Fire-Cross Knight

“…Guardian Force?” Squall asked, his own blade still dripping steadily. He wiped it off in an expert move against the leg of his pants, cleaning it rather thoroughly, and sheathed it at his side. He knew Seifer was no threat- even if he hadn’t been, the feeling of a new force in his mind told him where Seifer’s loyalty lay. And the man in question; his eyes glittered somewhat condescendingly, but also with amusement at Squall’s shock.

“Yeah,” he said, a smirk slowly spreading on his face. “I am.”

“How?” Squall asked after a moment, still unsure he knew exactly what had just happened. Seifer turned to look at Fujin and Raijin before he spoke.

“I can’t carry any magic or items with me anymore, in case I disappear,” he said emotionlessly. It didn’t take Squall more than a few seconds before he realized what it was that Seifer wanted- he blasted them both with powerful healing magics, and turned his attention back to Seifer, who inclined slightly his head in thanks. Raijin busied himself helping Fujin sit up. “The Garden doesn’t really teach you anything about GFs except how to use them. But each GF is usually someone who was… murdered. Through forces of extreme magic.” Seifer looked Squall directly in the eye, unchallenging, emotionless. In that act alone, Squall could see how different he had become.

“Murdered…” He said quietly. Seifer nodded.

“When you leave your body, surrounded by powerful magic, that magic can transform you. Give you a new body. In some cases, graft your body and soul together again, but instead of being held together by things like blood, or living tissue, it’s magic.” He lifted one shoulder in an almost apathetic shrug. Squall was unnerved to see Seifer so defeated. “That’s what she told me anyway.”

“She…?” Squall asked, indicating in his voice that Ultimecia had been Seifer’s killer. It was a question.

“Yeah,” Seifer said. “In the end, she’s the one that got me.” Squall didn’t say anything, but he could only imagine what that must have done to Seifer’s ideals of romanticism and honor. To become a sorceress’ knight had been his dream once- and he had succeeded. But to be murdered, in cold blood, by that very same sorceress?

It was no wonder he was so quiet.

“Have you been… living here?” Squall asked, wondering exactly what he would say to Cid- to anyone. It would be hard enough explaining that Seifer was now a GF, and was junctioned to Squall directly, but to explain that Seifer could be found and… defeated…

“No,” Seifer said quietly. He cast a glance to Raijin and Fujin, who were moving deeper into the cavern to give them some privacy. When he was certain they were safely out of earshot, he continued to speak. “There are very few places I can materialize at will. Like you could always find Ifrit here, before we moved in? This place is… comfortable… for fire Forces.”

“Are there no other places?” Squall asked. Seifer shook his head.

“There are, but this place was… We chose this place because Raijin and Fujin didn’t want to leave me,” he continued, looking after them again. “They insisted on making certain that no one could find me, and if they could, that whoever it was would have to get through them first. They… were my posse,” he said, the familiar smirk on his face, though it had lost its edge somehow. “I could always have gone to the Place Between, and just stayed there, but they’re having a hard time moving on without me. They can’t seem to figure out that I’m dead.” He laughed a little, then, but it wasn’t the old laugh. It was a shell of the amusement it had once been, and Squall almost winced to hear it. Seifer had been a prick, but in the end, he didn’t really deserve this. “This is going to be good for them,” he said. Squall looked a question at him. “Now they’re going to have to move on.”

“?” Squall asked again. Seifer rolled his eyes, and at least that expression held some of its old condescension.

“You have me now,” he said, looking pointedly away from Squall. “I can’t have them watching me disappear to answer your call and worrying about it. There are some places they can’t follow me.”

“…Who said I was going to be calling you?” Squall asked, no malice in his voice. Seifer laughed again.

“You have to. I’m the best thing you’ve got.” He grinned for a moment, before his face sobered. “Besides, I imagine that all your old orphanage friends are going to want a chance to take a shot at me.” Squall looked at him, surprised once more at the acceptance in Seifer’s voice, and the expectations he had.

“They wouldn’t,” Squall said, quietly. He knew that if any of them knew what Seifer had become, they wouldn’t be able to live with themselves. A few of them had said hateful things out of anger, or frustration, when the fighting was thick- but Squall could still remember the meeting they all had held in Galbadia Garden; none of them had ever wanted to see him dead. Seifer seemed to sense something of that in Squall’s voice, and he looked at Squall in surprise before masking the hope in his eyes.

“They might not,” he conceded, but it sounded less like a concession and more like disbelief. “I suppose the only way to find out will be when you call me.”

“What do you mean?” Squall asked. He felt Seifer’s stirring within his mind and he was amazed at how close he felt. It was unnerving to know that Seifer was inside of his head in more than just a psychological way. Seifer obviously heard his discomfort, because he smiled briefly, before speaking again.

“I’m referring to when you summon me in front of your friends.” He said the words softly, as if it didn’t matter, but Squall could feel reluctance trickling through his mind. If he hadn’t been so used to feeling Shiva’s icy opinions and Diablos’ wicked intentions, he would have been unnerved. That this Guardian Force was Seifer somehow didn’t seem so terrible, suddenly. He knew nothing but unerring loyalty from Seifer; the same loyalty he felt from Shiva, and Diablos.

“You don’t want to see them?” Squall asked, confused and reluctant. He and Seifer had much between them; much ill will, but much history. No one had been his mirror more than Seifer, from the length of their jackets to the scars on their faces. Seifer allowed himself to sigh.

“I don’t want their pity,” his voice hardened cruelly on the last word. If there was one sign of weakness that Seifer could never accept, it was that. Squall nodded; this made sense to him.

“I didn’t intend to… force you to do anything,” he said, sincerely. He pressed a hand to his forehead- so much had happened so quickly, and he wished he could just stop to think. At the same time, this was an urgent change, and if he didn’t face it immediately, it might run away from him. He stepped up to the plate, as always. “You can continue living with Raijin and Fujin… We can act as though this never happened.” He felt Seifer’s contemplation, though not his thoughts.

“No. Whatever I do, they have to move on without me. I can’t be their leader anymore,” he said, and he meant it. This was an answer to a problem he had seemed to have for quite some time.

“You don’t have to return with me. You can go on and have a normal life,” Squall said, and in a very brief flash he felt something akin to fear in Seifer before it was masked. There was something here he didn’t know about. Seifer’s eyes locked onto Squall for a moment; he knew Squall had seen his fear.

“I have a temper, Squall. You know what happens if I fight someone and lose- or worse, win.” He shook his head. “I’m dangerous, and the people I don’t kill…”

“…You’ll be junctioned to.” Squall nodded- he could see this was a problem. “…There has to be something you can do, Seifer.” They stood in thoughtful silence for a few moments, both looking around the cavern.

“…Most Guardians go to a place where they aren’t likely to be found, and spend their time there… until they forget how to look human, or why they would want to be human in the first place,” Seifer said, and Squall felt Shiva answering his words. They seemed to be communicating in a way he couldn’t see or hear. “It would be easier.”

“Could you do that?” Squall asked. He thought of how angry everyone would be with him if he just let Seifer walk away after having been murdered, and allowed him to spend eternity alone someplace far from human contact.

“Yeah,” Seifer said, his expression saying that it would be easy. Squall did not feel anything from him to confirm or deny this. “It would be easier than being a murderer.” They stood around for a few moments, thinking.

“You could be a gunblade instructor,” Squall said quietly. Seifer looked at him.

“And when one of the students starts to get better, and better? One day I go Fire Cross on him,” Seifer slashed the air in front of him in demonstration, “and the Garden has to explain the pile of pulp to the parents.”

“Sex Ed,” Squall offered and Seifer actually threw his head back and laughed. It was heartening to see that he still could. Squall had never thought he would be grateful to see Seifer laugh.

“Oh sure,” he said sarcastically. “I’ll do so well as a Sex Ed teacher.” Squall nodded. None of them ever really wanted to discuss that topic with teens. It was one of the reasons he was so eager to offer the position to Seifer- no one else wanted it.

“…Literature,” Squall finally said, turning to look at Seifer. Who was glaring at him for making such a suggestion. “You used to read all of that high-language romance work.” Seifer looked away, thoughtful. “No one would have an excuse to attack you if you were a literature teacher.”

“…Other than the ones who questioned my masculinity?” Seifer asked, eyes narrow. Squall looked at the broad-shouldered, blond, square-jawed Seifer and thought about it. It made perfect sense, now that he considered it- someone like a younger version of Seifer himself would have given him a hard time.

“If you and I fight every morning, who would question you? Who would be brave enough to want to attack you?” Seifer was thoughtful. Before he had even spoken, Squall knew he had won.

“…Will you be passing me around among your friends?” Seifer asked, voice carefully neutral. He knew he didn’t have a choice in the matter- if Squall chose to hand the junction to someone else, Seifer would simply go with it.

“…No Seifer. If you prefer, we won’t tell anyone.” Seifer’s heart rose at the thought of keeping his grisly murder a secret. Squall knew then that he had made the right decision; he was bringing Seifer back to his friends, and Seifer wouldn’t have to admit exactly how wrong he had been in agreeing to join the Sorceress. After a brief moment of knowing Seifer’s gratitude, he looked behind him to where Raijin and Fujin were coming towards them.

“Give us a few minutes,” he said to Squall, his voice a familiar demanding tone. Squall nodded and walked out the path to the fiery cavern where Ifrit should have been.

He was bringing Seifer home.