Greyshade & Kpopluver - Thank you for the reviews :)

Two:

Even after his nightly stroll it had taken Squall hours to fall asleep. He tried to push the thoughts from his mind through out the night, but couldn't. It seemed like every few minutes he thought of Rinoa; a memory they had shared. His dreams had crept upon him strong once he did manage to close his eyes. His mind bounced through an endless cycle of memories, like a movie reel in his mind. Right before he woke, his mind had stopped at the first time they had ever seen each other - the SeeD ball. You're the best looking guy here...

When he opened his eyes, the sun had poured it's rays into his bedroom. It was overly bright, but he didn't mind. In fact, it was nice. He couldn't explain it, but laying there in bed after his dream, he felt great. Her voice wasn't leaving a trace of whispers. Her face wasn't a lingering thought for once. Instead, he only heard birds chirping outside his window; Instead, he thought of food. He just really wanted to rush to the cafeteria and see if hot dogs were available, despite the fact that it was time for breakfast.

He pressed his right hand gently against his face, and took in a breath. It's the 24th, he thought, and for the first time his heart didn't stop. He didn't feel a surge of emotion, or ache. He felt, in a way, at peace. Sure, he still saw her smile when he closed his eyes. This time her smile did not bring him pain. It brought him peace. Whatever it was that happened the night before, the moon had finally agreed with him. He finally had the chance to let her go. Squall didn't waste the moment. He opened his eyes and sat up quickly in bed. He felt alive, and rejuvenated. A good nights rest, he thought to himself. He glanced over at his clock: 8:45 AM. The message Irvine had told him the night before, he hadn't received - or maybe he had. Regardless, he didn't know the exact time of the meeting nor the place of it. He figured he would know soon enough. It wouldn't be the first time he was late to a meeting.

He moved from his bed and half dressed in his instructor clothes. He only wore the pants and boots; he didn't bother to put on his jacket as he technically didn't have a class until noon. His regular white shirt would suffice. With a glance in the mirror, Squall ran his hands through his brown hair. It had grown longer than normal, but he sported it well. He liked it. Despite it's length, it still fell around his face in normal fashion with his scar still visible in the center of his face. As he turned his cheek from side to side, he checked for spit dribble - Nothing. With a quick trip to his bathroom, he brushed his teeth and took a swing of mouth wash. Didn't take him more than two minutes to be out the door.

Balamb Garden was full of life that morning. More than usual. Or maybe it wasn't, maybe Squall just happened to take notice as his mind wasn't preoccupied with a million thoughts. The sun had poured in from the windows all throughout the garden and lit up the golden floors. The sound of water from the lobby's fountain was a beautiful sound to hear. And to watch every student and cadet walking through the halls, it was new to him. He normally only paid attention to his own cadets at each of his classes. To see all of Balamb alive, made him feel alive. Squall couldn't wipe the smile from his face. "Yo, Squall!"

He had headed straight towards the cafeteria when he heard his name from behind. When he turned, Zell was running towards him in full sprint. Squall wasn't surprised, and shifted to the side so once Zell caught him to him there wouldn't be a crashing encounter. "Do you have to run every where?" he asked Zell.

Zell laughed a bit. He was one of the few who hadn't really changed. He was still overly full of life, and loud. He did, however, add to his tattoo and continued it down his neck and around his shoulder. He had said as he grew up, his tattoo did too; though he kept his hair the same - Have to keep some of my youth, man. "I don't, but I do." he said.

Squall smiled and as he had brought his instructor jacket with him, he slumped it over his shoulder. Zell looked at him curiously as he smiled, but shook it away almost instantly. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Squall pointed his head in the direction of the cafeteria. He could smell the food coming from it's open doors. It did nothing to help his now rumbling stomach. "Man, you're late for the meeting! Quistis is furious!" Zell exclaimed with wide eyes.

Right. The meeting. Squall kept his sights on the cafeteria door, no matter how serious Zell made the meeting. He ever patted his lips together, pretending to taste the scents in the air. Zell jumped in front of him and waved his arms around. "Um, hello! Did you not hear me? The meeting? That way." He pointed up above his head in the direction of the headmaster's office; Quistis' office.

Squall looked at Zell again and sighed. "It's early. And she knows I can eat enough for seven men. Can't I just-"

Zell didn't wait for Squall to finish. He grabbed Squall's sleeve and pulled him in the opposite direction of food. Squall's eyes watered a bit, and his stomach cried out in frustration. He only wanted to eat. "Zell..." he said under his breath as he was pulled towards the Garden's massive elevators. "Nope! This is important!" he said loudly.

Squall sighed. With a pull, he released himself from Zell's grasp and fixed his shirt. He re-positioned his jacket on his shoulder and started to walk ahead. "I can walk." he said, and looked back at his friend, "and if I find out there were hot dogs and I missed out, you're going to meet me in the training center."

Zell laughed and with a light jog caught up to Squall. Together, the walked to the lobby and entered the elevator. Squall had entered to first and waited as patiently as possibly as Zell shifted into the small area with him. As he pushed the button towards the top floor, Zell looked over at Squall nervously and said, "Wouldn't a game of Triad suffice?"

Squall huffed in frustration.

Squall could hear yelling coming from the top floor before the elevator had even reached it's destination. When the large, decorated doors opened it's way, Squall saw Quistis pacing back and forth. In front of her was Irvine and Seifer; Selphie was also there, but seated to the side. She was a few months pregnant, and Irvine never let her stand for more than a few minutes without him beginning to worry about the welfare of their child. As Squall made his entrance, he nodded in Selphie's direction with a smile, "How's the baby this morning?" he asked her.

"Fine." Selphie said to him, returning the smile. He leaned over to rub her belly as he got close enough. With a laugh, he moved his head in Quistis' direction, "Hopefully it's had better serenades than this."

"Squall!" Quistis' yelled. He could feel the anger and frustration in her voice. He looked over at her with his normal smirk and sighed. "Yes, almighty headmistress. How may I be of service?"

She stomped both of her boots against the ground. Quistis had left the scene of fights and violence once Cid had announced he was up for retirement. With it, she changed her whole appearance - to appear more mature and punctual for her Garden and cadets. She had let her hair grow, and it now fell down her waste. She had changed her orange attire for something more red; She always wore a long red cardigan that dropped to the floor, black pants and a white blouse underneath. When she had changed her look, just after appointing Squall as instructor, he had told her she looked like an old woman. She fired him for it, but rehired him only minutes later. "You have no idea how frustrating you are!" Quistis yelled.

Squall closed his eyes and nodded his head. He took a few steps in her direction. "Who are you telling? Do you know how hungry I am?"

Irvine turned his head to look at Squall and mouthed the words stop it. Seifer, on the other hand, stifled a laugh. Quistis heard it as clear as day, "Oh, you two! Gah, the both of you!" She turned around on her heel and headed towards her desk. The sound of her breathing had over shot the sound of her boots; she was indeed furious.

Squall joined his small team and looked over at his two friends. Irvine sported a look of disappointment. He had awoken so early he hadn't had the chance to change into proper clothes; he still wore wool pants and a tank top. Seifer sported the same, with his hair disheveled and his eyes still foggy with sleep. He too hadn't change much. The only thing that had changed was he and Squall had actually become good friends. "I told you about the meeting last night, Squall." Irvine said in a low voice.

Squall looked back towards Quistis', who at her desk was frantically rummaging through papers and books. She had knocked a few glasses on the ground; luckily enough they didn't shatter. "He knows," Seifer defended him, "We all got the memo."

"Well..." Squall looked back at the two men and smiled nervously, "If I did get the memo, I didn't read it. I don't know where it is... so I'm going to go with the latter - I didn't get it."

"I sent it with a cadet!" Quistis interrupted Squall's small conversation. She had apparently found what she had been lucky for as she walked toward him with a paper in hand. Squall thought about it for a second, and remembered - Oh, Jule did say he needed to tell me something very important during class, didn't he?

Quistis shoved the paper in Squall's face hard enough that the edges poked uncomfortably at his nose. He tried to look down at it without shifting his head; out of respect for his headmistress, of course. "I can't read it, Ma'am." he said.

With a puff, Quistis dropped the paper at his feet and stood there without a word. Squall took a moment as he looked at everyone; no one was moving, all eyes on him. He sighed and knelt forward to pick up the paper, letting his eyes land on the first line:

Ultimecia has been spotted. Alive.

Squall's heart dropped inside his chest. He looked at everyone with fear in his eyes. They each nodded at him. Without hesitation, he looked back at Quistis and bowed his head. "I'm sorry." he said, "I am so sorry."