Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any part of the series.

Author's Note: *breathes in, breathes out* Gotta admit, I had hell of a hard time writing this chapter. So many info... and I'm so glad I'm through with it... Anyway, thank you so much everyone! For reading and reviewing my story!!! I hope you guys like this one! ^^

It had been a not-so-long while since everything had started and alot of things had happened already; Rinoa's first day at Deling High which was also the day she found out about the existing rivalry issue in their school; The first day she interacted with Cloud; The time she encountered the cold and intimidating Squall at the most hidden part of the school's library; The afterparty incident; The drama at the cafeteria; The holiday's lunch; The Leblanc rumpus; The Christmas ball...

And now this.

Things took their drastic turns the moment Squall confessed to Rinoa, while she did not hesitate with her feelings for the brunette, for she never really found a reason why she would do so. How could she? Of course, there was always that problem how she had often branded him a "meanie", but Rinoa had long realized and admitted to herself that she was drawn to him, ever since the day she first saw him. Maybe it was his eyes, or his shaggy brown hair she always found attractive, or the way he gazed at her, so differently from the way he looked at other girls, or people for that matter. Or maybe it was the mutual feeling they had, understanding that they need each other. That they were made to fill the missing pieces of each other's being. But she knew one thing was for sure, and she would bet her life and soul on it.

Squall made her complete.

But how in the name of Hyne would Cloud understand that?

Rinoa never knew she would face him so soon after what happened at the ball. How would she explain to him that Squall, who was written by destiny, by blood and by Hyne to be Cloud's mortal enemy, suddenly became her boyfriend?

She silently prayed that he would take it all lightly, setting aside all the tendencies to react violently. She hope that he would understand how she was only a girl who fell in love unconditionally with someone, without any ill or malicious intentions to piss the blonde off.

She fidgeted and shifted on her seat, obviously uneasy with the thought of confronting Cloud. Would he be shocked? Annoyed, of course, but if all goes well, not annoyed enough to kick her out from his circle of friends and give her an ice-cold treatment for the rest of her life. Or not too aggravated to strangle Squall to his untimely doom. Sure, Squall can fight back; he was the blonde's equal for Hyne's sake! But will he really fight his girlfriend's friend and risk being hated by Rinoa again for it? She was sure he would hold back as best as he could, he made that promise to her, and she was especially worried about that part.

"Gaaah!!!" Rinoa gibbered, expressing her frustrations in the most, understandable way possible, while squeezing her shaking head between her hands. She looked like a woman with issues on the brink of insanity.

Her boyfriend, who had been watching her cautiously the whole time from across of their table at Zone's Resto as she kept on discomfitedly moving on her seat, jerked his head backwards slightly as he shot her a worried and shocked stare.

"You alright?" He asked in a concerned tone.

She stopped and looked at him, with her anxious, brown eyes. "Uh-" She placed her hands down slowly, realizing how idiotic she must've looked like to Squall. "yeah."

She inwardly kicked herself for her stupid answer. Great, he'll think I'm all loony.

"Just," Rinoa added defensively before she can receive any more reaction, which may be worse if she won't be careful. She wanted Squall to understand her, but she wasn't planning on ranting everything she thought about inside her head.

"Cloud." She finally said, summarizing it all, hoping he would get the whole picture.

A moment had passed as they continued to stare at each other in silence. He wasn't replying, and she thought it should be a good sign; it could mean that he finally understood how she was feeling! He probably must've already realized her worries, her expectations, her-

"What about him?" He suddenly asked dumbly, completely clueless.

Rinoa almost slammed her head against the table. But she couldn't risk embarassing herself anymore.

"I'm... nervous." She admitted to him. Yes, nervous, because you suddenly called him and asked him to come over here to join us when all I was asking you was how the rivalry started.

"Nervous?" He replied. Squall was clearly not getting any of it.

"Yes! Nervous! Because you suddenly called him, and then asked him to come over here to join us, when all I was asking you was how the rivalry thing started!" She intentionally repeated her thoughts for him, hoping to bring him on her understanding of things.

Squall pressed his hands on his sides, looked down at his lap and sighed deeply. He stayed like that for another few seconds, until he finally looked up to her, leaned over the table focused at her intently with his enchanting, charming eyes. "Sorry." She hated how his gaze can easily convince her with a single look. "But it is necessary."

"Well-" She tried to look away from those blue distractions he was giving her. "well, it's easy for you to say! You don't actually care being hated by him when he finds out about us!"

The brunette's brows creased upward, saddened by her statement which also spat out about his indifference. "No. It isn't like that. I know you're scared that he'll be mad, but please don't think that I'm not taking any part of this seriously. I may not care about him... but I do care about you." He said, in the most, apologetic way possible, sweet enough to melt Rinoa's heart.

Then, with regret and bitterness as he crossed his arms and looked down on his side, he added. "I know how much he means to you..."

Rinoa sensed the jealousy in him and his statement, and she instantly felt contrite about it. "No, please Squall, don't think like that. I love you, and I will do anything for you. It's just that, I'm scared he might not take this all well and end up hurting you without you fighting back because of me, and I-"

"Will you say that again?" Squall snapped his back up with his pleading, azure eyes.

"What?" Rinoa asked, confused. "I'm scared that he might not take this all well an-"

"No, not that; the second sentence part..." He replied.

"Which... one?" She asked again, more puzzled this time.

"When you said..." He stopped, too shy to remind it for her. "you love me."

Rinoa's eyes widened. "Oh." She knew she was talkative, but never knew she was THAT bad at it. "Yeah..." She nodded, sheepishly looking down, feeling the warmth spread across her cheeks, or probably her whole face. "I... love you." She finally repeated for him.

She didn't want to say it first, she wanted to hear him say it before she does. And if ever she went first, like how she already did, Rinoa wanted to deliver it in a mor-

"I..." Squall cut his girlfriend from her thoughts and chuckled at what he was about to say. He couldn't believe he was going to say it, it wasn't like him, never had been. But it was the truth, and nothing is more rational than the truth. "I love you too." He finally said, in the most heartfelt way possible, conveyed with the most sincere look in his eyes. And Rinoa could tell as she looked at him that he was digging his words up from the deepest part of his heart.

They stayed like that, for a moment, after another, taking in what they just said to each other. Like is one thing, but love? It was supposed to be eternal, a mark or a vow of lasting care, sacrifices, happiness, loyalty, commitment, and many other wonderful things. It's a common word, found and heard everywhere, too common it became an understatement. When it truth, it was a big thing and should be seriously dealt with. Most were scared of it, because it DOES hurt, but not to Rinoa and Squall. Both of them were more than willing to venture the new part of their lives where love had finally became present. And they were glad to go through it with each other.

They couldn't believe they will go through it with each other. It was just too good to be true.

Rinoa suddenly felt deeply guilty for her tactlessness a while ago. "Uhm..." she muttered after she broke from their gaze. "I'm sorry about before."

"It's okay." He gently whispered, albeit not being as close as he should be to her. Realizing it, he stood up from his seat and sat beside his black-haired angel. He then put an arm around her, pulling himself to her side, as close as he can be. "It's really okay."

She tilted her head upward and looked at him. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "And I really am sorry. I wasn't angry about you calling Cloud to get here, nor did I mean to make you jealous or anything. I was only not prepared from what may happened once he finds out."

"Find out about what?" A low, but light voice that belonged to netierh of them, suddenly spoke.

The two lovers suddenly stopped with their display of affection and eyed on the approaching person they were expecting that afternoon; Cloud.

He was wearing his usual shades, in his dark, purple sweater and black trousers. He was a few meters from the two, which made Rinoa wonder how he could hear them from that far distance.

The blonde finally reached their table and sat across the couple, where the brunette used to be located until he transferred beside Rinoa. He didn't release his arm around his girlfriend, assuring her that he was there to make everything alright. He did not send glares at his rival either, preventing any provocation that may trigger a fight. It was a struggle, but purely sacrificial.

Even if his eyes were concealed, Rinoa could tell that Cloud was annoyed with the scene he was seeing in front of him. The girl he had been trying to "protect" from the brunette was in the arms of the very same person he despised. He knew it was wrong, but he suddenly felt possessive of Rinoa and he wanted to grab her from Squall's side. But no, he had already admitted it, he was defeated by his enemy, especially witnessing that the two lovebirds were quite... well... happy with each other. And for once, he would shut himself up out of respect for the two. He may be a bastard sometimes, but he was educated enough to know proper etiquette.

"So, I see that you two are finally together." Cloud said, his jaw clenched.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Squall replied.

"Ecstatic." Cloud responded sarcastically.

The only girl in the supposed meeting stayed silent, obviously scared of the newly arrived company. She took a quick glance of her boyfriend to find some strength, and marveled at his fearless expression.

He was staring at the blonde one with much bravery, imparting his seriousness as he showed that he likes (no, loves) the girl beside him. It was as if promising her father that he will love her for all eternity, even after death. Though the thought was strange, because Cloud was nothing like Rinoa's father, yet she was more scared of him than the General.

They remained like that, silent for several more minutes. And the longer it takes, the more Rinoa was getting impatient. She wanted to get it over with and walk out of the place.

"Err... Squall?" She nervously called him as she reached his other hand and squeezed it. He looked at her with his gentle eyes after he broke his stare (or glare, as Rinoa would consider it) from Cloud. "You were... supposed to tell me about the... rivalry... issue..."

"Rinoa," Cloud started talking, though very apathetically. "before anything else, what do you know about our rivalry?"

"Well," Rinoa muttered, turning to the blonde. "I only heard from Paine that it all started with the National Kendo Tournament."

"Is that all?" The blonde asked again.

Rinoa looked at Squall, who nodded at her encouragingly, silently telling her that she was doing fine. She felt like she was being interrogated by a pissed off mafia lord.

"Squall," Cloud blasely referred to the brunette. "why don't you explain it to her?"

Squall frowned at the spiky head and released his arm from Rinoa. He crossed his arms again. "Very well." Then, he suddenly grinned menacingly. "I'll tell her what you really are, then. Half human and half what."

Cloud did not find it funny. "You can dare to. Then I'll tell her how you inhumanly ended the war in Esthar."

The brunette chuckled. "Touche, but I like your deal anyway. I don't like hiding anything from her, so you can do my job for me. Thank you in advance."

"With pleasure." Cloud replied sarcastically.

"Just SPILL IT YOU TWO!" Rinoa, who wanted the talk to end so badly, yelled at the two competing rivals.

Squall decided to start for her. "It was during our first year of high school. We were classmates by then, but we never bothered with each other. We just kept minding our own business even if people were trying to compare us. But it didn't matter. Who would bother with him anyway."

"The ladies."

"Are you turning into an Irvine already, Cloud?"

"What do you care?"

"Stop it." Rinoa's tone was cold, so much it froze the two men. "Let's get to the point, please."

Cloud continued. "I work for Shinra as a SOLDIER." He paused, waiting for Rinoa's reaction. But she only stared at him, asking him to continue his story. She wasn't new with that kind of thing anymore.

So, the blonde carried on. "It started with a mission. I was assigned to rescue a professor named Hojo and bring him to safety. And we even targetted the best day and venue to find him; the National Kendo Tournament where he was invited as a guest of honor. I would've already taken him, he was an easy hostage. If not for this idiot who suddenly showed up."

"Lemme guess, his name was Squall?" Rinoa asked indifferently, raising an eyebrow.

"I knew you love me that much." Squall grinned.

Cloud was too disgusted to let them continue their lovey dovey sequence, so he pressed on. "Of course, I was surprised to see him, a classmate, during a mission. And all I could think of was tell him to get out of my way. But no, he only gave me that look of his and told me the same thing, and that he was in a mission too. And it was contradictory to mine; he was supposed to capture Professor Hojo and jail him for good." Cloud shrugged. "I don't understand why he had to, though."

"Neither Balamb Garden nor I wanted any more Clouds roaming around this world." Squall retorted.

"Too bad. It would've been sweet." Cloud replied.

"Fuck you."

"Wait," Rinoa was confused about Squall's comment about having many Clouds. "what do you mean?"

Squall looked at her amusingly, then to his rival. "Ready to tell her?"

"You tell me." Cloud said in rebuttal.

"What?" Rinoa looked at each of the two guys,.

But Squall did not want to start with that information yet. So he carried on with the story. "Anyway, to cut the story short, after some long talk, our argument ended up in a brawl at the men's restroom where we both found Hojo at the same time. When Cloud and I fought over an old man, we almost destroyed the whole room when we suddenly realized that Hojo was gone. We went out, trying to slow each other down, searching for that damn professor and suddenly stumbled upon the locker room.

To blend in, we disguised ourselves as competitors for the tournament as we search through that room as well, still doing everything to chase each other down. Until we accidentally got out of the stadium."

Cloud stepped into the conversation, cutting Squall. "Professor Hojo suddenly stood up from the great crowd, holding a mic. Then, he announced that whoever was successful in knocking the other one out, he will get his reward. It was a code, meaning he'll come with whoever wins the fight. I couldn't let him win, I would never let that happen. And I saw how he would not let me win either, because our fight lasted for two hours."

Rinoa rolled her eyes for their pride, but finally understood. "Then... no one won?"

Squall nodded, though regretfully. "Neither of us won, and I failed my mission. I guess I could say the same with him. It was the only mission I failed doing. After the duel, during the awarding, we noticed that Hojo was already missing. He must've planned everything from the start and ran away while the two of us were fighting.

We never saw Hojo again. Now, the mad scientist is on the lose, and can perform illegal experiments on random humans he felt like doing to. Thanks to him." He pointed his thumb at the blonde.

"You're welcome. Same to you." Cloud replied sardonicly.

"Experiments?" Rinoa's eyes widened. Who would do experiments on humans? That's beyond barbaric!

"Yeah, experiments on humans; or maybe human experiments." Squall casually replied. "Just like the one we're talking to right now."

She looked at Cloud with narrowed eyes. She was the only one who still wasn't getting everything.

"What do you mean?" Rinoa asked.

But neither of the guys answered her. They continued glaring at each other, as if waiting for the other one to start speaking.

Squall sighed, a deep one, and closed his eyes. He will be revealing everything to her now. It's now or never.

"Cloud here..." He began saying, while the blonde remained silent in his chair, allowing Squall to talk. "is actually an experiment."

"Wh-" She naturally did not believe it. "what?" She asked, partly laughing at the absurdity of it.

"Cloud is only half human..." The brunette replied, with the most serious tone. "and half extraterrestrial."

Needless to say, Rinoa was dumbfounded.

Rinoa's mouth opened, as she was unable to take in every word Squall told her. Cloud couldn't be an alien, he looked fine to be one. Well, maybe too fine it was not normal anymore. Would that be enough to justify why he was actually an alien? Because he was too beautiful?

She did not dart her eyes away from her boyfriend, searching for any lie in what he said. But the truth was written all over his face, telling her that it was a fact, and he would never lie to her. Also, when she turned to Cloud, there was no reaction from him. He was obviously not denying the new issue revealed to her.

"It's the truth..." Rinoa muttered.

Cloud nodded. "Rufus Shinra's cells and of an otherworld being called 'Jenova' were combined and implanted inside a woman's womb. That was why we had to capture Hojo. He used to work for Shinra, and he is responsible for my very existence right now. And my faher wanted to ensure his safety, and the safety of the trade secret for the experiment that made me. But he didn't want to go back and work for Shinra anymore. He refused to."

"A woman's womb?" The only girl in the group inquired.

Cloud looked away. He'd rather forget everything about her, even her name; it's a part of his way to put everything else behind. He did not want to remember the horrible woman who made his childhood life miserable. He may not be fully human, but he still was at heart. And as much as bad childhood memories can haunt every human being, it did too to him. Detecting the hesitant look on his face, Rinoa decided not to press on with her question.

"Rufus Shinra..." She murmured. It would seem like he was an heir as well, just like Squall. Everyone, even her, a girl who came from the countryside, far from the modern city, knew of Rufus Shinra and his family. They owned the most powerful and influential company in the whole world. No one from outside of Shinra knew he had a son, maybe except her and Squall.

Rinoa had been interacting with two heirs the whole time.

No, scratch that. They're not heirs. They're princes.

She bent her head down to her lap. She muttered a small "Oh..." under her breath. Cloud suddenly looked at her anxiously. He was hoping she all took it not too badly. He scowled at Squall.

"How did you know all this?" She asked the brunette.

"Did a research that caused the failure of my job. I found records of every experiment Hojo did. That was how I found out about Cloud." Squall returned.

She hummed under her breath at his answer. "Major research, I guess."

"My turn." The blonde cut in, intending not to continue with the conversation about his past. He turned back to Rinoa, who looked at him at the sound of his words and voice.

"What, Squall's an alien too?" She wouldn't be surprised if he was at this point. He was just as perfect as Cloud to be human, after all.

"No." The blonde shook his head. "Rinoa," Cloud looked at her with focused, sky-blue eyes as he said her name. "Has Squall ever told that he ended the Esthar war?"

Rinoa nodded. "Yes."

"Did he tell you how he did it?"

The ebony haired shook her head. She had been dying to know for quite a while now.

Squall did not want to hear Cloud say it. He was scared, presently above all others, to be judged by Rinoa for that mission he did. It was the only choice, and the only way his group came up with that time. He wasn't proud of it, and even Laguna was completely shattered by the action taken. He may say that he would do anything for the war to end, but he never wished for his son to do such thing for it to happen.

He did not want her to brand him a killer, just like how he considered himself to be one.

"He assassinated Adel." Cloud finally said it, without prolonging Squall's agony. "He infiltrated Adel's base and murdered everyone inside it, and I mean everyone; hunchwomen, kids who were trained to become terrorist fighters, and every men they encountered. Then, Squall killed the terrorist with his own gunblade."

And it did come as a horrible news for Rinoa.

She stared at the SeeD blankly, and it was Squall's turn to get uncomfortable. He wasn't really taking her look as a good sign. He wanted to explain, but there was nothing more he could say about it. It was done, he and his comrades took away many lives.

Suddenly, she took his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. Squall was surprised and at lost with words as he gazed back at her. Rinoa's eyes became full of sadness now, as if she was saying a faultless "sorry" to him.

But she was silently sympathetic of him.

"Squall..." She began. "it must be horrible... for you..."

Happiness and shock exploded inside him. It amazed him how she could quickly understand him and accept him despite of what he did when he was very young.

"I'm glad you're taking it well, Rinoa." He said gently. "Please, don't think of me as a-"

Rinoa placed her index finger over his lips and shook her head. "No. I know. I understand."

He almost kissed her. And he was glad to do it in front of the person he considered a "bastard". But he was afraid that Rinoa might get mad if he did it.

Cloud cleared his throat, reminding them that he was still there.

Squall turned at him, and growled angrily for ruining the moment.

"I wasn't able to kill everyone, though." The brunette sternly said. "One of them was able to escape, just like how he did during the tournament."

"Hojo?" His grilfriend asked again. "You were supposed to kill him?"

"He used to work for Adel and performed gory experiments on imprisoned Esthar soldiers." Squall replied. "He was also responsible for the genetically engineered soldiers fighting under Adel. That damn demon bribed Hojo to work under him after finding out of the successful experiments he did for Shinra. The war lasted that long because of Hojo."

Rinoa gasped at this. Hojo did sound like a horrible man, and even she would be scared to wander around the entire world, even on the safe Deling City, knowing that such person existed. And she understood Squall's cause why he needed that man imprisoned; for the safety of all other people. But she felt bad for Cloud, especially. He was a "product" of one of his successful experiments. And if it wasn't for that creepy scientist, there would never be a Cloud existing in this world.

She didn't know which side she was anymore.

"Hmm..." She hummed. "Well, that's just too bad."

Cloud and Squall looked at each other confusingly, unable to get what she meant.

"You know, if you two worked something out before you let your arrogance get in the way, maybe Hojo shouldn't be out and about right now." She said. "You two basically had one objective; to capture him, whether for his safety's sake or to shut him away from the world before he does anything else. But it all comes down to the same thing; you had to capture him." She hoped that she drilled enough guilt on both men. Then, she continued. "I understand both of your reasons why you needed to do your missions, and maybe you two should've understood each other as well. Consider, before judging. Maybe you two should've tried that and see where it went. It was neither Squall's or Cloud's fault why Hojo had gotten away. It was both your fault." Rinoa sighed. "Hojo must've seen that weakness part of you two. And he used that to escape."

Both the blonde and the brunette were silent. They hated it when Rinoa was right. And she always was.

"Nothing else is to blame here," She carried on. "but your rivalry."

Squall looked away at the other direction, opposite the scene he was in, while Cloud looked intently at Rinoa, with his mild stare.

"I only hope you could understand, Rinoa." He said in a lenient manner, more like begging for her to try and relate with how they value their pride.

"I do hope I can." Rinoa replied blankly.

They all remained quiet. Unfolding almost everything right in front of someone outside the conflict between the wolf and the lion would be too much for someone like Rinoa. But she remained strong, and determined not to be affected by the information she was told about. She promised herself not to let anything change how she saw or thought of her boyrfriend and her dear friend. She only took their background as nothing more than history that was remain unsolved. All that mattered to her was the present, and how they will face the future.

Cloud was the first one to break the silence and moved. He stood up from his seat.

"I guess there's nothing more to tell about here." He said.

"You two haven't told me yet about that fight you had that separated the two sections."

"Hmm..." Squall mumbled. "I guess I can tell you about that myself."

"No." Cloud interrupted. "I can't trust you to edit that story out."

"Think whatever you want. I'm never a liar to Rinoa." The brunette shot back.

Rinoa sighed, shaking her head. They had been fighting ever since Cloud arrived.

There's no stopping them, she thought.

Cloud turned around and about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He turned back to the couple and faced Rinoa, who looked back at him.

"I need your help." He asked.

"Help?" She replied.

"What the fuck you mean-" Squall did not like it.

"I need to borrow your girlfriend." Cloud told his rival.

"Go find your own." The brunette growled back.

"I need her help with something." Cloud said as cooly as he can.

"Squall..." Rinoa held his arm in her hand comfortingly. He turned to her and became locked with her assuring brown gaze. "It's alright. I want to help him with whatever he needs. You can trust him." She said quietly.

Squall couldn't refuse to her plea. "Fine." He mumbled. "I'll bring her to... wherever you're bringing her."

"Fine." Cloud said. "Shinra Building, Deling branch."

"Shinra?" Squall said warily. He didn't want Rinoa inside that building, but he had no choice. "You better make sure nothing happens to her there." He warned the blonde.

"The fuck you mean?" Cloud retorted, offended by Squall's remark. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to her, and you know that you son of a bitch."

"Speak for yourself, E.T."

"Please..." Rinoa cut in, stopping their argument. It would lead to a brawl if she let them keep on going. "Cloud, what am I going to help you with?" She asked curiously.

"There's a friend of mine..." He replied, his tone changed into a gentle one. "that I need you to meet. She was rescued from a madman and I was supposed to protect and keep her from the outside world. She was getting lonely." He stepped closer to Rinoa's direction, his eyes were almost pleading. "I know you're the only one who can cheer her up."

Rinoa looked back at him, sincerely in the eyes. Without waiting for her boyfriend's permission, she gave him her answer and nodded. "Okay... What's her name?"

"It's Terra."

A/N: Next chapter, Rinoa gets to meet Terra. :3