Daddy's Disappointment
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VIII, all characters, names, and places contained within belong to Square-Enix
All Original Characters belong to me
There are three lyrical inserts in this chapter.
The first is from the song The Light at the End of the World by My Dying Bride
The second and third are from the song Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics
Summary: In two very different cities, two very different single fathers have very different parental styles. One thrives on discipline, afraid to relinquish control. The other believes that ties of love, respect and friendship can stem from roots of equality.
Rated M for sexual references and content.
Squall/Rinoa, Zell/'Library Girl with Pigtail,' Seifer/Quistis Irvine/Selphie, Nida/Xu
Author's Notes: This story has been in planning for a long time. I came up with the idea around about the time I began writing Angel of Decadence. I realise that it may be an overdone concept but hopefully me, being the degenerate that I am, will be able to put my own spin on things. Something you may be interested to know, this chapter was almost going to be named 'Prologue' but I decided against it, instead naming it after one of the lyric inserts. Also, at some point in the chapter, I use the term "frozen features." That is a reference to the album by Swedish Gothic/Doom Metal band Draconian. I'll just post the first chapter for now. Then there'll be a wait until I write the next chapter. Don't ask me how long exactly because even now, I can't say with any degree of certainty. I honestly have no idea. Well, enough of my incessant babbling; you're here to read the story, not my unnecessary Author's notes.
Sweet Dreams
She snuck silently like a stealthy assassin through her own home. Her fear of getting caught in the act pushed her on further.
She crept down the hallway as though it were a library full of overly stressed out people studying for an exam that would determine the reality and existence of their futures. Truthfully, she was the one that was stressed out.
She shouldn't be doing this in the first place. This she knew but what could she do? She was a curious person by nature, the one thing that man had so far neglected to crush from her puréed spirit with his disciplinary juicer.
She had seen him come up and down from the basement many times yet she'd never had the courage to confront him about it. There was only so much one girl could take – both in terms of curiosity and otherwise.
She had taken action the instant she heard his car ignite and leave the premises.
Unlike some fathers, that man had no insecurities about leaving his teenage daughter at home. She knew all too well what would happen to her if she did anything wrong. If she – say − broke into his liquor cabinet, threw a party, or even went somewhere that was marked out as forbidden for her, she knew that the entire world – for all intents and purposes – would come crashing down on top of her, as if it hadn't done so already.
It was bad enough being raised by a man of the military but on top of that, things at school were beginning to go horribly awry.
Her social life had peaked before puberty had. Her life had been going on one spiralling downhill ride ever since the end of grade school. For some unfathomable reason, some cruel deity had befitted her brain with a conscience and like a malleable puppet she had begun listening to it more and more as she grew older and unwise.
Such a change in her was seen as a betrayal of her friends – the girls that had welcomed her when no others would. It had all begun innocently enough. The first straw was when she stopped laughing at their jokes – one liners sired by cruelty rather than wit. Not sensing the danger, she even tried defending the meek students from the vultures she called friends. If that wasn't a mistake then neither was commenting on the foundation of their respective dates and relationships.
One by one, the members of her gang had begun excluding her until she had been cast out entirely, a victim out in the open, a rodent sleeping in a shooting gallery. At school she was all alone but at home she only wished she was. The times of the day in which she was left abandoned and secluded were the only times she felt even remotely at peace. Although she was alone, her current situation stood strong as an exception.
Though she was now alone in the house she was far from peace. In fact, she felt about as peaceful as one with a fear of heights riding a massive roller coaster. Normally she would relish her time alone in that house, the time she had to herself, the time until he came back, the time that she was imprisoned yet free.
Her time alone may not be what all would consider enjoyable. It was quite the contrary. It was a sign of Rinoa's retched existence. She continued to – not live – but merely exist. To her, paradise was to another misery. Another's neglect was to her, solitude – and her father's brand of love and nurturing was something she could do without. It was an affliction she neither wanted nor needed yet was forced to endure.
Rinoa looked around the room, scanning the darkness about her; scanning, searching, looking; lacking the ability to see.
She stumbled about in the darkness of the room. The atmosphere was not so different inside her mind as it was out.
Unseen through the black cloak of the room, a bittersweet smile snaked its way up the girl's unseen pale face, self-pity tugging at the corners of her mouth like hooks. Other girls her age had such superficial views. If someone rejected them or took their phone away they'd cry and wail injustice.
She felt her way to the wall and found a light switch. She flicked it on and was taken aback by what was revealed. Several years worth of work and possessions – things she was sure were gone.
It was amazing how many of Rinoa's long lost possessions had made it down here. Things that she thought were surely gone for good. Her two-bit masterpieces from art class, her models, Aztec gold from the third grade, fashionable clothes that all fathers hate, even an obsolete video game console she hadn't seen in years.
Much of this stuff had departed the physical plain before Angelo had.
Rinoa's eyes widened in shock.
Angelo…
Her poor dog, she'd been her best friend for so long. Back when Rinoa started high school, Angelo truly was the only friend the girl had, sad as it was to admit it. It hadn't always been that way but after her truest friend left her, Angelo was really all she had. Now she was gone as well, leaving her with no-one.
Now the poor girl lay in the dirt.
Sure, Rinoa had made other friends since but none of them felt real. None of them were as close or as special as those first two, as the ones that had left her. Perhaps it was their fault that Rinoa had come to be this way. Could it be?
Rinoa quickly shook her head, instantly dismissing the idea and began rummaging through some of her old treasure. That was impossible. How could she even think of blaming those two? They were the only people ever to genuinely care about her. They were her only true friends.
Going through the old boxes was both a fulfilling and distracting experience but Rinoa couldn't help the feelings of reminiscence and with them, a longing for her lost tranquillity. It was almost painful how much she craved her past.
She wanted it. She needed it. It was a part of her she had almost forgotten. It was the part of her that made her whole. It made her human. It made her happy. Without it, she had no life. Without it, she had no soul. Without it, she was dead.
To live apart from her previous life was just too cruel. To be reminded brought misery with her reminiscence but to forget would do little more than prolong her meaningless existence.
If Rinoa had one wish, it would be to disappear. She wished she could die and be reborn as somebody else, far away from here, Far away from her father, Far away from her 'friends.'
To live a life of nothingness was one thing – but to be cursed with the memories of a better life was far worse.
She wondered how other people managed to piece together their broken lives after succumbing to tragedy. She'd never know. It wasn't as though this was all she knew but it was all she would experience as long as she was in her father's care. It was enough to make anyone crave a way out, an escape, anything and everything.
To serve as lamb was too much. She was as much burden as she was prisoner. At times she suspected her father of hating her. Whatever she did was wrong. Whatever she did was deserving of punishment.
She couldn't do anything right. She was always in the wrong. It was her greatest sin and that was her flaw.
Her hands rummaged on autopilot with her mind barely thinking at all. Her hands were hurriedly sorting through that which her father had labelled trash when she came upon something she hadn't seen in some time – her old phone. Her eyes widened and a smile tugged at her lips; and for once, it wasn't bittersweet or forced. It was a genuine smile.
With this device maybe she could re-establish contact with the first one to leave her. If it still worked…
She rummaged some more in the box and found the charger. She plugged it in to one of the few power outlets and connected it up to the cell phone. After a minute or so of attempting to turn it on, the electronic device's screen suddenly flashed to life.
Rinoa smiled once more, a genuine smile bringing with it a long forgotten euphoria. The coffin of dread was losing its hold on her like sedatives beginning to wear off a patient in an asylum.
With this device, she was one potential phone-call away from happiness.
With Anxious fingers, she brought up her contacts list to find the phone's stored numbers – there was only one name on the list. Her mind and body had frozen. Her eyes stared wide at the single name on the list, the letters that forged the word; taking in every curve of them, the look of them, lapping up their appearance like a hungry tongue.
– Squall
That was it, his number was still here. She could talk with him at last – but what would she say? What would he say to her? Would he be in the mood to talk to her or would he have forgotten all about her?
With nausea building up inside her she used her tongue to moisten her dry quivering lips and pushed the button to begin the call.
A long unbearable silence ensued over the next immeasurable span of time as Rinoa waited for Squall to pick up. Doubt began to fill her empty stomach as she began to worry. Did Squall still have his old phone or had he traded up for a newer one? It was all too much. She could feel the anxiety building up within her, making her giddy. She thought she might have a panic attack from the uncertainty and vulnerability she had just put herself in.
This was her only chance, the only thought of something different. She wanted to see him. She wanted to see Squall so badly the fear of rejection was literally tearing her apart.
Finally, the phone beeped in her ear and she heard a slight static as though the call were finally open. Her eyes widened; her face flushed with life and hope for the first time in a while. All things but Squall were pushed aside. For this moment, he was all that consumed her. The line was open but the silence endured for a moment longer. Why wasn't he saying anything?
Squall had never been a big talker. Perhaps he was waiting for her to be the first to speak?
Rinoa opened her mouth to say something when she was cut off by a cool female voice.
"I'm sorry, the phone you have used to make this call is not currently registered on our network and as such, is unable to call out or establish connections with our server. If you would like to register this phone, please call our free business line on 10-800-5444-444 or visit us online at …"
"No… I…" there was no way. This wasn't fair, to raise her hopes and then smash them so effortlessly…
She closed her eyes and tightened her hold on the phone until it hurt her hand and her knuckles had turned white.
"Oh Hyne…" she uttered in an inaudible voice that was barely more than a whisper. "Why in your own name to you detest me so?" She was about to throw the phone away when she remembered something. Oh, that's right – this phone had a camera, didn't it?
She ended the phone's current call and brought up the menu, flicking through the various features until she came to the photo gallery – hoping and praying that it would still be there.
Once the folder had finally opened – which had taken far too long to be to Rinoa's liking – she was enthralled to see that it was full of photographs. The shadow of a smile returned to warm her frozen features as she opened one.
At least I still have my memories – she mused as she began flipping through the various photographs in the digital album.
It's sad to hear how young love has died
To know that alone, someone has cried
But memories are ours to keep
To live again in our sleep
Oh, that's right – Rinoa remembered – This was taken on that day.
Rinoa stared at the picture that filled her old cell phone's screen and allowed her mind to creep back to that place in time, back before she came here to hopes forsaken house in God's forgotten city.
The picture detailed a young boy with short brown hair sitting on a fence with one arm around the raven-haired girl beside him and the other around a dog. There they were – Squall and Angelo. That photograph was the last piece of evidence of the three of them all having been together in the same place at once.
Rinoa walked like a glum contradiction through the sunny streets of Balamb with Angelo's lead in her hand. As she sauntered with scuffing shoes along the pavement she happened to catch the happy expressions on people's faces. She had to ask herself how so many people could be happy on such a sad occasion. It just didn't seem fair. Here she was – miserably walking her dog while others her age were carelessly running by with ice-creams and the like. They didn't have a single care in the world.
She envied them. She wished she could be like that again, like she had been before she found out.
It was hard to believe. If she could hardly believe it then how would Squall take the news? How would she tell him? In all honesty she didn't know. That's why she had been avoiding him for the past few days. She didn't want to. She only had a day left to spend with him and yet she was doing her best to stay away from him. It wasn't fair on either of them.
"Hey Rinoa!"
The girl turned around and there he was – Squall.
"I haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah, I know." She didn't know how to feel. Should she be happy that he was here or sad that she'd have to tell him that they'd never see each other again? It just wasn't fair.
They'd spent the day together. The day had gone brilliantly like the clichéd happy ending of a movie.
Movies are like that. They always have such happy endings. Movies are so unrealistic.
Like the end of a movie, the sun was setting. In hindsight, this was the end of a move; the end of a chapter, a chapter in her life. It was the end of happiness, the end of sunny days and the end of her life with Squall. Everything that had followed since was really little more than an inescapable nightmare. It was one she wished she could escape from but such an opportunity would never arise.
She looked to her left where Squall walked beside her. She opened her mouth to speak. They had been walking for so long and had yet to say anything. Rinoa knew she had to speak but now it came to it, she didn't know what to say. She couldn't make herself talk. She closed her mouth again, hoping that Squall hadn't noticed.
"You know, you're really quiet today" he informed her.
"Yeah, I know"
"Is something wrong?"
"Yeah…" She stopped walking and faced him, peering directly into his deep blue sapphires.
"So… what is it?"
"We…" she gave a lament-filled sigh. "We need to talk" she answered to his puzzled face.
Rinoa felt her lips pulling up into another sad smile as she clicked out of the current photo and into another. She flipped through a few more until she found one that made her stop. She sat awestruck in the corner of the darkened room.
"This photo… "
That was taken on the last day she stepped foot in Balamb – right before the move.
She wished she could go back to that moment and live it again. She wished she could visit each of these pictures – these memories – again and stay there. She didn't care for how long. At times like these, she just wished she could enter some kind of dream-world and stay there, reliving the events of her past. To live in that world forever, to exist only in a dream, for a wasted life, would it truly be so fruitless? For the sake of happiness, it may have just been worth it.
Rinoa smirked at herself, mocking the wretched way she now thought. It had lately come to her attention just how pitiful her life had become. Could she seriously go on like this? It was a rather sad thought. She didn't want to think about it.
Scratch that
I can't think about that… it's too… it's too depressing.
The two families had come together to wish each other well in the future.
Rinoa sat on one end of the fence that had for all this time separated their houses. On the other end, Squall sat with his father and sister. Not wanting anything to get her down, Angelo appeared to be acting as though nothing were out of the ordinary, as though nothing were odd, as though nothing were wrong with the world. She ran up and down the driveway as though ignorant to all that was happening. It never crossed young minds of the possibility that perhaps she honestly didn't understand. Perhaps she simply lacked the knowledge that she should be sad. Perhaps she was simply unaware that she would never again see this place or these people.
The joyful animal sat between the feet of Squall and Ellone – the latter being the former's older sister.
Rinoa sat and watched as they played with and petted her dog. It would be the last chance they would have to do so. Of course they would want to get their fill.
Rinoa hopped off the fence and joined them as Angelo did little more than sit there and lap up all the attention as dogs often did.
It was fun and the last activity they would all share but it did not last long. Before they had a chance to get bored of the activity, it came to an end by Angelo being led to the car and enclosed inside, sitting peacefully, panting on the back seat of the car, watching them from the window, ready for the trip.
Rinoa looked from Angelo in the car to Squall and Ellone, then back to the car, then back to her friend.
Their eyes met, for just a short while before the girl broke contact.
"It… it looks as though we'll be leaving now" she admitted quietly and solemnly.
Over by the house, a fair bit away from the children, the adults spoke similar words.
A man with slick black hair extended a white-gloved hand toward the man opposite him, who took it without hesitation. The two men stood in bright contrast with one another. While one's black hair was tidy, short and slicked back, the other's was worn long, obscuring one half of his face. Even their clothing differed entirely.
While one man wore a suit in his time off, the other was casually dressed in a sky-blue t-shirt and trousers. Just about everything that defined the two men was completely different, including the company they kept.
"General Caraway, I wish you the best of luck" the long haired man – Squall's father – finally said.
"Thank you" Caraway replied, releasing the long haired man's hand, withdrawing his own and offering it to the third adult, an incredulously thin man with a dark complexion and waist-length dreadlocks, complete with decorative multi-colored beads.
He was dressed in a yellow tank top that exposed his mid-rift and a pair of asphyxiatingly tight red leather pants – exactly the kind of outfit a good parent like Caraway would grimace to see on their teenage daughter, let alone on their son, let alone when he was a fully grown adult. To tell the truth, Caraway had always felt a little uneasy around this dark-skinned man. There was just something about him that the general didn't like. Of course he had never married and he spent a lot of time around the long haired man and his son. Sometimes, it almost seemed as though he lived with them.
To one without wisdom, it would seem almost as though he were part of the family – but such a preposterous idea was far from even a fantasized partial possibility.
The dark-skinned man took the general's hand briefly before letting go.
"I wish you the best of luck for the future" he said monotonously, the way his early years in the military had trained him to address his superiors.
"Thank you" Caraway replied. "Private Loire, Private Seagul; I wish you all the best." With their customary pleasantries out of the way, the three men had nothing more to say to one-other.
Each of the three men offered up a swift silent simultaneous salute before turning – every bit as swiftly, silently and at the same time – on their heels and walking away in three separate directions with choreographed precision.
Caraway Walked over and stood behind his daughter, tapping her on the shoulder.
"It's time to go" he said.
"Yeah, I know" she nodded, standing to her feet. Her eyes darted back and forth between Squall and Ellone who were also on their feet. She needed to say goodbye but didn't know how.
A simple word? It just didn't seem enough.
A handshake?
A hug?
How should she go about it?
Rinoa hated goodbyes. She just…
"Rinoa… now" the General commanded without sympathy, walking toward the car and sitting in the driver's seat, igniting the engine to the car.
"Jackass," the dark-skinned man muttered to Squall's father, who merely grinned in amusement at his friend's comment. "Then again, I guess he wouldn't know anything about the emotional complications involved when one is forced to leave their friends behind."
Rinoa narrowed her eyes at her retreating parent before turning back to Squall. She moved toward him but then hesitated, looking at him embarrassedly. Backing off slightly, she extended her arm for him.
He went to take it but she again withdrew. He looked at her questioningly.
"I'm sorry" she apologized. Feeling frustrated with herself for her own awkwardness, the girl closed her eyes and threw herself into Squall, forcing him to catch her.
Her arms wrapped themselves around him as his did the same with her.
"I'll miss you" She told him."
"I… me too" Squall replied quietly before letting her go.
Rinoa opened her eyes and looked to the brunette's sister.
The older girl smiled back at her and embraced her warmly.
"You've been a good friend to Squall, thank you."
"No… no problem" the older girl replied.
"It's sad to say this but I can guarantee you that Squall will never have another friend like you." Rinoa looked up at her.
"Really?" Ellone nodded.
"I think you'd better get going before your Dad loses patience with you". The older girl warned.
Rinoa looked back toward the car and began walking in that direction when the dark-skinned man stepped in her path and held out his hand.
Rinoa took his hand and shook it.
"If you're ever passing through, remember to stop by. We'll always be glad to have you" he said with a grin.
"Thanks" the girl replied before hopping into the car which sped off, taking her away.
"She won't be back, Kiros. You know that, right?" Squall's father asked carefully and quietly so that the children wouldn't hear him.
"I know" Kiros said, his grin fading "but even false hope is better than nothing."
"As the two adults spoke away from young ears, Squall pondered the possibility that he might never see his friend again.
That had indeed been the last time they were in Balamb together. She had never gone back. It hadn't been due to her not wanting to go of course. She wanted to see his face more than anything else. She'd wilfully trade food, water or even air just to be able to stand beside him once more.
Of course she knew that it was absurd and impossible but that was what she wanted. She longed for that lone thing more than any other in the material world that existed despite her.
Many other families vacationed in Balamb during the summer. It was a great idea. They wouldn't even have to rent a house. Rinoa was sure that they would be able to stay with Squall's family. She had made the argument with her father many times but each attempt was shot down like a pig in a bi-plane.
Unlike some people, her father was far too busy to take time off in the summer. He was far too busy working. He worked year round. That was all he did. He had no time for fun, no time for leisure, no time for a partner, no time for even a family. It was a wonder he'd ever found someone to marry him in the first place.
While it was true that Rinoa had never gone back to visit Squall in Balamb, it would be inaccurate to say that the two never got to see each other again after that.
One bleak summer, years after that time, Squall had come for a visit.
He had come alone.
There he stood in the doorway.
Rinoa's body had frozen completely stiff.
When she heard a knock on the door she had been convinced that it would be one of her friends however when she opened the door she had been surprised to see Squall standing there.
"Something wrong?" he asked her, arching an eyebrow at her absurd reaction.
Snapping herself from her daze and launching herself back into reality, her eyes lost their glazed appearance and she allowed herself to collapse into his arms.
"Take it easy" he told her light-heartedly, although he had to admit that he was happy to see her as well.
"I'm sorry" She apologised. "It's just that, I've missed you so much. What... why are you here?" she asked into his shoulder.
"I had nothing else to do and my boredom was driving everyone crazy, myself included, so Laguna tracked your father down and told me where I could find you."
"Laguna, is that a friend of yours?"
"You know him." Rinoa looked up at him questioningly.
"I do?" she asked.
"He's my father. You remember him right? Black hair, sky blue shirt... no matter what anyone says to him about it."
"What's wrong with blue?" Rinoa defended, placing her hands on her hips.
"Oh yeah," Squall admitted. "I forgot, blue's your favourite colour as well, isn't it."
"Um, Squall? Why do you call your father by his name?"
"Oh, right," Squall said, preparing himself for an explanation. "Actually, before I get into that, do you mind if I come in?" Rinoa's eyes widened.
"Of course!" she exclaimed.
Moving aside, she couldn't get out of his way fast enough.
"So how long can you stay?" the raven-haired girl asked, dragging the brunette by his arm towards the kitchen.
"I don't really have any kind of curfew," he told her, offering no resistance as she moved him about like a child with a ragdoll. "It's all up to you and your father."
"Oh" she said, her joy dampened slightly by the thought of that man. "So is the rest of your family here as well?" Squall shook his head.
"They're all back in Balamb."
"Right… so then, do you think you could stay here, you know, for a week or something?"
"That's all up to your father," Squall replied, shrugging."
"Right… so about yours… what did you call him again?"
"Laguna."
"Yeah, why does he let you call him that?"
"It's his name?" the brunette suggested. "He once told me that it's weird being a father and since he's not really all that big on authority, he's always just encouraged me to call him by his first name. He said something about a closer, less formal bond."
"Wow… that sounds pretty easy-going and carefree."
"He is."
"I wish my father were like that. Sometimes it seems like he's a little too strict."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Squall argued. "Sometimes, lack of discipline can be a bad thing." Rinoa could only stare at the stranger before her. She had honestly expected Squall to side with her. Hearing otherwise was like a betrayal to her.
The next sound she heard was another betrayal altogether.
The front door opened and in walked her father. As he approached, his footsteps slowed and Rinoa could feel herself physically shrinking.
"Rinoa, is there something you wish to tell me?" he asked. In response, she only tilted her head and looked at him the way a dog would when it knew it was in trouble. "Would you care to explain why someone is in the house? You know the rule."
"Sir" the Brunette respectfully replied, standing before the man and extending his hand. "I apologize for not informing you first but this was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing."
"Can I help you?" the General asked, staring straight through him, ignoring his outstretched hand completely.
"It's me, Squall, Laguna Loire's son. I used to live next door to you when you lived in Balamb."
"Yes, I remember. I know who you are, that doesn't answer my question, however. What are you doing in my house?"
"I came by to see Rinoa."
"I'm sorry Squall; I'm not supposed to let anyone in the house" the girl explained, taking responsibility "I shouldn't have let you in. You'll have to leave. If you want to talk, we'll have to do it somewhere else."
"Rinoa, don't be discourteous," Caraway scolded. "This boy has obviously travelled a long way to see you. You mustn't send him away now."
"What?" Rinoa asked, clearly surprised. What was he doing? Why was he acting so different? Any other time he'd be forcing their guest to leave.
"I'll make an exception this one time but don't let it happen again. How long are you here for?" he asked the brunette.
"That all depends on you."
"In that case, you may stay in Rinoa's room."
"What!?" Rinoa asked. "I don't believe this. You're letting Squall stay in my room with me!?"
"You have a problem?" Caraway asked her callously.
Rinoa's eyes widened and snapped over to Squall.
"No, believe me, it's not like that at all, it's just that…"
"I apologize," Caraway stated. "I can honestly say that I don't know why she is acting this way." Rinoa looked away.
Great –she thought – Now he probably thinks I don't want him to stay.
Squall had been able to stay for a few weeks, which had easily become some of Rinoa's most cherished memories and considering the others she harbored of her sorry life in Galbadia, they were the only ones she wanted to keep.
"I know" the brunette had told her on his final day. "I've enjoyed it and I'll miss you too."
"You sound like you're talking to me over the phone, as though you've already left" Rinoa observed sadly.
"Do I?" Squall asked her. "I'm sorry about that. I guess I've got a lot on my mind. I'll miss you but… I'll come back and see you again next year," he promised her.
"No you won't," Rinoa replied, sadly shaking her head. "He won't let you. This time was an exception, remember? Don't worry," she added brightly after an awkward silence threatened to asphyxiate and depress them. "I'll come and see you instead."
"How are you going to manage that?"
"He can't keep me in this house forever, right? Eventually, I'll be able to move out. I'll be sure to come and see you in Balamb. I'll get a house there and when I do, I'll be your girlfriend, okay?" Squall's eyes widened. He was speechless at the suggestion.
"…I'd like that," he finally said, deciding it would be best to let her hold on to what hope she may have had. He'd agree to any silly promise if it made her happy.
Of course, that wasn't at all how it was to go. In all the time since that visit, Squall had never once returned and Rinoa had never once been to see him in Balamb.
The girl knew that there was slim to no chance of their promise being fulfilled now.
It had been a few years since that time and besides that, there was also that other thing. The thing about Squall. The thing that she refused to believe, she could not believe.
She had to deny its truth. She had no choice but to ignore that lie for what it was. She just had to refuse it, she had to deny.
The thing about Squall, the thing that Caraway had told her. She remembered it clearly, like a nightmare. He'd told her the second that Squall left.
The brunette had just left her alone with her father. He'd just this instant walked out and closed the door quietly behind him.
He'd left her with only her sweet memories of him and his promise ringing in her ears. She was so sad that he was leaving but she was happy that she would get to see him again. She would see him in the future, no matter how long it might take.
A smile made its way onto her lips. They would meet again.
"Rinoa, I don't know what you're so happy about," her father chided her. "You do realize that you're never going to see him again, don't you?"
"That shows what you know," she snapped back, fully expecting a slap in the face. What she did receive in its place however, was far worse than any mere slap.
Caraway sneered down at her and raised an amused eyebrow at his daughter's misplaced vanity.
"And what makes you say that?" he asked.
If Rinoa were more mature she'd have kept her mouth shut but back then she was still acting like a child and like a child she was determined to prove her arrogant father wrong and shut up that whole in his face.
"I'm going to go to Balamb someday and then we'll be together until we die!"
"You think so?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Did he tell you that?"
"We both agreed on it," she proudly admitted.
"You foolish girl. Don't you realize that he was only saying that to put your mind at ease? He has no intention whatsoever of keeping such a dim-witted promise, least of all with someone like you."
"What do you mean dim-witted?" the girl asked defensively. She had been so proud of her great idea."
"Squall's father, Laguna Loire; he was once my subordinate and as such I have kept him under surveillance all this time. You should know that that boy has no intention of being in any kind of relationship with you."
"How would you know that!?" she demanded.
Caraway merely smirked through his response.
"Because, my brainless daughter; that boy already has a girlfriend." Rinoa's eyes widened in horror.
"No, that's not true. It's not possible! It's not, it's not, it's not!" her reaction only twisted caraway's face into an even more malicious form of disdain.
"It's true. I have seen it. A nice tall blonde girl with blue eyes."
"But… he told me…"
"He felt sorry for you Rinoa. Surely even you can realize that much."
"But… he didn't seem all that enthusiastic about it… could it be true?" she asked, questioning herself, questioning her own zeal. She wished her mother was here. She'd know what to say.
"Don't feel too bad about it, Rinoa." The girl looked up into those cold stern eyes. "You'd never be good enough for him anyway. If you ever went to them, the only thing you could be to that family is exactly what you have always been to me, ever since you were born."
"Wha… what is that?" she asked through a dry throat, asking and knowing strait away that she didn't want to hear the answer.
"A burden."
"Rinoa!?"
The raven haired girl's eyes widened in both shock and fear, what was he doing home? He'd only just left. Rinoa had been sure she'd timed this all perfectly, so why?
What was he doing back so soon?
"Rinoa? I hope you're not in the basement. That would be very bad."
The girl didn't know what to do. Who knew what would happen when he found her down there. It was too awful to contemplate.
She had to hide. It was her only option.
"Rinoa, I know that you're down here. You left the light on. Why don't you simply show yourself? If you're lucky, I might be lenient with you." Rinoa backed into a dark corner and closed her eyes.
He won't find me, it'll be fine. He can't see me in here. He has no proof. He hasn't seen me here, I could be anywhere for all he knows. He won't find me. He won't find me. He won't find me. He won't…"
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
He won't find me. He won't find me. He won't find me. He won't-"
"Good evening, Rinoa," her father said in a nonchalant tone.
Crap! He sounded so close. Why was he so close?
Rinoa slowly and carefully opened her left eye, just a crack so that she could see.
"Having fun?" Caraway asked, towering over her.
"Not… really," Rinoa nervously replied.
"Just because you close your eyes, that doesn't make you invisible. Surely you know that."
"Yeah, I know," she muttered.
"Then come on. Be a good girl and come out of there."
"What are you going to do?"
"Nothing," her father assured her. "If you come out right now and promise to be good, I won't punish you for hiding from me."
"O-okay. I'll come out." She slowly began crawling out of her poor choice of hiding place until a harsh back-hand slap sent her down to the ground completely. Rinoa looked up into the enraged eyes of her father.
"What was that for?" she asked. "You said…"
"Yes… I said that I wouldn't punish you for hiding from me."
"Then… why?"
"That was for entering the basement. You know it is forbidden of you to come down here." He picked up the cell phone and began flicking through its content. "Whatever would you want with an old phone that no-longer functions?" he wondered aloud.
He began pushing buttons on the phone and scrolling through the menus.
"You children and your music…" he criticized. "Now that is a crusade, the search for the conceivable reason. Why you would pay good money for these annoying ringtones is beyond me."
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Uh-uh," he replied, continuing to push buttons. After he was finished he showed her the screen so she could see those three horrible words.
– All Content Deleted
"My memories… my proof…"
"You are so sentimental, Rinoa. This is a fitting consequence, don't you agree?"
"Consequence?" Caraway smirked, an evil grin shining all the way through his spiteful response.
"Evil deeds mustn't go unpunished."
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to be used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
So, what did you think? If you liked it, let me know. If you didn't, let me know. If you leave a review, I'll try to respond. Another point of potential interest was that this chapter was only going to have the Rinoa/Caraway interaction and the basement sneaking concept. Each of the flashbacks were originally going to be in short chapters of their own but I decided to merge them all together. Well, in any case, I hope you enjoyed it.