A Life Unlived by remote_mine
Summary: AU *Squinoa* Squall transfers to Balamb Garden, and meets someone there. R for language and certain situations. (Hopefully) Not an initial love/hate relationship or 'fated.'
Balamb Garden, 0800 hours BT (Balamb Time)
A young man exited his car in the parking lot near Balamb Garden. He was a brown-haired, blue eyed teenager that had one single clean scar across his forehead. His given name was Squall Leonhart, but he had no knowledge of his parents. What he knew of his past was that he had been raised in an orphanage and then placed into Galbadia Garden, and, after excelling in virtually every subject and topping the best, was going to take the SeeD test at Balamb Garden. He sighed as he finished unloading his luggage from the car, looking at the impressive structure right in front of him.
A new start. A new life.
Carrying his few luggage bags, he glanced at the entrance and walked toward it, wondering exactly what had driven him to want to be a SeeD of all things. The bitter coldness of the morning forced him to wrap his leather jacket around himself tighter, and caused his cheeks to flush a slight pink. Frowning, he walked into the Garden and was hit by a sudden rush of noise from the students.
Must be right before classes start.
Looking around, he took note of the directory and walked over to it, finding that the destination that he was seeking was on the third floor: the Headmaster's Office.
He waited impatiently in the elevator, tapping his foot as it ascended up from the bottom floor up to the Headmaster's Office. As the elevator gave off a tone and the doors opened, he got off and walked over to the secretary.
"Is Headmaster Cid in?" His voice was indifferent and emotionless.
"Just a minute. Name and reason for seeing the Headmaster?"
"Squall Leonhart, transferring from Galbadia Garden to Balamb Garden to take the SeeD examination."
She pushed a button, spoke into the intercom and listened to the response. "Go right in, Mr. Leonhart. He's expecting you."
He took in the surroundings of the office and looked at the plainness of the office; there were a few pieces of furniture, but that was all. No personal items could be seen on the Headmaster's desk. The room screamed of a military strictness.
"Ah, Squall Leonhart. We were hoping that you would come." Headmaster Cid was a man that seemed to be not much older than forty. He wore glasses and gazed interestedly at the folder that contained Squall's report from Galbadia Garden. "Well, I must say that I'm impressed at what you've accomplished at Galbadia Garden. You were at the top of your classes and also excelled at using the gunblade."
Oh shit, I don't want to be the center of attention. "The gunblade is my weapon specialty, sir."
Headmaster Cid leaned forward in his chair. Picking up a few items on his desk, he handed Squall the keycard for his dorm plus his schedule, explaining where and how to use the keycard and also listed the rules that the students had to obey or else risk being expelled from Balamb Garden. Concluding, he said, "Welcome to Balamb Garden. I hope that you enjoy your stay here, and good luck with the SeeD examinations. We really need another gunblade specialist in the SeeD ranks."
"Thank you, sir."
"Dismissed."
With that final command, Squall left the office, eager to drop off his luggage at his dorm and get to his classes.
Glancing into his dorm room, the first thing he noticed was the lack of space. It was a cramped room, with barely enough room for a bed and a desk. The showers were down the hall, shared by the entire wing. He dropped his bags onto his bed and looked at his schedule. 0830 History of GFs. Instructor Vhalash. He glanced at his watch. It was 8:25. With a start, he realized that he was going to be late for his first class if he didn't leave immediately. He had bought his books earlier before returning to his dorm, so he grabbed the required books for his classes and almost ran out his dorm room to the classrooms, hoping that he would be able to find his class within the few minutes he had left according to his watch.
He found his class with a minute to spare. Entering, the teacher noticed him and cleared her throat loudly. "Class, we have a new transfer student. Everyone please welcome Squall Leonhart."
Appreciative glances were thrown at him from the female population of the class, while the males generally ignored him. Not this again.
"Squall, please sit in the back row next to Seifer."
Seifer? Would this be the Seifer I know?
He walked to the back, and saw his one friend from Galbadia Garden. Seifer Almasy. He was a blonde who always wore a trench-coat with a red cross on it. On his forehead was a scar that mirrored Squall's exactly.
Seifer grinned as he saw Squall. "Hey man, long time no see. How's my old partner?"
Squall grunted and sat down, staring at the computer terminal disinterestedly. He looked over at Seifer. "Hey Seifer. Didn't know you went here."
"Well, I'm training to become a SeeD. Just like you, eh? Let's talk later. Vhalash's totally strict about talking in class. I'll introduce you to my friends at lunch."
"Alright." He flicked on the computer terminal and followed the teacher's instructions as she lectured about the history of GFs.
~-~
"Squall, over here."
He heard the voice of Seifer from the general direction of the back of the Cafeteria. Walking towards the sound of the voice, he noticed several people sitting at the table Seifer was at. Taking a seat, he looked over at Seifer's friends.
"This is Squall. He's an old friend of mine from Galbadia Garden. We were always the best at combat, and we gave each other our scars on our foreheads during one intense training session. He doesn't talk much, but in a fight, he's one of the best partners you'd ever want. He even saved my butt a couple of times." Seifer grinned as Squall looked embarrassed at the attention.
"Lemme introduce you guys. This is Zell. Specialty is close-combat."
A blond with spiked hair and a tattoo on his face grinned at Squall and gave a thumbs-up.
Gesturing toward a long haired guy wearing a cowboy hat, he said "Irvine. Guns and women, according to him."
Irvine made a gun with his fingers and pretended to shoot at the hearts of a few girls sitting close by. A red-haired girl sitting next to him smacked him.
"The girl who just hit Irvine is Selphie, his girlfriend. Uses a nunchaku and can talk enemies to death."
"HEY! What was that about?!" Selphie was bouncing around and yelling at Seifer.
Chuckling, Seifer continued. "Quistis. One of the instructors here. Uses a whip, and has this excessively large fan club known as the Trepies."
The blond wearing glasses sitting next to Seifer muttered something under her breath. To Squall, it sounded suspiciously like "I want them to die."
"I wonder why they stalk you so much. Look behind that plant next to Quistis, and you can see one right there." Waving a hand toward a black-haired girl he said, "And that's Rinoa. She uses this weapon that I have no idea what it's called."
"It's a –" She was rudely cut off by Seifer.
"She's one of my best friends. We dated for a while."
Squall curiously raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And what? Well, we decided to stay friends. It just didn't work out."
Rinoa slapped Seifer on his arm. "Stop cutting me off! I was going to tell him what weapon I use."
"Well? Why don't you tell him now?" A smirk was seen on his face as Rinoa started ignoring him, and she looked over at Squall.
"It's a –"
Seifer cut her off again.
"Well, I think we should go get some lunch now. Before, you know, it's all gone."
"Seifer! Stop it!" She grumbled and punched him on the arm.
Ignoring it, he pushed his chair back and stood.
"Jackass." Only Squall heard it, as she said it under her breath.
At least she knows what kind of person Seifer can be, most of the time. Too bad she's probably like all the other girls I've ever known.
"He's only teasing you. You can tell Squall after we go grab some lunch." Selphie piped up. "Now, let's go or else all the food will be gone!" She grabbed Irvine's hat and placed it on her head as she got up.
"Hotdogs, here I come!" Zell dashed out in front of the rest of the group as they got up from the table.
Seifer laughed as Zell was pretty much sprinting ahead, trying to get to the hotdogs before they were all gone. "He has this crazy obsession with hotdogs. I don't get it."
"Of course you wouldn't." Facing Squall, Rinoa continued. "Seifer here hates like all the cafeteria food. I suppose it's not that great, but not bad."
A slight grin crossed Squall's face as he recalled one incident in Galbadia Garden. One that he knew Seifer would never forget. Once while returning to his dorm, Squall had found Seifer lugging up some boxes into his dorm room and the next day it was reported that food was missing from the Cafeteria. "Seifer, what about that food incident?"
"Shut up, puberty boy!" He hissed and jabbed Squall in the stomach.
An expression of curiosity was on Rinoa's face as she looked back and forth from Squall to Seifer, wondering what they were talking about. "Why don't you tell me, Seifer?"
Calmly, Squall answered for Seifer. "It's embarrassing for him."
A snarl released itself from Seifer's throat. "I told you never to speak of it again!"
"Whatever." Squall pretended to accede to Seifer's demand. But the moment Seifer was out of earshot, he turned back to Rinoa. "I saw him carrying a bunch of boxes up to his dorm room once. The next day, it was announced that food was missing from the Cafeteria. Oddly enough, Seifer had a really bad stomachache that day too. The doctor said that he had eaten some spoiled food."
Rinoa burst out laughing, causing Seifer to look back at the source of the noise. Glaring, he walked back over to Squall. "Did you tell her?"
"No." No hint of what he had said was betrayed by his facial expression. But Rinoa's laughter did.
"Dammit, Squall! I told you NOT to tell her and yet you do. The only thing worse than that would be telling her about my chocobo boxers I sleep in!" Seifer hadn't realized how loud he had shouted the last statement.
A sudden wave of silence struck the entire Cafeteria. Utensils dropped and clattered as people turned and stared in shock at Seifer, all minds on the image of the one that most respected sleeping in cutesy boxers with chocobos on them.
"What about that stuffed chocobo you cuddle whenever you sleep?" Everyone who was listening was even more shocked at the comment from the brown-haired teenager standing in front of Seifer.
One person started laughing, and then the rest of the Cafeteria joined in a few moments later.
The most shocking part about the entire event to Squall was that barely half a minute later, girls were flirting with Seifer. Looking at Seifer's expression directed at him while Seifer was busy trying to escape from the girls, he decided that it was probably not in his best interests to get anywhere near him for the next several days. "He's busy, so let's go."
If Squall was shocked, Rinoa was even more so at Seifer's admission. "Seifer. Chocobo. Boxers. Oh my god. The last person in the world I'd have ever expected to sleep in chocobo boxers! And with a stuffed chocobo too!" Her laughter that had stopped when Seifer was shouting came back in full force, leaving her paralyzed.
"You never knew?" He stared in amazement at Rinoa.
Still laughing, she choked out, "No, I didn't. Why?" A sudden revelation made her realize the alternative meaning in the question Squall had asked. Blushing, she answered, "No, I was never that close to him."
"I see." For some reason that fact made him feel a bit better. He had no idea why.
~-~
Returning to his dorm after his afternoon classes, Squall looked at the clock. 5:02. Good, I have a couple hours before my evening classes. Maybe I'll see if Seifer got all those girls off him yet.
The 'I'm going to kill you' expression on Seifer's face reminded him that he should start running in the opposite direction the moment he saw Seifer if he valued his life.
Sighing, Squall walked out to the one place where he could vent some of his frustration at the attention he attracted already: the Training Center. Waves of heat permeated through the entrance to the Training Center as he got closer, making him sweat. Unsheathing his gunblade, he strolled into the jungle overgrowth that seemed to be everywhere. He looked around, and saw a few plants that seemed to be aggressive. One flicked a couple of its tentacles his way, trying to strangle him.
Rushing up, he quickly dispatched it with a clean swipe, cleaving its tentacles and stem in half. It's green blood oozed out of the carcass, leaving behind a strong stench.
Oh man, the smell wasn't part of the job description of being a SeeD.
Killing the other ones easily and efficiently, he moved on to the next area. He saw a single T-Rexaur looking around for something to eat. That was when it spotted Squall, and chose him as its next target.
Shit. What did that instructor say these were weak to? They're from a jungle, so it must be cold!
He junctioned some Blizzard spells to his gunblade while avoiding the clumsy attempts that the T-Rexaur made with its jaw to bite him.
Seeing an opening right after the T-Rexaur lunged, he swung his gunblade directly at its tail, cutting a few feet off. Its scream of pain echoed through the area, and Squall desperately prayed that no other T-Rexaurs would tumble in at this time. Another attack, this time from its tail stump, hit Squall on his side, making him wince in pain.
I've had it. Limit Break!
"Renzokuken!" Rushing at the T-Rexaur, he slashed it several times in the chest, pulling the trigger on his gunblade simultaneously with each cut. The recoil from the gunblade's bullets was absorbed by the flesh of the T-Rexaur. The gunblade jerked with each shot, forcing Squall to tighten his grip upon the handle. It never stood a chance. The final blow severed its neck and sent it crashing to the ground, its blood pooling around its carcass.
That was enough entertainment for today.
Sudden applause from his side made him realize that he wasn't the only one there. Looking to his left, he realized that an entire class of students had seen him kill the T-Rexaur, and most of them had admiring looks on their faces.
Shit! I hated the hero worship there, and now I just put myself back on the pedestal. I'm such an idiot.
He looked again, and noticed that Seifer was standing amongst the students, grinning at him. "Hey, puberty boy. Nice job on that T-Rexaur."
Squall eyed Seifer suspiciously, wondering what he was up to. It just wasn't Seifer to suddenly forgive him about telling the entire Cafeteria about the stuffed chocobo that Seifer cuddled whenever he went to sleep. "What do you want?"
Still having a smirk on his face, Seifer pulled Squall off to the side, away from the other students. "I want to thank you for saying that thing about the stuffed chocobo."
Squall couldn't believe his ears. "What?"
"All those girls think it's so adorable that I have a stuffed chocobo. I've got enough dates to last me a lifetime."
"That's ... great." Squall could've cared less, but it was quite amusing considering what had happened.
"No, seriously! Like at least thirty girls asked if I could 'help' them with training."
"Whatever. Just leave me alone. I brought enough attention to myself again." Walking away, a sudden thought made Squall stop and turn back to Seifer. "Would you do me a favor?"
"Name it."
~-~
"Ugh!" Rinoa screamed in frustration at the amount of work she had that day, wondering why all her instructors seemed to pile assignment after assignment on them for no reason whatsoever. Looking out the window, she noticed that the weather was too nice to be working indoors on some annoying project. She grabbed her notebooks and walked out of her dorm room, locking the door behind her.
Wow. The weather's been really nice this week, and I haven't even noticed until today.
Exiting the dorm area, she noticed a slightly familiar looking person that was leaving the Training Center.
Hrm. Do I know him?
Getting closer, she realized that it was Seifer's old friend that she met in the Cafeteria.
What was his name again? S-something. Sq ... Squall. That's it! "Hey, Squall!"
The brown-haired teenager looked around at the mention of his name, wondering as to who said his name. Noticing the girl waving at him, he walked over to her. "Rinoa, right?"
"Yep! You got my name right!" She looked at the weapon that he was carrying. "Oh, wow, a gunblade! Seifer's the only other person in this Garden that uses a gunblade."
"Oh, really?" Crap, my weapon's drawing attention now. I really hope Seifer does what I asked him to.
"Apparently it's really hard to use a gunblade. But it's no problem for you, huh?"
What did I just say?! God, I must sound like I'm flirting with him. He's cute, though. But I barely know him!
He shrugged. "Whatever."
"You want me to show you around?"
"Fine." He followed her as she pointed out and described the various sections of the Garden.
While they were passing the Cafeteria entrance, Squall's stomach decided to make a loud rumble.
"Hungry?" She giggled at the look of annoyance on Squall's face.
He gave her a shrug. "Maybe." A louder grumble from his stomach made him realize that it was nearing six, his normal dinner hour.
"Maybe? Well, we might as well grab dinner while we're here, considering the noise your stomach's making. Sounds like you've been starving the poor thing." She smiled as his cheeks flushed a bit pink at her comment.
"Whatever." Walking in, the first thing that they noticed was that their entire table group was already seated and eating dinner.
Zell was the first one to notice them. Half done devouring a hot dog, he semi-mumbled, "There you guys are."
"We were just about to look for you!" Selphie was still quite hyper, even in the middle of eating her food. Immediately after looking up at the two walking toward the table, she turned back to Irvine and started chatting animatedly about some committee thing.
Rinoa put down her notebooks on the table near one of the open seats. "I was just showing Squall around."
A puzzled look crossed Seifer's face as he looked at Squall and Rinoa.
That's not like Squall to accept.
"But that's not li–" The thought he was about to voice was stopped as another realization came to him.
"What?" Rinoa had missed the exchange.
"Nothing." Seifer grinned to himself as he realized that Rinoa already made Squall different, even if Squall didn't know.
Damn, she has a really big effect on him. Heck, she affects like everyone.
"Hey puberty boy, I need to talk to you for a sec." He got up from his seat.
Walking to an empty table, Squall looked straight back at Seifer. "What?" It was a demand, simple and short.
"Are you sure you want me to? If I do this, then like everyone will probably avoid you." He noticed the intense look on Squall's face which seem like he had an internal fight with his thoughts.
After a moment's hesitation, Squall answered. "I'm sure. At least then, no one will try to get to know me."
"I'm going to wait on this. I'll do it in like a week. Definitely not during this week, though. Make sure you want this. Tell me on the weekend if you really want me to. Sleep on it." He said it as convincingly as possible, hoping that Squall would change his mind.
"Whatever." Both of them got up and went back to the other table, taking their respective seats.
"Why do you call him 'puberty boy', Seifer?" Rinoa's question shocked both Squall and Seifer.
He had to make up a good excuse, and fast.
The truth would embarrass him so much.
"It's a nickname I gave him a couple of years ago because he grew taller than the rest of the other boys for a while. Then I caught up and passed him last year." He looked over at Squall, who was seriously struggling to keep his cheeks from flushing.
Rinoa didn't think that was the true story because of how Seifer seemed to talk a little too fast, but she decided to leave it alone. "I see."
I'll get the true story out of one of them sometime.
She noticed the strange expression Squall had on his face. "Squall? You alright?"
"I'm fine."
His voice sounded quite strained compared to normal which made her wonder what had affected him that deeply.
Was it something about the 'puberty boy' comment?
Seifer leaned back, eating some fries while observing the two sitting across from him.
Hmm, maybe she'll like him. Squall needs a girlfriend, anyways.
His decision made, he finished the fries. "Why don't you two get some dinner now?"
He got no answer, only the scraping of the chairs against the tiled linoleum as they got up and walked over to the line of students purchasing food.
They look good together.
Waving toward the rest of the table group, he got their attention. "Guys, let's set those two up."
---
A/N: And here's the first chapter! Hope you like it. Personally, I think that in different circumstances that Seifer and Squall could have been friends, even if they would fight a lot. Seifer's a good guy, IMO. Heh.
bembem: Thanks for your suggestions and comments. I didn't realize how bad my grammar is at some points, like the gunblade recoil thing, so I just scrapped that sentence and redid it.