Title: Partner 'In Crime'

Summary: She was certainly something he wasn't expecting, or maybe it was just that she was something. (Pre-Dangerous Games)

Pairings: Leon/OC

Warnings: Violence, cursing, ducks crossing the road… slowly…

Fandom: KH-AU

Disclaimer: I own Kei, Fenrir, Leon's pretty-kitty (mentioned only), and the plot for the story – however so, nothing else. I wish I owned KH/(the little FF information the is in there) though… I'd be rich right now…

He paced around outside his office, waiting. For whom, he did not know, but he was waiting for his new partner. Seifer Almasy – curse the man's soul – had transferred to the islands to work there, along with his fiancé, Rinoa Heartily, who also happened to be Leon's former lover. As the cop had recently heard, Rinoa was pregnant with the man's devil spawn – err, child.

Not that he cared; nope, not in the slightest bit. Now, if his new partner would just hurry his butt up coming through the door, and stop talking to the childish-sounding female, everything would be fine and he wouldn't be forced to murder something.

The door propped open.

"Gods, finally. You sure do take your – you're a woman…"

The brunette blinked at him, nodding slowly, as if he were a mad man who was simply waiting to leap at her and shove a stapler (oh, wait – he was clutching a stapler?) down her throat. "Put the stapler down, and step away from the desk," she soothed.

Leon did as he was told, slightly amused by the abhorred look that briefly stole her pale-blue eyes. She scowled in the direction of the once-possibly offending object before striding forward a few pace and offering out her hand to him. Leon took it, lips twitching slightly.

Softness covered her eyes, and her tone was just as comfortable. "Kei Hollander, detective. You're… uh… Leon, I presume?"

He nodded, "yes, and you're my partner."

The woman smiled, pulling her hand free once he had shook it enough to make it publicly appropriate. "And a woman," she reminded him, "who could kick your ass and make it look like an accident, 'cause I'm just that good."

Leon found himself chuckling, which confused him – he never laughed, or showed softness. Not since Rinoa had cheated on him with that idiot of a fiancé she now claimed.

"I won't get on your bad side," he promised.

"I like you already."

Kei bounded past him, making herself a seat on his desk. The officer had to bite back a snarl when he saw this, as he hated nothing more than people invading his space – and she most certainly was. For some reason, however, he supposed that she would ignore any comment he made about it.

"Jeez, Genny-bear looks like a wild Behemoth compared to you. You're like Seph and Angii are – horrifyingly neat," Kei told him, sighing softly. "Good God, I feel nostalgic…"

Well maybe if you'd stop sitting on my desk, I'd offer to let you speak more to me, Leon thought, glaring a bit at her. Women were so pesky, why was his partner one?

"Hey, I know – let's go out to eat," the girl chimed.

Kei had leapt from her perch and clasped his hands tightly before he could think to react. Leon flinched in surprise, visibly shaken.

"What – do you have ADHD or something?"

She laughed, "no silly! I just want to get to know you… as much as you'll let me, at least." He raised a brow, and that was enough to set the detective off on answering as to why she had added that last part, "you seem like… I don't know, the closed-off type – Seph looks like that a lot when he doesn't want anyone around him."

He nodded a bit. "Heck, why not? You're paying, though."

"Aw, foofie." She snapped her fingers childishly, before going out the door and disappearing down the corridor. Leon followed after her, in no hurry to get out to the car – his car? Her car? – until the brunette haplessly rounded the corner and appeared back into his sight. "Hurry up, Lionhart!"

Leon decided, while he had her slightly distracted, he'd ask his most important question: "Whose car?"

"I was thinking we could take mine – I need to get Fen to Angeal, anyway."

"Fen…?"

She settled once he'd reached her side, and was calmer now – enough to walk and speak at less than one hundred miles-per-hour. "Fen – short for Fenrir – is my other partner; a drug dog. Angeal's asked to borrow him for a case he has to finish looking into today. You… don't mind, do you – it… it'll only take a second to run him over to Angii's house and then to whatever take-out place you want."

Yes, Leon did mind – he was a cat person – but the way she looked at him with honest concern was tempting his 'pity meter' to rise. It did seem that she cared what he thought of taking the mutt, but she couldn't very well ditch her pet… could she? He would never leave his cat alone for that long… not Griever.

"No, I don't mind," he replied.

"Thank you, Leon."

He shook his head, shrugging it off like it meant nothing.

The cop had somehow found himself driving to Angeal's and then to the restaurant; Kei, meanwhile, had taken care of her canine and settled in the car. Leon had turned on the radio to a random station – it was something in French, the Kei seemed to be following quite intently – as to keep away the awkward feeling of silence.

"What's going on?" He asked, looking briefly over at her serious, possibly zoned-out expression.

"There was a murder in Port Royal last night," Kei growled, "a high school senior was beaten to death, along a side alleyway. They don't have any information on the poor kid yet…"

"Probably killed by a few of those drunkards that run that Port amuck – those guys never have a clue what they're doing." Leon shook his head, frowning, "really wouldn't –"

"Leon, stop the car!"

He slammed on the brake immediately, out of pure instinct. Kei was already getting unbuckled, and was out of the SUV the moment it came to a complete stop. The cop's cobalt eyes watched her, until she dove off of the railing and out of his sight.

Hooks and angry shouting behind him caused him to pull the car over. He quickly climbed out of his seat, looking to where his new partner had disappeared.

Kei was pulling a body – either unconscious or dead – from the water, onto a few of the rocks below. Leon carefully climbed down; surprised that he had not noticed whatever it was that she had to alert her to the body's presence.

The boy was different to look at; his skin was ashen, and his hair was almost a blue-ish color. His bangs were tossed in his eyes, blocking them from his sight even before the woman started CPR on the teen – by his looks, Leon suspected he was of age eighteen.

Kei pulled away when the boy coughed, water freeing from his lungs as the woman carefully helped his sit up. The detective rubbed his back in soothing circles. "Are you okay?"

"B—Better now…"

She smiled a bit. "Think you can carry him up there, Leon? After all, you seem like a big, strong, man." She punctuated her words by running her fingers in a circle along his arm. Leon raised a brow at his partner, but did not protest.

"C'mon, Kid," the cop sighed, kneeling down so Kei could better help Zexion get onto his back.

"Z—Zexion," the boy replied, "my… name is… Zexion."

Leon stood up, already beginning to hike back up the cliff. He'd directed Zexion to 'hold on', so he could better climb. Kei was already ahead of him, though she seemed more than willing to wait.

"I'm Leon, a police officer for Hollow Bastion, and that woman is Kei," he introduced.

Zexion merely nodded against his shoulder.

Kei helped Zexion into his house, where Leon had been directed to drive to. The boy's home looked like nothing fancy – actually, it looked a lot like Leon's dad's house did. The boards were painted light lavender, and the roof was most dull in color, only the satellite dish posted atop it giving it some source of off black.

When the woman re-entered the vehicle, she switched the radio (which Leon had previously turned off in his hassle to see what she had seen) back on and sat quietly. The channel she had chosen was one Leon was rather fond of – it simply played classical music and nothing else. Yes, Leon was very boring.

"How did you know that kid was down there?" He asked, intrigued in spite of himself.

"You know, I get that a lot." Kei sighed softly, "my dad was a scientist – the genetic-engineering, screw-with-your-senses kind – and when I was a little girl he tested one of his experiments on me. It didn't do what it was meant to, but I have really acute hearing now… so it's good, I guess."

Leon nodded, "and you heard Zexion fall into the water."

She shook her head. "No, I heard him start to stop flailing," she corrected.

His lips twitched into a tiny smile, which faded as suddenly as it had come. "My dad's an army veteran, though you'd never guess; he's cowardly and foolish. My mom…" Leon's voice trailed off and returned after a moment of composure, "I never met my mom."

Kei gave him an empathic look. "My mom died when I was five, so I don't really remember her all that well. Everybody says I act like her, though."

"What about you dad?"

"Died just a couple years ago," she admitted, "he asked me to pull the plug on him. It hurt a lot – I felt like I was murdering him."

Leon shrugged. "No, you did what he asked." He pulled her SUV into the parking lot of one of the random waffle houses that were spread across town, slightly amused that it was the only thing either not packed or not closed – Leon wasn't a 'public attention' person.

He reached over after unbuckling and tussled her bangs. "You're a good girl."

"L—Leon…!" Kei swatted his hand away, bright red as he chuckled at her reaction. She glanced down, opening her car door and undoing her seatbelt in one, swift motion. Before he could think, she was already on her was to the diner.

"Leon, stop the fricken' car!"

"Oh Gods, not another kid!"

"No, it's worse," Kei cried, pointing at the road once Leon had jammed on the brakes. They'd had finished their meal at the diner with a few laughs, much to the point as for Leon to say 'nothing can get worse than finding a kid drowning' – and, therefore, he figured that life wanted to contradict him.

Leon glared at the road when he saw what it was.

"It's ducks," Kei gasped, mocking-horror.

The cop reached across his seat, grabbing a newspaper that Kei kept stored in her car (she must've traveled a lot). He then proceeded to smack her with it until he both felt better and was able to start driving again. His new partner laughed the whole ride back to the station.

"You're certainly something, Hollander," Leon grumbled.

A/N: Reviews are much thanked if recieved, I do try to reply to everything as well. Now, about the little story/ficlet thing: originally, this is just meant to be a oneshot, but if people want, I'll add more to it. Heck, if you guys have any recommendations at all for ideas, I don't mind hearing them. I take everything into thought, and I'd be more than willing to do little 'chapters' for anyone's request.