[Thread, Closed]

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Characters: Seifer and Rinoa
Progress: Complete
Summary: Rinoa arrives in Wutai to meet Seifer. 
Location: Wutai
Date: January 1804, after leaving Troia but before SeeD arrive for the showdown with Dr Cid. 
Warnings: Probably Seifer being Seifer.

Rinoa stepped out of Galbadia Garden's front gate trembling with nervous excitement. She'd done it. She'd really done it. She'd flown all the way to Wutai by herself without any of her friends knowing what she'd done. Oh, they'd be angry. But this was the right thing to do, she was sure of it. Seifer had reached out to her and he deserved a second chance.  

In front of her, she could see the village of Wutai, still being rebuilt after Kefka's attack. Everyone had arrived too late. 

Rinoa sighed and tried to put that out of her mind for the moment. She flipped open her Sky Phone. "Hey, Seifer? I'm here."

Comments

[bastard.livejournal.com]

"Because the giant floating Garden wasn't a dead give-away or anything." It was nice to see you, too.

Underneath his typical surliness, though, Seifer was actually glad that she'd gone out of her way to meet up with him like this. He was sure that no one else shared Rinoa's sentiment as far as he was concerned--a few of them had already made as much abundantly clear. Not that they didn't have good reason. Rinoa just had a special way about her, though. It was always easier with her.

After a couple of minutes, Seifer appeared trekking up the hill where Garden had touched down. He wasn't sure what to expect, to be honest. Seeing Rinoa there waiting for him helped put him at least partially at ease, but he was still half-expecting some sort of ambush from his former classmates.

"Do you always go out of your way to make such a grand entrance, or am I just that special?"

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Just thought I'd check."

The moment he appeared, she waved and ran down to meet him. He looked just the same as ever and part of her was tempted to hug him, but she was still conscious that the last thing he had done on their world was to hand her over to Adel. Instead, she went for a coy smile, shuffling her feet as she stopped in front of him.

"Actually, I didn't have much of a choice. It's good to see you, Seifer. Really. So are you gonna show me around Wutai, or would that be too depressing?"

[bastard.livejournal.com]

"And here I thought you might be trying to impress me."

Apparently Seifer hadn't lost his arrogant streak in his short time here. You'd think being stranded someplace without any of your friends might humble a person. Stepping aside, he thumbed over the hillside to the ruined remains of what was once Wutai.

"Not much to look at, really. There are some areas that are still intact though, if you really want to take a look around." Or maybe she just didn't want him stepping foot in Garden without proper supervision? It was hard to tell.

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

"Hmm." Rinoa shaded her eyes as she looked over at the ruins. She wanted to help, but... "Well, I really think that we need to talk." Pausing, she bit her lip. "Come on, let's go inside. We can eat in the cafeteria. Should be pretty familiar for you."

She'd hesitated because she knew that Squall wouldn't be happy if she let Seifer inside Galbadia Garden. But he wouldn't be happy anyway, and it wasn't as though Seifer could just fly off. She hoped.

[bastard.livejournal.com]

Huh. Well, he hadn't been expecting that. A small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he eyed Galbadia Garden, before turning back to her again.

"Somehow I don't see Squall and the others approving." Which, in his mind, was all the more reason to do it. "Shall we?"

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Rinoa nodded, leading the way. As they walked inside, she huffed, trying to decide where to begin.

"I know... Well, the truth is, they don't know I'm here. They're away doing SeeD stuff and I sneaked off." She glanced sideways at him. "I know what you're thinking, it's not because you're so special or anything, it's because... Well, you need my help. They're planning - oh, they said they'd deal with you and I know what that means and it's not like they're gonna just let you go easily... You should have seen Selphie. She hasn't forgiven you."

Rinoa sighed, shaking her head. When she looked up at him next, her expression was almost pleading. "That's why I have to prove it to them. That we can trust you."

[bastard.livejournal.com]

Seifer's expression hardened some in response to the news that Squall and the others were coming to "deal" with him properly. He wasn't sure why it bothered him, as he had pretty much been expecting it ever since he arrived.

"I don't remember asking you for your help," was all he said in response to her revelation. "If Squall wants to come and deal with me, then I'll be waiting for him." Old habits die hard, Rinoa. >/

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Rinoa frowned at him. "No, no, that's exactly the opposite of what I want to happen! Seriously, do you wanna get beaten up? No, maybe you didn't ask, but I'm offering anyway. There has to be another way."

She was still frowning when they reached the cafeteria. Rinoa grabbed a coffee, glancing over to see if Seifer wanted one too. She didn't feel like eating.

[bastard.livejournal.com]

"What makes you so sure I'll be the one to lose this time?" Hey, Seifer still had his pride, you know. If Squall and the others were coming to fight him, he was certainly going to defend himself. How many of them were there now? Squall, Selphie, Irvine and Quistis. As far as Seifer knew, Zell wasn't around.

"Although I guess four on two would be slightly better odds than four against one." In other words, sure. He'll accept Rinoa's help if she wanted to help him fend off her friends.

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

"Are you kidding? It'd be five against one and you wouldn't stand a chance." Rinoa shook her head firmly. "But that's not gonna happen. We - we can work out a plan, a way for everything to be okay without any fighting. That's all I want, Seifer. I want us not to be fighting."

She flicked her hair, annoyed. "Do you want a coffee or not? I'm not gonna let mine go cold waiting for you."

[bastard.livejournal.com]

Well, so much for that plan. He was beginning to regret having agreed to meet her like this in the first place.

"Right. I'll go groveling back and everything will be sunshine and rainbows again."

Somehow Rinoa's optimism wasn't something he could get on board with. Seifer only saw two ways this could end--him shackled in the basement, and maybe exiled to some out of the way island, or going down swinging in flames of glory. Somehow the latter option appealed to him more than the first.

As was apparent when he grabbed ahold of his gunblade, and looked it over as if to inspect it for any flaws.

"I'll pass, thanks."

On the coffee, and apparently Rinoa's offer to help as he turned away from her to head back in the direction that they'd come from.

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Argh! Rinoa made a frustrated sound and ran after him, the coffee forgotten. She grabbed his arm, hoping to get him to stop.

"Seifer, stop! Please, just listen to me."

[bastard.livejournal.com]

He did stop, though he was half expecting to be wearing that coffee of hers. Luckily Rinoa was a lot more rational than some of her more ritalin-dependent friends.

"If you've hijacked Garden without telling Squall, then I'm guessing you weren't able to convince them to change their minds. What makes you think anything I have to say will make a difference if they're not even willing to listen to you? There's not really anything left to discuss."

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

No danger of that; she had left it behind, much to the annoyance of the cafeteria lady.

Rinoa put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "So that's it? You're just giving up?"

[bastard.livejournal.com]

"Who said anything about giving up?" An amused grin replaced the hardened expression he'd been sporting up until a few seconds ago.

"If they want a fight, then I'm not going to disappoint."

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

The temptation to revert back to her childhood ways and throw a tantrum was very strong. Rinoa only managed to resist by poking Seifer in the chest hard, frowning with obvious irritation.

"You stupid jerk! Is that what you wanna do, mess around with people's lives? Do you want to make yourself the enemy? Look outside, look at Wutai. Those people need our help. We've got bigger problems to deal with - Kefka's still out there. Didn't you come to Wutai to help people?"

[bastard.livejournal.com]

Whoa, where was this coming from? Seifer leaned back some as Rinoa began to lay into him. He'd seen her get angry before, but usually it was just a cute little huff or a pout as she crossed her arms when he'd poke fun. He'd never seen her get this serious. Needless to say, her little outburst caught him off guard enough to keep from responding with a smart assed comeback.

"So what are you suggesting?" He finally asked after a moment's pause. "I don't see how I'd be much help to anyone locked away on Garden's detainment level."

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Rinoa immediately brightened up. "We can stay in Wutai and help the people to rebuild," she said. "Then when Squall and the others get back from their mission, they'll see that you're on the right side. That's the thing: you can't tell them you're not a bad guy, you have to show them."

She waved her arms, still talking animatedly. "They still think you're a threat to me, but don't you see? When they see us working together, as friends, then they'll have to admit that they're wrong. You can stay - or you can walk away and they won't bother you again."

[bastard.livejournal.com]

He wasn't so sure it would be that simple, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do--save for prepare to defend himself when they finally managed to catch up with him. Seifer seemed to consider his options for a long moment, turning to glance out of a nearby window at the ruined city down the hill.

"Fine. It's worth a shot. But if they aren't convinced, I'm not going to just hand myself over to them to be locked away."

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

"Yes!" Rinoa clapped her hands in delight. She didn't quite hug him, but it was a close thing. "And I know, I know, I get that. We'll just have to work really really hard. Oh! I know, we can offer shelter to the people in Wutai who have been made homeless! This is perfect."

She grabbed his arm again, but in friendly enthusiasm this time, not anger. "Let's get started!"

[bastard.livejournal.com]

What did he just sign himself up for? Ah well, Seifer doesn't put up a fight and instead allows himself to be dragged off by Rinoa. As far as he can tell, she's got some sort of plan already. He'll go with it for now.