A New Beginning - Part I Introduction It's been a long time since Final Fantasy 8 first entered the scene, giving us another glance into the brilliant minds of all those wonderful SquareSoft people! I decided to give the game another whirl not long ago, and I couldn't help but realize just how much I love this game. Being a hopeless romantic myself, I just can't help but lose myself in the twists and turns that lead two people to find each other and that rare, perfect love. But enough of all the mushy stuff, this story is dedicated to all those FF8 fans who refuse to let the saga die!!! Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 1 Rinoa glanced up at the sky again. She watched intently, waiting for that fateful star to fall in a bright blaze to the earth. Some thought it was ill luck to see the stars lose their place, but she knew better. Her stars had brought her more happiness than she could have ever imagined, and it all lay in one handsome, irritating, perfectly wonderful boy. A bright streak flew across the horizon and she smiled, turning to Squall and pointing upwards. He nodded; he had seen it too. Suddenly, he smiled, and her heart flipped in her chest. He smiled! He actually smiled! She reached out to squeeze his hand, but he was there first, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer. Her heart pounded in excitement as he leaned closer to kiss her, in that magical moment she had been dreaming of since they met. His soft lips grazed hers and she pulled him nearer, never wanting that perfect moment to end. "Would you look at that?" Irvine commented with a whistle as he pulled Quistis around the dance floor. Quistis sighed as she glanced over at Rinoa and Squall. They were lost in each others' arms out on the balcony. Irvine tried to twirl her around but she wasn't paying attention and nearly tripped over her own feet. "Just relax," Irvine told her. Quistis smiled tightly and nodded. That wasn't really the problem. She didn't even want to be dancing if the truth were told. Irvine had practically begged her to dance, but she knew it was only to make her feel better. Selphie had probably put him up to it. There was only one boy she had ever wanted to dance with, and she knew she would never get the chance. "I'm just not up to this tonight, Irvine," Quistis said, pulling away from him and heading off the dance floor. "Come on, Quisty," he replied, following after her. "You could use a little fun." "And you could use a hole in the head, but I'm not holding it against you," Quistis replied curtly. She noticed Selphie with her video camera pointed towards her nearby and waved her away. Someone had apparently given the energetic little girl some more batteries. "Aw, Quistis, you're no fun!" Selphie replied with a wink. Turning around, she noticed Squall and Rinoa walking hand in hand from the balcony and swung her camera towards them. "Here's Squall and Rinoa, Selphie narrated. "Due to some technical difficulties, we missed the last balcony scene, but maybe we'll catch a repeat." Rinoa giggled, though Squall shook his head, reaching a gloved hand up to his forehead. "Uh, oh, I think he's turning red!" Selphie exclaimed. Squall glared at the camera. "Whatever." Rinoa playfully slapped his shoulder. "Now we're not starting THAT again!" Squall grinned slightly, then threw his hand over the lens of Selphie's camera and gently bent over to kiss Rinoa again. Selphie squealed. "That's not fair!" Beside her, Irvine laughed and she threw him a dark glare. "Hey, just be glad the kid's finally relaxed!" he said, stealing her camera away in one quick swoop. He held it high over his head and Selphie jumped trying to get it, though it was still no use. Irvine bent over laughing and Selphie grabbed the camera and his hat. "Hey wait!" Irvine called as she ran off laughing. "You can't have both of them!" Quistis, Squall, and Rinoa giggled as the pair ran through the crowd. "I think Headmaster Cid was looking for you earlier, Squall," Quistis said. "He didn't say why, but it sounded fairly important." "I better go find him then. I think I've been hiding on the balcony long enough." Squall looked down at Rinoa and she smiled up at him. "I think I'll be ok by myself for a little while," she told him. "Besides, I'd say Angelo's about ready for a break anyhow." On cue, Angelo ran over, sitting obediently at Rinoa's feet. She threw him a biscuit as Squall gave her a quick hug and kissed her forehead. "All right then. I'll be back as soon as I can." With a slight wave, he turned around and headed through the crowd. "I'll take you to him," Quistis volunteered, hurrying to catch up with Squall. A slight twinge of jealousy flared up in Rinoa's mind, but she quickly dismissed it. Whatever Quistis had felt in the past didn't matter anymore. For better or worse, Squall loved her now, and that was all that mattered. With a slight smile, she turned and headed out into the night. "You wanted to se me, Sir?" Squall asked as he approached Cid. Quistis hesitated a second behind him, then quickly walked back into the crowd. He wondered if she was feeling all right. "There you are, my boy," Cid said, putting his arm around Squall. "I've been looking for you all night. I was afraid you'd already left." "I was...busy, Sir." "I'm certain you were," Cid went on quickly, leading Squall through the crowd. "I was hoping you would help me with a little something." Squall was about to reply when Cid suddenly cut him off. "If you'll excuse me for a moment though, I have an announcement to make." Squall suddenly realized they had made their way to the front of the room, to a makeshift stage complete with podium. Cid made his way to the microphone and tapped it. "Testing, testing. May I have your attention please?" He smiled as everyone stopped talking and dancing and turned to him. "We are all here tonight," he continued, "to recognize some very special people. Without their dedication, none of us might be here celebrating today. One special individual stands out however, a young man who faced some very difficult circumstances and decisions, and passed every test with flying colors." He smiled as he turned to Squall at the edge of the stage. "And now for that favor, my boy. Would you mind trying this medal on for size?" Squall caught his breath as scattered clapping suddenly erupted into thunderous applaud. He swallowed hard as a lump grew in his throat. Proudly, he walked up on the stage as Cid waved his hand towards the crowd. "Don't clap yet!" the Headmaster told them. "I haven't even told you what it is yet!" He shook Squall's hand as he approached and pinned the medal to his jacket. "Squall Leonheart, it is my greatest privilege and honor to award you the Golden Gryffon, Balamb Garden's highest honor, for your outstanding leadership and service to our academy, and our world." The crowd thundered out their applause again, and Squall looked out at the crowd, still not believing everything that had happened. And yet here he was... "And I'm not finished yet," Cid continued. "There are four more special SeeDs to be recognized for their achievements. Would Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt and Irvine Kinneas please come forward to accept your Medals of Courage as well?" Selphie's cry of "Woo-hoo!" could be heard through the crowd as the four made their way to the front to the cheers of their comrades. Outside, Rinoa sat along the railing, watching Angelo as he scurried about in the darkness. She sighed as the night air chilled her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she felt strangely lonely. Everything seemed so perfect that she didn't want it to ever stop, but she could feel trouble gathering on the horizon, and she knew it was going to be her fault somehow. Perhaps it was her sorceress' intuition, she didn't know. Rinoa sighed as the word sorceress ran through her mind again. It scared her sometimes, the awful power she wielded. Ultimecia had been defeated, but the term sorceress was still not used in friendly tones. Squall had told her that she shouldn't worry about it since no one would know but them, but she still worried about the day when someone found out. Squall was a SeeD, and he had trained his whole life to kill sorceresses. What would happen if the other SeeDs found out their glorious leader loved one? She couldn't do that to him. It no longer mattered what happened to her, as long as he wasn't hurt. If anything happened to Squall because of her, she wasn't sure she could stand it. A clapping from inside caught her attention and she turned back towards the building, wondering what was going on. She suddenly felt very alone again. She sighed, realizing she might never really be a part of everything. She wasn't even a SeeD; she was only Squall's girlfriend, and a sorceress at that. With a final sigh, she whistled to Angelo and headed back inside. As her eyes adjusted to the bright lights, she hesitated, waiting to make sure Angelo came back inside. Everyone was still clapping and she suddenly noticed that all her friends were at the front of the room on stage. They proudly displayed their medals and Rinoa smiled slightly as she began to clap along. Once again, she felt left out, like she used to when they fought and everyone ran on, filled with the heat of battle, leaving her breathlessly trying to catch up. But they deserved their honors this time. She had helped as much as she could, but they were the SeeDs that had saved the world. Suddenly, Squall caught her eye and smiled at her, whispering something in Cid's ear. The Headmaster moved back to the microphone. "Here she is, ladies and gentlemen. We have another very special young lady with us tonight. She's not an official SeeD, but she's fought with the best of them. Rinoa Heartilly, would you please come receive your Citizen's Medal of Honor?" Rinoa jumped as her name was mentioned, surprised that she would be recognized after all. She nearly bounded up on the stage, and Squall gave her hand a quick squeeze as she passed him. Cid pinned the medal to her shirt and she gazed down at the small silver disc. The crowd began to clap again and she smiled broadly as she moved back in line with the others, wrapping her arm around Squall's waist. He put his hand on her shoulder and they moved down off the stage as the applause died down. Rinoa smiled, breathing in the thick leather smell of his jacket. Perhaps she did belong somewhere. She belonged right where she was, safe in the arms of the man she loved. As they moved off the stage, a few cameras flashed. A crowd of girls flocked around Rinoa and Squall. "Can I get my picture with you?" one of them squealed. Squall looked very uncomfortable. "Um...," he said, reaching his hand behind his head as he glanced down at Rinoa. Grinning, she felt slightly mischevious and nodded her approval. His eyes pleaded with her to save him, but she broke away and headed through the crowd with a wink. Sighing his resignation, Squall turned back to the girls. "Just one!" They fell into a fit of giggles around him. "Smile!" one of the girls cried. Rinoa grinned as she walked away. She'd love to see one them get him to pull THAT trick. Sure enough, Squall's face was still serious as she turned around. He did manage a slight smile once, and Rinoa could only laugh at how ridiculous it looked with the stern expression on the rest of his face. "Rinoa Heartilly. It's certainly been a long time." She jumped at the sound of the familiar voice behind her as she whirled around. Her eyes grew wider. "Seifer! What are you doing here?" He grinned. "Don't act so surprised. Haven't you missed me?" Rinoa looked down at her feet uncomfortably and Seifer fidgeted with the piece of paper in his hands. "Listen, I know things weren't exactly great between us the last time we talked..." Rinoa grunted. "That's certainly an understatement." The last time they had talked he had held a gunblade to her throat and turned her over to the Sorceress Adel. Seifer paused as though he were struggling with the words. "...and I...I apologize. Maybe things can gt back to the way they were, huh?" Rinoa looked up at him. The way things were... She didn't know what to think about Seifer anymore. She had loved him and she had hated him. Could even a friendship ever come from that? Luckily, she was saved from answering as Squall's hand suddenly appeared on her shoulder. "What do you want?" Squall asked. "Nothing," Seifer replied. "Just delivering a letter." He handed the envelope in his hands to Rinoa. "There. Raijin's been delivering mail down in Balamb and I thought I'd bring this one over personally." "Thanks," Rinoa said quietly. "You've delivered it," Squall said coldly. "There shouldn't be anything else you want here." "Cool it," Seifer replied, a tinge of the old venom back in his voice. Squall still somehow managed to grate his nerves with his hero-of-the-day attitude. Though if Squall wanted to fight, he had better stick with his gunblade. Seifer could win with his words any day. "It's not like I was trying to steal your girl or anything." "Good," Squall replied, leading Rinoa away. "Though I could if I wanted," Seifer called after them. "Don't forget - I had her first!" "Just ignore him," Rinoa whispered as she held Squall back from lunging after Seifer. "Some things never change. He apologized at least." "For trying to kill you?" Squall asked. He shook his head. "Forgive him if you want, but I can't." Rinoa held the letter in her hands, wondering who would know she was at Balamb Garden. "Who's it from?" Squall asked. "I don't know." Flipping it over, she froze as she recognized the seal on the back. "Father...," she breathed, ripping open the envelope. A single sheet of paper lay inside, and she quickly skimmed over the perfect penmanship that could only belong to General Caraway. My dearest Rinoa, I realize I have not been the best father for you this last year and a half. It was not until I heard that you were planning to defeat Sorceress Ultimecia that I finally was afraid I could lose you forever. I know everything is over now, and I am very proud of all you have accomplished. I have exciting news to share with you as well, and was hoping you would stop by soon and we could share our experiences. I have missed you...my daughter. With love, "Daddy" Rinoa sighed, folding the letter back up and sealing the envelope. "What's wrong?" Squall asked. "It sounds like you have a family again." "That's the problem," Rinoa said, burying her head in his chest. "Families don't keep secrets, right? So how do you tell your father...that you're a sorceress?" she finished with a whisper. Squall stroked her hair. "I told you to stop thinking like that. You're the same Rinoa you always were. That's all that matters. Your father will understand." Rinoa sighed, holding him tighter. "I hope so." "He will," Squall reassured her. "Though no matter what happens, I'll be there with you." "I know...," Rinoa said quietly. "I know." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Part I! Hope you enjoyed it so far, the best is still coming! In Part II, Rinoa's father doesn't quite take things as well as she had hoped and Seifer won't be the only one that makes a reappearance! All comments, criticisms, and compliments are welcome! I'd love to hear what you think! Write me! squalls_angel@lycos.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This fanfic is an original document by me, Mandy Webb, and CANNOT be distributed and/or used for commercial purposes without my permission. Thanks!