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

Author's Note: Just a quick little note. You'll probably notice that Irvine is a little more serious in this fic, than in others I have written. I have purposely made him that way to fit his role. That is all. Thanks for reading!

Azure Sky

Chapter Two

Squall stood at the entrance of the Garden impatiently. His train was going to be leaving shortly. Whoever Cid had sent to pick him up was late. I knew I should have walked, Squall thought irritably. Of course, Cid had refused and assured him that someone would be waiting for him "bright and early." Squall sighed, shifting the strap of his duffel bag. "What a joke."

The words were barely out of his mouth when a car pulled up to the curb. Squall narrowed his eyes. Black BMW, flashy license plate... Where have I seen that car before?

The driver honked the horn, then pulled down the window. "Are you gonna get in or what?"

Squall groaned. "Of all the people in Garden, Cid had to send you to drive me?"

The man popped the trunk and got out of the car. "Put that in the trunk," he said, gesturing toward the duffel bag. "And get in. It looks like I'm the only way you're getting to the train station, so unless you'd rather walk..."

Squall reluctantly got into the car. "I would have gladly walked if I wasn't about to miss my train. Why the hell are you so late, Seifer?"

The blonde smirked. "I was busy. You should be grateful that I even showed up."

"Oh, yeah," Squall said, rolling his eyes. "So grateful. Where would I be without you, Seifer?"

Seifer's green eyes narrowed. "I detect sarcasm. So, Commander Puberty, where's old Cid shipping you off to now?"

"That's confidential," Squall replied simply, choosing to ignore Seifer's nickname for him.

Seifer laughed. "You never were one to break the rules. You really need to lighten up a little."

Squall glared at him. "And end up like you? I don't think so."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged. "But I'll have you know, I did a little research. The only train departing from Balamb at this time is straight to Deling City."

"Why the hell would you care where I'm going? Or if I make it back alive, for that matter?"

Seifer smiled. "I've got to have someone to beat up on."

Squall just shook his head. He realized that they had reached Balamb. "Yeah, well, thanks for the ride, Seifer."

Seifer popped open the trunk. "You owe me one when you get back, Leonhart."

Squall slung the bag over his shoulder and smirked. "Sure. I guess getting beaten by me once isn't enough."

Seifer chuckled. "We'll see. Have fun in Deling."

Squall grunted in reply and made his way to the station. He had a train to catch.

"Angelo!" Rinoa ran up to her dog, giving her a big hug. "I missed you, girl!"

Irvine smiled from his place behind her. "She was invaluable to us on our hunt. Thank you for letting us take her."

Rinoa nodded, stroking Angelo's fur. "Yesterday...you said that you would talk to me later. Have you heard anything new about Deling?"

"Yes. I don't want to worry you, Rinoa. Besides, the elders don't think that the women should be concerned with such matters."

Rinoa stomped her foot angrily. "You are a fool if you believe such nonsense! Irvine, please. You've never cared about what the elders thought. I need to know what's going on."

Irvine sighed. "You have to promise me that whatever happens, you won't do anything irrational. I know how you can be when you're upset."

"I won't do anything, okay? Just tell me what's going on."

"Okay," he said reluctantly. "But not here. We need to go somewhere private, where the elders have no chance of hearing what we say."

Rinoa nodded. "Come into my tent. My aunt is with the elders right now, so it will be empty."

Irvine looked skeptical. "Don't you think it would raise a few eyebrows if we were alone in your tent?"

Rinoa was surprised. "You never seemed to care before. Come on, Irvine. I've seen you in the other girls' tents."

He looked away embarrassedly. "It's not me I'm concerned about."

"Listen, if anyone questions us, you were in my tent because you were ill. I am the healer, after all."

"Alright," he said, finally giving in. "But hurry up. I'm supposed to meet the other guys at the lake soon."

Rinoa nodded and led him into her tent. "Have a seat and tell me what you found out."

He obliged. "There is word that Deling is heading up a big project. One that involves cutting down this forest and building industrial compounds."

Rinoa's eyes widened. "You can't be serious! He can't just cut down the forest! Not only will he be destroying the wildlife, but he would be putting us out of our home!"

Irvine nodded gravely. "Deling isn't stupid He is well aware that we live here. The wildlife is a minor concern. I told you that the game has been scarce if late. Deling has already started to rid the forest of them."

"What about us? You said that he knows we're here. What does he plan to do about us?"

"Us?" Irvine laughed bitterly. "We're his latest challenge. As we speak, he's plotting our demise."

"What do you think he will do?" she asked quietly.

"From what I've seen, I wouldn't be surprised if he knocked down the whole forest, forcing us out. You see, Deling is far too much of a coward to face us head on." Irvine grinned. "He's heard the stories, and we're not exactly making it easy for him to find us."

"So what, exactly, are we supposed to do in the meantime? Sit here and wait for our home to be destroyed?" Rinoa asked incredulously.

"We wait until we have a better assessment of the situation. We'll probably make a few more trips into the city to see what information we can gather."

"I want to come with you."

Irvine's eyes widened. "Rinoa...you know you can't."

"Why not?" she demanded. "Because I'm a woman?"

"You know the elders won't stand for it. Besides, it's dangerous in the city and your healing skills are needed here."

Rinoa waved that aside. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. As for my being needed here, I highly doubt that something will come up that my aunt can't handle."

Irvine shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rinoa, but the answer is still no. You promised me that you wouldn't get involved."

"Listen to you!" she shouted angrily. "I'm sorry, but I am already involved. I won't let any dictator destroy my home for his own selfish purposes. I am going to help, whether you like it or not!"

"I can't talk about this right now. The guys are waiting for me. Please, don't do anything you'll regret."

Rinoa folded her arms across her chest stubbornly. "I'm not making any promises, Irvine." With that said, she turned and fled from the tent.

Squall leaned back in his seat wearily. According to the conductor, they would be reaching Deling City within ten minutes. Squall had decided that the best way to go about winning the trust of the indigenous people was to pose as someone who had a plausible reason for being there. After much thought, and discussion with Cid, he had decided that he would pose as a researcher who wanted to study life in the forest. Hopefully, he would eventually be able to convince them to leave the forest. From what I've heard, this isn't exactly going to be an easy task.

Once the train arrived in Deling, Cid had informed him that he would be meeting with a man named General Caraway. They had spoken a few times over the phone, and had met several times, as well. Caraway was in close contact with Deling, and would give everything that was needed for the mission to Squall. Still, Squall wasn't exactly thrilled with having to live in the forest with a strange group of people for God only knows how long. It made him wonder just how he got into these situations in the first place. Surely, if he really wanted to, he could just come out and refuse Cid. It's funny...I've never refused a mission before. Maybe I can't, after all.

Squall shook his head, trying to get his mind back on the mission, and off of his personal life. Not that he really had one to begin with. He was basically the epitome of someone that lived for the job. Squall wasn't so sure that that was something he wanted, but there was no going back now. He had a job to do, a reputation to uphold. Still, there was a little voice in the back of his head that was telling him something was wrong. Garden never meddled in political affairs, so Squall was still finding it hard to believe that Cid had accepted a proposition from Deling, of all people.

The sound of the conductor's voice over the speakers broke his thoughts. He hadn't even realized that the train had come to a stop. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have now arrived in Deling City. All passengers may disembark the train at this time. We hope that your trip is enjoyable. Thank you."

Grumbling, Squall grabbed his duffel bag and followed the line of people off the train. He had heard the same speech hundreds of times before. What did the conductors care about passengers? What they cared about was getting their paycheck, and being nice so the customers would come back for more. Squall would much rather have taken the Ragnarok, but that had been impossible. First of all, it would attract too much unwanted attention. Secondly, Garden couldn't afford to have the airship gone for the indefinite amount of time that Squall would be. Still, he felt himself missing the idea of having the Ragnarok all to himself. He wasn't exactly one who liked being around crowds.

As soon as he got off the train, Squall grabbed the nearest taxi and had the driver take him to the Caraway Mansion. It seemed like a waste of a house, really. Squall didn't know all the details, but General Caraway's wife had died almost eighteen years ago. There was talk he had a daughter, but if he did, no one ever mentioned her. It was as if all traces of her existence had vanished. Now, Caraway lived alone in the massive mansion, with no one but the assortment of his employees. The house looked strangely...eerie. With those thoughts on his mind, Squall knocked on the door.

A minute later, the door swung open, revealing a middle-aged man who couldn't have been anything but the butler. "Ah, Mr. Leonhart, I presume?" he greeted him. "The General has been expecting you. Please, right this way."

Squall followed him through the main hall, past the staircase and into a side room. The room turned out to be a small parlor, also serving as a study, by the look of the desk on the far right. Looking out the window, a glass of sherry (or so Squall guessed) in his hand, was the General. He turned around as he heard them enter.

"Leonhart." Caraway nodded politely. "Have a seat. Cid informed me that you were on your way. How was the ride over? Not too horrible, I hope."

"It was fine."

"Ah, I shudder to think of traveling any way other than first class. It's a shame that we need to keep this operation low-key. Otherwise, we could have gotten you a suite."

Squall nodded. "I believe that you are supposed to be preparing me for my mission."

The General smiled. "Ah, yes. Would you like a glass of sherry?" he offered.

"Sorry, but I don't drink on the job," Squall said coldly.

Nodding, Caraway took a seat. "I can see that you are eager to be briefed. In all honesty, nothing has really changed since we spoke last night. Your main objective is to convince the tribe to leave the forest. We don't want to take violent action unless it is absolutely necessary. That is our last resort. Understood?"

Squall nodded. "My cover is a researcher interested in the forest and their way of life, correct?"

"Yes. Which brings me to a concern on mine. You don't exactly seem like the kind of person fit for the job that will be your alias. Are you prepared to convince those people that you are who you say you are?"

"I was told that you would be providing me with the necessary materials to assist me," Squall told him.

"Yes, but that is not what I meant. What I would like to know is, how are your acting skills?"

"With all due respect, Sir, I see what you're getting at. I don't think that my attitude will be a problem. My only concern is to get the job done. You don't need to worry about that not happening."

Caraway nodded. "Good. Now that we've taken care of that little matter, I'll give you your things, and you can be on your way."