Heartbreak and Second Love

Chapter 5 - Training

By Redrum

[Seifer]

I knew it! I fucking knew it! Shit... what am I supposed to do? What do other people do when they see their most hated enemy with his arms around your crush? I know I shouldn't interfere... it's not like he's my boyfriend or anything. I have no claims over him. But that still doesn't give chicken- wuss any right to lay his filthy claws on him. Fuck it. When have I ever gone with what people say to do in these situations anyway?

I quickly stride over to the pair. Making my way through the cafeteria and around the numerous unoccupied tables. I plop myself down into the chair next to Squall. I'd have sat in between them, but there's no room. Zell obviously made sure of that.

"Seifer!" Squall exclaims, smiling (I'm glad he can recognize me now without me having to say anything). I smile back, even if he can't see it, knowing he'll be able to hear it in my voice.

"Hey Squall. How are you?" The small brunette frowns, I see him shift his eyes over to Zell before looking down at the table.

"Fine." Hmm... Maybe he doesn't want Zell to be there? Maybe he just can't get him to leave? I hold back the sudden urge to shout a 'booya', Selphie style, in joy. Wouldn't be very manly now, would it?

I look over at the smaller blonde, smirking as an idea comes to me. "You guys want to go train?" Squall nods, not as eager as I thought he'd be. Maybe he doesn't want to be with blondie then? Said blondie looks at me suspiciously. "Sure." Good. Maybe that extra hand-to-hand training with Squall will come in handy.

The three of us make our way to the Training Centre. "Hey Almasy, what about your blades?" I smile (a little evilly if I do say so myself).

"We're going hand-to-hand. Or do you not think you can handle that chickie?" I hear him bounce around behind me, before he strides forward to walk next to me, leaving Squall trailing behind us. I know he knows his way here (since we've been here often enough), but it still doesn't seem right not to help him when I'm right here (that and it gives me an excuse to touch him).

I ignore chicken-wuss' boasts about how he can beat me with one hand tied behind his back, and reach behind me until I grab Squall's hand. He gasps at the sudden contact, but quickly recognizes the person holding his hand. He quickens his steps, using my hand to guide him until he's matching my steps beside me.

I forget to drop his hand, not even realizing I still have it in my warm grip until we reach the training doors and I feel Squall squeeze my hand. I smile and squeeze back, before letting go to follow blondie into the training centre.

"Use Diablos chicken-wuss." He snarls, but uses the Encounter-None ability. All of us quickly un-junction our G.F.'s from our stats before we all start stretching.

I try not to sneak glances at Squall (since he knows when someone's staring at him for too long) bent over, his hands around his ankles, his thigh muscles bulging. Closing my eyes, I think of beating blondie to a pulp. I smirk and soon feel my erection going down.

"Okay, I'm assuming you two want to team up?" I open my eyes and scowl, seeing chicken-wuss' eyes skimming over Squall. Heh. He thinks he can take on the both of us? He doesn't stand a chance. I have brute strength on my side, and Squall is agile and now even better at sensing where things are.

"Sure chicken-wuss, if you think you can handle us." I see Squall smirk from the corner of my eye.

Zell drops into position. I follow suit, and Squall does the same. Zell's eyes stay on me, thinking that I'll attack first (which I normally do). I shuffle my right foot back, and Squall starts to circle around Zell. The martial artist frowns and turns slightly to keep an eye on the both of us. I tap my foot lightly on the ground, twice. Squall quickly faints left, and then surges forward, landing an uppercut square on Zell's jaw. The blonde staggers, but quickly rights himself. He glares and turns fully on Squall.

I smirk and quietly move forward. My boots barely make contact with the ground, until I'm right behind Zell. I jump and kick one foot out. The blow lands on the small of his back and he drops down to his knees. "Nice position there chickie; you planning on some fun and games that Squall and I don't know about?" I smirk.

Squall walks around the fallen fighter to stand by my side. He tilts his head for a moment, looking like he's thinking about something. Suddenly his foot flies, and lands a blow right on the raised ass. Chickie falls forward with a grunt. He quickly gets up and turns around to face us.

"How about one on one?" I chuckle and turn to the slim brunette beside me.

"Sure. Squall, how about you go next?" He crosses his arms.

"Whatever." Smirking, I step back to give the two fighters plenty of room.

[Squall]

Darkness was all around me. It was all I could see. I always used to have a small problem with the dark. I didn't like going on missions when it was night. I felt too vulnerable. But now look at me! I'm smothered in it. Every where I go, I can't escape it. Sure I can turn to my dreams, but I always end up waking and the sudden shift of color and intensity to a dull, black world. well, there's a huge difference.

Since Seifer began training with me again, I've learned to use my blindness as a one up on my enemies. They rely too heavily on their eyes. I listen to the little things. How else could Seifer and I have defeated Zell so easily? I heard every move he made. I knew when he was signaling for me to make my move. We had our own little code all worked out. We've always worked well together. So it was a pretty stupid decision for Zell to take both of us on.

At least I'll finally be able to put my new found skills to the test. Seifer usually knows when I'm going to move, before I even make it. That's the thing about having a training partner that knows you so well. You need to mix it up every now and then. I just hope our daily training routines, along with my frequent solitary visits are enough.

I hear Seifer step back to give us room. Crouching down, I stand in the ready position. I close my eyes to better focus my attention, and to unnerve my opponent (as Seifer always told me to do when facing someone. It's not like I need my eyes to see anyway. I can only tell when there's a huge sudden shift in the light. Meaning, I can tell when it's daytime, and when it's nighttime. Not very helpful over all). Mentally sighing, I clear my mind of all clutter. Just focusing on my hearing and smell.

There's only one pair of footsteps moving. Seifer obviously made sure that he sat down, so he wouldn't cause any unnecessary movements, therefore distracting me from my opponent.

I crouch down lower and raise my fists to waist level. Zell's footsteps are light, as any true fist-fighter's would be, but I can still hear them kick up soil and loose rocks, no matter how hard he tries to stifle the noises.

A rock crumbles close to me. I listen closely, waiting for the swoosh of air and clothes. The heavy material of Zell's baggy shorts swish loudly a split second before he kicks. I quickly duck the high blow, and spin on one bent foot, hearing the blonde fighter land with a thump on the ground. I shoot back up and wait for him to get up.

Zell curses while he rises to his feet. His leather gloves creak when he tightens his fist and tries to drive it into my face. I duck and run behind him, quickly doing a round house kick. Zell grunts loudly, and goes down. I suddenly find myself flying through the air a short distance and flat on my back. Shit. He must have twisted so he landed on his back, using his feet to hit my stomach. Damn it, the wind is knocked out of me.

I hear someone shift to stand up. I shake my head, and Seifer stays seated. It's not like either of us didn't expect him to land a few punches. I quickly get back up and dust the dirt off my rear. I crouch down into position again and wait for Zell to make a move.

The ground shifts beneath me, and I dodge out of the way. The air whistles beside my ear, where a punch that was directed at my nose just misses. Shit. That was too close. I duck and turn, sweeping him off his feet and flat on his back again. He gasps, the breath knocked out of him from the harsh landing. Deciding that I don't want this to last any longer, I quickly pounce on him (his breathing is so loud it's kind of hard not to know where he is. And unfortunately I am familiar with the size and shape of his body against mine). Bringing his leg up, I bend it to his chest and hold it there as I gently press down with a hand on the pressure point on his neck.

"Give." I quickly get up and step back. Unwanted memories of nights shared come to my mind. I shiver and wrap my arms around my chest. Seifer's clapping interrupts my thoughts and I turn to him. An arm wraps around my shoulders. "Nice job. You did really well." I give a small smile at the praise. For some reason, glad that I was able to impress him.

"You did pretty good Squall." Zell states, as he steps up in front of me.

"Care for a go chicken-wuss?" I hear the smaller blonde give a huff.

"I don't think so. I have enough bruises as it is. I'm going back to my dorm." 'My' dorm... I frown and bend my head towards the ground. Of course... it's not 'ours' anymore. I sigh and duck out from beneath Seifer's warm arm.

"Let's go." I don't bother to wait for him, instead just going to our-no, his dorm.

"Wait up Squall!" I hear him yell. His large strides quickly reach mine before the sentence is even done. I roll my eyes and continue walking the memorized route. I tense when he slings an arm around my shoulders again.

"You really did good Squall. You should feel proud that you've been able to improve so much in such a short time." I nod in acknowledgment. If it hadn't been for Seifer, I would have given up long before I even got started. It's thanks to him that I'm able to walk around the Garden without worrying about being jostled (besides the fact that people make sure to stay well away from me) and losing my count. I don't even really need it anymore. It's almost eerie how I can almost 'sense' where I am.

"I'm thinking of switching my room." What? I look over at Seifer, trying to make eye contact even though I can't actually see... "I'm getting tired of being so close to chicken-wuss." He states. Well, that's logical. But what about... "If you want, you can move in with me permanently. Or, you can always get your own dorm. But I won't mind if you bunk with me. I'd actually... well... I'd like to have you." He stutters. I smile and nod. "Good!" I hear the smile in his voice, and feel my own grow just the slightest bit. He squeezes my shoulder, and we continue on to our dorm.

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