Dilemma
Seifer stepped off the Balamb Garden accompanied to two unhappy SeeD. These were the same two whom he ditched in the Training Center to fight T-Rexsaurs. Now, mauled and scarred, the two of them were out to get Seifer in any way possible.
“Smell that, boys?” Seifer said breathing in the cool night air. “Smell of Balamb. Inhale deep, boys, you’ll be able to smell Ma Dincht’s cooking.” The two disregarded him and shoved him forward. “Easy, easy, boys.” He said jumping forward. “I’m going.” Unknowing to all three of them, someone watched him from the rooftops, their glare cold and murderous. The figure watched as the three disappeared into a building and it hopped down to the roof below, following and waiting.
Seifer looked down at the old man staring up at him with cold eyes.
“Yer the one who took over this town years ago, eh?” He said angrily.
“That was a long time ago.” Seifer laughed nervously. “Er, let the past be, right?”
“Pretty soon I’m going to be a thing o’ the past!” The old man snapped. “You’ve cost me at least 3 years of my already short life. You’d best be prepared to give ‘em back!”
“Look, sir, I’m sorry about what happened. I was a different man back then, I was young, I was reckless, I’m sure you were the same way.”
“Don’t you go comparing me to you, sonny!” The old man got up, waving his cane wildly.
“Grandpa!” The little girl jumped in front of the two. “Stop it!”
“What do you know? You were but a child when it happened!”
“It wasn’t that long ago, grandpa! He said he was sorry!” The little girl said.
“When will you learn…sorry won’t bring back anything, doesn’t fix anything either.” But the old man relented and sat back down. “What do you want?”
“I’m looking for my friends, Fujin and Raijin.”
“You mean the two that helped take over the town?” He sneered. Seifer couldn’t do anything except nod.
“They’ve got a small place by the port. ‘S not much but they keep it nice, don’t bother us neither.” He replied.
“Thanks.” Seifer said. “And, I’m sorry.” The three of them exited out of the small house. Seifer noted with a sigh that most of the residents still remembered him. They either spat in his general direction or hurried into their houses.
“Some welcome. You're reeaaall popular with this crowd” The SeeD on his right sneered. Seifer resisted the urge to whirl around and punch him. As they approached the pier, Seifer noticed a huge dark figure towards a small shack. He had a fishing pole in one hand and a bucket in the other.
“Raijin?” Seifer shouted. The dark figure turned to him and dropped both. The fish that was in the bucket jumped out and flopped towards the pier and into the ocean. Probably for the best, Seifer thought with a small smile, remembering the last time Raijin caught something.
“Se…Seifer?”
“COMMOTION?” A smaller figure exited the house. In the little light that there was, the black eye patch and shining hair was unmistakable.
“Fujin!” The woman turned to him and her one eye went wide in shock.
“IMPOSSIBLE.” She hissed.
“Nope, I’m right here.” He said walking towards them. A movement behind Seifer made him turn around and draw his gunblade. A small figure leapt at him with a primal scream that echoed in the darkness. Seifer only had the time to put up his Hyperion in defense before something sharp and metal clanged against it. The surprise and force of the attack caused Seifer's wrist to bend back and he recoiled in pain. In the darkness, he couldn’t see who or what it was that was attacking him. He could barely follow the movements of the figure. Whatever it was, it was fast, tiny and had a weapon similar to Fujin’s. He swung at the dark figure and prepared a fire in his other hand.
“DESIST!” Fujin commanded and whatever it was that attacked Seifer stopped and scurried behind Fujin.
“What the hell kind of pet do you have?!” Seifer demanded.
“It’s not a pet, ya know.” Raijin said.
“IS GIRL.” Fujin said, stepping aside. “IS AMA.”
“Ama?” Seifer said, eyeing the girl. She bore an uncanny resemblance to Fujin with her silver hair and fierce glare. Her eyes were an amber color instead of Fujin’s dark red.
“Long story short, she’s Fujin’s little sister.” Raijin explained. Seifer’s eyes nearly bugged out.
“NOT LIE.” Fujin reassured. “MOTHER…”
“We got a letter a while back from Fujin’s mom. We all thought she was an orphan, ya know? Well, the letter confirmed that. ‘Cept, Fujin wasn’t an orphan until a few months after you left. Turns out, her mother abandoned her when she was little, ya know? But now we get this letter that says she’s dead and Fujin has a little sister she needs to worry about. So we go looking for her sister, ya know? And we found her.”
“PROTECT.” Fujin stated.
“She looks like she can do a fine job of that.” Seifer said, flexing his wrist.
“WANT?” Fujin demanded. Seifer winced. Even though he had gotten used to Fujin’s way of talking, he also knew when she was really irritated.
“Look, I'm not here to mess things up. I'm not going to run around the issue, I want you guys back. Let's go back to being the posse that we used to be.”
“FOUND YOURSELF?” She sneered. “LEAVE.” Fujin turned around and Seifer looked to Raijin. Raijin shifted his gaze from the retreating woman to his old boss. Finally he turned to follow Fujin.
“Sorry, ya know? It’s just that...you left us first.” Just as Fujin was about to disappear into the house, Ama scurried over to her and tugged on her blue jacket. Fujin looked down at the girl. Ama looked at Balamb Garden and then back to Fujin with wide eager eyes. Seifer watched as Fujin’s expression turned to frustration and fist clenching and then to a softer, more gentle demeanor. She turned around.
“WANTS TO GO.” She said nodding her head towards Ama. Seifer stared at the little girl.
“Uh...can she even talk?” Seifer asked. Fujin walked up to Seifer until she was less than an inch away.
“HATE YOU.” She hissed. “IF NOT FOR AMA...” She trailed off and walked back into the house, slamming the door behind her.
“Does that mean you’re coming?” Seifer shouted after her. Raijin, on the other hand, looked more than pleased.
“I guess so! We need some time to get our stuff, ya know. But I think we’ll be ready by tomorrow.” He picked up Ama with one hand and swung her onto his shoulder skipping. “You hear that, Ama? We’re going back to the Garden!” The little girl giggled as Raijin skipped all the way back into the house. Seifer looked back at the two body guards and grinned.
“Looks like you two have just been replaced.”
.
.
.
Becca awoke to the sound of someone walking around downstairs. She slipped into her slippers and cautiously crept out of bed. Whoever it was moved quietly, except for that one slip. She grabbed a pistol from underneath her pillow and moved into the hallway. Out there, she lost the sound of the someone moving. She could hear the noises of everyone sleeping, from Cellia’s deep breathing to Andri’s flat out snoring. She walked down the stairs and headed for the kitchen, where she last heard the footsteps. The minute she entered, someone grabbed the back of her neck and arm and threw her to the ground. She let out a small cry of pain.
“Becca?” The person jumped back and turned on the light. Becca looked up.
“Xu? What the hell was that for?” She demanded, getting to her feet.
“I heard someone creeping around!”
“I was creeping around because I heard you creeping around!”
“I was trying not to wake you!” Xu defended. She looked down at the pistol now halfway across the floor. “Are you...often this uptight?” Becca rubbed the back of her neck and sighed.
“It’s difficult to say. No one’s ever attacked us but there are tons of people who have cause to.” She replied. “So far the island’s security keeps everyone out...who know what’ll happen if we’re found out?” The two of them sat down. “So...what were you doing up so late?” Xu blushed.
“I didn’t want to wake you...I was just going out for a stroll.” She replied. Becca let out an exasperated sigh.
“You don’t have to creep around. It’s scary like that.” Xu laughed a little and Becca looked at her. “What?”
“Nothing...it’s just...you look so ruffled right now.” The younger woman giggled. Becca smiled and mussed Xu’s hair.
“Get to bed, silly.” Becca picked up her gun and put the safety back on. She walked out of the room and Xu’s eyes followed. When the older woman was out of sight, Xu sat down on one of the chairs and tucked her head into her arms. What am I doing...? Why is this happening to me? She thought as her mind went back to her dream. This feeling...
-
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“Becca...? Will you be with me forever?”
“Silly, you only say that to someone you love.”
“...Will you be with me forever?”
“Hahaha, of course...”
-
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Xu banged her head against the marble counter in frustration, recoiling when she had brought it down too hard. Her eyes drifted to the tops of her eye lids and she watched as the stars shined outside. Being with Becca brought back so many feelings, so many unresolved emotions. She tilted her head back and leaned against the back of the chair. This place had a way of messing with her head. Here she could be with the people she never had a chance to be with. These were the friends she never had growing up in the Garden.
The Garden...Xu thought before it promptly disappeared again into the back of her mind as images of Becca flooded through her imagination. Becca meant the world to her now from being just a memory. Surely that was what prompted these dreams and images. Xu got up and walked up the stairs. Where she meant to turn right into her own bed room, instead she walked to the opposite end of the hall where Becca’s room was. She gently opened the door and knelt next to Becca’s bed. The older woman stirred and turned around, having just fallen asleep.
“Xu? What’s wrong?” She asked. Xu lifted the covers and crawled in next to her. “Xu?” Becca said with more surprise and alarm. Xu lifted her head to say something just as Becca looked down. For a brief moment, they exhaled at the same time, their breaths tickling each other’s lips almost as if they had brushed skin. Becca sat up and left the bed.
“Xu, you have to understand. I am not...I’m in no position to...” Without finding the right words, she left the room. Xu watched the silhouette of the woman disappear from the door way before she fell back onto the pillows. She put her hand where Becca had been but a few seconds ago and pretended that the warmth she had left was an actual body.
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“You’re in a chipper mood.” Selphie sneered as Seifer strolled by. Following closely behind him were Fujin, Seifer and Ama. “Oh” Selphie sighed but promptly raised and eyebrow when she noticed Ama walking around, trying to take everything in at once. Seifer pushed the button on the elevator and when the doors opened, Ama jumped back, growling.
“IS OK!” Fujin insisted, taking the little girl by the hand. Ama cautiously entered the strange contraption. When the doors closed, she started to bang against them, panicking because her only way out seemed blocked. It only worsened as the elevator moved. It took both Fujin and Raijin to calm her down and keep her from destroying anything. When they reached the bridge, both were already worn out and Ama jumped away, brandishing her weapon.
“NOT HERE.” Fujin snapped and Ama put it away. Seifer burst through the doors into Squall’s office.
“Yo, pubes! Look who I found.” He said gesturing to the trio. Squall nodded to the two of them and but frowned when he saw Ama.
“Who’s the girl?” He asked.
“Oh, this is Fujin’s little sis. Anyway, you’ll call those body guards off now, right?” Squall put down his pen and paper.
“Why is there a little girl with you? Have you explained to them what’s going on?” Seifer shrugged sheepishly.
“Not yet.” Fujin and Raijin looked at Seifer quizzically.
“What’s going on?” Raijin repeated. “Is there something we should know?” Seifer turned to face them and rubbed his hands together awkwardly.
“Um...let me explain...”
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Nida had barely touched the door to the bridge when the door flew open, hitting him in the face and pushing him aside.
“WAIT!” Seifer pleaded as Fujin marched away with Ama in tow. Raijin looked at the ground, still in the room. “WAIT!”
“NO.” Fujin snarled. “AMA IMPORTANT!”
“She doesn’t have to be with you all the time.”
“PROTECT!” Fujin insisted, stopping Seifer in his tracks. “SISTER!”
“She’ll be fine! There’s no safer place than the Garden! There are SeeD crawling around this place! We could enroll her in classes, she’d excel like no other!” Seifer tried. Fujin slapped him soundly, causing even Ama to wince.
“NO. NEVER.” Her eyes spoke words she could not. Seifer could see that she didn’t want her little sister getting mixed up in the Garden’s business, much less in his business with Ultimecia.
“Please...I need...I need you guys.” Fujin glared at him and turned around, dragging Ama.
“Ya know...” Raijin’s voice stopped Fujin just as she pressed the button to go down. “It might be good for Ama...” She whirled around.
“WHAT?!” She shouted, angry at the betrayal.
“I’m serious...she’s got no friends back in Balamb. Everyone treats her like...like...some beast. Here she can at least have friends who are also trained in combat...and won’t find her as weird. She can be like a normal kid with normal friends, ya know?” Fujin’s eyes glared and softened repeatedly as she thought about what Raijin said. Her eyes darted from Seifer to Ama, who was inspecting the vase sitting on the table. She strode up to Seifer and grabbed his coat, pulling his face close to hers so he could hear her hiss between her teeth,
“IF AMA HURT...” She pushed him away and looked back at Squall who sat at his desk rearranging papers. “TEST?”
“I’ll see when we can schedule her in.” He replied. He pressed a button on the intercom. “When are you free to proctor an entrance exam? Now? Really? That’s fine. Yes, she’s on the bridge.” Squall released the button. “Quistis will be her proctor. She’ll be here any moment.” Soon, the elevator door opened and Quistis stepped out.
“I’m here.” She said, then saw Ama. “Ah, you must be our little test taker. Good morning, my name is Instructor Trepe.” She said extending a hand out to greet her. Ama just stared blankly. Quistis withdrew her hand awkwardly and went over to Squall’s desk, pulling out a piece of paper from the pile. She handed the sheet to Fujin.
“If you could please fill out all the information.” Fujin propped the paper against the wall and grabbed a nearby pen. She quickly completely filled out all the boxes and handed it back to Quistis. Quistis skimmed through.
“Does she know how to read and write? Or...even talk?” She said eying the girl warily.
“A little...her mother didn’t raise her quite the way normal people do. She knows how to speak, and read and write a little but...it’s all very basic, ya know? ‘Feed me’ ‘Danger’ Those sort of things.” Raijin replied. “We’ve taught her more since she’s been in our care...but it’s difficult, ya know?” Quistis nodded in understanding.
“I see. Well, depending on how she does on the reading and writing portion of the exam, we may or may not be able to take her in.” She replied. “Well, at least not the normal classes. We might have to put her in some of the more basic classes, at least until she adjusts.” Fujin watched Ama with sad eyes.
“PLEASE.” Fujin pleaded. “DON’T.” Quistis smiled.
“It’s ok, it would only be temporary until she develops the language skills necessary to be in the regular classes.”
“NO...” Fujin insisted.
“We’ll see, ok?” Quistis said. She stuck out her hand again for Ama to take. Ama looked at Fujin and she nodded. The little girl took Quistis’s hand and the two went downstairs. Fujin clenched her fists, worried.
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Quistis slammed the results of the test down on Squall’s desk. He looked up and raised an eyebrow at her behavior.
“I’m sorry, we can’t do it.” She sighed. “We can’t put her in a basic class.” Squall picked up the packet and breezed through it.
“It looks like we’re going to have to...she failed the reading and writing portion of the exam entirely.”
“No, look at her physical stats.” Squall went to the back and his eyes scanned the page. He closed it, looking fairly surprised.
“She’s near perfect.” He replied.
“That’s why we can’t put her in a basic class. I’ve never seen anyone with such high scores on the physical part of the exam.” Quistis said.
“But she’s near illiterate.” He countered.
“I don’t care. The basic class will hinder her ability to sharp her skill. With the proper education, she could be one of our best fighters. She’s got a sharp mind, Squall, she just needs to be taught properly.”
“I can’t do it.” He said firmly.
“Squall! You don’t understand do you? I gave her the basic magic test! I gave her fire, ice and thunder. She played around with them for a few minutes and when I threw a fire at her, she knew how to counter it with ice! She instinctively knew! Fujin says that the girl has never even seen magic before!”
“I can’t do anything about it.” Squall repeated firmly, closing the packet and putting it aside. “She tested into the basic class and that’s where she’s going.” Quistis slammed her hand down on the table, almost spilling Squall’s coffee.
“If Cid were here, he’d make and exception!” She shouted.
“Cid’s not here, now is he?” He said cooly.
“What’s all this about Cid this, Cid that? I left ages ago.” The two whirled around to see an old, familiar face entering the office.
“Headmaster Cid!” Quistis greeted, standing up straight. Squall pushed his chair back and stood too.
“Now, now, no need for that. I’m not Headmaster anymore.”
“You’ll be our Headmaster forever.” Quistis smiled. “What are you doing here?” He chuckled a little bit.
“Oh, just dropping by. Edea’s downstairs greeting others. So what’s all the talk about me?” He asked, grinning.
“Look at these sir.” Quistis snatched the results and gave them to Cid. He pushed his glasses up and flipped through.
“She’s impressive.” He remarked. “I think she’s set a new record for her age bracket.”
“Sir, she can’t read or write.” Squall protested. “There’s nothing I can do. If she get special treatment, everyone in the basic group will want special treatment and it’ll be chaos.” Cid nodded and handed the packet back to Quistis. She balked.
“Surely you don’t agree with him!” She gasped. “You said so yourself, she...”
“Squall’s right. I don’t make the rules.” He said before pausing. “Wait, yes I did. But I can’t change them once they’ve been made. No matter how talented this young lady is, she’ll fail if we put her in the regular classes.” Quistis bit her lip in frustration. “I mean, it’s not like there’s a rule, paragraph 132, section VIII: Tests and Scoring that says that if an incoming student fails at one or all sections of the test, that she...or he, can retake it before next classes begin. And if she...or he can pass the exam by more than 20 points that she can join the next semester’s regular classes. It’s a shame no one thought of a rule to allow that.” Quistis looked at him, her eyes widening in realization. Cid smiled at her fondly. “And if only the student had a young, impeccable, intelligent instructor, well, everything would be all set, now wouldn’t it?” Quistis let out a laugh and bowed to him.
“Thank you so much.” She said. “I’ll go tell Fujin the good news.” She left the room. Squall looked at Cid once more before rubbing his aching head and getting back to the paper work.
“You’ll get used to it.” Cid said, walking over and patting him on the shoulder.
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