Chapter Three:

A Piece Of Cake, Really

"Sssh! I can hear footsteps!" Selphie pressed a small hand onto Irvine's mouth as voices approached them. They lay in the bushes beside the path in the Quad, completely still.

"...go and talk to Squall now . I don't know what he - the Squall from the future - wanted to say about Rinoa..." It was Quistis. Selphie heard another pair of footsteps; a man's... There was a jingle from the loudspeakers and Cid's voice boomed:

"Quistis Trepe, please report to the Headmaster's office. I use this opportunity to remind our students that all facilities except the Training Centre are out of limits after hours. " Another jingle, and the speakers were silent. The footsteps shifted, and Selphie heard Quistis say:

"We'd better go now. I have to hurry. Take care!" And her footsteps went running away. A few seconds later, the man's footsteps followed her. Only when they were out of earshot did Selphie remove her hand from Irvine's mouth, just to find him slightly frowning.

"What's wrong?" she said.

"Apart from the fact that you've pushed me into the bushes, probably stained my coat, demolished my hair, and are lying on me? Nothing." Selphie grunted and rolled off of him. "I wouldn't mind you lying on me in future occasions, though," Irvine said. "Why do we have to keep on hiding around?" Selphie didn't reply, but stood up and brushed grass and dirt from her SeeD uniform. She looked around, and when there was nobody in sight, went on her way towards the Garden. Irvine stood up, sighed, straightened his hat and followed her.

"You're sulking," he said.

"I am not," Selphie replied, not stopping.

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"You so are too."

"Listen, you-" Selphie began, stopping abruptly. She turned around and bumped straight into Irvine. She cried as he grabbed her hips and pulled her close. She looked with narrowed eyes into his ocean-blue ones. He smiled.

"I told you - you were sulking." Selphie bit her lip and looked back into his eyes, her tight muscles loosening in his arms. "You're not angry with me, are you?" She shook her head. He pulled her ever closer, and soon his hands were behind her neck, tilting her head up. Selphie stood on tiptoe, although there was little need for that. She liked standing on tiptoe while kissing Irvine. It made her feel like they were even closer, their bodies melding together... As his tongue played with her own, panicky thoughts crossed through her mind:

"Students are reminded all facilities except the Training Centre are out of limits after hours"... They know? Someone could be watching!

With the speed of lightning, she detached herself from him. Irvine didn't have the time to ask what was wrong when she blurted out:

"They saw us! Yesterday, in the Library! Someone saw us! That's why Cid said that students are reminded all areas are out of limits after hours! They must have seen us!"

"Heey... relax," Irvine said to her. "What does it matter if anyone saw us?"

"You don't understand!" Selphie said.

"No I don't!" Irvine said.

"If you don't understand, then there's no point in me telling you!" Selphie said, turned away from him, and ran towards the Garden. She nearly smacked into Zell, who was just on his way to the Quad, finishing a hot-dog. Zell stopped in his tracks and turned around, following Selphie with his gaze until she disappeared behind the corner.

What's up with her...? Anyway...

"Hey, Kinneas!" Zell said, licking his fingers from the hot-dog. "Squall wants us in his office."

"What for?" Irvine asked.

"New SeeD mission, that's all he said. Don't know what's up with him lately. He never tells us anything anymore, you noticed that?"

"Yeah," Irvine said. "Guess you can't blame him, after Rinoa broke up with him and everything. Damn, that was one ugly break-up... I hope I never see anything like that again." Squall and Rinoa had broken up at the night of the SeeD graduation ball, exactly a fortnight after Ultimecia was killed. Nobody actually knew the words they exchanged, but shouting and the sounds of a lot of objects being smashed upset the Garden's students deep into the night. In the morning, Rinoa packed her bags and marched through Balamb Garden defiantly, not looking back. Squall had tried to stop her at the gates, but, according to rumour, she pushed him aside without even looking at him and was on her way back to Timber. Nobody, not even Squall's closest friends knew the reason of their break-up.


Zell and Irvine entered Squall's office. A wide desk stood facing away from the window which looked onto the facilities of Balamb Garden, and further away, towards the mountains. Squall was sitting at his desk, dressed in his SeeD uniform, his chair turned towards the window, looking at the mountains. Zell shifted his weight a couple of times, the way he used to do when he was impatient or feeling guilty.

"Um... Squall?" he began. "We're here, like you said. S'up?" Squall turned away from the window and looked at them. He then frowned, like there was still someone missing. "You only told me to bring Kinneas along," Zell said.

"Yeah," Squall spoke. "I think he'll be around soon. OK, then. Headmaster Cid's asked me to inform you of you next mission. Balamb Garden's got a message from Timber. Apparently, some of Ultimecia's followers are still alive, and one of their headquarters is in Timber." Squall picked up a ball pen from his desk and fiddled with it, avoiding their eyes. "The possibility that the sorceress is alive isn't excluded. SeeD have been asked to send a squad there in order to help the local government battle and eliminate Ultimecia's followers."

"You mean, she could still be alive?" Irvine said, disbelieving.

"Yes," said Squall.

"Oh, if she's alive, she's gonna get a major whoopin'!" Zell said and punched his fist in the air.

"Zell, calm down," Squall said. "As I was saying-" At that moment, the door slid open and Seifer walked in. He stood at the door and arrogantly swept the room with his gaze. His eyes rested on Squall as he frowned.

"What, is that all?" he said. "Chicken-wuss and his new boyfriend is all I get?" Zell immediately rounded on Seifer, baring his teeth and clenching his fists.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" he yelled. "Say that again!" Squall stood up and slammed his fist on the table while Seifer chuckled to Zell's angry face.

"Break it up!" Squall shouted. "I don't expect you three to go matey-"

"You bet we won't!" Seifer and Zell said, and eyed each other angrily.

"-but at least try to accomplish the mission without jumping at each other's throats every now and then!" Squall finished. "Seifer will be your squad leader. Zell, before you argue," Zell had already turned to Squall and opened his mouth to protest, "you gotta see that Seifer's the most experienced with Ultimecia."

"Why aren't you going?" Irvine said. "You're as experienced as him any day." Seifer didn't say anything, just crossed his hands over his chest, like this conversation was irritating him.

"Because I've got some business here," Squall said, not looking him in the eye. "Besides, Headmaster Cid's leaving for Trabia in a few hours, and there has to be someone to take care of the Garden while he's away." Squall then looked up and looked at them each in turn. "You'll be leaving with the train from Balamb Station in three hours, so I suggest you start packing." When Squall stated that the discussion was over, Seifer was the first to reach the door and leave.


"SEIFER, LEAVE?"

"I wouldn't worry if I were you. It's going to be a piece of cake, really," Seifer said to Fujin, resting the hand holding his black unsheathed gunblade on his shoulder. Fujin and Raijin stood, along with Zell and Irvine, at Balamb Garden's main entrance, waiting for the car which was going to take them to Balamb.

"We're gonna make sure that no one breaks protocol while you're away, ya know?" Raijin said.

"You do that," Seifer said. A yellow mini van pulled by them with a screech of tires and the door popped open.

"Come on!" Irvine said and he and Zell went in the car. Seifer stood a moment longer, eying Raijin and Fujin, but when they had nothing more to say, he too turned away and went into the car.

When Seifer came in he saw, apart from Zell and Irvine, someone he recalled Squall didn't assign to the mission. Quistis Trepe was sitting opposite an empty seat, dressed in her usual attire, her whip lying on her lap, looking distractedly through the window. Obviously, the Chicken-wuss had taken the seat next to her. To Seifer's irritation, there were no empty seats left, so he took the one opposite Quistis. When he did, she averted her gaze from the window and looked at him sternly with her cornflower-blue eyes.

"Put your gunblade away before you poke someone in the eye, Seifer," she said. "Or worse." Seifer grinned in his trademark way.

"Don't worry, Inst- Quistis . The only way I could harm anyone is on purpose," he said.

"Exactly what I mean," she said, not returning the grin. "Put it away, Seifer." He wanted to argue, but just grunted and sheathed the gunblade.

The short trip passed in silence. Even Zell had nothing to say, but just flexed his muscles and cracked his joints. He pulled on his gloves and started opening and closing his fists to exercise his fingers. Seifer stared out of the window at the landscape swishing past, wondering why the hell did he agree to lead this mission. It's not like he had some benefit from it. Sure, there would be a lot of fighting involved, and Seifer loved fighting.

Wimps... let them come! I'll defeat them all, without any help! Let them give me their best shot! I'm ready for them! Heh heh heh... they'll see!

"Seifer?" He snapped from his thoughts and saw Quistis looking at him. "We've arrived." That was true; he and Quistis were the only ones left in the car. Outside, Zell was standing on the sunny Balamb street, grouchily looking in. Seifer stood up and gently - Gently? he thought, What on Earth...? - pushed Quistis aside. He jumped out of the car and his boots hit the sidewalk. The fresh and salty sea air entered his lungs, and as he breathed it in, another grin crossed his face.

Let the fighting... begin!


Author's Notes:

wh00t! End of chapter three! You still interested? You'd better be, because in the next chapter... things really start happening, ya know? g Have you noticed that I haven't introduced Rinoa to the plot yet, not actively? ... Heh heh heh. Patience, patience.