Cerulean waves crash against a golden beach, roasting in the sun. Silent winds phase around, dragging sand with it. The wind speaks to the man looking into it. He has pale skin with long black hair, fastened into a ponytail. His troubled face looks down to two wedding rings in his palm, one with blood speckled onto it. With a gentle exhale from him, he tosses them into the ocean, skipping along the water like stones. His eyes shut, concealing his unusual green eyes. The wind suddenly speaks to him.

I'll be here…

…Why?

I'll be 'waiting' … here …

For what?

I'll be waiting here … if you … come … you'll find me.

I promise.

A young girl in blue stands in a flowery field; a sudden breeze encompasses the field. Her raven colored hair sails behind her as she reaches out and snatches as blowing flower petal. Her fingers unlace as the petal turns to an immaculate white feather. The wind takes it from her and her soft, angelically pale face watches it drift to the sky with a flock of petals. Her expression is confused; she rubs her upper back watching it evanesce into the clouds.

Thunder crashes through the sky and a man wielding a sword slices the feather in half. He swings at another man. His opponent in grey, his cape sliding with his movement. Another in black, no cape, he slashes at him, feathers follow his attack. The feathers encompass his vision. The girl in blue looks at him, clutches a ring around her neck, and disappears.

His vision returns to him, and the man in grey slices at him. "Enough, Seifer!" he exclaimed, raising his sword. They clink together. The spark sets him back. The man is suddenly enraged. He growls as the sword slashes down on his face. Blood splatters to the ground. He rushes up, speed is unmatchable, his boot dashes through the dirt, sword slicing the ground behind him, an influx of black feathers follow as he gives Seifer a scar to match his own. The next thing was white, the girl in blue, the man in black and the witch like woman, everything grew loud and then into a dull, deadly silence.

Chapter 1

The Infirmary

"Son? Can you remember your name?" A female voice chirped in, breaking his silence. He awoke back in school, Balamb Garden in the infirmary. Balamb was a military school, a grandiose one in fact. The décor of it resembled a college; none of the military schools looked like trash anyway, the more ornate they looked the better. Balamb, out of all three, was the smallest and most colorful. Many tones of grey, teal and blues lined the school. In such a big world, there were only two other Gardens- Trabia and Galbadia Garden. Students from the other two gardens are required to transfer here to complete the SeeD recruitment process. The trademark of the Gardens, was indeed the pure golden, silver and brass "halos" that hovered above them the full purpose of them was never known.

"Squall." Squall leaned up and put his black, gloved hand onto his forehead, feeling Seifer's slash. He pushed back his brown hair out of his face. The loner sat in the white pillow and pushed the soft grey fur out of his face. Squall dressed pretty simple. Somewhat loose black jeans, tucked in V-neck and a leather jacket. There were two things Squall valued, his sword, which was rare you'd see a person with his kind- only him and Seifer knew how to use it. The gunblade.

A gun grafted into the handle of a sword makes for one mean attack. When he pulls the trigger and swings, harsh vibrations emit, ending things quickly. His other pride, the necklace from his father. A simple chain with a titanium silhouette of a lion,- a symbol of his family. Prideful loners the Lionhearts were.

Squall suddenly snapped back to reality. Doctor Kadowaki was on the phone: "Quistis, come get your student. Yes- We can talk about it later, bye-bye." The woman turned to face Squall. She planted her hands on her hips, covered under a soft, white lab coat. "Instructor Trepe is coming now, I suggest you get ready. The headmaster asked to see me, wait here." She turned, and the sliding doors opened for her, leading her out of the infirmary.

Squall put his hand on the slash on his forehead. "Ugh." He groaned, slamming his body back down on the bed. The door opened again, the hush of the doors sliding apart startled him. A girl came in, she looked fragile. The both of them remained silent. She tapped on his hand.

"So… we meet again.." The girl said, pushing her long, healthy looking brunette hair behind her. She stood up, and began to leave, Squall just fell back asleep.

Again, the doors whizzed open, startling Squall yet again. A woman came in, in her SeeD (Balamb Garden's elite mercenary squad and only source of income) uniform. She smiled, crossed her arms and sighed. "C'mon Faker. I knew it was either you or Seifer in this bed." Her well-done golden hair flowed across her chest. "You're making me- us late for class." She'd say, her brow curving up under her glasses.

"Whatever." Squall'd growl lightly, watching Instructor Trepe silently giggle at him as he pushed the sheets off of his legs as he slid them off of the bed.

"Seriously, though, lazy ass, we've got class and if you get one more absence I have to beat you." She'd say, pivoting on her booted foot, clutching her hands together as she proceeds out of the room. Squall gagged and rolled his eyes. Quistis Trepe was the youngest SeeD and instructor in all of Balamb's history. Still, she was incredibly proper for the most part.