Disclaimer: I do not own FF VIII but if I did... well, things would have come out differently.
He sat, reading through more and more reports, sifting through the information as fast as he could, the rumor was becoming less believed as time went on but more people were thinking about it and the balance was beginning to shit, he sighed inwardly. Things were looking up, the elaborations on the Rumors were beginning to sift through and the circumstances of the sanctuary were forming, through the conspiracy theories and the mindless jabber. He smiled absently and leaned back in the chair, finding it comfortable for the first time in quite a while. He let his eyes close and took a deep breath, pulling in long and letting it out in a slow whistle. So there was a light somewhere at the end of the tunnel. Good to know.
Breaking his revere was the intercom on his desk "sir, a miss Tilmette here to see you. About the budget shift." Oh, damn it all. That's right, he had been so wrapped up in the success he was having with his little problem he had completely forgotten about her and her approvals. He punched the intercom button irately pulling back on the mask of impassivity. "Show her in." the door opened without further note and in popped the bundle of joyous energy that served as garden master and head of finances. He had always found a kind of sick humor in the idea of her handling so much money every day with the fact she could barely contain herself as it stood. The thought almost made him crack a smile but he restrained himself but it was a good feeling. She plopped herself down at the seat in front of his desk and flopped the heavy briefcase on the top with a broad grin and an innocent titter. "good evening commander, I trust I'm not interrupting anything?" high on life as usual. He wondered if her hair drooped out of its odd setting when she was depressed and the image brought a new bubble of laughter through his well-guarded mind. Focusing again on her he leaned forward in a calculated and slow gesture, twining his fingers and leaning on his elbows. "of coarse not. Now then, what is it you wanted to tell me?" trying his damnedest to sound enwarpt, likely coming out as mild interest. She just nodded and opened the case with a swift click it popped open and she removed an envelope and handed it to him. "this is the file of gains and losses for this quarter, good news! We're in the black! First time in months!" she seemed greatly pleased with the information, as he tried to soak up as much the gargantuan sums as he could, hundreds of thousands of bills was something he would never understand, so he studied the pie chart and nodded getting the gist.
"Right then, I get the picture. So nothing else new to report? No issues?" she grinned like the cat that just caught the canary. "Nope! But…." Her face mellowing some, into a more serious area of deep contemplation. "I know there is no way you could have missed the rumors, and I wanted to ask…" "if they have any grounding?" he asked quirking a brow in what he hoped was an annoyed manner, but that image of her hair drooping still had him in stitches on the inside. "No. I wanted to know how long you can keep it under wraps." His pulse took a double time. Oh….. well it was bound to happen eventually he sat impassive just to see if she could back up her reasoning. "well, you know cause I got all curious and went back and checked the registered logs for the keywords and found out that the rumor originated with a student that didn't exist, so I just kinda guessed that it had to have come from on high cause only you all have the kind of clearance to pull something like that am I right?" On a mental side not, how big of lungs could she possibly be hiding in that flat chest? But more importantly she knew, and there was no denying anything any more, immediately his mind switched over to Damage Control mode and kicked into high gear, his eyes narrowed his gaze hardened his muscles tightened and his voice became even more devoid of emotion. "does anyone else know what you know?" she immediately picked up the change and jumped into bunny vs. fox mode, she played the bunny. She shied back from his gaze, scrunched up physically shrinking a bit, and her voice held a more subdued tone. "O-only Quistis, she did most of the tracing, she just wanted me to ask……" he drew a deep breath and collected his thoughts for a moment his eyes closeing, her voice broke the silence. "so…. Um… can I know who it is?" he paused….. he tried to remember if she had clocked as one of the supporters or not, and he just plain old couldn't remember. At this stage though, she knew everything but, she may as well know it all. She blurted something right before he opened his mouth. "it's not Siefer is it?" she immediately slapped a hand over her mouth and looked around as though she would be shot for mentioning his name. Squall just shook his head and sighed in resignation. "No. it's Fujin. Siefer and Raijin are dead." Her eyes grew to the size of saucers, and her mouth formed a tiny "o" and he quickly followed up his words with another slew. "No one else can know about this, and nothing said here leaves this room, are we in an understanding?" his eyes were like lasers drilling into her brain. "Y-yes Sir!" She saluted quickly and closing the briefcase scurried out like a frightened hare.
He collected his mind and tried to wrap around these details. So now Selphie knew. And he knew she could be trusted except with Irvine, who could be trusted as far as he knew very well. Well, at least the damage would be contained, but he had to have a chat with his old teacher. He stabbed the intercom again. "Call miss Trepes to my office please, ASAP." "yes sir." The other side blurted back and he sat back in the poofy tense chair and sighed. This was becoming a sighing day, so in retaliation, he resurrected the image of Selphie's face drooping and her hair uncurling simultaneously with a mild series of chuckles and let out a breath feeling much better. However this would be the hard part Quistis had never been the timid girl Selphie was and would not simply cave into his demands, he would have to tell her everything. So. He collected the story in his mind and waited, going over his lines again and again.
"Miss Trepes to see you." He roused from his thoughts to punch the key. "Let her in." The door slide open on it's silent track and she stepped in with her arms crossed over her chest, she was dressed in her SeeD uniform with her hair in a tight bun, as always. "You wanted to see me Squall?" she was one of the few people who had never taken to calling him Commander, it was almost refreshing. "yes, I believe you know what this is about…"
"the Fugitive right?" "Yes. I believe you have your suspicions already on hand" "indeed I do." He paused leaning forward again and gazing right into her eyes. "Well?" "I believe you have Siefer. Here, hidden in the Garden. And have for a time, without telling anyone." "no, Siefer is not here. Both he and Raijin are dead." That took a little wind from her sails, but almost as quickly as she had dropped of her eyes again alighted. "Fujin…" he nodded gravely. "Then, those rumors…." "were not rumors at all, they were True. At least as far as we can verify." Quistis, paused bringing one delicate hand to her mouth. "what do you plan to do?" She was looking at him seriously, trying to garner anything from his eyes, every scap of detail. "you know, none of what I say, was ever said. Nothing leaves this room." "of coarse." " good then. Quistis. I want to help her."
A/N: sorry friends. this chapter hads been done for a while, I just forgot to post it. Life is getting surreal again... so expect more constant updates. as always R&R. I am trying to write this something like a novel. I'll be damned if anything happens before the entire situation is built, ground up. This is my first shot at Romance, and I want it to be some of my best work. Thank you all for your patience, and the few amung many for your kinda sentiments, you keep me writing. Especially you Mare-Mare, I hope you update your story soon. in way of explanation, she is currently writeing a story entitled "Glass" and it is quite the work,, has me cap[tivated with every step. please read. She works a lot harder than I am.