Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Resurrection - Rebirth of a Foe ❯ Lost Love ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter Three - Lost Love
The magnificent beast - the Ragnorak - was landed just outside the town of Timber, on the open fields. Zell and Selphie eagerly went on ahead; leaving Irvine, Quistis and the morbid looking Squall who took slow deliberate steps, to follow. They were all blindly entering a town they had not visited in a while. Did any of them even have a clue to where Rinoa was residing? She could have easily returned to her father in Deling city.
Buildings in the town were all too familiar. The junkstore there, the Timber Hotel. The Timber train station, petshop and the old woman who sold souvenirs: train models, owls tears, dirty magazines... no doubt Zone and Ward paid regular visits to the old woman because the train models and dirty magazines were always out of stock whenever Squall and the others came. The Timber Maniacs were still in business. Squall had read a couple of the magazines when he accompanied Zell to visit his foster-mother in Balamb.
Squall, Irvine and Quistis stood before the building now, their attention diverted when the entrance door was flung open and Zell and Selphie were busy reading through copies. Zell's smile that never seemed to falter unless angered broadened to a grin. He dug into his pockets and triumphantly held up a card. From where Squall stood, he could just make out what appeared to be an Ultima Weapon Triple Triad card. As Squall recalled, Zell had lost that particular card to one of the Timber Maniacs workers. Now Zell stood brandishing the card for all to see, an extremely pleased grin across the face.
"Behold, the Ultima Weapon card! Bow down to me 'cos I am the king of Triple Triad, and everyone knows it!" Zell said in a loud voice.
Shaking his head, Squall tried his best not to smile but failed. Zell could always make someone smile at his brashness, no matter how down a person could be. Seeing the hint of a smile on his face, Quistis silently thanked Zell for being who he was. The house next door to the Timber Maniacs building opened at the sound of Zell's loud ranting. A woman holding a child stuck her head out of door, a frown planted on her face. The frown soon went when she recognised the young SeeDs, and the distinct clothing they all wore. A sound from within the house caused the woman and the child to duck back inside the house, and then reappear again. This time, a look of concern on her face, one that was directed in particularly Squall.
A look like that can't be good thing, right? He wondered and stopped short when the next face that appeared at the doorway was none other than the girl of his heart. Despite her long absence, Rinoa had not changed and Squall did not want her to. The carefree young woman - leader of what used to be a resistance group: the Forest Owls - stared carefully at each face from the elite force: SeeD. Recognition grew as she studied each face, her eyes lingering that much longer on Squall's blue eyes. Squall returned the stare for what it was worth. A sense of pleading lurked behind his eyes, eyes that held back so many feelings that it was impossible to say them all in one go. What pulled at his heart even more was that she no longer wore his ring. The one that had Griever: the ultimate GF, on it. Did that mean...
"Guys!!!" the daughter to General Caraway exclaimed, bounding towards Quistis first and giving the older girl a hug that said so much. "Oh my gosh, it's great to see you again!" Maybe Squall was over reacting, but he was sure he saw her hastily divert her gaze away from his. Did she have something to hide?
"Hey Rinoa, do ya have any hotdogs in your house? It's just that I'm starved," Zell said with an apologetic smile.
"You bought four hotdogs Zell!" Selphie said. "Because of you I couldn't get one for Squall."
At the mention of his name, Rinoa slowly lifted her gaze to his. He must be wondering why I didn't return, she thought to herself. And I do have my reasons... Forgetting her troubles for now, Rinoa took a cautious step forward towards him. Would he allow her to give him a hug? Seeing the hesitant look on her face, Squall ventured a step forward also. Leaving their hearts to do the soul searching, Rinoa ran into Squall's open arms, holding him close to her. She had missed him so much, but she had a bigger responsibility now. She could not disregard it even if she tried, it would not be fair... Closing his eyes tight, Squall held onto this moment as long as he possibly could. How it felt to feel Rinoa close to him again. But something felt wrong. Withdrawing from her embrace, Squall searched her deep, dark coloured eyes. It felt like she was holding something back, something, someone was stopping her from being her complete self.
"Come into the house," Rinoa said, taking Squall by the hand and leading them into Forest Fox's lodgings. Her daughter and children had moved to Deling City to find a home for themselves. After they had left, Forest Fox gladly took Rinoa in. She had not even minded when an unsuspecting visitor appeared at her doorstep, asking for Rinoa. The stranger looked wounded and drenched in what smelt like seawater, his short blonde hair plastered against his scalp. He had an apparent scare across his forehead, and a large red cross-sword on the left arm of his grey trench coat. What caught her attention the most was the gun-blade the stranger had, and which she assumed he had used as a walking stick to aid him. The Forest Fox had only seen one other gun-blade, and that belonged to the young SeeD, Squall...
The five SeeDs sat themselves around the kitchen table, whilst Rinoa busily helped the Forest Fox prepared something for their guests. Squall carefully studied Rinoa's movements as the others chatted away and fired random questions at Rinoa, mostly to do with what she had been up to since they last met. Making sure not to glance his way, Rinoa happily answered the questions with her spirited way and laughed at Zell's antics. That was when the happiness ended.
The call of her name from the rooms upstairs stopped Rinoa short. She set the glass she held onto the kitchen table and bit her lower lip. How was she going to explain herself now? Heads turned and Rinoa found herself being confronted by five sets of different coloured eyes. Squall's eyes stood out the most, the blue of his irises containing a steel gleam in them. The calling of her name was repeated, and the older woman - Forest Fox - began to make her to the upstairs bedrooms. Rinoa laid a hand on the other woman's shoulder, restraining her from going no further than the foot of the stairs. Silence crept into the house, and settled itself amongst the people present. A soft padding sound could be heard from above - who ever it was up there was going to come down. The suspense was killing them all, Squall the most. Could it be that his worst fears had come alive? It can't be him can it? He died didn't he?
It was Zell who broke the tension in the room at the first glimpse of the metal-tipped boot. He knew only one person who ever wore boots like those...
"You!!!" Zell said angrily getting to his feet and knocking his chair over in the process. "What the hell is he doing here?!" he demanded from Rinoa. "I thought you were dead?!" he said to the person on the stairs, who had not properly revealed himself yet.
A low laugh came from the stairs making Zell even angrier as if someone had cast 'Mad Rush' on him. Kicking his fallen chair out of the way, Zell determinedly strode over to the stairs, his fists at the ready.