Pre-authors notes; There is not a lot of jumping around in this chapter, although there are still some time jumps. I think I did a good job of making them quite obvious this time, though. So if you still have any worries about that then please message me or review and tell me. Oh, and it starts out in Squalls point of view. Other then that, enjoy.

-

Unwanted Company

-

Love is lies, love is eyes
Love is everything that's nice
Love is others cold as ice
But that's what that means to me

Well I'm going out
I'm gonna find myself some-

'SLAM'

I pick up the pen that has dropped to the floor in between the two seats. My eyes are so heavy, I can hardly keep them open. The road, it keeps stretching on for what seems like forever. Headlights, stars and pavement. Too much time to think. Too much time.

Just thinking.

Without the radio on it's worse, but, just can't listen to it anymore. It's frustrating me, my whole life, it's frustrating me.

So frustrating.

The girl struggles in her sleep, I hear the rustling of her clothing in the back seat and check in the rear-view mirror to ensure that she is still safe… not choking on a grape or anything. Why does she have to be so pretty? Usually things like this don't faze me… Why is it that since the moment I held her, I've just wanted to be near her even more?

What's going on? I can't possibly have feelings…? No, I couldn't, that can't be what this is.

It's too soon. I've already agreed that I won't ever, never again.

But then why am I-?

The lights from a vehicle behind us fill up the car and cut off my thoughts, I glance quickly to the road again, bright spots of light now blurring my vision. In some kind of reflexive movement, my body repeats the motion of looking in the mirror at the girl. She looks so pure, saintly… with the intense light washing over her completely relaxed form. I hadn't noticed before, the color of her hair, her fair complexion, how small and fragile looking she is.

Like a child.

Maybe that's why I want to protect her? Maybe...

-

I stare at him from behind and chuckle inwardly. He thinks I am asleep.

He is intent on the road, the radio humming gently in the background. I cannot make out the song, it is something about love?

I jump as he slams off the radio. Talk about built up rage? Or maybe he is just an angry driver…

I move a bit to get more comfortable, not being able to stand the seat belt buckle jabbing into my side any longer. Gratefully he does not take a second glance, only dismissing it as me moving in my sleep. My hair falls over one of my eyes and so I make an effort to open it without squinting the other or making it completely obvious. It is dark and so is my hair, so I feel that I am safe in doing this.

Squall sits in the front seat, brooding. From the short time I have been in this mans presence I have noticed that, he is an excellent 'brooder'. He can seriously beat anybody, hands-down, at brooding and of course, looking thoroughly pissed.

I wonder if he is irritated because of me? I do not even know where he is taking me… why am I not more scared? I mean… he killed a man in cold blood. No hesitation, second-thoughts, nothing. That young man, he was like nothing to him. That is… scary.

So why do I still feel so safe?

Finally I realize his eyes are focused on me in the back seat and I clamp my eye shut. Damn, did he notice that I am awake?

I wait for it, the smart remark, a laugh? But there is nothing. Slowly, I open the one eye again, he is looking away, brooding again. I breathe a sigh of relief at once but just as soon as I do he is staring again. Why does he keep looking back here?

Oh, I get it…

He's brooding about me.

'Out of all the people, why you?'

'Hey, relax man, ease up! You haven't even given me a chance yet!'

'I don't want to give you a chance, you bother me'.

The two men sat silently at the table again, the awkward silence hovering between them.

'How long is this going to take… uh, what's the name again?'

'… Seifer, and I don't know, now stop trying to start conversation with me'.

Silence.

'I'm Irvine, by the way, just in case you want to know… which you don't, because you're being a total jerk'.

Silence followed by a 'I'll-kill-you' glare. Irvine shuddered at the man.

The train shook and screeched against the rails, thrusting the men in their chairs, nearly knocking them completely over.

'I'm just gonna, go out there… See ya,' Irvine muttered eventually, as the blonde continued ignoring him.

As soon as he exited the room and the doors and driven shut he rested against an outside wall. Tension wasn't something the poor boy could deal with so well. From a young age he had always known this. Therefore, he had gotten into the habit of compensating. You know, just like little people drive big cars. He realized that he could balance out his lack of calm in tense situations by acting overly confident in himself.

At least, it had worked up until now.

This Seifer Almasy was one intimidating man. Freakishly so.

'Heyyyy!!! What're ya doin' out here, hmm? Shouldn't you be getting to sleep?' the boy jumped.

What he saw however was nothing to be afraid of. Tight, firm thighs, nice hips, not too top heavy but perfectly curvy. Petite, but he liked them that way, small and sassy.

'Well,' Irvine gaped, tilting his cowboy hat and finally assuming his trademark 'flirting' pose, 'Howdy'.

Selphie giggled at this small action and his reply, startled to feel her heart racing.

'I'm Selphie Tilmitt! Say, I haven't seen you around the castle before, who are you?'

The young man gave another quirky grin and shook his head, like he was mentally getting himself pumped. His small ponytail filled with thick, honey-brown hair tossed and turned with it.

Then eventually, he prowled around to the young womans side, wrapping a friendly arm around her in the process.

'Well, I'm just really, really relieved to find out that there is actually somebody cool on this trip!Everybody else is so uptight, like that Quistis chick, she's a babe, but she's a major downer, way too strict,'

'Uhm, she's my best friend'.

The honey-brown haired man stopped in his tracks, gulping and turning to the girl, giving her one of his most enormous and charming grins.

'Oh, well, you know what I mean, right?'

'Well… yeah, I guess, she can be kinda uptight sometimes, like somebody's mother!'

Irvine laughed and tightened his grip around the girls shoulders, she didn't seem to mind, but turned him slowly towards the windows lining the hallways of the train. The stars filled the sky over the plains at night. With no city lights to dim them they shone like she had never seen them before. Absolutely magnificent.

Then she looked to her side again, at this man she had just met. Absolutely magnificent, or so he appeared.

Suddenly, she found herself getting very shy.

She nodded along with what he had been saying, something about Seifer and how much of a loser he is. Selphie didn't really know this 'Seifer' guy, she knew that he had been assigned to protect Rinoa, but besides that…

'So who are you again? I mean, why are you here?' Selphie had the magic ability to be incredibly blunt with someone, but still seem like a sweetheart.

Irvine smiled at the girl but realized that avoiding the question any further would not be smart, she would only grow irritated.

She looked at the stars while waiting for the young 'cowboy' to answer. She felt his grip loosen and then she turned back to him.

'Man whore'.

Irvine and Selphie both turned as Seifer stormed past them without giving them a chance to reply. Irvine only turned to the brunette and scratched the back of his head, figuring that this was the perfect time to get away from having to answer the question.

'Hey, I like you, why don't we talk later, okay? I've got to go settle things with Seifer now, so, see you later!' Irvine winked before taking off, leaving Selphie completely smitten and bewildered.

An infatuation had been born.

Selphie turned, the mans radiant eyes still reflecting in her own. Selphie stood, asking herself questions, waiting for her heart to stop beating out of her chest, and looking up at the stars.

Absolutely magnificent.

'Hurry up! It will take us all day if you don't stop complaining and just move it!'

'Excuse me?! Why do you not just keep your own mouth shut, thank you! I could always just sit down here, or drop your stupid luggage!'

Squall turned to the raven-haired girl, a cold glare diminishing his good looks.

Rinoa felt like telling him 'you would be much cuter if you would smile' but figured that it would only help to annoy him even further.

Desert. When Rinoa had finally awoken it had been to a desolate, dry, vast expanse of a desert-like plain. Not actual sand everywhere, although the ground surely resembled something close to.

She felt like screaming, denying that this could even possibly be happening to her, and throwing the full bags of God-knows-what at the back of Squalls head.

She didn't though, instead she followed behind him obediently, stopping every once and a while to regain some strength in her arms and to catch her breath. Once or twice she had thought that maybe, just maybe, he was going to take one of the bags for her, even though he was already carrying two himself. But that wasn't going to happen, he'd always just frown even deeper and toss a bitter 'move it' at her.

Now her legs were hurting, she was sweating to the point where it wasn't even natural for a human being anymore, and she couldn't feel a thing in either of her arms. She didn't understand why they couldn't just have taken the car, but this Squall seemed intent on them walking to wherever their destination was to be.

'Where could we be going where we cannot take a vehicle?' the young girl thought, heaving the bags back over her shoulders again and trudging forward after seeing Squall turn and narrow his eyes at her.

'You are a cruel man! How can you make me do this? I bet I even have the heavier bags!'

The brunette said nothing, simply turning, soaring towards her and dumping his bags on the ground.

'Give them to me,' he commanded and Rinoa eyed him wearily while doing as he had said.

Without hesitation and an unreadable look crossing his features he picked the bags that she had been carrying up and started walking away.

Rinoa only stood there, eyeing the new bags uneasily. She gradually reached towards the strap of one of the big, black bags and recoiled before even lifting it an inch.

'Ahhh!' she screamed, causing the man to turn, fear written all over his features.

'What is it?' he shot at her, more like he was ordering her to do something then asking a question.

'It, it is, all sweaty! Ewwwww! That is sooooo gross!!' Squall scrunched his nose and creased his brows to show he was not amused.

'You think your's weren't sweaty, too? Jesus, now stop complaining! I'm tired of it. I know it may be hard for you to understand, but you aren't in your stupid palace anymore, princess, so just try to do things without having to open your mouth for on- Ow!'

'Serves you right!' Rinoa said, lifting the bag above her head again smugly.

'H-how can you lift that? Isn't it… heavy?'

The raven-haired girl looked innocently at the man before her, and then turned to look back a couple of meters where the other bag was still sitting.

'Why did you dump it all out?!'

'I… I dumped it all out because you need to learn some manners!'

Squall only grunted, dropping both of his bags and snatching the other bag back from the girl, marching past her and shoving the contents back into it impatiently.

'Why do you need so many things, anyways?'

Rinoa squirmed on the spot, digging her toes into the ground and making small circles in it while swaying from side to side. Her hands clasped and unclasped nervously as she looked on at the aggravated man.

He paused and sighed heavily, eventually finishing up shoving the rest of the innards back into the bag and zipping it closed.

'Fine then, leave those'.

He said it almost softly, but still firmly. Like he was almost sad but didn't want it to be obvious.

'R-really?' Rinoa asked, looking over at the two that he had set down earlier as he shoved past her with the others hanging over each shoulder.

He didn't bother to respond, and after a few nervous glances from the bags (which seemed so lonely sitting there) and back to Squall, Rinoa hesitantly followed behind, empty-handed.

'Pretty girl! Pretty girl! Buy this? Shiny, smells good! Like it? Like it?'

'Just keep walking,' Rinoa glanced over to Squall as he bent over to whisper in her ear, and she obeyed, only smiling to the suntanned merchant and continuing on her way.

A way that she wasn't even certain of yet.

Streets packed full of people covered in long black robes, so that you could only tell most of their genders by size. Although, most of the men weren't quite as covered.

Rinoa felt naked in front of the eyes of these men, but thought 'we are more like walking money to these people, as it is obvious that we are foreigners… I wonder if my father rules over this region as well?'

She had also noticed the lack of any type of automobiles, and figured that the reason for them leaving the car had something to do with this.

'Where are we?' the raven-haired girl asked of the stoic man, who continued like he was all by himself, tired and ready to bite anybodies head off who dared approach him. He didn't scare Rinoa, though. A reason unknown, even to her.

'Oasis,' came his lone reply, and Rinoa looked down at the dried up dirt beneath her feet. She didn't know why, but the Sun seemed especially sweltering in these conditions, in a place like this. 'I guess that is what the robes are for, these people must get very hot, perhaps such a type of clothing is only necessary?' she thought.

A crowd, faces upon faces. The strange thing was, that the telling eyes of these people seemed to make Rinoa feel something she hadn't felt in a long time. Like a human, a person amongst the crowd instead of looked up to, revered in nothing but name.

'Rinoa?' Squall snapped and the young girl finally realized that he had stopped, outside a small, run-down looking abode.

'Yes?' she inquired, still quite dazed but coming to recognize the fact that she wasn't liking the look of the place.

'Come on,' he responded, looking slightly relieved to have gotten her attention finally.

He turned to enter the small place, a green, molding building which looked like it had been turned over on itself, rolled around in the dirty earth it sat upon before finally coming to its resting place in a very abandoned end of the city. Yes, Rinoa was starting to get incredibly horrible feelings about this.

'I am not going in there,' Squall turned back to her and right away she could read the rant building up in his eyes, about her not being royalty anymore and to stop complaining.

'I will not put myself in such a situation, up until now you have seemed like a, presentable man, at the most… however, you are still a man,'

Squall looked completely flabbergasted before he began turning a strange color. Rinoa raised a brow, thinking 'breath?' before realizing, he was blushing.

But before she could get in a smart remark he had retorted, in a quite zealous tone, 'I-I'm not like that!'

He then commenced in storming off in the direction of the far less then attractive dwelling.

'Ahhh!!'

Angry faces, not human. Like a devils, dripping with sweat, coated with the reflection of flames in those beady, yellow and red eyes. She ran, ran into fields of flowers, away from the creatures that suddenly surrounded her. Just when she thought she could breath a sigh of relief the flowers around her began to burn and smoke clouded the once peaceful field instantly.

'Get away! Just go away!' she cried feverishly and swatted away with her arms, only to be burned by the fires surrounding her. She collapsed, a small body shivering in the field now diminished to ashes.

Then there was something, inexplicable. A feather, a feather floated downwards before her vision, white as the day, almost glowing against the light of the flames and the darkness of the night.

'Wings..! I have.. wings?!'

-

'Whoa! Come on, goddammit, wake up! Rinoa!'

'Ahhhh! Wha-what? Stop shaking me like that!'

What is he doing? Where am I? Wait… oh yes.

It takes me a while before I manage to regain my composure and my memory of the last few hours of my life. Stranded, in the middle of nowhere in a nearly abandoned merchants town, in this sad-excuse for a motel. Very sad. The first thing I had noticed after entering the room was the dirtiness of it. From the bed sheets to the dirt-covered floor, it was a mess. I had tried to clean it from top to bottom, as much as possible before I had to sleep in it, and secretly, to keep myself occupied. Whoever disagrees with a womans urge to clean when upset is probably a rare person indeed. Even me, a princess usually used to servants doing this for her felt this a task necessary to be fulfilled, in all of my hormone induced glory. True, it is that time of the month, lets just say (and leave it at that) but the stress about my situation has been building sufficiently with the time. I think it is reasonable to think that this is partially because it has only recently been setting in.

I have been kidnapped by a murderer, a man with unidentified intentions, and we are now in the middle of nowhere in a one-bed motel room.

'Well, you were shaking the bed…'

'Hey,' I suddenly realize something and do not understand why it brings happiness to me, 'You have never called me by my name before…!'

Even in the dark I could see him draw back, but unlike Seifer, he just fell silent, no crude remarks being shot back in my direction.

'I guess…' he said, and I could feel one of his hands still on my shoulder, clammy.

He pulls it away when he first notices me looking and considers rolling back over and trying to get back to sleep.

'You are sweating? You should just take the blanket off if you are too hot' I mention, probably just the maternal instinct kicking in, I am almost positive that my hormones are to blame for me shooting off my mouth like this.

He looks away for a few moments, just long enough for me to notice the way the moonlight comes in through the curtains in one corner of the room and lines one half of his face. His eyes are always the first thing that I notice, such a prominent feature on his gorgeous face. At times they seem almost gray, then, like now, they can look such an intense blue that it is outstanding.

He turns back to me after much deliberation and I await his reply, eagerness readable on all of my features.

'Whatever'.

Whatever? Whatever?!

'What? Are you not going to apologize for waking me up?! You still have not explained yourself!'

'Just go to sleep!' he manages to yell at me groggily.

'No!' Silence, 'Squall?' Silence, 'Hey, are you sleeping?'

'God! If I had known you'd be this annoying I would have kept you outside! I wouldn't have even tried to help you!'

'Help me?! How is this helping me?! Taking me out to the middle of nowhere! Yelling at me and ordering me around! You killed one of my soldiers! You call that helping me?'

Squall bolts upright in bed, using its bouncy recoil to propel himself onto his other side to face me again. It is just now that I realize he is without a shirt on, then the blankets ride down further, and I become aware that he is also… pants-less?!

'Ahh!' I point, 'Get some clothes on! Now!'

I close my eyes and look away, anywhere but at the now completely startled and half-naked man.

'Open your eyes,' he tells me time and time again, but I just shake my head, with my hands covering my eyes every single time.

Finally after hearing him get up from the bed and rummage around for awhile I open them the next time he tells me to.

He is now back in his clothes, that white undershirt and his tight black pants.

'Happy now?' he asks, but with a tone that tells me he does not really care to hear my answer.

'Yes,' I reply anyways and bat my eyes shyly, feeling a little bad now for making him get into his clothes when he had already been so hot. I suppose I may have taken it the wrong way, but… too late now.

'Now, if you've got to know, so that I can get some freakin' sleep tonight, you were shaking the bed and screaming in your sleep. Seeing as this is of no benefit to me or you, I decided to wake you up, do you really have a problem with that?'

'You know, you only sound like you care when you get mad… otherwise you basically have no emotion to your voice at all,' why did I say that? I do not know, do not even bother to ask me.

'Do you have a problem with that?' he repeats, in a much more anger-induced manner.

I feel like saying 'see?' but refrain to a 'No'.

'Good, now, goodnight,'

'Wait, what do you mean, you are trying to protect me?'

'I… I'll tell you later… goodnight,'

'I'll tell you later? I suppose I can live with that, for now…'

'Oh, okay… goodnight then, Squall'.

'May I?'

The blonde man swiveled in his seat, caught off guard by who he found standing before him.

'Uh, yeah,' he coughed out, feeling tense even before the conversation was to begin, or lack there of.

'Thank you'.

The pale blonde woman moved into the room slowly and finally took a seat across from the man. After a few moments of silence, pinched lips and unsure glances, the woman decided to speak.

'Seifer, I have been wanting to speak with you since we left the castle…'

'Aha… I figured you would, what's the name again?'

'Quistis… Quistis Trepe, anyways, I would like to know who exactly-uhm-who exactly was that woman in the photograph?'

Seifer grimaced at the question but besides that, he didn't let a hint of emotion show. Except a cold attitude, the one he had become so renowned and also completely hated for.

He leaned back in his seat comfortably, stretching long and lean legs out in front of himself and crossing them, then folding two tanned and buff arms behind his head.

'She was my wife,' Seifer laughed at the astonished look on the womans face opposite him.

'Your wife?!'

'Ha, yeah, I know, that's the usual reaction…' his narrow eyes watched the woman intently as she worked up a response.

'Oh, I just would not take you as the type to want to settle down so quickly, let alone to have already been married, you are my age, are you not?'

A firm nod.

'Do you really think this train is taking us to the right place? I mean, do you really think this guy can help us?' Seifer looked uninterested as he asked it and Quistis didn't seem to understand straight away, still absorbed in the shock of the knowledge she had just gained.

'Uh, yes, yes it will, we don't have many leads, so we need to get as much information on this man who kidnapped Rinoa as possible. Right now, all we know is that his name is 'Squall Leonhart', he is seventeen, of a slim build and wields a gunblade. He is also recognized for having rather strong magic abilities, although I do not know where he might have learned such a thing… he has been convicted of crimes before... but there is no data on them, for some reason. We just need more information, or this case will be impossible to solve,' Quistis had a determined look on her face, her young eyes reflecting nothing but her incredible desire to help her friend.

'Well, I could probably help with that,' Seifer mentioned, after having fixed himself a drink thanks to the minibar in the room provided in the train for its passengers.

'What do you mean?' Quistis demanded level-headedly, leaning forward in her seat, this being the only indication of her enthusiasm concerning the matter.

'Well, obviously, if you keep a picture of your wife with you like I do, you probably don't see too much of each other. In our case, it's because she's dead,'

'Oh, I am so sorry…' the blonde woman cupped her mouth, finding a way to make even such a small movement effortlessly graceful as she did.

Seifer only took another mouthful of the alcohol, eyes fixated on the young woman before him.

'She died, three years ago… I lost much more that day, though, many people did. That's why, I have to kill Squall Leonhart. I have to get revenge on the man who murdered my family'.

Post-authors notes; The plot thickens. Well, mildly, I'm working my way into it. This is actually a very fun story to write, and your reviews really help! Many helpful people have already pointed out some changes I could make to become a better and more accomplished writer and they have been very effective in doing just that. So thank you to all the people reviewing, I hope you will continue to tell me your thoughts, and if anyone else decides that they should like to, then go straight ahead, the button is just below! Anyways, updates for information on the upcoming chapter will be displayed on my profile page (just click the link beside where it says 'Author' and you're there) and sorry for the lack of Seifer, he'll be coming into it in a big way very soon. I hope you liked it!