Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonfly ❯ Helping hands gathering ( Chapter 2 )

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Chapter 2- Helping hands gathering

Sweating, panting and ready to kill anyone who only dared to laugh, giggle, move or talk in front of her, Kirah passed the line for the fifth time. The oblique rays of the morning sun beat her dark hair, turning her head into a coal oven. She could feel the sweat drops pouring from her neck and tickling her back. It itched.

"Still 2 laps to go..." She emitted a low groan.

She hated jogging even more than she hated hot dogs. The worst part of her SeeD training was the morning hour she had to spend running mindlessly around the Garden. With her shorter legs, she'd always be the last to finish her seventh lap. And she'd reach it with blood pounding so hard into her head she would barely hear Instructor Zell talking.

If only she could use a little special help to run faster. But she promised. She promised and she broke that Hyne-damned promise way too many times.

"Hurry up, people," called Instructor Zell's rather high voice. " Don't forget we still have an hour to pass at the training center before dinner. Make sure you bring over some potion and -for the last time- NO short-sleeved shirts. Grats gastric juices are pretty corrosive for young skin."

Yeah yeah anything to get out of here.

"Oh, and Kirah, could you come over here? Yes, screw the jogging for now, I have something for ya."

My savior!

Kirah turned to join her Instructor. He greeted her with a rather large smile. Kirah smiled back a genuine smile. She couldn't help being relaxed around him. She had a strong affection for the short, over-reactive blonde.

"Here are the new weapons you requested last week. Take good care of them."

He handed her a brand new leather belt, black and shiny. Each 5 centimeters or so, an iron buckle held safely a long, thin dagger. In all, 8 daggers decorated her waistband. She lifted one to examinate the pure, straight line of the weapon, its shimmering silver color, its sharpness.

"Beautiful...just beautiful..." She murmured.

"Well, happy they're good enough for ya," chuckled the Instructor. "Now maybe you should have something to drink and meet us at the training center in, say, 15 minutes?"

Kirah's smile widened a few inches. "Thanks Instructor."

"S'nothing. You know, SeeDs don't need to run that much anyway. But be late and I'll have you multiply the number of laps by the minutes of lateness!"

**~<>~**

The water was cold. Very cold. Shivers running through his body. Sledgehammer shattering his brain into pieces. And tears. Running warmt across his face. He thought he had slept, but it looked more like he fainted. Slowly, he brought a long nail up his chest, where his neck ended, and repeatedly scratched the same spot until the flesh ripped in an almost straight line. Blood instantly started pouring from the open wound, and soon the cristal cold water turned pink.

Another deep shiver. Another loud beating. He couldn't get out of the bathtub. His arms and hands were no longer connected to his brain and refused to move. His legs were like 2 logs. He felt blood weeping from his bitten lower lips. It hurt...

**~<>~**

When the ugly grat's butt sprawled at Kirah's feet, she was half-covered in sticky green stuff and a deep gash on her left arm revealed the only time she had lost her temper in the heat of the battle. Instructor Zell smiled as he handed her a piece of cloth for her dirty daggers and a bottle of potion for her wound.

"See, people, losing concentration is a matter of second and can cost a life.. Never underestimate your opponent, but overestimating is even worse. Remember your ennemy is a living being just like you and has its weaknesses, which you can find by either using scan magic, or trying different kind of magic on it. Oh, and for those using small weapons, remember they're easy to lose control of, aren't they, Miss Sabin?"

Kirah smiled sheepishly while rubbing the liquid on her arm. The bleeding gash slowly to heal itself and the pain dulled away. She hated being put in that kind of situation, but sadly, it happened often to her. Instructor Zell used to say she was too nervous. She knew in fact, she just wasn't good enough. Her hard training against other students, grats, bite bugs, caterchipillars and even an accidental T-Rexaur met in the forest just outside Garden hadn't helped her. She had a hell of a lot of experience gathered, but she'd still fail, and each time her heart would crack a little.

Instructor Zell checked at his watch with concern.

"Seems like the gunblade demonstrator is either very late of absent."

He sighed, then motionned to the younger brunette lad standing behind the group.

"I'll go have a look at him. Shi, could you replace me for a while?"

The boy nodded.

"Okay kids, there's a couple more grats playing around here and I want them dead-dead-dead when I'll come back. Understood?"

"Yes Instructor Zell." Replied 32 young voices as one.

Kirah looked at her arm. Not even the slightliest pink trace showing where the dagger cut her. She handed the bottle to another injured student. The blonde-haired boy thanked her with a slight sexy smile and a wink from his light blue eyes. She smiled back at him and stretched her arms. The blonde's fingers intentionnally brushed her hair as he turned to join his team.

So cute. So young. 15 years-old was only 2 years away from her but it seemed like and eternity.

"Another lifetime"

Sighing, she forced her mind back to battle mode. More grats. Whoop-de-doo.

**~<>~**

On his way from the training center to the SeeDs dormitory, Zell ran over Quistis Trepe. In fact, the young SeeD had her cute nose buried in a rather thrilling book about rare GFs and bumped on her friend at the dorm's entrance

OOOf!

The book fell to the floor.

"Hey!" He gleefully picked the book and handed it to Quistis, not forgetting to add his trademark broad smile.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Headin' for Seifer's room. He was supposed to help my gunblade students at the training center and he hadn't showed up. He didn't looked well this morning."

"He hadn't looked well for quite some time, you know."

"Yeah..."

Seifer was naturally arrogant and disageeable. They all got accustomed to his constant lack of discipline, his superior smirks and manners. And, well, they had to admit they kinda liked it that way. Seifer had to be Seifer, after all. And he learned his lessons from Ultimecia 3 years ago.But lately, the man had changed dramatically. From the moody fucker he turned to a dark, disoriented loner with absolutely no sense of humor left and constant forgetfulness..

"Anyway," he resumed. "You comin'?"

Quistis shrugged "Yeah, I think we could use a little talking with the guy."

Seifer's room was at the far north corner of the dorm, a place usually not well-liked by the students because of its constant lack of sunshine. Seifer, however, ALWAYS requested a room in this aera. Typical of him.

Zell knocked once

Twice

Called Seifer's name

"Maybe he's not there." Quistis pointed out.

"I'm sure he is." Zell called his name once again. Then he turned to Quistis. "Let's get in."

And he opened the surprisingly unlocked door.

**~<>~**

The room was an incredible mess. Another proof Seifer, almost maniac with order and tidyness, was NOT feeling well at all. Dirty clothes and half-emptied styrofoam plates everywhere. The white walls were stained with brownish splotches that looked like dried blood. There were more of those on the bedsheets. And the stench! It smelled like rancid food, rotten meat, mildew...

"Eeeww" was all that Quistis managed to say.

The sound of running water drew them to the bathroom door, locked this time. Zell knocked. "Seifer?"

Only the water replied.

"Open that fuckin' door, Seifer, before I do it myself!"

Quistis emitted a startled cry as she felt icy water drech her feet through her delicate sandals. "Zell! Look at the floor!"

He swore at the flow coming from the door. "Step back Quis, I'll open that Hyne-damned door."

Zell got himself a large swing and crashed against the door with his left shoulder. The wood pannel didn't moved an inche. It barely whispered a cracking sound. He took a bigger swing and crashed again. This time, something moved-his collarbone.

"OWW!!!"

He kneeled on the soaked floor, hugging his wounded shoulder.

"Won't open, Quis. Got another plan?"

She pulled 2 pins from her chignon. "Probably, amateur!"

Quisits introduced the first one in the door's lock, then pushed the other right under the first as she violently twisted the knob.

It clicked, and then the door opened wide. Revealing a horrifying scene. Seifer turning light blue in the overflowing tub. Hi lips, dark violet, swollen, covered in blood. Quistis yelled. Zell stood there, unable to move. Seifer had a SMILE over his lips. His arms and chest showed deep red marks. Claws marks. When Zell threw himself against the shivering man, taking his hands away from his bleeding chest, Seifer snarled and tried to bite. Zell slapped him a couple of time, trying to bring back a bit of sanity into these mad eyes.

"Quis, go get Dr. Kadowaki. Quick."

**~<>~**

"Hypothermia, exhaustion and a touch of malnutrition. Nice combo isn't it? But he's not dead. He's doing quite fine, in fact. He's sleeping hard. I've administrated him enough sedative for a good 20-hours rest. He's on perfusion and he'll need all the energy inside him for something else than screaming and running around."

Zell sighed. "Thanks, Doctor."

"You're welcome, Zell. With that said, I had to talk to Headmaster Cid about this, erm, incident. It's not the procedure but his case was bad enough. They said you had to report to Cid's office as soon as you were done here."

"Right now?"

"He said `emergency case', so you better get going. Quistis is already there."

**~<>~**

Headmaster Cid himself greeted Zell at the door, then quickly shut it on his back and locked it. The place was dimly lighted, but amongst the shadow his eyes met Squall, Rinoa, Quistis, Nida, Irvine, Selphie and-it was a real surprise-Edea.

Serious faces and clenched fists. Not good.

Squall spoke first. "Now that we're all here, Headmaster Cid could you please tell us what's going on?"

Cid cleared his throat.

"Well you all know that Seifer's been...say...undisposed and is currently under Dr. Kadowaki's supervision. Zell, could you explain to the others here how you found Mr. Almasy this morning?"

It took a few minutes to tell the whole story. Rinoa's eyes almost popped out of her orbits when he told the icy bath part. Seifer had been romantically attached to her, 3 years ago, and she still felt protective about him.

As Zell finished, Squall let out a slow whistle. "Hyne..."

"Yes, indeed." Edea had been silent the whole time. Her loud, impressive voice filled the air with autority. "But I doubt Hyne is interested in helping right now, so we'll have to take over again. Do you have any idea of what caused Seifer's illness?"

Zell shrugged "Dr. Kadowaki said it was malnutrition and hypothermia and exhaustion."

Edea turned to him "That's the consequences, honey. I'm asking for the causes."

"Nobody knows." pointed Quistis. Dr. Kadowaki said that Seifer consulted her a couple of months ago about serious insomnia and loss of memory. We assume it went downhill from there. She tried every existing test on him, found absolutely nothing wrong."

"So it's not inside him?" Selphie's low voice came from the corner of Zell's eyesight.

"It is." replied Squall. " It is but it's not...physical...am I right?"

Edea smiled broadly at the young commander "You're right, Squall. It's not physical. What I think happened to him is possession"

Rinoa litterally chocked in with her glass of water. "Possession? Seifer's possessed?? How can it be? who?"

"I don't know. You know I've given up my powers to you, and you chose to give them up too. But I've been possessed before and this case is way, way worst. Seifer have been possessed before, he could normally recognize the symptoms. He would have told Dr. Kadowaki about it..."

"We're headin' nowhere," cutted a very annoyed Zell. "How can we know for sure without a sorceress to help?"

"Zelly, we DO have a sorceress to help. She's even in this Garden as we speak"

**~<>~**

"This is Headmaster Cid talking. Could Kirah Sabin from East junior dorm report to my office as soon as possible? I repeat: Could Kirah Sabin from... "

She chocked herself with a mouthful of chicken salad, stood up trying to spit out the surprise (and the piece of tomato) stuck in her throat.

"Oh nooooooo...."

**~<>~**