Chapter 1: Candy, the pink-haired stripper
- "This is absurd!" yelled Quistis. "Who the hell does this… this…Dixie Robinson think she is?!" she added, reading the name of the journalist who'd written the article about her. "What does she mean 'eager candidates are welcome' ? Who the hell gave her the right to decide for my love life?!"
- "Your what?" asked Selphie with mock innocence.
- "Oh, very funny…" said Quistis, crossing her arms.
Everyone laughed at Selphie's remark, even Quistis who tried to act mad at first, but failed eventually. The whole gang was gathered in the cafeteria during their lunch break. Only Squall was missing, because he had been summoned by the headmaster through the intercom for an unknown matter. Selphie had brought in all the recent magazines and they had all sat down to skim through them during their lunch break. It was a common habit ever since the press outbreak on them, as they found the extravagant rumors about them highly amusing.
- "Oh, this one's good! Listen up everyone!" said Zell. "I wish Squall was here to hear it, hee hee… It says: Seems like the SeeD commander has a flaw after all! Squall Leonheart was recently seen drunk in a strip-club in Dollet. After what -the owner told us- was about three beers and ten shots, the young mercenary climbed onto the platform and grabbing the pole, he started dancing and making out wildly with a pink-haired stripper. Not a wise thing to do, especially for a man who dates a sorceress. We really wouldn't like to know how his girlfriend, Rinoa Heartilly, will react to that…" read Zell.
All of them laughed harder than ever. Irvine was holding his stomach, Selphie was crying from laughter, Zell had flung his arms on Quistis' neck and was laughing hysterically on her shoulder, while Quistis wiped a tear from her eye and fanned herself with her palm. Rinoa was laughing too, but then she got serious.
- "You guys, this isn't a laughing matter…" she said, but she was still trying to suppress a smile.
- "Aw c'mon! This is by far the best ever!" said Zell between chuckles.
- "Still… Shouldn't we all be pressing charges for stuff like that?" said Rinoa.
- "And miss such good opportunities to laugh our asses off? No way!" said Irvine.
- "Hey, here comes the strip-club dancer!" said Selphie. "Oy, Squall! Over here!"
Squall strode inside the cafeteria to find all five of his friends sitting on a table. He walked over to them and sat down next to Rinoa, who gave him a peck on the cheek as he sat down.
- "Yo Squall… Check this out!" said Zell handing Squall the magazine.
- "What's this?" he asked Squall.
- "An article on the new tactics we use on our nunchak specialists." said Irvine mockingly. "What do you think it is? More tabloid shit…"
- "Not another one…" said Squall in an worn-out tone, rubbing his neck.
- "Oh, but this one's special… Front page… it's a golden one, trust me!" said Zell.
- "Alright…" said Squall skimming through the article with a bored look on his face. Everyone looked at him eagerly, waiting to see his reaction. Rinoa rested her arms on his shoulder and read it along with him. "Well…" he said after about two minutes, raising an eyebrow "… didn't think they'd find out about me and Candy so quick…" he said in a very serious voice.
- "WHAT?!" yelled Rinoa getting up and banging her hands on the table. Everyone in the cafeteria turned around to look at her.
- "I was only kidding…" said Squall, looking at her innocently.
All of them burst out laughing again. Rinoa gave Squall an evil glare at first, but then joined the rest of them. She sat right next to Squall again, still eyeing him, half amused-half serious.
- "That was not funny…" she said.
- "Are you shitting me?" said Zell. "This has got to be the best one Squall has ever said! Put it there man, good one!" he added, stretching his arm towards Squall. Squall didn't take it, but smiled at Zell mischievously anyway…
- "OK, enough with the ranting… Are we going to eat anything, or what?" said Squall, rubbing his rumbling stomach.
- "We ordered some food, it should be ready any minute…" said Quistis.
- "What d'you get?" asked Squall.
- "Hotdogs! A whole lot of them!" said Zell enthusiastically. "And a round of Cokes for all of us."
- "Good call… I'm starving…" said Squall rubbing Rinoa's hair, while the latter hugged him from the waist and rested her head on his shoulder.
- "Hey, what happened in your meeting with Cid?" asked Quistis.
- "Yeah, how'd it go? What did he want?" Irvine asked Squall.
- "He just wanted my signature for one new admission to the Garden." he responded.
- "Oh…" said Zell.
- "A re-admission actually…" mumbled Squall.
- "Re-admission? Who?" asked Rinoa.
- "Seifer…" replied Squall. Everyone's jaw dropped. Suddenly Zell started laughing.
- "He, he… Veeery funny Squall…" he said smirking.
- "I'm not joking Zell…" said Squall seriously. Silence fell on the table.
- "And here are your hotdogs!" said a chubby waitress, laying a platelet full of hotdogs on their table as well as six large Cokes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
During the last five minutes, chaos had taken over the sextet's table. Everyone was yelling at Squall, trying to get their innumerable questions answered. How, why, when did Seifer get accepted back to the Garden?
- "If all of you SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP, maybe I can explain to you what happened from the beginning…" said Squall in a fierce tone.
- "Spill it!" said Zell furious. He seemed to be the one most upset about the news.
- "Just half an hour ago we were all here, sitting, when Cid called me up to his office through the intercom…" Squall began.
- "We already know that!" said Zell exasperated.
- "THEN…" Squall continued, shooting Zell an angry look "… I left and got up there. When I got in the office, Cid and Edea were waiting for me…"
**FLASHBACK**
- "Good evening my child." said Edea. "Sit down."
- "Headmaster, Matron…" said Squall saluting them and sitting down on an armchair.
- "Squall…" said Cid. "I summoned you up in my office for the matter of a new admission in our Garden. All I need is your signature, but I'd prefer it if we discussed about the matter first. I'd like to have your consent as well." he added.
- "I'm listening…" said Squall intrigued. 'This can't just be ANY admission. It's gotta be someone important, otherwise he'd just include the admission form in the stack of papers on my desk…' he thought.
- "Squall." said Edea. "Cid and me are firm believers in giving people second chances. Don't you agree that everyone deserves a second chance?"
- "Yes, of course, but what does that have to do with…" said Squall puzzled.
- "We're talking about a re-admission here…" said Cid.
- "I see…" said Squall, trying to guess who would they be re-admitting. Then it hit him. 'It can't be…' he thought.
- "It's Seifer, Squall…" said Edea.
- "Ah." said Squall sharply; he wasn't happy about this…
- " 'Ah' ?" said Cid lowering his glasses, looking at him. "Is that all you've got to say?"
- "What else would I say? I'd really like to give a second chance to someone, but that someone should be a person who's worth it." said Squall.
- "I can understand how you feel about this…" began Edea.
- "That's just it." interrupted Squall. "You can't. You'd never understand…"
- "Why not?" she asked calmly.
- "Because you didn't go anywhere near losing a person you cared about, just 'cause some idiot went from plain crazy to ultimate psycho!" replied Squall, his voice raising.
- "Yes I did." said Edea firmly. "I nearly lost all seven of you. Yourself, Seifer, Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, Ellone… Do you think that didn't matter to me?"
- "Well, you're doing quite a good job hiding it." he spat back.
- "Commander you're out of order!" said Cid strictly.
- "I'm sorry…" said Squall bowing down his head. "That was out of line…"
- "Squall…" said Edea in a concerned voice "… it wasn't his fault. She was controlling him. Just like she did with Rinoa."
- "It's not the same!" he shouted.
- "Yes it is!" she shouted back "You're just all too blind to see it!" she added. "Rinoa always was the caring person, so it was easy for everyone to believe she was being controlled. On the other hand, Seifer was always arrogant, cocky, way too ambitious for anyone's taste, so you all thought it was like him to go on and start murdering innocent souls just like that."
- "When we fought him, he didn't seem at all possessed. I saw Rinoa when she was being controlled. It was a lot different…" said Squall.
- "And what about myself? Did I seem any different than Seifer, when I was possessed?" she asked.
- "No, not really…" Squall said realizing that for the first time. "But I don't understand… Rinoa…"
- "They reason why Rinoa acted so strange while under Ultimecia's control is not the issue here…" said Edea . Squall couldn't help but sense the bitterness in that last sentence, but he decided not to give this any further attention.
- "Alright… But do you have any evidence that he was really possessed, or are you just speculating?" he asked.
- "We've got evidence." said Cid "He was examined by Dr. Odine himself. He certified it."
- "Then I guess it's true…" said Squall, accepting his defeat. "So, when did he apply?" he asked.
- "He didn't." said Edea. "We were the ones who approached him and offered him another chance."
- "Why?" asked Squall, not believing his ears.
- "He's a really valuable asset Squall." said Cid. "I'm sure you remember what a gifted fighter he was. Now if he can finally get him to learn to follow a few orders…" he added smiling.
- "Sorry to let you down sir, but when we fought him, he lost pretty easily…" replied Squall.
- "While being under the control of the Sorceress, he couldn't make full use of his powers." said Edea. "Trust me, I know…" she added, noticing the disbelieving look on his face.
- "Besides… He's changed." said Cid.
- "Seifer? Changed?" asked Squall in disbelief.
- "Yes Squall… He's much more mature now. He really wanted this opportunity, too." said Edea.
- "Very well… If you just hand me that form then…" said Squall frowning a bit.
- "So you agree then?" asked Cid.
- "Do I have a choice?" he asked, forcing a fake smile. He grabbed the pen Edea gave him and signed the form Cid pushed in front of him on the desk.
- "Good, good…" said Cid. "One more thing. Ask Quistis to come up to my office at 1900 hours sharp. Tell her it's about her license. Also tell her to bring Irvine and Zell with her. Dismissed."
Squall got up, saluted the Kramers and left the office to head back to the cafeteria. Once outside, Squall caught the eye of a tall man standing in a corner. He was wearing a long gray trench coat. Blue and green met. A familiar glint appeared on those green eyes. Seifer. Although it didn't seem like him at all. He looked worried, stressed. As he saw Squall get out of the office, Seifer walked over to the door himself. He was obviously meeting the headmaster next. Their eyes locked onto each other as they got closer and closer. When they got on even footing they stopped.
- "Almasy." Squall nodded.
- "Leonheart." Seifer nodded as well.
Those were all the words they exchanged. Seifer went into Cid's office, while Squall took the elevator to the first floor.
**END OF FLASHBACK**
Squall ended his narration, carefully avoiding to mention the part about Rinoa's possession by Ultimecia. When he finished, everyone remained silent and deep in thought.
- "Well?" said Squall. "What do you all thing about what I just told you?" he asked his friends. Selphie was the first one to speak.
- "I think you did the right thing Squall." she said. "Honestly. If Dr. Odine examined him and reached that conclusion then it must be true. I for one, am no longer holding anything against Seifer. Well… That is if he doesn't give me anything to get upset about…" she said grinning.
- "Quistis?" asked Squall looking at her
- "You know, how I've always felt about Seifer. He's just misguided. He may be annoying and arrogant, but he doesn't deserve to pay for something he never willingly did…" she replied.
- "Good. Rinoa?" asked Squall.
- "No hard feelings from me…" she said. "I know what it feels like being possessed. And it's not nice… I can understand what it was like for him…"
- "Irvine?" said Squall turning over to the cowboy.
- "I never really knew the guy so… Not much I can really say. If he's cool to me, I'll be cool to him…" replied the pony-tailed marksman.
Zell still remained silent. He had crossed his arms and was looking away.
- "Zell?" asked everyone in unison, looking at him.
- "Meh, whatever…" he said shrugging. "As long as he doesn't start calling me 'Chicken-wuss' again…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After gulping down at least thirty hotdogs (Zell ate ten…) the gang went back to their dorms, to get some rest. At seven o' clock in the evening Quistis, Zell and Irvine met up and headed towards the 3rd floor office, the first two in their SeeD uniforms. When they got there, Quistis knocked and all three of them got in.
- "Please have a seat." said Cid smiling, raising his head from a stack of paperwork he was dealing with. "You're all here for the instructor positions you applied for. Quistis, you just need to get your license reinstated."
- "That's right." she replied.
- "We'll talk about Zell's matter first, as he doesn't have any issues hanging around. Zell, all you need to do, is take a practical test which will either qualify you or not. You'll just be sent to teach in a class experimentally, with a supervisor present. That's it. Talk to Xu for more information on the date of the test, understood?"
- "Yes sir." replied Zell.
- "Irvine." said Cid turning to him "Besides the test I talked about with Zell, which you will take as well, you need to take the SeeD test. I believe you've taken lessons while in Galbadia Garden?"
- "Yes, I've already passed the written exam." replied Irvine.
- "So, it's just the field exam then?" asked Cid.
- "Yes sir."
- "Good, good. But you'll still need to take a few lessons. We'll assign a private instructor to you, so that you can be ready in time for next month's field exam. If you're going to become a teacher, we need to get everything set before the start of the Summer term. We've still got time though. That wraps up your case Irvine… Over to Quistis." said Cid taking off his glasses and looking at her. 'Why did he get all serious with me?' she thought.
- "I'm listening sir…" she said, trying to break the ice.
- "Quistis…" began Cid. "You don't need to prove that you can teach well, I already know that. What you really need to prove, is that you can manage with… special situations…"
- " 'Special situations' ? " she asked puzzled.
- "The thing is, that you lost your license on the first place, because you were unable to control 'special students'." said Cid. "Cases like Seifer Almasy…" Quistis frowned.
- "Your point?" she asked.
- "I'm sure you've been informed of Seifer's re-admittance …" said Cid.
- "Of course…" she said.
- "Well, here's your chance to prove that you can handle cases like his. You'll be his personal instructor. If he passes the SeeD test, you'll get your license back…" said Cid.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N:
*CAUTION, SPOILER AHEAD*
Something some people might have noticed is the issue of Rinoa's possession. More precisely, the reason why she acted so strange. Well, I'm a firm believer of the Rinoa = Ultimecia theory, so I think that when Ultimecia possessed her past self, a weird reaction occurred. That's just my opinion though, you don't have to share it. It's not an element that will evolve in the story, I'm not even sure why I mentioned it. Anyway, if you're interested in that sort of story, check out my other FF8 fanfic, Fate of a Sorceress.
And another thing. You might have found Squall's behavior a little strange. More talkative, a bit more opened up… That's something that's explained in the next chapter.