June 4

"Is everyone here?"

Squall straightened his uniform, trying to remember if he had taken it off at all in the three days since the ceremony at Trabia. He didn't think so.

At the faculty member's nod, Xu stepped up to the podium, subtly adjusting her deep red suit jacket. The Quad was completely filled with nearly two hundred children, Balamb Garden's largest single group of applicants yet. As Squall looked out over the crowd, he was glad not to be the faculty member in charge of making sure no one was missing.

"First of all," Xu began, "for all you new people, welcome to Balamb Garden. I'm Headmaster Xu, and I'll be overseeing the training of all SeeD candidates, as well as basic education and SeeD assignments for the graduates along with Commander Leonhart here." She motioned to Squall. "As you can imagine, all this keeps me rather busy, so you might not be seeing much of me." She motioned to the female SeeD who stood opposite the podium from Squall. "But if you need to speak with me, for whatever reason, just tell Instructor Kliener here.

"Now, if you're here, it's obvious you've chosen to begin training to become a SeeD. SeeDs are the pride of Garden, our best fighters and our brightest students. They represent us in missions all over the world. Now, becoming a SeeD is not easy — in last year's class of more than sixty students, only four were accepted. But don't let that intimidate you; none of you would have even made it this far if you didn't have the potential to succeed. It's up to each of you to discover that potential.

"Now, I'll explain a little about the meaning of Garden. We're not just a group of mercenaries for hire. Garden was founded thirteen years ago by Cid and Edea Kramer, as a place for children without homes to gain the knowledge and skills they needed to function in the world. SeeD provides Garden with the funding it needs to continue operating." She paused, looking down at her notes. "Of course, our most important mission is by now well-known: Defeat the Sorceress. In a sense, that destiny has already been fulfilled, but we must always be vigilant, watching for the rise of anyone who would do harm to the people of this world and..." She trailed off, looking down at her notes. After the briefest of moments, she shook her head. "We can't ever forget that SeeD's purpose is to protect the future, from anyone who would try to do it harm."

She smiled, somewhat weakly. "Well, I think you've heard enough from me. Remember, all we ask is that you do your best. Good luck."

The faculty member stepped up. "Listen carefully for your room assignments. Adeki and Zanu will be in Room A14. Alten and Wendel, Room A16. Aru and Wells, Room A17. Bratton and Veldt, Room A20..."

As he continued down his list, the three SeeDs made their exit. "Who would have thought there would be so many?" wondered the blond-haired girl on Xu's left. "Last year, we were wondering if we would even have enough to keep the Garden open."

Xu nodded. "Those were a tough couple of months for the students, but it seems the publicity has made us very popular with the outsiders."

"That'll cause problems," Squall said. "A lot of them might not be dedicated to make it as SeeDs, and just be here for the thrill. They might bring others down."

"I'll be looking out for anyone starting to slip," the other SeeD said.

Xu nodded. "Thanks, Lauren. Squall, what was that message that came in just before the ceremony?"

Squall transferred the clipboard in his left hand to a position where he could read the text of the dispatch. He had the clipboard with him so constantly now that he could often forget he was carrying it. "The Galbadians want two more teams to deal with rebel activity in Dollet," he said.

Xu sighed. "They've been fighting those rebels for more than a year now. Even Timber didn't resist this hard."

"How many teams will this make now?" Lauren asked.

"Eight," replied Squall.

"Eight! That's more than half our SeeD force!"

Xu nodded. "And of course if we say no, they take it out of our funding."

"We can't just let it continue like this," Squall said. "Before we know it, all of SeeD will be working for Galbadia."

"Garden can't survive without financial support, Squall," Xu reminded him. "Galbadia is our primary source of income, and without them, we won't have enough funds to keep Garden open. Let me see the request." Squall handed it to her, and she scanned over the document. "Everything seems to be in order. And at 300,000 gil per SeeD, I don't see how we can pass this up. Which teams should we send?"

"Dannic has been itching for an assignment again," Lauren said.

"Then we'd better send Linnis along too," Squall said.

"Yeah," Lauren agreed. "If Dannic gets sent out again before she does, she'll go crazy."

"All right then. I'll notify the Galbadians and arrange for delivery."

"I'll update the assignment list." Rather than going to the Garden office, however, Squall headed off toward the dorms. It didn't matter if the paperwork got done now or a week from tomorrow; Squall had yet to find someone who actually checked the assignment list.

It always put him in one of his brooding moods when he had to think about Galbadia. Rinoa would probably tell him to stop worrying so much about things he couldn't change, but then, he hadn't seen Rinoa in...he couldn't remember how long. She was the problem. There was always the possibility that the Galbadians would hire SeeD to put down the Forest Owls, and the unwritten rule that SeeDs didn't work against former employers would probably not be enough to convince Xu to refuse. He could be sending SeeDs to fight against Rinoa, when all he wanted was to be fighting beside her. It was the curse of the uniform that he could never seem to take off, no matter how badly he wished simply to be someplace else.

Rinoa... he thought, almost calling out with his thoughts. She was a Sorceress, wasn't she? Maybe she could hear him. I...want to hear your voice. I want to know that you're all right.

I need you.

Suddenly, a chill ran through him, as if he had just been thrust into a Trabia snow plain. He shuddered, stumbling against the rail. The feeling only lasted a moment, and was gone just as quickly as it had come, and with as little reason. Shaking his head, Squall righted himself and continued walking, trying to ignore the fact that his forehead was throbbing again.

"Hey, Irvine! How'd the test go?"

Irvine placed his cowboy hat on his head as he regarded the girl who had ambushed him outside the classroom. "Hey, Sefie. I passed with flying colors, of course. Man, it's a total bummer, though. I mean, I'm a SeeD now, and they're still making me take all these classes."

"Hey, YOU'RE the one who failed that class on magic theory, remember?"

Irvine shrugged. "Dumb class anyway. Who cares where a GF comes from, so long as you know how to junction it? Like, Aki wouldn't even let me wear my hat in there? Man, he was all over my style, you know?"

Selphie giggled. "Well, you DO look kind of silly wearing that hat with your uniform."

Irvine pointed a warning finger at her. "Hey, watch it. Before long, you're going to be saluting this hat, okay?"

"Yeah, right! I'm in 'A' rank, remember?"

Irvine smiled. "Well, you know, I was talking to Xu, and she said that, you know, since I was so nice about having to go through a whole year of classes after saving the universe and all, they'd be creating a new, higher rank just for me. We're gonna call it 'S' rank, and I'll be the boss of everyone in this Garden!"

Selphie blinked. "Y...yeah right!"

"And he gets a ceremonial wand and a golden Chocobo to ride around, too," added Nida's voice. Irvine looked up to see him and Quistis, both in casual clothes, leaning against the wall by the corner.

"You know, I knew ever since Irvine's field exam that he was going to go far," Quistis said. "I've never seen anyone try to beat an Ochu to death with a shotgun before."

"Hey, it drank all my Ultima spells, okay?" Irvine said defensively. "I was mad! What was an Ochu doing in Fishermans Horizon, anyway?"

"How you got a SeeD rank 10 out of that, I'll never know," Nida said. "Besides, didn't the FH people want it kept alive and transplanted to —"

"HEY!" Irvine exclaimed. "Saved the universe! Killed Ultimecia! Can I get a little credit here?"

"Heey, guys, I just remembered!" Selphie piped up. "The Balamb Actors Guild is having a play this weekend! It's like, 'The Sands of Kashkabald' or something, and it sounds really cool! You guys wanna come?"

Nida raised his eyebrows. "Guys in Blitz suits zapping each other with stage magic? Sure, why not?"

Quistis nodded. "Sounds like fun. I'll be there. What about you, Irvine?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, sounds cool."

"Great!" Selphie bounced off toward the elevator. "I'm gonna find the others! I bet Squall's just going to LOVE it!"

There was the typical silent pause that generally followed one of Selphie's exits.

"So..." Nida began. "Did you see all the new SeeD candidates this year?"

Quistis nodded. "Incredible, isn't it? I don't think I've ever seen that many people in one place in this Garden."

"Are you kidding?" Irvine scoffed. "Back in Galbadia, that was a regular day in the cafeteria."

"Your headmaster gave you introductory speeches in the cafeteria?" Nida asked.

"What? No, I meant —" Irvine shook his head. "Look, gimme a break, okay? What's with you guys today?"

They began walking towards the 2F balcony. Though it provided a spectacular view of the countryside, it was generally sealed due to the fact that beneath it was a very long fall, and the Garden still did not have enough faculty to keep a very close watch on the junior classmen. Quistis, however, knew Squall and Xu's access code.

"Hey, we've barely seen you since the party in Trabia," Nida said.

"And then, you were following Selphie around like a chicobo," Quistis added, "so we're seriously behind on our making-fun-of-Irvine schedule."

Irvine rolled his eyes. Quistis keyed in the access code that unlocked the door. Nida stepped through the doorway. Irvine and Quistis followed him.

The Garden was at rest, slightly nearer the Rinaul coast than its original location, which was visible off to the right of the balcony. Shoots of grass were beginning to take hold in the immense crater left by the Galbadian missiles, but it would still be some time before it once again blended into the countryside.

"So has Xu found a new Garden Master yet?" Nida asked after a time.

Quistis shook her head. "She's still looking. What with Galbadia and all, I guess working for Garden isn't exactly anyone's first choice of profession."

"Yeah, but I'd hate to be in Xu's place," Irvine said. "I mean, being Headmaster must be tough enough, but handling all the money books too has gotta be bad."

Nida nodded. "I wonder how Cid always managed to make it look so easy."

"I asked him about that once," Quistis said. "He told me, 'Quistis, after a time, anyone can learn how to fake it.'" She smiled, shaking her head.

For another moment, the three were silent as they leaned out against the rail. The five-minute chime rang out, summoning the new students to their classrooms.

"You know," Irvine said at length, "it was only, like, a few months ago, but whenever I try to think about Cid or Matron, it's like I'm remembering back to the orphanage." He shook his head. "Maybe it's the GF."

"I'm the same way," Quistis admitted. "When I think about them, it's almost like I'm remembering a dream." She sighed. "Or maybe this is the dream."

"Sometimes, I think it has to be," Nida said. "I mean, Cid was a part of this Garden for as long as I can remember — my first memory is of him catching me trying to open the door to get up here."

"It's just not fair," Irvine declared. "After all those years, I finally get to see Matron again, and then she's gone. And now, like, there were all these things I wanted to say to her, but I could never quite get around to it. I kept thinking, you know, next time."

Quistis nodded. "I was the same way."

"We all were," Nida agreed. "Well, except me. ...And all those other people who were never at the orphanage."

They looked out over the countryside again, in silence. A flock of birds, which had been congregating atop the dome of the infirmary suddenly took flight, leaving behind a lone creature, from its looks not much older than a chick, who flapped vigorously in an attempt to follow. However, it could not manage to take to the air.

"'Time...'" Quistis mused. "'It will not wait... No matter how hard you hold on...it escapes you...'"

"Huh?" Nida asked.

"It's just something that's been bouncing around my head ever since the fight with Ultimecia," she said. "It's just horrible, how we can never seem to see how important something, or someone is, until they're gone."

"And then we spend so much time brooding over everything we've lost, that we don't see what we still have," Nida added. "Until it's too late for that, too."

Quistis looked at him.

"I mean, it's been months since the accident," he went on, "but we still can't even really accept that they're gone. I mean, whenever we get called into a meeting with Xu, I always expect Cid to be standing there right beside her."

Quistis nodded. "Me, too. And that's really not fair to Xu; she has a hard enough job as it is, what with Galbadia and all."

"I think it's just because, you know, everything's happening so fast," Irvine said. I mean, a year ago, I was flunking out of Galbadia Garden, and all I knew about you guys was that we were all at the same orphanage together." He paused. "Well, except you, Nida."

Nida made a face.

"A lot has changed," Quistis agreed.

"Yeah." Irvine removed his hat, looking at it reflectively. "I sometimes wonder when we were better off."

"Does it matter?" Nida asked. "I mean, when's the last time anything good came from living in the past?"

Again, the three lapsed into silence, as they looked out over the countryside. As they watched, a wall of clouds approaching from the west pushed their way in front of the sun, and a shadow fell over the plains.