The Second War

Disclaimer: I'm so tired of writing these. Final Fantasy VIII does not belong to me. I'm not making a profit from this.

Chapter 9: In Which She Returns

> > >

Gale was surprised that she and Seaton were given proper rooms instead of being led to a cellar somewhere. Of course, Rinoa was based in the Deling Hotel, so it wasn't exactly a hardship housing prisoners comfortably. She had immediately gone to the bathroom and washed off all the mud and blood that had caked onto her skin from the fight. A hot bath did do wonders.

Seaton was leaning against the head of the bed. "I kind of like it better here." He said when he saw her emerge from the bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with a towel.

She did too, but she didn't want to admit it out loud. Ellone dealt with traitors harshly. Instead, she plopped herself down on her own bed. There was a knock on the door and a jingling of keys, so they both sat up expectantly to see who was coming in.

There were two men, one wearing a yellow vest and blue hat, while the other was dressed more normally in a blue sweatshirt. "I'm Zone," said the man in the sweatshirt. "This is Watts."

Watts was carrying a tray of food, and set it on a table for them. "While you eat, Rinoa wanted us to talk to you."

Gale went and picked up a spoon and plunged it into the steaming soup. She was ravenous. After a moment, Seaton followed her lead.

"About Ellone, right?" Seaton asked, dipping a piece of bread into his soup.

Watts shrugged. "It's standard to interrogate prisoners, right? For all she knows, we're torturing you into giving us information." He narrowed his eyes. "And believe me, we can stoop to that level."

"Ow, Watts, don't talk like that, your upsetting my stomach again…" Zone groaned, crouching and holding himself around the middle. Gale and Seaton glanced at each other briefly, and he shrugged.

Watts grinned. "I had to give the standard disclaimer. Now, how many students are at Garden?"

Gale thought about it. "There are maybe fifty upperclassmen going for their field exams soon, another thirty upperclassmen who aren't, and probably two hundred of us junior classmen."

Zone fished for a pad and a pencil and began to write this down from his position on the floor. "So almost three hundred potential SeeDs for Ellone in the next few years. Not good, eh?"

"Who's teaching all you guys?" Watts asked.

"Well, the only Instructor from before that's still around is Aki. And then there's Xu, and Nida was promoted as an instructor. Sometimes they'll use SeeDs who just graduated as assistants, and sometimes Kiros and Ward take us out for field practice." Seaton said, finishing his soup and grabbing his plate of pasta.

"What's Squall up to these days?" Zone asked curiously.

"He's sort of taken over headmastership because Cid's gone, but he mostly still acts as the commander. He's always in a bad mood, I don't like being too close to him." Gale said, almost embarrassed. "He fights a lot with Ellone."

Watts raised his eyebrow at that. "Interesting. Tell me everything you know about Ellone's future plans."

Seaton spat out some of his food laughing. "We're just junior classmen. They don't tell us anything, we're just supposed to follow orders."

Gale nodded. "That's true."

"You said Squall fights a lot with Ellone, but does the rest of Garden support her fully?" Watts asked.

"I'd say so," Gale replied. "Especially the upperclassmen. Ellone's pretty strict on loyalty."

Seaton grinned. "I guess you're lucky we're junior classmen."

"Indeed." Watts looked at them for a moment, and decided they were telling him the truth. "Well, we're off then. Someone will bring you food in the morning."

Zone stood up weakly and stuck the notepad into his pocket. "Probably me." He said, and they both left, unmistakably locking the door behind them.

Seaton looked at Gale and raised his glass of juice towards her. "Cheers."

> > >

He saw her.

She was dressed in white, her eyes were shining and her usually pale cheeks glowed pink. "Swear to be my knight."

He stepped forward to her, reaching out. She danced back to avoid his touch. His lips moved to say her name, but there was no sound.

She didn't seem to notice. "Swear it again," she said, laughing with joy.

He wanted to, and he tried, but he had no voice.

Again she seemed not to notice he could not speak, but now she moved forwards and held his face in both of her hands. With sudden dread he realized she was looking past him. All thoughts of this fled his mind when she pressed herself against him, like in the old days. Her head was nestled under his chin. "Don't ever leave me," she whispered.

She looked back up to him and kissed him, and he foolishly dropped all his worries to kiss her back with his old passion and fervor. Her familiar scent made him heady as he traced the familiar line of her back with his hands.

Suddenly, he felt as he was forcibly shoved out of his own body and made to watch the scene before him. It wasn't himself embracing her any longer, but a solid shadow without a face. The shadow changed with a burst of color, and he saw Seifer reaching down to touch her face.

Another burst of color and light, and Seifer was replaced by Irvine, who had her back against a wall, her face full of ardor.

He kept calling her name, but she couldn't hear him.

> > >

Squall jolted upright in his bed, breathing hard. He did not just dream of her. He hadn't for years now, not like that. The worst part of it was that it felt real. He could still feel her skin as she pressed up against him, heating up his blood. He let his head drop to his knees, willing his desire for her to subside.

He wanted her. Squall hastily pushed that thought away and instead focused on the second half of the dream angrily. Seifer and Irvine! She must have asked those bloody fools to be her knight. Ellone was right, she probably bewitched the stupid bastards.

He couldn't fight the rising jealously. "I'm her knight," he muttered, and threw a pillow at his lamp in frustration. It shattered, sending the porcelain pieces flying. What was wrong with him? He didn't want to be her knight anymore. So why the envy?

All the dream did was confirm Rinoa's faithlessness to him. He was probably channeling more of her emotions through the dream. Squall growled and tried to shake his head clear. He stood up from his bed, suddenly aware of the cold sweat he had broken out into, and moved to stand on his balcony.

There was somebody already there. Squall felt his hair rise up in anger. The last thing he wanted right now was an intruder. It was a dark cloaked figure, and for an instant, he was reminded of the faceless shadow in his dream.

"Go away," he said to it coldly. "You're trespassing."

"Make an exception for an old friend."

Squall recognized the voice instantly. "So much for your pacifism, Quistis."

She stepped into his room and lowered her hood. "No one knows I'm here. I'm not declaring sides." She undid the cloak and draped it over a chair.

Squall shrugged. "Keep your coat on, you're not staying here."

Quistis took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I don't care Squall. I traveled quite a while to see you, and the least you could do is be courteous to me."

"And the least you could have done was inform me that you were coming." He shot back.

"Right, and have you reject my visit." Quistis said. "Squall, I just wanted to see if you were okay." She stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He pushed her off. "I'm fine, now go away."

"You were dreaming about Rinoa. I heard you say her name."

Squall turned to face her and rounded on her. "So what if I was? It's – "

"None of my business." Quistis interrupted, smiling. "I know. Do you miss her?"

He turned away from her. He was trying to figure out why Quistis had returned. There had to be a better reason than just to see him. And why was she baiting him like this? "Shut up, instructor." He said under his breath. Squall could feel her eyes on him. "Seriously Quistis, get the hell away from here. I don't want to deal with you."

For the first time that night, he detected anger on her face. "I don't believe you Squall! The minute someone shows concern for you, you throw it back in their faces! To think, I was stupid enough to believe you would want to see me after all this time." She sniffed and swiped at her eyes.

Squall wasn't sure if he felt remorseful or even more aggravated. "Hell Quistis, don't cry," he said awkwardly. Weeping, she threw her arms around him. Squall shifted uncomfortably as her tears wet his bare shoulder. The only other woman who had ever gotten this close to him was Rinoa. She was the only other woman he let get this close.

"Squall?"

He looked down at Quistis absently, his thoughts swirling around Rinoa, and she swiftly brushed her lips against his. Squall recoiled and pushed her away, staring disbelieving at her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Quistis looked at him helplessly. "I just thought…after so long…I can help you forget her."

This surprised and disgusted him at the same time. "No, thank you." He said bitingly.

"Come on, Squall, when have you gotten so high and mighty on morals?" She snapped, losing her temper.

"And since when have you lost all your morals?" Squall shot back.

Quistis shrugged.

Squall laughed humorlessly. "I get it. You came here so we could be fuck buddies. Great plan, Quistis. That'll really make me forget her." He ran his fingers through his hair wildly. "Let's give it a shot, shall we?" In an instant, he had pulled Quistis back to him and planted his lips on hers. He discovered distastefully that Quistis was still quite willing as she slid her tongue into his mouth.

Heatedly, he pushed her down into his bed and pulled up her skirt. Amidst her moans, Squall reflected that he if shut his eyes, he could almost pretend that she wasRinoa.

> > >

Irvine was studiously ignoring Seifer's stare as he pored over an atlas of the world. He was sure Seifer was wildly curious about what went on between himself and Rinoa, and his instincts were proved right a moment later.

"Did Rinoa say anything to you?" Seifer asked casually, playing with Hyperion.

Irvine's forced himself to keep a straight face. "Like what?"

"Stuff." Seifer stopped swinging his gunblade. "About me, maybe."

"No need to get so self-centered," Irvine said. "She told me about you being her knight, but I figured it would have happened, sooner or later." He couldn't help the jubilant grin that began to spread across his cheeks.

"And you're that happy for me?" Seifer asked dryly, raising his eyebrows.

Irvine turned back down to his maps. "Of course. No one better than you, right?"

"Of course," Seifer repeated suspiciously. "What else did she say to you?"

Irvine pointed his maps. "She's decided I'm to go to Esthar. Collecting information, checking the public perception, seeing if there's anything useful we can get." His face darkened. "And getting rid of Odine, of course. There's a troublemaker for Rinoa if I ever saw one. There's no need to pry, Seifer, it's not like we discussed your death."

Seifer chuckled. "Right. Anyway, I'm off to check up with the soldiers who got back from Caraway. Will I see you before you get to Esthar?"

"Depends when the plane's ready for me." Irvine looked up from his map to Seifer. "Take care of her when I'm gone, alright?"

"Of course." Seifer tipped an imaginary hat to Irvine and left his room.

What really occured was that he declined Rinoa's offer. Irvine wanted it badly, but realized that Seifer had always been much more adept controllingSorceress inside of herthan himself. And if it was better for Rinoa to have Seifer has her knight, thenIrvine could step back with grace.

Now Irvine knew where he stood with her, and he was satisfied with the knowledge. That was all he needed, the reassurance that Rinoa depended on him so deeply. He suggested that he take a trip to Esthar, to save them both from the awkwardness and embarrassment that would have followed.

She agreed reluctantly, only after he promised to return as soon as possible. Irvine stood up and moved towards a large chest he kept at the foot of his bed. He opened it and began selecting the ammunition he wanted for the trip. After a moment of grim reflection, he grabbed around of dark ammo, just in case.

There was a knock on the door and Watts popped his head in. "The plane technicians dudes asked me to tell you that the plane for your trip was ready."

Irvine leaned his gun against his shoulder, tapping the side of his head with it. "I'm off, then." They both stepped out as Irvine locked the door. "By the way, did you get anything interesting off those kids?"

Watts shrugged. "Nothing we couldn't assume for ourselves, but we did get specific numbers on SeeDs. And Squall and Ellone have some sibling rivalry they need to deal with, but that's all. Rinoa's hell bent on converting these kids."

"That's probably a good idea," Irvine mused. "Send them in to spy for us after we get Fujin back."

"Well, have a good trip in Esthar, sir." Watts said, thumping his shoulder. "I'll tell Rinoa you've left."

> > >

To be continued….

A/N: Well, this did feel like a bit of a slightly shorter chapter, but I had to slice it up that way. If I added in the next section, the chapter would have been too long….anyhoo, same as always, give me a week, and I'll give you a chapter! Thanks for reading, and I love reviews, they keep me healthy and motivated!