FicWad

Disturbance in the Peaceful Era:



Disclaimer:

I don't own Final Fantasy VIII. Original characters and names belong to me. All names and characters relating to Final fantasy belong to Square-Enix.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so this chapter juggles back and forth between the past and the present a few times, so pay attention to the date I put at some of the paragraphs. Just remember, When about Squall, we're in the present. When about Rinoa, we're in the past discussing the aftermath of chapter two.

Chapter IV – El Diablo

Peaceful Era 16, July 21, 1200

"Come with me" Kane told her.

When they got to the next room, Rinoa saw two more resistance members. These were younger than the others. One looked the same age as her. The other was a year younger. "This is Watts and Zone" Kane told her.

"This is only five; you said eight including you and me." Rinoa said.

"There is one more" Kane told her with seriousness in his voice. "But these people aren't bad guys. They'll take care of you. You should be safe here, until you find your place."

"Are you at it again Kane? Stop filling her head with lies" a blond male, one year older that Rinoa said as he walked into the room, flashing the girl a smile.

"Rinoa," Kane said as he turned to look at her "this... is Seifer."

The Blonde; 'Seifer', was a little taller than Rinoa. He wore a blue vest and black pants under his grey trench coat. His green eyes lingered on Rinoa and her rag-like attire as a cruel smirk etched itself onto his face. "You been visiting those dodgy bars again Kane?" he sneered.

"No, found her wandering the streets...actually" Kane told him

"Oh, she's a street walker then is she?" Seifer replied "she seems kind of young for you though" he stated to Kane, who Rinoa guessed was in his early twenties but if this were true, it would make him look extremely young for his age.

"Go on" Kane said softly, addressing Rinoa "Tell Seifer how old you are"

"Si-sixteen" she answered nervously

"Sixteen eh, yeah... she's way too young for you." Seifer stated. He approached her and stroked his hand through her long black hair. "Too bad, she's just your type."

"I dunno, I think her hair could use some highlights, maybe a light pink, or possibly a reddish-brown."

"You sir, have a fetish" You're crazy for that look. You can't bring back the past. She died and..." Seifer's sentence trailed off as the look in Kane's eye told him he'd gone too far.

"If I didn't know I'd be rid of you soon, I'd make you suffer for that" Kane told Seifer calmly.

"So anyway, you got a name? Or did you sell that along with your dignity?" Seifer asked.

"I'm... My name's... I'm... I'm Rinoa. Rinoa..." she was interrupted by the expression on Kane's face before she could tell them her last name.

"Holy fuck" Kane cursed out loud "What the fuck? By Hyne's impaled corpse, what... the... fuck..." he said to himself "you're Rinoa, the pop-star's fucking daughter, aren't you?!"

"Pop star?" Seifer asked with interest.

"Yeah," Rinoa answered "I'm Rinoa Heartily"

"I thought your last name was..."

"My last name is heartily" Rinoa interrupted.

Kane nodded his head, showing that he understood. "So that's why you left the city."

"Why?" Seifer asked with curiosity.

"...Lets just say she had to leave Delling City to get away form a certain General."

"Fuck..." Seifer said "only sixteen and already making a scandal of yourself. How much are you making off this has-been anyway? ...Hey Kane, How much is she charging you by the way? She must be making a fortune off lonely guys like you."

"She aint a damn prostitute Seifer; she just made a wrong turn. I found her in one of the slums to the west of Timber" Kane informed him.

"Which one?" Seifer asked.

"...They call it ...Bum Town"

"The... bum town?!"

"That's right"

"Geez, it's a good thing you were passing by then. Someone like her... she'd be torn to shreds in less than a day. Literally, they probably didn't even know she was famous."

"They wouldn't have cared. Those bastards are the remnants of an entire generation of sick perverted white-supremacist gang-bangers... and Rinoa here just happened to be unfortunate enough to attract their leader and spark him out of retirement."

He turned to Rinoa "their leader was the one who looked and smelled like he was alive in the Stone Age. He abandoned his name decades ago for the alias 'The Wild One'. In his prime he was a notorious serial sexual predator, wanted worldwide. At some point, he got into paedophilia and wrote the dictionary of the perverse from there."

The expression on Rinoa's face went from shocked to horrified, but the discussion was not yet over. "They did manage to catch 'em once" Seifer added as if this were a Sunday morning discussion.

"Yeah," Kane added "but he escaped from that prison, after raping everything that moved...and some that didn't. You know all those stories about dropping the soap in the prison shower?" he asked Rinoa, who nodded "well he didn't give 'em time to bend over...or even to drop the soap."

"Not even the warden was speared." Seifer said.

"But that's nothing compared to what he did to his own flesh and blood" Kane said in response to Rinoa's horrified expression.

"wha..." Rinoa began but found it difficult to get the words out. All that escaped was the sound of her breath, her voice it seemed, was beginning to give out.

At this, Kane began to laugh. "You hear that, Seifer, she wants to know what he did."

"Yeah, I heard her" Seifer said through his smirk.

"Should we tell her?"

"I think we should"

"I'm Gonna tell her"

"Go on"

"Rinoa, you wanna know? You really wanna know?"

Rinoa, who was unsure whether she could take it or not, remained silent, her head seemed to nod slightly, without her consent.

"Well... I don't know it's been a tough few days. I don't know if you can take the gory truth" Kane warned her.

"Oh come on" Seifer said loudly "Quit your teasing and just tell her already!"

"...I...don't know..." Kane said. "But the short version, without details... Is that he used his daughter as his love slave... Strike that, she was a love doll."

"Yeah, that's a better description" Seifer commented.

"Did you know he fathered his own grandchild?" Rinoa looked like she was going to be sick. "Or he would've if the baby had the chance to be born. He impregnated her though. When she was eight months pregnant, he gave her a homemade abortion."

"And that's not all, is it?" Seifer added.

"...As soon as it was out of the womb..."

"What?" Rinoa asked, knowing in advance she would dread the answer.

"He raped the fucking foetus... till it was no more. She was sixteen."

Rinoa's heart skipped a beat. "That's... sick" she whispered.

"Yeah, he was one sick bastard alright. But he met his fate. It's a real shame though, I should've made him suffer more, should've given him a taste of what his victims felt, I should've given him a taste of what his daughter felt." His eyes locked onto Rinoa's. "A taste of what you could've felt."

"Wait wait wait a second..." Seifer started "Are you saying 'The Wild One' is officially dead"

"Shot 'em in the head" Kane responded "aint that right?" he said looking once more at Rinoa "aint that right?" he repeated. She nodded. "So, I'm going back to torch that whole place. You go collect the bounty. Take Rinoa with you."

"Oh and Seifer," he said before walking out the door "Make sure we all get a share this time." Seifer could only grin. "Seifer, when you get back, you should let Rinoa get some rest in the back of the train...but stay in the room with her and don't leave her alone. She may need some comforting after what she's been through.

"Yeah yeah" Seifer said in a bored voice.

"...And one more thing"

"What?"

"Don't treat her bad. I'm gonna have her tell me exactly what's happened to her when I get back... and if I find she's been uncomfortable in any way, It's coming outa your ass."

"Oh Kane..." Seifer joked putting on a feminine voice "I didn't know you felt that way about me. Now get going already would ya"

"Are you sure you're not Galbadian?" Kane asked Seifer with a grin before going out through the door.

Peaceful Era 17, June 4th, 0830

Squall awoke in the part of his dorm he used as a study to find his head resting on the pages of an open textbook. He had fallen asleep while studying late into the night. With luck, he would still make it in time for the exam. He looked at his watch for the time.

It was 0830. He was already half an hour late for his History exam. His mind began to panic but then his mental training suddenly kicked in and his panic was replaced by acceptance. After all, why should he expect any different?

He should have been prepared for this. He surely would've missed his exam now. Things never went Squall's way, so why should today be any different? His panic had been replaced by a feeling of emptiness in the pit of his stomach.

Seifer's taunts were coming true. Maybe he really wasn't destined to become a SeeD. He looked at his watch again only to find that time hadn't even moved forward, not one second. The second hand on his watch was not moving.

Trying not to get his hopes up and readying himself for his impending disappointment, he slowly walked toward the clock next to his bed. When he saw the real time, he felt a wave of relief rush to his brain-a feeling he was not used to and a feeling so powerful that it rippled through his mind and totally consumed his mind for a few milliseconds, although it seemed longer to him.

This was a sensation squall was not used to and it took what seemed like several minutes to die down. In reality, it only took seconds.

He looked back at the clock. He still had ten minutes until the exam started. If nothing went wrong, he just might make it to the exam. Passing it on the other hand, would be a completely different story.

Squall left his dormitory and pushed the button for the Dorm Elevator. There were three elevators that allowed travel to the different dorm rooms which were spread out like a three-dimensional grid, each room having a code number which was used to locate the room.

When the elevator car arrived, Squall stepped in and pressed the button for the ground floor, which contained most of Garden's facilities. The classrooms were on the first and second floors and the headmaster's office was on the third floor. The Master's room was in the basement.

Eventually, the slow moving elevator car reached the bottom of its shaft and Squall stepped out with just over five minutes to run southward from the dormitory corridor to Garden's central support pillar.

From there, he just had to take the elevator up to the second floor and then run to his history class in time to take the exam.

He pushed the button for the elevator.

"Ding"

The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside and mashed the button labelled '1F' and the elevator zoomed upwards to the floor above.

The elevator made it's "ding" sound again and the doors opened. Squall slipped swiftly out through the gap between the doors. The First floor was directly above the ground floor, which had eight different corridors, connected in the middle and branching out in different directions. The first floor had four corridors, connected in the middle and branching out in four directions; north, south, east and west. Squall's history classroom was room #1310. It was located right at the end of the south corridor.

Squall felt a slight cooling feeling of relief rush through him, although thankfully, it was nowhere near as potent as the rush he got when he first woke up. Finally, something was going right in his life. Finally things were going his way. He was almost to the room and he still had a few minutes to spare. He was there. He was going to make it. Then he saw it, a leg sticking out from an adjoining corridor.

He noticed it but had no time to react. The leg tripped him, causing him to loose balance long enough for an arm to grab him by each of his shoulders. The next thing he saw was a grey trench coat... blonde hair... green eyes... an arrogant smirk... he could focus only on the pain caused by a fist driven by a powerful arm smashing speedily and violently into his abdomen.

Peaceful Era 16, July 21, 1200

Rinoa and Seifer were walking through the town of Timber, heading towards the pub. There, they would claim the reward on 'The Wild One's" head. In the centre of the city, was a bridge-like area connecting the two halves of the town. On one side, the residential part of town. On the other was the commercial side.

Seifer and Rinoa stopped on this 'bridge' and looked down at the view. Rinoa was expecting to see some kind of landscape or forest. She was sorely mistaken. The forest, it seems had long since been cut down or possibly burned to make room for railway lines. There were sets of tracks side by side, far two many for Rinoa to count and each went to different places. Rinoa couldn't even guess where they all ended up. Timber was after all, a transit hub for the entire continent of Galbadia.

"You know," Seifer said, in an attempt to start up a conversation "I Think Kane really likes you"

"Really?" Rinoa asked in response

"Well... yeah, I think so. So you saw 'The Wild One' did you? Luckily I was never subjected to him. But I've heard Kane tell that story about him once before and it seems that he gave you the censored version"

"That... was the censored version?"

"Yeah, it was... which is unusual because he generally hates censorship. I guess he was tryin' to protect you or something... I don't know. But I think he likes you."

"No, I actually respect you more than that. I think more of you than the attraction those old men felt for you. You're more than a lifeless body lying there to be ravaged time and time again. You have a mind. You have a soul. Why not put 'em to good use."

"...or not. You can lie back and take the money of middle aged strangers if you want. Hey, it's your life. You can waste it any way you choose."

These two statements immediately came to Rinoa's mind, these two memories, these quotes from Kane.

"Do you feel the same way?" Seifer asked her

"I... I'm not sure"

"Whatever you feel, you'd better get over it. He's a lot older than he looks and he's lived more than you think... he's been through a lot. If he leaves, don't go with him."

"Why? What would he do?"

"It's not so much what he'd do as it is how he'd feel."

"What do you mean?"

"He wouldn't see you as you are. He'd see you as..."

"He'd see me as...?"

"He'd see you as... his greatest fantasy. The reincarnation of... I'm sorry. We're not supposed to talk about it... but she looked just like you, only older. There's an old photograph of her, it's old and faded... ripped and torn. Kane keeps it on him at all times. He worships it as if he were in a cult."

"Maybe I could ask to see it."

"Don't. You'd only upset and anger him. His history is off limits. It's a big secret, a big mystery. He doesn't like us to talk about it. He won't even tell us her name. It's a secret he'll take to the grave, asking him anything about his past is that which he considers the ultimate insult."

Rinoa couldn't help but wonder to herself what kind of events led to Kane being able to kill the way he did.

"If you harm one hair on her pretty little head, then you're as good as dead."

"Why does he always speak in rhymes?" Rinoa wondered aloud

"Force of habit?" Seifer suggested. "I don't know... I don't know the full story. He's a great warrior though, the best I've seen. Maybe even better than me"

"Gee, you sure are modest" Rinoa joked

"Hey, I'm just being honest. I'm just such a great guy." Seifer said in a high pitched air of greatness.

"That's a matter of opinion. Shouldn't we be getting along?" Rinoa responded and they continued their journey towards the pub.

Peaceful Era 17, June 4th, 0830

"Oh what's wrong Leonheart? You still can't take a punch?" Seifer sneered down at Squall as he leaned back onto Raijin; Seifer's mindless goon-type friend.

Squall quickly regained balance and stood back up on his feet and glared up at Seifer.

"Such a nasty look on your face" Seifer smirked cruelly "We'll just have to find something to wipe it off now, won't we, but what punishment to use, how about detention? Perhaps I could have you disqualified from this years SeeD exam. Just think... all your hard work, for nothing."

Squall did not back down because of the antagonistic threat. "For what reason exactly... would you... do this?" Squall asked him slowly and quietly

"For getting in the way of my precious fist" Seifer said with a twisted grin. His favourite pastime since for as long as he could remember had been tormenting Squall and pummelling away each and every last ounce of his remaining self-esteem.

He could pick anyone he wanted to torture; no one dared fight back for fear of the consequences, he was head of the disciplinary committee after all; but his target had always been Squall. Squall never fought back, except in training duels but even when fighting back, squall was a pitifully easy target.

Using the side of his arm, Seifer knocked Squall back again but this time, there would be no Raijin behind him to stop him from falling backward. He did not have a chance to fall backwards however; Seifer punched at him once more with a right uppercut then held him hard against the wall. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry, Seifer... I should have been more careful." Squall said in the quiet monotone he always used when talking, especially when confronted with Seifer. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off the egotistic maniac.

"Who gave you permission to use my name? You should address me always as your superior... Go on."

Squall remained silent and expressionless. He was no longer glaring at Seifer. He was not making any form of eye contact whatsoever.

"Uhh Seifer, Let's go, I think maybe he's had enough ya know." Raijin blurted out loud. He wore a torn blue sleeveless vest and pants. Around his neck he wore a necklace of large round wooden beads. His brown eyes, black hair and dark complexion were dead giveaways of his origin. He was of Acauldian descent, a descendant of the Native tribe of Acauldia, now known as Balamb.

"Did I ask your opinion Raj? But maybe your right, the faggot can't even take a punch. Heh heh heh, just like that bitch Zell Dincht... speak of the devil..." Seifer said as he heard a familiar electronic humming noise.

Zell Dincht, a rather loud student of Balamb Garden who was best known for his endless supply of energy and blonde spiked up hairstyle appeared riding on a surfboard-shaped object which hovered six inches above the ground. He weaved in and out around Seifer, Squall and Raijin a few times before landing the hover board-type one-person vehicle.

"Yo Seifer, what's going on over here?" Zell asked with so much energy that it made Squall feel more tired than he already did.

"Mind your own business Dincht! This doesn't concern you. Now be a good boy and run along before you get involved in Leonheart's punishment." Seifer said sharply.

"Punishment, what for, did he really do anything wrong or are you just playing king prick again?"

"That's it" Seifer threatened "You just bought yourself a month long ticket to solitary detention!"

Just then, slow footsteps announced the arrival of a member of the Garden Faculty. "Seifer Almassy, Members of the disciplinary committee must set a good example to..." Squall was sure that the faculty's hidden eyes were transfixed on him "less honourable students. Why are you not in uniform? And you two," he asked, addressing Squall and Zell "should you not be in class? Study time is not free time. You should be revising."

"Yeah... we were just about to send these two off with a warning for truancy." Seifer lied.

"Very well... you..." the faculty growled, pointing at Squall "student #41269: Squall Leonheart, you have an exam today. Why are you lurking in the corridors at this time? Your overconfidence is astounding. If you make it through the SeeD exam, I shall personally demerit points from your final score, you are dismissed." He said just before he slowly walked away.

"I'll catch up with you losers later" Seifer said on his way back to the elevator.

"Yeah, catch you two later, ya know" Raijin said, following Seifer.

"Well, see ya Squall" Zell said as he got back on his hover board-type vehicle and sped off and out of sight. Squall distinctly heard an angry yell from Seifer; he was probably chasing Zell down the hall. Squall had no time to watch Seifer and Zell leave. He still had an exam to sit.

Squall walked into the classroom only to be greeted by an angry instructor. "0800 Leonheart, eight AM, the exam started at eight on the hour! Not eight o one, not eight thirty seven, Eight AM sharp! I've had trouble with you before and I'm not going to make any exceptions for you. I'm sorry Leonheart, you fail." The instructor lectured for what seemed like half an hour before telling Squall what he was expecting to hear.

Squall could feel the many eyes of his 'class-mates' sizzling through his skin like red-hot pokers. The relief he had felt had left him weak, left him open for disappointment. It was all Seifer's fault. To stand a chance at qualifying for SeeD candidateship, he would have to pass the majority of physical classes, as well as scoring one hundred percent on his remaining three theory classes. Squall's relief was dematerialising and was being rapidly replaced by bitterness and resentment which showed through his eyes and in his voice. "Whatever." He said in a hate-filled monotone and swiftly left the room.

That afternoon, Squall had been lining up in the cafeteria for what seemed like an age. In reality it had been about twenty five minutes and he was still nowhere near the front. "What, no more hotdogs, that's bullshit! When are you gonna order enough for everyone?!" an angry voice sounded from the front of the queue. In under five minutes, everyone in the line had wandered off, their stomach's growling like bears, leaving Squall next in line.

He approached the counter. "Didn't you hear? There's no more hotdogs left. They're all gone. There's a surprising number of chocobo burgers left though" A cafeteria worker said, handing him a putrid smelling sandwich containing grey meat and what appeared to be either cottage cheese or four month old mayonnaise. This was a Chocobo burger-hardly fit for human consumption but hey, they were cheap.

"Just... just water" Squall replied quietly, trying not to look at the sad excuse for a 'burger'.

"All righty" the cafeteria worker replied, handing him a litre bottle of water. "That'll be sixty five hundred gill."

"How much" Squall asked, nearly choking on the dramatic price increase, he had only three thousand gill on him.

"We had to raise the prices. Garden isn't producing as much income as usual, if you can't afford it... I guess I could sell you this burger on a discount..."

"Forget it." Squall said as he left the counter and sat down alone at an empty table at the back of the cafeteria. Most students in Garden knew to stay away. That is to say most. Zell Dincht was not classified as 'most'. Squall wasn't even aware that Zell was nearby, let alone right behind him. Squall had lost himself in his own thoughts, as he often did.

"Yo Squall, what's up?!"

Squall, upon hearing Zell's voice narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh. He turned his head to the side so that he could just see Zell out of the corner of his eye but not so much that he was forced to make eye contact. "What?" he asked impatiently.

"Whoa, Squall... you're startin' to sound like Fujin. You know that?" Zell joked.

"Whatever" Squall replied darkly.

"You need a new catchphrase Leonheart, I think that one's wearing thin" came the sound of a voice, higher in pitch than Squall's. "Don't you think so Fu?"

"Affirmative" sounded the hoarse reply.

Squall stood up and turned around to see Seifer and someone else. This person always seemed to tag along behind Seifer. She was sixteen, making her two years younger than Seifer. She had pale skin and her thin grey hair covered her one good eye. Her other eye was covered with a black eye patch.

Fujin; Squall thought to himself. Together with Raijin, she formed Seifer's tag along posse, the disciplinary committee. The least favoured of all the student administration committees. The disciplinary committee scouted Garden for violations of the academy's rules and regulations. They reported any breaches of conduct to the Faculty but they were also authorised to give out minor punishments such as detention.

Most students saw the disciplinary committee as traitors. They cared only about themselves and used any means necessary to make themselves look good. Students could look on the bright side though. Thankfully the disciplinary committee received the lowest funding out of all the committees. They still, despite this handicap managed to make sure everyone followed the Garden code. Who knows, maybe they would be tolerable if Seifer wasn't in charge.

"Hey, I've never seen you in uniform!" Zell exclaimed looking at Fujin, who scowled at him with her narrow angry eyes. Fujin was wearing the Garden female cadet's uniform which consisted of a dark blue skirt and blazer, with a yellow tie. Se had pinned to her blazer, a badge with the word 'Disciplinary Committee" inscribed on it.

Seifer too, was wearing the male counterpart of the same uniform, just as Squall and Zell were. The uniform consisted of the same blue blazer except without the tie. Dark blue trousers accompanied the blazer. Seifer too, wore the 'Disciplinary Committee' badge and his customary grey trench coat as if it were a sign of authority over the savage dogs of Balamb Garden.

"Hey, and Seifer's wearing it too. I don't think that coat is part of the uniform though..." Zell announced as if he were on the six o'clock news.

"Shut your mouth 'boy scout' before I throw you out for disturbing the peace" Seifer retorted coldly to Zell's audible observations. "So Leonheart, I saw you up at the counter" he said to Squall "it must be so embarrassing, not being able to afford a bottle of water"

"What, You couldn't afford water?!" Zell blurted out at full volume, attracting the attention of everyone in the cafeteria"

This is why I hate this room, Squall thought to himself. Why was it that the only people who seemed to come near him were Zell and Seifer? He'd rather be isolated for the rest of his life than spend it with these two.

When Squall looked back, he realised that Seifer had turned and left while he had been thinking to himself. He looked up and into the eye of Fujin. Their eyes connected for a short while before Squall looked away. He quickly glanced back and thought he saw the shadow of a smirk before Fujin turned around and began to follow Seifer towards the exit.

Squall sat there leaning over, resting his elbows on his legs for quite a while, waiting for Zell to leave. When he realised he would have no such luck, he didn't even turn his head to look at Zell as he let out another of his monotones. "What?" he asked.

"What did Seifer mean when he said for you to be careful?"

Squall didn't answer strait away. Eventually he turned his head so he could just see Zell and asked "...when?"

"Geez Squall, weren't you even listening?"

Squall turned his head back and looked down at the floor.

"Squall, you gotta stop letting Seifer push you around like that. If you don't, he's just gonna get worse and worse. I know what he can be like, I've been there remember. You stuck up for me and I wanna return the favour. It's time I stuck by you."

Squall had yet another disappointment to deal with. It sounded like Zell was going to stick to him as if hot glued to his shadow. Why couldn't Zell just learn to leave him alone? Why put himself in Seifer's line of fire? Why did people inconvenience themselves with burdens that did not belong to them?

"Why" he asked Zell, "do yourself a favour and stay away. Keep out of Seifer's way... and stay away from me. No offence, but... follow me and Seifer will... just... please... just... just leave me alone."

"Squall..." Zell began but Squall was already standing up to leave. "This thing about Seifer, you know it's not gonna get any better unless you make it right?"

"Whatever" sounded the monotone of Squall's reply.

"Hey, Squall! If you need a drink of water, there's always the fountain!" Zell said breaking what had been a moment of seriousness between the two.

The cafeteria had an out of order vending machine next to the counter. On the other side of the entrance was the drinking fountain that Zell had recommended. Great idea, the discoloured metallic object spit up water, or rather liquid that resembled water. It was thick, foul smelling, rust coloured and literally tasted like actual cat's piss. No one had ever been seriously harmed by drinking the water from this fountain though, then again; no one had ever been stupid enough to drink from it.

There was also the large fountain surrounding the central support pillar that contained the main elevator shaft; however this fountain contained mostly saltwater so it too, was not really suitable for drinking.

Squall had a thought. He had been trying to work out his chances of being accepted for SeeD candidateship. Grades for Physical classes were scored on ten different pass or fail assessments. If he passed all forty and scored a minimum of seventy five percent on the remaining exams and assignments of his three theory classes, he would have an average of score of just over seventy eight percent. Assuming his calculations were correct and he achieved these grades, he might just stand a chance of being accepted. He had only one exam left. The other theory classes had assignments, which were easy enough.

This for Squall was being very optimistic but maybe, just maybe he had a window of opportunity. Perhaps with a little study and a lot of luck, he might just pass. With that thought in mind, he headed to the northern path on the ground floor of Balamb Garden, the entrance to the dormitories.

Peaceful Era 16, July 21, 1200

Since Seifer had sped ahead back to the Forest Owls' base leaving Rinoa at the shopping centre, she walked alone at her own pace back to the train. Her long hair blown about in the wind along with her tattered rags drew the judging stares of the townspeople. She'd have bought something to wear at the clothing shop, had she any money.

Being completely gill-less was not a feeling that Rinoa was accustomed too. Neither was it a feeling she particularly enjoyed. As she approached the train, she recognised Seifer and Kane leaning against it. Both were smoking cigarettes.

"...I'm telling you, he's a damn fag" She overheard Seifer saying

"Come on Seifer... get to know him, he's not so bad" Kane responded. "He can fight with a gunblade can't he? You said so yourself." He nodded in Rinoa's direction when he saw her approaching. "So I see you didn't bother to buy her any clothes, what the fuck Seifer?" he said casually dropping a curse into the sentence. "Come on then, get in the train. I've got something old you can wear.

In the train, Rinoa found a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. Both were plain and black and both were one size too small and just a little too tight. She exited the train to find Seifer and Kane still outside continuing their conversation.

"Not bad...not bad at all" Kane commented.

"It's better than those shit rags you were in before, anyway" Seifer added, flicking away his cigarette which landed on the grass, still producing smoke.

"So... you're not gonna put that out then? Kane stated, putting out his cigarette by smothering it with his own hand. "You see Rinoa, when you're with me you get taken care of. I don't let you walk around town looking like a rape victim."

He stood up and walked past her. "Come for a walk" he said so she could just hear.

"Rinoa" Seifer said to her when Kane was out of earshot. "Remember what I told you about him. Don't forget my warning. Be careful around him, okay."

"Whatever you feel, you'd better get over it. He's a lot older than he looks and he's lived more than you think... he's been through a lot. If he leaves, don't go with him."

"Why? What would he do?"

"It's not so much what he'd do as it is how he'd feel."

"What do you mean?"

"He wouldn't see you as you are. He'd see you as..."

Rinoa's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of "You coming or what!" She hurried along behind Kane like an obedient pet following its master... no, more like a mindless lamb following a farmer to the slaughter house. He was her master and she was his lap dog.

Since the Forest Owls' base had moved to a new hiding place closer to the town, it was only a ten minute walk to the Timber town square.

"You really don't like those clothes do you?" This question made Rinoa stop instantly. She couldn't sense any emotion in Kane's voice, no sarcasm or anger.

"No... It's not that. "

"Don't you patronise me" he growled, inspiring fear in the deepest south-most regions of Rinoa's soul. "Don't lie to me and don't you ever sugar-coat shit, it aint gonna sell. If you hate then spit on the world. Don't discriminate and keep it shut up. Don't lock it up inside, you can't live with that much hatred flowing through your veins...so much emotion...with no release" he looked at her. "Sorry, I kind of drifted off there...but the point is; if you want different clothes, the shop's right here." The two walked through the door in front of them and into the shop.

As Rinoa headed toward the clothing racks at the back of the room, Kane approached the counter. "Hey Dick" he greeted the salesman.

"Well well, I've not seen you in a while Kane" the salesman answered "What're you doing around here? I thought you skipped town after that incident at the church."

"I don't feel like talking about that particular incident" Kane replied.

"Yeah...right. So who's that then?"

"What d'you mean, who's that?"

"The girl I saw you come in with. Where'd you pick this one up? ...and more importantly... does she have any money, coz I know you blew all yours on that damn resistance movement."

"Well...actually" Kane began "I was hoping you could give me... store credit."

"You're joking right? I don't sell anything to anyone on credit anymore. You pay cash or you get out."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Dick... I truly am."

The Salesman reached down behind the counter and pulled out a shotgun. It seemed to be of an extremely old design. "I purchased this gun long ago..." he explained "but I never once thought I'd be using it on you."

"Come on Dick... We both know you aint gonna shoot that thing in my direction."

"Are you sure you want to take that risk? Do you really want to risk your life over a few garments?""

"Are you sure you wanna risk your life over a few garments?" Kane asked. "This is an overreaction. I'm not robbing you. I just can't pay yet, that's all. Your gun is an overreaction... and so is mine." Kane pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the Salesman's head.

"You're carrying firearms now Kane? That's not your style. I thought you were a hand-to-hand kind of guy."

"Who says I aint?" Kane backed away a few steps and called out "Rinoa! Rinoa! Get out here. We're leaving!" then, to the salesman he added "and you're gonna let us, got it?"

Rinoa walked out of the changing room wearing the clothes she had entered with. She approached Kane and looked at the salesman whose shotgun was still pointed at the pistol carrying long haired resistance fighter.

"Rinoa, I'd like you to meet my old friend Dick."

"Friend?" the salesman spat, "we're business associates and nothing more." He quickly glanced at Rinoa and then back to Kane. He did this quite a few times. "Well Kane... maybe you can pay."

"Don't even think about it! I just got her, and there's no way I'm giving her to you."

"Why do we have to pay you? We might not even buy anything!" Rinoa said at full volume."

"Maybe not today Kane... But what about all the Gil you owe me? That debt isn't gonna just go away you know! The Girl! What's her name? Tell me, now!"

"Rinoa... her name's... Rinoa. And she's staying with me. There's no way I'm letting you get your hands on her. For Hyne's sake she's a goddamn human being, not an investment!"

"Well, that's up to her now, isn't it? So tell me Rinoa... is it?" he asked without waiting for a reply. "You could attract me a lot of young customers. You'll easily pay off Kane's debt and more. Think about it Rinoa... How would you like to be a model? Do this for me and I'll write off Kane's debt. I'll even pay you. It's a good salary too. Ten thousand gill for every day you work payable on the first of every month. I hear that garden charges the same amount each day for a rookie SeeD"

"...and All I have to do is wear the clothes you tell me to? What's the catch?" Rinoa asked, suspicious that any businessman would offer a complete stranger a well paying job like this just like that.

"You must model the garments of your choice. You can choose from any of the clothing in this store."

"That's it? I just have to pick the clothes I want, walk around and get paid?"

"It's not quite as simple as all that... you must walk around town as well as in here wearing the clothes from my shop as you stated... but also, you must make appearances. Wherever I tell you to go, you must be seen. Lastly, you must also be seen regularly in this shop as well as entering and leaving. Not only will you be a teenage model... you will also be a junior sales assistant. Now tell me... how does that grab you?"

"Well..." Rinoa began but was interrupted.

"Don't do it Rinoa" Kane warned. "Sure, it may sound good now but take my advice and don't you ever sign a contract with this greedy bastard. You might think you're getting a good deal but the reality is different. Soon enough he'll begin to change the wording of the contract, then your stuck doing whatever the hell it is he wants you to do."

"Rinoa let me convince you..." the salesman began "either you work for me... or I blow a big fucking hole in Kane's head!" he cursed, something he usually didn't do.

"Don't worry about me Rinoa; I've got far better reflexes than him... I can take him out before he even pulls the trigger... assuming that thing's even loaded" Kane said in an effort to both taunt the salesman and reassure Rinoa.

"Of course it's loaded!" the Salesman responded, pulling the trigger and firing a warning shot – not a particularly wise thing to do.

Without thinking, Rinoa sped forward and took something from her pocket – a plastic card. She threw it at the salesman and it landed on the floor at his feet.

The salesman unfortunately, had seen this move as somewhat of a threat and pointed his shotgun at Rinoa and pumped a shell into the barrel. Before he had the opportunity to fire however, Kane had fired a shot into the salesman's hand. This had caused him to cry out in pain. He was still managing to keep the heavy firearm steady... but only just.

He turned the shotgun back to Kane. "Rinoa..." he said out loud, still looking at Kane "What did you throw at me?"

"It was a credit card. It'll cover the debt so now we can leave, right?"

"Sorry Rinoa, that won't work. This shop doesn't accept credit" Kane told her.

"What, no credit? Why not?" Rinoa asked with surprise.

"Because" the salesmen said "when you offer credit... bastards like that" he nodded in Kane's direction, "take advantage and never pay you back!"

"Too bad Rinoa" Kane told her "looks like this is gonna end in bloodshed after all."

"No..." she said aloud.

"Wait a minute... I feel like I can trust you" the salesman said to Rinoa. "Can you really pay off Kane's debt, or are you financially... troubled like our friend here?"

"The credit card will work fine" she explained seriously.

"Well then Kane... it looks like she's solved all your troubles for you. Hyne knows why... after everything you've done. I guess you're free to go... as long as you don't come back. I never want to see your face around here again. As far as I know, you died that night the church burned down... the way it should have happened. I want to keep it that way. Here, you might as well take him with you." He dragged a body out from behind the counter... the body of the boy Rinoa had seen digging. The boy she and Kane had freed from his dominating ape-like family. "Don't worry... he'll soon wake up."

Kane put away his gun and picked up the boy as he and Rinoa turned to leave.

"Rinoa..." The salesman called out "You're free to return at any time, of course. Just as long as you don't bring him back with you." he said, obviously referring to Kane. "Remember, we still have to discuss that offer I made you."

Outside the shop, Rinoa and Kane began walking in the direction they were going in before entering the clothing shop. "Rinoa..." Kane began to say as Rinoa turned to face him, she saw that he had stopped walking. "I'm sorry, and... thanks. That went... that went almost exactly as planned."

"You planned that?!" Rinoa asked without thinking."

"Not exactly, but we reached the desired result. I should have told you, but then we wouldn't have had your true reaction to work with. We got the kid back at least. I want him growing up away from Timber. I think that would be best for him. Walk with me to east academy and I'll show you what I mean."

After a somewhat uneventful journey, Kane led Rinoa to a fork in the road. Just past this intersection was a train station. They continued to walk past the station towards a large forest. Large trees stood strong against the wind on the left and right. In between them, a path existed where trees had either been cut down or not been planted in the first place. This placement of trees formed a kind of arch, like a secret forest path in a mythological tale.

Rinoa stood before this pathway and looking ahead, she saw a large rusting sign. She could only just make out the faded letters on the sign that spelled out 'EAST ACADAMY AHEAD'

"It's through here" Kane explained, walking ahead of her, ducking under the sign and waiting for her to catch up.

She walked behind him and he told her to "just call out if you fall behind, or you could walk in front and I'll make sure we both go the same way. This forest has many confusing splits in the road and it's easy to get lost. I'll tell you if you're going the wrong way. Actually, I think that's a good idea." Rinoa nodded in agreement and sped up so she was in front of Kane but not to far ahead, just enough so they were not quite walking side by side.

It was indeed a confusing labyrinth with many dead ends and the darkness of the forest floor only existed to make the journey seem that much more ominous. Following Kane's direction however, made the trip seem quick and easy. The path they took was simply strait ahead for most of the journey although they travelled north-west after some time, then after some time, they headed east again.

Kane seemed to know the way so Rinoa had nothing to worry about except for the occasional thrustaevis attack, although Kane was able to shoot all of these down before they were able to touch her. Kane was even able to give her some information on the thrustaevises thanks to a scan spell he had been able to cast through an ability he called Para-magic which he had learned somewhere. Rinoa had no idea where he had picked it up however but she was about to because they had almost arrived at their destination.

When the two travellers stepped out of the forest and the high tree branches fell behind them, the bright light burning from the seemingly brutal sun hurt Rinoa's eyes and she had to cover them with her hands.

When her eyes adjusted, Rinoa found herself enclosed in the centre of a bowl of hills. Behind her was the forest from which she had left. A short walk would lead her to a train station. In the centre of this bowl stood a large circular structure, it was perfectly round and almost as tall as it was large in diameter.

"This is it, Rinoa" she heard Kane explain. "Welcome... to East Academy, also known as Galbadia Garden."

The inside of Galbadia Garden was immeasurably vast. Rinoa and Kane walked forward until they reached a large statue. This statue took up the majority of the room in this grand entrance.

A pearl coloured path led them around the titanic monument to the academy's lobby. In front of Rinoa, were several gates used for entry and exit to the academy. To the left of these gates there was a keypad and monitor. The monitor had two messages on it. The first one read "Students please scan ID Card for entry" and the second message read "welcome guest, please input your name via the below keyboard" Kane walked ahead of Rinoa and typed his name using the keypad.

When Kane had finished typing his name, the monitor glowed cerulean and the word 'processing' appeared on the screen. After a few minutes of waiting, his patience was rewarded. The screen returned to normal and large white letters appeared on the screen one by one in a typewriter fashion to spell out the message "Hello Kane, your request has been accepted. Please walk strait north and up the stairs to the 2F hallway. From the top of the stairway, please walk west to the conference room and wait for Garden Master Martine. Welcome and please enjoy your stay at Galbadia Garden" The monitor showed this message before flickering, going blank and finally resetting to its original message.

When the monitor reset, the red lights on half of the gates had turned green, indicating that the 'in' gates were unlocked. Also, Rinoa realised that the boy Kane had been carrying had at some point awakened. She quickly notified Kane, who then put the child down.

The boy, who was obviously confused out of his mind, looked around in all directions. Rinoa felt sorry for him once more and wondered what it was like to be completely unaware of a situation, to have no memory up to a certain point. It was a feeling she could never imagine.

"Take care of the kid and follow me" Kane said to her. "I need to talk to the Master."

"Who's the master?" she asked.

"Martine" he responded. "I can't say I know him personally... I learned the basics of fighting here but I never heard of him being either student or faculty... then again, when I studied here, it was a long time ago." He seemed to stop walking and his voice changed to a low guttural demonic growl. "A lot hath changed. Indeed my dear... naught stays the same... but as long as the acid continues to rain, thou shalt forevermore feel thy pain.

"What was that?" Rinoa asked.

Kane had a smile on his face. "You've loosened up quite a bit. Remember when we first met?" he asked. "You were a big jittery bitch then, weren't you... sure, you may have made the odd smart remark but now... you're so much more relaxed. You're so much like... never mind."

"So much like what, who am I like?"

"Don't worry. We have to get to the conference room."

"No, you're always doing that. No more changing the subject and no more blowing me off. Whenever I ask you a question you always say something like 'we have to go' you never give a strait answer!"

"I guess I should be a teacher then... hurry up. We have to go." When he saw Rinoa's eyes staring at him as if proving a point, he said "come on" which she reluctantly did.

Kane walked toward the conference room followed closely by Rinoa and the young boy. When they reached the designated room, they found it empty. "Where is he then?" Rinoa asked.

"He obviously aint here yet" Kane replied impatiently.

"Which means we have some time, now we can continue our conversation from before" Rinoa said.

"I'll pass" is all Kane was willing to say.

"What, What do you mean!? You can't just do that!"

"Why not, I don't wanna talk about that. Not to anyone. Not anyone... not even you."

Before Rinoa had a chance to say anything more, the door opened and in walked an important looking Galbadian man. "Greetings," the man said "I am Galbadia Garden Master Mar...tine" the man paused as soon as his eyes met Kane.

"Martine..." Kane said "We've never met but I wanted to ask a favour of you"

"A favour... is it? Well, I'm listening."

"Well, you probably don't know, but I myself was a student here once."

"A student, were you really? It is funny then that I have never pictured you as a student. Did you really come here?"

"You were not here then, I left before you arrived."

"Perhaps some more research is in order, for I have been Master of this Garden since the military had it established, twelve years ago."

"I was here before that. Before the military got involved, before you were stationed here."

"Ah, I see. This place was called East Academy then."

"That is correct."

"So, I've been talking to a graduate of the old East Academy. You must know a few of the old forgotten fighting disciplines. What year did you graduate?"

"Well, I never actually graduated."

"Oh, so you're a dropout. What is it then that you want from me? Why do you return to this place of Training? What did you come to ask?"

"This boy, I want of him... I want you to at least consider him. If you accept him and Make him a student of this Garden, you will have my deepest gratitude."

"And what good is that?" Martine asked. "While this Garden is partly financed by the Galbadian Government, I still have to negotiate with the main Garden, Balamb Garden."

"Balamb Garden" Kane commented "That is where Seifer is from."

"Seifer Almassy, I have heard talk of him from Balamb Garden's Master and it is the Master of that Garden whom I must talk with about the consideration of new students."

"Alright, thanks for your time" Kane said, realising he was chasing after a lost cause.

"Wait, the boy... he is your son?"

"No, what gave you that impression?"

"The two of you... came in with him. I just assumed you were his parents."

"Us, you thought we were..." Rinoa began but was interrupted by Kane repeating his question.

"What gave you that impression?"

"Well, just a guess" Martine answered. Tell me, what is this boy's name?"

"Uh... Rinoa, what is his name?"

Rinoa looked at the boy and her mind went blank when she tried to remember his name.

"Chapin... is my name." the boy said.

"So you two really aren't the parents...?" Martine asked.

"...no, we're not. The boy is a... he's an orphan" Kane answered.

"I... see. Just one more question. Are you... who I think you are?"

"That depends on who you think I am, now doesn't it" Kane replied with a hint of sarcasm evident in his voice.

Martine walked across the room and picked a square plastic object up off the table and handed it to Rinoa.

Rinoa looked at it and was shocked by what she saw. The object appeared to be the plastic case of a CD. The thing that really shocked her was the black-and-white picture on the front. In a dark background, floating in midair in front of the moon was Kane. He was shirtless, wearing a tight fitting pair of black jeans. He had black eye-makeup and what appeared to be a large black octagram on his chest. He also had black angel-wings.

"So, is it you? Are you Diablo?" Martine asked.

"El Diablo was... my stage name, as well as the name of my band."

"What, You had a professional band!? Why didn't you tell me anything about this?" Rinoa asked in disbelief.

"That was our final ever album." Kane said, ignoring Rinoa's question.

Rinoa looked back to the album cover and read the album title, which read 'El Diablo' as the band name and near the bottom, in large white letters was printed the album title 'Fallen Angel' she looked over at Kane and saw he was staring at the album cover, studying it with sad eyes. She couldn't help but wonder why.

"So it is you" Martine stated. "This girl you are with... surely it cannot be..."

"I know who you think it is" Kane interrupted "but you are mistaken. Even if she had survived that night at the church... it would be impossible"

"Who?" Rinoa wondered aloud.

"She is too young" Kane added.

"Yes... the math does not add up." Martine agreed. "...So, that thing with the church, did it really happen? I had always assumed it was a story."

"It was no story. It was true, they all died... although I had survived."

"And you feel this is a mistake? Are you saying you should be dead right now?"

Kane bowed his head. His barely audible mutter sent cold shivers down Rinoa's spine. It was a groaned sound that consisted entirely of bass and contained no treble whatsoever.

"Yes"

"I never want to see your face around here again. As far as I know, you died that night the church burned down... the way it should have happened. I want to keep it that way."

"Why" Rinoa asked, Kane's head remained hung as if in shame.

"...why?" he asked, unsure of Rinoa's question.

"Everyone's always telling you that you shouldn't be alive... why? You can't seriously believe that! Why do you let them talk to you that way?"

"Why?" Kane asked again, this time he sounded like he was just managing to hang on to his mental stability. "You wanna know why" he asked, a mask of insanity upon his face, distorting it into a terrifyingly menacing grin. "You sure, Do you really wanna fucking know?" he asked, getting uncomfortably close to Rinoa's face. His hand found its way tightly around her throat.

"Stop... what are... you...?"

"They're fucking right!" he screamed at her face. "I shouldn't be standing here, I deserve no life. I should be fucking dead! I shouldn't be alive... thine existence... denied..." his fingers loosened around Rinoa and his eyes softened, the hatred disappeared to be replaced by remorse.

Rinoa couldn't speak, and neither, it seemed could Kane. After a few attempted apologies, he turned around. "Fuck!" he cursed loudly and punched the wall so hard that when he moved his hand away from the wall, it left an imprint where his fist had been.

"My reservoir has over flown, I'm sorry. I've been through so much with no real release, no escape from my emotions. No escape from the demon within me. El Diablo, I thought had retired... but he had returned to the surface, if for only a short while.

"So it really is you then, so I really have been in a room with the man whose voice led an entire generation of depressed teenagers closer to suicide..."

Rinoa looked at Kane, "Suicide?"

"Yeah..." Kane said with a lack of volume evident in his voice. "That was a statistic; they tried to ban our music and even raided our last show... that was the forbidden event at the church."

He continued. "It all began when I took over lead vocals but the government got involved after we made the switch in our genre classification, we changed from epic death/thrash to epic death/doom. When I took over, some fat cat politician tried to use his brain for once and somehow came up with the theory that my music was linked to the increase in teen suicide... I don't know. That album you're holding was an experiment" he said motioning to the object in Rinoa's hand. "It contained major Goth elements, our music became more popular and that was our downfall… because I let her join the band."

"You mean 'The Sheik' don't you?" Martine asked.

Kane nodded, "...wait, how do you know all about this? This music was made illegal by Galbadian government and you... you just don't seem the type to..." he trailed off, leaving his sentence incomplete.

"I'm not" Martine assured him. "I never listened to your music... but a small group of students still do. That album was confiscated by one of the instructors. It's just collecting dust in here; you might as well take it with you.

Kane thanked Martine and turned to leave, Rinoa following his example.

"Oh, and don't worry about the boy. I'll give him a try. We'll start him in a new entrant class. When he proves to us his particular talents, be they combat or intellectual based, we will offer him the options to choose from a list of appropriate classes."

Kane thanked the Master of Galbadia Garden and exited with Rinoa following some distance behind, leaving the boy with Martine.

As they were making the slow journey to the exit, the short walk was made to seem unnaturally long due to the many glances received to which Rinoa had been gleefully ignorant on the way in. "...Kane?" she asked, unsure of how he would respond to her. He had remained silent since they left the conference room.

"Yeah, what is it?" he questioned in response.

"...ah, forget it" she said.

"No, tell me. If it's about what happened before in that room, I'm sorry alright! I... What the fuck is everyone's problem?!" he said looking around to meet many pairs of eyes.

"I-I noticed it too. Why do they all stare? What is it?"

"Many eyes" Kane said, possibly to Rinoa or possibly to himself, she couldn't tell. "One thousand stares... one thousand glares. They see before them an outcast, about me; no one cares, not one. This tag I wear... it separates me so. I try in vain to earn their acceptance but that will never happen. Fuck the world, you dismiss my success like the life of a leper" Kane's eyes appeared glazed and his expression, blank.

"Diablo... Kane?"

Kane turned around and looked down to see a Galbadia Garden student. He appeared to be nineteen years of age. "Who are you; you called me both as Diablo and as Kane."

"It is you, isn't it? I knew it, a real public appearance!"

"Don't get too excited, I wouldn't want you to mess in that flash uniform you're wearing."

"What? ...what do you mean?"

"Don't obsess over me, you no nothing about me. I owe you nothing, even if you once upon a time called yourself a fan."

"So you're not reforming your old band then?" the teen asked disappointedly.

"Well, since all the other members are dead, that'll be a little hard now wont it." Kane answered him sarcastically.

"Forget it!" a second teenager answered. He appeared to be the same age as the first one. "This has-been is a completely different person now. He aint El Diablo... he's nothing like El Diablo. He's sober, just look at him."

"Hey!" Kane snapped in retort. "It's not the drug that makes the music. I may have completely fucked my mind over and over again in the past but at least I know that much. Every song I wrote was mine. I made it. I owned it and no one will ever play it better. It's fucking mine."

"Prove it" the second student answered back. "Teach me the solo at the end of "smite thy brother."

"I'm sorry kid, I can't do that. I don't play anymore. I broke one unbreakable vow already. This one I must keep. I have no choice, it is the least I can do... although it makes up for nothing. It hardly justifies my life"

"What, that's just an excuse. If I'm wrong, give me an autograph."

"I don't give autographs" Kane answered, "Any real fan would know that. Why should I waste my time signing something just so you can make money selling it to some memorabilia geek?"

"Fuck you then!" the second student said as he walked away."

"Oh, great comeback" Kane sneered.

"Well, Thanks anyway" the first student answered.

"Yet another disappointment for me to bare, a weight upon my back. Pulling me down... to drown in the dust, the waste of an age... Yet another disappointment, I simply cannot bare." Kane said as if quoting an ancient text.

"Fear not beloved as I take thee to the grave." the student said in response, speaking without emotion as if he were recalling the phrase from his memory, like a poem he had been forced to memorize by his English teacher, a teacher with no life, no hopes, no dreams. A Teacher so obsessed by their own subject they think the world revolves around it.

Kane, for some reason unknown to Rinoa seemed to be impressed. He took the front cover out of the plastic CD case, signed it and quickly replaced it. "I usually don't do this" he said as he handed it to the student, who thanked him and walked off in the same direction the other student walked in.

Kane looked at the large twenty four hour digital clock on the wall. He then turned to Rinoa and said "We'd better go."

"Why'd you do it?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you don't sign autographs and then you went back on your word. You countered yourself by doing just that what you swore you'd never do."

"What that kid said to me... you may not understand but it was a quote. A quote from a song of mine, not just any song... that was a stage of my career where the only thing more wasted than my head, were my vocal cords. Anyone who can not only understand those lyrics but also recall and recite, they deserve at the very least my respect. Come, let us leave."

"But why does everyone stare at you?"

"Can we talk about that later? I want to visit my place. I need to see my partner and judging by the time, I wont be able to take you back to the forest owl's base... do you wanna come with me or make your way back to Timber?

Rinoa was unsure and it showed in her face. She didn't need to say anything.

"Do you want to come with me? It's not really that far and you can rest when we get there."

"Alright" Rinoa said, nodding in agreement. Thankful for Kane giving an answer to the question she was not comfortable with.

Kane's place was located in a secluded area past a large forest to the west of East Academy Station. Rinoa's first impression of it was not a very good one. The run down wooden house was a dull grey colour and had moss growing on the south wall.

"This is it" Kane said.

"This?" Rinoa asked critically "This is it?"

"Hey, don't condemn by meager appearances. It may not look like much but looks can be deceiving. It's good enough for me and my partner anyway."

"You're partner?"

"My partner in work... partner in crime... so to speak."

"Your partner in life, is it?"

"...no, hell no, not the way you think at least."

"Why not?"

"You'll see"

"Is it a man... or a woman?"

"You'll see" Kane repeated

"Tell me!" Rinoa whined

"It's a... It's a she"

"Really, what's she like?" Rinoa asked

"You'll see" Kane said for the third time, a little annoyed at Rinoa's persistence.

Sensing this, Rinoa couldn't help but smile. When Kane returned the grin, she couldn't help but laugh.

As she continued to laugh, Kane picked up a stone off the dead dry landscape of the surrounding ground and threw it hard at the door of the house. The sound seemed to echo for a while only to die down and be replaced by a dog's bark.

"You have a dog?" she asked

Kane nodded in answer, not bothering to mention the stupidity of the obvious question.

Rinoa followed Kane into the building and was quite surprised by its décor. The interior of the building consisted of a single four walled room, three of which were painted black. The fourth wall was white, contrasting the others and featured a large close-up image of the disembodied head of a goat impaled on a lance.

This building though only containing one square room, was quite large and dark, which was not really so surprising considering the room had no windows whatsoever, meaning the only natural light invading the dark despair inducing room was the light standing behind them in the doorway, unable to guide them to the centre and when the solid opaque door was to shut, all light would be blocked and barred entry.

Kane looked over at Rinoa to find her eyes transfixed upon the bestial image. "So I see you like that then?" he said, sounding like a tour guide.

"What-what is this?" she asked in return, the disbelief evident in her voice.

Kane couldn't help but smile at the girl's ignorance. "A ritualistic sacrifice" he explained "is an ancient tradition. The ancient Centra, the first known human civilization would offer unto the gods the blood and body of a living creature to show their loyalty and to ask the deities above for protection from plagues and demons and the like. Any living creature could be sacrificed but sheep and goats were the most common... and this may be obvious to you but of course human sacrifices were extremely rare. This image is a tribute to that ancient tradition."

"Who-who are the-the Centra?"

"Goddamn it, when did you drop out of school and how can you not know anything about the ancient Centra?"

Rinoa broke eye contact.

"Before modern civilization as we know it..." Kane said, beginning what should have been taught in a high school history lesson. "When Hyne created the human race..."

"Do you actually believe in creationism?" Rinoa interrupted.

"Creationism... is such a Christian word. All those worthless religions... Christianity, Catholics, Jewish... they are all the same. They all worship the same unnamed god. They are all nothing more than chocobo shit, regurgitated through the mouth of a stuck up preacher who thinks he's better than the world because he decided to take a leap of blind faith... until he dies and realizes there was no fickle deity to catch him, to stop him falling through one of the earth's spiraling crevices into the deep dark abyss below."

"How is worshipping Hyne any different?" she protested.

"Hyne is not an insecure wretch seeking undeserving praise and worship. He need's no worship and thus receives none. Hyne was and forever will be a fallen god, banished from the heavens after the great mythical war between his father; Hayne and Ramah; the lord of the thunder. Hyne is not a religion, it is not a faith. He does not rely on the gullible to believe in him despite lack of evidence. His existence has been proven throughout history."

"Really," Rinoa asked disbelievingly "what proof? I've never heard anything that can make me believe there are gods above watching me."

"Hynes existence, never been proven? What about Adel? The Sorceress wars, what about the witch hunt era?! Upon his defeat, Hyne relinquished a sector of his godly magicks unto us. This power became the Sorceress."

"I guess... if you put it that way" Rinoa reluctantly agreed, if there was one thing she hated it was being beaten in an argument.

"When Hyne created us who pollute the world with our population, we were diverse and wide spread over the continent we now call Centra. We had arranged ourselves into tribes. The tribe names were 'Dollet' 'Ballambese' 'Acauldian' 'Shumi' ...these were the four main tribes. The 'Dollet' were brave and fierce warriors, whereas the 'Ballambese' were weak, slow, great tacticians but lacked the desire to fight that the 'Dollet' possessed. While the 'Dollet' were busy pillaging, the 'Ballambese' were putting their minds together to discover new technologies. As for the other two, the 'Acauldian' were also skilled warriors and easily identified by their dark complexion. The 'Shumi' were also easily identified. Not much is known about that tribe besides the fact that they were one with the environment."

"How do you know all this?" Rinoa asked.

"I want to know why you don't know about any of this." Kane responded. "I learned all this at East Acadamy in history class, but I've always had an interest in mythology."

"So there were four tribes?"

"Those were the four biggest tribes. Of course there were many smaller tribes throughout the land, but these held little importance to historical events."

"I see." She said.

"One man, who is in my opinion history's greatest tactician and leader, was at one point exiled from the 'Ballambese' tribe for his bizarre theories and ideologies. It was then that he began to build up his own empire, the one empire with a chance for global conquest... this man, do you know who I mean?"

"No" Rinoa answered while shaking her head.

"Alexander," he said "Alexander Centra, head of the ancient Centra Empire."

"That's how Centra got its name."

Kane nodded. "Anyway, long story short, Centra's great military tactics allowed him to build up his mighty empire. Soon all other tribes were forced to join him or be crushed."

"And that's it, that's Centra's history?"

"Bits of it, there's more to tell but I really don't feel like telling every detail. Basically Centra ruled over that southern mass of land until the reawakening of Hyne. This started the Great Hyne War. After the war, Centra experienced decades of peace interrupted by attacks from the fallen angel El Diablo, in a period known as Olde Centra. In this period, the periodic sacrificial rituals began. Their purpose, to ward off and minimize the effects El Diablo had on their civilization. This deadly menace aside, there was relative peace until the fall of Centra. After the empire fell, its citizens resorted back to their old tribal names and separated to different parts of the world; Dollet to the west, Ballambese and Acauldian to the east and north and Shumi further up near the North Pole, the coldest place on the entire planet."

He looked at Rinoa who was leaning against the wall. "Wait here" he instructed her. He walked across to the other side of the room and leaned under a square table and opened a door to a hidden room. Rinoa heard the chinking sound of a chain and the unclipping of a metal fastening hook.

Kane crawled backwards out from behind the table, followed by a dog. The dog was an average size, not to big nor was it small. Its fur colouring was a pleasant blend of white and brown.

"Rinoa, this is my partner. Meet Angelo"

"This is your pet?" Rinoa asked excitedly.

"No, this is my partner. A pet is a slave whom you humiliate, a living form of entertainment forced to jump through flaming hoops for food. A pet is nothing more than a bitch, enslaved to you through bondage. Although she may be of the species known as dog, I don't see her as a pet, more as a friend."

"Uh... right." She said, not quite sure what the big deal was, all she did was call the guy's dog by the tag 'pet', she was a pet after all, she was just a dog, it's not like she was human.

Rinoa walked up to the four legged creature and it looked up at her. The dog began to smell her.

"Put out your hand" Kane instructed.

She did so and allowed the dog to smell it. Rinoa heard a few short sniffing sounds and then felt the animal's warm wet tongue against the perfect and pure milk-white smoothness, the skin of her hand.

"Well, looks like she likes you" Kane said, thoroughly amused.

Rinoa crouched down and began petting the dog's fur, ruffling it all over. The dog in turn licked Rinoa's face affectionately. She stood up and wiped her face with her arm. "Is that unusual? Does she always like everyone?"

"Generally, but she's taken a liking to you... more than usual, I'm not sure why but there's something about you. I need to head out for a while. I'll be back before morning. Are you gonna be alright here?"

Rinoa took a long pause before saying it would be alright.

"Good. Under the dust in the centre of the floor is a mat, under it you can open a trap door to the basement. There's a bathroom down there. We've got plumbing and electricity in here. Look after Angelo and I'll see you when you wake tomorrow."

Kane then walked over to the door, the only exit. He flipped on the nearby light switch, engulfing the room in a dim light before leaving and closing the heavy door behind him. The sound of an old fashioned lock being turned by a large iron key could be heard throughout the room.

"Okay... Angelo, it looks like we're alone for the night." Rinoa said to the dog.

Angelo approached the door as if expecting it to burst open and gave a few high-pitched whines when it didn't. Rinoa leaned over and gave the dog a pat on the head. "It's okay, he'll be back" she said in a high-pitched voice. Angelo growled at the patronizing tone. It was not threatening in the least, but enough to give Rinoa a startling wake up call. She guessed that Kane's respect towards his dog had given it feelings of human-like superiority. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry" she apologized.

On the other side of the room, Rinoa saw something that perked up her interest. There was a small stereo with headphones plugged in. Curiosity drove her finger towards a button on the device. As the control mechanism was depressed with a click that seemed loud in the dark, a buzzing noise could be heard from within the plastic casing of the entertainment device. Angelo approached as if also interested in the electronic entertainment device.

The CD tray extended, carrying a pure black CD with no writing or pictures. This mystery disc provoked further curiosity from the depth of Rinoa's mind, she new she should have respected the privacy of another whilst in their domain, although her will was weak, a simple fact. The curiosity was just too much for her to handle. What else could she do? She took a breath and pushed 'play'.

It took her the time that it took to raise the headphones to her head and place them over her ears to realize the extremity of the sound produced was simply too much for her undeveloped ears. She couldn't even listen to this 'music' it just sounded like noise to her. Before the loud music could give her a migraine, she hastily pushed a button on the device which just happened to be the "skip track" button.

Rinoa pushed this button a few times more until she found a slow, ballad like song with quite a mild intro. This intro built Rinoa up for a slow drumbeat, dual lead guitar and keyboard melodies allowed her mind to transport her away from the real world. The song seemed to use a dual vocal style, one part played by a sweet feminine voice that reminded Rinoa of her mother's voice; one of the only pleasant memories of her past she had left. The other supplier of 'vocal talent' used a combination of techniques, both conventional and not so.

The second half of this dark album seemed to be similar to this one song. Unusual as it was and easy to misunderstand, but it took her away from all that had ever troubled her and that was all she needed.

Rain began to fall from the sky, she could hear it. It was a soft sound. The music from the headphones combined with the rainfall hitting the tin roof above her.

She lay down and snuggled up to Kane's living, breathing hot water bottle and drifted off to a sound undisturbed sleep...