AN: Okay! Lucky number seven! I personally think this chapter is pretty good, but 'A Check-Up' was better. Tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I have absolutely no-thing.
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Leon Gets…Amnesia!
Cloud walked into the living room from the kitchen with a soda in his hand. He collapsed onto the couch lazily, before casting a glance over to Leon. Said man was reading the paper.
"Why are you so boring, Leonhart?" Cloud asked dully. Leon flipped Cloud off without even looking up from his paper. Cloud muttered a barely audible '…jackass…' before cracking open his soda. As he took a drink, he noticed a box with some old junk in it lying by his feet.
"What's the box for?" Cloud asked offhandedly, setting the soda can on the table.
"It's a box of our stuff from when we were kids. Aerith said she's gonna donate it to the orphanage." Leon muttered, turning the page of the paper. Cloud looked into the box a little more closely, before pulling something out.
"Hey, it's our old baseball from Little League." he commented, tossing the ball up and down in his hand. It was just a normal baseball with some dust on it; nothing special about it, except for the two signatures scrawled on it. After looking at them for a while, one could make out the two names to be 'Squall Leonhart' and 'Cloud Strife'. Leon looked up.
"Oh, yeah. Didn't we get kicked out of Little League, though?" he asked. Cloud laughed a little.
"Yeah, but that's only 'cause we kept attacking each other with equipment." he replied. Leon smirked slightly.
"You mean like that time you said I swung like a girl, so I hit you repeatedly with a bat?" he asked. Cloud scowled, but nodded.
"Yeah, like that." he muttered sourly. He thought back on that memory for a while, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands. Finally, he stopped and threw in at Leon. Cloud snickered when it hit its mark and Leon fell backwards out of his chair.
"Sorry, Leonhart, but old habits die hard." Cloud commented, but then he realized Leon wasn't getting up or saying things like 'I'm gonna kill you, Strife!'. Cloud, grabbing his soda off the table, stood up and walked over to where Leon had fallen. Sure enough, the scarred man had been knocked unconscious. Cloud idly sipped his soda.
"Y'know, normally, I'd make a joke about this. But, seeing as if Yuffie or Aerith came in right now, I'd be in major trouble…I better not." he mumbled to himself. Putting his drink back down, he managed to drag Leon over to the couch.
"…I should probably get Aerith now." Cloud stated to no one, once he realized he had no idea what to do.
--
"What the hell were you thinkin', Strife?!"
"I was kinda thinking he would duck."
"But why would you throw a baseball at him in the first place?!"
"I dunno. He's the one who brought up the 'You swing like a girl' thing!"
He gave slight mumbles of pain and discomfort as he slowly awoke. The first thing he registered was that his head was aching with pain. The second thing was the people surrounding him. As he sat up, the brown haired woman spoke.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and caring. He sat in silence, looking down, before looking into her green eyes.
"My head hurts." he mumbled. The older blond man shot a glare at the younger blond, who just turned away, muttering something that sounded like 'I thought he would duck!' The younger girl with short black hair ran up and embraced him in a hug.
"We're just glad you're okay!" she said happily. He shifted in slight discomfort before turning to her.
"Um…who're you?" he questioned quietly. The girl stiffened before looking him in the eyes. At first, she was sad and shocked, but then she grinned playfully.
"Ha-ha, very funny, Squall!" she shouted. He looked at her in a confused manner.
"Who's Squall?" he asked. She was sad and shocked again when he turned to the other people in the room.
"…Who am I?" he asked. The others had the same reaction as the girl had. The older blond man angrily stomped over to the younger blond. The older man lifted up the spiky blond by the collar.
"Ya hear that, Strife?! He's got no fuckin' idea who he is!" the oldest man said. The one known as 'Strife' struggled to get out of the blond man's grip.
"Okay! I get it! It's my fault!" 'Strife' shouted. The older blond released his grip.
"Yer damn right it is!" the man said. The brown haired woman looked at him sadly.
"Are you sure you can't remember anything?" she asked. He sat there, trying to remember something-anything-about who these people were, who he was, but nothing came to mind. He dejectedly shook his head, starting to feel helpless, like a blind newborn puppy with no family. The younger girl looked at him sadly.
"You mean…you can't remember me?" she asked quietly, obviously deeply hurt by his lack of memory. He once again shook his head, now feeling guilty and alone. She looked away, sorrow in her eyes.
"…Sorry…" he mumbled. He felt horrible. Not only could he not remember himself, but he hurt these people who obviously knew him. He sniffed slightly as a couple tears rolled down his face. The brown haired woman walked over and started rubbing his back soothingly.
"It's okay…" she whispered to him softly. He shook his head, wiping his face.
"No, it isn't…I can't even remember my own name!" he said hopelessly. The older blond man pushed the younger man forward.
"Then Cloud here's gonna help ya remember!" the older man shouted. 'Cloud' shouted protests.
"Whoa, what?! Why me?!" Cloud asked. The older man scowled.
"'Cause it's yer fault in the first place!" the man shouted angrily.
"B-but Cid! He brought up the 'You swing like a girl' thing!" Cloud shouted, pointing at him. He glanced away, feeling uncomfortable at being accused for something he had no memory of. 'Cid' crossed his arms.
"Cloud, yer 27! Act yer fuckin' age!" Cid shouted angrily. Cloud turned away, muttering unintelligibly. He wiped his eyes a little. The brown haired woman led the black haired girl out of the room. Cid followed, grumbling angrily. He and Cloud were the only two people left in the room. He looked away nervously when Cloud glared at him.
"You just had to get amnesia, didn't you?!" Cloud asked angrily.
"…Sorry…" he mumbled uncomfortably. Cloud started walking toward the door.
"Well, come on!" Cloud had shouted when he hadn't moved. He hastily got up and followed.
--
As they walked down the street, he got the growing feeling that Cloud didn't like him at all. Cloud was sending out an angry vibe that made him feel uncomfortable. He stayed quiet for fear of Cloud yelling at him.
"Alright. First, let's start with names. Your name is…" Cloud trailed off, signaling him to say something. He thought for a minute before sighing.
"I…I can't remember." he stated sadly. He heard Cloud groan in frustration.
"Squall Leonhart. You prefer to be called Leon, though." Cloud told him. It felt weird, having to be told his own name.
"My name is…" Cloud trailed off again.
"…Cloud, right?" he asked uncertainly. Cloud nodded.
"Last name?" Cloud asked. He was quiet again.
"Uh…um…I…I just…can't remember." he repeated, crestfallen. He hated using that excuse. It made him feel stupid and pathetic. Cloud face palmed.
"Strife!" Cloud shouted angrily. He winced at Cloud's harsh tone, before hanging his head.
"What about that girl back at the house?" Cloud questioned.
"Which one?" he asked quietly.
"The young one. With the black hair." Cloud said. He felt a twinge of guilt as her disappointed face reappeared in his head. The guilt grew when her name didn't come to mind. He stopped walking.
"What's the point, Cloud?! I can't remember! I'm trying, I really am! I'm just…I just…" he trailed off as he started crying again. He fell to his knees.
"I can't remember, Cloud. I want to, but I can't. This isn't working." he said. He waited for Cloud to yell at him, but nothing came.
"…Come on, Leonhart. Don't do this to me. You're makin' me feel guilty." Cloud said. They both stayed quiet.
"…Yuffie." Cloud said in a quiet voice. He looked up in confusion.
"Huh?" he questioned.
"Her name is Yuffie. You're like a big brother to her. That's why she was so sad when you couldn't remember her." Cloud explained.
"Oh." he mumbled. That didn't make him feel a whole lot better. If they were so close, then how come he couldn't remember her? Cloud offered his hand out, and he took it, pulling himself off the ground and wiping his face off.
"Now since pressuring you into remembering only makes you have a mental breakdown, I'm gonna try relaying information to you, alright?" Cloud said. He nodded.
"Good. Now, that other woman, the one with brown hair, her name is Aerith. And that older blond guy was Cid. This ringing any bells yet?" Cloud asked.
"Not really…" he said.
"Well, it will after a while." Cloud reassured. He glanced at his feet.
"I hope…" he mumbled to himself.
--
That night, dinner was awkward. Everyone stayed quiet, him especially. He wouldn't talk because he felt out of place. He only knew what Cloud had told him, yet he knew he should have known more. He continued mixing his peas into his mashed potatoes, not feeling hungry.
"Are you okay, Leon?" he heard the brown haired woman…Aerith say. It took him a few moments to realize that he was Leon. He looked up sadly and sighed.
"Could…could I be excused from the table?" he asked. Aerith nodded and he stood up and walked into the living room. Collapsing on the couch, he tried to remember again. He wasn't really looking for anything in particular; he just wanted something Cloud hadn't told him. He heard footsteps enter the room and he looked up to see Cloud standing there.
"You okay, Leonhart?" Cloud asked. He sat there quietly before looking into Cloud's eyes.
"Am I ever gonna remember again?" he asked. Cloud frowned.
"Sure, you are. I've been helping you, haven't I?" Cloud asked. He sighed.
"I mean…am I ever gonna remember…on my own?" he asked. Cloud stayed silent, before shrugging.
"I don't know. I hope so, because right now, I can't taunt you without feeling guilty. And that's no fun." Cloud said, looking away. He looked down at the floor, and then noticed something sticking out from under the couch. He grabbed it, revealing it to be a baseball.
"What's this?" he asked, holding it up. Cloud scowled and turned away.
"The devil-ball that started all this…" Cloud mumbled. He inspected it some more, and noticed to name on it, written sloppily with permanent ink. The first one, after staring at it for a while, he made out to be 'Squall Leonhart'. The second one took some more time, but he eventually figured out that it was supposed to say 'Cloud Strife'.
He stared at it for a little while longer, his grip unintentionally tightening on it. And then…he remembered. All the thoughts and memories came flooding back, but one stood out among the rest. He growled and glared at Cloud. Cloud noticed this and frowned.
"What?" he asked. He grit his teeth angrily.
"You threw a baseball at my head, that's what!" he shouted. Cloud immediately started backing away.
"Heh, so you remember! Well, I guess my job is done!" Cloud said nervously. He stood up and dropped the baseball.
"I'm gonna kill you, Strife!"
Leon was back.
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AN: Okay! Another chapter is finished! At first, I cried when I wrote this, but then I started laughing at the end.
Next Chapter (idea from Revolution Remix IX): Leon Gets To Teach About The Birds and The Bees
Yuffie torments Leon about where babies come from. There's no need for a second sentence.
R&R!!!
