Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its beautiful characters .. but I will one day ! x) It all belongs to SquareSoft. :salutes: -.-;;
Balamb Garden Amazing Race
Chapter Seven ll Ami United
Zell agitatedly swatted his hand, his eyes scrunched up tightly. He was still asleep, but his blocked nose could detect the unmistakable trace of an unpleasant smell.
"Meergh..." he half-moaned, blindly waving his hand to make it go away.
Suddenly a hand pinched his nose and Zell had no choice but to sit bolt right up with a strangled yell, his mouth gasping for air. Almost at once something cold and slimy entered it, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had swallowed the putrid liquid.
Zell doubled over and made gagging noises, sticking his green tongue out in absolute disgust. The hotel bed sheets were all messed up with his thrashing about and his pillow was at an obscure angle. Standing beside him was a triumphant Shizuka, holding the offending spoon in one hand and a bottle of Dr Wakka's Hearty Cough Syrup in the other. Upon seeing this Zell felt even sicker.
"Zee... I can't believe you made me - " here he coughed several times, " - swallow that stuff!"
"It'll make you feel better, honestly," Shizuka replied briskly, getting to her feet, "And we have a big day ahead of us! Come on, only half an hour till it's nine..."
As the brunette walked out, Zell collapsed back onto his pillow, green in the face. He gulped dangerously and shut his mouth tightly, feeling his cheeks expand from the horrible taste still fresh in his mouth.
Augggh, man... I'm gonna be sick...
Day softened the glamour of Deling City with gentle sunlight and modest green trees. Squall was not sparing a thought for the effortless ease of the city as he stood rooted off to one side, leaning back against the railing morosely with his arms crossed. He was looking at something a couple of metres away from where he stood, and whatever it was appeared to be causing him great, suppressed pain.
A figure scarcely past girlhood was standing amiably in the middle of the wide path, setting up a little stall with no heed for the young man staring resolutely at her.
The large cardboard sign above her head read, "Kisses (on the cheek) for five gil each."
It was at this moment Squall truly wished General Caraway would stumble past and jerk Rinoa back to her senses.
The stall was ready much too soon and still he kept his silence as Rinoa happily stood at the sign, smiling pleasantly at all who passed. Squall's eyes narrowed when a couple of teenage boys halted and stared, wide-eyed, at her little business.
Squall tried hard not to scowl, but it was like stopping a bull from running into a red wall. He kept reminding himself that it was all for the challenge, that it would be over soon and it meant nothing... but these reassurances slipped in and out of his head without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind.
He knew she was angry at him. He knew this was her way of revenge. And he was going to have to bear it all. That would be easy, wouldn't it? Squall Leonhart didn't care about anything. He was immune to envy.
...Then why did he feel like throwing that young man off the bridge when he winked at Rinoa?
More people were walking past now and she really was attracting a lot of looks with her large sign. The group of boys earlier had stopped off to the side, grinning and nudging each other goofily.
Squall pretended he couldn't see any of this. He didn't care.
"Kisses for five gil!" Rinoa's voice, sweet as a silver bell, rang through the air. Squall cringed, still watching her administrations from a short distance.
Hyne... now she's calling... Please no one listen to her.
Unfortunately, as he continued to stare hopelessly, a man not a day over twenty was sauntering up to Rinoa. He had a smug look on his face and very suavely introduced himself to her.
Squall froze. Literally. His body went rigid and the stony expression on his face stayed in place as his blue eyes glowered unblinkingly.
Rinoa was smiling and speaking angelically to the young man, and electricity seemed to crackle from Squall as they both chuckled at some joke he must have told.
This could not be happening... Rinoa couldn't be that angry at him, could she?
Fear, panic and resentment for the stranger flashed through Squall all at once, causing his heart to rapidly pound faster. The man was handing over a five gil note now. He was really going to pay her for a kiss. Rinoa hesitated for a split second, then reached out for the note very slowly.
No! a voice in Squall's head shouted as he watched, rooted to the ground, You can't let her do this, you moron!
"RINOA!"
Even as the voice yelled, Rinoa felt relief settle in her mind as she and her customer both whirled around to look at the speaker. Squall looked a bit wild as he suddenly lunged forward at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and almost jerking her away from the surprised man.
"Squall?" she gasped as he steadied her.
"Rinoa, I don't want - you mustn't - you can't do this!" he fumbled desperately, his blue eyes racing.
Amused at his careworn appearance, Rinoa frowned and asked pointedly, "Why not? You said you didn't want to do this challenge with me, so I'm doing it myself."
"I - I didn't say that," Squall spluttered, sounding irritated with himself. He was uncomfortably aware that everyone was watching them.
"You sure implied it," Rinoa responded stoically. When he remained dumbfoundedly speechless, she turned away slowly, back to her stall.
"No, Rinoa!" Squall grabbed her hand and forced her around so that she faced him again, her countenance slightly alarmed. The young man had taken his money back and stalked off, grumbling.
"Please don't," he said vulnerably, looking desperately into her chocolate brown eyes for a hint of forgiveness, "I'm sorry, okay? I'll do whatever you ask me. Just don't sell your kisses to random people!"
Rinoa studied him a second, an indulgent smile gracing her lips. Squall continued gazing at her forlornly, afraid that she would still not relent.
"Fine," she promised graciously, twisting her hand in his so that their fingers were entwined. Squall's immense relief, however, was brutally cut short when she continued innocently, "We still need to busk for fifty gil, though..."
Rinoa grinned as their eyes met, his gaze slightly fearful. Squall, however, knew his fate and had resigned himself to it. With a heaving sigh, he straightened up and glanced as people walked past, readying his nerves for his impending doom.
Sing the Balamb Garden song he must, and sing the Balamb Garden song he would.
Fives minutes later...
"There's a place we know, each day we go, on which we can rely on," Squall was warbling in a cracked and off-key voice. People looked round twice to locate the unpleasant source of noise. He sincerely wished the ground would open up and swallow him.
"In the search for truth, while in our youth, that place is Balamb Garden..."
Squall glanced over at Rinoa, squirming. The wretched raven-haired beauty was giggling as she video-taped his little performance. The things he did for that girl, honestly...
More people had stopped to watch the spectacle, and Squall tried hard not to notice them as they snickered and stared, stunned. His voice began to falter as he received more negative feedback.
Somebody... kill me...
Then suddenly, a strong, clear voice rang out in melodic, harmonious tones, joining him in lyrics and rhythm. A smiling Rinoa walked forward and reached out to take hold of his hand.
Squall looked at her enquiringly, but she merely smiled in return as she continued to sing, as if to say; Well, we are supposed to be a team.
Enlightened and encouraged by her strong sweet voice, Squall sang louder and gave her a half-shrug; I think we need your voice to get some gil.
Her smile widened, and together they belted out the Balamb Garden song, more agreeably than his solo had inclined.
"Oh, Balamb Garden! We're proud of you, and through our lives we'll try..."
"Come see the amazing Zell! Five gil to see him break a wooden plank in half, ten to be tossed up into the air and returned safely back to the ground!"
Even as Shizuka called out people were crowding around, gasping and murmuring excitedly as Zell jumped up at a great height, carrying a little boy, somersaulting three times in the air before landing back onto the concrete in a crouch, the child safely on his back.
"Again, again!" the boy cried out gleefully as his terrified mother picked him back up.
"That was an altered version of my Meteor Strike, ladies and gentlemen, only ten gil a go," Zell announced proudly as he got to his feet, "And what would you like?" he appealed to a young red-haired girl that had been next in line.
"Break, break!" she called commandingly, holding out a strong, sturdy tree branch. With a jump and a skilled kick there was a snap and the sound of the girl's delighted squeal. Loud and enthusiastic applause greeted this demonstration.
"Come one, come all! It's the multi-talented Miss Selphie. Watch as she peels a banana with her foot and sings! Come on now, this lovely lady really needs your support! Thank you, kind sir!" Irvine hooted gratefully as an elderly man dropped some gil into his cowboy hat.
"I'm Popeye the Sailor Man, I live in a garbage can. I eat all the worms, and spit out the ge-erms, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!"
"A round of applause, ladies and gentlemen, for another excellent demonstration of that song. Thank you, thank you... an encore, you say? I don't see why not..."
"By any rule, it's a great, great school! Of that we have no doubt. And in principle, we're invincible when we stand together and SHOUT!" Seifer was bellowing at the top of his lungs, more a war cry than a song. Quistis just looked at him in horror, her voice dying as his covered hers.
"BALAMB GARDEN, WE'RE PROUD OF YOU, AND THROUGH OUR LIVES WE'LL TRY. TO LIVE WITH THE HONOUR AND INTEGRITY, WE LEARNT AT BALAMB GARDEN!"
Deling City really was an exciting - and noisy - place that day.
"...to live with the honour and integrity, we learnt at Balamb Garden..." Squall never imagined the day he would sing that forsaken song ten times in a row in public.
"For heaven's sake, I'll pay you to shut up," a thoroughly bad-tempered teenage girl snapped as she bypassed the duet singers, dropping a whole ten gil note at their feet.
"Squall, it's our first payment!" Rinoa squealed, not perturbed by the girl's rudeness that had dealt a cruel blow to Squall's manly ego, and now left him reeling in embarrassment and depressingly wondering how many others had their ears bleed at his singing.
"Great. A gil for each time we sing it," he replied dully, his voice a little hoarse.
Rinoa's eyes sparkled with pride as she threw her arms around his neck, taking him by surprise.
"Hey, show some gladness," she said softly, "It's our first ten gil. Aren't you excited?"
"I guess," he mumbled, uncomfortable and nervous at how close their faces were. Smiling at him, Rinoa whispered, "Well, I'm proud of you," before she craned her neck up and kissed him on the cheek, leaving that area flushed as she pulled away.
Squall felt a twinge of disappointment as she let go of him and returned back to her original position, proclaiming blithely, "And now for another piece! Eyes On Me by the famous Julia Heartilly!"
"What?"
"My manhood is battered," Squall said in wearied, despaired tones as he and Rinoa walked off the deserted, rundown platform in Centra. Up ahead was the lighthouse orphanage and they trudged their way across the dry, brown plains toward it, the sky an overcast, gloomy blue.
Rinoa snickered. He swatted at her.
"You are so melodramatic," she informed him with a wide grin. Slipped behind her ear was the white lily they had written their poem about the other day, standing out in her dark hair.
Squall plucked the pure flower from her hair, turning away quickly, "That's it, you're not having this anymore."
"Hey!" she cried, still grinning, "That's mine, you gave it to me!"
"Well it doesn't remind me of you anymore."
Rinoa stuck out her tongue at him, "Meanie." She feigned indifference for a second, then suddenly lunged at him, Squall only leaping out of the way just in time.
"Give it back to me, Squall!"
"Only if you can catch me!"
"Squa-all!" Rinoa exclaimed agitatedly as he ran ahead, but she could barely contain her laughter as she went chasing after him. The two of them ran across toward the orphanage, laughing and exclaiming harmless threats at one another. It was a nice way to end an exhausting day. After they had successfully busked for fifty gil (at which point their throats were sore and legs aching) they had a frenzied time at the arcade, where they versed each other in car racing, shooting and dancing games. Having grown up in Deling City, Rinoa had beaten Squall in everything, which had contributed to his now battered manhood.
The stone orphanage still stood proud and firm at the tip of the island, the white lighthouse spiraling up in the distance. The building had been renovated and some parts had been rebuilt, but its outside still looked the same.
"That's right, Commander, I win again," Rinoa said victoriously as Squall relinquished the lily. He made a face at her as they walked up towards the wooden door of the orphanage. Rinoa's animated face toned down a little as she looked at their promised meeting place off to the side, and Squall also looked out toward the blue sea, remembering his own childhood.
"Reckon we're the first here?" she asked jauntily, adjusting her bag.
"Only one way to find out," Squall said complacently, and he knocked. The door was open by a very young woman, wearing a pale blue dress and her dark brown hair falling past her shoulders, half-up.
"Squall!" Ellone exclaimed happily, her soft features aglow with delight, "Rinoa! You guys made it. Come on in..."
The blue team, after greeting Ellone blithely, had only taken a couple of steps into the cosy living room when Squall was tackled to the ground by two heavy people.
"AHH!"
"SQUA-A-ALL!"
"TOUCHDOWN!"
Rinoa burst out laughing as Squall irritably sat up on the carpet, Irvine and Zell climbing off him and giving each other high-fives, both barely containing their own guffaws.
"Hi, Rini!" Selphie shouted from her seat on the sofa next to Shizuka. Rinoa immediately beamed and flounced over towards the girls, all three of them rapidly exchanging stories.
"What was that for?" Squall groaned as the boys pulled him to his feet. An amused Ellone walked past and sat with the girls, and he looked around the room. It was fairly large but squeezed with comfortable furniture and carpeted in a warm colour. There were sliding doors at the back which were half-shut; through the crack Squall could see it was another large room.
"Well, we just felt like it," Zell replied with a snicker, "Let's do it to Seifer when he comes."
"They're not here yet?"
"Nope."
"Come to think of it, has anyone seen the red team since Timber?" Rinoa spoke up from the sofa. The boys joined them as they spoke.
"I think I heard them in Deling. They were singing the Balamb Garden school song!"
"Um, that might have been us," Squall mumbled.
"You sang?"
"Maybe they got lost?" suggested Shizuka.
"I hope so," Zell grinned.
"Zell!" Ellone checked him reproachfully, her brown eyes glimmering with amusement, "That's not a nice thing to hope for."
"But they were so full of themselves! Well, at least Seifer was. You should have heard them, Elle, calling us slow and everything..."
Everyone began talking over each other at once and not much could be heard over the noisy babble. During their endless, group conversation there was a knock on the door and, without being bidden, in trooped Seifer and Quistis, both looking disgruntled.
"Hi, everyone," the blonde instructor greeted wanly as everybody stopped talking at once to look up at them.
"QUISTY!"
Squall, Irvine and Zell glanced at each other, conveying a silent message. A split second later the three of them had leapt from their spots and with a yell attacked the unsuspecting Seifer to the ground.
"Do you know how cold it is out there - WHAT THE - ?"
"TOUCHDOWN!" they shouted in unison.
Quistis just stared at her pinned down partner, then shrugged, "Right, I'll just pretend that didn't happen..."
"Quisty!" Ellone said joyously, smiling at the grown girl she'd known since a child, "Hey, when did you get that...?" Ellone gestured confusedly at her own hair.
Selphie squealed, "QUISTY, YOU HAVE A RED STREAK!"
"Don't ask," Quistis said wearily as a shocked Rinoa and Selphie wheeled around to see Seifer's hair as well.
"OH MY GOODNESS SEIFER HAS RED PATCHES!"
"You look like a rag doll."
"Shut up, chicken-wuss."
It was a happy reunion of sorts for the Amazing Race competitors as they exclaimed and shrilled and laughed a good ten minutes away at each other. Ellone smiled affectionately at the happy scene she saw before her, glad that they were enjoying themselves so much.
"Alright, guys," she called loudly, clapping her hands together. As they settled down and turned their attention to her, she was reminded of the kids she took care of now. "Noah is just having quiet time with the children. Actually, they should be done now..."
"Ahhhh, can't wait to hit the pillow," Zell sighed in relaxation, lowering himself into an armchair, "That DDR game - OOWWW!"
He leapt up as though he had received an electric shock, crying out. Nobody knew what had happened until there was the sound of childish laughter and two little figures emerged from behind the chair, one of the boys clutching onto an action hero.
Zell was red with anger as the others roared with laughter, "He made me sit on that pointy thing!"
"Crybaby, crybaby!" the blonde boy chanted mercilessly, waving the action hero in the air. He was grinning all over his little face as Zell balled up his fists.
"Say that again, you little - "
"That's enough - Zell - Zack - Tidus!" Ellone yelled over the commotion, as the kids laughed even harder, "If you two don't behave," she added quellingly to them.
As she reprimanded their behaviour, the two back doors slid open further and no fewer than seven children walked into the room, followed by a tall, fair man with a friendly look and an optimistic countenance.
"Hey guys!" Ellone's husband, Noah, greeted them warmly, clutching onto the hand of a little girl, "Had fun, so far?"
"Yup!"
"You betcha."
"Alright, everyone, sit down," Ellone requested the room at large. The young orphans were staring at the huge giants and the teenagers were staring at the little midgets.
"Children, these are some friends of mine. They'll be staying with us tonight and tomorrow, so make them feel welcome, okay? Everyone will get name tags in the morning."
Silence followed her words. Then one of the youngest-looking girls with raven black hair proclaimed boldly, "Elle, I'm hungry!"
Ellone smiled, "Good thing you mentioned that, Yuffie, because it'll be these boys' and girls' challenge to cook you all dinner. How does that sound?"
Stunned silence met her words again. The teenagers were exchanging slightly panicked looks upon hearing their next challenge, and some of the more cookery ones immediately began concocting recipes.
"No spaghetti?" a four-year-old girl with golden blonde hair said in a sort of whimper.
"We'll make you something even better," Irvine winked at her, making the child smile satisfactorily.
The orphans all scampered off to play and watch cartoons in the joint playroom after Ellone's announcement that they'd be called in for dinner. The two boys that had pulled the prank on Zell grinned mischievously at the fighter as they sidled past. He scowled.
Ellone and Noah were left standing in the living room, smiling benignly at the competitors.
"So this is tonight's challenge: each team will cook a dish for dinner. Whoever cooks the most popular dish among the kids wins thirty bonus points, the second; twenty, the third; ten, and the last; five. You will all have access to the same ingredients and equipment, but you must share. Oh," Ellone added when her eye fell on Seifer and Zell, "And if I see anyone attempting to wreck another team's recipe, that'll automatically put you in last place."
Seifer's eye glinted as they all took in their next task, "The game's on."
They all turned to look at him, then snorted in laughter.
"Seifer, if you're not going to wear a hat, I'm never going to be able to look at you again with a straight face."
Space was confined in the usually spacious kitchen, when eight people were trying to cook and prepare at once.
"MY SOUP IS BURNING!"
"Watch it!"
"Hey, can you pass me that oni - you jerk."
"Who are you calling a jerk?"
"Ouch - your elbow's in my face - ouch!"
"MY SOUP IS BURNING!"
"Hahaha, sucked in."
"YOU STEPPED ON MY FOOT!"
"Quick, we gotta get this finished soon."
"Can somebody open a window?"
"MY SOUP IS BURNING!"
The long dining table was laden neatly with colourful plastic plates and white cups, full of juice and water. The nine kids were seated at their places, messily eating their large meal while remaining oblivious to the suspense the tall, older people standing around them were in.
"YUCK!" Vincent, a boy with straight black hair, spat out in disgust as he tried Seifer's seafood pie, "I don't like this."
Quistis put a hand to her forehead and muttered to Seifer, "I told you they wouldn't like it."
"Seafood pie?" repeated Shizuka incredulously, "Where on earth did you come up with that idea?"
"He had it at the Balamb restaurant the other night..."
"It was tasty!"
Meanwhile, a jaunty Irvine was sending a fleeting thumbs-up to the children at one end of the table, that had announced that they liked his Japanese-style burgers and fries, as all kids are bound to enjoy.
"Whoo-hoo, we have a winner!" Selphie exclaimed exuberantly, beaming.
So while the food critics spat out the red team's dish, much to their dismay, and wolfed down Irvine and Selphie's, they also enjoyed the pink team's fried rice.
"Good idea, Zell," Shizuka whispered delightedly. Zell grinned back and put an arm around her as a way of celebrating their success. Ellone noticed this and nudged her husband slightly, gesturing at them amusedly.
Finally, it was the blue team's turn.
"Nigiri-zushi!" exclaimed a brown-haired girl knowledgably. She tried some and as she chewed steadily, a peculiar expression crossed her face. Beside her, Zack had a bite and then yelped through his mouthful.
"It's cold!"
"Isn't sushi supposed to be cold?" Squall whispered perplexedly as more children tried it and wailed, though they didn't spit it out.
"I don't think they're used to seafood," Rinoa whispered back, as Yuffie cried out, "IT'S SLIMY LIKE A WORM! WE'RE EATING WORMS!"
"Ewww!"
"FOOD FIGHT!" a red-haired boy suddenly yelled gleefully, grasping a handful of sushi.
Ellone gasped, "No, no, no!"
She ran forward and managed to stop the children before they broke out in pure pandemonium. The racing competitors quickly ducked out of harm's way, quite sure they were never like that when they were kids.
It had been another long day and the boys and girls were separated into two rooms for the night. The girls all had mattresses to sleep on and were perfectly content as they sat and stayed up, swapping tales of the guys and what had happened during the Amazing Race so far. Indeed the giggling and talking was incessant for most of the night.
Unfortunately, there was only one double mattress in the boys' room and, as worn and tired as they were after the day's events, they all dove for it at once.
"MINE!"
"Myphhrst - I need my beauty sleep!"
"My back hurts."
"You can share with me."
"I'm not going to sleep with you!"
"You make it sound so wrong."
"I can't sleep on the floor, it's degrading!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...What? It is. Now... gimme the bed!"
"Never!"
"Let's tackle him to the ground!"
Crash.
"TOUCHDOWN!"
A frowning Ellone opened the bedroom door to find the four supposedly-grown-up men lying on a heap on the one mattress, all tangled up with each other as they froze, staring up at her innocently. She raised her eyebrows.
"I am not going to ask what you guys are doing... but keep it down! The kids are asleep. Good night."
She left.
They stared suspiciously at each other.
Squall grabbed the pillow on the mattress, "I call the bed."
"No way."
"Everyone tackle him!"
"Argh..."
A/N: Whoo, long chapter. This was a lot of fun to write, hehehe. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! xD More chibi-ness and cuteness in the next chapter, so stick around! Keep smiling. x) luv always ! msq.