Note to Readers: Gosh, I must be really dumb. Can you believe I just discovered that there was a block for anonymous reviews? Hehe! I gotta brush up on fanfiction basics. Anyway, here's the new chapter so do enjoy. Again, sorry for the block guys! (Dodges rotten tomatoes and banana cream pies)

A Shot at Redemption

Rinoa looked high and low for Squall, asking the upper classmen stationed at each of the Garden sectors' entrances if they had seen the commander. When they pointed to the direction of the Training Center, she clapped her forehead with her palm and shook her head in disbelief.

'All these months I've been with him, and I never thought of the Training Center. Duh Rinoa!' She smiled at herself and walked into the monster's lair. Looking around at the lush vegetation that grew here and there, she readied her Shooting Star in case any grats or menacing T-Rexaurs would pop their ugly heads out of the tropical palm trees.

'This place brings back so many memories with Squall,' she sighed to herself. 'I could remember so clearly how he turned absolutely pink when I told him that he was a romantic date!' Rinoa giggled and cautiously walked across the wooden plank over the Center's manmade lake until she found the CC Group's Joker.

The card fanatic spun around and faced Rinoa, smiling. "Why Rinoa, what can I do for you? Perhaps some items? Or a card game maybe? Well, if you're looking for rare cards, your boyfriend got my Leviathan a few months back so don't expect me to be flashing A's, okay?"

Rinoa smiled back at the strange man wearing green and said, "It's alright Joker. I left my cards back at the dorms so no cards today. Got no gil on me either. Anyway, I came here looking for Squall and was...um...wondering if you had seen him lately."

Joker pointed to the water and Rinoa let out a gasp when she saw a dead T- Rexaur floating in the pond, its several gunblade gashes seeping out red into the pristine blue.

'Clearly, that was a sign that would say "Squall was here" ', she noted.

"As you can see, the commander was here earlier. Thank goodness I don't look scaly, big, and ugly though, or I would have ended up like that thing," Joker told her.

Rinoa tried to keep herself from barfing at the ugly sight but regained her senses when Joker offered her a Remedy.

"Are you sure you're alright, Rinoa? You don't look so well," the Card Magician said while placing a hand on her forehead.

"I'm alright. The T-Rexaur just looks horrible." She stood up, feeling better from the effects of the medicine and said, "Thanks by the way for the remedy. I'll just pay you back later, alright?"

Joker laughed and replied, "You don't have to worry about me. I'll just put it on Quistis' bill!"

Rinoa laughed with him and said, "You know, you ought to try entertaining too. You're not only great as a card magician, but as a comedian as well."

Joker bowed as a performer would and said, "As they say, I am a magician, a jack of all trades. Now I know you came here to look for Squall, so maybe you ought to try the Secret Area.'

Rinoa smiled, thanked him, and darted towards the alcove where students would often congregate to avoid nosy Garden faculty members. When she opened the door, she found Squall looking over the balcony, his gunblade resting against the wall. His brow was furrowed in the typical Squall manner and he rested his chin on one hand. Rinoa approached him silently.

"Squall?" she called out, very well aware that her boyfriend was having one of those "I don't want to talk with you right now even if you are Sis or Rin so back off or I'll scar you like Seifer" moods.

Squall didn't reply, so the sorceress cautiously inched towards him, finally placing herself on the empty space to his right. She looked at him, but he was still focusing on the ocean scenery below.

"Squall, I'm sorry," Rinoa said, lowering her head in shame. 'If I had it my way, I'd tickle him right now for making me feel this guilty!'

Squall still didn't give her an answer, so Rinoa decided to rest her head on his shoulder. Squall stirred slightly and looked at her before turning back to the deep azure of the seas, his blue-gray eyes showing very little emotion.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her dryly without averting his gaze from the water.

She lifted her head from his broad shoulders and looked at him. "Squall, I came here to apologize. I wasn't so sensitive earlier about you and Seifer, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry," she said apologetically.

"..." came the stoic reply from the commander.

She wrapped her arms around his chest and placed her head affectionately on his back, smelling mixed aromas of sweat, leather, and man. "I just thought you could forgive him for what he did. After all, you forgave me for releasing Adel, remember?"

Squall turned around and hugged Rinoa, necking her as he nuzzled her face. He said softly but rather seriously, "Rinoa, you are special to me. I...was never angry at you for releasing the sorceress. After all, it wasn't you. I could never hate you." Rinoa smiled as she snuggled closer to the warmth of his chest.

Squall continued, "Seifer, however, is a different story. He's been tormenting me since we were kids and he even tried to surrender you to that maniacal transvestite. I could never forgive him for that. Didn't you even remember all the things he did to us?"

Rinoa looked up from where she was and placed a hand on Squall's cheek. "Squall, I know that this rivalry of yours has gone a long, long way back, but don't you think he did that just to get some attention from you? Remember in Balamb when Fujin and Raijin told us that they were Seifer's only friends? Well, maybe he does want to be your friend, but you don't want to let him in. He's not evil Squall. He's just misunderstood."

Squall nodded and let her continue, "Seifer wants friends. Earlier, he apologized to me for throwing me at Adel. And he did it sincerely too. Maybe he's just flashing his cocky, self-absorbed attitude because he feels that he has a reputation to keep. But honestly, he wants your friendship Squall."

Squall interrupted her, "You don't understand Rin. The guy is too proud to want a friend. He apologized to you because he had something with you once." Squall flinched when he thought of that before going on. "He doesn't want to be my friend. He's just some competitive, power-hungry bighead who wants everyone to notice him. He makes enemies with the whole lot of Garden, and he almost killed the one thing that I hold most dear," he said while cupping Rinoa's face in his hands, rubbing his nose against hers.

Rinoa kissed his lips lightly and said, "Squall, give him a chance. It's not that I still like him though...it's because I know deep down he has a good heart. Please Squall, hear him out. He just needs a friend, and among all of you guys at the orphanage, you were the one with whom he was closest, in a sense."

Squall began his cerebral monologue once more.

'Maybe I should listen to Rin. Seifer isn't so bad when you think about it. He is perhaps misunderstood. Maybe if I only became a friend to him rather than his rival, this wouldn't have happened. No use looking back now, though. You can't change the things that you've regretted doing, even if you try so as much as to redeem yourself through good works. But he's an asshole, and his thick high and mighty skull just keeps you away from him even more. What am I supposed to do, let out my emotions? He won't even hear me out. He might even say that I've gone soft. Maybe if...'

"Squall?"

Squall shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts and turned to Rinoa. "Hmm..?"

"You're talking to yourself again."

Squall laughed and kissed her lips passionately. "Come on, let's go inside. This is an open area and I don't want you anywhere near a place like this." He took his love's hand and dragged her gently out of the Training Center, equipping Diablos' Enc-None to avoid random encounters.

---------------

Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin walked down the main hall of the Garden, nonchalantly making proud strides as SeeDs, cadets, and a few faculty members stared at the ex-sorceress knight. Seifer flashed a grin at one junior cadet and said, "Hey, no running in the halls!"

The junior cadet stumbled on his knees, shocked at the former Disciplinary Committee head's return and stuttered, "Y-y-yes sir!" He slumped his head down, resuming his trip to the cafeteria by walking.

Seifer grinned winsomely at his friend. "I'm damn good!"

Fujin replied, "INDEED."

Raijin cocked his head and answered, "Well ya know Seifer, you're you, so that's something no one has to question, ya know?"

Seifer laughed at Raijin's response and ignored the rest of the passersby who would gape at him and female posses who would stare and whisper about the blonde behind his back. A cheerleader-type girl passed by and Seifer looked at her, whistling.

"Whoo! Someone's wearing an outfit too skimpy today, don't you think? Personally I wouldn't mind but that's ten points from you," he told her slyly.

The girl just lifted her chin arrogantly and told him, "Almasy, you tricks are as stale as your lame lapdog act, you know that?" She walked away without turning back at Seifer.

The gunblade master turned to his friends and said, "Well what do you know, I come back home and some girl's already crushing on me again."

Fujin shook her head and told him, "FANTASIZING."

Seifer pouted and said, "Aww.w Fu, don't you think I still look hot even though I've been labeled a self-absorbed, cocky, selfish, brutish, high and mightly asshole who became the sorceress lapdog?"

Fujin blushed and said, "WHATEVER."

Seifer smirked and said, "So, you're a Squall fan too, huh? Honestly, who do you like more, him or me?"

Raijin laughed and Fujin kicked his shins. "DON'T PUSH IT."

Seifer grinned and said, "Whatever you say Fu. I know you have the hots for moi."

Fujin shook her head in dismay and decided to shut up the rest of the way.

When the disciplinary posse went to the cafeteria to look for the commander, they found Selphie and Irvine instead.

The hyperactive brunette jumped up from her seat when she saw the tall blonde approaching and clapped her cheeks before running to him and hugging him so tightly that the world record committee could place her in the book for world's strongest hug. "Seifer! You're back!" Irvine soon followed and gave Seifer a half-hearted nod.

"Man, you sure have the guts to come here even after you threw Rinoa at Adel," Irvine said when Selphie finally released him, shaking his hand.

Seifer returned the gesture and replied, "Well, you can say that I want to turn over a new leaf. Heard about the news this morning and I decided to come here and inform you guys about it. Anyhow, word of advice, sedate Selphie. She might look cute, cuddly, and innocent, but she sure is one that can kill."

Selphie stuck her tongue out at him before replying, "Seifer, why don't you join us at the table? Quistis and Zell will be coming later."

Seifer thought for a moment. 'The instructor and chicken-wuss. Better not call them that. Sure...okay. I mean, what's the worst they can do?'

Seifer smirked at Selphie and said, "Sure. We'll just get some food and join you, okay?"

Selphie jumped and said, "Whoohoo! Booyaka! Oh, Fujin and Raijin, you can join us too."

Fujin said, "THANKS."

Raijin replied, "Uh, thanks for the offer, ya know."

Seifer and his posse got food from the cafeteria lady and joined Selphie and Irvine, who had coupled a few tables earlier to accommodate Balamb Garden's ex-Disciplinary Committee. They talked for a few minutes when Zell entered the cafeteria.

"Whoa! What is HE doing HERE?!" Zell exclaimed angrily.

"Hey chicke...Zell! So nice to see you!" Seifer greeted the martial artist, noting to himself that he had changed for the best.

"Hey! What happened to chicken wuss? I don't know what you're getting at, but when Squall finds out..."

Zell was interrupted by a deep, yet calm voice. "I already know Zell. Now shut up and go get some hotdogs," Squall said as he approached the group, locking his hands with Rinoa's. Zell gulped and nodded as he went to the counter to buy a mountain of franks.

Seifer smirked at his old rival and said, "So Pu...Squall. It's great to see you again, without your gunblade, at least."

Squall shook his head in typical Squall fashion and said, "Listen Seifer, I know that you came here to redeem yourself, so if you want to, you'd better begin right now or I might change my mind."

Seifer looked in disbelief at Rinoa and exclaimed, "Where is the real Squall and what have you done to him? Since when did he talk this much?"

"Ever since he fell in love with Rinoa." The entire group turned around to see Quistis coming in with her Save the Queen tied securely at her side. She smiled at Seifer.

"Welcome back, Seifer. Knowing you, you came here to redeem yourself, am I right? Classes start in a few weeks. My classroom is still in the second floor."

Seifer nodded and told Quistis in his cocky voice, "Well, if you're eager to accept me back into your class again Trepe, I'll promise to do my best, study hard, blah blah blah."

Quistis just shrugged and muttered, "Some things just don't change and that's Instructor Trepe to you. And I'm not going to be your teacher. We...have some business to attend to. Come on everyone, let's eat lunch. We're drifting across the ocean right now so we won't have to worry about the Black Eagle. Can't fight on an empty stomach, you know." Quistis took out a walkie talkie from her pocket and spoke into the receiver. "All SeeDs with even numbers, you may have your lunch. Go back to your position after 20 minutes and the odd-numbered SeeDs may have yours." Her announcement blared into the P.A. system and she put the machine back into her vest.

When she was done with the announcement, Seifer looked at his blonde teacher and asked, "Black Eagle? You mean the assassin who killed the sorceresses in Esthar? I was there earlier in the crime scene at Deling while delivering fish."

Quistis looked at him and said, "And so you were. I saw you on TV, Seifer. I was wondering, were you there when it happened?"

Seifer shook his head. "No. I just saw the gore spilled on the cement. It was disgusting, honestly."

Squall looked at him while raising an eyebrow. "How can we know that it wasn't you who killed the guy? For all we know, we have a murderer here."

Seifer put a hand on his heart and said, "Ouch Squall. Do you think of me as a murderer? Someone as innocent as moi? Never!"

"Tch! Cut the Drama Queen act and shut up," Squall told him.

Seifer just laughed and resumed talking to the others. Minutes later, a tall figure went into the cafeteria looking for Quistis.

"Quisty! Hi! May I join you guys?" Ouragan asked as he approached the table with a food tray in his hands.

Quistis smiled at him and said, "Of course, Ouragan."

The tall man smiled and took the spot beside her and was about to tell her something when he saw Seifer.

"You..."

Seifer stared back at him, narrowing his eyes and said, "Ouragan..."

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Oh yeah! Uh, I have nothing to say, really. Next Chapter: Old Acquaintances.