After a morning of unsuccessful searching Rinoa, Zell, Selphie and Quistis concluded that Squall was no longer in Balamb Garden. The four of them stepped out of the Garden gates into the sunshine. It was a hot summer day with blue sky which extended as far as the eye would see. They split into pairs, Quistis and Selphie heading left towards the Fire Cavern and Rinoa and Zell to the right, in the direction of Balamb City.
"Alright! Let's go, Quisty!" Selphie exclaimed, linking arms with her partner. Quistis moaned as she was dragged along towards the Fire Cavern, unhappy with the team arrangements. Rinoa waved goodbye before joining Zell on the path to Balamb City.
Inside the city, Rinoa and Zell stopped to talk to Ma Dincht. She offered them some ice tea but couldn't help them in their search. "I'm sorry, darling, I haven't seen him. I've been out back all morning, working in the garden."
"Please let us know if you do see him, Mrs. Dincht." Rinoa returned her now empty glass. "I'm sorry to drink and run, but we really must go. Who knows where Squall could be right now."
"That's all right, dear. Good luck you two!"
"Bye Ma!" Zell called before running out the door.
The two of them followed the street past the hotel and down to the dock, asking passers-by if they had seen a seventeen year old in chocbo boxers. At the end of the dock they saw Seifer along with Fujin and Raijin. Seifer was sitting on the edge, holding onto a long fishing pole. "What do you want, Chicken Wuss?" he growled when they approached.
"We're wondering if you've seen Squall." Rinoa put her hands on her hips.
"You still haven't found that loser?" Seifer asked, amused by the piece of information. He tilted his head back and laughed.
"So you haven't seen him?" Zell asked.
"Oh I saw him awhile ago!" Raijin pitched in. "He was swimming right here so I couldn't catch any fish, ya know?" He motioned in front of the dock.
"Do you know where he is now?" Rinoa was excited to learn that Squall had been sighted.
"Um, well." Raijin scratched his head. "He got out of the water and went somewhere.."
"THERE!" Fujin pointed in the direction that caused Rinoa's heart to sink.
'Well we almost found him.' she thought to herself. "Come on Zell, we better hurry!" she grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the place Fujin had pointed at.
"I hope we're not too late!" Zell panted when they rounded the corner into the train station. They arrived just in time to see Squall's face in the window of one of the trains. They could see Squall's face brighten up with excitement as he jumped in his seat when the train's whistle blew and it began to move forward.
Helplessly, Rinoa and Zell watched the train leave, their mouths hanging open in disarray.