[..Book 2..]
[..Blow by Blow..]

[..1..]

The teenager leaned over the counter with a bright smile, tapping her finger against the menu. The shopkeeper gave a glance to the paper that the girl was currently pointing at, then cast his gaze to the twenty-six year old that stood not far off. When the man rolled his eyes and shrugged, the keeper turned and received the item. He handed it to the young woman, who happily took it, and the man was paid by the leather clad warrior.

"Thanks, Squall," she grinned while shoving the frozen treat in her mouth.

"It's Leon," he corrected her for the hundredth time, turning and heading down the walkway. He didn't even glance at the girl as they made their way towards the abandoned castle, so that they could continue to explore — mostly in order to make sure nothing suspicious was going on — the many corridors and such. "Hurry up and eat. I don't need you making more of a mess out of the building."

"I'm not gonna make a mess," she whined, plucking the treat from between her lips. She gave the older male a pout and waved the sticky item at him childishly. "I'm not a little kid or something!"

"Yuffie," he hissed, side stepping to avoid getting the ice cream dripped on him. "Keep it up and I'll send you back to the base, where you'll have to spend the day with Cid instead."

"Eww! Gross," she uttered, pulling a face which earned her a small quirk of the lips from her serious companion. She shoved the treat back into her mouth and pouted around the stick. She would never admit it, but it was good to see Squall smile again. So instead of stating that, she added,"Fine. I'll be good. Just don't send me back to that old man! He almost choked on a toothpick the other day!"

"It's better than his previous habit," the warrior added, reminding her of when the pilot was a chain smoker.

"Yeah, anything's better than — " she stopped when she caught the glimpse of crimson out of the corner of her eye. She nearly turned and raced after it, but when she looked there was nothing there. She frowned, treat pulled from her lips and she stared. "Huh?"

"Something wrong," the man asked, noticing the cheerful ninja's change of expression.

"Uh, nope," she answered, perking up slightly and jogging to catch up with her friend. "I'll race ya!"

"Wh — Yuffie!" Sighing, the man took off after his teenage charge, who was laughing as she ran towards the old castle.

[..2..]

The sound of whirling echoed through the dark void, but the red head didn't turn to see who it was. The very presence gave off a certain feel and it was one that the man knew all too well. He felt the corner of his lips twitch downward and he lifted a shaken hand, combing it through spiky crimson hair. He knew this was dangerous, the visitor was not one that he could trust any longer, but the familiarity was nice after what had been happening as of late.

"Hey," he greeted lamely. "Didn't expect to see you here so soon."

"Come back," was the icy reply. The voice wasn't playful as it had been in a long forgotten past and that was enough to make the man flinch. The blue haired male seemed to notice and misunderstood what the motion meant. He added, "I will make sure that your punishment is much lighter than previously assured."

"Look at you, you're like his attack dog," he said, shaking his head mildly.

"Don't," the being, so familiar but so foreign, stated with a small growl. "Enough of this nonsense. Return immediately."

The man smirked, "Sorry. I can't."

"Axel," the other snarled when a dark corridor appeared behind the red head. "Don't do this."

"Think back for a minute, when did I ever listen to you, Isa?" After that, he backed into the darkness and disappeared, leaving his old friend stepping forward with his weapon clutched tightly.

"... Lea..."

[..3..]

The young lady in pink strolled down the walkway with her head held high. She soon turned the corner and took notice to the little ninja that sat on one of the benches that had been installed recently. She felt her smile slip as she approached the girl, who's eyes had a slight ruby hue that came along with crying. She sat next to her but wasn't greeted, leaving her feeling somewhat awkward and concerned since the youngster always cheerfully spoke the moment she saw someone.

"Yuffie?"

"Huh?" The girl blinked, snapping out of staring at the ground, and looked over at the woman. Her face heated up slightly with a blush and she sat up quickly. "Oh hey, Aerith! I didn't expect you to come so soon!"

Aerith smiled, "You said it was important."

"Uh, yeah," the ninja stated, sounding kind of awkward.

"What's the matter," she asked, not even bothering to mask her concern for her young friend. "Did Leon say something to you today?"

"What? Oh, no way," Yuffie answered, pulling a face. "I just wanted to know something."

"And what would that be?"

"I just wanted to know, if, you know, you ever miss Zack," she said quietly. When the other woman frowned at the name, she felt ashamed for bringing up the past. She bounced to her feet and waved her hands out in front of her, "Oh crap! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Of course I miss him. Everyday," Aerith answered, interrupting the girl's apology. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. To miss someone, I mean. We all lost people when the gardens fell. Tell me, who is it that you miss?"

"What makes you think I miss someone," the ninja questioned hastily.

"You wouldn't ask if you didn't," she answered in an all knowing tone.

"It's not important."

"It must be or you wouldn't ask." There was that all knowing tone that Yuffie hated so much again.

"Listen, I was just asking because, I wanted to ask another question," Yuffie huffed. "So do you mind?"

"Well, aren't we inquisitive today," Aerith giggled, earning her a glare from the ninja. "All right, all right. Next question."

Yuffie was silent for a moment, searching for the words. "Do you ever think that you see him?"

"All the time," Aerith answered, before the ninja could recoil again. She offered a smile, and leaned back on the bench. "Sometimes I think I see him in crowds on the way to the market. Or sometimes, just when I'm about to fall asleep, I swear I can see him climbing into bed too. Or I think I hear his laughter when something silly happens."

"Oh," the girl mumbled, turning. "Thanks, Aerith. I should go though, I'm gonna be late for sparring with Squall. He said if I'm late again, he's going to make me train with Cid!"

"All right," Aerith giggled, as she stood. "You know, though, if you need to talk to someone about these things... you can always come to me."

"Yeah, yeah," she shouted over her shoulder, taking off down the walkway.

[..4..]

The pair stood with their backs to one another, not bothering to even attempt to see the familiarity that haunted both. The void was empty aside from the pair and thus just as silent as their non-exist heartbeats. The red head had been the first there and had yet to attempt to make an escape, but his old friend turn enemy made no attempts to capture him. They just stood, silently until the thinner male broke it.

"Not going to ask me to come back?"

"It would be worthless," the blue haired man answered. "You are not going to come back on your own. You were always childishly stubborn."

"Ouch," he chuckled humourlessly. "Just when I thought you were too far gone, you say something like that."

"It means nothing."

"Figured," he replied before glancing up. "When was the last time you were home?"

"Home?"

"Radiant Garden."

"I do not plan to return," he said smoothly, narrowing his yellow eyes. "You?"

"Few days ago," he answered, shrugging his thin shoulders. "I figured I would go back again soon. Maybe today."

"I see." He knew where this was going. He knew what his friend was attempting to do and say, and he wasn't exactly sure how to react. Even though they were no longer the beings they once were, let alone friends, he could still read he red head like a book. It always proved most interesting and entertaining, but right now it didn't. It felt forced and faked like everything else.

"Think I'll see you there," the chakram wielder asked after a moment of silence.

"Most likely. I am to capture you."

"Always so serious, huh," Axel said before the darkness engulfed him and he disappeared.

[..5..]

Spinning, she threw the shuriken and flipped. She used her hand to spring herself forward and over top of the weapon and enemies. Landing with a small thud she caught her weapon and stood up straight. She gave a mischievous grin while she tapped her weapon lightly against her shoulder, scanning over the scene laid out before her. Most seemed clear and all was good, she even felt strangely proud of herself, until she heard the sound of clapping.

"Huh," she yelped as she whipped her head around, looking frantically for the being making the noise. That's when she saw it out of the corner of her eye; a bright and all too familiar red colour. She turned sharply to the left and much to her surprise, there he was. Leaning against the wall was the man that caused her so much distress. She paled.

"You're really good at that now, aren't you?"

"Lea," she squeaked out.

"Not any more," he commented as he pushed off the wall, walking forward and towards her. "Name's Axel now, got it memorised?"

"You..."

"Yeah, it's me but its not," he commented before she could finish. "You grew up, Yuff."

"You bastard," she growled, surprising him. She lunged forward and swung her weapon at the man, which he blocked easily; flames licking at his cloak and chakrams held firmly in hands. With a swift flick of his weapon, hers went flying through the air and out of her grasp. She responded with a kick to his stomach, sending him stumbling back a few feet. "I hate you!"

"Damn," he cursed, grinning. "Got a little bit to you now."

"Yeah, that happens when-"

"I'm sorry, you know," he interrupted. "Didn't mean for things to happen like this."

She blinked, staring at him, then tears brimmed her eyes. "You didn't follow me."

"Had to find Isa."

"is he... like you now?"

"... he's a Nobody, too," the man answered, looking away. "Lost cause. Still a buzz kill."

"Lea..."

"...Axel now."

"Whatever," she grumbled, a tear sliding down her cheek. "... you should have followed me..."

"Probably," he replied before straightening up. "How about this – you follow me."

"Where," she asked, looking confused and distrusting.

"To another world. I wanna treat you something."

"My friends..."

"Will never know."

[..6..]

Sitting high on the clock tower, the pair were munching happily on frozen treats from their childhood. The teen was leaned, shoulder to shoulder, against her lost friend with a bright smile on her lips. Her eyes danced over the setting sun then turned to the fiery haired man at her side, both goodies nearly gone. She lifted her free hand, the other wrapped gently around the stick to her ice cream, and poked his ribs. He jumped slightly and glanced down at her, a curious expression playing across his face.

"What's the matter?"

"Why'd you bring me here," she asked, getting straight to the point.

"Just wanted to spend some time with you," he answered, "before I do something that might be really stupid."

"Oh yeah," she remarked. "And what are you going to do?"

He flashed a grin, "Not sure yet. I just got this feeling."

"Right," she rolled her eyes, sitting up straight. "You're gonna come back though, right?"

"Not sure."

"I'll still wait for you," she replied, a content smile touching her lips. "I'll wait at the old meeting place. Two days from now. I expect to see you there."

He chuckled, "Oh?"

"Mhm," she nodded, finishing off her treat and tossing the stick. "You better be there."

"I will," he nodded, eyes brightening.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He stood as well and offered his hand, casting a glance downward. "Time to go home?"

"Yeah."

[..7..]

Two days later, a young ninja stood in an abandoned alleyway. Her head was tilted back and eyes fixated on the skies above, a small smile playing across her lips. She was there like she said she would be, waiting on a man that would never come. Another broken promise to add to the list, but one that she would later never hold a grudge for.

[..to be continued..]

[..Author's Note..]

This part was a bit harder to write because I wanted to stay canon faithful, and I don't think it worked out very well. I also wanted to show how Saix/Isa and Axel/Lea's friendship had changed by KHII. Not sure if that came across but it was my intend. Somehow, I guess, it might come off as a little 'slash'. Wasn't the intent but whatever. Sorry about that, I guess. Thoughts thus far?

Also, thank you all for the review [both public and PM], favs, and alerts. It makes me a very happy writer.