Chapter 3: Our Separate Ways

Disclaimer: FF8 characters are not mine. People who do not like shounen-ai/ yaoi/ male to male please press the back button now.

Edit: I did some revision on this chapter as well. I got conscious when I wrote this. This time, I'm not holding back :D

That morning, the Garden was as lively as it had ever been. Female students had been murmuring and giggling all over the Garden halls. The news about what happened to their leader and a particular playboy the night before had spread all over the campus. From the different classrooms came different versions of the said event. A female upperclassman who was an Irvine fanatic claimed that Squall got upset at the cowboy for trying to score with his ex, Rinoa. Another female student who was a junior said that the men were having a secret affair. That particular claim made several girls feel excited yet disappointed at the same time. A guy from Squall's old class spread a rumor that the popular leader did not want Irvine to leave Balamb Garden because the sniper was an asset to the Garden. The insane rumors when on and on and there was nothing anybody could do to control the matter.

The notorious cowboy had spent the entire morning lying on the green grassland located behind Balamb Garden. He wanted to stay away from prying eyes of his curious fan club of women (and men). The sun was shining brightly and the warm light gently caressed his pale skin. The young man subconsciously touched his lips with his right index finger as he stared at the bright blue sky and tried to recall the events that took place the night before.

FLASHBACK

"Why?" The young brunette asked almost pleadingly to the taller man. Irvine took the front part of his hat down to cover his face as he tried to suppress a laugh. Squall was not pleased with the reaction from the sniper man so he decided to remove his arms around the other man's waist. The auburn-haired man turned around and stared into Squall's confused and sad eyes. "Why what?" Irvine asked. The Garden's young leader simply stared at the floor, trying to figure out what made him ask such a question. After an awkward few minutes of silence, Squall finally spoke. "Why did you pretend to care about me?" Irvine was speechless at what the other man just told him. "Squall…I…" The young sniper had difficulty articulating what he had in mind that very moment. The brunette continued with a sad tone. "I can take care of myself. I don't need anybody. I have survived being alone before why not now? I don't need your sympathy or your annoying women." Something within Irvine broke at that point. The cowboy hesitated but could not resist saying "You definitely have some issues, Squall. Secluding yourself from the world won't make things any better for you. You have friends in this world you know. You'll always have us to talk to." The wielder of the gunblade was once again trying to hold back his tears but now, these were tears of anger. "You don't understand." Nobody ever does. Just because we all fought together once it doesn't mean you know me well enough to say that I have issues. Irvine could tell the atmosphere had changed as he felt the brunette's anger. "That's exactly the problem Squall. You have this mysterious world of yours that nobody has ever been to...that nobody has ever been allowed in to. A lot of things go through your head but you never let any of those thoughts out into the open. This may have never crossed you mind before but some people you could trust do want to know what's going on in that head of yours. You have to open up because I want to understand you better." Squall was getting very impatient now and the mood of the conversation had gone from bad to worse. He missed the part about Irvine wanting to understand him as a person. The agitated man was not going to take any more of this so he decided to dismiss the conversation by saying "I'm tired. I'm going to bed." The leader was about to open the door to his room when the cowboy's arm blocked his way. Irvine leaned on the wall with an arm in front of the shorter man as he said "People do care about you, Squall." The brunette was giving the taller man the silent treatment so the former had no choice but to make him listen. Irvine continued by saying "I care about you. Why can't you see that?" The silent man continued ignoring the cowboy. The sniper cupped Squall's face with his free hand as he whispered "I'll make you believe me, Squall." Irvine bent down and allowed his lips to brush against Squall's quivering ones. The kiss felt like a bullet going through the brunette's chest. Dazed by the taller man's action and overwhelmed by the emotional strain he had been experiencing during the past months, Squall collapsed on to the sniper's arms and instantly fell asleep. Irvine carried the leader in his room to rest and left. He continued to contemplate on what he did as he walked towards his room.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Irvy!" Selphie's cheerful high-pitched voice broke through Irvine's thoughts. The young woman ran towards him with a plain white envelope in her hand. "Irvy, the car that's gona take you to town is ready. Are you really sure you want to leave for Galbadia Garden today? Don't you think it's a little sudden?" Irvine placed a gentle hand on the young woman's head and replied. "I have to Sephie. I have a mission waiting for me there. I am still a sniper of Galbadia Garden after all." The female brunette pouted then said "Headmaster Cid asked me to give this letter to you. He wants you to deliver it to your client. What's your mission about anyway? Is there any way I could be of help to you?" Irvine took the note from the energetic girl. The cowboy inspected the sealed letter without opening it and finally said "I don't know much about the mission yet myself or who the client is exactly but I was told I'd get the details once I'm in Galbadia. Nah, I can handle this mission myself. I won't live up to my reputation as the best sharpshooter of Galbadia if I asked a busy body like you for help would I?" The sniper's childhood girlfriend was very disappointed to have her cowboy leave but she had no choice but to let him go do his thing. "Take care of yourself Irvy" the girl said as she waved a hand to the tall man. The playboy gave Selphie his most charming smile and kissed her on the forehead. "Bye, kiddo."

A bright ray of light entered the dark bare room of the Garden's young leader. Squall's old quarters had one window where he can view the green grasslands that surround the garden. A simple door stood opposite the window where the gunblade master enters every night and whenever he felt like he needed a nap. Squall never allowed anybody to come into his room except for that one time when Quistis, as the Card Club king challenged him to a card game. The room also had one very disorganized desk. The stack of papers on the table grew with each passing day. Although Squall appeared busy in the eyes of all the people in Garden, he had spent most of his work hours moping and staring into space. Opposite the desk, a single bed was positioned beside a wall. Squall had been awake before the sun rose but it was past noon now. He had spent the entire morning thinking about the events that occurred at the ball last night.

Kinneas has done it this time. He could've just walked away when the stares became unbearable but what does he end up doing? Damn it. I was doing fine then. He should've just minded his own business. This is stupid. I have so much work to do now I can't stop thinking of him. –Him-. What is that bastard doing now anyway? He's probably flirting with the female students now. That idiot does whatever he pleases. He has no use in Garden. Realizing the time, Squall rose from the bed and took a quick shower.

His mind was preoccupied as he walked towards the elevator area when he heard Selphie's childish voice behind him. "Squall! Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." Everywhere but in my room where I'll most likely be in. Squall thought sarcastically. The hyperactive girl just continued by saying"Irvy left for Galbadia this morning. He has a mission waiting for him there. We don't know when he'll be coming back." …He did? Of course he did. I guess he got bored with the women here. "That's nice." Squall said coldly. The young woman tried to look for traces of sadness in the leader's eyes but his eyes always looked sad so she really could not tell. Giving up was not in Selphie's nature but she promised some junior students she would accompany them into the Fire Cavern that afternoon. "Anyway, I have to go now. I hope you're feeling better Squall." The female brunette was turning to leave when she suddenly looked at Squall again and spoke "You looked great in the ball last night. I mean when you and Irvine were dancing together. It was like a dream. Nobody could take their eyes off the two of you." The girl quickly left before the young man could reply. Squall had never felt so alone like he did at that point.

The wielder of the gunblade, Lionheart had been in his office for hours but he could not concentrate on anything so he did not get anything done. He managed to avoid talking to anybody who was curious about the night before but the papers were piling up on his large desk, Cid's old mahogany desk. Finally, after a few more documents, Squall gave up and decided to take a walk to in order to clear his mind. It was night time and the halls were once again empty. The cowboy's face unceasingly appeared in his mind.

I can't believe this. He leaves without saying anything and now I can't even get him out of my mind. Just how much trouble are you going to cause me Kinneas? What the-

Squall just realized that he was in front of the SeeD files office. This was the place where Balamb Garden stored records of its SeeDs' missions. And just what are the chances that –His- files are in here? He's from Galbadia Garden. The leader crossed his arms in front of him as he stared at the office door. This is insane. If the door is lock I'll leave this case to rest but if it's open- The brunette pressed the button on the control panel beside the door and it opened with ease. Great. From where he stood at the door, the office was very small. There were no windows nor were there other doors. Squall entered the office and found terminals similar to what he used to use when he was still a student. The Garden did not keep hard copies of important records within the campus. The Gardens still had so many secrets even after the sorceress war had ended. The young leader of Balamb Garden had switched on a terminal and sat down on the seat in front of it. A bright screen appeared where several options were made available to him. As the leader of the Garden, he did not have trouble accessing classified data and soon enough Squall found what he was looking for. There was hardly any data on the cowboy since he was not a student in Balamb but the leader was not interested in the man's past…not at the moment anyway. The computer showed the sniper's recent missions and messages from Galabadia Garden. That's strange. Squall browsed through Irvine's messages that date back to the time they had defeated Ultimecia. His mentors from Galbadia have been telling him to go back since the war had ended. Why didn't he just follow his orders? What has he been doing here these past months? Squall then viewed the last message in the sniper's archive. This is the last message Balamb has recorded. It was dated the day before the Balamb Garden Ball.

Galbadia Garden sharpshooter Irvine Kinneas Class A

The new appointed Headmaster Steiner insists that you be present during the briefing with our very important client tomorrow. Failure to attend will result to appalling consequences. You shall be charged with treason and shall be court marshaled thereafter.

Galbadia Garden Headmaster's Office

Irvine just left for Galbadia today. Is he going to be court marshaled? I doubt he told anybody about this. Selphie wouldn't have allowed him to stay even if it were for the ball. Squall tried to look into the mission that the cowboy was supposed to do for Galbadia Garden but no details were given. Nothing was mentioned about the client, the location or the other Galbadia SeeDs that were going to accompany Irvine during the mission. The only information given was the large amount of money the mysterious client was going to pay. That's strange. Garden isn't supposed to be a profit-driven organization. What's going on? The young man's contemplations were disturbed when the door to the office opened. Nowhere to hide…Headmaster Cid?

A man in his forties entered the office and was just as surprised to see Squall this late. The younger man quickly switched off the terminal and walked towards Cid to salute him. "No need for such formalities Squall. It has been a long time since I retired from being the headmaster of Garden." The gunblade master stood at ease and waited for the other man to speak. Cid looked at the younger man, a bit curious of what he had been doing in this office this late. Feeling the awkwardness of the ex-headmaster's silence, Squall finally spoke. "If you don't mind sir, I will be returning to my dorm room now." The older man then replied "You're worried about Kinnease are you?" Confused, Squall tried to think of something to say that wouldn't lead the headmaster to think about what had happened during the ball. "Sir, I…" Seeing that the young man was becoming uncomfortable with the topic, Cid decided to talk about something else. "As you may already know Squall, Irvine Kinneas has been sent to do a highly classified mission." The young brunette could not help but interject "It's a very expensive mission sir. Why would Garden accept such task with the limited information given to them by the client?" It was obvious that Cid had been saddened by what Squall had said. The older and his wife intended for the Garden to be a non-profit organization that would work for the right reasons after all. Disappointed, Cid replied "Times have changed I guess. Galbadia has a new headmaster and although the Gardens all over the world vow to support each other in times of need, they function independently as you can see." Squall turned away at the older man's tone of defeat. "Squall, I was going to talk to you about something yesterday during the ball but certain events prevented me from doing so." Squall blushed at Cid's remark. The older man continued "I have a mission for you from Esthar. Of course it's not my place to order you around. I leave the decision to you." The young man was surprised at this. It had been a long time since he had bee given a mission. This is just what I need. This will keep my mind off Him but wait, why me? "If I may ask sir, why give the mission to me?" The older man had anticipated such inquiry from the young leader so he replied "The client is the President of Esthar. He specifically asked you to accompany him to a secret meeting at the Sorceress' Memorial" Squall was getting confused. The Sorceress Memorial has been closed down since Adel has been defeated. The President already has his own bodyguards. Why would he need SeeD? "SeeDs are not personal bodyguards nor are they hired for company. What exactly is the mission and who are the other SeeDs involved?" Cid smiled at the leader's reply and retorted "As I have said, the President of Esthar wants you to accompany him to the Sorceress' Memorial. No, there will be no other SeeDs involved in this mission." Squall shook his head at this but he knew he was in no position to refuse. Being a leader of Garden, it was his duty to set an example to the students. "Fine. Hand me the details tomorrow sir." Cid, again, smiled at this and watched as the younger man saluted him. The young leader then walked away into the empty halls of the Garden.

Author's Notes: Comments and reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading:D