Chapter 4

Arousing Suspicions

Seifer finally made it back to the hotel. Unlocking the door briskly, he threw it open and realized that the curtains were drawn, making the room seem dark. Wondering why everything was so dark even if it was only the afternoon, Seifer walked over to a lamp and turned it on.

As the light filled the dim room, a small groan was heard from the far corner.

It was at this moment that Seifer caught site of Fujin curled up into a ball on the couch next to the kitchen. Walking over to her he wondered why she would be asleep in the middle of the afternoon. "Hey," Seifer said gently, shaking Fujin.

Fujin groaned and slowly opened her eye. Seeing Seifer's face she grumbled, "WHAT WANT?"

"What would the Headmaster think if he found out you were sleeping on the job?" Seifer asked.

The albino rubbed her weary eye and answered, "WAS TIRED. WAITED HERE."

Seifer fastened Hyperion in its sheath thinking for a moment. "Well enough beauty sleep. We've got work to do," he finally replied, walking out of the door.

With a small sigh, Fujin grabbed her weapon and wearily followed Seifer.

*

After inspecting and investigating stores and people, both Fujin and Seifer finally stumbled upon the gangsters' hideout.

"…Tomorrow night! It has to be tomorrow night!" a voice echoed throughout the dark alleys.

Fujin and Seifer hid in the shadows, quietly spying on the scene before them.

"But we don't have enough time. What if somebody suspects us?"

"Look, the boss said it had to be tomorrow night. The boss doesn't want any screw ups this time!"

"You can tell by their speech that these people are well educated," Seifer whispered in Fujin's ear.

Fujin nodded silently and listened intently for any given hints.

After a moment or so, there was a loud slam, as if someone had slammed their hands on a table. "Yeah, but what if we get caught?! You heard what the boss said! The SeeDs are coming after us. We'll have to keep our eyes peeled."

Suddenly, Fujin sneezed. Try as she might, she could not suppress the sound.

"What was that?" a voice demanded.

"Who's there? Boss?" another voice echoed.

"Let's go," Seifer whispered, grabbing hold of Fujin's arm.

"Somebody's out there. We better check it out."

Fujin and Seifer quietly ran away before anyone could catch up with them. Unfortunately, Fujin felt something grab onto her, causing her to slam her arm at her attacker. Then after a split second, the young albino felt a stinging slash across her right arm, before hearing a small crash of a body falling onto the floor.

Finally, after running for many minutes, Seifer and Fujin finally made it back to the hotel safely. Seifer suspiciously glanced out the windows for any signs of anyone following them. When he was satisfied, he looked away and glanced at the pale Fujin clutching her arm as she sat on her bed.

Fujin continued to grasp her arm tightly, trying to suppress the bleeding. Her face continued to loose color, until she was chalk white.

Seifer glanced at her curiously and walked over to her. "Something wrong?" he asked, glancing at her arm.

Fujin shook her head slowly, trying to prevent the spinning in her head. Her vision was getting blurry.

Seeing a small trickle of blood run down her wounded arm, Seifer pried his partner's arm off. "Jesus! That's one hell of a cut. Let me see it!" he growled as Fujin pulled her arm away.

"NEED NOT," Fujin croaked weakly. She continued to pull her arm away from Seifer, until he grabbed it forcefully. Because Fujin was no match for Seifer at the moment, she finally surrendered, letting him inspect the arm.

Seifer studied the wound carefully, before walking into the bathroom and acquiring a clean towel and a first aid kit. With careful hands he cleaned the wound and firmly wrapped a cloth around her arm to suppress the bleeding.

Meanwhile, Fujin continued to stare into nothing in particular as Seifer continued to wrap the cloth around her arm.

"You could've been more careful," Seifer scolded.

Fujin just shrugged as she tried to bend her numb arm. With one swift movement, she moved off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. But after a moment or so, Fujin screamed as she glanced at herself in the mirror.

Alarmed, Seifer threw open the bathroom door and saw Fujin groping on the floor. "What happened?"

Fujin continued to grope with her hands. "EYE-PATCH! WHERE?" she grumbled.

Seifer sighed and helped the albino up to her feet. "You must have lost it when we were running," he said calmly. "Look, we'll get you a new one."

At this Fujin shook her head violently. "NEED EYE-PATCH. IMPORTANT," she replied, scanning the room.

Seifer lifted Fujin's face, causing her to look straight at him. Brushing the hair out of her face, Seifer studied the scarred eye. "You don't look that bad without an eye-patch. So relax and we'll get you one in the morning."

Fujin nodded and watched Seifer enter the bathroom. Making sure that Seifer was out of site, she walked over to her drawer, unlocked it and pulled out her pills. With no thought at all, she gulped two large ones down, falling asleep afterwards.