The vessel pulled into Balamb dock late that afternoon. Squall quietly dismounted the vessel, followed by Zell, Selphie, and Seifer. Fujin and Raijin were waiting there for their posse leader.

"SEIFER!" Fujin called out loudly, excited to see him.

"How'd it go?" asked Raijin.

Fujin and Raijin were an odd pair. Someone would never guess that they were brother and sister, they were the complete opposite of one another.

Fujin, with her silver hair, uniform, and eye patch, looked stern, strict, and unemotional. Her ghostly pale skin gave her an even more uptight appearance.

Raijin, on the other hand, had a deep, natural tan. He wore a open vest which exposed his bare chest, and loose dark blue trousers. Always relaxed, and a bit of an airhead, Raijin was rarely good for a serious conversation. But he surprised even his sister on occasion.

"Man, all they did was get in my way," Seifer complained to his friends with a sigh. "Being a leader ain't easy."

"SAFE?" Fujin asked, in her usual manner, but slightly concerned. Her way of communicating was odd. She only spoke one or two word sentences, and spoke them loudly to get her point across.

Seifer didn't speak, he simply shrugged his shoulders, then lead his posse over to the yellow Balamb vehicle they had arrived in much earlier that day.

After having a few last words with Xu, Quistis then departed from the vessel.

"Good job!" she congratulated everyone with a few claps, then looked around. "Where's Seifer?"

Squall pointed over to where Seifer had walked off.

"Just be back at Garden by sundown," Quistis instructed, glad that each of her students were safe and accounted for. "You're all free 'til then. Ok, dismissed!"

As Squall started to follow Zell and Selphie into the town of Balamb, he looked back at Quistis. He wanted to thank her for her help at the beach. But, for some reason, he decided not to. She was an Instructor, after all – any person of authority from Balamb Garden would have acted in the same way.

"You're free to go," Quistis told him again, after noticing that Squall was looking at her. "You can buy some souvenirs, have a review meeting - it's up to you. I recommend you go back and rest, though."

Squall nodded again, then followed his friends. Reaching the dock, the three students had arrived just in time to see Seifer driving away in the Balamb vehicle, taking only Fujin and Raijin with him.

"H-hey!" Zell ran after it for a few steps, but he was never going to catch up with it. "Not again! Man, there goes Mr. Ego..."

"Might as well walk it," Squall said glumly to his friends.

Zell, who was from Balamb, lead the two through the quaint little town. It was only a few minutes before someone recognised him.

"Hi, Zell!" a man sat on a bench called out with a wave. "How are you doing?"

"You know me," Zell boasted, punching his chest. "I'm always good."

"Good," the man smiled. "Make sure you stop by and say 'hi' to your mum."

Zell's house was right opposite, so the Balamb students trooped down a small flight of stairs and through a slightly rounded wooden door. It opened with a creak and Zell popped his head round to see if anyone was home. As a matter of fact, there were quite a few people there, including Zell's matronly mother.

"Ma, I'm home," he called out with a grin as they entered the cosy house.

"Zell, what a surprise!" Ma Dincht turned around from the stove and noticed her son and his fellow students. "Do you have a day off?"

"Nah, outdoor class," Zell explained, then turned to the others. "This is my house. But don't make yourselves too comfortable!"

"Why?" Squall asked, raising an eyebrow. He found it quite rude, and began making his way over to the stairs that lead upwards.

"Yo, Squall! That's my room up there! It's sacred!" Zell explained. "So just keep out!"

"Whatever," Squall muttered, then looked down at the floor as two small children crawled past him.

"Are these your brothers and sisters?" Selphie asked with a giggle as a baby girl began tugging at the ties on her boots.

"Nah, nah," Zell shook his head and laughed. "Ma helps some of the mom's in Balamb by babysitting sometimes. Come on through, I'll get us some snacks."

He lead Squall and Selphie into the dining room where they took seats at the table. As Zell passed him a drink and a hot dog, then began chatting to Selphie, Squall couldn't help but listen in on a conversation between an old man and a little girl.

"Long, long ago, when this world was just made," the man was saying, in a storytelling voice, "There was a strong god called Hyne."

"And, and?" the girl asked impatiently, raising up slightly from her chair.

"This god was very, very strong, but after fighting a lot of monsters, he became very tired," the man continued, faking a yawn. "So he made 'people' like you and me to do all the work, and the god went to sleep."

"So he took a nap?" the little girl asked.

"That's right," the old man nodded kindly. "However, the god was very surprised when he awoke. Surprised that there were so many people."

"Yeah, there are so many people in this world," the girl agreed.

"Hyne decided to reduce the number of people by taking away the children," the old man said spookily.

"You mean...children like me...?" the little girl squeaked.

"Uh huh. Scary, isn't it? Of course, everyone was scared then, too," the man continued. "And so, the battle against Hyne began. Even though the people were small, they all got together, and finally cornered him."

"Wow!" the girl exclaimed with excitement.

"Hyne didn't know what to do. Out of desperation, he gave half of his body to the people and ran off with the remaining other half."

"He can do that?"

"Well, he was a god. Anyway, it turns out Hyne tricked the people. The half that Hyne ran away with was the half that had the stronger magic."

"Wow...So we still can't find the other half that ran away?"

"Hmmm...It might be close by, actually. It might even be watching you."

Squall shuddered very suddenly. He couldn't help it.

"Wassup, Squall?" Zell asked with concern. "You cold?"

"No," Squall shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

Actually, he wasn't fine at all. He was spooked out. He knew what that shuddering feeling was – people used to say it happened when someone walked over your grave.

"Come on, Squall," he told himself. "Get a grip. It's just a kid's fairytale."

"Well, we should probably be going back," Zell said, climbing to his feet. "Bye, Ma!"

His mother waved goodbye to him as the students left, stepping back out into the warm sunlight and cool breeze. Squall felt a little better as they began to make their way back to Balamb Garden. The road was long, but well paved, and Squall, Zell and Selphie got back to Garden just before sunset.

Upon reaching Garden's front gate, Zell spread his arms wildly and yawned loudly.

"Huuuwahaah! Finally made it back," he smiled.

"Seriously," Selphie agreed, rubbing her sore legs.

"Well, I guess we just wait for the test results," Zell concluded with a shrug. "'Til then. See ya, Squall."

"See ya!" Selphie waved as she followed Zell on the way to their dorms.

As Squall walked into Garden, he saw Xu, Quistis, and Headmaster Cid standing by the directory, and couldn't help overhearing their conversation as he walked past.

"Mission complete!" Xu said gladly, clasping her hands together. "I think we did a pretty good job. The candidates are all back safely, right?"

Quistis nodded her head, and Xu continued.

"Although we didn't realize at first that the Galbadian army was after that abandoned communications tower," she said.

"We've just received word from the Dollet Dukedom," Cid explained. "The Galbadian army has agreed to withdraw, as long as the communications tower is repaired and the up-link remains operational."

Both Xu and Quistis frowned at this. They and their candidates hadn't fought so hard just to have Galbadia making demands, but they were glad to hear of the withdrawal.

"Well, in any case, Galbadia is out of there," Xu said optimistically. "But we could've made more money if they'd stayed and caused more agro."

"Hey! you did pretty well today!" she commended, noticing Squall.

"Of course!" Quistis smiled. "He's my best student..."

Squall didn't say anything.

"He's not very social though," she laughed.

"How did it feel out there on the battlefield?" Cid asked Squall excitedly.

Squall wasn't really sure how to answer the headmaster. It was exciting, a real adrenaline rush, to be out there. But Squall didn't want to sound over-emotional about it.

"It felt pretty good, to be out there and actually fight," he finally said.

The headmaster always enjoyed the student's enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit!" he said, then warned, "Just don't let it go to your head."

"The results for the exam should be announced soon, just stick around here," Quistis told Squall, who went to sit down for a moment.

It had been a hard day. He had almost no time to rest since he had left the Infirmary that morning. He hadn't even had very much to eat that day, but he was concerned with other matters.

No matter how much Quistis and Xu commended him, Squall couldn't help feeling that he may not have passed the exam. Perhaps Zell had been right all along, and they never should have gone up to the communication tower. He wouldn't know, he'd have to wait for the results to be given out by one of the Garden Faculty.

Squall became restless just sitting there on the bench, so he went to walk around a bit.

As he passed by the library, he noticed Seifer. He was standing by the library entrance, looking off into the distance. After a minute, he noticed Squall, and began talking to him.

"D'you hear about the communication tower in Dollet?" he asked a little glumly.

Squall nodded, not sure why Seifer seemed so preoccupied with the subject.

"We would have been heroes if it weren't for that withdrawal order," Seifer said, quietly but angrily.

"You were only looking for a fight," a voice said, and Quistis walked over followed by Xu.

"My dear instructor," Seifer began, mocking respect for her. "I'm hurt. Those are rather cruel words for an aspiring student."

Seifer had an excuse, or at least an annoying retort for everything. Quistis was sick of hearing his 'speeches'. She sighed heavily.

Seifer, noting Quistis expression, narrowed his eyes and hardened his voice.

"A mediocre instructor like you will never understand," he said coldly.

"Seifer, don't be so stuck on yourself." Xu replied, defending her friend. "You'll take all responsibility for leaving the designated area."

"Isn't it the captain's duty to take the best possible action?" Seifer argued.

Xu had heard enough from him. After taking this many exams, he should have known better. Seifer had broken orders, endangered the mission, and hadn't even worn his uniform for the assignment. He was going to hear it like it was now.

"Seifer," she began very harshly, "You'll never be a SeeD! Calling yourself a captain is a joke!"

Xu's words cut deep into Seifer's pride, finally pushing him off the edge. For once in his life, he had no clever retort, no sarcastic remark, no offensive insult … the words just echoed in his head like daggers stabbing his chest: "…Never be a SeeD … a joke…"

Seifer hung his head, shaking with anger. Xu simply walked off, content that she had put him in his place.

Headmaster Cid walked over to the group, then dismissed Quistis. She bowed and walked away with Xu.

The Headmaster looked saddened more than angry, but his tone of voice was harsh.

"Seifer," he started, "You will be disciplined for your irresponsible behavior."

Seifer said nothing, he didn't even acknowledge the Headmaster, and simply kept staring down at his boots.

"You must follow orders exactly, during combat," Cid continued, "But I'm not entirely without sympathy for you. I don't want you all to become machines. I want you all to be able to think and act for yourselves. I am..."

A robed Garden Faculty member appeared behind Seifer, staring at Cid, and he interrupted.

"Headmaster, you have some business in your office..." the Garden Faculty member said impatiently.

Cid sighed.

"There are so many issues at hand here," he said to no-one in particular, or maybe just to himself.

Cid finished, and walked off abruptly.

Seifer still stood there, staring at the floor in silence. Squall thought it would be better to leave him alone, but just then an announcement came over Garden's P.A. speaker system.

"All students who participated in today's field exam, report to the 2nd floor hallway," a voice crackled, as Squall began walking away from the library entrance.

"I repeat. All students who participated in today's field exam, report to the 2nd floor hallway."

"Finally..." Squall thought, running up to the elevator.

The hall was littered with nervous students. Squall saw Zell, pacing back and forth, biting his lower lip and his hands rooted firmly in the back pockets of his trousers.

"S'up," he greeted quietly. "Only our squad and squad D in this room. Said they're gonna call out names … one at a time."

Suddenly, a Garden Faculty member appeared, startling all the cadets. He held a clipboard in one hand, with a list of the names of each student that had passed.

"The following students from squad's B and D successfully completed today's SeeD exam," the Garden Faculty member began, then paused to create suspense. He peered down at the list. "In alphabetical order…"

"Get on with it, man!" Zell whispered to himself. The tension in the room was horrible.

"Dincht," the Garden Faculty member finally called out. "Zell Dincht."

"OHHH YEAAHHHH!!!" Zell's eyes widened with excitement, and he jumped into the air, punching it with both fists. He then gleefully marched down the hall, and into the elevator to ride up to the third floor, where the successful students would be officially welcomed to the ranks of SeeD in the Headmaster's office.

"Squall," the Faculty member called out. "Squall Leonhart."

Squall felt his heart rise proudly in his chest, but he walked calmly and silently to the elevator. He was excited, but he wasn't about to make a fool of himself by showing it. It just wasn't his nature to react in a similar way that Zell did.

The Garden Staff member looked at his list once more, and lifted his head.

"That is all," he concluded. "You are dismissed."

Several students hung their heads, some clicked their fingers, and others muttered condolences to their friends "Ohhh, unlucky." But they all walked off together, feeling dejected.

Cid's office was quite a different atmosphere, and Squall realised that he had never actually been in it before. It was quite a rare occurrence, to be called up to the Headmaster's office.

It was a fairly plain room, mostly maroon in color, with wooden furniture and simple decorations, such as lamps, a framed certificate, and so on. T Headmaster stood before the students whose names had been called, and smiled proudly.

"These are the four students that passed today's exam," a Garden Faculty member who was stood by Cid's side explained.

Squall, who was stood neatly in the row, leaned forwards slightly and looked at the other three students. They were Zell, Selphie, and one other male student who Squall didn't know. That was all. Out of the twelve, they were the only ones who had qualified as SeeDs. Only then did Squall realize what an honor, and how difficult it was, to become a SeeD.

"First of all, congratulations," Cid began his speech. "However, from now on, as a member of SeeD, you will be dispatched all over the world. We are proud to introduce SeeD, Balamb Garden's mercenary soldiers. SeeD soldiers are combat specialists. But...That is only one aspect of SeeD. When the time comes-"

"Headmaster, it's almost time for the meeting," the Faculty member interrupted. "Please keep this short."

Unfortunately, Cid was not the only driving force at Garden. In fact, his influence over mission acceptance, and many other decisions, had become increasingly limited, unbeknownst to everyone but himself, and the Garden Faculty. The real influence over such decisions was not interested in SeeD's true purpose. And the Garden Faculty, employed by the very same person, were to look out for monetary interests alone. They discouraged Cid from saying anything which made that seem as if money were of secondary importance.

"SeeD is a valuable asset to Garden. Its reputation is solely dependent on each one of you. Handle your missions with care," the Garden staff attempted to finish Cid's speech. "Is that what you wanted to say, sir?"

Cid didn't reply, and instead walked over to each student, congratulating them one at a time. They also received their brand new SeeD uniforms, that were even customized with name tags. The Headmaster picked up the four packaged uniforms from his desk and looked at the first one.

"Selphie," he read out, and walked over to her, at the end of the row. He then handed her her uniform, shook her hand, then leant forwards and whispered in her ear. "I'm looking forward to the Garden festival!"

"Nida," he read the second uniform, and did the same to the unknown male student. "Do your best, even if you don't stand out."

"Zell," Cid smiled as he walked over to Zell, who has been shaking nervously the whole time. Zell accepted the uniform with unsteady hands. "Try to control your emotions a little."

"And Squall," Cid said, handing him the last uniform. "Finally, a gunblade specialist."

"This ends the SeeD inauguration," Cid concluded, returning to the center of the room. "Dismissed!"

All four students gave a salute, and left the room happily. Squall was on his way out as well, when Cid stopped him.

"Oh, Squall, let me give you this," he said, handing Squall what appeared to be a small, hand-held computer. "It's used for recording battle information. I thought you might enjoy it." The headmaster smiled and whispered something else. "We'll talk privately one day."

Squall thanked him, a little confused, and exited the headmaster's office. He looked at the score sheet which had been handed to him along with his uniform. It was broken down into 5 sections, each with a score out of five, and then a final score out of 10 – his SeeD ranking.

Conduct … 3

Judgement … 4

Attack … 5

Spirit … 4

Attitude … 3

SeeD ranking … 9

Comment … Well done! Glad to have a gunblade specialist on the SeeD team.

A SeeD rank of 9. Not top of the class, but quite impressive, Squall decided. On the floor below, Selphie and Zell were prancing about excitedly.

"SeeD!! SeeeeD! SEEEEED!!!" Selphie recited, skipping around.

"OHHH YEAAAHHH!!" yelled Zell, linking arms with her and then they swung each other around, laughing happily.

Squall was happy too, but there was one thought that bothered him.

After new SeeD's were enrolled, an inauguration prom, or ball, celebrating their achievement was held. Squall thought it was frivolous, and unnecessary, but it was expected of him to attend, and he wasn't about to start breaking orders his first day on the job.

Outside, on the second floor corridor, Seifer was waiting for Squall. As the new SeeDs walked out, they saw him standing there with his 'posse'. Seifer looked dead serious, and Zell thought that he was going to start a fight. But he didn't. Seifer just stood there, and then... he clapped.

"Huh...?!" Squall thought, trying to figure out what Seifer's angle was. But then Squall realized that his gesture was actually, for once, sincere.

Fujin followed suit, as did Raijin and several other students, most of which had been in the exam.

Squall was embarrassed - they all were. Even after all Seifer had said, and in spite of the fact that he had not passed the exam, he was congratulating them now. It was the most respectful thing Squall had ever seen Seifer do. It surprised him, to say the least. Maybe Xu's hurtful words had really changed Seifer for the better. They'd just have to wait and see.