V


"Selphie?"

Selphie turned, trying to balance a box of colored plastic globes which she had obtained from a target practice room with one hand while holding a bag of ribbon in the other. Squall was approaching her from the direction of the elevator, with the particular look that said his body was already punishing him for the sleep he wouldn't get that night. "Yeah?" she asked.

"How's the Festival coming?" Squall asked. Selphie spent a moment convincing herself she had heard him right. Squall, taking an interest in the Festival?

"Er... pretty well," she said.

"Do you need anything? More help? Funds? Decorations?"

Selphie stared at him. "Are you dying?" she blurted out.

Squall was obviously taken aback. "What?" he asked.

"What's going on? You didn't seem to care much about the Festival when I asked you about it earlier. You're really scaring me."

Squall winced. "It's nothing. Don't ask."

Selphie stared at him for a moment longer. "Are you sure?" she asked. She had been around him long enough to know that he was lying--but also long enough to know that he was never going to tell her what was on his mind.

"It's nothing. ...if you need anything for the Festival, be sure to tell me. Okay?"

"Sure," Selphie said. "We're doing pretty well, though. I'll tell you if anything comes up."

"Thanks," Squall said, actually sounding sincere. Then he headed off, probably to some official duty or other that was required of him. With a last confused glance, Selphie headed off for the Quad again.

"You need some help with that?" a voice called as she passed the entrance. Glancing around, she saw the source--a muscular young man lounging by the directory, eyeing her from under a bed of light hair. The box being about to slip out of her grasp for the fifth time, she smiled and nodded.

"Lots, if you don't mind helping," she said. The man got up and smoothly moved over, taking the box from her.

"It looks like you have a lot of stuff to carry," he said. "I see you wandering the halls with boxes and stuff all the time."

Selphie nodded. "I'm in charge of decorating for the Winter Festival," she said. "It takes a lot of work to decorate the whole Garden."

"I can see. Well, from what I've noticed, you've been doing admirably."

Selphie blushed. "Well, I haven't really been doing any of the actual decorating," she stammered. "I've been mostly seeing what things are supposed to go where, and trying to beg things from people. There aren't that many Christmas ornaments lying around."

"I wish you had told me. I could have helped," the man said. Shouldering the box, he extended his hand. "My name is Nemo... Nemo Audet. I'm here visiting from the Desert--South Esthar. Esthar was colonized by Centrans, so some people still celebrate the old holidays."

"Really?" Selphie said. "I wish I knew!"

"I can't blame you for not knowing," Nemo said. "It used to be the main holiday of the Centran religion, but now it's just an obscure celebration that only the really old-school guys observe."

Selphie smiled. "And you're an old-schooler?" she asked.

Her smile was answered with a grin. "No," Nemo said, "but I was privileged enough to live with a few of them."

"Do you think you could help out? With the planning and all?" Selphie asked. Nemo nodded.

"It's be a pleasure--if you could do just one thing for me," he said.

"What's that?" Selphie asked.

Nemo waved a hand at the vast interior of the Garden. "This place is huge," he said. "Do you think... you could show me around?"

Selphie's smile widened. "Of course!" she said. "Any time."

"Thanks... Selphie," Nemo said, in a way that wouldn't bother her at all until hours later, when she realized that not once had she mentioned her name.

--- - - - ---


Kadowaki looked up as the door to the infirmary slid open, and an unfamiliar face glanced in. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah...." the man started, glancing around the infirmary. "Are you Dr. Kadowaki?"

"Yes," the doctor replied. "Are you injured?"

The man smiled. "No. I'm visiting here, and I had heard that this was a good place to play a game of cards. ..that is, if you're not busy," he added hastily.

"Not at all. Come on in!" Kadowaki said, pulling open her desk and withdrawing a Triple Triad deck. "I'm always happy to meet someone new--especially if they'll play with the current rules."

The man extended his hand. "My name is Nemo... Nemo Audet," he said. "I'm a visitor up from the Desert in Southern Esthar."

"Doctor Janice Kadowaki," Kadowaki said, leaning forward to shake his hand. "Do you play a lot?"

"I used to," Nemo admitted. "I haven't had time, recently."

"That's a pity," Kadowaki said, shuffling her deck and dealing herself a hand. "What do you do?"

"Odd jobs. Mercenary type work. Which is why I'm here," he said. "I'm looking at enrolling in some of the public classes."

"You'll like it here," Kadowaki said. "It's a very friendly place."

"I can tell," Nemo said, giving his deck a quick shuffle and dealing out five cards from the middle. Laying them face-up on the table, he patted his pocket and looked up. "I think I forgot my die," he said.

"I have one," Kadowaki said, pulling one out of her desk and rolling it. The point landed facing her, and she put down her card in a spot where it could be defended easily. Nemo looked over his cards, looked over hers, and made a selection.

"You have a strong deck," he said.

"I used to play seriously," Kadowaki said.

"Oh," Nemo said. Placing his card, he waited for her to make her next move.

The game advanced in silence for a few more turns, Kadowaki occasionally flipping one of Nemo's cards. As they neared the end, Kadowaki raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Mr. Audet," she said. "Six to two in my favor, and you still have me beaten."

Nemo smiled, placing the card. "Plus, combo, combo," he said. "You saw through the trick?"

"Not soon enough," Kadowaki said. "I'm impressed. Not many people know how to play that way--or like to, at least."

"When playing with all the special rules, I find it's best to let my opponents take most of my cards," Nemo said. "A friend of mine taught me. Just force them into radiating out from one point, and think ahead. If you're good enough, you can use your last cards to get Combos from the opposite end of the board."

"And, because the strong cards are already in positions of taking the weak ones, the Combos will carry," Kadowaki finished. "Grizmer's Rule. It's a hard technique to learn."

"You must have been serious, if you can call the tactic by name," Nemo said, surprised.

"I made it my business to learn all I could. Did you know that Triple Triad is a great way to judge character?"

Nemo shook his head. "No," he said.

"There are so many different ways to play... and the conversations over a game can be quite interesting," she said, leaning back.

"Tell me," Nemo said. "What can you say about me from this game?"

Kadowaki glanced at the board. "Well, you think incredibly rationally--and your foresight is excellent. By the fact that you used Grizmer's, I can also say that you're not afraid of a few immediate setbacks in order to obtain your goal. I also know that to use Grizmer's rule, you have to be a very good sport--that's because learning to use it is usually a long string of terrible losses."

Nemo blinked. "All that from a game of cards?" he asked. "Now I'm impressed."

"So am I," Kadowaki said. "In fact, I'd say your game is a lot like another good player I know."

"Who would that be?" Nemo asked.

"You should play him sometime," Kadowaki said. "He would be our Commander, Squall Leonhart."

Nemo glanced at the wall clock, and nodded to her. "I think I will sometime. Right now, I have to meet a... potential instructor. Thank you for the game and the conversation."

"Come back any time," Kadowaki said.