SeraphxHeartilly: Ahoy there! It took so long to get this chapter up. For some reason my computer decided to work against me and wouldn't let me upload this chapter. I'm still not exactly sure why it wouldn't work :/ Thankfully it gave up its vendetta against me. :D Not long now till the conclusion. I hope you guys enjoy this!

Since the T.V. debut, Squall hadn't received the slightest word from Rinoa. She had every reason to hate his guts, but still…part of him had clung tenaciously to the faintest hope that she might still want to be with him. He knew he possessed more than a good share of flaws, but his love for her was true. How could he make her see that? Discouraged, he sent one powerful punch into the hallway wall.

"Woah, woah."

Squall looked behind him. Seifer watched him with an amused grin.

"Puberty boy, I thought if anything that you were above using poor defenseless walls as an outlet for your pent-up frustrations."

"Whatever." Squall muttered, irritated.

He trudged into the living room and allowed his body to fall into the couch cushions.

Zell watched his band mate between taking bites of his hotdog. Somehow he kept stocked up on those things to a seemingly infinite supply…

"You know, instead of this whole painstaking process of waiting around for her," he swallowed a hearty bite, " Why don't you just go over there?"

Squall raised his head.

"Just go over there?"

"Mhhmmmm."

"Just head over to the presidential mansion and say to the guard 'hi, I'm Squall, let me in, please'?"

Zell frowned.

"Yea. …I forgot about the whole guard at the front gate thing. Well what if you just say that you're a friend of Rinoa and that you need to speak with her?"

"That would work if she wanted to see me, but I'm pretty sure she hates me. Seeing me would be the last thing she'd want. She'd never let me in."

Seifer walked into the living room, putting on his favorite brown trench coat.

"Well if playing nice doesn't work then we'll just have to play naughty." The patented Seifer grin followed.

Zell gaped at him. His eyes like saucers.

"No freakin' way! You're not gonna get us in trouble again by swinging around that gunblade of yours! Why in Hyne did someone allow a person like you to come into possession of a deadly weapon…"

Zell cringed after he received a whack from Seifer to the back of the head.

"I don't need to use my gunblade. And that was just ONE time!"

Squall smiled a small yet genuine smile.

"Thanks, Seifer. I could use your help. Alright we'll head over then, I just need to do something real quick along the way."

"Wait…You're actually gonna use HIS help?" Zell exclaimed.

Squall went to his bedroom, ignoring the sounds of Armageddon coming from the living room. When he came back, in his hands he held his black electric guitar. The one beautifully hand-painted with the Griever insignia. Both band mates sent him a perplexed look, but his only answer was a serene smile.

"Let's get going." He said quietly.

The image of the guitar in the pawnshop owner's hands was engraved into Squall's mind. Nothing of his own body was missing, yet he felt as if he'd lost a big part of himself. Seifer shook his head. A pale red remained on his face after yelling at his band mate for disowning his instrument for mere cash. With the money, the singer had gone into another shop then walked out with only a single little bag. What in that bag could possibly be worth the man's most prized possession since childhood? He looked at Squall and considered asking yet again what the small item was but decided against it. He already knew he wouldn't receive an answer. The Presidential Mansion was in their view. It wasn't long till they'd arrived at the front gate. As predicted, a guard was dutifully guarding the way.

"Gentlemen," the guard spoke without enthusiasm. "What business do you have at the mansion?"

Squall stepped up to the guard.

"I'm Squall Leonhart, and I'm here to speak with Rinoa Heartilly."

"Is that so? Well I'll send the request up to the mansion."

The guard walked over to the guard station phone and picked it up.

"Hello, I'd like to send over a request from a young man at the front gate. Sir Caraway, it's actually for Miss Heartilly. Uh-huh. The name of the young man is Leonhart. Oh…I see. Yes, I will relay the message."

The guard returned the phone to its cradle and walked back to the two young men.

"I'm sorry sir, but the general has informed me that Miss Heartilly has no desire to speak with you."

Squall hung his head. He'd expected this, but it still hurt.

He heard a shuffling of footsteps as Seifer walked up to the guard.

"That may be the case, Mr…. Guard man.., but listen up. My friend Squall here, he really needs to speak with Miss Heartilly."

Squall looked up. Strangely the guard hadn't said a word in response. He realized why when he caught sight of the glint of a blade from within Seifer's jacket. Seifer had pulled back his trench coat enough to partially reveal his gunblade that was attached to his hip with some kind of strap.

We are so getting kicked out of Deling…Hell, probably all of Galbadia. Squall slapped his hand to his forehead.

"I see there's very low security today," Seifer continued, "Not many people to help you…or to hear you scream."

The guard slowly replied "I am…not letting you in…with that weapon."

"Don't worry buddy, only Squall's going in. I assure you he's completely unarmed."

"I still will have to take precautions."

He slowly walked to Squall, watching Seifer cautiously the whole time, then proceeded to pat down Squall to ensure that he truly was unarmed. Pleased with finding there was no weapons, he walked back to his post.

"Go inside quickly Mr. Leonhart."

Squall looked back to Seifer giving a silent plea for him not to pull any more crazy stunts while he was gone.

"Don't worry 'bout me!" The blonde replied. "Go and get her, lover boy!"

Squall walked to the front door and hesitantly knocked on it with the ornate metal knocker. The place was so extravagant and imposing that just being so close to aroused feelings of nervousness. These types of places must've been the 'norm' to Rinoa. Whatever made her hang out with someone like him? The door opened and he was met by a stern-faced maid. He was about to speak when she cut him off.

" Robert has already informed me of your arrival. Do come inside."

"Robert?" Squall inquired as he stepped inside the mansion.

"Robert is the guard," she replied, "He also told me to keep an eye on you."

An embarrassed look found its way to his face.

"Follow me." she commanded as she led him up the staircase and through the house.

The young man followed obediently as he was directed through the maze of halls and rooms. Silently he prayed to Hyne that he wouldn't get lost on his way out.

They were now standing before a closed door. Light escaped through the cracks, indicating that someone was within the room.

"Carraway, Sir, a young man is here to see you." The maid called.

"Let him in." a deep male voice answered.

"Wait, um miss?" Squall whispered urgently to the maid. "I'm actually here to see Rinoa, not the general."

She smiled an empty smile then said matter-of-factly, "To speak with her, you have to speak with the general first."

With that said she walked away, leaving Squall alone in the hallway. Squall eyed the door as if an angry Chimera dwelled on the other side. Deciding it was now or never, he opened the door and went inside. Caraway was seated behind his desk working on papers. He halted writing on a document and looked up at Squall.

"Ah, so you're the one." The general spoke as he removed his reading glasses.

The tone in which he spoke made Squall none the more confident that this would be a pleasant confrontation.

"General," Squall began, "I'm here to see Rinoa. Is it possible for me to speak with her?"

"Sit down." Caraway commanded.

Cautiously Squall sat in the chair positioned in front of the desk.

"Why in the hell should I let you speak with my daughter?"

Squall was taken aback. It was clear that the general was not going to beat around the bush.

"Sir, I made a terrible mistake that hurt Rinoa. I can't take it back, but I want to do everything in my power to make it better."

"Make it better?" Caraway scoffed. "Do you know how much pain you caused her? First when she had thought she'd lost you, and then when you betrayed her by going off with that woman! Her tears were endless, and there was nothing I could do to console her. Now tell me, why as a father should I allow the man who's the root of my own daughter's misery, to see her again?"

"I wish I had a better answer, but all I know is this,"

He brought out the bag he had in his pocket and pulled out of it a small black velvet box. He popped the lid open then carefully set it down on Caraway's desk. Inside the box rested an exquisite looking wedding band.

"All I know, Caraway, is that I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to her. I want to dedicate every moment to making her happy."

A thoughtful silence from Caraway followed. For a moment Squall wished he could read minds. Quietly Caraway asked,

"Do you swear on your life, on all the honor that you possess, that you'll never hurt her again?"

"I swear." Squall answered, "…I love her."

"You're lucky, boy, if I didn't know that she cared for you I'd have high tailed your ass out of here."

Squall sat in silence, unsure of how to respond to that.

"I wish that I could let you speak with her, but unfortunately she's not in Deling anymore."

"What?" Squall asked.

"This morning she left for the airport. She said that she needed some space, and that she couldn't find that in Deling."

Squall stood up from his seat.

"Don't you know where she went to?" he asked.

Caraway frowned.

"I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me. She said that she wasn't quite sure yet where she was headed and that she didn't want me sending any 'spies' to 'stalk' her. All I wanted was maybe one or two trusted employs to keep a watchful eye on her…"

How could I find her now… Squall asked himself. I don't have the means to track her down by the passenger roster on the plane…and I can't scour every place on the earth, obviously…

He found himself growing more and more frustrated as the seconds ticked by.

"Wait," Caraway said. Interrupting his own rambles about how the youth don't appreciate the supervision of their parents these days. "I do know what the name is of the hotel chain she's staying at. It's called Calming Winds. I hope that'll help. When she sends me news of where she is I'll be sure to contact you."

"Thank you, sir." Squall told him as he stepped out of the study and headed to the front door. He was successful in not getting lost much to his own surprise. Outside Seifer stood by the guard. They were laughing together like old friends.

"Since when did you guys become so chummy?" Squall asked.

Seifer laughed and patted the guard, Robert, as Squall had learned, on the shoulder.

"It turns out that Robby here is quite a riot!"

Squall shook his head and muttered a whatever.

"I'm going now," he said.

The singer walked off.

"Wait, Squally! Don't be jealous!" Seifer shouted out. "Later, Robby!" Quickly he ran to catch up with Squall.

At the house Squall had divulged his newly gathered info to his bandmates. Zell jumped onto the computer and looked up Calming Winds Hotels with Seifer standing behind him, shouting at him what to click.

"Not that one chicken-wuss!"

"I know what I'm doing!"

"You know Squall," Irvine said, "That hotel sounds really familiar. Doesn't one of our friends have a relative that works there or somethin' like that?"

Squall shook his head.

" I can't remember."

"Ah, here it is!" Zell said triumphantly. "I'm loading up the hotel listings and there's one in….Dollet, Trabia, Balamb, Shumi Village, Winhill, and Esthar...…"

"He'll never find her that way." Seifer muttered. "Not to mention we can't afford that many plane tickets. And we can't just call and ask, because I'm positive that she won't use her real name. If she did then everyone would bug her because she's the general's daughter, and she wanted 'space'."

"Oh I remember now!" Irvine shouted.

Everyone looked at him quizzically.

"It's Quistis whose relative is the owner of the Calming Winds Hotels! I used to always pick on her for having a rich daddy." He grinned like a proud child.

"Sweet!" Zell exclaimed. "Then we could just see if she'll ask her dad for us to ask his employees if they've seen Rinoa at the hotels!"

"There's no way I'm asking Quistis for help." The storm-eyed singer said quietly.

Irvine put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look Squall, you may not like her, but you need her help. Are you gonna let something like this get in the way of you finding Rinoa?"

Squall shrugged the cowboy's hand off.

"She wouldn't help me anyway. She doesn't like Rinoa. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want us to be together."

"You know, Squall, she's not heartless like you think. She must feel some remorse."

It was cold outside Quistis's apartment. Squall hugged himself for warmth.

"I swear on Hyne that I'm only doing this for Rinoa!" he sharply whispered to Seifer.

"I know!" Seifer whispered back, "After this you never have to talk to her again if that's what you want."

Seifer knocked on the door.

"Whoever you are, you better have a damn good reason for waking me up this late!" the woman shouted.

Shortly after, the door was opened by Quistis Trepe. Elegantly dressed in cactuar pajamas and a robe.

" What the hell do you want, Seifer?" she practically growled.

"You're so attractive when you're pissed off."

The blonde man was about to receive a hard smack to the face when he quickly added,

"We're here because Squall needs your help."

As he said that Quistis looked behind him and saw the other young man for the first time.

" Oh..hey, Squall."

Nervousness was evident in her voice. She knew he could hardly look at her. It just reminded him of betraying her.

"Come inside, guys. You'll freeze your asses off out here."

She opened the door wider and stepped back.

"How can I be of help?" she asked Squall as she shut the door behind the two men.

Squall and Seifer explained the whole predicament to Quistis and how they're only hope was if she could use her connections with her father to track Rinoa down.

" So will you help?" Seifer asked.

Quistis looked down to her lap.

She still didn't think Rinoa was a good match for Squall. But then the only person she wanted with Squall was herself. That would never happen. But should she deny Squall happiness for such a selfish reason?

She looked up at him and saw in his eyes that she held all his hopes in her hands. Those beautiful puppy dog eyes were so deeply troubled. Beautiful eyes she had fallen in love with.

"I cant…," she whispered.