Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters... etc.
Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews... hopefully this one will be longer! I'm trying, but I think my muse went on vacation from being overworked or something... Anyway, I'll do my best to make this one longer!
Chapter 5
Cloud couldn't believe it. The little punk had actually shot him! His eyes narrowed in fury, and he tossed his sword aside, wanting to pound the man into the ground, and then slice him in half.
Squall readied his blade, again facing Cloud, this time a bit nervously. Cloud had thrown away his huge sword for some reason, and looked ready to murder him.
Cloud charged in, dodging another bullet from Squall's odd sword, swinging a fist that Squall barely managed to block. That was one of the advantages of Squall's gunblade, it was far more maneuverable than Cloud's massive sword due to its smaller size. Cloud continued swinging furiously, finally managing to connect to Squall's face, sending the teen flying.
"Alright! That's enough!" Tifa yelled, after seeing Squall fly a few feet and then roll on the ground a few more feet after the impact of Cloud's punch. "Cloud, stop this!" She ran to the prone Squall, protecting the fallen teen.
Cloud glared down at Tifa, angry that she would interrupt their fight. "Move it, Tifa, or I'll hit you too." He growled, raising a fist.
Tifa's fighting spirit picked up at that moment, tired of being suppressed by the motherly worry. "Go ahead and try it." She said, raising her own fists.
"How about none of you fight? That would make life much easier. Cloud, relax, or I'll shoot." Vincent threatened, his gun aimed at Cloud's left temple.
"You wouldn't. I know you too well, Vince." Cloud smirked, and the smirk left as Vincent cocked his gun.
"Cloud, I view the safety of the weak much more important than the safety of the strong." Vincent replied calmly. "Now relax and promise you won't fight, and I won't shoot."
Squall stirred, having passed out for a moment. He stirred early enough to hear Vincent's words, however, and realized that the stupid vampire had just called him weak. He gritted his teeth and sat up, seeing stars of pain. His head felt like it was going to split in two, and he couldn't see clearly out of his left eye.
Tifa's face swam into his range of vision, much closer than he wanted it to be.
"Squall? Are you okay?" Tifa asked worriedly. His eye was swiftly blackening, and he had a bloody nose. "Let me help you get cleaned up." She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and grabbed a canteen to wet the cloth with cold water.
Squall would normally protest being taken care of like a weakling, but his head was aching too much to care, and he couldn't protest moving away a bit when the cold water touched his tender nose and eye.
"Ooh... sorry, Squall." Tifa apologized, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Now, I want you to hold this rag up to your eye, so it doesn't swell as much." She moved her hand and let Squall take care of it.
Cloud sighed. "Fine. I'll leave the wimp alone, for now. If he picks a fight again, though, I'm not holding back."
"Good enough." Vincent replied, removing his gun from Cloud's temple, and putting it away.
Tifa cautiously approached Cloud. "We've got to get the bullet out of your shoulder... or it could get infected and stuff."
Cloud sighed, and said "I'll take care of it. Just leave me alone, Tifa." He moved away and picked up his sword, kicking hard at a rock for good measure.
Tifa bit her lip worriedly, but didn't follow the now mopey/angry Cloud.
Vincent muttered in her ear, "Leave him for now. He'll return to being himself in a while." Tifa jumped in surprise, but nodded and took Vincent's advice.
The next day, Squall woke to a light that was much brighter than he wanted it to be. His headache was receding, as was his black eye, but that didn't make him feel better since it still hurt.
"Squally... wake up, Squally." Rinoa's voice said, shaking him gently.
"Ugh... Rinoa? I'm back?" He asked, drowsily, trying to get his eyes to focus.
"What do you mean, silly? You never left." Rinoa said sweetly, a hint of confusion in her voice.
He finally managed to get his eyes to focus, and instead of seeing Rinoa's face, he saw the Sorceress'. "You! What are you doing here?"
The sorceress giggled, still using Rinoa's voice. "I'm here to wake you, Squally. My, you're slow in the mornings, aren't you?"
Despite his headache, Squall sat up instantly and moved away from her. "Get away from me! Or better yet, take me back to my own world! You have no reason to keep me here!"
"On the contrary, Squally. I find you very amusing. Watching you... it's a lot of fun." The sorceress giggled, now using her own voice.
"Why can't you watch me on my own world?" Squall demanded.
"Because you wouldn't be your true self there, Squally. You've got too many friends. It would be far too easy for you. I like watching you here a lot better."
"Why watch me at all? Why do you care what I act like!" Squall yelled, starting to get truly angry and annoyed.
"Well... it seems rather silly to just tell you, don't you think? I think I'll just wait for you to earn it. I'll be seeing you around, Squally." The sorceress smiled and disappeared.
"Wait!" Squall yelled out, extending a hand to her, but he was too late. She was gone. He cursed and slammed his fist on the ground.
"What's the matter, Squall?" Tifa asked, coming over with food.
"What! Didn't you see? The sorceress... she was just here." Squall explained angrily, glaring at where the sorceress was moments ago.
"I... see..." Tifa said, smiling nicely at him, then turning away, worried. She wondered if he was hallucinating, or if it happened often.
Squall punched the ground again, then ate the food that Tifa gave him.
Tifa walked cautiously over to where Cloud was currently sleeping. "Cloud? Cloud... I have breakfast for you..." She shook him gently.
Cloud woke up, and clutched his left arm. "Ugh... Tifa? I'm sorry for what happened yesterday..."
"It's okay... are you, though? You look like you're in pain. Is it your shoulder?" Tifa asked, motherly instinct returning.
"Uh... yeah..." He lied, even though it was his right shoulder that was shot, and he was clearly holding his left arm. "I'll be okay, though. Don't worry about it, Tifa."
She sighed. "Okay. Here's some breakfast, and be careful." She gave him food.
Vincent came back from gathering water for everyone. "After everyone eats, let's go. We're not too far from Junon."
Author's Notes: Okay... this was up lots quicker! The next chapter should be interesting... and hopefully I'll get it up quickly. Read and review please! Thanks all!
