Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Insanity ❯ Misunderstanding ( Chapter 6 )

This is a SeiferxZell yaoi and if you don't like it don't read it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody…not even myself.

"…"talking

~…~thoughts

{…}memories

Italics Zell's self-preservation

In the Infirmary, silence pervaded into every corner and the smell of disinfectants and medicines was nauseating to anyone not used to hospitals. Without any battles or training going on in the Garden, the Infirmary wasn't used very often to treat injuries. Instead it became a counseling center, with only a couple of medical doctors and many psychiatrics. Practically the entire student body has gone there once or twice, so there wasn't any taboo in asking for help. Three of the world's heroes were on there way to see a certain doctor.

"I wonder why Dr. Kadowaki called us to her office. You think she found out something about Zell?" Rinoa followed the SeeDs from behind. "None of us have seen him since yesterday. What if he hurt himself…or worse?"

"Please, don't be so pessimistic." Quistis wondered the same thing, but she couldn't admit it. ~What if she's right? I should have prevented this.~

"Sorry." ~I had to open my big mouth. I'm not helping at all, am I?...I'm so stupid.~ The small woman mentally belittled herself once again.

"No…it's okay. You're just worried, that's all. You don't have to be sorry for speaking your mind." The blonde looked back and smiled reassuringly.

"We're here" Squall opened the door and held it for the others. Once inside they walked down a hallway passing next to several rooms, most of them empty.

Inside room 3, a young Asian man was receiving physical therapy for his left arm. He was using a 15 pound dumbbell flexing his muscles that even though weren't very pronounced, they were still visible.

Rinoa stopped next to the door. "He seems familiar. Isn't he the pilot or something?"

The ex-instructor looked inside and recognized him. "Yes, it's the pilot. I think his name is Nida." Watching his movements she could see he flinched every time he lifted his arm, yet didn't stop exercising it. "I wonder what he's doing here."

Several feet away Squall stopped, sensing that he has been walking by himself. Turning around and seeing his female companions gawking at some guy inside room 3, he felt irritated. ~ What is it now? I thought they wanted to see the doctor as soon as possible. A couple of seconds ago they're talking about how worried they were and now look at them. What could possibly be so interesting that they stop and stare at it for this long? I can't wait forever without knowing what happened to Zell. If I don't say something, they'll probably stay there.~ "Hurry"

After hearing the commanding voice, they broke out of their stupor and continued down the hallway. "Sorry about that. You're not jealous, are you?"

"No"

Rinoa grabbed his arm and walked next to him. "No, I guess you aren't. The look on your face says it all." She sighed. The warrior just shrugged her off.

They reached Kadowaki's office and knocked on her door. Shuffling sounds were heard inside and then the door was opened. "Mr. Leonheart, Ms. Trepe and Ms. Heartilly; I'm very glad you came so soon. I have to check on one of my patient's progress and I'll be right back to talk with you."

"Is it about Zell?" Quistis grabbed the older woman's arm in search for an answer. She couldn't wait, but the doctor's demeanor wasn't grave, giving her some hope that nothing awful has happened yet.

"Yes, it is. My patient in room 3 was put there by him last night." She turned around and glanced at the three with a comforting look in her face. "I'll explain what happened last night with Mr. Dincht. If you wish, you can accompany me for the check-up and he'll help clarify the situation."

"Let's go then" Squall responded.

"But, what about Zell? Isn't he here? What happened?" Rinoa grabbed Kadowaki's other arm anxiously.

"Don't worry. Everything will be made clear soon. Well, everything that can be explained for now, at least." She loosened their grasp and headed down the corridor with a note pad and a stethoscope in hand.

"Typical, she calls us out here and then makes us wait." Squall crossed his arms and followed the doctor.

The girls watched him walk away with a concern look on his face. "What's wrong with him? He hasn't acted this cold since before he became a SeeD."

"It's my fault…when I told Squall I was scared of him this morning, he closed up again" The brunette squeezed her arms hard. "I'm only causing problems. I never do anything right."

Quistis approached her shorter friend, putting her hand on the other's shoulder. "Don't say that. You helped open him up in the first place. I tried before, but to no avail. You helped us understand what's bothering Zell, too. Squall will come around soon. He hasn't gotten used to dealing with his emotions yet."

"We don't know if that is what happened to Zell yesterday. I could be wrong, you know?" They stood there for what seemed like hours, but could only be minutes. She glanced at the hallway and couldn't see her boyfriend or the doctor. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting here. Squall and Kadowaki are already inside."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

Inside of room 3, Nida is getting a physical examination by an older woman. He continues to glance out of the corner of his right eye to see the imposing figure of the only gunblade specialist left in Balamb Garden. ~First Zell last night and now Squall. I'm attracting big names to myself all of a sudden. I wonder if it isn't a sign that I'll no longer be a nobody. Or maybe it's just Hyne rubbing in my face the fact that I'll never be that famous.~ He sighed loudly.

"Is everything alright?" Kadowaki lifted her eyes from her notes and looked at her patient. "You seem pensive."

"Oh! Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking about…stuff." He tried to cover for himself, but the Asian woman still looked at him unconvinced.

"Very well then. Now stretch your arm outwards and then turn it around as much as possible. If you feel any discomfort, please inform me" She returned to her notes writing down the muscles' reflexes in the left arm.

The pilot straightened his arm towards his front and then turned it sideways. He folded it against his chest and then stretched it behind himself until he could touch the middle of his back. Bringing it back in front of himself once again, the young SeeD rotated his wrist several times and moved his fingers in and out of a fist. Through all this his face remained calm with no sign of pain.

"See, my arm's as good as new." He grinned in achievement ~That wasn't so bad. My arm feels like it's going to fall off, but it wasn't so bad.~ " I didn't need to stay in the Infirmary all morning, Dr. Kadowaki."

"You have a very high pain tolerance, Mr. Nida. But I have been a doctor since before you were born and I can recognize a muscle flinching involuntarily from the smallest of actions." She didn't lift her eyes from the notes she was writing, yet Nida caught a sliver of a smile on the woman lips.

"Come on. I'm good to go! I already missed the class I had to give at ten this morning and my afternoon is even busier. I have a lot of responsibilities I need to take care of." He practically begged. "I can handle a little pain for a couple of days."

"I'll let you go on the condition that you use some anti-inflammatory creams and mild painkillers I have in my office for your sore muscles." She stood up and walked towards the doorway. "And you must rest it as much as possible."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the wait the young commander had been consumed by his thoughts. ~I scared Zell…I scare Rinoa. Who else thinks I'm a monster? If I hadn't called out to him yesterday, he would have been fine. Every time I try to hang out with somebody I freak them out somehow. I'm over-exaggerating this whole thing. They're my friends, but…if I wasn't so open with them. I wouldn't get hurt and I wouldn't harm them.~

Glancing towards his side, he sees the doctor and the patient talking. ~What's taking so long? I haven't been listening to a thing they've said, but I know that it's been useless babble. The guy looks fine. I'm sure Zell didn't do anything to serious. The bastard's probably faking his injury to call attention. Kadowaki can't be a good physician if she falls for it *sigh* Finally, she's finished.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Squall still stood in the entrance leaning against the frame. "What about Zell?" His voice and face had become expressionless.

"I'll tell you soon enough, Mr. Leonheart." She glanced over her shoulder. "I just need to get some medications for him." Leaving the worried friend behind, she continued down the corridor.

"She's pretty good at what she does, huh?" Nida sat up and faced the hero.

"…" ~How can she be so unconcerned? We've been waiting for nearly an hour and she still makes us wait. And where the hell is Quistis and Rinoa anyway?~

"It was really cool at how you defeated that Sorceress and all." The pilot was getting nervous. Normally he wouldn't approach any of the heroes, much less speak to them. However, now seemed like as good a time as any to start.

"…" ~Great, he's talking to me. What was his name? Neda, Nide, Lida…something like that. I'll just say one and if it's wrong he'll gladly correct me.~

Squall stood up straight and put his hands in his pockets. "You're the pilot, right? Nada, was it?" ~Open and social. It isn't so hard.~

After hearing that name, a shadow filled the injured man's face. Clenching his fists against the bed's sheets he uttered. "Don't ever call me that again. If you're not sure what my name is, just ask for it."

He let go of the sheets and stood up. The tranquilizers from the night before hadn't completely worn off, so he staggered at first, yet quickly regained his composure. "My name is Nida…N-I-D-A, not the pilot guy…not the other guy… not what's-his-name. I am definitely NOT called Nada and if you ever call me that again I'll ram your gunblade so far up your ass, you'll be cutting the top of your mouth every time you sit down."

"Sorry." ~ What the fuck? How did I make him angry? He seemed perfectly fine before.~

"Shut the fuck up and get out of my way." Nida rushed towards the door, the one that Squall was currently in front of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After taking their time walking towards the room, the girls see the older woman leave. "Is everything alright, Doctor?"

"For the moment it is, Ms. Trepe." The Asian continued on her way. "I'll be back soon."

"I wonder what Squall's doing." Rinoa was still grasping her arms tightly, unknowingly bruising the skin. "Do you think he's mad at me?"

"No, of course not." They were about to reach the door when they heard a screaming voice from the other side. Inside was a shirtless young man, who had just pushed a surprised Squall to the floor. The man was running straight towards them.

"What's going on? What did you do to him?" Rinoa stood in his way defiantly, yet her petite size was no challenge to the taller Asian, and she was thrown back easily.

"Out of my way." He didn't look back, as he ran down the hallway, and couldn't see the powerful hand grabbing his arm.

"Stop running this instant!" With all the authority she could muster, she subdued the apprehensive pilot. "Explain yourself."

"Let…me…go." Holding his head down he looked at her legs, he couldn't look up. He knew who he pushed down, he knew who was holding him there. The heroes, everyone's heroes. ~The gods hate me. They enjoy making fun of me. Why did he call me Nada?...why I'm I surrounded by these…these known people?~

"Not until you tell me what happened." She jerked his arm to force him to reveal his face. Nida bit his mouth shut so he wouldn't scream out from the pain that was coursing up his arm into his chest and down his back . Continuing to look at the floor, he felt his knees start to bend; despite the adrenaline rush, the effects of the drugs haven't completely worn off yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From inside the room Squall came out in a fury. ~I'm tired of freaking people out. I didn't do anything to him and he acts as though I killed his mother.~ Seeing his girlfriend on the floor, he grew concerned. "Rinoa, you ok?" he kneeled next to her. She was crying again, so her champion lifted her hair from her forehead and kissed it.

Still covering her face, she muttered. "I couldn't stop him…Quistis can…so easily…but I…I."

"It's okay…you were unprepared." ~Damn it. I was being an ass earlier.~ "Don't cry" Moving his arms around her, he noticed small bruises on her arms. ~That fucking bastard.~ "Where is he?"

"Quistis…ran after him." She pointed in the direction they went. She looked back at her savior and felt safe. ~Look at his face. He's worried about me. I'm completely useless, yet he still loves me.~

Standing up, the swordsman walked calmly down the hall. "Stay here." ~That punk thinks he can get away with hurting my friends. Probably provoked Zell to attack him last night. I'll teach him a much more painful lesson the second I get my hands on him.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Please…let me go." The outburst a couple of seconds ago had worn him out. "I have work…to do"

"You're not going anywhere till I know what you did." Feeling him weaken from exhaustion she decided to jerk him again to see his face. "Tell me."

"Listen, I'm sorry…I'm sorry for screaming at your friend back there…I'm sorry for pushing that girl…I'm sorry for asking for shampoo…just let me go." He finally looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears, his face red from the pain. The sight was so unexpected that Quistis suddenly let go of his arm, causing to fall on to his side.

Trying to lift himself from the floor he started to chuckle softly. "I have…to do some…schematics for the Garden." Getting to his knees, his battered arm hung loosely at his side. "Teach…some classes." Finally standing up he looked at the stunned blonde and grinned timidly. "I'm a very…busy person."

"Nida…I…are you okay?" Quistis approached him slowly, offering her hand as support. ~He's in pain. His left arm's injured; I remember when he was lifting those weights. How could I be so careless?~

"Fine, just fine." The pilot continued to smile as if they had met under different circumstances ~She knows my name. How nice of her.~ However behind her, he could see the looming figure of an enraged man. ~He's going to beat the shit out of me.~ "I have to…go."

"Wait…let Kadowaki see your arm." Stepping forward she extended her hand once again. "I must have hurt you."

"No…it's okay. It was nice meeting you." Turning around he ran as fast as he could, down the empty hallway. ~I'll get to my dorm, clean up and go to my class in time.~

"No, don't go!...Nida, I'm sorry." Whispering she felt pangs of guilt piercing her heart. From behind her, she could hear steps on the linoleum floor. "Leave him alone. Please."

"Why?" Standing next to her, Squall looked down at his clenched fists.

"Please. Let's talk with Kadowaki and forget this happened."

"He hurt Rinoa." He felt his wrath grow. ~Why are you defending that shit?~

"I hurt him enough." She looked up at him. Tears threatening to fall, she grabbed his jacket. "Let him go…He only wants to be left alone."

"Fine" He scoffed but only felt more furious. ~What the hell did he do to you?!~

"Thank you." She wiped her face and regained her composure. Looking past her comrade she could see the doctor with their petite friend. "Here she comes."

"Where's Mr. Nida? I have to give him these medicines for his arm." Looking at their facial expressions she could see that they didn't want to talk about it.

"He left." Leaving Quistis' side, he embraced his love. "I'm sure I'll see him later."

"No, Squall. You won't." Quistis crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. ~He only pushed you and Rinoa down. I can't believe you would attack him only for that.~

"I'll give him the painkillers some other time, I suppose. I didn't expect him to be so stubborn." Kadowaki remained cautious of her words. She knew that Squall wanted to hurt Nida and that Quistis was preventing him, but she wasn't entirely sure why. "Well, I've made you wait long enough. I'm sorry for that, but now I'll explain last night occurrences."

"Please, tell us if Zell alright." From between her protector's arms she pleaded for good news.

"I gave Mr. Dincht some barbiturates to help him sleep and he's currently in his room resting. He talked to me about what was troubling him and I've learned a good deal about what happened to all of you during Time Compression."

"What did he say?"

"I'm not at liberty to tell you. Like Ms. Heartilly and Ms. Trepe he was…tortured when he was taken away from the Last Battle. I believe it would be best if you can tell him what happened in your cases, so he would find understanding." She looked at the girls in front of her. "Mr. Dincht has suffered greatly and still does; it took much effort on his part to talk to me and he still couldn't express everything he wanted. There was another force preventing him from asking for help."

"What about that guy?" The dislike he felt could be clearly seen.

"Mr. Nida's arm was broken in several places last night and he nearly bled to death. He accidentally startled Mr. Dincht in the shower room." Giving Squall an uncompromising look she continued. "He could have died, however he didn't blame your friend."

"…" ~Everyone's defending that asshole. Who does he think he's messing with? He's been hurting my friends.~

"When can we see Zell?" Trying to change the subject, Quistis asked composedly.

"Tomorrow at one in the same room we always meet. Think about what to say to him, how to help him. He needs friends now, more than ever before."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening his door and walking inside his shared room, Nida slumped against the sofa. ~So…tired.~ Covered in sweat and out of breath, he forced himself to stand up once again. ~Clean up. Get dressed. Go work.~

He staggered to the small kitchen and turned on the faucet. Dabbing his face with the cold water he started to feel revitalized. Grabbing an old cloth, he began to scrub his face and chest, all the time using his right arm. ~It's a good thing I'm right-handed, huh?There, I'm clean enough.~

His room was small and there was only a calendar on the wall, a bedside table and a small closet. Inside he began to dress slowly into his SeeD uniform. Glancing at a alarm clock next to his bed he saw that it was 1:37 pm. Less than half an hour till his class. ~No time for lunch. I have to hurry.~ He grabbed a small suitcase on the side of the bed and hobbled to the door. Right before the pilot could mark the code, the door opened and his roommate, strutted inside. The guy held himself tall and had an air of superiority around him, even though he was a nobody like Nida.

"Hey, whatcha doing there roommie? I thought you'd be at your class by now." He was the very arrogant guy who spent a lot of time at the library. Always talking bull about how great he was.

"I'm in a hurry, Gary Lou." Nida tried to walk past him, but was stopped by an arm in front of his face. "What is it?"

"Uh, uh, uh. Didn't your mama ever teach you manners?" He waved his index finger at his impatient 'friend'. "You could at least say goodbye."

"Bye." Nida walked under his arm and was about to get out the door, when two arms grabbed him from behind and tightened their grip. "Let me go."

"Come on, you just broke up with that bitch, what other excuse could you have for refusing me." Embracing him tighter he kissed the back of the other's neck. "You just cleaned up, didn't you?"

"I'm not interested, Gary. Even if I was gay, I wouldn't want to be with a jerk like you." Struggling to get out of the hold of the other man, he could feel his arm going numb with pain. "Let me go. I have a class to give."

"You're barely struggling. I can feel you go limp in my arms as we speak." Carrying the tired Asian to the sofa, he threw him down and laid on top of him. "I know you want it, Mary is a whore, but she didn't put out for you." He started to rub his crotch roughly against him. "Just let me fuck you. It'll be nice."

"Get off me!" Nida used every ounce of his strength to push his attacker off. "Damn it Gary, leave me alone!" He ran for the door and left quickly without looking behind.

Sitting on the sofa, Gary looked at the ceiling. Lowering his hand into his pants, he pulled out his erection and started to jerk off. With very rough and quick strokes, he neared himself to climax, all the while talking amidst his moans. "Soon…You'll be the one…doing this…ugh…for me."

After satisfying himself, he walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Inside he took out a jar of mayonnaise, opened the cap and smeared his cum into the mush. ~You've already tasted me before, and you never suspected it.~ "I want to taste you."

TBC

A/N

You'll see Zell in the next chapter. I wanted to write a chap. that showcased the other characters feelings and also to give Nida more depth.

In case you didn't know, Nada means nothing in Spanish, so when Squall called him Nada, he was basically saying "You're nothing."

Oh, and about Gary's little obsession…the fic's called Insanity for a reason.