Savior
By Leanne Ashley

Quick summary: (AU) SeeD battles Ultimecia & her followers. When a prophecy foretells the coming of a savior (Sorceress Rinoa) SeeD, led by Squall, is ordered to protect her from Galbadia's assassins as she journeys to defeat Ultimecia. Squall/Rinoa

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3: Chasing a Fairytale
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

He opened his eyes slowly to the sound of birds chirping. As his eyes adjusted to the bright lights, he immediately recognized the ceiling he stared up at. He was in the Balamb Garden infirmary; a place he'd been many times before. As he opened his eyes wider, he felt the heavy bandage that was wrapped around his forehead. The pain between his eyes had been thankfully reduced.

"How are you feeling?"

Turning his head to the side, he noticed Dr. Kadowaki walking in from the next room. Slowly, he sat himself up in a sitting position. "…Okay." He answered.

Dr. Kadowaki stood by his bed and began jotting down notes. "Take it easy next time, you hear?" She looked down at him from her clipboard. "Looks like your eyes are focusing. You should be fine. Say your name for me."

"Squall." he answered tiredly. "Am I free to leave?"

The elderly women sighed in defeat. "You wanna be cool, huh? Well, don't get hurt in the process." She turned to the phone that was posted up on the wall. "Just a second… One of your comrades asked to be informed of your medical status as soon as you had waken up."

Squall fell back onto the medical bed and placed an arm over his forehead to shield himself from the wrath of the bright lights in the room. Visibly annoyed at the delay, he listened in as Dr. Kadowaki made the call.

"Quistis? Come get your Commander. Yes, yes. His injury's not serious. It'll probably leave a scar. …Right. Now please come by."

He raised his head up from the bed, a look of puzzlement on his face. Why does she care?

Quistis Trepe, an eighteen-year-old instructor at Balamb Garden, had remained Squall's superior up until he was given the role of Commander. She had been a SeeD since she was fifteen and had received her instructor license at the age of seventeen. Intelligent and mature for her age, she liked to think of herself as Squall's older sister since she had known and observed him for years.

The doors to the infirmary slid open and Quistis walked in. Dressed in her formal SeeD uniform, she straightened her glasses and proceeded to greet Dr. Kadowaki. The two strands of blonde hair that rested at the sides of her face reflected the sunlight as she walked gracefully past the windows. She stopped when she noticed Squall lying on the medical bed. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and smiled down at him.

"I knew this would happen if you came across Seifer." she stated knowingly. "Come on, let's go. Cid called a meeting today for you and the other high-ranking SeeDs."

Sitting up and placing his feet on the floor, he began to remove the uncomfortable bandage that was wrapped around his forehead. The meeting… I almost forgot about that…

"Something on your mind, Squall?" Quistis inquired when he didn't respond.

He stood and picked up his gunblade which had been left resting against the wall. "…Not really." They both said in unison. Quistis laughed at her ability to predict his replies.

"What's so funny?" he asked as he proceeded to exit the infirmary.

She walked faster to catch up to him as he walked hastily down the corridor in long strides. "Funny? No, no, it's not that!" she protested. "I'm just happy. I feel like I'm beginning to understand you a little. That's all."

That'll be the day.

Reaching the main hallways of Balamb Garden, he winced at the sudden brightness of the vast academy. Water fountains lined the walkways as they lead to their designated locations, while students, who had lived at the Garden all their lives, passed by quickly. Seemingly unaware of the beauty that surrounded them.

Quistis, walking with her arms folded, pointed a finger casually to Squall's left. "There's your fan club." she informed with a smile.

A huddled group of female students stood watching him with anticipation from a distance. Squall rolled his eyes. Not again… They stood by the elevator so he had no choice but to pass them. They smiled and giggled as he approached. One of the braver girls in the group timidly stepped forward and waved her hand shyly. "Good morning, Commander Leonhart," she practically squeaked, turning to Quistis. "Instructor Trepe."

"Good morning, girls." Quistis greeted warmly. The girls smiled back and looked expectantly at Squall. He frowned and proceeded to press the elevator button when Quistis sharply jabbed him in the ribs.

Okay, okay…

He turned and nodded at the group of female students. "Ladies." he acknowledged coolly.

Blushing furiously, they immediately burst into a fit of muffled giggles as he turned his attention back to the elevator buttons. Ignoring them as much as he could, he quickly took out his keycard and swiped it into the holder, granting himself access to the third floor of the Garden. Stepping inside, he noticed the girls crowding around Quistis and whispering into her ear. "Quistis!" he called sharply. "Are you coming or not?"

She looked up and the other girls backed away silently from her. Stealing one last glance of the young Commander, they smiled and waved at him before retreating.

Rolling his eyes again, he leaned against the wall of the elevator and propped his arms up on the metal bar behind him. Doors closing behind her, Quistis joined him, keeping her arms folded across her chest. Irritated, he watched as she tried to muffle her laughter.

"Don't even say it." Squall warned.

"Not even going to give them a chance, huh?"

"Not when they're that annoying."

She laughed. "They told me you look even sexier with the scar."

"Super." he muttered sarcastically.

He traced a hand down the middle of his forehead to the bridge of his nose, letting his fingertips caress the split surface. He wondered if Seifer was facing the same disfigurement. Never being one to care a great deal about his looks, he shrugged it off.

The doors of the elevator slid open as it reached the third floor. With Quistis close behind him, Squall walked down the dimly lit hallway and pushed open the heavy doors. Everyone in the room turned to face him as he entered Headmaster Cid's office.

"Squall!" Zell greeted walking towards him. He stopped as he got a closer look at the Commander. "Whoa! Dude, nice scar!"

"…Thanks?" Squall replied awkwardly. Scanning the room, he noticed Selphie and Irvine were also present. He nodded to them in acknowledgement as Quistis closed the office doors behind her and stepped forward. "Sir?" she asked, gesturing to the short, heavily built man who had suddenly appeared before them. "If you'd like to begin the meeting, I believe we're all here."

Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie and Irvine stood aligned as Headmaster Cid stepped forward. They formally saluted him, each placing a hand in the air several inches from their face.

"At ease." permitted the Headmaster. They promptly dropped their hands to their sides. Cid nodded at Squall. "Commander Leonhart."

Squall flinched at his detested title. "Sir."

Cid turned and nodded at the others. "Members of SeeD." He adjusted his glasses and placed his hands behind his back. "Thank you for coming. There is quite an issue at hand." He looked at Irvine. "I'm glad you're back safe, Irvine. I'm impressed you were well enough to attend the meeting."

"Yes, sir." Irvine replied. "To be honest, I'd really like to know some of the answers to the questions they asked."

Cid nodded. "And you will. I'd like to start off by saying that the rumors spreading around are indeed, true. There may be a definite way to defeat Sorceress Ultimecia and I apologize for hiding it from all of you up until now."

"Is it some kind of massive weapon?" Zell asked. "'Cuz I heard that all the firearm in the world combined couldn't kill Ultimecia. Her powers are beyond the range of any weapon forged."

"Thank you, Mr. Know-It-All-Zell." Squall commented disdainfully. "Can you let him finish, please?"

Zell shrank back and regained his composure. "R-Right... Sorry, sir."

Cid continued. "It's true that Ultimecia's powers are incredibly strong and none of our magic…" he nodded at Zell. "…or weapons… could easily defeat her. She is a superior being. So how do you defeat such an advisory? …You bring in someone who is as equally powerful as she is." He paused. "Another sorceress."

"Say what…?" Selphie asked in disbelief. The others shared in her surprise.

They knew, for a fact, that the sorceresses across generations had all been evil, power-hungry tyrants. Relentlessly destroying everything in existence, they lacked all forms of mercy and purity. Why would a sorceress ever fight on their side?

Cid removed his glasses and wiped them across his sweater. "How many of you have heard the story of the 'Savior'?"

"Isn't that just a legend?" Squall asked. "An angel is sent to save us… or something along those lines. We all heard it when we were kids. It's just a fairytale."

Quistis nodded. "I've heard about that story… a guardian angel is suppose to appear and save all of humanity from the wrath of the evil witch. I think I read the book when I was a child." She searched her mind thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I can't remember how it ends…"

Growing impatient, Zell anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. "Sir… with all due respect, what's an old kids book have to do with anything?"

"What if…" Cid began slowly. "What if I told you that the story of the 'Savior' wasn't just a fairytale? That it really was an actual legend ...a prophecy even."

Before anyone could respond, Cid walked quickly to his desk and held up a vanilla colored binder, clearly overloaded as several of its content fell out. "What if there was proof?" To their surprise, he spread the contents of the folder all over the floor without a second thought. "Several years back, Shiva's shrine was excavated for curiosity purposes. They found this…" he pointed to one of the photographs on the floor. It was a piece of blue marble stone. Etched across its smooth surface, was an unintelligible scribble of writing.

"We didn't think much of it then," Cid admitted. "But after we excavated the other Guardian Force shrines, we found similar stones. The writing, along with the color, was always different. It was a mystery."

Squall knelt down and shifted through the photos. Sure enough, he found photographs of the different colored stones. The stone found in Ifrit's cavern glowed an angry red as the words scrawled across it seemed to pulse out from the picture. "Were they ever translated?" he asked.

Cid nodded. "Just recently by the G.F scientists. Combined together, the stones reenact a story similar to that of the 'Savior'." He shook his head. "No, not a story. It sounds more like a prophecy… a prediction." He shifted through the piles of paper on the floor and held up a particular sheet. "Not all of it was translated. The writing was more than ancient: the translators clearly exhausted themselves over it."

Straightening his glasses, he quickly scanned the wrinkled piece of paper. "The sorceress was born from the forces and elements of the earth, just like the G.F's. She will act as a vessel for the earth's higher energy and will possess extraordinary powers beyond anything we know. Not to be feared by us, she will have a heart of serene purity and have content for mankind… Nearing the days to Ultimecia's forthcoming, she will be summoned. Once here, she will travel to the Gates of Time and challenge Ultimecia on the other side, hopefully destroying her forever…" he stopped to turn the paper around. "There was more written on the stones… something about 'seven days' and 'immortality'…We couldn't make it out."

Squall stood leaning against the wall now; arms folded with a skeptical look on his face. "So… the spirits of the earth have decided to help by sending a little girl to fight our battles for us?"

"Squall…" Quistis warned sharply.

"Pardon me, sir…" Squall continued. "… but the whole idea seems kind of far-fetched. It's just a story told to give people false hope. "

"Hey Squall," Zell spoke up suddenly. "You said it yourself; 'We all heard it when we were kids' …That includes you too, you know."

Squall frowned at him. "What's that got to do with—"

"What I mean is," Zell interrupted. "You've heard this story before, I've heard this story before… Everyone's heard this story before. It's still being told now! Where do you think it originated? You know in my opinion, a story that's been passed around for this long MUST hold some kind of truth to it."

The Commander sighed in defeat. Surprisingly, Zell had brought up a valid point. "Okay then… Suppose the legend is true," he turned to the Headmaster. "How, where, and when exactly?"

"Well, if I may continue…" Cid stated bluntly. He turned his attention back to the piece of paper in his hand. "It basically said that… before the alignment of the eight stars, she'll come to us… or… we find her."

"The alignment of the eight stars…" Selphie repeated slowly.

"Yeah, you know." Zell said turning to her. "They're the only stars in the sky that glow a kind of fluorescent light blue?"

"I know that! It's just… the alignment…" she searched her memory frantically. "Hey! That's about a month from now!"

Quistis shook her head fearfully. "Ultimecia's arrival…"

They all turned to look at Cid. He nodded at them slowly. "Exactly."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 4: Rinoa
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well… that didn't take long.

Squall lay staring up at the ceiling in his bed as he overheard a conversation going on outside his window.

"…and the first day of the alignment's almost here! They still haven't found her!"

"Do you think she even exists?"

"Hey, if there's a bad sorceress out there then there's gotta be a good one."

"Hmm… you're probably right. I'm sure she'll be easy to spot when she does show up. You know how all sorceresses dress up in those crazy head dresses and funky jewelry?"

"Yeah… real eyesore."

"Don't make jokes. This is serious!"

Squall turned over in his bed and tried to block them out. He was exhausted. Ever since the meeting in Headmaster Cid's office, they had spent the last two weeks searching endlessly for the so-called 'sorceress'. Exploring the G.F shrines, the towns, and the villages to no avail. No girl or women matched the description or had come forth claiming so.

Reaching a gloved leather hand over his head, he grabbed the side of the window frame and slammed it shut with one quick motion. It seemed the rumor had spread fast.

I knew Zell couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Word had gotten out about the supposed prophecy like wildfire. He knew it was only a matter of time before it reached Galbadia.

This is getting pointless. Even if this girl does exist, why do we need her?

Frustrated, he turned over in his bed again.

This'll probably end up being another baby-sitting job for me. We don't even have time for this... We should be discussing battle strategies for Ultimecia's arrival, not wasting our time by searching for someone who may or may not exist.

Squall placed his feet on the floor and stood up. He was now wearing his black combat attire, which had a rather unique buckle system around his waist and down his right pant leg. Along with this was a matching black leather jacket and its fur-lined collar. Like Zell, he too didn't care much for wearing the regular SeeD uniform.

There's no way I'll get any sleep at this rate. Might as well go into town and get something to eat…


Zell stared blankly at the bottom of his empty glass.

"I could've sworn we'd find the sorceress down here…"

Selphie watched him with her hands under her chin. "How many of those did you drink, Zell?"

He leaned back sleepily and began staring at his hands. "Fuck Selph, I think I ran out of fingers…"

She rolled her eyes and swiped the glass from his hand. "You drank ten of those, Zell. You have enough fingers—" She watched as his head rolled to one side. "Hey!" Quickly, she reached over the table and slapped him across the face. "Focus! Squall's gonna kill you!"

Zell and Selphie had been wandering around the town of Timber, keeping their eyes open for the sorceress. Sleep-deprived, they stopped in a local restaurant to order coffee when Zell proclaimed he wanted to try something "new".

"Squall thinks he's so great cause he's got that big stick thing… But if it snapped in half he'd cry for days… DAYS, I tell you!"

"Right, right… Listen, Zell I'm gonna go bring the car around. You just stay here and…" Zell gave her a thumbs-up and continued staring at the empty glasses that surrounded him. "…yeah."

Selphie hurried out of the restaurant. I gotta make it back before he hits the floor!


As he sat at the outdoor Balamb Café drinking his coffee, he felt the sea breeze brush playfully through his strands of brown hair. Running a gloved hand over it, he smoothed his hair back into place.

Squall leaned back in his chair and casually sipped the warm liquid. He wasn't too sure where the others were, but he hoped they were doing better than he was. Squall lacked motivation. The mission seemed useless to him and the idea behind it seemed even more ridiculous. How could they expect him to take this seriously? Suddenly a myth was true because a bunch of moldy rocks said so?

This is so stupid…

He took another sip. What's going to happen when Ultimecia arrives? Are we going to be ready? Maybe she won't even show up… maybe all these prophecies are the same. Lies. Fabrications. It's all made up garbage so people have something to believe in. What a waste of time…

"Interesting weapon."

He looked up sharply to see who had interrupted his thoughts. A girl stood by his table eyeing his gunblade curiously. Because the sun was setting directly behind her, he couldn't make out the details of her face clearly. Not that it mattered. The cloak she was wearing had a rather large hood that kept her face in the shadows.

"Thank you." he said casually. Taking another sip of his coffee, he hoped she would lose interest and leave.

"What kind of weapon is it?"

"It's a gunblade." he stated firmly, not bothering to look back up at her. Damnit… it's another one of those girls.

"A gunblade? Where have I heard that before…"

He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "You probably didn't. It's a rare weapon. You have to be a part of Garden to be introduced to it."

"Oh! You're from Garden?"

Smart girl. "What do you think?"

From the corner of his eye he saw her shrink back and look away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." she giggled. She turned back and placed a hand on the seat across from him. "Do you mind if I sit?"

Yes. He shrugged. "Whatever."


Zell woke with a start as his face came in contact with the window by his table. The cold surface of the glass felt soothing against the warmth of his skin. Man, I'm so dizzy… Hey, where'd Selphie go?

Open his eyes slowly, he gazed out the window and watched the streets of Timber come to life. Everyone passed by in a blur but he couldn't take his focus off one particular person. A woman in light blue was walking casually past the window he stood watching out of. Her expression was stern; her features were somewhat… out of the ordinary. Zell's eyes widened as she began disappear down the street.

That women… It's her! It's gotta be her!

Zell jumped abruptly from his seat, startling several the of waitresses who were standing nearby. Throwing money on the table, he quickly ran out of the restaurant and onto the street. Pushing regular civilians out of his way, he frantically scanned the crowds of people but the mysterious women in blue had vanished.

Damn!

As he ran through the crowd, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed Squall's number.


"Squall! I just saw the weirdest women a second ago… I swear she's gotta be the sorceress!"

"Come down, Zell." Squall hissed into the receiver. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, man! She was wearing light blue… her hair was silver, and she was wearing an eye patch for crying out loud!"

"Okay, okay… Where are you right now?"

"I'm in Timber! Get down here and help me find her!"

"Alright." Squall glanced quickly at the women who sat calmly across from him. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

He turned off his phone.

"Is there a problem?" the woman asked.

Without looking at her, Squall picked up his gunblade and began fastening it to his belt. For once in his life, he was indebted to Zell. No matter how rude he had been, the woman just wouldn't get the message and leave him alone. She had asked him a lot of questions about Garden and SeeD. Judging from the sound of her voice, he figured she was pretty young and oblivious it would seem, to the significant things in life. Ignorance was something Squall became irritated with easily.

"SeeD business." Squall said sharply. "I have to go."

"I understand. I won't keep you," she said while standing up. "Official SeeD business… sounds pretty exciting."

To his surprise, she walked past him without waiting for a response. "Good luck with your mission!" she called back to him.

Squall watched her as she left. If I had just asked her to leave in the first place she probably would've done it…He shrugged it off and threw money on the table to pay for his drink. Walking towards to the entrance of Balamb, he found himself moving rather slowly since he had left the café. The stress and frustration he had experienced from the mission was suddenly returning. Had it left him earlier? When?

Frowning, he searched his memory and remembered a moment when he had felt strangely… tranquil. Was it because of her? A look of doubt crossed his face. Was it the things she talked about? No. That had annoyed him. There was just something about her voice that had made him feel calm; relaxed… and he never even realized it was happening.

Before Squall could ponder his thoughts further, he heard an argument happening outside the Balamb entrance. He neared the entrance and lingered by the gas station, trying to casually catch a glimpse of what was happening outside.

He narrowed his eyes when he saw two Galbadian soldiers and the person he immediately recognized as the cloaked girl who had sat down with him.

"What do you know, little lady?" one of them asked. "What's this huge secret that Balamb Garden has?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The other soldier reached forward and grabbed her roughly by the forearm. "Where were you going anyway, huh? You look a little shady to me in that get up. Why aren't you showing your face?"

Squall reached behind him by reflex and wrapped a hand firmly around the handle of his gunblade. Guess Zell will have to wait a little longer… As he walked out towards them, the soldier grasping the women's forearm pushed it away hard, sending her stumbling to the ground.

"HEY!" Squall protested, readying his weapon. "What the hell are you doing?"

The soldiers, recognizing the Commander of Balamb Garden instantly, backed away in silence.

Still holding his weapon out infront of him, he walked to where the woman lay disoriented on the ground. "You okay?" he asked over his shoulder.

"umm… yeah." she responded slowly. Sitting up, the hood she wore fell behind her shoulders as she lifted her head. In that instant, Squall finally saw the face that was kept hidden in the shadows.

He stared down at her…stunned. Shaken and scared from the assault, she stared back up at him in surprise of his sudden intensity. Shiny, black hair, with hints of gold, cascaded down her face and rested against her slender shoulders. Pale and porcelain-like, her face held perfect, rose-kissed cheeks and strawberry colored lips. Her eyes, deep brown and mysterious… penetrated him. He couldn't tare his eyes away from hers.

In the midst of his distraction, the two Galbadian soldiers quickly advanced on him. Squall, sensing them approach, quickly snapped back to reality and swung his blade up to block their attack. Standing in front of the fallen girl to further protect her, he fought one soldier with his gunblade and pushed the other way with his free arm.

Shocked at the young Commander's ability to fight them in unison, the two Galbadian soldiers got up and fled after Squall had promptly thrown both of them to the ground. He slowly lowered his weapon as he watched them leave with disgust. Idiots.

Squall turned around to see the girl staring intently at him from where she still lay on the ground. There was something almost critical about her stare: as if she were silently evaluating him. He walked over to her and outstretched his hand. "Can you get up?"

Without a word, she placed her petite, slender hand into his. He could feel her warmth even through the heavy material of his leather glove. Effortlessly, he lifted her up to her feet and quickly released her hand after he had done so.

"I think I'm okay," she said finally. "Thank you."

As she began to dust herself off, he took it as an opening for him to leave. Sheathing his gunblade once more, he began to walk away.

"Did I make you late for your 'SeeD business'?" she asked suddenly.

He stopped without turning around. There was just something about the way she looked that stirred something in him. Being uncomfortable with the unfamiliar, he chose not to look at her. "You are now." Squall stated bluntly as he continued to walk.

She smiled in response to his rude exterior. Clearly amused by Squall's behavior, she began following him slowly. Sensing her behind him, he turned sharply on her. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I was just going to ask—" she said with a giggle. "You never told me your name."

He frowned and told her hesitantly. "Squall."

She stared at him thoughtfully. "Squall… as in Squall Leonhart? The Commander?"

"I really don't care much for the title."

"Sometimes you can't escape it… " she said quietly. She quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry! I'm being very rude. My name's Rinoa."

She extended her hand. To his surprise, he reached back and accepted the handshake; something he did very rarely.

"Pleased to meet you, Squall."

He nodded in response. "I've still got to get going."

Rinoa released his hand. "Oh, right! I'm sorry for keeping you." She waved her hand and began walking towards the town entrance. "I guess I'll just head back inside…"

Squall was about to continue on his way when he made note of the peculiar way Rinoa was walking. "Are you going to be okay…?" he called to her.

She turned around, almost stumbling as she did so. "I am. Why do you ask?"

"Why are you limping?"

Looking down, she suddenly looked embarrassed. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a scratch from the fall."

Just a scratch…?

He could tell she was trying to hide it, but blood was clearly dripping down from a rather large cut on the side of her leg. I guess I should help considering what just happened to her… Glancing down at his watch, he walked over to where she stood and inspected her leg.

"You should have a doctor look at that. There's none here. You'll have to come to Garden with me."

Rinoa tilted her head questionably at him. "What about your SeeD mission?"

"I'll just drop you off at the infirmary. It's not a big deal." Squall turned his back and gestured for her to follow. "Although I might have some trouble getting you though the gates."

"Why is that?" she asked, limping after him as fast as she could to catch up to his fast pace.

"Security issues. You're not a student or a SeeD."

"I see…" she laughed pleasantly to herself in wonderment. "Maybe I could join as soon as I get down here!"

Yeah, whatever... "Can you even fight?" Squall asked skeptically.

"I have ways of taking care of myself." Rinoa replied simply. "But I like to avoid conflict. I don't believe in needless bloodshed."

That's why she was looking at me all weird when I beat up those soldiers…

He shrugged. "Then I guess you could never join SeeD. We have our own definitions of 'needless' when it comes to bloodshed."

From this corner of his eye, he noticed her looking at him. Her eyes, rather than being judgmental, were now reflecting a sort of silent acceptance. She understood his disposition and wouldn't bother questioning it.

As they walked the long stretch from the town of Balamb to Balamb Garden, Squall had found himself walking at a slower pace so Rinoa wouldn't further injure herself trying to keep up with him. Surprised at himself, he again felt the same tranquility he had experienced before. As Rinoa spoke and commented on just about everything, Squall didn't care to reply much, but was in fact, listening intently to the melodic tone of her voice. Occasionally, he would turn to glance at her as she talked. Something about her features captivated him. Refusing to admit it to himself, he would promptly look away and stare straight ahead.

When they neared the front gates of Balamb Garden, Rinoa suddenly grew silent. She was in awe of the vast building and its different shades of glowing blue lights. She turned slowly in a circle, staring in amazement. Squall left her in her fascination and walked towards the guard on duty.

"Commander Leonhart, sir!" he saluted as Squall approached.

"I have a civilian who needs Dr. Kadowaki's assistance."

"But… Commander, we're not permitted to have civilians on the grounds unless they're clients."

"That's right." came a voice from behind the guard. A member of the Garden faculty appeared and shook his head. "You know the rules, Squall."

"If I may insist, sir. She was attacked by Galbadian soldiers and has a serious looking injury on her leg." Squall informed, saluting the Garden faculty member.

Both the guard on duty and the faculty member looked past him to where Rinoa stood timidly. "I don't see anything wrong with her." The faculty member stated firmly.

The guard, who was now staring at Rinoa wide-eyed, let a smile creep onto his face. "That goes literally too… I mean, wow!"

Squall ignored him and frowned at the faculty member. "What are you talking about? There's a gash on the side of her leg…" he turned around to look at her. "…There's blood all over—" He froze in bewilderment. Rinoa stood perfectly still from a distance, watching them with an unreadable expression on her face. Her leg was perfect. There was no blood, and no injury. How the hell…?

Calmly, she approached them and stood at Squall's side. "He was going to try sneak me in unnoticed." she said suddenly.

Perplexed, he frowned at her questionably. What is she doing?

"I'm Sorceress Rinoa. I believe Headmaster Cid is expecting me. The first day of the alignment is almost here so I suggest you let me in."

The faculty member opened his eyes wide with surprise and excitement. "You're…? Yes, yes! Come in! I'll inform Headmaster Cid of your arrival!"

Rinoa walked through the gates and turned to smile at Squall. He stared back at her speechless; a look of astonishment plastered on his face.

"Thanks, Squall."

With a wink, she casually walked past him.


Authors note: Yes, Zell was under the influence. He only saw Fuujin (hence: eye patch/silver hair) I'll elaborate on this later but Rinoa didn't "cut" herself to trick Squall. She actually did get injured from the assault but because her body is kept stable by spiritual energy, she heals faster.