Give a reason.
Chapter seven.
A/N: I think we all have been waiting for this
chapter ^__^ dun dun
dun~
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seifer walked in, all dirty and ragged, his usually
clear eyes were red with exhaustion and had dark bags under them. His hair was
dirty and spiked out in every direction.
He stepped towards her, hesitant and dizzy. Fujin
was about to get up but he literally collapsed on her, his head falling on her
lap, and his arms snaking to wrap themselves around her stomach in a silent
hug. His shoulders quivered slightly every once in a while, was he crying?
Fujin smoothed back his jagged hair, in a rare show of affection, and placed
her hands on either side of his face, feeling the rough small hairs that must
have escaped the razor.
He lifted his head up, and coughed twice before
swallowing and smiling at her vibrantly.
“Oh Fuu,” he rubbed his eyes. No, he wasn’t
crying… “Where have you been all this time? I’ve looked everywhere for
you!” He sat there at her knees, watching every movement, every breath she
took, with total admiration. Everything about her amazed him, from the way she
fought the tears, to the satin feeling of her delicate fingers in his hair.
“I was…” She started, and then cleared her throat
before resuming, “I was in a different world, where only Sorceresses and
Guardian forces allowed.”
“How long have you been here, then?” He questioned
eagerly, holding her hands and looking her straight in the eyes.
“Last night, and this morning.” She smiled softly,
feeling butterflies in her stomach.
The knight got up and pulled her close to him, but not
actually hugging her, “Raijin wants to see you.”
She had totally forgotten the fellow! “Where is he?”
Seifer walked out of the room, Fujin following
closely behind, then he spoke, “In Balamb Hospital.”
Fujin stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a
horrified expression. “The hospital?”
Seifer shrugged, going back to stuck-up-Seifer mode,
“Said he tried to kill himself, but I don’t buy it. He ain’t
the suicidal kind.”
She almost fainted, Raijin? Suicide? No way!
Seifer nodded, “It happened only two days after that
Guardian force had taken you. Raijin took- or had been given too many doses of
sleeping medicine, and had to be placed in intensive care.”
Fujin held her head and followed Seifer quietly to
the control room, where Laguna and his tanned Aide were pulling each other’s
hairs, quite literally.
“What the hell’s gotten into you old geezers?”
Seifer scolded and leaned against the control panel.
“He started it!” Laguna whined, letting go of one of
Kiros’s braids. “Said I was having an affair with
Kiros yelped and slammed his hand against Laguna’s
mouth, then hissed through gritted teeth, “Shut up, Laguna, you gonna get us
killed here and now!”
Seifer, suddenly understanding the accusation,
whirled around and breathed angrily on his long stride to the two elders. “He
did what?”
“Errm…” Laguna blinked, “Kiros was just implying how
beautiful and sexy this girl was, that’s all!” He pointed to
Fujin who almost exploded in laughter, understanding the prank Laguna was
acting the way Selphie always did when they were caught red-handed with cookies
and soda, or smuggling Anime videocassettes.
‘I was just checking that
Rage and fury shone in the Knight’s eyes, at the
idea of having his Fujin being looked at without his permission, and by whom?
Two old guys who were as rotten and used as a gunblade-wax-cloth.
In Seifer’s terms, that is.
Strong gloved hands grasped at Kiros’s shirt, before
he was pulled so close to Seifer’s face that he could feel the young man’s
breath against his face. “If you want to have your guts torn right out of your
own throat, set sight on her again.” Seifer threatened in a harsh whisper then
let go of the man roughly.
Kiros coughed and gasped for breath, then leaned on
Laguna’s shoulder for support, he frowned at the retreating form of young man
then retorted, “That’s funny, I can’t seem to see your ring on any of
her fingers.”
Seifer stopped at the door, grabbed Fujin’s hand,
and then left without a word, without a protest, just a soul-seeking peace.
“Thanks a lot Laguna, I really like to be scolded by
a teenager who reads too many horror magazines.”
Laguna shrugged and watched as Esthar city came into
view, “No prob, by the way, he’s twenty-something, don’t let him hear you or you’ll
regret having a tongue.”
Kiros shook his head and sat down to recover his
breath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Seifer, they just saved my life! I won’t allow you
to speak to them that way!” Fujin scolded when she and Seifer were alone.
Almasy whirled around and grabbed her shirt from
around the collar, brining the two sides closer together to hide more of her
breastbone, “And I don’t allow you to wear indecent things like this!”
“You’re not my father!” Fujin screeched in anger and
embarrassment, then forced his hands away from her, “I can walk around naked if
I wish, you have no say in what I wear or don’t!”
“Deal, go ahead, walk around naked.” He smirked and
Fujin’s eyes widened. She probably hadn’t seen that coming.
“I don’t want to.”
“Oh, but you have no choice!” He was starting to
enjoy this; he just hoped that there were no security cameras around.
When Fujin couldn’t wriggle her way out of a problem
with Seifer, she kicked his shins.
That had to sober him up. “Pshh…
jeez, you could have said no.” It didn’t hurt, but it was irritating to have
her kicking him with her tiny cold feet. He made amental
note to remember to buy her shoes when they reached land.
She didn’t speak, but just turned around and left
the room. Oblivious to Seifer, she was fighting back tears.
Laguna looked up when Fujin walked in, with her eyes
all red and puffy. He smiled fatherly at her and informed, “We’re here.”
She nodded and stepped closer to Kiros, who was
purposely ignoring her, “I’m sorry about Seifer earlier, he just gets jealous
easily. I’m not even his girlfriend!” She shrugged innocently.
“I understand,” Kiros laughed, “I get carried away
sometimes too, eh Laguna?”
Laguna looked confused. “Huh?”
Kiros corked an eyebrow, “Remember, when I
fell in love with a girl, fought the whole town just to win her love, and then
eventually I realized that she loved me from the start? Remember how I
fought a whole army of ruby-dragons, but couldn’t find the courage to give her
a ring? Remember that Laguna Loire?”
Kiros was making fun of Laguna… For a moment, Fujin
almost believed that Kiros was talking about himself, until he reached the ring
part. She realized that he was talking about the president. He was indeed
getting carried away with his need to humiliate Laguna as much as Laguna did to
him.
“Alright, alright!” Laguna shook his head, “Let’s go
home people!” he was the first to dash to the exit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fujin shielded her eyes when she stepped into the blinding
sun, how good it felt to be with humans again. Just as she put her hand down, a
heavy trench coat was draped on her shoulders.
“Wear this ‘till we get you something decent,”
Muttered Seifer before stepping into the presidential palace after Kiros and
Laguna.
Fujin sighed softly, she knew he cared, but he was
showing it in a rather weird way. She adjusted the warm leather then followed
the other men.
Ward, who couldn’t scold Laguna vocally, gave him a
good slap on the shoulder instead, and Squall was there to frown at him.
Laguna, however, was smiling, probably having a nice time because he loved the
attention.
“Laguna,” she started, gaining his attention with a
smile. “Seifer and I are going back to Balamb.”
He nodded happily, “Sure, but be sure to come here
whenever you get lost again!” He winked and gave her a friendly hug, then
mocked tears, “I’m gonna miss yah!”
“I’ll miss you too.” She played along, ignoring
Seifer’s irritated sigh and Squall’s eye-roll.
Laguna was very generous, giving them a car to ride
the way back. It was a rather fancy one at that, and it even had its own
driver!
Seifer, with arms folded and eyes closed, sat
unusually quiet next to the sorceress.
“Here,” She said softly and returned his trench
coat. “Thanks.”
He merely nodded, then dropped the bunch of leather
on his lap before going back to thinking. “Mhmm…”
“I have only one question.” She started suddenly,
and startling him, “Why did you give me to them?” It was the sole reason she
was here.
He sighed heavily, and figured that this particular
issue had to come up sooner or later. He personally would have preferred later
though. “Well,” He swallowed, and ran his fingers though his hair nervously
before continuing, “Well, umm…”
Fujin’s brows knotted, he probably was going to give
her one of his ‘romantic’ and ‘dream’ lectures.
“I heard someone saying that whoever tried to kill
Rinoa was probably going to try to kill you too, so I thought that if you were
sent to Esthar -all high tech and stuff- you’ll be safer.”
Fujin blinked, that made sense! For once,
Seifer Almasy had thought of somebody other than himself! “Really?”
He scratched his dirty head and had a sheepish grin
plastered on his face, “Erm, yeah, really. I mean, you know me, I don’t usually
care about rumors. But I was really worried about you then and decided that
whatever Odine may do to you -with me around of course- can never be worse than
being killed.”
The albino felt all warm and fuzzy inside, for this
man cared for her, and had no shame in admitting it. She was happy now, happy
that she had gone through so much just to ask that simple question, and to get
that simple answer.
But if he cared for her, does it mean he was her
knight? How much she had wished that theory to be true, but then again, she was
still torn by the choice between love and motherhood.
Two minutes later, the driver announced their
arrival to Balamb’s Hospital. Seifer offered to give him a small tip as a
thank-you for the trouble, but the man refused it thankfully, saying that
Laguna was a generous man.
Seifer walked straight to the reception desk without
a single glance at Fujin, knowing that she was following.
“Hefty.” Short and to the point.
“Room 168.” The stout nurse at the receipt muttered
before going back to her computer screen.
Again, Seifer strode quickly to the elevator,
cramming himself and the tired Sorceress -along with three other doctors-
inside the small elevator.
“This is it,” He announced as he opened the door to
their friend’s room.
“Raijin!” Fujin shrieked over-excitedly as she
bounced into her tanned friend’s room.
Raijin’s tired eyes widened in surprise, but not
happiness. “Yah know, Seifer, how’d you get a girl that looks just like’er?”
“Huh?” Fujin turned to her knight.
Seifer leaned to her and whispered, “He thinks
you’re dead.”
“Raijin, it’s me, Fujin. I didn’t die!” She tried to
convince him softly, touching his forehead as further proof, “I was just away
for a little while.” She noticed a hazy look in his eyes, as if he was drugged
or sleepy. “Seifer, what’s wrong with him?”
Seifer shrugged, “Is something wrong?”
As if on cue, a nice slim nurse walked in with a
clipboard. “Raijin, how are we doing today?” She noticed the people around her patient
and smiled vibrantly at them, “Hi, you must be Seifer and Fujin, Raijin doesn’t
stop talking about your wedding!”
“What?” Fujin’s face turned red.
“Say WHAT?” Seifer squirmed uncomfortably. “He
wasn’t supposed to talk to anybody about it!”
The nurse giggled, “He’s under the influence of
morphine, to relieve him of the pain and all.”
“Hey Roxanne.” The drugged man spoke in a slur,
“Come sit’ere next to me.”
“Sure thing, Rai-Rai” She
giggled and sat next to him on the bed, “So like, since when were you two
engaged?”
“We’re not!” Fujin glared at Seifer, demanding an
explanation, but he only covered his eyes in embarrassment.
Roxanne covered her mouth and muttered an ‘oops’, “I
just ruined everything, didn’t I?”
Seifer glared at her from between his fingers, “No
kidding?”
Fujin shook her head then leaned down to whisper a
‘get well soon’ to Raijin. She left Seifer to fight with the nurse over
whatever nonsense he was planning with Raijin.
After a short trip to the small shop next to the
hospital, Fujin admired her new shoes and tied the laces real tight, so that no
cat could ever steal them again.
***
On their walk to Balamb Garden, Fujin suddenly
stopped and gazed at the ocean to her right.
“What is it?” Seifer questioned but didn’t stop.
“Ironic isn’t it? A SeeD, becoming a sorceress.”
The blond only shook his head, “Let it go, it makes
no sense.”
She frowned, “And what's with the wedding thing?
You’re not planning on marrying me are you?” In the depths of her mind, she was
repeating over and over ‘I do, I do… I really do.’
He kicked a small pebble off the road
absentmindedly, “We’re not kids Fujin and we’re not playing games.”
She didn’t know what to make of that statement. Was
he saying yes or no?
Before she could protest or ask any further, he made
a dash to the Garden as it came into view from behind Balamb forest.
*
“I’m gonna take a shower and change, I’ll meet you
at the cafeteria.” Fujin informed before starting to head for the dorms.
“No, Fuu… lets eat outside. I’ve started to resent
the cafeteria.” Seifer called before she turned around and regarded him with a
serious look.
“Get over it, Seifer. Just because a person was
killed in there doesn’t mean you should resent it.”
He gave her a gloomy face, “Fuu, Rinoa was killed
there. Raijin was found almost dead in there as well. People came up to me the
next day, saying that I don’t deserve a second chance, and that I was the
reason Rinoa was killed… they hate me.” Every single word he uttered was loaded
with pain and hurt, but his face denied either one of those emotions.
“Fight the power.” She suggested, “You’ve done it
before.”
“And I failed.” He frowned then angrily, marching
past her, “Balamb Café, thirty minutes from now.”
Fujin sighed. What was wrong with me? She
thought. This Seifer loves his Fujin, and that Fujin just treats her Seifer
like crap…
*
Fujin scrubbed viciously at her itching scalp, as
the hot water scalded her sensitive skin, turning her shoulders and delicate
cheeks red.
Now to sort things out, she thought, I am
Sorceress Fujin, Ultimecia’s daughter. Seifer is probably my knight, as he was
to the other recent sorceresses. There is a crazy killer on the loose, who will
probably try to get me. Seifer is edgy and only Hyne knows what he and Raijin
had in store for me before I became a sorceress.
She turned off the hot water and switched on the
cold one, her skin pinpricked roughly at the sudden change of heat. She
clenched her jaws together and fought for strength, but she was too tired, even
for such a small test as cold water. She turned off the water and stepped out
of the shower, wrapping herself in a towel and rubbing her head softly with
another.
Her dorm room was dusty and untouched, but
nonetheless warm and inviting. She smiled softly at the memory of having her
only female friend over, and having slumber parties. Selphie had always managed
to stay friendly to Fujin, and the rest of the orphanage gang, without
forcing any of the two parties to join or become one group. Selphie was so nice.
Fujin missed her…
Her shirts and pants, even underwear, felt more
comfortable for they came from her own drawer. Not some
Jennifer-Lopez-wanna-be-sorceress-look for her.
Just as she had finished dressing and was brushing
her hair, the door was knocked on softly.
Headmaster Cid smiled gently at the young sorceress
as she opened the door, “Well, well, Miss Kazeno. I’m glad you are with us
again”
Fujin Saluted expertly then stepped away from the
entrance, allowing him in, but he didn’t step inside.
“I only came here because President Laguna Loire
wanted me to give you a personal message,” He scratched his head, “I usually
let my aides do the messaging, but Laguna insisted I tell you myself that
Sorceress Rinoa had awakened, and to make sure you don’t spread the news. You
know such things are top secret information, right?”
Fujin saluted and nodded, “Yes sir.”
Cid laughed softly, “At ease, you look like you need
to brush your hair anyway, I’ll leave you alone now.” He gave her a final nod
and left.
She sighed. She would have to give back her powers
now. Maybe that’s better, maybe then she can marry whomever she wants. Maybe
now people wouldn’t hate her. Maybe now… maybe and maybe, so many questions.
Too bad she wouldn’t be able to get the answers before she went to Esthar.
But now she had to meet Seifer at the café… another
thing to worry about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seifer tapped his fingers impatiently against the
white table, he was sitting just outside the small café. He sighed and took a quick
glance at his watch, what's taking her so long?
“Are you ready to order, sir?” The waiter held a
small notepad and a used chewed pencil.
“No, I’m waiting for somebody.” Seifer dismissed but
the waiter didn’t move.
“Sir, you can’t sit here unless you are going to
order.”
Seifer frowned, “I’m gonna order, I’m just waiting
for them to be here.”
The man looked bored, as if he came across such an
answer every day, “Sorry, sir, you need to make an order of at least one
Gil.”
Seifer sighed, and for the sake of his poor temper,
he ordered some juice.
He had made it through half the glass, and Fujin
still hadn’t shown up. It had been 25 minutes since he’d told her to freshen up
and meet him. What if she had went to Balamb cafeteria and left him all alone?
No, he thought, Fujin is loyal when it comes to those things… she is
going to show up, he was sure of it.
He was right. Five minutes later, her silhouette was
noticeable as she gracefully crossed the street to the café by the sea.
“Sorry I’m late.” She apologized then sat down. “Did
you eat?”
“Nah,” he put down his empty glass and spoke,
“Stupid waiter made me order something. Whaddya wanna
eat?”
Fujin picked up the small hand-written menu and
studied it briefly. “Just some toast.”
He made a face, “You mean you brought me all the way
here, just for a measly piece of bread? C’mon, order something better.”
She chewed on her lower lip, and murmured to softly
for him to hear, “That’s all I can afford.”
“Hmm?” He leaned forward, “What’d you say?”
“I said that I don’t feel like eating anything
else!” She lied.
“Fuu, you’ve just taken a shower, everybody gets
hungry after a shower. I’ll pay,” He figured that this was her problem, if
anything.
She didn’t want to use him, but she was indeed starving.
“In that case, okay. But just this once!” She lectured and he chuckled, “I’ll
have coffee and chocolate cake.”
Seifer’s eyes widened, “They have chocolate cake?”
He took a look at the menu *for the first time since he got there* and nodded,
“Okay…” He whistled for the waiter who greeted them with a bored face.
“Your order.”
“One coffee and two wedges of chocolate cake.”
The waiter scribbled their order then questioned,
“Anything else?”
Seifer corked an eyebrow, “Yeah, a freakin’ smile.”
The attendant joined his brows then faked a smile,
showing his flashy white teeth for a second. Then his face got back to the
bored and bitter state.
“What’s with him?” Seifer leaned forward to Fujin
and noticed her forlorn look. “What’s with you?”
“Hmm?” She snapped out of her little world, “Umm… a
lot, I suppose.”
He smiled, Fujin had just noticed that he had
cleaned up and changed his clothes. His smile seemed more vibrant now that it
complemented his clean features. His hair seemed a bit longer, but not
too much, it’s a wonder why Seifer hadn’t gotten it shortened for a whole
month. The stubbly hair that had adorned his chin for a while had been neatly
shaved. She started to wonder how long did it take for him to groom himself.
For her, it was almost thirty minutes, while for him it seemed like it had
taken mere seconds.
“How long have you been waiting for me?” She
questioned quietly.
“A while,” He leaned back and threw his arm to the
back of the old wooden chair. “Not much, don’t worry.”
“Why were you all dirty and tired when we met at
Esthar?”
He chuckled softly, but with a splash of
embarrassment, “Been looking for you non-stop for a whole month. And you ask me
a question like that?”
“I’m sorry, I just though-” She was cut off
mid-sentence when a cup of coffee was placed in front of her, she looked up to
see a cheerful waitress smiling at them and placing their cake on the table.
“Sorry, dun mean to interrupt, keep tawkin” She chewed on her bubblegum, and winked at Seifer
before turning around to attend another customer.
“When I said I wanted a smile, I never thought
they’d actually do it.” Seifer admitted before stuffing his face with cake.
Fujin smiled softly and fought a relieved sigh, that
woman had just saved her from answering Seifer’s question. Whatever she was
going to answer, it had already evaporated at the smell of breakfast.
“So like,” He swallowed and made a face, then
reached to Fujin’s coffee and took a huge gulp to help the big bite go down.
“Ah… I was saying, how is it like, at that other world?”
Fujin took a small bite out of her piece, taking her
time to collect her thoughts. “Well, it was strange at first, but when I
understood that Guardian Forces and humans share almost the same way of life,
it got easier to be there.”
Seifer was watching her, the way he would be
watching a football match or breaking news.
She took it as a sign to continue, “Well, I was
there before, but then I woke up to see you in Odine’s lab, and then a painful
lightning shot me and I found myself there again.”
Seifer nodded, “Yeah, I remember that, I called
you.”
“You did?”
“Aha, Squall called it a Sorceress-knight thing.”
“You mean we can speak telepathically?”
“I think so…” He nodded and leaned back, thinking.
He felt a tickly sensation like cold fog at the back of his head, and he
sighed. “Fuu, are you trying to reach me?”
She gave a small giggle, “D’you
hear me?”
“No, but It feels ticklish.” He confessed with a
smile, “Stop it!”
There is a fly on your breakfast
~Huh?~ Seifer instantly looked down at his empty
plate, then raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re good.”
She took a last sip out of her cup, “I know. See,
that wasn’t hard!”
“Oddly, not as ticklish either…” He rubbed his neck
and pulled out his wallet.
“Maybe you were ready to listen, sometimes Guardian
Forces talk to me when I feel like listening.” She figured that this might be
the reason for the itchy feeling, which overwhelmed her knight, whenever she
tried to speak with him mentally. Was that why he couldn’t hear her, when she
had followed him out of the Fire Cavern and into the trap?
“Perhaps.” He placed the paper currency on the bill,
and started to head back for Balamb Garden, Fujin close behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the second time that day, Fujin gazed dreamily
at the ocean, and questioned the blond man walking next to her, “Can you keep a
secret?”
“Is water wet?”
Fujin glanced at him, “It can be dry, in the form of
ice.”
He rolled his eyes, “Yes, I keep secrets, Fuu. What
is it?”
She smiled and fidgeted for the one-hundredth time
with the question, she wasn’t sure if she should tell him, but it seemed that
he needed to know, “Rinoa is still alive.”
Seifer gave her a surprised reaction, “Really!
That’s a relief!”
She nodded sadly, “I might have to give up my
powers.”
He draped an arm over her shoulder, “Fuu, do you want
to give them up?”
“Well,” She thought for a moment, “I hate the fact
that there are people who resent sorceresses, and the fact that Odine and other
lab-freaks want to study us. But I like everything else, I like getting to talk
to you privately -no matter how crowded the place is- and I like the fact that
I can use any magic there is. I’m beginning to like the fact that I’m special.”
Seifer nodded his understanding along with every
sentence, he spoke when she finished, “Can’t you do this stuff when you don’t
have magical powers? I mean, its there, isn’t it, you just discovered
it, that’s all.”
It was a possibility, but Fujin hated more than what
she gave on, “Seifer, there is something else…”
“You can tell me anything,” He pulled her away from
the road and sat next to her on a fallen tree log, “Anything at all.”
She sighed, “Well, Sorceresses don’t have children.”
There we go.
Seifer watched the ocean for a moment, before the
statement sunk in, “What do you mean? Rinoa was a sorceress and she had-”
Fujin cut in, “It wasn’t with her knight.”
“You’re right…” He said slowly, “She married Irvine
for no obvious reason, but then she had kids with him. Isn’t he supposed to be
her knight?”
“No, I don’t think so, she was in love with Squall
when she first became a sorceress. I
guess that’s when he was crowned her knight, but when she discovered the fact
that she couldn’t live a happy life and have a family with him, she chose the
family over love.”
Seifer nodded quietly, probably starting to doubt
his desire to become Fujin’s knight. He loved her, and he wanted to have a
family, but now that she had said all those things to him, it changed too many
things. For the sake of the children who were not born yet, or ever, he had to
make a decision.
“Is that why Edea adopted us, to fill in the void?”
He wondered quietly.
Fujin only nodded, feeling tightness in her throat;
will he propose marriage to her, now that he knew this information? Was he
going to… ever?
A long time had passed before any remembered their
destination.
“We should get going.”
“Mhmm…” Uh-oh, he’s closing the subject. “Can
I tell you anything else, really?”
Seifer smiled at her, “Sure, but how about we go
back now, I think I’ve missed on too many classes in the last month, not that SeeDs need classes, just…“
I know Seifer; I’ve missed on so much too.
She thought before following quietly, as they resumed their walk.
not another
thought formed in her mind.
End of chapter seven.
A/N: okay… I really don’t like action/adventure, but
I feel like this story is turning into one. *yawn* I hate writer’s block, and I
have a few studies to do in college. Meh, I just hate
studying. Please review if you haven’t already, I’m feeling very down lately, I
dunno why ^__^;; R&R please!