Watching You
Chapter Eleven: Get Set - Go!
By PasifikStar

Author's Note: More "Eternally" lyrics used below. Okay, so I used like one line, but there is one part where Squall says it's not just a fantasy, there's a lyric that says 'it's just a fantasy'. Think about it. -_-;;

* All standard disclaimers apply: I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters.


The door closed behind her and Rinoa took a deep breath. "Father! I'm home!" she shouted.

"How was your shoot?" General Caraway asked as he walked out from the dining room holding a bagel. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

Rinoa nodded, although she hadn't eaten anything since the night before. "Yes. The shoot was tiring. We're not even done yet."

"Is this for clothes again?" Caraway asked. Rinoa nodded once more.

"Not just any clothes," Rinoa stressed as she expertly lied to her father. Actually, it was not a complete lie. She had been modeling Valentine brand clothing the night before. "These were designed by Vincent Valentine himself. THE Vincent Valentine. Do you know who he is?"

"A designer?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes. *Hyne, he can be so dense...* "Obviously," Rinoa sighed. "I'm going to go up to my room."

"I won't be around for lunch or dinner," Caraway said. "I have to go to the race-"

"About that," Rinoa said, a frown on her face as she turned around from where she was standing half way up the stairs. "Auron said that I can't go any more! Why not? You said I could. Irvine and I had everything planned."

Caraway merely shook his head and looked her straight in the eye. "I went to see the area the other day and it's in a dangerous place. Young women like you should not go to places like that."

"But I'll have Auron and Irvine there!" Rinoa gasped. *You lying bastard! It's because SQUALL is there!*

"It doesn't matter," Caraway said. "It's dangerous. It's loud, noisy, rowdy - if you were to scream, no one hear you over the roars of the crowd."

"But-"

"No buts, Rinoa," Caraway's voice was stern and Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "You are NOT going anywhere NEAR the race, do you understand me? Especially tonight."

Rinoa wanted to lash out. To tell him that the only reason he wouldn't let her go was because Squall was there. But if she had done that, she would have ratted herself and her faithful body guard out. Her fists shook at her sides as she turned and stomped up the curved marble stair case.


"So Squall," Zidane said casually as he drank his coffee. "Heard you were with your girlfriend last night."

"Zidane," Squall replied in an equally casual voice. "I heard you want me to pour your coffee down your pants."

"Never mind." Zidane swallowed. Cloud snickered and Tifa shook her head.

"Waiter!" Tifa shouted, raising her hand to attract the attention of a waiter.

"Tifa, PLEASE," Tidus mumbled across from her. He was clutching his head as he stared down into his coffee. His head was throbbing and every sound resonated in his head a hundred times worse than usual. "Ah...dammit..."

"You wouldn't have this problem if you didn't get drunk last night." Cloud scolded.

"Shut up..."

"And you were all over Yuna," Tifa added with a frown. "The girl was close to macing you."

"She was not!" Tidus retorted pitifully. "And I wasn't all over her..." he pouted.

"You stared at her chest before reaching out and saying 'whoa...they're like...REAL'," Zidane added. Tidus tried to glare at him but his head ache didn't let him. "You missed it, Squall. It was pretty funny."

"Did you two have a good talk?" Tifa asked concerned as she pushed her mug towards a waiter and had him fill it.

"Yes." Squall mumbled. He continued to eat his breakfast in silence. As he thought about Rinoa, he struggled to contain his blush. Right before she left, she kissed him shyly and softly on the lips and wished him the best of luck. He missed her already.

"Good, are you all set for the race?" Cloud asked cheerfully. Squall nodded slightly.

"I heard that Rinoa was going to sing the Galbadian anthem, but she was pulled out," Tifa said with a disappointed frown. "They said that she got sick and couldn't make it to the opening ceremonies..."

All eyes, except for Tidus who was suffering from his hang over, looked upon Squall. The handsome brunette didn't utter a single word out loud. *Her bastard father pulled her out. She's not sick. He just doesn't want her near me...* he thought bitterly.

Tifa looked over at Cloud and the others. Zidane wanted to say something, but she shook her head. "At any rate," Cloud said. "Get some more sleep before the race tonight. We'll wake you for practice!"

Squall nodded and lifted his cup of coffee. The darkness within the mug reminded him of Rinoa's hair and eyes and he frowned. It was going to be a long two weeks.


"Irvy!!"

"Selphie!"

"Irvy!"

"Selphie!"

"Oh, shut up already!" Seifer growled as the short brunette ran into the arms of the tall cowboy. He dramatically picked her up and swung her around as she hugged him.

Quistis chuckled as Zell looked up at the massive buildings that were all around Deling City. "They're huge..." he mumbled.

"Zell, you've been on missions here before." Quistis told him.

"Yeah, but I've never been in the heart of the city like this," Zell answered. He looked over at Irvine and smiled. "Hey! Nice to see you again!"

"Thanks for taking care of Squall for Rinoa," Irvine said as he greeted Zell and Raijin, and Fujin with hand shakes. He reached over to hug Quistis with Seifer stepped in his way and glared at him. "Right..."

"So what are we going to do first?" Selphie said as she rubbed her hands together. "We already checked into the hotel..."

"What time does the race start?"

"Opening ceremony is at eleven," Irvine explained as they stood in the lobby of the Deling City Hotel. "But the race will officially take off at twelve midnight."

"What about the tickets?" Selphie asked.

"Open seating," Irvine assured her. "But I can get us into the VIP section."

"Booyaka! Way to go, Irvy!" Selphie said as she jumped up and down excited.

"Rinoa?" Fujin asked, looking around.

"House arrest," Irvine sighed. "Squall's in, Rinoa's banned from going."

"But I thought she was going to sing, ya know." Raijin said with a frown. Irvine nodded.

"She was, but her father had Highwind, our manager, pull her out last minute," Irvine sighed. "I don't know how he did it, but Caraway let him enter the race."

"Well, Squall isn't a commander for nothing," Zell nodded. "I'm hungry, where can I get some food?"

"There's a diner around the corner-" Irvine began when a loud shout cut through the hotel lobby and out to the front doors where they were standing. The group ran inside and froze.

"It's HIM! It's LEONHART!!" someone screamed behind them. The group turned around and watched as Squall strode out of the elevators wearing all black leather. His blue eyes went wide as a wave of women suddenly wash down upon him.

They were screaming and reaching for him as Squall tried, in vain, to rid himself of the women by scowling and pushing ahead. "We should help him." Selphie said. Everyone nodded, but remained rooted in their spots.

"So...whose going?" Quistis asked, noticing that no one was making an effort to move. Everyone seemed to avoid her eyes and she grumbled. "Fine! I'll do it!" She turned and grabbed Seifer's arm. "Ahem..." She shoved Seifer on to Irvine. "Oh my Hyne! World famous models Seifer Almasy and Irvine Kinneas are making out in the lobby!"

As if called by an unknown force, the women who were bombarding Squall turned their heads, giving the brunette just enough time to rush past them. He returned their wave as he dashed out the door to an awaiting taxi that would take him to the track.

Irvine had fallen over a couch and Seifer was on top of him. "Get off of me!" Seifer growled viciously.

"YOU'RE on ME!" Irvine shouted back. He shoved Seifer off and the tall blond fell over to the his side. Raijin grabbed his arm and helped him up as Selphie helped up Irvine.

Seifer was dusting off his white jacket when he looked up and saw rows of women staring at them. "WHAT!?" he barked. Immediately, they scattered and he turned his deadly glare on to a calm and composed looking Quistis. "I can't believe you just did that!" he growled. "Now they think I'm gay!"

"Oh please..." Quistis snorted. She crossed her arms and looked right at him. "At any rate, Seifer, no one will think that. You're much to...well, let's just say you couldn't even count for metrosexual."

"I don't care what think about Kinneas, but I have to correct this problem!" Seifer said. He grabbed Quistis' arm and pulled her forward possessively.

"What?" Quistis spat out, unimpressed. "I'm supposed to kiss you now?"

"Hey, where did Squall go?" Irvine said as he dusted off his clothes. He was attempting to play off what had just happened. "Oh...he must've gone to the track to practice."

"Well, the opening ceremony is several hours away," Selphie said as she ignored Seifer and Quistis' arguing. "What should we do?"

Irvine thought about it for a while and smiled. "You want to visit Rin?"


Seifer frowned as he paid the cab driver several gil. Irvine had claimed that his car only held four people, conveniently enough for him, Selphie, Quistis, and Fujin. Which left Raijin and Seifer to take a cab to the Caraway mansion. Irvine had driven up to the gate and was let in. They drove up the drive way to the mansion and got out of the cars.

"Whoa...what does Rinoa's father do again?" Zell asked.

"He's the General of the Galbadian army." Quistis explained easily. Zell swallowed.

*Geez...* Zell thought to himself as they walked up the steps to the front doors. *Way to pick 'em, Squall...*

Irvine knocked on the door loudly and stood with the others. Seifer was standing behind the group and looked around the sprawling, lush, green front lawn. He remembered driving up that very drive way one summer to meet Rinoa on a date. He smirked to himself as he remembered the door opening to a very angry looking General Caraway.

He heard the door unlock and open to one of the maids with a tall looming male figure standing behind her. "I'll get it," said the middle aged man with the sunglasses on his face. The maid nodded and stepped back inside as he stepped forward. "What is it, Irvine? Who are these people?"

"Auron!" Irvine said cheerfully. "Everyone, this is Auron, Rinoa's new body guard. Auron, these are Rinoa's friends from the Garden. This is Selphie, that's Quistis, Fujin, and Raijin. Over there is Zell and the blond that's brooding in the corner is Seifer."

"I see."

"May we see Rinoa!?" Selphie shouted out energetically. Auron narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.

"She's in the piano room." Auron said. He stepped aside and held the door open for all of them to enter. Irvine lead them through the hallways as the new guests looked around, having never seen Rinoa's home before.

"So this is how the rich live..." Zell mumbled.

"Is General Caraway home?" Irvine asked over his shoulder.

"No, he left for a meeting an hour ago."

"Great!" Irvine grinned and turned into the hall way. They heard soft piano music being played. It was somewhat broken with pauses in the middle. They entered through two large doors into a high ceiling room with a sitting area and a large black grand piano.

Sitting on the piano bench was the infamous singer, alternating between playing the piano and notating it on some sheet music. There was a dog next to her that started barking and Rinoa stopped. She looked down at the dog. "What is it, Angelo?" Angelo stood up and barked energetically. Rinoa turned around and her eyes went out. She let out a gasp and stood up. "Irvine! Oh my Hyne! What are you all doing here!?"

Selphie ran up to hug Rinoa and grabbed on to her just as Rinoa took two steps from the bench. Rinoa hugged her tightly and struggled to hold back her tears of joy as the others approached her. "We're here to see the start of the race!" Selphie said cheerfully. "Quistis talked Cid into letting us all go!"

"How are you doing, Rinoa?" Quistis asked, concerned as she hugged Rinoa and let her go at arms length. "Are you feeling all right?"

Rinoa smiled and nodded brightly. "Yeah...I'm just angry that I can't go..."

Seifer studied her unnervingly. "You see a little too...not angry for someone who can't go..." he mumbled. Rinoa looked down and blushed.

*I've been compensated via last night...* she thought to herself. She let out a slight cough. "Well...it's too late anyway. The word is out that I'm supposedly sick."

"We heard, ya know," Raijin said. "We thought you'd be singing the anthem, ya know."

"I WAS," Rinoa sighed. She sat down the piano bench and ran her hand down her face. "I just found out this morning..."

"Why did your manager pull you out, anyway?" Selphie frowned. "Don't tell me your dad is THAT powerful."

"He's that powerful," Seifer said. "Trust me."

"So what are you doing the whole day?" Selphie said. Fujin was scratching Angelo behind the ear as the dog happily greeted all except for Seifer, who she snarled at every time he got too close.

"I had a photo shoot, but that's been canceled until tomorrow," Rinoa sighed. "So I'm just practicing."

"Are you composing something new?" Quistis said as she looked over the sheet of music on the piano. Rinoa followed her gaze and nodded slightly.

"Actually, I'm just notating an old song for the piano," Rinoa admitted. "I've been working on another piece, but it's not ready yet."

"Can we hear it?" Selphie asked eagerly. Rinoa chuckled and shook her head.

"Sorry, but it's not ready yet!"

"Aww..." Selphie frowned.

"But, I will play this song," Rinoa said. "Have a seat. Irvine, can you go ask for some snacks?"

"Sure." the cowboy said as he stood up from his seat in the sitting room couch. His vacant spot was quickly taken up by Selphie as Rinoa arranged some music in front of her.

"I heard it a while ago and I fell in love."

"The song is THAT good?" Quistis chuckled.

Rinoa smiled softly and put her hands on the keys. *I wasn't talking about the song.*


Squall was sitting under the shade of one of the garages by the race track drinking from a bottle of water as he waited for his bike to be checked up on by his pit crew. His hair was damp with sweat from the riding he had spent three hours doing earlier. He was going to do another one hour of practice before heading off to take a rest before the race.

"Can you believe it? Man, that's such a disappointment," he over heard someone said. "Rinoa's such a great singer! I would've loved to see her perform tonight."

"See, I told you that wasn't her at the Deling City Hotel last night," another man told his companion. "She was sick."

Squall stared blankly at the clip board in front of him and frowned. "Yeah...but I could've sworn that was her."

*It was her,* Squall wanted to tell them. He took a deep breath and put the clip board on the table behind him as he leaned forward and closed his eyes. *She's not sick... NOTHING is wrong with her. Nothing at all.*

"Squall, are you all right?" a voice said in front of him. Squall merely grunted out a reply, but didn't lift up his head. The voice in front of him sighed. "Here."

Squall's blue eyes glanced up slight and saw a folded out phone in front of him. He raised and eyebrow as he looked up at Tifa. "Who is it?"

"A young woman named Selphie." Tifa said with a smile.

Squall narrowed his eyes and realized that she had handed him his phone. He lifted it to his ear. "Hello?"

"I think you might want to hear this." Selphie whispered in a quiet voice. Squall narrowed his eyes, wondering what the hell the short SeeD was up to, when he heard the clear sounds of a piano echoing.

Squall felt his world shut down around him as the only thing he heard was the piano playing in his ear. He closed his eyes as the sweet melody wrapped around him, relaxing him yet stirring him at the same time. The soft ballad was so familiar to his ears. No, it was more than that.

His mind drifted back to a particular moment on a dance floor, in the dim light of a restaurant, as a beautiful young woman held on to him. They had danced in a circle, as if they were the only two people in the room. He could feel her heard against him at that moment as the ballad brought him back to a cherished memory.

Then her voice rang out. It echoed into the phone, but he could still hear her clearly. As if she were right in front of him. "...watashi tachi wa...doko ni iru no..."

*Where are we now...?* he thought to himself. He opened his eyes slowly as her voice changed pitch and sang the chorus. He missed her so much suddenly. He remembered how nervous he was when she asked him to dance. Now he wanted to dance with her again. To hold her in his arms. To feel her safe against him.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, his eyes glazed over as he listened to her sing and play the song through the phone. Was she thinking of him? Hyne, he hoped she was. A small smile tugged at his lips as the song smoothly came to an end. The last note was played and he heard clapping.

"Hey, I know that song..." Zell said. "I've heard it before!"

"Didn't they play it at Xu's birthday party that we had at that restaurant?" Squall heard Selphie asked.

"Yeah! It was like an instrumental version, right?" Zell asked. "Rinoa, is that where you heard it?"

Squall held his breath and waited for her to answer. "Yeah," Rinoa said. He smiled as he heard her hesitant. "I wanted to be there, at that moment...eternally."

"Squall!" a voice cut through his thoughts and he looked up. Cloud was waving him over. "It's ready!"

"Be right there!" Squall replied with a wave of his hand. "Selphie?" Squall said as he held the phone up. He covered his other ear with his free hand to drown out the roar bikes in the background.

"Yeah?" the cheerful brunette asked as the others talked to Rinoa in the background.

"Can you tell Rinoa something for me?" Squall asked.

"Sure! What is it?" Selphie said.

"Tell her that it's not just a fantasy." Squall hung up the phone and put it on the table. He shouted and told Tifa to watch it for him before he rushed over to the motorcycle.

Selphie stared at her phone and looked over at Rinoa. "Hey, Rin!" she said. The dark eyed girl turned to her. "What would you say if I said 'it's not just a fantasy'?"

Rather than get an answer, Selphie received a warm, thoughtful smile. After a few seconds of silence, Rinoa turned back to her piano. She began to play once more. She wanted to tell them what had happened last night. How she had finally seen him after weeks of being apart. How she fell asleep smothered against him, listening to the steady beat of his heart. And how she woke up wrapped in his strong, protective, not to mention naked, arms.

She blushed and stood up suddenly. "Why don't we go to the kitchen?" she asked cheerfully, wanting to change the subject. "Since you guys are going to the G-14 without me, you can at least eat dinner with me, right?"


The group waved as they piled into Irvine's car. Seifer and Raijin were once again forced to take a cab and Seifer made a big deal about it. After seeing them, Rinoa felt herself relax a little more. The smiles on their faces, telling her that they'd see him off for her. The cars drove away and Rinoa closed the door. She leaned against the frame and looked over at the grandfather clock in the hall way.

It was ten thirty. Squall would leave the starting line in an hour and a half. "Rinoa," a voice said to her right. She turned her head and saw her body guard standing there. "You look tired. Have a rest and watch some television."

Rinoa gently pushed herself off the door and headed towards him, but shook her head. "I really don't feel like watching any television right now-"

"I think you might find it of interest." the man's deep voice told her. Rinoa's eyes narrowed slightly and walked down the hall way and into one of the dens. The huge big screen television was on to a cable show and Rinoa slipped on to one of the couches.

"Welcome back to our countdown to the Galbadia-14! The most grueling motorcycle race in Gaia! Diving straight back into our introduction of this year's contestant is our correspondent LIVE in Deling City, Wakka!"

Rinoa watched as the screen jumped to a man with bright orange hair spiked up to a point. He was standing by a railing over looking the starting point within the Deling City race track compound. Behind him, racers were doing some laps around the track as people took their seats. There was also a large screen in the stands across from him where statistics of each contestant was shown.

"Welcome back, ya!" the orange haired man said brightly as he clutched a microphone. "Back to contestant number 21, a young racer from Balamb, Squall Leonhart."

Rinoa's eyes went wide as a picture of Squall's face popped up on the screen. His full name, age, weight, where he was from, and what he was racing with showed up to the right of the picture. Her eyes focused on the solemn looking young man on screen. *Even when he's frowning, he's hot...* she thought to herself.

"Leonhart will be racing for the Lockheart-Strife team based in Balamb. His record time broke records set by the team's very own Cloud Strife, the winner of the G-14 two years ago, ya," Wakka's voice over narrative told the viewers. "Leonhart is also the son of President Loire of Esthar and the president himself has come here today to see his son off."

Rinoa's eyes went wide. *His SON? He never told me...* she thought to herself. She wasn't paying attention to the correspondent's voice was the television did a pan of the track and landed in a VIP box. There was a man holding binoculars and looking out of the glass window. He was pointing to the track and looking down at a young woman, who shook her head.

Rinoa smiled slightly. The man looked very warm and friendly and some what childish as he pointed energetically below. The camera went back to the correspondent. "Leonhart's biggest competition is said to be the second place winner two years ago. Sephiroth, representing his personal team, came in second to Cloud Strife and could not compete last year due to an injury..."

"Auron..." Rinoa said softly. "The G-14 is fourteen days of driving right?"

"Yes," Auron replied. "Each day they are given twelve hours to rest before twelve hours of straight driving across the continent. However, they do stop for food, gas, and pit checks."

"What about the danger level?" Rinoa asked. The program on television was now showing a computerized map of the course.

Auron took a deep breath. "You don't have to worry about-"

"The heat during the fifth day's ride is said to be suicidal, ya," Wakka was saying. "But even after the desert day right, they have to go through the mountains and endure the long journey back."

Rinoa's eyes narrowed and she turned to look at her bodyguard. "Auron, is it really that dangerous?"

The older man took a deep breath and gave her a subtle nod. "It takes a strong man to get through the G-14. Either a strong man or a crazy man. The journey is long, perilous, and the company isn't always the greatest."

"What do you mean?"

"The stakes on this are high," Auron told her. He was standing behind the couch as Rinoa looked at the television. "People have put other people's lives at stake. If you win, you'll not only gain respect of your peers, but fame, wealth, and a lifetime of comfort. For some people, it's more."

"How so?"

"I've heard of a man who entered the race to clear his father's name. I've heard of another who had to win it or the Mafia would kill him. Men do crazy things during the G-14. Things that aren't chronicled at the resting points and only they know about it."

"What if you loose?"

Auron paused for a moment. "Then you loose."


"SQUALL!!" Selphie and Zell's combined voices managed to carry over the roar of the crowd over to the pit. There, a brunette's ears perked up and two blue eyes rose.

He gave the group a questioning look as he stood aside, drinking water. "You still have time." a deep voice said next to him.

Squall turned his head slightly and saw a tall man standing next to him. Long white hair was tied back at the base of his neck as he zipped up an all black racing suit. Glowing green eyes turned to Squall. "Excuse me?" Squall asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"To see your companions before you leave. You have time," the man said coolly. Squall looked at him suspiciously. After a few moments, the white haired man smirked. "You don't trust me?"

"I have no reason to."

"I see you're as stern as they say you are," the other man said. He looked out into the stands of audience around the race track. "I'll admit that I was a bit surprised that Strife and Lockheart were putting a novice like you in the race. But I guess they figured you can take care of yourself."

Squall glared at him. There was something uneasy about the man. "Who are you?"

"Squall!" a voice shouted behind him. Squall didn't take his eyes off the man he was talking to. "Squall!!" the voice shouted again. Cloud ran up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Squall, Tifa's looking for you."

"Right..." Squall mumbled. His narrowed eyes never left the man next to him, even as he turned. Cloud watched him go through the hall way and immediately turned his blue eyes on to the green eyed man.

"You've picked a good one as your protege, Strife," the man said casually as he lit a cigarette and lifted it to his lips. He took a deep breath and inhaled the smoke. "Not easy to trust others."

"If there was ever a race where it was do or die, it's this one," Cloud said. "You stay away from him, Sephiroth."

"Why?" the white haired man scoffed. "Afraid that something might happen to your boy?"

"You never did play clean."

"I never play."

"If anything happens to Squall, you'll be sorry you ever started riding a motorcycle in the first place." Cloud spat out.

Sephiroth gave an unnerving chuckle. "Your threats have no effect on me," he said. "But in the end, that boy's going to be the only one who'll be any real challenge."


"Tifa," Squall said as he reached the little room where Tifa was waiting. She stood up, still dressed as a racing queen in heels and a leather jacket. She handed him an envelope. "What is it?"

"I ran into your little friends," Tifa told him with a sisterly smile. "They asked me to give this to you."

"Thanks."

"I have to go out now and I won't see you until tomorrow when you reach the check point," Tifa said, slightly worried. She cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look up at her. "Good luck, Squall. No matter what happens, think of keeping yourself safe out there."

Squall merely nodded his head as the large chested woman stepped away from him and exited the room. He looked down at the white and pastel colored envelope in his gloved hands. He sat down in the chair that had been vacated and tugged his gloves off. With skilled fingers he ripped the envelope open and let a folded piece of paper fall into his hands.

He never realized it before, but she had delicate, flowery hand writing. Just the thought of her slender fingers running across that very paper with a pen made his heart quicken.

I'll be waiting. Good luck.

A promise they had made hours ago. A promise he hoped she would keep. He looked down at the note once more and slowly folded it up. He slipped it into his jacket and ran his hand through his hair. *I'll win...* he thought to himself as he heard the door open in front of him. *I'll win for you, Rin...I'll win for us.*

"Squall," a male voice said above him. He looked up. Zidane was standing there with his helmet. "It's time."


"Welcome back to channel 11, Deling City's coverage of the Galbadia-14 opening ceremonies!" Rinoa was curled up in her bedroom. She was wearing sweat pants and an oversized T-shirt as she sat up against the head board of her bed. The large television in front of her was showing images of the opening ceremony.

As a young woman ascended the platform in the center of the track, Rinoa frowned. It should've been her who was singing the national anthem. She hugged the pillow on her lap as the camera panned around the singer and alternated with images from the racers and their crews who were seated before the front of the stage.

Every so often, Squall would appear and Rinoa would feel her heart race at the slight image of him. *I hope he got my note...* she thought to herself silently.

Before long, she was watching them on their bikes at the starting point. Squall was dressed in black and dark blue, his bike matching him. He was number twenty-one, but had no sign to show it. It didn't matter to her. She could recognize him a mile away.

She watched the counter on the corner of her screen as they counted down to the start. Rinoa swallowed hard as less than minute remained. "Good luck..."


"Which one is he?" Quistis asked. She narrowed her eyes as she looked over Selphie's head at the race track.

"That one!" Selphie said, pointing to the young man straddling the motorcycle in black and blue. "Number twenty-one."

"They don't have their numbers on them, how am I supposed to know?" Quistis sighed.

"This is so exciting!" Zell said for the billionth time.

"You should see how it is when they return," Irvine laughed. "The after parties are AMAZING."

"To even have a competitor at your party makes it unbelievably cool, ya know." Raijin added.

"They're counting down!" Selphie shouted. "Three..."

"Two..." the others chorused.

"One..." All around them, people began to scream. "GO!!!!" The cloudless night sky exploded in a series of multicolored fire works signaling the start of the race. Everyone began screaming, drowning out the sounds of the motorcycles themselves as twenty-five highly tuned vehicles raced across the track to the gate that opened before them.

Selphie and Zell jumped up and down in the stands, cheering excessively as Quistis narrowed her eyes worriedly. Seifer glared after Squall. *He better come back in one piece. There won't be any living with Rinoa if he doesn't...*

In the VIP booth at the top of the stadium race track, a middle aged man jumped up and down like an excited child as he followed Squall with his binoculars. "He's there! He's close to the lead!" he exclaimed proudly.

"Yes, Uncle, we know...!" Ellone pleaded as she tried to get him off the table he had stood up on. "Please get down!"

"The contestants have now left the gate and are heading towards the borders of Deling City," the PA system reported. They began to give a run down of the contestants and their places. Laguna held his breath as Kiros and Ward managed to get him off the table. "...and coming in first place is fan favorite, Squall Leonhart!"

"YEAH!!!" Laguna shouted, echoing the sound of the crowds below. "That's my son!" he exclaimed proudly to the other people in the booth. "That's MY boy!"

Half the people in the VIP booth looked at him in disdain at his lack of self control. The other half stared at him in shock. "Uncle! Yes! I'm happy, too, but please..." Ellone begged as she tugged on her Uncle's arm in an attempt to get him to sit down. "You're embarrassing us!"

Behind them, a stern looking man leaned back against his chair as he watched the small monitor in front of him. A helicopter was following the group of bikers as they cut through the city in zoned off streets. People were cheering them along on the side walks as they cut through.

A series of police cars followed behind them to make sure that a mob would not follow. It had happened several times before. The man narrowed his eyes and picked up his black cellular phone. He dialed the first number on his phone and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?" a deep voice asked on the other line.

"Where is she?"

"In her room, sir," the man replied as he stood outside the doors of Rinoa's bedroom. He listened closely. "I believe she's watching the start of the race."

"I see," Caraway thought to himself. "Continue your work, Auron."

"Yes, sir." Caraway hung up and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he leaned forward.

*I can't let that boy win...* he thought to himself as he closed his eyes. He felt a head ache coming on. *If he wins, he'll crush Rinoa. I can't let him hurt her... I don't want to loose her...*

"Sir," a voice stated behind him. Caraway opened his eyes and slowly sat up straight. He turned in his chair and saw a lower ranking officer from the Galbadian military standing there with a folder. "The statistics you asked for, sir!" the soldier said formally.

"Excellent," Caraway replied. He took the folder he was being handed and looked at the soldier. "Dismissed."

The soldier nodded and saluted him before turning on his heel and leaving the room. As members of the elite Galbadian society and their guests talked amongst themselves in the room, Caraway opened the folder. His dark eyes scanned the statistics of Squall's motorcycle, Squall's time trails, and Squall's own figures. The more he read, the more he began to find himself regretting his deal.

"Sir! Sir!" a voice said to his right. Caraway looked up and frowned immediately.

"President Loire," Caraway said as he stood up and extended his hand formally. "Welcome to Galbadia."

"Thank you, General!" Laguna said cheerfully. "So, what did you think of my son out there?"

Caraway's jaw locked in it's place as his hand let go of Laguna's. "He seems very skilled."

"I have no doubt that he'll win!" Laguna told him proudly. "Years of being a SeeD has made him prepared for whatever is out there!"

"I am sure he is," Caraway mumbled. He clutched the folder against the side of his body. "I hate to leave so quickly after the start, but I have some meetings to attend."

Laguna nodded understandingly. "Of course, General," he said. He stepped aside as Caraway stepped to the right. "By the way, I'm a big fan of your daughter, Rinoa! She's an excellent singer!"

Caraway stopped in mid step and closed his eyes. "She takes right after her mother," Caraway said coolly. He began to walk towards the door once more. "As a matter of fact, she even wanted to change her name to her mother's maiden name."

Caraway reached the elevator doors and pressed the button. He waited for it to open. "Was her mother a singer, too?" Laguna asked.

Caraway took a deep breath to keep himself from yelling at Laguna and telling the happy President to leave him alone. "She was a singer at a hotel when I first met her," Caraway answered. The doors opened before him. "My daughter is just like her mother," He stepped into the elevator and turned around. "Rinoa is a Heartilly...just like Julia."

Laguna's eyes went wide as the he heard that name. It had been years since he heard that name uttered. The doors to the elevator closed before he had a chance to run in and continue to ask questions. "Julia..." he whispered softly as he stood there. "Julia Heartilly."


*I won't loose my daughter like I lost Julia,* Caraway thought to himself as he quickly strode through he private VIP corridors of the race track. He was heading for the limo that awaited him outside. *Rinoa is all I have left. I can't allow anything to happen to her.*

He pulled out his phone as he neared the exit. He quickly dialed another number and waited for someone to answer.

In the crowds, Irvine watched with relaxed eyes as Zell tried to get the attention of another racing queen. Selphie was holding a camera, waiting for one to walk up to Zell so she could take their picture. Seifer was with Quistis, Raijin, and Fujin buying them something to eat.

He couldn't hear his phone ringing through the shouts of the crowd, but he did feel the vibrations against his leg. He frowned and took his phone. "Hello?" he asked casually without reading the screen to see who was calling.

"Irvine," a male voice said. Irvine recognized it immediately and felt his heart start to quicken. Something was up and he knew it instinctively. "Meet me in the limo outside at this moment."

"Sir?" Irvine asked. "Why-" Before he could ask, the phone went dead and he stared at it.

"Irvy, is something wrong?" Selphie asked. Irvine looked over at her sparkling green eyes and smiled.

"No...everything's fine," he said, offering her his intent smile. "Listen, can you guys wait a few minutes? I just got a call and I need to take it."

Selphie looked at him suspiciously. "Okay..." she mumbled.

"It's not a girl!" Irvine sighed as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. He kissed the top of her head quickly. "I'll see you all in a bit."

With that, he disappeared into the crowds. Irvine headed for the front of the track. As soon as he exited, he saw the black limo with it's tinted windows waiting for him. He took a deep breath and looked around before heading towards the stretch vehicle. He opened the door and quickly got into the back of the car.

"I have a job for you." a deep, stern voice said. Irvine looked up. Sitting at the other end of the limo was a military man holding a thick glass half filled with ice and alcohol.

"Yes, sir." Irvine nodded.

"I'll need your shooting skills for this."

Irvine narrowed his eyes. This wouldn't be the first time he had done something like this. He detested 'jobs' like the one he knew was going to get. "What kind of a job, sir?"

"I'm worried about Rinoa," Caraway stated. "I'm going to ask you to do this not just because you're the best sharp shooter in Galbadia, but because you are Rinoa's friend."

"Of course sir," Irvine nodded. *This changes it...This is the first I'm going to be doing something like that for Rinoa...*

"Do you know WHY I allowed Leonhart to race in the Galbadia-14?" Caraway asked. His dark eyes landed on Irvine's cowboy attired figure. "Despite the threat he is to my daughter?"

Irvine took a deep breath and shook his head. "No sir, I do not."

"He's black mailing us, Irvine," Caraway stated. "He knows Rinoa's secret."

Irvine's eyes widened slightly. No one had told him that Squall knew. Squall hadn't mentioned it at all. "How..."

"Rinoa probably told him," Caraway concluded. "That girl...She trusts one person and she tells him her deepest secret."

"But how is he black mailing-"

Irvine was cut off again. "He came to me and said that if I didn't let him race, he would turn Rinoa in." Caraway mumbled.

Irvine shook his head. "But...he wouldn't..." the cowboy trailed off. "He loves Rin-"

"He loves no one but himself!" Caraway growled, making Irvine jump. "I underestimated him! Any man who would be willing to turn in a woman who cares for him so deeply for his own gain loves no one but himself."

"No..." Irvine gasped. "It can't be. I can't believe it-"

"The only reason I let him race is because if I didn't he wouldn't told his father about Rinoa," Caraway said. Irvine could feel the desperation in the man's voice. "He was on the phone with President Loire. He was about to tell him, if I didn't let him!"

"But now he's racing, so he won't turn Rinoa in." Irvine asserted.

"I don't believe that a man who would dare say such a thing would keep his word," Caraway stated simply. "He'll hold that over our heads whenever he needs something."

"But, sir, can't you keep Rinoa's records protected?" Irvine asked as he leaned forward, looking concerned. "It's been years and no one but us knows."

"I don't want to take the risk," Caraway continued. "Rinoa will be hurt by this, but the sooner he's out of her life the better. If she continues her infatuation with him, it'll only grow worse."

Irvine shook his head. "Sir...you can't possibly be asking me to..." His voice trailed off, not wanting to finish.

General Caraway nodded his head and drank the rest of the orange-brown liquid inside his cup. He brought the heavy glass back down on his lap and looked Irvine directly in the eyes. "I want you to make sure that he doesn't cross the finish line," he told him. "Irvine...for Rinoa's sake, assassinate Squall Leonhart."