Not again

"You have got to be kidding me!" The outraged voice of one Zell Dincht fills the large halls of Balamb garden. Stopping his shadow boxing for one second, Zell's mouth hangs open and he gapes at the tearful Selphie. "There is no way he would do that again. No fucking way."

Selphie just bursts into deep sobs, collapsing in Irvine's nearby arms. Irvine, obviously distraught but keeping it hidden for the benefit of his love. His arms wind around her protectively, and he holds her close, whispering soothingly in her ear. It hurt him to see such a bouncy, happy woman in tears. It hurt everyone.

And it was all because of Squall.

From what Quistis had gathered, he had fallen asleep at his desk. She had entered the SeeD commander's office at the sound of yelling, almost like screaming, and had found that it was Squall, having another nightmare. She'd moved to help him, but he had forced his way out of his dream and stood quickly. He looked like hell, but despite his malnutrition, and other problems, he pushed the worried woman away like she was a matchstick. He had run from the room, from the whole of Garden. Taking a careless route outside so he didn't have to face anyone. He jumped out of the window, and slid down the school's hull, nearly breaking his leg as he landed on the ground. He didn't care any more, but with the images in his mind as fresh as ever, he had run straight off of the island of Balamb. Straight off a cliff.

He'd been found face down on the beach a few miles down from Balamb Garden. They all thought he was dead, until he had clarified that he wasn't, by hauling himself to his feet, coughing, and angrily walking away, soaked and battered, and knocking out both Quistis and Irvine in order to make sure they left him alone. He'd passed out before he'd even reached Garden, and it was only because Irvine had decided to walk along the beach rather than the road that he'd come across the unconscious brunette. He'd called for help, but still ended up carrying Squall to the front gates.

Irvine had not been pleased to notice that their lion had lost a lot of weight, too much for it to be healthy at all. A SeeD medical team had taken the commander away on a stretcher; his pale skin was contrasted starkly against the dark of his clothes. He started to jolt on the stretcher; thrashing about in his nightmare filled haze, and nearly getting himself dropped.

Doctor Kadowaki had hastened them all into the infirmary, and Squall was placed into a room on a standard white bed. His wrists and ankles are bound to stop his incessant struggling, and as he wakes up a few minutes later, something disturbing happens.

Everyone finds themselves on the floor, or at least some distance from the bed. It hadn't been a powerful wave, but it had stunned a good few people. Dr Kadowaki quickly got everything under control, sending a well aimed sleep spell in Squall's direction. He falls back onto the bed, his limbs tense and his jaw set.

Under this light, he looked even worse.

As the people slowly pick themselves up, the doctor ushers them all out of the door. Surprised and off guard, everyone is locked out.

Blood pours from slit wrists, and Dr Kadowaki clears them up. More scars become visible as she clears away the red liquid of life from his arms, healing the wound with some potions.

Squall is kept asleep and under surveillance for some time, as the others ponder what to do with him.

"What can we do! He won't let us help, and if he doesn't want our help, then we can't help him." Quistis sighs, but there were tears in her eyes.

"Yeah doc, we tried, we tried to help, to be there for him, but he just pushed us away. I...I don't know what we can do..." Zell sniffs, wiping his eyes quickly.

"How could he do this to us! He isn't the only one with problems. He has friends, what more could he want!" Irvine yells, standing up angrily.

"Irvine calm down!" The doctor yells, getting everyone's attention. "Squall really needs help. I have talked to him about it, offered him counselling sessions, but he just walks away. He has tried to commit suicide several times now, and we have no cure or anything that will make Squall better."

Selphie sobs harder on the couch, and her boyfriend moves to hold her, placing his cowboy hat on her head while soothing her.

"Get the fucker some specialist help or something, 'cos I'm not carrying his half dead arse back to the infirmary one more time," Irvine rounds on them.

"We have tried that Irvine, if you remember. I really don't know what we can do with him. I can't keep him asleep and strapped to the bed for the rest of his life. "

"What other option do we have?"

"There must be someone who can help him. Anyone?"

Silence.

"Wh...what about Seifer?" Selphie's teary voice buts in.

"Seifer? Isn't he dead?" Quistis asks, frowning.

"No...He...He's at the orphanage. I contacted him some time ago. He made me promise not to tell." She sobs.

"He tried to kill everyone and you didn't tell us! He should be dead! I'm going to--" Quistis is cut off by Garden's physician.

"That could be a good idea. And not only that, but it is our only idea. Whether you have a quarrel with him or not Quistis, he could be our last hope for Squall."

"But what if something goes wrong? We don't know how Squall will react to seeing his ex rival."

"Well, its better than having him in that infirmary cubicle for the next few years." Doctor Kadowaki sighs. "So let's do it."

On the roof of the roof of the orphanage on the Centra continent, a tall blond male was hammering nails, trying to finish the roof before it started to get cold. His handsome features were chiselled to perfection, his tanned skin accentuating his well toned muscles. The scar that ran over the bridge of his nose; from above his left eye, to beneath his right, was slightly less visible, the light tan that covered his skin drew attention away from the proudly worn mar of his features. So engrossed in his work, he is ignorant of the sudden gale force winds that come and go, and also unaware of the large red structure that had just landed a little way behind him. The repetitive banging of his hammer drowns out most of the noise, but that is interrupted by a slightly different bang, and some very colourful swearing. Next, a creaking ladder, followed promptly by more swearing and the sound of a ladder falling.

"Oomph." He groans, continuing to curse until he stands up and raises the ladder again. "Stupid thing." He mutters, heading back inside. He starts at the sound of a light chuckle.

He couldn't believe his ears. He knew that chuckle, but there was no way it could be true. "What the hell you doing here 'structor!" He says, twirling to face the tall blonde female. "An' how the hell did you know where I was?" He sighs, scratching the back of his neck, annoyed. "Well, Selphie knew actually. We were all led to believe that you were dead."

"Seifer Almasy /is/ dead." He snorts quietly. "Did you actually have a reason for coming here, or do you just enjoy bugging me? I do remember you had a slightly sadistic side, so maybe you came to watch me fall off my ladder?" He raises an eyebrow, swinging his hammer a little. But at the look the Quistis gave stopped his cocky attitude in its tracks. "What's a matter 'structer? Seen a ghost?" he chuckles dryly, watching as she picks her way carefully towards him.

"It's...about Squall."

That got his attention. He watches her guardedly, his demeanour somewhat altered. Quistis hesitates, and Seifer sighs.

"What about him? Has the ice prince frozen someone to the floor? Spit it out." He growls.

"He...has been suicidally depressed for some time now." She says quickly, watching Seifer barely react to the news, but he does frown, looking none too happy. "What'd he do?" He asks.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much, because I'm not too sure, but he has been attempting suicide--"

"Bullshit." Seifer interrupts her. "Leonhart would never do that."

"I wish it was true Seifer." She says quietly. "But he's in the infirmary right now with slit wrists."

Seifer's frown deepens, and his hands clench slightly. "And what did you expect me to do about this?" He snaps.

"I don't know Seifer. Just talk to him. You are our last hope; do you think we'd have even come here if there was any other way?" She says half angry, half upset. "Just come back with us. Try to help him. Please?" She looks beseechingly at him, and Seifer sighs.

"...Fine I'll do it." He growls. "But I don't want anybody knowing about me, and I want to be left in peace after this. You owe me now." He smirks a little, moving to the bedroom to collect his stuff. "Oh, to start with my payback, you can get someone to fix the damn roof. I don't want this place flooded when I get back."

Quistis nods. "Fine, I'll get someone on it." She agrees.

Nearly twenty minutes later, they are on their way back to Balamb Garden, Seifer carrying a holdall of things, and of course his trusted Hyperion. Looking out of the window of the Ragnarok, he watches the land masses below him pass in a blur of colours and sighs as he spots the majestic structure that was Balamb Garden. The curved white walls and anti gravity ring stood out for miles.

They land a little way away from the actual building, and Quistis radios to someone inside to clear the hallways.

"Okay, your room has been set up for you, and some of your old things have been returned to you, that you left behind. You can see Squall in an hour or two, once a few things have been gone over."

"How long am I supposed to be staying here?" Seifer asks, still not having looked up from the window.

"As long as you want, although we may ask for a little more." Seifer sighs, he'd been expecting something slightly different, but it didn't matter. It disturbed him how Quistis was actually quite kind to him, he'd expected a lot more hostility from the gang, but then again, it was only Quistis, the others were sure to hate him. Zell especially.

So, as Trepe led him from the Ragnarok, and into the large facility, he looks up from the front steps like he'd done before he left. It was hard to come back to a place where so many good and bad things had happened. Knowing that it could never be the same again.

Of course, the welcoming committee was at the front gate, complete with its own Selphie and Irvine. However, he receives a welcome that he really didn't expect. With a blur of yellow moving at something that seemed damn close to light speed, he is forced to catch a certain female who had hence catapulted herself at him. Irvine bows his hat at him, a slight, but warm smile on his face. "Hey there." He says with that accent of his. Seifer was still trying to regain himself, managing to detach the yellow parasite and take a step back. "Seifie!" Selphie yells in glee, probably breaking an eardrum somewhere. Startled, Seifer takes another step back, slipping into a confident and self assured pose that was so often associated with him.

"Uh...hey?" Seifer says a little uncertainly, a rather alien emotion to him. "You're alive!" Selphie continues. "Wow! We missed you Seifer!" That really confused him. "Missed me? You have got to be kiddin' me." The blonde male shakes his head in disbelief. "It's true Seifer." Irvine steps forward. "We really did miss you."

Seifer looks undeniably shocked and Selphie cannot prevent herself from hugging him again, even though she only came up to his collar bone in height. Quistis chuckles quietly from behind him. Pushing Selphie away, he shakes his head. "Whatever you guys, apparently I got a mission or sumthin' here, so I better get on with it." Despite his words, there was a slight smile on his lips, and he can't help but chuckle quietly as Selphie jumps up and down, waving madly. He had missed this place, and even the people in it, however annoying they could be, and even if he didn't ever show it. However, the thought of his 'mission', the thought of the once strong and proud 'Lion of Balamb', trying to commit suicide /again/. It quickly wiped the smile off his face.

"Where is he?" He says quietly to the blonde instructor.