Chapter 3

There was a distinct feeling of unwelcome-ness in the commanders office, Seifer noted to himself mentally. Like this place was cursed with the blood sweat and tears of hard work that never stopped. The huge pile of signed and unsigned documents proved this hostile atmosphere, as even though the piles were equal, they were both stacked high.

There was no way that Squall would be able to get this done in a week, let alone a day, yet the pile jut continued to grow, his outbox being emptied much slower than his inbox was filled, and that was without even considering his clearly problematic ventures. Yet he was still stuck to do the work on his own, despite his recent dereliction of duty.

The brunette had been left in his room all day, nobody stopping to think about what he might be doing, whether he had any food, none except Seifer. He already knew that Squall rarely had any food in his cupboards, but there was nothing that he personally could do right then. He wasn't sure when he'd alert Squall to his presence, but he knew he couldn't hide forever. Even so, he just couldn't help but stay out of sight whenever the brunette was around.

He'd gone up here earlier, unable to bear the helplessness of waiting for the younger man outside his room. He needed a plan and he needed one quickly, before things got even more out of control. "Lesse…he needs a proper secretary and an assistant or something…" He mumbled thoughtfully, sitting in the leather chair that looked more comfortable that it actually was. Pushing the on switch for the computer terminal before him, the computer whirred to life and he started to scan the files. Selecting the Seed personnel files, the blonde began searching for someone who looked like they could get the work done, because Squall obviously couldn't.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do interviews, because not many people knew he was even alive, let alone in Garden, and although he couldn't hide away, inviting them to an interview was not the ideal way to introduce yourself, especially not if you happen to be the ex sorceress' knight, who just happened to have tried to destroy the world, and your interviewee was a trained killer who had been on the opposite side at one point in time.

So, he had to be a little more subtle instead, and after looking through some of the files to find a Quistis-wannabe and finding them as a struggling student, he invited the particular student up to the office, which he vacated quickly after. He left a written request on the desk, stating that he was currently busy and needed an assistant to go through the files, sort them and start working through the non-priority ones, typing up a short summary for the droning files so it was easier to get through. He knew that he was meddling in affairs that were not his own, but nobody else seemed to be dong anything.

Leaving the apparently trustworthy student alone while he sent a message to Quistis telling her his plan and what he'd done, the blonde made his way stealthily to the dorm section, concerned over whether or not Squall had left his room yet. Deciding that he'd alert the russet haired male to his arrival whenever the opportune moment arrived, Seifer stopped outside of the male's door. There is no sound from within, and he didn't dare go inside, so, with a sigh, he went in search of Selphie or one of the other orphanage gang instead.

"So, Seifer, what have you been doing with yourself?" The bouncy young female asked him as they sat together in a corner of the cafeteria, out of sight from the majority of the students who had come down for some food.

Word was starting to spread about sighting of Seifer within Garden, and the man in question hoped only that Squall did not find out about him from some of the things said about the place, if he was alerted by word of mouth, who knew how he might react. Fortunately, in a way, Squall had still not left his room, and after alerting Quistis, and now Selphie, it seemed like he had done a good thing, hiring an assistant. He supposed it was only luck that the brunet had been out when Quistis made the announcement earlier, as it kept him in the dark through nobodies fault but his own.

"Nothing much really." He replied with a slight smile, covering up the truth with a shallow answer. "Moving around, missing all you guys." He gave her a grin and affectionately petted her on the head, something Selphie took with a bright grin. Seifer had always treated her like a little kid, but that was okay, most people did that, and it let her get away with a hell of a lot more than anyone else.

Chuckling in amusement, Seifer glanced around Garden reflexively, as if checking if someone had heard him. Realising what he was doing, Selphie put her hand on Seifer's with a kindly, if concerned, smile. "You've...had some trouble haven't you?" She asked softly.

"People hold grudges." He answered brusquely, not bothering to hide it. "They need someone to blame and they don't care about anything else. They have too much anger and hate for me and what I did." Seifer lowered his gaze slightly, not looking Selphie in the eyes. "But its okay. I just don't want to start a fight here, of all places. The last thing I want to do is that…"

It hurt him to know that he could not return to his old home without being in danger of having revenge taken against him for past crimes. This place had been his home, his family, and even though he understood why, it didn't make life much better for him. But his eyes showed pride as well, he may have committed some terrible acts, but he no longer hated himself for it as much as he used to. He'd tried to make it up to people, even though he knew he'd been manipulated by a master and anyone else would have done the same. At first he'd felt he deserved their anger for being weak, but eventually he'd gotten back on his feet and he knew he wasn't all to blame. He'd been controlled like a puppet, and if people couldn't deal with the truth, he wasn't just going to stand around and let them use him like a punching bag for all their pains and anger. No, he wouldn't hurt them, but neither would he stand around and let them beat him to a pulp for things he had no control over.

Selphie nodded understandingly, her countenance more solemn than he'd ever seen her, she rest her head against his shoulder and looked up at him with her bright green eyes. "We won't let anyone hurt you. You're like my brother Seifie, and I understand what happened that time. If anyone tries to take it out on you, they gotta go through me!" Sitting up straight, she raised her fists in a display of exuberant determination. Despite the playful tone, the seriousness of her words couldn't be doubted. He couldn't understand how he'd inspired such loyalty in her, but either way, he appreciated it.

"Selphie?" He asked after a moment of silence, his words causing the female to look up at him in earnest. "What's wrong with Squall?"

All joy seemed to drain out of the sunny girl and she bowed her head. "We're not too sure…He just started drinking after the sorceress war, pushing everyone away. At first, it wasn't too bad, but he started neglecting his duties as the commander, going out to clubs and stuff. We didn't really notice because he was never around anyway, but he went out a lot more, didn't unjunction GFs…all sorts of things. We tried getting him help but he was just so unkind…" Her shoulders slumped as she remembered how it all started. "He won't talk to anyone, and no one can really deal with him anymore. I think Quistis actually started to hate him, he seems so inconsiderate." Suddenly, she looks up at Seifer, her eyes wide. "Wait, I wasn't supposed to tell you all that!" Clamping her hands over her mouth, the girl leaped to her feet.

Surprised at her sudden change of attitude, Seifer stood also. "Why aren't you supposed to tell me?" This whole secrecy thing was starting to bother him, clearly something was up and covering it up wasn't helping anyone.

Selphie just shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry Seif' I gotta go. If I were you…I'd do what you want to do with Squall now, because he's just falling apart. I don't know what to do for him any more…" She seemed on the verge of tears, and he could understand why Quistis might be so angry with him, to be causing them to worry to such a degree.

"He's really gone downhill, hasn't he?" He asked the crying female who had pressed herself against his chest and wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"Yeah…" The reluctant words were barely audible coming from the younger girl, even as she fought to regain control over herself. "He goes out…most nights…We saw him at a gay bar a few times. He just goes home with them, spreads his legs for anyone…then he comes back, smashed up, and he usually can't make it to his own apartment. Quis or one of the others have to look after him. Squall just…seems so sad, and he's apologetic and stuff…but he never stops…" Sniffling, the girl sighed softly as Seifer rubbed her back, soothing her.

"If you can get him out of his room some time at night…I'll meet him. Otherwise, I will have to stop him when he goes out himself." He said softly.

"He won't come out for me, I tried before. He can't bear to see us…" She sniffed.

"We'll just have to do it the hard way then…"