Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places and bad guys. Please
don't flame, since I have been told I must do this. I will only do it at
the beginning. Please, after reading, if you review it and tell me your
honest opinion, I would be grateful.
It had been two years since Squall and his friends had stopped the Sorceress Ultimecia from compressing time and destroying the world that everyone knew. After the long, gruelling battle, they had returned home, to find everything as it should be. New students had come not long after the Garden had been put back into the crater on Balamb Island.
Many of the SeeD that fought Galbadia Garden had died when the attack had begun. Squall, taking his position seriously, for the first time had brought them to victory on that day, with the help of Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, Rinoa and Zell. They had continued their quest until it brought them to space, where they met Laguna, Squall's father. Rinoa had been taken control of and released Sorceress Adel.
However, they had prevailed through harsh battles and many pitfalls and had finally come back to Garden, following Headmaster Cid's ideals for Garden.
Most of them had become teachers, including Quistis. Rinoa stayed by Squall's side as he used Garden from time to time for big, important missions. He had remained as the commander of Balamb Garden for a year, then, when Garden was no longer needed to fly, he became a teacher and taught "Weapon Tactics".
The last year had ended, with six people becoming a part of SeeD, much to the delight of Headmaster Cid, who kept an eye on Garden even now. The story begins with the New Year looming...
"I don't understand!" Zell shouted angrily, "Why aren't we taking less than normal. Last year we were overloaded with students!" "Because," Squall shook his head quietly, not really wanting to explain himself, "More people wanted to join. We have the space." "But we don't have the manpower to keep an eye on all of them! Seriously man, how many do you think you've accepted now!?" "Nearly one-thousand, Zell. And I'm keeping it that way. We need the candidates. Six people graduated to SeeD last year. We lost nearly one- hundred times that two years ago." Zell shook his head angrily, "Tch! Fine. Whatever you say. I couldn't care less. When's opening day?" Rinoa spoke softly, trying to calm the situation between the two friends, "We have a month Zell and if it's needed, we can always ask some of SeeD to help. They were trained the same way and I'm sure they wouldn't mind working, since we haven't had a job in nearly six months." Zell sighed inwardly, "That's true," Zell looked up quickly, "We could always ask Galbadia Garden for help." "We could," Quistis replied, "But that may not be in our best interests. Seifer runs that Garden now, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure whether he is still experiencing the effect of Ultimecia. It was a traumatic time for him." "Again," Zell replied to her, "Very true. I wouldn't ask that moron for help, eve-" "That's enough," Squall cut in, "He did nothing wrong. He was manipulated much like Rinoa was in the Space Station. We can't blame him for everything he has done and I'm happy enough that he has found something more permanent to do in his life." "It's a good attitude to take," Quistis replied, she glanced around quietly, before asking, "Where's Irvine and Selphie?" "Where do you think?" Zell retorted, obviously unhappy. "Ragnarok." Squall said bluntly, "They've been flying that around for the past few days, going places. Selphie went back up to Trabia Garden to see what was going on and I received communications from her." "What's she saying, man? Spill!" Zell said to Squall immediately. "Well, Trabia's doing well. They've finally finished rebuilding and they have just reapplied for students to come to them. I spoke with the Headmistress, who says that they have eighty percent of their quota filled for the year. Their staff is full and morale is high. Selphie said that they rebuilt the basketball court as well." "We remembered so much that day, didn't we?" Quistis said, sounding questioning. "Yes, we did," Squall replied quietly, "However, Selphie did say that she should be back in a week. That should leave them ample time to get their classes sorted." "What are we all doing this year, Squall?" Zell asked curiously, "It seems we're always mixing and matching." Squall turned his eyes to him, "Well, I'll be taking Weapon Tactics. Zell, your taking hand to hand combat, since it is what your good at. Selphie will be doing Monster Intel; Irvine will be heading the Shooting Range. Quistis, you'll be doing Guardian Force Intel and History. Also, during the exams program, you'll be organizing it." "And what about me?" Rinoa asked certainly. "Hmm... We do need someone to teach the Magic Class. That's right up your alley, what with your powers. Is that okay with everyone?"
Everyone seemed to nod with Zell bouncing around chaotically. Squall shook his head quietly and sighed. It was going to be a long year. After the first few minutes of excitement, everyone left to start planning their classes. Squall walked over to a large filing cabinet, pulling out a large file with a couple of hundred applications. "I have to get this done." He murmured to himself, leaning back in his chair and starting to read the applications individually, stamping them as needed and putting them either in his top tray or his bottom tray.
Later that evening, Squall had gotten through about forty of the applications. His eyes were closed, the scar on his face a constant reminder of the fight he had with Seifer two years ago. It had been a long day for him, writing letters and filing applications. Rinoa had helped somewhat, but even she could only do so much.
He awoke with a start as his door opened and Rinoa walked into his office. She quietly walked to his side and hugged him easily, leaning over him and kissing him softly. He returned the kiss and smiled, yawning afterwards, "What's the time?" "Nearly mid-night. Why don't you come to bed? We can all work through these tomorrow." "I guess your right." He replied to her sensibly. With that, he was dragged back to his quarters by Rinoa, to sleep.
The next morning, Squall awoke at about eleven in the morning, sighing to himself quietly. He could easily imagine the stack of paperwork in his office, since he had only gotten through forty of what seemed endless paperwork.
He got dressed and walked up to the elevator, sighing again. His finger pushed the button on the side and the elevator immediately came down. Squall pushed the third floor button after walking in and it obediently took him to where he wished to go.
As he walked out, he heard noises coming from his office. "Probably the rest of them, wanting to show me schedules." He said to himself. He opened the double doors and was utterly shocked to see the others doing the paperwork he had left for himself to do. Files and random pieces of paper littered the room as they all worked. "What the...?" Squall said, unable to believe what was going on. "Rinoa said that you were in here until mid-night, man. Can't have you doing that, so we all decided to put our heads together and help." Zell replied to him. "Squall," Quistis then said to him, "There are our schedules on the desk. Could you review them?" Squall nodded easily, "Sure."
He walked behind his desk and started to review what they had written, nodding and changing things as he saw fit. It took most of the day, but they eventually finished all the paperwork. They relaxed afterwards and spent the remaining time in the day to review what Squall had written and changed. "It's going to be a good year, guys." Squall commented to them. "Yes," Quistis said to him, "Let us hope that there are students that are ready, willing and able." "There are. Yesterday, I saw three applications from friends in the same town. They seemed competent." Squall replied. "Then, to be blunt," Quistis said to him, "A new year has begun." "That it has." Squall said to her easily.
It had been two years since Squall and his friends had stopped the Sorceress Ultimecia from compressing time and destroying the world that everyone knew. After the long, gruelling battle, they had returned home, to find everything as it should be. New students had come not long after the Garden had been put back into the crater on Balamb Island.
Many of the SeeD that fought Galbadia Garden had died when the attack had begun. Squall, taking his position seriously, for the first time had brought them to victory on that day, with the help of Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, Rinoa and Zell. They had continued their quest until it brought them to space, where they met Laguna, Squall's father. Rinoa had been taken control of and released Sorceress Adel.
However, they had prevailed through harsh battles and many pitfalls and had finally come back to Garden, following Headmaster Cid's ideals for Garden.
Most of them had become teachers, including Quistis. Rinoa stayed by Squall's side as he used Garden from time to time for big, important missions. He had remained as the commander of Balamb Garden for a year, then, when Garden was no longer needed to fly, he became a teacher and taught "Weapon Tactics".
The last year had ended, with six people becoming a part of SeeD, much to the delight of Headmaster Cid, who kept an eye on Garden even now. The story begins with the New Year looming...
"I don't understand!" Zell shouted angrily, "Why aren't we taking less than normal. Last year we were overloaded with students!" "Because," Squall shook his head quietly, not really wanting to explain himself, "More people wanted to join. We have the space." "But we don't have the manpower to keep an eye on all of them! Seriously man, how many do you think you've accepted now!?" "Nearly one-thousand, Zell. And I'm keeping it that way. We need the candidates. Six people graduated to SeeD last year. We lost nearly one- hundred times that two years ago." Zell shook his head angrily, "Tch! Fine. Whatever you say. I couldn't care less. When's opening day?" Rinoa spoke softly, trying to calm the situation between the two friends, "We have a month Zell and if it's needed, we can always ask some of SeeD to help. They were trained the same way and I'm sure they wouldn't mind working, since we haven't had a job in nearly six months." Zell sighed inwardly, "That's true," Zell looked up quickly, "We could always ask Galbadia Garden for help." "We could," Quistis replied, "But that may not be in our best interests. Seifer runs that Garden now, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure whether he is still experiencing the effect of Ultimecia. It was a traumatic time for him." "Again," Zell replied to her, "Very true. I wouldn't ask that moron for help, eve-" "That's enough," Squall cut in, "He did nothing wrong. He was manipulated much like Rinoa was in the Space Station. We can't blame him for everything he has done and I'm happy enough that he has found something more permanent to do in his life." "It's a good attitude to take," Quistis replied, she glanced around quietly, before asking, "Where's Irvine and Selphie?" "Where do you think?" Zell retorted, obviously unhappy. "Ragnarok." Squall said bluntly, "They've been flying that around for the past few days, going places. Selphie went back up to Trabia Garden to see what was going on and I received communications from her." "What's she saying, man? Spill!" Zell said to Squall immediately. "Well, Trabia's doing well. They've finally finished rebuilding and they have just reapplied for students to come to them. I spoke with the Headmistress, who says that they have eighty percent of their quota filled for the year. Their staff is full and morale is high. Selphie said that they rebuilt the basketball court as well." "We remembered so much that day, didn't we?" Quistis said, sounding questioning. "Yes, we did," Squall replied quietly, "However, Selphie did say that she should be back in a week. That should leave them ample time to get their classes sorted." "What are we all doing this year, Squall?" Zell asked curiously, "It seems we're always mixing and matching." Squall turned his eyes to him, "Well, I'll be taking Weapon Tactics. Zell, your taking hand to hand combat, since it is what your good at. Selphie will be doing Monster Intel; Irvine will be heading the Shooting Range. Quistis, you'll be doing Guardian Force Intel and History. Also, during the exams program, you'll be organizing it." "And what about me?" Rinoa asked certainly. "Hmm... We do need someone to teach the Magic Class. That's right up your alley, what with your powers. Is that okay with everyone?"
Everyone seemed to nod with Zell bouncing around chaotically. Squall shook his head quietly and sighed. It was going to be a long year. After the first few minutes of excitement, everyone left to start planning their classes. Squall walked over to a large filing cabinet, pulling out a large file with a couple of hundred applications. "I have to get this done." He murmured to himself, leaning back in his chair and starting to read the applications individually, stamping them as needed and putting them either in his top tray or his bottom tray.
Later that evening, Squall had gotten through about forty of the applications. His eyes were closed, the scar on his face a constant reminder of the fight he had with Seifer two years ago. It had been a long day for him, writing letters and filing applications. Rinoa had helped somewhat, but even she could only do so much.
He awoke with a start as his door opened and Rinoa walked into his office. She quietly walked to his side and hugged him easily, leaning over him and kissing him softly. He returned the kiss and smiled, yawning afterwards, "What's the time?" "Nearly mid-night. Why don't you come to bed? We can all work through these tomorrow." "I guess your right." He replied to her sensibly. With that, he was dragged back to his quarters by Rinoa, to sleep.
The next morning, Squall awoke at about eleven in the morning, sighing to himself quietly. He could easily imagine the stack of paperwork in his office, since he had only gotten through forty of what seemed endless paperwork.
He got dressed and walked up to the elevator, sighing again. His finger pushed the button on the side and the elevator immediately came down. Squall pushed the third floor button after walking in and it obediently took him to where he wished to go.
As he walked out, he heard noises coming from his office. "Probably the rest of them, wanting to show me schedules." He said to himself. He opened the double doors and was utterly shocked to see the others doing the paperwork he had left for himself to do. Files and random pieces of paper littered the room as they all worked. "What the...?" Squall said, unable to believe what was going on. "Rinoa said that you were in here until mid-night, man. Can't have you doing that, so we all decided to put our heads together and help." Zell replied to him. "Squall," Quistis then said to him, "There are our schedules on the desk. Could you review them?" Squall nodded easily, "Sure."
He walked behind his desk and started to review what they had written, nodding and changing things as he saw fit. It took most of the day, but they eventually finished all the paperwork. They relaxed afterwards and spent the remaining time in the day to review what Squall had written and changed. "It's going to be a good year, guys." Squall commented to them. "Yes," Quistis said to him, "Let us hope that there are students that are ready, willing and able." "There are. Yesterday, I saw three applications from friends in the same town. They seemed competent." Squall replied. "Then, to be blunt," Quistis said to him, "A new year has begun." "That it has." Squall said to her easily.
