Disc: Raven is mine, Genesis is Cruel Hero's, and everyone else is Squaresoft's except for Ares who belongs to the Greeks and their history. Coke is owned by whatever bottles the nasty stuff. Cowhand is a derogatory remark toward ranchers. (Irvine strikes me as one.) Ra is Ray.

Training room

Sorceress Genesis's plans were rapidly becoming apparent to Quistis Trepe. Genesis meant to take over Balamb Garden and use it to destroy Earth.

What she couldn't understand was why the Sorceresses on this Ifrit forsaken planed would want to destroy Balamb Garden. It was like a plague on the minds of Sorceresses who had to take over Galbadia to destroy Balamb Garden or take it over.

Seifer walked into her office, looking really nasty after a training room session. He sat down hard on the couch, wiping his forehead with a coat sleeve. Blood ran from a slash across his left cheek and dripped lightly onto the white coat. His eyes reflected a bone deep exhaustion. " 'Ju want something?"

"I thought you were in your dorm room." Her eyes showed a sort of worry.

"Nope. Beating the T-Rexaurs in the training area. I think your gonna need to get some more." He smiled his old badass smile.

She snorted, "I'll bet."

He laid his head back as if sleeping and Quistis poked him.

'Uh, hey." He said, not opening his eyes.

"Seifer, do you know that Genesis is two days away?"

His eyes popped open. "Huh?"

"You heard me." Quistis said, crossing her arms, " You have the knowledge so now what are you going to do about it?"

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? I need to train." He stood up; "No doubt Gen's given his high-leveled magic."

Quistis pushed him back down, "No; first you need to get some sleep. You're dead on your feet."

Then his stomach growled, "Nope." He grinned, "First hotdogs."

*

Raven, Zell and Quistis's assistant, Rinoa, sat around a table drinking coke and eating hotdogs. Seifer walked up and sat down between Rinoa and Raven and Raven scooted over toward Zell, glimpsing the hurt look on his face.

"Did you get that beat up against one T-Rexaur?" Rinoa asked, looking kind of worried.

Raven snorted and Seifer looked at her, "What?" He asked.

"You think you would just go up against one T-Rexaur? Heh, more like four or five." Raven got up and walked off, taking her nearly empty coke with her.

*

Raven walked through the gate with the characteristic hello to Hal, the gateman and sat one of the benches around the big and beautiful fountain. She drank her pop while she watched the water and thought about Seifer.

"Why hello there." Said a man who sat down beside her; "I'm Irvine Kinneas."

"Raven Darkwolf." She replied, shaking his hand.

"Ah, Seifer's girl.' He said, smiling.

'Uh, not anymore."

He looked sad but then became happier; "well, what happened?"

*

Seifer watched the fleeting raven and with a hasty bye to his friends, he followed her toward the gate and the courtyard and the fountain.

He saw her sit down and was about to up to her when Irvine cowhand walked up to her. He hated it and wished he could go up and talk to her but he decided to listen. They were of course talking about him. Irvine cowhand was flirting with raven like she wasn't even Seifer's girl. Then he stopped thinking and listened to what they were saying.

"...But when i got here and he acted so cold and so...so like he didn't love me anymore and i saw him kiss that other girl, Rinoa. And now I'm wondering if he didn't bring me here to break up with me." He hard the tiny catch in her voice that meant she was about to start crying.

"It's okay. Listen, your a beautiful girl and I would love to get to know you a little better but i think Seifer still loves you." He heard him pick up the now empty coke can and say; 'I'll get you another." Then he heard the unmistakable sound of a kiss and the sound of Irvine walk off toward the garden.

Seifer walked around and toward Raven as if he hadn't heard a thing. "Ra?" He said, sitting beside her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's nothing." She said and started crying again.

He smiles, "Uh huh."

She looked at him and started crying harder than before. Then Irvine showed up again "Seifer, you sure do have a way with the ladies." He handed him a coke, "for Raven."

As Irvine turned and walked off Seifer murmured, "Stupid Irvine cowhand." and put the coke against Raven's neck.

She screeched, the crying fit stopping as suddenly as it started. "That's fuckin cold!" She cried pushing him away and off the bench. He was laughing so hard that when he stood up he stumbled backwards. Raven thought shed help him back and pushed him into the fountain.

Now Raven started laughing and Seifer, not entirely thinking it was funny splashed her from head to toe and she stopped.

"Seifer Sephiroth Almasy, you are a very bad boy." Raven said her eyes glittering with sarcasm.

Seifer smiled and splashed her again, "Never said I wasn't."