:: No Love ::

Squall barely blinked at the challenge that was just thrown into his face. Instead, it was the others who got agitated.

"What makes you think you can just barge in here and challenge our commander just like that? Hasn't he got anything else to do besides fight any lowlife who walks into this school?" Irvine stepped out.

*Tornado* A word issued from the woman's lips, and suddenly, Irvine felt himself being lifted up, then dropped unceremoniously onto the hard ground.

"Ouch!!!" He yelled, still on the floor. He made no move to pick himself up until Selphie came and helped him up.

"Be polite." Came the reply from the cold lips.

"Why you…" Irvine drew his Exeter, ready to do battle, but found himself being blocked by Squall.

"Squall?" He looked at the latter questioningly.

"I accept your challenge," Squall looked past Irvine to the spot where the woman stood.

Her cold features formed a smile.

"I was waiting for this," She gathered up her snow-white hair with a single hand, and twisted it into a bun which she set low at the nape of her neck.

Then, holding her beautiful gunblade at the ready, she nodded.

"Let's go."

Before the last word even fell from her lips, the two gunblades had already met with a resounding clang. The onlookers winced at the jarring sound as it repeated itself twice more.

Squall slid his gunblade along hers till it caught at one of the many grooves along the blade, then twisted it. It was a move designed to disarm the opponent, but it seemed to have no effect on her as she twisted herself under their interlocking blades, a counter-move to his stroke. She then performed a complex series of moves which he initially recognized as the basic moves which every gunblade user knew, but it gradually evolved into something much more complicated, as he found himself fighting to keep up.

He dealt two strong blows at her, but she managed to dodge one, and hold the other off with a deft twist of her gunblade. Squall suddenly realized he was dealing with a true gunblade specialist as another elaborate slash she made found its target along the inside of his right arm. Blood dripped from the wound as he continued to fend off her attacks.

Rinoa looked on anxiously at the fight, her eye mainly on Squall rather than his opponent. She could see that one of them was hurt – a splatter of blood here and there on the ground was evidence of that. She only hoped it wasn't him.  

Another ringing clang, and at long last, the two gunblades separated, Squall with the impressive gash along his arm to show for his efforts. The woman, however, seemed unhurt, as she stood there holding her gunblade.

A collective murmur rose from a crowd of students a short distance away who had undoubtedly gathered to watch the duel.

Squall closed his eyes as his friends rushed forward to his side. He had lost.

(((Clatter)))

Squall's eyes flew open to see the woman kneeling on the floor, her gunblade abandoned to one side. Her right hand was at her chest, while the other clutched at the smooth ground. She seemed to be in pain.

"Well dude, it seems like you won…" Zell grinned up at Squall, who was stunned.

Flashback~~

She twisted her arm out from the lock he had caught it in, then let go of her gunblade, letting it fall, before catching it again with the other hand. The split second in which she was totally defenceless provided an opening for Squall, who delivered a blow to her chest.

Pain flickered over her face for a moment, before becoming cold again, the only evidence of the humanity she just showed the colour of her face— deathly white.

End flashback~~

He hadn't believed that such a light blow, which barely skimmed her chest, could have caused such pain. But he had had more pressing matters at hand then to worry about than to put his mind to such trivialities.

Now, however, he could see the reason.

(An injury.)

(She was fighting with an injury.)

(Yet she beat me so easily.)

Filled with newfound respect for the stranger, Squall walked over to where she had fallen and picked up her gunblade.

"Are you alright?" He held out the weapon to her.

"Hm?" She raised her head to look at him, and saw the faint concern in his eyes.

Smiling slightly, she took her weapon back from him and slid the blade back into the slim case across her back, where it belonged to when not in use.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Quistis and the others watched the exchange between the two people who were just fighting tooth and nail earlier, bemused.  

Weren't they supposed to be enemies?

Squall opened his mouth to speak again, but found himself being abruptly cut off by the woman instead.

"I admit defeat, Commander," She had anticipated Squall's move, and was one step ahead of him.

"What?" Having been caught unawares, disbelief was written all over Squall's face.

"Yes, you didn't hear wrongly, I am admitting defeat," She said as she slowly and painfully got to her feet.

(((Snicker.)))

A sound came from overhead.

The woman was silent for a moment, then spoke calmly.

"Ryn, get your sorry ass down here right now. Or do I have to go up and get you?"

(((Silence)))

"RYN!" A strangled sound issued from her lips.

"Alright, alright, keep your cool," A voice came from above, then a black figure dropped from above.

Everyone immediately drew their weapons, a conditioned reflex action from encountering too many surprise attacks. Squall raised a hand, motioning for the others to remain where they were.

As the figure straightened up from its crouch, everyone could see that it was a guy, and a rather good-looking one at that.

"Aea," The guy looked at the hand the woman had pressed to her chest, and shook his head slightly, "I tried to talk you out of it…"

Ignoring him, the woman turned back around to face Squall. Then, raising the same gloved hand,  she crossed her right arm across her chest, fingers splayed, and bowed slightly.

Sighing, the man followed suit.

Squall recognized the special greeting, as did all the others.

"Elite seeD Aea/Ryn reporting for duty, Sir."