Unloved

Chapter 4: Memories Never Last Long

By: Alexandra AKA Fantasy Dragon

Warning: Mainly only language in this chapter, some angst, maybe a hint of lime a little later on in the story

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, but one day me and my cousin are going to take over the video game world, and they will be mine!

After a short internal battle, Seifer chose to follow Fujin's advice and try to talk to Quistis. Although the silver haired girl wasn't the best person to turn to when it came to deep conversation, the girl was mature beyond her years and often knew exactly what to do in most situations.

Walking through the humid atmosphere of the training centre caused the blond knight to start thinking. Why was Quistis here? Hyne knows that she didn't need the practice. Or was it that she was so angry about what had happened last night, she came her to let off some steam.

Coming across a group of higher level Grats, Seifer sighed and unsheathed his black blade. With four swift strokes, each of the plant like creatures let out a dying cry and lay in pieces on the simulated jungle floor. None of these monsters posed any sort of a threat to Seifer. Not even the so called fearsome T-Rexaur. He had been single handily chopping those down since he was 15. No threat there.

Entering the back of the training centre, the scarred man wondered where a certain instructor may have gone. Or if she had even been here in the first place. Deciding to just continue around the perimeter of the training centre, Seifer came across a sight he wasn't expecting to see.

There was Quistis, talking to some guy that Seifer had never seen before, who was wearing a green Garden issue jacket. And Quistis was actually laughing and smiling. And it wasn't the same smile or laugh that she had when she was with Seifer or anyone else.

As the two heard a rustle in the bushes, both turned around to look the spot where Seifer had just been standing, but saw no trace of anyone or anything. Seifer had ducked quickly behind a boulder, feeling really bad about eavesdropping, but had to know why she was like this around this strange man, but not around her friends.

"Thanks, Joker. You have no idea how deep my gratitude runs. You certainly are Hyne sent." Quistis smiled and gave the man a hug.

"No worries. Anything for you, your majesty." This man called 'Joker' replied and placed a soft kiss on Quistis' cheek.

This action caused Seifer's blood to boil. Was he jealous? Hell, yeah. Looking down at his green splattered Hyperion, Seifer resisted every urge in his body not to run out and slice through this mysterious guy. Seifer could take him. It might cost him his SeeD status, but to find out this guys intentions it would be every bit worth it.

Trying to get a better look at this bastards face, Seifer cause the fleeting vision of Quistis entering the secret area. But that Joker was nowhere to be seen.

Knowing that this was probably the best time to get Quistis alone to talk to her, Seifer hurried to the door that Quistis had just closed. As he was just about to push the door open, a very disturbing thought ran through Seifer's head.

What if Quistis was in there with him? What if he had been the reason Quistis had pushed Seifer away last night.

There were so many possibilities that could be true, but Seifer wasn't about to sit around and wait to find out. Taking a deep breath, the gunblader forced open the door, preparing for the worst. But to his surprise, nothing like what he expected was going on.

Only three people occupied the small area, and none of them were the green jacketed man. Quistis was standing over at the balcony, and two junior class men were passed out against the railing, surrounded by empty liquor bottles. Best thing to do if there was a party and you weren't invited was to have your own.

Not knowing what he should say to the blue mage, he left all trace of common sense behind and walked quietly over to where Quistis was standing.

"Quistis?" He asked softly, as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

Quistis turned and jumped at the sudden intrusion of her private moment, glaring harshly at who ever had interrupted her silence.

"Seifer? What the fuck?" the blonde instructor cursed, the person she least expected to find her here glaring right back at her.

"Is something the matter? You're awfully jumpy this morning." He asked as he reached into the breast pocket of his black trench coat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. A dirty habit that he had been trying to break for years.

"What do you mean?" Quistis had calmed down considerably in the last eight seconds and just as Seifer pulled a smoke from the new package, she snatched the package from him.

"Hey! You can't confiscate them!" growled Seifer as the only missing cigarette from the box hung from between his lips.

Quistis only scoffed and pulled the slender stick out of the box and with a few choice words, both blonde's cigarettes lit and Quistis passed the nearly full pack back to it's owner.

"Teach you not to offer a lady a smoke." She grinned, then took a long drag from the cigarette in front of a slack jawed Seifer.

"I…ah, didn't even know you smoked." the gunblader had a slight blush on his cheeks, the thought that Quistis was probably the after sex type smoker running through his head. Taking another drag, Seifer had to shake his head to rid himself of the thought and focus back on the problem at hand.

"Not many people do. It's frowned upon for and instructor to smoke. How else are we suppose to let of all this fucking stress?" she asked rhetorically as she glared over her shoulder at the grounded garden.

"So, I'd like to apologize for last night." Seifer said, unsure of how the statement would effect the elegant blonde.

"Apologize?" Quistis was completely taken aback by the scarred mans words. So it was just out of pity that he asked me. Bastard! And I fucking cried in front of him. I should wring his neck right here and now. No one will miss a washed up sorceress's bitch. Quistis thought harshly in her head.

"Yeah. It was wrong of me to come into your room last night and I am completely regretful for anything that happened afterwards." Turning his head so that Quistis couldn't see his face, Seifer prayed to the great Hyne and every other deity in the sky that she wouldn't see the pain and rejection that was apparent in his emerald eyes.

"Afterwards?" Quistis whispered. What had happened afterwards that he was apologizing? She couldn't remember. Had he violated her? No, she would have remembered something that serious. The only thing that she could remember about the night before was that she had cried at the ball, and she had taken enough to almost push her over that edge of redemption. With one last puff of her cigarette, Quistis tried her hardest to remember what had gone on between them last night after the left the ceremony, but with no avail.

"Quistis?" Seifer's voice broke through her train of thoughts, causing her to look at his face fully for the first time since he entered her privacy. The dark circles under his eyes, his paler than normal skin, emerald eyes that had lost their sparkle. What ever it was that Seifer was apologizing for had kept him up most, if not all of the night.

And Quistis couldn't even remember what it was that he was apologizing for.

"I'm sorry too. I really wasn't myself last night." Quistis replied, knowing that Seifer would think one of two things. Either Quistis was actually sorry, or she had no clue what he was talking about.

"Oh, okay." was the quiet response from the blond, all hope sinking with his broken heart. "Well, I just wanted to say that everything that I said last night was true. I just wish you could trust me a little more and talk to me." And leaving his heart in a million little pieces at her feet, Seifer turned to walk away from the blue mage.

"Seifer, wait!" Quistis called, just as he was opening the door to leave. She called him for no particular reason, but knew that once he walked out of the room, she would be losing one of the best friends that she would ever have.

Seifer turned around, afraid of what she wanted to say to him. Almost anything that she could say would only break his heart further.

"What is it, Quistis?" He asked, trying not to sound too cynical. But the girl was killing him. What else could he do?

Quistis hadn't actually expected him to stop, but rather continue out to the training centre and slash everything in site with Hyperion. So she had to come up with something really fast to say to him.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Seifer." She explained. "And I did take everything that you said to heart."

The gunblader then interrupted. "Yeah, I know. But you don't feel the same. I understand perfectly. Forget the whole thing ever happened." he snarled, unsheathing his gun blade and bring it up to rest on his shoulder. "I'll see you around, Instructor." The hate and distain that coated the last word threw Quistis completely off guard. He hadn't called her 'Instructor' for months now. If only she could remember what happened last night. Then maybe she could find a way to fix everything that had just happened.

Seifer cursed loudly with every stroke of his gun blade. Slicing through everything that wasn't human, nothing registering to him besides the pain and rejection that he was feeling right now.

"SEIFER?" Fujin's unmistakable dialect startled him. The blond was in mid swing, and when he finally came face to face with the cyclopsed girl, his Hyperion was pressed lightly against the pale flesh of her neck, ready to slit her throat.

The most disturbing part of all this was not that his blade was one movement away from murdering his best friend, but it was the calm expression on Fujin's face. It was if he was holding nothing more than a feather up against her throat.

Taking a deep breath, Seifer lowered his weapon and stuck the tip into the ground. "Sorry, Fu." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"PROBLEM?" she asked, taking a seat on a fallen tree that had faced the wrath of Seifer.

"Only that she told me last night was a mistake. And she acted like none of it had ever happened. " Seifer looked over at the silver haired girl, misery and heartbreak plastered on his features.

"MISTAKE?" Fujin replied, a little confused about everything that had happened.

"Just what I told you, Fu. She told me it was all a fuckin mistake. Fuck! My life is

enough of a train wreck without little Miss Trepe fucking up one of the only good things in it. " Seifer cursed, forcibly pulling his gun blade out of the ground.

"I already told you that I'm not good at the talking or advise thing. Or talking to people. So I really don't know what to say." Fujin said, shaking her head. Seifer was really pissed off. This was the last thing that he needed.

"I know. I really wish…" Seifer was cut off by Fujin jumping up abruptly with a very upset look plastering her features.

"DON'T" she pleaded, sternly." If you say anything about Raijin, I will leave you and our friendship."

"But.." the blond protested, the thought of loosing his other best friend devastating.

"He's dead! He died to save us! What do you think he would say? It's hard enough dealing with his death without you always bringing it up." Fujin's body was racked with silent sobs, but she let no tears fall from her single crimson eye. "Those gunmen were going to kill you. Raijin died to protect us. Don't let that go to waste."

"Fuu." Seifer whispered, then took his best friend into his arms, holding her close as she tried to hide her emotions. "I'm sorry."