Squall Leonhart

The taciturn and reluctant hero.
The main character of this story and a cadet of the special combat unit SeeD from the Balamb Garden Military Academy. Judging from his anti-social behavior, he appears to be selfish and lacking a sense of team unity. An aloof character that dislikes having others involved in his affairs, Squall is best described as a lone wolf.

The relationship between Seifer and Squall is perhaps one of the most important relationships in the game - in my opinion, it's second to only the poster relationship between Squall and Rinoa. These two young men have been in each other's lives ever since early childhood, although this fact is not made known to them until much later in the game. Their current head-on rivalry in Balamb Garden was established much earlier during their orphanage days; as it caused commotion during Edea's matronly days, it does so again during Cid's reign of Balamb Garden.

These two aspiring SeeD cadets at first seem total opposites of each other. Like two different sides of a coin, their personalities, physical attributes, and behavior are completely different. While Squall is completely complacent, hesitant to take a leadership role, and more of a wallflower than anything else, Seifer thrives on recognition (good or bad), is not reluctant to voice his opinion, and more often than not causes commotion within Garden. Squall's brunette hair and indifferent blue eyes even serve as more opposing attributes to Seifer's blonde hair and fiery green eyes.

However, it is my personal opinion that these two men are in fact actually each other. The most dynamic aspect of their relationship is the fact that they mirror each other so well but have chosen different routes of dealing with their emotions and problems. Seifer provides Squall with a mirror of who he could actually have been had he taken different measures and vice versa - both men are so ingrained in each other that one given decision could decide and deviate the course that their lives could take, which, of course, did happen. Had Seifer had not taken Squall and Zell up to the Communication Tower during the field exam, he would have probably graduated as SeeD alongside his comrades.

This is further supported by the appearance of Seifer and Squall's Triple Triad cards:



All aspects of their cards are completely opposite of each other, emphasizing their reverse but similar qualities. Mirroring another person also entails that you would know the other very well - despite the quarrels between Seifer and Squall, they are in tune to each other's needs and wants whether they know it or not. Seifer can sense Squall's frustration at their idleness during the field exam; Squall knows exactly when Seifer is not himself anymore and has just "become a memory." Even with their turbulent relationship, Seifer and Squall have seemed to developed an awkward kind of brotherhood.

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