Chapter three! Thanks again, and I've decided to break away from the story slightly (I know, Seifer and Rinoa, that whole thing), but it's like in those movies: FLASHBACK! They come at the weirdest points in stories or movies, so here we go! Thanks for the reviews!

Ej- Thanks for your advice, that's why I decided this'd be a good place for a flashback, so thanks for your inspiration!

Read on!

Chapter 3: Orphanage

Squall stood at the edge of the flower field, as far as he and the other children were allowed to go. His eyes scoured the distant horizon for any signs of his beloved "Sis". Not being able to see anything, he sighed slightly and walked back towards the rickety building constructed from stone, unusual for the time and point. He caught sight of a distant figure calling someone's name.

"Squall! Squall Leonhart, where are you?" the voice called. Squall broke out into a run, covering as much distance as he could on his short legs. When he finally reached the figure, he latched himself onto the unsuspecting woman's legs. His tears soaked her black dress and hair, and she bent over to envelope him in one of her special hugs.

"Sis is gone! She's gone for good!" he wailed, taking breaths between sobs. She patted his back, whispering words of encouragement. "Was it my fawlt, Matwon?" he asked, looking at her with his grey eyes, having not yet felt enough pain for them to become cold.

"Oh, no, honey, it wasn't you at all. She left for… her own reasons," she said, concealing the disapproval in her voice. A voice called to her, and she stood up, leaving Squall to wipe his tears. With one more hand patting his head, she walked off to attend to this stranger. As the adults spoke, Squall looked up at the skies, and noticed for the first time that it was cloudy, and beginning to rain. He watched the other children frolic in the rain, and one girl began to shout war cries. He knew they were playing war again, but he didn't care. It used to be his favorite game… when Sis was around. He continued to stare, but he began to mutter.

"Sis… where are yoo? Don't choo like me anymore?" His tears became mingled with the rain, and he began to imagine life without her. "I'll be okay…" he told himself more than her. Squall continued to watch as the others pretended to shoot each other. One young boy grabbed a smaller boy and held an imaginary sword to his throat, pretending to take a hostage. Squall's eyes widened at the horrendous portrayal of hatred that he had formerly considered a game. He then realized: war was not a game.

The scene before his eyes ended, and Squall found himself once more seventeen, once more standing in a pub watching a man threaten the life of a young girl. He didn't know why he was calling her young; she couldn't be older than he was. People began to give up their jewels, golden nuggets that were hanging loose in pockets, and eventually a weapon or small knife if the person was too poor to give anything else. Seifer's eyes gleamed as one woman put a golden ring in the sack. Finally, the sack came to rest in front of Squall.

"Cough up… Hey, I recognize you," he said, smile still not disappearing. Squall stared at him, not flinching, not wavering. Their eyes met in a brief lock, and Squall pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against.

"Yeah, I sold you that weapon you have against Miss Heartily's neck. If you wouldn't mind taking it away…" Rinoa looked at him pleadingly, hoping he wouldn't anger him. Instead, Seifer laughed, a cruel cold chortle.

"Take it away? And give up these fine trinkets?" He rattled the sack for emphasis. Squall nodded, and looked at Rinoa from the corner of his eye. He inclined his head once more, and silently told her that she would be free in minutes.

"Yes, that happens to be what I mean." Squall wasn't even breaking a sweat, it was part of his nature to act coolly in the face of danger. "You could let her go, and I would let you pass unharmed, with your friends, of course," he gestured towards the alleged "Raijin and Fujin", "Or you could refuse and I would have to fight you." Seifer let loose that haunting laugh again.

"To be honest… I think it's time we tested this gunblade against one of its brothers," he said mockingly. He passed Rinoa to his cohorts, one holding each arm, and raised his gunblade. Squall, in turn, raised his. "When I give the signal…" Seifer whispered, as quietly as he could. Still, Squall had heard it. His head began to reel as he imagined the horrid things that he could be signaling for. Seifer held out his hand to shake before battle. Squall stared at it, before he advanced. Instead of his hand, Squall brought his gunblade down, attempting to slice that thieving hand off. Seifer pulled his hand back, and everything happened in an instant. Raijin pushed Rinoa towards Squall, and he just barely caught her. Seifer grabbed the bag of stolen goods and darted for the door, Raijin and Fujin close at his heels. Once more the cold laugh rang out. Seifer had gotten what he wanted. The bar was silent as Rinoa gazed up at her savior, and Squall returned the look. The gaze held them riveted, and it was several moments before a cheer erupted.

"Three cheers for our hero!" Irvine's voice rang out. "He has saved the infamous Caraway's only daughter!" Squall could feel Rinoa shudder as the bar exploded into cheers and whistles, clapping and shouts. Squall gently straightened Rinoa and guided her back to Quistis. He nodded slightly at her and looked once more at Rinoa. She looked into his eyes. He had saved her… no one else would have. Squall took something and laid it on the table in front of her. He nodded his head at the women, and without taking in another cheer or word, swept out of the bar, doors clanging behind him. Once more the bar fell silent as Rinoa touched the item left on the table. It was a single circlet of silver, an unknown beast engraved into it. She ran one finger along it, and laughter interrupted the silence.

"Well, that's Squall for you," Selphie said, and the bar busied for the millionth time that night after a silence. Rinoa opened her necklace at the clasp and slipped his ring on it as well. She placed the necklace on once more and touched it slightly. He had left her a memento… she hoped she would see him again. A sigh emitted from her as she leaned back in her chair. She would have one hell of a story to tell her "father" tonight.

Did ya like it? I tried to keep the story as close to the video game as possible, concerning the past. I thought the flashback relevant, since it was happening once more, only real that time. I know you all have some questions: What is Seifer up to? When will Rinoa and Squall meet again? What was Quistis doing at a pub? Why does Zell act like a lunatic… well, maybe we've got that one figured out -hotdogscough- However, this may not have been written as well, I'd like some reviews to see how I did… you learn from mistakes, ya know.

Fujin- AFFIRMATIVE!

Greiverwings- Get back in the story, do you want to ruin your image?

Seifer- Jeez, sorry.

Raijin- Just having fun, ya know.

Anyways, I'll write more soon, I can come up with ideas pretty quickly, and reviews would help me with ideas for what should happen next, and that includes you, people-who-read-but-don't-review. Even a string of cuss-words describing how horribly it sucks would be accepted. Thanks for reading!

-greiverwings