The Seventh Month

Journals & the D.C.
Part a

Journal: Irvine Kinneas Entry: Most Recent

Well, today I was expecting another boring day of classes to help me prepare for my big written exam. Boy could I be further from the truth. On my way to breakfast my little ball of bouncy energy Selphie comes to tell me about this surprise party she is throwing. I'm excited cause she's excited and then she hands me this long list of things I need to get for her. What do I look like her slave....Okay, don't answer that. So I say goodbye to breakfast and head out to Balamb instead. I stare at the list of all the food she expects me to get. How many people does she plan on feeding. honestly 100 hotdogs? hmm Zell's going to be there, so maybe I should grab an extra fifty. Somehow I manage to pay for all of it and drag it back to Balamb. She tells me to set it up in the board room. That's when it clicks. A meeting room, party, surprise. Squall's getting promoted. About time. It just ain't right that Cid is making Squall do almost all of his work and the Commander's work. Heh, we might even see him smile a bit once he gets a new commander and has less work to do himself.

As the gang and myself are setting up Rinoa comes in. There is something different about her and I would have guessed that Squall had finally gotten some. I was about to congratulate her on stepping into full womanhood when a certain sadness in her eye stopped me. Boy am I glad I did. She was quite composed as she asked if she could have a word with us all. Even as she gently told us that her and Squall have drifted and decided to call it quits she maintained a brave front. But I could here the silent sniffle near the end. And I know I wasn't the only one to see the unshed tears. But lucky for us we had Selphie and Zell there. They have enough energy and excitement for a fleet of people. So in no time they had managed to cheer her up and make her feel at ease with us again. She will never be one of the Orphanage gang, but we're not about to ostracize her. Rule number of any SeeD do not piss off a sorceress no matter how docile they may appear. Like Take Ellone for instance. I made a probably inappropriate sexual comment to her and just as I was about to watch my favourite tv show. (The season finale with the giant cliffhanger) She puts me to sleep and sends me into some unknown woman's past. She did nothing but think about clothes and guys. It was pure torture and had me crawling back to Ellone begging forgiveness. I shudder to think what Rinoa might do and hope that Squall and her broke up on friendly terms.

After everything is set up and the directors start coming in we send Xu up to fetch Squall. We sent him an email but the poor guy is so busy he never gets around to them until after lunch. He has this whole system it's kinda funny. You can look at your watch any time of the day and I could bet you a thousand gil I know exactly what he's doing. Cause he does it everyday the same way except on Sunday. Then he sleeps in an hour and cuts out looking at SeeD progress and Student training he also spends some extra time with his friends of course. Selphie looks a bit nervous all of a sudden, probably because all these big wigs are here and don't know how to have any fun. It doesn't matter after the papers are signed we'll show them out and let the real party begin. Leave it to my sunshine to put together a great party in less then twenty-four hours.

When Squall finally arrived and we all shouted surprise he actually looked shocked. Well as shocked as he ever gets which is still having a completely blank and stoic face but blinking a few more times then usual. He makes his way further in the room but is stopped by Selphie. I take pity on the poor guy. He's not used to so much energy and I know touchy feely ain't really his thing, but I can't help smile as I gently pull Sel away from Squall so he can breath. Everything is going fine as We move Squall towards our benefactors when Zell rambles off his big hotdog eating mouth about the old guys wanting make a break from Sel's party. First off the idiot insults my gal and then he insults the very important people in the room. It's sorta funny the way Squall gets this look in his eye that he may just be imagining roasted Chicken-wuss. I of course being the responsible person I am set Zell straight so Squall can go sign his papers. Also known as the sooner these VIP's leave happy the sooner I can drink and party!

I seriously thought Cid would never shut up and let us get to the party. I see Rinoa coming in the door, and I almost fear for Squall's safety until I see her smile. Smile not smirk. I breath in a sigh of relief and go for a drink. The party went well, I actually saw Squall smile a few times but then he had to go. Must suck being in charge. Let's just say that the party didn't settle down at all because of his absence. After I got in a few more dances with Selphie and even one with Quistis and Rinoa we called it quits and started the ever so much fun process of cleaning up. The garden has millions of gil lying around do you think maybe they could hire a maid to this or something? So there I was tipsy as ever trying to pull down that stupid banner while standing on a ladder. Can we say disaster in the making? Thankfully it was averted. I tugged to hard on the banner pulling it right down, making me lose balance and fall of the ladder. Thankfully I landed on Zell and that the ladder when it fell over landed on the table, so that it just brushed against my duster and didn't do anything more then a light bruise and a near fatal heart attack.

Well we finally got the whole conference cleaned up and we had all just arrived at the cafeteria to get a little snack and relax when we all hear our names over the PA. I swear I have never heard three grown SeeDs moan before. My moan of exhaustion doesn't count because I'm still a cadet. We made our way up to Squall's office, it took us a bit longer, because out of habit we all started towards the Commander's office before we realized we were heading the wrong way. When we finally arrive at the office he looks as though we had made him wait ten hours not the ten minutes it really took. Selphie doesn't seem to catch the hint of anxiety coming from Squall. Instead she looks about ready to throw another party. I try to make a joke about Squall not throwing party's on the first day but maybe the second. Like usual he doesn't want to play along and crushes more poor Sel's hope. I should really teach that boy some tact. And while I'm at I should teach Zell some manners. Hyne could he be any lazier at least Quistis also looked thoroughly disgusted with him.

Squall starts telling us about the Garden being short a commander and if we had any suggestions. I think we all agreed with Zell when he so eloquently put it that being Commander was way to much work and as long as someone was up to it he didn't care who it was. A strange semi-smile appeared on Squall's face and I know Zell wasn't the only one who was frightened by it. Squall smiling is one thing the semi evil smile as if he's planning something should never be seen on a person like him. It's just creepy. Sel prompts me back into reality with her question. This leads Squall to tell us that Seifer is back. He's one of the gang and I said as much. He was brainwashed during the war, and even then it seems like he didn't do all he could have to destroy us. He must have had enough control to keep us alive. Also after all the crap he's been put through since the war he definately deserves a second chance. It's a little bit of a shock to me to hear that he is SeeD. Why do I have to be the last one of the Gang to make SeeD. Dang it. Maybe he could help me with my written though. He's taken it enough times, and Quistis told me he always aced it.

As Squall was more or less done with us we head over to Seifer's room with Selphie declaring us the official welcoming committee and Zell complaining that we should have brought hotdogs. I suppose it is odd that none of us mention the war and all that that entails. But I tell you and anyone that asks it is because deep down we know the real Seifer and even if he is an egotistical bastard at times he is no killer and no threat to SeeD. We reach his door and for a second everyone around me seems just a bit nervous. Ok they weren't on best terms with him when this whole thing started. but now we remember more about Matron and the orphanage and it shouldn't feel so awkward. At least it doesn't for me. He needs the allies whether he knows it or wants it, this is what he has. I took the initiative to knock on the door and after a pause it opens wide.

He looked as though he expected trouble, he was holding his gunblade. But after he took in the four of he looked slightly confused before a smirk once again was on his face. I noticed that this one didn't hold any of the malice they did during the war. "If it isn't the welcoming committee, what, Leonhart send you over?" He asks. Can you believe that he thinks that Squall had to send us over. "look," I say "Squall didn't send us anywhere. We wanted to see you. Got a problem with it speak now, and were gone." He looks actually sorry, but I can have that effect on people. Don't mess with a person that can kill you without you ever knowing your in danger. He invites us in and we exchange stories. He tells us he has been with Matron. It only accounts for five of the months though we don't press him for detail on the other two. Those are his stories to tell and his burdens to share when he deems it. By the end of the night we are all laughing. mainly at Zell who can't seem to sit still and who always goes ballistic with the smallest insult. It amazed me how much he remembered about the Orphanage. Our conversations tended to always drift back to those happy an innocent times. We always enjoy hearing someone's stories and then seeing if we remember the too, or have something to add. On rare occasions we even got Squall to talk about some of his memories too bad he wasn't here, he would have enjoyed some of Seifer's. But I feel Seifer and Squall remember more then they are willing to share, but maybe it just isn't our concern. There are probably some stories that I don't tell the others. Even if I can't think of any right now.

As our little get together wound down it was nearing one in the morning. Not that late, but most people don't have to get up at the crack of dawn. So we started saying our 'see ya at breakfast' lines when Selphie kicked me. I looked at her confused and she mouthed 'ask for help'. Of course that would get her upset. She's gotten into her head that I'm going to fail the written and won't make SeeD. Just 'cause I missed a few of my classes she has a fit. She makes her way out and I decide to bite the bullet and ask Seifer, it's not like he has anything better to do right? The conversation was weird to say the least.
"Hey Seifer, before I go can I ask you something?" He turns to look at me giving me his full attention. Not that I'm scared of the man but he can be intimidating when he wants to. Even after spending a whole night with him he made me a bit nervous. Especially when he smirks.
"You just did cowboy." Smartass. That's one thing I like about him. Always has these cynical smart alec comments
"Actually I was wondering what you'd be doing the next few days?" He looks at me curiously at that.
"Not much, just some standard evaluation tests and debrief....Why?" He raises his eyebrow at me like I was planning on executing him or maybe dating him. Anyone else I would have strung along. With Almasy I decided to play it safe. At least until I knew him a bit more.
"Look, I'm not SeeD yet. I've passed everything but the written exam. I take it in a couple weeks and I've been doing lousy in my review classes. Some people said you were good with this stuff. So what do you say?" Did that sound a bit rushed to anyone else. I can ask for help but I certainly don't like to.
"You want me to tutor you?" I decide to wait him out instead of answering
"Sure I can do that. But you better work or I'll get Hyperion out and see if I can motivate you. Got it?"
"Thanks man, when should we meet?"
"Library, after lunch."
I nodded and left. That went quite well. What the others told me about how he used to be I was expecting some insults and a refusal. I should tell Squall he's changed. Maybe they can put that stupid rivalry behind them then.

~~~~ Author's Notes ~~~~

Yeah another chapter done. And about bloody time don't you think. I just want to say this is sort of how I picture Irvine to be like, at least for this fic. So I hope you like him. He did focus on Squall a bit, but he is just a caring guy and Squall and Seifer are the main characters. Well this chapter was supposed to be three journal entries long but each entry started to become too long for one chapter. So I decided I would post the Irvine entry right now so it will give you something to read while I finish Trepie # 9's entry. And hopefully by the weekend I will be able to finish part c Seifer's entry. The next couple entries move us further in time and we should end up about a week? after Squall was made headmaster. The next chapter is tentatively called Leonhart and Hyperion. They should have a little duel and start to thrash out some bad blood between them maybe....
Why Am I telling you all this? I feel bad for making you wait so long so I thought I'd give you a sneak preview of what's ahead. This story was supposed to be four chapters long and have nothing more intricate then Squall dumps Rinoa is made Headmaster, Seifer returns becomes Commander. Commander and Headmaster have a talk which leads to some friskiness in office (as much as you can do with pg13 rating) and the lights fade and curtains close. The End. But Nooo Stupid plot had to come and wreck everything.
Well enough whining from me. Please Review and make me happy. I appreciate all types of comments.