Knights of Galbadia

[Loki]

An uneasy feeling found it's way creeping into the young man's mind as he walked down the main halls of Galbadia in a rather slow pace. His hands were dug deep into his jacket's pockets as his head was held high looking up at the ceiling above him. He let out a bored or perhaps frustrated sigh before he lowered his head to look ahead of him. There were a few students who walked passed, all with a bright smile as they looked up to their fellow peer. As he had planned to set out to do, he was making a good name for his family, but mainly himself at this point. It would be hard to believe that his own flesh and blood was part of the reason Galbadia was in such troublesome times, however that information was known to few.

News of Keiji's family in general was hardly obtained or talked about which was also great, but that didn't stop him from his personal mission. Some days he would forget about his struggle, forget about his brother and almost take on the persona of that of an orphan child taken in by the Garden. Those days he didn't feel stressed at all and truly felt he was at home here with the people who took him in and praised his abilities and commitment. It was as his rival had teased him about, he had become the perfect poster child for what all students and SeeD alike should aspire to. He wasn't the type to let that notion get to him, but he was proud of how far he had come along so far. It was through his hard work and determination, he would someday feel confident and strong enough to do what needed to be done with...Daisuke.

Taking the time to stop for a second, he leaned against the wall with his back and dropped his head down to the ground. He could feel his gunblade nestling into the back of his waist as he did so, getting a weak smile out of him at his prized possession. ' Seiryuu's seen me through a lot of rough missions as of late. I must keep it up though as they'll only get tougher down the line I'm sure. Perhaps I should head into the Deling sometime to get it looked at, and then see how my folks are doing...' he began to drift on in his thoughts. He had to admit it had been awhile since he dropped by there, although it wasn't on purpose to avoid seeing them. He just got so caught up in preparing for missions and spending time in the training center that when he did have free time he spent most of it just wandering around Galbadia Garden here and there.

Although he was only a bit tired from just getting back from his mission, Keiji decided perhaps it was alright for him to go to his dorm and wait for his scoring on how the mission went. It would afterall determine what kind of money he could spend on Seiryuu and what he may have left over for spending on luxury items for his family. He hardly needed much for food since the Garden provided him with good enough meals, although nothing could beat the home-cooked meals back in Deling. Pushing off the wall, Keiji's jacket fluttered behind him as he strolled with a faster pace down to where the dorms were to finally relax and put down his weapon.

The thought of entertaining Ray at the training center, or simply watching his rabid rival go berserk on someone or something else was something he'd rather not risk. It took a great deal of concentration to just work alongside him, but to fight? Although they were just knuckled fists, the sheer power he had behind those hands and the maddening speed that accompanied them made him more than just a worthy adversary. If he didn't have such a blood lust that clouded his judgment, Ray could easily be the undisputed top SeeD within Garden. However, he seemed more than content with being the undisputed wild man of the SeeD elites available. Keiji wondered how he truly ranked in amongst such a prestigious group, especially among the top three gardens. Galbadia may have been the biggest, but that didn't mean they were the best of the best. Besides, there was always talk of the more secretive SeeDs out there, not necessarily working for any particular garden which always intrigued the youth how strong they truly were.

As his thoughts drifted on, he finally made it to the entrance of his dorm and took out his keycard from his pant pocket. Sliding the card down and twisting the lock, he closed his eyes with a warm smile to truly get a sense that he was back to his second home. The sound of trickling water could be heard from his small soothing waterfall that he took from home. It always kept him relaxed and gave him plenty of time to think of the past and of what could happen in the future. Also, the smell of a nice lavender incense burning right next to it always relaxed his tense frame.

Opening his eyes and walking inside, Keiji put his keycard on the table and swung his jacket off his shoulder and threw it to the seat of his comfy chair. Unbuckling his belt and holster for Seiryuu, he draped that over his chair as well before he turned around to close the door. All that was left was to take a deep plunge onto his bed, maybe turn on the radio to listen to what the school's Garden Committee playlist was. He wasn't sure how long it would take for the results to reach his door, but he had plenty of time to relax until his next assignment was sorted out.

He wondered if Ray and him would be assigned together again, for another mock run of how well they could work with one another. Thankfully the two of them weren't in the same dorms together, but Keiji had the feeling Ray probably slept, ate and did absolutely everything within the training center. With his right hand behind the back of his head, nestled into his pillow, Keiji used his left to flick on his radio and listen to the latest Garden radio show...

Word Count: 1088

[Loki]

It didn't take too long before the soothing smell and sounds in the room began to lull the SeeD into sleep after a pretty decent end to a somewhat strenuous mission. He hadn't even bothered to close off his private bedding area with the curtain all the dorms were provided with as he got comfortable. It wasn't as if he needed to, but it always helped when you didn't want to be disturbed in a room occupied by at least four different roommates at a time.

There was more than plenty enough room to fit that many into a room, the problem was more on what kind of personalities could crash in such rooms. At the foot of his bed, one of his roommates had made themselves comfortable by sitting down there. She was a bit older than him, only by a couple of months, but it didn't stop her from pointing it out to Keiji when she could.

The small shift in weight on his bed didn't coax him out of sleep, but what did make his eyes flutter open slightly was the sound of an envelope being opened. The sounds of paper being ruffled made the youth grunt slightly with groggy eyes upon sitting up to see what it was. The first thing he caught sight of was long blond hair that he was quite familiar with as he ruffled his hair a bit with his right hand.

" You know there are four beds in our dorm room for a reason right, Lin?"

She turned her head to the side to look back at Keiji with a smile, extending her left hand out a bit. His eyes drifted to what was in her hand and her mischievous grin until it became apparent she had his mission results in her hand. ' Gah, why does always have to look through my stuff like that? I'm not in the mood to try to wrestle it away from her.'

" Looks like your living up to your reputation pretty well Kei! You saving up your earnings for something or someone special?"

Her teasing tone almost made it hint as if she could possibly be the reason he had been working so hard. Keiji didn't even try to respond to that, only exhaling through his nose in a sighing manner as he scooted closer to his fellow SeeD. He figured he must have done pretty well to get that comment out of Lin, so perhaps he was getting closer to reaching the next rank. That might have meant more dangerous missions ahead, but also it meant he'd have a chance at the rebel forces spread out all over the Galbadia continent. Perhaps a lead that could point him into the right direction of where Daisuke may be.

With him moving closer, Lin began to summarize what was on the paper for him. It was pretty much as he had guessed that he was close to another rise in his SeeD rank, with the usual praise to keep it up from his superiors. However, she didn't mention anything yet about a possible new assignment in the meantime. Perhaps he did have some extra time on his hands to head to Deling to check on his folks later on today. The city was always a pretty place at night, with neon lights from the shopping district illuminating the dark streets.

He wasn't quite sold on rushing out that soon though, after all he had just woken up a little earlier than he anticipated thanks to his invasive roommate. Having his head down, Keiji's hair blocked his eyes from view as Lin began to have small talk with him after she had gotten up from his bed to place his mission results on the table where his things were close to. It wasn't as if he meant to drown her out like that, but it seemed his ears had grown to only pay attention to thinks that kept him focused on his goals more so than minor social stuff. It almost appeared as if he nodded out with his legs crossed indian-style on his bed.

When Lin turned around to see him zoning out in his mind again, she leaned over and gently bopped him on the head a few times which made Keiji look up at her with a stare. His right hand instinctively began to rub his head as he muttered some curses under his breath at first before addressing her.

" Sorry....you were saying something?"

" You don't look sorry, but I'll let it pass for now. I was saying we should go to the cafeteria to celebrate your mission success, your treat of course Kei!"


Word Count: 801
Word Count Total: 1889

[malice]

Admin Post

The war between Midgar and Galbadia had begun with tensions on both sides. Galbadia demanding Midgar release its technology so that the rest of the world could benefit from it. They refused, forcing Galbadia to raid some of their cargo ships in an attempt to gain technology. This for awhile continued and nothing much emerged from it. But recently things started moving in a rather advanced pace. And n the garden itself. Strange things were begining to happen.

Some of your class mates had started to mysteriously disappear. Other times random students would appear to replace them. And there was something about their eyes. An unnatural shade of blue. Then the war had sprung up. Apparantly Shinra had killed some Galbadian troops doing nothing but conducting trade between a chocobo farm and the village of Kalm. The first battle had been a complete victory for Galbadia....and people were begining to wonder just when the sorceress would start calling Seed members from the Galbadian Garden up to the front line....

Some where more willing than others....

Others were simply afraid....

[Loki]

This sort of thing was nothing new coming from Lin, it was almost expected that she would make such a suggestion by Keiji’s standards. He had to admit though it had been awhile since he had time to relax and go have something to eat at the cafeteria. Although it was clear that Lin was more in it to getting a free meal out of him than probably actually congratulating him on a mission she probably could’ve had an easy time with according to her SeeD rank. Keiji had on his usual stoic expression as he thought about the pros and cons of denying or agreeing to treat them both at the cafeteria. He had a feeling saying no would cause too much of a headache, and silently nodded his head before speaking out.

" Sure. Let's go grab something to eat to celebrate, Lin."

Keiji responded in a way that made it seem as if he was playing along with her request in a sarcastic yet positive way, although the body language he had was always hard to grasp. Lin simply bobbed her head up and down as if she already knew the outcome of his decision before he even decided to think about it. Turning around and picking up Keiji's jacket from the seat of his chair, she threw it over to the SeeD and walked outside of their dorm. She paused in the hallway as if to tell him to get a move on, and that prompted him to do just that.

Flipping his jacket over his shoulders, he rose from his bed and grabbed his Seiryuu and its holster to place back on. Although he didn't need it, Keiji always felt comfortable having it on his person anyways just in case. Closing the door behind him, he eventually caught up with Lin who started walking ahead of him already. She slowed down a bit to let him walk alongside her, and the two of them were on their way. They weren't the veterans of Galbadia's SeeD, but they certainly were looked up to among the students who were trying hard to pass their exam to join their ranks.

Steadily making their way through the halls, with Keiji looking off to the side with his hands in his pants pockets and a smiling Lin pretty much leading the way, they had the appearance of an opposite's attract couple. An unofficial title spread among their peers and fellow students alike as the typical gossip considering how they interacted with each other. The main fire starter of such a rumor was by one of their roommates who just happened to come back to the Garden from a mission. It had been awhile since he had been gone, but for the most part it didn't look like had changed at all once Keiji got a glance ahead of them in the hall to see who they were approaching.

With a wide cocky grin, the blond male ran up to the two of them with open arms as he walked in between the two of them and turned around to place his arms on their shoulders. Leaning on them and turning his head to glance back and forth at them, he pulled them closer to his larger frame.

" Yo yo yo!! Well if it isn't my favorite couple Lin and Kei!! How have you two lovebirds been in my absence? Don't spare any details now...hehe.."

His motives were a bit obnoxious, but the two of them had grown to become used to him acting in such a way. After all, he was one of the veteran members of SeeD which was probably part of the reason why Keiji was assigned to the same dorm along with him and Lin. To hopefully mold his rising path to become even greater with such powerful influences, however Keiji truly wondered how much of their work ethic in missions was really rubbing off on him.

" Nice to see you again too Lander. As just 'friends', we were on our way to go to the cafeteria for something to eat."

Although Keiji put emphasis on the actual relationship between him and Lin, he knew something about Lander that was very similar to himself. They both had a knack to block out certain things that don't interest them and their motives right away. It didn't help that Lin was just blushing with a smile, halfheartedly denying Lander's accusations. In a way, the veteran SeeD had become somewhat the big brother to Keiji with Daisuke not having the same connection he used to have with his little brother. Keiji still missed his real older sibling, but Lander had taken care of him ever since he moved into the same dorm and he even served as a great inspiration although Keiji hadn't admitted that openly to him.

" That's great! I knew you had that killer instinct in you to make the first move Kei! However, since you guys are heading that way I just hope our new dorm-mate doesn't ruin things between you two..or maybe this could turn out to have an excellent love triangle twist instead! She was certainly quite the hottie, and seemed to know a bit about us already. It'll give me something to look forward too after I go give my report to the superiors. Catch you lovebirds later!"

Letting them both go and turning around to head to where the main offices were located, he left the two SeeD dumbfounded about a new roommate. They knew that Naida had been gone for awhile, but completely replaced? She was the type of girl who was so friendly and cared about all of them, so for their not to be even a good-bye seemed oddly strange. Had something gone horribly wrong with all the commotion Galbadia was under now? The fear of something bad happening to their friend was sinking in and fast as the two turned from looking where Lander went to each other.

" ....maybe this new girl knows more about what happened to Naida, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet..."

It was all that could come to the youth's mind at first, but he had to admit that things weren't right with what they had just heard. He had noticed as of late that a lot of new students had been enrolled and even passed the SeeD test with relative ease. However something seemed off about all of them, that separated them from your average student who had grown up in the Garden. Although they were at a state of war, it made Keiji uneasy about going out and taking missions, only to find out another friend or acquaintance of his was not so lucky to make it back as he had.

Lin was absorbing what both her dorm-mates had said, looking silently down at the ground for a second before looking up with a determined glare directed at the cafeteria. Grabbing Keiji's arm she ran with him in tow to the eating area where they could catch this new person who would be sharing their living quarters for now....



Word Count: 1219
Word Count Total: 3108