The halls of the old castle were dark, and Rinoa could here her footsteps echoing as she walked. The team of six had split up into 2 groups to try and find a way through the winding corridors of Ultimecia's lair. Herself, Selphie and Zell had separated to cover more ground. She came to an open doorway and stopped. The room was empty except for a small wooden desk in the corner. She called upon a fire spell she had drawn from one of the castle's many monsters and held it in the palm of her hand using it as a light source. As she entered the room she could see spiders scuttling away from the light and she shivered. This place was so creepy. Sighing she thought of Angelo and secretly wished he was here with her. She'd left him on purpose; the thought of a dog attemping to time travel, or whatever it was they did to get here, didn't seem like a good idea. After thoroughly checking for any other living thing in the room she turned her eyes to the desk. It was plain; two drawers were facing her and there was space for a chair in between them. Pulling open the first drawer she was greeted with nothing but cobwebs and dust. The second drawer, however, hid something different. A notebook. It was small and brown yet there wasnt a speck of dust to be seen.

"That's weird," she said, picking the small book up with her free hand, "someone must have put it in here recently." Before she had the chance to open it, a loud crash rang through the hall. Rinoa spun around in surprise, the fire dying and the room diving back into darkness.

"Rinoa!" Zell's voice burst through the darkness. "Where are you?" She shoved the notebook into the pocket of her duster and ran out of the room, soon forgetting about it entirely as the final battle with the sorceress began.

Present Day

Squall awoke to the smell of copper. Becoming more aware his mind panicked as he recognized the scent. Blood. He jumped out of bed and turned on the dorm room light. Rinoa slept soundly next to where he had risen from but the pillow her head rested upon was covered with slowly drying blood that had been pouring out of her nose. He grabbed towel out of a basket filled with laundry and returned to her side.

"Rin wake up." He shook her shoulder until her eyelshes fluttered and opened. She looked at him blearily and went to rub her face. Her eyes widened as she felt the warm, sticky remanents of the nose bleed.

"Shit!" she yelped, yanking the towel out of his hands and pressing it to her face. She left the bed and walked into the bathroom. He heard the faucet come to life and stood up as well. Squall leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom and watched as she scrubbed at the residue, turning the water pink as she did so. He sighed and crossed his arms.

"This is the second time this week Rin," He said softly, " I think you should go to the infirmery and have Kadowaki take a look at you." Rinoa turned off the water and dried her face before looking at him.

"You're right. I'll go see her tomorrow. I don't think it's that serious though. People get nose bleeds all the time," He raised his eyebrows at her and pointed to the bed.

"Not that badly." The pillow and case were most likely ruined and would have to be thrown out.

"I'm sorry," she responded. He pulled her into a hug, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"Don't be. It isn't anything you did. I just worry is all." He glanced at the clock on the wall and released her.

"It's 5. I'm going to go train for a couple hours. Cid wants me in his office by 8am for a meeting or something. Let's meet up for breakfast around 7?" Rinoa smiled at him and nodded, crawling back into bed. Squall grabbed the blood soaked pillow and set it on the floor before he was finished he tucked the pillow under one arm and grabbed his gunblade. He looked at her as he opened the door.

"I'll see you later."

"Ok," she answered already half asleep,"I love you." His smile widened.

"I love you too."