A/N: Hey guys, what up?
Had a good weekend? Mine was fairly alright, since this semester is much more 'loose', so I get more time to relax, go out and write of course. And here's the next chapter of this story… Oh and to those of you who read my other one as well, note that the updates might be slightly belated from now on. So just this one update for today.
On the subject of Rinoa and Seifer I have a small comment to make. I don't know how you guys 'saw' the fact that they slept together, but I was trying to show how much Rinoa liked-slash-loved Seifer at that time, in order to give him her virginity. I didn't want it to seem like just sleeping around for her. On the other hand, Seifer was the prick of the whole case :-p 'cause it didn't really mean all that much to him. Anyway, I just wanted to clear that out.
For this chapter I'd like to point out a couple of things. Seifer returns to Garden and I thought it wouldn't be much interesting to write about his missions and Squall's training as a SeeD. So right after Seifer's return, I 'jump' over to Squall's SeeD exam. I hope you won't mind. I just want to get over with the stuff you already know and move on. At some parts I've used the original dialogue from the game. On a last note, in this installment, I deal quite a bit with GFs. I present for the first time in this story the element of communication between the GF and the summoner, something I've wanted to insert in a story for quite some time. Moreover, I give my own approach on how GFs are originally summoned and 'stored', as it's never really explained in the game.
That's all.
Last chapter summary: Seifer meets Rinoa at Caraway's camp and they become an item throughout the summer. On the day of Seifer's release from the camp, an 'unfortunate' event takes place between him, Rinoa and Rinoa's father…
~*A second chance*~
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 10: Return
Seifer walked down the big Main Hall of the Deling City train station, carrying his bag on one shoulder, the long trench coat lying haphazardly on top of it, while taking in long drags of smoke through his lungs with the cigarette on his hand. He arrived at the boarding area and settled his bag down on the floor, next to a small bench. He scouted the area around him looking for someone, then glanced down at his watch. 9:48 a.m. His train would be leaving in a bit more than ten minutes 'Where is she? She was supposed to be here ten minutes ago… And I thought I was late…' the tall blond thought. He put out his cigarette on a trash bin close by and kneeled down to his bag to retrieve his ticket. He got back up, slipping the piece of paper into the back pocket of his jeans. As soon as he turned around, he only had time to hear the stomping sound of footsteps and see a blur of black and blue before he fell back on the bench, Rinoa in his arms.
- "I'm so sorry I'm late!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
Seifer grinned at her and ran a hand through her hair, giving her a peck on the lips. Rinoa adjusted the straps of her baby blue top and slid off Seifer's lap and onto the bench. She held his hand gingerly and smiled warmly at him.
- "Was I too late?" she asked, her face frowning apologetically.
- "Nah, it's alright. I just came here anyway." Seifer replied, smiling back at her.
- "So…" Rinoa said, sighing "When are you leaving?"
- "In ten minutes." Seifer replied, checking the huge clock, embedded on the wall across them.
- "Umm… Are you going to be able to visit at all?" Rinoa asked, her expression changing to one of sorrow.
- "I dunno…" Seifer replied honestly, raking a hand through his hair "I probably will be very busy with missions and such. And they don't allow us to go out for long. Just a regular one-day leave."
- "I see…" said Rinoa dejectedly, looking down at the floor "So… what are we going to do about… us?" she asked, looking back up at him.
- "I don't suppose we'll get many chances to see each other again…" replied Seifer, his face frowning as well.
- "I guess this is it then?" Rinoa asked.
It sounded a whole lot more like a statement to Seifer, but the wavering of her voice made it quite clear that she was hoping for a different outcome. Hyne knew Seifer had had a great time with her, but trying to push things further would only make it harder for both of them. He'd end up hurting her more and she'd end up hating him. And he certainly didn't want that. He cared about Rinoa a lot and thought it better for her to be with someone who could give her what she asked for. She needed tenderness and love, something he was certain he couldn't provide her with. The problem with them from the beginning was the fact that they wanted different things, and Seifer couldn't bring himself to love her. He was looking for something different in order to give his whole self. Rinoa thought she'd found what she'd been looking for, but he was pretty sure that although she couldn't see it now, she would in the future. It was better that way.
- "I guess so." he replied, finding himself feeling actual sorrow that it couldn't work out between them.
Rinoa sighed deeply and hung her head down. Seifer held the back of her head and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then rested his own against hers. A tear ran down Rinoa's delicate skin and she sniffed lightly. Seifer looked down at her and held a crooked finger under her chin.
- "At least we'll always have the memory of a great summer." he said smiling at her.
Rinoa looked up at him. She smiled back and this time, the smile reached up to her teary eyes…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "I'm gettin' hungry, ya know? When is he comin'?" Raijin said to Fujin.
- "Be patient." she hissed, glaring at him.
Raijin groaned and sighed deeply. They'd been both waiting for Seifer to arrive for a fair twenty minutes at the Garden's Great Hall entrance. Today he'd be finally returning from Deling and back to Garden for good. From what they'd made out from his quite scarce letters, he'd had a fairly good summer.
- "Ah! There he is!" exclaimed Raijin.
Seifer walked down the Hallway, towards his two friends. He had his bag hanged from his left shoulder and the grey trench coat thrown over his right one. His black shirt hung casually on his form, sleeves pulled up to his elbows. A pair of loose-fitting blue jeans completed the casual attire of the tall blond, who was now grinning at the sight of his posse.
- "Welcome back, ya know!" Raijin said excitedly, with a broad grin on his face once Seifer approached them.
- "Welcome." Fujin said plainly, her lips upturning.
- "S'good to be back." said Seifer, smiling as well.
The young SeeD raked a hand through his hair and glanced around the Hall. His eyes fell upon a slender feminine figure, clad in peach, walking down the stairway from the elevator to the first floor. Quistis shook her head slightly to the side, tossing a thick lock of golden hair away from her face. As if doing it instinctively, she turned around and locked her gaze with Seifer's. Green and blue rays met, as Quistis' feet brought her down the stairs. The tiniest hint of surprise danced around in her eyes and facial features, but was instantly wiped away and replaced by narrowed eyes and a slight frown. She turned away.
- "Then again…" Seifer mumbled, his jade orbs reduced into narrowed slits, following the slowly disappearing form of his ex-Instructor.
- "What was that?" Raijin asked.
- "Never mind…" Seifer replied, turning his gaze back to his friends.
- "OK…Hungry?" Raijin asked eagerly. Fujin shot him a glare.
- "Starvin'!" replied the blond.
- "See?" Raijin said smugly to Fujin "Why don't you go leave your stuff and join us at the cafeteria, ya know?"
- "Good idea. Go ahead and order me something; I'll be there in five minutes." replied Seifer.
Raijin and Fujin nodded, dashing away towards the Cafeteria. Seifer rubbed his slightly sore left shoulder and made his way towards the Dormitories. He grinned. Despite certain 'unwelcome presences', it felt good to be back…
I certainly do hope that you'll resolve your differences with such 'unwelcome presences' soon, master.
Seifer stopped on his tracks. He cocked an eyebrow as he looked around him. No-one was there. Great… Since when was he hearing voices?
There's no need to be alarmed, master. You're not 'hearing voices' as you claim.
A shiver ran down Seifer's spine 'OK… This ain't funny anymore… What the hell's goin' on?' he thought.
As I said, there's no need to fear, master. This is not something you humans wouldn't consider normal.
The blond chuckled nervously 'Who is this? And why do you keep calling me 'master'?'
It is I, Ifrit, a spirit that mortals such as yourself call a 'Guardian Force'.
'And you're saying that you, talkin' to me, is normal?' Seifer thought, still not quite buying the voice's story…
You should already know that, master. I specifically recall it written in one of the manuals individuals like you study in this institution.
'SeeD manual, Chapter 7… "A Guardian Force may often choose to communicate with its summoner…" Oh, right…' the blond thought 'But wait a sec… I never junctioned a GF before I took my field exam. How do you know about the manual?'
It is my humble opinion that you should read said manual more thoroughly, master. It specifically states that once a GF is junctioned, it 'connects' to your memories, hence, I can easily recall any experience you have come across in your life, master.
'I'd watch that mouth if I were you, Ifrit.' Seifer thought, feeling irritated that a GF was 'judging' him 'And may I ask why you chose that particular time to speak to me? Where the hell have you been all this time?'
I suppose I needed time to get acquainted with my master's personality before I dared to attempt any communication.
'Heh… So… you can read my mind at any time?'
Correct, master.
'And could you, let's say… read ANY other person's mind as well?' Seifer though, smirking.
Affirmative, master.
'Cool…'
Guardian spirits such as myself have powers humans cannot even come close to comprehending, if I'm allowed to say so, master.
'So… You could tell me what, say… Instructor Trepe thinks of me?' he thought, grinning.
I could, but it's against the morals of a spirit like myself, master. Besides, I'd… rather not.
Seifer's eyes shot open. He scoffed and frowned 'I don't think we've made a very good start here, Ifrit…'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Four months later…
- "I've finished grading your papers," Quistis spoke to her class, which immediately broke into whispers, gasps and murmur "Which means that you'll be able to view the results on the board outside the class, if you haven't already. The rumors were true, the field exam will indeed be held today. It hardly needs to be said, but the ones participating will only be those who passed the written exam."
Squall rested his cheek on his balled fist. He'd already checked out the results of the written part of the exam. And he'd passed. He didn't consider it such a big deal; the written part had been fairly easy for someone who'd studied. Although he couldn't say how confident he was about the field exam…
- "Alright," Quistis said, upon hearing the bell ring "If there are any of you who haven't yet acquired a Guardian Force, please come see me. It's a required element to move on to the field exam."
The brown-haired boy got up from his seat. He hadn't obtained a GF yet. Now that was something certainly interesting. He'd been reading all about such spirits in his books, but the experience of actually owning and junctioning one was something completely non-familiar to him. He approached his Instructor's desk, who was gathering her things, and spoke.
- "Instructor Trepe?"
- "What is it, Squall?" asked Quistis, smiling at her student.
- "You said that anyone who hasn't acquired a GF yet should come talk to you." replied Squall.
- "Oh, of course. Here…" said Quistis, handing Squall an amber orb "You have permission to use Siren to be able to Junction magic for the battle. We only have one hour before the field exam, so meet me down at the Front Gate in ten minutes, alright?" Quistis said.
Squall nodded and left the classroom, with the orb containing Siren's spirit inside his pocket. The blonde finished gathering her things into her briefcase and walked towards a glass display case in the far back of the classroom. She took out a small key from her pocket and unlocked the glass door, sliding it open. She stood up on tiptoes and picked up an oval stone, the size of an adult's palm. She carefully placed it upon one of the desks next to her and locked the door. She grabbed the stone and walked outside.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Squall was making his way down the hall, towards the elevator, when a loud, chirpy voice filled the atmosphere.
- "I'm late, I'm late, I'm LATE!!!"
The brown-haired boy barely had time to blink, before a blur of copper-brown and navy blue stumbled upon him hard. Squall staggered and took a few steps back, holding his slightly aching forehead with one palm. His eyes focused and the image of a girl dressed in a cadet uniform, sprawled on the floor came in sight. She winced a bit in pain, then got up in a hop. She cleared her clothes from the dust and swished a few strands of copper hair back in place.
- "There. Tee-hee…" she giggled, her stunningly bright green eyes lightening –if it was possible- up even more "Sorry, I was kinda in a hurry. Oh yeah! Hey, did you just come from that class? Is… registration over?" she asked, grimacing. Squall nodded "Woo…Oh, nooo…" she moaned "This place is soooo much bigger than my last Garden! Oh, hey, hey! I just transferred here. Do you think you could give me a quick tour of this Garden?"
Squall winced inwardly; apart from not having spare time, he wasn't in the mood to show some girl he didn't know around 'Oh well… It's her first day here… I suppose I should be a bit nice…' he thought.
- "Sure." he replied.
- "Whoo-hoo! Alright, let's go!" the girl cheered, hopping up and down 'Hyne, the chirpiness…' Squall thought.
- "We'll take the lift to the first floor lobby and I'll show you the directory." Squall said 'Better get on with it quickly; I really don't wanna go wandering around Garden right now…'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After a quick visit to her dorm to become rid of her briefcase and change into her battle gear, Quistis left her room, getting her whip and the stone she'd picked out before with her. She walked down the Dormitory corridor, heading towards the main Hall. Out of nowhere, a young boy, not any older than nine, rushed down the corridor, almost falling onto Quistis. The blonde moved out of the way just in time, and the red-haired boy continued skidding straight down the hallway. Just when Quistis was about to resume her walking, a graveled voice roared among the walls, followed by thundering footsteps. The Disciplinary Committee soon appeared before her eyes.
- "Where the hell did that little fucker g-" Seifer began, but stopped upon seeing Quistis "Trepe." he said firmly, nodding.
- "Seifer." said Quistis, nodding as well "What's the matter? Having trouble with kids half your age?" she asked playfully.
- "I won't even bother to comment on that…" said Seifer, frowning "Did you happen to see 'carrot-head' run by here?" he asked.
- "I might have…" Quistis replied casually, making a move to leave. As soon as she did though, Seifer grabbed her arm tightly and leered down at her.
- "'Might have'?" he asked "Lemme put this simply, Trepe. Either you spill, or you're on my list too." Seifer threatened.
Quistis looked down at the pressing hand on her arm and back up at Seifer's face. Her face and mind smirked mischievously.
- "He took the first turn to the left. That's all I saw." Quistis said.
- "See? Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Seifer said sarcastically.
He made a sharp move with his head to Fujin and Raijin, who ran down the hallway and took the first turn to the left.
- "Duty calls. Au revoir, Instructor." Seifer said, nodding once again, then running down the hallway as well, his grey coat flowing behind him.
Quistis grinned, pleased with herself and continued to walk towards the Main Hall.
Are you sure this was a wise move, mistress?
'Trust me, Shiva. Almasy had it coming…' the young Instructor thought.
Whatever you say, mistress.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Squall made his way down the stairs of the big yard outside Garden, heading to the Front Gate. He found Quistis already there, waiting for him.
- "Ready, Squall?" she asked, once he got there. Squall nodded "Alright, let's go."
The pair walked down the path, towards the fields of Balamb. Squall looked down at his Instructor's hand and noticed a silver oval stone held between her fingers.
- "What's this?" he asked, pointing at her hand.
- "Have you ever heard of a Dynamo Stone, Squall?" Quistis asked.
- "No." he replied, shaking his head in negation.
- "It's a stone, with the element of Thunder quite powerful inside it. Later on, with the right GF abilities, you'll be able to draw Thunder magic from it." Quistis explained.
- "Do we need this for the exam?" he asked.
- "Yes, but not to draw magic from it." said Quistis, stopping on a clear plain "You see, normal Dynamo Stones, are usually… bluish. This one, is more special, because you can summon a certain GF with the use of right spell."
- "Which spell?"
- "It's slightly more advanced than the spells you use in your level. If I'm not mistaken, your level is about… eight, am I right?" she asked.
- "Yes." Squall replied laconically.
- "The spell is called 'Dispel'. Normally, it removes an enhanced status caused to someone by the use of a spell, like Haste, Slow etcetera. Meaning, that if someone had used the spell Haste on himself for example, you can bring him/her back to the original state by the use of Dispel. Remember, it doesn't work for all status changes, like being Petrified or knocked out. Are we clear on that?" Quistis explained.
- "Yes."
- "Now what we're going to do, is cast Dispel on this stone, thus-"
- "Freeing the GF 'locked' inside." Squall piped in.
- "Exactly." Quistis said, smiling "Are you ready?"
- "Yes."
- "Remember, Quetzalcoatl, the GF inside this stone, is a Thunder elemental GF. So don't use any Thunder spells on it, or you'll raise its strength."
After that last tip, Quistis held the Dynamo in her widened palm and muttered 'Dispel' under her breath. Suddenly, a surge of yellowish-green light emerged from the stone, and Quistis let it fall to the ground. Slowly, the yellow aura emitting from the Dynamo Stone began to take form, and a pair of wings gradually slipped out of the orifice on the stone. Quistis uncoiled her whip, as Squall drew out his gunblade and prepared for the fight.
Within seconds, the bright aura was finally complete, and what seemed like a humongous greenish-gold bird, made entirely from lightning bolts, was hovering before them. Its face was blank; no features, except for a beak-like lump protruding, were visible upon it. It was flapping its wings as if rendered in slow motion; unhurriedly and graciously. A faint buzzing sound like static electricity could be heard at all times, as bolts slithered across the body of the GF. Quetzalcoatl, the spirit of Thunder, in all its glory before them.
Quistis shot a sideways glance at her student and lunged forward, initiating the battle. She swung her chain whip in the air and brought it down hard on the creature's shoulder. Quetzalcoatl flinched and withdrew from the weapon's sharp edge and swung one shimmering wing towards her. The young Instructor ducked in time and avoided the blow. Squall took a deep breath and decided to follow his teacher's lead. Swaying his sword in one hand with ease, the teenage mercenary rushed forward and scraped the chest of the GF with the tip of his gunblade. Quetzalcoatl's 'beak' parted and what seemed like a mouth opened, letting out a crow-like cry of pain. Squall withdrew to his previous position, glancing swiftly at his weapon. A thin sliver of lightning danced around the blade before disappearing into thin air. He momentarily felt very glad that the grip of his gunblade insulated electricity and brought his mind back to the battle. He brought two fingers to his left temple and concentrated hard. He opened his eyes and extended his palm towards the beast. A surge of red sparks flew out of the tips on his fingers, only to be soon followed by a sphere of Fire, which appeared in front of the creature's torso, burning it. Quetzalcoatl swayed back a bit, but didn't seem severely damaged from the Fire spell.
- "Squall!" Quistis called, slashing her whip across Quetzalcoatl's face "For a more effective attack, use the GF's weaknesses to your advantage!"
'The GF's weaknesses? But what could I possibly use against Thunder?' he thought 'Let's see… I've got Fire, Ice, Thunder's out of the question… Cure and-' The young boy's eyes shined and he concentrated once more. This time, when he extended his arm, he yelled…
- "Water!"
A great orb of water concentrated around the creature, bringing it down with force onto the ground. The bump itself didn't cause that much of an injury, but the advantage that Water had over electricity soon took effect. The slivery bolts encasing Quetzalcoatl's body sizzled in fury and a slight amount of smoke began to emit as it convulsed wildly.
- "Well done!" Quistis called, not losing time in casting another Water spell on the GF.
Squall smiled inwardly for the success of his plan and watched as the second Water attack weakened Quetzalcoatl even more. Visibly strained, the beast drew back. Squall thought it was about to withdraw from the fight, when he felt this weird unnatural sensation around him. The clouds in the sky above them began to assemble swiftly, turning from cotton white to an ominous shade of grey. The bright morning light disappeared from sight and was replaced by steadily growing darkness. The GF raised its beak towards the sky and parted its wings wide open. Right above it, the sky shined and right on cue, a tumultuous sound pierced the atmosphere as a thick ray of concentrated lightning descended onto Quetzalcoatl's beak. Furious wind began to blow, sending still green leaves and dust on Squall and Quistis' faces. Quistis covered her face with one arm, squinting her eyes. Quetzalcoatl turned its 'face' back towards the pair and began flapping its wings wildly. Squall's irises dilated and a surge of pure electrical energy spilled out of the beak, heading right towards them.
- "Squall, watch out!" Quistis yelled, jumping to the side to avoid the bolt.
Squall moved away just in time, but wasn't fast enough; as the sliver of thunder hit earth and split the surface of the ground, a stray one scraped Squall's right arm and neck, ruining the sleeve of his uniform and giving him a nasty burn right at the nape. Wincing while in mid-air, Squall ducked, resulting in him rolling on the ground and rise to his feet immediately.
- "Cure!" Quistis shouted, pointing her outstretched arm towards her student.
Squall felt a warm aura surround his body, and a green light appeared before his face as he felt the stinging sensation on his neck slowly retract.
- "Quick! Silence it, before it uses another Thunder attack!" Quistis called.
Squall nodded firmly and closed his eyes. The atmosphere, which had already cleared from the grey clouds back to normal, was suddenly muted. An eerie, hardly noticeable sound was all that could be heard from far aback, as Siren appeared onto a rock; a beautiful blonde woman, covered by little clothing, holding a small harp. She smiled impishly and scratched the cords of the harp with her fingertips, long nails quite remarkably not getting in the way. A pair of amber auras surrounded Quetzalcoatl, encircling its body, before assembling around its beak, closing it shut. The ghostly sensation of Siren's presence vanished and everything returned back to normal. Only now, Quetzalcoatl was unable to using magic.
- "Finish it off with physical attacks!" Quistis advised, lunging forwards to strike with her whip once more.
When his Instructor drew back, Squall took his turn in attacking the GF, bringing his gunblade down across its chest numerous times. Quetzalcoatl let out a loud cry and drew back, slowly descending to the ground. It coiled its wings around its wounded body and stood still.
- "Now's you chance. Draw it." Quistis said, running a hand through her damp front locks.
- "Draw Quetzalcoatl." Squall muttered, raising an extended palm in front of the creature.
Quetzalcoatl turned into the flowing aura it originally came out as from the Dynamo Stone, slowly entering into Squall's palm, in the form of energy. Squall closed his eyes and hissed, as he felt every hair on his body stand up and shivers run through his skin. He gasped and opened his eyes. Quistis noticed a tiny bolt of lightning sizzling on his eyes, before he blinked a few times and it disappeared with a yellowish spark on Squall's irises. The latter shook his head and body as the last shiver ran down his spine. He noticed that Quistis was looking at him, grinning.
- "What?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
- "Oh, nothing… I like the new hair-do, though…" she said, covering her smiling lips with one palm, choking down a snort.
Squall coked an eyebrow and rolled his eyes up, touching his hair with one palm. His hair were now worn in the usual style, only the hairs where quite more… elevated. The young cadet frowned and raked his hair back into place. Meanwhile, Quistis had become more serious and cleared her throat to speak.
- "Alright… This was it. You did it. Quetzalcoatl is now yours." she said "Remember to junction it though and make sure you take good care of it. One last thing; keep in mind that a GF may choose to communicate with you."
- "Meaning?" Squall asked.
- "Meaning, it may choose to speak to you. Inside your mind of course. So, don't be alarmed if you suddenly hear a voice inside your head, conversing with you; you're perfectly sane." she continued "The time it'll choose to speak to you, will be up to the GF to decide. Some speak immediately, others rarely and others never. I should tell you that Quetzalcoatl is known for saying little. It's not a very 'social' spirit. I think you two will do just fine." Quistis finished, grinning widely.
- "What's that supposed to mean?" Squall asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
- "Nothing, nothing!" she said quickly.
Squall crossed his arms, as Quistis walked a few feet away, then kneeled down to retrieve something. It was the Dynamo Stone. Squall noticed it was now blue. Quistis walked back to him and handed him the stone.
- "This is yours. If, for any reason, you wish to exchange a GF with another one of your peers, you'll have to send the spirit back in here and hand it to whoever you want to. You'll know Quetzalcoatl is in there when the stone is silver. Be careful not to use this as a Dynamo Stone, or else you'll never be able to unjunction Quetzalcoatl without setting it free. Understood?"
- "Yes." Squall replied, slipping the stone in his pocket.
- "Can I have Siren back?" asked Quistis.
Squall nodded. He took out a very dark orange, almost brown, orb from his pocket. He looked at it strangely at first, but then realized that the color was like that due to Siren's absence from it. He concentrated, unjunctioning Siren, sending her back to the small sphere. Immediately, it turned a bright shade of amber. Quistis put it into her pocket.
- "Thank you. OK, we're done here, let's go." she said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dr. Kadowaki was sitting inside her office. Across her desk, sat a young boy, no older than seven. On the desk, nine cards were laid, shaping a 3x3 rectangle. It wasn't a very known fact that the doctor was a Triple Triad expert, and the few students who'd found out had either challenged her or sought her knowledge.
- "…So with the Same rule, you turn adjacent cards that have the exact same number written on that side. That's why the call it Same. Same number. Got it?" she asked.
- "Yup!" the blond boy answered excitedly.
- "Now the Plus r-"
The doctor stopped talking, as the doors slid open and inside came Squall.
- "Injury?" the doctor asked. Squall nodded "Go sit inside the room, I'll be there in a second."
Silently, the young cadet made his way into the room, sitting onto the bed. He rested his palms onto the mattress and sighed deeply, throwing his head backwards.
- "Squall…So we meet again."
Squall turned his head abruptly to his right, causing the burn on his neck sting. He winced and held the aching part with his palm. He opened his eyes and saw a girl standing behind the glass wall. She looked older than him. In fact, she looked a bit old to be a Garden cadet. She wasn't a teacher; he knew them all. And she couldn't be a SeeD; they all wore their uniforms inside the Garden 'All except for one…' he thought, then shook himself mentally 'Focus, Squall…' The girl had shoulder length light brown hair and had brownish-black eyes. She was clad in a white blouse, a long blue skirt and had a long green shawl hanging from the insides of her elbows. Squall frowned; how did she know his name? He was certain he didn't know her. But… something about her face… was so… familiar. Like a distant memory from a dream, long buried into his conscience, now emerging in a short, but incoherent flashback. Squall blinked and before he had time to ask the girl who she was, she gave him a warm smile and left. Squall got up to catch up with her, but Dr. Kadowaki came inside the room.
- "Going somewhere?" she asked.
- "Uh…" said Squall, looking at the tiny tip of the girl's skirt disappear behind the wall "Uhh… No." he added finally, sitting down again.
- "What's wrong?" the doctor asked, puzzled by his blank expression.
- "Nothing." Squall replied quickly. He had to be imagining things…
- "Alright…" said the doctor, sitting onto the bed next to him "Now. Where were you hurt?"
- "Here." Squall said, pointing at his neck "Thunder burn."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oh my Hyne… Now I get it…
Get what Quistis?
The day of Squall's exam… He asked me who the 'girl at the Infirmary' was…
Ah, I see…
Heh… Well it makes sense now… I always thought it was really strange that Squall would talk to me about a girl…
I need to hear that story some time…
You will…After we get finished with mine…
Alright, let's move on…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis was lying onto her bed, back lying against the wall and headboard behind her. Her laptop was laid on her thighs, a typing noise filling the silent atmosphere of her dorm. She pushed the bridge of her glasses backwards, as it had slipped down to the front of her nose and tucked a stray lock of hair –which she wore in a high ponytail- behind her ear. She stretched on the spot and crossed her grey-shorts-clad legs together. She pulled the sleeves of her tight white blouse up and went on typing the reports of her SeeD-level class on her computer. She yawned and glanced at the clock hanging from the wall above her desk. 6:23 p.m. The SeeD exam participants should be returning anytime soon. Quistis was really nervous to see how many of her students would pass this time. Last year, she had been quite successful wh-
!BANG!
Quistis jolted up. What the hell was that?! Seemed like someone had the intention of knocking her door down. Setting her laptop aside on the mattress, she got up and ran to the door, before that person did permanent damage to it. She swung it open and came face-to-face with a visibly enraged Seifer, his fist frozen in mid-air while attempting to knock on her door once more.
- "What's with the knocking?!" Quistis yelled at him "Were you intending on destroying my door?!"
- "I do not appreciate being lied to, Trepe." he said, pointing a threatening finger at her, completely ignoring her question.
- "What?" Quistis asked, bemused.
- "You know what I did for the past three hours?" he asked sarcastically, taking an ominous step forward. Quistis stepped backwards "I'll tell you: I spent my past three hours chasing around a kid in Garden."
Seifer was slowly stepping inside the dorm with a murderous expression on his face, leering down at Quistis, who was backtracking.
- "Apparently, 'carrot-head' had been in his room all this time; I saw him coming out of it, which was when I seized him." Seifer went on "Now why, oh why, am I telling you all that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes into slits of jade. Quistis shrugged feebly "Oh, you don't know?" he asked, in mock-surprise "Alright then… Let me explain… The kid's room you see, is located just down the main corridor of the Dormitories. When I got him, he confessed that once losing sight of us, he ran immediately to his room. And you know what pisses me off the most? The fact that I missed Leonhart's departure because of chasing around that kid. I he passes, I'll never get a chance to destroy his confidence before heading off to the SeeD exam…" Seifer said crossing his arms "Anyway, what's done is done. Now, I'm just pissed about the kid."
- "Your point in all this?" Quistis asked, attempting a sarcastic grin; she wanted to appear calm, but the damned guy had the effect of cowering anyone. Anyone. Just as long as he wanted to.
- "My point, Trepe, is that I felt extremely… displeased, as a certain someone had told me he'd seen the boy take the first turn to the right, if I remember correctly, and disappear." Seifer replied.
- "No, it was to the left…" Quistis muttered, stifling a grin.
Seifer's eyes shone in rage and he threw his right fist backwards, onto the wall behind him. Quistis winced as a faint cracking sound was heard.
I told you this hadn't been a very wise idea, mistress…
'Not NOW, Shiva!' Quistis' mind screamed.
- "Are you planning on destroying my room completely today?" she asked.
- "Listen here, Instructor… No-one fools with Seifer Almasy and gets away with it. You hear? No-one." he growled at her.
- "Should I be starting to get scared any time now?" Quistis asked, crossing her arms.
Seifer chuckled. He ran a hand through his short hair and laughed. Quistis would have found his expression quite charming if she wasn't scared shitless right now. And something about his laughter made her feel quite uneasy. Why did she get the feeling that this wasn't g-
Quistis gasped and winced as her back made hard contact with the wall behind her. Before she'd even had time to blink, Seifer had grabbed her from the arms and had pinned her to the wall. Quistis cursed at herself inwardly. Of course it had been a damned distraction 'Rookie mistake…'
- "You're very lucky, you know…" Seifer said in a low voice. Quistis noticed that he didn't seem angry anymore. But smirking as usual… "Lucky that I'm a gentleman and never hit women outside battle."
- "Oh, lucky me!" Quistis said sarcastically.
- "Not a very wise time to use sarcasm, Trepe. Not now that I've calmed down a respectable amount…" Seifer warned "Anyway…I'll let you away with it this time, but there won't be a second one, understood?" he asked. Quistis cocked an eyebrow "And it wouldn't hurt to show some respect towards the Head of the Disciplinary Committee… You never know what he might do if a certain individual pisses him off too much."
- "Respect is earned, not forced upon, Seifer." Quistis said matter-of-factly "And that is by the way the reason why I lied to you about that kid. Scaring them to death is not the ideal way of making them follow the rules."
- "I'll be the judge of that." Seifer retorted.
Quistis' cell-phone chose that specific moment to ring. The blonde turned her head to the desk on her right, where the small silver phone stood, ringing. Seifer turned to look as well, never loosening his grip on her. Quistis looked back at him, with an expression as if saying 'Well?' Seifer smirked. Releasing one arm, he reached for the mobile phone and handed it to Quistis, finally letting her go. He stood in front of her, arms folded in front of his broad chest as she answered the call.
- "Hello?" Quistis spoke "*Pause* Yes… *Pause* Oh, they're here? *Pause* Yes, yes, I'll be up in five minutes. *Pause* Alright, bye." she said, terminating the call.
- "Who was it?" asked Seifer.
- "None of your business." replied Quistis, making a move to walk away.
Seifer blocked her way, slapping one hand onto the wall. Quistis rolled her eyes and tried to leave from the other side, only to be blocked again. She looked at Seifer with an exasperated expression. She tried to pass underneath Seifer's arms, sliding down the wall. Seifer slid down with her. Quistis stood back up.
- "This is getting ridiculous, you know. Do you want something?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
- "Who was on the phone?" he asked again.
- "Why do you care so much?"
- "Curiosity." he replied plainly, shrugging.
- "*Sigh* It was Xu, calling to say that the SeeD exam participants have arrived." she replied "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get up to the Headmaster's office."
- "Splendid!" said Seifer, finally moving out of the way "Let's go, I wanna laugh at Leonhart's face for failing miserably!"
- "Oh, no, no, no. I'm going. You're staying." Quistis said, moving to her bed to shut her laptop down.
- "Aw, c'mon!"
- "Even if wanted you up there, Cid wouldn't allow it, so forget it." Quistis said, setting her computer on her desk.
- "Fine…" Seifer said.
Quistis walked over to her wardrobe, taking out her SeeD uniform. She laid it down on her bed and was about to begin getting undressed, when she noticed that Seifer was still in her room. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking around her room. Quistis cleared her throat loudly. Seifer turned and looked at her.
- "What?" he asked –if it was possible for him- innocently.
- "Do you mind? I need to get dressed." she replied.
- "I'm not stopping you." Seifer replied casually, turning around to check her stack of books onto the shelf before him.
- "You're joking, right?" Quistis asked incredulously.
- "No." Seifer said, turning his head only, shrugging.
- "Seifer get out."
- "Get on with it! I've even turned my back!" he said, now skimming along her copy of 'Do Androids dream of electric sheep?'
- "Seifer, out!" Quistis hissed, pointing at the door.
- "Tsk… You're no fun…" he said, walking towards the door.
Quistis shook her head in disbelief. She grabbed the hem of her blouse and was about to pull it up, when the door flung open again.
- "I was going to lend you my copy of 'The man in the High Castle' by the way, but now I'm not." Seifer said, his head poking out of the door.
Quistis glared at him. Seifer closed the door behind him, leaving her to finally get ready.
A/N: 'Do androids dream of electric sheep?' and 'the man in the High Castle' are, for some who may not know, titles of two books written by the amazing Philip K. Dick. I'd suggest them both to anyone who likes sci-fi and good books in general.
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
Squall returns from his SeeD exam and it's time for yet another SeeD Ball.
Rinoa arrives in Garden for official business with Cid.
How will Seifer handle seeing her again?
Will Rinoa get a chance to meet Squall? And if yes, how?