Authors Note: Yeah, I know this is short, but there'll be more coming soon. I just started writing
this, and it'll be my first fic with an actual plotline. Basically, no one knows about Irvine's life
at Galbadia Garden. What if he got mixed up in the wrong crowd, and made mistakes he wanted to
forget but couldn't? This mistake is standing between him and the altar, and if he wants to get
married, he has to survive first. And for those of you who are waiting for Tears-Prologue and
Epilogue, I'm working on it with help from Mariye, and will definitely finish it soon. Thanks
again Mariye!
PS- I couldn't send this in html, so Alan Smithee suggested I use text format. This is just a tester
, I'll resend it on a school comp if i have to.
PPS- Two things: One, somewhere in this chapter there's a reference to Irvine's parents. I mean
his adopted parents, the Kinneas's. Basically, Irvine doesn't like them. Two, Squall is a bit out
of character at one point. He had to be for the story, sorry. And there's a bit of inferred Quiefer
too. I don't really like Quistis and Seifer together, but I definetly don't like Quistis and Zell, or
Seifer and Fujin, and I feel bad leaving them by themselves. So while this may be a bit of a Quiefer,
it'll be like you've never read it before.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
She was going to kill him.
She supposed it helped that she didn't know who he was, only that Regan wanted him down. That wasn't
anything new, Regan was always killing people for one reason or another. But this one was different.
This one was special. This one had deserted, so naturally he had to die.
She tried to console herself with that simple fact, but still she couldn't help wondering if maybe he
was right for leaving them. Perhaps there was something better out there waiting to be discovered,
and he was smart to leave the street life and seek it out. But that was foolish thinking, she
knew that. If she left the Death Blades, she'd die too. Like him.
Still the thought lingered. Still the doubt poisoned her young mind. What had she gotten herself
into? So simple…a pull of the trigger. She had been doing that for years, her cousin had trained her
well. A twitch of the finger would end it all; end him. Could she do it? She had to. Her life
depended on it. And she wanted to live. Hyne, she wanted to live.
She stood up, and moved across the hotel floor with catlike grace, her hair glinting like fire in the
Balamb summer sun. The gun lay propped up on the chair, its well-polished silver muzzle seeming to
wink at her. Harsh cold metal…a death tool. Is this what she stood for? How she loathed that gun.
But the job must be done. And who better to do it than her? They called her the best sharpshooter
in Deling City. A title she intended to keep. It was the only thing she had, some comfort in the
turmoil of her mind. Reaching out with a pale, slender hand she touched the gun gently. In that
instant, a new resolve flowed over her. Life was hell, a game of do or die. She'd fight to survive.
It wasn't as if she had any choice in the matter. Her clear blue eyes became hard as ice, and
her pretty mouth twisted into a smirk. "You're goin' down, Kinneas."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Irvine Kinneas! Open the door!"
He groaned, pulling a pillow over his head. "Go away!" His voice was muffled, but the intruder heard
it and snorted.
"No chance of that, my man! Its your last day single so we're taking you out! Yo, Squall, let me
borrow your gunblade so I can bust open the door!"
Irvine blinked. Last day…single? It dawned on him suddenly, and he sprang out of bed, grabbing his
hat from a nearby chair and fitting it on top of his tangled brown hair. He flung open the door,
and stood there staring at his friends. "Guys! I'm getting married tomorrow!"
Seifer chuckled. "That's right, cowboy, glad you remembered. Selphie finally conned you into it.
So go put some pants on, why don't you!"
Irvine looked at him blankly. "…Pants?"
Squall smiled. "Pants, Kinneas. Remember, you wear them? We're not letting you leave Garden in your
underwear."
"Oh! Pants! Clothes! Right!" The door slammed shut, and Seifer, Squall, and Zell burst into
laughter.
"Man, Irvine's really shaken up!" Zell cried. "This is really rich, suave cowboy completely
defenseless!"
Seifer grinned stupidly at Zell, trying a bad mockery of Irvine. "I'm getting married tomorrow guys!
Where's my pants?"
"You'd think he'd leave his pants off to save time for the wedding night," Squall said dryly.
All three collapsed into another fit of laughter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So is everything ready?" Rinoa asked innocently, sitting down on her
friend's bed.
Selphie moaned. "Don't ask, Rinny! It's a disaster! I just can't take it anymore!" In emphasis to
her laments, she threw herself onto her bed in despair, burying her head into her pillow.
"Tomorrow's supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but I can't seem to see past the flower
arrangements!" She sat up. "Which are going to be a disaster, by the way. Nida wrote down the
wrong colors. Maybe I should get out my nunchakus and-"
The door opened, and Quistis came in. She took in the situation immediately. "Rinoa, you asked,
didn't you?"
"Huh?"
Quistis crossed the room to stand beside her friends. "You asked about the wedding. Selphie will
be ranting for hours."
A small smile played over Rinoa's face. "Umm…oops?" She turned to the small brunette bouncing
frantically beside her. "Hey Selphie, exactly what is wrong with the flower arrangements? Maybe
I can fix them."
Selphie stared at her. "You can't! They're already ordered and everything!" She put a hand over her
mouth, realizing Rinoa's implications. "OH! Rin! Could you?"
Rinoa nodded, smiling. "Sure! I've been practicing with Edea, so changing a few hundred flowers
should be easy!"
Selphie jumped off the bed, beaming. "WHOOHOO!!! Rinny, you're the best!" Grabbing her friends by
the arms, she dragged them out and down the hallway. "Come on girls! To the Quad!"
"Hey, have you seen Irvine this morning, Selphie?" Quistis asked curiously, wincing as the exuberant
little girl practically pulled her arm out of its socket. Selphie turned.
"Wha..? Irvy? No, he's probably still asleep, that lazy bum. Why?"
Quistis shrugged. "No reason. Its just kind of odd that I haven't seen Seifer yet, and I thought
maybe they were together."
"I haven't seen Squall either," Rinoa added. "Or Zell for that matter."
"Weird!" Selphie frowned. "I wonder where they are?" She quickly laid the matter aside. "Doesn't
matter right now, come on guys! We got alotta flowers to fix!"
All three girls continued down the hallway, not noticing the silent figure watching them from a
corner, a figure with long red hair and crystalline blue eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Where we goin'?" Irvine called from the backseat of Zell's car, where he was wedged uncomfortably
between Seifer and the door. "Better be somewhere close, I never realized this car was so damn tiny!"
Seifer moaned his agreement. "How'd the two tallest guys get squeezed into the backseat? Its not fair!"
Zell chuckled, glancing back through the rear view mirror at his two friends. "Cos its my car, and
Squall's the Commander. We claimed the front seat."
"At least put some good music on!" Seifer complained. "This stuff is crap!"
Squall turned around, glaring at them. "You two stop whining. We aren't going far, just to Balamb
Station."
Irvine and Seifer glanced at each other nervously, and shut up. Squall had been more open than ever
before lately, but his temper was deadly, and you had to tread lightly around him if you wanted to
keep all your body parts.
The boys in the backseat were quiet for a few precious minutes, and Squall breathed a sigh of relief.
Seifer and Irvine had become inseparable since the Sorceress War, and it was rare that there was
ever a peaceful moment when the two of them were together. Then Zell began to sing along with the
words, and instantly the silence was gone.
"Oh man, Zell! That is like…the oldest song in the history of the world! Turn it off!"
"Hey!" Zell yelled, turning around to smack Irvine's leg. "I happen to like oldies, and it's my
car so I get to choose!"
Irvine crossed his arms, staring out the window. "Fine. Whatever. Just don't sing."
"Yeah," Seifer muttered. "I value my eardrums."
Both young men burst into laughter as Seifer pointed out the window at something, and Zell
stopped the car. "Ok, out. We're here, thank Hyne."
Squall followed Zell out, and pulled back his seat so Irvine and Seifer could scramble out,
slamming the car door behind them.
"You guys never answered my question," Irvine grabbed at his hat as a gust of wind blew past,
and then continued. "Where are we going?"
"Well, we thought about taking you to your parent's house," Seifer joked, and even Squall couldn't
help smiling at the panic in Irvine's eyes.
"He's kidding, man!" Zell grinned, slapping Irvine on the back. "We'd better hurry or we'll miss
the train! Come on!"
They made it to the train just before it pulled away, and settled themselves in the private SeeD
car. Squall stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts. Zell and Seifer were arguing
amiably on the couch, and Irvine lay stretched out on the bed, his hat over his eyes. He still
couldn't believe he was getting married tomorrow. The thought frightened him more than any
assassination mission. He'd always thought he'd be one to roam around, never settle down with one
girl. Try all the flavors, so to speak. But all that had changed when he saw Selphie again.
At first, he thought it was just a crush, but it had gotten to the point where he couldn't sleep
at night. All he could do was think of her. She had been totally oblivious to the fact that he even
liked her, but he supposed at some point Rinoa or someone had clued her in that her precious Irvy
wanted to be more than friends. And that was just fine with her, she took it all in stride like he
knew she would. Casual dating turned into a serious relationship, and before he knew it, he had asked
her to marry him. He'd almost been able to forget about it, there had been quite a few months between
the engagement and the actual affair, but now the reality was this: He was getting married tomorrow,
and he was scared out of his wits.
"Yo, Irvine!" Zell called, snatching his hat. Irvine grabbed it back good-naturedly.
"What?"
"We've been trying to get your attention for the past 10 minutes, cowboy. You're getting as broody
as Squall." Seifer explained, sitting down on the other bed. "My advice is to not think about
the wedding. Have fun today. You…don't have any doubts, do you?"
"About Sefie?"
Seifer nodded.
Irvine smiled. "Nah, I'm doing the right thing. Its just…marriage is such a big step,
I think I have every right to be nervous."
"Don't talk about it," Squall said quietly, coming to stand by them. "Like Seifer said.
Have fun today, Kinneas. Don't worry about tomorrow."
"Which brings me to another point!" Irvine said in exasperation, sitting up. "Where the hell are
we going?"
The other three grinned at each other. "Should we tell him?" Zell asked.
Seifer smiled evilly. "Wait a bit. Its fun teasing him like this."
Irvine swatted him with his hat and stood up, walking to the window. They were underwater,
it was fascinating looking at the deep blue-green liquid outside the tunnel, and the occasional
brightly colored fish. Underwater, eh? Irvine thought with a smirk. Galbadia probably.
All right, cool. He began humming a familiar tune softly, and his friends groaned.
"Ah, come on Kinneas!" Zell laughed. "We try to get you away from her for a day and you're
still thinking about her!"
Irvine turned around, smiling. "What can I say? She isn't here, so I feel obligated to sing it
for her." He cleared his throat. "Come on guys, sing with me."
"Train train take me away
Take me away to another day…"
Zell and Seifer joined in reluctantly, trying to keep from laughing. Squall just stared.
"To the future we will go
Where we stop, nobody knows!"
Irvine chuckled. "There, Sefie, that's for you."
"Attention all passengers, this train heading for Deling City-" There was a triumphant shout
from a certain cowboy, "- will be arriving shortly. Please secure all your belongings and prepare
to depart. Thank you."
"Well, Kinneas?" Squall asked mildly, looking at his friend's excited face. "Deling City ok?"
Irvine grinned broadly. "You bet!" He put his hat on, tipping it rakishly to the side and
adjusted his duster. "This is gonna be fun!"
If he had known what was going on at Garden that very second the smile would have been gone from
his face instantly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand. Room 26. This was it, then. She tried the
door, and was surprised to feel the knob turn in her hands. Her victim, in his rush to leave his
room, had forgotten to lock the door. His loss, she thought, a familiar smirk on her face.
The room was dark and smelled of gunpowder and old leather, a scent that she found strangely appealing
to her. She cursed as she tripped over something, and looked down at the floor. A picture frame?
She picked it up, and ventured further into the room to examine her find. Lifting the blinds, she let
the warm sunlight dance through the room, alighting on the picture in her hands.
The picture was taken recently, she could tell that. She guessed it was only a few months ago.
Six teenagers stood outside the entrance to Balamb Garden, cheerful smiles on their faces. Three of
them she recognized as the girls she had seen earlier, walking down the hallway. The dark-haired girl
had her arms around a sullen young man in a black leather jacket, with a nasty looking scar on his
face. His smile seemed fake, and out of place. The tall blonde girl had her arm wrapped playfully
around the shoulder of a short young man with spiky blonde hair, and he was looking up at her as if
she was crazy. The other girl, the little one, was wearing a rather large black cowboy hat, and
immediately she knew the man who's arms were around the small brunette. Her quarry, Irvine Kinneas.
She studied him carefully, took in every detail of his handsome face, his gray blue eyes, and long,
reddish-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was taller than the others, and much taller than
the girl he was looking at with such adoration. For some reason, she felt as if she should know him…
but she shook her head, placing the picture back on the floor. She then looked curiously around the
rest of the room. A bed, a desk, a closet. Really rather small, but what had she expected?
More pictures were on the desk, and she glanced at them idly. The little brunette with the sunny
smile was in each of them. Clothes were everywhere; hung over the back of chairs, tossed carelessly
on the floor, and she noticed with some amusement that not all the clothes belonged to Irvine
Kinneas. Opening a drawer, she found a few old Girl Next Door magazines, and closed the drawer in
disgust. "Is this life better than the one you have forsaken, Kinneas?" she murmured, running a hand
through her long red hair.
"Are you happy?"
The question came as a shock to her. Was he happy? She supposed so, but was she herself happy?
The answer was obvious. "No. But happiness is irrelevant. Surviving matters most." She felt her
cheeks flush. Why was she talking to herself? How embarrassing…how weak-seeming. She shrugged her
earlier musings aside, and kneeled down by the bed, away from the view of the door. Slipping the gun
off her shoulder, she stroked it almost lovingly. She was in position. Now she must wait. Waiting
was fine. However long it took to get the job done, someone would die tonight.
~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Flowers.
Thousands of them, all vibrant shades of sunshine yellow and pale blue, their pretty heads turned to the wan
sunlight filtering in through the windows. The Quad was a dreamland of stunning beauty. Just thinking about
the wedding and how perfect it would be brought a smile to Selphie's already impossibly cheerful face.
"Matron!" she cried as the dark haired woman appeared on the stairs. "Look what Rinoa did! Aren't the flowers
pretty?"
Edea smiled as she was reminded of a much younger Selphie cooing with delight as a little Irvine made her a
crown of flowers and placed it atop her head, declaring her his princess. "What? Oh, yes dear. The flowers
are gorgeous."
She floated down the stairs with her usual breathtaking grace. Though she was no longer a sorceress, she still
moved like one, her head held high.
Rinoa and Selphie ran over to her excitedly, and even Quistis was caught up in the moment. "Do you think I did a
good job, Matron?" Rinoa asked eagerly, a childlike glint in her coffee brown eyes. Lately she had gotten into the
habit of calling her Matron just like the rest of her friends. After all, she was so close to the woman that calling
her Edea hardly seemed appropriate.
Edea smiled kindly. "Yes, you did a wonderful job, Rinoa. The flowers look so much better now."
Selphie wrinkled her nose. "Much better than pink and orange. Ick. Nida is such a scatterbrain."
Quistis looked at her friends, her blue eyes sparkling in mirth. "I think its because Xu was in the room."
Rinoa and Selphie giggled, and Edea shook her head. "Gossipping, girls?"
"Oh, come on Matron!" Rinoa grinned. "Its so obvious they like each other. Just like Quisty has a crush on Seifer!"
The blonde Instructor blushed, adjusting her glasses somewhat nervously. "I do not!"
Selphie rolled her eyes. "Sure, Quisty. Don't be ashamed, he is pretty cute. And he's gotten so much nicer now.
He doesn't even really call Zell Chicken Wuss anymore."
"A definite plus," Quistis admitted. "I was always afraid that Zell would explode every time Seifer started taunting
him."
Even Edea had to laugh at the thought of Zell's face whenever he was upset. "Oh!" She frowned. "I almost forgot.
Selphie, do you have the guest list? I need to take a look."
"Um...yeah!" Selphie searched the pockets of her sundress, and came up empty-handed. "Ok, so I did have it. I must
have left it somewhere."
"Well, when did you lat have it?" Rinoa asked.
"Yesterday, I think." Her green eyes lit up. "Irvy's room! I left it in Irvy's room yesterday afternoon!"
She scampered up the stairs. "Be right back!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Her heart beat fast as she heard footsteps in the hallway. Was it him? She decided after a moment that it was not.
The steps were light, and it seemed like the person was skipping through the halls. She readied her gun just in case.
The doorknob rattled, then opened, and from her position beside the bed she could see small brown boots. It must be the
little girl she had seen in those pictures on Kinneas' desk. Why was the girl just standing there? Had she seen her?
"Hey, is someone here?" a high voice chirped. "Irvy, you here?"
The room was silent. "Huh, I thought I heard someone. Now to find that list..." She walked over to the desk and began
rummaging through the drawers, her brown hair bouncing. Preoccupied with her search, she never heard the gun click...
this, and it'll be my first fic with an actual plotline. Basically, no one knows about Irvine's life
at Galbadia Garden. What if he got mixed up in the wrong crowd, and made mistakes he wanted to
forget but couldn't? This mistake is standing between him and the altar, and if he wants to get
married, he has to survive first. And for those of you who are waiting for Tears-Prologue and
Epilogue, I'm working on it with help from Mariye, and will definitely finish it soon. Thanks
again Mariye!
PS- I couldn't send this in html, so Alan Smithee suggested I use text format. This is just a tester
, I'll resend it on a school comp if i have to.
PPS- Two things: One, somewhere in this chapter there's a reference to Irvine's parents. I mean
his adopted parents, the Kinneas's. Basically, Irvine doesn't like them. Two, Squall is a bit out
of character at one point. He had to be for the story, sorry. And there's a bit of inferred Quiefer
too. I don't really like Quistis and Seifer together, but I definetly don't like Quistis and Zell, or
Seifer and Fujin, and I feel bad leaving them by themselves. So while this may be a bit of a Quiefer,
it'll be like you've never read it before.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
She was going to kill him.
She supposed it helped that she didn't know who he was, only that Regan wanted him down. That wasn't
anything new, Regan was always killing people for one reason or another. But this one was different.
This one was special. This one had deserted, so naturally he had to die.
She tried to console herself with that simple fact, but still she couldn't help wondering if maybe he
was right for leaving them. Perhaps there was something better out there waiting to be discovered,
and he was smart to leave the street life and seek it out. But that was foolish thinking, she
knew that. If she left the Death Blades, she'd die too. Like him.
Still the thought lingered. Still the doubt poisoned her young mind. What had she gotten herself
into? So simple…a pull of the trigger. She had been doing that for years, her cousin had trained her
well. A twitch of the finger would end it all; end him. Could she do it? She had to. Her life
depended on it. And she wanted to live. Hyne, she wanted to live.
She stood up, and moved across the hotel floor with catlike grace, her hair glinting like fire in the
Balamb summer sun. The gun lay propped up on the chair, its well-polished silver muzzle seeming to
wink at her. Harsh cold metal…a death tool. Is this what she stood for? How she loathed that gun.
But the job must be done. And who better to do it than her? They called her the best sharpshooter
in Deling City. A title she intended to keep. It was the only thing she had, some comfort in the
turmoil of her mind. Reaching out with a pale, slender hand she touched the gun gently. In that
instant, a new resolve flowed over her. Life was hell, a game of do or die. She'd fight to survive.
It wasn't as if she had any choice in the matter. Her clear blue eyes became hard as ice, and
her pretty mouth twisted into a smirk. "You're goin' down, Kinneas."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Irvine Kinneas! Open the door!"
He groaned, pulling a pillow over his head. "Go away!" His voice was muffled, but the intruder heard
it and snorted.
"No chance of that, my man! Its your last day single so we're taking you out! Yo, Squall, let me
borrow your gunblade so I can bust open the door!"
Irvine blinked. Last day…single? It dawned on him suddenly, and he sprang out of bed, grabbing his
hat from a nearby chair and fitting it on top of his tangled brown hair. He flung open the door,
and stood there staring at his friends. "Guys! I'm getting married tomorrow!"
Seifer chuckled. "That's right, cowboy, glad you remembered. Selphie finally conned you into it.
So go put some pants on, why don't you!"
Irvine looked at him blankly. "…Pants?"
Squall smiled. "Pants, Kinneas. Remember, you wear them? We're not letting you leave Garden in your
underwear."
"Oh! Pants! Clothes! Right!" The door slammed shut, and Seifer, Squall, and Zell burst into
laughter.
"Man, Irvine's really shaken up!" Zell cried. "This is really rich, suave cowboy completely
defenseless!"
Seifer grinned stupidly at Zell, trying a bad mockery of Irvine. "I'm getting married tomorrow guys!
Where's my pants?"
"You'd think he'd leave his pants off to save time for the wedding night," Squall said dryly.
All three collapsed into another fit of laughter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So is everything ready?" Rinoa asked innocently, sitting down on her
friend's bed.
Selphie moaned. "Don't ask, Rinny! It's a disaster! I just can't take it anymore!" In emphasis to
her laments, she threw herself onto her bed in despair, burying her head into her pillow.
"Tomorrow's supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but I can't seem to see past the flower
arrangements!" She sat up. "Which are going to be a disaster, by the way. Nida wrote down the
wrong colors. Maybe I should get out my nunchakus and-"
The door opened, and Quistis came in. She took in the situation immediately. "Rinoa, you asked,
didn't you?"
"Huh?"
Quistis crossed the room to stand beside her friends. "You asked about the wedding. Selphie will
be ranting for hours."
A small smile played over Rinoa's face. "Umm…oops?" She turned to the small brunette bouncing
frantically beside her. "Hey Selphie, exactly what is wrong with the flower arrangements? Maybe
I can fix them."
Selphie stared at her. "You can't! They're already ordered and everything!" She put a hand over her
mouth, realizing Rinoa's implications. "OH! Rin! Could you?"
Rinoa nodded, smiling. "Sure! I've been practicing with Edea, so changing a few hundred flowers
should be easy!"
Selphie jumped off the bed, beaming. "WHOOHOO!!! Rinny, you're the best!" Grabbing her friends by
the arms, she dragged them out and down the hallway. "Come on girls! To the Quad!"
"Hey, have you seen Irvine this morning, Selphie?" Quistis asked curiously, wincing as the exuberant
little girl practically pulled her arm out of its socket. Selphie turned.
"Wha..? Irvy? No, he's probably still asleep, that lazy bum. Why?"
Quistis shrugged. "No reason. Its just kind of odd that I haven't seen Seifer yet, and I thought
maybe they were together."
"I haven't seen Squall either," Rinoa added. "Or Zell for that matter."
"Weird!" Selphie frowned. "I wonder where they are?" She quickly laid the matter aside. "Doesn't
matter right now, come on guys! We got alotta flowers to fix!"
All three girls continued down the hallway, not noticing the silent figure watching them from a
corner, a figure with long red hair and crystalline blue eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Where we goin'?" Irvine called from the backseat of Zell's car, where he was wedged uncomfortably
between Seifer and the door. "Better be somewhere close, I never realized this car was so damn tiny!"
Seifer moaned his agreement. "How'd the two tallest guys get squeezed into the backseat? Its not fair!"
Zell chuckled, glancing back through the rear view mirror at his two friends. "Cos its my car, and
Squall's the Commander. We claimed the front seat."
"At least put some good music on!" Seifer complained. "This stuff is crap!"
Squall turned around, glaring at them. "You two stop whining. We aren't going far, just to Balamb
Station."
Irvine and Seifer glanced at each other nervously, and shut up. Squall had been more open than ever
before lately, but his temper was deadly, and you had to tread lightly around him if you wanted to
keep all your body parts.
The boys in the backseat were quiet for a few precious minutes, and Squall breathed a sigh of relief.
Seifer and Irvine had become inseparable since the Sorceress War, and it was rare that there was
ever a peaceful moment when the two of them were together. Then Zell began to sing along with the
words, and instantly the silence was gone.
"Oh man, Zell! That is like…the oldest song in the history of the world! Turn it off!"
"Hey!" Zell yelled, turning around to smack Irvine's leg. "I happen to like oldies, and it's my
car so I get to choose!"
Irvine crossed his arms, staring out the window. "Fine. Whatever. Just don't sing."
"Yeah," Seifer muttered. "I value my eardrums."
Both young men burst into laughter as Seifer pointed out the window at something, and Zell
stopped the car. "Ok, out. We're here, thank Hyne."
Squall followed Zell out, and pulled back his seat so Irvine and Seifer could scramble out,
slamming the car door behind them.
"You guys never answered my question," Irvine grabbed at his hat as a gust of wind blew past,
and then continued. "Where are we going?"
"Well, we thought about taking you to your parent's house," Seifer joked, and even Squall couldn't
help smiling at the panic in Irvine's eyes.
"He's kidding, man!" Zell grinned, slapping Irvine on the back. "We'd better hurry or we'll miss
the train! Come on!"
They made it to the train just before it pulled away, and settled themselves in the private SeeD
car. Squall stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts. Zell and Seifer were arguing
amiably on the couch, and Irvine lay stretched out on the bed, his hat over his eyes. He still
couldn't believe he was getting married tomorrow. The thought frightened him more than any
assassination mission. He'd always thought he'd be one to roam around, never settle down with one
girl. Try all the flavors, so to speak. But all that had changed when he saw Selphie again.
At first, he thought it was just a crush, but it had gotten to the point where he couldn't sleep
at night. All he could do was think of her. She had been totally oblivious to the fact that he even
liked her, but he supposed at some point Rinoa or someone had clued her in that her precious Irvy
wanted to be more than friends. And that was just fine with her, she took it all in stride like he
knew she would. Casual dating turned into a serious relationship, and before he knew it, he had asked
her to marry him. He'd almost been able to forget about it, there had been quite a few months between
the engagement and the actual affair, but now the reality was this: He was getting married tomorrow,
and he was scared out of his wits.
"Yo, Irvine!" Zell called, snatching his hat. Irvine grabbed it back good-naturedly.
"What?"
"We've been trying to get your attention for the past 10 minutes, cowboy. You're getting as broody
as Squall." Seifer explained, sitting down on the other bed. "My advice is to not think about
the wedding. Have fun today. You…don't have any doubts, do you?"
"About Sefie?"
Seifer nodded.
Irvine smiled. "Nah, I'm doing the right thing. Its just…marriage is such a big step,
I think I have every right to be nervous."
"Don't talk about it," Squall said quietly, coming to stand by them. "Like Seifer said.
Have fun today, Kinneas. Don't worry about tomorrow."
"Which brings me to another point!" Irvine said in exasperation, sitting up. "Where the hell are
we going?"
The other three grinned at each other. "Should we tell him?" Zell asked.
Seifer smiled evilly. "Wait a bit. Its fun teasing him like this."
Irvine swatted him with his hat and stood up, walking to the window. They were underwater,
it was fascinating looking at the deep blue-green liquid outside the tunnel, and the occasional
brightly colored fish. Underwater, eh? Irvine thought with a smirk. Galbadia probably.
All right, cool. He began humming a familiar tune softly, and his friends groaned.
"Ah, come on Kinneas!" Zell laughed. "We try to get you away from her for a day and you're
still thinking about her!"
Irvine turned around, smiling. "What can I say? She isn't here, so I feel obligated to sing it
for her." He cleared his throat. "Come on guys, sing with me."
"Train train take me away
Take me away to another day…"
Zell and Seifer joined in reluctantly, trying to keep from laughing. Squall just stared.
"To the future we will go
Where we stop, nobody knows!"
Irvine chuckled. "There, Sefie, that's for you."
"Attention all passengers, this train heading for Deling City-" There was a triumphant shout
from a certain cowboy, "- will be arriving shortly. Please secure all your belongings and prepare
to depart. Thank you."
"Well, Kinneas?" Squall asked mildly, looking at his friend's excited face. "Deling City ok?"
Irvine grinned broadly. "You bet!" He put his hat on, tipping it rakishly to the side and
adjusted his duster. "This is gonna be fun!"
If he had known what was going on at Garden that very second the smile would have been gone from
his face instantly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand. Room 26. This was it, then. She tried the
door, and was surprised to feel the knob turn in her hands. Her victim, in his rush to leave his
room, had forgotten to lock the door. His loss, she thought, a familiar smirk on her face.
The room was dark and smelled of gunpowder and old leather, a scent that she found strangely appealing
to her. She cursed as she tripped over something, and looked down at the floor. A picture frame?
She picked it up, and ventured further into the room to examine her find. Lifting the blinds, she let
the warm sunlight dance through the room, alighting on the picture in her hands.
The picture was taken recently, she could tell that. She guessed it was only a few months ago.
Six teenagers stood outside the entrance to Balamb Garden, cheerful smiles on their faces. Three of
them she recognized as the girls she had seen earlier, walking down the hallway. The dark-haired girl
had her arms around a sullen young man in a black leather jacket, with a nasty looking scar on his
face. His smile seemed fake, and out of place. The tall blonde girl had her arm wrapped playfully
around the shoulder of a short young man with spiky blonde hair, and he was looking up at her as if
she was crazy. The other girl, the little one, was wearing a rather large black cowboy hat, and
immediately she knew the man who's arms were around the small brunette. Her quarry, Irvine Kinneas.
She studied him carefully, took in every detail of his handsome face, his gray blue eyes, and long,
reddish-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was taller than the others, and much taller than
the girl he was looking at with such adoration. For some reason, she felt as if she should know him…
but she shook her head, placing the picture back on the floor. She then looked curiously around the
rest of the room. A bed, a desk, a closet. Really rather small, but what had she expected?
More pictures were on the desk, and she glanced at them idly. The little brunette with the sunny
smile was in each of them. Clothes were everywhere; hung over the back of chairs, tossed carelessly
on the floor, and she noticed with some amusement that not all the clothes belonged to Irvine
Kinneas. Opening a drawer, she found a few old Girl Next Door magazines, and closed the drawer in
disgust. "Is this life better than the one you have forsaken, Kinneas?" she murmured, running a hand
through her long red hair.
"Are you happy?"
The question came as a shock to her. Was he happy? She supposed so, but was she herself happy?
The answer was obvious. "No. But happiness is irrelevant. Surviving matters most." She felt her
cheeks flush. Why was she talking to herself? How embarrassing…how weak-seeming. She shrugged her
earlier musings aside, and kneeled down by the bed, away from the view of the door. Slipping the gun
off her shoulder, she stroked it almost lovingly. She was in position. Now she must wait. Waiting
was fine. However long it took to get the job done, someone would die tonight.
~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Flowers.
Thousands of them, all vibrant shades of sunshine yellow and pale blue, their pretty heads turned to the wan
sunlight filtering in through the windows. The Quad was a dreamland of stunning beauty. Just thinking about
the wedding and how perfect it would be brought a smile to Selphie's already impossibly cheerful face.
"Matron!" she cried as the dark haired woman appeared on the stairs. "Look what Rinoa did! Aren't the flowers
pretty?"
Edea smiled as she was reminded of a much younger Selphie cooing with delight as a little Irvine made her a
crown of flowers and placed it atop her head, declaring her his princess. "What? Oh, yes dear. The flowers
are gorgeous."
She floated down the stairs with her usual breathtaking grace. Though she was no longer a sorceress, she still
moved like one, her head held high.
Rinoa and Selphie ran over to her excitedly, and even Quistis was caught up in the moment. "Do you think I did a
good job, Matron?" Rinoa asked eagerly, a childlike glint in her coffee brown eyes. Lately she had gotten into the
habit of calling her Matron just like the rest of her friends. After all, she was so close to the woman that calling
her Edea hardly seemed appropriate.
Edea smiled kindly. "Yes, you did a wonderful job, Rinoa. The flowers look so much better now."
Selphie wrinkled her nose. "Much better than pink and orange. Ick. Nida is such a scatterbrain."
Quistis looked at her friends, her blue eyes sparkling in mirth. "I think its because Xu was in the room."
Rinoa and Selphie giggled, and Edea shook her head. "Gossipping, girls?"
"Oh, come on Matron!" Rinoa grinned. "Its so obvious they like each other. Just like Quisty has a crush on Seifer!"
The blonde Instructor blushed, adjusting her glasses somewhat nervously. "I do not!"
Selphie rolled her eyes. "Sure, Quisty. Don't be ashamed, he is pretty cute. And he's gotten so much nicer now.
He doesn't even really call Zell Chicken Wuss anymore."
"A definite plus," Quistis admitted. "I was always afraid that Zell would explode every time Seifer started taunting
him."
Even Edea had to laugh at the thought of Zell's face whenever he was upset. "Oh!" She frowned. "I almost forgot.
Selphie, do you have the guest list? I need to take a look."
"Um...yeah!" Selphie searched the pockets of her sundress, and came up empty-handed. "Ok, so I did have it. I must
have left it somewhere."
"Well, when did you lat have it?" Rinoa asked.
"Yesterday, I think." Her green eyes lit up. "Irvy's room! I left it in Irvy's room yesterday afternoon!"
She scampered up the stairs. "Be right back!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Her heart beat fast as she heard footsteps in the hallway. Was it him? She decided after a moment that it was not.
The steps were light, and it seemed like the person was skipping through the halls. She readied her gun just in case.
The doorknob rattled, then opened, and from her position beside the bed she could see small brown boots. It must be the
little girl she had seen in those pictures on Kinneas' desk. Why was the girl just standing there? Had she seen her?
"Hey, is someone here?" a high voice chirped. "Irvy, you here?"
The room was silent. "Huh, I thought I heard someone. Now to find that list..." She walked over to the desk and began
rummaging through the drawers, her brown hair bouncing. Preoccupied with her search, she never heard the gun click...