'loo!

The first chapter's been revised, and the second chapter follows. Any suggestions or commentary is definitely appreciated!

- Kus^2
http://www.kuskus.org/ibun/




[ one ]

"Only a few more steps, ya know?"

"EASY."

The two longtime companions did not know what was more disturbing at the moment; that they were actually walking towards the gleaming, whirling structure that had been their former home with "Wanted" practically stamped on their foreheads, or that the third person being dragged lifelessly between them responded not at all.

"Fuuj," the dark one said, his voice quavering.

The one-eyed one didn't bother to respond immediately, struggling as she was under the heavy weight of the one man she'd ever give her life and her heart to. Her throat was tight as well, and unshed tears from weeks of worry and misery threatened to spill over her pale cheeks. She sucked in the moist, grassy air.

"SURVIVE!" she finally barked, putting her emotions away for a time when they could be properly expressed.




"They're here. He's here!"

Balamb Garden SeeD Commander Squall Leonhart didn't look up from the reports he'd been mulling over. Such and such person wanted bodyguards, such and such person wanted an army to stave off some rebellion, such and such person demanded a refund since his SeeD had died on the mission and thus had failed to retrieve... some... family bauble. Bad enough that a fully trained and graduated SeeD had given his life for some rich man's trinket; worse to find insult added to injury. The amount the man had paid up front for his petty little quest would dip heavily into his Garden's much needed funds. He put a note on that particular one to remind himself to send a scathing reply.

His visitor cleared her throat.

"What?" he snapped, mulling over which team to send for the rebellion. There were few people who would enter this Garden Commander's office without announcing themselves.

"They're here. He had the nerve to show up on our front doorstep!" stated a second, more authoritative voice.

"Who, Xu?" Squall sighed, putting the stack of papers aside. An unusually angered Selphie Tilmitt stood behind her.

"Seifer!" they both cried.




Though a death sentence waited for the former Sorceress' Knight in Trabia Garden, Balamb Garden, Galbadia Garden, Galbadia itself, and Esthar, it was well known that Seifer Almasy and his two loyal compatriots had settled down near Winhill in a home alongside the ocean. The proud former SeeD cadet would not hide from anyone or anything, least of all a vague legal proclamation that dumped practically everything that had happened onto his shoulders. The Garden Commanders, with more than a little prodding from Balamb's Head Committee, knew that it was good in the public eye that they were condemning the main accomplice to the infamous Sorceress, but that it was ridiculous to execute a man for crimes that were not necessarily his. Thus, the apprehension of Seifer Almasy was at the bottom of their lists.

After the first several groups of soldiers that had been dispatched to retrieve the criminals had been returned maimed, scarred, roasted, or cozily settled in long, wooden boxes, the two other governments simply decided that now was not the right time to be apprehending the wanted trio. Though the newly elected President Kaplain of Galbadia acted properly disappointed in the decision, it was widely and scandously known that President Loire had opposed the Knight's execution despite the public outcry.

However, the sickly, beaten trio at the front gates of Balamb Garden hardly seemed as if they'd warranted such violent attention.

One SeeD, in a brave attempt to verbally disperse the unwelcome visitors, already lay on the floor. A footprint, distinctly matching the size and colored the same as the mud caking the one-eyed terror's left foot, had been imprinted on his chest. He groaned and dragged himself out of the way as the same offending heel smacked into the concrete only inches away from his ankle.

"MOVE," she snarled at the growing crescent of curious onlookers and furious looking mercenaries.

The throng murmured amongst themselves, unsure of what to do.

"C'mon, ya know?" her dark companion pleaded. "He's sick, ya know? And we're tired..."

"Gangway, lemme through!" A distinct, spikey-haired figure fought his way through the mob. A slender spectacled woman followed behind, calling for the students to disperse. Even those that could not hear her words noted the gold on her labels and the comfortable way she waved around the bullwhip coiled in her right hand. SeeD Instructor Quistis Trepe was not one to cross.

By the time her rambunctious, tattooed companion had reached the trio, most of the group had found themselves with something to do elsewhere, though few spared the chance to throw a warning glare behind them at the infamous trio. They begun to move forward, determined to make it through the gate. The sight of Zell Dincht had never wavered them in the past, and they weren't about to let his presence stop them now.

"Oh, hey hey HEY!" he cried, obviously miffed at being ignored. He put his body and his flailing arms in their path. "Where do you think YOU'RE going?"

"MOVE!" the young woman roared.

Zell blinked, finally taking in the ex-Disciplinary Committees' haggard appearance. "What the hell happened to you guys?"

Fuujin, her silvery-white hair disheveled, scratches and cuts decorating her arms and legs, her clothing torn and her shoes and legs caked in dirt, hardly cut the threatening creature she'd been when she'd patrolled the halls looking for rule-breakers. Though her one eye still cast a fierce glare, the hardships of the past year and more had definitely taken their toll. Any moment it looked as if the poor young woman would collapse onto the floor and break into tears.

In contrast, Raijin somehow maintained an air of carefree optimism, despite his own haggard appearance. He'd maintained his bulk, towering most others in muscle and in height, and the smile he wore was tired yet true. Sad he was, but it seemed as if Raijin believed that their troubles were about to be over.

The saddest of them all was their hanging companion, unconscious, awkwardly strung between two different shoulder heights and responding not at all to the sights and sounds before him. Seifer Almasy, former SeeD Cadet, former Commander of the Galbadian armies, former Knight to the infamous and illustrious Sorceress, looked wasted, broken, and miserable. He looked thinner, his clothes and his gunblade holster hanging loosely on a body that had once been taut and refined. His hair, always meticulously groomed, was uneven, long, and flaked with dandruff and dirt. Under his closed eyes lay dark patches, speaking of unslept nights and worrisome days, while the rest of his skin was unnaturally pale. Around his abdomen blood-soaked bandages spoke of a recent battle which, if won, had been a costly victory. His head lolled forward as Zell watched.

"TIME, BAD. INFIRMIRY, NOW!" Fuujin lurched forward.

"It's a little difficult to let you in now, Fuujin," Quistis said, standing unobtrusively to one side. "There could be a lot of legal and public repercussions for our Garden, especially since you made such a blatant arrival."

"Aw, c'mon teach'!" piped Raijin. "We gotta get Seifer healed, ya know? It's not really fair for you ta deny him some regular medical attention, ya know?"

"Why didn't you two just heal him yourself?"

"GUARDIAN FORCE, MONEY NEGATIVE."

"Yeah," snapped Zell, "all deserved for wanted criminals! You guys should go and just bug some other suckers into letting you in!"

"RAGE!"

The tenuous hold on Fuujin's self-control had begged long for a release, and found it in the face of the wild boy's jabs. She lunged forward, forgetting the heavy burden of her wounded companion, one swift fist smacking soundly into the tribal pattern on Zell's left cheek. The two went down, Fuujin pulling and punching at anything that her limber hands could find, while Zell, mortified that a girl had attacked him, concentrated on merely defending himself.

Left alone to heft Seifer's weight, Raijin flagged. "Whoops!" His tired knees buckled under the unexpected weight. He found relief a moment later as Quistis aided him in lowering the boy's limp body onto the ground. As Fuujin straddled Zell's chest, her clawed hands pinned up in the air by Zell's tight fists, the young instructor peered under Seifer's eyelids, discovering bloodshot orbs, then clucked her tongue at the unchanged bandages.

"You can heal him, ya know," Raijin said, as if disappointed she hadn't thought of it earlier. To his surprise, Quistis shook her head.

"Guardian Forces are being used to the bare minimum nowadays," she explained, "to curb the memory loss involved. We should get Doctor Kadowaki out here." She slid an arm under Seifer's neck and grasped ahold of his wrist motioning with her head for Raijin to help. They were stopped short by a soft, angry voice.

"What the hell is going on?"

Fuujin froze mid-punch, Zell's head locked firmly in the crook of her arm. She satisfied herself with one more slug to the top of his head before unceremoniously dropping him to the floor. "IN, NOW," she demanded of Balamb's Commander, kicking a cursing Zell in the side.

"OW, GODDAMNIT!"

"We can't do that," Squall replied. "We can't harbor wanted criminals."

Seifer twitched, a nearly imperceptible movement.

"That's not fair, ya know!" cried Raijin, his voice quivering. A few tears slipped their way down his dark cheeks. He walked up to Squall, gesticulating wildly. "We've been all over, ya know! No one takes us in, no one wants ta help us, and we almost died like... 4 times! It's not like we were ourselves when everything happened, ya know?! Ya gotta help us, ya gotta help Seif--"

"You!"

Interrupted, Raijin nearly fell over in shock. He turned, along with everyone else present, to see Seifer gasping and struggling to his feet. Quistis laid an imploring hand on his arm, afraid that the effort would injure him further, and was roughly shoved aside.

"You," the ex-Knight hissed, pulling his gunblade from its holster on his back, "it's all your fault."

"What?" Squall's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

Raijin backed away, grateful to see his friend conscious but uncertain as whether to help or hinder him. Fuujin stared, wide-eyed. Zell made a few dizzying steps foward to block Seifer's path but was stopped short by a small hand on his shoulder. "He's not gonna to hurt him," Selphie whispered, pity coloring her voice, "he can, like, barely stand!"

Hyperion shook, and its owner continued to gasp for air. He advanced several limping steps, putting himself just barely in striking range, and swung wildly and clumsily at his rival. Squall easily dodged and the sharp blade scraped into the ground, sparking as it went. Several of Seifer's bandages ripped with the effort, and blood pattered the stone floor. "I'll kill you!"

"You can't even hold your weapon," he replied, easily dodging another one of Seifer's weak swings. "Put it down before you hurt yourself."

After another step Seifer groaned and fell to his knees, one hand on his stomach and the other using his beloved gunblade as a crutch. A thin red line ran from the corner of his mouth down his chin. He looked up, though it looked as if the simple movement cost him much. Squall found himself taking a step backwards, propelled by the force of the hatred and fury that burned in those green depths. He grasped over his shoulder for the gunblade that wasn't there.

"You took her from me," rasped the blonde boy, still struggling to stand.

"Who?"

"Her.. the Sorceress." His final word dissolved into a blood-choked gurgle.

"The Sorceress," repeated a ever-more puzzled Squall. He thought back to the last time they'd really seen each other face to face; Seifer only a little less torn and bloody, but still full of pride and life, standing in triumph at the end of the chamber where they'd been forced to face off against the strengthened powers of a revived Sorceress Adel. They'd vanquished the woman, as well as her future successor Ultimecia, leaving the remanents of their legacy in an untried but benevolent young girl. Rinoa Heartilly, latest to hold those infamous powers, chose himself for her own Knight leaving the former one to wallow as a scapegoat for the terrors that had passed. Were these events what had broken the man before him?

"Seifer!"

The quick pattering of heeled, running boots told him that, once again, the lithe young girl had disobeyed a Garden-wide order (this time to remain in the dormitories until the situation had been resolved) to feed her own curiousity. Yet, alongside the usual pleasurable sensations he felt when he heard her voice, an unfamiliar twinge played on his heart. It hurt like the pinprick of a needle, sharp and small, bringing with it a poison that infused his veins with a rush of anger. After a few moments of wrestling with the strange feeling he recognized it for what it was.

Jealousy.

Half by instinct, half propelled by this newfound turmolt, the Commander lifted an arm to prevent Rinoa from rushing to Seifer's side. He found his voice alarmingly cold. "Don't. He's dangerous."

"Look at him!" she demanded. She put her hands on her hips and looked around. "What are you guys all standing around for? Someone get him to the Infirmiry!"

"AFFIRMATIVE!"

Again Fuujin stepped forward (though agreeing with the peppy bitch nearly caused her to hesitate), determined to kill if any of these damnable SeeD brats tried to stop her. She'd barely laid a hand on Seifer's shoulder when he propelled himself forward, leaving Hyperion to clang onto the floor, and released an anguished cry.

"Rinoa!"

Shocked by the sudden movement, the young girl stood still, her mouth agape. Squall, honed by a soldier's upbringing, acted immediately by swinging a tight fist towards one of Seifer's sunken eyes. The effort he found himself putting into a blow aimed at a weak, unarmed man astounded him. Why should he be concerned with a man that his love had long since left behind? Why should he be concerned at all when he and Rinoa had long made it clear that their relationship had transcended the distrust that couples like wary Selphie and flirtatious Irvine faced? Since when had he ever thought Seifer was a rival, when it had been always Seifer who'd stuck that label to their continuous conflict?

Though the punch connected, and by the skin that split it had hit hard, Seifer barely reeled. Instead, his own fist came at a blinding speed at Squall's chest bringing alive, for a fraction of a second, the frightening skill that had little more than a year prior bought the Sorceress' favour. The SeeD Commander let out a grunt in response and stumbled backwards before falling to the floor. Rinoa let out a strangled gasp, for without Squall in her path Seifer was free to wrap his dirtied arms around her waist. She looked down into his face, fear and concern playing across her pretty features, to meet an expression of nearly god-like adoration.

"Take me back," he pleaded, a horrible sort of desperation lacing the hoarse, twisted sound that managed to fight its way out of his throat. "Take me back, your first Knight, your true Knight. Let me be once again by your side, Knight and Sorceress, as we were." His weight drove her to her knees, and he followed, his head coming to rest almost reverently onto her lap. Blood from his opened wound pooled onto the floor below. Behind them, Fuujin had begun to sob, violently, and Quistis gathered her into the dark folds of her uniform.

"Please," he whispered, before once again slipping out of consciousness.

Rinoa looked up at Squall, set to his feet by an astounded Zell. Something broke inside of him at the sight of her tears of pity; something that irrationally asked why the girl even felt the most disparaging bit of care for the crumpled figure on the ground. He turned away, waving a furious command at the gathered few.

"Get a stretcher, take him to Doctor Kadowaki, on my authority. Get them - " he pointed harshly at the former Disciplinary crew, one still wrapped in the instructor's tight embrace, " - somewhere to clean up. Bring them all to the Infirmiry afterwards."

"But Squall - " Zell began, cutting himself short at the rancorous glare Squall gave him over his shoulder.

"Forget the fucking edict. Just do. What. I. Said."

"Gotcha, will do!" He managed a weak smile and a quick salute before bolting for the infirmiry as if a hungry lion was at his heels.

While Raijin and Selphie gently helped Seifer off of Rinoa's lap, Quistis continued to try and comfort the near-hysterical albino. She turned her head, moisture soaking the cloth covering her one crippled eye, to utter grieviously the one word that was on everyone's mind.

"WHY?"


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