Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Renaissance ❯ Orphan ( Prologue )

Renaissance.

Chapter One. Orphan.

By Kyriadalyn

This is a lemon. A lemon epic, if such a thing exists.

If you can't deal with Squall and Seifer going at it, tough cookies. You will just have to go elsewhere.

I am not even bothering with a disclaimer because it's just stupid. If I owned them, I sure as hell wouldn't be working.

That is all.

***

He strode down the dusty road, quickly, efficiently, as a commander should. There was a pack over his shoulder and his gunblade hung from his hip. He took no notice of his surroundings. He would not be coming back.

Not much more than a mile away, another persona of the sorceresses' war was finally coming home.

It was ironic the way they always seemed to contradict each other like that.

***

Seifer walked through the gates of Garden very slowly, hesitance evident in every step. The small silver-haired girl behind him shoved him forward roughly through the archway. Seifer scowled at her and the young man by her side.

"SEIFER. GO." She barked.

Seifer just scowled even deeper and grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath.

He trudged his way through the front area, dragging his feet beneath him while his two companions made sure he didn't escape.

As he walked into the lobby, Seifer sighed. He had to admit, it was good to be home, even if it was a last resort.

The bustling of the students, teachers, and faculty; the noise from the fountains, messages ringing out from the intercom, and the distant roar of monsters in the Training Center, it was all so familiar. It was all so safe. He had forgotten how safe this place felt.

Climbing the stairs to the elevator was an exercise in willpower. Of course, having Fujin show her support so strongly, (threats of death by severe maiming if he didn't cooperate), was really inspirational as well. Same for Raijin's ramblings, those were just riveting.

Not that he was bitter or anything.

The elevator moved slowly. Too slowly, but at the same time, not slowly enough. He could feel the tension roiling in his shoulders. This was his last shot. There was nowhere else to go to if this didn't work. Fujin and Raijin seemed convinced that it would be fine, but… Seifer couldn't help but be skeptical.

When the cool metal doors opened, it was like walking the path to judgment, and when he thought about it, it really was. That wasn't a very comforting thought though.

There were a lot of people in the room. More than he usually remembered seeing, and he'd been in the commander's office a lot. Fujin and Raijin appeared just as confused as he was.

This had not been expected.

Seifer grabbed the arm of a SeeD as they passed by him to get to the elevator.

"What's going on?"

The man barely even acknowledged his presence before shaking him off. "The commander is missing," he said as he disappeared into the elevator.

Missing?

"Seifer."

Quistis Trepe strode up to him, looking as dignified as ever. It was obvious that she was in charge of this mess. She oozed authority.

"I don't suppose you have anything to do with this, do you Seifer?" Her voice was cold, although Seifer could hear just a hint of desperation to it.

"I just got here. I don't even know what's going on. So, no," he replied, feeling strangely proud that for once something wasn't his fault.

Quistis seemed hesitant to talk to him. She was looking at him suspiciously, like she was trying to see whether or not he was lying. She had definitely wanted to have someone to blame her problem on. Seifer shrugged inwardly. He hadn't done anything wrong. Well, other than the obvious.

"Why are you here then?" she asked finally.

Raijin spoke up before he could say anything. "Talked to Squall last week and he said that Seifer could come and live back at the Garden, ya know. We were just bringin' Seifer to see him."

Quistis was startled but hid it quickly. "Squall has been missing for the last three days, so I didn't know you were coming," she said reluctantly. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear absently and smoothed her skirt with the other hand. Seifer knew Quistis well enough to know that those were nervous habits of hers. She was a lot more worried about this than she was letting on. The last time he had seen her do that they were both fourteen and there had been a T-Rexaur standing ten feet behind him in the Training Center.

That meant Squall was really missing.

"Didn't anybody see anything?" he asked, his mind immediately switching into readiness.

Quistis seemed to respond to his business attitude immediately. Got to love military training; leaves you ready for anything. Even sorceresses.

There would be no messing around with these two.

"A couple of students said they saw him outside the Garden the night before he was first reported missing, but that's all. They didn't make any mention of it because Squall has been taking a lot of walks outside Garden lately, so it wasn't anything new. They were the last to see him. No one saw him leaving his office, dorm room, or in town." She frowned sternly at the last part.

"Has he ever left for more than a day before?" Seifer asked, mentally cursing himself for stupidity. If he hadn't been such a coward about coming back to Garden than he would have been there when

Squall went missing. He could've helped.

"He's never been gone for more than two days. He's always back by morning on the second day," her frown deepened as she said it. She definitely didn't approve of the commander's habits.

"So you suspect foul play?"

She nodded. "I don't see what else it could be. He's never been gone for this long. He knows that we would get worried if he was and it would be difficult to keep Garden running that long without him if we didn't plan in advance."

"What about Rinoa? She didn't see anything either?" Surely she had to have seen something, she was his girlfriend for Hyne's sake.

Quistis looked confused at first and then her expression turned solemn, and a little sad.

"Squall and Rinoa broke up last month. Rinoa went back to Timber to help the Forest Owls and they haven't seen each other since," she said quietly.

Seifer stared at her blankly.

"The broke up?!" he yelled indignantly.

Quistis just nodded.

"After all that true love bullshit during the war?!"

She nodded again.

Seifer threw his hands up in disgust. "Well that's just ridiculous," he snarled. "They lasted what, two months?"

"Two months and three days," she corrected.

Seifer just stared.

"They broke up on Squall's birthday," she added softly.

"Well, that sucks, ya know?" Raijin put in.

Fujin nodded sagely. "BUMMER."

Seifer ignored them both and continued with the conversation.

"So, no one saw Squall leave, and no one has seen him in the last three days?" He asked incredulously.

Quistis had a strained look on her face. Yes.

"Well, whoever it was, they had to have been good to be able to take Squall down." In the back of his mind though, a voice asked why no one had seen anything when Squall definitely wouldn't have on down without a fight. He kept that thought to himself though. Quistis was obviously worried enough as it was, he didn't need to add fuel to that fire.

"Does the student body know yet," he asked instead.

"No, not yet. Normally we keep this sort of thing quiet since he's always come back by now before. I was going to organize a search party and send it out tonight," she said it like she was asking him for his permission.

"That sounds good, be sure to split the groups up in different directions."

She nodded and turned away to go give out their orders.

"Oh! Quistis!" He called absently.

She looked back at him expectantly.

"Leave someone at the phones just in case he calls, ok?"

She nodded and then added. "Seifer?"

"Yeah?"

"It's good to have you back." And with that she left for the elevator, leaving Seifer behind, stunned.

The search parties turned up nothing and they were forced to give up for the night. It wasn't until later, when Seifer was venting out some of his frustration back in the Training Center that he noticed the slip of paper protruding from the slats of Squall's locker.

Quistis looked up from her desk to the knocking on her door. She got up and after checking through the peephole, opened the door. Seifer stood there, just inside and said something softly.

"He's gone."

***

Squall knocked on the door decisively. The old house seemed to stare it him while he did. Faded blue paint peeled in distain. The building seemed to disapprove of his being there. Like it knew exactly why he was doing this, even though he himself was still not quite sure, and found the whole thing to it's intense dislike. Or maybe, he was just nervous and didn't want to admit it to himself. It wouldn't be the first time.

The door creaked open, just barely. A wizened old face stared out of the gap and looked imperiously at the young man before them. Squall wasn't really sure whether it was a man or a woman. It was disconcerting not being able to tell the difference.

"We have no more room in this house young man," she (he could tell by her voice) said roughly, her voice tinged with distaste. "You'll have to move on to the next one."

She shut the door in his face.

Squall stared at the door for a few moments in confusion. The old woman was clearly off her rocker.

He hoped that everyone else in the building was still sane.

Suddenly, he realized what was going on. It was kind of a rude assumption for her to make. Old bat.

He knocked on the door again and the little old lady popped her face out once more.

"I told you, we have no more room." She sounded angry now.

"I'm not here for a home," he said calmly, settling his shoulder pack onto the ground beside him.

She gave him an appraising look, stepping a little further out from the door.

"You're a little young for this aren't you, son?" She asked him. She looked him over again, as if trying to find any flaws she hadn't already seen. Or if he had any money to spend.

"I'm over eighteen," he said.

"How much older?" She looked skeptical.

"Old enough."

Squall was getting annoyed. It was any of her business how old he was. He was old enough, end of discussion. This old lady and her decrepit old house were giving him too much trouble. Maybe he shouldn't do this. Maybe he should go somewhere else. Maybe he should go back. Back to…

No.

He was not going back. And he was not going somewhere else. The old broad would just have to deal with the fact that he was young.

"You gonna quit standing there and come in or not?" She snapped. Squall stared at her blankly.

"Well?" She added.

Squall picked up his bag and stepped inside.

The house was just as ancient looking inside as it was out. A few dusty and very worn out looking braided rugs covered the floor of the front hall. The wallpaper was peeling off and faded, and the wooden floor looked like if it was worn down any more you would strike dirt. And it was loud.

There were kids everywhere.

The building was absolutely crawling with them. Tall, short, girls, boys, babies, and even a couple very close to his own age. A group playing some sort of tag rushed by and a young girl collided into him.

"Sorry!" She squeaked, blushing madly. Squall nodded vaguely and she bolted from sight. He looked at the spot where she had stood bemusedly. Definitely no girls. He wouldn't know what to do with one.

He turned to the old lady who was now trying to separate a pair of grappling twins.

"Do I just…pick?" He asked her, eyes circling the madness around them.

"Obviously," she said, clearly disgusted with him.

Squall turned around once in a circle. There were so many. So many. It was disturbing that there were so many. It also made it very difficult to choose. He hadn't really thought about what he would want specifically. After a few minutes he declared defeat and decided to sit back and watch for a while before choosing.

There were a few that caught his eye specifically.

One dark haired boy that looked to be about twelve was playing chess with another. He looked intelligent. He looked interesting.

That is, he did until he started hitting the other kid when he lost.

Scratch that.

There was a red headed girl of about fourteen or so that looked positively desperate to get out of the place, but she was a little too old, and a girl really would be awkward. It would look bad too.

Never mind that.

He looked over to the living rooms musty windows and saw something much better though. A little boy, probably five or six, with dark brown hair and enormous brown eyes was sitting on the windowsill. He was alone, with some faded colored blocks in front of him. He wasn't really using them though. He was staring out the window at the rocky beach behind the house. The whole scene was terribly familiar to Squall.

Squall got up from his place and picked his way over to the window. The little boy gazed up at him wonderingly.

"You stayin' here now?" he asked in a small voice.

"No."

"Oh, " he said, sounding disappointed. "'Like new kids," he said, clarifying his disappointment.

"What's your name?" Squall asked, noticing that the boy's eyes were not actually brown. They were hazel.

"Stef'n," he replied shyly, ducking his head down.

"Stephan. That's a nice name," He said, but then trailed off, unsure of what to say. This was a lot harder than he had expected.

"Gonna `dopt some'on?" Stephan asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Who you gonna `dopt?" He asked, now quite interested.

"I'm thinking about adopting you," Squall said honestly. Stephan looked thrilled. "Do you not like it here?" Squall asked.

Stephan shook his head.

"Would you like to come with me?"

Stephan nodded vigorously and Squall smiled slightly.

"Okay, " Squall said, and held out his hand. Stephan put his much tinier one in his and Squall picked him up carefully. He walked over to where the old woman was sitting and held Stephan up a little higher for her to see. "I'll be taking him with me."

"I assume you are aware that Stephan is only five and will require a lot of work to take care of," She said fiercely.

"I am."

"Then just sign here, give me the money for him, and you can take him with you." She pointed to a line in a giant ledger next to Stephan's name. Squall sat Stephan down on the table next to the book briefly while he signed and then picked him up again.

"Stephan, meet your new dad," She said raspily.

"Does he have any belongings I should have?" He asked her.

"He has another set of clothing and a stuffed bear, but the bear belongs to the orphanage so he won't be able to take it with him," She told him efficiently. "I can fetch the clothes now."

Stephan made a strangled noise at the mention of the bear. He started struggling in Squalls arms, clearly not prepared to leave without it.

"Noooo," he cried. He started crying thick, wet tears.

Squall held him tighter and asked the woman, "Is there any way I could buy the bear?"

"I suppose you could."

"How much do you want for it?" he asked.

The old woman, clearly seeing a business opportunity responded firmly. "100 gil."

Squall frowned. "Isn't that a bit expensive?" He asked, though his tone implied that it was more than just a `bit'.

"Sentimental value." She said with a crooked grin.

Stupid old bat.

"I thought the bear was his?" Squall asked, annoyed. Stephan looked aggrieved at having to make such a horrible decision.

She ignored Squall's question completely. "No money, no bear, " she said firmly with ` no bear, no Stephan' blatantly implied as well.

Squall continued to frown. He looked down at the boy in his arms. There were more tears on his cheeks and he looked positively torn.

"Alright."

Squall handed over the money for the bear as well as the money for Stephan. She gave Squall Stephan's clothes and the bear. Squall stuffed the clothes into his backpack on the floor and handed the bear to Stephan who hugged it to himself furiously.

Stephan was rapturous and the woman was grinning happily to herself as Squall left with Stephan snuggling closer in his arms.

Squall put Stephan down one more time so he could slip on his backpack. He slid the straps into place and checked to make sure his gunblade was still securely attached to his belt. When he was finished, he stood up and saw Stephan staring at him with wide-eyed interest, clutching the bear tightly.

"Thank you fer Fuzzy." He said solemnly.

"Fuzzy?"

"Fuzzy," he repeated holding out the bear so Squall could see it and the hugging it to himself once more.

Even Squall had to admit it. Stephan was obscenely cute.

"C'mon," Squall said, hoisting Stephan back up into his arms. "Let's go."

"Goin' where?"

"Home," Squall replied, starting to walk.

Stephan seemed to accept this as a reasonable answer and was quiet for a few moments until he asked one last question.

"Daddy, was y'name?"

The kid just called him `daddy'. Holy Hyne.

"My name is Squall."

"Thas a nice name," he said sagely, mimicking Squall from before.

Squall snickered quietly as they made their quickly way down the road. The house Squall had bought yesterday was at least four villages away and it was going to take a while to get there.

***

Ok then.

How am I doing folks? Tell me. I NEED to know!!! Read and respond.

Constructive critisisms are more than welcome, needless flames will be fed to my brother's lizard, Faye Valentine.

By the way, this will be a lemon later, it's just going to take a REALLY long time to get there so….

Hold on tight, this might be a bit of a bumpy ride.

That is all.

Kyrie.