A/N: Hey guys. What's up?
This is the infamous Seifnoa chapter. I'm glad many of you understood that even though this is a Seiftis, I have to include this part as well. But I promise, this will be the last of Seifer-Rinoa interaction you'll see (in a romantic level that is). I'm only writing one chapter to describe their three month-long relationship. I'll probably just include one small scene in the next chapter as well, when Seifer's off to return to Balamb. But that will be all.
On a last note, the damn site has been fucking up my format for many chapters now. Sorry it all seems so 'cramped up', but it ain't my fault…
Last chapter summary: Quistis meets her new class of students, while Seifer arrives in the military camp for his training. There, he sees the girl he met during his SeeD exam as well, who turns out to be none other than Caraway's daughter, Rinoa Heartilly (hyphen Caraway).
~*A second chance*~
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 9: Summer in Deling
A few days later…
Seifer disregarded the slightly chilly morning breeze that blew through the camp, and walked out of his tent in his deep green military pants and white tank top. His hair was styled into a 'lovely' just-out-of-bed look, as fair spikes pointed into all different kinds of angles. He slipped his hand into his pocket and retrieved his pack of cigarettes, lighting one. He inhaled the toxic smoke, which was strangely relieving for his lungs, and stretched his arms. He rubbed the back of his hair and lazily walked around the empty camp. Although it was already 0730 hours, no-one was up, since they were allowed to sleep a bit in on Sundays.
Seifer made his way over to the empty wooden benches a bit farther away from the lunch area. He was obviously looking for a 'private' spot to sit and relax, to enjoy a cigarette or two; if Caraway or any other official ever caught him with these, he'd be out of the camp in a matter of a second. However, his attempts for privacy failed, as he found an all too familiar brunette sitting under one of the benches, enjoying the gratuitous shade the trees right above provided. She had her back turned towards him and seemed to be reading a book.
The tall blond smirked at the sight of her and raised an eyebrow. He silently made his way towards that certain bench, as a mischievous grin spread all over his face. Rinoa was too engrossed into her reading to notice him. Add the fact that Seifer kept extremely quiet and you'll see why he managed to scare her out of her mind… He had just reached the bench, when he slowly leaned next to her neck and screamed 'Boo' into her ear.
The miniscule brunette let out a squeal and jumped up in fear, making her book fly many feet away from her lap. She clutched her racing heart and breathed fast and heavily as she tried to regain composure after Seifer's sneaking-up. The blond SeeD had doubled up in laughter at her reactions and was now in the process of wiping his teary eyes. Rinoa eyed him poisonously, narrowing her eyes.
- "What the hell were you thinking?!" she yelled "You scared the life out of me!"
- "You…*Chuckle* shoulda… seen… *Snort* the look on your face!" said Seifer, still laughing like a maniac.
- "*Groan* I'm outta here…" said Rinoa, getting up from the bench.
- "Wait, wait…" said Seifer, his laughter slowly dying down, as he grabbed her from the arm "I could use some company…"
- "Do you usually like to scare your 'company' to death?" asked the girl, crossing her arms.
- "Geez… It was just a joke…" said Seifer, bending down to grab her book from the grass "Here…" he said, handing it to her.
- "Thank you." she mumbled in reply, snatching the book from his hands, going back to her seat on the bench.
Seifer sighed, trying to catch his breath back, now that he'd stopped laughing and walked over next to her. He threw his tall frame onto the bench, resting his long legs on top of one another and he lit another cigarette. Next to him, Rinoa was sitting cross-legged onto the wooden bench, looking at him intently.
- "Those things are gonna kill you, you know…" she said matter-of-factly.
- "Who said I wanna live long?" asked Seifer looking at her, exhaling smoke.
- "That's like the oldest line in the book!" said Rinoa grinning.
- "Yeah, but it always works…" said Seifer shrugging. Rinoa shook her head in disbelief. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke.
- "How come you're up so early?" she asked. Seifer pointed at his cigarette.
- "How come you're here so early?" he asked.
- "I spent the night here." she replied "And I just happened to wake up early, so I came out for a walk."
- "I see…" said Seifer, blowing small circlets of smoke.
Silence engulfed the duet again. And Rinoa was the one to break it… again.
- "So what made you decide to spend your summer here in the camp?" she asked.
- "The training I guess…" replied the blond, shrugging "And I wanted a change of an environment."
- "I see… You're from Balamb right?"
- "Yup."
- "A SeeD."
- "Almost two weeks fresh." he replied.
- "And you… like this?" she asked, kind of frowning.
- "Like what?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
- "Being a… mercenary." said Rinoa, maintaining the same expression.
- "What's wrong with it?" asked Seifer.
- "I didn't say there's something wrong with it…" said Rinoa shrugging.
- "No, you only spoke about it the way you'd speak about something that completely and utterly disgusts you…" he retorted sarcastically.
- "It's just that," began the brunette, pulling her jet-black locks aside "Mercenaries lead a life obeying orders… And aside from me not supporting the whole idea, it seems totally not you…"
- "You're right about one thing… I don't like obeying orders… But I like to fight." replied Seifer.
- "And is that all you want to do in your life? Fight?" she asked.
- "If I'm not mistaken, I saw you fighting as well back in Timber…" he said raising an eyebrow.
- "Well yeah, but for the liberation of Timber. Mercenaries don't always fight for a good cause…" Rinoa said.
- "Maybe not," said Seifer throwing his cigarette butt on the grass "But why should I tell you what I want to do in my life anyway?" he asked.
- "Because I'm willing to listen." she replied casually, looking at him.
Seifer was caught off guard by her response. No-one had ever shown an interest on what his dreams and aspirations were. Not even Fujin and Raijin. He looked deep onto the chocolate brown eyes of the girl before him and found a look of sincerity 'Might as well give it a shot…' he thought, smiling inwardly.
- "Alright then…" he said, lighting another cigarette "You wanna hear about my 'romantic dream'?" he asked grinning.
- "Sure…" she said, smiling at him.
- "What I really want to do, is become… a Knight." he replied.
- "Why?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.
- "Because it's the most noble thing to do, protecting someone in need." he replied.
Rinoa looked at him, kind of puzzled at first. Then she smiled warmly at him.
- "That's really something…" she said.
- "And what about you?" asked Seifer, blowing a small cloud of smoke to the side, away from her face.
- "You could say that I'm a fighter as well…" she replied "I'm trying to help a rebel group from Timber regain freedom for their city. I'm thinking of joining them. I'm practically a member, but I haven't made it official yet… "
- "Which group?" asked Seifer raising an eyebrow.
- "They're called the 'Forest Owls'. You saw them. They were the ones I was with, the day of your exam."
Seifer took a moment to remember the people Rinoa was talking about. A flashback of a bunch of klutzy kids who were trying –and failing- to fight came in mind immediately. Seifer tried to suppress a grin that threatened to spread wide across his face. He didn't make it…
- "What?" said Rinoa frowning, looking at his expression.
- "Nothing…" said Seifer looking away, as a snort escaped his mouth.
- "What's so funny?" asked the brunette, crossing her arms, her face angered.
- "Nothing, really…" said Seifer, but this time he broke down into laughter.
- "You're so mean!" shouted Rinoa "I hear all about your dream and when I tell you about mine, you laugh!" she added, getting up.
- "Sorry, it's just-" he said chuckling, getting up as well.
- "MEANY!" yelled the miniscule girl and strode off.
Seifer ran after her, still laughing.
- "Aw c'mon! Don't leave!" he said between chuckles.
- "Let me go!" shouted Rinoa as he grabbed her arm.
- "Stop yelling!" he said, pulling her close to him "You'll wake everyone up!"
- "If you don't let go, I'll scream for help and then I'll really wake everyone up!" she hissed.
- "Then I guess I'll have to shut you up…" said Seifer.
Smirking cockily, the blond SeeD held the girl's wrists and pressed his lips down on hers hard. Rinoa's eyes shot wide open in surprise at first. Seifer was holding her firmly, not letting her go, while fiercely doing his best to stick his tongue down her throat and to her bowels. Rinoa didn't kiss him back, just stood there, feeling her knees about to abandon her. Seifer's kiss slowly became milder, until he eventually pulled away. Rinoa was staring into his emerald green eyes, not able to phrase a single word. Seifer cocked an eyebrow and smiled smugly at her expression.
The look on his face snapped Rinoa back to reality, making her shake herself mentally. Her facial features quickly turned into a frown and she pushed Seifer back, landing a hard slap on his left cheek. Without saying a word, she dashed away and soon disappeared from sight. Seifer rubbed his slightly sore red cheek and grinned 'Oh yeah… She wants me bad…'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was resting his cheek on his balled fist in boredom. He had been stirring the contents of the bowl before him tediously for the past ten minutes. It was now noon and all the soldiers were gathered in the lunch area, silently having their meal 'Or at least what the cook THINKS is a meal…' thought Seifer, still stirring his… well… 'soup' bowl with the spoon. He got hold of a spoonful of the liquid inside the bowl and let it drip back down to its container.
- "This… 'stuff', is completely inedible!" said a disgusted Scott, sitting next to Seifer, pushing his bowl away.
- "No shit Sherlock…" mumbled Seifer, throwing his spoon on the bowl, resting his chin on his palm.
- "I guess we're all 'full' then…" said another soldier, refusing to swallow any more 'soup' as well.
- "I was thinking…" said Josh, making all eyes turn to him "We haven't seen Caraway's daughter for quite some time now, huh?"
Seifer groaned at his remark. He'd noticed alright… Where the hell was she? Had that kiss freaked her out that much? It had been three days since it had happened and Rinoa had simply disappeared from the face of the earth…
- "Yeah… Come to think of it… Wonder what that chick's up to…" said Pete.
- "Who knows? Or cares?" Seifer lied shrugging, getting up from the table.
- "Where are you goin' man?" asked someone.
Seifer looked around cautiously, then made a gesture with his hand, mimicking 'smoking'. The other soldier nodded and went back to his 'food'. The tall blond made his way to his now favorite spot in the camp, the benches under the shade of the trees. He sat down and lit a cigarette. Just when he was about to exhale the smoke from his long drag, a familiar voice behind him made him jump up.
- "Didn't I tell you those things would kill you?"
Seifer coughed loudly, swiftly throwing the cigarette down, turning around to see who it was. He came face to face with Rinoa, in her usual blue attire, arms crossed and face amused from his startling.
- "Dammit!" he swore, running a hand through his fair hair "I thought it was an official or something…"
- "I guess we're even now…" she said laughing and proceeded in turning her heel, not saying another word to him.
Seifer took a moment to register what had happened, then ran after her. He came across the lunch area, scouting around for a trace of her. She was nowhere around there. Cursing, Seifer made his way to his tent. Walking back there, he caught glimpse of the tip of a light-blue duster from Caraway's tent 'The General's at lunch now… And so is just about everyone…' he thought, grinning devilishly. He strode down to the General's tent and pulled the fabric aside, entering it.
Inside, he found, a very startled to his appearance, Rinoa. He walked over to her smirking, amused at the sight of her awkwardness and surprise.
- "What are you doing here?!" she whispered "Get out!"
- "Not until we get a few things straight…" he said, advancing on her.
- "I'm still mad at you!" said Rinoa, pointing a threatening finger at him.
- "What for?" he asked, playing stupid.
- "'What for'?!" said Rinoa exasperated "Dare you ask?! You insulted me and the dream I stupidly confessed to you!"
- "Well you gotta admit that they're kinda lame for a rebel group…" he said, chuckling.
- "I don't believe you!" said Rinoa, trying to leave again.
Seifer grabbed her from the waist, preventing her from moving.
- "I never made fun of your dream," he said sighing "All I'm saying is that you could have made a better choice to fulfill it…" he added, grinning.
- "Stop touching me!" she hissed.
- "Why?" he asked leaning a bit closer "Don't you like it?"
Rinoa felt her knees go weak once more, as Seifer's eyes locked with hers 'Damn him…' she thought Rinoa 'I should be punching him SO hard right now… but…'
- "You didn't answer my question…" Seifer said huskily, interrupting her thoughts.
- "I… I dunno…" mumbled Rinoa, looking down.
- "Need any help to decide?" he asked in the same manner.
Rinoa looked up at him again. She didn't answer, but Seifer wasn't the kind of guy who needed permission to do what he wanted to. Without waiting for her response, he leaned in and brushed his lips upon hers once again. It wasn't as forceful as the previous time, although just as deep. Rinoa let out a small whimper-slash-moan and decided to stop playing 'hard to get'. Seifer's lips upturned a bit as he felt her kissing him back. He sensed her fingers slide within his blond spikes, messing with them. He pulled her closer from the waist, moving a hand up her back. Seifer eventually pulled back slowly, looking at her with a smug expression on his face. He watched her slowly part her eyelids, her brown orbs meeting with his.
- "I…I gotta go now…" she whispered shyly.
- "Will you come back tomorrow?" he asked.
Rinoa nodded, making him smile. He leaned in once again and gave her a light peck. Rinoa smiled and reluctantly left the tent, turning back to look at him once more, before disappearing again. Seifer grinned and ran a hand through his hair. He zoned out in his thoughts for a moment, then realized where he'd been standing all this time. He gave himself a slap on the forehead and rushed out of Caraway's tent, before he came back and found him inside.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As of the following day, Rinoa and Seifer became a couple. They met up whenever Rinoa 'visited her father' at the camp –which was beginning to be quite often by the way- or during Seifer's weekends out. Rinoa even introduced him to her dog, Angelo. And the damned mutt never lost a chance to bare his teeth and growl at him. The moment he first saw Angelo do that, a thought crossed his mind. It was a common belief that animals could sense evil… He'd scoffed at that. To him he'd always be that stupid dog that kept trying to rip his pants apart every time he got a chance to snog with Rinoa. And to Angelo, he probably was the jerk who was 'stealing' his mistress away. But thankfully, when the dog wasn't around, the couple had their good moments… They talked about everything. About Rinoa's constant quarrels with her father, about her mother's sudden and untimely death, about her dreams to liberate Timber one day with her comrades. One the other hand, Seifer talked to her about his entire life spent in Garden, about his loss of memories concerning his childhood, his dream of becoming a Knight and protecting those in need.
Seifer's incredibly over-inflated confidence and self-esteem seemed to finally vent out into something good for once. He made Rinoa feel like she could do anything if she trusted herself and her potential. She sometimes described it as the feeling that she could conquer the world. Not having been involved into another relationship in the past, Rinoa found herself completely enamored by the blond SeeD. She loved his poise, his wit and even his childish arrogance seemed charming once she'd gotten to know him.
On his side, Seifer was for the first time in his life involved with a girl who actually cared for what he was and what he had to say. Sometimes he felt like he couldn't be asking for anything more; Rinoa was beautiful, intelligent, she had a heart big enough to embrace the whole world, her positive spirit always made his day and her warm smile could make the darkest thoughts in his mind melt away in an instant. However, he always felt like something was missing. Something just didn't 'click' with him. And as the time passed, he eventually figured it out. No matter how desperately Rinoa tried to proclaim her independence and her ability to make it on her own, she just couldn't persuade him that she'd be able to make it alone even in a frickin' mall. Yes, she was sweet, innocent, incredibly nice, but she tended to depend on others too much. And Seifer hated that. He wanted to be with someone who wasn't reliant to him. He wanted someone who'd even have the nerve to boss him around. And Rinoa certainly wasn't that person. He liked her. He liked her a lot, hence he couldn't bring himself to let her go just because of that. He only hoped that when the time came for him to leave, she'd understand and allow them both to keep that summer like a really great memory of their youth…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer and Rinoa were sitting under a tree in Timber's forest, right by Obel Lake. Angelo was snoozing a few feet away from them, enjoying the coolness and the shadow of the trees. Seifer had his back resting against the trunk of the tree, while Rinoa sat between his spread open legs, resting her back on his chest. She was reading a book of poetry to him, although she doubted he'd be hearing even half of what she said. And she was right; Seifer was pretending to be hearing her, but was lost within his thoughts. Suddenly, Rinoa stopped reading and turned around to look at him. She saw him staring at the lake blankly, not even noticing that she wasn't speaking anymore.
- "You haven't listened to a single word, have you?" she asked with an eyebrow raised, slightly grinning.
- "Huh? What?" said Seifer, turning over to look at her.
- "If it bored you, you could have said so…" she said, closing the book shut.
- "Sorry… I just zoned out a bit…" he said, rubbing the back of his hair.
Rinoa shook her head in disbelief and tried to get up, but Seifer held her down from the waist.
- "Where do you think you're going?" he asked playfully.
- "I wanted to go sit by the lake." she replied.
- "I'll give you two options…" said Seifer holding her face in both hands "You can either sit here with me, or…"
He didn't complete his sentence, as he leaned in kissing her. Rinoa pulled back smiling.
- "Or…?" she asked.
- "Do you even need to hear the second option?!" Seifer said in mock-anger "I'm offering you my voluptuous lips here! And more…" he said raising an eyebrow.
Rinoa went into a fit of giggles, as Seifer kissed her again. Soon the kiss became very deep and without realizing it, Rinoa found herself being laid on the grass. Seifer rested on top of her and was now placing kisses on her neck, slowly trailing his way downwards. Rinoa entangled her fingers on his hair, closing her eyes in pleasure. She felt Seifer's hands traveling all over her body, lustily slithering underneath her clothes. She took a sharp intake of breath, making Seifer stop momentarily. He raised his head and looked at her, trying to read her expression. Rinoa bit her bottom lip and held his cheek in her palm. Seifer interpreted this as a good sign, taking his cue to move on.
Within moments, their clothes were beginning to abandon their bodies, finding themselves lying discarded on the grass. Rinoa was lost in the moment, only to be abruptly brought back to earth by the sound of Seifer's pants getting unzipped. Realization dawned on her; was all this happening too fast? She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fire slowly kindling in her insides and pulled back, gently pushing Seifer's chest.
- "What's wrong?" he asked.
- "It's just…" she mumbled.
- "Do you want me to stop?"
- "I… I…" she stammered "N-no… Go on…" she said eventually, pulling him into another kiss.
Seifer needn't be told twice and soon pulled away the rest of his clothing. He felt Rinoa slightly bite his lip as he entered her and drew back.
- "Am I hurting you?" he asked. Rinoa shook her head in response, giving him the 'OK' to continue.
She closed her eyes once again, allowing herself to enjoy what was happening. She really liked Seifer. They'd been together for almost two months now and she found herself falling for him harder and harder with each passing day. She had really wanted this to happen; however, she couldn't help but have a few second thoughts about it. What if he didn't feel the same way? What if this didn't mean as much to him as it did to her? Did she really want her first time to mean nothing to the one she was sharing it with? 'I guess it's too late to be considering that now…' she thought. She cursed herself inwardly for the way she always permitted her impulses guide her, but chose to allow herself to take pleasure in the moment and recoil from any thought.
One of the individualities of being so young is that you try to live life as passionately as possible. You lust for experience and literally suck the chances given to you dry, in your desperate attempt to quench that thirst which leaves little room for logic. You decide to live by the saying 'seize the day' and gratuitously shun away your taboos and boundaries with no remorse whatsoever.
Both Seifer and Rinoa were just concentrating in living the opportunity presented to them right now to the fullest, each in their own way. She was searching for love and affection, while he merely sought another 'adventure'. To her, it meant everything. To him, it meant very little. She'd found someone who made her feel unique and confident. He'd found someone who cared for him and was willing to share this experience with him. Two different worlds, colliding in a moment of impulse and desire. It made you wonder how much something like this was meant to last…
Seifer eventually fell heavy on Rinoa's chest, gently sliding out of her. Rinoa sighed deeply and kissed his sweaty forehead, playing with his hair. Seifer gave her a peck on the lips and slowly stood up. He pulled his pants back up, zipped them shut and adjusted his grey trench coat. Rinoa followed suit in getting dressed again and watched Seifer sit back down against the tree trunk, lighting a cigarette. She moved close to him, hugging him from the waist, resting her head on his chest. Seifer put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a peck on the tip of the head. He turned his head towards the lake, watching the ripples, created from a small frog that had jumped in the water, spread.
Rinoa looked up at him, but didn't find him returning her gaze. She bit her lip slightly and drew some courage to blurt out what she'd been meaning to say for quite some time now.
- "I love you…" she said, looking at him eagerly.
Seifer turned his head to look at her and gave her a weak smile. Immediately, he turned his eyes back to the lake. Rinoa felt disappointment and slight anger welling up inside her.
- "That wasn't exactly the reaction I expected…" she said.
- "Excuse me?" asked Seifer, turning back to look at her.
- "I said I didn't expect that reaction…" she repeated.
- "Listen Rinoa…" said Seifer exhaling a small cloud of smoke "I really like you, but let's not take things so far…"
- "What do you mean?" she asked frowning, slightly pulling away.
- "I mean that such a statement is a really heavy thing to say. As I just told you, I like you and want to be with you, but I can't say that I love you. I just don't feel it… Would you prefer I lied to you about it?" he asked.
- "So this was just sex for you?" she asked crossing her arms.
- "No…" he said wearily "I never said I feel nothing about you. Just not love."
Rinoa pulled away from him, looking down. She cradled her bent knees with her arms, sighing deeply.
- "Can you take me to the station? I wanna go home…" she said.
- "Don't get mad…" said Seifer sighing.
- "I'm not mad… I just wanna go home…" she replied.
- "Rinoa…" said Seifer putting a finger under her chin, making her look at him "I still want to be with you…"
Rinoa's eyes rested on him for quite some time and slowly, her lips upturned into a weak smile as she leaned in and kissed him.
- "And I still need to go home now…" she said when they broke apart.
- "Alright…" said Seifer, getting up.
He put his arm around Rinoa's shoulder as they made their way back to the city. Inside the brunette's chest, a glint of hope was beginning to arise. She wasn't going to give up easily; she never did. A single thought roamed within the walls of her mind 'I'm gonna make you love me Seifer Almasy…' she thought…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer walked down the path to the gates of the camp dressed in his usual attire, carrying a backpack with all his things gathered inside. Summer had just reached an end and so had his training in General Caraway's military camp. He was talking to some of the people he'd become familiar with there, as they were all on their way out. Most of them were, like Seifer, going to return home for the rest of the season, while some had decided to join the Galbadian army after their time there. The small group of young men made their way to the entrance of the camp, where they all said their good-byes. As Seifer shook hands with some of his fellow soldiers, he caught glimpse of a pretty brunette waiting for him outside. Seifer smiled at her and turned back to the others.
- "Well, I gotta go guys. Maybe I'll see some of you again…" he said, although he highly doubted it.
A few of them noticed Rinoa standing many feet away and immediately got the point.
- "Ahh… So that's why we'd seen so much of Miss Caraway this summer…" Josh said, nudging Seifer on the ribs.
- "Have fun…" said Pete, winking at him.
Seifer grinned and took off, slightly waving at them. He approached Rinoa, slid his arm through her waist and gave her a kiss. The couple slowly walked away from the camp, towards the city near-by.
- "So… I'm free now. What do you wanna do?" asked Seifer smiling at her.
- "I was thinking we could go for a walk in the city." replied Rinoa "And then if you want to, we can go over to my place. You've never seen my house."
- "Sure, sounds nice…" said Seifer "Hey," he added after a while, looking at Rinoa mischievously "What do you say we skip the walk?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A big black limousine pulled over by the entrance of an impressive mansion. The driver swiftly got out and walked to the back door, opening it. General Caraway stepped out, adjusting his uniform beret. He gave the driver a plain nod and walked towards the front door of his house. Two soldiers hurried up behind him and walked in front to open the doors for him. The General gave them a nod, as they saluted him and walked inside his house.
He closed the door behind him, taking his beret off. He laid it upon the counter by the door and walked inside the living room. He heard some indistinct noise coming from upstairs 'Rinoa's obviously home…' he thought and walked towards the wooden stairway. He went up all the stairs and strode down the hallway, opening the door to his daughter's room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The two soldiers who had brought General Caraway were standing by the front door, bored out of their minds. One of them sighed deeply and leaned his back against the door.
- "What time is it?" he asked the other one.
- "About… 5:40…" the soldier replied, yawning.
- "When's our shift over?" asked the first one.
- "In three hours and twenty minutes." said the second, giving his friend a really tired look.
- "Man, I'm bored…" said the first one yawning as well.
Suddenly, the sound of gunshot came tumultuous from inside the mansion. The two soldiers jumped up and looked at each other. Right then, a yell belonging to General Caraway echoed among the walls, sending shivers down the two soldiers' spines.
- "ALMASYYYY!!!!!!"
The soldiers barged inside the house, loading their shotguns. They ran inside the living room and up the stairway. The door of Rinoa's room burst open and out came a terrified looking blond boy, only half-dressed. He was wearing his pants and trench coat, while struggling to put his boots on. His vest and backpack were being tightly held in one hand as he ran down the corridor. He came face to face with the two soldiers on the top of the stairs, bumping hard onto them. Startled, the two men didn't even try to stop him and Seifer found himself losing his balance and rolling down the stairs. The soldiers winced at the sight, but then turned their heads over to the door of the room that boy had come out from. General Caraway rushed outside, looking furious. He was holding his gun in one hand, while pulling back the grayish-black strands of hair that fell on his face with the other. He strode towards the stairway to the two utterly surprised soldiers.
Meanwhile, Seifer was trying to get up from the floor, groaning in pain. The General reached the top of the stairway, breathing heavily like a mad bull.
- "COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!" he roared.
Seifer almost tripped on his desperate attempt to get out. Caraway began running down the stairs, while the two soldiers felt sorry for that blond boy's fate. Suddenly, Rinoa ran out of her room, dressed in her robe. The two men's eyes shot wide open as the girl ran past them towards the stairway. She found her father mid-way down the stairs.
- "Daddy, NO! Let him go!" she shouted.
The General ignored her and went on chasing poor Seifer. The blond SeeD was now already outside the mansion, running as fast as he could, trying not to get himself killed by Rinoa's father. He was almost at the Front Gate, when he heard Rinoa calling him from her window.
- "Seifer!" she shouted. The blond turned around swiftly, locating Rinoa's voice from a window on the second floor.
- "I'll… I'll call you!" he shouted back, not knowing what else to say.
- "YOU'LL CALL HER?!" yelled Caraway who had just reached the door.
Seifer let out a whimper and skedaddled out of the mansion, as the General loaded his gun and shot once more in the air…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oh my god, I don't think I've laughed more in my entire LIFE!
You're so mean Quisty! He could have gotten seriously hurt!
Oh come on! Don't tell me you didn't even crack a grin watching this!
Fine… *Snort* So I did…
Ahh… That was fun… So what's next?
Well, Seifer returns to Garden, the summer's over.
OK, let's see it…
A/N: OK, that last scene was supposed to come out funny, so that you wouldn't totally hate me for this Seifnoa chapter ^_~
So buh-bye Rinoa and let's get back with the Seiftisness, shall we?
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
Seifer returns to Garden and things get back on track… For the time being…
Meanwhile, Squall takes his SeeD exam.