Squall had been letting his mind wander as he headed towards the library to pick up the kids and get them settled in their new homes. He wasn’t paying any attention till Irvine bumped into him grasping onto the shoulder of Jay, who was floating along next to him grumbling obscenities.

"Irvine!" Squall sputtered as he shook his head. "What are you doing with the new student?"

"Why, I’m taking him to the brig. For causing a fight with your room mate."

"I didn’t do anything!" Jay sputtered his face twisted into a sour expression.

"Sure." Irvine said nodding at Squall. "I saw the whole thing, as did everybody else in the library. Better go ask Xu what happened. This fellah here needs to be punished for fighting."

Squall sighed and nodded his mind once again pushing all thoughts of Rinoa out of his mind, to be alert for what news he would be finding out. "Okay, makes sense. I’ll meet you at the brig after I talk with Xu and the others."

"Alrighty then." Irvine said with a smile. "I’ll be waiting."

"Yeah." Squall said with a nod and continued towards the library.

****

When Squall arrived at the Library he spied Xu sitting in a chair rubbing her face, looking exhausted. Next to her stood Pence who was making idle chatter with Olette who was fussing over Hayner.

"It’s going to leave a scar." Olette had finished saying to Pence as Squall walked onto the scene.

"What happened? I ran into Irvine.." Squall said looking at Hayners face.

"I should be asking you the same thing Squall." Xu said as she looked up and regarded his face. "Who slugged you?"

"Selphie." Squall said turning his head away. "I said some things that kind of pissed her off."

"I’ll say!" Xu said with a chuckle. "You probably went to far again taking things too seriously. Didn’t you?"

"Whatever." Squall mumbled as he walked towards Hayner and Olette, and bent down to look at Hayners face. "She’s right Xu. This will leave a scar."

"I said it’s nothing." Hayner mumbled turning his head and stepping out of range of Olette’s fussing. "I’m fine."

"Still. You better get the Dr to look at it. She might be able to heal it so it stops bleeding, and dulls the pain at least." Xu said with a sigh.

Squall chuckled briefly.

"What’s so funny?" Xu asked as she gathered her papers and sorted out the course forms.

"I was just thinking." Squall said with a small smile. "How much Hayner and Jay are like Seifer and I were back in the day."

Xu blinked, and turned to look at Squall. "You know, you have a point." She said. "Anyway, I guess you want a report of what happened?"

Squall nodded his head and stood up. "Yes. However, I just need a written document. I have other ways to figure out what happened."

"Oh! You mean..?" Xu asked looking at Squall tilting her head.

Squall nodded. "Ellone."

*****

Squall after talking with Xu, and getting a written report helped Xu find Selphie, who was still ticked at him, and Zell to drop off their new charges. Then the two, with the ever silent Hayner went to find Seifer, which they found in the cafeteria with Fujin and Raijin.

Walking over to the trio, Squall cleared his throat and looked at them.

"WHAT?" Fujin said after tossing an empty drink cup into the trash bin.

"Raijin, Fujin, I need you to go the guest dorms and fetch Ellone for me. Ask her to meet me at the Brig." Squall said without so much as an explanation.

"SAY PLEASE." Fujin barked as she looked at Raijin with a smirk.

"What Fu’s.." Raijin started to explain, for Fujin when she back handed him on the head.

"FUJIN!" She grunted.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. Man! That hurts!" Raijin mumbled as he rubbed the now sore spot on the back of his head. "What Fujin’s saying, is that you should be polite and ask, man."

"AFFIRMATIVE!" Fujin said nodding looking at Squall and Xu.

Squall sighed and pressed his right hand to his forehead and licked his lips before responding. "Fujin, Raijin. Can you please go ask Ellone, to meet Xu, and Seifer and I in the Brig?"

"OKAY." Fujin said nodding her head and walking off, Raijin following behind, leaving Seifer sitting at the table Fujin and Raijin vacated looking at Squall with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, what is it?" Seifer asked standing up and tossing his own empty drink cup into the trash.

"Your new charge is in the brig for fighting." Xu said looking at Seifer her eyebrow twitching.

"Xu, my dear, he was under your care. So therefore you cannot hold me responsible." Seifer replied pulling on his trench coat.

"Look you two. I asked Seifer to join us because, he’ll have to pick up Jay when all this is done and sorted." Squall said with a hint of weariness.

"Ah, right Squall." Xu said nodding and hugging her paperwork closer to her chest.

"Fine, fine." Seifer said. "Though I wonder, what does Ellone have to do with any of this?"

Squall didn’t dignify the question with a response.

"Silent as ever." Seifer muttered as he walked off. "Lets get this over with."

****

Ellone had been sitting at the table in the guest room, thinking about the brutal truths Fujin had said to her and mulling over her own reactions. She really didn’t mean to react like that, yet something about the silver haired girl with the eye patch made Ellones insides quiver with an odd feeling. Shaking her head she rubbed her forehead and sighed.

"I better apologize. For how I acted." Ellone said to herself out loud.

"What’s that El?" Laguna called from the kitchen as he washed some dishes left over from their lunch.

"Oh, it’s nothing Uncle Laguna." Ellone said with a soft smile. "I just had a bit of an argument with Fujin when I was with Squall earlier."

"What kind of argument?" Laguna asked while drying his hands on a dish rag and walking into the living room and smiling at the now young woman.

"It’s really no big deal.." Ellone said smiling. "She said a few things that upset me, and I over reacted." She explained getting up. "In fact, I think I’ll go find her to apologize."

As if on cue the chime to the door rang and Ellone blinked and opened the door. There standing at the door were Fujin and Raijin.

"Yo." Raijin said grinning like an idiot while Fujin’s good eye looked at Ellone.

"Oh, hello." Ellone said slipping out the door and closing it behind her. "Just the people I wanted to see." She said smiling at Fujin. "I was just about to go find you to.."

"NOT IMPORTANT." Fujin said shrugging. "COME."

"Well, okay. Alright." Ellone said awkwardly, looking at Raijin with a confused expression.

"Don’t sweat it." Raijin said clamping a hand on her shoulder. "Squall asked us to come get you. Bring you to the Brig to meet him, Xu, and Seifer there."

"What for?" Ellone asked.

"Don’t know man." Raijin said with a grin. "Listen about before. I want to apologize if Fujin’s upset you with how she acted. She can be rather blunt sometimes yah know?"

"Oh, well I wanted to apologize to her for over reacting." Ellone replied as the two of them followed behind Fujin who was walking at a quick sauntering gait.

"I wouldn’t sweat it." Raijin said jamming his hands into his pockets and regarding Ellone with a lop sided grin. "Fujin is blunt, but she probably realizes that the whole subject is still a touchy subject for you. Just wait a few days, and apologize then." Raijin said as he smiled again and sauntered along the hallway slightly ahead of Ellone now. "Better not keep Squall waiting." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh! Right!" Ellone said stepping up the pace and catching up to Fujin who merely grunted.

****

Xu tossed her clipboard onto the desk at the front of the Brig, and sat down in a chair looking at Squall and Seifer who were talking in low tones.

"The plan," Squall was explaining, "is to ask Ellone to send you and I into the past to see what transpired between Hayner and Jay. Through their own eyes. I know from previous experience that we can only witness what happened."

Seifer shrugged and walked towards the door leading to the holding cells. "Don’t see why I have to do this." He mumbled.

"Simple." Xu said with a dry laugh. "So you know what happened as well."

"I really don’t care." Seifer said as Squall followed him and closed the door behind them. "This is a waste of my time."

"Whatever." Squall said as he breezed past Seifer and walked down the hallway looking for the holding cell that Jay had been put in.

It didn’t take much to find him. For Jay’s yelling and curses were heard down the hallway. Following the source of the noise the two adults found who they were looking for.

****

Jay had taken off his jacket and tossed it into a corner and was yelling at Irvine who was sitting in a chair across the hall, his hat tipped over his forehead.

"Let me out of here!" Jay grunted angrily as he shook the bars of the holding cell.

"No can do." Irvine said with a wave of his hand. "You do the crime you pay the time."

"This is total idiocy." Jay muttered as he shook the bars one more time and let out a howl of frustration. "I didn’t do anything."

"Now, that there is a lie." Irvine said moving in his chair and looking at Jay with a wolfish grin. "I saw you trying to provoke that poor kid into a fight. So did everybody else in the whole library."

"That’s enough Irvine." Squall said as he turned the corner and Irvine stood and saluted to Squall, who saluted back.

"I’ll just be heading on to the home of a pretty lady." Irvine said with a wave over his shoulder. "I’ll let you fine folks deal with this fellah."

"Okay. We’re here. Now what?" Seifer said taking the seat that Irvine had just vacated.

"You can let me out of here!" Jay snarled from the darkness of the cell. "I didn’t do a damn thing to that kid!"

Squall sighed and looked at Hayner who had been with him since he left the Library with Xu. Sighing he looked at Seifer who was looking like he were bored.

"Didn’t you hear me? I said let me out!" Jay called again from the darkness of the holding cell.

"Doesn’t take to well to punishment, does he?" Seifer commented tilting his head slightly and looking at Squall. "Reminds me of the time I busted out of here, to go to Timber because all they sent were three SEEDS. Remember?"

"Seifer, don’t." Squall said with a hint of annoyance, thinking to himself. ‘You almost killed the president..’

"Look. It’s in the past." Seifer said with a shrug.

"Yeah. In the past." Squall agreed without so much as a glance at the man who had practically killed him in the underground prison, after the failed attempt to take Edeas life in Deling.