"You are an unusual human," Shiva commented, curling around Squall in his dreamscape. He had a very vague recollection of being absolutely terrified the first time he'd gone to sleep while junctioned, but after memories of years spent with Shiva as his closest companion, it was more comfortable than terrifying.

'Thank you, I think,' Squall replied, relaxing back against the humanoid figure. In his dreamscape, his body was that of the Ghost, as it would be at seventeen or so. He quite enjoyed being bigger, especially since he spent his days facing off against much larger opponents; with his months of training, he'd been shoved into the highest level classes, while Seifer got stuck just below him. Cid had been thrilled to learn that his future SeeD Commander was an apparent prodigy.

Shiva soothed chilled hands though Squall's hair. "Normal humans are so boring," she informed him, "I much prefer you to those other children they bonded me to. You have such memories–"

'If you start taking memories I want to keep, I'll un-junction you and train solo,' Squall snapped before she could get too comfortable in over two decades worth of memories. 'And don't you dare lie to me about not being able to tell important memories from those I couldn't give a fuck about, Shiva. I've memories of your usual tricks; they won't work on me.'

Shiva let out a laugh filled with ice. "I like you too much to threaten your memories and our bond, Ice Child. I will take your nightmares and fever dreams. Shall I take, too, those memories of your hatred for the Fire Child?"

'Fire Child? Oh, Seifer...' Squall considered that, weighing the pros and cons of basically starting fresh with his future-past rival. Memories of fighting against Seifer were still precious to him, no matter how he was shaded in them, but the memory of an electric wall... 'You can take my time in D-District, but leave the others. I wouldn't want to be caught by one of his nasty tricks just because I forgot he was capable of being an utter bastard.'

Shiva laughed her laugh of ice again and wrapped herself more fully around the teenaged dream-image. Her cold magic seeped through his mind and Squall felt suddenly lighter, as if all the darkness that had been bearing down on him for the past two years was suddenly gone. The haunting memories of dark places and frozen spears of death had slipped just beyond his reach, leaving behind the faintest of impressions that horror laid beyond his grasp. The knowledge of who and what and when Ultimecia was remained, but the memories of cold terror that had so often accompanied the mere thought of her name had been locked away.

"I will protect you, Ice Child," Shiva breathed against his ear, "from both within and without, if that is your will. Sleep now."

Squall relaxed fully into her cold hold and closed his eyes. 'Thank you, Shiva,' he managed before he drifted away over fields of ice and snow, dancing among impossible flowers and falling back to make snow angels like the child he'd long left behind.

-0-

"I don't like this GF and she doesn't like me," Seifer ranted as he slammed his tray down across from Squall in the cafeteria. They'd all had Shiva junctioned for a week now and Seifer always said the same thing.

Squall's response was equally similar, "She speaks highly of you, as well."

Seifer scowled and poked at his broccoli in irritation. "I want a new GF."

"Shiva's the only one they have," Squall reminded him. Which wasn't quite true, since he had it on good authority that Ifrit resided in the Fire Cavern to the east, but they were still too young to be left unsupervised and there weren't enough cadets for them to manage sneaking out, so Squall wasn't even going to mention it. Maybe in a couple years, he'd sneak Seifer out to pick up Ifrit. Assuming he and Shiva didn't kill each other first.

He spared a brief wonder to when Quezacotl would show up. He thought they'd already had her by the time they opened Garden, but that was clearly wrong.

Seifer turned his irritation on his potatoes and asked, "What do you have left today?"

"Advanced Mathematics, Survival and Basic Junctioning."

Seifer perked up. "You're in a basic class?"

"We're all in that class, Seifer," Squall reminded him. "None of us have ever junctioned before, unless you were messing with GFs at the orphanage and forgot to tell anyone."

Seifer waved a hand at that. "Where would I even find a GF down there?"

"The old Centra Ruins," Squall reported without missing a beat. "There's a Tonberry GF, as well as Odin, who's, erm, rather an unusual GF, honestly."

"Unusual how? And how do you even know these things?"

"Magic." Squall waved a negligent hand at that. "Odin doesn't junction. He tests those who come to visit him and, if you pass his test, he'll come to your aid whenever he feels like it."

"Whenever he feels like it, huh? Sounds like another GF I know."

Squall rolled his eyes as he felt Shiva stir inside him to shoot an icy glare at the boy across from him. "Both of you, behave," he ordered, rolling his eyes again when Seifer shot a disgusted glare at him. Honestly, it was like working with toddlers.

When Seifer finally returned his attention to his lunch, Squall glanced around the cafeteria, wondering how much longer he'd have Seifer's company for. If he was remembering correctly, Fujin and Raijin should be showing up within the next year or two, and Seifer would almost certainly focus all his attention on them. He couldn't remember if Zell joined Garden before or after Seifer's posse, but he supposed he would end up actually making friends with the martial artist, this time. It would be nice to have someone to eat lunch with, once Seifer found his little clique.

'Ugh. When did I become someone who actually wanted friends?' he silently bemoaned. He knew, of course: as soon as he'd discovered how much simpler life was when you had someone else to lean on. Maybe he couldn't share his secrets with anyone else – these future memories were his burden to bear – but it was nice to have someone there, to know that he wasn't completely alone.

'I suppose Quistis was right, that time in the Training Centre; everyone needs someone. It only took me a war and two years as a child to realise it.'

The bell for classes rang and the two boys got up to dump their trays. "See you in Junctioning!" Seifer called with a grin as he started for his lower-levelled classes.

Squall waved him off as he fell in behind a group of scowling older boys and girls. He narrowed his eyes at them, silently daring them to try anything. He might not have an actual weapon, but it hadn't taken much for people to realise that their sole GF had a particularly strong bond with their resident prodigy, and she would immediately appear to protect him. The older kids turned away and Squall suppressed a sigh. 'Who knew being a fucking genius was such a pain? I suddenly have so much more sympathy for Quistis...'

-0-

Quezacotl was found over the summer holiday, so the new term started with a much more pleasant Seifer. It was probably for the best, since they were starting to actually learn the art of summoning GFs in battle as a part of their combat classes. Seifer had managed to get into the higher level combat classes, having at least some training, so it was another of the few classes he shared with Squall. Watching Seifer struggle with Shiva hadn't been something Squall had looked forward to, especially since the ice queen hadn't been willing to behave when Squall pleaded with her; she didn't like Seifer and she wasn't going to answer his call unless it was life or death. (And, even then, she'd only show up because Squall had threatened to un-junction her if she left Seifer defenceless. He did actually want his future-past rival to survive, after all.)

The two other students who hadn't formed a bond with Shiva also got Quezacotl, so they were finally able to learn how to control the GFs in battle. Given, GFs tended to have a mind of their own, but if a summoner had enough of a bond, they could direct the GF towards the preferred enemy, rather than the GF just shooting their attack off in a random direction and going back to their non-space.

Squall excelled at controlling Shiva, of course, which made him plenty more enemies in their classes. Right up until, one afternoon, he got the opportunity to impart some wisdom to one of his classmates.

Kylie Akers was one of the few who had switched to Quezacotl, but she was still having trouble. Squall caught her in the Training Centre one weekend afternoon, aiming to throw the GF crystal against the nearest tree.

"Wait!" he snapped, hurrying forward and snatching the crystal out of her hand. In spite of her being almost a head taller, he glared at her with all the power of Shiva's ice and she shrunk under his gaze. "You don't throw them when you're ticked off, Akers. Honestly." He closed his eyes and junctioned the electrical GF. 'Tell me what's going on,' he ordered.

Quezacotl shifted uncomfortably under his firm resolve, unused to being junctioned to someone so experienced. "She's a stupid little girl," she muttered.

'You're worse than Shiva. I'm not asking what you think about her, I'm asking why you're not even trying to get along. And don't bother with the whole "her element's wrong". Both she and Seifer lean more towards fire and you manage fine with him.'

Quezacotl pouted. "You're a better human. Can't I junc–"

'I'm a one-GF man,' Squall snapped. 'Stay on topic or I'll set Shiva on you.'

Quezacotl eyed the other GF uncertainly and Shiva smirked. "She orders," the bird GF explained. "She orders stupid things and when I tell her she's being stupid, she un-junctions me and throws my crystal. That hurts."

Squall sighed and un-junctioned the GF even as he opened his eyes to pin Akers with a chilled glare. "You don't throw their crystals," he hissed, holding Quezacotl's crystal up for the older girl to see. "I don't care how many names she's calling you, or how much she's refusing to do what you order, throwing her crystal is rude. It's like..." He floundered for a minute, trying to draw up a correlation. "It's like if some giant picked up the car you were in and tossed it against a mountain. It fucking hurts."

Akers pressed her lips into a thin line, clearly displeased with the younger boy telling her what to do, but a little impressed with the ease that he junctioned an unfamiliar GF. "I won't throw her if she'll stop refusing to follow my orders."

Squall rubbed at the bridge of his nose, along the line of a scar that didn't exist. "Just as humans are limited in what we can accomplish, so too are the GFs, though their limits are different. They're incapable of forming a solid body except for a limited time, for example. They also can utilise only one element or attack. Their powers in battle are limited by their bond with the human they're junctioned to, so when I call Shiva, she'll always be stronger than, say, Damon's Shiva."

Akers crossed her arms. "I know all that."

"You understand they have limits, but you're not keeping that in mind while trying to summon them," Squall shot back. "Before I showed up, what did you tell her to do?"

Akers huffed. "I wanted her to blast that tree." She pointed to the tree she'd aimed the crystal at.

Squall closed his eyes and resisted the urge to finger the non-existent scar again. "GFs are trained to assist us in battle, not a science experiment," he muttered. "If you want her to attack a tree, you need a better reason than, 'I want to see what it looks like'. More importantly–" he looked pointedly down at her shoes, "–if you're going to be playing with her electricity in an unprotected setting, you need to wear rubber-soled shoes or you're going to get hit with the left over charge."

Akers blinked, then looked down at her shoes herself. It being the weekend, she'd chosen to wear a comfortable pair of shoes that didn't have the same protective qualities as the rubber-soled combat boots they were required to wear as part of their uniform during classes. "Oh."

Squall sighed and held Quezacotl's crystal back out to the older girl. "Part of what gives their lives meaning is their urge to protect us, their bonded humans. She's not refusing your orders to be obstinate, but because they'd put your own life at risk. Next time she refuses something, ask her why. Or, if nothing else, use your own damn common sense." Once Akers had taken the crystal back, he turned to stalk deeper into the foliage.

"Hey, Leonhart?"

Squall sighed and turned back to her. "Yeah?"

"Uhm... Thanks."

Squall waved it off. "The GFs are smarter than we give them credit for. Listen to them more often and they'll become valuable allies, rather than just that annoying little voice that sits in the back of your head." He grimaced as Shiva giggled. "Given, they'll always be that annoying little voice..."

Akers laughed at that.

"Go change your shoes," Squall directed, then vanished behind the trees to get his own weekend training in. Preferably before Seifer finally pulled himself out of bed and hunted down his missing roommate again.

-0-

"It's called 'sleeping in'," Seifer was saying for the millionth time. Squall's habit of vanishing into the Training Centre in the early mornings drove Seifer spare, especially since he'd much rather be getting his own training in than hunting for the missing brunet.

"I know what you call it," Squall retorted, pointing his fork at the blond, "but I call it being lazy."

"Workaholic."

"Lazy brat."

A tray thumped down next to Squall and both boys turned with wary eyes towards the twelve-year-old who was staring down at them. "Leonhart," he said with a nod to Squall.

Squall narrowed his eyes. "Ricaforte. To what do we owe the dubious pleasure of your presence?"

October Ricaforte smiled in amusement at the implied insult. "No need to take that tone with me, kid–"

"Because you're so much older," Seifer muttered, discontent with being ignored.

Ricaforte shot a warning look at the disgruntled blond, only for Squall to icily say, "I don't think you've been properly introduced. Ricaforte, this is my best friend and roommate, Seifer Almasy. Seifer, October Ricaforte, heir to the Ricaforte fortune."

"And General-to-be," Ricaforte agreed pleasantly, offering his hand to Seifer in an implied offer of truce, which the younger boy took with a glare.

Squall snorted and rested against the elbow he braced on the edge of the table. "What do you want, Ricaforte?"

The older boy settled at the table and pulled out a notebook filled with class work for their Advanced Mathematics class. "Tutor me."

"What would I possibly get out of that?" Squall wondered while Seifer stole his biscuit. Squall was already tutoring the blond, after all, and he wasn't getting anything in return except a lessening of hopeful pleading. Not that Seifer had anything to give him...

"I'll pay you," Ricaforte replied, setting twenty gil on top of the notebook.

Squall considered that; SeeD didn't exist yet, as Garden wasn't quite a year old, and the allowance that would one day be dispensed to the cadets had only been around because of the surplus money from SeeD missions. Garden was made up of those orphans who had been six or older when Cid finished converting the shelter and the scions of rich families who didn't mind paying a little extra to get their kids a military education in hopes that they'd enter the army as better than infantry, and the difference in the social backgrounds was glaringly obvious.

'I could get Revolver sooner if I had the extra pocket change,' Squall knew. He wanted to train with his trusty blade again, not the piece-of-crap imitations they kept on hand in Garden. The idea of someone actually wanting to train with and master the gunblade hadn't even crossed the minds of the faculty, so they didn't have the preparations for it. Squall would have to wait another four years or so before someone thought to get a real gunblade in stock, unless he had his own income...

Squall narrowed his eyes. "Ten an hour," he insisted. "And I'll tutor you in whatever you want."

Ricaforte considered the gil he'd put down. "Only ten?" he wondered.

"I'm not allowed out of Garden for another year and a half," Squall pointed out. "Depending on how stupid you're feeling, that should give me plenty of time to save up for whatever catches my fancy in town."

Ricaforte chuckled and dropped the twenty gil onto Squall's tray. "Very well. You've got two hours to help me figure out this mess."

Squall nodded, glancing up at Seifer. "Stay or go?" he asked; their lunches were only going to last them another half hour at most, and there was no reason to keep Seifer away from the training they usually got in after lunch just because Squall had agreed to tutor one of the rich kids.

"Are you kidding?" Seifer replied, green eyes bright with amusement. "I'll do anything to get out of the kiddie maths classes."

Squall shrugged and returned his attention to Ricaforte, resigning himself to tutoring both boys.

-0-

"Fresh meat," Seifer murmured from the doorway of his and Squall's dorm as the new students came in.

"Play nice," Squall ordered from inside their room. He was working on the last of his spring holiday work, which he would have finished a few days ago if he hadn't been tutoring everyone else in the fucking school. On one hand, the drain on his time was obnoxious, on the other, he had more than enough money to buy himself Shear Trigger, if he wanted. By the time next spring holiday came around and he was allowed out on his own, he'd probably be able to afford Lion Heart.

Even better than the ability to buy his weapon soon was the fact that Seifer had been knocked up a couple classes. He'd taken to sitting in on the tutoring sessions, so he was learning things far beyond his current level, and Squall was more than willing to fill in the blanks in the evenings. Sharing so many of his classes with the closest person he had to a friend made Squall happier than he could remember ever being in the past, even if a part of him wondered how Fujin and Raijin would change things.

There was a commotion in the hall, then a sharp voice calling, "BACK OFF."

'Think of the devil and she shall appear,' Squall thought with a bitter smile.

"Make me back off, little girl," one of the older girls, Mari Laymance, replied.

"Your 'fresh meat' is about to have her ass handed to her by the best martial artist in Garden," Squall commented, not looking up from his work. Mari was one of the few who Squall wasn't tutoring, and she'd actually been the one to correct his own hand-to-hand form during winter term.

"I dunno about that," Seifer replied, voice gleeful as he watched the small albino dodge out of Mari's grasp and come up behind the taller girl to deliver a couple nasty kicks to her calf. "That girl is cool."

"Feel free to introduce yourself."

Seifer glanced back at the hunched form of his roommate. "Aw, is Squally afraid I'll leave him for a girl?"

"Oh, get a life, Seifer." Squall rolled his eyes. "Go make nice with a couple new kids so I can finish my work."

Seifer laughed at that, having heard more than once that holiday about how Squall would never get his work done if everyone kept pestering him. "Yeah, okay. You want me to close the door?"

"Please."

Seifer pulled the door shut behind him, still chuckling, and started wading through the flock of confused students to where Mari and the new girl were facing off. "Come on, ladies," he offered. "Is that any way to start a new term?"

"New kids need to respect the authority of those of us with seniority," Mari spat.

"I have seniority over you," Seifer pointed out, offering a winning smile to Mari's heated glare. "Come on, Laymance, at least let her put her bags in her room before you beat her up."

Mari mulled that over. "Tch. Fine." She considered the new girl with narrowed eyes. "Almasy won't always be there to save you, bitch."

The girl just glared right back until Mari had vanished into the crowd. Then she turned to Seifer and glared at him. "NO THANKS."

"You're welcome," Seifer replied with an overly cheerful smile as he grabbed one of her dropped bags. "What's your room?"

"I don't need your help," the girl hissed.

"So you can talk like a normal person." Seifer reached for the other bag, only to have his hand swatted away. "Aw, come on. I'm just being friendly."

"UNWANTED."

"Back to one and two word answers." Seifer sighed. "I think you're worse than Squally. Come on, let's get you to your room before Laymance decides you're too tempting. Really, we gotta teach you which people not to mess with..." As he talked, he half-shoved, half-followed her to her new dorm room. The halls had mostly cleared during their trek and the girl's roommate was already debating which of the two bedrooms she wanted. "Hi, there!" Seifer called to the new girl.

"I thought boys weren't allowed in the girls' dorms," the girl replied, giving him a faintly disgusted look before turning to her new roommate. "Andrea Sutton."

"Fujin Natsuki," the albino Seifer had been following around replied. She turned to Seifer and pierced him with her one visible eye, the other hidden behind an eye patch that Seifer found rather fetching. "OUT."

"Aw, I'm wounded," Seifer replied, holding out the bag he'd grabbed. "I'm Seifer Almasy, by the way."

"And we care because?" Andrea snapped.

Seifer pretended to think about that for a minute, then replied, "Because my best friend and roommate is the resident genius and if you want anything to do with him, you gotta be nice to me." He shot her a smug look.

Andrea scoffed. "I've had the best tutors money can buy since I was three. What do I care for some supposed genius?"

Seifer snorted. "Squall's the youngest person in Garden and he's also the smartest. He's been able to read and write since he was five, at least, and he's been training with a sword for about the same amount of time. There are three students out of twenty-three in Garden that aren't getting tutoring from him, and even they admit he's smarter than them. So, please, diss him, but don't be surprised when you get looked down on for mocking him."

Andrea took a deep breath in preparation of some sharp retort when a head poked around the door frame. "Thought I heard you, Almasy," October Ricaforte said. "Have you seen Leonhart?"

Seifer blinked at the older boy. "Huh? Yeah, he's finishing his work. Why?"

Ricaforte sighed. "Suppose I shouldn't bother him, then."

"Maths again?" Seifer guessed.

Ricaforte grimaced. "Yes." He paused and cocked his head at the blond. "I don't suppose you could help? Hyne knows you're getting more tutoring than the rest of us combined."

"You mean I sit through all your lessons and I pick things up faster than you."

"Don't get cocky, Almasy." Ricaforte, pushed away from the door frame. "Come on, prove to me you're more than Leonhart's slightly dumber clone."

"Call me dumb again and I'll kick your ass, Pretty Boy," Seifer retorted, but he obediently followed after the older boy. "Bye, Fujin!"

Fujin shook her head in disbelief and looked over at her new roommate, only to find the girl staring in disbelief after the two boys. "WHAT?" she snapped.

"That was October Ricaforte," Andrea replied.

"SO?"

Andrea shook her head. "He's the pride and joy of the Ricaforte family. They lauded him as a genius, but..." She took a deep breath. "Squall Leonhart, huh? We'll just see what he's worth."

Fujin shook her head at how weird rich people were and started shuffling into her new bedroom.

-0-

"I thought you were going to torment the new kids, not Ricaforte," Squall commented as Seifer dropped into the seat across from him.

"The idiot was failing at maths again, so I went with him to mock him a bit," Seifer informed his roommate. "And her name's Fujin Natsuki."

"You're too young for a crush, Seifer," Squall informed him, grimacing at the adoring tone Seifer said Fujin's name in.

"You're never too young for love!"

"You're channelling Selphie and it's creeping me out. Stop." Squall pinned him with an unimpressed look.

Seifer grinned back and started picking at his food. "How do you think Selph is doing, anyway?"

"I'm sure she's fine. I'm way more worried about Quisty, anyway." The Trepes had obviously only wanted her for her smarts.

Seifer's expression fell. "Yeah, me too. Irvy, too; that man who adopted him seemed like a real jerk."

Before Squall could think of a response, a tray dropped next to him and a sharp-eyed brunette sat down. "You must be Squall Leonhart."

Squall looked hopefully towards Seifer while Fujin took the spot next to the blond. "Andrea Sutton," Seifer offered before turning with a grin to Fujin. "Hello, again! Decided I was too awesome to ignore?"

"More like too obnoxious," Squall muttered, rolling his eyes. He glanced back at the girl watching him with narrowed eyes. "I'm Squall. What do you want?"

"To prove you're no genius," Andrea insisted.

"I'm not a genius," Squall informed her drily, "I'm just a quick learner."

"Genius!" Seifer called.

Squall sighed and decided he wasn't having this conversation. "Whatever."

"You'll have to forgive him, we're still trying to train his social skills," Seifer informed Fujin. "So, what's with the eye patch? 'Cause it's kinda awesome, but not the best fashion statement while you're at a military academy."

"REQUIRED," Fujin informed him shortly.

"Required?" Seifer repeated.

"I believe she means she can't see out of that eye anyway, so she covers it with the patch to protect it," Squall translated. 'And since when have I been an authority on Fujin-speak?'

Seifer nodded. "Right. How did you–"

"Seifer, your social skills are worse than mine," Squall interrupted before the blond could ask further about Fujin's mysterious injury. Not that he knew how it had happened, personally, but he did know that Fujin didn't talk about it and would kick anyone who tried to bring it up.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm not going to help you when she kicks you out of your chair for asking about something that's none of your business," Squall replied as Andrea let out an irritated sound and left, muttering something about 'inane chatter'.

Seifer considered that for a moment, then turned back to Fujin and asked the question all orphans were interested in, "What are your parents like?"

"DEAD," Fujin said.

Seifer's expression blanked for one moment, then he quietly replied, "Mine too."

Fujin relaxed a bit and Squall realised, 'This is why they became such good friends. They're both orphans, looking for a family.'

"I never knew my parents," Seifer added quietly. "Squall and I grew up at an orphanage."

Fujin nodded. "LAST WINTER."

"I'm sorry," Seifer said with true honesty.

Fujin nodded and that was that. She started eating with them during meals and sitting with Seifer in the one class she shared with him. She never said much, but then, she never really had.

And, strangely, Squall didn't feel like a third wheel. Seifer never left him out, and Fujin didn't ignore him, either. It was strangely like he'd become a part of the posse before it was even formed.

-0-

Raijin didn't come onto their radar until shortly after Squall's eighth birthday. Seifer and Squall were training in the Training Centre while Fujin was in a class and they heard someone screaming bloody murder deeper in.

"Should we get an instructor?" Seifer wondered rhetorically as they both moved towards the scream.

"They'd get here too late," Squall muttered. "Honestly, whose idea was it to leave the Training Centre open for any idiot to walk by?"

Seifer snorted in amusement, having heard Squall's complaints about their fellow students and their inability to judge whether a situation was too high above their level on many an occasion.

The scream came again, this time followed by the roar of a T-Rexaur.

"Hyne protect all idiots," Squall snapped, putting on a burst of speed and drawing his practise gunblade as he cleared the trees. He took less than a second to take in the scene – Raijin cowering under an angry T-Rexaur, the wooden spear he'd brought in snapped in half – and then he was facing off against the monster, sorting through his para-magic for the Sleep spell he'd taken to stocking as soon as they added T-Rexaurs to the Training Centre over the summer.

Behind the speedy brunet, Seifer stopped and helped the dark-skinned boy up. "That was stupid," he commented. "You see a T-Rexaur, you run."

"I tried to, ya know?" the boy grunted, holding his side and wincing when it screamed in pain.

Seifer pulled out a potion and handed it over; Squall always insisted they were well stocked in potions and Cure magic, even though the younger boy was more than capable of taking down a T-Rexaur without a scratch. Seifer glanced up at where Squall had called Shiva to finish off the snoozing dinosaur. 'Case in point.'

Squall waved Shiva away and turned to give the two boys a sharp look as he sheathed his weapon. "I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you did not, in fact, think that you could take on a T-Rexaur with a practise spear and Quezacotl," he offered Raijin.

Raijin nodded, grasping for the chance to explain himself to someone who was clearly his better. "Yeah. I was lookin' for a Grat, ya know? Gettin' some training in. But then that thing appeared and I was tryin' ta run from it, but I kinda tripped a bit and it knocked me into a tree, ya know? It hurt."

Squall sighed. "You're supposed to come to the Training Centre with a partner for emergencies like this," he pointed out, then shot a knowing look at Seifer as the blond opened his mouth. "Don't even."

Seifer grinned. Squall often came to the Training Centre on his own. Of course, he could get away with it, being as obnoxiously strong as he was. Sometimes, Seifer wondered if his friend was even human.

"My roommate left over the summer holiday, ya know?" Raijin explained sheepishly. "He was the only person I really knew here, so I didn't have anyone to come here with. Ya know?"

Seifer grinned and draped a friendly arm around the other boy's shoulders. "Well, now you know us! I'm Seifer Almasy, by the way."

"Raijin Nakai," Raijin replied, blinking a few times in surprise. "If you're Almasy, then is that...?" He turned towards Squall, hero worship in his eyes.

Seifer's grin widened when Squall made a disgusted sound and turned away. "That's the Wonder Boy himself, Squall Leonhart," he informed Raijin.

"Seifer, I will freeze you in your sleep if you call me that again," Squall informed his roommate.

Seifer waved a hand at that, deciding it wasn't worth worrying over Squall's threats right that moment, even though he'd probably regret it later. "So! Raijin, you can train with us! We'll have to get you a new weapon, though..."

"Sorry..." Raijin murmured, letting himself be drawn back towards the entrance by Seifer while Squall fell in behind them.

"Nah. Squally's always breaking his toy, anyway."

"It's not a toy," Squall called, frowning at Seifer's usual name for the gunblade. Given, the ones they had at Garden were crappy, but they weren't toys.

Seifer shook his head. In all honesty, he was a little jealous of Squall's natural skill with the notoriously difficult weapon. Seifer himself was sticking with a normal sword until he had way more control before he'd even consider trying Squall's favoured weapon. He did like the gunblade, and the idea of mastering it himself was appealing, but he knew better than to try that now. And mocking the Garden weapons made him feel better about his lack of skill.

They trained together until lunch, Raijin watching in awe as the other two boys decimated anything they came up against. As Seifer had said, Squall had to replace his weapon twice during the three hours they spent in there and Raijin wasn't sure if it was because the young prodigy was just that hard on the weapons, or because the weapons were pieces of crap.

They entered the cafeteria at lunchtime and got themselves some food. When Raijin started towards his usual solitary table, Squall grabbed his arm. "Come on," he ordered, half dragging the larger boy towards the table he shared with Seifer and Fujin, both of whom had already taken their usual seats.

"Fuu, this is Raijin Nakai," Seifer introduced. "Raijin, this is Fujin Natsuki. She's my kick-ass almost-sister."

"And by that, he means Fujin has kicked his ass more than once," Squall added. "Sit. You're eating with us."

"If you're sure..." Raijin said, settling uncertainty into the open chair next to Squall's usual spot.

"If we weren't sure, Squally wouldn't have dragged you over here," Seifer said agreeably. "You're not so bad, Raijin, and everyone should have a friend." He smiled.

Raijin smiled back. "Thanks."

"And now Fuu'll have someone to sit in class with her!" Seifer added. "Ow! Fuu..."

Squall snorted and turned his attention to his food, letting Seifer and Raijin's conversation flow over him. Across from him, Fujin settled in to do the same thing, seeing nothing wrong with having someone around to distract Seifer's attention from her. And it would be nice to have someone to sit with in classes.