Chapter 6: Reports

Rinoa was quite proud of herself as she looked at the report that Mark had helped her write the night before. Well, to be honest he didn't really help more than bringing her the books she needed and getting her coffee to keep her awake.

Mark was kind enough to let her use his computer to type it up, after much begging and pleading anyway. Now she held the printed version in her hands, a smile on her face as she read over it.

Vampires; A History
by Rinoa Heartily

The origins of Vampires are heavily shrouded in the mists of time. While the true origin of these 'Children of the Night' may never be know, there are many folk tale accounts that try and explain where they came from.

Smiling as she reread the opening paragraph, she placed the paper in her binder and let out a sigh, stretching her arms over her head.

"How's the report?" he asked

"It's all done!" she told him proudly as she stood up and stretched her back. "And it's all thanks to you."

"Me? All I did was show you the books, you took it from there."

"Ah, but if you hadn't agreed to help me I would never have finished it."

"How about this, let's just agree that it was a joint venture?" he asked knowing that this little game could go on for hours, he'd seen it before with other couples.

Mark's heart stopped beating for a second as he thought that. Did this mean that he thought of himself and Rinoa as a couple?

Mentally shaking his head, he ignored the idea. She was in desperate need of help on her report so she came to him. Nothing more, nothing less. He had the knowledge, she needed the help, end of story.

"Agreed," she said with a smile.

Mark nodded before standing before her. She took a step back as he loomed in front of her.

"Well, shall we go get some breakfast?" he asked into the silence that followed his rising.

"Sure," she said with a smile, "but .. Um you may want to put a shirt on, unless you want the entire female population to be drooling over you while they eat."

Mark looked down at himself, only to realize that he was only wearing a pair of black shorts. Flushing, he quickly agreed with her, telling her to wait there while he changed.

Rinoa sat down at his desk, leaning back against the chair as she slowly spun it around in circles, her eyes on the ceiling.

Stopping the chair she glanced down at his footlocker and the weapons she knew were inside.

Glancing around to make sure he was still in the bathroom she silently made her way to the chest and opened it. She gasped when she saw all the weapons in the chest. Reaching for the one that captivated her, she pulled out the Kanata he'd had on the bed last night. Quietly sliding the blade from the sheath, she held the sheath to her side as she tested the weight of the blade. Making a few downward cuts with her right hand, she silently brought the blade up into a horizontal block, stopping the downward strike of an imaginary opponent. Smiling she brought the blade back to her face, her eyes going over the workmanship of the handle and hilt. Placing the sheath on the bed she ran her left hand along the back of the blade, no feeling any imperfections in the steel. Noticing an engraving on the blade near the hilt she peered closer, trying to make out the ancient writing.

"It says 'Gray the hunters'," Mark's voice behind her said.

Turning guiltily she brought the blade to bear, edge inches away from his throat. To his credit he didn't even flinch, merely ran his hand down the outside of the blade until he had it pointing horizontally between them.

"I've never seen this writing before," she said as she blushed and quickly replaced the blade in its sheath.

"Few have, it's an ancient dialect that's no longer spoken, save for a rare few, and even those are dying out," he said with a sad expression on his face.

"Are you one of the few?" she asked as she handed him the Kanata, which he took and placed back in the footlocker before answering.

"Yes," he replied as he straightened up. Closing his eyes as he sighed.

"Where'd you get it?" she asked as she took a step towards him.

"That is a long and complicated story, Rinoa. It's best left for another time, as is anything else about the dialect."

Rinoa took a step back.

"Can you read minds?" she said in shock, for that was going to be her next question.

"Maybe," he replied without turning around. "Now, shall we go get breakfast before we create too many rumors?"

"Of course," she said with a smile, recovering from her shock. "Lead the way Mark."

Silently walking to the door he opened it. Looking into the deserted hallway, he motioned for her to follow him as he left the room. The door closing behind them as they moved towards the cafeteria.

Entering the cafeteria, Mark quickly spotted Zell and Selphie waving at them. Nodding in their direction, he sent Rinoa to the table while he went and got food.

"Good Morning!" Selphie said in her ever-cheerful voice.

"Morning," Rinoa replied with a yawn and a smile.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?" Zell asked with a stupid grin plastered on his face, perfectly mirroring the one on Selphie's face.

"I didn't get any sleep, I was working on my report for Ms. Bertram's class."

"But it's not due for another week," Selphie said with a slight frown.

"I know, but I wanted to get it done now and out of the way. You know Selph, if you need help get Zell to help you, he almost knows as much about Vampires as Mark does."

"So that's why you two came out of his room together," Selphie said as her eyes sparkled.

Rinoa's mouth dropped open and a look of hurt crossed her face.

"You saw?" she accused them.

"Saw what?" Mark asked as he set a tray on the table, handing Rinoa her pancakes and juice. His meal consisted of coffee and oatmeal. When he asked, both Selphie and Zell grew quiet. Mark shot a glance at Zell that clearly said 'talk'. As much as Zell would have liked too, he couldn't get a word out.

"We .. Um .. Uh .. We .." he tried before Rinoa cut him off, saving him, somewhat.

"They saw us leave your room this morning," Rinoa said with a betrayed look at her friends.

"Actually, Zell saw you, he just told me about it," Selphie said, trying to clear herself of any blame.

"But you're just as guilty as he is," Rinoa said with some heat. "Isn't she Mark?" she asked turning to the young man beside her.

Mark just shrugged as he ate his oatmeal.

"They know better than to spread rumors, don't they?" Mark said with a glare at the two, they immediately agreed.

"Yeah, we sure do, we won't tell a soul," Zell stuttered out, relieved that they didn't inflict the wrath of Mark, yet.

"Yeah, not a peep," Selphie said at the same time, nodding to prove her point.

Rinoa was somewhat surprised that a few words from Mark would seal the lips of the two biggest gossips in Balamb Garden.

"Good," he said as he pushed his oatmeal bowl away from him. Zell and Selphie let out a relieved breath before talking about what they were going to do over the weekend, this being Friday and all.

"How'd you do that?" Rinoa asked Mark in a whisper.

"What?" he asked as he sipped his coffee.

"Get them to shut up," she said even softer.

Mark merely smirked before draining his cup.

Realizing that she wasn't going to get an answer she decided to do what Zell and Selphie were doing.

"So Mark, what are you going to do over the weekend?" she asked as she rested her head on her hand, looking in his direction.

"He's has some business to take care of in Dueling City," Zell answered, proving that he was eavesdropping.

"Really? I haven't been to Dueling City in months, can I go with you?"

Mark Merely looked at her, thinking about the 'business' that he had to take care of. He was mentally weighing whether or not to take her with him.

He pondered the question for a few moments before coming to a decision.

Opening his mouth to speak he gave her his answer

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(WAHZOO! I completed another chapter, behold me readers in all my glory!)

Mark: Will you shut the hell up I'm trying to answer Rinoa here and now I have to wait till the next chapter? Get on with it already I haven't got all day!

The author pulls out the super sized mallet again and summons several Ruby dragon's

Mark: (Whimpers, then passes out)

(wuss...)

The dragons grab Mark by the legs and threw him back into the story, where he landed head first in his breakfast and found himself covered in cereal.

(MUHAHAHAHAHA! Sweet revenge!)

To all you readers out there please send long reviews

(Who said that?)