"What Would Be I Without You"
-Kawaii Hana-
DISCLAIMER:
I don't own anything from FF8. Too bad... I would have made a direct sequel from it, though...
NOTE TO READERS:
... Italic... -represents thoughts
(Italic) – don't mind them
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Chapter 2: No Escape. . .
Quistis sat on the chair in front of Squall's desk. It was 5:30 AM and Squall still was not there... She tapped her fingers on the desk as she eagerly waited for Squall's briefing on her mission... This would be her very first mission in two months since the Ultimecia threat. She remembered slamming her door after that "collision" with that Seifer. She found a post-it-note that fell to the floor.
It was written like this:
Quistis Trepe, come tomorrow at the office.
Briefing of mission starts at 6:30 AM.
Do not be late.
Squall Leonhart
Smiling, she couldn't believe her luck. The note was handwritten and in a very a small font. In addition, since, Quistis knew Squall well than others; she can tell that he was in a hurry so he kept it short yet self-explanatory...
Therefore, here she is waiting for Squall and was actually curious about her mission. She began exploring the room and was amazed of how really neat and proper it is.
The desk was made out of wood. And it was perfect. There were neither scratches nor any writings on it. On the sides of the room were drawers filled with files, reports, and documents. The indoor plants that were placed by the door looked fresh and green.
On the desk, it was a highly organized set. There was schedule planner, a calendar and papers of different reports. In front, there was golden name plate bearing Squall's name. Near it were actually picture frames of Rinoa, Squall and Rinoa and the whole gang behind the Ragnarok.
Quistis recalled that the last picture was taken a few hours after their battle with the Future Sorceress. And she was quite surprised to know that Squall was actually keeping pictures... (I bet Rinoa forced Squall to do that... )
The windows behind the desk covered with jalousies and only opened in the afternoon. With the help of the two fluorescent lights built on the ceiling, the room was brightly illuminated.
Quistis sighed once again. Two months ago, the room was not yet an office. It was a storage room of all the SeeD's reports. The walls were not yet painted and below were still that boring grey cement covered floor. It was just amazing how the Balamb Construction Workers do their job. (Probably used magic...)
She heard the door open and stood up, thinking it was Squall, to do the SeeD salute. But she turned and her lower jaw dropped open at that person.
And that person's lower jaw also dropped open... It was (obviously) Seifer...
Quistis looked away and sat back to her chair.
Seifer closed the door behind him and pinched himself so that he would know that he was not dreaming.
Oh, great! This SeeD is going to grade me... Oh, Hyne! I'm going to be expelled! The SeeD cadet thought with a hint of dismay and disappointment.
WHAT IS THAT HE DOING IN HERE!? I AM IN A PERFECTLY GOOD MOOD AND THEN... HIM...AGAIN!? Screaming mentally, she controlled her temper from bursting out as she always did back when she was still an Instructor.
"What are YOU doing in here!?" Seifer asked.
"Squall said I'm needed for this mission." Quistis said, as a matter-of-factly.
"WELL... I'm here for some MISSION too, you know." Seifer shot back.
"You're a SeeD already!? Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, puh-lease..." She laughed mockingly.
Seifer felt a pinch inside of him but kept that proud face.
"Yeah! Yeah! Coming from somebody who turned to a SeeD when she was 15... If you must know, the Headmaster said that this MISSION will serve as my Field Exam." Seifer declared proudly complete with the hand movements and the facial expressions.
"Oh... so that you'll fail it and then you'll get expelled. Well, then that's nice... Nobody's gonna bother me!" Quistis said.
"So what if I get expelled!? Then... then... I'll...I'll be free!" Seifer said who was not really honest... He really didn't want to be expelled...But what would the Instructor Trepe think if she saw him feeling hurt...She would obviously laugh!
"Well, then, why take the mission...?" Quistis challenged.
"Hmph! What do you care!?"
"Oh! I'm sorry! Just asking!"
"Oh, sorry, too, Instructor!"
"Whatever, you say...JERK!"
"I beg your pardon... Ms. Know-it-all!"
"TAKE THAT BACK!!!"
"NO! You TAKE BACK what you SAID!"
"STOP! I wake up a little later than usual and this is what happens..."
Both blondes turned to see that Squall was doing the "traditional" gesture of putting his hand on his forehead. It was sign that that he is annoyed... irritated or any emotion that you can think of!
Should've said 7:30 than 6:30...
Wake up later than usual!? Quistis raised an eyebrow. "But you said 6:30..." Her gaze turned to the clock. It was showing exactly 6:30. And here he said... 'Wake up later than usual...'
Squall had this habit of being early than the agreed time. He even wakes up earlier before his alarm clock starts to ring.
Quistis stood up again and did the SeeD salute. Squall did the same and promptly sat on his chair. And Seifer rolled his eyes during the whole process.
"Okay...Quistis Trepe. Recently, I just found out that you were free for two months. You are the only one who is available which means you cannot reject this mission." Squall spoke as he arranged the sorted thru papers scattered across his desk.
Quistis nodded. She would do anything to do something outside of Balamb Garden... but there is still one catch...Seifer...
"Seifer Almasy, in this mission, you will be the leader and with Quistis as your member and at the same time, she will be grading you based on your actions..."
Seifer nodded calmly. Quistis blinked at him.
Is this Seifer!? He would have at least commented on Squall so sounding so professional or be enraged that it will be me to grade him...again. Weird...
"So what exactly are we supposed to do?" Quistis asked, shortly forgetting her thoughts.
Squall nodded and cleared his throat. He folded his hands and began to speak.
"72 hours ago, we received a distress call from an anonymous source. Xu and I were in this room when we heard it. The message of the call was not clear or should I say it was bit 'fuzzy' so we ignored it..."
Quistis nodded. If you cannot understand a distress call, then it will be marked invalid. That is one of the basic rules...
"However", Squall continued. "Yesterday, a mysterious brown package was dropped at the gate here in Garden."
While speaking, Squall placed the said package on his desk and released its contents. The package contained a map of Winhill, documents and 4 plastic packages of evidences, but not only that, there were pictures of four men.
Both Quistis and Seifer looked at the mysterious contents with curiosity and interest. Squall was secretly glad that they are not arguing... He also had to stop from wondering and thinking that putting Quistis and Seifer may not be a good idea.
So far, so good... Squall thought.
"What's all these things got to do with the distress call?" Seifer asked, quite so calmly. ("It is very unlikely for him to do so, ya know..." )
Squall showed him the document that both blondes failed to notice. The document was handwritten and you can it tell it was written by a girl. It showed signs that the writer was in a hurry as 'she' misspelled a number of words.
"It says in here that there is a network of syndicates that is operating around the world. They use children to deliver drugs and money around the world. The writer seems to indicate there is more than that, though. The one we have here tells us that a secret base is located somewhere in Winhill." The brunette commander explained.
"So, basically, all we have to do is to locate that base and know what their objective is." Quistis said.
Squall nodded. "But, we have to take precautions. For all we know, it might be the syndicates themselves who gave these documents and set us a trap."
"So, what exactly are going to do...?" Seifer asked.
Squall let out a lot of air. He had been holding this paper for a long time. (:D)
"The PUB in Winhill is temporarily closed..." The commander began.
"Oh, so, it means we are to stay there so, say for example, we "move to a new home", and Seifer and I will observe what's going on." Quistis interrupted.
"We'll list the suspicious people and get to know them. Once we confirm that they are doing criminal activities, we'll arrest them and that's it." Seifer continued.
Squall nodded in response. He was quite impressed that the two had a clear perspective to their objective especially (and surprisingly) for Seifer. Maybe things will turn out good anyway.
"Yes, and in order not to cause any troubles, I have here your undercover identities..." Squall finally let go of the paper. "A week from now, you will move to Winhill as... husband and wife..."
"WHAT!?"
As soon as those three words left Squall's mouth, the serious looks of both blondes vanished much to the brunette's dismay and annoyance.
"You got to be kidding! Did I hear that right!?" Seifer once again lost his composure and was back to his "old self" again.
Squall can only look down at his desk as shouts of disbelief and shock practically heard around the third floor.
"Look, Squall... Can't we just pretend we are just friends?" Quistis suggested, clearly trying to get a way out of this.
"Friends? Look, listen up! If you are just friends, how come both of you moved to Winhill in the first place? If you guys act like spouses, it means you moved to start a family or settle down." Squall explained.
Quistis' jaw dropped. How the hell did Squall knew about this family business? Do Squall and Rinoa have plans already? But, in the end, it did make sense. They should have a convincing reason why they moved in the first place. Just being friends is a lame excuse which strikes suspicion to the villagers and the suspects.
"Well, what if we pretend that we're siblings?" Seifer suggested...desperately. Quistis nodded with a little hope in her face.
"GUYS!" Squall put his right hand on his face showing exasperation. "You are both 18 years old!" He pointed out.
Both blondes showed despair. Quistis shut her eyes tight.
Great! The only available mission for me...
Seifer did the same. This my last chance and I can't say no! Oh Hyne!
As this was happening, Squall knew from the very start that this will happen... But, he has been left without any choice. Quistis was the only available SeeD in Garden. And it was just yesterday that Headmaster Cid told him to include Seifer because of his "special SeeD exam..."
In short, neither Quistis nor Seifer can reject it since it is an important mission.
"I apologize but there is definitely no way you guys can go without this responsibility..." The commander told them. Both blondes sighed in defeat.
Life is totally unfair, isn't it? Right now, those two are thinking exactly the same thing. Of all people in the world, why did they have to be partnered together in a mission during this time where they don't exactly call themselves as 'friends and let alone be a couple?
Basically, this is what life is all about. The ironies, the twist, the tragedies, the unexpected turns which end up either good or bad.
Either way, for Quistis and Seifer, there is only one thing on their minds...
There is no escape...
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Whew! This chapter is finally done! Forced to be what they're not, huh? Ehehehehe... I'm so evil with all the characters... Let's just hope I don't end up in the Fanfiction Land or else I'm dead!
Please review this chapter... I desperately need one... I haven't been into writing fanfics for a while so I'm getting a little rusty. Especially this is actually my first Final Fantasy fic. Unlike those animes, you can get them to do comical things but in here, it's too realistic...
Don't forget to review; a couple of sentences would do... please... onegai...
Anyway, thanks for reading and...
SAYONARA!