Squall was blinded by emotion as he ran, trying to escape a reality he couldn't face.

When Dr. Kadowaki first said those brutal words, "You're dying, Squall," he had been shocked, of course, but it hadn't felt real. The more they talked about it the more he realized what it all meant, and the realization is what pushed him over the edge. He just couldn't take the thought of losing everyone, of losing Rinoa. If the doctor had told him he would live another 15 years of pure agony he could have accepted that more easily than knowing he only had one year left of slowly shutting down.

That's just the way Squall was; a fighter. When faced with a problem he had always been able to fight his way through it. But how could he fight this? There was no treatment, no cure, no hope. There was nothing he could do but sit back and watch himself slip away. How could he accept that? How could the mighty lion lay down his sword in defeat? He couldn't. He just couldn't accept it. And so he ran. Past the few students who stood in his path, past the last flashes of blue and white as he raced from the Garden, not knowing where he was heading, nor really where he belonged.

Clouds were beginning to form overhead, seeming to come out of no where as they blocked out the merciless sun. There was a chill in the air, forcing the beauty of the morning away as the cruel day changed shape in honor of one of its own.

Between his ragged breaths, Squall smelled rain...

He stopped running. Taking a look at his surroundings, he finally realized where his tired legs had carried him. The flat land stretching out behind him, rock and dirt with no grass in sight. There was a cliff in front of him that looked out over the ocean, and with the smell of the rain the memories of his last time here seemed all too real. He hadn't been back to this place since. Not since that fateful morning when two rivals exchanged mirrored scars.

Squall's emotions were raging inside of him, forcing the tears to continue flowing down his grief-stricken features. It was just too much. Squall fell to his knees, gasping for air.

"What have I accomplished since that day?" Squall sobbed. "What was it all for!? What did any of it matter?!" He slammed his fist into the dusty ground, causing the dirt to swirl up around him, though he barely noticed. "All my life I lived inside a shell, suffering through every fucking day?! What was it all for!? To lose everything when I finally became someone I thought I could be proud of...?" He threw his head back, screaming at the overcast sky, "What have I done to deserve this!?! What have I done..."

His words were broken by bitter thoughts and memories, leaving behind his whimpered cries.

"...I do deserve this, don't I...?" he said hopelessly, collapsing back into the dirt. "...I killed my mother, after all. I hurt so many people for so long. What ever made me think I had any right to even breathe the same air as the rest of the world...?"

Squall toppled back, sobbing harshly, agonizingly, as the first drops of rain began to fall.

-----

He had come back to that spot almost everyday since his return to Garden. Being there reminded him of something he didn't want to forget. It brought back all the memories of what he had done, who he had betrayed, and who he had hurt. Looking in the mirror every morning and seeing that scar was certainly a reminder in itself, but being out at that spot alone helped the hurt inside him heal so much more.

Seifer Almasy had gone out to that spot on this beautiful morning, as well. He had climbed partially down the cliff to watch the sunrise, and even after its warmth had spread out over the land, he had still stood there watching. Barely even noticing the clouds as they moved in over the sky, he really hadn't been seeing much of anything at that point, being too far gone in thought. What finally did break his silent brooding, was the sharp cries of anger that rose up from the valley above him.

He didn't recognize the voice at first, but it hadn't taken him long to realize it belonged to his long lost rival and adversary. He finally registered the change in weather when the rain began to fall around him as he climbed back up onto the cliff.

-----

The rain fell softly around Squall, washing away his tears as he drowned within them. He was so caught up in misery and self-loathing he didn't notice the figure who was slowly approaching him.

Seifer really didn't know what he was doing. Sure, he and Squall had called it even and vowed not to try and rip each other apart anymore, but that's as far as it had really gone. Both always did their best to avoid one another, despite the insistence of their friends that they should try and get along. As far as they were concerned, staying the hell out of each other's way was as close to "getting along" as they were ever going to get. So, if Squall was having some emotional crisis, why would he ever want Seifer Almasy to be the one to try and cheer him up? If he wanted to be cheered up he would have gone to one of his friends. Coming all the way out here said that what he wanted was to be left the hell alone. Still, Seifer didn't try and slip away back to the Garden unnoticed. He felt almost obligated to figure out what was wrong with Squall.

(He's changed more than anyone since that mess a year ago...) Seifer thought as he approached. (If something was wrong, he'd go to Rinoa, or Quistis, or someone else in a second. He wouldn't try to deal with it all on his own anymore...would he?)

"Enjoyin' the rain?" Seifer asked casually, plopping himself down next to Squall.

Squall's reaction was anything but casual. He sat up sharply, glaring at Seifer in surprise and a deeply angered sense of invasion. "Seifer?! What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"Just thought you could use some company," Seifer replied calmly.

Squall turned away from him, wiping at his tear-stained cheeks furiously. The last thing he wanted was for Seifer to see him like this. "Go away! I don't need any company, and I certainly wouldn't want yours!"

Seifer got the message, but that didn't mean he was going to give up so easily. "Point well taken and ignored," he replied with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere. At least not 'till you tell me why you're sitting here in the dirt, crying and screaming like the world's gonna end,"

Squall cringed in annoyance. Why did Seifer have to be so damn observant? "None of your business!" he shot back, "It doesn't concern you,"

"Squall, look," Seifer began, "I know we're not exactly best friends here, but something's really bothering you. Something you didn't think you could talk about with your real friends. That says to me; you need an impartial sounding board. So go ahead, lay it on me. What's wrong?"

Squall shook his head, still facing away from Seifer. (What does he care? I'm not one of his posse. We never even talk to each other) Squall thought harshly. (...sounding board, though? I don't know. What does it matter...?)

Squall slowly turned back to face Seifer, who was looking at him expectantly with genuine concern. He cast his gaze down and sighed. "...it's about the results of my physical," he admitted, barely above a whisper.

"Is that what this is all about?" Seifer asked incredulously. "What, your cholesterol's too high or something? Probably from too many hot-dogs on the side with chicken-wuss!" he laughed.

"This isn't a joke, Seifer!" Squall snapped. "It's serious!"

Seifer's laughter stopped immediately. "What do you mean, serious?" he asked. "How serious?"

Half of Squall really didn't want to talk about this, especially with Seifer, but the other half was just aching to tell someone, longing to have someone else understand. And he just wasn't ready to tell the others.

Besides, Seifer did seem sincere.

"I met with Dr. Kadowaki a little less than an hour ago." Squall explained. "She told me that I have an...illness...a syndrome..."

"What kind of syndrome?" Seifer prompted carefully.

Squall turned to look at Seifer, right between those turquoise eyes. "A fatal one."

If they had been standing, Seifer would have taken a step back. He had cooked up a million reasons for why Squall was so miserable. But he never imagined it was something like this. "...you...you're dying...?" Seifer whispered in disbelief.

Squall didn't have to say anything, the truth was plainly written on his face, and Seifer was at just as much of a loss over this as he was.

(This can't be) Seifer thought. (Squall can't die...)

Such a phrase uttered by Seifer Almasy is almost laughable. Or at least it would have been a little over a year ago. Right?

(We fought so many times. So many times where either of us would have killed the other if it had come to it, right?) Seifer questioned himself. (We never really got that far, did we? I'd like to think that I wouldn't have been able to do it, and I'd like to think it would've been the same for him. I guess there's no way to know...)

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the others don't know about this yet, right?"

Squall nodded.

"And, the doc, she's sure about all this?"

Squall nodded again and turned his gaze up at the cold, grey sky.

"So, I'll ask it again..." Seifer began, with as much of a smile as he could muster. "What are you doing out here in the dirt, in the rain, crying and screaming all by yourself, instead of facing this like any other monster that's stood in your path before?"

Squall chuckled softly at the question.

"As one of those monsters..." Seifer continued. "...I know what you're capable of. You can beat this. Even if you can't, you can stare it full in the face and prove you can get through it. Maybe you are dying, but you're not dead yet,"

"I have a year," Squall stated emotionlessly, crushing Seifer's great attempt at making everything better. "A year if I'm lucky." Squall laughed cruelly, "And you know how well my luck lasts."

"So what?" Seifer said, without batting an eyelash. "A year is a lifetime. I would give anything if I could take back that year with the sorceress. Don't let yourself regret this year, Squall. Make it count, and it'll be the longest year of your life."

Squall sat there silently, his eyes closed.

Seifer didn't know if he was thinking over what he had said or just wondering why Seifer hadn't left yet, but he didn't care. (Actually, if my regretting that year means it's gonna be easier for you to get through this...) Seifer thought (...then I'd never take it back.)

Squall was thinking over what Seifer had said. Thinking it over desperately. (He's right, isn't he?) Squall thought. (If this is going to be my last year, how can I sit here and waste what time I have? I should be there at the Garden when Rinoa and the girls get back. I should be there with all of them everyday I have left on this earth, and I should cherish what I can do with each of those days instead of wallowing in all this guilt I've created for myself.)

Squall opened his eyes. For the first time in all of his sorrow over this, he opened them full. "Seifer..." he whispered. "...thank you. I owe you so--"

"You owe me nothing," Seifer cut in. "Maybe we said we were even before, but if you're gonna go back to that Garden, back to the friends who love you, and if you're gonna go there to deal with this, then now I can believe it."

Seifer stood up from the ground, rain water dripping from his trench coat as he did, and held out his hand for Squall.

Both had forgotten the rain as they talked, but it was the rain that watched two old enemies--enemies who had once battled on that very spot beneath its watchful eye--grasp each other's arms in friendship and walk together back to Balamb Garden.

tbc...

A/N: (wiping a tear away) Well, there's the next part, and oh was it fun to write! I hope you guys are bearing with me through this, cause I'm posting as fast as I write it, but I'm a busy girl. My goal, though, is to have this whole thing finished by the end of this long, Thanksgiving weekend. Pray for me. Also, Please Review!