Who:  Irvine Kinneas, Seifer Almasy
Where: Seifer and Fuujin's room.
Why:  Irvine goes to talk to Seifer about Squall, and comes to some conclusions he doesn't want to and isn't ready for.
Date of Log:  9/19/00



A knock at the door. Yep, someone has evidently decided to come pay the Ex-Knight, and now second in command a visit. Whenever the door is opened, it ends up being one Irvine Kinneas, you know, that sniperboy who seems to be attached at the hip to Selphie Tilmitt lately. The other non-SeeD. (Is that anything like the other white meat? No, no, let's not go there.) Dressed in his normal cowboy gear, he doesn't look any different then usual. No, it's the expression on his face that's unusual. Not cocky, indifferent or blase today, he appears to be a little concerned, grave, grim.

And the other Non-SeeD comes to the door in his usual clothes-horse fashion. A crisp white shirt, buttoned down, is tucked into deep blue slacks, and a blue vest with golden piping is worn over it. Apparently, Seifer is feeling mor and more himself lately--which means he's dressing the part again. But his brows gather as she spies that there grim expression, and he doesn't begin with pleasentries. He just opens his door wider, and then simply asks, "What happened, Kinneas?" Nope. When it's time to go to work for Seifer, it's time go to work. And from the look of you, it's time to get the gunblade and go to work.

"It's Squall," Irvine says as he enters, not really in the mood to mince words or exchange pleasentries either. Hands folded into the pockets of his duster, he slowly draws them out again to fold arms over his chest as he turns to regard the Seifer. "Something's happened, and I think he's two steps short of falling of the cliffs of sanity." Cornflower blue eyes remain slightly narrowed, lips kept at a thin, neutral line. He's not really relishing having to tell the Ex-Knight any of this, because in doing so he risks revealing some of his own dark secrets. He'll make the sacrifice, if necessary, however, if it means somehow helping the Commander. "I thought as Second in Command, you might want to know. Have you seen the report from his time in Baron?"

And just watch those pale brows shoot right up. "Squall's never been really well balanced, Irvine. I don't think /any/ of us are. But that's besides the point. Go on." A pause, and a frown, as the blonde shakes his head quietly. "No. I haven't gotten to that report yet." He puts his hands on his hips, :And I'm not ... second in command like /that/. I'm... an emergency measure. Second in the /chain/ of command. If Squall falls, I replace him... but I do nothing until he's been taken down. Garden... isn't ready for me in any sort of position of authority." A sort snort. The only reason the cowboy knows is because Seifer told him. Squall hasn't even announced it yet.

Irvine hasn't told anyone either, oddly enough, not even Selphie. It's not that he minds Seifer being Second in Command, whatever the term might mean, he just doesn't really tell people the stuff he hears. Not even his fiancee. Anyway, Irvine's lips quirk to the left, not a smile for certain, but not a frown either. He doesn't approve of the Ex-Knight being seemingly used like that, but hey, the cowboy gets used like that a lot too, so why should the other non-SeeD be treated differently? And now to quit digressing. "I talked to Squall the other night, Seifer. You should have heard him, the doubts, the questions, and yeah, I know that's normal for him, but I swear to god he turned into that six year old we knew back at the orphanage before we were done. Talked in that little voice and everything. And there was an... incident at a tavern back in Baron. Twenty four hour memory loss, or so he claims."

Seifer allows himself to be used. Why not? Not like he deserves any better. He destroyed his home, ruined lives, launched missiles at Trabia. What? Shouldn't he be used? Degraded? Abused? ... no. But getting him to recognize that fact will be hard; perhaps his return to his old habitrs of dressing nicely and being impeccable in appearance is a sign of his instability--he's dressing the part. The clothes make the man. The man is an emergecy measure, but if one is going to be a commander at any time, one cannot dress common. And besides, he's got to hide the wounds /somehow/. Maybe if you look at the nice clothes, you won't see the cracks in his eyes. But he inclines his head quietly, and frowns slightly. "I.. I've seen him do that. Fuck, he came back from ShinRa with the intent to ... to kill me, I think." He runs a hand through his hair, his eyes half lidding. "Came, asked for Revolver back. Talked about 'rebirth'--and didn't fucking tell me he'd been mako treated until after the fact. And then he /hugged/ me." Admitedly, Seifer did sort of need the gesture of... affection? Friendship? Something other then... then deterius. "And I thought he was okay. He took some strength, we talked a while, and he was better. But... I don't anything about what happened in Baron to make it worse." A pause, and he moves over to the cupboard. "Do you want something to drink?" The weight of work might indicate alcohol. Might.

Knowing next to nothing about what happened to Squall while he was in the hands of the ShinRa executives, et al, Irvine's expression changes to one of surprise. Mako treated? Like the SOLDIER he'd capture, Rion? Reaching up with a hand, he pulls the hand down, fingers of the other hand brushing through the bangs that refuse to be tied back by the ponytail ring. "I had no idea what all was done to him at ShinRa," he admits quietly. Now that he does, it sobers him even further. Good god, if Kawn did to the Commander what Irvine -thinks- he did, the double psychological whammy would drive anyone to lunacy. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Acute without Delayed Onset. (Or so the Psychologists would say.) "He just wanted me to tell him everything would be ok... he didn't want me to leave." It scared the cowboy to see him like that, honestly. At question regarding Baron, he's still rather loathe to say, but that -is- part of why he came here. "He had a run in with a man known as Kawn, fought with him, and I think something... bad also happened during that period of memory loss. Something caused by Kawn." Vague? Yes. Is there a reason for it? Hell yes. But, at the offerance of something to drink, the cowboy suddenly feels like he could use it, especially if it -is- alcohol. "Yes, actually."

"Squall's put off alot of... announcements," Seifer says flatly, his back to the other young man. He gets down two tumblers, and then says, "NAme your poison, cowboy. I ain't got much--some good scotch, and some sweeter stuff I was going to try to ply Squall with later, given the chance, but... Fuujin hates the stuff, and so I don't push my luck with storin' it in the house." He takes his scotch straight, three fingers of the amber liquid filling his glass. HE wants something to take the sting off all of this, himself. "Kawn... The name sounds vaguely familiar. But... What's the connection? Twenty-four hours memory loss, and... him? What could he do? He fuck with your mind?" Seifer has no real knowledge of this 'Kawn' man, so you're going to have to fill in the glaring blanks of KAWNS MIGHTY EVIL for him, because otherwise, he doesn't know him from any other thug.

"Scotch, straight," Irvine replies to the alcohol question first. Priorities, man, priorities, especially since he's about to reveal something he doesn't want to in the least. "Kawn's a sick fuck, to put it bluntly, Seifer. Has a liking for young men, if you catch my drift." How the cowboy knows this is not revealed. If he's lucky, Seifer won't ask either. "Squall fought with him back in Baron, though the details of what happened are fairly well left sketchy. As in, there were none except the outcome. I don't buy it, not in the least. Something tells me Kawn got himself a new victim." Well, there it is, mostly out on the table to be pondered. "I tried to ask him about it, but shit, I can more then understand him dancing around the subject."

The drink is poured, three fingers of scotch filling the glass. Seifer thne caps the bottle--no over indulgence now--and puts it away. He lifts the cups, moving to bring one to you, and then twirls the liquid in his cup, watching it slosh about with pale eyes as he hears 'sick fuck'. He brings the glass to his lips, and takes a draw. Well, aren't they all sick-- wait a minute. He pauses as the glass is taken from his mouth, and looks down for a moment, replaying the words you just said. Rewind. Jade eyes narrow, taking on the hardness of the stone they draw thier color from, and begin to lift, slowly. The Knight is back, flat eyed, face cruel--and his hand just went tight about the glass. "Are you saying," He says in cool, clipped tones, "That this.. Kawn.. might've done something to Squall?" It might be strange, to see Seifer turn to the Knight before your eyes, all protection and nobility, righteous rage and fiery sword just /waiting/ to be drawn, right before you. "Like... rape him?" The words are deceptively calm. You have just lit a time bomb, Irvine.

As if he would really know what a timebomb he's just lit. Irvine's been subdued about the whole subject, but that's another can of worms. He accepts the glass with a quiet thank you, staring into it a moment as if considering something. Not the alcohol, no, something else, or his eyes wouldn't be so distant. "What's exactly what I'm saying," he finally replies, and that's when he does taste the scotch, closing his eyes afterward as he lets it burn down his throat. So much better then thinking about other things. Inhaling deeply, those blue eyes finally open to look at you, his expression neutral still, but it's hard to hold onto that impassiveness considering the topic and how closely it hits home for him. But, he sees the anger building now, and yet, doesn't react to it. Vincent did much the same the night previous, it's a common enough reaction. But... well, the cowboy has begun to draw himself into the void without realizing it. It's safe in there, after all, no emotions there to trip him up.

There's the grinding sound of glass against glass abruptly, and Seifer makes no sound--only draws in a tense breath. Nevermind the liquid, amber and red, pattering from the hand that hand literally held the glass in his hand /so tightly/ that it shattered in his palm. Jagged edges grind into his palm, and he only sets his jaw. "I want details, Kinneas. What he looks like, how he fights--anything else you can tell me." Unlike Vincent, he's not going to flip out just yet. He's not going to destroy his room, nor vent yet. He's going to ponder quietly, and ... well, he's going to quite simply hunt KAwn down and kill him. There is no question of morality here for Seifer. He is what Garden has created: A born killer. He /can/ kill and have no remorse. He /can/ murder without hestiation or regret. He is the SeeD planted within a garden built on rotting bodies and other people's wars. He /can/ and he /will/ kill Kawn. "And I want to know about Squall. I don't know how to deal with him, broken, Irvy. He... He's family, Irvine, and I don't know how I can help him." He finally admits, gritting his teeth as he turns to the sink to begin to pick bloody shards of glass out of his palm. Good thing it wasn't his gunblade hand. He's going to need that, and soon

Usually, when one sees someone literally crush a glass in his palm like that, it would cause some kind of reaction. You know, surprise, horror, shock, something. But not for Irvine, not while he's in the void. It's so nice in there, floating on the edge of peripheral vision, seeing without the burden of having to emotionally react. So, when he responds, his voice is rather flat. "My height, black armor, like some kind of old world black knight. Painted face, freakish, and white hair. He fights dirty, sword fighter as far as I know. He also loves to take people by surprise, no remorse for what he does. None." A good physical description, though an actual drawing is available in the paperwork archives dealing with Irvine's encounter with him. "And if you do go after him, you're taking me with you, I have a score to settle with him." Though he's not Seifer in terms of a killing machine, as the gunman does have a soft side to him, and a desire not to kill things that don't deserve it. (Or shooting things from a distance that have no chance to defend themselves. But that's another story.) Kawn, however, is another matter entirely. The Dark Knight utterly humiliated Irvine, and left him stripped of any last vestige of innocence he might have retained regarding the rest of the world. He has every intention of seeing that Kawn repays him for that, even if he has to measure the debt in the drops of the Dark Knight's own blood.
As for Squall, Irvine sighs, shaking his head, "I tried to help him, Seifer. I tried." The use of his childhood nickname is either not noticed or doesn't seem out of place. Everyone calls him that lately. "He's family to both of us you know, and so are you." Another pause and then, "Sometimes I wonder where Rinoa is in all of this, if not for Selphie I'd have lost my sanity eons ago..." Little does he know the touchy subject she is.

Seifer's lip curls in momentary derision. "Rinoa is a stranger. If you expect a girl who cannot even defend herself with any real competency to bail her lover out of the depths of his misery, I would suggest you get another game plan." he says simply. And that's all he's going to say. He forced himself, for the good of Garden, to forgive her--to say the words, to smile and pat her shoulder, and pretend that her presence was not a knife in his heart. Not even a day mourning him, and she was looking to Squall. Fickle /bitch/. His opinion of the relation is low. Squall is still an emotional cripple--especially in the ways of romance, love, and most importantly, trust--and Rinoa is his crutch. But he takes a breath, and lets it out slowly, even as one by one, the glass clinks into the sink with metallic pings of sound. But eventually, he gets it all clear of the flesh--and a spell blossoms around him. The soft whirr of magic fills the air, and the wounds in his hand close. Cure's are good for that sort of thing. He flexes his fingers, feeling only a twinge of pain and a little stiffness, and then looks back. His eyes say enough: Got you too, huh? But he doesn't voice it. He merely nods. "Squall first. Vengence second. I don't want to have to come back to a command post," He says flatly--but he only blinks once at the mention of being family. His lips twist in a wry smirk. "No I'm not, but thank you for the thought." He will never be a part of the 'family' again. At least, not as he sees it. Fuujin, Raijin, Quistis and Squall are his family. Wife, best bud, sister, brother.

Seifer's a part of the Muppet Baby Orphanage Gang, and since Irvine's one of the few to have all his memories intact, he will always consider the Ex-Knight to be family, regardless of how Seifer sees it (perhaps a prodigal brother, or the black sheep cousin, but family nontheless). He frowns slightly at the denial, even shakes his head, but no comment is made. Not now. The heated remarks regarding Rinoa get a flat look, and a couple of blinks. But, no comment on that either. He can't exactly disagree seeing as he's hardly even -seen- Rinoa lately, and she clearly hasn't been there for Squall as of late. Being in love for the first time in his life, he sees what Selphie does for him, and is grateful for her presence, never one to take her for granted. Not now, not ever.
Magic gets another reaction altogether, totally pulling Irvine out of the last bits of the void. He stiffens a moment, but relaxes as he sees it pass. That's something else he's got to work on, but it'll take time, like all his other silly paranoias. Setting the hat back atop his head, he brushes at his bangs to get them out of his face as the brim flattens them down slightly. Yes, Squall first, concentrate on that. "He didn't want to tell me anything, that dam of his raised pretty high, and then it just... broke." And Irvine nearly drowned in the flood that followed. "He's afraid of becoming a monster. Afraid that no matter what he does, he'll have to sacrifice himself for us, for Garden. The world scares him, dealing with all these politics is tearing him apart."

"...fuck."

That's all Seifer can really say here. His hands press to the counter as he leans there a moment. He remains, if anything, completely oblivious to the paranoia he inspires, or the lack of reaitno about his venom where Rinoa is concerned. He has Fuujin. Fuujin is loyal. Rinoa is nothing. Less then nothing--and he'll be the first to tell you that she is unworthy to be a sorceress, and she's treating her 'knight' shittier then Ultimicia /ever/ treated him.

"Irvine," he says softly. "How do we expect him to deal with a war after this? We're headed toward one. Less then three months of peace is all we've got--and then that magitek thing is going to be online and operational, and we're going to be up to our eyeballs in combat." The Knight takes a hard breath, and he hisses it through his teeth. "I can't take command from him. Not now, during a relative peace, and not at all by force... and nor can he step down and just /hand/ it to me, even at the suggestion of a trusted advisor and," Ignore the brow twitching, "/Hero/ of the Second Sorceress War." He doesn't like the how the words taste in his mouth; like fouled meat, gritty in the wrong places and mushy everywhere else. "I've seen the dam break before," he said. "Right after he said that Heidegger had convinced him to fight me without telling me about his mako enhancements." To kill him.

Having fought alongside Squall during the Ultimecia Conflict, aka The Second Sorceress War, Irvine's well aware of the Commander's abilities to handle wartime situations and he says such, "Squall's able to hold up under times of war. He thrives on it, Seifer. Tactics, strategies, sending this here, sending so and so there. He sent me to try to kill Kefka, and he'd do it again if the situation called for it. I'm not questioning his abilities to lead us during war conflicts. It's easy to lose oneself in such things..." Peacetimes, however, are another matter entirely. They mean politics. Lots of politics, and concessions and PR bullshit and pandering for the favor of the masses and being -social- and learning the ins and outs of how to be a slick willy. Otherwise, you just don't survive in those shark infested waters for very long. He wants to say this, really, but the cowboy can't for some reason, leaving his last comments to dangle, perhaps thinking you smart enough to figure out what he meant anyway. Besides, you just mentioned taking command over. So, quietly he does ask, "Do you think he's no longer fit for duty, Seifer? Do you think ShinRa has done this to him? Did they want him to attack you, kill you? For what? To drive Squall mad?" The gunman isn't so sure, but then, he has that naive hope for his friend still, blinded by his loyalties so as not to see the truth that may reside there. Irvine is the kind of person who sticks by his guns, literally and figuratively, and when someone has gained his trust, it is hard for him to just stop trusting.

There's a small cough. "Yes. You've seen him, while he's been okay, and he's got the backing and support of friends, and he wasn't just /raped/ by some one. Hyne's tits, Irvine, he was /okay/! He was a little fucked up, and withdrawn, but even I could see he was growing out of it!" The tone is exasperated, angry. Oh, yes, you want to stack up the lives of hundreds on a young man who's probably considering suicide. Yup. The jade eyes go narrow again, and then he blinks at the question posed. "If you want me to to be bluntly honest, Irvine, I've always thought there should be another commander during peacetime. A politician Squall is /not/. A general, a leader, an inspiration--yes. But he cannot /do/ politics.' Seifer used to be able to schmooze. Oh, his political style was heavy handed. (Join or die! >.<;) but he could still play the masses. He /was/ charming, and charismatic when he wanted to be. Of course, Squall does have the Laguna Loire Charisma Factor--but he has nothing to back it up! No knowledge, or grace, or skill to back up the Raw Presence.
But the knight sighs, anger fading. Oh, it's still there, but locked at the back of his mind. He sighs softly, looking to the patter of blood and liquor on the floor, and then reaches for a rag to wipe it up with. Isn't he so domestic? "Fuck," he repeats. "Yes. He as much told me what the ShinRa Did to him. THat he dreamed of taking out all his pain on me, and that that fucking General of thiers used it. Said he woudl come /help/... and then gave him those treatments to make him stronger. Yes, I think thier peace-offering was just another way to fuck him up some more and cause havoc in Garden." A glance upward. "So what do you suggest we do about it, cowboy?"

In many ways Irvine's youth is rather revealed at this time. Being the youngest amongst the Orphanage gang, and the only one still a Cadet, he's always had a different way of looking at things then the others. He's not innocent by any means, but he is naive, still holding onto that silly belief that somehow things just work out in the end (Selphie being his fiancee doesn't help this outlook either). Cornflower blue eyes lower a bit, considering Seifer's words. So, in all honesty, he doesn't have an answer, to any of this. 'What now', indeed. Part of him agrees, well, in truth, -most- of him agrees, but it's logic vs. his emotions. He wants to believe in Squall, but having been raped by Kawn himself, he -knows- what must be going through the Commander's head. The cowboy still has nightmares he wakes up screaming from. Now, for Squall one only has to top off the mako treatments and that implanted urge to kill someone, namely Seifer, (and lets not forget all the other regular bullshit politics the boy has to deal with on a daily basis) and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.
Finally, quietly, Irvine relents, eyes closing, "I think we need a Commander with command of his faculties." Why does he suddenly feel like he's commiting treason?

Because he is.

Seifer knows it. Irvine knows it. Anyone who could hear inside this room would know it. But is it treason if Squall is /really/ off his rocker? Really that far gone that he probably can't be trusted to run Garden peacefully? Seifer has no innocence left him--he's bitter, tired, and jaded... and really not all that well off in the mental health department. He's not running off to kill himself, nor obsessing over the question: Was I raped by a man? He gets to obess on occasion over the equally destressing: Did I sleep my mother while she was under someone else's control? ... Maybe we /shouldn't/ go there.

But he sighs softly. "Then find one." Which is to say, you're not looking at him. Seifer can't take it. He can't. Garden doesn't want him, and he doesn't want it much either, truth be told. Hell, he's not even told Fuujin about his appointment as 'back up'. That was simply between him and Squall. He's afraid, as per usual, of her reactino.

Silence follows Seifer's sigh. Honestly, Irvine has nothing he can say in this instance. The crushing feeling of... hopelessness, has finally found its way to the gunman and wrapped around him, leaving him hardly able to breathe for a moment. Cid's practically abandoned the Garden he began. Squall's mental faculties are obviously leaving him. Seifer doesn't want the position, and really most of Garden doesn't want Seifer either, truth be told. Irvine has no intentions of wanting -any- sort of leadership position for himself. So that leaves them... nowhere. There's Vincent, perhaps, but he's not Garden, not SeeD. There's no way to tell if anyone would allow him to be a leader. Suddenly, Irvine gets this overwhelming urge to find Selphie. She's better then drugs, actually, and the only thing that keeps him from wanting to slit his own wrists as everything seems to crumble.

Seifer would take if. If there was a way for him to do so. The fact that he doesn't want the position ought to be somewhat reassuring; he's not doing this for a power-play, control of garden, or to beat out Squall. He doesn't want it at all. But only agreed to Squall's earlier request is because he didn't want Garden in incompetent hands (Read: Vincent's--he still does not like his ex-Turk replacement). But he sighs softly, and glances back at you, and then the drink in your hands. "Finish it." He says it softly, but it carries like an order. Maybe that's not what he's really asking you to finish, though. Maybe there's a question, a request, in those two words, that isn't spoken. You're the only other person who jumps when Squall says to that he trusts, and that likes him at all. So... if you're going to get Squall removed, go do it. He'll wait for the commandship for when it happens. If it happens. A pause, though, "You know. There are alternatives to me," he says mildly. "Xu. Quistis." Yeah, right. They're suggestions of desperation, but made none the less. Xu at least would be capable. Quistis? Well, who knows, really...

Having actually forgotten the drink in his hand, Irvine glances down at it in mild surprise. He hesitates, but does finish it, swilling whatever is left down in one gulp, grateful for the burn again. It's smoother this time, though. Holding the glass out toward Seifer, he can't quite look at him, looking beyond somewhere at nothing in paticular. Finish it. Yeah, he read into that, what it means. God dammit, why does it have to be -him- making that sort of decision, he's a fucking Cadet still. He's the silent weapon, deployed like some sort of mafia hitman when a sticky situation arises and there's a need for a silent death (though honestly both attempts to use Irvine for this ended up in chaos, you'd think they'd learn), not some sort of traitorous anti-Squall crusader. "Quistis is up to her eyeballs in stress and paperwork trying to get her instructor's liscence back last I saw of her." That and she... gets emotional so easily. But then again, the gunman tends to take a sexist attitude in that direction. "I haven't seen Xu in ages." Hard to ask someone who seems non-existant to take over such a heavy role as Commander of Garden.

Hey, Seifer knows better then to use someone who's failed in two assassinations again. It's like, 'clue'. He accepts the glass, and rinses it out, before reaching for another rag to try it off. How cute, and domestic, and so...unSeifery. (Actually, he always was a neat freak, so this really shouldn't be surprising to the Keeper of the Orphanage Flame). And one ought to ask why it's a failed cadet, former world menance being the one to take over Garden in during the commanders illness. If you thought this was much for a cadet to be asked... you have no idea what you're asking of an 'outsider'. For regardless of his life here, he /is/ an outsider. Just an outsider with a certain inside know-how. "I see," he says simply, softly, as the glass is put away. "So. Then. Talk to Kadowaki. Get him removed on medical. Take him in for evaluation, and make sure that cow is /objective/ for a change," he says sharply. "He can do nothing if you get him nailed with a medical leave. Then his back up plan goes into effect and I take the seat while he heals." End of story. THere. Happy? He even gave you plan.

Mmmph. Well, that's Seifer for you. Irvine's always known he was a brash asshole, no sense being surprised at it here. (Failed? Har, he hit Kefka, thankyouverymuch.) Still, the 'Failed' assassin isn't keen on any of this, or the fact that doing it is left solely on his shoulders. Still... it's tempting. And it's not treason. It'd only be temporary, right? Long enough until Squall got his mental faculties back, right? Besides... Irvine does have a reason to ask Kadowaki to examine him. If Kawn did rape him, then there'd probably be a reason right there for him to see the good doc. He nods mutely then. Fine. If that's what it'll take to save Squall, so be it. Feeling that this is winding down toward an end, he takes a step back, though waiting for a nod, or dismissal or 'you can leave now, Kinneas' or something, just in case there's something Seifer wants to add, or any last jibes to be made.

No jibes. No last words. Seifer himself would like to curl up and cry--and he really wants to go beat on something at the moment--HEY! That's a great idea. He glances back, and then smirks weakly, as he pauses at his counter. "You know," he says softly, "I never wanted to replace him. Be him, sometimes, but never replace him." A soft admitance--of the raving jealousy, and yes, grudging respect for the Commander. Which is making this all the more hard. But he's /got/ to be a hard ass about this. Don't you see? Can't back down, can't show throat or weakness. He's /got/ to be strong here, or Garden itself will rip him apart. But the Knight looks away, allowing the Sheild to be lifted, brandished before him. "I'm gonna go to the training center for a while," he finally says. "I think I'm gonna need the pratice." He quietly move to the other room, to fetch the black leather sheath, and the heavy weight of Revolver in one hand, a box of ammo in the other. Time to go kill shit.

Nodding, Irvine does understand, someone blessed him with some weird empathetic ability a long time ago. Garden's resident confidant. Whatever weakness Seifer shows, no one will ever hear about it. He understands what Seifer does as well as he does Squall at times. Everyone has their defenses. Everyone has their skeletons resting back in hidden closets. Whichever ones the gunman is allowed a glimpse of will probably go to the grave with him. "Probably a good idea." But not for him, he's got something else to do, well, find rather. "I'm gonna find my fiancee." He really just needs to see her smile, that sunshine of hers is totally infectious for him, and even if the rest of the world is falling black and inky, she manages to radiate away his concerns. Later he might consider the training center, maybe. But, he's been away from Selphie too long now, the two are practically joined at the hip these days, after all.