DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned a lot of things, and FF8 is one of them, but I don't. Pity.

A/N: Real life can be a bitch x.x I hope it won't take nearly as long to update next time. Enjoy!


Chapter 3: Persona non-Grata


Into the flood again
Same old trip it was back then
So I made a big mistake
Try to see it once my way

Am I wrong?
Have I run too far to get home?

- Alice in Chains, 'Would?'


Deeply engrossed into a cheap mystery novel she had brought along for the flight, Quistis sunk into her seat, exhausted.

Her eyelids had stooped low, threatening to slip shut any moment now, but her thoughts kept her awake. Mostly, she was just mad at herself for showing vulnerability to Seifer's caustic remarks, for letting him dig out hurtful memories, memories she had long ago left behind and gotten over. It was far easier to take everything lightly now that she was inside the Ragnarok, miles away from the offender, but when they had been face-to-face, she had found it harder to do so.

Seifer was the personification of everything she had failed to amount to, everything she hadn't been able to handle in the past. Though she had long ago forgone any future ventures into the realm of instructing, it still stung to be reminded that she had, for once in her life, erred in something that concerned her job.

At least the book was marginally distracting.

Quistis pulled her glasses off, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she let out a small yawn. When she slipped her glasses back on, intending to return to her book, she caught Selphie half-glaring at her before hastily looking away the moment their eyes met.

Sighing, Quistis shut her book. "How long are you going to keep doing that?" Selphie had been staring when she thought Quistis wasn't looking for the better part of the last hour.

Selphie looked up sharply, curling up under the blanket covering her and tried to look innocent. "Doing what?"

"Staring at me like that. If you've got something to say, just say it already," Quistis said.

"I said everything I had to say back in Centra."

Exasperated, Quistis sat up a little straighter. "You said you knew why I did what I did. Of course you don't have to be pleased about it, but don't take it out on me just because Seifer, being the royal butthead he's always been, pissed you off."

Selphie frowned at Quistis's accusations, but it was more a thoughtful frown than one that betrayed anger. She squirmed in her seat, pouting. "I know," she said eventually in a resigned voice. "Sorry…"

Quistis smiled sympathetically at her friend, removing her glasses for good; she wasn't in the mood for reading any more. "I understand, you know… This matter is personal for you. But something good will come out of this situation. Trabia will be back in business soon. It doesn't mean you have to forget what happened, but you all need to move on."

Selphie nodded, though she didn't appear to be entirely convinced, and hugged her bent knees. Her gaze strayed to the view outside the window and she stayed silent for a little while. "It's just…" She hesitated. "Did you see how casual he was about it?" she said, scowling.

Quistis merely smiled. "Well… Think of the bright side. Galbadia needs a good evaluation from all Gardens to reinstate its license. And we can be as thorough and stingy as we please in ours."


Seifer peeked around the corner of the hallway, searching for any familiar faces.

No threats in sight… Switching to stealth mode… Commence… NOW!

With his duffel bag hanging from one shoulder, he dashed down the hall leading to the dormitories. Every step he took forward brought him closer to his goal… closer to heaven… closer to—

"Hey, Seifer!"

The blond came to a screeching halt, shutting his eyes in resignation. Well… shit. He turned around wearily, running a hand through his hair, and stared back at the face of Rhys Puck. The man was considerably shorter than Seifer himself, or rather much shorter than the average man. He had vivid, smart brown eyes that forbade anyone to not take him seriously.

"Hey yourself, shrimp."

Save Seifer.

It was a nickname that had elicited many an angry reaction the first few dozens of times it was uttered, but Rhys shrugged it off without the merest bat of an eyelash, betraying for one that he understood all too well it was used in jest, and secondly that it had been worded more than just a few dozen times.

"Jonah wants to see you," said Rhys.

Figures… "Right now?" asked Seifer, not bothering to hide his displeasure. "I was hoping to go grab a shower first." Or ten.

"You know Jonah," Rhys replied with a gentle sigh. "Has to be right now. Then you'll probably be free for the rest of the weekend."

"Better be," Seifer muttered, scowling. "How come you're not sleeping the whole Trabia deal off?" he asked, scrutinizing the other man. He looked surprisingly refreshed.

"Just woke up," Rhys replied with a satisfied grin, stretching as if to reinforce his point. "Heading to the cafeteria to grab a bite and have a chat with Toni." Toni being one of the more attractive cafeteria employees.

"Mmm-hmmm," Seifer hummed, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "Are you planning on using actual words this time around? I don't think 'Fneghst' counts; she may have misunderstood you the other day."

"Oh look," Rhys said in monotone. "It's funny's second cousin. Not funny."

Grinning, Seifer turned his heel, dragging his feet lazily back into the main hall to make his way over to Jonah's office. The itch of the heavy woolen SeeD uniform had mercifully abandoned his skin once he'd changed in the aircraft that had picked him up from Centra, but a certain amount of grime residue from the Trabia mission that had not been properly washed away was still weighing heavily on his tired body. He needed a shower, mountains of food and an eon of sleep. But the report apparently came first.

Jonah was a slave-driver, simply put, but at least he knew how to run a military institution, Seifer thought.

The man had always given Seifer the distinct impression he was staring at an aged Torama. Jonah's thick tufts of red hair that were once probably intended to be sideburns but had grown wild in the process, gave his cheeks the kind of volume to be found in said animals, and he sometimes matched their temper as well.

Despite his age –which he refused to disclose- his scalp wasn't entirely consumed by gray hairs, and there were still locks of red here and there to betray the original color. He had dark brown eyes that could only be considered ever-watchful, and needed the aid of spectacles only for reading. He wasn't a particularly daunting man size-wise, but underneath all the layers of clothing, hints of a toned body were still visible. A body that was still very capable of giving Seifer an arse-kicking if he didn't follow orders when was expected to.

The arse-kicking I could live with. But the sermons… Somehow, Jonah's words always managed to find a weak spot in Seifer's psyche to manipulate, and it was in fact his little speeches, all the guilt-trips and 'pieces of advice' that made the young SeeD unwilling to just go crawl under his bed and take his punishment for not showing up.

And so he climbed up the stairs, wondering if it was humanly possible to fall asleep while walking.

He came to a stop outside a brand new mahogany door with a sleek, bronze plate that read 'Headmaster' and knocked, yawning.

"Enter."

Seifer wrenched the door open and made a beeline straight for the empty chair that stood in front of the large desk Jonah Meric sat behind. The older man looked at Seifer over the rim of his reading glasses with no small amount of surprise.

"Don't make me salute," Seifer groaned, sinking into the chair. "I'll even say the p-word."

Jonah had half a mind to argue, but made a vague gesture with one hand, accepting defeat. "Protocol is to be followed at all times, but… you've had a rough day. At ease."

Already am, gramps. "Didn't Cole hand in his report? He's the one tackling this sh—stuff."

"He did. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Jonah said, removing his glasses.

Seifer had spent enough time in the man's company to know that this wasn't a good sign. "I take it I'm not gonna like this," he said, frowning.

"I received a fax from the Garden Council a few minutes ago."

Seifer couldn't help but be surprised at the news. "Already?"

Jonah nodded.

Then his discomfort could only mean that— "They didn't…" Seifer trailed off, grimacing. The meeting had gone well, hadn't it? They had gotten approval to reinstate their license. What could have—?

"We got their approval."

You old fart… The blond groaned. "Well that's bloody good news. Don't scare me like that…"

"Depends on one's vantage point," Jonah said, handing Seifer the fax to read for himself.

He took it, somewhat warily, and began to skim through the introductions and over to the main subject. Pleased to announce… Yadda, yadda, yadda… License reinstated… Barring supervision from— He came to a stop. There was a moment of silence, during which Seifer understood what was going to be asked of him in about thirty seconds. Looking up at Jonah, he frowned.

"Oh, HELL no."


"Hey, no cheating!" Selphie exclaimed, bending over Rinoa's treadmill and switching the program to a higher scale.

"Selphie, you're killing me…" the young sorceress sighed, as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and continued to run.

"Did you, or did you not put me in charge of your physical training?" Selphie inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"She wouldn't have," Quistis grunted. The Holo-Dummy in front of her blocked her punch. "If she had known you'd be such a slave-driver," Quistis finished, lodging her knee in between her body and the Holo-Dummy's, aiming for the groin. The newest models came with gender selection as well, she recalled with a grin, and she had picked the male model.

Ever since the second war, the ties between B-Garden and Esthar had become stronger than ever, mostly due to Laguna's attempts to approach Squall in any way possible and aid his cause. As such, all the latest technological advances of Odine's labs were shipped to Garden gil-free. Odine himself had little to do with research on military weapons, specialized uniforms and whatnot, but several other branches of OdiCorp not focusing on para-magic did.

And so, instead of the good old punching bag, cadets now had the chance to practice their mêlée skills on Holo-Dummies: pseudo-androids made purely of energy of just enough density to counter blows and feel the way an actual human body did when hit. Armed with a certain amount of AI as well, the Holo-Dummies came with a controllable scale of power, skill, AI and a great number of martial arts techniques to choose from, including combinations.

In short, as Selphie had put it, they kicked ass.

"Well she's been getting flabby ever since she decided to haul herself up in the Infirmary. So get those buns working!" Selphie insisted. "They won't tighten up by themselves!"

Rinoa let out another sigh, reaching for her water bottle and spraying some on her face.

Quistis swept her forehead with a towel, and bent down to access the Holo-Dummy configuration pad that lay on the floor. "You seem even more hyper than usual," she commented, as she re-programmed it for a new session. "Any particular reason?"

"Nothing fancy; just excited about the party," Selphie said with a broad grin, tucking her hair into a waterproof cap. The yellow cap matched the Chicobo designs on her swimming suit. "You guys are gonna be able to make it, right?"

"Wouldn't miss one of Irvine's parties for the world," Rinoa replied, grinning. "Is he still moping about officially leaving teen-hood behind?"

Selphie let out a giggle as her legs slowly sank into the cool water of the pool. "He's getting over it. I keep reminding him that he's one year closer to buying all the booze he wants on his own. That seems to cheer him up, though it tends to remind him that the drinking age in Galbadia is eighteen, so I gotta find some new material."

"Thankfully," Quistis said as she clicked the Aikido tab on the touch screen. "I won't be the only one of age in a few months," she said. She had turned twenty-one just a little over a month ago and being the first in the group to be of legal age, she had been unanimously named The Booze-Meister. The title had been Zell's idea.

"We can still get our own beer, grandma," Selphie teased, kicking off from the edge of the pool and spiraling forward into the water in perfect breaststroke. "Just – not – the – hardcore – stuff," she added in between pauses for breath.

"And you'd think that would be enough…" Quistis trailed off, but there was a grin on her face even as she said those words. She pressed Execute on the touch pad and stood back up, stretching. The Holo-Dummy sprang up again, ready to engage in battle.

Rinoa pressed the 'Stop' button on her treadmill, coming to a halt and reaching for her towel to wipe off the condensation on her forehead. She leaned against the machine, watching Quistis battle the Holo-Dummy for a few seconds before she spoke. "Any chance we'll be seeing Instructor Gray on Sunday?" she asked, referring to the date of Irvine's party.

A muscle tightened on Quistis's jaw, but she didn't lose her concentration. She had a feeling she knew exactly where this was going and she didn't like it one bit. "Not really. Would be a bit of a stretch to drag him back here just for one night, wouldn't it?"

Rinoa nodded absent-mindedly, staring at her shoes. "So… it's really over then?"

"Seems like it," Quistis said, landing a particularly vicious kick on the dummy's chest.

"No chance you two will be making up in the near future?"

"I don't have any plans whatsoever to move to Esthar, so no."

"Speaking of which," Rinoa said, going in for the kill. "I got a call from Zone today." It couldn't have been plainer she had been working her way up to this very question.

Quistis didn't bother turning around, groaning internally. There we go again… "I thought we were talking about Esthar," she grunted.

"Well… seeing as he lives there," Rinoa said, shrugging. "He asked about you."

"Uh-huh…"

"Asked how you were doing."

"Mm-hmmm."

"Unless I misunderstood, he was trying to find out if you had any plans for next time we disembark there."

"That might not be for weeks upon weeks," Quistis said, dodging a blow.

"He can be patient," Rinoa said, grinning.

"And I could be busy."

Having just returned from her first lap, Selphie's head re-emerged by the side of the pool again. "I think someone's trying to avoid a date…" she said.

Quistis had to stop for a second and appreciate Selphie's apparently bionic ears that were able to follow the conversation even while she was swimming.

Having momentarily forgotten that there was a Holo-Dummy in front of her with her name written all over its knuckles, Quistis turned around, exasperated. "Look, Rinoa. I know he's your friend an—OW!"

Knocked down on the ground, Quistis grit her teeth and grabbed hold of the Holo-Dummy's leg. It had been about to kick her, but she held it tight and elbowed it hard on the knee-pit. If the Holo-Dummy had been given a voice, it would've been screaming in pain right about now.

Reaching over to the pad, Quistis punched the Abort button, sitting down on the floor of the gym and panting as the dummy got swept back into the generator grid. "I never agreed to go on a date with Zone," Quistis said, rubbing her sore cheekbone. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't do anything to get his hopes up. He's really sweet and I love our conversations when we spend time in Esthar, but that's as far as it can ever go."

Rinoa faked a casual shrug and returned to her jogging, but Quistis could see the disappointment in her eyes. She had been trying to set them up for a long time, and Selphie hadn't been doing much to help change her mind.

"I'm taking a shower," Quistis said, standing back up on her feet and making her way toward the locker rooms. "Gotta get ready for the meting soon."

She could feel, rather than see the two pairs of eyes on her back as she left the gym. She wasn't usually one to avoid a conversation by retreating, but she didn't have the patience to deal with the sort of romantic entanglements Selphie and Rinoa tried to weave her into.

Taking the hint, her two friends left the gym soon afterwards, letting her shower in peace.


"Zuka, keep your voice down!"

"Enough is enough, Zell!" Shizuka hissed, moving around the oval table of Balamb Garden's conference room, placing cups and saucers in front of every seat crankily. "I spent the greatest part of the last two hours talking on the phone, arguing with a company that goes by the name of 'McMuffin' about the shipment of cookies that were supposed to arrive in time for today's meeting."

Zell made a truly valiant effort not to laugh. "That's a… productive… tas—"

"I have the kind of job a monkey could pull off, Zell!" Shizuka snapped. "I make coffee and order pastries! You know I'm capable of a lot more than that!"

Zell forced a not-so-convincing grin on his lips. "You know, I always reckoned monkeys are highly under—"

"Oh, don't you dare try to make a joke out of this," Shizuka snarled, all but setting the pastry platter down gently. "I'm talking to him. Today. No more Mrs. Nice Librarian."

"But you know what he's like," Zell said with a cringe. "If you push him too hard he'll get pissed off and huffy and all… Squallish and he won't even notice everything you've done so far."

Shizuka let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, what the hell am I supposed to do then?"

Zell noticed the change of tone in her voice from anger to defeat and saw this as a good sign to approach her and place his hands on her shoulders for a comforting rub. "Keep surprising him. He's bound to start noticing. And if he doesn't, I'll keep on throwing subtle hints."

"Subtle is not exactly in your vocabulary, Zell," Shizuka said only half-amused, rubbing her sore temples. "I appreciate it, I really do, but I think I need to do this on my won."

"You are," Zell insisted. "I'm just… giving you advice on how to proceed," he added with a grin.

Shizuka looked up from her shoulder at him with a smirk and patted his face gently. "Don't get cheeky with me," she said. Zell grinned back, confident that he had won this battle, and reached down for the plate. But before his hand could close around a deliciously golden-brown, sugary donut, Shizuka slapped it away. "You already got your stash," she said. "Those are for the meeting."

"Awwwww…"

"You and that bottomless pit of a stomach," Shizuka said with a chuckle, going back to setting up the table. "At the rate your mother already feeds you, you'd think—" she began, but came to an abrupt halt, probably realizing only too late the mistake she'd just made.

"Speaking of my mother…" Zell trailed off, and stepped closer to her.

"Yes?"

"She's been asking me when we'll get around to visiting her for lunch," Zell said. "And since we're stationed in Balamb…"

While Zell knew that meeting a significant other's parents was a big deal, Shizuka's continued excuses and requests for a raincheck were starting to worry him. It wasn't often that he got to see his mother and he would've liked for her to meet Shizuka at some point.

"Well, ummm…" she began, stalling for time and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Depends on how much work Squall assigns to me. You know how it is with paperwork…"

"Actually, I don't."

"Well, I'll be lucky if I can get a moment to myself!" Shizuka said, her back still facing Zell. "There's orders to take care of, mission forms to fill in, applications to go over…"

"Are you sure you're not just avoiding this?"

"…Training center is absolutely teeming with T-Rex cubs and I have to remind Squall that-"

"Zuka…"

"…Trepie situation is just getting ridiculous. Did you know they didn't ask for authorization for their last meeting? I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm the only one—"

"Just forget about it," Zell said in resignation.

Things in their relationship tended to move slowly from the get-go and it looked like the trend wasn't going to change any time soon. It had taken him months upon months to finally ask her out and even longer for her to come out of her shell. They had been dating for a little over a year now, and he still felt like he didn't know her at times. He was happy to see she was far less shy around him than she had once been, but the fact that she had yet to truly open up to him was alarming.

"—who cares around here. Hey Selphie!" Shizuka exclaimed. She warmly greeted Selphie, who had just walked into the conference room alongside Irvine.

"Heya," Selphie greeted back, looking somewhat puzzled at the enthusiastic greeting. "We're the first ones here?"

"Yup!" Shizuka said, still grinning broadly, now slipping the documents containing the meeting's subjects along the table. "Take a seat; I reckon the others won't be long."

"You're awfully cheerful today," Irvine pointed out, accustomed to Shizuka's frequently moody behavior.

"She just managed to avoid yet another conversation—" Zell began, but was quickly silenced with a donut Shizuka quickly shoved into his open mouth.

Her faux-cheerfulness diminishing, she made her way over to the door crankily, where the rest of the attendees had already arrived, and pushed a novel-sized report in Squall's unsuspecting arms. "The T-Rexaurs are running amuck," she said briskly. "Either we seriously consider spraying them or we start giving out cubs as pets. I'm told they're not cuddly. Have fun reading it," she finished and stormed out of the room.

Her departure was followed by a fair amount of blinking and puzzled stares. Squall glanced down at the report in his arms. "…cubs?"

"November is T-Rexaur mating season," Irvine explained. "What?" he said when Rinoa stared at him in disbelief. "I watch International Geographic."

Zell guessed everyone was about as eager to discuss T-Rex mating habits as he was, judging from their expressions when they all took their seats. He hadn't noticed it at first, but suddenly realized their line-up today was a little different. Their usual number was six; Squall, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, himself and Xu. Cid also joined them whenever he was on the premises, which lately, was not so often. Rinoa never attended these meetings since she wasn't a SeeD, but she was present today.

Zell had to wonder why; the only other times she had attended, special circumstances had been involved. What could be so important that warranted her presence?

And where was Quistis? It wasn't like her to be late.

Apparently mirroring his own thoughts, Squall looked up from the sheaf of papers in his hands, frowning. "Where's Quistis?" he asked.


As soon as she heard Selphie and Rinoa leaving the locker rooms, Quistis stepped outside, still clad in her exercise outfit.

With all the talk of past relationships and Rinoa's plans to set her up, she didn't feel like she had gotten the workout she needed. There was still one hour left till the meeting, giving her plenty of time to have a private workout session and shower before going up to the bridge. The gym was packed by now, so she decided to head for the training center instead.

The first few Grats proved to be distraction enough, as well as an outlet for her frustration, but only for a mere few couple of minutes. It wasn't long before her thoughts returned to her non-existent love life.

Great, she groaned. If Grats won't do it, I'd better pray for a T-Rex if I'm hoping to get a decent fight.

Quistis preferred to keep her private matters exactly that; private. In light of the two new friendships the war had brought her, however, she'd been forced to change her tactics somewhat. She refused to disclose far too personal details, but she let her friends have an inkling of what went on in her life; just enough to keep them satisfied.

Her short-lived romance with former Instructor Gray had been one such incident. The man had been sweet and polite to her and had had a fair amount of appeal in the bedroom. It had been a very pleasant break from reality while it had lasted, but he was offered a much better position in the soon-to-be-made Esthar Garden. He had suggested she follow him, but Quistis, aside from having too many ties to keep her in Balamb, just hadn't been ready for such a commitment. As such, they had parted ways amicably and had made a promise to keep in touch every now and then.

Quistis had never been able to handle small changes in her daily routine very well, and finding herself with large chunks of free time daily, she threw herself back into her work in an attempt to slowly get back into her old rhythm. Selphie and Rinoa had interpreted that as minor depression and had rushed in to cure the alleged heartache with a new romantic interest.

Enter Zone.

It all started just a few months after the end of the War… After the first haze of victory had cleared out, the sextet had found themselves swamped with invitations to anything, from galas to post-war celebrations that were held to honor them. It had been a very bizarre situation, to bounce from brutal trials and the people's skepticism to cocktail parties and a sea of sponsorship offers.

Esthar's ceremony had been the most extravagant one. Zone and Watts had attended, along with the rest of the White SeeDs who had disembarked to join the festivities and reunite with Ellone briefly. Quistis hadn't gotten a chance to see Zone ever since their escape from Timber, where he'd given up his ticket for her. When they had come across the White SeeD ship, she had no idea the ex-anarchists from Timber would have been aboard and she hadn't been on the group Squall had selected to embark on the ship. Her first chance to thank him properly without the pressure of time and circumstances had been during that very ceremony.

"Uhh… I'm not sure if you remember me, Mr. Zone—"

"Mr. Zone?" He laughed. "That's a good one! Just Zone is fine. You're Quistis, right?"

"Yes. You gave me your train ticket back in Timber. I never got a chance to thank you for what you did. If it hadn't been for you—"

"Oh, c'mon… Don't mention it…" A blush. "You needed the ticket more than I did. I er… I'm used to making hasty retreats." Nervous laughter.

She couldn't help it; she laughed along. "Well, it doesn't matter. You could have used the ticket for yourself, but you gave it to a complete stranger instead. Very few people would have done something so selfless. Thank you."

"Ahhh… Well… It wasn't really… I mean—"

"Rinoa mentioned that… you are a fan of a certain magazine. I thought you might like this. I'm sorry I couldn't get anything better, but I didn't have much time. I'm useless with shopping as it is and I hardly know Esthar's market. I uh… I understand this is a… uhh… collector's edition. For the twenty five year anniversary since the magazine's inception."

The humiliation of picking that up from a magazine stand would have normally driven her away, but it was the least she could do for someone who may have very well saved her life. The ten or so scantily clad, well-endowed women on the golden cover of 'Girl Next door' seemed to giggle at her discomfort.

Not to mention Zone's.

"Oh… Rinoa said— she er… wow… I er… that's really nice… Good gift. I mean—Not that I'm that big a fan… I just… erm… thanks. Don't really— I mean… I don't use it that way. Just… Uh… Not that there's anything wrong with me… physically that is… but— OW!"

"Goodness, are you alright?"

"Yeah… just… my stomach…"

Ever since that rather awkward encounter, every time Garden found its way over to Esthar, Quistis would always reserve a warm smile and cheery conversation for him whenever possible. And although she had never intended to send him mixed signals, it appeared that somewhere along the way Zone had gotten the wrong impression about her sentiments, something Rinoa was ecstatic about.

Zone was sweet, alright, and his geekiness was nothing short of endearing, but to put it simply… he was a child. A very adorable one, for sure, but a child nonetheless.

It wasn't until she found herself back to her starting point that Quistis realized she had probably just gone through the entire Grat population of the training center. Either that, or the remaining few were hiding in the bushes.

How long have I been training? Quistis wondered, and checked her watch. Forty minutes had gone by since Selphie and Rinoa had left.

A pity. All that frustration and not a worthy target on sight, she mused, and decided to head back to her dorm. No sooner had she taken the first step, than her boot slipped on something and she fell, back-first, onto hard ground.

She was about to curse her own clumsiness when she noticed that the soil below her was unusually smooth and cold. She wasn't sure what she had expected to find, but her jaw fell upon seeing that she was now lying on a thick circle of ice.

What the...?


Squall stared at the view of the blue sky outside wistfully. Gone were the days when he was a mere SeeD, caring about nothing but the success of his missions.

As a Commander, he was forced to attend meetings such as the one today, deliberating on the most mind-numbing matters possible. He couldn't entirely blame Irvine for being angry he had missed a Sphere game for this.

When Quistis had shown up fifteen minutes in, looking disheveled and jittery, Squall was a little ashamed to admit he'd been hoping it was something serious. Quistis had assured them all she was fine, just upset she had lost track of time and had arrived late, much to his disappointment. He didn't wish any harm upon his friend, but even the slightest issue would've made this day a little more tolerable.

Then again, the small piece of news he would be delivering by the end of the meeting was bound to make the upcoming weeks, if not months, far more interesting.

"Why so quiet?"

Squall suddenly jolted up on his seat, startled. When he realized it had been Rinoa's voice in his head he relaxed again, letting the report he was holding fall on the table with a gentle thud. "We haven't had anything interesting on our plates for ages now. I don't have anything to add to this conversation."

"That's not what you told me earlier on…"

"Well…" Squall thought, his expression clouding. "I'd best leave that one for last."

"You were very cryptic about it," Rinoa pressed on. "You can't even give me details?"

I would, but you're not gonna like what you hear, he thought grimly, realizing his error only too late.

"…You do realize I can hear your thoughts, right?"

"Look, I'm sorry, but you'll understand soon enough why I didn't want to give any further details. It's not exactly pleasant conversation."

"OK, now you're starting to scare me."

"…while I'm sure that training T-Rex cubs would be a delight to anyone who ventured it," Quistis cut Selphie's suggestion short. "I think I'll leave this one up to Squall."

"What?" Squall said, only too happy to jump on the opportunity to escape the mental conversation with Rinoa. "Oh! Sure, yeah. Whatever."

"Squall?"

Quistis arched a blonde eyebrow. "Did you even hear what I just said?" she asked.

"Of course I did; I'll take care of it," Squall hurried to say. In truth, he had no idea what was being discussed right now, but it was probably nothing important anyway.

"You'd rather get in the middle of two dinosaurs doing it than tell me what's going on?"

"I'll go check it out first thing in the morning—"

"Squall!"

"Shouldn't be a hassle—"

"SQUALL!"

"STOP IT!" Squall finally burst out, turning every head in the room to his direction.

"Uhh… You okay, man?" Zell asked, putting his muffin down in a move that made Squall aware of just how concerned he was over his sanity.

"I'm fine," Squall said, rubbing his forehead and avoiding Rinoa's murderous gaze. "I uhhh… Are we done here? Because there's something that's not on the notes I wanted to discuss."

"I guess," Xu said with a shrug. "Unless you prefer baby blue over turquoise or navy for uniforms," she added with a smirk.

"No, either is fine," Squall said, missing the humor in Xu's suggestion. "Alright then, since we're done with everything else…" he trailed off, mustering the courage to say what he had to say without bothering to hide his displeasure. "I have an announcement to make."

"Go on…?" Selphie said.

"As you all know, Quistis and Selphie were in Centra earlier today," Squall began. "They were discussing the matter of reinstating G-Garden's license to function."

"Yeah, so…?" Zell said.

"I received a fax from Van Helgon's assistant a couple of hours ago," Squall went on. "Notifying me about his decision."

It didn't escape Squall's notice that Quistis's eyes darted over to Selphie. He could see the younger girl fidget in her seat, staring at him stonily.

"Well?" Xu asked impatiently. "Did we bury the scumbags?"

"It wouldn't appear so," Squall replied, glancing furtively at Quistis. The blonde was suddenly very interested in her so far untouched coffee. "Apparently Balamb's representatives gave their consent to put Galbadia back to business."

"They did?" Zell asked incredulously. "I mean—We did?"

"Quisty did," Selphie said.

Four heads turned sharply to the woman's direction. "Thank you for keeping it on the down-low," Quistis said through gritted teeth. "And yes," she added, looking at everyone defiantly. "I did. What of it?"

"Well… Why?" Rinoa asked timidly. Her face had gone awfully white as if she had an inkling of what was about to follow.

"Just because a few people from Galbadia have bad judgment doesn't mean their Garden should shut down," Quistis replied. "I thought everyone had put the war behind them by now and if they haven't… well… they should."

"Easy for you to say…" Selphie muttered under her breath.

"Look, Selphie, enough is enough!" Quistis said, irritated. "I've done nothing to deserve your disapproval and for Hyne's sake, doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"

"I think Seifer Almasy has had more than his fair share of second chances," Selphie snapped back.

"Plus one," Squall said quietly in the background, but his voice wasn't lost on any pair of ears.

"Come again?" Irvine asked.

"I said, plus one," Squall repeated, looking up from the document in his hand. "Galbadia has been granted clemency. We hold the right to supervise them as the only functional Garden for as long as we please and they hold the right to send any representative they see fit during the preliminary investigation."

Silence spread in the room as Squall's previous words began to make sense.

"Three guesses who they chose," he said, slipping the paper onto the desk for everyone to see.


"This won't be permanent."

"I don't care."

"You'll barely spend two days per week there and then return to G-Garden."

"Don't care."

"Only until the evaluation period is over."

"No. Iie. Non. Oh—"

"ENOUGH."

A loud bump suddenly made Seifer jerk on his seat and he turned to stare at Jonah. The older man had stood up from his seat and had brought his palm down on the desk so fast and so hard that Seifer could've sworn he heard the wood underneath let out a creak in protest.

"This is an order from your superior. I thought I was dealing with an adult soldier, not a petulant child of four," Jonah said, and his tone was enough to make Seifer actually feel four.

"You don't get it," Seifer said, after he'd regained his composure, shaking his head. "I'm not welcome there. The fact alone that I will be going will make everything worse."

"You're the only one from our ranks who has spent enough time there to know everyone that matters."

"Correction; I'm the only one who's spent enough time there to have pissed off everyone that matters," said Seifer earnestly.

"If you're careful about what you say or do, then there won't be a problem," Jonah insisted. "Balamb has no choice but to follow the council's orders on this matter and we still reserve the right to send the representative we deem worthy. They have no right to veto us, so sooner or later, they'll have to accept you."

"Later, I'll bet," Seifer muttered under his breath.

"Well, then this should be a fine opportunity to show if you're worth the gil and the trouble," Jonah said, taking his seat again.


Thirty nine.

Forty.

Forty one.

She was different now.

It wasn't the war that had changed her. It had changed them all, but the transformation within her had begun earlier on.

Forty two.

Forty three.

It had been right after he pulled her out of Adel, her clothes soaked in blood, eyes rolled back into their sockets. Before time compression had commenced, her breathing became more stable and her eyes returned back to normal. He'd smiled at her then, briefly, and she'd smiled back. And then he saw it. A strange little flicker in her eyes that he didn't have time to process before the floor gave in and all time merged into one liquid mass.

Forty four.

Afterwards, she'd been the same. Same old Rinoa. All smiles and optimism and bright brown eyes.

Except for that strange flicker.

He'd seen it again. Mostly at nights.

It was during the nights that she let herself go and the change was more apparent than ever.

Forty five.

She always brushed her hair forty six times. He could hear her. They could hear each other's thoughts now. The Sorceress-Knight connection.

Forty six…

Forty six… and two, Squall thought, mirroring what Rinoa had just said in her own thoughts as well.

Rinoa didn't perform those last two brushstrokes she always mentioned. She never did.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder, the mirror on the wall opposite his bed forgotten for the time being. She smiled.

Squall smiled back at her, already under the covers and waiting for her to join him. "Forty six and two?" he asked.

"Forty six and two," Rinoa repeated, smiling still, and dropped her brush on Squall's desk. She made her way over to the bed and crawled under the covers, reemerging only to wrap her arms around Squall's midsection and place her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and sighed gently.

"Why is it always forty six?" Squall asked, running his fingers through her hair. It seemed like a silly question to ask, why she brushed her hair only that exact amount of times, but he wanted to know. Something about it bugged him tough he couldn't tell what it was or why it bothered him.

Rinoa shrugged. "Who knows?" she said. Sleep was already beginning to claim her.

"Why not add the last two strokes?" Squall asked, unsatisfied with her reply.

"Mmmm, not yet," Rinoa murmured sleepily. "Right now it's chaos. The in-between. But the wind of change is already blowing. Perhaps soon. I can add them on the third."

When she spoke like that she frightened him. Was it the Sorceress in her that made her say those things, and why? What did it all mean? Was it a curse? Had Adel and Ultimecia once been normal women, but were eventually driven into becoming monsters by something they couldn't control? Had Matron suffered that fate as well? Would Rinoa?

Squall looked at her, his grip around her shoulders tightening as if she'd slip away any moment now if he let go. She didn't budge, just sighed again, softly. When he looked at her, he only saw her. Rinoa. The girl he'd fallen in love with.

"I love you, too," Rinoa whispered suddenly. "But what you're doing is cheating."

Squall laughed. He thought she'd already fallen asleep, but apparently she could still hear his thoughts. Had she heard everything else, too? He held his breath for a moment, waiting to hear her suddenly say or think 'Yes', but she didn't. "Sorry," he said, chuckling. "But it still counts, doesn't it?"

"Mmmm, no," Rinoa said, giggling. "I want the real deal."

"Can I write it?"

"You hate writing letters."

"It could be a card."

Rinoa arched an eyebrow at that.

"…along with some flowers?" Squall added, grinning.

"Mmmmmmmmaybe… What kind of flowers?"

"Uhhh… how's roses?"

Rinoa laughed softly and hugged Squall tighter. "Can they be blue?" she asked in a faint whisper.

Squall let out a sound between a scoff and laughter. "Blue?" he repeated. "How could they be blue?" he asked, tucking a lock of hair behind Rinoa's ear.

But she was already fast asleep and didn't answer.

Forty six and two… are just ahead of me.


Quistis sat on a squishy sofa in the Instructors' lounge, calmly sipping her morning coffee. The sound of the radio on the back of the room kept her marginally interested as she listened to the news.

"…returning from his brief journey in Northern Trabia. Upon his arrival, High Priest Rachmanov was greeted warmly by members of the clergy and the government."

She had long ago been stripped of her Instructor's privileges, but the lounge was traditionally used by anyone and everyone within the walls of Garden who was ranked as an officer. Plus, they had the best coffee-maker.

It could've been a silent, peaceful morning before the storm of Seifer's imminent arrival, but Selphie had different plans.

"Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed at the man in overalls standing before her. "I've seen blocks of butter that looked sturdier than this. I specifically requested Galbadian marble and that's certainly not it."

Quistis had no idea what on earth they needed a fireplace for since there was already more than enough heating for the whole Garden, but it was one of the numerous renovations Selphie had taken up on herself recently.

"…stated he was very pleased with the progress made between the two countries and looks forward to visiting their premises again in the future."

As soon as she was done dealing with the new installment in the Instructors' lounge, Selphie made her way over to the couch and slipped right next to Quistis, helping herself to some coffee. "He was cute," she commented, grinning.

"Was he?" Quistis asked, somewhat amused.

"If I wasn't so pissed off at the company he works for I might've flirted a bit," Selphie replied.

"What about Irvine?" Quistis asked with an arch of her eyebrows.

"Irvine?" Selphie said. "Irvine's my 'It's complicated' on Facejournal," she added with a giggle. "You know what he's like. We're together alright, but it can't be official or he'll get spooked out. So I'm technically a free woman. I can use my feminine wiles if I feel like it," she told Quistis with a playful wink.

"Over to Xanna for the live interview at the airport."

The blonde smiled, shaking her head. "I'm still in awe of how you manage to pretty much run this place on your own," she commented. "The Festival committee, the PR, the renovations… Aren't you constantly exhausted?"

"Irvine's hooked me up on that new energy drink. That blue stuff, whatever it's called," Selphie replied unflinchingly. "I dunno what the hell they put in that thing, but it works."

Quistis laughed. "I think I'd much rather take whatever Zell's taking."

Selphie laughed along, sipping some coffee. "I wouldn't," she replied. "Must be like adrenaline forced into your bloodstream constantly. Whew!"

Smiling, Quistis took another sip and licked her lips slowly, before turning to look at Selphie. "Look… Selphie. I—"

"Don't," Selphie cut her off. "I know what you're gonna say and it's mostly my fault," she said. "I treated you like crap after the whole Centra deal and you didn't deserve it. I guess it just upset me much more than I thought it would, but it would've happened even if you hadn't said anything in that meeting. I hear Meric is pretty well-connected. They had the approval in the bag."

It was already three days after that awkward meeting in the bridge, and things had been forcibly calm between them. Quistis had been under the impression that Selphie kept coming up with excuses not to talk about it, and as for Rinoa…

"You're not the only one I managed to upset," Quistis said gloomily. "Did you see the look on Rinoa's face?" she asked, cringing. "She blanched. She didn't even say a word after we called it a night."

"Can you blame her?" Selphie asked, grimacing as well. "Oh no, not about you!" she hurried to add, seeing the guilty look on Quistis's face. "I meant about Seifer. The guy practically sacrificed her to Adel. I don't think she'll be forgetting that any time soon. Would you?"

"No, I guess not," Quistis muttered, running a finger over the handle of her cup absent-mindedly. She fell silent for a few minutes.

"…Nothing pleases Hyne more than seeing his children working together in harmony for the greater good."

"How do you feel about him?" she asked after a little while. "Coming back?"

"Curious," Selphie replied honestly. When Quistis looked at her quizzically, she added, "Yeah, wondering whether my nunchacks are asshole-shaped in girth and actually hoping they're a little wider."

"Selphie!" Quistis exclaimed, bursting into laughter. It wasn't very often that Selphie used the stronger curse words, but when she did, the result was more than often imaginative.

"Seriously though?" Selphie asked, looking a little more solemn now. "I just hope we see as little of him as possible. Isn't it a little fishy, how he got away with no charges at all?"

"I've been wondering that myself," Quistis added, nodding. The only person who knew anything about what had happened during Seifer's trial was Squall, but he'd never said a word about it. "I hinted at it after the meeting, but got no decent response."

"Hinted it? To whom?"

"Seifer."

Selphie's eyes widened considerably. "You spoke to him?"

Quistis nodded. "It was after you left," she explained, giving Selphie all the details of their conversation.

"That's rich," Selphie said after Quistis was done narrating. "Wondering why we were staring at him? It's 'cause you weren't in cuffs, jackass!"

"To be perfectly honest, I was more shocked by the fact that Seifer knows how to speak in public. With words. Fancy ones," Quistis said.

"How long is the preliminary investigation gonna last?" Selphie asked.

"No idea," Quistis replied with a shrug. "All I know is that we're supposed to go over negotiations with Seifer and anyone else Galbadia might send for a little while, and once everything is decided, they're given the clearance to re-open while we send a few supervisors over to make sure it's all running smoothly."

"Well then, we'd better make sure the negotiations go fast," Selphie said. "I don't like this."

"Me neither," Quistis concurred.

"And he's coming today?"

Quistis nodded.

"Well then," Selphie said, getting up. "I think I'll go have a word with Xu. I have a feeling she might want to take the responsibility of forming a welcoming committee for our old friend."

Quistis grinned, sinking back into the couch after Selphie got up. The gentle voice of Hynean High Priest Sethior Rachmanov filled the silent room.

"…as Esthar's spiritual leader, it is my duty to work alongside President Loire to ensure our nation's well-being."

"Turn that up on your way out," Quistis told Selphie, smiling serenely.


The Galbadian aircraft began to descend.

Seifer stared at the view outside the window. The blue sky soon turned misty as they entered the clouds, and it wasn't long before he could make out the familiar valleys and beaches of Balamb. An odd sense of nostalgia filled the pit of his stomach, but he told himself it was merely nerves. Nerves at the thought of seeing the people he grew up with a good two years after they'd last crossed paths. Things had been… different then. But Jonah had been preparing him for this very moment ever since they'd first met.

Agreeing to go through what was undeniably the epitome of putting one's head in the wolf's mouth hadn't been easy.

There was no amount of money that would've made him agree, and Jonah hadn't offered any extra to begin with. Once again, he'd managed to convince Seifer with words alone. He was beginning to feel a little uneasy of the mount of influence that man had over him, even more so because Seifer hadn't exactly been known for his obedience to orders in the past. He hated to admit it, but Jonah had managed to awaken the soldier in him, a feat many people could claim they had ventured in the past, but only one had eventually succeeded.

When pushing his pride aside, Seifer could recognize that he had found the kind of leader he could commit to in Jonah Meric's face. And commit he had. Though Jonah himself had shown no small amount of trust and had put no small amount of effort in getting Seifer cleared of all charges post-war.

"SeeD Almasy, sir, we will be landing in five minutes."

Turning to look at the pilot, Seifer nodded curtly and buckled his seatbelt. The aircraft continued to descend, and Balamb Garden soon came in sight. He'd left the Garden stationed, had seen it mobile during times of war and that was pretty much the last of it he'd laid eyes upon aside from one small glimpse during his stay in Balamb. And there it was again, docked upon the very same valley it had been before it had first risen off the ground. How fitting…

The aircraft touched the roof of Balamb Garden and Seifer took a deep breath in. Here we go…

He shouldered his duffel bag, gave the pilot a sharp nod in reciprocation of a salute and stepped outside.

The gales of wind whipped at his hair and face and he squinted at the sun, walking down the stairs of the aircraft. But there he came into a stop. He hadn't expected to be welcomed with open arms, per se, but this was… interesting.

He counted more than ten SeeDs all lined up at the ready and he was willing to bet they weren't there to make him feel at home. His worst possible nightmare came to life when Xu Chang stepped up in front of him, looking happier than he'd ever seen her.

"Almasy," she said, saluting him.

The salute itself was suspicious enough, but Seifer indulged her by returning it after he'd scrutinized her warily long enough. "Chang."

"Glad to see you back," she said curtly, and before he had time to respond, she added, "Boys… Search him," with a sardonic grin.

Nice try, dyke… If she really thought she could intimidate him with an order like this, she was gravely mistaken. "Oh, do be gentle," he said, dropping his duffel bag as the SeeDs advanced on him. "I've been saving myself for someone special."

Xu sat back on the ledge, enjoying the show as ten men began to search Seifer, making sure to invade a lot of personal space if need be, as per her orders, he was certain. Folding her arms in front of her chest, she continued to grin. "Want me to do it myself, Almasy?"

"As much as I appreciate the offer," Seifer began, keeping an eye on a certain SeeD who seemed to be getting a little too close for comfort. "Your hands on me equals craptastic amounts of erectile dysfunction. And I'm still far too young for that. Not to mention the fact you're was about as gentle as a pack of Wendigos."

Xu stretched her legs lazily. "Boys… I think a second round is in order. Just to be safe."

Bitch.

The second time around, it took longer for the SeeDs to complete their search. Xu was milking the situation for all it was worth, and Seifer knew she wouldn't hesitate to order a third round should he mouth off again.

More because he was anxious to get this over with, rather than fearing pissing her off, he remained quiet.

When she was satisfied all was clear, Xu pulled her men back. They fell into formation and led the group back into the construct of Balamb Garden. Seifer walked alongside Xu. Behind them, two SeeDs brought the rear, watching his every move.

"So… mind explaining to me why you're not dead and or rotting in jail, Almasy?" Xu asked, in a tone that anyone else would've read as casual conversation.

Seifer turned to look at Xu, still at a daze at how fast the proceedings were taking place.

They must be trying to keep my visit as incognito as possible, he thought.

"Do you really think I deserve such cruel and unjust punishment?" he asked.

"No, actually. If it were me, I'd have sentenced you to being smacked on the balls with a frying pan for all eternity. Would've done it myself if they'd given me the honor," Xu replied. "But I digress… Why are you allowed to walk out in the open?"

Seifer grinned. No matter how much animosity there was between him and his old 'peers,' one thing was for certain. Most -if not all— of them were not as bugged by the fact that he was back, as they were curious about why he was a free man. And he wasn't about to indulge them. "Y'know… Your friend asked me the very same thing a couple of days ago."

"My friend?"

"Trepe," Seifer replied. "She was itching to know why I'm all absolved of sin now."

Xu stared at him.

"But I'll never tell," Seifer said with a smirk, beating Xu to the punch and pushing the elevator button himself.


Jonah sat behind his desk, feeling his eyelids grow heavier by the minute.

Even though the hardest part of getting Galbadia Garden back into business was over, the most tedious part was just now dawning upon them. The paperwork, negotiations and legalities needed were going to take months. Being inactive was one of the things Jonah Meric hated the most, but his greatest issue wasn't idleness.

It was time.

And they were running out of time.

The phone rang, disrupting Jonah's thoughts and pulling him back into reality. Wearily, he picked up the receiver. "Yes?"

"Mr. Meric?" came the voice of his secretary from the other end of the line. "I have an incoming call from Mrs. Roscoe."

"Put her through," Jonah said, frowning. "I thought I told you to call me on my cell only," he hurried to say the moment the call was redirected to his office.

"Oh relax, Jonah. The line is secure," said the female voice on the other end of the line.

"Was there something you wanted?"

"Love your manners."

"Sorry," he muttered, rubbing his sore temple with one hand. "Been swamped with work. Is something wrong?"

"No, not really. I just returned from Centra, so I was wondering if I could meet him."

"Too late. Left for Balamb Garden already."

"Can't I reach him there?"

"Not yet. He's not ready."

"We're running out of time."

Don't I know it, Jonah thought. "I know, but there are still matters to take care of. He'll be safe there."

"Not for long. What about the others?"

"Nothing on my end yet. Have you found any of them?"

"I may have a lead. My people are already on it."

"Where?"

"Esthar."

"Hmmm…"

"What?"

"Just had an idea. In a week or so, you'll catch a flight over to Esthar to meet up with your team."

"Why?"

"You can keep an eye on him there. I'll make sure he shows up. But no personal contact yet. Fair enough?"

"…I guess."

"I'll give you a call when it's time and send over a ticket, alright?"

"I can afford my own ticket, Jonah…"

"What? No… I didn't mean—"

"Oh, you make it so easy. I'm joking. You know I love it when you take care of me."

Jonah sighed. "Is that all? I still have mountains of paperwork to finish."

"Yeah, that's all. I'll be expecting a call. Love you."

"…Me too."


Well then, this is dandy, Seifer thought as he stared at the ceiling of the cramped little dorm.

In all fairness, the dorms had changed for the better since he'd been a student there, but any sort of work dealing with their tendency to induce claustrophobia had been omitted.

As he had previously figured, B-Garden had taken every measure in making sure his arrival was kept as secret as possible. Which was saying something, seeing as he'd arrived in broad daylight. He was escorted to his room lightning-fast, told the first meeting would be held tomorrow and then Xu had slammed the door to his face. It wasn't like her behavior had hurt his feelings, but the battle within him was raging.

Do as Jonah had advised and keep his head down, or cause a little bit of mayhem in retaliation?

It's not as if the latter was hard to do. Everyone in Balamb Garden, old or new, knew his face, and seeing him walk among them casually would cause no small amount of panic. He spent quite some time locked up in the room, thinking of ways to make a trip out into the open even more dramatic (some of his ideas included a straightjacket), but he decided to simply stay put.

He took a shower, emptied his duffel bag, wandered about the room and discovered a stash of Girl Next Door magazines under the mattress. He skimmed them, read some of Jonah's notes, fell asleep in boredom and woke up again, realizing one, that he was hungry, and two, that it was already nighttime.

It took a lot of time to finally make the decision to venture outside, and even then, he decided to wait a bit until curfew so he could sneak out mostly unnoticed. He wondered if the coin-on-a-string trick still worked with the vending machines in the cafeteria.

He soon discovered that the rooms weren't the only new thing within Garden. Cursing under his breath, he paid for a soda and a sandwich and made his way out again.

He decided that since the hallways were empty, he might as well make a walk out of it and wandered around Garden, chewing greedily on the sandwich. Not much had changed, apparently, though the structure was definitely shinier than it once had been. It seemed that a lot of care and attention went into the military institution lately. It hadn't exactly been a wreck back in the day, but he'd lived within these walls long enough to be able to see the difference.

To his slight shock and disgust he noticed that there were Koi fish swimming around the little pools of water surrounding the hallways and center of the structure. If he had to guess, he'd say it had been Messenger Girl's idea.

He was right.

There were a lot more details about the new Garden that caught his eye, but all they did was convince them of just how mind-numbingly bored everyone had been after the war's end. His wasn't a popular opinion, but he preferred it when things were a little more exciting. Deep down, they would've all agreed with him.

Koi fish, for fuck's sake.

He tossed the sandwich wrapping and the soda can in a near-by bin and began to make his way back to his room, when he heard a sound in the distance.

Well, damn. I should've brought that straightjacket after all, he thought, grinning, and prepared himself for his first impromptu meeting with a Garden resident. Following the trajectory of the sound, he pinpointed it over by the infirmary's door. A lone figure stood there, but it wasn't who he would've expected to see coming out from there. Unless Dr. Kadowaki had dropped down ten sizes.

The person standing by the door locked up and then made her way down the hallway, yawning. She was still too far away to make out clearly, but there was something about her walk and long dark hair that made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

It was Rinoa.

And she'd just now spotted him, something that effectively rooted her to the spot.

One thing Seifer was glad for was that she wasn't accompanied by her bitch, Angelo.

"…Rinoa." The name left his lips before he could stop himself.

Rinoa on the other hand, seemed to be unable to say anything, which –to Seifer's knowledge- was a first. She looked pale, far paler than she normally did and he didn't know whether the expression on her face was one of horror or anger. Her hands were shaking.

Seifer averted his gaze and tried to look anywhere but the young Sorceress, hovering awkwardly between the option of bolting and the option of saying something.

"So ummm… how've you been?"

The question seemed to spark something within the girl, and she straightened up to her full height (which wasn't much compared to Seifer's, but still made somewhat of an impression) looking livid.

"Since I last saw you?" she said, her tone forcibly collected. "Pretty good. Fell on my knees, merged with a Sorceress, oh wait, you actually witnessed that…"

One would have to be exceptionally thick to miss the harsh tone in her voice, and despite popular claims, Seifer didn't belong in that particular group of people.

"Saved the world," Rinoa went on. "Nearly saw Squall die, squeezed my way out of time compression… kept busy, overall."

"Right," Seifer muttered, biting the inside of his cheek nervously. He wasn't naïve enough to expect even someone like Rinoa to let bygones be bygones, but he really wasn't prepared to face her on the first night following his arrival. "Look, uhh… I… I just wanted to say I'm—"

"You're what?" Rinoa interrupted him, crossing her arms in front of her chest and chuckling derisively. "Sorry? Well gee, that really does make everything right in the world," she said, her voice dripping with the kind of sarcasm he'd never witnessed from her before.

"What d'you want me to do, beg for forgiveness?" Seifer said. Though he was beginning to feel irritated at the verbal assault, his voice registered mostly resignation and much less hostility. "Nothing I say will change what happened."

"For once, we fully agree," Rinoa said, nodding. "So… what are you doing here?"

Seifer arched an eyebrow. "Didn't Trepe and Tilmitt—?"

"Yes, they told us about the Centra meeting," Rinoa cut him off. "We were expecting you, I know that much. What I'm asking is what are you really doing here?"

Seifer grinned, trying to somewhat lighten the atmosphere. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been playing nice for a while now. Haven't been up to anything sinister."

Rinoa nodded. "Yet."

"Look, I'm not here to sabotage you or your buddies," Seifer said with a sigh. "All I want is to do my job, and I've only just arrived and it's getting too late for this sh—"

"You're right, it is too late," Rinoa said, and she dropped the sarcasm for good, only to shift her expression into genuine sadness.

"You know what I meant."

"I do. And you know what I meant."

"Yeah…" Seifer said, scrutinizing her closely. "Gotcha."

Rinoa hesitated for a moment, and he could tell she was trying to decide between leaving and saying more. He wasn't at all eager to continue this conversation, but he gave her time to make her decision. He owed her that much.

"Seifer?" Rinoa finally said, staring at her shoes.

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from me," she said, looking up straight into his eyes. "I mean it. Even if you're not looking for trouble, I don't want you around me."

"I can't control—"

"Outside of meetings," Rinoa interrupted, sounding every bit as serious as one could get. "I don't really attend them all too often, but I'm not going to put a restraining order on you. I know there will be times when we can't control running into each other. But outside of that, I don't want you near me. I don't want you talking to me, I don't want you—"

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Seifer said, holding up a hand to stop her rant. "I won't bug you. I didn't intend to anyway."

"Good," Rinoa said. "It's for your own safety."

Seifer made a big effort not to laugh. Rinoa's 5' 4" and skinny limbs weren't exactly the stuff of nightmares, but he knew better. She was different now. "Yeah, I noticed," he said, not laughing, but settling on a vague grin.

"What's that supposed to mean? Noticed what?"

"You've got… the look."

Rinoa cocked her head to the side, looking impatient but also curious. "The 'look.' "

"Yeah," Seifer said. "I've seen it before. It doesn't suit you." Edea had it. Adel had it. Ultimecia had it. You know what I'm talking about.

"That was pretty deep," Rinoa said, sarcasm returning to her voice.

"I'm serious, Rinoa," Seifer interrupted her. It was his turn to look somber. "You hate my guts. Fine, you're… entitled to," he admitted, with no small amount of effort or distaste. "I'm an arse, I'm dangerous, I suck… the works. Feel whatever you wanna feel about me, but hear me out on this one; you're treading on thin ice."

"Spooky," Rinoa said, clearly not convinced Seifer could ever possibly tell her anything of importance. "Now if you'll excuse me…" she trailed off and turned her heel, making her way over to the dormitories.

Seifer lingered there a little longer, staring at her departing figure and her black hair dancing on her back as she walked away. It had gotten significantly longer since he'd last seen her. Long, straight, shiny… He had a sudden vision of it being swept right into a magnificent headpiece framing her face.

Scared little boy…

"Shut up," Seifer said out loud, willing the chills down his spine to go away.

It was the first day back, and things were already looking grim.

Home, sweet Home, he thought as he slipped the card into the receptor of his door.


A/N: Some day the poor boy's having, eh?

This chapter was supposed to end long before Seifer arrived, but I figured that since it took so long to update, I might as well speed things up a tad and bring him over so we can start getting to the 'meatier' aspects of the story. So, introduction is officially over, and we can now move forward to a little thing called plot.

As per usual, notes on this chapter to references and clarifications can be found in the forum.

04/10/2010 EDIT: If there's any chapter I would recommend re-reading, this would be the one since it has been edited the most. Again, it's not ground-breaking stuff, so you won't be missing out on anything that won't be addressed later on as well. Here's the list of changes:

- 3rd scene ends sooner than it used to, and continues later on in the 5th scene with a small addition (see below).

- 4th scene, Zell thinks about his relationship with Shizuka and the constant obstacles he faces when trying to get her to open up to him.

- 5th scene, continuation of 3rd. Quistis thinks about Zone and has a small accident while training. The accident in question was previously only a reference in chapter 4.

- 6th scene, Quistis arrives late to the meeting. There's also a mention of Sphere, a fictional sport in my story. I have absolutely no idea what happens in that sport yet, but I might flesh it out in later chapters. Sphere gets its name from the sphere-like shape of the stadiums its played in.

- The line "Forty six and two, are just ahead of me," is a lyric taken from the song Forty six and two, by the band Tool. If you want a small hint on what Rinoa is thinking about, look up the song's meaning.

- I don't really have to explain Facejournal, do I? It's my silly little portmanteau (Facebook and LiveJournal) for an FF8 equivalent of an online social network.