A/N: I'm so sorry! *sniff* *sniff* waaaahhhh!! (After you've read the chapter, you'll know what I'm blubbering about.)

~ Chapter four: End of happy days ~

The cowboy hid left and right as he made his way down the hall and out of sight from any Esthar Solders or guards. No one noticed that he was here... and by the looks of it, no one noticed his comrades, either. Irvine clutched his lucky rabbit's foot as he ran down the hall in an all out charge to invisible enemies. He climbed the stairs, mustering up all his courage as he made his way all the way to the second floor from the top, forgetting to think along the way. Irvine reached the floor and opened the door to an empty bathroom... it was locked, but he had obtained the key to the place from a guard he knocked out earlier. No one would bother him here...

Irvine saw the sniper rifle and a shudder went through his spine... this was too much! But he had to... Irvine held onto the rabbit's foot extra tight, begging it to give him strength as he walked over to the rifle and touched it... he caressed the silencer part and then took it in his hands to examine it. He quickly determined the model and pretty much everything about it. He looked out the wind that it was underneath, and saw his target: Laguna Loire, President of Esthar and enemy of Galbadia, ally of Balamb Garden and father of Squall Leonhart... a close friend.. and Selphie practically idolizes President Loire! As Irvine got in his position, he couldn't help but to look at his rabbit foot and think about Selphie...

'...line up the shot...'

"Here you go, Irvy! Happy 4th anniversary!" He saw how happy she was when Irvine said he loved it... Selphie looked as cheery as ever... how could he hurt such a perfect creature?

'...steady...'

"It's a rabbit's foot... it'll bring you good luck no matter what!" Selphie said as she had put it back into Irvine's palm. Selphie smiled and kissed him on his cheek...

'...Fire...'

"I've got something special planned!" She glowed with happiness and joy... and, dare Irvine even picture, hope for their future...

BANG.

~

Rinoa and Squall breathed slowly and peacefully in the bed that they shared in their dorm room. Squall rested under one thin sheet on his right side with his legs slightly bent and his arms around Rinoa, who was molded perfectly into the same shape. Rinoa's head was right under Squall's chin and the top of the white sheet went up to her shoulders. Rinoa's eyes were open and aware of Squall's deep sleep... 'He couldn't sleep through the sound of wind...' she thought and smiled to herself. She didn't want to move because that would wake the sound Knight... he must be exhausted! She danced with him just about all night the pervious night at the Garden festival! They both had a great time that they could barely stand when they got home... Rinoa's sleepy eyes once again closed and she smiled as the figures of herself and Squall dancing to all of the waltzes (and laughing as they did so) appeared.

"RING! RING!" The telephone on the right side of the bed, on Rinoa's side, rang out. Squall took a deep breath and his eyes opened as he stretched his arms out to the side. Rinoa opened her eyes again and smiled at the site of his bare chest and the messiness of his usually tidy dark brown hair.

"Good morning..." She said.

"RING! RING!" The phone rang again and Rinoa sighed. She reached over to her bed stand and answered it. Squall got up and he began to get dressed in his usual get up... going out in nothing but blue sweat pants wasn't exactly appropriate! Squall was standing in front of his closet when he heard a long and loud 'gasp' from Rinoa.

"Oh Hyne, no! ... yes... I will... how...? .... Alright... we'll be ready..." Rinoa said, then gently put the phone down as if afraid that the impact would hurt her fragile ears. When She looked back at Squall, he saw that she was whiter than a ghost! She was... holding back tears, it seemed. She looked up at Squall, into his curious eyes.

"What is it?" He asked and did not move; his feet remained firmly planted into the floor as if ready to receive a killing blow. Rinoa turned her back to Squall once more and choked on a sob.

"It's... it's your father, Squall..." Rinoa said sadly in one breath. All of the blood rushed out of Squall's blank face.

"... what-" Squall began to ask but was interrupted by Rinoa.

"He was killed... yesterday after noon... Kiros and Ward are on their way here on the Ragnarok.... They say..." Rinoa said, then turned back to look at Squall with teary eyes. "They said that he was assassinated! Squall...?"

Squall's lips were parted just enough for Rinoa to see his clenched teeth, his eyes were wide with pain and shock and his hands were in tight fists. Rinoa got up quickly and ran to hold him in her arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight as she cried... Squall looked up at the ceiling with such anger and rage... it was as if it was the heaven that had captured his father. Ever since the Ultimecia incident, Laguna and Squall had actually began to act like father and son... thanks to Ellone, who told them their blood relation. Due to her and Laguna's persistence, Laguna and Squall talked at least once a week... and... They had gotten so close... they knew everything about each other! They... actually got along after five years.... After living without a family for so long, Squall had actually got used to the idea of having a father...

"I'll find whoever did this..." Squall said. "And I'll kill him."

~

"Good morning, Irvy! And happy anniversary!" Selphie said as she woke up next to him. Surprisingly, he was already awake and staring into her face. Irvine moved closer to her and lightly moved a long bang out of her face while letting his bare and rough hands lightly trace the outline of her cheek. Selphie closed her eyes and smiled.

"Good morning, pretty lady..." Irvine said softly. He took his hand back and sat up... he seemed kind of distant... and sad.

"Irvy? What's wrong...?" Selphie asked as she got up and used the sheet to cover herself. Irvine sighed but put on a smile for his lady as he turned back to look at her. He leaned over and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Nothin' can be wrong when I'm with you, Sefie..." He said with a twinkle in his eye. He smiled and stood up. Both Selphie and Irvine got dressed in their usual outfits and got all their things together... they didn't exactly share the same dorm room...

"I'm gonna go meet up with Rinoa and Quistis, ok? I'll see you in our usual spot!" Selphie said and started to run out.

"Deal," he said and smiled at her. 'She really is my girl...' Irvine thought to himself as he put on his vest and tied the straps. As he put on his boots, he sat on the edge of his bed... since this was HIS dorm room. '...and I let her down. I... how can I even look at her any more?! ... remember the agreement... remember the mission... Arah! The mission doesn't mean anything to me! Not if Selphie is sad...' Irvine thought and reached into his pocket for his... his lucky rabbit's foot! It was gone! 'Maybe... maybe Selphie took it with her! Yeah... she does that once in a while... at least she didn't see her anniversary present... not yet, anyways...' Irvine thought.

~

"... and that's what happened." Kiros said. Him, Ward, Squall, Rinoa and quite a few Esthar solders were aboard the Ragnarok, which was parked right outside of Balamb Garden. "One shot was fired... but we know there are at three suspects..."

"Do you know who they are?" Squall asked plainly through the shadows that engulfed his face. He sat in a chair across from Kiros and Ward, and Rinoa sat next to him. Kiros reached in his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag... it had photos, reports and a large bulk in the midst of it. Kiros pulled out the pictures and handed them to Rinoa and Squall. Kiros pulled out the report and began to read.

"From eye witness accounts, they say that there were three men; two blondes and a brunette. All three were wearing trench coats and were armed with guns. One man had a regular shotgun and the other had a sniper rifle. We don't know the third had, but he DID fire shots. And... they left a note behind... it said that Galbadia has declared war..." Kiros said as Squall looked through the small shots of the crime scene... and of blurred pictures of the culprits.

"What is this...?" Squall asked as he looked at a photo. He held it up to Kiros and Kiros nodded as he stuck his hand back in the plastic bag and got out something all too familiar. "!!"

"It's a rabbit's foot. It was found in the spot where the sniper fired the shot that killed Laguna... he must have dropped it." Kiros said as he handed it to Squall whom, along with Rinoa, were starring at it in shock.

"No... There has to be... some sort of... mistake!" Rinoa said. "That's Irvine's!" Squall picked up a couple of the photos and saw a blur of a man in a brown hat, tan trench coat... and a sniper rifle... he was the one that ended Laguna's life... Squall crumbled the photo into a ball with one hand... "Squall! You don't think it's him, do you??" Rinoa asked.

No reply.

~

A/N: NOOOOOOO!!!!! I'll kill those three assassins!!! Retribution IS my middle name, you know...