The Tamed Lion Tied On A Cage
"Well?" Quistis is settled on a long leather couch inside the commander's office one rainy evening. She's leaning comfortably with her arms and legs crossed. She was looking at the brunet with expectation.
Three weeks have already passed before she recieved the results from Walter, the scientist who conducted the test from the samples she gave him which came from the school's very own kitchen. Though the old man immediately recieved the items, it took him some time to finish the test because he became busy with his actual work in the lab which he apologized for profusely.
Squall was staring at the documents he was holding, sitting on a single dark leather couch just beside the blonde instructor. His brows knitted from clear disappointment upon learning that the school was put in danger without him even knowing. It somehow makes him feel mad at himself.
"How can I let this happen?" He asked more to himself. He's suddenly questioning his capability to lead.
The woman mildly shook her head. "You mean we? I was asking the same question to myself for awhile now." She replied, relating to the emotions the brunet is feeling right now.
"Cid entrusted this school to me. I should've been more careful. If you haven't discovered about this, what more possible worse things could happen? I should've managed to stop this." He frustratingly ranted.
"I know you're the commander. But I should remind you, Cid also asked the three of us to help you. You can't bear all the heavy load around here on your own. Remember, we all share the same responsibilities. We're in this together, right?" She waited for his response but he remained silent with his grim expression. She can clearly see his gears running wildly from where she's seated. She sighed.
"Yes. Unfortunately, WE became too comfortable. We let our backs unguarded. As SeeDs and hell, we're the officials here and I know full well there's not even a single valid excuse for our mistake. But as much as we like to blame ourselves for being neglectful, all we can do is to resolve this and learn from it." She stated her own honest opinion.
"I know, but-" He gripped the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
"Stop it, Squall." Quistis interrupted him. She stresses the words with a meaning she knew he will definitely get. She understands him very well. And she knew this is him beginning to crack under the pressure of the situation. This man began fearing of making mistakes since he was appointed as the commander. And now, as a headmaster too. He was afraid of disappointing everyone. As a result, he becomes too hard on himself whenever things aren't going well. Or whenever something bad happens. Just like today, he's starting to take all the blame upon himself. And she needs to stop it before it leads him to be pulled back into his brooding self again.
"C'mon, you're the last person I know who will waver like this. This isn't you." She reminded him.
The brunet let out a deep and long sigh. "Alright..." He managed to reply. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I understand because we both feel the same way." She uncrossed her arms and neatly placed it on her lap as she adjusted on her seat to fully face him. "Squall, be strong. If we want to make it up from our mistakes I suggest we take our apologies into action by solving this problem." She encourage him.
Squall paused before finally speaking. "What would I ever do without you, Instructor?" He smiled weakly, acknowledging the encouragement of the woman in front of him and realizing his ridiculousness.
"Look at me struggling to survive without someone reminding me to stop being a push over." He laughed humourlessly. "But thanks, Quistis. Thank you for knocking some sense on me."
She flushed at his response. And she managed to clear her throat to avoid it being obvious. "What are friends for...right?" She replied with a bit of hesitation within her words.
"Right." He slowly nodded as he stared down at the marbled floor. He lifted his gaze at the woman after a moment of silence.
"Do you have any proposals regarding this case, instructor?" He asked for her opinion.
The woman gently waved her hand. "I got it all covered. I already constructed a plan for another inspection, but with the supplier this time. I haven't finished finalizing the details of the operation yet but I'm going to push through with it as soon as possible. I received a tip from an insider that there were sudden changes within the staff working at their factory few months ago. I have a feeling one or some of them are messing with their production." She explained.
He nodded in agreement. "You have my authority to commence once you're ready. Provide yourself with a team to help you. And please update me with the developments." He responded.
"Yes, sir." She rose from her seat. "Well, I need to go. I still have to look over the plan and finalize everything." She was about to turn to leave when Squall spoke again.
"Quistis, is it really okay for you to work on this case? You already have a lot on your hands right? Why don't you just assign this to the others?" He suddenly changed the topic, remembering that the woman also have a lot of responsibilities herself.
The woman chuckled as she turned again to face him. "I would never miss my classes, don't worry. And besides, this is my first case in a long time, remember? I've halted involving myself into missions temporarily to focus on the academics. They're quite messed up that time and needs a lot of fixing. But now, I don't mind working on some during my free time. It feels like a whole new experience again anyway which is nice." She explained.
Squall nodded again. "Well, it's your call, instructor. I trust you with your decisions anyway. You were very hands on in solving this case since you found out about it and I'm very impressed with your fast progress. No surprises though, as expected from you." Squall smiled as he placed the documents on the coffee table.
She fiddled her hands which she was holding together on her back, flattered by the compliment her commander just gave her. "Thanks, commander." She softly replied.
"I wouldn't mind helping you if I wasn't eternally tied with the management thing." The brunet sighed in defeat.
Quistis looked at the man who is again staring at the floor. He really seem done with his life and just decided to accept his fate. Oh, that's right. He also stopped doing missions for awhile now. From the time the old man became ill, Squall was never seen again in an operation ever since. Spending most of his time within the four walls of this room while drowning in paper works. She suddenly felt sorry for him. The things he had been doing for a while now was not really a Squall Leonhart thing. The real him would rather chose to be out there on the field where he shines the most. Right now, he looks like a tamed lion tied in a cage. Not like he had any other option. This school is also important to him quite as much as it was to her and he chose to sacrifice his own freedom. She thought.
"How are you doing these days?" She asked, slowly dropping back on her previous seat in the process.
Squall lifted his gaze on her, mildly surprised at the sudden question. "A bit exhausted." He admitted with a soft chuckle. "All the tasks around here are strangely more tiring than the missions out there. It somehow feels..."
"SUFFOCATING." They said in unison.
Quistis laughed. "You know you can always ask us if you ever needed help with anything." She offered him.
The brunet shook his head gently. "You guys helped me a lot already. You, especially. Remember when I was just starting to learn the ropes of all the work Cid left me? If it were a mission, no doubt I will be much comfortable doing the job on my own. But since this not entirely my thing, I'm so lost. I have no idea on how things are working. I kept bothering you because I know you're the one who can help me." He recalled while smiling.
Quistis nodded. "I never mind at all."
"I know and I appreciated it, really." He sighed. "But you know I needed to stop relying on you eventually. How else should I grow if I can't accomplish the job around here on my own? I agreed to do it. Well, half agreed but... Cid had a lot of faith in me. I still have a lot of things to learn, I know. But it's a difficult process I need to take alone so I can be able to lead." He explained.
She looked at him with pride, in fact, like a proud mom who's now looking at her son who grew up really well from her years of nurturing. "Few years ago, you will surely say 'I don't want to do it.' or 'I never asked for this' and you'll just walk away." She chuckled as she placed a hand on his right arm. "I'm happy that you've chosen to improve yourself, Squall."
"Let's just say I finally learned that changes are inevitably necessary for one's own growth." He responded.
After few more conversations about the old times, they both called it a night.
Three days after...
Claire found herself standing again in front of Quistis Trepe's office. But this time with her entire team included, straightly lined up just behind her. She raised an arm and gently knocked on the wooden door.
"Come in!" The woman answered from the other side.
The cadet opened the door and entered the neatly decorated room which in her opinion, fitted perfectly with its owner. Intelligent and graceful, it summarizes the woman. She strode in further with the other cadets on her trail, stopping just in front of the huge desk. They saluted in perfect synchronization before she spoke.
"You wanted to see us, instructor?" She formally asked.
Quistis lifted her gaze towards her. "Yes. At ease. I just wanted to update you regarding your upcoming field exam." The cadets were elated upon hearing the words. They have been training non-stop for a couple of months now in preparation for this.
"Before that, how was your training going?" The blonde instructor asked as she rose from her seat.
"It went very well, inspite of our weird condition." She lowered her voice at the latter half of the sentence."We made sure we spent our free time training especially outdoors. Would be better to get adjusted out there on the field. The entire team is now ready." Claire replied with confidence.
"That's good to hear. Now to your mission..." Quistis handed her a bluish white envelope with a shiny Balamb Garden seal embroidered in it.
The pinkette accepted it and examined it carefully. This is what an actual official dispatch letter looks like. She thought. She cannot deny the excitement welling on her chest.
"Go on. Open it." The woman urged her with a slight nod.
She removed and unfolded the paper it contained. She carefully read the contents of the letter before turning her attention back to her superior with a confused expression.
"An inspection...on a hotdog factory in Dollet?" She asked, slightly disappointed. She was honestly expecting a more daring mission. The words are written like it's just a regular quality control procedure in the area which she doubt was ever a job accepted at Balamb Garden.
"That's right. Your mission is to inspect the entire area and make sure everything is running smoothly. That's it." She explained.
Claire rolled her eyes. "With all due respect, instructor. Are we going into this all over again?" She asked, obviously sensing there's more to it than what's written on the letter.
Quistis laughed softly which definitely made two of the pinkette's companions swoon. "I was just testing how really sharp your observation skills are." She replied. "Alright, I'm going to tell you the full details but I'm expecting that you will strictly stand by its confidentiality, do you understand?" It wasn't really her idea to put Claire and her team on the said mission. In fact she planned to be on it too. But Squall insisted for her to stay and on making it happen to test their skills much to her protest.
"Aye!" The team responded in unison while saluting.
The blonde instructor handed her another envelope. Though it looks the same as the first, it's the real one this time. She then filled them in with all the information about the attempted poisoning that happened inside the school.
"...Though we already asked the cafeteria to stop serving hotdogs for the students indefinitely." She ended her explanation.
"I doubt anyone will ever eat again at the cafeteria if they heard about this. I know I won't." The ex-soldier grimaced, feeling the cafeteriaphobia creeping up her skin.
"Well you can try cooking your own like I do if it makes you feel safer. It's a better option honestly. You can eat what you want and hone your cooking skills at the same time." Quistis suggested.
Well aware of how she miserably sucked at cooking, the pinkette winced. She quickly changed the topic.
"But are you planning to inform the students about it, for their own sake?" She asked in a serious manner.
The woman nodded. "Ofcourse. But only after the culprit is already apprehended. Their exams are approaching in weeks, and after the scene Seifer caused here which made some of the kids traumatized, I cannot afford to distract them anymore with this, at least for now. That's why I decided to take action discreetly. But we'll get there soon. The most important thing is, you are all safe now." She adjusted her spectacles.
"Oh and before I forget, don't miss your trip to the infirmary before the field exam for the antidote. According to Dr. Kadowaki, it will help you recover in no time." She quickly added.
"Copy that, instructor!" Hexa agreed enthusiastically. "Whoa, still, I never even thought about that possibility. I mean, I was really struggling for months now without knowing why. I was having a hard time keeping up with Claire's drills." She expressed.
Ogden nodded in agreement. "I know man. I was thinking something was really off." He said while looking at the ceiling, deep in thought.
"As if you ever use your head!" Jazz is a six feet tall guy with tanned skin, his eyes matches his black raven hair which is in a pompadeur style. The most energetic and cheerful member loves teasing his overly huge built comrade. His weapon is a lance with wide blades on each sides. A head of a mythical dragon which once said to visit the realm during the ancient times was sitted at the middle of the blades while it's long body was curled around the entire length of the said weapon. He had a matching dragon tattoo on his left arm. Ogden smacked him in the back with his strong hand which made him cough.
"Ofcourse I do!" He replied annoyingly before whispering in his companion's ear. "Shut up! Don't embarass me in front of Instructor Trepe, you idiot!" He said in a threatening growl.
"And the students? Will they recieve the same treatment soon, instructor?" Claire asked.
"As soon as possible. Now that the antidotes we ordered from Esthar have already arrived, Dr. Kadowaki is in the process of arranging the appointments for everyone. It will raise confusion and fear, that I'm sure of. But we will definitely give them the answer soon. That's why your mission is really important. If my intuition is correct, it will be the last piece of the puzzle on this case." Quistis responded.
"And be very careful out there. Always look for each other's backs because we'll never know what will happen. The situation might become dangerous. In case things gets out of hand, call for your designated back up immediately. The SeeDs going with you will be in their positions nearby looking out for you." She paused before continuing.
"Listen, I don't want any of you to get hurt, alright? Please, come back safely." She reminded them, honestly fearing about the team's safety. They are way too early to take the field exam anyway. That's what worries her the most.
Jazz leaned a bit towards Ogden. "Isn't she the sweetest?" He teasingly whispered, grinning from ear to ear.
The big guy growled again while staring down at him with his piercing eyes. "I call dibs! Get your own!" The man just shrugged his shoulders while smirking.
"What do you say, leader?" It's Onyx, the last member of Team Farron who is a bit smaller than Jazz. He has two revolver handguns on both hands as his weapon. He has green eyes and sports a medium length dark gray hair and has a scar on his right eyebrow. Though he was the most quiet member in the group, he was the fastest to develop an unbreakable loyalty to the team in just a short amount of time. Claire's way of leading suits his preference the most.
"I say we do it." The pinkette answered with confidence. "Mission accepted."