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S Q U A R E S O F T
Executive Producer HINOROBU SAKAGUCHI
Producer SHINJI HASHIMOTO
Director YOSHINORI KITASE
Music NOBUO UEMATSU
Battle System Designer HIROYUKI ITOU
Main Programmer KEN NARITA
Character Design & Battle Visual Director TETSUYA NOMURA
Art Director YUSUKE NAORA
Scenario KAZUSHINGE NOJIMA
Image Illustrator YOSHITAKA AMANO
Movie Director MOTONORI SAKAKIBARA
CG Supervisor SATOSHI TSUKAMOTO
Character Modeling Director TOMOHIRO KAYANO
Movie Character Model Director HIROSHI KUWABARA
Real-Time Polygon Director AKIRA FUJII
Battle Effect Director SHINTARO TAKAI
Motion Director TATSUYA KANDO
Card Game & Battle Camera Director TAKAYOSHI NAKAZATO
Lead Field Designers KAZUYUKI IKUMORI YUKIO NAKATANI
Lead Field Designers TETSUYA TAKAHASHI KENZO KANZAKI
VFX & Composite HIROSHI MATSUYAMA
Event Script Programmer SHUN MORIYA
Battle Programmers HIROSHI HARATA KENTAROW YASUI
Event Designer HIROKI CHIBA
World Map Director IKUYA DOBASHI
Map Directors TAKESHI ENDO MASARU OKA
Sound Editor EIJI NAKAMURA
Sound Programmer MINORU AKAO
---FINAL FANTASY(r) VIII (c)1999 SQUARE---
Balamb Garden
"Sis… Elle…," whispered a small lonely looking boy wearing a yellow shirt.
***
The young man awoke to a bright and sunny day along with the sweet songs of birds chirping in the background. That dream again… it's me when I was young… or at least I think it was me… what the hell does it mean? He felt a sharp pain to his head and quickly grabbed at it. He also noticed that his head had been bandaged. …What the? Oh yeah, that's right…The young man thought remembering why he had that bandage on in the first place. This too led him to realize why he was in the infirmary and why Dr. Kadowaki was standing with her arms folded by his bedside. He then sat up and looked at her.
"How are you feeling?" She asked in a disappointed-like tone.
Okay I guess… "…Okay." The young man felt at the sharp pain once again and held his forehead.
"Take it easy next time, you hear? Looks like your eyes are focusing. You should be fine Squall. Why don't you take it easy in training? Next time you might not be so lucky."
"Tell that to Seifer." Replied Squall in a monotonously sarcastic tone. Damn him…
"That Seifer…" Dr. Kadowaki leaned back against the wall and shook her head placing her right hand on her chin. "Won't listen to anyone. Why don't you ignore him?"
Squall placed his hand away from his forehead and gave the doctor a determined look. "I can't just run away."
She crossed her arms once again and gave a slight grin. "You wanna be cool, huh? Well, don't get hurt in the process. Let's see, your instructor is… Quistis! I'll call her now, just wait here a minute." Dr. Kadowaki then walked over to an intercom and dialed up instructor Trepe. Squall slowly backed down to a resting position, his right hand once again holding his head. "Quistis? Come get your student. Yes, yes… His injury's not serious. It'll probably leave a scar… Right, now please come by."
Squall lay there with his eyes closed once again lost in thought. …Sheesh. What am I doing in here? What happened to Seifer anyway? I got him back too didn't I? He then heard a soft voice.
"Squall… So we meet again." The image of a young woman standing up and walking away was all Squall caught a glimpse of. She had short brown hair, wore a sleeveless blue shirt, a white skirt, a green sash looped between her arms, behind her back, as well as a kind and gentle expression.
As soon as she walked away, Squall once again placed his hand on his head. Who…?
A few moments later, another young woman had entered the infirmary. The beautiful blonde, of about five-feet six-inches, was dressed in some sort of uniform. Through her glasses she rolled her eyes at the sight of her injured student. "I knew it'd be your or Seifer!" Squall then sat up. "Come on, let's go. Today's the field exam." With that, Squall then stood up and followed the young woman out of the infirmary. Dr. Kadowaki gave Squall a slight nod as he exited.
***
Out side the infirmary, in the courtyards and the halls, Garden students too were just getting up and about to go to class or to socialize. Squall and Quistis walked down the infirmary wing hall towards the main hall and elevator, Quistis trailing slightly behind Squall.
… I'll have to admit, Seifer got me. But what was the point of his last attack? It doesn't matter… I've got other things to worry about… like my test.
"Is there something on your mind?" Quistis asked her quiet student. It would've been no surprise to her to receive no answer. She, maybe more than anyone else on the campus, knew Squall was the most introverted soul in Garden, however, she always did try to crack him. One way was by constantly proving how predictable he was.
This again? "Not really…" Squall answered, he being a bit annoyed hearing Quistis' voice joining his answer in unison. He stopped walking and stood watching her laugh. "What's so funny?"
"Funny? No, no, it's not that! I'm just happy. I feel like I'm beginning to understand my student a little. That's all."
"I'm more complex than you think." Squall shot back trying to defend his personality a bit. What the hell am I doing? This is exactly what she wants me to do…
"Then tell me. Tell me more about yourself." She then followed Squall as he continued walking forward.
…Yeah right. "It's none of your…"
"…Business!" She once again broke out laughing making Squall stop in his tracks. He shook his head and walked on, she giggling as she trailed behind him.
***
In his usual way, Squall slowly walked to his seat in the back of the class and sat down with his head bowed down. To the right of him in the adjacent row sat Seifer, he too in his usual manner sitting relaxed in his seat. Squall had noticed Seifer too had a diagonally slashed scar on his forehead. He then took off his bandages and stared at his reflection on the computer monitor in front of him. Well, looks like we both got one… what an idiot. He noticed that the scars of each of them were marked in opposite positions. Squall's from above his right eye to below his left. Seifer's, from how Squall remembered slashing him, from below the right eye to above the left.
Quistis then walked into class and took her place at the instructor's desk. She smiled to her class. "Good morning class. Let's start with today's schedule. There seem to have been some rumors flying around since yesterday… Yes, the field exam for SeeD candidates will begin later this afternoon. Those not participating and those who failed last week's written test are to remain here in study hall. Field Exam participants will have free time until the exam. Just be sure you're in top condition." She took another deep breath and went on. "Meet in hall at 1600 hours. I'll announce the team assignments there. Any questions? Oh, and Seifer!" She then stared to the back to see Seifer in his usual attitude, cocky and comfortably sprawled out in his chair. He gave Quistis a slight nod. "Do NOT injure your partner while in training. Be careful from now on." She watched as Seifer then slammed his fist on his desk but had once again floated back to his cocky state. "Field Exam participants, I will see you all later. And Squall, I will need to talk to you."
The class then started filing out of the room. Seifer shot a quick glance at Squall and gave a wicked grin along with a wink as he walked off. What the hell? Squall then stood up as soon as the class had exited. There were three others in his class still remaining, two girls and a guy, all talking to instructor Trepe. They all walked away and waited by the door as Squall stepped forward.
"You haven't been to the Fire Cavern yet, have you? You won't be able to take part in today's SeeD exam if you don't pass the prerequisite."
Squall crossed his arms and turned his head to the side. … I was gonna take it this morning, but Seifer…
"Do you have a good excuse?"
"…Not really."
"Then let's get going. I'll be waiting at the front gate, so come down when you're ready." She then walked out of the classroom waving to the three at the door on her way.
Great, they're all looking at me… now what? Just as Squall started walking out of the class, one of the girls started blurting out things. "I…I'm so jealous! Maybe I should take up that subject too…"
The second girl stared at Squall in a challenging way. "Should anything happen to Instructor Trepe, the 'Trepies' will get you back!"
Finally, the dark young man approached Squall, he grinning. "Alone with Instructor Trepe." He then snapped his fingers and the two girls followed as he exited. Squall shook his head.
***
…This is really annoying. Oh well, I guess it'll be easy… nothing to worry about.
"I'm late! I'm late!" Screamed a voice from down the hall.
Squall was quite surprised to be hit straight out of nowhere on his way to the elevator. He himself was not hurt. In fact at impact, his body was like a brick wall. The girl that ran into him wasn't as lucky.
"Waaaah!" She screamed a little more surprised than hurt. She wore the traditional navy blue cadet Garden uniform. Probably her most noticeable feature at first was her wild hair, which, Squall would soon find out, fit her next noticeable feature, her personality.
She then slowly stood, a bit embarrassed. "There… Tee-hee, I'm fine. Sorry, I was kinda in a hurry. Oh yeah! Hey, did you just come from that class?" She pointed to the classroom Squall had just exited from. "Is… homeroom over?" He gave a nod. "Woo… Oh, nooo… This place is soooo much bigger than my last Garden!" Out of the look of despair, her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "Oh, hey, hey, I just transferred here. Do you think you could give me a quick tour of this Garden?"
Without thinking of his exam, Squall answered with a sigh. "Sure."
"Whoo-hoo! Alright, let's go!"
"We'll take the elevator to the first floor lobby and I'll show you the directory." He then once again started down the hall, the girl behind him. He bumped into another garden student on the way.
"Oh hey, would you like to have these?" He held out some Triple Triad cards, the legendary strategy card game. "My brother gave me these cards but they're really not my thing. You can have them if you'd like, here…" He then handed Squall the seven cards. "Oh, and by the way, I don't play so don't bother challenging me. So you have that SeeD exam today right? And you still haven't gone to the Fire Cavern? Are you just taking it easy?"
"Yeah." Squall answered calmly.
"Oh…" (Confident as always…)
***
"That's the directory." Squall pointed down below to the square in the main lobby. He made his way down with the girl still following, she skipping down the steps. "Well, this is it. Balamb Garden is pretty big. It's a good idea to check where you want to go here. I'll give you a quick explanation of the various facilities."
"Yes sir!" She replied energetically.
"You'll find the dormitory to the north. A majority of the students live in the dorms. There aren't too many students who commute."
"Yeah, I'm in the dorms too!"
"You can rest and change there. West of the North Block is the Cafeteria. There's always a big rush for the hot dogs. You'd better get used to waiting in line."
"Got it!"
"East of the North Block is the parking lot. We usually take the Garden Car when a mission comes up. The front gate is located to the south…" Squall then paused for a moment. That's right, I have to go meet Instructor Trepe at the front gate.
"Hm? What's the matter?" The girl asked seeing him slowly drift into thought.
"Nothing… Next, we have the Quad, located in the West Block. There's an event planned there…"
"I know! I know! It's the Garden festival! It's going to be great! I'm planning to be on the committee. You wanna help out, too!?"
… Right… "Let's just continue. South of the West Block is the Infirmary. This is where you get treated for your injuries, but a lot of students just come here for advice."
"What's the doctor's name?"
"Doctor Kadowaki. Now the East Block. This is the training center. It's the only facility open at night. It's used for training and they have real monsters running loose here. If you don't take it seriously, you may end up dead. Just be careful."
The girl gave a gulp and then signaled to continue. "…okay."
"South of the East Block is the library. There's a lot of material you can look up here, but the terminals in the classroom are a lot more efficient. And you already know about the second floor classroom… By the way, the headmaster's office is located third floor. You need permission to get in."
"Another question. What's the headmaster's name?"
"Headmaster Cid. That's about it. Anything else?"
"Got it! Heeey, um… are you taking today's SeeD exam?"
"Yeah"
"Then maybe I'll see you again later. I've already finished my training at my previous Garden. I'm taking the Seed exam today too. Good luck to the both of us, huh! Thanks a lot!" The girl then trotted off.
Squall simply scratched his head and decided to walk around for a while. …I guess Quistis can wait for a while. I haven't had breakfast yet…
***
The Cafeteria was always quite a busy place from opening to closing, especially for the rushes on the hotdogs and the many styles of cooked Balamb Fish. Squall walked in and looked around seeing Seifer, with a tall and dark muscular man, Raijin, and a beautiful yet rugged looking young woman wearing an eye patch, named Fujin.
"SEIFER. DRINK?" Said Fujin pulling out some cash from her pockets. Seifer said nothing, he quietly standing there thinking to himself.
Raijin stepped forward holding a finger up. "…Can I drink something? I'd like some water, ya know."
Fujin then stared at Raijin and closed her eye. "…IGNORE." She then turned back to Seifer who had still kept quiet.
… I don't want to deal with them now… can't they decide somewhere else? I'll just walk past them.
As Squall decided to walk past them however, Seifer caught sight of him and spoke in a low tone. "…Squall, can't you see the disciplinary committee's busy? Don't bother us."
…
"WHAT?" Said Fujin boldly as she turned to see Squall standing next to them.
"Yo, it's Squall." Said Raijin with a grin. "Oh yeah. Fujin's gonna treat us, ya know? Want somethin'?"
"RAGE!" Fujin then stared at Raijin coldly. Raijin looked back confused. In a flash, she then stepped up to Raijin and kicked him in the leg leaving him to scream in pain.
"!!!!!!!!!!! Ahh…Ohh…Ahh…" Raijin then stumbled over to Squall and whispered something to him. "Psst…Psst…(Fujin's kinda harsh at times so you betta watch it too, ya know?)"
"WHAT?" Said Fujin again staring coldly.
"O-Oh! I-It's nothin'!"
At that moment a blonde cadet came rushing in nearly out of breath. They all turned and watched as he stumbled up to the ordering counter. "Huff, huff, heave, heave…D-do you have any… hot dogs left?"
A cafeteria lady went up to the counter and looked at the tired young man. "You're a bit late, I'm afraid. We're all sold out!"
"Damn! Not again…! It's hopeless if you don't get here early… Alright, I'll try again next time…" The Student then turned and walked away slowly, slumping with disappointment.
Seifer eyed the student as he slowly walked away. "Speeding… Let's go arrest that student for violation of academy regulations." Seifer then began walking off, Fujin and Raijin following.
"AFFIRMATIVE!"
"Roger, ya know!"
Squall just shook his head and looked to the back. …A bunch of Instructor Trepe's groupies, don't want to listen to their bickering…and they're out of hotdogs. …guess I'll get going, I can live without the meal for now… He then started off out of the cafeteria, he making sure the cafeteria woman wouldn't catch him, she being extremely talkative.
No good, Squall was caught, the cafeteria woman already talking straight to him. "I've worked here for many a year now. I must say, being young is so great. It's like this burst of energy flowing within you...constantly, and..."
… Oh man… this might take a while…I guess I'll lend an ear…Squall then sighed and walked closer over to the counter.
"But seriously, with all these youngsters around, I'm beginning to feel young myself. I start thinking to myself, 'Hey, I'm still all that!' You know what I mean! Ahahahahah! What am I saying!? Ahahahahah! Well anyway, I have a son about your age, but he is so incompetent, and..."
Squall listened in for a about two minutes until he dazed off into his own thoughts. He snapped back only to find she had still been talking. You're still talking? This could mean trouble…Ah well, might as well hear the rest of it…
"So my son, he's not as bright as all of you here, so... I was worried about his future. Then about a year ago... 'I'm going' on a journey to see what I can do!' he said. Can you believe him!? I was really surprised at first, but... My son had this serious look I'd never seen before. So I built up enough courage and told him to go for it. Well, when I look back at it now, all he did was make my husband and me, worry. But now, my, has he matured. He's grown up, I tell you. It sure gets lonely without him. ...Oh my, I'm sorry. I got carried away. Whenever I see you youngsters I just get nostalgic. I wonder where he is now... Oh, I'm sorry, I've kept you for too long."
"It's alright… I'll be on my way." Squall then exited and sighed as he walked down towards the front gates.
***
Quistis stood at the front, she a bit irritated. "Squall, you're forgetting something…" Squall looked at his gear and checked his Gunblade hanging to his side and shrugged. "Your GF." She couldn't sense the presence of a GF at all around Squall.
"No. I have them. I just haven't gotten around to junction them yet." He then summoned forth energies of his two Guardian Forces, Shiva and Quezacotl. The energies emerged out of nowhere and swept around him in swirls of blue and yellow entering his body. He could feel the energies of Ice and Lightning swarming within him. "Okay."
"Ready to go? The Fire Cavern used for the test is located east of here." Quistis then walked off with Squall following behind.