Rest
Just a small note beforehand. Quotes encased in parentheses, like this (""), indicate thoughts.
Oh, and, for a disclaimer, I don't own Final Fantasy VIII, any of its characters, or any trademarks of Square Enix.
". . . Squall, report to the bridge!"
". . . Commander Leonhart, report to the bridge at once!"
The intercom's demand fell on deaf ears. In the hall, some students laughed about how the "dutiful" Squall Leonhart must be sleeping in, but most continued to go about their business. Balamb Garden had been quiet for these last few days, so why shouldn't the Commander have some rest? The last year had been spent assisting Esthar and Trabia in their relief efforts after the short-lived reign of Ultimecia and her puppets in other times, and the destruction was terrible to behold. In Esthar, bodies were still being hauled from the ruins of fallen skyscrapers, and mass graves extended far beyond the borders of the main city. In Trabia, people were found either freezing or frozen after the harsh winter. To add to the problem, General Caraway had ascended to the title of "President" Caraway, and seemed to favor an expansionistic policy. Dollet was under the control of Galbadia and newly liberated Timber was besieged. SeeD's hands were full elsewhere.
In the bridge of Balamb Garden, Quistis, Nida, Xu, and Rinoa paced about, waiting for Squall. These times had been tough for the Commander; he shined in wartime management, but couldn't handle domestic situations. Quistis and Xu assisted him as much as was possible, but Squall needed something bigger to do than dig up bodies and haul ruined buildings. The only real support he had was Rinoa. Throughout much of the day, Squall would be with the "orphanage group" and Rinoa, handling the presented problem as well as possible, but during spare time, he only had eyes for Rinoa.
Rinoa paused for a moment. Perhaps Squall deserved a day of rest.
"Hey," Rinoa said, "I'm gonna go down and check on Squall."
Quistis nodded, and Rinoa stepped on the lift and pushed the "1F" button on the control panel. The weary elevator gave a begrudging, rusty grunt as it slid downward. The Garden was in dire need of maintenance. The tired lift came to a slow stop, and Rinoa stepped out into a tired Garden. Perhaps everyone deserved some rest.
Squall had been increasingly tired every day, yet he continued to awaken at 6:00 every morning. Now, it was 8:30. Why should he sleep in today, and break his routine?
As Rinoa turned to the hall to the dormitories, a chill ran down her spine. The dormitory hall was empty, cold, and dark. She dismissed the chill, and stepped into the entangled web of halls leading to the Commander's chambers.
At last, Rinoa found Squall's room. She typed in a code that she had spied Squall entering earlier, "191721." The door started to open, but stopped, jammed by something. This aroused Rinoa's suspicions. Had something happened to Squall? Through the crack in the door that had been opened, all that could be seen was a section of wall. As Rinoa peeked in, her eyes widened and she gasped. Blood was spilled on the walls. Rinoa frantically used her magic to break the door down, and began to feel her world falling apart around her. Squall was laid out on the ground, on his side, in a pool of blood, with a gaping gash in his throat and a deep impact in his head. A chest of drawers was knocked over, and documents were scattered on the floor, soaking up blood. Rinoa threw herself on Squall, tears beading up in her eyes, and slowly cradled his head in her arms.
The alarm clock rang. Rinoa's eyes snapped open and she stared at the light blue ceiling of her own dorm room. She glanced at the alarm clock, and it read 6:00 A.M.. Rinoa sighed and settled back into bed, shivering. What a dream. . .
"Yo, Rinoa! News!" cried Zell from outside of Rinoa's door.
Rinoa's eyes snapped open again. What if something had happened to Squall? She needed to see him; she needed to see that he was okay. Rinoa leapt out of her bed, quickly dressed, and dashed out toward the bridge, leaving Zell behind.
"Rinoa! Where are you. . . Ah, why the hell am I always the messenger around here! Rinoa, meet Squall at the bridge!"
Rinoa sprinted into the open hallway, now sparsely populated with students. Even though she realized how irrationally she was thinking, Rinoa couldn't let go of the last image that she had seen in that dream - Squall dead, in her arms. She had to see Squall.
Rinoa stepped into the elevator alongside Zell, who was gasping for breath. Rinoa felt calmer now, after having learned that Squall was alive and well for sure, and attempted at a relaxing conversation.
"Why didn't Squall just use the intercom system?" Rinoa inquired.
"I dunno. He probably just felt like torturing me. Man, all this running on a full stomach hurts!" Zell replied.
"Finally got the hot dogs?" Rinoa responded, stifling a laugh.
"Oh yeah! They were awesome!" Zell said, beginning to box at air in the cramped elevator.
A resounding ding sound filled the elevator, and the doors opened into the Headmaster's office. Squall stood at the back, saluting Zell and Rinoa as they entered the musty room. Old ferns and bonsais lined the walls alongside portraits of various SeeDs of Cid's choice. Clouds of dust still arose from the ancient red carpet. Zell awkwardly saluted along with Quistis and Selphie, who were standing at the sides. Rinoa glanced about, then proceeded to salute, forgetting the formality of the situation.
("I hate these formalities, but protocol is protocol,") Squall thought to himself, relaxing from his salute. He stared awkwardly at the others, still saluting, then, with a small jump at forgetting his own position, stated, "At ease."
As the others relaxed after an extended salute, Squall called Xu down from the bridge. Xu stepped off of the lift and saluted, thus forcing the crew to repeat the maneuver.
"At ease," Xu said. "Now, I'm here to brief you on a serious mission in Galbadia. You've all heard about the rebel factions forming, right?"
Rinoa remembered reports she had seen of the bombings of Galbadian soldier caravans. These rebels weren't like the Forest Owls. These particular rebels could be better defined as anarchists tearing up Galbadian government by the roots. They didn't care whether their victims were military or civilian, as long as they were Galbadian.
"Well," Xu continued, "we've gathered reports of one of them getting their hands on high-class Esthar missiles, fresh from the laboratories, and they're being aimed at Deling City. I'm sure our mission is becoming clear to all of you."
Everyone nodded, and Quistis spoke up. "Even if we eliminate the current threat, what of the distributors of these missiles?"
"That'll come later," Xu replied. "For now, though, we need to focus on the problem in front of us. I have good news and bad news about this."
"First the good news," Squall continued. "We're receiving assistance from Galbadia Garden."
"Oh!" Selphie piped up. "Will we see Irvy? C'mon, c'mon!"
"Well," Xu responded, "that's the bad news. Irvine Kinneas is our assistance."
"Oh, hell. . ." Zell said, punching the floor.
"Okay," Xu interrupted, "all quarrels aside, we needed a sharpshooter for this, and he was up for the job. Now, for our transportation, you'll just have to take a train to Timber to get started. Quistis has already been filled in on everything, and she'll describe our plan on the way."
Xu bowed, saluted, and departed for the bridge as Quistis saluted.
"Hmm. . . Assemble at the front gate at 1500 hours. You're free until then," Quistis said.
"So now we all have to get in this elevator?" Zell complained.
"Well, if it's any comfort, I'll be stuck up here with the paperwork," Squall remarked.
"Oh, come on, you don't have to do all of that! Come on down with us!" Rinoa said.
("I wish.")
"The paperwork's got to get done," Squall said.
Quistis stepped forward to the desk that Squall was now seated at. "I'll take care of that for now, and you can spend time with Rinoa."
Rinoa's eyes lit up as she said, "Come on, Squall!"
("I don't wanna push my burden on anyone else.")
"No, I'll take care of it," Squall replied.
Rinoa sighed, turned around, and walked away toward the elevator dejectedly. As she stepped toward it, the door opened, revealing Irvine Kinneas.
"Come on, why so down? Let me cheer you up," Irvine said as he invited Rinoa into the elevator and guided it down to the first floor.
"What was that all about?" Zell shouted.
"Irvy!" Selphie yelled, waiting for the elevator to come back up.
Quistis sighed. "You're such an idiot about women, Squall."
"Whatever."
The hallways in Balamb Garden were like a home to Irvine, where he paced the hallway, having romantic conversations with the women of his choice. Today, however, he was going to give relationship advice to Rinoa.
"You're complaining that he doesn't notice you?" Irvine asked. "He totally notices you, but he's just too awkward to try and engage in a casual conversation with you. Squall's just embarrassed, that's all."
"You really think so?" Rinoa replied. "Maybe I should go up there and talk to him. It's just so embarrassing though, you know. . ."
"See, both of you have got the same problem. You're just too embarrassed to talk to each other. Go on, try going up to the office and talking to him!"
Rinoa looked up at Irvine. "What would we talk about, though?"
"Oh, anything," Irvine responded, with a roguish look on his face. "Just keep Squall away from his work, that's all."
"It could be worth a try. . . Thanks, Irvine! Now you go meet up with Selphie, she's been wanting to see you!"
Rinoa walked to the elevator just in time for Zell, Quistis, Xu, and Selphie to exit from it.
"Where ya goin', Rinoa?" Zell asked.
"Oh, I'm just gonna talk to Squall, and try to get him away from his work for a second," Rinoa replied.
"Oh, well, good luck with that. He doesn't like to be interrupted," Zell said.
She got into the elevator and punched in, "3F." As the elevator squealed upward, Rinoa leaned against the wall and wearily closed her eyes. The elevator was taking longer than usual.
Finally, the elevator stopped, and the door opened to an eerily empty office. Rinoa hesitantly stepped out, only to hear the click of a rifle at her side. She was surrounded by riflemen. Rinoa froze as Seifer was brought out at gunpoint, gagged and struggling.
("Why is he here? Why is everyone here!")
Rinoa dashed out to help Seifer, but was held back by the arms of two of the men. She tried to shout out, but found that she could not. She tried to cast magic, but felt the shocking numbness of the absence of it.
A man in unknown military regalia stood behind Seifer. The man was an intimidating sight indeed, in a large, flowing, red coat, and his face was shrouded by the dim light of sunrise. He silently raised his arm, and dropped it. Seifer's eyes widened, and his struggles intensified. A single gunshot rang out, and the once white coat of Seifer Almasy was stained scarlet. The struggles stopped as the still form of Seifer turned the already red carpets a dismal shade of crimson. Rinoa broke free and ran to Seifer's side. A man aimed his rifle at Rinoa, the mysterious officer nodded, and the rifleman pulled the trigger. A flash of pain, a sight of blood, then deep, enveloping, welcoming darkness embraced Rinoa.
Rinoa awakened to the blinding light of the infirmary window. There was no gunshot wound, only ice packed down on her forehead.
"We really do need more ventilation in Garden, you know. In the heat of the summer, lots of students have passed out," stated a distant voice. Rinoa shielded her eyes from the light as Dr. Kadowaki opened the curtain. "I'm glad to see you're okay. Oh, and there's another person who's been bugging me for a while who I'm sure will also be glad you're okay."
Dr. Kadowaki opened the door. "She's just fine; come on in and pay her a visit. Oh, you can thank me later for the card game tips."
". . . Whatever."
Rinoa smiled as Squall stepped into the infirmary room and sat on the bench beside her awkwardly.
". . . You look pale," Squall simply stated.
("Wow, he's hard to have a conversation with.")
". . . Are you gonna be okay for the mission?" Squall asked.
"Yeah, I think."
". . . Listen, um. . . What's Seifer been doing?" Rinoa inquired.
"I dunno. He sort of disappeared after everything with Ultimecia. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I just had a dream about him."
". . . Okay."
"Oh, come on, Squall!" Rinoa insisted. "Don't you wanna talk about anything?"
". . . Not really."
"Well, um. . . What's on your mind?"
"Nothing, really."
"So," Rinoa said, "I overheard Dr. Kadowaki talking to you about that Triple Triad card game. Care to teach me how to play?"
". . . It's complicated, but I guess so."
("What does she want from me?")
Rinoa sat up, rummaging about in her pocket until she drew five cards.
"Okay, let's see those cards," Squall said. Scanning over them quickly, he said, "You've got a decent hand here. You can do something with the Vysage, Adamantoise, Iron Giant, and Malboro cards, but this Fastitocalon-F has got to go. Here, let me replace it with one of my own cards, an Elnoyle."
"Oh, thanks!" Rinoa said.
"Don't worry about it. Over time, you'll probably end up getting better cards. In the meantime, the best way to get better is to practice. I personally enjoy playing with the 'Open,' 'Diff.,' 'Same,' and 'Plus' rules. Do you understand all of those?"
Rinoa thought for a moment and said, "Well, I sorta get 'Diff.' and 'Same,' but what about 'Plus?'"
Squall sighed and hunched over, arranging some of his cards. "Okay, I've got these three cards arranged here in an 'L' shape. You see how the top number on the middle card and the bottom number of the top card add up to '9,' which is also the sum of the right number of the middle card and the left number of the right-hand card? In this case, my opponent has the outer two cards and I just placed the middle card, so I flip them. Got it?"
"Um. . . Yeah, I think so," Rinoa replied. Slowly, a grin lit up her face. "Care to play a game?"
". . . Sure."
Thanks for reading, and please review! I appreciate constructive criticism, but please don't criticize with no reason!