A/N: Welcome to my latest fanfiction! It indeed could be considered a Songfic, as it will be loosely following stanzas of one of my absolute favorite songs. Though, it will follow the song much less than Songfics I have written in the past. That being said, the song is eleven stanzas, so this fic shall be eleven chapters. Also, this could probably be considered AU, as the ages are probably way off where they should be (in flashbacks).
Oh, and in this story Myde is pronounced My-dee, not Mide.
Warning: There is a likeliness that some of my characters may slip into OOC status -receives glare from Leon-. I'm sorry, you're a difficult character to keep perfect! And I invite all readers to point out my mistakes in review-format.
And, I expect there shall be some unashamed fluff here and there.
Summary: Being back in Hollow Bastion is a joy for her...but as old memories come back of a life interrupted and an old friend becomes something more, can Yuffie truly adjust?
Characters Who Shall Be Seen: Yuffie, Leon, Myde, Aerith, Cid, Sora...Demyx...?
Pairings: LeonxYuffie, MydexYuffie.
Disclaimer: I own...umm...yeah, pretty much nothing but the ideas. Sure, Myde wasn't really created by Squeenix, but Demyx was and that gives them claims on any anagram of D-E-M-Y. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and anything similar belongs to Square Enix. KH also belongs to Disney. This wonderful song whose lyrics I shall be using is called "Punk Rock Princess", and was written and performed by Something Corporate.
o--------------------o
Maybe when the room is empty,
Maybe when the bottle's full.
Maybe when the door gets broke down,
Love can break in.
"Damn Leon for sleeping in, on today of all days!" Yuffie muttered to herself, sitting on the crumbling steps of what was once the Marketplace.
Sure, one could argue that it was only the crack of dawn. And on this, their first full day back in the outskirts of Hollow Bastion (after having stayed in that dreadful castle for several months) every member of the Yuffie-proclaimed "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee" deserved to rest up before tackling the ruins that they had found the town to be in. Yuffie had not slept at all, but tossed and turned all night in the uncomfortable camp bed that had been set up for her in the corner of the single house that had been fixed quickly with Merlin's magic.
She pulled her knees against her chest, the stair that she sat on being only slightly higher than the ground on which she rested her feet. Sitting around like this did not suit her one bit...she needed to do something, anything. So she hummed a tune and tapped her feet to a song that had been stuck in her head as soon as she had exited the house a few minutes earlier.
But it was not long before the catchy song had left her mind as rapidly as it had entered, and she was left wondering exactly where she had heard it before.
Townspeople were beginning to show up in the Marketplace, probably wanting to get a head start on reopening the businesses that they had left behind five years ago. It figured that that these people were more motivated than Leon himself, who was supposedly the head of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. Hmph. Yuffie shook her head at the thought.
Who made Squall the leader of everything? Sure, he may be older than I am, and so protective of everyone. He's not that great though... He's always been there for me...plus he is so strong, an obvious leader. Not to mention one of the most notably attractive guys in the entire- WAIT! Did I just think that about Squally!?
"He's like an older brother to me!" she exclaimed out loud, clapping a hand over her mouth. Luckily, though, so many more people were arriving that no one noticed Yuffie talking to herself.
But the truth was, Yuffie had been thinking things like this for the past half-year or so, during which time it became clear that she, indeed, did not see Leon as an older brother figure at all. But a gorgeous...rugged, reliable...Well, still, everytime she thought such things she tried to deny having any feelings for him, because she knew for absolute certain that Leon thought of her as a younger sister figure who needed watching over.
He sure did that making-sure-she-was-okay thing alot. And that is why Yuffie cleared her mind, and gazed instead at the others around.
It was nice, reassuring almost, to see all of these familiar faces that had survived the Heartless invasion return. And as the Marketplace was slowly crowded, Yuffie watched as old friends met up, young children (perhaps some who did not even remember their homeland as it once was) laughed and played in the debris-ridden pathways, and shopkeepers removed the wooden boards that had been used to abruptly close shop windows all those years ago.
And she smiled, how could she not? She was home.
Yuffie began to boredly twirl her large shuriken, which appeared at the first thought of it as it always did, right next to her. It was her loyal weapon. (Every Great Wutai Ninja needs one!) A few more minutes ticked by, and she began to toss it expertly into the air above her head, where it would spin for a few seconds and then return to her readied hand. It became a mindless habit as she got desperately upset over the fact that Leon, Aerith, and Cid were still asleep.
However, about ten times of throwing it and catching it later, it did not come back down.
"Wha-?" she looked up into the sky confusedly, to find it being held above her by none other than..."Oh hi, Squall!" She lept to her feet so fast that she tripped over a stray cement piece and almost fell down again. Leon caught her wrist and let go the instant she regained her balance.
"Leon," he responded habitually. "And you should be careful, you might put an eye out with this thing." He whirled her shuriken around his hand a couple times, a bit slower than she could manage.
"Hey, give it back!" Yuffie pouted, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out briefly.
"Why don't you just take it?" He held it high above his head, extended his arm up as far as it could go.
"Hmph!" Yuffie jumped up the couple of stairs that separated her from the man, and then sprung upwards, reaching out for her weapon. She came about five inches too low. "Aw. No fair!" she squealed, trying again and nearly knocking Leon over with the effort, but he stood still.
"You are just very short...like, what, five feet?" he questioned, amusement clear in his eyes.
"Five-two!" she retorted, leaping up and down hopelessly.
"Well, that just changes everything." He rolled his eyes, and handed her the shuriken, which she immediately grabbed and held against herself, glaring.
But it was all playful, and they both knew it. Even though Leon appeared serious and emotionless, not smiling even once, Yuffie had come to understand his way of doing things. This was his way of interacting with her. She would always end up jokingly irritated, but laughing. He loved to make her laugh, which fortunately was never hard to do. In a way, he lived through this girl who was almost always by his side.
"So, why are you up so late, Squ- Leon?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I've been up awhile now, Aerith and Cid are too. We're going to clear out the Borough so that Merlin can repair some more houses. A lot of these people are living out of tents," he said, and looked around at the crowded area. "They wanted to get started right away, but I figured you would want to be involved, so I came looking for you. Of course, if you'd rather not-"
"No, of course I want to!" she interjected. All of this precious time...wasted. She turned and took a few steps towards the Borough.
Leon stood for a moment and watched her excitement. Okay, don't miss your chance. You've been planning to check up on her for awhile now...why should this be so hard? And in the last moment before Yuffie left he called out, "Wait, Yuffie. There was something I wanted to talk about." There.
"Oh?" She turned a little unenthusiastically and tilted her head. There was only one thing that would make Leon this awkward: talking about emotions.
"I really just wanted to check on you. Are you okay? I mean, being back and all." He drifted.
Yuffie gave an unexpected laugh and one of her brightest smiles. "Yep! I'm fine! Was that all?"
"Umm...yeah," he scratched his head. "I guess we should go then."
They walked together towards the Borough, perhaps a little slower than Yuffie would have appreciated. As they did, Leon glanced sideways at the girl.
"I was just thinking, you're so happy all the time. I don't get it. How can anyone be so happy?" It was a rhetorical question, but the moment he said it he realized he had said something wrong.
Yuffie stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean by that?" she interrogated, eyes glared, but not playfully this time.
Uh oh. "I just find it a bit odd sometimes, that's all. What is there to be so happy about?"
"Well, we can't all be cold and desolate jerks like you! Surely us humans are supposed to show what they're feeling...not keep themselves all bottled up."
He knew he was in too deep now to turn back, but each harsh word from his friend was painful. "But that's just it, Yuffie. I don't think you are showing what you're feeling at all. I think all of this outward joyfulness is just a mask that you wear to hide behind when you're actually hurting."
"And since when did Leon, the man who changed his name to escape the past, become an expert on masks? Last time I checked, you were the one hiding, not me." Yuffie was greatly bothered, no one had ever confronted her like this before...and facing the truth terrified her. Nothing was supposed to affect the Great Ninja Yuffie this way!
He placed a hand on her shoulder, and leaned to stare directly into her violet eyes. "You're right about me...but I don't want you to suffer like I do. I'm here for you, and I just want to pro-"
"...protect me, yeah, I got it." She pulled away from his hand, almost breaking his hardened heart as she did. "But I don't want you to anymore. I wish you would understand, I'm capable of taking care of myself, Squall." With that final thought she turned from him and sprinted down the steps to the Borough.
If seeing Yuffie happy was the best thing to Leon, then seeing her upset by something, let alone him, was the worst. He hadn't meant to hurt her even more and he hated himself for doing so. The one time when he tried to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her, this happens. He shook his head and slammed his fist into the nearby cement wall, the stinging in his knuckles working only minorly to clear his head. He just cared so deeply for her, but when he tried to show her, the words always came out wrong and the short-tempered ninja girl misunderstood.
()----------flashback----------()
The rush of madness and excitement, the laughter and shouts, and the slowly departing crowd of adolescents could only mean one thing: a rock concert had just ended in Radiant Garden. One of the best rising indie bands in the world had performed, such that many excited fangirls stuck around in the hopes of talking to the band members, or at least catching a glimpse of them as they left the stage.
"Yuffie, don't go far!"
"I won't, Squall!" the sixteen year old ninja girl responded for good measure, and then disappeared into the densest part of the crowd.
It was intensely suffocating and sometimes dangerous to wade into the center of what a couple minutes earlier was a mosh pit, but Yuffie was used to it by now. She attended nearly every rock concert in Hollow Bastion. Though she wasn't much of a musician herself (though she could play a mean drum solo when she wanted to), it helped that her boyfriend was...
"Hey Yuffie! Looking for Myde!?" one of her friends screamed into her ear.
She nodded zealously. "Yeah! Have you seen him?"
"He just left the stage!" The other girl pointed in a right-facing direction.
Yuffie continued to push her way to the front, and by the time she reached the edge she had not only been elbowed in the ribs and kicked in the shins, but somehow she was also kneed in the face. However, her petiteness allowed for a rather quick journey, and she was soon able to breathe fresh air as she passed to the other side. Taking a sharp right, she continued along the edge of the stage. She looked around and around, but was unable to see over the heads of people much taller than her.
"Yuffie!" She was relieved immediately as she heard the familiar voice.
And about ten seconds later she saw him. Six feet tall, long strawberry blonde hair styled in your average rock star fashion, and bluish-green eyes that you could just sink into. Beads of sweat sparkled on his forehead. His arms closed around her, and she lay her head against his chest to hear his racing heart for just a few seconds before he released her. She loved the feel of his adrenaline rush after he played a concert.
"Why were you in the pit? You know it's dangerous, and you're little!" he exclaimed, looking into her eyes.
"Now you're starting to sound like Squall," she joked, neck angled up so that she could stare back.
Myde laughed. "Well, we don't want that, but I still worry about you. C'mon, let's go somewhere quieter."
He snaked his left arm around her thin waist, and led her around the mob this time, so that they reached the back of the area where she had been earlier much easier. They kept walking, and only stopped for a moment as Yuffie heard a familiar voice.
"Where are you going?" Squall interrogated from behind her.
She turned to him. "The Ravine Trail." Of course, the infamous Ravine Trail which led to the Dark Depths, a strategic spot for adolescent couples.
Squall rolled his eyes. "Fine, but be careful, you know what could be out there. And don't forget, you told your mother you would be home before 10."
Stupid curfew. And why did her parents always trust Squall anyway? The only reason they allowed her to go to the concert was knowing he would be there. He was a friend of the family, but being three years older than Yuffie, she hardly knew him. He didn't seem all that responsible himself, but he sure kept an annoyingly close watch on her.
"Don't worry about it, man. I'll make sure she gets home okay," Myde interjected from her side.
Squall gave a jerky nod, and then turned back to his own group of friends. He never had liked Myde for some reason that Yuffie could never seem to place.
"Let's go before he changes his mind!" Yuffie giggled, and the two power-walked away.
The sun had just about set beyond the horizon, so that the lights along the walls of the Ravine Trail had automatically turned on, illuminating the way. (Nowhere in the land was left in darkness at night anymore, it was too perilous. Most families even slept with the lights of their houses on.)
Myde laced his fingers with Yuffie's, and they walked so that their arms brushed with each step. Their time together always felt so short these days, and feeling each other there was comforting.
They stopped right before the stunning Crystal Fissure, not wanting to venture too far, as it was pushing 9:30 now.
Yuffie leaned against the rock wall, Myde stood before her. "Did you like the concert?" he asked, making it clear that the only critique that mattered was the one from her.
"Mhmm. It was one of your best."
He beamed. "You know...that new song, the one you hadn't heard before. I wrote it for you..."
"The one about falling into a dark abyss, receiving no help from those above, and being consumed by hatred?" Yuffie asked slyly, an amused twinkle in her eyes.
"No, of course not! That one is a political sta-"
"-statement about the inability of our leader to provide the people with protection in these, the darkest days of our world yet. I know, I was just kidding."
He smirked. "The one about the girl more radiant than the garden. The materia-hunting ninja, who, instead, stole my heart," he said softly.
Yuffie swooned. It was times like these that she wanted nothing more than to live in Myde's arms. She wrapped herself around him, and leaned up for the kiss that came. Their lips seemed glued together for the next five minutes, during which time Yuffie's tongue won in a great battle and Myde's was forced to retreat. Eventually Yuffie got a bit stiff from leaning up (the height difference often did cause such problems) and pulled back.
"Your other fans won't appreciate that much, Mister Lead Singer and Sitarist," she whispered.
"I don't care what they think. You're my only real fan, the only one I care for. I love you so much, Yuffie Kisaragi." His hand brushed through her short black hair.
"I love you too, My."
They kissed again, but this one lasted only two minutes or so, before they were interrupted by a throat-clearing noise that came from behind Myde. Yuffie peered around him, to see a cross-armed Squall looking everywhere but at her.
"Are you aware of the time, Yuffie?" He asked more to the rock wall above her head than her.
"Mmm." She pulled at Myde's wrist, lifted up the sleeve of his black top to reveal a watch, and gasped. "10:04, crap!"
"Don't worry about it, I'll take you home now, Yuffie," Myde said. "You won't be too late."
"That's alright, Myde, I can take her. You live on the other side of town, don't you?" Squall offered.
"I can get there quicker myself!" Yuffie snapped at Squall. She kissed Myde quickly on the cheek, and ran off towards home.
Myde and Squall were left standing there alone, the dislike between the two so obvious that it was smothering. Myde glared towards the other young man.
"Now look what you did, making her rush off! It's dangerous for her to be alone," he hissed, and then walked away, shaking his head.
Squall sighed, leaning against the wall. It was dangerous, but Yuffie lived on the very near side of town, not far at all. Plus, she was perfectly capable of using some of her ninja skills if attacked. Still, sending her away like that, all bothered with him...well, it was necessary.