Author's note: The more I think about this very bizarre pairing, the more I like it. In most of the FF8 stories I've read, Fujin is either paired up with Seifer or else a woman (no offense, Chendzeea-Li), and Nida is either with Quistis, Xu (no offense, Lady Aliena) or another guy. But I want to offer something different, something above and beyond the normal love story. These two individuals are becoming more and more popular by the day, so I suppose it only makes sense to put them together in a romance story. There will be mush in the story, and maybe a little out-of-character touch, but I hope it'll be worth it at the end. As always, enjoy.

Eye On Me

By Al Kristopher

Chapter One: How We Met

As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a SeeD.

The name's Franks, Nida Franks. I'll tell you more about myself later. Right now, I've got a more interesting tale to tell. It's a romance, so for all you ladies out there, this one's for you. The gentlemen, too--like most really great romance stories, this tale involves the union of a man and a woman, and I, as you might know, am the man.

My tale starts way back when, around the time of my sixteenth birthday. I'd like to say that my family was rich, or famous, or well-known, but since I'm only able to boast about the fact that we're all very honest, I can't. So, I'll just say that I came from a good home. Now, we weren't poor, and we weren't rich, and if there's anybody out there with a wise head on their shoulders, they'll tell you that that's the best position to be in.

Anyway, just consider that a free tidbit about me. I'll fill you in on more later, but for now, my story. Like I was saying, I've always wanted to be a SeeD. I guess you could say that it was my romantic dream. Then again, who wouldn't want that kind of work? Always going out and doing missions, getting paid to help people, ridding the world of evil… It's like the knights of old, and ever since I could remember, I've always wanted to be among their elite.

Looking back now, I guess I approached things a little immaturely. Well, I was sixteen at the time, and I didn't know then what I know now, so I guess it can be excused. Anyway, where was I…? …Uh… oh, yeah, SeeD. Right. I was sixteen years old, and I asked my parents if I could FINALLY enroll in the local Garden. My folks were the type that wouldn't let me enroll in a major private school unless they "felt like I was really ready", but I could see through their excuses.

But when I turned sixteen, I finally earned their blessings for an enrollment, and with a suitcase full of belongings and a mind full of thoughts for the future, I set out for the nearest Garden my car could find (which was Balamb). Of course, I received a lot of tears as I left, but I took everything with a grain of salt. It will all pass, I continued to tell myself as I left my home behind me. Just think of those two blessed words, "instantaneous nullification".

The Garden was everything I thought it would be, and then some. It was very large, which meant it had lots of facilities and classrooms, and perhaps a hundred other things I didn't even know existed. There were many students already milling around (I assumed it was not a school day), and I allowed myself to look like a tourist as I stood there to gape at it all.

One student bumped into me and apologized, and I guess it would have been rude of me to stand there like an idiot and let everybody run into me. I found a bench to sit down on, then foolishly realized why I was even there in the first place. The enrollment!! I had forgotten all about it! I had never been so close to the Garden before, and I had never actually been inside it, so my awe could be excused for now, but not my idle mind.

I had a schedule to keep, so to make up for my lost time, I more or less raced through the Garden. I made myself look like I was only speed-walking, but in a very subtle and unnoticeable way, I ran. The place was much bigger than I originally thought (just to really emphasize how huge it was), so I decided that it would be better for me to be tardy than lost, and I went over to the nearest directory.

The simple directory told me that the Headmaster's Office was just two floors above the main one. THAT was where I needed to go (to officially enroll), so I got inside the elevator and rode it up to floor number three. I hoped that future students such as myself had this sort of permission (to visit his office), but I just guessed that this sort of stuff happened a lot.

And now, I guess I can skip ahead a little. A lot of really dull things happen right at this point (oh boy, do I remember those!), so consider it best that I skip over this part. To roll things together nicely, the Headmaster and I had a chat, and he basically told me that if I had acceptable scores from my previous school (which I did), and if I passed a certain placement test (which I did), then I would be accepted as a student (which I was).

Isn't it fun sometimes to ignore details like this?

A student at Balamb Garden… Well, I really couldn't care which Garden I was placed at, as long as I got a solid education and a worthy way to make a living (ahem, in other words, I would be a happy camper if I became a SeeD, so the actual location of the Garden was unimportant. I chose Balamb simply because it was so close, although today I thank God that I went there). Speaking of which…

I remember my very first day at Balamb Garden very well--very well indeed. Even if you waited fifty years, I could have told you every detail about that day, from the scent of perfume worn by any women, or how tall some of the guys around me were, or the exact temperature of the air I breathed… I can remember it all, because… well… let's just say that something very special happened to me on my first day.

At the time, it was not very special in the least. I was lost, no surprise there, and I didn't have the slightest idea where my class was. Needless to say, with all my wandering around, I eventually wound up being late. All bells rang and all students vanished from the halls, except for a few truants, and that left this romantic dreamer out alone with people who didn't care one bit about their education. ACK!!!

Not wanting to be affiliated with such people (I'd like to insult them, but they're insulting themselves more by skipping class. I now have the right to laugh at them as I attend my well-paying job, and they serve hot dogs in the atrium), I wedged a distance between myself and anyone else, and decided it would be better for me to be late to class than be caught as a truant. Of course, since I had no idea where my class was, this made things difficult.

My antics soon caught the attention of a select few members of the disciplinary committee--NOT something you want done on your first day. Like three cowboys high on power, they rounded me up like I was a longhorn steer, along with a few others who they also assumed were skipping class, and wrangled us down to the corral that was the detention room. There were only three cowboys--erm, disciplinary committee members, but believe me when I say that that was enough.

After being tossed in the slammer, I was soon being treated like I was just another young man who was playing hooky, just like everyone else. I couldn't blame the trio of wardens there, though. I guess if I saw somebody outside after all bells had rang, then I'd want to rough them up a little, too. I may seem a little meek when I place myself in other people's shoes, but that's just the way I was brought up. Besides, at least they all treated us the same--badly, yes, but the same.

I was introduced to the members of the committee in the most distasteful manner. I was discovered outside by a pale woman roughly my own height, and was then dragged along through the halls of Garden (how embarrassing!!) to my detention cell to stew. She never said more than a few words to me, but I guess her looks alone were words enough. Her two companions, who I was not "introduced" to until later, also held a great haul for the detention room, so I guessed that they sort of worked together. I knew they enjoyed their job.

"Pay attention, everyone," sneered the leader once all us stray longhorns had been rounded up. I DIDN'T. I just combed my fingers through my hair and hoped that this mistake would be fixed soon. I was NOT supposed to be here! Was it my fault that I was late? Hardly! I considered screaming out for justice, but you try yelling to a trio like that!

"…It's time for some fun," said the leader with a wicked grin. He leered at all of us, pounded his fist into his palm once, and advanced towards the nearest unlucky victim like a wolf stalking pigs. I never liked either species, personally, and I'm not one for beef, either……

"Tell me, why did we drag YOU into this room?" asked the leader in a nasty voice. He spoke to a frightened young man, though obviously older than I was. This poor fellow shivered, and muttered out a flimsy excuse. The leader (FEAR SEIFER had been written on the board before us, so I could only guess…) leered, and showed off every single tooth in his mouth in sadistic satisfaction.

"Pathetic," he sighed, "simply pathetic. We here at the disciplinary committee try and make our fair Garden free of little punks like you, but you never seem to learn, do you?"

"Yeah! We're never gonna be outta work at this rate, ya know!" smiled one of Seifer's lackeys. Seifer, the man who had been leering at the other young man, snorted in reply.

"You're ruining my style, Raijin," he said. Raijin… I memorized that name, too. Oh, Headmaster Cid would hear about this!!! Seifer, Raijin… But who was the lady that captured me? Or dare I ask? In any case, Seifer paced towards another person, a pretty young girl who looked even younger than me (they did accept very young people in Garden). I felt compassion for her--not just because she was cute, but because she was a fellow human being. I wanted to help, but I guess she got what was coming to her…

Not like me, though. I was innocent!! Or did new students like me not get any breaks? O Justice, where is thy hand?

"And what are you in here for, missy?" sneered Seifer. The girl proudly stared back, not shrinking like the man had obviously hoped. Seifer saw her determination, snorted, and snapped his fingers. The one called Raijin smiled, and rubbed his hands together vigorously as he stepped towards her. I couldn't bear to watch the rest, but what I heard was good enough.

"So, like, what're you in for?" he asked. The girl, probably scared of his bulk alone, tried not to quiver as she replied.

"…Uh… well, uh… ssmmmnkkngg…"

"Eh, what's that?" blurted Raijin, leaning forward and cupping his ear. The girl sighed and squeaked out her excuse.

"I was smoking."

"And?"

"It's against Garden rules to smoke indoors."

"Right," smiled Raijin, crossing his arms in victory. He grinned at Seifer, and slapped the man's shoulders. "Better to get flies with honey than vinegar, ya know?"

"Whatever," snorted the frightening leader. He shrugged, and carefully stomped over to MY direction next. I got pretty scared of what sort of things they would do to me (despite my innocence), and literally began to pray. God had helped me up until this point in my life, so why should He abandon me now, when I really needed Him?

"So," hissed Seifer as he leaned in, "I wonder what sort of nasty things this loser did to incur our wrath!" Despite my previous fear, I couldn't help but become angry at his words. One, I didn't do anything nasty. Two, I'm not a loser. My family probably makes more than his could, and success is hereditary (I hope so). Three, your wrath is obviously aimed at some other person out there, and I just got in the way. HELP ME, JUSTICE!! May your hand be swift!

"I'm not a loser," I muttered to his face. Seifer grinned, and stood straight again.

"Big man, huh?" he shrugged. "Well, I might have a few friends who'll crack that little shell. Hey, Fujin, did you catch this dork?"

"AFFIRMATIVE," replied the pale woman that had found me wandering around. So, her name was Fujin. Excellent! Now I had all three of them!! All I needed to do now was clear my name, get out of that room, and report these very zealous and overpaid goons to Headmaster Cid.

"Okay, so come on over and make him squeal!" beckoned Seifer. The only woman of the trio nodded her head, and took several slow steps towards the desk I was sitting at. She gazed down at me emptily with her single ruby eye, and snorted.

"CUTE," she pointed eerily. Fujin began cracking her knuckles, all the while staring down at me. "MAKE THINGS EASY OR ELSE," she threatened.

"I don't know what you're talking about, miss," I said. "I'm not supposed to be here at all."

"Typical," snorted Seifer. "That's what they all say."

"But I'm serious," I countered, keeping my voice reasonable. I didn't want things to become violent, verbal or otherwise. I continued with my alibi, and told them that I was a new student, and I had gotten lost. Of course, they didn't believe me at first, so to prove that I was telling the truth, I showed them my papers. In Garden, or in Balamb at least, new students are given a lot of papers that are designed to help them adjust to life as a student. They're also good for escaping detention, but they're only good once, so you have to use them wisely. I figured that this was a pretty good time.

"Well I'll be a naked marmoset," whispered Seifer, leafing through my papers. "He is a new student! Hey, Fujin, y'hear that? You just caught somebody who didn't know their way around!!" Both Seifer and Raijin smiled, and started laughing like a bunch of buffoons, leaving Fujin to scowl darkly. I felt like I should have done or said something to make her feel better… but, I figured that that was the last thing Fujin wanted.

"Oh, you kill me sometimes, Fuu," chuckled Seifer, ruffling the girl's silvery hair lovingly. She still kept her smoldering stare, and stayed still even as her companions laughed over the whole deal. I guess it was kind of funny, her catching me, but I certainly didn't get the joke. My tension was almost gone, though, and I guess I earned a tiny reputation that day for being "the kid who escaped Seifer's wrath".

"Hehehe… sorry, kid," smiled Seifer, giving my back a very rough pat. "You'll have to forgive Fujin here. She can be a little zealous sometimes; she just doesn't show it. No harm done though, right?" I sighed, and decided not to prolong things further. If I irritated them more, it would only cause more trouble.

"No, I don't think so," I replied gruffly. Seifer smiled and gave me another pat on the back, then barked an order to Fujin. He told her to escort me back to class, wherever that was, and apologize for the inconvenience. I didn't want her to be troubled, but Seifer insisted, and Fujin's pride was already damaged enough. I guess no matter what I decided to do, it would end up leading to trouble.

Fujin quietly led me through the long halls of Garden, and although her back was turned to me, I could tell she wasn't having a good time. I had basically done nothing but been in the wrong place at the wrong time--in other words, her place on her time. It wasn't my fault that I got lost, and I thank God that Seifer realized that. It was too bad that Fujin didn't see things that way.

Anyway, it was an ordeal for both of us to get where I was going. My instructor was Mr. Fenway, a guy who reminded me of my grandfather a lot. He was very old, and very wise, and very kind, and most importantly, he was very understanding. Me being the new student and all, I guess I was exempt from attendance for a little while, but I would have to promise that I would never do it again. Believe me, I wouldn't have wanted to.

Fujin saw me off as far as the door to Mr. Fenway's class. Her face was really dark and twisted, and though she showed no outward emotion, I could tell that inside, she was seething. The conscience inside me told me that I should one day bury the hatchet with her, and maybe we could be friends (no, I'm not crazy), but for now, I guess she needed to cool off. That was fine by me. I was busy enough on my own.

Thinking back on it now, I guess it was a strange way to meet somebody. But, that's how Fujin and I first found each other. It's silly, I know, but… that's the way it goes sometimes.