Selphie and Irvine sat before Cid, their heads down as he read over the shakily written reports they had handed to him. Cid looked up to them over the edge of the papers. He cleared his throat, waiting for them to raise their heads before he set the papers down. "I'm glad to hear you both are alright," he said softly.

Selphie wearily sighed as she brushed away a tear that dribbled down her chin. "She was just a child…" she whispered.

Irvine firmly planted his hand over hers. "She tried to hurt you," he rumbled, leaning over and giving her an affectionate kiss to her temple.

Even though it was the bitter truth Selphie couldn't help but shed more tears for the young child whose life was severed within the hospital.

Cid rose from his seat and stood beside Selphie, his hand reassuringly upon her shoulder. "My dear, I think it best that you recede yourself from this particular mission. There are several other young children whose lives are stake. I don't want you to put yourself in this horrible situation. We all know that the smallest of coffins are the ones that weigh heaviest on our conscience."

Selphie furiously shook her head as the tears trailed their way down to her lap. "No!" she cried. "No. I can do this. I won't stand by and let whatever bastard is doing this continue to ransack the lives of these girls! I have to be on this mission—to make sure no other children suffer like Laina did."

Cid nodded, his heart warming at the determination set upon Selphie's face. "Yes, I understand." He glanced out the window and frowned. The sun was already gone, faded into the night sky and was replaced with millions of twinkling stars. He hadn't realized time had gone by so fast. He waited patiently for Selphie and Irvine to return from Timber, his reports and phone calls with the military and scientists sucking up his day. "Well then, I suggest you two get something to eat and head home. There's nothing more to be done today."

Irvine kept a steady hold upon Selphie's arm as he helped her out of her seat.

"But we need to—" Selphie cried.

"That is an order cadet!" Cid barked.

The sudden outburst shocked both Selphie and Irvine into a standstill. Hardly ever was Cid seen out of a calm and gentle form.

Cid massaged his temple. "My apologies," he whispered. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. But please, please go home. Get some rest. Anything that you feel needs to be done must wait." He turned his back to them to gaze at the stars that loomed before him.

xXx

Squall turned over, slamming his hand onto the absurdly loud contraption. He grumbled and slowly sat up. "Morning already?" he muttered. As he glanced to the window he noticed it was still dark. Confused, he looked to his clock and realized that it was his cell phone and not the alarm clock that had gone off. Quickly he snatched it up, frowning as the screen simply flashed the word 'unknown.' "Leonhart," he answered.

"Hey, Squall," a soft voice replied.

Her voice was so timid. It was nothing like how it had been in the time she had made her presence known. When she came back to Balamb her voice had been strong, fierce. It was the voice of a woman full of power—dangerous power. She had hardened as if ice had wrapped around her, preventing any feelings and emotions from penetrating.

But now her voice sounded…shattered.

Squall looked beside him to where Quistis lay sleeping. Careful not to disturb her, he crept out of bed and out to his patio. The night was warm enough to go without a shirt but the hairs on the back of his neck remained standing on end.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Can you come over?" Rinoa asked, leaning back against the wall as she nervously twirled her hair around her finger. "I just…really need someone to talk to and smoke with."

Squall was so silent on the other line she thought he had hung up. She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen to be sure. "If you can't it's ok, I'd understand." She waited for response and still received nothing. Rinoa looked down at her toes and sighed. "It's ok…sorry I woke you up."

Thoughts should have been running through Squall's head but he was caught in a blank state of mind. He stared out into the open sky with his mouth hung open. His mind started to function, demanding he say something before she hung up. Say something! it screamed at him. "How…" he dumbly started.

Rinoa arched a brow. Did he just speak? "Huh?"

"How did you get my number?" Squall winced after the sentence came out of his mouth. Inwardly he kicked himself.

"Um…it's the same number you had back then?" Rinoa answered.

"Oh," was all Squall could reply. He looked behind him to his apartment. "This isn't really a good time Rinoa…"

Rinoa hugged her knees. "I know. I just couldn't sleep and I really want to talk to you. I promise I won't keep you out too late."

Squall sighed and ran his fingers over his head. While Rinoa waited for his response—while he waited for what he would tell her—she coiled her hair around her finger, nervously chewing on her bottom lip.

"Alright," he said finally, his voice barely over a breath. He glanced up and could see the hotel down the street from him. "I'm gonna walk over there so it'll be about fifteen minutes. What room?"

"I'm on the third floor, room 326," Rinoa told him.

"Alright, bye." Squall hang up and stared down at the phone in his hand. It was nearly two in the morning. Quietly he slipped back into his room, rummaging through his drawers as silently as he could. He tugged on a pair of black jeans and a shirt over his bare chest.

Rinoa calmly set her phone upon the couch beside her. She curled her legs up tighter so her chin rested atop her knees. When Caraway left her at the restaurant she remained sitting there, ordering a glass of Jack Daniels and Coke and just staring into the foam that skimmed over the ice of her drink. The whole time she was thinking, thinking about how to approach Squall and tell him the real reason she had left.

She sighed and looped her long hair into a ponytail atop her head, keeping her back exposed to the open window, letting the cool night air whisper across her flesh. She was in nothing but her bra and panties, and decided it would probably be best for her to be completely dressed before Squall came over. As she fished through her suitcase that she had yet to unpack, she yanked out cotton shorts and a t-shirt.

Ten minutes went by and Squall stood in front of her door. He hesitated before knocking, his fist in the air as he slowly breathed though his nose. He wasn't even sure why he had dropped everything to come to her again. He didn't even know what she wanted him over there for in the first place. What would she want to talk to him about at two in the morning that couldn't be said over the phone? He hoped it was some information on what was happening with the sorceresses. And maybe because she is a sorceress, she needed the physical support by telling it to him in person.

He cleared his throat and knocked on the door.

Rinoa answered and smiled softly at him. "Hey, thanks for coming over." She closed the door behind him and stifled a laugh when she saw he had his gunblade strapped to his back and his Glock nestled tightly into the back of his jeans. "You had to bring the artillery?" she asked, showing him the couch while she sat across from him on her bed.

"You know you can never be too careful," he responded, crossing his arms across his chest while he looked at her. "So then, what's going on? Have you found something new about the sorceresses?"

Rinoa raised her brow. "Can we not talk about that now?" she whispered. "I've been talking about it all day long with Caraway," she lied. "I want to talk about something else."

"Like what?"

Rinoa lowered her lashes. "I don't know…other things maybe?" She was starting to feel foolish. She knew she really didn't have the courage to tell him why she really left. This was the exact reason why she could never tell him in the first place. Even though it had only been a couple days, she had inwardly been dreading this exact moment. She could never figure out how to put it into words.

Squall stared at her. "Such as…?" he asked, stretching the question to receive her input. While he waited for her to speak he noticed her crossing her legs. Then he noticed how much her legs were bare, and how revealing her night outfit really was. Her t-shirt was knotted to the side and exposed her flat belly, the thin fabric like a second skin and showing off her toned arms while her shorts barely covered much. A thought sprang into his head even though it wasn't something he'd expected from her. "What you invited me over to fuck?"

"What?" Rinoa raised her head instantly. "No!" She frowned at him in disgust. "How could you think—Squall, I invited you over because I wanted to talk to you about why I had left!"

"Oh so now you want to talk about it?" he snapped.

Rinoa crossed her arms over her breasts. "If you don't want to know it anymore then tell me or just leave. There's the fucking door," she growled, heatedly pointing her arm towards the exit.

Squall sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ok, ok I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Just calm down, I was out of line." He pulled his cigarettes from his pocket and lit one up. "Have a cigarette."

Taking his advice, she gave a short laugh and pulled out her own pack. "Sorry, it's just frustrating…this whole situation. I'm on edge lately."

"I know, we all are." He turned to the side and pulled an ashtray closer to him. "Now, tell me, please." It was the one thing he had asked for her, an explanation, and now he was going to get it. The answer he had been waiting for, the reason he has been wanting to know for the last five years.

Rinoa sighed and shook her ponytail loose. "Squall…If I hadn't left, you would have been killed." She leaned against the wall and stared into her hands that lay in her lap.

Squall straightened his spine. "Did someone threaten you? Was it Odine?"

"No, no…it wasn't like that. No one threatened you. I was the threat." Rinoa lifted her head, her eyes locking with his as she took a deep breath. "I know you won't believe it but—" She grumbled and rubbed her temples. "Fuck this is why I didn't tell you earlier!" she wailed. "It's so hard to explain…"

All Squall could do was stare at her while he waited for the explanation he'd been demanding for. "You were not a threat to me," he argued. "You were stable. You were good. You were learning—"

Rinoa held up her hands to stop him. She sighed once more, bit down on her bottom lip and looked him in the eyes again. "If I hadn't left…Ultimecia would have killed you."

There was a stream of silence as her answer sank into his mind. He only blinked. "You're fucking with me right?" he said finally. "Do you not recall the time where we killed Ultimecia? Do you not remember because you were in fact there."

"Squall…"

Abruptly he stood to his feet. "This is just a waste of time." He turned towards the door.

Rinoa gasped in surprise and stood as well. "Squall no! You don't get it—I'm Ultimecia!"