Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII and everything associated with it does not belong to me…

Edited 10/01/09

Chapter X
I'll Always Be Here

"I'm going crazy."

I inspect my face in the mirror of the small bathroom attached to my room, bringing one of my hands to run it over my face, just to make sure that the reflection staring back at me with empty grey eyes is mine and not someone else's.

The mirror reacts, and the girl in there is cupping her cheek just as I am, her gaze piercing mine as she moves her fingers over her nose and forehead, to the messy red hair that hasn't been brushed yet, curling a stray lock around her pointer finger. She brushes her bangs back, ruffling them up to even more of a mess, but she doesn't seem to care because her face is relaxing and her eyes are now sparkling a bit, looking more and more alive by the minute.

Everything's fine, you see? Flym interrupts in my mind, steering my thoughts away from the frightened direction they are currently going in and to lighter topics. It was all just a crazy dream.

I keep on watching the reflection still, observing as I make my face go through several expressions, one after the other. No, it wasn't, I reply back, sticking my tongue out at myself and then smiling, feeling as if a weight has been taken off my shoulders. I felt her there, Flym. I felt her presence in my mind, before I blacked out. She had her hands on my shoulders – and, dammit, Flym – I could feel them perfectly fine and when she laughed, it sent shivers up my spine…

Flym falls silent, and I say, quietly, Now, Flym, tell me that it was still just a dream.

You just have a very overly active imagination! She begins to protest again, and I notice a sense of desperation creeping in to her voice. Feeling reassured that the crazy look-alike of me hadn't followed me out of my sleep and into the real world, I leave the small cubical room and let myself fall onto my bed, fingering the quilt beneath my fingers.

You're hiding something, aren't you? I accuse her, and when she stays quiet, not bothering to deny it or agree to it, I sigh and know that I've struck the truth. What is it?

Nothing! Flym's voice is turning sterner, and I clutch at the bed tighter.

Flym.

She doesn't answer for a few moments, and just as I am about to give up, she sends a sigh through our connection. I can't tell you yet… She notices that I am about to say something against her, and quickly continues. But that's only because I don't know much of it myself and Eriol said he'll explain to you when the time is right so—

Eriol told you not to say anything, I translate, feeling the hatred for the boy that welled up in me all those years back when I first found out what he'd done, stirring a bit from where I've locked it away. I squash those emotions – I didn't need to hate the only one who could help me get home, even if he was the reason I ended up here in the first place. Flym says nothing again, and I groan.

That…that annoying bastard! I growl out, punching the soft material with a fist, sending the various medical bottles I had gathered at the other end of the bed tinkling a bit as they bounced against each other from the movement. He's always hiding something from me!

It's for your own good, Flym defends, suddenly wise and unlike how she usually is. I stop the rant forming in my mind at her change, startled, and she continues, gentler this time. There are some things that you can't know yet, because they'll hurt you more than you know.

My mouth falls open in shock as her words register in my mind, and I clench my fists in anger. There are more things that you are keeping from me!

Kira— Flym attempts to interrupt but I cut her off.

No, Flym! This is my life and I deserve to know, dammit! Why can't you both just realize that and stop trying to control me? I can feel my eyes blurring as tears start to form at the edges, and angrily wipe at them with my knuckles, hating the feeling I got every time I cried – as if they didn't belong with me, as if there was something wrong and unnatural about me crying.

I manage to force the tears away, wondering for the hundredth time in my life why I had become such a crybaby ever since I found myself at Balamb's Infirmary.

"SeeD party from Balamb Garden, please report to the second floor Reception Room. Repeat, SeeD party from Balamb Garden…"

My eyes widen, and I can feel my breath catching in my throat before I reclaim the air knocked out of my lungs. "It's begun," I whisper aloud to my empty room, and grin slowly forming across my face at the prospect of getting things in motion, forgetting our argument for the time being at my joy. "Flym, they're finally here!"

I can feel Flym's amusement as I can't help but laugh and do a little dance around the room, gathering up the items from my bed in the process and minimizing them with Flym's magic before stuffing them down the pouch attached to my belt. I stop my twirling in front of the bathroom mirror again, hastily running a brush through my hair with one hand and putting on some of my make-up with the other (hey, I'm a girl still, so yes, even mercenaries do this…).

"How do I look?" I proclaim again, knowing that Flym can still hear me, examining my appearance in the mirror, the traces of my dream stashed deep inside my mind to be looked at for later. I'm dressed in some of my most comfortable clothes, consisting of black skinny jeans with short, grey and black combat boots and a thin brown leather belt with my traveling pouch attached to it; a navy blue top with sleeves to my elbows that clings tightly as to not get in the way when I'm running – courtesy of a shopping trip to Balamb a month ago – and a necklace Seifer gave to me on my sixteenth birthday, that's only a simple silver chain and a small charm of a star.

How utterly Seifer.

My heart gives a pang as I stare at the necklace, reminding me once again that Seifer has joined the Sorceress after all – Eriol had popped in yesterday with the notice before disappearing again to God knows where – but I force those thoughts away from my mind and hurry out to my room.

Holsters, guns, jacket! Flym chants in my head and I stop, remembering the conversation we had before the interruption came. Flym senses this and I can feel her nodding through my mind. Yes, yes, we'll talk about that later, but now, you need to go if you want to meet up with them!

Having no choice but to follow her words right now, I grab my holsters with the guns in them from the bedside table and strap them around my thighs, tightening them to make sure they won't slip off. Once I'm satisfied that I wouldn't be losing them in the midst of battle anytime soon, I rush towards my door and grab the black leather jacket hanging at the hook there, slipping it on and patting it down to make it more comfortable.

I leave it unzipped for now and lock my door behind me with a swipe of my student ID, feeling relieved at the fact that Martine had excused me from classes today to get ready, leaving the hallways relatively empty with no bothersome faculty staff to reprimand me as I rush from the dormitories and to the central area, cutting a few corners dangerously close and bumping into one or two students in my hurry. I catch a glimpse of Irvine lying lazily on the grounds outside Garden as I pass by a large window and roll my eyes, wondering as to how he can act so calm.

Go, go, go! Flym is cheering inside my head, accompanied by her usual childish laughter to the matching beat of my heart as I turn down the last hallway, the familiar golden pillar of light beginning to flash into my area of vision.

And beside it, walking forward in an unhurried pace – much to my amusement, seeing as how the same robotic voice is repeating the message from earlier over and over again on the speakers – are four different figures, talking amongst themselves quietly and taking in the grand sight of the ornate Galbadia Garden.

I'm afraid that my anticipating grin is going to break my face in half as I stop to catch my breath and raise my hand in the air in a wave, calling forward to the two people that I'm on speaking terms with.

"Hey! Zell, Selphie!"

The two turn at the sound of their names, surprised at someone having recognized them here, but I'm too excited to notice the expressions on their faces as I jog towards them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Kira!" Selphie finally bursts out, her own face breaking into a smile, and she gives me a small hug before stepping back and looking me over. "You're here!"

I can't help but laugh slightly at her observation. "No duh. I believe I transferred here a few days back." I joke and she giggles in abashment, but Zell is now looking at me with a large grin.

"Long time no see," I greet him, even as Flym comments in my mind – I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before – and I shoo her away. He sticks out his hand to shake and I do so, feeling something warm spread inside of me at the prospect of knowing somebody else here other than Irvine and Charlie.

"How've you been?" Zell asks and I shrug in answer.

"Okay, I guess. But now it's better that you guys here!" All three of us laugh, but we are interrupted by a cough coming from behind the two Balamb SeeDs.

"Squall," I say, smiling and nodding at the gunblade-wielder as Zell and Selphie turn to look at him. "It's nice to see you." I'm sorry to say that Squall and I have never been on friendly terms – he was a well known lone wolf at Balamb Garden, and my friendship with Seifer kept me away from him for the most part.

He nods back but doesn't say anything else, and it's then that I notice the black-haired young woman gazing at me curiously by his side. By her appearance and some mental prodding on Flym's side, I manage to recognize her as Rinoa Heartilly.

"Kira Lanning," I introduce myself, smiling at her and holding out my hand forward as I do so.

"Rinoa Heartilly," she smiles back, confirming my suspicions and takes my hand to shake it. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you know Zell, Selphie and Squall?"

I can detect the sincere curiosity in her voice – after all, it's not often a Galbadian cadet knows anybody from Balamb – and answer her truthfully. "I used to attend Balamb Garden with them before I was transferred to here a few days ago, and we all passed as SeeDs together."

"I see," she says, her eyes still regarding me curiously. "Why were you transferred?"

She asks a lot of questions, but I think I'll grow to like her overtime. "Student exchange program." I make a face, and she giggles at my distaste for it. "I got picked alongside a few other 'lucky' students to move here."

"I take it Balamb is nicer?" She asks in amusement and I send her a grin, and she laughs at the silent answer.

"Much."

Before we can go on in our conversation, Squall interrupts us again with a pointed look in our direction. "I'm afraid that we have to get going."

The voice calling for the SeeDs repeats itself again and I smile in abashment, realizing that I had forgotten about it for the time being. "Oh, right. I won't ask you what you're doing here right now, but you need to go to the second floor reception room, right?" As if the speakers aren't making that clear. They nod and I give a grin, falling into my role as a tour guide. "I'll show you there, then. Galbadia Garden is rather different from Balamb."

No one protests – not that they have much reason to, really, unless Squall suddenly becomes social and voices his dislike for me – and we start up the hallway leading to the second floor.

"…And to the right, we have numerous boring classrooms, some locker rooms, and an exceptional skating rink… you know, we need one at Balamb, would have been so much fun…" I ramble on as we pass the pillar of light, waving my hand in the vague direction of said hallway.

"We had one in Trabia, too!" Selphie pipes up, walking happily beside me and looking around in awe. "It actually helped really well when we were being taught balance as kids, and after that, we could always use it for skating!"

Both of us and Rinoa laugh, while Zell chuckles and Squall remains stoic, save for his exploring eyes, darting here and there – I can actually already see him blueprinting the place in his mind, in case of later use. Seems like something Squall would do.

He's a very good warrior and would make a great leader, Flym comments and I agree with her.

Exactly. But he's too antisocial and aloof for my taste.

"To the left are the library and dormitories with some more classrooms, while past the stairs we have the auditorium and the courtyard, which usually replaces the cafeteria unless it's raining." Zell, Selphie and Rinoa – the more interested ones – take glances at the three students doing push-ups on the floor as we pass them, and the man watching over them casts a critical eye over me, no doubt wondering what I am doing out of class, but otherwise ignores me, to my relief.

"Here; the room you're supposed to wait in is just across from where you'll emerge." Squall gives me a nod in thanks – I can't help as my eye twitches in irritation – and starts up the metal staircase, while Selphie pauses and frowns at me.

"Can't you come up with us?" She asks and I blink at her, surprised, not expecting them to invite me to go up with them. I return her frown.

"I'm not sure…" I say, knowing that I could get in some mild trouble for being out with them. But Selphie isn't so easily deterred, it seems, and pouts, planting her hands on her hips.

"Come on! It concerns Balamb Garden, and since you were a student there up until a few days ago, it still concerns you!" Zell nods in agreement and Rinoa shrugs, not saying anything but giving me a small approving smile.

The warm feeling in my stomach starts up again, but is promptly squashed by Flym.

Aww, she coos, teasing. Is little Kira making new friends?

Shush, Flym, I shoo her away but her words have brought be to alert – sure, I would be traveling with these people, and sure, I would come to care for them to a certain extent, but I couldn't let myself come to care for anyone too much, unless I wanted to feel heartbreak at having to leave them all behind.

Then what were Karen, Bella, and Marlene to you? The thought springs unbidden to my mind, neither mine nor Flym's – I push it away, but it's shaken me and I give a tentative smile at the still waiting Selphie.

"Sure, I guess," I say at last and she breaks into a grin. "But if I get into any trouble for this, you're taking all the blame!" I playfully warn her as we start walking up and Selphie nods, still grinning, breaking into a run and grabbing mine and Rinoa's hands to tag along with her.

"Hey, wait for me!" We all laugh and shoot amused looks at Zell as he pouts at us and rushes to catch up, giving a mock-glare once we're on top of the stairs.

Squall raises an eyebrow once he sees me when we approach the door he's waiting by, and I gaze back into his eyes, not allowing myself to shift under his scrutinizing look.

"Kira's coming up with us," Selphie says to my relief, strolling past Squall and into the room as the doors ping open, almost as if she's oblivious to the way Squall reacted to my coming here. I have half a mind to believe that she is, but Flym's snort changes my opinion.

She's a smart girl, she says as I follow behind Rinoa into the lavishly furnished room. She likes to give off that innocent, naïve appearance, while she can still crack a man's skull open with one hit of her weapon.

She is still innocent and naïve, I protest, dropping myself onto a couch beside Zell and following Selphie with my eyes as she skips to gaze out the window looking out into the courtyard. Yes, I saw her fighting back at the field exam, but her mind hasn't exactly been opened to war and combat yet.

Flym hums in agreement. Perhaps. But, then again, no one's here has truly been, and along with that, you haven't experienced war first-hand, either.

I cross my arms over my chest, knowing her words to be the truth. I know, Flym. But still – do people with minds such as hers really belong on the battlefield?

I can feel Flym mulling it over before she replies. Maybe, maybe not. In the end, it's their choice on what they want to do, isn't it?

Except mine, I remind her and here, I can imagine her wincing from the reaction I can feel through our link. I don't really have any other choice but fight, do I?

"So, I'm surprised. You haven't asked us what we're doing here yet."

Startled, I drop my conversation with Flym and turn to Zell, who's looking at me with a guilty smile. "I mean," he continues, "If I were in your place, then we'd have been bombarded by questions already."

Squall snorts and Rinoa giggles in agreement, Selphie still staring off in her own little world by the window. I can't help but smile too, remembering the blond SeeD's slip up.

"I saw what happened on the broadcast, remember?" I remind him and the realization dawns on him. He hangs his head and sighs, clenching and unclenching his hands in agitation.

"So, I guess everybody heard what I said?" I wince at his words, knowing inside of me that if Zell hadn't revealed that they were from Balamb, things would have been much simpler. But, he had, so we had to work with what we did get.

"I guess," I answer him, not wanting to lie too much to him, even if it was going to hurt him. He glances up at me and I try to offer him a reassuring smile. "But, I'm sure that everything will be okay."

Zell sighs again and ruffles his hair, leaning back into the couch. "I hope so."

We wait in silence for a few more minutes before the doors open again and we glance up at the sound as Quistis enters, her face a perfect mask between left-over worry and relief.

Immediately, I can feel her eyes on me and I nod respectfully back at her. "Professor."

She gives me a small smile, but I can see her eyes warming slightly at the title. "There's no need to call me that anymore, Kira. I've been removed from that position a few days back."

I blink, realizing that I had forgotten that. "I'm sorry to hear that, Pro – Quistis." It feels strange, being allowed to call the one that's been teaching me for years now by her first name – as if she was the same rank as I was.

But, I guess now, she was. We were both SeeDs, weren't we?

"She showed us up here," Selphie answers to the blond woman's silent question, finally turning away from her window and coming to sit beside Rinoa on the couch opposite of Zell and I. "And since she was a Balamb student up until a few days ago, we thought that it would be okay for her to be here."

Quistis nods but doesn't say anything, turning her attention back to me. "I take it you know the basics of what's happened?"

"Yes," I reply before Squall interrupts us.

"How'd it go?" He asks quietly, and Quistis sighs.

"They understood our situation. And Balamb Garden is safe." Here, Zell's head snaps up before falling down in great relief. "The attack on the president in Timber was classified as an independent action. There was an official notice from the Galbadian government saying that Balamb Garden is not being held responsible."

Zell frowns, mulling the words over in his head. "So Seifer's taking all the blame?"

"The trial's over, and the sentence has been carried out…" A shocked silence fills the room and I can feel four pairs of eyes – excluding Rinoa's – glancing over in my direction. Seifer and I hadn't exactly kept it a secret that we were close friends.

Maybe more than friends, but nobody knows that yet.

"…He was… executed?" Rinoa's shaky voice brings us back to the matter at hand. Her head falls into her arms as she leans forward on the couch. "…Of course he was." She answers herself before anyone can. "He attacked the president. He sacrificed himself for the Forest Owls…"

I hide my frown. As much as I am beginning to like Rinoa – her attraction to Seifer being an entirely different thing altogether – her words seem rather selfish. How did she know that he did it just for that reason? Maybe all he wanted to do was piss off Balamb's faculty for not making him a SeeD and went to Timber to show up the team sent there, to say that he was just as good.

…Or maybe he did do it for Rinoa and her group. Who knows, really?

"It was your group that got Seifer involved in all this." Quistis seems to agree with me, although a bit, and her voice takes a slight accusing undertone. "You're a resistance faction, right? You must have been prepared for the worst. I'm sure Seifer was prepared, too. So don't think of it as Seifer sacrificing himself for you." She pauses as Rinoa's face pales even more, her eyes starting to shine brighter, and Quistis's own eyes soften a bit. "I'm sorry. I guess that wasn't much consolation."

"I...really liked him." Rinoa continues, as if Quistis had never said anything after a moment. "He was always full of confidence, smart... Just by talking to him, I felt like I could take on the world."

I was not feeling jealous. Really. But what she said about him… well, it was true. Seifer was a natural-born leader; he just didn't know how to be one correctly.

"Your boyfriend?" Selphie pipes up and I can't help the automatic glare my mind sends at her.

"I…I don't really know," Rinoa replies, looking down at her hands and frowning in thought. "I… I think it was love. I wonder how he felt…?" I frown, considering the same question with her. Seifer had never mentioned a word about her to either me, Fujin or Raijin last summer – what was he playing at? I know he was a flirt, but making a girl think she was falling in love with him?

"Do you still like him?" The question escapes my mouth before I can stop it, and Zell shoots me a curious look, and I remember him warning me about Seifer before we boarded the car to Balamb.

Rinoa shoots me a mirthless smile. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be talking about it. It was last summer… I was sixteen. A lot of fond memories…" She trails off, and her eyes take on the customary faraway gleam a person gets when they're thinking deeply about something.

I tune out the rest of the conversation, faintly registering Selphie and Zell arguing for a few moments before falling silent. Squall is standing to the side, his face exceptionally dark, and I don't even want to know what he's thinking… Quistis is standing by the water cooler to the side, gazing into her cup without even lifting it from the table.

All these people here, I realize, thinking that Seifer was… dead. But he wasn't, and I was the only one who knew that so far…

"I'm going to head out." I couldn't take it anymore. Their dreary mood was going to ruin mine, and I wanted to ride on the high of happiness for a while more.

Zell, Quistis and Selphie look up at me as I make for the door and a soft frown touches Quistis's face. "I know you and Seifer were close friends…"

I barely notice Rinoa raising her head curiously at the revelation, but I ignore it and shrug. "It's not that, really. Believe me when I say that Seifer won't die that easily." I let a smirk replace my grimace before sighing and straining a smile at the group. "I'll be hanging around downstairs somewhere, so wait up for me for a bit before leaving, okay?"

Selphie frowns. "But…"

"Don't worry," I reassure her with a grin. "I think I can safely say that you'll be seeing me again soon." I wink at their confused faces and shut the door tightly closed behind me.

I walk back to the front entrance of the Garden, keeping my mind partway in the clouds and partway on the task before me. I'm just about to pass the pillar the center when a loud yell interrupts my thoughts.

"Yo! Kira!"

The masculine voice that I've heard yelling so many times over the years is followed by two thuds of two people hitting the floor of the building, and I turn with a smile on my face just as Raijin and Fujin run up to me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask after greetings and pleasantries are exchanged between us. Raijin grins at me, hitting his chest with one fist proudly.

"What am I doin'? I'm a messenger, ya know?" He boasts, and I wait for him to explain it further. "Brought you a new order from Headmaster Cid, ya know?"

I frown, confused. "So you just dropped it off?" The burly teenager has the grace to look guilty, and he rubs the back of his head in sheepish embarrassment.

"Uh, not quite… we gave it to him yesterday, but wanted to stay, ya know?" Fujin snorts from beside him and I stifle my laugh as well.

"Nevermind. So, how have you guys been?"

"SEIFER."

I blink at Fujin, who appears to have taken charge over the talking, and ask, "What?"

"Oh yeah!" Raijin seems to remember their blond leader as well and looks at me closely. "Did you hear what happened to Seifer?"

I consider letting them know the truth, or just telling him what everybody else thinks, but settle inbetween and shrug in answer. "Everybody believes that Seifer's dead for his assault on the president and has been executed, but…" We share a look and Raijin and I exchange grins while a smile twitches on Fujin's lips. "You can't bring Seifer down that easily."

Raijin nods enthusiastically in agreement. "There's no way he'd put up with a trail, ya know? Or an execution, for that matter! It's just so not Seifer, ya know?"

"FIND," Fujin interrupts, and giving me a curt nod in good-bye, begins to stride off in the direction of the entrance.

"O'What…!" Raijin stares after her before sighing and grinning wide at me. "Looks like we're gonna meet up with Seifer. Later, Kira. We're going to head to Galbadia to look for him."

I smile back at him. "Good luck with that!" He yells his thanks, already running after his blue-haired companion down the hall and out the building.

"Raijin and Fujin?"

I jump as Squall comes up beside me, his arms crossed over his chest as he watches where they were with a small frown on his face. "What were they doing here?"

"They had a message to drop off for Martine from Cid," I say, watching the brunette out of the corner of my eye. He catches me looking at him and raises one brow in question.

I drop my Squall-watching and focus on the pillar of light in front of us.

Wonder what's it made of, Flym mumbles, and I can see her mind going shiny-shiny-shiny already and bite back my giggles. It feels a bit like… She trails off and retreats in thought, muttering nonsense to herself that I can't decipher, so I tune her out and look at Squall again.

"So, what will you guys be doing now?" I ask and he's silent for a minute before he answers.

"We'll be following whichever orders the Headmaster gives us," he replies quietly and I make a face – too much ordering around and rules for me to handle at the moment.

"Doesn't sound that fun," I comment and he glances down at my face – seeing as how I am shorter than him, dammit – in curiosity. "Following orders all the time, I mean," I elaborate. "Having to help kill not only stray monsters, but other people only on a word from your headmaster…"

Irvine's words from when we first met flash through my mind. "…Being a murderer for hire…." I mutter under my breath.

Squall is looking at me fully now, and it feels a bit strange to have all of his attention focused on me. "You're a SeeD, too."

I nod, not denying that, and stare off into the light of the central pillar with a frown. "Yes, but since G-Garden doesn't have SeeDs, I'm merely a higher ranked cadet here."

Squall's focus on me is lost and we stand side by side for a short while, waiting for the rest of their party to catch up, before Quistis emerges from the hallway, Selphie, Zell and Rinoa trailing alongside beside her.

"Well, it's time," she says to Squall and then turns to me with a small smile on her face. "It was nice seeing you again, Kira, even if you were…"

"Associated with the most troubled student at Balamb?" I finish for her and her smile turns a tad bit uncomfortable, but I laugh it off. "Don't worry, Quistis, it's fine to say the truth sometimes."

She inclines her head at me in good-bye and strides off with Squall, while the three others and I are left alone. "What did you mean, we'll be seeing you again soon?" Selphie finally bursts out, regarding me in open curiosity.

I smile widely and wink at them. "Exactly just that. Now, I think you need to get going before you get Squall and Quistis ticked off." They glance in the direction I'm looking at, where Squall has just left through the front door and Quistis is tapping her foot in impatience. She taps the space on her wrist where a wristwatch would go once she sees that she has our attention and sweeps out after the brunette gunblade wielder.

"Aw," Selphie pouts, crossing her arms over her chest in such a childish manner that it reminds me of Flym. "But I want to stay longer!"

Zell, who hasn't said anything up until now, nods in agreement. "Yeah. I mean, we just met up with you again! You gotta tell us whether the hot dogs here are as good as they are in Balamb, or even better…" He trails off and Selphie and I laugh while Rinoa looks on, slightly confused by Zell's behaviour.

"I'll see you guys again soon," I say after we've stopped, smiling, and turn around to head for the outer gardens of Galbadia Garden. "You can count on it!" I give them a vague wave as I walk off, turning the corner and disappearing from their sights.

Soon I'm outside, and despite the barren wastelands that surround the Garden, there is emerald grass planted to uplift the appearance of the building. Irvine is still lying on the same spot I saw him at earlier, his cowboy hat propped up over his face to keep out the sun.

"Hey," I greet as I stop by him, dropping myself onto the soft ground and leaning back on my hands with a satisfied sigh. "You ready for this?"

The brunette cowboy chuckles, reaching up with one hand to adjust the hat covering his face. I catch a glimpse of his smile as he answers. "I was born ready."

I laugh at his words and murmur an "Of course," before copying his position and lying back on the grass, gazing up into the vast expense of cloudless sky above us.

"Hey, Irvine?" I start up after a few minutes, the faint voice of our Headmaster floating to our ears over from the main entrance. "Do you think that Fate is cruel for doing this?"

He stiffens beside me slightly and lifts up his hat with one hand to look at me with calculating eyes. "Doing what, exactly?"

I wave my hand above me, still watching the blue sky. "This. Getting me here, getting us here into this position, getting us to help them…" I trail off and when he realizes that I won't be saying anything more, he gives a sigh and turns his eyes to the sky as well.

"How much do you really know?" He asks, and I have to ponder over the answer as something washes over me, overriding Flym's voice until she's nothing but a faint background noise in my mind. Everything in my mind seems clear and sharp now, almost as if a haze has been lifted off of it.

Flym's influence on my mind is gone, I realize.

"I don't know," I truthfully reply, still wondering as to what had happened and why my Guardian Force's block on the memories has disappeared.

I'll always be here.

Here? Where's here?

I frown at the two voices echoing around in my head, bringing one hand to rub at my ear, almost as if it would make them disappear. "I think that I know much more than I should, sometimes."

Irvine watches me curiously, almost hopefully, and I don't know why that is.

This place. Y'know, home.

…We don't have a home.

"…But then, the feeling disappears, and it's like I'm an outsider all over again, not really knowing anything in detail, only the basics of things…"

Then what do you consider this?

It's an empty place with memories.

"…And then I realize that maybe, even after everything I've done, I really don't know anything at all and that I should give up."

'It's time for us to go, little one.'

I abruptly laugh as the voices stop, and shoot Irvine an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. I don't know what I'm saying, really. I think I didn't get enough sleep last night…"

The hopeful look in his eyes is gone and it pains me somehow, but I ignore it as he smiles back at me. "Always the crazy one, aren't you, little girl?" He asks and I swat at his shoulder, mock-annoyed at him.

"Look, just because I'm short, it doesn't mean that you can bug me with your annoying tall-ness…"

"The orders say by means of 'a sniper' and a back-up member. We have no one with those skill."

Squall's voice drifts through the air and we tense up, knowing that this is our cue to get going. Martine's chuckles reach our ears, and we exchange glances.

"Don't worry about it. Let me introduce an elite sharpshooter and one of our higher-ranked students from Galbadia Garden. Irvine Kinneas, Kira Lanning!"

I watch in amusement as with a hefty, over dramatized sigh, Irvine picks up his gun and stands up with his back to the group, no doubt giving them a view of his tan coat and cowboy hat.

"Shall we?" He says, offering me a hand with a charming smile, and I accept it as he effortlessly pulls me up.

"We shall," I reply, grinning, and we turn to look at the group of mismatched SeeDs and their employer, all nothing but growing teenagers and young adults in the real world that are trying to reach their goals and dreams through the means presented to them.

And as Irvine and I walk forward, side by side, the two children's voices that came when Flym was pushed away are gone again with Flym replacing them, mumbling something under her breath. I pay her no attention, instead focusing on smiling happily at a grinning Selphie, Zell and Rinoa, glad that there are at least some people looking forward to fighting with me again.

And, maybe, I think as Headmaster Martine nods at us and gets in the Garden car, soon zooming off into the distance of the one place I'll be glad to leave, This won't be so bad after all.

I send a dazzling smile at a stoic Squall as he runs his calculating eyes over us, sealing my fate all over again.

-~o~-

Things edited: a couple of typos, fixed the present-past style to present time.