Disclaimer: I own nothing in affiliation to FFVIII.
Reviewers....
Ecstatic chick-Yep, no rape. Bugger...? I like that word^_^. Yeah, Quistis is going to play a relatively big part. Thanks for the review!
Hiasha- Yes ma'am! Thanks a lot for the review!
Carly- Is that a chibi smile? How cute. Yup, I'm continuing, thanks to reviewers like you^^
Keiry- Yeah, he should trust her. Imagine all the internal conflicts he's having now-not knowing what exactly's going on. Squall beating Seifer to death...? Hohoho, you can count on that! Thanks bunches for the review! By the way, congrats on the impressive new fanfiction of yours.
Anonymous- Ah...my very, very faithful reviewer. It seems as if you were the only one who thought the whole 'Rinoa hitting the glass window' thing was funny. You're great! Thanks for the review!
Angelwingedprincess- Squall just realized his mistake, but there might be a few things to direct him away from the truth. You wrote stories before? I'd be happy to read them if you'd allow me to! The whole updating quickly thing...Yeah, I was honestly losing interest in this fic, but suddenly got inspiration to do it. Thanks bunches for the review!
Heikaru-You think the chapters are short? Yeah, me too, but I can't seem to make them any longer without boring people. There's a thing with your review. I got the review notice in my inbox, but it's not showing up in my reviews on the story. Are you having that same problem-not being able to find your review under the reviews for chapter four? It's bugging me to bits! Anywho, thanks for the review!
Renegade Seraph-You have no idea how surprised I was when I saw that you reviewed me! Anyway, when Rinoa sees Squall for the first time it's sure to be romantic. ^^ You're addicted? Cool! Thanks a lot for the review!
Also, a special thank you to Hiasha, Carly, and Keiry for telling me that this chapter wasn't responding well. They're so nice=) Their assistance is what helped bring this chapter to YOU!
On with the story!
Still....
/.../=thought(s)
Chapter Five:
Grand Deceit
Bianka-chan
SQUALL'S POV
I opened the mailbox and sorted through the envelopes.
"Bill... Bill... Bill... Hey, what's this? Seifer's mail... Better go give it to him."
My eyes didn't leave the letter as I walked in the direction of his house. This sort of thing happened regularly, so there was no need for me to look where I was going. The letter had the word CONFIDENTIAL stamped in red from left to right, turning the envelope completely crimson save for the tiny print in the left corner.
"Institute For Ra-"
But the sentence would never be finished. I found the doorstep with my foot and tripped over it, immediately sending my face into the metal door. Rubbing my nose, I scowled at the door. /Can't he get a wooden door like a normal person?/
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
/I didn't even need to knock... I made that loud of a noise?/But then shock hit me when the door was opened quietly. Rinoa stood before me in her normal outfit, a duster (A/N: Is that what they're called?) in one hand and the doorknob still in the other. "Who are you and who do you wanna see?"
Her voice made me melt right there. My voice seemed to have left me as I struggled for the right words. I had known exactly what to say before, but 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' couldn't even begin to explain my true feelings. However, the fact was she hated me, and would continue to hate me even if I apologized. It's what I deserved, right?
Seifer rounded the corner and strided up to Rinoa and I. With a movement of his hand, Rinoa was sent into the living room to clean once more. "It's nice to see you, Laguna Junior. What brings you here?"
"I'm not Laguna Junior," I growled quietly, careful as to not let Rinoa hear my voice.
Seifer nodded his head toward Rinoa. "Well, you are now." Then, quieter, he said, "What business do you have here?"
Before I could answer, a loud crash was heard from the living room. I was tempted to sprint over to Rinoa just to check if she was alright, but I balled my fists to prevent myself from doing so. Seifer turned to see Rinoa with her hands over her mouth in alarm. "That's the ninth one this week, Rinoa," he hissed through clenched teeth.
Her eyes watered as fear began to cloak her feigned happiness. "I'm so sorry, Master Almasy! Please, please forgive me!" I swear she was about to get down on her knees, but I had already had enough.
"It's okay, Rinoa," I said, doing my best to mimic Seifer's voice.
Seifer glowered at me, but I didn't care; Rinoa beamed and continued her dusting. /Why the hell is she so scared of him?/ I scanned Rinoa's body for any wounds or injuries. Her arms, legs, and face were outlined with bruises. /I should have figured... Seifer, the dirty bastard!/
I threw the letter in Seifer's face, hitting him square in the nose with it. "You can have your damn letter!"
With that, I left, leaving a bewildered Seifer behind.
~
I was in the hallway in front of the closet beneath the stairway, one hand on each side of me. With a strength I hadn't known I'd possessed, I slammed my head into the closet. /That was for being a moron./ Again, I bashed my face into the closet. /And that was for not believing in Rinoa./
/She looked so scared.../
/Her beauty's tainted with all those bruises.../
/No matter how much Seifer hurts her, the fault is still all mine./
/I caused her the deepest pain.../
/I remember her saying that she wanted to be with me. And I...I wanna be with her, too!/
/I'll rescue Rinoa!/
And it was decided; I'd save Rinoa, regardless of her possible hatred towards me. I threw my fists into the air and gave a little 'yeah', promptly followed horrible dancing. (A/N: My description of Zell entering a battle and going into his stance. ^_~ Hey, that's a joke all you Zell fans. Zell's cool.)
"What are you doing?"
I peered over to stare at who interrupted my one-man parade. Recognizing who it was, I straightened up and walked back to the closet. /She's the maid that liked Rinoa so much. I hope she's not still mad at me.../
"Well, 'Master' Leonhart, it seems as though you've finally lost it. Or are you delirious? Hopelessly insane?"
Twiddling my thumbs, I shook my head. "No, not really."
From the look on her face I could've sworn that she was going to bite me or something. Instead, she stomped her foot. "Listen, Leonhart, I've known you for eighteen years now, and I know when you care for someone and when you don't. The poor girl you sent to Seifer, you definitely cared deeply for. Why else would you ask her to be your girlfriend after knowing her for only one day? And then you go and take her stuff, and throw her into Hell! Name-wise known as Seifer's house.... Now you know Rinoa, and I know Rinoa. She's NOT that kind of person! She wouldn't have cheated on you!"
This was going too far; she could rant for hours. Finding my voice, I finally attempted to protest. "Hey, um...I...uh..."
The maid stomped her foot again-louder this time. "No, no, no, I'm not finished yet! I want you to march right on into Seifer's house and tell him that you want your girlfriend back! And if he says no, you'll beat the hell out of him and come back with Rinoa anyway!"
I stood there, completely shocked but with a big grin on my face. "I was going to tell you to put all of her furniture back in her room...because I'm going to go and get her back."
Her face completely changed in an instant. "Oh, lovely! I'll go make dinner!"
/Bipolar maids.../
"Oh, and Squall?" I felt her hand creep onto the back of my head. She shoved my head into the closet door-harder than I ever could. "That was for taking so long."
No matter how much my nose hurt from its continual abuse, I couldn't help but smirk.
/Just you wait, Rinoa. I'm coming for you./
RINOA'S POV
After breaking three more glass plates, I was dismissed to my room for the afternoon. /Squall...I know that you were here earlier. Why did you hide from me when you know I can recognize your smell? You were trying to make me seem like a fool... Hyne, I wanted to be so strong around you, but when I broke another plate, I knew that Seifer would beat me for it. So I was going to beg...like a dog... Then you saved me. Why, though? You told me that it was okay, and I believed you. It's gonna be okay.../
I sat down on the edge of the bed, still smiling at the mere thought of having Squall's affection. Then I heard the door creak open, but I already knew who it was. Glancing over quickly and turning back, I greeted her, "Hey, Quistis."
She said nothing as I assmued she was approaching me, her warmth nearing quickly. But something was different... Quistis placed her hands on each side of me, making the area in which I sat completely sink. /No...this isn't Quistis./ Before it could fully register who it actually was, I felt a heavy body collapse on top of me. /It's Seifer!/
/This isn't happening... This can't be happening.../
SQUALL'S POV
The bipolar maid decided to follow me as I crept up to Rinoa's window, moving stealthily through the bushes and low branches. A smile snuck onto my face when I saw her sitting on her bed, happy as ever. But my benevolence shattered when Seifer entered her room. There Rinoa was...still smiling as though she didn't mind! However, when Seifer positioned himself on top of her, I couldn't take it anymore.
I turned around and scowled at the maid. "Come on; we're leaving."
She didn't budge, pointing frantically at Rinoa's window. "Squall, look!"
Clenching my fists at my sides, I tried my best to remain calm. "I've seen enough. Let's go."
The maid shook her head. "No, you don't understand...!"
I took her by the forearm and began leading her back to my mansion. "Oh, but I understand all too well. And that's what hurts the most..."
RINOA'S POV
I couldn't let this happen. Seifer could beat me, he could insult me, but this is one thing he couldn't do. Taking a deep breath, I heaved Seifer off of my body; and with all of my strength, I kicked him across his face. He snarled and put his hands firmly around my neck, completely ridding me of oxygen.
/This is it. Goodbye...Squall.../
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A/N: Sorry about all of the short POV's; it was necessary for the content. Also, sorry about the long wait! I hope that you don't wanna kill me for making you think that Squall was gonna save her.
It'd be cool if you checked out my blurty. I doubt that I can put the URL on here, so you can look on my profile and find the URL as my homepage. It's a live-journal. Wanna read about a complete stranger's life? Go for it.
If there isn't an update by July 19, I wouldn't count on another chapter until mid-August. I'm going on vacation to México from July 19 to August 4. Sorry!
I personally think that this chapter was a piece of crap, but it'd be really nice to hear your opinion of it. So pretty, pretty, pretty PLEASE review! Have a nice day ^^ ~Bianka-chan. 6/19/03