Icicle Knight, Fiery SeeD
Chapter 2
//\\
Arriving at General Caraway's mansion, Seifer felt his bad mood worsen. Not only had the SeeDs and posse been forced to bring Rinoa along with them to get her off Garden facilities (the general was apparently her estranged father), but the jokers who supplied the general with security work had refused to allow them entrance, not even when Trepe produced the password agreed upon for recognition. Either the security people simply didn't know the password, or they were unaware that the General was highly involved in a plot to kill the new Peace Ambassador or even if the General simply wanted to test them before the mission, didn't truly matter. Seifer could understand if the general had neglected to inform his staff about his plans, the fewer people who knew, was less people who could talk under torture. What pissed him off was that a few low-life security people, who hadn't been in a real fight in years, or ever, could deny entrance to trained, experienced SeeDs, and get away with it under Garden Protocol. There was nothing he could do, so he worked off the mood on those monsters unlucky enough to be in Hyperion's way during the pointless exercise.
When they were finally allowed entrance, Seifer slumped in a corner with his posse at his back and let Trepe do the talking. He wasn't sure he could go without insulting the contact after that annoying diversion. Sure, the detour had been good for stress relief, but otherwise it had been completely pointless. From the black looks he'd received while waiting for the General to arrive, his mood had been noticed and Trepe was giving him silent warnings to behave.
After the general began to outline the shape of the plot, Seifer became more interested. From the sound of it, from what he could tell from just the description, it sounded well thought out, but incomplete. As the General asked for questions, he raised his head.
"Just one, General. Have you seen or heard about a young man with brown hair and blue-grey eyes, about my age, and a scar between his eyes," here Seifer traced the path of his rival's scar with a finger, "with or near the Sorceress? He'd likely have been wearing a lot of leather and carrying a gunblade."
Seifer could hear Trepe's nearly silent hiss that this wasn't the time for asking about that. He ignored her, holding up one hand for silence as he listened for the general's reply.
"Now that you mention it, I have seen him. He goes everywhere with the Sorceress, almost as if he's Her shadow. Intimidated more than his fair share of Society with his silent stare, but She allows him to get away with it, almost as if She seems to enjoy it. How have you heard about him? I thought She made sure that any rumors about him are professionally squashed. "
Seifer grinned. Confermation of his rival's presence was had, and there was nothing Trepe could do to hide it. He'd won the pointless bet, and Trepe was now going to allow him free rein as to his movements. "His name is Squall Leonhart, who was recently taken over by Her on his latest mission. He's a SeeD, but who knows if his status is still valid after defecting, even if it was under mental influence." The General didn't need to know much more than that and the man seemed to realize it, not questioning how Seifer knew that Squall had turned due to mind control. There was one remaining question however.
"If you know his name, do you know his stats as well?" it was a fair question, but one Seifer had no intention of replying completely to.
"Let's just say he was one of the most promising cadets Garden has ever had." And it was completely true. He'd hacked Leonhart's grades on more than one occasion, which were always right up there with his own, jockeying for first. And he could well testify to his rival's physical abilities, as the other boy had used Seifer to develop them for the most part. Not to mention that Trepe had all but admitted that Leonhart had passed the SeeD exams with the best score.
The general nodded sharply, no doubt going over the plan and working out how to account for the Sorceress having an extremely skilled bodyguard. Before he could share the altered plans with the SeeDs, Rinoa burst into the room. Finding herself to be the target of several very annoyed glares, (and Seifer knew from experience that Fujin in particular was no slouch in communicating her displeasure, one eye or no), she subsided a bit from her initial enthusiasm.
"I've found something that might help you on your mission," she said, holding up what looked like a –a bracelet? Seifer found his estimation of Rinoa's intelligence dropping downward. Was she insane? Was she really thinking that a little thing like bracelet would be able to take down a powerful Sorceress? Clearly she must be dreaming.
"Hey, that looks like an Odine bangle," Zell bounced. At the uncomprehending looks, the martial artist explained, "Dr. Odine is the foremost authority on magical artifacts. If I remember correctly-shut it Seifer- the bangle is supposed to stifle magical ability to nearly nothing. You can't even cast Draw with that thing on."
Foiled at yet another opportunity to mock the Chicken, Seifer studied the delicate artifact. After a minute he looked up. "I think I read somewhere that the magic of Sorceresses is slightly different from the magic we use. So yeah, wearing one of these things could cripple a SeeD on active duty, but I don't think it would be of much help otherwise. Besides, She'd have to be wearing that thing for it to have any effect, so this," he bounced the bangle on one palm, "is of no use to use whatsoever." With that, he lobbed it gently into Rinoa's waiting hands with a plop. He glared at the watching Trepe, just on general principals. Sure enough, the Instructor was slightly gaping at Seifer's demonstration of knowledge. He didn't know why she was so surprised, just because he hadn't paid close attention to her classes didn't mean he was stupid. And given that he had been repeating most of his classes for a while now, he'd found better things to do with his time than pay attention to things he already knew.
Seeing a familiar mulish look on Rinoa's face, Seifer interrupted before she could get an idea that would result in her getting in the way of the mission. He had to shoot her down swiftly, completely, but gently, or she'd only dig her heels in harder. "No, this isn't the time for you get all heroic and join us. As you are no longer are in possession of a SeeD contract, you have no place on a mission. I allowed you to join us on our way to Galbadia, because you didn't have any other way to get out of Timber. If you keep your head down now, you should be able to claim you were not involved when Deling's goons come sniffing around after the mission trying to find out who killed the Sorceress. And if for some reason we fail, we need to keep at least one contact out of the line of fire to bail out those who find themselves in trouble. Understand?"
Rinoa nodded, successfully derailed from something of colossal stupidity. Though Seifer likely thought that it was his last argument that had convinced her, more than any of his other points. He truthfully didn't care why she did it, but he wanted her to stay out of the line of fire. Not out of concern, but because Leonhart was an opponent best handled with minimum distractions.
The General had a revised plan ready. "Here's how we do this…"
//\\
Pushing through the crowd that had turned up to watch the parade, Seifer led the Cowboy to their post. Much against his better judgment, Seifer had been posted to babysit the sniper instead of being in a position to take on Leonhart. That was left to the posse, and though he well knew Fujin and Raijin's worth as warriors, he knew that they couldn't take Leonhart by themselves. It didn't matter now, he'd been overruled when he protested and was assigned to his current spot. Arriving outside the closed gates of the Presidential residence, he ignored the restless jostle if the crowd as he mentally calculated the distance from his current position to the podium where the Sorceress was scheduled to give a speech right before the parade. Fuck, it was out of Hyperion's lethal range, the worst the Bitch would get if he shot from that distance would be a painful graze. A considering glance at the Cowboy's obviously beloved shotgun earned him a 'don't-you-even-think-about-it' glare and a shift that put the gun out of Seifer's immediate reach. He ignored the speech, your usual "I-am –almighty-and –you-worms-are-dust-beneath-my-feet," villainous bullshit. The only thing that was slightly disturbing was that the crowd cheered gleefully at each insult. The masses didn't even react when the Bitch killed Deling right before their eyes.
Only a few minutes after the speech ended, the gates opened and the parade began. As the massive float carrying the Sorceress turned to follow the scheduled route, even though he was expecting it, Seifer still felt ice crawl up his spine. There was Leonhart, standing at the Sorceress's right hand, a drool-worthy, blue, glowing gunblade before him at formal parade rest. His rival's eyes were never still, professionally sweeping the crowd for threats. Seifer had to restrain the urge to duck, only holding on to the impulse with the knowledge that such an action would draw Leonhart's gaze faster than any others.
Once the float had passed, Kinneas turned to Seifer and asked, "Who was that?" in tones that managed to combine fear and awe.
Seifer had a good idea who the sharpshooter was talking about, but he played with the Cowboy for a bit. He needed it, despite mentally preparing himself for the confrontation with his rival; he still had a few nerves left. "If you can't recognize your target after having her introduced, than I'd wonder about the training you received at Galbadia Garden."
"Not her. The guy standing next to her in the leather and with the weird weapon."
"That's the Squall Leonhart you've been hearing so much about, Cowboy. The 'weird weapon' you were admiring is a gunblade, though I've never seen that particular blue beauty before." He winked at Kinneas. "And regardless if you hit or miss, we're going up against him. You game?"
The sniper pushed past Seifer, muttering something darkly under his breath about how he "didn't miss." The Cowboy was so defensive about his shooting ability, a defensiveness that all but shouted to Seifer's bully instincts that the sharpshooter was hiding something. Ah hell, much as he'd like to continue baiting the Cowboy, he had a job to do. They had only so long before the float would be in position, it wouldn't due to miss their opportunity. Still chuckling under his breath, Seifer followed Kinneas to the prepared sniper's nest.
/\
Everything in the prepared nest was all set up, just like the general had promised. The sniper rifle, more accurate at long distances than Kinneas's shotgun, was already assembled and ready, with a tripod off to the side should Kinneas need it. Bored already, and with nothing to stare at while the nest was still concealed, Seifer's gaze settled on Kinneas's hunched over form. His eyes narrowed. To casual eyes, the sharpshooter looked to be psyching himself up for the shot. Those eyes would miss the occasional shudder that twitched the sniper's shoulders, a shudder that could easily mess up the precise aim needed for long distance shooting.
Glancing at his watch, Seifer cursed. It was almost time for the shot. Kinneas should be moving into position so he would be ready when the cue came. Moving to where the Cowboy was still hunched over with the sniper rifle against his shoulder, not anywhere near a firing position. He considered placing a hand on the sharpshooter's shoulder, decided that it was far too nice for his reputation, and let the hand lightly smack the back of the Cowboy's head instead. "Oi, Kinneas, wakey, wakey. You have to get ready."
"I-I can't do it…" the Cowboy's voice was shakier than his shoulders were. "I can't deal with high-stakes assignments. Hit or miss, I'll change history, and…" his voice trailed off. Seifer glared his irritation at the sharpshooter's stupid hat, something wasn't settling right. Headmaster Martine had said he was sending his best sharpshooter as liaison to the Balamb mission, but Kinneas wasn't acting like a professional, more like a green rookie who was absolutely sure that he would miss. The blond gunblader shook his head in disgust, then stilled. Moving with predatory intensity, he moved until his face was inches from the sniper's.
"You have pressure problems." He stated in a flat voice, leaving no room for rebuttal. Kinneas didn't even try to defend his skill, simply curled into a tighter ball as if that would help him escape from Seifer's scorn. "Does your Headmaster know?" the question snapped over Kinneas like a whip. The sniper nodded miserably. "Then why in Hyne's Holy Name, did he assign you to the mission!"
Kinneas looked up, eyes defiant. "Because I have 98% accuracy. That's higher than anyone in all the Gardens, Balamb and Trabia included. The only times I miss are…" he trailed off.
"Times like now, huh?" Seifer took another glance at his watch. It was almost time. Hyne's balls, he was a bully, and proud of it. He was great at interrogation and breaking his opponents down with words and skill, he didn't know how to build someone up. But he had to do so fast, or they'd miss their opportunity. Shit, he wasn't Leonhart…wait. He had an idea. He crouched down, and laid a companionable arm across Kinneas's shoulders. The sniper stared at it as if it were diseased, and then looked at Seifer.
Seifer smirked. His fish was baited, now all he had to do was draw him to the hook. "Look, Kinneas remember what I told you about Leonhart?" at the sharpshooter's nod, he continued. "Like I said earlier, you hit or miss we have to take him on so he can go back to Balamb for a trial. All you are doing, is giving the go, can you do that? Give us the signal, and we can move in and take the Sorceress out and Leonhart prisoner."
Kinneas looked at Seifer as if he were mad. "Are you crazy? You can't go after Garden personnel without… he trailed off, obviously remembering certain facts about Seifer that did indeed give him the right to arrest members of SeeD in the field.
"Never you mind what I'm allowed to do or not do. All you need to do is give me the signal. Or is that too much for you?"Seifer allowed himself to sneer, as if really thinking Kinneas couldn't shoot a measly signal shot. The sniper's back straightened, and he shrugged of Seifer's arm with a single movement, picking up the sniper rifle and situating it in his arms, ready to fire. Seifer moved closer to the edge, ready to jump down and steal a car to get to the arch where the float would be trapped, one eye glued to his watch. As if they'd planned it, the instant both boys were in place, the time came and the nest moved up out of concealment. Kinneas took an instant to verify the target, and took his shot, Seifer already in motion while the guards were still startled by the unexpected interruption of the parade. By the time they reacted, Seifer had already stolen a car and was putting it in gear. From his angle, he couldn't see what had happened on the float, couldn't tell if Kinneas had hit and there would be a dead or dying Sorceress on the ground, or if for some reason the sharpshooter had missed and there was a ticked-off Sorceress for his posse to face.
He jammed on the breaks, giving the car a vicious spin while he did so, so the car skidded sideways into the bars holding the float inside arch, swearing as his trench coat snagged. Ripping himself free, he clambered up onto the float and allowed himself a beat to access the situation. The Sorceress was bloody, but alive, Leonhart having obviously used one of his items to revive her from Kinneas's shot. That drool-worthy, blue gunblade was slightly darkened with blood on one edge, Fujin's blood. The slighter member of his posse was down on one knee, chakram just out of easy reach, favoring her right arm. Raijin had his quarterstaff at a defensive angle, covering Fujin, likely trying to buy time until Seifer arrived.
Pulling Hyperion from its holster, he moved, catching the strange blade before it could connect with Raijin. Over the crossed gunblades, he allowed himself a wide smirk, as if he and Leonhart were back at Garden and were simply sparring as they always did. Leonhart narrowed his eyes before he shoved Seifer off with a heave. The two gunbladers took an instant to simply glare at each other before Seifer allowed his smirk to grow, simply because it pissed his rival off. Seifer was briefly grateful that Hyperion had a one-handed grip, it allowed him to engage Leonhart and still hand-signal Raijin to look after Fujin, not that Raijin needed the instruction. His posse understood that this was Seifer's show now, Kinneas had given his best shot, and been foiled by a Phoenix Down.
"Nice new gunblade, Princess," Seifer allowed his admiration for the weapon to seep into his voice. "but don't you think it's a bit much to christen a new blade with the blood of a fellow SeeD?" both Seifer and Leonhart knew that Fujin had never taken the test, in fact, had publically refused to test until Seifer had gained SeeD rank, the same as Raijin. The point was still there, and that was what counted. Leonhart merely grunted, dancing under Seifer's guard before the blond swayed out of reach and counterattacked. Seifer inwardly frowned; this exchange was taking too long. Fun as it was, the longer he danced with Leonhart, the longer the Sorceress had to recover from being shot. Taking a chance, he broke away from the standoff, and fired a round of his own at the Evil Bitch, but was unable to be sure of his aim due to his haste and the need to keep an eye on his rival at the same time. A howl of wind shrieked around the float, pushing Seifer away from his rival with its intensity. At the corner of his eye, he saw Raijin help Fujin to her feet, and carefully hand her the dropped weapon. Good, he had backup if he needed it. And none too soon. The Sorceress was getting up; she had been the source of the wind spell that had ended his dance with Leonhart.
Looking away from the two of them, Seifer saw what had to have been the most disturbing sight of his entire life. His proud, beautiful rival was on his knees, head bowed in submission to a power-hungry Bitch of a Sorceress. There were no words for exactly how wrong it was. While he might have loudly fantasized about the sight in Leonhart's hearing to piss the other boy off, Seifer couldn't describe how disturbed he was at actually seeing it. It was as if-as if Chicken-wuss was no longer obsessed with hot-dogs, or Trepe did a regular strip-tease for her groupies. Leonhart bowed to no one, and yet here he was, on his knees to a Bitch who didn't deserve the honor.
He took a step forward, raising Hyperion before registering an impact throughout his entire body. His body was numb, as if he'd been hit with something though the pain was strangely absent. Vaguely he glanced down his body, almost not seeing the large icicle that had abruptly sprouted out of his shoulder. Hyperion was on the ground, when had he dropped it? The cries of his posse were almost unheard as he crumpled, his vision locked on Leonhart's eyes.
//\\
Dispassionate blue-grey eyes stared at the prisoner, still held under with Sleep spells and stripped of all weapons and trademark coat. The blond was hung from the wall as if he were a piece of meat on display or a sacrifice to an uncaring god. The latter analogy was actually rather appropriate, Squall reflected in a rare moment of poetry, given that his rival was there to be questioned and punished for his attempt against the life of his Lady, a true Goddess on earth.
Giving the guard manning the electrical station a signal to be ready, Squall canceled the spell holding the blond gunblader in dreamland. His rival didn't twitch, no doubt trying to gather as much information as possible without giving away the fact that he was awake. Too bad that it was a useless endeavor.
"Stop faking Seifer. You aren't fooling anyone. I know you're awake." The only reaction he received was a lifting of the older boy's head, confirming that Seifer had been fooling. They both knew each other far too well to be able to lie, something Squall was counting on in the coming interrogation. He let the blond futilely test the restraints for a bit, knowing that they wouldn't come loose easily. Then he got down to business.
"Let's cut the crap, Almasy. My Lady has questions She wants answered, and answers She shall have."
"What; like the exact length of my cock? Sorry Leonhart, but She'll have to find the answer to that question Her-"Seifer cut off his words in a grunt of pain, as a rush of uncontrolled electricity ran through his body.
"I told you to cut the crap." Squall's voice was quiet, but diamond hard. "Here's how it's going to be. I will ask questions. You will answer them to the best of your ability. Every time you lie, or insult my Lady in your answer, you will get another jolt of electric current. I might 'play' with the voltage a bit as well. Clear?" Sea-green eyes met blue-grey in impotent hatred, but they both knew that there was nothing the blond could do to improve his situation. The blond nodded, jerkily. It was good enough.
"What is SeeD?" it was his Lady's most pressing question, one he'd already answered to the best of his ability, but She hadn't been satisfied with the information he'd learned from Headmaster Cid at his induction. That was why it was Seifer on the rack instead of someone like Zell or Quistis. He'd spotted the other gunblader rummaging around in the Archives during class times, if there was any information in there, the blond would know it.
"Is your memory going, Leonhart? Hyne's balls, you're the one that passed the exam. Didn't the Old Fart tell you all about SeeD when you passed?"
"He was interrupted then, and my Lady already knows what I learned there. What is SeeD?"
"I don't fucking know!" why was Seifer being so obstinate? Didn't he realize that it was futile to resist the Sorceress? Didn't he realize that if he just cooperated and received his Lady's Grace, than he could be forgiven for the sin of working with SeeD? Or was he simply being too stubborn to see his own salvation? Seifer had always been willing and able to cut off his own nose to spite his face….
"Try again, Seifer. You regularly accessed the archives from your class terminal to avoid paying attention to lectures. Don't think I didn't see you. You know. What is SeeD?"
"I already fucking told you, I don't have a fucking clue!"
//\\
The prisoners in the large cell were huddled into two distinct groups, always aware of the invisible dividing line between the SeeDs, and Seifer's posse. Despite the separation, all 5 flinched as one when the anguished howl echoed through the metal walls as if they were paper. "SEIFER?" Fujin asked; her first word since awakening in the cell.
Quistis didn't answer immediately, though she thought it was likely. Looking at the two across from her, you couldn't tell that Fujin was still in pain from her unhealed arm or that Raijin was about to jump out of his skin from nerves, not unless you knew them both well. Only a slight stiffness to the injured limb betrayed Fujin, while the only cue from the impassive Raijin was the slight jumping of muscles in his upper arms. Also, the forlorn note in Fujin's voice could be easily missed, again unless you knew her well.
Yet again, Quistis wondered what exactly it was about Seifer that prompted those two to follow him with such unthinking loyalty. The blond gunblader was an arrogant ass who should never have been given his responsibility in her opinion, but looking at his followers made her wonder what it was about the arrogant blond that she was missing. Whatever it was, it was enough to make both Fujin and Raijin sabotage their careers in refusing to take the SeeD tests until after Seifer had passed. She'd actually overheard Xu scolding Fujin for that decision once without much success. Those two would be a tremendous asset to SeeD if they'd only consent to take the test, but their loyalty to Seifer held them back from that step.
"Who cares," Zell tossed out in answer to Fujin's query. While Quistis understood that he had undergone another session of the Dream world while unconscious, and was distracted while finding that some details in the dream that corresponded to real life, and that Seifer made much amusement out of mocking the martial artist, that didn't excuse the tattooed blond from such callous disregard for Fujin's distress (the irony of the situation did not fail to escape her). She was just restraining the urge to smack the shorter blond, when Fujin got there first.
"RAGE!!!! CHICKEN, DIE!!!!!!" ignoring her injured arm, Fujin dove on Zell, trying her level best to strangle him with her bare hands. Both Quistis and Selphie immediately dove to try and rescue Zell from the full formidable force of Fujin's wrath. The former instructor spared the energy to glance at Raijin, who hadn't moved a finger to save the blond from his partner, despite his status as one of the only two who could calm her down. "Why don't you help?" she spat as Fujin ripped her arm from the whip-wielder's grip for the third time.
Raijin shrugged. "The Chicken-shit insulted Seifer." And that was apparently enough to justify watching his partner strangle a SeeD to death before his eyes. Quistis eyed the tense muscles of the quarterstaff user's brawny arms that suggested that Raijin wanted to take his own smacks at Zell, but was allowing his partner to take revenge for the slight against their absent leader for the both of them.
Not that the observation helped her any. She still had to find a way to get Fujin to let Zell go. Zell's one-sided feud with Seifer aside, the martial artist was their best chance of getting out, given that all their weapons had been confiscated. All of them needed those to get out, but as Zell's weapon was his body, he had the best chance of actually getting to them. Another anguished cry echoed through the walls driving Fujin on to new heights of fury that she wasn't able to help and protect her leader. Fury that she unleashed on Zell's hapless form.
Concerned, Quistis desperately tried to reason with Raijin. "If you can get Fujin to let Zell go, I bet he can retrieve our weapons so we can break out of here. If she kills him, there's nothing we can do to help Seifer!"
That got Raijin moving. The big man bent over Fujin talking softly into her ear, then moved back just a hair too slowly to avoid a lethal kick to the shin. After a few moments of hopping around on one foot, he bent over his partner again. This time he was able to get her to relax her fingers a hair, just enough that Zell was able to break her grip and retreat to the far side of the cell from Fujin. Derailed from her fury, the only indicators of Fujin's previous mood left on her person was some slightly ruffled hair, while Zell was sporting several painful looking bruises around his neck. "PLAN?" was all she said in her usual monotone.
Quistis abruptly cleared her throat, trying not to be nervous with Fujin's unblinking single gaze fixed on her person. Quickly she outlined her brief plan again, looking everywhere except Fujin's ruby stare. For a brief moment, Zell looked rebellious at the thought of rescuing Seifer, but after a nervous look at Fujin and a tentative feeling up of the bruising around his neck agreed quickly. It was a simple matter for the martial artist to beat up a guard and make his way to where ever the weapons were being held. Once he returned, everyone swarmed around the blond, collecting their personal weapons, with the exception of Fujin. She didn't even glance at her chakram. "HYPERION." She demanded, apparently not content to let Seifer's beloved gunblade stay in Zell's possession a moment longer than it had to. Not wanting to argue with her after being choked to within an inch of his life, Zell let her have it. Only after the oversized (for her) blade had been strapped to her back, did she deign to collect her own weapon.
//\\
Pain filled green eyes glared at the sight before him. Leonhart had been in fine sadistic form, his interrogation Instructor would have been pleased at the showing. Seifer was somewhat less pleased, given that the one being questioned was himself. Hyne's balls, he couldn't remember Leonhart being that sadistic before. It just went to show, that he still had no idea of what exactly lay beneath Leonhart's Ice Princess exterior.
Seifer wondered exactly when Leonhart would get that he truthfully didn't know the answer to the questioning. Seifer didn't get what the big deal was, who cared what the purpose of SeeD was? Apparently Sorceress fucking Edea did, bloodthirsty bitch. True, he did have a habit of skimming the archives during lectures, but he mostly just used his Disciplinary Committee clearance to access the profiles of fellow cadets (and even some Instructors as well) during that time, looking for weaknesses that he could exploit in the halls, or to research old items and Weapons Monthly back issues, you never knew what tactics you could come up with using outdated but still functional equipment. While he could see how he could have found the true purpose of SeeD in the archives, it simply hadn't been information he had been interested in. For all he knew, it wasn't even in the archives at all.
Leonhart was taking a short break from the torture, talking to some pussy guard who looked ready to piss his pants in the face of his rival's glare. Almost against his will, Seifer ran an appreciative eye over the stunningly attractive profile of the brunet. It didn't bother him that Leonhart was male, even though he usually preferred girls. But there was not a girl alive who could compare to the perfection of Leonhart's silky brown hair, with the long bangs nearly hiding stormy blue-grey eyes. Nor the perfect nose, the recent scar crossing it completing the look instead of taking away from it. It had so been worth being yelled at by Trepe for marking Leonhart's face. His rival's face had been incomplete without it, the smooth perfection giving no hint of the warrior that lay underneath Leonhart's skin. Leonhart should have thanked him for making sure he didn't meet SeeD clients looking like a pansy-ass pretty boy. He'd have gotten raped within a week of his first assignment if Seifer had left his rival's face as it was. True, Leonhart still looked like a pretty boy, but at least now he was a pretty boy warrior, and the world treated him as such. There was no way that Leonhart could avoid the pretty boy label, not with those eyes, nose, and Hyne, those lips. Lips that Seifer could just picture wrapped around a cock-
What the fuck? Sure, the brunet was attractive, but this was Leonhart he was thinking about. Leonhart, as in his rival, they guy who had been responsible for at least 90% of Seifer's visits to the Infirmary and vice versa. Not to mention that the bastard had just tortured him, sending repeated doses of high voltage into Seifer's body. Leonhart had never let him forget the time when they had been first learning how to Junction, when he had messed up summoning Quetzalcoatl and the GF had nearly killed him for it.
Leonhart finished making the guard crap himself, and Seifer couldn't help feeling a bit smug at the way the grown man, at least twice his rival's age, ran from the room as if Ifrit himself was on his heels. The more suicidal part of himself luxuriated in the slow, deadly stalk of Leonhart's stride towards him, and another part of him quailed at the deadly promise in those same steps. Leonhart's face might well have been carved in stone.
"Not going to change your story?" Leonhart said in an almost conversational (for him) manner. Seifer's reply was conveyed with the raising of a certain finger on one of his chained hands. Unbothered, the brunet shook his head, sending silky stands flying. "Very well. It's not as if my Lady truly needed to know the true purpose of SeeD before she eliminated it entirely."
Seifer's body went completely still. He…hadn't heard that correctly, had he? Leonhart didn't mean what he thought the brunet had said. His rival couldn't have just said that the Sorceress planned to eliminate SeeD in its entirety, he just couldn't have. There was no way a single country, no matter how powerful could completely crush all three Gardens. And the tense Leonhart had used, past tense, as if the unthinkable deed were already done.
As if in answer to his turbulent thoughts, Leonhart smirked in that extra-annoying way he had, the one that always made Seifer want to smash it off his rival's too-pretty face with Hyperion. "The orders have already been distributed and Galbadia Garden has already been cleansed. In 4 hours time, missiles will be fired at Trabia, followed by missiles aimed at Balamb 6 hours after that, wiping them both off the map. It's already far too late for you to save the Gardens."
Seifer couldn't restrain his fury that his rival could so callously destroy his home and way of life without second thought. How dare Leonhart so blithely destroy the Gardens, and how dare he talk so casually about eliminating SeeD. He'd passed the exams on his first try, and had never felt the agony of coming so close to a goal, and having it ripped away from his grasping hands. He couldn't think, could barely breathe past the grief and fury that crowded his brain. Distantly, past the loud roaring in his ears, he could hear someone shouting at Leonhart, using the foulest expressions he had ever heard. It wasn't until the white noise diminished somewhat and he could feel the rawness in his throat, did he realize that the one shouting was himself.
Throughout all the torrent of verbal abuse, Leonhart stayed as cool as ever, only briefly narrowing his eyes in irritation at the noise level. That pissed Seifer off even further, driving his fury to the point where he could no longer feel the ache in his chest. Midway through his rant, Leonhart turned around and left the cell, leaving Seifer alone. After a few more minutes of shouting at the closed door, the shouts tapered off into hot, shameful tears that burned past his eyelids. Balamb Garden was the only home he'd ever known. Hyne's fucking balls, when he'd canceled the contract with Rinoa, citing SeeD emergency, he hadn't known just how accurate he had been. Even if he could get out of this cell, he wouldn't have a hope to Hyne of getting the warning out in time.
Owari
Till chapter 3
For all of you yaoi fangirls reading this in the hopes of something steamy happening between Seifer and Squall at D-District, remember who was the interrogator in this fic, and the two boys we are talking about. It's my opinion, that unless they had a previous relationship going on, they wouldn't start fucking in a prison cell. Come on, these are two boys who are vary accomplished at lying to themselves about their feelings. They just aren't the type to randomly fall each other and start going at it. Not to mention that it's Squall who's asking the questions. Seifer might start something like that, but as you recall, Seifer's the one trussed up in this story.
Personally, I think Squall is a scarier knight than Seifer ever was. Think about it. Seifer's ego is a large part of who he is, and because of that, blocked most of Ultimecia's influence. Squall on the other hand, has folded completely, because She is playing the "I will not leave you" card, Squall's own obsessive nature plays right into Her hands. And on an unrelated note, I believe that for at least part of the game, most notably the fight on the parade float, Seifer threw his fight with Squall. Squall is not returning the favor.
Wow, I can't believe how much easier writing down scene ideas makes writing. I have the whole story diagramed out, and it looks like this story is going to be at least 9 FREAKING CHAPTERS LONG!!!! I'm really getting into this story, even more than my Transformers story. Maybe the reason is that Seifer is such an easy character to write….possibilities.