Disclaimer: Squaresoft owns FF8
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Chapter 8
"Boooooorring!" The young kid sighed. "Hey Rin, wanna play something?"
"Sorry Seifer! Me, Squall and Boo are gonna play at the beach! Why doncha join us?" Rinoa beamed.
Seifer shook his head, "Nah, think I'll pass."
"Okay then!" Rinoa ran out to the beach.
'Stupid Squall!' Seifer thought.
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"Go get that, Boo!" Squall shouted as he threw the stick as far as he could. The puppy made a quick dash for it and ran back with a record of 6 seconds.
"This is getting boring! Let's do something else! I mean, we've been doing this for the past hour and besides, I think Boo is getting tired..." Rinoa said.
Boo climbed up and buried its head in her arms.
"Well, I-" Squall started.
"Guys! It's dinnertime!" Quistis called out.
"We'll be right there!" Rinoa answered. Boo yelped and jumped out of her arms. It took off to the other end of the beach.
"Hey, Boo!" Squall shouted as Rinoa and him started chasing after the puppy. The puppy soon led them to a huge creature that was lying silently on the sandy beach.
"What is that?" Rinoa whispered. It looked like a huge rock, a gigantic turtle.
"I dunno." Squall approached the creature silently. It was uncertain whether the creature was breathing. Squall reach out to touch it. It moved slightly under its hard shell. Boo just stood in front of what looked like its face.
"I-I think we should leave it alone..." Rinoa decided.
As they turned to head back, they heard movements and Boo's sudden yelping. The kids spun around to see the puppy getting clawed by the creature!
"Boo!" Rinoa cried and attempted to pull the puppy away from the creature's mouth as Squall held her back.
The creature crushed the puppy in its mouth like a twig and returned into the sea. Rinoa let out her breath, realizing that she had been holding it in the whole time. Neither of them could believe what had just happened. Their little friend who was cuddling up in her arms could be gone in a split second.
After a few minutes of silence, Rinoa broke down and cried.
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Everyone ate their dinner and washed up in silence. Rinoa just sat there staring at her food. Edea looked at her with sympathy and said gently, "Rinoa dear, you need to eat..."
"Boo needs to eat too..." Rinoa started softly.
"Boo is gone! It needs no food!" Squall blew up suddenly and ran into his room.
The other kids just looked at each other in confusion about Squall's outburst. "I'll go see what he's up to!" Seifer announced as he made his way into the room, knowing how much it would please Rinoa if her friend was alright.
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"Hey Squall, why so sad? It's just a puppy..." Seifer said, trying his best to talk to Squall *nicely*.
"It's not *just* a puppy." Squall mumbled.
"Look, there's no need to be upset, it has to go one day, anyway!" Seifer continued, thinking he was saying the right thing.
"Shut the hell up, Seifer!" Squall yelled as he threw a punch into Seifer's face.
"Squall!"
He looked up to see Rinoa glaring at him.
"Seifer, you okay?" Rinoa asked him with concern. Seifer plainly nodded and shouted back at Squall, "You're a freak! Remind me never to be nice to you!"
"But yo-" Squall started.
"Why do you have to be so mean?" Rinoa asked softly as she walked out of the room with Seifer close behind.
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"Guys! Wake up!" Selphie whispered as she shook Rinoa and Quistis up.
"What is it Selphy?" Quistis yawned. Rinoa looked at her clock and widen her eyes, "It's twelve midnight! Go back to sleep!"
"C'mon! Let's go set off fireworks! Remember when Zell bought them from Winhill to blow up Seifer's bed? I stole some of it! Teehee!"
"Meet you guys at the beach! I'll go wake the boys up!" Selphie exclaimed as she ran out of the room.
Rinoa and Quistis sighed in disbelief as they slowly climbed out of their beds.
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"What if we get caught? We'll be in biiig trouble! I don't wanna get scolded again!" Zell whined as they walk down the stone steps to the beach.
"OOO Crybaby Zell! Crybaby Zell!" Seifer taunted.
"I'm not a crybaby!" Zell protested.
"Let's just get going, okay?" Squall spoke up.
"Who made you boss, huh?" Seifer retorted as he walked away.
"What's with him?" Irvine said as he lifted one eyebrow.
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"Finally, you guys are here!" Quistis exclaimed.
Squall looked at Rinoa who was standing near the waters watching the waves sweep against her feet. 'Is she still thinking about...Boo?'
"I'm gonna light it now!" Selphie announced, "1, 2, 3 and KA BOOM!"
The kids watch the sky light up in different colors.
"WOOOW!" They echoed in unison.
"Let's spend the night here, k?" Selphie suggested.
"I think we should get back soon!" Zell said.
"I think so too, you know?" Quistis agreed.
"Aww...you guys just hafta spoil the fun!" Selphie pouted. "Well, I'm staying here!" Selphie said as she crossed her arms.
"Okay, 'night then!" Quistis said as she made her way back.
"Whatever..." Squall walked off.
"Good night, Selphy!" Rinoa yawned and followed the rest.
"Guys? Hey c'mon!...Fine! Wait for me!"
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*Next morning*
"Zell, do you remember Mr. And Mrs. Dincht whom you've met last week?" Edea asked the young boy.
"Yeah..."
"They've come to take you to your new home!"
Zell knew what that meant. They all had to leave one day...today was just *his* day. Besides the Dinchts were really nice people. "Must I really leave?" Zell asked as he looked up at Edea with his big round eyes.
"I-I'll miss you very much, my dear." Edea bent down to hug him.
"Be a good boy, k?" Cid patted the young boy. Zell nodded and looked at his friends. "Goodbye guys!" he waved.
"Bye Zell!"
"I'll miss you!"
"Try not to be a crybaby, k?"
Zell scowled at the last remark but soften his expression, "Bye guys." he said softly.
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"I can't believe he's gone..." Selphie said softly.
"Yeah, he was one of us..." Quistis added.
"Hey, guys stop talking about him as though he's dead or something!" Irvine interrupted.
*knock knock*
Edea hurried to the door and opened it.
"Mr. Caraway?!"
"Yeah, how's my girl?" The man smiled at the thought of his daughter.
"She's fine. Rinoa!" Edea called out.
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"Rinoa!"
The young raven haired girl looked up at the sound of her name.
"You better go! Matron's calling you!" Quistis said. Rinoa lazily got up from her spot and dragged herself to Edea.
"Guess who's here?" Edea smiled.
"Daddy!" Rinoa threw her arms around her father who picked her up and hugged her tightly.
"You've come to pick me up right, daddy?"
By now, the rest of the gang had came out of their rooms when they heard Rinoa loudly exclaimed her father's arrival.
Caraway nodded, "Do you want to say goodbye to your friends first?"
Rinoa's smile was immediately replaced with a miserable face as she turned to her friends. Caraway gently set her down as she walked to her friends.
"Bye guys, thanks for all the fun times..." she said softly as Quistis and Selphie hugged her.
Irvine stood there silently wearing a sad smile.
"We'll meet again one day, I promise!" Seifer smiled.
"Uh huh!" Rinoa beamed. She looked over at the last person of the group who seemed to be spacing out.
'What's she gonna say? What am *I* gonna say? The last we spoke I ended up as the mean baddie...' Squall thought.
"Squall..." Rinoa's soft voice resounded through his head. "Friends forever?" Rinoa extended her hand.
Squall slowly looked up to see her sweet smile, "Friends forever!" he took her hand and grinned. Rinoa reluctantly returned to her father's side as they left the orphanage. Squall watched his friend walk away till she disappeared behind the thick mist.
"Friends forever..." Squall whispered those two words again.
That was the last he had seen of Rinoa Heartilly...until 13 years later...
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A/n: Well...I guess that's the last chapter before the epilogue. It may seem a bit rushed as I was trying to squeeze everything into this chapter. Thank you all who have taken the time to read this. Hope you'll review!! ^_^
Neoshipper: Thanx so much for reading this! *Sniff* I don't want it to end either...but then I could concentrate on my other fic! ^-^
GeminiGirlz: Hey! Thanks for reading! I'll continue Different Worlds soon! ^_~ As soon as I'm done with the next chapter!
Exhile87: Lol! A unisex dog! Great idea! Uh huh, I'm not really sure about the gastric juices stuff...but I do know that the reason why we get gastric is because the hydrochloric acid present in out stomachs would start to eat the walls of our stomach due to the lack of food to work on...oh well, let's just get over with them not eating supper, k? ^_^ Thanx for reviewing! Love ya! ^_~
Lionheart: Heeeeeeeyyy!! Thanx for reading! Well, good luck with coping with your school life! First days are bad...really bad...but it'll be over before you know it! ^_~
Dark Raion: You had a cat name Boo?! That's so cute! Well, thanx for reading this but they wouldn't be sharing a young friendship in the epilogue anymore! ^_~
Pink Cherry Blossom: Thanks so much for reviewing. ^_^ Monsters Inc. is sooo cute, right? ^_~
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Chapter 8
"Boooooorring!" The young kid sighed. "Hey Rin, wanna play something?"
"Sorry Seifer! Me, Squall and Boo are gonna play at the beach! Why doncha join us?" Rinoa beamed.
Seifer shook his head, "Nah, think I'll pass."
"Okay then!" Rinoa ran out to the beach.
'Stupid Squall!' Seifer thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Go get that, Boo!" Squall shouted as he threw the stick as far as he could. The puppy made a quick dash for it and ran back with a record of 6 seconds.
"This is getting boring! Let's do something else! I mean, we've been doing this for the past hour and besides, I think Boo is getting tired..." Rinoa said.
Boo climbed up and buried its head in her arms.
"Well, I-" Squall started.
"Guys! It's dinnertime!" Quistis called out.
"We'll be right there!" Rinoa answered. Boo yelped and jumped out of her arms. It took off to the other end of the beach.
"Hey, Boo!" Squall shouted as Rinoa and him started chasing after the puppy. The puppy soon led them to a huge creature that was lying silently on the sandy beach.
"What is that?" Rinoa whispered. It looked like a huge rock, a gigantic turtle.
"I dunno." Squall approached the creature silently. It was uncertain whether the creature was breathing. Squall reach out to touch it. It moved slightly under its hard shell. Boo just stood in front of what looked like its face.
"I-I think we should leave it alone..." Rinoa decided.
As they turned to head back, they heard movements and Boo's sudden yelping. The kids spun around to see the puppy getting clawed by the creature!
"Boo!" Rinoa cried and attempted to pull the puppy away from the creature's mouth as Squall held her back.
The creature crushed the puppy in its mouth like a twig and returned into the sea. Rinoa let out her breath, realizing that she had been holding it in the whole time. Neither of them could believe what had just happened. Their little friend who was cuddling up in her arms could be gone in a split second.
After a few minutes of silence, Rinoa broke down and cried.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone ate their dinner and washed up in silence. Rinoa just sat there staring at her food. Edea looked at her with sympathy and said gently, "Rinoa dear, you need to eat..."
"Boo needs to eat too..." Rinoa started softly.
"Boo is gone! It needs no food!" Squall blew up suddenly and ran into his room.
The other kids just looked at each other in confusion about Squall's outburst. "I'll go see what he's up to!" Seifer announced as he made his way into the room, knowing how much it would please Rinoa if her friend was alright.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Squall, why so sad? It's just a puppy..." Seifer said, trying his best to talk to Squall *nicely*.
"It's not *just* a puppy." Squall mumbled.
"Look, there's no need to be upset, it has to go one day, anyway!" Seifer continued, thinking he was saying the right thing.
"Shut the hell up, Seifer!" Squall yelled as he threw a punch into Seifer's face.
"Squall!"
He looked up to see Rinoa glaring at him.
"Seifer, you okay?" Rinoa asked him with concern. Seifer plainly nodded and shouted back at Squall, "You're a freak! Remind me never to be nice to you!"
"But yo-" Squall started.
"Why do you have to be so mean?" Rinoa asked softly as she walked out of the room with Seifer close behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Guys! Wake up!" Selphie whispered as she shook Rinoa and Quistis up.
"What is it Selphy?" Quistis yawned. Rinoa looked at her clock and widen her eyes, "It's twelve midnight! Go back to sleep!"
"C'mon! Let's go set off fireworks! Remember when Zell bought them from Winhill to blow up Seifer's bed? I stole some of it! Teehee!"
"Meet you guys at the beach! I'll go wake the boys up!" Selphie exclaimed as she ran out of the room.
Rinoa and Quistis sighed in disbelief as they slowly climbed out of their beds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What if we get caught? We'll be in biiig trouble! I don't wanna get scolded again!" Zell whined as they walk down the stone steps to the beach.
"OOO Crybaby Zell! Crybaby Zell!" Seifer taunted.
"I'm not a crybaby!" Zell protested.
"Let's just get going, okay?" Squall spoke up.
"Who made you boss, huh?" Seifer retorted as he walked away.
"What's with him?" Irvine said as he lifted one eyebrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Finally, you guys are here!" Quistis exclaimed.
Squall looked at Rinoa who was standing near the waters watching the waves sweep against her feet. 'Is she still thinking about...Boo?'
"I'm gonna light it now!" Selphie announced, "1, 2, 3 and KA BOOM!"
The kids watch the sky light up in different colors.
"WOOOW!" They echoed in unison.
"Let's spend the night here, k?" Selphie suggested.
"I think we should get back soon!" Zell said.
"I think so too, you know?" Quistis agreed.
"Aww...you guys just hafta spoil the fun!" Selphie pouted. "Well, I'm staying here!" Selphie said as she crossed her arms.
"Okay, 'night then!" Quistis said as she made her way back.
"Whatever..." Squall walked off.
"Good night, Selphy!" Rinoa yawned and followed the rest.
"Guys? Hey c'mon!...Fine! Wait for me!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Next morning*
"Zell, do you remember Mr. And Mrs. Dincht whom you've met last week?" Edea asked the young boy.
"Yeah..."
"They've come to take you to your new home!"
Zell knew what that meant. They all had to leave one day...today was just *his* day. Besides the Dinchts were really nice people. "Must I really leave?" Zell asked as he looked up at Edea with his big round eyes.
"I-I'll miss you very much, my dear." Edea bent down to hug him.
"Be a good boy, k?" Cid patted the young boy. Zell nodded and looked at his friends. "Goodbye guys!" he waved.
"Bye Zell!"
"I'll miss you!"
"Try not to be a crybaby, k?"
Zell scowled at the last remark but soften his expression, "Bye guys." he said softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe he's gone..." Selphie said softly.
"Yeah, he was one of us..." Quistis added.
"Hey, guys stop talking about him as though he's dead or something!" Irvine interrupted.
*knock knock*
Edea hurried to the door and opened it.
"Mr. Caraway?!"
"Yeah, how's my girl?" The man smiled at the thought of his daughter.
"She's fine. Rinoa!" Edea called out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Rinoa!"
The young raven haired girl looked up at the sound of her name.
"You better go! Matron's calling you!" Quistis said. Rinoa lazily got up from her spot and dragged herself to Edea.
"Guess who's here?" Edea smiled.
"Daddy!" Rinoa threw her arms around her father who picked her up and hugged her tightly.
"You've come to pick me up right, daddy?"
By now, the rest of the gang had came out of their rooms when they heard Rinoa loudly exclaimed her father's arrival.
Caraway nodded, "Do you want to say goodbye to your friends first?"
Rinoa's smile was immediately replaced with a miserable face as she turned to her friends. Caraway gently set her down as she walked to her friends.
"Bye guys, thanks for all the fun times..." she said softly as Quistis and Selphie hugged her.
Irvine stood there silently wearing a sad smile.
"We'll meet again one day, I promise!" Seifer smiled.
"Uh huh!" Rinoa beamed. She looked over at the last person of the group who seemed to be spacing out.
'What's she gonna say? What am *I* gonna say? The last we spoke I ended up as the mean baddie...' Squall thought.
"Squall..." Rinoa's soft voice resounded through his head. "Friends forever?" Rinoa extended her hand.
Squall slowly looked up to see her sweet smile, "Friends forever!" he took her hand and grinned. Rinoa reluctantly returned to her father's side as they left the orphanage. Squall watched his friend walk away till she disappeared behind the thick mist.
"Friends forever..." Squall whispered those two words again.
That was the last he had seen of Rinoa Heartilly...until 13 years later...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/n: Well...I guess that's the last chapter before the epilogue. It may seem a bit rushed as I was trying to squeeze everything into this chapter. Thank you all who have taken the time to read this. Hope you'll review!! ^_^
Neoshipper: Thanx so much for reading this! *Sniff* I don't want it to end either...but then I could concentrate on my other fic! ^-^
GeminiGirlz: Hey! Thanks for reading! I'll continue Different Worlds soon! ^_~ As soon as I'm done with the next chapter!
Exhile87: Lol! A unisex dog! Great idea! Uh huh, I'm not really sure about the gastric juices stuff...but I do know that the reason why we get gastric is because the hydrochloric acid present in out stomachs would start to eat the walls of our stomach due to the lack of food to work on...oh well, let's just get over with them not eating supper, k? ^_^ Thanx for reviewing! Love ya! ^_~
Lionheart: Heeeeeeeyyy!! Thanx for reading! Well, good luck with coping with your school life! First days are bad...really bad...but it'll be over before you know it! ^_~
Dark Raion: You had a cat name Boo?! That's so cute! Well, thanx for reading this but they wouldn't be sharing a young friendship in the epilogue anymore! ^_~
Pink Cherry Blossom: Thanks so much for reviewing. ^_^ Monsters Inc. is sooo cute, right? ^_~