Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I do not own the places. I don't own anything related to FFVIII, all I own is the plot.
- Chapter three: The Invitation -
He opened his eyes. He had dreamed again. That same dream that had been haunting him for weeks. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at the clock. He had slept for an hour. With a deep sigh he got up.
'Better go and apologise.' he thought dully.
He softly knocked on her bedroom door. "Fujin…are you there?"
There came no answer, but he could hear a hasty shuffling of feet.
"Fujin?"
The door opened and Rajin's face appeared.
"Err, hey Seifer. Fu asked me to, err, to sort out some papers. So that's, err, why I'm here…" he said, a hint of redness in his face.
Seifer raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "…If you say so. I wanted to talk to Fujin…what's that in your hand?"
He grabbed the envelopes Rajin had been holding.
"…These are our wedding invitations…what are you doing with those?"
"Fujin wanted them checked one last time before mailing them…paranoia, ya know."
Seifer read the names on the envelopes. When he reached the white envelope he read the name out loud.
"Cid Kramer."
Rajin quickly tried to grab that one back, but Seifer was quicker and stepped back.
"Now I remember…I saw this one before. This isn't an invitation, is it Rajin."
Rajin was even more red now.
"You're head of security…you know almost everything that happens around here. What's this letter about?"
"Fu's not supposed to know, okay? She wants me to do security...so I thought…I'd ask Cid for help…since that's the closest school that trains highly skilled fighters…But I don't think Fujin would be too pleased if she knew. It's just…we've had a few threats against her father and I'm worried about her safety."
Seifer stared at the envelope.
'Balamb Garden.'
"Rajin…do you remember our time at Garden?" he asked, his voice even.
Rajin understood only part of Seifer's sorrow. He laid a hand on Seifer's shoulder.
"Don't worry. You don't have to feel homesick. My guess is Cid'll send your friends to do this. He'll make sure they can all attend the wedding, ya know."
Tears started to burn behind Seifer's eyes but he bit his lip.
"Not all of them." he whispered hoarsely.
Rajin gave him a curious stare but decided not to ask.
"I'll go and mail it then, ya?"
Seifer nodded vaguely. He felt angry with himself about this endless crying. He was angry with the world. With everything.
His fist came down on the windowsill with more force than he had intended. He felt the wood splinter and break under his hand.
"Shit." he muttered.
He rang the bell and waited for the attendant to show up, feeling nauseated with this lifestyle.
'Nothing to do but sit and wait al day.'
He longed for the fights he used to have. Duelling with Squall, annoying Zell. But most of all he missed their presence. He missed knowing they were around. He missed someone to talk to.
"Sir, a letter came from Dollet."
"Give it to me."
He tore the envelope open and let his eyes glide over the letter. A serious frown etched into his forehead.
"Xu, could you please get Commander Leonheart's team up here?"
The woman nodded.
"And please ask my wife to come up first."
"Can you believe that? I came early and still all of their stock was sold out!"
Selphie chuckled. "Zell, my guess is you have to be there an hour in advance. Perhaps you should ask the tech squad to make a hologram copy of yourself and leave that at the head of the line an hour early."
The group laughed.
"You seem more cheerful than usual. How come?" Squall remarked.
Selphie shrugged. "I don't know."
"Perhaps you feel like you've got a moment to breathe now Irvine's gone for a week." Squall said ponderously.
"Yeah, he kinda crowds you sometimes." Zell added.
Selphie opened her mouth to say something but noticed someone entering the cafeteria.
"Here she comes." she whispered softly.
Squall's and Zell's happy smiles changed into worried frowns and they looked up.
"Hey…how are you feeling?" Selphie asked as she made room for her friend to sit down.
"Alright, I guess." she replied. "As good as you can feel after inhaling too much water. The doctor says my lungs are fine but I still have this annoying cough…"
She looked up at the worried frowns and her voice faltered.
Selphie took a deep breath. "…Quistis…that's not what I meant…"
Quistis went quiet as did Selphie, her face now a bit more red than usual.
Zell looked at them confusedly and opened his mouth to say something as he looked from Selphie to Squall. Squall looked at his watch and silenced Zell with a quick glance.
"Come on, Zell. I told you I'd help you with the Brothers, remember?"
Zell blinked. "I don't…oh, yeah. Coming."
He stood up and followed Squall out the door. Selphie shuffled her feet nervously.
"I'm sorry." she said quietly.
Quistis shook her head. "Don't be. It's just…hard. I don't think about it anymore. I try not to. Do you think…they know now?"
Selphie shook her head. "Zell hasn't got a clue. Squall might, but he doesn't let on about it. And he would never talk about it. He's discreet, you know…"
"I know…anyway…let's talk about something cheerful. Three months of sobbing doesn't get you anywhere. I want back in on the action. I need to do something with my hands. I need to fight again. At this moment I'll take any mission."
"You're in luck then." Selphie said. "Here comes Xu."
The Chinese woman halted a their table.
"SeeD's Tilmitt and Trepe are to report at Cid Kramer's office." she said after taking a moment to catch her breath.
Selphie chuckled. "Xu…you could just ask us nicely, you know. We do have first names."
"Well, when there's a mission like this involved we like to keep it a bit official. In case it goes on the records. Come on, then. Squall and Zell are already up there."
Xu left the cafeteria, with Selphie and Quistis in her wake. When she was sure Xu couldn't hear, Selphie nudged Quistis' arm and winked.
"I guess she's on first name terms with them, eh."
Quistis smiled faintly, letting the weak joke pass her by. She would go on a mission again. Finally, after all this time of people keeping her bedridden.
She hardly noticed the slowness of the elevator and when she entered the Headmaster's office she took in its scent with a deep breath. This was the scent of missions, the smell of adventure. Something she had missed for too long.
Squall stood up and offered her his seat. She refused it but Squall pushed her down into the chair, accepting no arguments.
"You just take this seat, okay?"
"Squall…" she sighed. "I'm not cripple or ill or extremely old. But I'll end up all of those things if people don't stop mothering me!"
Cid chuckled.
"I see you are anxious for a new mission." he said with a wink.
"Indeed I am, sir. I've been itching to be sent away. I would have accepted any mission gladly."
"Ah. You must have been disappointed when I sent miss Heartily along with mister Kinneas, then."
"Only a little, sir." she admitted.
"Well, I think I've got something quite to your liking here. A request for personal security. A rather important leader has been receiving threats lately and now the security is fearing his daughter's safety. Do you feel up to a mission like this, Quistis?"
She nodded vigorously. "More than ever, sir."
Cid smiled. "Good. You shall be dispatched together, but you will work in two's. There are a few parties coming up and you will need to blend in as guests. It would be nice if you could pretend to be partners…"
Selphie nodded and leaned down on Zell's shoulder.
"You're my partner." she stated.
Zell blushed slightly. "H-hey! Do I get a say in this?"
Selphie shook her head and stuck out her tongue teasingly. "Nope."
Zell sighed and Quistis couldn't help but smile.
"Right, everything is settled then. Commander Leonheart, if you would be so kind to stay behind, we can discuss the details."
Selphie dragged Zell up and left the office. Quistis followed slowly. Finally she would have the chance to preoccupy herself with something else. Going on a mission meant she had no time to think about him, or how he had left.
She turned around and saw Squall sitting down in the chair he had offered her a few moments ago.
"Excuse me, sir." she said, surprising even herself.
Normally she wouldn't ask for information about the mission. Normally she would wait for Squall to talk about it.
"Where are we going to be dispatched?"
Cid looked up from his map. "Oh, Dollet."
Her heart stopped.
"You might even run into someone you know. Old friends. Doesn't that seem like fun?"
Quistis gave him a weak but fake smile.
"…Fun…" she muttered as she staggered backwards a few steps and then she crumpled to the floor.
Well, I know I said I'd wait till my exams were over, but I couldn't resist :P Besides, I need to get my mind off studying for just a little while. I had French on Monday, that was alright. I think I did okay on that one. Then history on Tuesday, followed by Dutch. History was not very good, but could have been a LOT worse, as was Dutch really. I was done one and a half hour early with that one and that doesn't forebode well, does it.
And then maths yesterday…can't say a lot about that…I didn't answer four questions, I know I answered a few of them wrong and I have no idea what to expect, all I know is it'll be a low grade…and after all that practicing too…seems unfair, doesn't it :P
Oh well, English today, so finally something I know something about. And then German next Tuesday. But first we're gonna get our picture taken with everyone in my year.
So…thank everyone for reading and being so patient with me!
Dark Angels: Hehe, you sure did ask for a sequel a lot. But I'm grateful you did, because it turned out to be a good story! And good luck on your exams yourself! Thank you for the review :)
Firess Ifrit Devil: I hope you're happy now I updated sooner than promised. Thank you for wishing me good luck, it made me feel a whole lot better :) Hope you liked the chapter.
JadeAlmasy: Glad to see you here too. Yeah, Seifer's not going to believe his eyes when he finds out Quistis is still alive and kicking. Imagine how it must be to see someone you thought was dead. That must be spooky. Oh well, you'll get to read his reaction in due time. Until then you'll just have to wait patiently for the story to drag on :P nn
Matron Raenee: You're crying? Already? Oh no, you might have to buy some tissues then for when the story really gets going! Glad you like my writing!
PRODIGIOUS TECHIE: Oh no….she actually talked normally? Please say that's a joke. See, I haven't finished the game yet because I'm still training my characters. But please, if it's true than forgive me for something I'll say about her voice later on in the story. I didn't know she could talk normally, you see. So it's not completely in line with the game. Darn…Oh well, I guess that's the wondrous way of fanfiction, eh? You can write whatever you want nn. Glad you like it and I hope to see you at the next chapter also!
Thank everyone for reviewing, because they really made me feel better. I'm glad you guys all like it and I hope to update again soon. See you all at the next chapter!
Love, Raven55