Give a Reason~

By Renoa Heartilly

A/N: thanks for Vick330 for beta and helping me again ^_^  I have enough mistakes to convince to just quit writing :(

~~~~~~~~

 

Chapter Three.

 

Damn, I can’t do anything… here I am strapped to a chair, ‘Odine brand!’ screw that crazy son of a shoopuf. Had I known they would do that to Fujin - MY Fujin- I would have taken her somewhere safe. But, NO~ I had to be a good boy and teach her how to control her freaking powers! Guess I’m nothing but a failure after all, I gave up not on one sorceress, but two!

 

“How long are you gonna keep me in this hell of a chair?” I struggled, maybe there is a chance for me to escape and take her with me.

“Be quiet! You do not have ze right to zpeak!” The tiny, insignificant, so-called doctor frowned at me, and got back into staring at the transparent form of the young sorceress. It is so odd that a body would become see-through and invincible, without the use of combat items and magic.

 

I cursed under my breath and looked around, searching for a means of escape. I saw two aids standing at the large machines, Hyperion thrown carelessly in the corner -damn those freaks- and the bluish gray gun ignored on the table. Before I could act, commander puberty-boy entered and examined the girl.

 

“Is she on display here? Have some decency!” I shouted – there’s a friggin thin line between anger and madness.

 

“Shut up Seifer.” Belt-man frowned at me and then turned back to the crazy old man, “Can you help them?”

 

“I do not know, zis is probably ze first time I ever see such a thing!” Tiny palms rubbed old creases in his chin, “She iz transparent! But I could ztill feel some of her warmth and flesh!”

 

“Don’t you dare touch her with those dirty hands of yours!” I shouted, edging the chair forwards, but I was ignored as usual.

 

Squall spoke again, clearly puzzled, “So she is here, but she is not here?”

 

“Yes, I zuppose zo! Ve need to bring her back here to try ze tests again!” Odine-the-freak started watching some monitors, and my rival shrugged a ‘whatever’ and left. Pathetic lovesick puppy, she betrayed him and married another man, and yet he still holds faith that she will be brought back to him. Weakling…

 

“Okay, I’ve had enough of sitting, can somebody get me outta here?” I cursed when nobody answered. “SCREW YOU!”

 

“Ah, shut up.” The old man got cranky and untied me.

 

Just as I regained control of my hands, I sent a good fist to his jaw, satisfied with the sickening crack. None of his aids were willing to share the same fate, so they kept their distance. I stepped over his crouching, tiny figure and tried to touch the petite woman.

 

He was right, when you reached to touch her you could feel slight warmth, the kind of warmth that only a living creature can posses - but it was also cold, cold as death...

 

I leaned closer to her “Fujin.”

 

“She won’t wake up with a kiss from the prince, stay away from her before you hurt yourself.” Squall walked in again with his usual glare.

 

“Puberty boy?” for the first time, I decided to be civilized and asked, dead serious.

 

“Yeah, lapdog?” He approached and stood next to me, an unspoken understanding passed between us for an instant.

 

“How did Rinoa wake up?” I inquired. I had never thought about it until that moment.

 

“Honestly, Seifer, I don’t know.”

 

“I mean,” I looked him in the eyes, “Haven’t you two asked or anything?”

 

 

“Not really,” he shrugged, all the while watching the albino -my albino- breathe, “I asked Ellonne to connect me with Rinoa’s past, but when she was lost in space…” He stopped and looked at me, probably as surprised as I was that he was speaking to me seriously.

 

He seemed to come to a decision and resumed, “Umm… we kind of communicated and she regained hope. When I woke up, Sis- Ellone told me that I didn’t need her help after all.” He brushed back his hair, and as an old-time Squall observer, I’d say he was nervous. “So I guess it’s a Sorceress, Knight thing,” He concluded and frowned slightly.

 

“Hmm… Fujin sometimes asks me if I said anything, when I haven’t uttered a word. She claims that she clearly heard me, maybe it’s in her head, but does it mean anything?” I asked though feeling kind of awkward for asking my all-time rival.

 

“Maybe,” He looked back at me, one brow arched, “Don’t you hear anything from her in your mind yourself?”

 

“Well,” I tried to remember the time when Fujin said that she heard me talk. I felt as if there was a thick curtain of fog covering that precise moment, one thing I was sure about… “Something felt ticklish in the back of my head when she mentioned that matter, it felt like a new raw junction, but I just dismissed it.”

 

“well, Rinoa told me later that she was trying to communicate with me telepathically a lot of times after that space incident, but for some reason, when I try to think about the times she mentions, it just feels like fog or smoke covering that part of memory” Squall explained quietly, a puzzled look on his face.     

“Yeah that’s it!” I started enthusiastically “I feel fog clouding my brains!”

Brown hair shook slightly when he nodded and stated “then it’s all in our subconscious.” He frowned slightly at the confused look on my face. “Kazeno must have tried to communicate with you, but it seems that you were busy or something that you weren’t able to hear her. Your inner… umm… knightly senses probably answered or something but you were unable to hear it with your consciousness.” Squall looked at me with an expecting look.

 

I nodded thoughtfully, so I was thinking and talking to her in the same time? How ironic, I just have to ask her about it…

 

“Who knows what you told her that made her decided to not return back here” Squall teased while tipping his head to the side.  

 

 I just betrayed her and hurt her for crying out loud! Of course she wouldn’t want to return here!

 

Steel-colored eyes peered behind me quizzically, “Umm, is he okay?”

 

I tossed a casual look behind me, and realized that Odine had picked himself up from the floor. The tiny fellow dismissed the tow aids then held a notebook, and started writing down each and every word we had uttered. I scooped the pad from his hands and read aloud, “There is a connection between sorceress and knight, *scribbles* S hears K, K does not hear S… ask about children.” I frowned, “Children?”

 

Both of us knights glared at the terrified doctor, who spoke nervously, “I vaz, umm, going to ask ze elder knight…”

 

“Yeah spit it out,” I replied, crossing my arms.

 

“I meant, ze elder knight az regardz to Knighthood!” He corrected, and Squall frowned at his question, “How cloze have vou and ze zorceress been?

 

“None of your freaking business!” I hissed.

 

“I vaz azking about ze previous zorceress! I vaz not talking to you Almazy!”

 

“It’s AlmaSSy, and it’s still not your business.”

 

“Its okay, Seifer,” to my surprise, HE spoke my name! “We have been very close.”

 

“How cloze?” The doctor squinted his eyes. Stupid bastard.

 

“Very close.”

 

“Very cloze to ze point of… ?” The doctor motioned with his hands in frustration.

 

“JEEZ! Can’t you get a hint! You’re slower than Loire could ever be!” Exploded the usually calm and collected Commander.

 

I snickered and whispered, “They slept together.”

 

“SEIFER!” Steel-colored eyes glared at me in embarrassment, heh.

 

“Thank you, Almazy”

 

“AlmaSy, don’t mention it, I love getting him embarrassed.” I shrugged and leaned toward Fujin again, changing the subject “How long will she be asleep?”

 

“I do not know, try talking to ze girl.” The small man stood on his tiptoes to get a better at look at the girl on the high bed, forgetting the whole ask-Squall part.

 

“What do I say?” I asked, concerned again.

 

“Any thing zat vill bring her back here” the doctor hopped a bit, big black orbs dancing in excitement.

 

“So basically I have to get her back here?” I thought loudly “just so you can hurt her again?”

 

“I vas not hurting her!” The old man jumped angrily a few times, “I needed to draw zome of her powerz to aid ze experiment!”

 

“Just what are you exactly experimenting?” I demanded, intent on her transparent face.

 

“I do not know,” He shrugged, “Anything zat would help.”

 

“DNA would help, hair samples would help, not anything,” I indicated rather bluntly.

 

“Exactly! We cannot inject or take anything from her in zis state, for she iz untouchable right now.”

 

“Why?” I asked, straightening up and peering back at an interested commander then at the small doctor.

 

 “She iz torn between thiz world and an alternate one. None ov ze past zorceresses haz ever talked about thiz state, zis subject has been brought up only a few timez, but none ov them ever agreed to offer any information about it under vhat zo ever.”

 

I rubbed my chin, “You think that Fujin will tell me if I asked her?”

 

“She’ll probably refuse, but I guess it’s worth a try,” offered my old rival, and then his scarred forehead was creased by a frown, “Why am I supporting you anyway? I’m here for a completely other sorceress!”

 

“Help whoever, runs in your blood I guess,” I smirked and he grimaced in disgust. It always annoys him to be reminded of Leg-Cramp-Guy, gets him every time! - “So how do I talk to her?” I asked again.

 

“Just think about the words,” answered Squall, shoving his hands in his pockets before continuing, “Simply tell her to come back here.”

 

It sounded stupid. I looked suspiciously at the nodding doctor, but then leaned back towards Fujin.

 

I didn’t know where to start, so I just said whatever came to mind, “Fujin, c-can you hear me? Gosh, this is stupid, I know it’s corny, but come on and tell me something we haven’t done together. Okay so we haven’t done that… yeah, if you were listening, you’d kick my shins for sure.”

 

I realized that I wasn’t making much sense, but we’ve never had a really serious conversation before. Still, I thought that saying anything was better than remaining silent, “Heh, where are you now? Metal-toe-boot land? I know, I know. I’m just stalling. I dunno what the hell I am supposed to say, that blabbermouth of a brother you have is the one who usually passes time in never-ending chitchat.”

 

Her silence was getting to me, and so I became more anxious, “So like, where are you, really? You’re not here right? Fujin, talk to me! It’s really lonely here you know, even with people all around me. To all of them I am still the person they knew in the past, the strong arrogant bastard they all hated. Fuu, listen to me, maybe I haven’t told you before, but I have no one... Even Raijin would avoid me now, after what I have done to you.”

 

She was all I had left, but I didn’t want her back for my sake, I really cared about her. I also hoped that she still cared about me, even after all I had done, and so I pleaded to her, “I know that it sounds crazy, but you seem to be the only one who doesn't care about my constant failures... The only one who has ever believed in me...”

 

I had so much to tell her, so many things left unspoken. I just hoped that it wasn’t too late, that my words would not be lost to the winds of oblivion, “I promise that things will be different from now on. I know that I caused you pain, and that because of me you are lifeless on a friggin’ hospital bed… I am sorry, I never thought that it would all come to this.”

 

Desperation crept on me, making my voice rise with the anger brought by despair, “Fuu, please speak to me! It’s starting to get freaky! I’m no kid but believe me, when there are two pairs of eyes staring at you, burning between your shoulders, you have no choice but to feel scare- errm, strange... Yeah, I never get scared. Listen, if you come back to m… erm- here, I’ll make sure nobody harms you ever again. Deal? Now how about you come back, because I miss your boot on my leg!”

  

We all stared in disbelief, when her transparent silhouette started gaining color and consistence. She was returning! I felt a small smile tug at my lips; she had heard me!

 

“Zis iz it!” The doctor suddenly shouted to no one, “She iz awake! Ztart ze exzperemint!” with that sudden comment, he pulled down a lever on the key pad.

 

What? NO!

 

“NO DON’T!” I cried out when I felt strong arms pull me away from her bed. Damn puberty boy. I was just about to fight back, or think about it at least, when a strange, loud humming of machines came to life. All the lights that were positioned on the ceiling above her lightened up and sent a single bolt of electricity downwards, straight to her weak body!

 

“DAMN YOU!” I shouted when I saw her back arch in pain at the shock - Fujin!

 

 Dammit! How could they?

 

I struggled and eventually came free. I darted to her, grasped her shaking hand, and felt my heart shatter to pieces when I saw a single tear run down her cheek. It was the only response her body was able of, after what she had been submitted to. I heard her whisper something, then her hand passed through my own and fell back onto the bed. My jaw trembled involuntarily, and for the first time in years I felt… scared... Yes, scared for her. Had they killed her? Had she gone back to that world from where I barely dragged her?

 

I turned to Odine, murder in my eyes, “What have you just done?” I tried not to break his neck, “Answer me! WHAT?”

 

“I do not know! She waznt zuppose to go blank again!” Protested the silly excuse of a doctor, running around looking for shelter, and finding it behind the dumbfounded commander.

 

“Forget it Odine, you really messed up this time,” accused a frowning Squall, stepping away from the quivering dwarf.

 

“But- but!” blabbered the so-called scientist, freaked out.

 

“But, but your butt!” I cursed, ready to make mincemeat of him, but then a crash on the wall distracted all three of us.

 

You might not believe it from me, but even Puberty boy can bear witness to what happened. The great summon Bahamut crashed through the concrete wall and landed next to Fujin’s bed. There was a stern look on his face – as far as you could make out his face through the scales and beak that is.

 

“Bahamut, I did not summon you, so why are you here?” demanded the commander, crossing his arms and squinting his eyes in disbelief.

 

The giant dragon did not speak, nor did he acknowledge his master’s question. I guess that being junctioned to the quiet brunet, made the Guardian Force take after the human’s characteristics, and become silent and careless. The ultimate summon scooped up the unconscious sorceress, and -ignoring the heated river of curses I threw at him- flew back out the hole he had just made in the wall.

 

“Gee, thanks a lot Squally-wally. That just fixed everything!” I blew my top off and almost charged at him with Hyperion.

 

“I did not summon him, Seifer, he came on his own.”  Replied my old rival.

 

The way he looked at me, hiding his fear and confusion as well, convinced me. Why did that monster take my Fuu? Why? Am I undeserving of her that much? Am I such a big failure that even stupid Guardian Forces can’t trust me?  

     

Damn... Fuu, I swear I’ll get you back.

 

I swear...

 

End of chapter three~

A/N: Seifer POV’s are just soo cool! I can’t believe I managed a whole Seifer chapter without a curse out of the PG rating! … Did I? O_o?