Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII....

Author's Note: Thank you to those of you who have reviewed. It seems like reviews have been getting scarcer of late. I definitely appreciate those of you who took the time to comment, no matter what you said. So thank you!

Azure Sky

Chapter One

Squall Leonhart, commander of Balamb Garden: Military Academy, strode down the hall confidently. He had every right to be confident, too. Squall was not at all a force to be reckoned with. He was the highest ranking officer at Balamb Garden, and some would argue that he even outranked the likes of officers at the other two Gardens; Trabia and Galbadia. Garden's main goal was to train SeeDs, who could defeat sorceresses. For they would ultimately bring destruction to the planet. The whereabouts of the current sorceress, or sorceresses for that matter, were still unknown, but Garden was hard at work on retrieving the location.

Everyone knew the stories about Squall. How he had defeated the most fearsome villain on the planet, or how he had rescued the President's daughter. It was all in a day's work for Squall Leonhart. However, despite his confidence, he was not a happy fellow. In fact, he was quite the opposite. He was known as a lone wolf, not fond of other's company. Perhaps the reason why Squall was so damn good was because he lived for the job. He had no family, and his friends were scarce. Most people feared their commander, because of his position and because of his attitude. Squall was known to have a terrible temper when angry. Only three people were brave enough to face even his worst of moods. Those three people, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt, were as close to friends as Squall had. Still, the man held little trust and, for the most part, remained in the state of mind that once he was on the battle field, he had nothing to lose.

Walking down the hall now, he felt mildly intrigued as to why the Headmaster was calling him to his office now. Headmaster Cid Kramer was really the person who ran Balamb Garden. He had lost his wife only months after they had gotten married. He had established Garden shortly after that. Ever since then, he had been running Garden and serving as the closest thing to a father that Squall had ever had. His own one having walked out of his life a long time ago. Squall had had the past two weeks off from field duty, and he was itching for some action. Sitting at a desk behind stacks of paperwork didn't suit him at all. He was more than ready to get out on the battle field. A moment later, he was in the Headmaster's office getting ready to be briefed on exactly what his new assignment was.

"Ah, Squall. Have a seat, my boy. A new opportunity has come up."

Squall refrained from groaning. Just from the tone of Cid's voice, he could tell that he wasn't going to like where things were going. "An opportunity, Sir?"

"Yes. I was contacted earlier by the president of Galbadia, Vinzer Deling. He had an, er, business proposition for Garden," he explained.

Squall frowned. "Since when do we support President Deling? You know how disliked he is among the Galbadians. Don't you think that if we support him, it will only cause us more problems?"

"Calm down and just hear me out," Cid instructed. "President Deling is currently undertaking a high budget project. They want to build new corporations using the land just north of Deling City. The problem is, the area is all forest. You might ask, 'Well, why don't they just chop it down?' The answer is, they can't. There is an indigenous group living in the depths of the forest. Barely anyone has been able to track them down, and those who have gone say that the people are...less then friendly."

"With all due respect, Sir, why should I care about Deling's problems to find land?"

"I am sending you to said forest to locate the tribe and convince them to leave. Befriend them if you must. Basically, do whatever is necessary to convince them to leave. If worse come to worse, they may have to be eliminated."

"You want me to kill them," Squall said flatly.

Cid nodded. "If it comes to that."

"See, here's what I still don't understand. Why the hell are we working for Deling? I thought Garden didn't get involved in political affairs."

"Think about it, Squall. Garden's funds are low. Without funds, we cannot exist. Plain and simple, we need the money. If that means working with Deling, so be it. I don't like it any more than you do, Squall, but it is completely necessary. You forget that we are a mercenary group. We try to make moral decisions, but sometimes, we need to go against the grain."

"Why me? Of all the SeeDs here, why send me? I'm sure you have more paperwork for me to do. And why send just me, without any backup?"

Cid smiled. "My boy, you are the best, and Deling expects the best. As for why send just you, well, Deling wants this to be kept as quiet as possible. He also wants to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed. Sending you alone is less threatening to them."

Squall nodded. "So, when do I leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Good luck. Dismissed."

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"Rinoa? Rinoa, dear, wake up." A hand shook her gently.

The girl opened her eyes, blinking at the sun shining through the flap in the tent. "Okay, I'm awake," she mumbled.

The older woman laughed. "I can see that."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Aunt Edea, must you always chastise me? Just give me a few minutes to get dressed."

Her aunt smiled. "Don't mind me, dear. I just thought I'd give you fair warning. The tribe is going to need you today. The men will be returning from the hunt soon, and your healing powers will more likely than not be of use to them."

Rinoa frowned. "What about you? You are a healer, as well."

Edea nodded. "Yes, but my strength is not what it used to be. I guess you could say I'm getting old," she chuckled.

Old? Rinoa had never considered her aunt to be old. For as long as she could remember, her aunt had been the strongest person she knew. Everyone in the tribe looked up to her because of her status as a healer and because of her wisdom. Rinoa considered her aunt to be beautiful and often wondered why she had never gotten married or had any children of her own. Even now, Edea was beautiful. Her long black hair had but a few streaks of gray, and her skin was still flawless. "You could never be old, Aunt Edea."

She smiled. "That's very nice of you to say, but I'm afraid that even I must get old sometime. Fret not, dear, for you are still young and beautiful. You look just like your mother."

Rinoa looked down, fidgeting. All she knew about her mother was that she had died when Rinoa had only been a few months old. She knew nothing about her father; every time she brought him up, Edea would divert her attention to something else. The tribe had taken her in, and Edea had always been like a mother to her. "I think I should get dressed now," Rinoa said, shaking off the sad thoughts. "You're right, I will be needed today."

Edea nodded and left the tent. She feared that she had said too much to her niece. Or perhaps...I haven't said enough. Rinoa's questions had been getting more persistent of late, and Edea feared that she couldn't hide the truth much longer. For seventeen years, she was able to conceal the demons of the past, but Rinoa was older now, and she was anything but stupid. I will have to tell her eventually, but not yet. She deserves to be happy for however long I can make it last.

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"So, Squall, they're sending you out on some super classified mission, huh?" Zell asked later that day. Everyone was in the cafeteria, eating lunch.

Squall grunted. "If it's supposed to be classified, then how do you know about it?"

"Well, I don't. That's why I was hoping you could shed some light on the details."

"Zell, do you understand what classified means?" Selphie teased. "He's not going to tell us anything, so we might as well give it up."

For once, Squall was glad to her Selphie's reasoning. Zell had really been starting to get on his nerves. Biting into his hotdog, he said, "I'll be gone for awhile. That's all you guys really need to know."

"I know the mission is classified, so you have to keep details to a minimum, but how long is awhile?" Quistis asked.

Squall shrugged. "As long as it takes to get the job done."

"Ooh, sound mysterious!" Selphie exclaimed. "Are you sure we can't go with you?"

"Yes," Squall said through clenched teeth. "It's a solo mission. Now drop it."

"You're not very friendly today, are you, Squall?" Quistis asked.

Zell snorted. "When is he ever?"

Squall rolled his eyes. "If I knew that this was going to turn into an interrogation, I would have had lunch in my dorm."

"Aw, come on," Selphie said. "We were only teasing you. Please don't leave. At least finish dinner first."

Squall took a final bite of the hotdog. "Oh look, I've finished. I guess I can go now," he said sarcastically as he got up and left the cafeteria.

I don't know how I can stand being around them. I really need to find some new friends. He thought about that for a minute. New friends? He couldn't even understand why the ones he had wanted to stay around him. Alright then, no friends. It's less complicated that way. Sighing, he entered his room. It was time to pack.

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Rinoa walked on the outskirts of town, gathering herbs and other useful plants. Rinoa and Edea were the two healers in the town, meaning that if anyone was sick, hurt, or just needed some advice, they sought them out. Everything Rinoa knew, she had learned from her aunt. Healers ran in the family, and one day, when she had a daughter of her own, she would teach her all she knew. Humming to herself, she worked swiftly. She loved the feeling of the warm sun on her back, and the feel of the fresh grass beneath her feet. Everything was so peaceful.

Her life was in the forest. She felt like that was where she truly belonged. Once, when she had been about six, she had gotten lost and ended up on the edge of the forest. From there, she had seen the city of Deling, and it had frightened her. Once the others had found her, Rinoa had questioned Edea about the city. Her aunt had explained technology and life outside of the forest, although she was weary that Rinoa would crave society and the excitement of the city. However, she had no need to worry. Rinoa was perfectly content with her life in the forest, at least, up until recently.

"Hey Rinoa!" Ellone, her best friend, called. "The men are returning today."

Rinoa nodded. "The game has been scarce of late. Deling and his men have practically scared off all of the wildlife."

Ellone frowned. "You shouldn't get so involved in politics, Rinoa. You know what the elders say."

Ellone was two years older than Rinoa, but they got on remarkably well, for the most part. Rinoa sighed. "I wouldn't dare say it in front of the tribe, but do you ever think that the elders could be wrong? From what I've heard, Deling is corrupt and a horrible ruler to his people."

"How do you know so much about Deling, anyway?"

Rinoa smiled. "Irvine goes into the city all the time, dressed as a regular citizen. He keeps the elders updated, as well as me."

"I'm sure he does," Ellone said slyly.

"Ellone!" Rinoa exclaimed. "You know that we are only friends."
"Of course I do," she winked. "Rin, you know he has his eyes on you."

"On me, and every other woman in the tribe!" she laughed.

Ellone chuckled. "You have a point there."

"What does she have a point about?" a male voice asked.

Rinoa's eyes widened as she spun around. "Irvine! I didn't think the men would be back so soon."

He smiled. "We were lucky. The hunt was a good one. Probably one of the last good ones we will have."
Rinoa sighed. "More bad news, huh?"

Irvine nodded solemnly. "I will inform you later. Come now, it is time to celebrate! There is time for politics later. We need you in the village, Rinoa. Will you come?"

She nodded. "Of course."

They walked back to the village in silence. Despite Irvine's optimistic attitude, Rinoa couldn't help but be wary. Deling needed to be stopped. If something wasn't done, she feared that her life, as she knew it, would no longer exist.

~*~