Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters. I only wish I did.

Chapter 1

Rinoa Heartilly stared at the message. Someone knew her secret; the one only her closest friends and officials in Esthar knew. She pulled her knees in tight to her chest, her small frame fitting in the desk chair so easily. She propped her chin on her knees and tried to clear the nerves.

She needed to think.

Should she tell Squall? He'd probably go into military mode right away and try to track the guy down. Maybe it was a joke. Maybe Zell was playing a stupid joke that really wasn't funny. Squall didn't need to know.

Not yet.

He already had a lot to worry about, being commander and all, and just having her as his girlfriend was stressful enough. He'd never dated any girl before and to make matters worse, Rinoa wasn't an ordinary girl by any means.

Angelo whined and Rinoa looked down at her furry friend.

"What's wrong, girl?" Rinoa glanced at her food bowl and saw it was empty. "Oh, sorry!"

She jumped from the chair and ran into the kitchen, slipping on a puddle of water and twisting her ankle in the process.

"Oh crap!" She landed with a thud and grabbed her ankle, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why?"

She rocked back and forth for a minute before trying to stand, a stabbing pain shooting through her ankle and foot. She fell back for a minute, moaning. Angelo was now by her side, a whimper escaping her muzzle.

"Go get help girl. Bring back the rescue team."

Angelo sat and tilted her head.

"Or, I guess I could just use my phone."

Rinoa pulled her cell out of her pocket and almost pressed the speed dial for Squall. She really didn't want to bother him at work, though, so she dialed Selphie instead.

"Rinny, hi!" came the cheerful voice on the other line.

"Hey, Selph, are you busy?"

"Nope, not at the moment. What's up?"

"I think I broke my ankle."

"What? How'd you do that?"

Rinoa sighed. "I… slipped. That's not important. The shooting pains are a little more worrisome."

"Can you walk on it?"

"Hold on." Rinoa slowly pulled herself up and applied pressure equaling more pain. She took a couple of steps and winced. "Uh, yeah, I can walk. But it hurts more than a cactuar needle prick."

"I'm on my way!"

"Thanks, Selph." Rinoa slowly made it over to her sofa and sat. She propped her ankle up on a couch arm and laid back, her eyes closed tight. Through the entire ordeal she'd forgotten about her message. She sighed and stood, limping over to the computer desk. Looking at it gave her chills again.

"I know who you are. What you are. I need you."

The words were eerie and Rinoa sincerely hoped they were a sick joke. Now thinking about it, they seemed like something Irvine would say. Creep.

Or maybe it was a plea for help. Maybe someone needed her powers to defeat another evil force.

She rubbed her forehead. If that were the case, they were out of luck. She hadn't mastered those powers yet. That was clear from Squall's daily face palming and eye rolling. Sure, their knight-sorceress connection was strong, but the spell training wasn't by any means easy.

She closed the message and wobbled back over to the couch, a knock on her door before she had the chance to sit.

"It's me, Rinny."

"Coming."

"That's what she said."

Rinoa laughed. "Good one."

She unlocked and opened the door, Selphie hopping inside. "Let me see it!" Rinoa lifted her foot into the air, the bouncy brunette taking a closer look. "It sure is swollen. Broken, I doubt, but definitely in need of medical attention. Shall we go?"

Rinoa nodded as Selphie pulled her out the door. "For Hyne's sake, Selph, be gentle."

"Oops, sorry. You know, one day you'll be able to heal it yourself. And then we'll never have to make another trip to Dr. Kadowaki again."

"Believe me, I'm looking forward to it a lot more than any of you are. Even Squall."

"Whatever." Selphie said in a grumpy, Squall-like voice.

Rinoa giggled. "If he asks, I fell while fighting off a T-Rexaur in the training center."


Squall Leonhart stared at the massive pile of papers in front of him. It was time for SeeD exams again, and Cid had asked him to help prepare the written tests on top of all his other duties. He'd much rather be swinging Lionheart around, fighting a dozen adamantoise than doing paperwork.

Hell, he'd even take another SeeD ball over the mundane work.

"Squall."

The commander turned to face Cid.

"Yes, Sir."

"I hate to bother you, but I was wondering, is there anyway you could lead the field exam Friday?"

Squall rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was going to be a long day. "Isn't Quistis supposed to do that?"

"She was, yes, but she has some other things to attend to. Please?"

Whatever. "Yeah, I'll do it." At least it's some action.

"Great. Thank you so much. I'll let you get back to your work. A lot to do, right?"

Squall nodded. What the hell else does Quistis have to do?

"I thought so. I'll see you later." Cid disappeared and Squall turned back to his impending doom, pondering what Quistis would be doing instead Friday. Before he had a chance to dive back into his work, his phone began to ring and he noticed it was the infirmary's number. He grabbed it from the desk and wondered what Kadowaki wanted.

"Commander Leonhart."

"Hey, it's Selph. Rinoa kind of hurt herself."

"What? Again?"

"Yeppers."

"Is it serious?"

"Define Squall serious."

A mesmerize blade sticking out of the chest.

"Silence. Awesome. Just come. She's your girlfriend for Hyne's sake."

"Fine. I'll be there in a minute." Squall slammed the phone down and quickly headed to the infirmary, ignoring all the 'hello's' on the way.


Dr. Kadowaki glanced up at the young soldier as soon as he stepped inside. "She's in the back."

"Thanks." He walked to the back room, Rinoa sitting on the examiner table.

She gave him a big grin as soon as she saw him. "Hi, Squall."

"What'd you do this time?"

"A cracked ankle."

"How?"

"I was fighting a T-Rexaur with Selph when I tripped over one of those darn stumps and hurt myself."

He looked over to Selphie, who nodded, and then settled his eyes on his girlfriend. "You know, I'd actually believe you if there were any T-Rexaurs in there."

"Wha-?"

"Yeah, the entire training center is empty due to a virus affecting the monsters. So, what'd you really do?"

"Umm, well, there was some water on the kitchen floor and I kind of slipped."

Squall face palmed. "Great. You guys called me here because you slipped on some water and cracked your ankle."

"Thanks for asking how I'm feeling, meanie."

He knelt down beside Rinoa and looked into her earth brown eyes. "Right. I'm being insensitive again. How's that life threatening injury treating you?"

Rinoa slapped him and he gave her the slightest of smiles. "For real though, how's it feeling? I didn't mean to be a 'meanie.'"

She lifted her head high and turned her face away from him, snubbing him the best she could. "I think I'm going to pull through."

He stood. "Good to know. I have to get back to work. Take care of her, Selph."

"Will do, Sir." She said saluting. "Shall I send a report in later?"

He rolled his eyes and then directed them back to Rinoa. "I'll see you later, Rin."

She relaxed and leaned a little closer to him, hoping he'd give her a goodbye hug but knowing better. Squall did not like PDA. "Bye, Squall. Sorry we interrupted your work. I didn't want to call, but Selph insisted."

"I thought you could use a break," Selphie said. "You do work a lot."

He ran a hand through his shaggy locks and rubbed his neck. "Now I'm going to have to stay later or skip lunch to make up for time."

Selphie's jaw dropped as Rinoa folded her arms and pouted. "Now you're being a meanie to Selph."

"I was kidding."

"No offense, Squall, but you're really bad with jokes," Selphie said.

"Whatever." All three chimed in.

The girls giggled as Squall rolled his eyes, again.

"Yeah. I'm gone."

They continued to laugh until he disappeared, Selphie helping Rinoa to her feet.

"Hey, Selph, do you mind if we pay Irvine a visit?"

Selphie tilted her head and tried to frown and talk in a nastier voice. "Trying to steal my boyfriend now, are we?"

"Who would want him? I just have a quick question for him."

Selphie laughed. "Sure, we can stop and see him. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you. In more ways than one."

Rinoa scowled. "Gross, Selph. Thanks."

"No problem," Selphie said a little too cheery.

As they walked back out into the Garden, Rinoa really hoped Irvine was just being his normal, creepy self. If he didn't send the message, she may have a real problem. And her meanie would be doing more than rolling his eyes.