"Who Would I Be Without You?"

                                   -	Part 1

                                  "Familiar Strangers"

                                      By Angelwing



"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde



	Squall Leonhart was bored. Not just at a loose end but really B.O.R.E.D. 
He sat aimlessly in the middle of a crowded Cafeteria and stared at his plate. A half-
eaten hot-dog stared back up at him. Not literally of course, but Squall was so mind-
numbingly bored, he was beginning to wish that the hot-dog WOULD talk to him. A small 
group of giggling teenage girls past by his table, all staring, blushing and swooning at his 
striking good looks. Squall knew they were looking at him but he ignored them as he 
always did; he was too bred. Just as he was thinking of taking an interesting and thrilling 
trip to the bathroom, Rinoa rushed into the bustling room. Breathlessly, her eyes darted 
around before she caught sight of Squall, sitting at a small table on his own, staring at a 
hotdog and looking bored. She smiled through her panting and made her way quickly to 
the table.
	"I am SO sorry, Squall!" Squall glanced up for a split second, gave a quick nod 
and a half-hearted smile and resumed his examination of the food before him. Rinoa 
stopped short and waved a delicate hand over his face.
	"Helloo-hoo!" she grinned, "I know I'm a little late but I'm here now!" 
Squall looked up and blinked, his face expressionless and blank.
	"No Rinoa," he stated bluntly, "Five minutes is a little late...half an hour is a little 
late...hell even an hour is a little late at a push. But two hours? 
That's not just late, that's DOA." Rinoa had expected this response. Okay so maybe she 
was a teensy bit over time, but hey, everyone's late sometimes.
	"That's not fair," she sulked, "I never said anything when you were late for our 
Dinner date last week." Squall's eyes widened and he smiled in disbelief.
	"Rinoa, I was being eaten alive by a pack of four hungry Toramas! I'm terribly 
sorry it took so long for me to stop bleeding but Doctor Kadowaki suggested that I should 
get stitched up first." Rinoa shrugged her shoulders.
	"You were still late," she complained. Squall rolled his eyes and gave up trying to 
reason with her, poking the hot dog to the other side of his plate. 
Rinoa pulled away the plate from him.
	"Okay, I know the hot-dog's interesting but...I thought you wanted to speak to me 
about something." Squall rubbed his eyes, he felt so tired after waiting for so long, he 
could barely remember what he wanted to speak to her about. But hell, he had to admit 
it; she was always worth the wait.
	"I just wanted to speak to you since I won't get a chance to tonight." 
Rinoa's expression dropped and her smile faded in disappointment.
	"Aww..." she muttered, "I thought we were going out with Zell and Aurora 
tonight...?" Squall took hold of her lily-white hands across the table and looked earnestly 
into her sparkling eyes.
	"I know..." he breathed, "and I'm sorry but Cid wants to speak to me... urgently. 
He said he has something he knows I need to hear about...it sounds important Rinoa, 
I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you I promise." Rinoa nodded, her beautiful dark hair tumbling 
into her eyes as she brushed it away with one swift sweep of her hand.
	"I know you will," she beamed, "I always believe you." Squall allowed a smile to 
break his stern exterior and he gripped her hands tightly. One year after the Ultimecia-
war and the most famous couple in the whole of Balamb were still going strong. In fact, 
they were growing stronger and stronger every day.
	"I love you..." he whispered, keeping his eyes fixed on her innocent features, 
"you know that don't you?" Rinoa shook her head softly.
	"Squall, how could I not know that...you couldn't show me that anymore than you 
already do."  Squall shifted uneasily and glanced nervously around him to assure himself 
that no one heard that. Rinoa rolled her eyes and giggled slightly.
	"Squall! Stop that! Everyone knows we're a couple, you're acting like you don't 
want anyone to find out!" Squall shook his brown hair and smiled up at her.
	"I...know, but it tends to undermine your leadership if people find out you have 
such a severe weakness."
	"Will you ever learn?" she breathed, gripping his hand tightly and then releasing 
it.
	"I have to go now," he stated bluntly, raising himself up off his seat and picking 
up his idle gunblade. 
	"Already?" moaned Rinoa.
	"You seem to forget that I've been here hours and my meeting with Cid starts in 
five minutes."
	"Oh-kay," sighed Rinoa, slouching back in her chair. Squall graced her with a 
wink and wandered assertively out of the cafeteria. Rinoa watched him go, smiling to 
herself. He may not be much good with matters of the heart, but he sure had a sexy 
stride.


	"Enter." Headmaster Cid raised himself off his seat and looked towards the door. 
It slowly opened and in walked Squall Leonhart, his greatest SeeD commander. The 
door closed behind Squall and he raised his hand in the customary 
SeeD salute. Cid nodded in recognition and beckoned towards a chair.
	"Have a seat, Squall," he murmured. Squall obliged, keeping half an eye on 
Cid's troubled features. Cid cleared his throat and begun.
	"I'm sorry to bring you here like this, but I have some interesting and important 
news for you." Squall remained silent and looked with interest and concentration. 
	"You are my finest SeeD in this establishment and any work of a more serious 
nature, I will address to you. The fact is we have an already experienced SeeD who has 
requested permission to join Balamb Garden. He is already fully trained and could prove 
to be a great asset to our team, if only he had the right kind of influences and the right 
kind of help." Squall sat back in his chair.
	"I want you to take control of the operation Squall, I want you to take on board 
this SeeD and teach him; train him appropriately and help him to overcome his 
problems." Squall considered this.
	"With all due respect sir, and even though I'm flattered with your asking me, I 
don't understand why the task falls to me." Cid nodded.
	"Well to be honest Squall, you're the only one who can do it. You're the only one 
who could make a difference here, but it's going to be tough on you 
aswell."
	"I don't understand, you made me believe that this assignment was important, 
I've been worrying about it, but all it is, is to play nanny to a 
SeeD?"
	"There's a little more to it than that Squall..."


	Mishka tightened the straps on her boots and placed her knife discreetly between 
them. She straightened up and pulled her long hair into a ponytail at the back. 
Wandering down the various corridors of the Garden, she saw no one of any particular 
interest. Quistis was busy teaching all morning, Aurora was on yet another romantic 
liaison with Zell and Rinoa had gone to meet Squall. 'Booring' thought Mishka. The only 
other one she could think of was Selphie but to be honest, she'd rather spend the day in 
a torture chamber. After a quick examination of the quad-area Mishka came to the 
conclusion that there wasn't anything worth staying in Balamb for that day and made her 
mind up to go into the town.  Just as she was about to leave the main area, her attention 
was caught by an interesting-looking man looking around in a state of confusion. He was 
tall, well-muscled but by the looks of it, extremely lost. Mishka sighed; she hadn't got 
anything better to do, so she might as well b!
e !
friendly to the natives. She took a deep breath and approached the man with a smile.
	"Hi there!" She beamed, waiting for him to notice her.
	"Wha? Hm?" He turned round and had to look down a bit to see her.
	"Oh...hey." 
	"You look a little lost, are you looking for someone?" The man narrowed his gaze 
and scanned the surrounding area.
	"Yeah, a friend, but don't worry I'll find her, ya know." Mishka nodded and 
breathed.
	"Okay, do you need any help maybe? It's just I'm at a bit of a loose end at the 
moment and I've got some spare time if you want it?" Seeing that the girl wasn't going to 
give up, he nodded.
	"Sure, if ya don't mind." Mishka shook her head.
	"Course I don't. So do you have a name to go with that muscled exterior?" 
This seemed to confuse him, not being accustomed with compliments or blatant chat up 
lines.
	"Okay... I'm Mishka." Mishka held her hand out and the man accepted it.
	"So, your name is...?"
	"Raijin." 


	Quistis watched as the last of her students filed out of the room. She sat back in 
her chair and closed her eyes; teaching had been a real chore today, she was glad to 
have a rest. She reached to the back of her head and pulled the clip that held up her 
hair. Her long, blonde hair tumbled down her shoulders as she drifted out of 
consciousness. She was roused by a faint and unsure knocking at her door.  Sitting up 
straight and arranging herself appropriately she spoke.
	"Yes?" The door opened and in walked someone she knew and had at one time 
hoped she'd never see again. There she stood with her arms behind her back, short grey 
hair and an eye-patch. She looked at Quistis, not knowing what to say or when to say it. 
Quistis was not nearly as cool and she stood up in horror.
	"Fujin!" She blurted out. Fujin remained unmoved and her seeing eye blinked in 
recognition.
	"QUISTIS." She replied.
	"What the hell are you doing here? Who's with you? Why have you come to my 
room?!" Quistis stopped, realising that Fujin couldn't possibly answer all these questions 
at once.
	"RAIJIN." Said Fujin. Quistis shook her head in confusion.
	"What about Raijin?" 
	"WHERE."
	"Where's Raijin? Is he here too?"
	"WHERE."
	"I don't know where he is, I haven't seen him. What are you doing here?" 
Fujin declined to answer this final question and turned around. Looking at the door, she 
made her way for it, ignoring the confused stuttering of her former tutor. Quistis watched 
as she left.
	"What the hell is going on," grumbled Quistis, searching her desk for keys. 
Picking up her jacket, Quistis left the classroom and made her way for the Headmaster's 
office, intent on discovering the root of the duo's return.


	"Thanks for ya help ya know, but I think I see my friend." Raijin pointed towards 
the figure of a grey-haired girl. Mishka squinted to see her and smiled.
	"That's okay, any time. So are you new to Balamb Garden?" Raijin stopped short 
and thought for a moment.
	"Kinda," was all he said in reply. With a short wave he walked away towards his 
friend. Mishka shook her head, 'Great, now what do I do with my afternoon?' She 
decided to pay a visit to Quistis in the classroom, and with a sigh stepped into the lift. 
Stepping out on the top floor, Mishka saw Quistis sprinting towards her.
	"Whoa!" laughed Mishka, "what's the hurry?" Quistis stopped and stood panting 
for a moment.
	"I need to speak to Cid straight away, it's an emergency!"
	"What's going on?"
	"I just saw someone who shouldn't be here."
	"Really? I just saw someone new too."
	"Who?" 
	"Raijin I think he said his name was." Quistis' eyes widened and she grabbed 
hold of Mishka's arm.
	"What was he doing? Did you speak to him?" Mishka laughed at the teacher's 
lack of cool in an emergency situation.
	"Hey, calm down, it's cool. Yeah I spoke to him for a while, he was looking for a 
friend of his, some grey-haired girl." Quistis released her firm grip on Mishka's arm and 
looked at the floor.
	"Raijin and Fujin, they're back. That can only mean one thing..."

	"SEIFER!! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!" Squall leapt out of his seat in 
rage and grabbed the hilt of his gunblade. Cid stood up also and took hold of 
Squall by his shoulders.
	"Squall! Calm down, take your seat." Squall's eyes widened in disbelief and 
anger filled his expression.
	"Calm down you say.... CALM DOWN!! SEIFER!! No way I won't do it Cid, I won't 
let him back inside this Garden! I'll kill him first!" Cid shook his head and looked at Squall 
with an expression of pleading.
	"Please Squall, think about this, I know the problems it will cause, I know how 
much this is hurting you to even discuss it, but we need to help."
	"HELP? The only help he needs is mental help!! He belongs in an asylum not in 
our peaceful Garden!!" Squall lowered his voice to a calmer level and took a deep 
breath. 
	"Do you have any idea of the implications of what you are suggesting? This is no 
ordinary SeeD, this is a maniac, he's beyond help... It would be too dangerous to allow 
him back here." It was Cid's turn to get angry and he seemed to grow before Squall's 
eyes.
	"Now you listen to me, Squall. He's been through hell and he's put others through 
it too. NO ONE is beyond help and if there's a chance we can help them, then I'll take 
that chance! I REFUSE to turn him away... we have a chance to help him, to change 
him, to give his life some level of meaning, I won't give up 
Squall... I had hoped you would help too. After all, you were given plenty of chances, no-
one gave up on you..." Squall listened as Cid spoke, everything he was saying was valid 
and worth consideration. Even though Squall would have hated to admit it, deep down 
inside him he knew that HE was the one in the wrong here, that he should help Seifer. 
But blindly prejudiced and deeply scarred physically and mentally by this brute, Squall 
was unwilling to spit on him if he was on fire. Such was the depth of his hatred for this 
man and such was the unwillingness he had to help.
	"How comes it that Seifer ends up here?" Squall tried his hardest to keep the 
tones of contempt and stubbornness from his voice.
	"He was found a few days ago, half-dead in the middle of nowhere. Raijin and 
Fujin brought him here, hoping we'd help..." Squall discarded the façade of coolness at 
once.
	"Raijin and Fujin are here too?!" He spluttered uncontrollably. This was all too 
much, Seifer was one matter, but backed up by his devoted followers made him a 
significantly more dangerous opponent.
	"Cid this is crazy, it's not just me it'll affect, think of the others. 
Even if I could forgive, I'm not the only one who has been hurt by him. He's a danger. 
We risk the lives and the sanity of the rest of the SeeDs in Balamb 
Garden if we allow him to return." Cid nodded his head.
	"I know, that's why I'm asking you to stay with him. Squall...you're his greatest 
rival, he possesses both hatred and admiration for you. You're a barrier, so long as you 
two hate, he will continue in his ways."
	"No, it's not just hatred for me that moves him, it's his dreams of greatness, they 
override everything." 
	"Squall, you have to understand that Seifer has changed, even if it's only a little 
bit since then. He's learnt from his mistakes to a certain extent and he's willing to start 
afresh."
	"A leopard can't change his spots," grumbled Squall.
	"No," replied Cid, "but he can change the meaning of them, they don't have to 
equal evil and hate. Squall, I want to help him, he has great potential as a 
SeeD as have his comrades, but he needs help to overcome the monsters in his head. 
You're the only one who can help him there. And you need to help the others to accept 
him."
	"Now wait a minute," replied Squall sternly, "I can't tell anyone what to think, if 
they hate Seifer, they hate Seifer, that's the bottom line and there's nothing I or anyone 
else can do to change that." Cid nodded in total agreement.
	"I know that," he whispered earnestly, "but think about it, he's trying to start 
afresh, the only thing that will dishearten him or likely to turn him back to his old ways is 
everyone remembering and clinging to the past. What's done is done Squall, think about 
it. All we are concerned with is the future." Squall sighed in defeat, far worse than the 
fighting of any war or the conquest of a nation was the fighting the enemies inside. 
Squall knew that it wouldn't just be 
Seifer who would have to change, it was himself too. The prejudices and hatred in his 
mind needed to dissolve, maybe the arrival of Seifer was what he needed, the final 
hurdle in overcoming his former character.
	"Alright," whispered Squall, his eyes transfixed on the floor, "I'll do it. But I want 
you to promise me Cid, at the first sign of trouble you'll remove him from Garden. Don't 
hesitate and wait for the chaos to really begin, cut him off in a heartbeat." Cid nodded 
and smiled an appreciative smile.
	"Thank you Squall, you'll find that this will benefit you aswell as 
Seifer, just remember that he's a human being and he won't change straight away, he 
needs time, patience and above all...friendship." Squall remained looking at the floor... 
friendship... with Seifer...
	"He's due to arrive today along with his friends, I'd like you to meet him at the 
entrance at about 1600 hours. I believe that Raijin and Fujin may already be here, but 
they'll return later with Seifer. Don't be late. Dismissed Squall." 
Squall raised himself of his seat and left the office. He looked neither left nor right, he 
just continued walking, lost in his own thoughts and fears.
	"Squall!" Squall was roused from his daydream by the earnest screaming of his 
name. Quistis approached him at top speed and stopped before him.	
	"Squall, I just saw Fujin in my classroom, and Mishka tells me that 
Raijin's about too. What's going on, why are they here..." Squall raised his hand to 
silence Quistis.
	"Seifer... he's returning to Balamb this afternoon along with Raijin and 
Fujin." Quistis' jaw dropped.
	"SEIFER?! What's Cid thinking about! Let me talk to him." Squall shook his head.
	"I already did, I'm going to do it Quistis, I'm going to help Seifer." 
Quistis stood dazed and more than slightly confused before him.
	"I don't understand Squall...what's come over you?" Squall folded his arms and 
looked away, he wasn't in the mood to discuss all this, he just wanted to be on his own.
	"Let's just say that I've had a good think about it, okay?" With that, 
Squall walked on, towards the lift, not turning back, not paying any heed to the people 
around him. He had a strange feeling inside of him that this was the beginning of a very 
long day.

	Zell stretched out his legs onto the table in front of him and slouched back.
	"Oi!" laughed Aurora, "Feet!" She nudged Zell's feet onto the floor and smiled. 
Zell poked his tongue out and Aurora threatened it with a knife.
	"Now now children," laughed Irvine, sitting opposite with his arm around 
Selphie, "no violence in the cafeteria." Selphie continued writing profusely and sifting 
through a number of pages. Irvine groaned as he watched her work.
	"Sefie, haven't you finished that yet?"
	"Finished?" Smiled Selphie sweetly, "I've only just started, there's a lotta work to 
be done in this thing." Aurora leaned forward.
	"Oh, is that the stuff for the Garden festival?" Selphie nodded and held up a 
program of events as proof.
	"Yeah, I've only got a week left, it sucks but it's worth it in the end." 
Aurora nodded.
	"Sure is, you used to organise wicked festivals when you were in Trabia, they got 
really dire when you left." Selphie beamed with pride from this unusual compliment from 
her former enemy.
	"Why thank you," she grinned. "See Irvine? SOMEONE appreciates my talent!" 
Irvine rolled his eyes.
	"Fine then, just continue."
	"I was going to anyway," she laughed, sticking her tongue out at him. Zell smiled, 
it was good to see Selphie and Irvine back together again and going strong. Everything 
was starting to go right, he had Aurora and she was staying in Balamb, Cid allowed her 
to transfer. Although the two had only been out together about three times, their 
relationship was strengthening by the day and was quickly becoming the THIRD most 
famous relationship in Balamb Garden. 
	"So what you guys doing tonight," enquired Irvine, taking his arm from around 
Selphie and putting it on the table in front of him.
	"Oh we were going to go out for a meal with Squall and Rinoa, I think it's their 
anniversary or something. But they pulled out and we're still booked at the restaurant. 
Hey, would you two come with us?" Selphie looked up and shook her head.
	"Sorry, but I have to do this, I'm fast running out of time." Aurora nodded and 
shrugged her shoulders.
	"Okay some other time maybe. Maybe we could go for a romantic midnight 
liaison in the training centre, huh?" Aurora nudged Zell and smiled wickedly. 
Zell winked back flirtatiously.
	"Sure thing Aurri. Hey, I just realised something, you haven't met my Ma yet have 
you?" Aurora shook her head.
	"No not yet, you wanna go see her?" Zell nodded.
	"Yeah! We could go tonight, maybe we could take her for that meal." Aurora 
smiled; Zell was so loyal even to his mother.
	"That sounds great Zell, we'll do it."
	"Ha! I'm glad someone's got an exciting evening ahead of them!" Zell and 
Aurora looked up as Mishka approached.
	"Hey Mishk, what's happening?" Mishka shrugged and sat down at the corner of 
the table.
	"Not much," she sighed, "except I saw a rather cute guy earlier today, never seen 
him before." Zell leaned forward.
	"Who? Anyone we know?" Mishka shook her head as she helped herself to a 
bowl of cherries on the table in front of her.
	"Don't think so," she replied, "he was real tall, kinda darker skin, blue waistcoat 
type-thing...um....oh yeah and he had some great muscles on him." Zell narrowed his 
eyes, a mental picture of a former enemy formed in his mind but he dismissed it; that 
would be absurd.
	"Anything else you can remember about him? Do you know his name?" Mishka 
spat out a cherry stone onto the floor.
	"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. His name's Raijin I think." Zell stood up, almost 
taking the table with him.
	"RAIJIN?!" Zell clenched his fists and shook with anger. Mishka raised her 
eyebrows.
	"You know him too? That's weird, I think Quistis knew him but she ran off before I 
could ask anything else. She was in a hurry to see Cid I think, said she'd seen Fujin."
	"FUJIN ASWELL?!! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!" Irvine frowned in concern and 
Selphie sat with her jaw hanging off it's hinges.
	"That's weird," muttered Selphie.
	"Does Squall know?" asked Irvine. Mishka shrugged her shoulders.
	"I don't know. Jeez I must be the only one who doesn't know these guys." 
Aurora smiled.
	"No you're not, I haven't a clue what's going on either! Care to explain 
Zell?" But she was too late; Zell had run out of the cafeteria, closely followed by a frantic 
Irvine and Selphie. Mishka and Aurora watched them go.
	"Guess that meal's outta the window."

	"IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN SQUALL!" Irvine punched the wall nearby and 
stared on with angry eyes. Squall folded his arms and looked away, not feeling up to this 
argument.
	"The moment I allow that lunatic to walk past me even, will be the day that hell 
freezes over!" Selphie reached up to Irvine and took hold of his arm soothingly.
	"IRVINE! Take it easy, let's discuss this." Selphie's attempt to calm her boyfriend 
landed flat on its face and Irvine's face twisted into one of hatred and aggression.  Zell 
stepped forward and punched his own hand.
	"I'm with Irvine on this one Squall, sorry. The notion of it's insane, think about it!" 
Squall unfolded his arms.
	"I HAVE thought about this. REALLY thought. Just look at us, we're the pride of 
Balamb Garden and we allow our own prejudices and grudges to interfere with our work. 
It's unfair not to mention unprofessional." Squall looked around at the line of expectant 
faces, he'd seen this scene all too many times before...they were always waiting for him 
to justify and decide for them, why couldn't they reason for themselves? Seeing that he 
once again had their full attention, he proceeded to present his argument, unsure of it's 
worth or validity.
	"I hate Seifer with a burning passion...he ruined so many lives and he's in some 
way affected each of ours in a negative way. I hate him for his inhumanity and his 
farfetched dreams. I hate him for the way he ruined so many lives. I hate him for this 
scar he created on my forehead. I hate him for the way he hurt Rinoa.  I don't trust him in 
the slightest and I'd sooner kill him than turn my back on him...but...a part of me is telling 
me I'm wrong. A part of me tells me that Seifer isn't all that bad, it wasn't his fault...he's 
disturbed. Someone must be to blame for Seifer's madness, but it's not Seifer.  A part of 
me tells me to help him like I would anyone else. As a SeeD it is my duty to serve and 
protect people who can't do it for themselves. I hope to find a place within me to forgive 
him, though I doubt I'll forget. I pity him; he's created for himself his own personal hell. 
He knows he is hated by everyone and the demons in his mind taunt him for this. He's 
only got !
tw!
o friends and I believe it is thanks to Raijin and Fujin that Seifer is alive today. That's why 
I believe we must also accept these two...we've got to stop hating. To hate is to torture 
oneself...and I'm through with personal torment. I think I can safely say that this may be 
the most challenging task I've ever had to do during my career as a SeeD...but I am 
DETERMINED to see it through to the bitter end no matter what the consequence."
	No-one spoke for some time. All stood mesmerised by the speech, each being 
affected in their own way by Squall's words. Irvine removed his gaze from the ground 
and looked up into Squall's unusually pleading eyes.
	"What the hell..." he breathed almost in a whisper. "Count me in Squall... 
I'll do it." Zell nodded.
	"Yeah, me too. I can't promise results, but there's no harm in trying." 
Squall turned to Rinoa who had been holding onto his arm all the time.
	"How do you feel Rinoa?" Rinoa shrugged her shoulders and smiled warmly.
	"I don't hate anyone Squall, I'm willing to help in any way I can." Squall pulled her 
in for a quick reassuring cuddle and turned his attention back to the group.
	"Quistis?" Quistis thought for a moment and eventually nodded slowly.
	"Even when I taught him so long ago, I knew there was a future for him. I believe 
that he can do it if we all pull together and help him." Selphie nodded also and piped up.
	"No-one's beyond help, I agree. Let's give him a chance, if it was us, we'd want 
the same consideration." Squall closed his eyes briefly in recognition and gratitude.
	"I hope I don't live to regret this," he smiled.

	"C'mon Aurri, Squall wants us to be part of the welcoming committee for these 
guys...get a move on!" Aurora finished off the last of her coffee and grabbed her mace 
before following Mishka at full speed out of the cafeteria. The entrance was lined with 
familiar SeeDs...Squall Leonhart stood at the forefront aided by Rinoa Heartilly who 
stood protectively by his side. Beside these two stood Zell Dincht and Irvine Kinneas. 
Quistis Trepe and Selphie Tilmet remained nearby looking on with expectant eyes 
towards the entrance. Mishka and Aurora quickly took their appropriate places. Silence 
followed...everyone waited...not
eagerly but with a strange sense of foreboding. Their wait was short; noises were soon 
heard outside and approaching footsteps made their way to the entrance. Squall 
straightened his back and breathed in, sticking his chest out slightly. No-one 
breathed...was this him? Soon the unmistakably bulky figure of 
Raijin could be seen entering the establishment, followed by the quiet but stern 
Fujin. They walked towards the committee and looked uncertainly upon the members. 
Squall felt it his duty to make some kind of move and nodded his head in their direction, 
followed by a SeeD salute. The two acknowledged this gesture and relaxed slightly, 
maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as they had imagined. More footsteps approached 
and all members turned to see their owner. 
A long white coat swayed distinctively in the slight breeze. The heavy thud of boots 
made their way down the corridor. A gunblade was casually slung over his shoulder, 
touching his short blonde hair. Squall found himself lost for breath along with words and 
for the first time in almost a year, his eyes met with those of his greatest rival.
	"Seifer," muttered Squall. Seifer's face twisted into a sadistic smile as he watched 
the pain on Squall's face. Seifer put his gunblade away and stood with his arms folded 
and legs apart.
	"Squall," he mused, "...I'm back. You miss me?"




Rinoa@angelic.com