~* When the Sky is High *~

~ Chapter THREE: Sea of Twilight Blood: Watch the Fish ~

A/n: Prepare for a much more romantic chapter... I'll be switching off between serious and romantic or mix the two... whatever!

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Rinoa stood a few feet away from the shawl of white. It was that girl's. The girl that she had seen on the hill who played that mysterious song. She stepped towards it, cautiously for a reason unknown to her. A wind suddenly picked up and the scarf shuffled along the grassy plains, away from her and out of sight. She stared after it, recalling her dream with the person known as 'Raine'.

She opened her hand which revealed Squall's pendant, she held it to her face. She felt something tug inside her as she looked upon it. The sun reflected off of the beautiful necklace and a memory from her dream came to the front of her mind.

"Raine..." She said quietly as her grip tightened around the necklace. Her head turned towards Garden and another wind picked up, her hair dancing in the free wind. She turned her body towards the large blue complex and started for it.

*

Quistis and Squall entered the main hall of Garden and, just as it usually is, was lively. Students mingled on the benches, hurried to their next destination or read a book on another bench.

"The Garden seems unusually active today." Quistis pointed out, looking around at all the students. Squall remained silent to the knowledge he had just heard. "What do you think?" She asked.

"I don't know." He told her plainly. He stepped ahead and wanted to walk away but Quistis stayed in pace with him. They walked for a bit until Squall turned to her, frustrated. "What do you want?" He asked, a solitary on a side of his hip.

"I was just following." She confessed, a bit perplexed at his sudden outbreak.

"Well... why don't you go follow someone else!?" He asked, becoming cross with her.

"I wasn't following." She told him, secretly smirking on the inside. She wanted to piss him off so badly.

"You just said you were!" Squall told her, his teeth clenched together, hard.

"No I didn't!" She yelled right back in his face, wanting to make a scene.

"Whatever." He said coolly, finally giving up. He turned and walked away from her, Quistis only chased after him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, acting interested.

'Oh for god sakes...' He thought, extremely annoyed. "Nothing." He lied. His paced picked up, thinking that would shake her off. Of course it didn't. He stopped and turned to her. "I'm going to my dorm. Don't follow me anymore." He commanded, turned and left. Quistis did as she was told. She rolled her eyes with a smirk, proud that her mission was accomplished. She turned and headed for the elevator, which would take her to the teacher's dormitories.

Rinoa entered Garden, still thinking about her dream and holding Squall's necklace. She fondled the necklace lightly in her hands which caused it to move about ever so lightly. She continued her thoughts until her eyes caught site of instructor Trepe about to board the elevator.

"Ms. Trepe!" Rinoa called, now fully awake from her dream. She ran to the instructor who had stopped and turned to her. Quistis smiled and so did Rinoa.

"Please call me Quistis, Rinoa." She insisted. "Now what is it I can do for you?" She asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Well, I know you were with Squall when you went to the Fire Cavern for the prerequisite. Do you might know where he has gone to?" Rinoa asked, cocking her head to the side lightly.

"Yes, I do in fact." Quistis said with a cute little smile as her finger pointed up, meaning she wanted Rinoa to listen. "He said he was going to his dorm, but he told me that when I was getting on his nerves... so... he could be just about anywhere!" She said with a laugh. Rinoa smiled at the good humor from her instructor.

"I'll try his dorm room first then. Thank you Instructor Trepe-I mean... Quistis!" She corrected herself as she ran off, waving a hand behind her. She turned her head around so she could see Quistis but ended up smashing herself straight into a student.

"Oh dear..." Quistis sighed hopelessly with a little smile.

Rinoa fell down onto her butt with a loud crash from the person she had ran into. She closed her eyes and began to rub her butt, trying to rid the pain from her.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." She moaned in pain quietly.

"Oh my gosh!" A deep voice exclaimed. His voice sounded somewhat excited for some bizarre reason. Rinoa opened her eyes and found herself staring at a blonde spiky haired man, a small tattoo on the right side of his face. He was carrying a large, brown box full of nothing as the contents had spilled out during their crash. "I'm so sorry!" He apologized. He placed the box down next to him and offered a hand to Rinoa who gladly took it. He helped her up and onto her feet. They stared at each other for a moment, both of them looking like a deer caught in head lights.

"This is awkward..." Rinoa whispered, her eyes shifting around. "Oh my!" She exclaimed, looking to the ground with all of the spilled goods. She pulled away from him immediately and dropped to her knees and began to pick up the belongings. "I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going!" She exclaimed, very apologetically. She hurriedly grabbed his things, afraid he had somewhere to go.

"There's no need to be so apologetic." He told her with a smile as he grabbed her hands in one of his own. "There was nothing valuable in there in the first place." He confessed, looking around at all the stuff. There were pencils, a few papers, pens, stapler and everything you would need for an office.

"Well..." Rinoa began, looking at all the stuff in her hands. "I'm still very sorry!" She confessed.

"It's really alright. It's okay." He reassured her.

"What have you done this time, Rinoa?" A sweet voice came from behind them. They both turned and found Selphie, a charming smile on her face.

"I'm being a klutz." Rinoa told her with a sad tone as she placed his belongings in his brown box that he had previously placed on the floor.

"Poor Rinny!" Selphie sympathized as she patted her friend on the head. She looked to the man with spiky blonde hair. "Oooohhh..." Selphie began as she licked her lips at just how attractive the boy was. "Who is your cute friend?" She asked as she placed her elbows on Rinoa's head and let her head rest in her own palms, her butt protruding quite in the air.

"Ummm... I don't know." Rinoa told her, the realization suddenly dawning on her. "I just ran into him. Never asked his name. I'm being so rude!" Rinoa quickly realized as she stood up in a hurry, knocking Selphie to the ground. "I'm Rinoa Heartilly." Rinoa greeted as she extended a hand to him.

"I'm Zell. Zell Dincht." He told her as he shook her hand with a smile. He looked to Selphie who was just getting up onto her feet. "And who is she?" Zell asked, releasing Rinoa's hand just as she did with him.

"I'm Selphie Tilmitt." She greeted with a hardy hand shake that caused Zell's whole arm to wave like some kind of tentacle. Zell's face contorted to painful looking one.

"Selphie stop!" Rinoa commanded, pulling Selphie's hand away from Zell's. "I think you're hurting him!" Rinoa cried. "Are you okay?" She asked, turning to Zell.

"Uhh... yeah! I'm fine!" Zell insisted, hiding his red, pulsing hand behind his back.

"Oh good!" Rinoa said with a smile. She brought her hand up to scratch her head until she felt something cold against her skin. She looked down and it was Squall's necklace in her hand. "Almost forgot..." She thought aloud in a shameful manner.

"Forgot what?" Selphie asked. She saw what Rinoa was holding over her shoulder. "... and that is?" She asked, poking it lightly.

"Something of Squalls." She told her, moving away a bit, towards the dorm area. "I'm sorry I have to return this to him!" She apologized once more and ran off for Squall's dorm.

"She likes to apologize, doesn't she?" Zell asked, looking from the running Rinoa to Selphie.

"Yep!" Selphie said with a smile. "You have no idea!" She cried very loudly and slapped him on the back, causing Zell to stumble forward a bit.

"734.. 734... 734... 734..." Rinoa repeated quietly as she scanned the dorm room numbers on their doors. Her hand was lightly out stretched as it bounced from number to number. "Stupid Squall has to get room 734... couldn't have been room 1 or something?" She complained under her breath. She finally came across the room she was looking for.

She lifted her hand to knock, but before she did she combed her Garden uniform out neatly. She finally knocked and there was no answer. She knocked once more, still no answer. She slammed her hands repeatedly against the door like a child having a hissy-fit, and yet there was no answer. 'That usually gets him out...' She thought curiously, then Rinoa remembered what Quistis had told her.

"He said he was going to his dorm, but he told me that when I was getting on his nerves... so... he could be just about anywhere!" Quistis said with a laugh.

"Oh right." Rinoa sighed in disappointment, sad after all that searching for his room. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. She snapped her fingers in delight, a smile on her face. She ran off, down the hall, towards the parking garage.

She opened the door to the garage and looked for the license plate that read '8HJK23'. She could memorize such obscure license plate numbers, but couldn't remember simple dorm room numbers. A few minutes later, she had looked through all the cars and had not found the one she was looking for.

"Thought so..." She whispered as she ran for the official Garden motorcycle (yes, they have one). She hopped on it, started it up and drove off and out of Garden.

"So... Zell..." Selphie began as they walked out of Garden. She locked her arm with his. "Tell me a little about yourself." Selphie proposed with a little smile.

"You get awfully close to people you just meet." Zell told her in a suspicious manner.

"I'm just friendly!" She corrected as she slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Ummm... okay." Zell said, not knowing what to do as they placed one foot on the road.

"What about you... are you-" Selphie was cut off as girl on a motorcycle raced by at high speeds, just inches away from them. A strong wind current from the bike caused their clothes and hair to blow in the cycle's direction. "Wow... we have a speeder on our hands." Selphie said as she looked at the cycle disappearing image.

"Was that Rinoa?" Zell questioned, looking at the distant cycle as well.

"Rinoa? Really?" Selphie exclaimed. "How could you have possibly seen her? She was going so fast." Selphie asked, truly amazed. He shrugged and began to cross the street with her.

"I recognize people's figures and not features I guess." He told her. "It's kind of a habit." He said, almost apologetically.

"That's cool..." Selphie whispered, finding Zell even more interesting.

*

Rinoa's hair blew around frantically with the wind. It flicked around wildly and occasionally hit her eyes and mouth and tickled her face. The wind blew up her skirt with ease, allowing it to billow around and allowing access to all the cold air up it.

The plains of Balamb whizzed by and seemed to mesh together because of her speed. The grass, damp with a strange dew, reflected the setting sun with a brilliance. It was like another sea. The real sea itself was that of pure twilight. It's magnitude of light was hypnotic and blinding. It felt greater and better than the sun itself for it was much prettier indeed.

'I can't believe I'm doing this...' Rinoa thought to herself. 'It's just a necklace and besides I can wait for him when he comes back!' She continued, questioning her actions. 'Or is it I just want to see him... Shit! What if he isn't even there and my hunch was wrong... I'd be the worst girlfriend ever.' She complained silently. She was about to continue her thoughts when she saw the town of Balamb came into view. She slowed down the speed of the cycle, in preparation to enter.

She parked the bike in a small parking lot filled with other assorted cars. She prayed silently that it wouldn't be stolen and ran off to where she thought her beloved Squall was. She weaved her way through the cars and revealed herself to the entrance of Balamb. She looked around a moment, looking for any signs of the harbor, she found none and walked to a man on a nearby bench.

"Excuse me sir..." She began to the man. The man looked to her with a cheerful smile and she smiled back. "Which way to the harbor?" She asked. The man pointed to a road near the hotel. "Thank you very much." She thanked with a little nod and went on her way.

She arrived at the harbor and looked around for a moment. She stepped further into the harbor and looked about some more. There was no one.

"Oh god..." She sighed. "I AM the worst girlfriend ever!" She cried being disgusted in herself.

"Why are you here?" A husky voice asked from far away. Her self-esteem returned and looked to the source of the sound and found Squall. He was sitting on the edge of the pier, his legs dangling over and a cigarette in his hand. She smiled, mainly to herself and walked towards him. She took a seat next to him and let her legs hang over the side as she sucked in the view of the twilight sea.

"It smells like..." Rinoa began letting her sentence as she tried to find the right words.

"The sea?" Squall questioned, finishing her sentence as he took another puff of his cigarette.

"Well... yeah." She said with a little giggle as she rolled her eyes. "I was thinking of something more descriptive." She told him.

"Salty, fishy, crappy... take your pick." Squall said as the smoke from the cigarette faded seamlessly into the wind. She looked to his cigarette and frowned upon it.

"You said you would quit." Rinoa reminded him.

"This is my first one in... a long time." He confessed, still not looking at her, only the sea of twilight.

"Really?" She asked, just making sure he was telling the truth.

"Really." He reiterated for her.

"Then why did you start again so suddenly?" She asked, trying to pull the truth from him.

"Stressed." He answered her. The answer was understandable, what with all the hubbub about finals and the like, but Rinoa questioned it anyways.

"I don't believe you." She said with little smile, calling his bluff.

"Old habits die hard." He told her, sort of confessing.

"When will that habit die?" She asked, shaking her head in distaste. "When you get a new addictive habit?" She asked, teasing him slightly.

"I already have another addictive habit..." He told her as he tossed the cigarette into the sea. The little waves tossed the cigarette around lightly and cooled its fire instantly. Squall turned his head to her and she was quickly lost in his mysterious eyes. The eyes she fell in love with so long ago.

"W-What would that habit be?" She stuttered, trying to find her way out his eyes.

"I've had this addictive habit for the past few years. It's so hard to get rid of... and yet I don't want it to leave." He confessed. Rinoa had an extremely vague idea where this was going. He stared deep into her eyes and lightly placed his hands over hers. "I don't want it to go away. I don't want it to leave." Squall said. "I don't want you to leave me... ever." He confessed, emotion shining through his cold tone.

"I won't..." Rinoa told him. She embraced him and he did the same with her. As she leaned over for the hug, Squall's necklace softly slid out of her pocket and onto the wooden pier. It caught his eyes immediately and slowly let go of her and picked the necklace up. He looked at her questioningly. "You left it on your desk..." She told him, slowly releasing her hold on him. "I thought it was your good luck charm or something..." She whispered tenderly. He placed it around his neck, where it should have been the whole time.

"It's not really..." He told her. "It's just a necklace." He said, rubbing it softly against the tips of his fingers. There was silence as Rinoa continued to stare at it with awe. It's not that she hadn't stared at it before but this time it felt different. The setting sun was reflecting off of it, making it's brilliance all the more. "I think we should head back." He suggested as he stood, breaking Rinoa's site to the pendant. He offered a hand to her, she took it and stood.

"Oh! Squall I have a very interesting story to tell you on the drive back!" Rinoa began. "Well.. while I was looking for you..." Rinoa's voice trailed off in Squall's mind as his hand grabbed hers and their fingers intertwined, even Rinoa stopped her story in surprise. She looked down to it, surprised he had made contact and in public. She looked up to him, then forward, towards his car. She remained silent, embracing the moment that was so rare.

*

The next day Rinoa awoke in her own bed, the sunlight had woken her and not the alarm as she had thought. She looked over to her alarm clock and cursed quietly, angry that it did not go off.

"Now I'm gonna be late..." She complained with a scowl on her face. She got off of her bed and walked for her dresser and shuffled threw some clothes. She was in no rush, she was tired from last night. Squall and her had not gone home directly after they left Balamb. They instead went to the beach and watched the sun finish setting and the stars release their sparkling glory.

"Why would you be late? Don't you know it's the weekend?" A low voice asked. It wasn't Squall's, that's for sure. She turned towards the doorway, where the sound had come from and found Zell and Selphie. Zell was leaning against the door way while Selphie was propped up by his shoulder.

"AHHH!!" Rinoa screamed as she tossed a nearby boot at him. It hit him square in the face and he fell backwards and into the hallway. "What the HELL are you doing here!?" She screamed furiously. "I'm barely even dressed!" She yelled once more.

"Rinny, what are you talking about?" Selphie asked in a worried manner as she looked her over. Rinoa looked at her with a perplexed face and she looked down at what she was wearing. Squall's boxers and button-up formal shirt. She became shifty eyed, curious and scared at the same time at where she got the clothes from. "You're fully clothed." Selphie said, stating the obvious.

"With a guys clothes no less!" Zell followed up quickly as he stood. Rinoa snarled at him for pointing the fact out to Selphie.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed, placing a hand over her mouth. "They're Squall's clothes!" She exclaimed once more with a tiny little giggle.

"Shut up..." She whispered harshly to them. "Come in before all of Garden sees me like this!" She commanded sternly. They entered and shut the door behind them. "Now... no more talk of this! I don't even know how I ended up in these clothes!" She told them, gesturing extensively to try to make her point all the more clear.

"Whatever Rin, whatever!" Zell said, brushing it off. Rinoa was relieved at Zell's awareness of just how she uncomfortable she really was. "Anyways... Our final is today!!!" He screamed, very loudly.

"Keep it down you frickin' idiot!" Selphie commanded as Zell received a hard slap to the head.

"And besides... you think we don't know?" Rinoa asked, a bit amazed at how Zell could be so stupid. He shrugged.

"Just a reminding announcement." He told her with a genuine smile.

"Well, in any case... Think we should go check who's paired with who in our teams?" Selphie suggested. The two nodded, and then stood there in silence.

"Get out! I have to change!" Rinoa screamed, annoyed as she turned around towards her dresser. They both giggled, went outside, closed her door and waited patiently.

In 30 minutes she revealed herself. She was in her normal Garden outfit and smelling pretty because of her shower and light perfume. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Zell sniffed the air tenderly.

"Perfume? Why?" He questioned, sniffing her all over like some kind of dog. She pushed him off of her with a disgusted look on her face.

"Because... I want to smell beautiful all the time!" She told him with a bright smile as they walked down the dorm room halls.

"You want to smell good for Squall just incase he decides to give you a hickie!" Selphie exclaimed, quite loudly in fact.

"Oh shut up Selphie!" Rinoa demanded sternly as her speed picked up.

They all got to the team member sheet and looked it over. Their eyes scanned for their names as did other students around them. They continuously kept being bumped around by the people as they tried to view their own teams. Rinoa finally caught site of her name and looked at the team number. It was 13. She looked at all the people in her group. There was Squall, Zell and Seifer. She cursed under her breath at the fact that Selphie was not with them and that the huge shit face fucktart, aka. Seifer, was with them.

"I'm a messenger girl!" Selphie complained with a cry of hopelessness. "This sucks!" She cried.

"Now, now!" A low voice said from behind them, it was Mr. Kramer. "My first star pupil ever had that job. He has 20 scars to prove it, to!" He said with a cheerful smile as he trotted away.

"Oh my god..." Selphie said shaking her head.

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A/n: Another chapter... check!

Please Review! It boosts my self-esteem and makes me write faster! Tee-Hee!