Quistis plopped down on her queen-sized bed, nightrobe on, hair wrapped up in a soft towel, and briefcase in lap. She pressed the small metal clips on each side, and slowly opened it, the smell of new leather wafting from the black case.

She took out the packet of papers stapled together, lying on the top of everything else. She sighed, setting it aside. Reading wasn't something she felt like doing right now. She took a peek at the rest of the items inclosed.

She pulled out a small box, a woman with dark red hair was on the cover. Hair dye.

"Oh great...they had to choose red..." she mumbled to herself. She'd tried red on herself before, it looked absolutely awful. She put it aside, next to the papers, and dug back in.

Next she pulled out a small black makeup case. She unzipped it to find makeup, mostly peach and green shades. She zipped it back up and picked up a small box.

"Iris Affections..." she read the label. Contacts. She looked to the bottom of the small container. It red "Emerald Seduction". She rolled her eyes at the advertisement slogans people were coming up with these days.

She set that alongside the papers, hair dye, and makeup, to find more "treats".

She found a wallet. She opened it to find one thousand gil, and her new driver's license.

"Maylee Rinthe." she read off of the driver's license. She snorted, wondering who'd made up her name. Sounded like some backwoods hick girl's name...

She began to put all her things back into the case, then picked up the packet of papers. She sighed, falling back onto the pillow for some late night reading...and a lot of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin sat around the small coffee table in Balamb's oceanside hotel. Seifer tried to pull off the "I'm soooo winning" face, but he only had a pair of twos.

Fujin threw her cards on the table. Two pairs, fours and nines. Seifer threw his cards on the table, a pair. Raijin gave a triumphant guffah and threw his cards onto the table. Royal flush.

Raijin's hooting laughter could probably be heard a mile away.

"Raijin, do you have to be so obnoxious!" Seifer said, getting up to go downstairs to get a drink.

"Aww, you're jus' mad 'cause ya lost!" Raijin said, after which he was promptly kicked in the shin by Fujin. Seifer stifled laughter.

A few minutes later Seifer had finished getting his coffee from the downstairs coffee machine in the lobby.

"Another game?" Raijin asked, shuffling the cards. Seifer shook his head and sat down.

Everything was silent for a few moments before Fujin spoke up.

"So what now?" she said. Seifer looked up.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What are we going to do now? Spend the rest of our lives fishing in return for a room and food at this hotel?" she said. "We're not catching enough as it is. Winters coming, and the fish won't bite as much. We have to think of something else."

"Well what do we know? Fighting and fishing." Seifer countered.

"Then it's time we learn something." Fujin said.

"I'm happy fishin'." Raijin spoke up.

Seifer scowled. "Well we'll see how happy you are when the fish stop biting."

"So what do you guys suggest?" Fujin said, standing up and crossing her arms.

Seifer looked down at his coffee. "I'm out of ideas." he said.

Fujin rolled her eyes. "So you guys are okay with starving?"

"Lets go back to Garden." Raijin said.

Fujin looked at Raijin like he'd just grown another head.

"Oh, and while we're at it, we can grow wings and fly to the moon!" Seifer said with fake enthusiasm.

"I mean it!" Raijin said. "It's not like we got anything better to do."

"Raijin...really--" Fujin said.

"Are you THAT thick?!" Seifer butt in.

Raijin shrugged. "What about Galbadia Garden?"

Seifer started to say something when Fujin cut him off. "That might be an option."

Seifer snorted. "Are you guys serious? You really think we'll be accepted?"
Fujin shrugged. "We aren't criminals. Pardoned, remember? They have no reason not to accept us."

Raijin nodded. "And plus, we were on their side during the fight against Ultimecia, ya know?"

Seifer's eyes narrowed. "They were on the same side as Ultimecia, dumbass."
"I say we go." Fujin said. "Fighting is all we know. You've always wanted to become a SeeD Seifer, maybe Balamb just isn't your place. We can at least go give it a shot."

"Ya, better than rottin' in this hotel, ya know?" Raijin added.

"And a few minutes ago you were the one blabbing about how you wouldn't mind fishing here for the rest of your life." Seifer said to Raijin.

"Well, a man can change his mind, can't he?" Raijin said.

"If we're going, we need to start planning. Applications will have to be sent in to Galbadia Garden, we can't go until they've accepted us." Fujin said.

"And that they never will." Seifer said.

"Oh come on Seifer, brighten up a bit." Raijin said.

Seifer stood up. "Go ahead, send in a few applications, one for each of us. You're both getting your hopes up for nothing." And with that said, he turned, and headed for his bed.

Fujin watched him walked away, too stubborn to move. Why was Seifer acting so strangely?

"I think you're scared." she said in his direction, before turning to walk into her own small room. Either he hadn't heard, or he chose not to react. Whatever the case, she regretted saying it as soon as she'd finished the sentence.

Raijin patiently put the cards back into the cardboard box, then left for his own quarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quistis awoke to the ringing of her phone. She suddenly had the urge to slam her fist into it, but decided to yawn and rollover instead. She'd let the answering machine get it, any polite person would call later than six in the morning.

Edea's melodic voice drifted over the answering machine. "Good morning Quistis. Starting today, you're "at Shumi for the remaining weeks of your vacation" according to the students. Keep a low profile, and get ready for your trip to Galbadia. Any questions will be answered in the mission details. Good luck."

Quistis groaned and rolled back over to erase the message, but as she turned, she felt something wrinkle underneath her. She sat up and let out another groan when she saw it was the mission details. She'd fallen asleep reading them.

She picked up the packet of now wrinkly papers and swung her foot over the side of her bed, only to meet with the contents inside the black leather briefcase.

She stumbled out of bed and onto the floor and began to gather the items that had fallen off her bed and out of the open briefcase during her sleep.

After everything was back in what looked like an orderly fashion, she picked up the packet of wrinkly papers, grabbed her glasses from the nightstand, and continued from where she'd fallen asleep.

"--Transport--" the header read. " On Tuesday, August 13," which was today..." you will assume the role of Maylee Rinthe. This includes hair coloration, wearing the provided contacts, and complete wardrobe replacement, not to mention using your new ID. It is important that you use this ID for EVERYTHING.

"Special note: Quistis, the contacts are made to match the prescription of your glasses, therefore there will be no need to bring along your glasses, as the contacts must be worn at all times.

"But on to the subject, transport. At promptly three o'clock p.m. a small airship will be admitted into the parking lot. You are to meet it, using alias Maylee, and leave in it. Avoid contact with students. The airship will leave for Deling, where you will purchase your new wardrobe (using the gil inclosed). You will stay in a hotel in Deling, how fancy it is, is your choice, whatever gil leftover from your wardrobe is yours to keep and spend on whatever you like.

"Next morning, at seven o'clock a.m. you will take a bus to the car rental shop on the outskirts of Deling, where another airship will pick you up and drop you off at Galbadia Garden."

Quistis dropped the papers. She picked up the hair dye, looked at the color in disgust for a few moments, then headed for the bathroom.

"Time to become Maylee Rinthe..." she grumbled to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raijin approached the front desk of the hotel. Clarice, the receptionist, smiled back.

"Can I help you with anything, sir?" she asked cheerily.

"Do ya have any applications for Galbadia Garden?" Raijin asked.

"Umm...I'm sorry sir, we don't carry those types of papers. We do have a brochure concerning Galbadia Garden though!" she said, taking a brochure from under her desk.

Raijin's face lit up. "Oh, lemme see..." he reached out for it.

Clarice bent over the desk and began explaining different things to him, regarding the G Garden.

Fujin came down the stairs and smiled when she saw Raijin. "Already on the hunt?"

"Eh...they only have brochures." he said, scrating the back of his head.

Fujin's pleased expression immediately dissappeared. "Well, we don't need brochures. C'mon Raijin, lets take our search elsewhere..." she sighed.

Raijin waved to Clarice, then followed Fujin out the door.

The two walked down the street a while, Fujin's steps confident and firm, Raijin's steps, or more accurately stomps, were hard and clumsy.

"Lets check the train station." Fujin said.

Raijin nodded.

When they got there, the receptionist in the small ticket booth happened to be "out to breakfast". Fujin poked her head inside and looked around. In some racks were what looked to be applications.

"Raijin, I've found some!" she said.

"Well get 'em!" he called back.

"I can't just go through the window!" she said, turned to give him a look.

"Sure ya can, I'll push ya through!" he said.

Fujin crossed her arms over her chest. They really needed those applications...."Alright." she said.

Raijin grinned. Fujin sighed and turned around.

She went in backwards, and her legs were completely inside the room, resting on the desk, when the receptionist showed up. Fujin's face reddened as she watched the woman stop dead in her tracks and raise an eyebrow at the situation.

"Can...I...help you with anything?" she asked. Raijin had barely noticed she was there, and turned around startled.

"Um...we were just getting the applications on your desk, ya know?"

The woman gave a confused look. "Applications....?"

"For Galbadia Garden." Fujin said hurriedly, trying to pull herself out of the woman's office.

"Oh, yes." the woman said, pulling out her keys. She walked around to the back, and later appeared in the office. She looked at Fujin, who was now completely outside her office."And how many did you need?"

"Three." Fujin said. The woman cleared her throat and handed over the papers.

As soon as the papers were in Fujin's grasp, she strode away. Raijin half- ran to keep up. "Pretty embarrasing, eh Fuj?" he chuckled.

Fujin grit her teeth. "Note to self, don't even consider using any of Raijin's plans ever again...." she mumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So how was it? A bit short, I know, but I'm trying! I know Raijin doesn't constantly say "ya know" and Fujin doesn't talk in all caps...but it makes them seem a lot smarter (well...Fujin anway) when they talk seemingly normal, right?

And to answer a question I got. Squall and Rinoa have the media's attention because they are like heroes and role models and their wedding got them attnetion, now the new baby, people are just kinda fascinated with them, you know what I mean? Sorry for any missunderstandings.

To answer another question.comment. I'm not going to make caraway an evil monster meanie guy, hehe. This is only the beginning, things will change, a lot.

And yet another comment...I really can't say if Galbadia or Esthar will get Dollet. I'd kinda ruin the story, wouldn't it??? I'll hafta keep secrets to keep readers, right??? hehe ^_^
A/N: I in NO WAY expected this many reviews! I've never gotten this many on one chap (talking about the first chap)! Thank you guys SO MUCH!!! No reviews means I shoot the story in the head, and then kick it's bloody corpse. That won't be happening to this story any time soon!!!

Another A/N: Hi DToK! hehehe.....