Seifer Almasy

Squall's rival who causes havoc within Garden.
A candidate for SeeD. Although Seifer is a naturally gifted soldier, his inability to take orders and control his temper has earned him the label of being problematic. Although recognizing and praising Squall's abilities and powers, he nonetheless regards him as his ultimate rival.

As an Instructor, Quistis had two particularly shining students: Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy. While the former is completely quiet and respects her authority, the latter, as Balamb Garden's resident troublemaker and bad boy, gives her a very hard time. Because of his problematic nature and endless rebellious ways, Seifer has never passed a SeeD exam and Quistis has remained his Instructor for several years, making their relationship is conflicted and troubled. He has absolutely no respect for her authority and often talks bad of her:

Seifer: My dear instructor. I'm hurt. Those are rather cruel words for an aspiring student. A mediocre instructor like you will never understand.
Labeling Quistis mediocre may be blasphemy, especially since she commands respect from her other students - but if I could describe Seifer in a few words, "brutally honest" would be two. Despite Quistis' hailed persona, Seifer is able to recognize that she does, in fact, make a rather inferior Instructor. Quistis focuses too much in the present rather than the future - I don't think she ever really displays any kind of concern for her students and instead focuses on developing a closer relationship with Squall. Honestly - after Seifer and Squall's training session in which they give each other mirrored scars, Quistis proceeds to chastise Seifer:
Quistis: Oh, and Seifer! Do NOT injure your partner while training. Be careful from now on.
What she doesn't realize is that Squall himself did the exact same thing Seifer did - to put it in simple terms, both cut up his partner's face. Anyhow, Quistis and Seifer's relationship stems more from similarities than anything; they are both the eldest out of the Orphanage Gang, stubborn (Seifer more than Quistis), and somewhat unhappy in life - Quistis with her relationship with Squall and Seifer's trials as SeeD (he has taken three field tests prior to the game, and the Dollet Exam with Squall and Zell is his fourth try), though they both handle it differently. Seifer knows he's good, and Quistis does too; she obviously respects and is aware of his talents...enough for him to once be her favorite student.
Seifer: Instructor Trepe, I'm still one of your dearest students, aren't I?
Quistis: Not anymore.
Who would've thought? Quistis and Seifer obviously have some kind of love (or perhaps "tolerant" is more like it)/hate relationship; she has always thought of Seifer as a troubled and unguided young man, but as he spirals further into the sorceress' plots, she recognizes that the Seifer she fights is not the same Seifer she taught.

Despite Quistis and Seifer's little quarrels, beneath them lie (very deeply hidden?) feelings of respect. Their fights resemble brother/sister squabbles more than anything, which is certainly understandable; after all, they did grow up in an orphanage together.

Return: Quistis