Disclaimer: I own nothing written about in this story. Nor do I own the pic I used.(found via pinterest, link on my profile)

Bouncing

AN: This story ties in with my Awakening and Pursuit stories and explains some... things therein.
And please, no flames. I realize this is a cracked ship, but it's my cracked ship, and I'd like to sink on it, thank you.

Time-frame: Post KH3 - Five months after the World's restoration and parallel with chapter two of Awakening.

Updated AN: This story is now on an indefinite haitus and will be left hanging unfinished until I return to writing it.

Chapter One – The Book

"Trust me, you won't know what hit you." Those words played back in Lea's head as he walked down a path through town that led to Merlin's house. He wasn't sure if he really believed his best friend about the matter. Did this old wizard really have a book that could give one new powers? He had his doubts, to be sure. As fond as he was of Ventus, the blond Keybearer had a tendency to exaggerate at times.

"You had better be right about this Ventus," Lea muttered to himself as he strode along, hands stuffed in the pockets of his black vest. It was sleeveless with a hood and gold trim and he wore it unzipped, allowing a red undershirt to be seen down the front of his torso. He also wore baggy black pants and red shoes, both articles trimmed with gold highlights as well. His sea-green eyes scanned the buildings for Merlin's house and his spiky, blood-red hair trembled with each step he took.

Upon reaching his destination, Lea found himself bewildered and standing in front of the wizard's open doorway. Sure, Radiant Garden was a safe place, but seriously, who left their door open like this?

"Why the hesitation?" came a wiry old voice, causing Lea to blink in surprise. "Come in, come in. I've been expecting you."

"Expecting?" Lea was confused as he entered the cluttered house and gave a cursory glance around before he found the blue robed wizard off to one side. "Did Ventus mention I was coming?"

"Ventus?" Merlin wondered aloud for an instant, his bushy white brows furrowed in concentration. He stood next to a large cauldron and would periodically drop various items into the bubbling liquid inside. He was careful to keep his white hair and long beard out of reach of the dubious concoction as he glanced over to Lea distractedly. "Oh, you mean young Ven." Lea forgot that most people just called the blond Ven, but he didn't because the longer version reminded him of Roxas, and that made saying Ventus more nostalgic in his mind. "No, no. I just have knack for these things. Come, come, what did you need?"

A knack? A knack for what exactly? The old geezer knew he was coming to pay a visit but he didn't know why? Lea was even more confused at this point but decided to keep an open mind and hoped that all of this was worth his trouble. "Ventus said you have a book-"

"For awakening your hidden abilities?" Merlin finished for him and turned back to his kettle with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Yes of course. It's right over there on the pedestal. Help yourself my boy."

In the past five months of living in the newly reformed Radiant Garden, Lea had encountered the old-timer a few times, so he was somewhat familiar with his quirky mannerisms. This unnerving and seemingly all-knowing awareness he exuded was new to him though. He eyed the pedestal curiously for a moment, switched back to Merlin to see that he was engrossed in his boiling project, then shrugged and crossed over to the book.

He nearly fell over after seeing the cover. What the hell was this? A children's book? It read Winnie the Pooh, and had a number of cuddly zoo animals depicted there in various shapes and colors. "What is this, some kind of joke?" Ventus was going to get a good beating for pulling a prank like this.

"Now see here!" Merlin snapped from across the room and Lea had to blink in mild surprise when the elder picked up a short, brown cane, marched over to him and rightly bonked his red head with it. "This is no joke, lad. Have you never learned not to judge a book by its cover?"

"Ow!" Lea rubbed at his offended head and gave the old man an incredulous look. "Geez, take it easy gramps, I just don't see how-"

"The name is Merlin!" grumbled the short tempered sage. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll be on your way. Now go on, shoo." With a flick of his wrist, Merlin raised his cane again and waved it around whilst spouting a string of unintelligible words, which somehow caused the book to flip open with a thwack.

"On my way?-" Lea's question was abruptly cut off and he soon found himself being sucked in towards the book. "What the-?" The last thing he seen before everything went dark was the old geezer's complacent smirk.

"Good luck my boy," Merlin called after him and brandished his cane menacingly. "And don't come back until you've learned some manners!"

Once Lea had disappeared into the book, Merlin turned away and scratched at his head absently. "Now then, I wonder if I should have mentioned- Jumping Jehoshaphat!" Upon seeing his former project boiling over in the giant kettle, the information he neglected to mention was promptly forgotten.

Groaning and feeling a bit nauseous, Lea had to apply a hand to his head in order to keep the ground in its place and not in the sky, where it was demanding to be with all of the spinning.

Once the dizziness wore off and the world finally stabilized around him, Lea managed to sit up and take a look around. He was in the middle of a forest, sitting smack dab in the center of a dirt path that wound in and out between the trees in one direction and led to an open meadow in the other. Peering through to the clearing, he could see a bright blue sky and the gleam of a yellow sun.

He could only blink in utter bewilderment. What the heck just happened? Did Merlin transport him to another world or something? If so, he decided he needed to be more careful around the old geezer in the future. As much as he wanted to give him a piece of his mind, he was genuinely afraid of what the wizard might cook up for him next time.

He proceeded to pick himself off the dusty trail and to pat his clothes free of the grit, idly noting a few twigs snapping nearby but passing it off as a squirrel or something equally harmless. More importantly, he wondered how he was going to get back home or if he just had to spend a certain amount of time here before Merlin decided to let him out.

He had just finished dusting himself off when something suddenly crashed into him and he found himself right back where he started. "Oof!" Lying on his back in the dirt, Lea blinked up at the green canopy of trees, small beams of sunlight passing through the leaves to dapple his vision. Whatever it was that had collided with him was still pressing on his chest and he could sort of make out an orange tint among the stars he was seeing.

"Got you!" exclaimed a high pitched and exuberant voice, quickly followed by some ridiculous laughter. "Heya buddy-boy, never seen you around before. What's you're name?"

Lea groaned for the second time since he arrived and once his vision cleared, also for the second time, he was startled to be face to face with some sort of deformed yet cuddly looking tiger. "Wha-ah, Lea, I'm Lea. Hey can you get off please?" Merlin did tell him to learn some manners, though the creature currently perched on his torso was quickly distracted by another voice.

"Awww Tigger!" a female voice whined plaintively. "You always used to pounce on me, what gives?"

That voice sounded somewhat familiar, and since the tiger-thing refused to let him up, he had to tip his head back in order to see the newcomer approach at an inverted angle. From his perspective, the ground she walked on was the sky and the sky the ground, making it slightly more difficult to determine her features. Though he recognized her as the cocky little ninja known as Yuffie once she stood directly above him.

She stared down at him momentarily, hands on hips and scrutinizing him accusingly with her dark violet eyes. She wore her usual unzipped, gray hooded vest and black undershirt that did nothing to cover her lower abdomen, nor did those skimpy tan shorts she had on. It took more focus than he thought it should have to keep his gaze on her face, framed as it was by her short, pitch black hair.

He figured he knew her as well as any of the other Radiant Garden heroes. They were both enrolled in the Keyblade Guardian Academy, so their paths crossed now and then, though their fields of study differed greatly due to he being a Keyblade wielder and she an aspiring Guardian.

For now though, she just seemed to be goofing off.

He supposed that's what it looked like he was doing too.

"Sorry Yuffie." Tigger chuckled at the ninja. His words were slurred horribly, almost as though he were slurping from a straw as he spoke. "Always gotta pounce the new kid. It's in the rules."

Kid? Lea scowled. He was neither a kid nor a young boy anymore, in fact he had passed up his teenage years long ago. So why did everyone insist on referring to him by these ridiculous titles? He understood that Merlin used the term "boy" quite loosely, probably to assert his authoritative seniority. Even still, was it really that hard to respect his obvious maturity?

He might understand the confusion if he was short, but he was one of the tallest people around, rivaled only by Terra and maybe Cloud and Leon... So he had a few rivals, big deal, the point is he was tall dammit!

"Oh," Yuffie replied blankly, somehow forgot about Lea altogether, and blinked at the tiger as though his explanation made all the sense in the world. "So, what have you got planned today?"

"Hoo-hoo-hoo! Only the greatest game yet!" Tigger howled exuberantly, which only seemed to cause Yuffie to nod with intent expectation.

"Hey, hold on a sec," Lea cut in, reminding them he was still there and Tigger was still sitting on him. "Who are you, and why did you tackle me out of nowhere?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes and made an introductory gesture with one hand. "This is Tigger, duh!" She gave the redhead an incredulous look as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"The only one!" Tigger added with a proud pose before fixing Lea with an expectant look. "Wanna know why?"

"Eh?" was Lea's only reply, his expression anything but curious, rather his raised brow bordered disturbance. What he really wanted was for the creature to get off his person.

"Because the wonderful thing about Tiggers, is Tiggers are wonderful things!" With a musical tone in his voice, the striped animal tipped his head and looked for any recognition in Lea's expression.

But Lea could only gape, speechless. Yuffie sighed from nearby. "Tigger, you gotta do the whole thing or it won't make sense."

Lea suddenly shot the woman a despairing look. "There's more?"

"Oh you wanna hear it?" Tigger asked and plowed right into song, not allowing Lea's sputtering to dissuade him. "The name's Tigger, T-I-double-ga-er, that spells Tigger!" he told him with a smile before leaping up and proceeding to dance. "The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is Tiggers are wonderful things. They're tops are made out of rubber, they're bottoms are made out of springs. They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun! But the most wonderful thing-"

Somewhere in the middle of Tigger's song, Lea felt like his head was spinning again and he did the only thing he could think of to stop him.

He pounced on him.

Yuffie gasped and Tigger's song came to an abrupt halt, his eyes wide and his maw hanging open, stunned. "Sorry, but I get it," Lea told him, getting the strangest feeling that he had somehow overstepped his boundaries. "I got it memorized ok? So you can stop singing."

"You- you pounced me," Tigger remarked, his tone stuck somewhere between horror and astonishment. "You pounced me!" he repeated vibrantly, and patted Lea's head with approval before looking to Yuffie. "I think the new kid has what it takes to be a Tigger!"

"Hmm." Yuffie crossed her arms and seemed to contemplate the matter for a moment. "Well, if you say so."

Slowly, Lea released the crazy feline and stood up to once again dust himself off. "I'm good thanks. Just, no more singing."

"Y-you mean, y-you don't wanna be a Tigger?" the big cat whimpered, his bottom maw quivered and his eyes seemed to fill with water.

"Lea!" Yuffie screeched at him and smacked his shoulder, causing him to flinch due to the unexpected hostility. "Haven't you ever been here before? You're supposed to go with the flow!"

"Alright, alright! I'll be a tigger," Lea complied, his hands held up defensively while he rolled his eyes. "What do I have to do?"

"Oh you will? That's swell!" Tigger's mood instantly brightened and he gave a few glorious hops in a circle to celebrate, the tears in his eyes had magically vanished. "All's ya gotta do is catch me. Then we can move on to the next step."

"Wait, what's the next step?"

If Tigger heard the question, he ignored it. "Ready-set-go!" Without any further warning he bolted for the meadow, leaving an unpleasant cloud of dust in his wake.

"Seriously?" Lea coughed and waved a hand at the smog as he gave Yuffie a despairing look. "Do I have to chase him?"

"Yep, 'fraid so." With her gaze aimed skyward and her hands clasped behind her head she sent him a sidelong glance. "You'd better hurry. He moves faster than you think."

Lea couldn't help but stare at her blankly. He had been hoping for a coherent answer as to why he had to catch this bizarre tiger. He could only assume that in order to escape this loony book-world he would need to fulfill certain requirements.

"What a pain." With an enormous and highly exaggerated sigh, he began his pursuit at a jog until he gained enough momentum to reach his top speed without too much effort. He felt a wave of discouragement when he realized what Yuffie said was true, that Tigger could cover a huge distance in a very short amount of time. The striped cat was already halfway across the meadow and headed for another tree line.

Lea was faintly aware of the ninja trailing behind him, though he had no clue if that was because she was actually curious about the outcome of this ridiculous game or just simply bored.

About five minutes later and Lea was growing exceedingly frustrated. He had managed to catch up to Tigger as he weaved in and out of the trees, but the cat somehow always succeeded in slipping out of reach, sometimes with only a matter of inches and he would have caught him. After about his eleventh failure, Lea let out a growl of aggravation in response to a taunting comment from up in the trees.

"Aww, you almost had him that time!" The ninja was taking far too much delight in his fumbling and he wanted desperately to just be done with this stupid game of cat and... well whatever this was.

Lea glared at the plush-like bouncing creature as it zigged and zagged between the trees around him. He snapped his fingers as an idea dawned on him. If he was only missing by a few inches, then he would just need to make up the difference! After all, he was told that it could be summoned anywhere-

His blazing Keyblade no more than blinked into existence before he was once again shoved to the ground in an unceremonious heap. There were however, three very obvious, very tangible differences. One: the culprit was Yuffie. Two: She was straddling his stomach in what he imagined was probably a very inappropriate manner. And three: he was pretty sure he liked it.

Well, except for the part where she glared at him and seemed to yowl at him like an irate feline. "No weapons here, it's not allowed, got it?"

"Memorized?" Lea finished for her, his expression both intrigued and bewildered by her actions. "Yeah, I got it." And a few other things. This being the second time he had someone sitting on him in the past ten minutes, he had to admit that he was enjoying her version much more than the first, and he wasn't inclined to make her move any time soon.

Yuffie smiled, oblivious to his thoughts and dismounted to stand with a smug nod. "Good."

He didn't realize he was staring at her in a daze until she waved a hand and gave him an expectant look. "Hellooo, hey I know I'm fascinating to gawk at, but he's getting away."

Lea finally picked himself up but didn't bother dusting off this time. What was the point when you ended up lying on the ground as often as you were standing? He gave her another long scrutiny. "Are you sure this is necessary?"

"Positive," she answered with a wide, innocent grin.

Back to work then. With another drawn out sigh, Lea turned to see how far Tigger had gotten this time. He really wasn't looking forward to scrambling after him again. He'd much rather chase her and see what came of it.

Seriously though, was pouncing on people you hardly knew considered normal around here or was this just usual Yuffie behavior? Regardless, he wondered what he had to do to get her to do it again, and wouldn't mind staying longer if things like that happened more often. In the end though, he figured he'd just end up with a wound or a bruise for his trouble. He knew better than to push the wrong buttons too many times in the same day, especially when it came to females.

Once he had finally spotted his prey, thankfully, Tigger wasn't far off this time, rather he was bouncing around aimlessly by an unusually large tree. A tree with a door at the bottom of its trunk? There were also various other peculiarities about the area, like a mailbox (what in the world?) and a carefully stacked, though precariously high tower of pots.

As he drew closer he also noticed another odd character in the area. It looked like a rabbit and it was running around after Tigger in a frantic circle, screeching at him to be careful of the honey. What honey?

Lea decided it didn't matter. What mattered was catching that Tigger. He was determined and focused this time, and he was hoping to strike while his prey was distracted. So engrossed on his task, he failed to notice how close to the stack of pots he was, and when Tigger leaped away, startled, Lea crashed right into them.

The pottery shattered terribly all around but he didn't care, nor did he notice how lucky he was by not getting cover in the honey that had been inside each and every pot but was now pooling all over the ground at the rabbit's feet. The creature howled over the loss as though he were dying and the liquid was his blood.

Tigger hopped calmly away and back into the woods with Lea hot on his heels. He thought he heard Yuffie trying to console the rabbit but thought nothing of it.

There were three more incidents at three different locations and three more creatures that he took no note of, or the various trails of destruction he was leaving behind him.

By the time the chase had come to an end, Lea was out of breath and all he wanted in life was to get his hands on that fluffy orange neck and squeeze real hard.

"Time's up buddy boy!" Tigger halted abruptly and neatly side-stepped, causing Lea to crash into a tree. "Better luck next time! TTFN, Ta-ta-for-now!" Almost as soon as Tigger had hopped away, a bright green sphere appeared on the ground where he had been standing. The exit? But how? He didn't catch him-

He looked up when he heard a branch creek and glared at the dark haired ninja perched there. She wasn't out of breath at all. "You!"

Yuffie shrugged and leaped down. "Hey, I never said you had to catch him. Chasing him was the only real requirement."

"You don't say." He got up and took one menacing step towards her, a small fireball held in one palm.

"Hm, well, time to go!"

"Yeah you better run!" He growled after her. Yuffie's retreat into the portal surprised him, as he had heard a few things regarding her tenacity, so he was half expecting her to stand her ground. Then again maybe she just didn't want to risk burning down the forest. Frankly, he didn't care if that did happen, but in the end he finally got to leave and he could feel his temper regulating.

After a brilliant flash of light, he found himself once again standing in the wizard's study, that infernal book resting on its pedestal behind him. He heard a door slam shut and he blinked his hazy vision to see that Yuffie must have already exploded across the room and out the front door. He couldn't help but smirk devilishly. Running scared eh?

"Good heavens!" Merlin exclaimed as he poured himself a cup of tea but only managed to spill it all over the floor. "What in the world has her so fired up I wonder?"

"I tend to have that effect on people."

"Oh! You made it back! Bravo!" The old man seemed startled that Lea had been standing there. Did he really forget all about him? "Well my boy? What did I tell you? I bet you can feel your latent abilities rising to the surface already!"

"Yeah, sure whatever." Lea waved a hand dismissively. "Say Merlin," he said, careful to use the old man's name and not a demeaning substitute like he wanted. "Does she come here often?"

"Who, Yuffie?" Merlin tipped his head curiously. "Yes, yes of course she does. She loves that book. Comes just about every day I'd say. She also helps me with my research now and again."

Almost every day? Well, that explained a lot- "Wait what? Research?" He shot a glance over to the formerly bubbling cauldron only to see a tragic disaster in its place. Somehow, putting this crazy old codger together with research and Yuffie seemed like a really bad idea.

"Well yes, research." Merlin nodded amiably as he began making another pot of tea. "She's one of the few people I know with an abounding imagination and a willingness to be changed into various- Wha-wha, now hold on a minute lad." The wizard seemed to catch himself mid sentence, as if realizing something all of a sudden, and whipped around to aim a pointed finger at the redhead. "You wouldn't happen to fancy that girl would you?"

Seriously? Who said fancy these days? "Well, you know, maybe." Lea threw his hands behind his head in order to maintain his aloof nature but his curiosity finally got the better of him. "Women are an awful lot of trouble but- Oh come on old timer, just answer the question!"

"For the last time, it's Merlin, or so help me I'll turn you into a caterpillar," Merlin huffed and once again thwacked Lea's red head with his short cane, something the Keybearer was sure had not been in the elder's hand a second ago.

By the time the old man had decided to talk again, Lea was feeling rather abused. If he wasn't getting whacked on the head by this lunatic, he was getting shoved to the ground by a goofy tiger and an angry ninja. This little detour was going to end up giving him more bruises than if he had been sparring with Ventus.

"Now then, as for my research, yes Yuffie helps me, but every time I cast the spell she always scampers off and I can never keep up to- Hold on!" Another thought suddenly dawned on the wizard's face and Lea ducked, expecting another blow to the head, though none came. "It's about time someone took an interest in that feral creature! I had hoped that maybe she would finally settle down if the right lad came along." Merlin began to stroke his beard, contemplating. "But wait, does she fancy you? That, my boy, is the question."

"No boyfriend huh?" Lea mused aloud. If memory served him, Yuffie always seemed to be hanging around with Leon whenever he seen her, though they never really showed any obvious signs of being a couple. Not that he had been watching that closely. And he wasn't that interested, more intrigued than anything, much like a cat discovering catnip for the first time.

"Good heavens no," Merlin replied with a chuckle and finally turned back to his tea. "Whoever chose to court that little hurricane would be out of his- Uwah, I-I mean uh, you know she's quite a handful lad."

That sounded like a challenge. Lea grinned wickedly at the thought. He was never really good at turning down a good challenge.

Lea scaled the steps leading up to the roof, an orange-red sunset meeting his gaze and making him wince. He could mostly make out a spiky haired silhouette sitting at the designated spot and stepped over to him. "Ventus!" he barked down at him, causing the blond to start before turning up a smile in greeting.

"There you are! You're late you know."

Lea's only response was a low grumble as he sat down beside his friend and let his legs hang off the edge of the clock tower. He gazed down at the sheer drop, somehow relishing the dizzy sensation it gave him. The dying rays of the sunset seemed to turn the golden clock directly below them a kind of burning hue.

The clock tower had been one of the first things that was built, as it rested above the Academy's entrance building. And although still unfinished like much of the Academy, Lea had made sure he was involved in its designing process, making the pillar into what he thought resembled the one in Twilight Town. In his mind though, it just simply couldn't be compared to the clock tower in that town, it didn't hold the memories he had shared there.

Likewise, Ventus was not to be compared to Roxas in any way besides appearances. They were two completely different people in his heart, and yet, he had been friends with both in his past. The one who sat beside him now, and the one that he would never see again, except for brief glimpses in the shining blue eyes of Sora.

Even though Ventus was usually always busy with the construction work most days and Lea himself busy with his own Keyblade training, they always managed to find the time to meet up at the end of the day. Sitting atop the Academy's still unfinished clock tower, since deemed the "usual spot", their meetings generally consisted of idle chatter and ice cream.

Sometimes even Sora would join them, though he had so many people vying for his attention that he had to take his visits in shifts. Then there was Aqua and Terra that showed up less and less in recent months. The two only seemed to spend time with each other ever since Terra got his memory back. Ventus had expressed his desire to spend time with them but the situation just wasn't cooperating. Either he was too busy with the Academy or Aqua and Terra were busy training the enrolled youngsters as future Guardians or Keybearers.

Even still, Lea just couldn't understand how anyone could pass up an opportunity to eat ice cream and just chill for a few minutes at the end of the day. Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the blue novelty was suddenly pushed in front of his face. He realized he must have zoned out for a moment when Ventus prompted, "So? How'd it go? You find Merlin's place?"

Lea snatched the treat but gave his friend a narrow look as he threw one arm around his neck in a threatening manner. "You won't know what hit you, huh?"

Ventus chuckled mischievously and not a note of remorse was present in his voice. "Well? Did you?"

"You think you're so clever!" Lea growled playfully, stuck the ice cream in his mouth and proceeded to muss up his friend's already unruly blond hair with his free hand.

Ventus laughed until he grew tired of the offense over his head and shoved the redhead back with a sneer. "I can see it on your face, he got you good didn't he?" He was obviously referring to Tigger, but if Lea was to be completely honest with himself, it wasn't his encounter with Tigger that had caught him off guard.

He wasn't about to admit that out loud though, especially since women were nothing but a double dose of trouble.

Yuffie had somehow found a way to multiply that number.