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Blue Skies: A Requiem for Storms	By : Raiethstar Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Het - Male/Female Views: 998 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy. All OC chars I do own, but I still don't make any money off of this venture. This is for my own amusement only.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
I split this day into two parts, as there is a natural break about halfway through day 2. That and this half is done and the other half is not ^.=.-
There is some minor smut in the beginning. Finally I know, right?
Warnings: solo-masterbation, rape(sorta), blood, angst, violence, drug use, UST, beast (again sorta)
Please leave a comment if you like it, or see anything wrong. I live for feedback! ^.=.^
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Day 2 - Morning
Squall shifted uncomfortably, the ground was hard and his belts dug into his flesh. Half awake he realized that his back didn’t hurt as it normally did when he woke. It was sore and his skin felt far too tight but it was the first time in a long time that he had woken without the familiar sharp shooting pain. He rolled over to his other side and found himself out of pillow, his head now laying on the same hard surface as the rest of his body. Feebly he reached for the pillow, knowing it was in vain. His stomach said it was time to get up.
“How long are you going to pretend to sleep?”
He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. Xu was standing by his head, her face upside down to his perspective. From this angle he could see right up her short uniform skirt. He noted with some amusement that she was wearing red underwear.
“What’s so funny?” She put her hands on her hips.
He shifted his gaze to her face. “Red huh?”
She raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
Squall sat up in order to face her more directly. He quickly took in his surroundings. “I fell asleep?” The change in position alerted him to his aroused state, that wasn’t good. Hungry and horny was a normal way to wake up but with Xu so close, control was be harder to maintain than usual. Her scent filled his nostrils, it was familiar and arousing and spoke to that animalistic side of him. The smell of dried blood mingled with hers and made everything worse. The smell was intoxicating and it was with great difficulty that he reined himself in.
She nodded, then tilted her head, “Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep?” Her eyes flicked down his body, and his lust addled mind thought she lingered at the bulge in his pants. He pulled at the reins of his control again and focused on the question.
“Yes.” In his current state he realized that she was far too close to be safe, he needed to get away from her before he did something he would regret later. “No one ever tells me what thought.” He leaned away from her as he stood, so that he would not brush against her. What little control he had now would be shattered if he touched her.
Xu stepped towards the entrance as he rose, her look thoughtful, and she nodded to herself. “I can understand why.” She breathed.
The comment was not likely for his ears judging from how quiet it was. He sighed, “At least one of us does. ” He ran a gloved hand through his blood crusted hair and yawned as they began exiting the airship. “Where is Boko?” He had only just realized that his mount was missing, the stab of guilt helping break up his baser instincts.
She turned to him, broken out of her thoughts by his question. “He’s in the training centre terrorizing the resident Grat population.” The pair emerged from the airship into the cramped hanger.
Squall grinned wryly, “Yeah, that sounds like Boko.” He looked around the hanger, realizing how quiet it was. “Where is everybody?”
Xu shrugged, “It’s not even six in the morning.”
Squall paused, either he had slept an entire day away or...
“You’ve only been asleep for about 2 hours.” Xu confirmed for him as they approached the elevator. “I didn’t want to move you until you had some rest. How long were you Hasted?”
Squall shrugged, “Since just after dark.”
Xu did a double take. “But that was...” She did the math in her head. “You were Hasted for five or six HOURS?” Squall could see the gears in her head turning, a look resembling horror manifesting on her face. “But...”
Squall looked away from her, he was something of a monster. No one other than a Sorceress should have been able to sustain such high level magic for that long, but he could. Hell, using Eden’s space folding he could teleport too, granted that left a massive crater behind, but he had done it.
His thoughts were broken when she stopped next to him as he waited for the elevator. “Are you sure you want to stay so close right now?” He would never forgive himself if he hurt her again. The doors opened with a ding.
She stepped into the elevator ahead of him. “Please, you’re not a monster. ” Her earlier look of horror was absent.
Squall growled to himself under his breath, he wasn’t so sure about that. He entered the small capsule behind her. She caught his dark look and ducked her head slightly to look away from him. He turned and stood very still facing the door after he sent it up to his suite, he was desperately trying to focus on anything but how close she was, and how tight his pants felt.
“Is it that bad?” She sounded genuinely concerned.
He stared straight ahead, shifting his weight to put a hand on his hip. Hoping his silence would make his point.
Xu however, was far too concerned about the stoic headmaster. “Squall?” She put a light hand on his arm. “Please...”
That hadn’t been a good idea on her part. Squall flung her hand off and swivelled to put what little distance he could between them. “Don’t touch me!” His blood pounded in his ears, her touch had been like lightning, the jolt went right through him.
She cried out in surprise and stepped back, the low handrail pressing into her spine. Her back arched around it and her head tilted back exposing her slender throat. She recovered quickly, her hands reflexively assuming a defensive positions in front of her, fingers ready to flick out her knives from their sheathes on her wrists.
Squall closed his eyes, taking a deep breath trying to get his panting under control. The image of her throat filled him with need, he wanted to feel her hot blood on his tongue, her body under his. He licked his lips, his memory supplying the taste of her skin. He pressed his hands firmly against the glass door behind him, every muscle straining not to attack her. He needed to get away from her, he could feel his control slipping through his fingers.
“Why won’t you trust me?” She sounded sad and confused, her voice barely more than a whisper.
The unusual comment cut through his hazy thoughts, he looked up at her in surprise. He did trust her. “I...” It was himself he didn’t trust. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He hated that it wasn’t the complete truth.
Something seemed to trigger in Xu and she gestured angrily, one of her knives flicking into her fingers. “Don’t lie to me!” She pointed it at him accusingly. “Don’t lie to yourself!” Her chest heaved in her sudden anger, knife point rock steady at his throat.
His blood surged in his veins and his desire threatened to take over. The sight of her angry and ready to kill him pulled a low growl from deep inside his chest. Squall pressed his back against the elevator door, he was seconds away from loosing control. His instincts screamed at him to dominate her, to force her to submit to him. The elevator slid to a stop outside his office.
“For once in your life be completely honest!” Her voice sounded strange, almost needy. She stared him in the eyes, and lowered her knife slipping it back into the magical sheathe around her wrist as the door slid open behind Squall with a ding.
He stumbled backwards, his weight no longer supported by the door. He recovered in three steps and froze, not trusting himself to move while she was still there. The temperature change prickled at his skin, and his panting breath was no longer so loud in his ears. His fingers twitched, he wanted to grab her, to make her his, he had never wanted so badly in his life.
She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. “You talk to yourself Squall.” She sighed, “In your sleep, you talk to yourself.”
His confusion cut through the lust, his rational mind clung to that confusion, desperate for a way to control the beast inside of him.
She looked away from him and pressed the down button on the elevator control panel. “I never thought twice about forgiving you Squall. When you are ready to stop lying to yourself,” she looked him in the eyes as the doors slid shut, “come talk to me.”
The doors closed with finality and Squall watched the glass capsule descend through the floor. If he talked in his sleep, of course it was to himself, who else would he talk to? He rubbed his scar, he couldn’t think straight, his stomach rumbled and his blood surged. He sighed and turned to head into his apartment. What he needed right now was food, a hot shower and a few more hours of sleep.
After pushing aside the tapestry covering his apartment entranceway he headed straight for his fridge. It was fuller than when he left, and for that he was thankful, he quickly pulled out the ingredients for a sandwich and to his surprise found that someone had hidden a six pack of Elixir brand chilled coffee in the back. He made sure to grab one of the distinctive glass bottles, the school had been sold out for almost two weeks, they must have picked up a new shipment from Esthar. Perhaps today would not be so bad after all.
After making his sandwich he moved through the apartment, breakfast in one hand, coffee in the other. There was no point in sitting down to eat, he was finished the sandwich before he even entered his bedroom. Using his now free hand, he stripped off his many belts, leaving them in a pile on the floor. He drank the last of the coffee before leaving his clothes where they fell and headed for his shower.
Quickly getting into the hot water, Squall scrubbed all the crusted blood off his body, the water hot enough to be uncomfortable. His mind wandered, as it usually did, despite efforts to the contrary. Why would Xu forgive him? What he had done was unforgivable. He let the water run down his body, the steam made it hard to breathe. Her red panties were adorable, vivid scarlet with a little lace trim. He briefly wondered if her bra matched.
Squall groaned to himself and grabbed his erection, he knew from experience that he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything if he didn’t deal with it. He hated this side of himself, the monster inside him that he couldn’t control. His calloused hand was rough on sensitive skin and he tried to focus on the sensation. It was futile, his thoughts returned to Xu, the curve of her body, her unique smell, the softness of her skin. He wanted to taste her, to pin her to the glass of the elevator and overpower her.
Again his rational mind balked at the violence of the act, hurting her would be wrong, needing this violence to get off was wrong. She would scream and fight back, her skill with a blade was excellent, but her wrists were thin, and he was far stronger than she was. Pinning her face first to the glass would take very little effort, he’d use her own blade to cut her panties off and her imagined struggles made him pant. He was vaguely aware of his head falling forward, his hand on the wall of the shower all that was holding him up. It wouldn’t be gentle, he didn’t want gentle, he would force his way into her, using his strength to press her cruelly against the glass with every thrust. In his minds’ eye she looked back at him, pain and pleasure written across her face, “Harder.” she whispered.
The world went white and he roared as his came, his mind blissfully blank as sensation returned to him. He could feel the beast in his mind curl up, satiated and content. His rational mind rebooted and questioned what had just happened. He wanted her to want it he realized. He needed that to be true, fantasizing about raping your coworkers wasn’t normal, wan’t right. He shivered, the water had long since gone cold.
He stayed until he couldn’t stand it any longer before turning off the water. Drying himself off with a nearby towel he ran a comb through his hair. Sleeping now would be inadvisable he realized solemnly, he needed to distract himself before he would be able to rest properly. He should check on Boko and the injured woman. He caught sight of his nightstand and the empty painkiller bottles, he would have to get more.
He quickly tossed on his SeeD uniform, sans jacket, and attached his weapon belts, he sighed as he dug the three belts that contained his medication and other things he considered essential out of the pile and strapped them to his leg. He glanced at his transformed leather jacket, the fur was splattered with blood. Without another thought, he turned away and left it on the floor.
After grabbing another Elixir, he stepped into his office. The large window offered a spectacular view of Esthar. The city looked like a field of stars in the pre-dawn light. He sipped the highly caffeinated drink, it was still his day-off officially, perhaps he should pay Laguna a visit. It would be preferable to trying to avoid Xu all day.
There was a muffled gasp behind him. He looked over his shoulder, Nida was standing in the doorway to his office. He wore a shocked expression, and was trying to hide something behind his back. Squall waited in silence, his expression held carefully neutral.
Nida coughed, “I thought you weren’t back till tomorrow.”
Squall continued to wait, taking another sip of his drink. Silence could be a dangerous weapon in the right hands.
The pilot shifted uncomfortably before cracking as he usually did. “I wasn’t going to do anything honest.”
Squall raised an eyebrow.
Nida rubbed the back of his neck, one hand still behind his back. Squall heard the sound of glass touching. “I was just going to sit in your chair and enjoy the sunrise.” He chuckled nervously.
Squall was not convinced, and he had heard an interesting rumour about Nida that he had a feeling was true. The smell of wine nearly confirmed it, Nida was hiding a bottle and at least one glass behind his back. He turned his head back to the city scape, allowing his voice to grow cold. “Nida?”
“Yes sir?”
“I don’t care if you use your position to get laid.” Nida let out a strangled squeak behind him. “I don’t even care if you bring girls to the driving platform when off-duty.” He stressed the last two words and looked over his shoulder at the pilot. “But my office is off-limits. I catch you in here again and I’ll throw you off the Garden myself.” He let his anger seep into the threat.
Nida swallowed hard, looking mollified. “Y-yes sir.” He saluted.
Squall turned back to the window. “Now, go away.” He listened to the door close and Nida run for the elevator.
Squall sighed, sometimes he hated being right. He finished the last of his coffee in one mouthful, he’d give Nida another two minutes to flee before he headed downstairs. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialled Laguna’s office.
The secretary picked up after the third ring. “President Loire’s office how may I help you?” She sounded tired.
“Hello Irana, this is Squall. How full is Laguna’s schedule today?” He sat on the edge of his desk.
“Oh, good morning Squall.” He could hear her typing. “I’m pretty sure he’s got most of the day off.” She paused, “Yeah, looks like there is just something minor this afternoon. Do you need me to wake him?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I have a few things to care of first. Can you get him to call me when he wakes up?”
“Sure, but he may sleep in until noon or later.”
Squall sighed, that sounded about right. “Whatever, I’ll just swing by when I’m done then.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later then Squall.”
“Yeah.” He hung up. Now that he had decided what he was going to do with his afternoon, he exited his office. He spared a glance for Xu’s office door before entering the elevator. He decided to check up on Boko first, Xu had said he was making himself at home in the training centre.
After an uneventful ride to the first floor, the smell of Nida’s fear thankfully overpowering his senses, he walked towards the training centre. He nodded to the few SeeDs he passed, while a younger student clamoured to get out of his way and back to the dormitories. He ignored the nervous student, his presence often made the cadets nervous, a fact that took very little for him to get used to, as it made them leave him alone.
He walked into the corridor outside the monster filled section of school and caught sight of a pair of students looking to train. Although he didn’t remember their names he did recognize them both. A hard working pair, they were fraternal twins, and were going to take the SeeD field test that was rapidly approaching.
He watched them check their weapons and junctions as he walked casually down the corridor. They would make fine SeeD Squall thought as he retrieved his Chocowhistle.
The pair saluted him, once they noticed he was behind them, and he casually returned the salute with the whistle, earning a raised eyebrow from the boy. Stepping into the training centre proper, he blew the high pitched whistle.
He heard a ‘Wark’ farther ahead to the right and walked to meet the lively yellow bird. Boko was just off the beaten path, nested comfortably in the vegetation next to the water. Squall frowned, he was still wearing his tack. He smoothed Boko’s head crest and removed the bridle, affectionately scratching the soft down above his beak once it was off.
Boko closed his brown eyes and chirped happily. Patting him on the beak, Squall stepped to his side and nudged the bird to get up. Once on his feet Squall removed the light leather saddle and the heavy wool blanket, laying them on the ground for now.
Boko fluffed his feathers and shook from beak to tail, seemingly glad to be rid of the saddle. Settling back into his make-shift nest he began to preen, carefully checking and smoothing each feather.
Squall sighed, at least their run had not harmed the loyal bird. He sat on the tan saddle blanket and closed his eyes. Sometimes, he came down to the training centre to just listen to the sounds of life. He found they could help him sort out his thoughts.
He calmed himself and focused on the din of life all around him. The sounds of the twins fighting a Grat were loudest, the plant creatures’ distinctive cry carrying quite far. There were more subtle sounds however, one set in particular caught his attention, a T-rexasaur was on the prowl.
Some thought he should get rid of the dangerous monsters, they bred rapidly and could kill the less prepared. He found himself grinning as he rose to his feet. There were several reasons why he did not; one was that they were a constant reminder to the students that the fighting here was serious; second was they were damn good eating; and third was that they were fun to take down. Fast, strong and cunning, the enormous monsters provided more challenge than anything else he killed these days.
Running towards the creature he caught up with it just as it ambushed the twin cadets. To their credit they didn’t panic, instead laying down covering spell fire while they retreated. Squall noted absently that the girl used Blizzard, while the boy preferred Fire.
He pulled his weapon out, the heavy weapon feeling light in his hands. He mentally prepared the ice magic he would use to bring down the T-rexasaur. He brushed his thoughts against the cold spot in his mind like a gentle caresses. The foreign thoughts shifted and brushed back against his mind, curiosity was almost overpowered by the love that poured through the contact. Mentally, he opened his arms to embrace the Ice Queen that called his mind home. She wrapped her being around him, melding with him, her cold power filling him with a strange, yet familiar, warmth.
He opened his eyes from the blink of time awakening Shiva took. His skin prickled and the air wasn’t as warm as it was previously. Shiva’s eagerness to fight for him, to please him, pulsed just under his skin, he grinned with savage excitement.
He took deep breath and bellowed, “Hey!” The predator turned it’s head to look at him, it’s beady little eyes sizing him up. “Come pick on someone your own size.” True to type, the beast turned to charge the lone target.
Squall lifted his gunblade into a high stance, “You two clear out, I don’t want to hit you!” Without waiting to see if they complied, Squall charged. He allowed Shiva’s magic to flow through his hands and into his blade, the metal frosted over and was coated in ice.
The T-rexasaur dipped it’s head to bite him. Squall caught it on the muzzle, his ice sheathed blade cutting deeply into the soft flesh, he pulled the trigger. The ice on the blade shattered, peppering them both with shards of ice, he finished the slash and hopped back a few meters. The monster roared in pain, tossing it’s enormous head back and forth to shake the painful ice shards free. It glared at the source of it’s pain and charged him with a roar, intending to trample.
Squall easily dodged to the side, scoring a deep hit on it’s thigh in the process. He raised his hand, Shiva’s magic surged eagerly forward. Her whispers of a cold death, full of love and devotion, hard to ignore for long. The ice goddess within him writhed with pleasure as cast the powerful Blizzard spell, the thick spears of ice cutting deeply into the T-Rexasaurs' face. It had been too long since they had fought together last, he soothed her worry that the fight was over by drawing on her magic to once again coat his weapon in a thick sheath of ice.
Nearly blinded by the ice crystals the T-Rexasaur once again charged him, it’s painful limp made it even easier to dodge and Squall rewarded it with a crippling slash to it’s other leg, the large hamstring audibly snapping as it was severed.
Squall snorted as the crippled monster collapsed to the ground howling in pain. That hadn’t been challenging at all. Deciding to put the pitiful thing out of it’s misery he raised his hand and gave himself to Shiva, calling her to him, whispering for her caress. Allowing her what she wanted most.
A flurry of snow materialized in front of him and coalesced into a naked woman, her blue skin shone like ice as she twisted in the air, the very air freezing in her presence. Almost lovingly she raised her hands and massive crystals of ice erupted from the ground, encasing the T-rexasaur. The sound of squealing glass as the crystals slid over each other drowned out the roars of pain, as the monster froze solid. Finally the ice blew outwards in a mighty burst, leaving the dead T-rexasaur to fall, it’s hide coated in a thick layer of frost.
The ice queen spun and floated towards Squall, the very air freezing at her passage. He opened his arms to embrace her. She drifted against him slowly, her blue and yellow ribbon like horns of flesh floating in a breeze that was not there. She placed his hands against his chest and brushed her lips against his in a soft kiss before placing her check on his shoulder and dissolving into a flurry of snow that his arms passed through. He lowered his arms, feeling the ice GF once again curl up in his thoughts.
Squall put his gunblade away, his skin tingled with the sudden warmth of the training center. He breathed a sigh of disappointment, that had not been satisfying at all, he heard a thump behind him. He swivelled to face the sound.
The male cadet from earlier was sitting on the ground, his sister crouched worriedly next to him. Squall could see his skin was white and his lips were blue, most telling however, was his total lack of shivering.
Squall rubbed his scar briefly, why hadn't they moved? He walked over to them, a new guilt to eat at him. “Sorry.”
The cadet shook his head, “It was my own fault sir, for not immediately following your order.”
The headmaster looked them both over, the boy was obviously hypothermic, and his sister was shivering intensely, but her colour looked good. He cast Cure on them both, “Let’s get you to the infirmary.”
The boy protested loudly, but Squall was having none of that, he helped the hypothermic student to his feet.
HIs sister was understandably concerned, “Will he be all right?”
Squall nodded as he looped the students’ right arm over his neck for support. “You were only caught on the fringe of her blast.”
The girl took up her twin’s other arm and they walked out of the training centre. Squall could feel the boy begin to shiver against him as his core body temperature started to rise.
After a moment the girl glanced at Squall with a strange look.
Squall glanced at her, he knew from experience that wherever Shiva touched him was likely bright red, the outline of Shiva’s cold skin burned onto his skin. The marks would fade in a minute, she had never harmed him with her frozen touch.
She worked up her courage, “Do all GF’s grow that affectionate?” he knew she was referring to the almost sexual relationship he shared with his Ice Queen, seeing as how all SeeD’s understood that GF’s did grow friendly over time.
Squall shrugged, an awkward motion at the moment. “I don’t know. Shiva was my first GF, we’ve been though a lot together.” He gave her a wry smirk, “I’ve never asked anyone if their GF’s kiss them, kinda awkward.”
She looked at the ground blushing slightly, “Yeah, that would be awkward.” Her laughing tone sounded forced.
Squall raised an eyebrow, interesting, perhaps her GF was affectionate in a sexual way as well. That was one aspect of GF use that had not been studied.
The injured boy between them piped up with a shivering laugh. “Show me on the doll where the bad GF touched you.” The twins laughed, the sound nearly identical. Squall nodded to himself, they would make fine SeeDs, both were just nearly killed by their own headmaster and they were laughing about it. Although now he was wondering if sexual advances from GFs were more common than he though, seeing as how the boy immediately made a sexual joke. Perhaps it was time for a formal study.
Once at the infirmary he handed the pair over to the nurse at the duty desk to be treated. After explaining what happened, he slipped away from them, his exertions causing his back to begin to flare with pain. Stretching his shoulders he ducked down the hallway that led deeper into the infirmary and let himself into the supply room. The large room contained everything that the infirmary needed, including narcotics. Knowing from experience exactly where the painkiller he used was kept, he helped himself to three of the bottles. He was always careful to never take more than the school could spare, but he found he was going through them faster than before. He would have to start ordering them specifically for him, but then he would be forced to confront Dr. Kadowaki. He shrugged to himself to dismiss the matter and after pouring more of the tiny pills into his hand he stowed the bottles safely away in his leg pocket. Squall snuck out of the room closing the door quietly, while he popped the pills into his mouth, nearly moaning when the pain receded. He hadn’t realized the pain had built up that high until it was gone.
“Squall, what are you doing?” He turned to face the elderly Doctor Kadowaki. She looked tired and concerned.
He held his face carefully neutral to cover his surprise. “I was just getting something for a headache.”
The doctor obviously did not believe him. “Come to my office for a moment.”
Squall briefly debated against it.
“Please, Squall? It’s about the girl you brought in.”
“How is she?” He followed her to the office.
She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. “I just finished surgery, she’s stable but in critical condition. I won’t know for a few more hours.” She opened the door and went to sit in her chair. “Although your healing was crude, if you hadn’t done it...” She trailed off into a sigh. “What happened to her?”
Squall shrugged, and leaned on the edge of her desk. “She was being attacked by monsters. I had to pry her out of it’s jaws.”
Kadowaki nodded, “I figured as much.” She smiled sarcastically, “I had to re-break every one of her ribs you know.”
The headmaster looked away, he had known that she would have to. He wasn’t a good enough healer to repair her lungs without repairing everything as it was, bones set wrong and all.
Her expression softened when she saw his, “Squall you saved her life. It’s far easier to take someone apart than it is to put them back together.” Her voice was almost patronizing.
Squall didn’t look back at her, killing was as easy as breathing. He was reminded of just a few moments ago when he had been disappointed in how easy it had been to cripple the T-Rexasaur. He knew, without a doubt that he could kill everyone in the Garden with little effort, all he had to do was summon Eden. It would be like Balamb Garden never existed, she would simply crush the school within the folds of space. All his problems would disappear in one blinding flash.
“Squall?” Dr. Kadowaki asked cautiously.
There was something in her fearful tone that broke Squall out of his dark thoughts. He looked over to her, she looked terrified. Squall looked away, not wanting to see another person who was afraid of him, feeling a sadistic grin slip from his face.
The doctor seemed to recover quickly, “The Anniversary's hitting you pretty hard, isn’t it?” Her tone shifted to one of quiet concern. She was probably the only person who had any idea of the true extent of his destructive urges.
Squall said nothing, and shifted his weight to stand and leave.
“Would you like to see her? She’s still asleep but...” She was obviously just trying anything to keep him from running away.
Squall hesitated, perhaps seeing tangible proof he could save lives as well as take them would help him return to his normally calm centre. He nodded, and turned back to the doctor.
She was already on her feet, and with a look of concern led him deeper into the infirmary. They passed by the recovery rooms and into the intensive care unit. Magical healing was a wonderful thing, but there were some things only time could fix. The doctor led him to an observation window, within the sterile white room lay a bed containing the woman he had saved. The small figure was attached to many machines, and he could hear their soft noises through the glass.
Although she was covered mostly by a blanket, he could see she was thoroughly wrapped in bandaging, the white gauze adding colour to her pale face by contrast. Her hair was hard to see, the bandaging on her head concealing most of it from view, but it appeared to be pale. Squall examined her face hidden under the breathing equipment, she had a straight nose framed by high cheekbones. He was struck with a feeling of familiarity, like he had met her before, he filed the sensation away resolving to wait until the breathing tubes were removed before assuming anything. His gaze wandered down her slender face until he spotted something unusual around her neck.
“What is that around her neck?”
Kadowaki shook her head slightly, “I think it’s a collar.” She sighed, “It seems to have some inherent magic ability, so we are waiting to ask what it does before removing it.”
Squall found himself touching the glass, “It looks like a strap of bare metal.”
The doctor nodded. “It is. There is no seam either, it appears to be a solid ring.”
The headmaster frowned in thought, what a strange thing to wear. He stared in silence for a moment longer before the doctor addressed him.
“We are keeping her asleep for now, but I’ll let you know when we are ready to wake her up.” She hesitated before putting some authority into her manner. “Squall we need to talk about your addiction.”
Squall turned to walk away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you dare run away, Squall.” She sighed, “Did you really think you could take over a third of our stock and no one would notice?”
He put a hand on his hip, he knew this discussion was long overdue. “No.”
“How many do you take a day?” She seemed honestly concerned for him.
Squall shrugged, “I don’t keep track.”
She sighed, “Why would you take such a strong narcotic to relax?”
Squall blinked and looked at her in surprise, it seemed that she had come to her own conclusions about his pill use. “I don’t.”
Kadowaki tilted her head, “Then why?”
“My back...” He searched for the right words, “I take them for pain relief, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Then why wouldn’t you come to me and acquire them properly?”
Squall shrugged again, “It’s just stress related, you would prescribe R&R and I can’t afford that right now. I was gonna come to you once things settle down and I can take an extended leave.”
Kadowaki frowned, “Assuming you’ve only been taking from our supplies, and my math is correct, you should have enough X-Potion in your system to kill a chocobo. Do you really only take them when in pain?”
He raised an eyebrow in shock, he really didn’t keep track of his dosage. “I take them to dull the pain. Nothing has ever removed it completely.” Perhaps something was wrong with him.
She cupped her chin and thought for a moment. “If that’s true there is no way that it’s just stress related. You should let me have a look at you, there may be something seriously wrong.” Her face lit up as something occurred to her. “It may even be a side effect of your GF situation.”
Squall shook his head, “Right now it doesn’t matter. The medication allows me to do my job and I can’t risk removing my GFs until after the field test at the soonest.”
“I could always pull rank. You know I have that authority.”
The headmaster shook his head again, “You won’t.”
She seemed surprised, “How do you know that?”
“Because you know I’m right.” He shrugged. “If something is actually wrong with me then I might have to step down as headmaster. With our operations in Esthar so close to completion a change in leadership now would be disastrous.”
The doctor frowned, after all, he was right.
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I was going to come to you after the field test anyway. Will you hold off on doing anything rash until then?” He had learned that compromises often made his life run smoother.
Kadowaki sighed, “Very well. You haven’t overdosed yet, I will wait.” She pointed her finger at him. “But I will hold you to this.”
Squall nodded and headed out of the infirmary, the smell of antiseptics beginning to give him a headache. It was still early, he sighed, he should get the blood out of his clothing or he was going to ruin the leather.
Once again arriving back in his apartment he gathered up his clothes and the pile of leather belts and brought them into his kitchen. The sink in the kitchen was the largest after all, and made washing his leather articles much easier. Years of routine made using magic to do what should have been a tedious task, quite simple and straight forward. Squall could have someone else do it, he was the headmaster, but he had been washing his own clothes since he was a child and wasn’t about to stop now. Besides, he wanted to wear this outfit to go into Esthar City later. He hung his now clean, but still wet, clothing on a rack that unfolded in his bedroom. He could dry them instantly with Aero, but that tended to wear out the leather rather quickly.
He yawned, two hours of sleep was not enough and Laguna was a late riser anyway. He pulled his boots off and flopped onto his bed, sinking into the soft mattress. He pulled the covers over himself and quickly slid into sleep with only one wish, no dreams.
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I will be treating Elixir like Starbucks. Both in name usage and world presence. Although right now Elixir is only just starting to spread out from Esthar thanks to the SeeDs. After all you could only buy them in Esthar in the game.

If anyone is curious on how I’ll be treating the healing items I actually have a chart.

Potion - Painkiller comes in many forms from tablets to intravenous but an Energy shot sized liquid dose is most common. Used and treated like Tylenol and ibuprofen (Over the counter painkillers). Low risk of addiction, and few side effects.

Potion+ - As above but only liquid form, extra strength version. Glows a little with magic (only made with GFs).

Hi-Potion - Palm sized pressurized spray bottle. Acts like a local anesthetic, completely killing all sensation to the location it is sprayed. Has general pain killing after-effect as it is absorbed. Used and treated like prescription painkillers (Like Tylenol 3 with Codeine). Medium risk of addiction and several side effects, some serious.

Hi-Potion + - Auto injector (like an EpiPen). A little smaller than a standard EpiPen, works the same but has a stronger pain killing effect due to delivery method. Medium - High risk of addiction and several severe side effects.

X-Potion - Tiny tablets that dissolve under the tongue are the most common form. Also comes in an intravenous version. Tablets dissolve near instantly and are very fast acting. Treated like the narcotic painkillers Morphine, Oxycodone and Hydromorphone. Very high risk of addiction and many severe side effects.

Phoenix Down - Auto injector of an adrenaline based cocktail and magic. Not used often as you have to be almost dead. Once the heart stops completely chances of success goes down. Doesn’t always work…

Elixir - Brand name of coffee with so much caffeine in it, it should be considered a medication. Treated exactly like Starbucks otherwise. The chilled version sold in a glass bottle is most popular outside of Esthar due to distribution chains.

Megalixir - Elixir coffee mixed with X-potion and remedy+. The equivalent of mixing Amphetamines with Opiates and adding a dash of magic. Very effective, very dangerous, very illegal. Any cadet caught in possession of, or making Megalixir, is immediately expelled. Use of Megalixir by full SeeDs on active missions is frowned upon but often overlooked. The difference between life and death means things like addiction and side effects come after you survive the incident.

Mega-potion/phoenix - Doesn’t exist, it’s just everyone taking the medication at the same time.

Antidote - Both pill and auto-injector depending on type of poison and severity. Both are fast acting and wide spectrum.

Soft - Auto-injector/intravenous only.

Eye drops - Comes in a squeeze bottle with an eye cup. Exactly like the ones at an eye wash station.

Echo Screen - Inhaler. Like an ashma inhaler.

Holy Water - Small liquid dose or intravenous only.

Remedy - Auto-injector/intravenous only.

Remedy+ - Auto-injector/intravenous that glows with magic. (Only made with GFs) Has some side effects that make using them inadvisable for everyday use.
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Blue Skies: A Requiem for Storms