a moment. Even though Rinoa had ditched him for Squall, Seifer still found her quite attractive. Thinking for a moment, he answered, "My schedule's pretty much booked."

Rinoa just giggled, smiling flirtingly at him. "Think you can get me penciled in there somewhere?" she asked seductively.

From a distance, Fujin watched quietly. Clenching her fists tightly, she turned around and walked away, her stomach about to heave from the site before her.

From the corner of his eye, Seifer saw a glimpse of Fujin's depressed face. But his attention suddenly shifted back to Rinoa.

"So how about it? Friday night?" Rinoa asked, touching his arm.

Seifer grinned as he gazed at Rinoa's sly smile. "Alright, see you there," he answered, turning around and looking for any signs of where Fujin went. Figuring that she must have gone back to the hotel, he headed there.

*

Meanwhile, Fujin locked the door to the room and leaned against it. Weakly, she walked towards her drawer and unlocked it with the key tied around her neck. With trembling fingers, she reached for her bottle of pills and took a couple of the white pills in her palm. Then, heading towards the kitchen for a glass of water, she placed the two pills in her mouth and swallowed…