---Chapter 10---

Squall wandered through the old ruins of the orphanage like he did all those years ago when he first became a SeeD. He wondered why the orphanage had been left here to decay and erode and be forgotten with time. He shrugged the thought aside. It doesn't matter now. He was here on a long over due mission to find Quistis. It was a little over a year ago, that she just left a resignation on the Headmaster's desk and disappeared. He wanted to follow and find her then, as did the rest of the gang, Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, and Zell. They spent two months looking for her and everywhere they went their search came up empty-handed. SeeD surely knew how to train their people well, especially when one did not want to be found. It was as though she disappeared. Before he could continue his search for her, he and everyone else was called away to a diplomatic mission in Esthar, which ended up being much too long. He couldn't even remember why they went there in the first place. Everything was quite peaceful already, but Laguna requested SeeD's presence. He was getting restless being stuck at Esthar for nearly six months and as soon as negotiations were reached, he came back requesting for a renewed search for Quistis. In his heart he knew something was wrong, and he was running out of time. He needed to find her soon. Several months had past, and Squall and his companions where becoming desperate, but he felt that he needed to find her. This 'need' within him led him back to these ruin of the orphanage in Centra.

Squall looked up at the sky there was a thick layer of grey clouds looming over head, but he continued wandering around the premises and noticed something, a small cabin that obviously wasn't there the last time he was here seven years ago. As he walked in closer for observation, he noticed a blond man sitting solemnly on the porch, and the man's attention was focused on something hanging on his hand.

As he neared the man, he realized it was none other then the presumably dead Seifer Almasy, and in his hand was a whip, a whip that Squall recognized right off the bat belonging to Quistis. Squall moved closer, yet Seifer didn't seem to notice. He was entirely engrossed with holding and feeling the cool leather-like feeling of the whip warm within his grasp and cool again as he exposed it to the air again. In between his focusing on the whip, he would let out a silent sigh and close his eyes as if to retain a memory that was trying to escape through his eyes.

"Seifer." He could still hear her voice and see her sad smiles.

"Seifer!" This time he looked up and saw it was not Quistis's voice instead it belonged to a man, and it didn't belong to just any man, but from a man from his past, Squall Leonhart.

Seifer only looked up at him and said nothing. Squall was unsure of what to do. He wasn't sure if Seifer recognized him or even cared to talk to him. If it wasn't for the whip in Seifer's hand, he would have shrugged and walked off instead of having to deal with his former rival.

"Um...is Quistis here?"

Silence.

"That whip in your hand looks exactly like Quistis's, so I was wondering if you've seen her. We've been looking for her."

Seifer finally looked up. "We?"

"Yeah, we," he repeated. "Me, Selphie, Zell, Irvine, Rinoa, you know we. So is she here?"

Seifer shook his head slowly, "Not anymore."

"What do you mean?" Squall was becoming impatient with Seifer.

Seifer was becoming irritated as well. "I mean she was here and now she's gone. What don't you understand? Leonhart?"

"Look I'm not here to pick a fight with you. I just want to know where she went."

Seifer looked down and let out a sad sigh. "She went somewhere I couldn't follow."

Now Squall was starting to get irritated, "Seifer cut the crap and just give me a straight answer for once."

"Follow me," Seifer got up and started walking a short distance to a small clearing behind the cabin. At the corner of the clearing, there was a fenced off garden, which Seifer walked towards. He opened the small gate and proceeded into the garden and knelt down in front of something.

Squall followed Seifer from a distance unsure of what to expect from Seifer even after all these years, but for some reason, Seifer's somber mood compelled him to follow. He approached the garden and noticed that Seifer's cheek were moist from tears.

Seeing his rival crying was disconcerting to Squall, but as he got closer, he felt tears of his own creep up as he read in bold letters engraved with golden letters on a flat marble headstone looking up at him.

IN MEMORY OF QUISTIS TREPE-ALMASY

A LOVING WIFE, FRIEND, INSTRUCTOR, AND WARRIOR.

"Trepe-Almasy," Squall whispered.

"Surprised?"

"Yes."

"Didn't think in your wildest dreams I'd marry Quistis did you?"

"No, I'm more surprise to find you alive and Quistis not..."

"She died in my arms and I still can't believe she's gone." Seifer leaned over to brush aside a dry left and glided his fingers over the letters of Quistis's name.

"When?"

"Two weeks ago," he replied his voice was starting to choke up at the memory.

"No, when did you get married?"

"About four months ago at Balamb."

"Balamb? I was there two weeks ago. Ma Dincht said she saw a newly wedded couple there that reminded her of you and Quistis about four months ago, but I didn't think much of it, since we thought you were dead. But something about that news told me to come here."

Seifer's thoughts drifted as Squall talked about his recent visit to Balamb. Seifer reminisced about the day they picked out Quistis's wedding dress. He remembered the fuss she made about not wanting him to see her in her wedding dress, when she was trying it on. He remembered the small ceremony they had. He remembered standing next to her watching her smile radiantly and looking beautiful. He didn't even hear the priest's words. He just remembered Quistis giving him a small nudge and a smile as he said "I do." He remembered their first kiss as husband and wife and...their last. Her lips were so cold by then. The once warm, radiant, and full of life woman that he knew and love was dying and near lifeless. The only sign of life he saw left was in her eyes, which were filled with tears as he held her tight whispering his love for her and comforting her. Now he was all alone with no one to comfort him. The tears returned to his eyes again.

"I loved her," Seifer finally said.

"We all did." Seifer looked up at Squall, who was still standing there. He noticed Squall's eyes were reddening with tears at the realization of the loss of his childhood friend.

As the two men watched each other droplets of rain started to fall around them.

"Could you tell me what happened... after she left Garden?"

Seifer slowly stood up. "Come on" was the only thing Seifer said as he wiped the tears from his eyes and pat Squall on the back to follow him back to the cabin before the rain started to pour.

FINIS

A/N: And here ends my Second Fic! Woo hoo! Well it only took me a year to finish this, and now the end has come! Thanks again for following this fic so faithfully. I promise in my next Seiftis it will be a happy ending. I'm working on it right now as a matter of fact. I may even revise my first fic Hyperion Rose, but that's a big maybe.

Anyways I hope I didn't torture you guys to death with angst and don't hate me for letting Quistis die. Again THANKS A MILLION!!