Well, here it is. Chapter 8! Thanks again for the reviews, guys! I really appreciate them! I won't say anything else about this chapter, so I don't accidentally give anything away. Just read it! Enjoy and lemme know what you think of it!

Chapter 8

It was a little before noon when Seifer finally woke up. He kicked back the covers, stretching lazily, and lingered a little before opening his eyes as if wanting to hold on to a fading image of a pleasant dream. He could almost still feel Rinoa's finger teasingly outlining his lips, her playful brown eyes smiling at him…

"Yo, Seifer! You awake, man?" Raijin's face slowly came into focus. Seifer grunted and slowly turned his head to face him.

"What's up?"

"Fuu's gone," he said, pointing stupidly at her bed that was in complete disarray with the blanket lying in a messy heap on the floor. Seifer immediately shot up in his bed, not a trace of languid hesitation remaining in his posture.

"You mean, she isn't back yet?" He stared at him at disbelief, his stomach twinging unpleasantly.

"No… When did she leave? I heard you guys fighting last night, ya know. You wanna tell me what that was about?"

"Never mind that now…" Seifer retorted averting his eyes. "C'mon, let's go look for her. Last thing we need right now is to create suspicion, and who knows what she might've done after we…after I…" Ignoring Raijin's confused look, Seifer quickly jumped off the bed and rummaged the floor for his clothes. Within seconds, he had tugged on his pants and shirt and was just about to reach for his Hyperion that rested underneath the grayish-white trenchcoat when the sound of a telephone broke the silence of the tension-filled room. Exchanging nervous glances with Raijin, Seifer picked up the receiver. A pleasant female voice greeted him on the other end.

"Good Morning. Mr. Almasy, I presume? This is Eryka from the front desk. You have a package waiting for you. It says here that it's urgent. You can pick it up at your convenience."

"Be right down," responded Seifer and hung up the phone. He quickly finished dressing and headed downstairs to the reception lounge.

Ignoring Eryka's attempts at small talk, Seifer grabbed the package and ran back up the stairs, his heart pounding with anticipation. Raijin was standing by the door with a bewildered look on his face.

"It looks like it's time for me to make my move," Seifer said quietly as he tore open the carefully sealed package and examined its contents. As he extracted two pieces of paper out of the blue envelope that was inside the package, Raijin's eyes widened a bit, and he rubbed them to make sure they weren't deceiving him.

"Hey, Seifer… the letter… it's blank…"

It's not blank, idiot," Seifer snapped back at him. The message is hidden in case the letter is intercepted." After searching the inside pocket of his trenchcoat, he took out a tiny flask of dense silvery liquid and a compact brush. After opening the flask, he carefully dipped the brush inside it and then proceeded to run it smoothly over the paper. At first nothing happened, but within seconds letters began to slowly take shape on the previously white page. After nearly five minutes, the entire letter was finally readable.

Dear Mr. Almasy:

We want to thank you again for agreeing to assist us in the upcoming weeks. We will be discussing our current situation, and exactly what will be expected of you at today's meeting that is to take place at precisely 2 o'clock. Please catch bus # 79 outside of your hotel at exactly 1:15 p.m. The bus driver is one of our people, and she will take you to our hideout after she finishes her normal route. Please avoid talking to her if at all possible. Enclosed you will find a small piece of paper with our password written on it. After you have read it, please destroy it immediately. Our headquarters are located on Abadon Alley where the bus will drop you off. Go directly to a discrete black door with an old round window just above it. Knock with 3 short knocks and 2 long ones, and one of our people will ask you for the password. Most importantly, please take care that you are not followed and come alone because otherwise the entire deal is off. We hope to see you soon…

Seifer finished reading the letter and then picked up the second piece of paper, liberally applying the silvery liquid onto its surface. The letters read Rising Sun.

After viewing it for a few moments as if trying to give it some meaning, he took out a lighter and watched the flames slowly eat away at the ink, the silvery substance giving off a faint bluish glow as it burned.

"Aren't you gonna tell me the password?" said Raijin with a child's curiosity, giving Seifer an imploring look.

"Tell you the password?" He chuckled. "You forget that I let you and Fuu tag along for this little trip…as long as you keep out of my way and don't do anything stupid," he added with a smirk.

"I thought we were gonna go look for Fuu. It's your fault she left, ya know. If you hadn't yelled at her, maybe she'd still be here so you wouldn't have to trouble yourself with worrying about her doing anything stupid. " He looked at Seifer resentfully.

"Shut up." A flash of anger sparked in Seifer's emerald eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"You know I care about Fuu's well-being," he softly added. "I can't postpone the meeting now. Hell, I've never even met the guys! How would I contact them?" He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking. "Tell ya what… You go look for Fuu, and after meeting, I will meet you outside the motel, and assuming that you haven't found her yet, we can look for her together. Check all the bars… They are about the only places open that time of night. Meet me outside the front door at 3:30. That should be enough time."

Raijin who had obviously decided that further arguing was not going to change things, shook his head in assent and exited the room, tightly gripping his staff.

Left alone, Seifer glanced at his watch. The glowing dial read 1:05. He felt quite uneasy as he set down on his bed, running his fingers along the blunt side of his Hyperion. Dammit, Fuu! Why did you have to do this right now? Just when everything was turning out so well… His thoughts turned to Rinoa, and at once longed to see her again…

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With five minutes remaining, Seifer pulled on his trenchcoat, tucking his Hyperion underneath it to avoid unnecessary questions, and went down to the lobby. Eryka flashed him a warm smile as he exited the building, but he barely seemed to notice her presence. His mind was on the mission ahead and on Fujin although he didn't like admitting it to himself. At exactly 1:15 p.m., the bus arrived at the shaded bus stop, and Seifer walked inside, intently observing the driver, but keeping silent. The bus driver was a young woman, in her early twenties, with curly red hair and misty blue eyes that stopped on him briefly, but then quickly glided away in the opposite direction. Seifer sat down in the back of the bus and waited. One by one the passengers departed from their seats until he was the last one remaining. He saw that the girl was now intently observing him through her rearview mirror.

"Abadon Alley?" she finally asked.

"You got it, " responded Seifer flashing her a grin. She let him off with yet another curious look and then drove off. Seifer could read the old, chipped street sign overhead on which the letters ABADON ALLEY were just barely visible. He walked to a very inconspicuous black door if you could even call it a door considering it was missing a handle, and loudly knocked. After about thirty seconds of unpleasant silence a small window at the top of the door opened and two eyes peered out at him.

"Password?"

"Rising Sun," Seifer responded slightly amused at the almost absurd secrecy of this place. The door burst open, and a small stalky man greeted him with a grin on his thin, slightly sallow face.

"Ah, Mr. Almasy! Right on time. We've been expecting you, please come in! My name's Nathaniel," he added firmly shaking Seifer's hand. "But please, come in, before anyone sees you." His eyes darted around nervously.

Seifer stepped inside and took in his surroundings. The walls were plastered with numerous color-coded maps and what looked like half finished blueprints. The man that introduced himself as Nathaniel pointed to a small shabby- looking couch in the corner of the room and gestured for Seifer to sit there. After telling him that he will return momentarily, he swiftly departed. Seifer sat down and allowed his eyes to move around the room, observing that many of the maps seemed to represent different layouts of the city with big red X's drawn in strategic locations. A short while later, Nathaniel reentered the room and prompted Seifer to follow him.

"Unfortunately our leader hasn't arrived yet, but since there's plenty of details to discuss, it is best that we begin immediately." Seifer nodded.

He followed Nathaniel through a double door and into what seemed like a fairly large conference room, although he couldn't say that with certainty because it was submerged into semidarkness. Glancing around the room, Seifer's eyes stopped on a long wooden table where he observed some people pouring over what seemed like yet another map. Two of the people somehow seemed strangely familiar. Then suddenly, the doors swung open, revealing a petite figure covered from head to toe in a black cloak.

"Sorry guys," a woman's voice said from under the cloak, "looks like I am a little late. I hope you have loads to tell me."

She then pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing her long raven hair. Seifer's eyes widened as he sucked in his breath. He was standing face to face with none other than Rinoa Heartilly. As Rinoa's eyes adjusted to the semidarkness of the room, a sense of distinct shock registered in her eyes, as she stood frozen to her spot. Her gaze slowly shifted to the table as if searching for some kind of an explanation for what or rather whom she has seen. For a moment she remained silent, unable to regain control over her speech, then slowly in a quivering voice she finally managed to whisper, "Zone? Watts? You wanna tell me what's going on here?"

TO BE CONTINUED