Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Knight ❯ Chapter 2 : The Plan ( Chapter 2 )

:: Chapter 2 ::

The Plan

 

 

Seifer very much believed he'd finally gone nuts. That had to be the explanation. Anything else was simply impossible. One of the many organizations on the planet that were supposed to be hell-bent on seeing him dead now had him strapped to an infirmary bed and were forcefully bullying him back to health.

 

It had been nearly a week now, and Dr. Kadowaki was not taking anything but “yes doctor” for an answer. He'd been bathed, dressed in a clean hospital gown and had been forbidden to leave the bed for any other reason than to relieve himself. What were they up to? Why make him healthy again? So they could have more fun torturing him to death later?

 

So far Raijin and Fujin had come to visit him every day. At first Seifer had roared every single cuss word he could think of in their direction, despite Dr. Kadowaki's soap threats, wanting nothing at all to do with them. Yet for some unknown reason they kept coming back, ignoring his temper tantrums and trying to get him to play Triple Triad (with Raijin acting as his proxy, since his arms were still bound to the bed). Now Seifer merely glared out the window in stubborn silence, ignoring them as best he could, or at least putting up a good show of doing so.

 

It was singularly impossible to really and truly ignore those two. They were just too damn loud and obnoxious.

 

“Lotsa rumors goin around, ya know? . . . About if you're really here,” Raijin elaborated after a moment as he sat next to him, smacking down one of “Seifer's” cards. Fujin nodded, putting out her next card and giving Raijin a slightly annoyed glare as his card won the mini battle. Then she glanced at Seifer.

 

“SECRET.”

 

“Yah, we're not supposed to tell anybody that you're here yet, ya know? They say it'd cause a panic, ya know?”

 

Seifer's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Heh, cause a panic, eh? Just a bone bag now, and they STILL fear me. Wimps.

 

All three of them turned when the door to the infirmary opened, and Seifer stiffened slightly, surprised. He never thought to see her again, at least not so soon.

 

“Raijin, Fujin, Headmaster Cid would like to see you both in his office right away,” she announced, expression cool and calm, voice flat. She readjusted the glasses on her nose—the ones she only wore when trying to put on her proffessional, snobby instructor airs—shifting the stack of books she had balanced on one curved hip afterward. Then she shoved one tendril of honey colored hair from her face and met the three curious/hostile stares with a cold detachment that always rubbed Seifer raw.

 

“WHY?” Fujin inquired, getting to her feet and casting Quistis a suspicious look.

“I suppose you'll have to take it up with him, soldier, though it does not reflect well on yourself to question orders in this fashion. I suggest you get a move on, SeeD, before I'm forced to report you.”

 

That didn't sit very well with the moody Fujin, but the female stalked out of the infirmary anyhow, dragging a confused Raijin behind her. Seifer said nothing, nor did he move, simply laying in the slightly inclined bed and giving the snotty female what he hoped was at least a shadow of his former death-glare.

 

“Good morning, Almasy,” she began, coming farther into the room and setting her books down onto the table that Fu and Raij had been playing Triple T. On the surface she was calm, cool, in control. But her blue eyes told a different story. They were nervous, apprehensive, scared even. Her slender hands shook slightly as they straightened a pile of papers.

 

This made him scowl, suddenly furious. Of what exactly, the thought that Quistis Trepe was afraid of something in general or that she was afraid of him specifically he wasn't too sure, not that he wanted to examine the emotion very closely to find out.

 

“What the hell do you want Trepe?” he snarled low, not recognizing his own voice, which had become as rough and dry as sandpaper. He saw her stiffen where she stood slightly bent over the table, and then all of a sudden she slammed the last book down and straightened in a huff. Seifer nearly relaxed as angry blue eyes raised to glare into his own.

 

This Quistis was much more familiar.

 

“Well you see, Almasy, that all depends on you.” Resisting the strong urge to spit more obscenities in her direction he somehow managed to keep his tongue in his mouth as Quistis found her a seat.

 

She sat back with another long, calming breath and then informed him in a cool, no-nonsense tone what exactly was going on.

 

“You're being reinstated into the SeeD cadet training program Seifer, and I've been elected to resume my duties as your Instructor.”

 

Silence.

 

There was no way in hell he'd heard her properly. No way. His eyes narrowed.

 

“Bullshit. What the hell kind of joke is this?”

 

“I'm not joking, Seifer,” she announced, fists clenching in her lap. “You signed up for another full year of training before you busted out of the detention center five years ago. Garden didn't waste four and a half years worth of time, training and gil on your sorry carcass for you to just skip out without any kind of reimbursement. It's standard procedure, Almasy, which you would know if you paid even the slightest bit of attention to my lectures. You'll be reinstated, trained, graduated and you will work the first six months without pay to make up the difference of your fines.”

 

Seifer could only stare at her. This had to be one sick, twisted dream or something. A hallucination. Back in Garden? What in the hell . . . .

 

“If you don't cooperate, you'll be handed over to the Galbadian military and most likely taken straight to District D prison,” was her final announcement, blue eyes steady and flat.

 

“I'm not SeeD, goddammit,” he finally spat. This was too cruel. Too harsh. He didn't think even Quistis could sink this low. Quistis scowled, clearly frustrated.

 

“You're not SeeD yet because you never fully applied yourself, Seifer. You had more potential than anyone I'd ever seen before, Squall included! If you'd just put even half of that energy into training and studying as you did running off at the mouth and disobeying orders—,”

 

“So you're just gonna take me back?” he demanded, interrupting her harshly. “Just like that? No questions asked? I'm not stupid, Instructor,” Seifer released, picking up the old nickname and barely even noticing it. “Nothing's that easy.”

 

“It's only difficult because you make it difficult Almasy,” was her reply through gritted teeth, then she assumed a very business-like tone of voice. “You will be quarantined from other classes, of course. Right now you're too much of a risk, and too old to be put back in the mainstream student body anyhow. I estimate that it should take somewhere close to four to six months to get you back to where you were before you left.”

 

“What're they blackmailing you with, Instructor?” he suddenly questioned, eyes narrowed. “It has to be pretty damned hefty.”

 

Something that might have been a guilty blush sprouted on the high curve of her cheeks.

 

“For your information, this is a trial run for me as well.” She cleared her throat, picking up one of the text books and flipping open to a rabbit-eared page, doing her best to appear calm and in control. For someone who was so damned good at reading other people, Seifer suddenly wondered if she knew just how transparent she could be when she was upset. “If I can succeed with you and get you graduated, Cid has assured me that my Instructor's license will be reinstated permanently.”

 

He wasn't even aware that she'd lost it.

 

“So last night I worked out a syllabus that we'll be going through for the first month or so, until you get your strength back enough to go to work in the training center. And we're starting back at the basics,” she announced, flipping the book and showing him the title.

 

Basic SeeD Regulations and Code of Conduct.

 

Seifer suddenly wanted to laugh. He wanted to throw his head back and roar with laughter until he was sick with it. Instead he gave her a black look and hissed, “You're out of your fucking mind if you think I'm gonna sit here like a goddamned infant and let you read a rule book to me!”

 

“Why not?” she questioned, flipping to the first page. “You never did read it on your own. Which makes me wonder how on Hyne you ever got to be the Head of the Disciplinary Committee.”

 

“I'm not gonna lay here an—,”

 

“Oh yes you are, dammit!” Seifer silenced, stunned, and watched as Quistis shot to her feet and loomed over him. “Get a grip Seifer! I don't know what in the hell happened to you five years ago, I can't even venture a guess. But whatever it was, I didn't think anything would be so bad as to make you just roll over and die like this! You're not a quitter Almasy, stop acting like one! Stop wallowing in your little rut of self pity, get back up and do something with yourself instead of whining about the past! I am going to train you and you are going to graduate into SeeD class because I sure as hell am not going to let you ruin my life like you're so hell bent on ruining your own!”

 

She straightened away then, frowning.

 

“You're being given something very precious and rare, Seifer. Something that not very many of us get to experience. It's called a second chance. I highly suggest you make the best of it instead of tossing it out the window.” She tossed the book down onto his lap. “Now I'm going to leave these here for you to go over. I'll be back tomorrow with a quiz to see how much you've retained. Then we'll have a study on the material. You'd better be prepared for them.”

 

His glare was petulant as the waspish female turned on her heel and stalked out of the infirmary completely. Moments later Dr. Kadowaki entered, expression pensive.

 

“Is there anything I can do for you Mr. Almasy?”

 

“Yah,” he grunted after a moment. “Get over here and untie my arm.” He sighed, glaring down at the rule book as if it'd grown Grat tentacles. “Gotta read this damn thing before tomorrow or Trepe's gonna go ballistic.”

 

He pretended to ignore the doctor's wide grin as she came over to do as he'd asked and unbuckled his right hand, the one without the IV. He flexed his wrist a bit, then grabbed the book she'd left in his lap and stared at the cover.

 

Second chances eh? Hah. They're probably just setting me up to fail so they can get one big fucking laugh at my expense. Wouldn't it really stick it up their asses if I actually graduated though? He smirked at that thought, then stiffened as the voice came to him again, that spidery, haunting lisp that haunted even his drunken stupor.

 

But at least when he was drunk he could ignore it.

 

You cannot succeed at anything on your own, she told him and he squinted, jaw clenching. You cannot do anything without me. You're just a little boy.

 

The urge to curl in upon himself came again, to black out and escape that damned voice. But then another one blared into his head, briefly drowning out the other.

 

You're not a quitter Almasy, stop acting like one! Stop wallowing in your little rut of self pity, get back up and do something with yourself instead of whining about the past!

 

Just a little boy . . .

 

Not a quitter!

 

Little boy . . .

 

Quitter . . .

 

“Fuck you,” he growled, wrenching open the book and turning to the first page.