For her…For Love
In Esthar, Squall had found a train that seemed to fit his plan very conveniently; it was a train route from Esthar to Timber with only one stop, which was FH. Although the train ride was long itself, Squall put his mind on his main motivation which would help to level out the disadvantages; Rinoa. He looked out his window and saw only the heavy waves of the ocean. Only mist and nothing more could be seen out in the view.
The train had already passed FH and was expected to touch land in less than two hours.
He studied his Griever ring and smiled to himself as the train sped across the tracks. Squall had quietly stayed in his own world as he continued to examine Griever. …
You've been with me all this time, and yet…I haven't given you a single turn for comfort. Ever since Rinoa came into the picture…I haven't really given you that much attention. Even if you were with me for most of my life, you still allowed me to see that I needed someone…and someone needs me now. If you were to forever play as my guardian, you wouldn't have allowed me to seek out any other help…you wouldn't have allowed me to meet Rinoa. Although you're strong enough with me and on your own, you're kind enough to let someone replace you. Griever…I thank you. I think I've learned what it means to have faith and trust in someone else for a change… I understand that I need to have contact with someone other than myself; I see that now. That's why I…I have to pass you on to her… Maybe you can help her to understand me a little more…
I leave her to you…
He kissed his ring and clasped it inside his palm.
Rinoa walked with the children and allowed them to tug onto her clothing, as they each explained how they wanted their brand new playground to be. The little girls danced around Rinoa and cheered together playfully as Rinoa listened carefully to their little ideas. Rinoa smiled and wrote down every single detail from the children's mouths.
"A swing and a slide!-"
"And a pony!"
"We can't get a pony!" The little girls argued.
"Ms. Rinoa, can we get a pony!"
"…Uh…" Rinoa looked around for an excuse, but when she looked up, she saw a few soldiers fighting in a brawl. "Hey! …You girls stay right here and don't move, okay?"
"Okay!" The girls said together, and Rinoa ran over to help break up the fighting.
"NO! Stop, don't fight! Stop fighting!" Rinoa yelled out to them as she ran over. A few men held her back and allowed the two soldiers to wrestle on the ground. "Why aren't you all doing anything to stop this!"
"He was hogging all the water, let the guy learn his lesson like a real man!"
"No! I won't! There are more important things than this, and what's more…there are kids around! Can't you guys just settle this another way?"
"Shut up!" A few soldiers yelled at Rinoa.
"Help!" The defenseless soldier screamed as he was pinned to the ground. Rinoa looked around at them as they cheered on his opponent to finish him off. "No! Don't do this! Help!" He screamed aloud again.
"Leave him alone! Rinoa screamed and fought threw the men that were trying to hold her back.
"Grab her!" Someone shouted and they all listened. She screamed and had tried to summon a thunder spell, but was unsuccessful because someone had placed his hand over her mouth. She tried to fight back but gradually lost her will to defend herself, and she fell unconscious.
Rinoa had felt herself awakening from her unconsciousness. She reached her hand to her ring, fearing whatever she opened her eyes to wouldn't be too hard to witness. She clutched her ring, but surprisingly felt one other ring there also. She hurriedly opened her eyes and sat up from the ground to study her necklace. To her surprise, Griever was on back onto her necklace in its former glory. She felt tears welding up in her eyes and she looked down at Griever, so near to her mother's ring. Rinoa felt herself crying steaming tears uncontrollably.
Squall…you're here. You're really here. You saved me again, but…where are you? She looked up and forced herself to stand from the ground. She noticed that she had been outside of Timber and lying on the grass. When she headed back to Timber, she paced through the city in hopes that she would see him soon. She stopped to take a breath, and suddenly…above all other things, persons, and noises, she heard…him.
"If you want to behave like animals, you're to be treated like animals!" He yelled to the Galbadian soldiers, and each of them stood, saluting him. When Rinoa saw this, she had to smile. She saw that he had knocked over a water jug, and few soldiers seemed to be muddy. Perhaps they fought over the ground water? She laughed and covered her mouth. "Back to work!" He ordered them and watched as they all saluted together again, "Yes, sir!" They said and resumed to the reconstruction of Timber.
He sighed and placed his hand on his forehead, then turned away from them.
Rinoa looked at him and wiped her eyes before running to him. He looked up and saw her running in full speed toward him and prepared himself to capture her in his arms. Squall caught Rinoa as she jumped, and he held onto her tightly. "Rinoa." He said while squeezing his arms around her even more."
"Oh, Squall…you're here." She said in a soft whimper. For the first time, Squall was not upset to hear her crying. He wiped the tears away from her eyes and smiled. She cried, "You saved me. I don't know what would have happened to me."
He didn't want to think about it. He had arrived in Timber twenty minutes ago, and wondered where all the people might have vanished. As he walked, he heard a group of men cheering as if celebrating their victory, but when he was able to get closer, he began to hear a woman's scream. Quickly, he drew his sword and ran to the mass of people.
Outside the damaged Pub and near the train tracks, Squall saw a large group of soldiers beating another man, and a woman was being pushed around. When she screamed again, he knew it was Rinoa. "Rinoa!" He called out to her and ran down the stairs, jumping to skip a few at the bottom. "Rinoa!"
He called out to her as he knocked a few soldiers out with the hilt of his Revolver. One of the men tried to tackle him, but Squall pushed him off and had cast tornado on the mass. Watching most of the men fly a few yards away had satisfied him enough to grab Rinoa from the midst of the danger and escape. He ran with her on his back and looked for a safe place for her. But everything was either destroyed or broken down, and the Galbadian soldiers could have easily discovered her. Squall decided to rest her on the outskirts of town, and in a grassy field; He knew no one would run so far in search of her.
He took off his ring and connected it back to her necklace, where it belonged. "Rinoa…" He whispered and removed his glove to touch her face with his bare hand.
Some cries from the men far away snapped him out his daze with Rinoa, and he slid on his glove to prepare to battle them once again. Squall had no intention of taking any of their lives, seeing that they were helping to rebuild Timber. He wanted to have no involvement should there have been a shortage of construction soldiers. He looked back at her once more and frowned a little, then took off to face the soldiers.
"There he is over there!"
"That's right." He mumbled and ran to them, striking a taller man in the jaw with his fist. The force had knocked back the tall man onto a few of the others that followed. Again, more soldiers threw themselves onto Squall, but were knocked back with brute force. Squall looked around and saw that most of the soldiers had given up after his wind spell, but a few continued to challenge him. He smirked and held up his gunblade, but the last few backed down.
When he saw they had given up, he placed the dull side of his gunblade on his shoulder, and had placed a hand on his hip.
The soldiers had either fallen out, or gathered in a huddle before Squall and he looked down on them angrily. He sheathed the revolver away and folded his arms.
"…If Rinoa doesn't wake up, I'll kill each and every one of you. Rinoa or anyone else of this town should not be hurt or harmed in any way."
A soldier managed to speak up, "We weren't trying to hurt the girl. We were pushing her out of the way because we wanted our water."
"Yeah!" The others joined.
"Water?" Squall looked around and saw the jug titled over on the ground, "…There's your water." He said as he pointed. They looked and saw the jug on the ground; most of the water had already soaked.
"Hey, what happened to it?"
"If you're going to behave like animals, you're to be treated like animals!" He scowled at them. "Now…get back to work!"
"Yes, sir!" They hurriedly scrambled off and cooperated peacefully with one another. Squall sighed into his hand and turned away from the fleeting mass of men. …Rinoa, I'm so sorry I got here so late.
Just as he thought about her, he heard sounds of running feet toward him. When he looked up, he saw Rinoa running in full speed. Rinoa!
If one thing was for sure, those soldiers wouldn't be alive had she not awakened. Squall smirked and touched her face as she quieted her crying.
"I don't know what would have happened to me, Squall." She whispered and without warning, Squall hungrily kissed Rinoa's lips. She felt her body relaxing in his arms, allowing him to take control. He slowly pulled away from her and sighed, "…I don't want to think about it. All I know is that I got here right on time and that's all."
She smiled and rested her head against his chest. "Thank you."
"…You're welcome." He responded softly and rubbed his hand through her hair.
Epilogue
The day finally arrived when Timber received its independence. They no longer relied on Galbadia for its support. After its reconstruction, the town somehow attracted more people, and thus, it is able to form its own militia should there have been any disturbance. Still, some say that an elite force secretly protects Timber from the outskirts, but no one dared to try and discover fearing they would be treated as an intruder. The people of Timber could now live out there remaining lives in peace and quietly to themselves.
Because his son had someone special to live in Timber, Laguna saw that Timber got the best Treatment just as Winhill had. Esthar secretly watched over Timber as it slept, ate, and continued on its daily routine…
Every military force except Galbadia has signed a peace treaty, and each have vowed to be of aid should there be any disturbance. Galbadia has settled down a great deal, but it is in no way harmful to the other forces; Caraway has kept his promise to his daughter and is managing to continue in Galbadia's new attitude. After Deling's rule, Galbadia has yet to be trusted by anyone. Because of Caraway's new way of leadership, Irvine was allowed to resign. Irvine has now gone to Trabia in hopes of starting fresh in a new land. Trabia has a new headmaster, although he's very young and shy, he has done his best to ensure the safety of his SeeD. Offered the title excessively, Selphie turned down the role as the headmaster and allowed Nida to have the position, she couldn't be more proud of his success. Kent Hannon had never returned from his mission, and it was discovered that he left without resigning properly.
Headmaster Cid continues to operate Balamb Garden, even though he has to admit every now and then that he is getting too old for the job; nevertheless, he remains in his right mind as a father figure to his students.
Quistis was promoted to become an instructor, along with Xu, but Xu settled for the desk job near Headmaster Cid's office.
Zell was able to go on a few missions, even when Squall returned from his suspension, and the entire world knew ever detail about his mission because he proudly announced it everywhere he went.
Rinoa was able to give the people of Timber the freedom they always wanted. She now has no reason to shade any more tears, all her debts have been paid off with the successful renovation of Timber.
And Squall…
Headmaster Cid sat in his office, cooped up behind his desk, in deep thought. Over the last several months, Squall's behavior has changed drastically. …He seems to smile a bit more than usual too. What happened to him, I wonder. Oh well…I think he's matured and deserves that promotion.
Cid pushed down on his intercom transmitter and cleared his throat as the announcement bell chimed. "Good morning everyone, pardon the interruption. Squall would you please come to my office, right away, Squall. Thank you for your attention." He released the button and sighed.
Finally…I'll be able to bestow the ranking of Commander on him. He's well earned it…and it's about time we had a reason to celebrate something.
He received a knock on his door. "Squall, come in." The headmaster said, but when the door open, Xu peaked inside with a slight grin. "Xu?"
"Yes, sir…" She said while stepping inside.
"I thought I called for Squall."
"I know, sir…it's just that…"
"…Well?"
"…Squall isn't here."
"…What do you mean he isn't here?"
"He's not here…in Balamb, sir."
"Why not?"
"Well…" Xu walked around the desk and whispered into Cid's ears. Cid's mouth dropped and he rubbed his forehead.
"Squall?" He asked unsurely.
"Yes, sir." She said as she backed away from the headmaster's side.
"Unbelievable…"
The Headmaster laughed and scratched his forehead, "…Just when I thought he deserved it…he goes and does this to me…"
"Deserved what, sir?"
"I was going to appoint him to Commander, your old position, but now…"
"You still can." Xu said trying to be sure he wouldn't reappoint her to the dreadful title of Commander.
"…Maybe." Cid said with a smile. "But…I can't believe he's really…"
"Yeah…"
"Rinoa, you have a guest, honey."
"Thanks chief!" Rinoa ran hastily downstairs and nodded to the old woman she thought had died in the missile attack. She walked to the door and opened it slowly, "Squall? I thought you left an hour ago!"
"…I…became distracted." He said seriously while looking at the ground. Rinoa placed her finger beneath his chin and lifted up his head to meet his eyes.
"What's wrong?" She asked with concern.
He sighed and touched her hand, "…I can't stop thinking about you, and as much as I would like to leave…I can't force myself to get on that train."
"…Squall." She said and moved her hand onto his face. He blushed a little, and nervously avoided eye contact with her.
"…I've never been more confused in my life."
"…Relax, just tell me what you're feeling."
"I'm not sure."
Rinoa smiled and embraced him, "You can tell me."
"…I know…" He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, "Rinoa…" She held onto him tightly and listened to his heart beating in his chest. It pounded multiple times within every second.
"…You're scared…"
He nodded his head slowly and whispered, "…Yes."
"Why?" She asked him, her voice mimicking his.
"Because I…" He paused and took a deep breath, "…I love you."
"Squall." She spoke softly while rising from his chest. Rinoa stared into his eyes, deep into his eyes, and smiled. "…I love you too." She said with that same smile, and Squall immediately sighed in relief. The two embraced once again, but this time, they embraced with their hearts and souls.
After so many battles and journeys, Squall had finally found where he belonged and was needed. To be by Rinoa's side forever had replaced every last one of his past fears. Despite learning of his father's existence, he only wanted to be with her even more because she had opened his eyes to a new world, and she would continue to show him a side of this world that he had been oblivious of for so many years of his life.
He rubbed his face against her hair and smiled. You mean the world to me, Rinoa. I could careless about everything else… as long as you're here with me. I'll do anything…for you.
Rinoa snuggled against his chest as the feathers of his coat tickled her face. She smiled and squeezed her arms around him to embrace every ounce of his being within her grasp. Squall took in the scent of her sweet smelling hair and pulled her body closer to his own, hoping that she would never disappear from his sight.
"Woof!"
"Angelo?" Squall said as he looked down at the ground. Angelo wagged her tail happily and barked again. Rinoa smiled and turned to her companion.
"Oh that's right Squall--" Rinoa smiled, "Angelo learned a new trick, wanna see?"
He slapped his forehead, "Oh brother...here we go again with the tricks."
Rinoa laughed and kissed Squall on his cheek, "You're so adorable!"
Squall folded his arms and looked at the ground with a sigh, "...Whatever." Rinoa said in unison with him. He chuckled softly and shook his head.
Rinoa stepped away from him and smiled, "Hey Squall, how did you get that uniform? I want to know, tell me!"
With seriousness written in his eyes, Squall took a deep breath and pulled Rinoa closer while whispering, "Rinoa, I'll to tell you everything you want to know." Rinoa leaned in and pressed her lips against his softly.
"…And I'll listen to everything you have to say, Squall." She smiled.
History has written that in these battles, many brave young men and women fought and died to protect what was right in his or her own eyes. Because each Garden and military force participated in this war, it was dubbed the Clash of the Gardens, and included a list of each soldier and SeeD.
Even though he caused most of the war because of his great greed, Vinzer Deling's name was written as only a mere casualty of war, and not as he had wished the world would remember him. The lifelong President of Galbadia had his life taken by none other than Seifer Almasy. Because of this, Seifer's name was honored, despite his participation in the missiles sent to Timber.
In this war, fears were faced, and destinies were lived; love was lost and discovered, but true peace had prevailed, nevertheless…
The End
Author's Play House: (haha, I'm silly…)
Hello, yay, I finished! lol. Read and Review, tell me what you think!
Here's every detailed original Author's Corner I've ever written. (Not very exciting, is it? Oh well, I like it!) lol
Author's Reflections: I'm having so much fun writing this. Once I start writing, I can't stop. I'm just sorry that it's long. lol Anyway, I'd like to thank my first reviewer, Leanne Ashley. I'm glad you like the story so far, and I'm trying to make it smoother than the first part. Since I'm starting up school again, I won't be able to update it until a holiday or something. Don't worry. I won't abandon it now! LoL Thanks again, and if anybody else would feel free to R&R, that would be great.
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The Author's Corner: Hi everyone, sorry about the long delay. Thanks to all my reviewers, I hope this chapter satisfies you all for now. You guys should expect to see this story finished during Spring Break. I'll try my best to make it as satisfying as possible, please let me know what you think of this chapter. Remember, spring break isn't that far away! ;) Special thanks to Karla3 and FloralBlackMoon, & also Leanne Ashley Thanks everyone, and enjoy! R&R! SOS, lol.
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Author's Reflections:
Finally! Finally! Thanks everyone for being so patient. I'd like to thank all of my reviewers for their reviews. And to answer a certain question, yes I will write other stories besides this one. I'm just too busy with school all of the time, it's a mess.
I hope this chapter is okay. I'm a little nervous about it, so why don't you guys just tell me what you think? Please R&R. And I'll hope to update the final part really soon. (Like sometime this week, probably.)
Thanks List & Comments:
lady-rinoa- Yeah, I know she's a little immature, but honestly I think she's funny this way. I hope she's serious enough for you in this part. Thank you!
Omega Gilgamesh- My Part two uploaded wrong. Any mistake that happens more than 15 times is due to the uploading system. I'll back over and correct my mistakes later, but thanks for telling me. And yeah, she's a crybaby sometimes…well, all the time, but this part should really help you to see why I made the way she is. And about the long chapters…I started it with a long part so I decided to keep it long throughout the entire story. Lol, I know, it's bad, but I just couldn't help myself! Thanks for your honesty! (those were horrible errors I made…) Just so you know, I'm thinking about republishing this story and chopping it up as you suggested…but probably later on.
IttanMomen- Hehehe, thank you! I've been writing another one and I've already started typing it up. I'll give more details once I've finished this one. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this part just like you did with the others.
Pretty like Drugs- I leave you hangin no more, lol. Thanks!
Rin Seren- Thanks, I've really worked hard on this one. And I can only update during my breaks. (Right now, I'm on Spring Break, so I'm out for a week, woo!)
My story will come to an end soon. Not to sure, but there's a possibility that a 6th chapter will happen. Once again, Thank you and I hope you guys like this part. I really had fun writing it too.
Author's Corner:
Hi everyone, the final chapter will follow soon. Hey, thanks for all those Reviews again! -.-
Rin Seren—Wow, you were up that late reading! I'm done writing before that time, and call it a night. (…Or call it a morning, because I get done writing around 2 or 3am. That's bad, I know.) Hey, I hope you like this chapter…and it's terribly long because I tried to fit everything inside, however…its how it is now…lol Now it's summertime, so I get to party all the time…at least until I'm finished writing. Hehe. I hope you have a great summer too.
IttanMomen- You baked cookies? For me! Yay! I'm so happy! lol Thanks for your reviews, they make me feel really great about doing what I do. I always work harder when I know I can't let people down, and you're one of those people. Oh yeah, I'm glad you like my newest story. Your review(s) are awesome, thanks! (Hey, I'm going to update it just as soon as I finish this one too. So be on a look out. Haha.
Breath of fire—I know, it's really long. Honestly, I hadn't realized it was so long until I posted it up. I'm just glad people like it enough to read through.
I'm also glad that you like it so far.
Pretty like Drugs – I didn't make you wait too long, did I? I hope you liked this chapter too!
I love knowing that I made someone smile. Hehe! And as I said before, I will have the final chapter posted up soon…but I need to work on it, so let me get to work now!
Thanks again!
Author's Reflections:
I am so sorry about the long delay. Things just haven't been going right for me lately, but alas I managed to bring forth the conclusion.
I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I had a great time writing for the game I still love to play. It was a long journey for me also... My writing style gradually changed…I noticed such when I took a little time to read through the story for myself. I'm glad I've had so many people to actually take some time and read.
I hope this final part doesn't disappoint, as it was more difficult for me to work under serious circumstances, but anyway its here finally!
Here's a thank you list to everyone who reviewed me: (in alphabetical order…obviously. Hehe)
Breath of fire -Let me know what you think about the rest, Thanks!
FloralBlackMoon -Thanks, hope you like the shortcut!
IttanMomen -Thank you so much! You don't know how happy I am!
Karla3 -hey, I'm on your fav's list! lol
Lady-Rinoa - Thank you, and I know you're story will be wonderful!
Leanne Ashley -I'm in a C2, cool!
Lowlander -Thanks for adding me!
Omega Gilgamesh- You gave up? Aww!
Pretty Like Drugs -lol, I managed to survive!
REM7 -Thanks, everyone liked that chapter!
Rin Seren-Thank you! Very dedicated reader!
Risako-sugaya-Yeah, yeah, I've separated, so tell me if its better, okay?
And also a friend of mine… : PAnyway, I hope you all enjoyed this last chapter…and I will really miss writing for Clash of the Gardens. sighs Oh well…
Subliminal Message- Between Heaven and Hell-Subliminal Messagelol
Extras---
Also...there are a lot of funny things in this story. You see...I couldn't upload it right...because I was a newbie and all...and I uploaded a document with about 3 different chapters all typed up on it. (Don't ask me what I was thinking when I first uploaded it in.…who knows!) Anyways, ever since that document was long, I just decided to keep it long. Sorry!
Well, I couldn't decide what genre it should be, so I settled for drama. At least with drama, you can add whatever you like in the mix. For me, I leaned mostly on the comedy side, but there were dramatic, very dramatic scenes in my story...so Drama took the cup.
There's also the pocket gig! You guys didn't notice that almost all the male characters pulled something from their pockets just when they needed it?
lol, there are many different things you can find in the story. I've placed many inside jokes there too. (I'm afraid these jokes may be jokes that only I can get, lol. I'm just kidding.) Anyway, I'd better shut up now.
You've just read my First FanFic. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing! If anyone has any questions or whatever, just review me. I always answer my reviews. lol….okay. (it's 4:17am so I'd best get myself some rest.) Thank you all. And if I had any horrible mistakes in there...I ask that you please ignore them, for I will eventually redo this story again. (I'm not satisfied with my ending.) Anyway, I'm off!
Thank you!
:Takes a Bow: (Again) lol
StardustRay