Jahiro19: I apologize for not putting the translations for the Al Bhed at the bottom. Though, in chapter four there wasn't much Al Bhed, I don't think. Eh...but chapter six as a lot...so... I'll translate that for you sometime before I post it. Still, I am sorry, and I can try to put translations at the end of each chapter --if, of course, there's any Al Bhed. I am glad that you enjoy this story, though.
UltraBeing: Glad ya think I wrote out Squall well in ch. 3. I think I did too :D And how
Ultimecia got to Spira? MWUHAHAHA! I'm evil, very.
And thanks to all my other reviewers!
Disclaimer: I only own the plot. That is all.
Chapter V
The Ex-knight Meets His Match
Morning is due to all-
To some- the Night-
To an imperial few-
The Auroral Light. -Emily Dickinson
XxXxX
Wake up, child. You need to sleep no longer. The time is almost near.
Paine stirred a bit in her sleep. Time? Time for what? Her mind asked.
Time for this world to become ours, that's what.
Her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, her mind couldn't figure out where she was. All she felt was the soft sheets and pillow beneath her. Where…am I? She looked around the room. It was something like a hospital room.
"Ah, you're up. How do you feel?" A woman in a white doctor's coat stood beside the bed that she lay on.
"I have a headache…" She rested a hand on her forehead. My head is pounding…
"Do you remember where you are?"
"Yes…" Her mind quickly remembered the place. Balamb Garden. The infirmary. I puked before Squall brought me here. Squall! "Where is Squall?"
"He just left here a good ten minutes ago, but I can go get him if you want me to," The doctor looked at her.
"He'll find out sooner or later," Paine closed her eyes and wished for the headache to leave her.
Taking that as a 'yes', the doctor left the room to go find Squall.
Who was that woman speaking to me as I slept? She wondered silently. Or was it just simply a dream and nothing more? The words that the woman had told her rang in her head. 'Time for this world to become ours,' was what the woman had said, but why did she say such a thing? Deciding that thinking about it would only make her headache worse, she sat up, pushed the pillow against the wall, and leaned back on that.
XxXxX
Squall had just been walking towards the cafeteria when Dr. Kadowaki came walking up to him.
"She's awake, Squall. And please, don't ask her many questions. She has a headache," Kadowaki explained to him.
He nodded, and made his way past the doctor and toward the infirmary. When he stepped inside the room, he saw the woman back up against the wall, eyes closed.
"If you are resting-"
"You can sit if you want." Paine said, interrupting him.
Squall pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down in it. "Are you going to ask me questions?" He heard Paine ask, her voice low. "No, I'm not. Dr. Kadowaki just told me that you were awake and I wanted to check up on you." She kept quiet, so Squall decided to keep talking. "If you feel better, I could show you around Garden and possibly the dorm that will be yours during your stay here."
She opened her eyes and looked over at him. "Sounds nice." She sat up fully and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I'd like that."
Squall stood and watched her stand also and move towards the door. He joined her on the way out. "I could introduce you to a few friends of mine, also," He glanced sideways at her.
"Sure. Why not? I have a feeling I'll be staying here for a while anyway."
"That side of Garden," He pointed to the right. "consists of the Library, the Training Center, the Parking Lot, and the dormitory. On the other half, is the Infirmary, the Quad, and the Cafeteria. Each place as a sign in front of it so they shouldn't be hard to find. If you ever get lost, just go to that over there," He pointed at a device a few feet in front of the stairs which led to an elevator. "There are four floors here. The first two floors are the ones you have access to. The other two, which are the Headmaster's office and the bottom floor, you have to have an access code and/or key to go to." Paine just listened, trying to remember everything he said. "Now, on the second floor, there are the classes in which every student here must go to."
"Classes? So this place is kinda like a school?"
"You could say that, yes." He looked over at her. "The Gardens here are used to train elite forces called SeeDs."
"Ah…" Paine crossed her arms. "Can we go to the cafeteria? I'm hungry."
"Do you really think-" From the look he got from her, he cut himself short. "Fine. I guess it's okay." He turned to walk to the cafeteria, Paine was right behind him.
When they entered the large room, Squall immediately saw the small group of his friends there, eating their lunch.
"…and so that's when-" Selphie stopped telling her story when she saw him. "Hey, Squall!"
XxXxX
Paine followed Squall to the table where five people sat.
"Who's she?" A blonde haired woman asked Squall.
"This is Paine. She will be staying here for a while." He explained. "Paine, this is Quistis."
The woman named Quistis smiled. "Hello."
"Selphie, Zell, Rinoa, and Irvine," He pointed to each one as he said their name.
"Heya, Paine, nice to meet ya." The spiky blond, Zell, waved.
"Hello." She caught the one named Irvine staring at her. "What?" She hissed.
"Nothin'." The cowboy lowered the hat on his head a bit.
Selphie kicked him underneath the table. "It better be nothin'."
"So I'm guessing this is the person that you picked up in Esthar?" Quistis asked.
Squall nodded. "Yes, she is." He pulled over a chair and sat down.
"Why don't you join us, Paine?" Selphie's eyes were wide, as was her smile.
She did the same as Squall and sat down. Hopefully they won't ask any questions about me, she crossed her legs and rested her elbows on the table. They are your enemy. You cannot trust them, came that same voice from before. She was confused as she looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. It's just…my imagination, that's all, But since when did her imagination talk to her like that?
"Paine? Are you all right?"
She immediately snapped back to reality. "Huh?"
"I said: are you all right?" It was Squall.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You don't look too good." Rinoa cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure you're all right?"
Paine felt a bit dizzy, but other than that, she felt fine. "I'm fine. You worry as much as-" As Yuna.
"As who?" asked Squall.
She knew she should've watched what she said more closely, but the dizziness kept her from thinking straight right now. "Never-mind." Standing, she turned to leave the cafeteria, completely forgetting the fact that the main reason she wanted to come here was to get some food.
XxXxX
"What's her problem?" Zell asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.
"She's just…homesick, I guess," Squall watched her leave and turned to face the group. "I'll go check on her." He knew something was wrong other than homesickness. Right after he left the cafeteria, he found Paine leaned up against the wall. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"I know something's wrong. Why won't you tell me?"
"Because it's none of your damn business!"
Squall shook his head. "How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me what's wrong?"
"Who said I needed your help?"
"No one, but-"
"Just…show me to the room I'll be staying in." She stared at the floor.
Nodding, he headed in the direction of the dorms. I wish she'd let me help her. She reminds me so much of- of me… It didn't take him long to lead her to the dorms. "Here's the key and there's your room," He said, pointing to the second door on the right.
She took the key and walked over to the door, unlocking it. As he turned to walk away, he heard her say something.
"Thank you."
By the time he had turned around to say 'you're welcome', she was already in her dorm.
XxXxX
Paine was laying on the bed in the dorm, staring at the ceiling. I should go back and get my backpack and sword, she remembered that she had last left them in the infirmary. Looking at the clock, she had realized that it had already been an hour and a half since she had seen Squall or even left the room. She was unusually tired, yet she couldn't seem to sleep.
Finally deciding to go get her stuff, she stood and quietly left the room. On her way to the infirmary, she ran into someone. I do believe her name was Rinoa, right? She would have to try and remember everyone's name.
"Oh! Hi, Paine." The woman smiled. "Do you feel better?"
Paine suspected that they must've thought she had fallen asleep. "Yes, much better." She kinda reminds me of Yuna, she shook her head.
"I was just going to grab me some dinner. Would you like to join me?"
"Sure, just let me get my stuff out of the infirmary and I'll meet you in a bit."
"Gotcha!" Rinoa turned and walked towards the cafeteria.
After grabbing her sword and backpack out of the infirmary and placing them in her room, she met up with Rinoa in the cafeteria.
"Hey, over here!" Rinoa waved at her from a table on the far right. She waved back at her to let her know she saw her, and went over to the cafeteria lady to get some food. Getting herself a hamburger, she sat down in the chair beside Rinoa.
"You'll really like it here. The hotdogs here are the best thing ever. Ask Zell!" Rinoa giggled. "He really likes them."
"I'll remember that."
"So where do you come from?" the woman beside her asked curiously.
"Deling City." It was now her automatic response for that question. Hey, it seemed to work, now didn't it?
"Really? What a coincidence! I used to live in Deling too."
Paine couldn't believe her luck. Her bad luck. Out of all the people, I had to find one who actually lived in Deling. It wasn't so bad, right?
"How long did you live there?"
She swallowed her food. "Most of my life." Okay, so it isn't that bad. She felt relief rush through her; she was just being overly worried, that was all.
"Hey, Squall!" The woman suddenly started to wave her hand in the air. Paine turned her head to the right to see the man in black walk towards them. Squall sat down beside Rinoa, he kept his eyes on Paine.
"How do you feel?"
"Fine." Paine answered him. Why is he so worried about me?
"Paine and I were just talking." Rinoa smiled at Paine. "So whatcha up to?" She looked over at Squall, directing that question towards him.
"I was just going to check on our guest to make sure she was all right," Squall looked at Paine.
She glared at him as she stood. "I have to leave now. I'll be in my dorm if anyone needs me." Hopefully they will leave me alone, she thought as she quickly left the room, trashing the rest of her food before she left. She had only a few more bites of her hamburger left, but she felt like she couldn't take another bite.
XxXxX
"Squall, don't." He felt Rinoa's hand on his arm as he stood to follow Paine. "She's safe here so why do you continue to worry about her? She's probably just homesick, as you said before."
Leonhart sighed and sat back down. "I…I just feel like there's something she isn't telling us. Something is wrong with her and I can't figure out what it is."
"Of course not, silly. She doesn't want you to know." A soft smile appeared on her face. "Just give her time, okay?"
Squall nodded, agreeing. I know she's hiding something… So how can I get her to tell me what it is?
XxXxX
Paine was heading toward her dorm, when a man's voice coming from somewhere behind her made her freeze.
"I've never seen you here."
She turned, wanting to see who had said that. A tall, blond haired man stood only four feet away from her. His gray trench coat looked worn, as did his steel-toed boots. Those green eyes of his looked her up and down.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
"I was just going to ask you the same thing." He took a step closer to her, and she gave him a glare.
"I'd stay away from me if I were you." Her voice was cold, and her eyes were narrowed, yet she said it with a smirk.
"The name's Seifer." The man raised his head a bit. "And yours?"
"Paine."
"Paine? Odd name."
"And Seifer isn't?"
He chuckled. "So…are you like some other SeeD from another Garden?"
"No. I'm just visiting."
"Visiting who? A boyfriend, perhaps?"
"No, no boyfriend." I don't think Gippal counts as a boyfriend. We only kissed once then I went to another world, she frowned at that thought, but only at the 'I went to another world' part. She didn't mind the kiss. Why would she?
Seifer raised his eyebrows when he heard she had no boyfriend. "Well, that's interesting."
"What?"
"A pretty girl like you is single. That's actually pretty hard to believe." He smirked. "Ya know, I'm single, too."
"I'll remember that, thanks." She said that with sarcasm in her voice.
"Why don't we-"
"Almasy." This voice made Seifer turn around and Paine look sideways a bit.
"Leonhart." Seifer narrowed his eyes and he practically snarled out that name.
"Leave her alone." Squall ordered the other man.
Paine stared at both of them, just now noticing that both the scars on their faces almost matched. Squall's was just in a different direction than the one Seifer had. I wonder what happened between them two. You can't exactly miss the anger they have for each other.
"Why should I? It's not like I'm hurting her." Seifer pointed out.
"Leave her alone, Almasy. Don't go causing trouble after only four months of being back." Squall glared at him. "I suggest you walk away now while you still can."
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll leave your precious girlfriend alone." He smirked as he said that, but turned to leave, stopping to look at her. "Catch ya later, babe." His boots made a soft clicking sound as he walked off.
"Babe? Girlfriend? He'll be lucky if I don't hurt him the next time I see him." She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Not many people can hurt Seifer, although a lot of people would like to, they usually don't have to guts to do so. He…can be trouble sometimes."
"Sometimes? He looks like he lives to cause trouble."
"Squall Leonhart, please report to my office. I repeat: Squall Leonhart, please report to my office," came a man's voice. Paine figured it was Cid.
Squall sighed as he shook his head. He had a 'now what?' look on his face as he walked away. Paine watched him leave, then headed back in the direction of the dormitory.
XxXxX
"Yes?" Squall entered the office. Cid sat at his desk, like usual.
"I have a favor to ask of you,"
Uh-oh, he thought sarcastically. "What is it?"
"I would like to know if you could possibly take Paine out to someplace. Maybe her own home city, Deling? She may enjoy being back home. Besides, I hear Deling has some good restaurants."
"Okay…but what exactly to you want me to do with her? Question her some more?"
The headmaster laughed. "Nah, I wouldn't put her through that again. The last time she puked. Just get her some good lunch, or even breakfast. Either is fine, but breakfast may be better. The breakfast food here isn't exactly the best."
"Okay, then tomorrow morning I'll take her out for breakfast. I'm guessing you want me to learn more about her, correct?"
"I figured since she knows you better than anyone else here, that you could, yes, learn more about her. Sound okay?"
"Yes, sounds fine." Why is it always me? I doubt she'll tell me anything about her. If she's just like me, then no, she won't.
"Good! I do hope you have a splendid time."
Right, he rolled his eyes as he headed out of the room. Tomorrow will be an interesting day… I get to spend time with a woman who could possibly seriously hurt Seifer Almasy. Marvelous.
