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

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Hopefully I'll be able to start picking up the pace with updates!

Midnight Song

Chapter Six

"It's all shallow and all so appealing now
I'm up to my ankles and I'm drowning anyway in a sea of
Sarcastic faces
Familiar places
Everything looks quite the same here it's
All confusingly amusing
Bitter and tainted
The picture you painted to me..."

-"Only One" Lifehouse

TWO pairs of eyes traveled over to the doorway to find Seifer standing there, an angry scowl upon his face. Neither Squall nor Rinoa said a word, both caught completely off guard. This only seemed to anger Seifer further, as he took another step into the room.

Just then, Nancy came running down the hall. "Ms. Rinoa, I'm so sorry. The boy just snuck right by me!" she huffed.

Rinoa shook her head. "I can't believe you, Seifer. What gives you the right to come barging in here? I thought I made it perfectly clear that I never wanted to see you again."

"I kept my distance from you, Rinoa, and look where it's gotten you. Shacking up with Leonhart, just as I predicted," Seifer spat.

Rinoa closed her eyes, fighting for composure. "I'm not sure what else I can say to make myself clear. My relationship with Mr. Leonhart is none of your business. I broke up with you, remember? I don't have to justify anything to you, and I don't have to deal with you intruding on my personal life. I've had quite enough of that from you, and I'm more than sick of it. You're the one who needs to get the hell out, Seifer, not Mr. Leonhart."

Seifer looked at her in disbelief, and then turned his angry gaze toward Squall. "I warned you, Squall. I fucking warned you. Now you're going to have to suffer the consequences."

Squall returned his stare, completely unfazed. "Did you get that line out of one of your action movies?" he asked coolly.

"That's it!" he roared, charging at Squall.

"Stop it!" Rinoa screamed as Squall dodged the blow. "Seifer, I told you to leave, so get your sorry ass out of here!"

Seifer completely ignored Rinoa's pleas, once again charging at Squall. This time, Squall fought back, shoving Seifer to the ground. Rinoa and Nancy watched in horror as the two men engaged in a fierce battle. No amount of protesting on either of their parts was going to make a difference. Both Seifer and Squall were locked in their own world, a world that consisted of a strong thirst for blood. Neither man would be satisfied until they emerged as the winner.

"I told you not to stick your nose where it didn't belong," Seifer said angrily. "But you couldn't fucking listen, could you?"

Squall said nothing, continuing to block Seifer's onslaught. Rinoa couldn't help noticing that he seemed extremely skilled as a fighter. It didn't really surprise her, though. Even though Squall was her tutor, he was also supposed to teach her the art of self-defense. That obviously required skill on his part. Rinoa was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Seifer pulling a knife out of his pocket. Before she was able to fully comprehend what was happening, Squall was on the ground, a knife thrust against his throat.

"Ready to die, Squall?" Seifer raised the knife above his head slowly.

"NO!" Rinoa screamed, and before she knew what she was doing, she had jumped out of her bed and flung herself across Squall.

"What the hell are you doing, Rinoa?" Seifer demanded.

"You're not going to kill him, Seifer. If you want to kill Squall, then you'll have to kill me," Rinoa told him, staring straight into his eyes to show him how serious she was.

"And so the true nature of your relationship is revealed. I have to admit, you almost had me fooled with all the 'Mr. Leonhart' crap," Seifer sneered.

"I mean it, Seifer. I'm not going to move, so you can either kill me or put the knife down."

"You'd die for him, Rinoa?" Seifer asked, looking slightly hurt. "No questions asked?"

"No questions asked," Rinoa said, raising her head defiantly.

"I always knew you were a slut," Seifer spat. "Your little innocent act can only get you so far. You know, Squall, it's too bad you'll never have the chance to find out. She can be quite the little devil, if you know what I mean."

"You're a bastard," Squall said, staring at him coldly.

"But I'm the bastard who is going to kill you." Seifer smiled cruelly.

"Go to hell!" Nancy screamed, smashing a vase over his head from behind. Seifer immediately fell over, practically on top of Rinoa, who was just able to inch out of the way. "Are you alright, Ms. Rinoa?"

Rinoa nodded shakily. "I'm fine." She then remembered that Squall was still under her. "Oh my God, Squall, are you okay?"

Squall nodded. "That's the third time that you've called me by my first name."

"What? No I didn't."

"Actually, Ms. Rinoa," Nancy piped up, "You did."

"Oh," Rinoa said, turning red, "It must have slipped out. I'm sorry."

Squall shook his head. "Don't be."

"Ahem," Nancy said, clearing her throat, "I hate to break things up, but Mr. Seifer isn't going to be knocked out forever. Plus, the General will be home soon, and I don't know what he'd say if he saw you two in that, um, position."

Squall and Rinoa both blushed upon realizing their close proximity, and what it must look like. "Sorry," Rinoa said again, "I, uh, forgot we were still down here."

Unfortunately, General Caraway chose that moment to walk through the door, before either one of them could do anything to remedy the situation.

GENERAL Caraway paced back and forth, scowling angrily. He still had not spoken a word to his daughter, who was seated in front of him on the couch. As soon as he had stepped into Rinoa's room and witnessed the scene before him, he had pointed to Squall, and in a voice eerily cold, had uttered two words: "Out. Now." Squall had left without a word, knowing better than to argue with him. By that time, Seifer had woken up, and was promptly escorted off the premises by Nancy.

To Rinoa, Caraway hadn't said a word, choosing to send his messages through Nancy. Ten minutes after Caraway had locked himself in the study, Rinoa was summoned there. So now she just sat there, watching her father's endless march back and forth. Her father had always been so predictable. When he was angry, he let it be known. That was why his behavior right now was all the more startling to Rinoa. When he was angry, she knew what to anticipate and could brace herself accordingly. Now, however, every move was uncharted, and that scared her more than anything. No, she thought, More than most things, but not anything. Nothing could scare her more than the events that had just transpired in her room.

"Am I a bad father?" Caraway asked suddenly, still pacing back and forth. Before Rinoa could answer, he continued on. "I know I've been strict with you, but it has always been for your own good. Yet this is the way you repay me."

"Father, please let me explain. It's not what it seems."

"Explain?" Caraway asked in disbelief, "What possible explanation could there be? You have shamed me, Rinoa."

Rinoa closed her eyes, trying to erase the sting of his words. She knew that she hadn't done anything wrong, but it didn't change the fact that his words were hurtful. "Father, you're not listening to me. All I ask is that you just hear what I have to say."

"Fine," Caraway grumbled, finally stopping in front of Rinoa. "Enlighten me."

"Nothing improper happened. I was resting in my room, just like you ordered, when Mr. Leonhart dropped by to see how I was. Somehow, Seifer snuck by Nancy, saw the two of us together, and went crazy. He attacked Mr. Leonhart, and I tried to break up the fight. Nancy eventually knocked him out by hitting him with a vase. That's what happened."

Caraway stared at her in shock. "Did Seifer hurt you?"

Rinoa shook her head. "No. He tried to, verbally, at least, but Mr. Leonhart protected me. He's a hero, Father, not a criminal."

The General sighed, collapsing into a chair across from Rinoa. "Fine, I apologize for jumping to conclusions. I assume Nancy can verify this story?"

"Yes. She witnessed the whole thing."

"Very well. However, there is something else we must discuss about Mr. Leonhart."

Rinoa looked at him in surprise, unsure of what that discussion could entail. "Okay."

"I do not want you to get the wrong idea about your tutor. I know how you are, Rinoa. You fill your head with foolish notions of heroes and romance. Your mother was the same way. Do not let yourself be fooled by Mr. Leonhart."

"Excuse me?" Rinoa felt even more dumbfounded. "Fooled by what?"

"Don't misconstrue Mr. Leonhart's motives for protecting you. He is just doing his job," Caraway told her.

Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "His job is to be my tutor. I don't know what part of that job description involves protecting me."

"It doesn't, but-" He was suddenly cut off by the phone ringing. "Excuse me for a moment." He walked over to the phone and answered it. After a minute, he turned to Rinoa. "I need to take this call. We'll finish this discussion later."

Nodding, Rinoa left the room. She had the feeling that her father had been about to drop a bomb on her. Of course, she prayed to be mistaken, but a feeling of dread had built up inside of her. No matter what it was, she had no choice but to wait. Her father would reveal the truth to her eventually. The question was, was she ready to hear that truth?

THAT night proved to be an extremely difficult one for Rinoa. Her father had spent the remainder of the day in his office, making calls to various political figureheads and perusing important documents. Rinoa had grown accustomed to the fact that her father couldn't offer her his full attention, but right now, she hated it more than ever. She was dying to know what he had meant by not being fooled by Squall. What was there to be fooled by? Of all the people in her life, Squall seemed to be the one person she could count on to always be honest with her.

Thoughts of the fight earlier in the day suddenly occupied her mind. Would Seifer have really killed Squall? At the time, he had seemed pretty serious. Would he have killed her, too, if Nancy hadn't stopped him? Rinoa shuddered at the thought. How could she have ever trusted him, have feelings for him, even? She couldn't believe how wrong she had been in judging him. Not only had it almost gotten her killed, but it had almost gotten Squall killed, and that was completely unacceptable.

Rinoa sighed. When did I start to become so concerned with Squall? It seemed like her feelings toward him had changed overnight. Just like that, he had gone from being 'Mr. Leonhart' to 'Squall'. At least in her mind. The only times she had been bold enough to call him by his first name was when under stress or fear. That had been an instant reaction, though, so she couldn't really count it. Of course, she always had to refer to Squall in the proper way when talking to her father. She could just imagine the speculation a slip up would ignite, especially after today. It was surprising that the General hadn't reacted in a more extreme way. Perhaps his work had him preoccupied.

Rinoa curled up on her side, clutching the covers to her chest. She wanted so desperately to be able to sleep and wash away all the occurrences of the day. However, the moment she closed her eyes, the image of the knife pointing at Squall's throat came into view before her. She could still feel the sheer terror that had encompassed her in that moment, knowing that Squall could possibly die. Even she couldn't explain her actions in placing herself between Squall and the knife. The only thought in her head had been that she had to do something. She refused to sit back and watch Squall die. Why she had put her own life on the line still remained a mystery. When Seifer had asked her if she would die for Squall, no questions asked, she had replied that she would, without the slightest hesitation. Why was that? What was it about him that had caused her to behave so irrationally?

Rinoa shook her head; she didn't have the answers she was so desperately trying to find. All she knew was that that morning had been a turning point. Something had come over her when she saw that knife, and that was when everything had changed. Her life had suddenly seemed insignificant in comparison to Squall's, and she had been driven by an overpowering urge to do everything in her power to protect him. It confused and scared her, but that didn't change its being there. For reasons that were beyond her comprehension, she felt a bond with Squall, and it definitely wasn't one a student should be feeling for her tutor. With yet another sigh, Rinoa buried her head deeper into the pillow. Rest would clear her mind. In the morning, maybe everything would be back to normal.

YET again, Squall Leonhart found that he couldn't sleep, and yet again, it was because of a certain dark haired beauty who was supposed to be his student. 'Supposed to be' being the operative words. What he had been feeling towards her lately was anything but what a teacher should be feeling towards his student. The events that had transpired that morning had only served to intensify the feelings he had been trying so hard to deny. For God's sake, she had risked her life for him. She had risked her life for him. No matter how many times he said it, Squall still couldn't come to terms with it. Why anyone would want to do such a thing was completely beyond him.

He could still feel her heart beating against his chest; the only sign of her fear. She had faced Seifer so calmly that he wouldn't have suspected a thing if it hadn't been for that steady pounding. It wasn't her fear that had stayed with him, though. It had been her words that had completely turned him inside out. The way she had looked Seifer straight in the eye and, without the slightest hesitation, confirmed what he had been asking; that she would die for Squall without a second thought. When had things between them gotten so serious? For God's sake, he had been under the impression that she hated him. None of it made any sense. You didn't risk your life for someone you hated.

The only explanation Squall had was that Rinoa had saved his life in order to spite Seifer. They had recently broken up, and after the way he had acted that morning, it was only natural that she would want to pay him back. From what he heard from Seifer, it seemed that the breakup had something to do with Seifer's skewed view of the relationship between Rinoa and himself. Therefore, the best way to piss him off would be to play upon his initial anger. That had to be what Rinoa was thinking when she had thrown herself on top of him. It really had nothing to do with him at all.

Regardless of her reasons, it was unacceptable. He was the one who should be risking his life for her, not the other way around. If Caraway found out what had really happened, Squall would surely be out of a job. He didn't know what Rinoa had told her father, but things hadn't looked too good when he left. He supposed that he would have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

The phone beside Squall's bed suddenly rang, interrupting his thoughts. A glance at the clock revealed it to be twelve twenty-three. Who would be calling at this time?

"Hello?" he answered irritably.

"Squall?"

"Quistis?"

"Yes, it's me," she replied.

Squall sighed. "Why are you calling me so late?"

"I needed to talk to you and this is the first opportunity I've had to call. I apologize for how late it is, however, I think you'll be interested in what I have to say."

"What is it?"

"I heard about what happened this morning. Rinoa's life was put in danger because of Seifer Almasy, but also because of you," Quistis told him.

"How the hell did you find out about that?" Squall snapped, choosing to ignore her choice of words.

"I have my sources. How I found out isn't important. What's important is how close you came to jeopardizing Rinoa's life. You were hired for a reason, Squall. Don't fail us now."

Something in Quistis' tone was really starting to piss him off. "Do you think I told her to risk her life for me? She made that choice. I had nothing to do with it."

"You're wrong, Squall. Whether you wanted to or not, you've caused Rinoa to care about you, so much, in fact, that she is willing to die for you. It needs to stop."

"What the hell do you want me to do?" Squall snapped. "This doesn't have to have anything to do with me. Did you ever think that this could all be caused by her anger towards Seifer?"

"That's not the case and you know it. Listen, Squall, I don't want to fight with you. Consider this a warning to stop what ever it is you're doing that is making Rinoa care about you. You know what your job is, so carry it out. I'll be keeping an eye on things."

"I don't need this shit from you, Quistis, and I don't appreciate you waking me up to lecture me."

"You can deny it all you want, but you know that my lecture is justified. Oh, and one more thing. I know I couldn't have woken you up since you weren't asleep in the first place. So I guess I should apologize for interrupting your brooding. Goodnight, Squall."

Squall slammed the phone down angrily. Leave it to Quistis to stick her nose where it didn't belong. "Goddamn woman," he grumbled before burying his head in his pillow and praying for sleep to claim him.

THE next morning, Squall arrived at the Caraway Mansion, hardly thrilled to be there. Having to face the General was not an appealing thought, but even less appealing was knowing he would have to face Rinoa. Quistis' words from the night before had buried themselves in his head. He hated what she had said to him, but she had had a point. He had been far too kind to Rinoa lately. Such behavior would only get the both of them in trouble. It was time to put a stop to such things.

Once again, Nancy led him into the house. She looked more somber than usual, causing Squall to wonder if Caraway had punished her for yesterday. "The General wishes to speak with you in his office," Nancy informed him. "Please follow me."

Great, Squall thought as he followed Nancy down the hall. Time to get chewed out and fired. Guess I don't have to worry about Rinoa after all. Nancy stopped outside of a door that Squall knew led into Caraway's office.

"Good luck," Nancy said quietly before turning around and heading back the way they had come.

Squall sighed, and then reached out to knock on the door. "Come in," Caraway called gruffly.

The first thing Squall noticed when he opened the door was the expressionless gaze Caraway was giving him. Squall was unable to read anything in that look. He hated when someone caught him off-guard.

"Allow me to be frank with you," Caraway began before Squall had a chance to sit down. "Rinoa informed me of what transpired yesterday. You have my utmost gratitude for protecting me daughter."

Utmost gratitude? Squall thought. What has Rinoa been telling him? "Thank you, Sir, but I was only doing my job."

"Ah, I am glad that you said that," Caraway told him approvingly. "The thing is, I believe my daughter has come to harbor...certain feelings towards you because of the way you have protected her. Now, I know I told you that you were not, under any circumstances, to reveal to Rinoa that you are also her bodyguard. However, I have come to the conclusion that it would be best to tell her the truth."

Squall was surprised by what the General had told him, but he just nodded. "I agree, Sir."

"Excellent. I was in the middle of informing Rinoa yesterday, but I was interrupted by business. Now that I think about it, I believe it would be better if you told her."

"Me, Sir?"

Caraway nodded. "Yes. She has come to trust you. In any event, I am sure that you can get a more subdued reaction out of her. I, on the other hand, would only serve to anger her."

Who is he kidding? He expects me to do his dirty work for him. Damn coward. "I mean no disrespect, Sir, but I don't think that she would be any more inclined to hear the truth from me."

"Don't question my authority, Leonhart. I know my daughter, and I know what goes on in that head of hers. Just do as I tell you and we won't have any problems."

Squall nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Good. I am glad that we understand each other. Rinoa is waiting for you in the study."

Just like that, Squall was dismissed. He couldn't help feeling annoyed at the way the General ordered him about. If he wasn't receiving such a hefty paycheck, he wouldn't put up with it. Now, though, he had to deal with breaking the truth to Rinoa. Despite what the General had said, her reaction would be anything but pretty. In fact, she would probably hate him for his deception. Why that thought actually bothered him, he did not understand.

When he walked into the study, he couldn't help noticing that Rinoa's face lit up the moment she saw him. Then, before he had a chance to respond, she had run across the room and flung herself into his arms.

"Squall," she said happily, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Squall frowned, slowly extracting himself from her embrace. This was going to be harder than he had anticipated. "Miss Heartilly, I've told you before. Please refer to me as Mr. Leonhart."

Rinoa looked up at him, a hurt expression on her face. "I'm sorry," she said. "I thought you didn't mind."

"Well, I do," he told her coldly.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden? I thought things were different now."

"Why, because I stood up for you yesterday? That doesn't change a thing. I was just doing my job."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Rinoa asked angrily. "It's not your job. Your job is to be my tutor."

"No," Squall said, shaking his head. "It is my job."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your father didn't just hire me to be your tutor, Miss Heartilly. He also hired me to be your personal bodyguard."

"What?" Rinoa said, taking a step back. "You're joking."

"No," Squall said, shaking his head, "I assure you I am not."

"So it was all a lie, then? You never gave a damn about me? It was all a job to you?" she whispered.

"Miss Heartilly, I-"

"No, Mr. Leonhart, I want you to answer my question right now."

Squall sighed. "Yes. I tried to tell you before, but you weren't willing to listen. I don't care about you, nor have I ever cared about you." He looked her straight in the eyes, burning her with his coldness. "You are nothing but a job to me, Miss Heartilly."