Soul of a Sinner

Chapter 1 - Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen

By Redrum

Seifer stared up at the dark blue ceiling of the room almost without seeing. It had to be the only dark room in the place and he was glad for it. It’s not that he despised orphanages, he was used to them by now, but bright colors all the time kind of annoyed him. Dark was much more soothing. He’d moved in just today and apparently they were relocating another new arrival to be his roommate because his other room mate, who had only known him for three days, was scared of him or something. Whatever. Seifer knew his limits and there was very little that intimidated him.

With a smirk he traced his hand over his trademark choker, something that had caused much distress in most places he stayed. It was an ordinary rectangle chocker, but the rainbow pattern that went across it was thought 'too much' by many orphanage owners. That he was ‘drawing too much attention to an undesirable part of himself.’ Fuck that. He was gay and he didn’t give a damn about what the rest of the world thought of that.

This place seemed different though. Edea, the owner, had even given him a chance to pick which room he wanted. Given that the rest of it was all pastel, or just not a color he liked, this room was all but destined for him. Nice dark blue walls, dark gray carpet, and room enough for two.

Many people thought Seifer wasn’t a likable person because they couldn’t see past his cocky attitude; which was fine with him. He figured anyone willing to work hard enough to see past it was worth keeping around.

The opening of a door brought him out of his thoughts and he glanced over at the intruder. 'This must be my roommate,' he thought to himself. 'Squall? Did she say his name was?' He didn’t look so scary. He wasn’t short exactly, but he was far from tall and a little under a guy's normal height. 5’8" maybe to Seifer’s 6’2". He was very lithe in build, with long, choppy brown hair and pale skin that made him look almost ethereal. He glanced at him once as he began to unpack and Seifer caught a glimpse of piercing blue-gray eyes; more of a dark gray then blue at the moment. They looked almost like shields. “Need any help?” He offered, noticing the other teen struggling a little with one of his bags.

He didn't understand how people could be afraid of him. So he had a weird aura, who cared? If animals liked him (more like flocked to him) then why shouldn't humans? They were basically one in the same. Well, bearing in mind the complexity of the human mind and the many range of emotions and their ability to fuck - he really was quite vulgar. Usually only in his own head though. Although, sometimes he liked to piss off the others since they were so damn naive when it came to some matters - things up quite easily. They were really quite the same.

Hefting his bag up higher, 'why do damn clothes have to weight this much?' he thought, growling slightly. He only needed one set of sturdy clothes; he could wash it when he was done with it for the day. But no... they just had to give him a bag full of shit. At least they had thought ahead long enough to make him a little less of a stranger to the owners. He didn't know how they figured out how to write a birth certificate.

Squall sighed when he finally saw the door to his new room. It was painted a bright blue, making an otherwise nice color disgustingly sweet and girly. And did the rest of the damn hallway really have to be painted the same? Couldn't the owners have painted it black or something? The doors actually blended into the wall. The only distinguishing feature on each door was the bright red number. Said number was lucky thirteen. Not that he was superstitious. He didn't believe in the human's thought process on that.

Setting his bag down, he pushed the other bag he had been kicking along with his foot (it was filled with books written by various humans who thought they knew everything (They must have thought that he needed it to fit in. Ha! He could fit in just fine) to the side. Turning the blue (really, did they *have* to paint that too?) handle, he opened the door and picked his bag back up, kicking the other one further into the room.

Glancing up at the room, he tried not to take a step back at the rapid color change. At least the dark blue was easy on the eyes. He looked over at the other occupant, forcing the scowl that had automatically sprung up in his features at the sight of the human away. Struggling with his bag, he kicked the other one further into the room. He looked up again when the human asked if he needed help. Damn body... they just *had* to put him into some weakling. At least he had *some* muscles, but unfortunately, this bag was too damn heavy.

Seeing that the jade green (since when do human eyes go that bright? Must be those glass wears that they put inside their irises. He could never remember what they were called. Not that he cared, since he would never need anything to fix his own eyesight) were fixed on him still, he shook his head and muttered "no," before he continued to shuffle forward, kicking the door closed with his boot (Still squeaky clean since he'd just appeared in the lobby.  Really, could they be any more obvious?). Accept help from a human? Squall snorted. 'I think not.'

Finally, he reached the small bed, twin sized he thought they were called... maybe they were called that because two people could fit into it? No, that was stupid. Then again... wasn't it stupid to name a *bed*? Yes, yes it was. Shaking his head, Squall set down the large bag. His shoulders were killing him (figuratively, obviously) and he really just wanted to go to sleep.

Not looking again at the other male, he toed of his leather (why were they so obsessed with leather?) military (some kind of cosmic joke probably, considering he was 'technically' a part of one) boots.  He set them to the side neatly beside his bags and gingerly sat down on the bed. The last time he had slept in one.. Squall frowned and shook his head, banishing the unpleasant thought, and the reason he was here at all, from his mind.

Lying down on his stomach he closed his eyes and turned his head to face the wall, away from the other man. Preparing for much needed sleep.

Seifer arched an eyebrow at his new roommate. 'So he's antisocial huh?' Sitting up on the bed, Seifer stared at his back for a few moments before saying, "You know, there's probably an hour until dinner; why don't you show me around? You've been here for a few days already right?" Both questions received nothing but silence and clear, 'Back off,' vibes. But Seifer was never the one to really listen when he got something set in his mind, so he got up off the bed and padded around to the small space between Squall's bed and the wall.

"I gather you don't engage in conversation much," he said with his usual arrogance, "Allow me to enlighten you; generally, people face each other when they speak."

Was that human talking again? Sighing, Squall opened his eyes and glared up at the large blonde (what the hell was that shiny liquid in his hair? It looked ridiculous). The dark green shirt the human was wearing really set off his (probably fake) jade green eyes. And did it have to be so tight? The world didn't need to see how muscular the blonde was. Idiot. Flickering his eyes down, he frowned at the faded black jeans, almost a light gray from frequent use. The holes in the material were atrocious. There was one near his groin for goodness sake! No one needed or wanted to know that the dumb blonde went bare butt. (Wasn't there a name for that? Something to do with commanders.)

His frown deepened when he met the eye of the human. 'Stupid twinkling, he must have something in his eye, because he should definitely *not* find me amusing.' "I'm aware of your customs hu-." Idiot! Let’s stand out even more by calling the people on earth 'humans' directly to their faces. *Normal* people do not use that term when talking to another. Though Squall was definitely tempted to call the other an ape. It was only evolutionary correct, since God had mutated the apes until they walked on two legs and with their heads held high (then of course those humans that slouched ruined the whole scheme of things), there by, creating an army of humans. An army of unintelligent humans who were loud, messy, and primal.

Finally registering that the human was looking at him still, his head tilted to the side in a world wide gesture of confusion. He scowled and turned over again, facing the other human's bed. "I'm not aware of the lay out of this building; I have only been in three rooms." He said, hoping that would end their little conversation. The only rooms he'd been in was his old dorm room, the lobby and the rather small dining hall. The latter he especially hated since it ended up in him having to resort to a sickeningly human bowel movement. If it was up to him, he'd stop eating. But he'd already tried that the first day, and it had only left him with a rather large ache in the head and a stomach that made noises.

Walking around the bed, undeterred, Seifer crouched down beside it so that Squall would be forced to look at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve been through three roommates already?” He leaned closer to Squall, examining him, “You don’t look that scary.”

Squall sent him an icy glare which had frightened off all who encountered it before. Seifer just laughed and sat down on the floor with his knees drawn up and one arm around them. “Well anyway, since we’re going to be living together I think we should at least be introduced.” He extended his hand toward Squall, “My name is Seifer, and if I remember correctly you name is Squall, right?”

Three roommates? When did he say that? Sure, he'd been there for four days already, but he hadn't told the hu-Seifer (what kind of name was Seifer anyway?) that he had had other roommates. The man must be good at snooping. Squall had only been with two other people, though, now Seifer made three.

Giving a mental snort, he looked down at the out stretched hand. It looked like he was offering it, but why would he sake Squall's hand? They weren't settling an agreement or anything.

Sighing, he stretched out his arm, instinctively knowing that the blonde wouldn't leave him alone until he showed *some* kind of reaction. Putting his smaller hand in the others, he let Seifer shake his hand once before he pulled back. Wiping the human's sweat off his palm on the dark red sheets. Was the man nervous or something? No, the arrogant blonde didn't look like he even knew the meaning of the word. But really... ick. He hated the body's functions. Why couldn't humans just pant like animals did to regulate their body temperature? It was a lot more appealing then sweating.

"Your opinion of me differs from the others. Not everyone thinks the same way you do. To some, I am what you would call 'scary'." He finally replied to the man's earlier question. Though it had sounded like it was rhetorical, but what was the point of asking something you already knew the answer to? He sighed mentally. Humans.

Seifer chuckled lightly, earning another icy glare for Squall. "Man, you don't get out much do you? Where were you raised to act so formal?" There was a thickness in the air after that question that led Seifer to believe he'd struck a big nerve. He'd heard some pretty bad horror stories in his day, so he backed off. Man this kid was stubborn; but Seifer was never one to back off from a challenge.

"Okay, different subject." Seifer paused, trying to grasp a neutral topic. He glanced out the window at the growing twilight and smirked. If curfew was as early here as it was in most other places, the window was the perfect place to escape from. "When is the curfew around here anyway?" he asked brining his attention and his gaze back to Squall.

He sighed again. Why wouldn't this human leave him alone? Surely he was uncomfortable with being in the same space as Squall? All the other humans were. Sighing again, he rested his hand against his cheek and looked at Seifer from his relaxed position. Like he was going to come to attention for some human! An arrogant one at that!

"10." He replied. His other roommates had also ended up sneaking out the window or the door, and he suspected this man would do the exact same thing. Stupid teenagers and their rebellion. What was the point? They should know when to fight their battles, and when to admit defeat.

"Tsk, always so early," Seifer murmured, basically talking to himself. "No matter though. Where there is a rule there is always a loop hole." He stretched his hands and cracked his knuckles. He was used to bending the rules to 'his own devious purposes' as it was so often put. Leaning back against the nightstand, he looked over at Squall again.

A lot of people would peg him for the stuck up type, but that didn't feel right to Seifer; and he had a knack for pegging people. Like that girl with the bright yellow room; Selphie was it? So was so definitely on speed. It was a pity Edea didn't have much help; she seemed like one of the owners that actually cared.

"So..." he said at length, "You seem like an adventurous person, Squall. What are you into?"

Adventurous? Him? Squall choked down the laugh that wanted to erupt from his throat. But... what was he into? Was that a new thing for teenagers? He wasn't 'into' anything. That didn't even make sense. Sighing, Squall looked down at the seated blonde. There was only one way to find out; he didn't want to ask though, he'd end up making himself look like an idiot. So instead, he said, "nothing." That sounded like a good answer to him. He was almost, *almost* being the key word, tempted to ask what Seifer was 'into.' But that would just continue this conversation. And really, did this man never shut up? He even talked to himself out loud! Sure, Squall liked to have monologues, but *inside* his head, not while conversing with another being.

Listening to Seifer crack the bones in his hands again, Squall surpassed a shiver. Did he *have* to do that? Didn't he realize how bad that was for his bones? They weren't made to be separated like he was doing while cracking his knuckles. Stupid human.

Seifer chuckled again, earning another glare from Squall. “Nothing huh? Well that sounds interesting,” he said with a healthy does of sarcasm. “You couldn’t possibly have passed through life staring at the wall all day. Talking to one maybe, but not simply staring at it.”

He gazed down at the books peaking out from one of Squall's partially open bags (the one he had been kicking almost savagely before him) tipping his head to one side, he studied the authors names. “You read a lot?” he asked, glancing back at Squall.

He could tell the lithe teen was doing his best to shake him off but that only made things more interesting to Seifer. It’s not like he was out to humiliate the guy or turn all of his worst secrets into front page news. Besides, he was at least talking to him; that was a start.

Squall sighed at the mention of the cursed books. Frowning, he finally decided to sit up. Sitting cross legged on the hard mattress, facing the blonde, he folded his hands in his lap. He knew he wasn't going to get rid of this human unless he got sick of him, so he decided to humor the blonde instead. Maybe Seifer would see how boring and cynical he was and decide he was no fun, there by moving out. Yes, that sounded like an excellent idea.

"They are for me to study." He finally replied. At least he didn't have to lie about that. Besides being in his nature to avoid lying, he just hated to lie to other people. The truth ended up hurting more anyway. And sometimes, no one believes it. You walk up to a stranger and tell them that you have no parents, that you only have a father that is asexual and isn't really a man at all... well, they wouldn't believe you.

Squall shook his head, dislodging the troublesome thought. He wasn't allowed to tell anyone what he was. Then again, if someone found out on their own there wasn't much he could do about it. So long as he never actually said who he was himself, he'd be safe and he wouldn't have to go to Hell.

Sighing, Squall wrapped his arms around himself, a standard human defensive movement (as he'd already been forced to read up on) and leaned forward slightly. "Why do you wear that strange necklace?" He asked, almost genuinely curious to know why a person would be wearing something that bright around their neck. That and he wanted the human to stop asking questions. He learned enough from his brief time in this world that if you asked someone about themselves, they tended to prattle for excessively long times. At least he'd known one human like that...

Stopping his train of thought before it could go further; Squall looked down at the seated blonde.

‘Interesting,” Seifer mused to himself. He wasn’t sure whether Squall was actually asking or was just trying to change the subject. He couldn’t see why books would strike a nerve. Then again a lot of things seemed to strike nerves with this guy. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw some sort of emotion flash through his eyes, making them a little grayer.

‘Well, at least he’s talking back now,’ Seifer finial decided, running his hand over his choker lightly. “I’m gay,” he replied smirking arrogantly up at the brunet. There was a long silence between them, as though Squall was waiting for him to continue off on some long tangent. At length he just turned his palms face up in a shrug and said, “That’s all. I’m not an overly complicated person.”

Squall covered a snort with his hand. Right. A human who *wasn't* complicated. Not on this earth. He still didn't understand what being 'gay' had to do with a necklace. What exactly was 'gay'? The only time he'd heard of it was when someone had commented on how gay someone was looking today. Didn't it mean happy or something?

Sighing, Squall asked another question before the blonde could start up again. "Why the necklace then? And what do you mean by 'gay'?" He frowned, stopping himself before he could tilt his head in confusion. He would *not* resort to any other human response unless he was forced to (i.e. going to the bathroom). He didn't like it, but he was forced to do it, so there was nothing he could do about it. Although the aspects of showering were quite pleasant... He always did love water, no matter the form.

A thick strand of auburn hair fell over his eyes, making him frown again. Huffing, he tried to get the chunk of hair to go back to its rightful place. When that didn't work, he resorted to running his hand through his hair, flimsily securing the piece of hair back amongst the others. He wished he had his long hair back. Sure his bangs were choppy but they were long enough not to get directly into his vision.

His frown increased when the human started laughing. What the hell was so funny? And did he have to do that so loudly? Squall sighed. At least it was better then those damn giggles that the female species were prone to.

“Man,” Seifer said between bursts of laughter, “You *really* don’t get out much do you?” When he saw the blank look on Squall’s face he realized he wasn’t joking and his laughter quieted down. “Seriously?” he asked and received the same blank look. ‘Geez where has this kid been?’ he thought to himself, studying Squall for a moment.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” he said after a long pause. “The colors of the rainbow all together like this on the necklace is a symbol for people who are gay; you with me so far?” Squall gave him a sharp 'I-am-not-stupid look' and he chuckled; holding his hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright. Anyway, 'gay' is a slang term for homosexuals; people who are romantically interested in their own sex. Hence; I like guys. That explain things?” he asked, tipping his head to one side.

Frowning, Squall looked down at the necklace. "Why would you wear it though?" From what he understood about humans, they tended to hide things like that from society. Squall had nothing against it, since his old body had technically been asexual. He had the general physique of a male, but without the penis that led most men around. So he had never been 'attracted' to the others. In this body... he wasn't so sure. He hadn't found himself attracted to anyone. Then again, he didn't really know what attraction entailed. He knew the penis was supposed to get hard with excess blood if he saw or felt some kind of attraction to another person, but as of yet that had yet to happen.

Seifer was relatively handsome; he probably could be one of those models that populate the magazine covers that teenagers bought frequently with their excess money. But Squall didn't feel anything for him, besides annoyance that was. Besides, the human wouldn't enjoy being in his company for long due to the damn aura. There was nothing he could do about it of course. It was just part of the punishment. Eternal loneliness. Which was fine by him, humans were too loud and annoying to make good company.

Seifer shrugged. “Because I don’t give a damn what everyone else thinks. And I got sick of girls hitting on me. Honestly, some of them just need therapy or something; they‘re like dogs in heat.” Then he turned to Squall and grinned defiantly. “I have a knack for pissing people off by being too honest.”

A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation and they both looked up to see Edea poking her head inside. “You two seem to be getting along,” she observed with a small smile. “I just came to tell you that dinner’s in a few minutes.” Seifer nodded and she smiled and left.

Standing, Seifer stretched until his vision blurred a little from standing up too fast. He blinked a few times until his vision cleared and then turned to look over at Squall, “You coming?” He asked, offering the smaller teen a hand up.

Frowning, he gingerly placed a hand into the larger one. Squall grunted when Seifer pulled too hard, making him crash into the other's chest. Scowling, he stepped back and smoothed his hands down his white tank top and the black leather pants, erasing any winkles that had grown in the material. Looking up, he narrowed his eyes at the other's smirk. Damn arrogant human. The man was too tall for his own good.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, he stepped back; making it easier to look up then at the sharp angle he had been in before when he was inches away from the other's chest.

Seifer chuckled at his movements, earning another glare from Squall, they walked out of the room, both squinting their eyes at the sudden brightness. "Damn pastels, who the hell painted this building?" He mumbled. His eyes widened when he realized he had just asked a rhetorical question. God... if he was already acting like a human so early, imagine how bad it was going to get in a few years.

“I have to agree with you there,” Seifer mumbled unhappily as the meandered through the brightly painted halls. At least the dining room was a nice soft tan; Seifer could live with that. As they walked down the halls, Seifer studied Squall out of the corner of his eyes. There was something…different about him. He couldn’t really place his finger on it, but there was something different. He’d come here at the beginning of summer, so that left plenty of time for him to investigate.

They maneuvered themselves through the crowds and after gathering his food Seifer made a point of sitting next to Squall; despite the fact that others seemed to be avoiding him like the plague. “So,” he said, intent on keeping up communication, “How do you like it here? I mean, aside from those hellish pastels?”

Pushing the food around on his plate, still hesitant to eat *anything* Squall glanced at the large blonde beside him. He certainly didn't have any reserves about wolfing down his meal. The brunet snorted in disgust, turning his head away. Though the view that greeted him there wasn't any better. The few that weren't ignoring Squall, were either looking at him in fear or disgust. Just great.

He grunted when he felt a sharp stab in the ribs. Whipping his head around, he glared at the smirking human. How did he like it here? Well, it was certainly no Heaven. Loud, crowded, and too many rude humans. Sighing, he cast his eyes down onto his plate. "I'm sure you'll like it here." He said finally, avoiding the question. He didn't know everything, but he was pretty sure that saying it was too loud and crowded to someone else's face might insult them... he wasn't sure though.

"Hey!" Squall continued to look down at his filled plate. "Brown haired guy sitting next to the blonde!" 'Yes, thank you for pointing out my hair color. Though technically it's auburn, but I'll let you get away with brown.' Sighing, Squall turned his head, facing said blonde, but his eyes were on the figures behind him.

There were only three of them and they looked like the type of humans that would probably give everyone a hard time. He thought the term for that was bully, but he wasn't sure.

"Hey! Ya don't wanna be hanging around people like him," the tallest of the three jerked his head towards Seifer. "So, why don't'cha come with us and we'll show you the ropes, eh? How 'bout it?" Squall sighed and turned back to his uneaten meal.

"Damn it! I'm talking to you!" A large hand was placed on his shoulder, making Squall shiver in disgust. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed the sweaty (ugh!) hand and turned around slightly. Still gripping onto the hand, he stood up. Trying not to snort in amusement when he found that he only came up to mid chest. Still gripping the wrist, he tightened his grip, "Hey man! Let go!" Squall looked up and glared.

"Why?" The teenager looked surprised that he could talk. Idiot.

"I was just trying ta help ya! Ya don't wanna be hanging around people like him. He's disgusting and will probably end up doing something to you, surely ya don't want that?"

Squall narrowed his eyes and looked up. Not really knowing why the man took a step back when he looked down at Squall's face, but whatever. Gripping the wrist in his hand tighter, with a deft move of his own wrist, he snapped it.

"Fuck!" The teenager went down on his knees, clutching his hand. His two prone buddies finally came to his rescue, though one look at Squall's face had them turn tail and run, the taller boy held between them as they ran out.

Sighing, Squall turned back to the table and sat down. Hunching over his meal he sighed in disgust. Like hell he would eat this shit. Not that there was anything wrong with Edea's food, it was actually quite good, but he just didn't feel like eating all of a sudden.

Standing up again he crossed the room quickly with his long strides and was out the door in record time. Passing Edea, who gave him a confused look, but he didn't stop to chat; knowing that he would probably be disciplined if she figured out what he had just done. It was stupid really... he didn't know what had come over him. He just knew that he didn't like the other's touch so he sure as hell wasn't going to stand someone touching him when he didn't want them to or didn't even know them.

Running a hand through his already tousled hair Squall bowed his head and continued on; sighing when he finally reached his dorm. Closing the door behind him he tugged off his boots again and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth; hating the grungy feel to them. Even if he hadn't eaten they still managed to build up somehow. Relieving himself he made sure to wash his hands; his upper lip curled in disgust. Brushing his teeth he rinsed and spat into the sink. Running the water so the toothpaste and saliva went down the drain.

Going back into the room he shrugged off his shirt and pants. Naked, he bent down and searched his bag for undergarments to wear. He didn't hear the door open as he finally found what he was looking for and stood up. While balancing on one foot he put his foot into one of the holes, making sure the tag was at his back side.  He repeated the procedure for his other foot; not even swaying slightly on his one foot. Shimmying them up he sighed and looked down. Snapping the elastic against his flat stomach he thought it looked like six small little bumps... maybe he had an illness he didn't know about?

Sighing he pulled the covers up and slid into them and pulled them up to his shoulder as he laid down on his side, facing the wall, one hand curled underneath the pillow, the other resting just underneath his cheek. Closing his eyes, he sighed again and tried to get to sleep; ignoring his growling stomach.

Seifer watched Squall leave the dining room with a look of mild surprise. He wasn't fooling himself into believing Squall stood up for any other reason than to get rid of whoever it had been that was bothering him but it was nice to know he wasn't homophobic. And damn he was really strong too. He'd have to see if he was interested in taking Kendo; it'd been years since he'd really been challenged in sparing.

Standing, Seifer started to make his way out of the room and all but bumped into Edea just as she entered. "Seifer, what's going on with Squall?" she asked in that polite, motherly voice she seemed to have.

"Oh, well the usual suspects were hassling him. I- uh, tried to tell them to go away, but they wouldn't listen and-uh, I think I might have hurt one of them," Seifer replied putting on his best sheepish act. If any one of them knew what was good for them they wouldn't deny the story.

"Is that so?" Edea asked, tipping her head to one side as if thinking it over. Whether or not she saw though Seifer’s act, she didn't seem to be too angry. Seifer gave a mental sigh of relief when she said, "Well I'll see how they are, but try to be careful Seifer; not everyone takes kendo you know." Seifer nodded obediently and once she'd turned the opposite corner he made his way towards Squall and his room.

He crept in just in time to get an excellent view of his roommate’s body as he changed and wasn't shy about taking a good look either. It's not like he was trying to be any great pervert or anything but he did appreciate a finely tuned body.  Oh yes; if he could be convinced, Squall would be a great sparring partner.

He waiting calmly by the door until Squall was in bed to prevent him any embarrassment before closing the door behind him and walking over to Squall's bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand lightly on Squall's hip to gain his attention. From the way the other tensed he knew he was still wide awake, if a little tired. "Listen," he said softly since his roommate had been trying to sleep, "I know you probably didn't do any of that in there for me, but still I wanted to thank you for standing up to those creeps." Seifer gave a small chuckle, "Saves me the trouble and I don't think they'll be bothering either of us again. So thanks." Seifer paused again before asking, "Where'd you get that kind of strength anyway?"

Still tense, Squall fought the urge to do the exact same thing to Seifer that he had done to the other boy. Rolling onto his back he rested his head on crossed arms and looked down at the human. At least his hand was off now; even though now he was forced to face him.

He frowned, looking at the other's relaxed stance. Why the hell wasn't he scared? Any normal human would have run straight to Edea and requested another roommate to stay away from Squall. Sighing, he glanced up at the dark ceiling. At least the human understood he hadn't done it for him. Although... if he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that a small part of him had been angry (ugh, another human irrational emotion. God how he hated it) at the words of the dumb human. He didn't think it was right to discriminate against someone simply for their... what was it called? Preference? Whatever.

Looking back down at Seifer through half lidded eyes he frowned. Where did he get that kind of strength? From this measly body of course. Where else? His other body had been ten times stronger.. but at least he had found out he wasn't *that* weak. That, or humans were just so pitiful he could easily snap their wrists and not have anyone put up a fight.

"From my body, where else?" He finally said, said body still tense. The man was too close for his liking. Did humans have to radiate heat all the time? No wonder they sweated so much if their bodies were like a furnace. He frowned when the human started to laugh. Why did this man keep thinking he was funny? Stupid Seifer. The blonde was definitely the weirdest human he had the unfortunate chance of meeting. Even weirder then... no, he would not think about him. It was thanks to that one human that he was in this whole damned mess in the first place.

Shaking his head, Seifer wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, “Man, you are something else." Tipping his head to one side he studied his roommate in the dim light. For the first time since meeting him Seifer took notice of the fact that he seemed very sad. It wasn't like any of it showed on his face but... it was just intuition and Seifer's was usually pretty good.

Taking a deep breath he asked, "Have you ever thought of putting some of that to good use? Like in Kendo or something? I practice and Edea even said she'd let me use my swords if I was the only one in the gym at the time. I suppose she'd let you in too if we were training together though."

'You are something else.’ You have no idea Seifer...

Sighing, Squall finally sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Stupid human body, being tired was a weakness. Same with eating, sexual urges, and going to the damn bathroom too much. He frowned when he noticed the other's eyes on his chest. Looking down, his frown deepened to that of curiosity. What was so fascinating? Shaking his head, he looked back up, giving a mental shrug and a 'whatever' to the situation.

What the hell was 'Kendo'? Obviously it involved swords... now *that* he was familiar with. He was, after all, in a military. Well... he used to be. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work out the kinks. What the hell? It wasn't like he had anything better to do. His eyes briefly shot out the books lying in wait in the bag. Like he had previously thought, he had nothing *better* to do. "Yes, I will train with you." Maybe after watching the blond he could pick up on it. The others had always said he was a fast learner.

Seifer broke out into a grin. “That’s great! It’s been so long since I’ve had someone to train with who could challenge me.” As he grinned at the brunet, who continued to look at him blankly. Seifer had to notice there was something different about him. ‘He’s so naive and so formal…’ Everyone in an orphanage had a story as to exactly why they had ended up there and Seifer was bound and determined to learn Squall's.

Looking over him, he noticed the small bags under his eyes and decided to back off. “Well, I can see you’re tired, so I’ll let you sleep.” he said lowering his tone again. He pushed off the bed, placing a hand lightly on Squall's shoulder for a moment, and said, “G’night.”

Walking over to his own bed Seifer stripped down and put on some boxers before slipping in between the sheets of his bed. He was tired, but as usual sleep eluded him like the plague and after two hours it was starting to give him a headache. Throwing off the covers with a huff of frustration Seifer quickly shuffled into his nearest outfit and black hiking boots. He tried to be quiet but via his instincts he could tell Squall was awake.

He climbed up on a chair and bid Squall a brief, “Later,” before scrambling up out the window and onto the roof. It seemed like an awful lot of trouble to go through just to be outside but that’s the only thing that had ever really helped his insomnia. He lay back on the roof and watched the stars dance across the blue-black sky. It was one of his oldest habits. The only thing Seifer could ever remember about his parents was that, before his mother died, she’d taken him out at night and told him the myths that went along with the constellations. He could only remember a few now, but going over them and looking up at the sky had helped his insomnia every time it became particularly difficult. Soon he was fast asleep.

Frowning, Squall looked over at the empty bed. What the hell was that human up to now? It had been around two hours since Seifer had left, and Squall still couldn't get to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept having flashes of what could have happened to him if God hadn't been merciful. Infernos engulfing him, his long, strong wings being incinerated in the blazing fires, causing him to go down on his knees from the pain. And it only got worse when his wings kept growing back, stubborn to be airborne, but the fires were just too hot for him to escape.

Sighing, Squall turned over on his side, facing Seifer's empty bed. The human had obviously had trouble sleeping, but where had he gone? The brunet snorted. It wasn't any of his business. If Seifer wanted to go cause trouble somewhere that was his own business and if he ended up in prison, then that was his fault too.

Glancing over at the open window, he was tempted to shut it. Even though it was summer the nights here were incredibly cold. But he didn't want to lock Seifer out if he happened to come back. Sighing, Squall pulled the sheets up around his chin and huddled into a ball to keep warm. Maybe he should put on a warmer article of clothing? No; that required getting up and leaving the semi-warm bed.

'Fuck it.’ Shutting his eyes, Squall shivered and tried to go to sleep.

It was several hours before he actually managed to fall into a deep sleep. The brunet's lids twitching in a dream, his whole body shivering from the cold, but he did sleep. Even if it wasn't very restful.

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