Disclaimer: I do not own Dissidia, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, Final Fantasy VIII, or Avatar The Last Airbender.

A/N: Well, you can obviously see how hung up on Laguna our poor Hikari is. It's so sad, like that girl with a crush on her teacher; it just can't happen, no matter how much she loves him! Please review if you like the story!

What Matters Is Now

Chapter Three

Demi's POV

The SeeD exam wasn't nearly as hard as everyone made it out to be. But then, I'd sort of expected to excell, since I did in everything else. I'm not conceited, not at all; I'm just stating a fact. I've always been at the top of my class.

It's surprising how much you can do with two 9mm pistols. In SeeD, gunmen and women are everywhere, and usually they're not really that well thought of. Everybody thinks shooting is easy. It's not, not at all. Especially if you do it like I do.

Who else can shoot through the middle of a playing card with a single bullet? Who else can kill a Galbadian soldier with two bullets? I guarantee you, if you come up behind me any way, you will have a gun at your head when I turn around.

And I hate that.

I hate how gifted I am. I'm the top of the class, the daughter of the most powerful man in the world, rich as sin, and revered by all. Too many people have tried to befriend and/or seduce me into being their friend so I could pay for everything they wanted. I was hesitant to even bring Hikari home with me.

But Hikari... She surprised me. She's so clumsy and innocent that she could easily be a hassle, but she's so happy. After being taken away from all her friends and abandoned by her parents, I would think that she'd be at least a little depressed, but no, there's always a smile on her face.

However, I'm a little suspicious that she likes my dad, which is really weird. But it's not too much of a surprise. Both he and I are used to the schoolgirl crushes he accumulates, so I was taking that risk when I brought her home. Still, I couldn't have someone as innocent and pretty in those dorm rooms with those sluts. Just the idea makes me shiver.

She told me about a dream she had with him in it. He was younger in the dream - naturally, since I'm sure she hates how old he is - and Kiros and Ward were there, too. Normally, I would pass it off as just a dream, but she mentioned something about them being soldiers. I had never told her that my dad and his friends used to be soldiers for the Galbadian Army. On one hand, she could've just dreamt that for the sake of dreaming it, and it was a coincidence. On the other hand, it might not have been just a dream, and she was dreaming it for a reason. But that idea was too crazy for me to wrap my mind around, so I decided not to bring it up. Also, I didn't want to hear Hikari gush about my dad.

Anyway, the SeeD exam. All that really happened was a fake attack on a sector of Esthar, and we had to halt the attack and shove them out. Easy. But Hikari was really stressed about it. Apparently she'd been told to deliver a message to Group D, but had been ambushed by enemy soldiers and had to fight them off. She hadn't been able to, and they'd gotten through to a checkpoint. It was a minor thing, no big deal really, but she was terrified that she wouldn't score high enough to pass because of her mistake.

Everyone that had participated in the exam gathered in the Fitness Room. Most of the girls were huddled together, discussing their performance and stressing about whether or not they'd get picked to be SeeD. Hikari was on the elyptical, excersizing her heart out, the earbuds in her ears drowning out all sound in her furious attempts to distract herself.

Instructor Daelux and Instructor Reter stepped into the room, still dressed in their white soldier jumpsuits and holding their helmets at their sides. Daelux, a very hands-off professor, leaned against the doorway while Reter, incurably meticulous, held a clipboard out in front of her, a black pen in her hand poised above the paper on the board.

Without prelude, she began calling out the names of those who had passed the SeeD exam. "Demi Loire," she said expressionlessly.

Of course they called my name first. Just to add to how perfect I was. I pushed myself off the wall that I'd been leaning on and walked out the door, tossing an encouraging look to Hikari as she wrapped her headphones around her MP3 player.

I waited outside the Fitness Room for her, knowing how stressed she must be. The more people that came out the door, the more my sympathy for her grew. She's probably in tears already, I thought, frowning. I had no doubts that she'd passed, but the anticipation would certainly be killing her.

Finally, she walked out the doors, letting out a squeal as soon as they shut behind her. I cringed at the sound, but smiled anyway, happy for her. "How'd you do?" I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her down.

"I just barely passed!" she said breathlessly. She didn't seem fazed at all by the fact that she'd only 'just barely' passed, only elated by her achievement. "I'm so happy; I actually passed!" She spun around and stopped in front of the window, giving her reflection an evil smile. "Take that, mom and dad!" she yelled, then punched the glass, only to shake her hand in the air afterward in pain.

I laughed, crossing my arms. "Are you alright?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She offered me an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, clenching and unclenching her fist for emphasis. She shook it one last time, then returned her hands to their usual position at her hips. "I'm so happy," she breathed again. "I'm finally a SeeD, too."

I furrowed my brow. She didn't know any other SeeDs, did she? "What do you mean?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Hm?" She seemed to have been jerked out of a thought. "Oh, I just meant my friends back in Balamb." She started walking, and I followed, waiting for her to continue, as I knew she would. She never had a shortage for words. "They all became SeeDs about half a year ago. Squall Leonhart was one of them - you might have heard of him. Then there was Selphie, and Zell, and Quistis Trepes, who used to be an instructor, but she got fired. Not for anything crazy, though; she sort of wanted to quit, anyway. You actually remind me of Squall in a way," she said, looking at me with thoughtful eyes. "Actually, in a lot of ways. I'd love to introduce you guys."

I shrugged indifferently. "I don't know," I said. "I'm not really one for meeting new people."

"Oh, that's not true!" Hikari argued, elbowing me lightly in the side. "You met me, right? And you were perfectly sweet. I'm sure you and Squall'd hit it off."

I couldn't help but smile at her persistance. "If you say so," I conceded, shrugging again.

She broke out in a wide smile. "Great! I'll give him a call later today. Hopefully, he'll be able to make it here before the big dance!"

"Big dance?" I asked. I'd heard nothing of a dance. Was it some Garden Festival thing? Was she already on the Commitee after one day?

She turned her head to me and stared at me like she thought I was joking, but then her face dawned with the realization that I really had no idea what she was talking about. "There's always a dance after the SeeD exam! Well, at least there is in Balamb. It's a way of celebrating out accomplishments, and finally using our dancing skills." She smiled at this, then continued. "There are also some prospective clients there, and people who need our help, so all the new SeeDs try and make a good impression so they'll get hired. It's all business," she sighed, shrugging as if in defeat.

I nodded in understanding. "That makes sense, though. When is it?"

"Probably tomorrow night, at the latest, though I expect it'll be tonight."

I looked at her in surprise. "How are you going to get that guy here by tonight?" I questioned.

She laughed a little, hiding her smile behind her hand. "Jeez, you're really eager to meet him, huh?" Before I could deny that, she kept talking. "He's got this really cool ship called the Ragnarok, and he knows where Esthar is, so he'd have no trouble navigating." She made a face and put a hand to her stomach. "I'm hungry. Let's go to the mall and get some food," she propositioned, but said it more like a question, her eyes searching mine for a sign of permission.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Alright. I'll call Grimoire to pick us up."

She squealed and clapped her hands while I took out my cell. Little did I know, I was about to make a really terrible, easily avoidable mistake.

The Mall of Esthar nearly rivaled my house in size. With 150 shops and at least 45 kiosks, it was a place that knew no hour when it didn't have bustling activity. I was glad that Grimoire didn't have to park, for it would've been impossible to leave, surrounded by the steading stream of people leaving and entering.

I smiled when I saw how Hikari regarded everything around her with awe. I could understand how amazing Esthar would look to a newcomer, but when you've lived here your entire life, the city sort of loses its luster.

The journey to the food court was long, and the shops were very distracting, but luckily Hikari's roaring stomach forbidded us from getting off track. Hikari found endless fun in riding the moving sidewalk, while I walked beside her, not nearly as enthralled by the boundless technology as she was.

After many minutes and moving sidewalks, we made it to the food court. It took a while to decide which store we would buy from, since there were at least twenty, but we finally decided on the pizzaria. She and I got a simple slice of cheese pizza and a soft drink to share, so we could economize - pretending that I wasn't as rich as I really was, which I was grateful for.

Halfway between the meal, I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched. In order not to worry Hikari, I discreetly scanned the surrounding area, making it look like I was simply observing the crowd.

There. He was standing in line at the chinese restaurant, but obviously wasn't paying attention to the movement of the customers ahead of him. People passed him by, absorbed in their own lives, and cut in front of him, annoyed that he was only standing there without moving. He was fully turned toward us, his eyes trained on Hikari.

In reflex, my right hand flew to my pistol at my thigh, hidden by my long trench, but upon further inspection, his gaze was fairly innocent. He had a smirk to his face and regarded her with interest, not anger, and his eyes kept flickering here and there, then always back to her face, which was turned mostly away from him.

I smiled as I realized he was checking her out. Perfect, I thought. A guy that's not my dad that she can be interested in. He's cute, I guess. Yes, he'll work.

"Hey, Hikari."

"Hm?" Her eyes snapped up to mine, her straw hanging out of her mouth. She took a long sip of her drink, then blew out a breath. "What is it?"

I motioned to the guy with my head. "Look at that guy over there," I told her, and she turned to where I was looking. "I think he's checking you out."

Her face turned an unmatchable shade of red and she turned back to the table with a speed I hadn't seen her manage before. "Oh my god, he's so hott!" she gushed in a whisper. "What should I do?"

I shrugged. "Go talk to him," I offered nonchalantly.

She looked at me with eyes as big as tennis balls. "Talk to him? I can't just walk up and start talking to some strange guy! What am I supposed to say? 'Hey, I couldn't help but notice you staring at me; wanna make out?'"

I laughed. "Just go!" I exclaimed. waving her off with my hand. "Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't."

She seemed to think about this for a moment, then finally heaved a sigh. "Okay, fine," she muttered, then lifted herself up and walked over to the mystery guy.

Hikari's POV

I can't believe I actually said I'd go talk to him! Now I can't turn back! I yelled at myself in my mind as I shuffled my way through the crowd to go talk to the guy who'd been staring at me. What if I said something stupid? What if I spit on him? What if I stuttered a lot? What if he hadn't even been looking at me in the first place? Oh god!

All too soon, I was in front of him, my eyes locked with his. He had long dark hair, almost black, that reached his neck in the back and brushed his eyes in the front. He had a pink scar on the left side of his face, but it in no way detracted from his overall look; in fact, it added to the whole bad boy thing he had going on. He wore black Converse with black skinny jeans and a long sleeved red shirt with black horizontal stripes. But the thing that really struck me about him was his eyes. They were the most beautiful gold I'd ever seen! I didn't even know that eyes could be that color!

I hadn't realized I'd been staring until he cleared his throat and shifted his balance onto his other leg. "Hey," he said, smirking at me with a raised eyebrow.

Oh no, he thinks I'm crazy! "Hi," I returned. "I'm not crazy," I blurted out.

He chuckled. "I didn't think you were," he said, shaking his head.

Oh my god... I laughed nervously, brushing my hair back over my shoulder. "So um... Now that I've completely embarrassed myself!" I offered him a smile, but figured I should probably get to the point. "I'm Hikari."

"Zuko," he replied. "Sorry if I was staring earlier; I just couldn't help but notice you."

I smiled and looked away bashfully. "I wouldn't say I'm that noticeable," I said, trying to brush off his compliment politely.

"On the contrary," he said, turning my face towards his with his hand, making my cheeks flush, "you're the most beautiful girl I've seen in a long time. And I don't just say that to anyone," he added, stealing away my comeback straight from my throat.

I opened my mouth to say something, but found no words. I tried to look everywhere but his eyes; somehow it felt like they were seeing right through me. I didn't realize how close he was until his lips touched mine.

I tensed up entirely, but before I could fully react he'd pulled away. I blinked once, twice, three times, and tried to speak. "U-Uh..."

"Hope that wasn't too much for you," he joked, raising an eyebrow at me again, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"No, no, it was fine," I reassured him hastily, then mentally smacked myself.

"Do you have a cell?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," I answered. "Of course!"

"Cool," he said, fishing out a pen from his back pocket. He grabbed my hand - his hands were so warm, like fire - and scribbled his number on my palm. When he was finished, he gave me a smirk and kissed the back of my hand. "Give me a call sometime."

"Okay," I said stupidly. I stepped back and waved goodbye, reveling in his eyes for a few more seconds before coming back to the table where Demi sat.

"So?" she asked. "How'd it go?"

I melted into the seat, my legs feeling like puddy. "He's amazing," I breathed. "He's so just... out there! He just went right ahead and kissed me and wrote his number on my hand!" I held out my hand for emphasis. "I love his impulsiveness; it's so refreshing."

Demi smiled warmly, and I could see in her eyes how happy she was for me.

I smiled back, regaining my composure. "Thanks so much for forcing me to talk to him," I said.

She laughed a little. "You're welcome," she said. Motioning to my tray, she asked, "Are you done? We should be getting home. We have to get ready for that dance, right?"

At the mention of the dance, all other thoughts fled my mind. "Right!" I exclaimed, standing up and gathering my things. "And I have to call Squall!" I waggled my eyebrows at her suggestively, and she only sighed and rolled her eyes.

(floutist: SQUALL! YAY!)