Dedicated to Possessed.
Chapter Two: Hobbling Towards Unknown Doom
[Fifteen days before the trial]
Squall was having difficulty adjusting to his new role as Headmaster. It had only been three months, so most would have found that understandable. But, Squall had a number of problems with his new position that might not be considered typical to a new post.
The first was the fac that he didn't want to be Headmaster. He didn't want to be in a position of leadership. He was a Seed. They were trained to obey and take orders, not to run around keeping a school intact. He wanted to just be a soldier. A stupid mindless soldier.
Second, he spoke less than Fuujin. Giving speeches to the students and the faculty? He often times felt nauseous when called upon to talk to people, even his self-proclaimed friends.
Third, he hated hated everyone and everything. He was miserable most of the time. Even his nights were filled with memories of the days behind him and fear of the days ahead. He envisioned Squall Leonhart, Gunblade Specialist, trapped behind a cozy desk with a horde of fans and lackeys.
It wasn't like he could just say no either. Not only was there a serious amount of honor for being placed in such a position of power at his age, but he didn't think he could actually literally tell anyone. He had always had problems talking about his feelings and the prying eyes of Garden didn't make that any easier. Even though growing up with his personality hidden away, Squall was having problems with his life being so different from what he had hoped.
Squall Leonhart had dreams. Romantic dreams…
That stupid phrase had rattled around his brain for months now. Seifer was alive, of course, he was just hiding. It must have been somewhere good for Garden to not have found him. They were witch hunting. Squall knew it, silly to think otherwise. Sure it was okay to keep their frilly pointless Sorceress around, but they had to kill the Sorceress's Knight. "Seifer, you are a coward."
He had just finished that sentence when there was a knock at his door. It was rapid enough to be Selphie and it wasn't the "shave and a haircut" knock that identified Zell. That left either Rinoa, Quistis, or Xu. He wanted to hide underneath his bed. His forbidden personality crept out for a second and he stuck his head below his bed. It was way too low to accommodate his whole body.
"Headmaster? I have urgent information." It was Xu. She was always so dependable and spirited. "Headmaster Squall?"
It was very likely that he was in the shower. If he had been, it would've be okay if he just ignored her. How urgent could it be? Quistis was better at the emergency stuff anyway. 'Shower, shower, shower' he chanted inside his head.
"Squall! Come out!" she yelled. Then in a lower tone, she added, "It's Seifer. He's back."
He tucked away his personality and sprang up to get to the door. Composed, cool, and unaffected, he opened it. She looked at him in complete non-surprise. Xu knew that he had been in there. "He's with Dr. Kadowaki. He apparently has a head trauma."
Squall walked briskly to the infirmary. Seifer Almasy after all this time. Most had speculated that he was dead, but he had known better. The bugger would sit and wait until things had cooled over a bit. But, even after three months the people's bloodlust was still strong, wanting someone that they could blame for all of it. It would have been wiser for Seifer to have waited a little longer.
"Puberty Boy! Kadowaki says that you've been promoted! How the hell did you manage that? You just passed your finals! What are you giving favors to Cid now or something?"
Squall was prepared to give him an icy glare, but then he actually saw Seifer's face. There were bandages wrapped around his head and his eyes were both black. It also looked like his nose was broken. "Seifer?"
Seifer's eyes were not meeting the headmaster's. "Am I not pretty enough for you now?"
Was he hit by a car? Partially eaten by a T-Rexaur? Dr. Kadowaki approached him with a clipboard in hand. "He has a concussion. We think it may have affected his memory. He doesn't remember what left him in this condition."
Interesting. Squall eyed Seifer suspiciously. He didn't seem to be lying. Not that that meant anything, they were both trained diplomats and killers. Those were both professions that prized deception.
"The last thing I remember….well, I'm sure I'll regret saying this, but the last thing I remember is taking Deling hostage. I assume that's why I'm banged up like this. When I woke up though, I was bleeding out of my head and ears. Since I was so close to home, I figured that I'd head back here, even if it was probably one of you jerks that did it to me. Besides, I can always trust Kadowaki."
Seifer shared a smile with Kadowaki. Then he swore. "I think I need a few more meds."
"The last thing you need Mr. Almasy is to fall asleep with a head injury like that. Just keep sitting there for a bit. I'm sure a big strong soldier like you can handle it."
"What a brat," Seifer said as the doctor pulled on Squall's arm. She obviously wanted to talk to him in private.
Once they were out in the hallway, Dr. Kadowaki had confided in him that Seifer felt he had been missing only a day or two. She was positive that he really did have amnesia, due to the severity of his injury. Squall wanted to spend some time with Seifer and judge for himself.