The Second War

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII does not belong to me, and I'm writing this for my own entertainment. Meaning I don't make money off of it. Which is unfortunate, because university tuition is pricey.

A/N: So here is the second revamped chapter. I thought I should say, I didn't change the plot of any of it, I just made some grammatical and stylistic changes.

Chapter 2: In Which She Remembers A Summer's Afternoon…

> > >

"I believe you. I believe that someone betrayed you, and turned the rest against you."

The magic Rinoa was conjuring suddenly flickered. The colour of her eyes changed in time with the motion of the magic, and all colour had begun to drain from her face.

"Rinoa." His voice was deep and forceful. "I believe you." He took Rinoa's other wrist gently and held her hands.

She gave a soft whimper before the magic died out completely. She looked into the eyes of her saviour, recalling that only Squall had the power to stifle her so quickly. But no, it wasn't Squall. It couldn't be, because he was halfway across the continent, his family about him, plotting against her.

His green eyes looked at her with concern. Rinoa stared back, exhausted but grateful, wondering why Seifer and Squall resembled each other so much in spirit. "Hey princess," he said softly, a wry smile spreading across his face. "You had me worried."

Suddenly Rinoa was flying, back eight years, far before the world fell apart for her and she was still young and carefree.

> > >

"Hey princess." Seifer called lazily from the sand. "You're late."

Rinoa flushed. It was mid-day, extremely hot, and the beach had no shade save for the umbrella Seifer brought. He had, for once, removed his coat as well as his shirt, leaving the metal of his chain against his bare skin. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she turned redder. He had caught her looking.

"Come on, Rinoa, you're going to get burnt if you keep standing in the sun. You're really red, you know." He said, his emerald eyes teasing her.

For some reason, Rinoa just wanted to stand there and admire him. Her sandals remained rooted to the sand. She was late because she couldn't decide on an outfit to wear to the beach, and ended up wearing her black one piece with a gauzy sarong. Now she wished she chose something more daring.

Eventually, she walked over to Seifer and sat down next to him. His eyes flicked briefly towards her chest area, and she swatted him playfully.

"What were you looking at?" she teased. Inwardly she was satisfied that her swimsuit was low cut enough to attract Seifer's gaze. This was the first time he took her out alone, without the rest of the Forest Owls, and for some reason, she wanted to impress him. He made something inside of her flutter madly. For a wild moment, she wanted to kiss him.

Seifer was observing her with an amused expression, and lifted his hand to her back, trailing his cold and wet fingers down it. Rinoa shivered slightly, mesmerized by his gaze.

"Cold?" he asked quietly.

Rinoa couldn't seem to speak, so she just nodded. Inside her were a riot of emotions, all leading to one thing. She wanted Seifer, to kiss him and feel his hard chest.

"Do you know why I took you out today?" Seifer asked suddenly, taking her hand and threading his fingers through hers.

Rinoa found her voice and decided to play cool, no matter how crazy she felt on the inside. "Because it's a nice day for the beach?"

Seifer chuckled. "And the summer is nearly over."

She froze. She had forgotten. The whole summer seemed golden and endless to her, stretching into eternity. It was only like that because of him. He had been with her almost every day with the Forest Owls, getting closer and closer…but now it was ending, and she felt her throat constrict tightly.

"I have to go back to Garden soon."

"I'll miss you." She offered half-heartedly as her racing heart began to die down. She wondered why Seifer was telling her these things. Rinoa turned her head slightly away from him, watching the waves roll onto the sand. Suddenly, she needed to get away from him. If she was going to get hurt, she may as well start the separation.

So she got to her feet suddenly, removed the sarong, and walked quickly to the water, pretending she wanted a swim. She ignored Seifer calling her name. The water felt calming, it was cool and clear today. Rinoa waded out until she was waist deep, looking into the horizon.

Rinoa nearly fell face first into the water when she felt arms encircle her waist. She tilted her head back slightly and saw that it was Seifer, looking more serious than she had ever seen him. She turned back to the horizon, trying to forget the renewing thumping in her chest. Or was that his? He was so close, she could no longer tell.

"Why did you run?" Seifer's breath was warm in her ear, and his lips lingered there unnecessarily.

When Rinoa made no reply, one of Seifer's hands left her waist and were placed on her chest, directly over her heart. Try as she might, Rinoa was unable to control the gasp that escaped.

"Were you afraid?" He could feel the quick beating of her heart, and his hand was quickly warmed by her warmth. Seifer lowered his head to her neck and kissed it, causing her to gasp again.

Rinoa turned around to face him, shaking. Her face was tinged with pink, and her fingers found their way to his chest, feeling the hardness.

"I…" She searched for an answer, but couldn't find one.

It didn't matter. Seifer leaned down and kissed her, running his fingers through her wet hair. Caught by surprise, it took her a moment to understand before she wrapped her arms around his back. Shyly, she parted her lips slightly, letting his hot tongue slide into her mouth.

They pulled apart, panting for air. Rinoa watched as a droplet of water fell from a lock of Seifer's hair. And suddenly, this precious time seemed all the more shorter, and everything became so much more urgent. This time, Rinoa began the kiss, lightly biting his lower lip before plunging in for another deep kiss. They parted, and brushed their lips together again lightly, before succumbing to their need once more.

When they parted the kiss this time, Seifer rested his head on Rinoa's shoulder in an embrace. He toyed with a strand of her hair and whispered to her.

"I have to go back, princess, I have no choice. If you ever need me…I'll be here. I promise."

> > >

Everyone had left the classroom except for Ellone and Squall, who was sitting somewhat sullenly.

"Is something the matter, Squall?" she asked with concern. He couldn't tell whether or not she genuinely cared, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't trust Ellone any farther than he could throw her.

"I'm fine." He replied stolidly. In truth, his mind had been wandering during the council meeting and he had caught himself thinking of Rin – the sorceress. He was still somehow connected to her, and could sometimes feel what she was feeling. It normally didn't bother him, but he felt a strong surge of emotions from her today. This was not a conscious knowledge, but in some depth of himself, he always knew.

Every morning, he couldn't speak for some time because of her. He could feel her fighting off her demons, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding. Most often she would achieve a tenuous balance. He remembered a time before the war, when he would wake up every morning next to Rinoa and feel no struggle at all.

He realized that this connection to Rinoa was more intimate than their old love-making. It was her soul he had access to, and no doubt she could feel his soul too. He felt, with a hateful pang of regret, that she was now pining for a man other than himself.

Suddenly he remembered himself, Ellone, and where he was. He stared coldly at her. His sister had turned into something unrecognizable – out for blood and revenge. Squall was unsure who he hated more, Ellone or the sorceress. It was ironic that they were the two women he had loved most in his life.

"I'm going to see Cid and Matron." He said abruptly. Squall had made up his mind. He wanted to sever all ties with the Sorceress. He wanted no part in her emotions any longer. However, he wasn't going to tell Ellone that. No, she would just use it to her own, selfish advantage. "There are some things I must discuss with them."

"I'll come along." Ellone said, standing up.

"No." Squall said harshly. "You have other things to attend to."

Ellone turned ashen with anger. "Are you forgetting your place? I am commander of the anti-sorceress party."

"Are you forgetting yours?" Squall mimicked cruelly. "I am commander of Garden. Without me, you wouldn't have headquarters."

"Are you saying you want to separate from me?" she hissed. She looked like she wanted to hit him.

"I couldn't give half a damn." Squall said, and it was the truth. He didn't care about much these days.

"You can't take her out without me." Ellone stated triumphantly.

"Can't I?" Squall met her gaze with steel. "You better remember, dear Sis, that I prefer to work alone." He stood up, pushed past her, and left the room. Squall made his way to the parking lot, chose a car, and drove off without a backwards look.

> > >

In the dim library, Selphie was ripping through the brown folder crossly. Laguna watched on, trying to decide if he was amused or annoyed with her on Ellone's behalf.

"This is garbage!" Selphie cried finally, slamming the papers on the table so hard they scattered everywhere. "Laguna, these plans are so disorganized. She's splitting Squad B and C up and shuffling them around all over the place! They haven't been paired together yet, and none of the cadets have ever worked together. Ever. If personalities clash, if they refuse to work together, like Squall and Seifer, then we're screwed. I think we should just blow up Caraway with a rocket launcher. It's less conspicuous than the Ragnarok, at least."

Laguna glanced through the papers, but couldn't help chuckling at Selphie. "I see what you mean. But it's not as bad as you think it is. Frankly, Ellone doesn't care how it's done, as long as it's done. We don't have to mix up the squads if you think it's unnecessary."

"She was pretty set on using the Ragnarok." Selphie pointed out. "I think she'll be more than a little pissed off if we decided to take the train or borrow cars."

He shrugged. "That's just a display of power for her, to show that Esthar is supporting her."

Selphie eyed the older man. "Do they?" she asked shrewdly.

Laguna looked thoughtful for a moment. Selphie didn't really expect him to answer, but to her surprise, he began speaking after a moment of silence. "I've always preferred to keep Esthar under the radar."

"Literally."

He nodded. "It's safer for the people that way. Ellone is my daughter, adopted or no, and no matter what she does, I will always love her. As for supporting her cause…I think I feel obligated to. I was away from her too long that I feel like I have to make up now, you know?"

Laguna paused again, pushing some of his shaggy hair aside. "As for the sorceress, I don't know what to say. She was on the road to becoming my daughter-in-law, and I got really close to her. I don't know if she was capable of doing what she did. I'm not sure what to believe." He sighed. "All I know now is my family. I want to stick by them, because I haven't before."

Selphie felt a bitter taste in her mouth. Why didn't Laguna believe that the sorceress was guilty? She herself had witnessed it. Surely it was enough. As much as she always respected Laguna, Selphie suddenly felt herself turning away from him in disgust. "Back to the plan," she stated, haphazardly collecting the papers. "We will not stick to Ellone's. It's simply too risky."

She flipped over one of Ellone's sheet and quickly sketched a rough diagram of Caraway's property. "This is what we'll do…"

> > >

To be continued…