Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! 8 of you already! Whoo-hoo! This is a long chapter, so I hope you enjoy it, and let me know if you think Squall is in character. Please review! Love ya all!

Running

Chapter 2
Exams and Fights

Squall delivered the finishing blow to the GF Ifrit in front of him, and the Instructor beside him let out a cheer. It had been a fairly short battle, and as the flame covered demon before him bowed his allegiance, Squall collected the power inside him. He turned to leave the Fire Cavern without a word of congratulations to Instructor Rubina, who had helped him with the battle. She followed the teenager out of the cavern, however, her lively spirit never dampening.

"I've never seen a cadet finish off Ifrit that quickly, Squall! Very well done, you definitely deserve to graduate early," she raved, her pace quickening to keep up with him.

Squall rolled his eyes. Ever since word had gotten around that he was graduating early, every person he came in contact with gave him some sort of special treatment, whether it be good or bad. Most of the teachers praised him, some of the students gave him a couple good words, but from most he got glares and gossip. And then there was Seifer.

Seifer Almasy had seemed to want Squall's blood since he had first arrived at Garden, and now that he was graduating early, Seifer was out to get him more than ever. He always seemed to want to best Squall in every way possible…and graduating early meant a pissed off, jealous Seifer.

"It's no big deal," he responded dryly to the Instructor. "Just another monster."

The teacher ran to catch up with him. "Nevertheless, if you did this well just on the prerequisite, I'm sure you'll pass the SeeD exam with flying colors."

Squall said nothing in return, not even a word of thanks, as they reached sunlight again. They continued on to Balamb Garden in silence, Squall mulling over thoughts of his SeeD exam the entire way.

"Well, all of you, I'd like to offer my congratulations on getting this far. It is a great achievement and honor to be accepted into SeeD, and I hope you don't take it lightly if you pass. You will be placed in teams, and you will be graded on teamwork skills as well as battle choices and skill in fighting."

Squall was among students older than him in the front area of Garden, yet he seemed to fit in with them perfectly. He was just as tall as most of them, and experience and maturity showed in his features, making them look less youthful than most his age. Each of the upper classmen knew he was younger, however, and rubbed it in his face every chance they could.

"With that, I leave directions and group member assignments to your Instructor. Good luck, and I hope to see all of you at the graduation ceremony. Instructor Krycek, I turn it over to you."

He walked away from the square, and the cadets eased their positions. Deena Krycek stepped in his place, and nodded to the cadets. She was ready to start assigning roles and explaining the mission. Squall felt anxious, yet he felt he was ready to take this one.

"Good evening, cadets. I imagine you're all more than ready to get this show on the road, so I'll make this brief. Group 1 will consist of the students Aleston Gray, Traydon Even, Clay Rubiv, and Squall Leonhart. The leader of Group 1 will be Traydon Even."

Squall had no idea who any of these people were. He looked around him questioningly, trying to find some kind of clue as to who these men were. But before he could try to figure it out, one of them tugged at the back of his shirt collar, and then motioned with a shake of his head toward a gathering of three of them aside from the rest of the group.

When he reached the circle of young, refined men, Squall simply stood there, giving no introduction. They probably already know who I am anyway, he figured. Why waste my breath?

As if on cue to his thoughts, one of them said with a haughty tone to his voice, "You must be that Leonhart kid."

Right, of course. Every student in Garden knows about me by now. Why should they be any different? He merely nodded his head, guessing it wouldn't help to say anything in reply anyway.

Another one of them slugged him in the shoulder. "What are you, mute or something? You're supposed to be so smart, you have to know how to talk, right?"

"Leave him alone, Aleston. Just because you weren't smart enough to graduate doesn't mean you've got to pick on him for it."

Okay, so that one was Aleston. Now he had a 50/50 chance with the other two…great, now he had a protector. Just what a baby would need.

"Shut up Clay, I don't see you graduating at 15, now do I?"

Clay. Good, that was all of them. No verbal introduction needed at all. Just how he liked it.

"Both of you shut it. Instructor Krycek is explaining the mission and I don't need your traps going so I can't hear."

This seemed to work quickly on the bickering boys. They directed their attention back to the teacher, who was indeed explaining their mission. The mission that would determine their future as SeeDs.

"The city of Timber has come under the attack of dozens of Thrusteavis's and Anacondaurs. Along with other monsters and the soldiers who brought them in, Galbadians. Your job is to rid the city of these people and monsters, and help the people who are in danger. When you have accomplished this, board the ship back to Garden, and you will know if you made it about an hour afterward. Please take the Garden car to Balamb dock, and we'll instruct you from there."

Traydon nodded, and left the front of Balamb Garden, headed for the Garden garage. His three other team members followed in suit, Squall secretly charged up and excited for battle. He couldn't wait to get on the scene.

Rinoa had stayed in her room the rest of the night, ignoring her stomach's pleas for food. She didn't cry, she didn't scream. She simply sat placidly on her bed, finishing her homework, and later reading. Her father never came up to see if she was okay, never sent the maid to bring her the rest of her unfinished dinner. But she wasn't about to give in and get it on her own. That was just what he wanted. She could just as easily eat tomorrow when he wasn't there.

She heard a scratching at her door on the lower part of the wood, and automatically jumped off the bed to open it. Angelo, her beloved dog of several years, sauntered into the room, and she quickly closed the door and locked it again. Angelo jumped on her bed, and rested her head on her paws, looking at Rinoa with soft, sympathetic brown eyes. Rinoa looked at her with hands on her hips, but she couldn't say no to that face.

"Now Angelo, you have a perfectly good dog bed over there in the corner. Why don't you use it?"

The dog let out a small whine, and Rinoa gave in. she sat behind her pet on the bed, and began stroking her head and scratching her ears. Her only way of escaping the hell of her life was through her dog. The only being that understood her.

She sighed loudly. "Oh, Angelo…why can't he just understand? I don't want to fight with him, but he brings it on himself. What am I supposed to do? Live three more years at war in my own home?"

Angelo turned to her and crawled further into her lap. She nuzzled her hand to urge the petting on. Rinoa complied, smiling, and kissed the top of her furry head. "I just don't know what to do. I'm not old enough to live on my own, and I can't say I can do whatever I want. I guess I just stay where I am for now, eh Ange?"

Angelo barked in reply, and Rinoa laughed quietly. "We'll find some way." Hugging the dog's neck, she returned to reading, her mind still consciously pondering over ideas of escaping her living nightmare.

The boat docked outside of Timber, just on the shore about a hundred yards from the city. Squall, Traydon, Aleston and Clay unloaded from the ship, and gathered together on the sand to discuss strategy and the area they would cover.

Instructor Krycek came over to them and put a hand on Traydon's shoulder, who looked back at her, awaiting instruction. "Your group will cover the Northern Square, which is next to the Train Station. Meet back here at 1900 hours."

"Alright," Tradon said, turning back to his team members. "Clay, you'll be in charge of magic. Aleston, you're in charge of GF's. I'll handle the physical damage. Kid, you're responsible for Limit Breaks. Any questions?"

Squall raised his hand. "Yeah?"

He didn't look smug or cocky, just genuinely curious. "Don't I get a name?"

Traydon rolled his eyes. "Fine, Squall, you're responsible for Limit Breaks. Happy?"

Squall nodded, satisfied to have gotten his due respect. "Good, then let's head out!"

They headed into Timber's usually small and homey town, only to discover chaos and destruction. Monsters seemed to crawl on every corner of the city, and people were getting in the way of each and every one of them. Screaming, crying, burning…madness in the streets. Squall and his group could only stare for the first few moments, until their leader got a hold of himself. "Well what are we just standing here for? Let's kill some monsters, boys."

The words snapped them out of their trance, Squall sooner than the others, blocking out the feelings of sympathy for the people. He charged ahead with Traydon, and they headed toward an alleyway, where a woman was trapped by a Thrustaevis, its wings beating above her head, and sharp talons ready to spill her blood.

Squall took the first swipe at it, initiating battle with it. This didn't make Traydon happy in the least.

"What the hell are you doing, Leonhart?" he shouted angrily. "I told you I'd handle the physical attacks!"

"Well you didn't take the first strike," Squall responded neutrally. "We couldn't wait forever."

Traydon didn't have time to fire back, for they were already in battle. But it didn't change the fact that he was angry at his teammate. When the bird fell dead to the ground and the woman ran away after thanking them, Traydon turned to Squall.

"The point of having a leader is to have control and authority in a group, kid. You defied my authority!" he put special emphasis on the word "kid" for effect.

Squall would normally have stayed quiet, but he had something to say in this case, and he was going to voice it. "And the point of a group is to work together, Traydon. If I hadn't struck when I did, that monster would've killed that woman in no time flat."

"That doesn't matter, Leonhart, you're to follow my command!"

Squall's brow furrowed, his blue-green eyes clouding with rising anger. "A human life doesn't matter? Isn't it our job as mercenaries to save others at the risk of our own lives? Isn't that our fucking purpose in life?"

Traydon's face was getting redder (yes, that is a word) by the second. In an explosion of anger, he punched Squall square in the jaw, causing him to reel backward, clutching his throbbing jaw. At this point, Clay and Aleston stepped in before Traydon could tackle him, and held him back.

"Whoa bud, this is getting a little too physical," Clay said to his partner, holding one of his arms while Aleston held the other, who agreed.

"Let me go! Dammit, let me go!"

Squall did not fight back. He knew the best thing to do was leave it alone. Nothing was ever solved with a brawl, especially on an important exam. He simply let the pain in his face subside, and turned away from his leader's fiery eyes. He began walking forward, when Clay's voice stopped him.

"Squall, where are you going?"

He turned back and met Clay's gaze. "To finish the mission. Nothing's being solved here, is it?"

Turning around, Squall kept walking. Traydon wriggled free of the two men's grasp with a growl, and the three older cadets followed Squall to finish out their mission.

The rest of their test, at least for the mission part of it, went well. Group interaction was awkward between the four of them, and between two it was cold and deliberate. They only spoke to one another when forced to, and stayed as far away from each other as possible.

The car ride back to Garden was silent and tense. Squall sat staring out the window, paying no heed to Clay, Aleston, and especially Traydon. He only hoped they'd get there soon to be rid of the volatile man across from him.

A deep voice spoke up in the quiet vehicle. "Why'd you do it, Leonhart? Why'd you defy me?"

Squall stared out the window, giving no answer or acknowledgement to Traydon.

"Hello? Are you going to answer me?"

Nothing. Not even a flicker of the eyes."

"Leonhart!"

Still nothing. They pulled into Garden's garage, and Squall opened the door, stepped out, and headed out of the garage, Traydon on his heels. He felt him grab him by the back of his shirt and jerk him around so he would be forced to stare him right in the face.

"Answer me, you little shit! I'm two years older than you, I'm your leader, and I want an answer!"

Squall looked at him with a completely calm face. "You're not my leader anymore," was all he said, and forced Traydon to release him. With that, he kept walking toward the Garden's upstairs, leaving the cadet behind fuming.

Now he could only wait to see if he would be a SeeD in a matter of an hour.