Squall jogged to keep up with the woman, internally recalling what her name was. "Miss!" He mentally cursed at his poor memory for names. "…Miss Farron!" He shouted as he finally recalled.

Claire halted and turned to see the commander approaching in a hurried manner. He stopped at a decent distance in front of the ex soldier. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He continued.

"Of course. What's up?" She cooly obliged.

The brunet was mildly surprised beyond his stoic face at the casual response of the woman in front of him but still, he was more surprised for feeling used to it. His brows furrowed as he looked at the floor. He appears as thinking deep in thought on how to deliver whatever it is that he was about to ask. He raised his gaze at the lady in front of him. Her narrowed eyes were glued on him as she grew impatient of waiting for the lion to spill it. He felt uncomfortable at the stare he was receiving and it made him clear his throat.

"I was just meaning to ask if…if we have met somewhere." He started awkwardly. Fidgeting as he was feeling loss for words in an attempt to continue. Unsure if he will still go on with it or just leave it, he decided to finish it. "You somehow look familiar to me. Have we...met before?" He looked at the pink haired lady and waited for her reaction.

Her eyes widened a bit and it immediately turned to a frown as she felt surprised and confused by what the lion had said. Would it be wise to take the risk and tell him the truth now? She asked more to herself as she continued staring at the tall man in front of him. No. Rushing things will only put myself and the others in danger. Besides, he won't be ready to hear it. He'll surely freak out. She opened her lips as she was about to talk but Squall suddenly realized his choice of words were far from what he really intended to deliver and he was afraid Claire's expressions might meant that she misinterpreted it as something indecent so he quickly intercepted. "Oh, no! No! I'm not trying to hit on you or something, uh, whatever." Face red, he quickly turned his back and left towards the training center. He seemed like a teenager who was about to ask his crush to go with him at the prom but was too shy in doing so.

She was left standing alone in the hallway with her mouth slightly open. She tried her best not to burst in laughter. Squall, what did all those years did to you? She stiffled a chuckle and tilted her head to where the lion had gone. She mildly shook her head and turned towards the opposite direction.

Claire's peaceful sleep was interrupted by the noise her alarm clock was producing. Without opening her eyes, she lazily rolled over to her left and reached for the box-shaped device in her bedside table. She then curled to her right side and snuggled through her sheets. Five more minutes. Let me sleep. She thought.

The day before was too exhausting for all the cadets. They did an outdoor drill for a good 5 hours and after that, still all sweaty and full of dirt from the tiring drill, they were on the field whole day slaying monsters not too far from the Garden. The farthest they have reached was just a few miles away from the Fire Cavern. That has been the routine for everyone who passed the aptitude test. They were already ordered to proceed with their training the day after they have signed their contracts, received their badges, ID's and uniforms and said their oaths in front of the commander and the officials. Luckily all ten of them have successfully passed the last part of the exam and they were made as a new team. They are currently at their second week of training, preparing for the field exam and if they pass, they will officially become a SeeD and part of the new team that the commander formed, the Balamb Security Unit.

She's still enjoying the coziness in her bed when the doorbell of her room rang. She tried to ignore the noise but whoever the person was buzzing outside the door was really determined to wake her up. "Ugh!" She irritably groaned. She reached for the button of the wall speaker beside her bed and spoke. "What?" Her annoyance can be clearly heard on her voice.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you but I was just sent here to tell all the cadets to drop by Instructor Trepe's office before they start their training." Said the voice of a girl from the speaker.

She sighed and shut her eyes tightly. "I'll be out in a minute." She replied and turned off the speaker. She sat on the edge of the bed and slightly cracked her neck.

Here goes another day. She thought.

She stood outside a huge wooden door wearing a dark grey tank top with a matching compression shorts, both with the Garden's logo paired with black boots. This has been her uniform whenever she's outside, working on her training. A black sheath was wrapped around her left leg where her army knife was kept. She knocked first before opening the door, approached the preoccupied woman and saluted.

Quistis was on her desk sitting on her chair, reading a book while sipping on her coffee. She raised her head to see who her company is. "Oh, Claire, at ease." She replied with a smile. "Good morning. Sit down." She placed a book marker between the pages where she stopped reading before closing the book and laying it down on her desk. She removed her spectacles and looked at the pink haired woman.

"Should we wait for the others?" The cadet asked and looked at the door.

"No need. They can come any time which is more convenient to them. I just had a second thought awhile ago, well, with your tight schedule in training while everyone else are still on vacation, that was too much for you guys." She let out a chuckle. "I don't want to add to your nuisance. Especially with small things like these." And she handed a paper to her. Claire accepted it and read what's written on it. "That would be your schedule for the coming semester. Subjects are already there and the pdf's you will be needing will be uploaded anytime soon so you can do advance reading as early as you'd like." She filled in.

Claire smiled. "I didn't know papers are still used a lot in Balamb."

"Well, through my years in teaching, I proved that no technology can solve my student's sickness. Do you know what it is?" She asked.

"No. Fill me in." She replied honestly.

"Tardiness." Quistis smiled. "Students tend to skip classes or show up late during homerooms and use lack of information about time and their schedule as an excuse. Like that was ever a valid reason. So I thought why not utilize everything that's available to make sure every student won't forget it, intended or not." The blonde kindly explained.

The ex-soldier marveled at the instructor. "I get it. Don't worry. My memory is intact so far."

"Good." She smiled brightly.

"Thank you. I'll be heading now." She smiled back.

She was about to head for door when the blonde instructor added. "One more thing. Before we start this semester, we should decide what weapon you will be mastering to use. You won't be using those guns and blades forever except if that's really your specialization. I need to know so we can provide it as soon as possible." She informed.

Claire stopped for a moment. I just want my gunblade. If you can create one similar to my weapon, that would be great. "I'm sorry I haven't thought about it yet. I usually train with different kinds of weapons so I haven't made up my mind yet." She lied. Truth is, she just wanted her gunblade and she was just planning to try if she can create a sketch of it and gather the materials. She knew how her gunblade works and there are days that she even tried to re-assemble it and upgrade several times before. Right. I should really start creating it so I have a weapon to use as early as possible. She thought.

"No worries, don't stress yourself. If you have already decided, just inform us. That is all. You're dismissed." She smiled and resumed into reading into her book.

She saluted. She can't help herself but notice how intimidating the woman's presence is. It was not because she's attracted to women. She just thought that this lady's perfect physique was too much intimidating for her. And she knew she wasn't the only one who feels this way whenever this beautiful and kind hearted instructor is near. She somehow wondered what would it be like when she have that face and body. Then she suddenly thought about the Trepies fans club squealing over petty things about this woman and numerous men, especially students fantasizing at her. She can't stand the thought and it made her cringe. She knew she was also quite attractive, not with the same flawless appearance but tough enough to make men avoid even an eye contact with her. She somehow felt confident with herself especially when it comes in combat. This woman is like a living manikin. The one you can see wearing fancy and expensive dresses displayed at shopping malls. Good thing she's just here within the premises. It would be a waste if someone like her will be killed out there. She told herself while looking down at the blonde instructor.

"Anything else I can help you with?" She was not aware that Quistis was now staring curiously at her.

She scolded herself for being such a curious cat. This is her sickness. "Nothing. I'll go ahead." She replied. And with that, she left.

She was about to head to the main entrance of the Garden to start her morning jog when someone from her back called her. "Claire!"

She stopped and sighed deeply as she immediately recognized the owner of the voice. She slowly turned around to confirm it and standing there is the guy she tried her best to avoid for weeks. But she thought avoiding him is just making the situation worse and not hearing Hope's explanation is somehow becoming unfair. She felt stupid for choosing to be stubborn and ignore him. "Yeah?" She finally said.

"I was hoping if we can finally talk. I know you were avoiding me these past few weeks but I'm not without hope that one day we will." Hope started.

Claire checked her wristwatch. She still have thirty minutes before the start of their training which is scheduled at 6 A.M. sharp. "Follow me." She dully replied and she walked towards the quad where the best views of the nearby town of Balamb can be seen from its balconies.

She leaned her back at one of the pillars as she looked at the distance while Hope on the other hand leaned his right hand on the balcony, his left hand on his pocket. "I've still got twenty minutes. Talk." She stated.

Hope let out a weak chuckle. "You haven't changed at all." He looked at her but she didn't react. "Look, I'm sorry if I failed to keep in touch." He started.

"And for what good reason?" She asked.

"As far as my memory can recall, when I started acquiring flashbacks of what happened in our world through dreams almost every night, I admit I was so scared. Especially when I found out everything wasn't just a dream and it did really happened before I… I didn't know what to do. You were the one who came first into my mind. I thought if you're with me I know everything's going to be okay. But that time I didn't know where I'll begin to find you." He gripped his nape with his two hands and sighed. "I woke up one day realizing I felt different. This place isn't familiar to me anymore and the people who raised me…they…they became strangers to me. I feel so helpless. Probably like the rest of us I was afraid to be caught. I was afraid someone from this world will know about our dark past and the thought of everyone hunting us down just drives me crazy. But as much as I wanted to seek help from you there's a huge part in me that says I should prove to you that I can take care of myself and that one day I will return the favor and I will be the one who will protect you this time."

"So you just chose to ignore me but you had the guts to contact the others? Right. I'm not shallow if you think I will stop you from doing what you want." She replied.

"I'm sorry. I just…I just knew I had to do something. Alone. Even if I learned that you were in Esthar and our friends even gave me your contact details, I fought the urge to even call you. I want to prove that I can help you guys in my own way. I just don't want to be a burden to you anymore. I studied very well and took the chance to work at this school. I chose to become a researcher so informations that comes in and out if this institution I will be aware of. So I will know if one day we will be in danger. So we can be prepared. I did this for all of us." His shoulder sagged as he leaned both his hands on the balcony.

"You employed yourself here so you can acquire intel about our past, is that it?" Claire sighed. "I'll give you credits… for fighting your way out of puberty." She unfolded her arms and started her steps.

Hope let out an audible sigh.

She turned and looked at him. "I understand. You did your best to protect your people. If it weren't for you, and to that reporter, we'd probably still be puzzled by those dreams and your efforts of finding out the truth had lead us to learn about our past. You have my thanks." He was not the first one to do stubborn things in hopes of protecting someone, she thought.

Hope looked up on her. "I'm really sorry."

"You don't have to." She paused. "I admit I was pissed at first. But honestly, I really have my fair share of mistakes. I should've gone and see you the moment I learned you were in Balamb. I should've gotten the initiative to know how you've been doing these years. It's not fair to be mad at you. I'm sorry." She turned to face him. "I'm glad to see you're doing well, Hope." She smiled and left. Hope stared blankly at her retreating figure and sighed in relief. That moment, he knew he was forgiven.

"Now where in the world is she?"Twelve noon and Selphie was furiously tapping her right foot while she leaned on the railings of the balcony as she quickly shifts her glance back and forth at the opposite directions of the hallway. Irvine, standing in front of her, is cleaning his beloved shotgun with intensity in his eyes, as if he's having a deep conversation with the object.

"You mean, that pretty, hot lady with the pink hair? C'mon give her a break. You're always on her tails since she got here. I could've sworn her phone already exploded by now with all those voicemails you left her." The woman glared at him. "Anyway, I'm kinda wishing the same thing, you know, running into her again so I can even ask if she already has a boyfriend." He looked up, his eyes flickered as he starts imagining something.

"Will you stop fantasizing on her!" The brunette blurted in disgust. "I needed to see her because I have someone she will be needing to talk to. I know she will definitely like it." She informed him.

"Somebody around more handsome and likeable than me?" He asked, more like threatened.

She shook her head in disbelief. "It's an emergency mission scheduled for tomorrow." She stressed. "I saw Xu earlier. She was very agitated and I overheard her talking to someone on her phone. Says we are still lacking soldiers for this one. They'll have a hard time finding available units, everybody else are booked up tomorrow." She explained.

"Oh. I know. So you'll gonna place her on that mission? The one with those rebels hiding in the mountains of Dollet? The one assigned to US?"He actually understood what the mission was and what the woman was about to do but he still wanted to make sure what he was thinking was accurate.

"Yup!" The short brunette confirmed his thoughts.

"But Selphie, that's just crazy. She's not a SeeD. I mean not yet. They should be sitting in classes, listening to their instructors, learning the basics and stuff, hell, it's technically their vacation right now. We don't put unhatched cadets into missions like that!" He exclaimed.

"You big guy really doesn't know her you know?" She laughed nonchalantly. "Her skills are that of a true-blooded SeeD. Trust me."

"Yeah sure. You can continue putting your friend in danger unprepared. I'm pretty sure she'll gonna buy it before she can even say SeeD. And one more thing. Good luck with Xu. Definitely sure she won't allow you." He saluted lamely and retreated, resting his weapon on his shoulder as he whistles a tune.

"What does he know?" She pouted.