Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII...

Author's Note: First of all, I just want to say that I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I've been completely swamped with school and writing pertaining to my two senior thesis papers. Hopefully there won't be as much of a delay in getting the next chapter out, but I can't promise anything. That being said, thank you so much for your reviews! You guys keep me going!

Midnight Song

Chapter Four

"Life's not supposed to be easy
No one ever knows how their fate will play them
And if their dreams are strong enough to carry and carry them through
No one ever knows
Do we need to know..."

-"You Can't Hide" Sweetbox

"AND it looks like we're in for another day of clear skies in Deling City! In fact, our radar is showing that the weather will be quite pleasant for the next few days..."

Squall rolled his eyes at the reporter's cheerfulness. It was just weather, after all. What was there to get excited about? Blocking out the reporter's annoying voice, Squall turned his attention back to his breakfast. He had been unable to sleep the previous night, which had resulted in restless tossing and turning until he had simply decided to get up. That had been hours ago, and while the night had slowly faded into morning, his thoughts were still as restless as ever. He hated to admit it, but a good part of those thoughts involved a certain dark haired pupil of his. No, he thought to himself, I'm not starting with this again. Gripping his glass of orange juice with unnecessary force, he downed the liquid in one gulp.

"This just in: woman found dead in Deling City alley. Full details when we return."

Squall's head snapped up at the announcement. People were found dead or injured every day, so what was it about this case that had caused him to push away his plate in a hurry and focus all of his attention on the television screen? He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't seem to get the image of Rinoa's face out of his head. A horrible feeling had gripped him the second the reporter had said "woman found dead," and now Squall felt himself cursing every commercial that came into view on the screen, withholding the rest of the story from him. Finally, the reporter's face popped back on screen, wearing a grim expression.

"As reported before the break, a woman was found dead in a Deling City alley. The woman's name has not yet been released, but our sources tell us that she was a brunette in her late teens to early twenties. She was found early this morning in a back alley close to the Deling City Hotel. The victim was apparently shot twice, once through the head, and once through the chest. No other information about the attack has been released yet, but investigators believe that this case could be related to the attack made earlier this week on twenty-two year old Clarissa Sheridan. Sheridan was the former tutor of General Caraway's only daughter, Rinoa. She currently remains in critical condition at the Deling City Hospital. There is no word yet on a possible further connection between the cases, but we will keep you up to date on the situation as it develops."

The reporter then began to talk about a fire in the city, prompting Squall to turn the television off completely. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not. The victim's identity hadn't been released, but Squall was fairly certain that the press would have leaked the name if it had been someone prominent in society. It couldn't have been...her. Squall suddenly felt extremely ridiculous. Even if it had been her, why should he care? He'd be out of a paycheck, that's why. Yeah, he told himself, That's exactly why. Rinoa Heartilly was nothing but a pain in his ass.

Feeling slightly more reassured, Squall started to clean up the remainder of his breakfast. He found that he had suddenly lost his appetite. The things hadn't even been placed in the sink when there was a knock on the door. With a sigh, Squall wiped his hands and headed over to the door. If it was Seifer again, Squall knew that he wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

To his surprise, instead of an arrogant blonde male standing outside of his door, a worried looking blonde female stood there. "Quistis?"

Quistis Trepe smiled grimly. "Hello, Squall. I'm sorry to show up here so early, but under the circumstances, I think it's understandable."

"Circumstances?" Squall repeated, confused.

Quistis nodded. "I'm assuming that you've heard about the woman who was found dead this morning?"

"Yeah," Squall told her, "What does that have to do wi..." He trailed off after putting two and two together. "It's Rinoa, isn't it?"

Quistis couldn't stop the look of surprise that suddenly spread across her features. The blue eyed blonde had known Squall since childhood, and he had never once sounded as concerned about another human being, let alone a woman, as he did now. "Yes," Quistis said, forcing herself to look composed.

Once again, Squall surprised her by quickly turning away, his body rigid. Quistis couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on inside of his head right now. His behavior was so odd and unexpected that she didn't have the slightest idea of how to approach him.

"Who did it?" Squall asked quietly, his voice sharp.

"Did what?" Quistis asked. She didn't have the faintest idea about what he was referring to.

Squall turned around to face her, his eyes completely devoid of any emotion. "Who killed Rinoa?"

"Killed Rinoa? Squall, you didn't think that I meant Rinoa was the woman who had been killed, did you?" It was obvious from his silence that he had. What was even more obvious to her was that Squall cared about his new pupil...more than he should, anyway.

"Why are you here, Quistis?" Squall asked coldly. He was annoyed at her for making him believe that Rinoa was dead. He was even more annoyed at himself for giving a damn, and more importantly, showing Quistis that he gave a damn.

"Sit down, Squall," Quistis instructed him. "We have a lot to discuss."

"The last time I checked, this was my apartment," Squall snapped, sitting down on the couch.

Quistis ignored his comment. "To answer your question, I'm here because Cid sent me. He thought you'd need my help."

Squall shook his head. "I can't believe this."

"Before you go jumping to conclusions, you might want to hear me out. Cid has been watching Deling City carefully ever since Clarissa Sheridan's attack. General Caraway asked him to help him find a tutor who could serve as his daughter's bodyguard. That's why Cid sent you."

Squall frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. The General seemed surprised when I told him my rank. Why would that surprise him if he told Cid to send him someone capable?"

"A test, most likely. Caraway wanted to make sure that you weren't an imposter. Perhaps he was testing Cid's loyalty, as well. The reason doesn't matter. What you need to know is that Cid sent you because he knew you'd be the perfect person to protect Rinoa."

"And just how did he know that?" Squall asked suspiciously.

Quistis shrugged. "He didn't tell me. What you need to understand is that Caraway called Cid for a reason. Don't you find it the least bit odd that with all of the guards crawling around his property, Caraway would have to hire you to protect his daughter?"

Squall shrugged. "I figured that Cid had something to do with it."

"Well, that's partially true. You see, Caraway immediately suspected that Clarissa's attack was somehow connected to Rinoa. That's why he sought Cid's help in the matter right away."

Squall frowned. "I don't understand. Other than Sheridan being her tutor, what's the connection?"

"Cid asked Caraway the same question, but he wouldn't tell him. All Caraway asked was that Cid trust him and help him protect his daughter. Well, Cid seems to trust him, which is why we're here."

"We?"

"I told you, Cid sent me to help you. With this latest attack, you're going to need all the help that you can get. Besides, if I'm correct, Caraway implicitly told you to make sure Rinoa doesn't find out you're anything but her tutor. I'm going to be working from the Deling City Hotel for the time being. Ask for me at the front desk if anything comes up."

Squall nodded. "Are we through here?"

"Yes," Quistis said, slightly hurt that he was so anxious to get rid of her. "I'll be in touch. Be careful."

"You don't have to worry about me."

"I know I don't," Quistis said quietly, "But that doesn't change the fact that I do."

Before Squall could respond, she was out the door. Even if she had stayed, he wouldn't have had time to question what she meant by that. He was already late for his tutoring session.

SQUALL arrived at the Caraway Mansion to find a very anxious looking Rinoa. She was pacing the length of the study nervously, hands behind her back and jaw set. He knew that she had seen him come in, but she had yet to acknowledge his presence. Squall briefly wondered if Rinoa's odd behavior had anything to do with their bet, but quickly decided that it didn't. The look on Rinoa's face was far too serious to be concerned over a trivial bet.

Clearing his throat made her finally meet his gaze. "Are you alright?" he asked hesitantly.

Rinoa nodded. "Yup, just great."

It wouldn't take a genius to detect the sarcasm in her voice. Squall quirked an eyebrow, but chose not to say anything. He was learning that it was usually better to leave Rinoa alone when she was in one of her moods.

"Well?" Rinoa demanded.

Now Squall was really confused. "Well what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me what's really wrong? You know, force me to open up to you?"

Squall couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, you're the interrogator around here, not me. Besides, it's none of my business. I can't stand it when people nag me about my feelings, so I'd be a real hypocrite if I turned around and did the same to you."

Rinoa considered that for a moment. "I see where you're coming from, but don't you ever want to let someone know what you're feeling? To get things off your chest?"

"Can't say that I have," Squall said, shrugging. "Now if you're done, we can pick up our discussion of GFs."

"But you still don't know why I'm upset!" Rinoa protested.

Squall stared at her incredulously. "Did you not hear a word I just said?"

Rinoa sighed. "I know, you're right. It's just that I'm going to explode if I don't get this off of my chest. I was hoping that you'd be willing to listen."

It was Squall's turn to sigh. Didn't she have friends to listen to her problems? Why did she have to go dumping them all on him? Still, he would never be able to carry on with the lesson if this kept up. "Fine. What has you so worked up this time?"

Rinoa ignored the annoyance in her tutor's voice. What she had told him was true; she was going to explode if she didn't vent about her father's plans. "My father is throwing me a ball for my eighteenth birthday."

"So?" Squall asked, not understanding the problem. "I thought you girls are supposed to love balls."

"Yeah, well most girls don't have selfish, money-driven fathers who will do just about anything to advance their standing in society. Do you think this ball is going to have anything to do with my happiness? It's a chance for my father to show me off to all of his friends, like I'm some type of trophy. The best part of it is, one of these oh-so-amazing members of society will be my future husband."

Squall's interest was immediately piqued. "So you're saying that your father is using the ball as a means of securing you a wealthy husband."

"Yes!" Rinoa exclaimed. "That's exactly what I'm saying. God, I don't know what to do. There's no way to escape it."

A sudden thought popped into Squall's head, and before he knew what he was saying, he blurted out, "Maybe I can help you."

Rinoa eyed him skeptically. "And just how do you suppose you can do that?"

Squall shot her a glare. "If you don't want my help, then there's no reason for me to speak further."

"Okay, fine," Rinoa quickly said. "What's your plan?"

Squall shrugged. "I just figured that if I attended the ball with you, I could keep an eye on any suitors and keep your father well away from them."

"You would do that for me?" Rinoa asked in disbelief.

"Why not?" he said with a slight smile. "Consider it my payment for being a jerk."

Rinoa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only was he offering to help her, but he was admitting that he had acted like a jerk! Rinoa doubted that she could have been more surprised if the sky had just fallen.

"Well, thank you," Rinoa said quietly, suddenly feeling shy.

Squall nodded, unsure of what to say. His attitude in the past few minutes had even shocked himself. He wasn't supposed to show her that he cared; dammit, he wasn't supposed to care. What the hell had gotten into him today? First jumping to conclusions about the murdered woman, and now this? He really must be losing his mind.

Forcing composure upon himself, Squall ran a hand through his hair and decided that it was best to change the subject. "So, how's the studying progressing?"

Rinoa visibly relaxed with the asking of the question. It was extremely reassuring to be back on common ground. Squall's sudden kindness towards her had really thrown her off-guard; a feeling she wasn't accustomed to. "I'm learning a lot."

"Really," Squall stated, unsure if she was being sarcastic or not. "Good to hear."

"It is, isn't it?" Rinoa said, grinning. "Especially since you're going to lose our bet."

Squall couldn't help noticing that she seemed to change her moods extremely fast. No hints of her earlier despair could be detected. "We'll see," was all he said.

"Aw, come on, Mr. Leonhart. Have a little faith."

"This has nothing to do with faith, but with what is humanly possible."

A hint of something (pain? regret?) seemed to flash through her eyes. The emotion was gone so suddenly that Squall found himself wondering if it had ever been there at all.

"I'm a firm believer that anything is possible," she told him.

"I don't know," Squall said, shrugging. "Sounds like the easy way out to me."

Rinoa frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone has to face reality sometime. Fantasizing about some impossible event happening won't get you anywhere."

Looks like the old Mr. Leonhart is back. "So I suppose your not a big fan of hope?"

Squall shook his head. "Waste of time. Why bother believing in something that is destined to fail?"

"How can you say that?" Rinoa demanded. "Hope is one of the most beautiful things a person can have. No matter what happens, hope is always there. Even when it seems like everything in the world is falling apart, that one little spark of hope gives up the strength to carry on."

Rinoa's words were powerful, but no matter how badly Squall wished he couldn't believe them, he just couldn't. What had hope ever given him? A lifetime of pain and regret, that's what. He found that he had grown extremely tired of this conversation. It was time to retreat back into what was safe. "I have a feeling that we're not going to agree on this issue, and I think it's about time that we started with the lesson."

Before Rinoa could respond, Caraway had walked into the room. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but I have some news that I thought you'd like to hear, Rinoa."

From the look on Rinoa's face, it was obvious that she didn't believe that anything that came out of Caraway's mouth would be something she'd want to hear. "What is it?" she asked wearily.

"I've just received word that Clarissa has woken up and is in stable condition."

Rinoa's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you serious? Oh my God, I have to go see her!"

Caraway held up a hand to stop her. "Not so fast. You're in the middle of a lesson."

"But Father!"

"No 'buts'," Caraway told her firmly. "You know that your education comes first. You may visit Clarissa tomorrow." That said, the General was gone.

"God!" Rinoa exclaimed angrily. "That man is impossible to live with!"

"Grab your coat," Squall announced suddenly, picking up his own.

"Excuse me?"

"I said go grab your coat, Ms. Heartilly. It's time for your field training to begin."

RINOA followed Squall down the street, shivering from the cold. Winter was quickly approaching the city. While she loved the snow as much as anyone, the cold weather was definitely something she could do without. It didn't help that she had no idea where her tutor was taking her or what type of field training she was in for. Besides, hadn't the deal been that she would start field training after she finished the book?

"Mr. Leonhart," Rinoa called, slightly out of breath from having to keep up with his long strides, "Can you please tell me where we're going?"

"No," Squall said emotionlessly as he walked on.

Rinoa sighed in annoyance. "You don't make any sense. I mean, you said that I had to memorize that damn book before I could start my field training. Now, you just up and decide to start, not to mention when it's freezing."

Squall shot her a quizzical look. "Freezing? I'd hardly call sixty degrees freezing."

"Yeah, well anything below seventy is freezing in my book," Rinoa gritted out through chattering teeth.

Squall rolled his eyes, but wisely chose not to say anything. Rinoa gave up her questioning for the time being, and they continued on in silence. They had now reached the heart of Deling City, home to multiple shopping districts, the famed Deling City Hotel, and of course, the Deling City Hospital. Realization hit Rinoa as soon as she saw that they were making their way over to the main entrance.

"I can't believe this," Rinoa said in amazement. "You told my father we were going to train so that I could some and see Clarissa."

"Not exactly," Squall told her, running a hand through his hair uncomfortably. "We need to find you a weapon if you're going to be training soon. It's just your luck that the hospital is on the way."

Rinoa shook her head, not believing that he hadn't intentionally allowed her to go to the hospital. She had no idea what had gotten into her tutor today, but it was definitely an improvement over the grouch she was growing used to.

"Well, luck or not, thank you." She then recalled the earlier part of what he had just said. "Wait a minute. You just said that I'll start my real field training soon. Does that mean that you've accepted the fact that I'm going to win our little bet?"

"No," Squall said, "Regardless of whether you win or lose, you'll still eventually start you field training. Might as well have a weapon ready."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "You are so full of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see Clarissa."

Squall put a hand up to stop her. "Not so fast. I'm not letting you go in there alone."

"Mr. Leonhart, it's a hospital. I really doubt that some big, evil man will abduct me there."

Squall shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'm still coming with you, so move it."

Rinoa sighed, but chose not to argue Whether Mr. Leonhart came with her or not really didn't matter. The important thing was that Clarissa was awake, and she was going to see her. As Rinoa walked up to the desk and signed in, she was extremely relieved to note that the secretary from the other day was nowhere in sight.

Turning to Squall, she said, "You can wait for me here. I won't be very long." Squall stared at her pointedly. "Okay, fine, you can come. You don't have to look at me like that."

Squall followed her down the hall silently. He couldn't stand being in hospitals. They were full of nothing but bad news, and Squall had enough of that in his every day life. Rinoa looked over her shoulder to make sure he was following before stopping in front of one of the doors that lined the hallway. Putting on a mask of confidence, she reached out and opened the door for the second time that week.

Zell sprang to his feet immediately upon seeing him. The change in his appearance over the course of a few days was remarkable. Rinoa could see the relief and ease in his face, and couldn't help smiling. It was wonderful to receive good news for once.

"Hey, Zell," Rinoa greeted him warmly. "How are you doing?"

"Great, now that I know Clarissa's going to be fine," he told her.

At the mention of Clarissa, Rinoa's eyes traveled over to the hospital bed. Her former tutor appeared to be resting peacefully.

"I'm so happy for you," Rinoa told him genuinely. "We just heard the news and had to come right over. I hope you don't mind."

"We?" Zell asked, eyes zeroing in on Squall.

"Oh!" Rinoa exclaimed, "I almost forgot. Zell, this is my new tutor, Squall Leonhart." She turned to face him. "Mr. Leonhart, this is Zell Dincht, Clarissa's husband."

The two men nodded at each other. Squall wondered how Rinoa had figured out his first name since he had never told her. He made a mental note to question her about it later.

"So how is she doing?" Rinoa asked Zell. "Any idea when she'll be released from here?"

Zell shrugged. "The doctors aren't sure yet. They want to observe her further before they release her. They said she should make a full recovery, though. It's a miracle."

Rinoa shot a glance at Squall to see his reaction to the word "miracle." From their earlier conversation, she didn't take him to be much of a believer in those, either. Her eyes met his across the room and she shot him a look that clearly said "I told you so."

"Rinoa?" a faint voice asked hesitantly.

Eyes wide, Rinoa immediately ran over to Clarissa's side. Clarissa now lay awake, her eyes taking in the sight all around her. "Clarissa!" Rinoa exclaimed, gripping her hand tightly. "I was so worried."

Clarissa laughed weakly. "You can't get rid of me that easily. Have you been keeping up with your studies?"

"Only you would ask me a question like that at a time like this," Rinoa told her, grinning. "But yes, I'd have to say that I'm definitely keeping up with my studies." She couldn't help looking at her current tutor as she said so.

Clarissa followed her gaze. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh," Rinoa laughed, "He's not my friend, just my new tutor, Mr. Leonhart."

"New tutor, huh?" Even though Clarissa's voice was faint, Rinoa could still detect the amusement in her voice. "You keeping her on her toes?" she asked Squall.

He shrugged. "I don't know." He turned to Rinoa. "Am I?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "See what I have to deal with?"

Clarissa just smiled. "How's Seifer doing?"

Rinoa's face darkened. "I wouldn't know. We broke up."

Squall was definitely surprised to hear that particular bit of news, but immediately feigned disinterest. Of course he wouldn't have heard about it. Why would Rinoa ever want to share her personal life with him?

"I'm so sorry," Clarissa said sympathetically. "What happened?"

"Looks like that's our cue to go," Zell told Squall. "You wanna grab a cup of coffee?"

"No, no, no," Rinoa protested. "You don't have to leave, Zell. Actually, we're the ones who should get going. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing, Clarissa. I'm so happy that you're okay."

"Believe me, so am I. Thank you for stopping by, Rinoa," Clarissa told her.

Rinoa gave her a light hug, not wanting to hurt her. "You're welcome. You just worry about getting out of here, alright?" Clarissa nodded. "Bye, Zell. Take care of yourself."

With one final wave, Rinoa left the room with Squall following behind her, silent once again. Squall wasn't exactly talkative to begin with, but Rinoa couldn't help noticing that he was even quieter than usual. It was starting to worry her.

"Mr. Leonhart," she asked quietly, "Are you alright?"

"How did you find out my first name?" he asked suddenly, ignoring her question.

Rinoa stared at him in confusion. "What?"

"Back there, you introduced me as Squall. How did you know?"

"Um, is it really that big of a deal?"

"Humor me."

Rinoa sighed. She supposed that telling him would open the door to talk about Seifer, but was she ready for that? "You'll just get angry if I tell you."

Squall's eyes narrowed. "Try me."

"Okay, fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. Seifer told me."

"Of course he would," Squall said, nodding. "I'm sure he had an abundance of wonderful things to say about me."

"Mr. Leonhart," Rinoa said hesitantly, "What happened between the two of you?"

Squall shook his head. "It's a long story."

"Well, I'll have you know that I'm a great listener," Rinoa told him with a smile.

The corners of Squall's lips twitched every so slightly. "That may be true, but even if I did want to tell you, which I don't, there's no time to."

"We have plenty of time!" Rinoa protested.

"I'm afraid we don't," Squall said calmly as he paused outside of one of the shops, "It's time to find you a weapon."

Rinoa groaned. "Great."