Disclaimer: Obligatory, and normal
Slowly the world came into focus, the ceiling bare and bright a single fixture with a slowly spinning fan hovered overhead, he blinked slowly but didn't move the lethargy of sleep still holding him tight, binding his muscles to inactivity. He lay for many moments his mind blank. Though he didn't register it he was enjoying the quiet and plain texture the way the light played across the ceiling in blended patterns that soothed the mind as they flowed through the curtains. Then at once he felt a shock hit his body. A jolt of power as something shifted next the him the weight on his chest shifted, he hadn't even noticed until that moment it had existed. Then, all at once, the previous night rushed back to him. He smiled faintly and shifted a bit, careful not to jar her, and looked down at the shifting form on the bed. Fujin lay slightly curled, her cheek resting on his ribs, her lips slightly parted, her eye patch slightly askew, breathing slow and deep. He was possessed with a need to remember this moment so he made great effort to keep it in his mind.
He moved an arm and laid it on her shoulder. Her eyes opened slowly, her lips closed and a smooth expression blank and yet warm, content as her mind slowly roused within the warm room, a hand rose and pressed down on his stomach causing him to swiftly exhale. As he did she paused, then looked up toward his face and her half lidded eye blinked a few times then went wide, and slowly followed his body down to where her hand rested on his stomach. She seemed to take a moment to register this information then pulled her hand away as though it had been burned and swiftly turned away. Squall chuckled softly having caught the edge of her face and the red that had swiftly rose to dominate her pale skin. She looked over her shoulder at him with an amusing mix of anger and embarrassment.
Squall pushed himself up to a sitting position and laid a hand on her shoulder, she brought up a hand and laid it on his and took a deep breath. Squall had little doubt that was to calm the blush. He was proven right as she turned back nearly to her normal shade. a little flushed but that could just as easily have come from the warm covers that lay over them. It was something of a shocking discovery to them both, though neither said anything, that the room was quite chilly. Fujin's jaw chattered a moment and then her eyebrows shot up as Squall reached down and lifted the covers on the side of the bed and pulled them over her shoulders. She looked down and away for a moment caught unaware by the tenderness of the action. He gave her a knowing smile and she returned it a moment later. He sat up sliding the covers up to his shoulders until he met her shoulder and pulled it over both of them as they sat side by side, facing out toward the window where the sun was sending patterns of warm light across the room.
"Well I guess this all worked out alright," Squall said and Fujin nodded her agreement.
"Very Good," she said quietly, never quite taking the force out of her voice, but she was smiling and that was always a good sign. They sat like that a few more comfortable moments before Fujin stood, leaving the blanket's and the warmth behind and looked back at him, giving him a glare much as she had for years before, whenever Seifer had been at the head of their posse.
"CHANGEING" She said adopting all the violent energy she had become so well known for in her time as a student of Garden. Squall, catching the meaning of her word choice decided it would be best not to argue. She walked to her closet where she rustled around for a little while before moving swiftly to her small bathroom, the door closing neatly behind her. The door to the bathroom opened a few minutes later and she stepped out in black pants and a white blouse, the wrists unbuttoned and pulled up past her forearms, her hair fixed as well. Squall looked at her a few moments as she stood in the doorway then had to turn his head away stifling a laugh. Fujin, being Fujin, immediately jumped to a conclusion and taking a few long strides in form obviously intended for less peaceful moments cracked him upside the head with her fist. As he sprawled on the ground hands on his head he was still chuckling.
"MOCKING!?" she growled as Squall held up a hand to pause her fist as he composed himself back to a semblance of his normal stoicism.
"You were the spitting image of my grade school proctor." He said with all seriousness as Fujin just glare a few moments. Then, standing up straight fist atop her hand she made a sharp motion with her wrist like she was swinging something and glared right at him with a dissatisfied look.
"Attention!" She said sternly, taking all her self control to hold her seriousness until she saw his reaction which was more or less immediate. He fell back over laughing again, after she gave a moment as he regained his composure and looked up at her with a grin she returned, sharing in what was sure to become a private joke.
The day began as simply as most classes went quite smoothly. Fujin was in the middle of a lesson, observing students as they attempted to junction status magic. Some were better at it than others. She smiled as her favorite pupil stood ready. Among the first done, Along with the three she had affectionately dubbed one two and three as she never saw them apart. She freely associated them now with the old posse, especially the little blond, he was already pretty tall, chances he would be a monster, she could see it. Daniel was his name and he had a knack for combat from what Zell had told her, he had aspirations toward the Gunblade, modeling himself after Squall. He openly preached about leading Garden in the future. Cute now, but he'd be a problem in no time. The current disciplinary committee was already scouting members looking to expand, four just wasn't enough. She knew who she'd draw their attention to. However going back to the lesson she drew the classes attention as she asked them to demonstrate the status ailment a single attack against her. Good marks as she expected all around, though last as expected came Karin she paused watching and motioned her forward. Waiting for the feeling of a spell failing to tell her she had been hit as she thought ahead. Tonight she was having a meeting to discuss her progress within Garden. This meeting well could put her in the green. She smiled to herself as the class went to end and she dismissed the students, not one had failed to junction properly. She smiled to herself, She anticipated good results.
She appeared outside the new meeting room straightening her tails of her formal instructor's uniform making sure she presented the best front possible, she's even taken the time to throughly clean her eye patch. If that didn't tell you she was nervous than the light dusting of makeup would immediately. This meeting could set a final date on her punishment and let her live at least a life of semi normalcy, though she accepted she'd likely remain permanently attached to Garden. She could accept that. The door opened a moment later a faculty member stepped out of the doorway and she entered with a nod to them, knowing first hand that attempting to figure out the gender of them was a pointless exercise, she was met by a table formal attire abounded Selphie, Quistis, Squall, Irvine, and a new face, a mousy woman wearing thick glasses her red hair bobbed into a little fluff. She didn't look like much but looks were often deceiving. She moved to the open chair at the circular table. After a moment of people shuffling papers Squall began to speak in his formal tone.
"Fujin, After the designated period this group has reconvened to reassess your position in the world. First I would like to introduce the headmistress of the newly opened Esthar Garden, Chihiro. Under request of Prime Minister Laguna. She was a member of the strike force that assisted in the cleanup and is representing Esthar in these proceedings." He motioned to the young looking woman who smiled demurely and nodded her head. Squall motioned around the table after allowing her a moment and the indicated gave silent greetings in their own ways. Irvine who made a motion of tipping a hat. Quistis who nodded with a smile, Selphie pounced on the end of her nod to wave swiftly and smile, still too much energy. Fujin looked back with a nod trying to seem much more confident than her thumping heart would lead one to believe.
"In opening, lets take note of her so far exemplary teaching record. She is a favorite amongst many students, Her work has been exemplar, test grades in her area have risen, and she has instilled a higher amount of discipline in the students while maintaining autonomy. On the other hand she is noted being distant from her peers, though whether this is a fault of her style of interaction or an aversion to her is partially unclear. Quistis, your observations?".
Quistis straightened her glasses and lifted a sheet scanned it for a moment and spoke clearly, "her social distance seems to be a combination of her natural briefness and a certain aversion of the other staff. She, for her part, does not make much effort to create more than an acquaintanceship with most of her peers. I do observe that her severity does also extend to her relationships making her somewhat unapproachable to many people who feel intimidated by her status and her brusqueness. Those are all the pertinent observations. Anything to add?" She asked and Selphie raised her hand briefly, then seemingly after a moment of thought put it down, Irvine spoke softly his voice carried a slight drawl that made Selphie smile covertly eyes half closed. Fujin rolled her eyes, well talk about making something obvious... in any event she zoned into what the pretty boy was saying.
"...Known her least and not at all afore her betrayal in the first place I think that I and Chihiro should have the most say in this. Seeing as we have the most objective viewpoints. Do you agree Squall?" He said, well at least he had a brain between his ears. Squall thought a moment visibly and then turned back toward him and nodded.
"I agree, proceed headmaster." Squall said in his official tone, letting everyone know he was listening carefully. A few moments later Irvine continued his point.
"I think that her punishment will mean that her debt is unlikely to ever be paid off, seeing as the sheer numbers involved. I propose she take the SeeD test and prepare for active duty. The pay is much higher and she will be forced into the same situations that she caused for so many others. Her loyalty is more or less unquestionable, after all, she betrayed almost every nation on the planet over a sense of loyalty, I do not believe she will desert during a mission regardless of the personal cost. So in summery, I think she should do the job we did." The board was silence and Fujin was looking at the cowboy a little cockeyed not sure what to make of his declaration. Well it did mean she might eventually be free of her crushing debt, at least by the time she meets the worms. Well, why not Fujin sat up straighter and Squall homed into her like a heat seeking missile to a bonfire.
"Yes Fujin?" he asked curtly, her response was as brief. "ACCEPT." The others assembled spent a few moments mulling over whether that was a declaration or an order. Squall however beat them to the point having seen that answer a mile away.
"your examination will be at the next set until such time you are to resume your duties as normal. Does the board agree?" He asked with a withering glance, the same that earned him the covert nickname of "ice prince" No one, however, felt the desire to argue with his declaration.
A/N: Well this took all together too long. Whoever said that writing is easy is messed in the head. Anyway, there are few times I miss having no friends but it meant that my writing didn't get neglected as often..... well anyway here is the next chapter, heading toward a slightly different bent in the story. still winding up. Thanks for reading R&R!