Misfortune, and How They Overcome

by The Uninspired

The odds are against them frequently, but it's going to take a lot more than that to keep them down. The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee has a lot of work to do, and these are the stories of how they make the most of it. Current: "...damn it, they all have such pretty smiles and it's a shame no one gets to see them."

11. yours

11. yours

There's five bedrooms total in Merlin's house, not counting the little nook in the main room that Merlin himself sleeps in.

Leon claims the room closest to the stairs, so he's the first to respond if the claymores report any unusual activity. Across the hall from him is Cid, who often falls asleep at his computer and thus rarely uses his room. Yuffie hogs the room right across the hall from the bathroom, and Aerith claims the one with the most windows in the far corner, enjoying the natural light. One room is left empty for guests, namely Sora and whoever he might have brought with him to visit.

The territorial rights that go with each room vary. Aerith keeps her door open all day, though she keeps it cracked at night. She and Cloud share her room when he's there, so she's pretty open about it. Leon, even though he has an office across the street, turns his room into a sort of nighttime office and allows people in if they knock. (Yuffie, who never knocks, is almost always shut out.) Cid keeps his room locked during the day since he works on Gummi projects on the rare occasions he is in this room, but since he's normally accessible during the day, no one really bothers visiting.

Yuffie is a wild card, generally.

So when she traipses up to her room one afternoon to grab a few extra throwing stars, she's startled to hear someone ruffling around in her drawers. The door is slightly ajar, blocking the intruder from view.

Yuffie braces her hand against her shuriken, gently pushing the door open. It reveals Sora and Riku crouched near her supply cabinet, going through one of the drawers filled with medical supplies she'd scavenged through Heartless hunting.

"Will an Ether do?" Riku asks his companion, voice hushed.

"No, no, Kairi wanted an Elixir," Sora insists, pulling out a Mega-Ether and frowning at the label. "I don't know why, but she repeated it like four times. You know how she gets."

Without warning, Yuffie's weapon smacked into the drawer, slamming it shut on Riku's hand and quivering in place. He yelps, and Sora leaps to his feet, summoning his Keyblade immediately and pointing it towards the door.

Once he sees who's standing there, however, he lowers his weapon.

"Oh, hey Yuffie," he greets mildly, smiling his nervous, dorky smile. "Funny seeing you here."

Yuffie huffs at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is it really, though?"

Sora bows his head just as Riku manages to free his hand. "We'll be leaving now," the older boy says quickly, grabbing Sora's arm. "We just needed to...look for something."

"Did you find it?" Yuffie asks testily.

Sora, his entire face a whole new shade of red, mutters, "No."

"Just remember this is my room," she says loftily, as they hastily make for the exit. As they reach the door, their backs to her, she casts a minor Thunder spell, just enough to whip their backsides.

Sora is the one yelping this time, both of them breaking into a sprint. "Alright, alright! It's your room!" he calls from down the hall, and Yuffie smiles to herself.

Damn straight, she thinks, as she pulls her shuriken from the wood of her cabinet. It is my room.