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You're not from here
By
Mariye
This comes in four parts all with different titles... so I just picked the first title it's a Raijin x Fujin series.
Fujin laid back on her cot and closed her eyes. She couldn't take this anymore. She felt more alone now then she did before. She closed her eye and brushed her hair back. She had been at the Garden ever since she was 7. Before that she was at an orphanage in a stone house, and sent between foster homes. She never had a family. Then she came to Garden. She had hoped for friends, despite the fact that she had lost vision in her left eye and her voicebox was damaged when her village was attacked during the Sorceress War. She was too quiet though, and people tended to push her aside. She never really thought that she minded it before though. She'd be strong, like she was all those years when she was younger. She sat up and walked to her bookcase. She pulled a thin notebook out and opened it. Inside was a picture. A happy family. A mother, daughter, and son.
~SO WHAT SHOULD I DO MOTHER?~
She thought back to what had happened earlier that day.
------------
"Hey, wait up ya know?"
Fujin turned around. A tall, black man, around the
same age as her, ran up. She recognized him
from the homeroom she had with Instructor Erine.
"YOU MEAN ME?" She stood up straight and looked him right in the eyes. Most people ignored her. She didn't know if it was because she kept to herself, or if it was because she seemed to do too well in training and classes without trying.
"Who else? Listen, Cid wants to start a student based military cop thing, ya know? People ta enforce the codes of Garden. He wanted me ta go and tell all the candidates and yer on the list. Meeting's at seven in the training center. He's gonna talk about the program and then announce who he's chosen ta be in it."
"ACKNOWLEDGED." Fujin turned around and started to walk back toward the main elevators. She thought that he would leave her alone, now that he had delivered his message, but soon she became aware of someone following her. She turned sharply around. "WHAT?"
"Well, don't ya even wanna know who I am? We may be workin together ya know?"
"NO."
"Well, any way, I'm Raijin." He smiled and acted as if being him was a great honor. Fujin started walking again. "Woah, are ya always like this?"
"WHAT?" Fujin spun around.
"Ya seem so stiff. Loosen up girl. So you're one of the few women in Garden. Big whoop. Doesn't mean ya have ta be like all militant all the time ya know."
Fujin walked faster towards the elevators.
"What? Ya gonna ignore me now?"
She kept walking.
"Ya know, now I know why yer always alone. Who'd wanna hang out all of the time with someone like you?"
Fujin ran toward the elevator doors which were closing in front of her. As the doors closed she looked and saw Raijin in the middle of the hallway calling out.
"Maybe if ya'd talk to other people fer a change instead of livin in yer little world, ya wouldn't have people avoidin ya and lyin to ya ya know!"
------------
~HOW CAN I LET THIS BOTHER ME BROTHER, MOTHER. I'M TRYING TO BE STRONG. HOW CAN I LET WHAT ONE FOOLISH BOY THINKS BOTHER ME SO. AND HOW CAN HE KNOW WHY PEOPLE AVOID ME. HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT MAYBE I WANT THINGS THIS WAY. MAYBE ITS EASIER TO BE ALONE BECAUSE THEN YOU CAN'T LOSE PEOPLE OR HAVE THEM BETRAY YOU. YOU WON'T GET PULLED AWAY FROM THEM. WHAT SHOULD I DO? THIS MEETING IS FOR PEOPLE CALLED BY THE HEADMASTER. I HAVE TO ATTEND. BUT HE WILL BE THERE, YA KNOW?~
Fujin paused for a second and shook her head. She sighed softly for herself as she sat down on her bed again. She looked at the picture.
~I'M EVEN THINKING LIKE HIM. HOW CAN HE BOTHER ME? SEND ME A SIGN. HELP ME. PLEASE. HELP ME...~
She closed the notebook and looked at the clock on her nightstand.
~6:50. I SHOULD GO NOW IF I'M GOING.~
She stared down at the ground, then back at the clock. She shook her head and rose.
~I'LL GO AND LISTEN, BUT I WON'T COMMIT TO ANYTHING. I'LL JUST STAND ON THE SIDE AND LISTEN AND AVOID HIM.~
She walked out of her room and locked her door behind her.
------------
Fujin looked around the training center. There weren't many people. None she really could say she knew. She did recognize a few faces though. She saw Squall, another person like her. They had been training partners his first year here. After a few sessions though, their instructor had determined her to be too advanced to work with him, and they were separated. She saw a few other random people. And, to her satisfaction, she saw no Raijin... at least not yet. She scanned the area once more, just to be sure.
"Lookin fer someone?"
Her heart dropped as she heard that voice. She didn't even turn around.
"NEGATIVE."
"Gawd. You even talk like a computer. You should be happy that I decided to come over here and keep you company until the meeting starts ya know. So you won't look like a social defect fer a change."
Fujin snapped. She couldn't take it anymore. She spun around and kicked him hard in the leg.
"RAGE! HOW DARE YOU! WHY DO YOU THINK I WOULD EVEN WANT TO TALK TO PEOPLE WHEN ALL OF THEM ACT LIKE YOU! FOOL! I DON'T WANT TO HERE YOUR STUPID LITTLE THEORIES ABOUT ME AND MY LIFE! AND MAYBE I'M ALONE BECAUSE I WANT TO BE! I DON'T WANT THIS! RAGE!" She turned and ran out of the center. Despite the scene she made, only the people who were in her way as she pushed her way out noticed the event. Raijin raised an eyebrow as he rubbed his injured leg.
"So, like, does this mean yer mad?"
------------
Fujin sat on her bed, holding an old stuffed bear and clenching her eye shut. Trying to wish the day away.
:::knock knock:::
She wished for another moment that whoever was there would go away.
:::knock knock knockity knockity knock knockity knock knock:::
She began praying, for the first time in a long time, that whoever was there wasn't the person she thought it was and that he would go away.
:::knock knockity knockity knock knockity knockity bang knock bang knock knock:::
"Hey, ya there?"
She reached for her pillow and pulled it over her ears. If she couldn't hear him, he wasn't there. He couldn't come in. She started to daydream about flying away from everything. From the Garden. From her past.
::: BANG BANG BANG :::
"C'mon, ya have ta be in there cause I see the light from under the door. Open up. Ya missed the meeting!"
~GEE, NOTHING GETS PAST HIM.~ Fujin though as she sat up. She watched the door, and tried to imagine what the man on the other side was thinking.
"Ya know, I'm comin here outta the goodness of my heart ta tell ya what ya missed. Don'tcha even wanna know if yer one of the people picked fer the Disciplinary Committee?"
She honestly considered getting up and going to the door. Even though she could care less about being stuck on some committee, she was still curious to know if the headmaster thought she would be good enough for a position like that.
"I can wait ya know? Got nuthin but time. Ya have ta come out sometime. Or ya expect me ta shout what happened through tha door?"
Fujin walked to the light-switch on the wall next to the door. She paused for a second. Then she flicked the switch and went to over to the light on her nightstand. She turned down the brightness so no light would escape under the door. She hid under the covers and pulled her pillow back over her head. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She heard a slight whisper from the other side of the door.
"I covered fer ya, ya know. I said that you were sick." Then she heard a shuffling of feet before she drifted to sleep...
------------
Fujin opened her door cautiously the next morning. She also was on alert of the whole morning. By the time lunch came around though, the laziness of Friday had set in and she went back to her normal routine. She walked slowly to the Cafe and went to the vending machine in front of the lunch line. She listened as the townie kids in line talked about going home for the long weekend. She heard some other group talk about a trip to Deiling. things were normal again. She walked out with her chips, pocky stix, and soda and made her way to her usual lunch spot by the gates. She always went ate by the spot outside the main entrance. Things were fairly quiet. Sometimes Laurence the guard would have some music playing or some students would come to play triple triad, but otherwise it was peaceful, and the one place she could be and not worry about being bothered or talked about. She put her lunch in her side satchel with her books as she went through the turnstiles. She gave a rare smile to Laurence as she went out, and he tipped his imaginary hat to her.
She walked to a small grassy spot by one of the main arches leading to Garden. She pushed her bangs back as she pulled out her food and one of her favorite sketchbooks, then looked up at the sky. It was another one of those gorgeous Balamb Dukedom fall days. She would have to cherish them, winter would come soon.
"Hey, been lookin fer ya all day, ya know!"
Again her heart sank. She looked toward the turnstiles to see Raijin walking toward her, carrying, to her dismay, his lunch. She looked down and started putting her chips and pocky back into her bag, and regretting opening her soda. She shifted to sit on her knees. He plopped down right in front of her.
"Didn'tcha hear me at yer door last night? I was there fer ten minute knockin."
"... NO."
He picked up the sketchbook she had brought out.
"Why do ya come out here ta draw and eat? No point. Nothin out here ya can't see in the quad."
She reached for the sketchbook, and he moved and started looking through it.
"STOP."
"Hey, these are pretty good. Do ya take an art class here or in town?"
She reached again for her book and he pulled back.
"NO. STOP!"
"Ya should." Raijin let her grab her book back, then he picked up his hamburger and started eating. "Ya wanna know what happened at the meetin? Its important ya know. Told Cid I'd tell ya what happened. Since I see ya so often."
"NO.... OFTEN?" Fujin paused as she put her book away. She couldn't recall seeing him in any class other than the homeroom all students had in the beginning and end of the day. But then homeroom was the only class where she had gotten a seat in the very back this year.
"Yeah, we have practically all our classes together ya know. Adv. GFs 202, Classic Literature, Adv. Government, History, Adv. Mission Training, and lets not forget Homeroom." Raijin said between bites. "Ya knew that, right?"
"...NO." She said as she grabbed her can and stood up. "BYE."
"Yo, ya leavin me? Well, just know that today after homeroom Cid wants ya ta come ta his office." She walked away without acknowledging that she heard him. "Ingrate." She heard him murmur under his breath. She looked back and saw him making no attempt to pack up and leave for the Cafe or Quad, then she walked back into the building.
------------
She looked at Cid and gave a full salute as she walked up to him.
"HEADMASTER."
"Here, sit down Fujin. I'm glad Raijin was able to find you and give you my message to come." Cid pointed to a chair and sat down across from her. "I'm sorry you weren't feeling well and couldn't come last night. Are you feeling better?"
"YES."
"I asked you here to tell you that I have chosen you to be one of the members of the Disciplinary Committee. As you know it is an exclusive group of 3 people that manage the halls and keep order and peace. You have always been an outstanding student. Doing this would also give you an chance to miss homeroom. So what do you say?"
Fujin smiled.That would mean she wouldn't have to start and end her day with seeing Raijin.
"YES"
"That's wonderful." Cid said. "But you do realize you will end up spending a great deal of time with these two other people. I know you prefer your solitude. Would you still be willing to go though with this?"
"YES."
"Alright. Your two partners will be Seifer and Raijin. I know that you have classes with both of them, so I assume that you know them. Also, the three of you will be meeting together for the first time at 5 today for dinner in the Cafe. Dismissed."
Fujin sat in shock for a second.
"RAIJIN?"
"Yes. Raijin and Seifer. And its ten to five now. Better be on your way or you'll be late."
------------
Fujin walked into the Cafe in a daze. She recognized Seifer by one of the decorative plants and walked over.
"HELLO."
"Hey. You're Fujin?" She nodded to him. "Fine. I'm leader of our little posse. Decided it last night. Figured that since I didn't know you I didn't know if I wanted to take orders from you and I knew I didn't want to take orders from a dork like Raijin. You know him?"
"YES, YA KNOW." He smiled and laughed at her joke and she smiled back. She liked his confidence and style, but for some reason she didn't like the way he refered to Raijin.
"Yeah, where's the ditz anyway. Better not be one of those guys who are always late. I hate them." Seifer took out his gunblade and started slashing air. Fujin wanted to tell him that Raijin is usually early and held her tongue. She looked around the cafe but saw no sign of Raijin anywhere.
"If he's not here in five minutes, we leave and go eat in Balamb without him. Ever had the Balamb fish?"
"NO."
"Its decent. We'll arrange stuff over dinner. You going out of town over the long weekend?"
"NOWHERE TO GO."
"Me either. I'm probably going to hang out around Balamb or go to the Training Center. Wanna train with me one day?"
"SURE."
"Better pull your own weight though." Fujin looked again for any sign of Raijin. Suddenly he came running out of nowhere.
"Sorry I'm late, unavoidable thing, ya know? Got stuck after in homeroom." He stopped to catch his breath.
"DON'T let it happen again." Seifer said, pointing his gunblade at Raijin, then putting it down. "Let's go Disciplinary Committee." Raijin and Fujin followed behind him.
------------
~WELL MOTHER, BROTHER, I'M A MEMBER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE NOW. IT PROBABLY WON'T BE THAT BAD. EVEN IF RAIJIN IS THERE. I CAN LEARN TO DEAL WITH HIM. SEIFER SEEMS, A LITTLE HARSH, BUT HE HAS GOOD POINTS. DO I SEEM THAT HARSH TO PEOPLE I WONDER? DO I COME OFF AS BEING THAT STIFF? I WON'T HAVE AS MUCH PEACE ANYMORE. I'LL HAVE TO BE SEEN MORE AND ACTUALLY TALK TO SOME OF THE FOOLS. IN FACT, THE ONLY THING I CAN SEE THAT MIGHT BE GOOD ABOUT THIS IS THAT NOW... NOW I'LL HAVE A POSSE. I'LL BE A PART OF ONE OF THE GROUPS I ALWAYS SEE.~
Fujin looked at the picture again, then put the notebook away. She turned off the lightswitch on the wall and got into bed.
:::knock knock:::
:::knock knock knockity knockity knock knockity
knock knock:::
"Hey Fujin, ya there? Can we talk?"
She picked up a book from the floor and threw it at the door.
"ITS 2:15 AM! GO TO SLEEP!"
"Come on! Lemme in."
"GO TO BED! B-E-D!"
"Aw, you didn't wanna sleep anyway ya know."
"YES I DID, DO!"
"Fine, real nice. Would it be alright with yer highness if I left a note under the door?"
"FINE. YES. GOOD NIGHT!"
She heard something get shoved under the door.
"Night."
(the end of the story, but only the beginning for the Committee....)
Part of me
:::knock knock knockity knockity knock knockity knock knock:::
"RAGE! RAIJIN LEAVE!" Fujin picked up a book from
the floor and
threw it at her door.
"Lemme in Fujin. Almost everyone else has left for
home for our two week
Spring Break ya know!"
Fujin opened her eye and looked at her clock. 5A.M.
She'd usually be
getting up now anyway. She grabbed her eye-patch
and slid it on.
"RAGE. GO BOTHER SEIFER." She got up and smoothed down her blankets.
"Seifer's gone ya know. Went to some cabin near
Obel Lake that his
adopted parents own."
She walked to the door and opened it slightly.
"...FINE. COME BACK IN 10 MINUTES."
_____ 9 min later _____
"Yo, Fuj! Come on, I'm hungry ya know."
"FINE. GO." Fujin pushed her way out and past him
into the hall. ~WHY
ONLY HIM?~ She thought as they walked to the main
hall. ~WE ARE A
THREESOME. WHEN ONE IS GONE, WE ALL SPLIT UP. SO
WHY IS HE POUNDING ON
MY DOOR AND WANTING TO BE WITH ME? WHEN HE WAS
OUT BECAUSE
OF INJURIES SUSTAINED ON A TRAINING MISSION, SEIFER
AND I
ONLY GOT TOGETHER FOR COMMITTEE BUSINESS AND TRAINING.~
"So ya gonna go anywhere over the break?"
Fujin paused. She didn't want to tell him about
the annual trip she
always made around this time of year. It was only
the day after tomorrow
and knowing Raijin he'd try to come.
"...NO..."
"Oh, cause last year I remember ya goin somewhere
around this time, ya
know? I just don't wanna end up alone here. Then
only people I'd have ta
talk to would be Trepes, Squall, and those townies
Nida and Zell that
keep poppin back up round here."
As they walked into the Cafe, they saw Squall standing
in front of the
counter.
"Hey Squall. Want breakfast? Fujin's buying ya know."
"RAGE." Fujin kicked Raijin in the leg.
"Owowowowowow! I'm kiddin!"
"SQUALL." Fujin said, nodding to him.
"Fujin."
"You two know each other? This is a miracle ya know!
Fujin actually
acknowledges another person, aside from me and
Seifer's, existance!
Quick! Alert Cid!"
"RAGE!" Fujin kicked Raijin in the leg again.
Undaunted, Raijin continued his tirade. "Alert the
paper! Call
Kadowski to do tests!"
Fujin stomped off to the vending machines, inserted
her ID card,
and ordered some pop tarts and a pint of milk.
She picked up her
stuff and walked out. "BYE SQUALL."
"Yo Fuj! Wait up! C-ya Squall!" Raijin started to
go after her
when Squall grabbed his arm. "Hey, whatcha doin?"
"What are you two? Fujin seems to barely tolerate
you. Unless
that's an act and the 2 of you are secretly lovers,
I think that maybe
you should let up."
"Hey, she's part of my posse, ya know? And we're...
friends. An odd
case, but still friends. Why are you so like, interested
in us all of
a sudden?"
Squall let go of his arm. "I respect her. We both
came here at the same
time. Plus we have a similar style."
"Yeah, Militant and brooding. Real appealing. Now
if you excuse me, I
have to go catch up with her."
__________________
Fujin sat at her desk console in her homeroom. She
knew she couldn't
go to her room, Raijin would look there first.
At least being here might
buy her enough "alone time" to check her mail.
She opened up her mailbox.
~SEIFER WROTE ALREADY? I SHOULD BE THANKFUL. A SANE PERSON TO TALK TO.~
She opened the mail and began reading.
-- Hey Fujin,
Hi, how are you doing? Obel Lake is actually decent
this time. I met
this hot girl. --
Fujin's heart sank. Seifer was the only decent guy
at Garden who she could
possibly see herself with.
~I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER. WHY WOULD HE WANT SOMEONE
LIKE ME WHEN HE CAN
HAVE ANY GIRL HE LOOKS AT.~
-- How are you holding up Commander? Is the Captain
driving you out of
your freaking skull yet? I remember last year when
you went to visit your
brother and mother's grave I was stuck alone with
Raijin at that school for
TWO WHOLE DAYS. I was ready to take my gunblade
and blow the ya know what
outta him. Listen, if he gets overwhelming, I know
you're coming to the
Timber Graveyard in 2 days. Wanna come stay with
me? I'm sure you'd like
Rinoa. Plus she has these two guys, her posse I
guess, named Watts and Zone.
They're decent. Learn quick too. Don't ask me how
I learned, just know I
learned through my 'usual' methods. So, want to
come? Or you wanna wait to
decide until tomorrow night and he's pounding on
your door and you're ready
to shove your pinwheel down his throat? If you
want to come, call when you
get to the Timber hotel. I'll come by in the car
and pick you up. Bye. --
Fujin closed down the program and shut down the
terminal. Even if she would
have to watch while some floozy one week fling
hung on Seifer, it would get
Raijin away. But still, she wasn't sure if she
wanted that. Even though
Seifer and her were friends,they were more like
work friends. He was the
General. The Knight. She was the Commander.They
talked while walking through
their shifts, and even trained and spent some free
time together. But even
though she loved being around him, she wasn't sure
she'd feel comfortable
imposing on him. She picked up her pop tarts wrapper
and milk carton and
dropped them off at a garbage can as she walked
out of the room and right
into Raijin.
"Hey, seems like you're always ditchin me. You keep
it up and I'm gonna start
taking it personally ya know."
"..." Fujin pushed past him and walked right into
the path of Zell and Nida's
hoverboard race. "EEP!" She shouted as Zell ran
her down. He skidded to a
stop and pulled in front of her. Nida came alongside
him.
"Real nice Zell. I get a 2 minute head-start because
you were careless." Nida
hopped off and came up alongside Fujin. "You alright?"
Zell reached for Fujin's hand. "I'm really majorly
sorry. I didn't see you
and Raijin was blocking the way. Are you okay?"
"FINE." Fujin started to reach for Zell's hand.
Raijin moved in and
pushed his hand away.
"Sorry doesn't cut it, ya know. Hoverboards aren't
allowed in Garden. Because
people can get hurt. Hand it over." Raijin made
a move for Zell's hoverboard.
"Woah man, hold up." Zell backed up. Nida moved forward.
"I don't think Disciplinary Committee is allowed
to do that and confisgate
boards. Besides, Zell is sorry and it was an accident."
"Yo, wanna lose yer board too."
"RAIJIN, IGNORE. FORGET." Fujin got up and shook her head at Raijin.
"No I'm not! They're wrong ya know! And our job
description is to enforce
Garden rules. Plus they ran you down!" Raijin was
raging. (writer's note:
Rajin's Ragin. Bet ya can't say that 5 times fast.)
"ZELL, NIDA, LEAVE. DISMISSED." Fujin gestured with
her head for them to
leave. The mad Raijin now faced her.
"Whatareyadoin?!?!" Raijin stomped his foot.
"PULLING RANK CAPTAIN." Fujin folded her arms across her chest.
"You think they actually met those apologies?"
"YOU WERE BEING HARSH. MILITANT."
"So now are you makin fun of me?"
"ME, NEVER YA KNOW."
"If you have somethin to say to me just say it!"
Raijin moved into her
face. She looked up at him.
"YEAH. YOU ARE OBNOXIOUS. RUDE. ANNOYING. INCONSIDERATE.
YOU DRAG ME
PLACES. YOU WAKE ME UP AT ODD HOURS. IRRESPONSIBLE.
NOSY. LOUD. IN SHORT,
I'D RATHER BE LEAVING AND TALKING TO LOUD MOUTH
ZELL."
"Oh yeah? Well, I never wanted to hang with you.
I just thought that I
would play Stupid Raijin again and try to be nice
to you. I was trying
to help you just now ya know! They ran you down.
I bet 'Seifer' wouldn't
stick up fer you like that!" Raijin and Fujin were
screaming now, and
Squall, Quistis, Nida, Zell, and three other students
had come up to
watch.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"
"I see how you two go off and talk and train. Like
I don't even exist ya
know!"
"WELL MAYBE IF YOU COULD BE NORMAL AND NOT SO FULL
OF YOURSELF FOR 5
MINUTES, WE'D INVITE AND TALK TO YOU!"
"Oh so we're gonna talk normal now. Look who's talkin!
The one-eyed
silver haired living monotone..." Raijin started
to stop the second he
finished speaking. Fujin opened her mouth to speak,
but nothing came out.
She turned her head away, then ran away, pushing
past the crowd that had
gathered to watch. As she disappeared into the
elevator, Quistis came up
and put her hand on Raijin's shoulder.
"So how's your foot taste?"
Zell and Nida started giggling. Eventually the crowd
dispersed, until
only Raijin was still standing there.
__________________
~STUPID. DORK. ANNOYING. FOOL.~ Fujin thought as
she dragged out her
duffel bag and began filling it with clothes. She
walked to her bed and
grabbed her journal and family picture. She grabbed
Fuzzy Wuzzy's leg and
threw the old teddy bear into the bag.
~I'LL SHOW HIM. LEAVE TONIGHT. STAY IN A TIMBER
HOTEL. RAGE. NOT UPSET.
I DON'T CARE.~ Fujin thought as she rubbed her
hand across her eye. She
grabbed her wallet and put it in, then zipped the
duffel shut. She looked
at her clock. She then decided to leave at 2 AM.
She went to the wall and
pulled down her pinwheel.
__________________
:::knock knock knockity knockity knock knockity knock knock:::
"Fujin, you there?"
Fujin rolled over in her bed. She still had 2 hours
before she would leave.
She didn't expect a Raijin visit, but luckily she
had all of the lights out.
:::knock knock knockity knockity knock knockity knock knock:::
"Fujin?"
:::knock knock knockity knockity knock knockity knock knock:::
"Listen, if you're there but you're just ignoring
me, give me a sign, ya
know?"
...............
"Well, I'm gonna go. I'll just leave a note. Okay?
I sent a message to yer
account too."
Fujin waited until she heard footsteps before she
went to the door. A small
note was folded neatly.
~STRANGE. HIS NOTES ARE USUALLY MESSY AND CRUMPLED...~
She picked it up and
started to open it, then stopped. She took it and
shoved it in a duffel
pocket. ~WELL, NOW'S AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY TO LEAVE.~
She slowly opened her
door and looked around. No one was there. She crept
out and made her way to
the front gate.
"Where you going?"
She turned. "SQUALL. YOU SCARED ME."
He moved towards her. "You don't have to leave."
"PERSONAL BUSINESS. I WAS SUPPOSED TO LEAVE IN 2
DAYS. DECIDED TO LEAVE
EARLIER."
Squall nodded. "I never saw this?" Fujin nodded back. "Bye."
"BYE."
__________________
Fujin reached Timber three hours later. Luckily,
the Timber Hotel had a room
free for three days, so she wouldn't have to look
elsewhere. She almost called
Seifer. Just to hear a friendly voice she knew,
but she decided to leave him
be. Let him have his fun. The next two days passed
quickly. She began to
remember how it felt to have solitude and hear
herself think. Then, the day
before she was going to visit her family's graves
and leave, she decided to
finally log into her Garden account and check her
messages...
__________________
~BET ONLY SEIFER REMEMBERS ME. WONDER IF HE CARES
I DIDN'T CALL HIM WHEN I GOT
IN. HE COULD HAVE CALLED ME TOO THOUGH.~
:::beep bip boop:::
"Welcome. You have 13 new messages."
~13?~
Fujin looked through and saw all, except for one,
were from Raijin. She opened
the one from Seifer.
-- Hey Fujin.
So you finally told him off! Good for you! Wish
I had been there though. Heard
how you humiliated him. That was low though, him
stooping to such a level to hurt
you. Well, we both know he never was big in the
brains department. I would have
loved to see you outwit him. How do I know? I know
all. I'm the Knight after all.
Plus he called yesterday and today asking if I
had seen or heard from you. You
shoulda heard him! He actually sounded worried.
Like he thinks you can't take care
of yourself. Thought he was responsible for driving
you off. So I thought I'd help
you out. Made him think it was his fault. Course
now you'll get lucky and probably
he'll avoid you for a while and focus on tormenting
me. Then I'll have to set
him straight too. You'll have to give me pointers.
I didn't call cause I know
you hate talking on phones. Rinoa wants to meet
you. Want to have lunch tomorrow
before you leave? I didn't write earlier because
I thought you might be savoring
the unusual peace. Bye.
Seifer. --
~WORRIED?~ Fujin closed her eye, then closed the
message. She went to look at the
headers of some of Raijin's messages.
--
*Fujin, ya there?
*I'm Sorry
*You okay?
*Write me back
*Please?
*I was wrong, ya know.
*It wasn't your fault.
*Come back
*Fujin...
*Please, just read one of these mails
*Are you there?
*Did you read my note?
--
~HE CAN'T MEAN IT. MAYBE SEIFER'S RIGHT. LET HIM
FEEL GUILTY. THEN HE'LL GIVE ME
SOME SPACE ONCE AND A WHILE. HE'S ONLY WRITING
BECAUSE HE'S BORED AT GARDEN AND
HAS NO ONE TO BOTHER. IF SEIFER HAD BEEN THERE
WHEN THIS HAD HAPPENED, I WOULDN'T
HAVE HEARD A THING.~ Fujin looked at the earliest
one. She remembered the note
she had stuffed away in her duffel. She deleted
all of his letters. She knew
enough to know what they'd say. I'm sorry. I was
wrong. You're right. Come back
because I need someone to annoy. She pulled out
the note and fingered it. It
didn't look like any of the notes he had sent her
before. Those usually
came on napkins of ripped shreds of paper or even
candy wrappers. Plus those were
written in an almost indecipherable code. She had
spent three weeks trying to sort
out the very first one he gave her a year ago.
This one was different. It was on
2 full, perfect sheets of paper. Her name was on
the front, in crisp, clear
letters. She hesitated in opening it, but curiosity
got the better of her and she
unfolded it.
-- Dear Fujin.
I don't know if this will honestly reach you. Knowing
you and how you're probably
feeling right now, I wouldn't be surprised if this
ended up in a garbage can or as
ashes. I know you won't believe me but I'm sorry.
I don't know if you really care
either. Usually I'm decent at predicting your moods,
but now I'm not sure. I know
how curious you can be though, and I'm counting
on that right now. I am sorry. I
had no right to talk to you like that. I was mad
about Zell and Nida and I took
everything out on you. Plus I should have known
you would stand up for yourself if
you had thought Zell had run you down on purpose.
I was wrong. That's all I can
say. I am incredibly sorry too. I have known you
and seen you around Garden since
we were both little six year olds, running around
trying to act like the big kids
and look cool. I guess I never outgrew that stage.
I am sorry for treating you
like that and saying what I did. I don't expect
you to care. I don't expect you to
forgive me. I am sorry though, and if I could take
it back, I would. You so far
are the only person I have ever met that had any
patience with me. Even back when
we were 4 years old and we were in the orphanage.
Even though everyone would avoid
me, sometimes you would come along and sit near
by me so I wouldn't look and feel
so alone. Do you remember? I gave you a crown of
dandelions one time when we were
3. Funny I just remembered that. Do you remember?
Then we came to Garden and
suddenly I realised if I acted cool, people thought
I was. I had friends. Then one
day I turned around in homeroom and saw you were
there. Watching. You are always
watching. Thats probably why you know so much.
I always would look for an
opportunity to talk to you. I'd talk louder so
maybe you'd notice me. Then this
Disciplinary Committee thing came up. It was my
chance. Now I saw you everyday
again. I was even able to talk to you. I got comfortable
and started taking things
for granted. Then this whole fight came along.
I messed everything up. I guess I
have a tendancy to do that. I guess that's why
I'm only the Captain. Well, I'm
rambling, and even if you did start reading the
not, you probably stopped half-way
and got bored. I'm sorry and I hope we can maybe
become what we once were, even
though I don't know what we were to begin with.
Sincerely,
Raijin --
"You have 1 new message."
Fujin turned back to the computer. Another message from Raijin.
--
*Fujin, I know you just logged on. Read
--
Fujin clicked on the small box.
-- I'm sorry. I don't want you to leave Garden and
the only home we've ever known.
If you want, I'll resign from the committee. I'll
also transfer out of our
homeroom. If need be I'll even go so far as to
leave Garden completely ya know.
Please, just answer me. Tell me if you're ever
coming home. Tell me to shut up.
Tell me I'm a fool. Just tell me something, anything.
Bye. --
Fujin sighed. ~WHY DO I WANT TO TRY TO MAKE THIS
BETTER? HE'S ANNOYING. HE NEVER
SHUTS UP. IS IT BECAUSE I SOMEHOW REMEMBER GETTING
A DANDELION CROWN? OR SITTING
NEAR A SMALL BOY MY AGE DURING FIREWORKS LONG AGO?
HE TORMENTS ME. HE'S NOT WHAT
I EVEN WANT IN A FRIEND. I WANT FRIENDS LIKE SEIFER,
OR SQUALL, OR EVEN QUISTIS.
SO WHY AM I CONSIDERING WRITING HIM TO AT LEAST
SAY I'M ALRIGHT AND I'LL
EVENTUALLY COME BACK?~
She opened a new mail box and started typing.
-- Raijin.
I am coming back, eventually.
I am fine. I can use GF's and fight. --
She paused. She wanted to write more. Like she was
sorry for worrying him or that
she forgived him,. But then she sent it before
those ideas could take hold. She
signed off, then went and grabbed her duffel. She
went downstairs to the reception
desk.
"I AM LEAVING TODAY, BUT I NEED TO GO SOMEWHERE
FIRST. CAN I LEAVE MY DUFFEL AT
THE DESK?"
"Sure you can Fujin. We'll take care of it for you."
The old hotel owner smiled.
"You've grown up so beautiful. Your mother would
have been proud." Fujin smiled
at her.
"BYE."
__________________
An hour and a half later, Fujin was placing two
sketches, a toy dog, and some
Winhill lillies on her mother and brother's grave.
She kneeled down in front of
them, then crossed herself.
~I'VE MISSED YOU. ITS BEEN A HARD WEEK. TROUBLE
WITH, WELL, I GUESS YOU WOULD
PROBABLY SAY HE'S MY BEST FRIEND, BUT YOU'RE WRONG.
HE'S A PEST I'VE GOTTEN USED
TO. HE SAID THINGS THAT, WELL, OKAY I ADMIT IT,
THEY HURT ME. AND I GUESS I SAID
SOME THINGS THAT MAY HAVE HURT HIM TOO. TIMES LIKE
THIS I WISH YOU WERE HERE
AGAIN. I LOVE YOU BOTH. THINGS ARE OTHERWISE GOOD.
I'M TAKING MY SEED FIELD TEST
IN TWO WEEKS. IF I PASS I'M A FULL FLEDGED SEED.
I WISH I COULD STAY LONGER. I
HAVE TO GO. I'M PLANNING ON STAYING IN BALAMB UNTIL
BREAK IS OVER. THAT WAY IF
RAIJIN FINDS ME, HE FINDS ME. IF NOT, OH WELL.
GOOD BYE.~
As she got up, she felt something land on her head.
She reached her hand up to
search a leaf or bug. Instead, she felt some kind
of flower. She pulled it down
to look at it and saw it was a crown of dandelions.
she spun around, not knowing
if she wanted to hug Raijin or kiss him. Instead
she saw air.
~IS THIS A SIGN MOTHER, BROTHER? OR IS HE REALLY
HERE? WATCHING ME FOR A
CHANGE...~
Fujin slowly walked through the whole graveyard,
looking behind each tree to see
if Raijin was hiding somewhere. Satisfied that
no one was there, she left for the
hotel. She picked up her bag and got on the train
to Balamb.
__________________
Fujin fidgeted uncomfortably in the train car. She
hadn't slept well the night
before. Plus now the train was late leaving the
station AND there were reported
troubles on the track. She was starting to think
she should have stayed in Timber.
She stretched out in her row. So far whoever had
bought the seats next to her
hadn't shown up.
~THEY WERE SMART. PROBABLY KNEW THE TRAIN WOULD HAVE TROUBLE.~
She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep...
{"Mommy!"}
{"Run Fujin! Take Leichan and run!"}
{"Mama! Mama!"}
{"Come on Leichan, I'll protect you!"}
{"They're burning the houses! Get the women and
children out of here!}
{"AAAAAAAAAAA!"}
{"MAMA!"}
{"NO LEICHAN! Stay with me, keep running!"}
{"Well hello little girl. Where are you going?"}
{"Eeeeek! Get away!"}
{"MAMA!"}
{"Quit your screaming brat!}
{"Leave him alone!"}
{"Aaah. She bit me!}
{Thud. "Ouch, No! Leave him alone!"}
{"Sissy!"}
{"No! Leichan! Mommy!}
{"Shut up! I'll make you shut up!"}
Fujin woke up with a start. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Its... okay, ya know? It was just a dream."
Fujin started crying, she turned her head and saw
Raijin next to her. Behind him
trees were moving. She reached out and hugged him.
"Its okay. Don't worry. You're alright." Fujin rested her head on his shoulder.
"FORGIVEN. FORGIVE? FORGET?" Raijin rubbed her back gently.
"Yes, but ya never said anything wrong ya know.
It was my fault." She pulled
back and sat looking at him.
"YOU WERE AT THE CEMETERY?"
"Yeah, but I saw you wanted to be alone, ya know?
So I left something so you knew
I was there then left."
"HOW DID YOU KNOW WHERE I WAS?"
"I used like, this tracing program thing and found
where yer message was sent
from, and I followed it. Then I went to the hotel.
I was actually kinda happy
when I found out you were there and not with Seifer,
ya know. Then the lady in
charge said you went to the cemetery and that you
were checkin out. So I visited
you and then came and bought my train ticket. I
figured that I should at least
apologize in person." Raijin hung his head. "So
things are back to before with
us? This never happened?"
"NEVER."
"Cool."
Truthfully
"Fujin, you should get that dress." Quistis nudged her friend.
"UNSURE." Fujin looked at it and debated. "SEIFER CAN'T GO."
"So Seifer didn't pass the SeeD exam. You're a SeeD.
You couldn't go
to your first SeeD dance when you made it. You
have to go to this
one." Quistis handed Fujin the dress and pushed
her to the checkout.
"STILL..." Fujin looked at the dress, then put it
on the counter and
pulled out her wallet.
"Don't tell me you still care about Seifer. After
how he acts around
you." Quistis shook her head.
"NO. THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE... ITS JUST..."
"A new man and you're afraid things with him will
end up the way they
did between you and Seifer. You'll love him and
he'll just treat you
like a friend and date other girls in front of
you. All men aren't
like that. So you're going with Raijin?" Quistis
and Fujin received
her bag and they walked out of the shop in Balamb.
"AFFIRMATIVE. YOU?" They walked to the Garden van
that was parked
off the main street.
"I'm going stag. I don't know. Maybe I'll get a
Trepie or something
at the last minute." Quistis shrugged and got in
the passenger side.
Fujin got in and started the car up. They drove
back to Garden...
---
Fujin sat down under her usual lunch spot at Garden.
She pulled an
apple out of her knapsack and her journal.
'Dear Journal.
Tomorrow is the SeeD dance. To welcome the new
SeeDs who passed the
test. Squall's the only one I know who passed.
I don't know the other
girl and 2 guys who made it though. Seifer didn't.
I wish he had made
it. Not because I want him to be my date for the
dance, which he
probably would have been if had passed. I wish
had made it and was
going so I wouldn't have to be with Raijin alone.
Raijin asked me
and Quistis and Seifer were around so I couldn't
say no. I don't know
if I can be with Raijin alone. After what happened
last year during
spring break... I don't know what might happen.
In truth, I think
I may even be scared. Before Raijin, Seifer was
the only boy I had
ever loved. Wait, do I actually love Raijin? How
could that have
happened... Still, what happens if I'm alone with
him at the dance
and I lose my composure? It has always been Seifer,
Raijin and me.
But if Raijin and I, then it could put a block
in our posse. Our
family. And what if Raijin tries to kiss me? Do
I want that? It could
mean commitment. How can I want to be with someone
so bad, but still
be so afraid of actually being with them? I've
avoided being alone
with Raijin ever since that train ride back from
Timber... That whole
week I made excuses to get away from him or be
in large groups with
him'
"You really should eat more ya know." Raijin tapped
Fujin's head then
sat down next to her. Fujin shut her book and jammed
it and her pen
in her bag.
"NOT THAT HUNGRY." Fujin took a bite of her apple
then started to
rise to her knees.
"Hey, where ya goin? I just got here ya know." Raijin
touched Fujin's
arm. She paused, then stood up.
"COMMITTEE OBLIGATION."
"You've had a lot of those lately. Listen then,
I'll make this last
thing short ya know. What time should I pick you
up tomorrow?"
"19 HUNDRED HOURS." Fujin walked away.
---
"Hey Seifer, how do I look? I wanna look good tonight
ya know."
Raijin straightened his tie. He pulled to make
it straight, but it
didn't seem to work.
"Good. Great. Fine. Why do you care anyway? Its
just Fujin." Seifer
shook his head and hit the wall. "I should be goin!
I'm better than
any SeeD there. Especially Chicken-Wuss and that
brat Squall."
"Yeah, you know me and Fuj are on your side. Damn
this tie!" Raijin
took it off and threw it on his endtable. "Is that
necesssary? Or
can I pull it off without it?"
"Wear the clip on bow tie. Like I asked before,
what's the big deal?
Its FUJIN!" Seifer picked up a book from Raijin's
floor and spun it
on his finger.
"I just wanna look good ya know. Besides, what do
you mean its just
Fujin? Maybe I wanna impress her. Maybe I want
to look good so I
don't embarrass her." Raijin grabbed the clip on
and put it on.
"Fujin's one of us. She's one of the guys. Have
you ever seen her
actually talk to another girl? I mean, Quistis
and her talk only cause
Quistis is our homeroom teacher. She even went
shopping with her out
of pity." Seifer spun the book faster, when Raijin
grabbed Seifer's
hand. The book crashed to the floor.
"Don't talk about Fujin like that. Quistis and her
ARE friends. Even
though she IS a part of our group, she's still
a woman too. And she's
supposed to be your friend ya know."
"Holy $#@% Raijin, back off. I just made one observation
and you
jump down my throat." Raijin let go of Seifer's
arm. "So lets change
the subject. How long have you been in love with
Fujin?" Raijin
turned bright red. He turned his head away, then
looked back.
"Its just a dumb crush. Not even that. Less than that ya know."
"Uh huh. And this has been going on now since what,
forever? Please,
you've been givin these signals off for years now.
Just admit it,
have her blow you off, and go get on with your
life." Seifer leaned
against the doorframe.
"I'm gonna be late. Bye." Raijin walked out.
---
Raijin knocked at Fujin's door.
"Hey, ya ready?" Fujin opened the door. She had
a blue barrette holding
her bangs back, and she wore a short sleeveless
blue glitte dress.
She had even put on a blue eyepatch to match.
"HI. LETS GO." Fujin started to try to walk past.
"What's your hurry, ya know? Here, I got you this.
I didn't know what
color you were gonna wear, so I just went with
white." Raijin pulled
out a corsage and handed it to Fujin. Their hands
touched as she took
it, and she paused again.
"Something wrong?" He asked. She shook her head
and pinned it to the
right side of her dress. "Okay, now we can go."
Raijin extended his
arm to Fujin. She looked at it for a second.
~Will this make things worse? Or maybe better?~
Fujin put her arm
around his. They walked towards the Quad.
---
Fujin walked in amazed. She never imagined that
the Quad could look
so beautiful. She looked at all the decorations
and the people.
Everyone looked like they belonged in a story.
She spun around to look
at Raijin.
"BEAUTIFUL..." She said. She walked up to him.
"Yeah, it is pretty good. The other committee did
a good job, ya
know."
Seifer snuck into the room. He moved to the DJ's table.
"Five bucks to play this song."
"Yeah, sure man." The DJ took Seifer's money and
cassette. Seifer
laughed and moved to the side.
"Excellent." He whispered.
"Hey, this is my favorite song ya know." Raijin
took her hand and led
her to the dance floor. "Come on, lets dance."
Fujin tried to pull
away and lead him away, but it was futile.
"NO. CAN'T."
"So I'll teach you, no biggie ya know." Raijin smiled
and took her
hands. She pulled away like a frightened rabbit.
She looked at him,
her eye wide.
"HERE? IN FRONT OF EVERYONE?"
"Well, if you want, we could go out on the balcony
instead." Raijin
nudged towards the balcony with his head.
"BETTER." Fujin said as they walked toward it. ~And
yet worse.~ She
thought as they stopped. She looked up. Stars looked
down at her. She
turned to Raijin.
"Okay, now give me your hand." Raijin took her hand
and started to
lead her around. "You were lying when you said
you didn't know how
to dance, weren't you?"
"NO. I JUST, WATCH A LOT." She looked down to avoid his eyes.
"I always knew you learned a lot by watching people, ya know."
They danced until the song's final notes...
---
"Fujin, I had a great time tonight. Its been a long
time since the
two of us were alone ya know. It was fun. And you
looked incredible."
Raijin put his arm around her shoulders as they
walked to her room.
"YEAH. DITTO." She moved a little ahead of him.
~Man, if he wants her, why doesn't he even try to
put any moves on
her? He's hopeless.~ Seifer peeked out from behind
one of the Garden
hall plants. Raijin and Fujin started to turn towards
the dorms.
~Guess I have to work my magic.~ Seifer snickered,
then threw one of
the spiny trap leaves from a training center grat
right where Raijin
was going to step...
"Ouch! Aw, ow, man, what the?" Raijin fell to his
knees. Fujin kneeled
down next to him. She looked and saw the trap leaf.
"LIFT YOUR RIGHT LEG."
"I can't ya know. It hurts. Aw, man." Fujin threw
up her hands and
sighed. She looked Raijin in the eyes.
"PLEASE. I CAN HELP." Raijin looked at her, and
tried to lift his leg
a little. She pulled the trap off and inspected
it. "POSSIBLE POISON.
COME WITH ME." She helped him stand up, then put
his arm over her
shoulders. Together they hobbled to her dorm room.
~Seifer, you're a genius man. Maybe Raijin was right,
maybe Fuj does
have some feminine instincts. Man, I outta be a
matchmaker.~ Seifer
ran off to his room humming 'Matchmaker Matchmaker.'
---
"HOLD THE WALL FOR A SECOND." Fujin opened her dorm
room, then came
out and helped Raijin in. "SIT ON THE BED." She
walked into her walk
in closet. Raijin winced, then looked around.
"Ya know, in all the time we've known each other,
this is the first
time I've actually been in your room." Raijin looked
at the teddy
bear on the bed and picked it up. It actually had
an eyepatch over
the same eye Fujin did. He smiled and put it back.
Fujin walked out
with a remedy bottle, towel, and a potion.
"REALLY." She sat down next to him. "TAKE OFF YOUR
SOCK." He did, and
Fujin put the remedy on the towel and applied it
to his leg.
"It's nice. Clean too. Not too many pictures though
ya know. Don't
you have any of your family and all of us?"
"ONE OR TWO." She took off the remedy rag and put
potion on the other
end of the rag and held it to his leg. "SIT STILL."
"You should have them out. It would make this more
homey." Fujin
checked his leg, then pulled the rag away.
"DONE. ALL BETTER." Raijin stood up.
"Walk me out?" Fujin stood up next to him and walked
him to her door.
When they got there, they both paused.
"Good night."
"NIGHT." Raijin looked at her. She looked down.
"IF WE KISSED," she
whispered, "WOULD IT RUIN EVERYTHING? OUR POSSE?
WOULD WE BE COMMITTED
TO EACH OTHER?"
"I think it... it would just be the perfect end
to a perfect night.
If you wanted, it wouldn't have to mean anything,
ya know? I know
its hard for you to get close to people, so if
you don't want to kiss
and end up close to me, you don't have to." Raijin
looked down.
Fujin touched his shoulder. He looked up, and she
moved on tip-toes.
They kissed softly, then Fujin moved back.
"IT CAN BE A PERFECT END, AND MEAN WE CARE. NOTHING
MORE. WE CARE."
Fujin looked down.
"Alright." Raijin started to walk away, Fujin kept
the door open and
watched him walk out. He turned around. "I, I just
want to let you
know that... I really truely care about you. And
if you ever decide
you do want to get close to someone, remember me,
ya know."
Fujin looked at him. "I, I WILL." Raijin nodded
and walked away. Fujin
walked into her room.
Light up my room
Fujin lugged her duffel bag and box back into Balamb
Garden. It seemed
like it had been so long since she had last been
in Garden, when she
had really only been gone a few weeks. So much
had happened though...
Seifer being used as a puppet, her and Raijin following
to back their
friend, Squall's adventure and courageous saving
of the world. She
wondered how in such a short time, everything could
change. In the
end, she truely believed things had turned out
for the best. After
meeting that last time with Squall, Zell, and Rinoa
at Lunatic
Pandora with Raijin, she ahd seriously thought
about her life. She
realized that even though she wanted to be there
for Seifer, she
couldn't be what he was. She wasn't one to be a
lackey. She also began
to think more about Raijin. It was obvious from
how he acted at times
when they were on the side and Seifer was off doing
knight duties
that he loved her. Truely cared. And during that
last battle with
Squall, when Raijin fell before her, she was truely
worried and
concerned, and that was her undoing. Now all was
forgiven and they
were allowed home. To be the disciplinary committee
again.
~SO MUCH HAS CHANGED. PEOPLE MAINLY.~ Fujin watched
as Zell walked
past her and smiled. ~ZELL SEEMS MORE... FOCUSED.
LESS LIKE A
HYPERACTIVE THREE YEAR OLD. QUISTIS IS AN INSTRUCTOR
AGAIN. SQUALL
SMILES. RINOA IS HERE. IRVINE HAS JOINED US AND
BECOME A SeeD.
SELPHIE... WELL, SHE IS GETTING MORE RESPONSIBILITY
NOW. HAVE I
CHANGED TOO? CAN I? SEIFER DID, MAINLY OUT OF SHAME
AND GUILT THOUGH.~
Fujin walked to her old dorm room, unlocked it,
and walked in.
Everything was like she remembered. ~HAS RAIJIN?
HE SEEMS THE SAME.
MAYBE QUIETER. HE HASN'T SAID MUCH SINCE THIS ENDED.
I HAVEN'T SEEN
HIM MUCH THOUGH. ONLY WHEN THE DC WENT FISHING
THE DAY WE ALL FOUND
OUT WE BEING ALLOWED BACK HERE.~ Fujin threw her
bag onto her bed and
looked around. She opened her box of prized possessions
and went
about placing them in their proper places. Leaving
her bear out on
her bed, and hiding away her other items, like
her journals and
pictures, and small souvenirs. She backed up to
inspect, to see if it
looked like before.
:::knock knock knockity knockity knock knockity knock knock:::
"Hey, open up! I never know why you leave this always
locked when
you're home ya know."
Fujin smiled at the familiar knock and greeting.
She shook her head
and walked to the door.
"I LOCK IT TO KEEP OUT STRANGE PEOPLE."
"So you're saying I'm strange? Come on, ya know,
I'm normal!" Raijin
smiled and forced his way in. Fujin smiled and
looked at him.
"SO YOU SAY." She closed her door and looked at
him. He turned and
looked at her.
"Looks just like it did before, ya know."
"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? YOU WERE ONLY IN HERE ONCE BEFORE."
"I have a picture perfect memory when it comes to
things that are
important to me, ya know." Raijin smiled at her
and walked around.
"I brought a housewarming present."
"OH?" Fujin walked toward him. He handed her a small
flat package,
only about as big as his hand. She took it and
opened it up. Inside
was a picture of the Disciplinary Committee on
the day they went
fishing and found out they made it back into Garden.
All three of
them looking like drowned rats from when Raijin
'fell in' and
eventually ended up being the indirect cause of
both Fujin and Seifer
to follow. They were happy and smiling, and holding
up the one
Balamb Guppy they had caught during their three
hour outing.
"Yeah, you never have any pictures up, so I figured
I'd do something
about that, ya know." Raijin looked down and put
his hand on his
head, watching his feet.
"THANKS." Fujin walked over and kissed him on his
cheek, then went to
stand the frame on her bedside table. Raijin blushed
and stared more
at the floor.
"Uh, well, ya know, its nothing. I gotta go. Are you busy later?"
"NO."
"Wanna maybe meet for dinner in the Cafe then go
fight a few in the
Training Center? Just, well, a friend thing, ya
know, a home coming
thing." Raijin started tripping over his words,
still focusing on his
feet and the carpeting.
"COOL. SEE YOU THEN." Fujin smiled, and Raijin nodded
and walked out,
closing the door behind him. Fujin stepped toward
the wall and looked
around at her room again.
~THAT PICTURE OF US LIGHTS UP MY ROOM BETTER THAN ANY LAMP.~
A hydro field cuts through my neighborhood
Somehow that always just made me feel good
I can put a spare bulb in my hand
And light up my yard
If you question what I would do
To get over and be with you
Lift you up over everything
To light up my room
------
[the end]