Exhile87:Ahoy!!!Back again for my 6th episod of my fanfic!! !~ENJOY~! Chapter Eight:Trouble "Where have you been?" demanded Quistis,annoyed. "Out riding..." was Rikku's cool reply. "This is the second time you're late.I'm going to have to tell the Headmaster about this." Rikku rolled her eyes,but said nothing.When Quistis impatiently waved her away,she turned and walked back to her seat. 'Geez,can't I even go out for a ride?This school sucks....' "Hmm....I'm afraid being late for two times means a lot of Trouble for you,Rikku." Cid peered at the level-headed girl with his glasses. "Uh-huh.." "I know I gave you permission to 'exercise Hicom', but I didn't say you could miss classes.I'll have to inform your father about this." Rikku's face fell."Oh no..." she moaned. "I'm sorry,but it has to be done." "You're not gonna expel me,are you?" Rikku's green eyes suddenly lit up in fear. "No,of course not.Just a few detention classes from the Disciplinary Commitee,I expect," Cid replied quickly. "A few...." Rikku repeated under her breath.'And how many will that be?' she thought. "You can go." Rikku studied the HEadmaster for a while before she got up and left the office without a word.She took the lift down and bumped into Selphie as she was walking to her dorm. "Heeey!!" Selphie greeted cheerfully. "Hey!" Rikku replied,faking enthusiasm. "What's up?" "Trouble." Rikku nodded towards the lift. "Oh,you were late again,huh?" Selphie chuckled."Yep, Quistis doesn't like waiting." "Now I know..." "Hey,it's nothing to worry about.I guess Headmaster Cid won't be too hard on you." "He's gonna tell my father." "Wooo...bad,huh?" Selphie widened her eyes. "I hope not," Rikku answered.She caught sight of somebody behind Selphie and narrowed her gaze. Surprised,Selphie turned and saw Nida talking to on of his friends."Oh." "Huh?" Rikku looked back at her. "Still mad at Nida?" "What do you mean?" "You're still mad at him about what he did to...." Selphie trailed off when she noticed a gleam of annoyance in Rikku's eyes."Ohh...never mind..." "So he told you..." It was more like a statement than a question. "Err,yeah.Told US," Selphie corrected uneasily. "Us?" "My friends....and I.." "How interesting," muttered Rikku drily. "Uh-oh....now you're mad at us?" Smiling thinly,Rikku replied,"Not at all.See you later..." "Bye." Selphie watched as the blonde walked to the dormitories.Then she hurried towards Nida,who stopped when he saw her approaching. "Hi,Nida!" "Yeah,hi.Anything wrong?" "Nothing.Just came to say hi." "Oh." Nida blinked,and then continued."By the way,I saw you and Rikku talking just now.What's up with her?" "Why do ya wanna know?" was the teasing reply. Nida shrugged."Well if you don't wanna tell then I guess it's alright for me." "Okay!" Selphie giggled."No biggie.She was late for Quistis' class and she was brought to the Headmaster." The expression in Nida's eyes turned to concern. "Punishment,huh?" he countered. "Don't know.Her father'll get to know about it." "He's coming down?" "I have no idea.Why don't you go ask Rikku?" "Very funny..." "I was just kidding!No need to be angry..." "I'm not.Hey,I gotta go.Catch you later." "See ya." Rikku paced to and fro impatiently.Her father was in Cid's office,and both of them were in Deep Talk...... about her.She sighed and leaned back onto the wall, crossing her arms.She could hear talking,but it was to soft to be understood. 'What's the problem?I just wanted to go out for a ride,thats all....' Rikku grumbled in her thoughts. Finally,the office door opened.Cid and the Mayor appeared,both looking a little grim.Rikku felt her heart sinking when she saw her father's expression. "Ah,Rikku.I'll leave you to talk to your father about everything," Cid said."He'll tell you what we proposed to do." "Okay..." mumbled Rikku,still looking at her father.When Cid returned to his office,both the father and daughter stared at each other for a moment. "Is there anywhere we can talk?" Mayor Hans said,breaking the silence. Rikku gestured towards the lift."Sure...the Quad... or my room..." "I'd prefer the Quad." Without a word,she led her father down.Some students stared at the couple,but she was far too anxious to notice. "Mmm...beautiful place,isn't it?" chimmed the Mayor as he looked around the Quad."Kind of lonely,though." "Yeah." "Are you doing okay here?" "Father,can we just get to the point?" Rikku sighed. Mayor Hans blinked and chuckled."Heh,heh...you still haven't changed,eh?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "Ahh,never mind.Alright,the Headmaster told me what happened....and we decided not to bring this problem to the DC." Rikku heaved a sigh of relief."Phew..." "But..." She looked up,noticing the firm tone. "You'll still have to be punished." "Uh-huh.How?" Her father's answer almost made her faint. "Headmaster Cid is going to confiscate Hicom for a week." Rikku stared at the Mayor,her emerald eyes wide. There was a pause. "You can't be serious?" "Unfortunately,I am..." "Oh GOD!I can't stand it!" "Rikku,it's only for a week.You just have to work hard in that week and the Headmaster'll return Hicom." "I can't!A week is too long!" "Look here,young lady,you got yourself into trouble,so this is the price you have to pay." "It's not that I WANTED to miss classes!" Mayor Hands raised his eyebrows in surprise."What did you say?" Rikku sighed again and leaned onto the railing. "I've been thinking a lot lately...that's why I forgot 'bout the time." "In my experience,you only 'think' when it's something serious." Her father studied her closely."What is on your mind?" His daughter kept silent for a few minutes.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath,but he waited patiently. "It's Nida,father....he's studying here," Rikku said softly.Her father paused before anger overwhelmed him. "Nida?That boy you met 2 years ago?" Rikku nodded and said nothing.Mayor Hans continued angrily,"He's here?Where is he?I'll go and give him a piece of my mind!" "No,father!" Rikku was alarmed."Don't you dare do that!" "Are you trying to shield him?" "No...I just...just don't want to make it a big thing.I don't want the whole school knowing about us,okay?" When her father didn't respond,she lowered her eyes. "Promise me,please,that you won't do anything stupid." Another silence.Then Mayor Hans exhaled and placed his arm around his daughter."I don't want him doing anything to you.I just want you to be careful,that's all." "Father,I need time.I'll get over him,don't worry.." Rikku replied,but secretly,in her heart,she knew she wouldn't. She couldn't Chapter Nine:A Mission "Attention to SeeD Squad A,please report to my office now," Cid said in his announcement.Then he waited patiently for the squad,which consists of the best SeeDs; Squall,Zell,Irvine,Selphie,Quistis,Xu,and Nida. After a few minutes,there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Cid called out,and the SeeDs appeared.They saluted and Squall looked at the Headmaster enquiringly. "Is there anything wrong,sir?" "Sort of.I have a mission for you all." Cid got up and walked to the large screen,clicking a button.A hologram of the world map appeared.He pointed at the Esthar continent."President Laguna Loire of Esthar has just given me a call.He is requesting for SeeDs help to check out a suspicious looking building on the island to the South of Tears Point.He would have used his soldiers, but majority of them are fighting off monsters which suddenly appeared in the Esthar City and around the other places,and he's got a feeling that all these are caused by that building below Tears Point.Your objective: investigate that building.Be careful,because it suddenly started growing out from the ground a few days ago.Right now,the President has no other helpful information,but he has promised to update us.Any questions?" Squall raised his hand."How're we getting there,sir? Do we need to go by vessels?" "Oh,no,the President will be sending a Ragnarok here.Selphie,you're to pilot it to your destination." Selphie brightened up."Oh cool!" "Anymore questions?" Cid continued.When the SeeDs shook their heads,he nodded approvingly."Then good luck.You leave in an hour's time,assemble at the Parking Lot and go to Balamb Town.A Ragnarok should already be there.Squall,you're in charge,then." "Yes,sir." Squall and the others saluted again and went out.Zell smacked his palms together."Man!I'm dying' for a mission....it's just too boring here." "I can't believe I'm gonna fly Ragnarok again!Woo hoo!" Selphie jumped joyfully. "Oh,I've always wanted to ride on one," stated Xu. The others,except Squall,began talking about the mission. He kept silent as his thoughts clouded with fear and unsureness. 'Oh no...what about Rinoa?What'll she do when I'm not around?Flirt with Seifer or what?' he thought. Squall still haven't talk to her after the incident two days ago.He had actually got over his temper,but each time he saw Seifer,anger swelled up within him.Then, he made up his mind.He wasn't going to tell the Headmaster about what happened.Part of him didn't want Rinoa to get into trouble.He just needed time to go over everything. "Yo,Squall!What're ya thinking?" Zell broke his thoughts.He turned and gave him a watery smile. "Nothing." "Oh,hey,are you still keeping away from Rinoa?" Selphie suddenly sounded serious.Squall looked at her, bored. "It's nothing." "Oh,come on,Squall,what's going on between the two of you?" Quistis demanded. "Nothing." "Shut up with the 'nothing's,man!" remarked Zell, grinning."C'mon,spit it out,we know both of you aren't all lovey-dovey now." His comrades began pestering him to tell them what happened.Squall frowned and kept denying and declining. Finally,he just left them without an answer.He didn't care about the calls behind him.He didn't care about anything at all. Suddenly,he just wanted the hour to pass so he could move on to his new mission. "Zell!" Rinoa called out as her comrade ran into the cafeteria.He turned and grinned,approaching her. "Heya!Wassup?" "Have you seen Squall?" "Err,no.Well,just now,but I don't know where he is now." "Oh.By the way,I heard you all got a new mission up and running." "Yup!Gotta to to Esthar and kick some monsters' ass!" Zell replied,slapping his hands together. "Esthar?" Rinoa sat up straighter."It's nothing to do with Dr. Odine or Sorceresses,is it?" "Well...I don't know.We're just supposed to check out this so-called weird building and find out what's happening there." "Oh..well,best of luck.And,umm,tell Squall to be careful,okay?" Rinoa sounded fearful,but Zell simply just continued grinning and answered,"Sure!Gotta go,so see ya!" Rinoa watched as Zell grabbed a hotdog from a plate just before he left.He was about to ask her if she wanted it when she waved her hand,gesturing she didn't. He smiled and walked off,gobbling up the hotdog. "Everyone here?" Squall looked around Squad A."Good. Let's go." "Hey,Squall!Wait!" Zell said,taking everyone's attention.He rubbed his head and looked down,saying, "Rinoa wants you to be careful." Squall felt his heart softened a little,but he just grunted and walked towards a car. "Aren't you gonna say anything to her?" Irvine countered. "No." "And why is that?" This time,it was Selphie. "There isn't time." "Oh,stop making excuses,Squall," Quistis muttered. Squall sighed impatiently and turned around."Look, Laguna expects us in 15 minutes.I'll talk to her once we get back,okay?" "Yeah,and what if we don't even come back at all?' Irvine mumbled. Squall ignored his words and climed into the car. "Get in." His comrades stared at him for a while before finally obeying his order.As they got into the car,something caught Nida's eyes. Hicom....confiscated from Rikku for a week,or so he heard.He studied the bike before stepping into the car. The SeeDs moved out. "So where's this building thing?" asked Zell."They just said South of Tears Point.It can be anywhere!" "Here it is." Selphie pointed to a place on the electronic map in the Ragnarok cockpit.As she piloted the spaceship to the location,she turned to Squall."Don't we need to see Sir Laguna first?" "There wasn't any order stating that.Anyway,that Esthar officer who handed Ragnarok over didn't say anything," answered Squall. "Wow,this thing is totally awesome!" Xu exclaimed in delight."Trust Esthar to have ships like this...." "It's cool the first time,but boring the next 100 times...." remarked Quistis. "Hey,Sefie,need any help?" complied Irvine,but Selphie shook her head.Everyone chatted for a moment until Xu noticed that Nida had been keeping quiet all the while. "Hey,Nida!What's on your mind?" she asked.Nida looked up to find everyone's eyes on him. "Wait,lemme guess!" said Zell."You scared,huh?" "Zell,that's totally wrong!" Irvine chipped in. "Being the Number One in Ladies' Cases,that look on his face tells me that he's thinking 'bout a girl!Ahaha,it's right,right?" Nida didn't answer,just smiled. "Rikku again,huh?" stated Selphie from her seat. "Come on,Nida,she's history!" "Exactly!" Irvine smacked his hands."Like I said before,she already thinks YOU.....are history." "Why do you say that?I know her attitude....you can't tell what she's thinking by just looking at her," Nida replied. "Hey,I tell ya,she's over you!If not,why does she always seem so--" started Irvine,but Selphie cut him off in a serious and excited voice. "Uh,guys!Come here and look at this!" Everyone stopped and advanced to Selphie.As the Raganrok approached Tears Point,thousands of monsters flowed into it.Esthar soldiers could be seen fighting them off. "Should we help 'em?" Selphie asked Squall,who was frowning.He shook his head. "No.One,we can't shoot them from above here,and two, we have to follow our orders.Selphie,move on to our destination." Selphie nodded and piloted Raganarok to the island below Tears Point. There was a shocked silence as the spaceship got closer to it. A tall castle-like building stood grandly on the ground below.It appeared to be growing from the ground itself.Dark blue liquid surrounded the building like a moat,but the was a bridge connecting the building and land. Squall inhaled silently."Let's get down,guys," he said.Selphie released the brakes and landed the spaceship carefully.The SeeDs went out,gazing at the dark castle. "You know,it kinda looks like Ultimecia's castle.What do you think it's 'bout?" Zell wondered,but received no answer. After a few minutes of silence,Squall reloaded his gunblade and turned to his comrades. "Let's go.Makes sure you're all junctioned.I don't want any of you dead before we finf out what's going on here." With that,the SeeDs walked to the bridge,then to the huge main foor of the castle.Above them,a pair of wicked,purple eyes observed them. !~THE END~! The next fic coming up!Contact me at exhile87@hotmail.com