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Chapter One

The Aftermath

Squall Leonhart had just come back from a small party that he and the other members of his team that helped defeat Ultimecia held. Of course after the whole ordeal he just wanted to go be alone in his room but Rinoa insisted otherwise, blatantly called him her boyfriend right in front of everyone and forced him to remain there. Just because they kissed once didn't mean anything! So now he was no doubt very tired and very cranky but the recently reinstated Headmaster Cid had called him to his office so Squall, being a SeeD, was obligated to go.

Squall walked into Cid's office praying that he and his wife Edea were not throwing him some party as well but all he saw was Cid drinking coffee and reading some document that Squall hoped did not concern him.

"Yes, Headmaster?" he said lazily and with a very clear message of his low tolerance at the moment.

Cid looked up from the papers in his hand and smiled. "Ah! Squall my boy! As timely as ever. Please, take a seat."

"I prefer to stand." Squall deadpanned.

Cid smiled and set his coffee down. "Of course. Well, I basically wanted to just thank you for your amazing performance as of late, I'm sure the task of saving the world was a very taxing ordeal!" he said, like he actually thought Squall would go into a story and make a scene, but all he did was nod his head and shift his weight to his right leg.

"Umm...Yes, well anyway, I must also thank you for taking on the role of Headmaster during my absence but it seems like you have more than kept things running smoothly."

Squall scratched his head, looking like he expected something to come out of this.

"Umm...Seifer is alive! We found him a few feet from where you entered that compressed time rift. He was thrown out I suppose."

"Yay."

Cid was now looking like he was running low on things to keep breathing life into this rather one-sided conversation. "The Garden will be planted back into the ground soo—"

"Are classes back on schedule yet?" Squall asked. Cid seemed rather relieved he had interrupted him.

"Yes! But we are somewhat shorthanded seeing that two of the instructors quit prior to the invasion of Balamb. I don't suppose you—"

"I'm not going to teach a class."

"Yes, of course not. I couldn't expect that of you! You've done such a great service to this Garden that we are in fact giving you and your friends time off for the rest of the month with pay! You all deserve it."

"Thanks."

"Squall," Cid said, quickly changing the subject. "I wish to ask you something somewhat personal yet important."

Squall sighed and leaned on the back of the chair facing Cid's desk. "What is it?"

"Well, Seifer is injured but doctor Kadowaki is sure he will make a full recovery soon, and even though he has done a number of bad and rather unforgivable things, we...I, would like to know your opinion of letting him back into Garden. Eventually he will retake the exam and maybe become a SeeD."

Squall didn't reply immediately, just chewed on the prospect of having to deal with Seifer again. Yeah he had been under someone else's control but he wanted to be a knight on his own accord and he was no doubt still as obnoxious and arrogant as ever, and while Squall didn't like thinking about such trivial things, this did directly affect him and everyone else in Garden.

"Truthfully, I dislike the guy. He has ruined many lives and only generally thinks of himself and that is not how a SeeD should act, but he is a good fighter and would make a fine mercenary. So my opinion to let him back in is segregated. Let him in if you like, I'll tolerate him, but you know the risks and I'm sick of fighting with him, I'm sick of listening to him and I'm sick of the way he treats other people. He doesn't realize that the things he does and says hurt and if he acts that way in front of me or just in my direct field of vision I'll straighten him out as violently as possible. Be sure to tell him this when he wakes up."

Cid was somewhat caught off-guard by this and maybe even a little frightened at the serious tone Squall had just put on, then again when wasn't he serious? But he made a good point, one Cid wouldn't have thought of himself. Give Seifer a second chance if you want to deal with the prick but do it at your own risk.

"Thank you Squall, you've made me look at this situation in a whole new light."

"Anytime."

Squall turned away and headed for the door but then Cid blurted out, not to anyone in particular, "I still need two new instructors...I wonder if Fujin and Raijin will do it."

Squall stopped dead in his tracks and turned around with a slight show of concern on his face. "Fujin and Raijin? With all due respect, what are you trying to teach these cadets?"

"Fujin and Raijin are very capable individuals. They know how to fight and could teach the new kids many things that ordinary instructors wouldn't even graze on."

"But the two are clowns, Headmaster. They drink heavily each night and only really speak to each other. Besides, Raijin isn't very intelligent and Fujin only talks in monosyllabic sentences. It would take them the entire class period to get through a single lesson."

"Oh, I don''t think so at all. Raijin may be a little slow and Fujin may have a small speech impediment—"

"Small?" Squall interrupted inquisitively.

"--but they can be worked around. Besides, sense the incident they really haven't been doing much of anything, they seem rather depressed. I don't suppose you know why?"

"Yeah, Seifer is in the infirmary. Their 'posse' has been broken up."

Cid took that into his mind and let it settle. "Dismissed."

Squall nodded and walked out, heading back to his dorm and thinking about what he and the Headmaster had talked about.

'Being as nice and forgiving as he is, he'll no doubt let Seifer back in, maybe I should have just told him no, don't you dare let that fucking psychopath back in here, but that would've been rude. And how can he even consider making Fujin and Raijin instructors? Before you know it, cadets will be wearing eye patches and saying 'ya know' after every sentence. God, I need a drink.'

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Raijin sat across from Fujin in the cafeteria, which as of late had turned into a bar for the Garden's staff and students. Sense she had told Seifer off in Lunatic Pandora she had become even more quiet and depressing to be around than usual.

Raijin had always reached to her for support during tough situations because nothing ever fazed her but now he had tried to lend comfort where comfort fell miles short. She was also drinking heavily which several people had shown concern, not wanting such a great fighter as herself becoming a mindless drunk. She was drinking Crown Royal and then chasing it with Jack Daniels, which made Raijin want to vomit just watching but shook it off with his own Ron Rico 220.

Raijin's somewhat strange friend had always been a trusting, reliable person that he had never seen in anyone else, not even Seifer. Fujin was the person he knew the best but was still a huge mystery. Even though they had met long ago back in the orphanage, Fujin was still very quiet and still only talked in moderation. She had her eye patch and her unique silver hair but more odd than her appearance was her strength.

From first glance she seemed like such a small and frail person but she rarely took crap from anyone and would beat the other kids in the orphanage senseless if they offended her in someway. Raijin had no idea how she got that eye patch or why she talked like she did but he knew she did that by choice, as she reamed Seifer pretty hard in that very long and clear speech at Adel's fortress.

Raijin shook off his dream state and looked at Fujin again, who seemed not to notice his recent facade from reality as she herself was also gazing off into nothingness. Then from a memory of the orphanage, he started to laugh and Fujin looked up at him from swirling her drink around and watching the paper umbrella tip back and forth.

"LAUGHTER, EXPLAIN." She said in a toned-down version of her usual ear- piercing shouts.

"Eh, I was just thinking about the orphanage, ya know? Back before the Garden." He started to chuckle uncontrollably and held his mouth to avoid letting many people in the bar with them know. "You...you used to chase the chu-chu's on the ship with a screwdriver, and then the Matron would yell at you for it, ya know?! Then when she finally took away all the sharp objects you started throwing nuts and bolts at them to drive them off the ship!"

Raijin laughed inwardly too himself for a moment, caught his breath and continued. "Ah, man...those were the good ol' days, ya know?"

Fujin raised her uncovered eyebrow and grinned at his sudden flashback. Yeah, she remembered, but she never did that to make people laugh; those damn chu-chu's were everywhere and someone had to kill them!

"STUPID CHU-CHU'S."

Raijin buckled under and laughed his head off, banging on the table with his fist so hard his glass jumped. Yeah, Fujin may seem depressed but damn she was a funny and beautiful girl. And even though those days of being stuck on that horrible, rotting White SeeD ship sucked ass, many good memories came from it.

Those were the days when she and Raijin actually first met. He was the weird kid that was always big and tall for his age and showed a lot more brawn than brain. He made pants out of trash bags because the ones the Matron bought for him he complained weren't "baggy" enough, then went into a laugh riot from the obvious joke.

"Fujin, I don't think I say this often enough but I thank you for your friendship. You're the only person who has ever really tolerated me, ya know?"

"RAIJIN, WELCOME."

"And I don't think we talk enough, ya know? Now that Seifer is sidelined I wanna know more about you! Like, where were ya born? Do you have any relatives?"

"NEGATIVE." She answered stoically, sipping her drink.

"What's your favorite color?"

Fujin gently pulled a lock of her hair down in front of her eye patch. "SILVER."

Raijin nodded and looked at her with growing curiosity. "How did you loose your eye?"

Fujin finished her drink and leaned back into the comfortable leather of the chairs they were sitting in. "I'll tell you some other time, but it's almost midnight. I'm going to bed."

"I understand, ya know? I'm sure it's a sensitive subject so I won't pester you about it. Tell me when your ready. Goodnight, Fujin."

"Aren't you coming?" she asked getting up from her seat and throwing a ten gil piece onto the table.

"Nah, I'm just gonna stay here for a little while longer. See ya in the morning."

"All right, goodnight." She walked away and out the automatic door to her dorm, and Raijin just watched her leave, knowing very well he would see her again in the morning but thinking she would forever remain a mystery. He hoped she would open up soon because the silence between them as of late was getting all too loud and one of them was going to crack eventually.

Christ, maybe Seifer did hold this team together.

"Raijin," she said popping back into the cafeteria just from around the corner.

He shot her a startled glance. "Yeah?"

"Thank you also, you have been my best friend over the years and I hope we have many more funny stories to tell each other in the future." She left the door just as quickly as she finished her sentence.

Raijin grinned, finished his glass and tipped extra, then got up and left the opposite way Fujin did.