Ikurx
By MathiaSweetSlaughterArkoniel
Rating: PG - 13
Warnings: Language, violence, romance
Pairings: Riku x Sora, Axel x Roxas
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
Summary: After the defeat of Organization XIII, Sora and Riku find happiness in the simplicity of a normal life. A year later King Mickey sends a summons that the fight with the Organization isn't truly done yet. Light. Dark. As long as either exists the battle is never over.
Chapter 26
Two more planets later and the search had come out empty, although Cloud and Zax had come to a quick realization; one Buster sword between them wasn't doing them much good. Although Zax was one of the best hand to hand fighters that Cloud had come to know, it didn't feel right to him to keep Zax's old weapon for himself.
Without much say Cloud plotted a course for the one place that they had least wanted to go: Radiant Garden. Going to their home world would thoroughly mean complications but there they could get supplies and rest up. But more importantly he could pick up a spare sword for himself, and return the Buster Sword to its rightful owner. Goofy and Donald were more than happy to agree to Cloud's idea to re-visit Radiant Gardens; old friends to visit and check up on, and Leon always had helpful information about anything current.
Of course there was just one problem: Zax Fair.
And that problem just got up, stumbling into the cockpit, woken up from the landing of the gummi ship. Zax gave a long, wide yawn, thudding against the bouncy wall of the ship, crossing his arms although his head still drooped along with his eyelids. "So, Captain. What lovely planet are we visiting today?"
Cloud glanced back at Zax out the corner of his eyes while his fingers drummed on the controls for the ship. He opened his mouth to answer, and then just as quickly closed it shut. He had no idea how to tell his friend where they were, but he would have to if they wanted to avoid certain circumstances later on.
With a heavy sigh Cloud turned his eyes back on the controls and stopped his nervous drumming. "I'll give you a hint." He spoke up in a hesitant voice. "It starts with an R, and you're going to drop kick me the moment you figure it out." He blinked. "Wait that was more then one hint."
"'R' huh?" Zax clicked his tongue, his mind not completely awake. His head drooped more, his eyes gone shut. "As long as it has some place to eat I could care less what letter it starts with." He started to fall asleep again against the wall and ended up nearly falling over.
Goofy glanced at Donald, scratching his head under his hat. "Now why would Zax want to go and do something like that?" He shrugged. "I thought his friends were on Radiant Garden too, Cloud."
Zax smacked his lips together and scowled. "... My mouth tastes like ass." He clunked his head on the wall again, it seemed like he hadn't heard Goofy. Then his eyes snapped open and he looked at Cloud. "Wait- what!?"
Cloud slapped a hand over his face and groaned. Slowly his hand slid down and he quickly turned his attention on both animals with narrowed eyes, but didn't say anything. He only let out an irritated noise before he looked back at the controls. "We were running low on supplies and we need some rest anyway. Our safest bet is to just stay here for at least a night."
"There's a millions, bajillions of planets out there, Cloud!" Zax pointed upward. "All of them have shops and inns to sleep at! All of them are just as equal candidates to stop and get supplies. There's no reason why we had to stop here of all places." Zax scowled. "Did our previous chat just- go completely over your head?"
Donald looked back and forth between the two friends with a curious expression on his face. "Chat? What chat?" He crossed his arms, annoyed that the two of them were being left out of something. "What's so bad about this place?"
Cloud ignored him and only glanced back at Zax. "Those millions and bajillions of planets, as you so roughly estimated, don't have the weaponry that I plan to bring along with me if we're to continue on with this little search." He finally stood up from the seat, feeling more then a few aches from how long he had been seated. "Especially if I plan to give you back your sword."
Zax raised both of his hands. "You can keep the sword. I don't want the sword. So we don't need to be here."
Goofy looked from one to the other. "Did, uh, we miss something?" His brows furrowed. "I'm so confused."
Donald shook his head while he rested back in his seat. "You and me both." He grumbled.
Cloud shut his eyes for a second in annoyance before he finally turned his attention on the other two occupying the ship. "You didn't miss anything, don't worry about it." After those quick words he looked back at Zax and tried not to have a temper with his friend. "I don't care what you say; you can't continue to fight like you have been. So, you're getting it back. It'll just make it easier on the both of us if you didn't argue about this with me."
Zax crossed his arms. "I'm a damn good fighter with or without a sword." He glared his disapproval and nervously leaned back against the wall again. "We don't need to be here, Cloud."
"It just doesn't feel right to me, okay, Zax?" Cloud narrowed his eyes a little after he spoke the words. He tried his best not to pout, as Zax had said he caught him doing multiple times, and settled on just trying to glare at his friend. "I kept it to remember you. You're here with me now, there's no need for me to have it. I want to give it back to you, okay? Just let me do this." He gave a frustrated sigh. "You don't even have to talk to anyone. I know how much you don't want to be here."
"Fine! Fine." Zax raised his hands to the air in surrender. "You go gallivanting around our world. Go have fun with our old friends and comrades. Party all night and day. I'll just sit right here in the ship and wait." He pushed off the wall to storm towards the door. "Just try not to forget me while you're having all that fun, being Mister Sociable. So stubborn."
"Yeah, because everything you just said sounds so much like me." Cloud sighed once more as soon as he realized how sarcastic his own words sounded and more harsh then he had meant them. He hurried after Zax, but didn't try to stop him, only tailing behind. "Look, it's only a quick stop. I promise. Just to pick up a few things, a spare sword I have lying about and maybe get some rest. We don't even have to do that. We could rest in the ship if need be." He trailed off for a few seconds hesitant to go on. "Donald and Goofy kind of want to check in with Leon though, and I told them it would be okay." He waved a hand around to stall anything Zax would say. "But, I swear it will be quick and painless on my part." His next words were mumbled. "I hope."
Zax stopped. "Leon?" He whipped around and walked past Cloud a few steps. "You two, forward march!" He waited until either of the animals were lined up in front of him. "Goofy. Donald." He pointed to each. "You can't mention me at all to anyone here. Got it?"
Goofy tilted his head curiously. "Hmm, why' sat, Zax? Is this like- a secret mission?"
Zax blinked and scratched a hand through his hair. "Yeah, sure, a secret mission. I'm under cover." He wiggled fingers. "And you can't blow my cover. So, no talking about me at all. Alright, soldiers!"
Both Goofy and Donald saluted.
Zax seemed pleased and turned around to face Cloud. Then just as quickly his satisfaction wilted along with him. "I'm doomed, aren't I?" He rested forehead in his palm.
Cloud had looked back and forth between Zax and the two animals as they talked, wondering to himself why they never listened to him that well. It was Zax's sudden attention which brought him out of his annoyance and back to reality again. "Hmm, well, no I wouldn't say that." He tried his best to smile, but it came out more nervous then anything. "As long as you stay hidden then you have nothing to worry about."
"And let you go wander around on the world by yourself." Zax dragged his fingers through his hair giving a sarcastic shrug. "Lovely. I won't worry at all." He straightened up and crossed his arms, soon hiking a thumb towards the animals. "Can they keep a secret?"
"Sure we can!" Goofy spoke up with a wide smile. "Like how the King starches his ears." He made a gesture with his fingers to shape the signature round ears atop his head. "To keep them perfectly round." He grinned and put his hands on his hips, puffing his chest up proudly. "No one will ever know that secret! I'll be taking that to the grave."
Donald straightened in a tense way and slowly turned his head to stare at his partner. "Goofy..." He spoke the other's name in an annoyed way before he gave an angered shout and jumped up to slap his hand over the other's mouth. "It doesn't count taking it to the grave if you actually tell people something like that! Don't you have any common sense?!"
Cloud could feel his entire body slumping in defeat. He ignored the two animals, but still the pounding headache was trying to make its way through. "They could probably use some work." He mumbled quietly to his friend.
Zax nodded. "Right. So." He gave a blank smile. "We're leaving right now then." He turned about face and marched towards the gummi ship controls.
Cloud's head shot up at those words. He continued to ignore Donald and Goofy who were still bickering and followed after Zax. "Zax, wait a second." He knew that wouldn't be enough to get his friend to listen, so as soon as he caught up to Zax he grabbed his arm and turned him around to face him, keeping narrowed eyes on the other for as long as he could. "If you can't trust them, can't you at least trust me? You know me, Zax. You know I wouldn't say anything. At least give me some credit."
"I am. I do trust you. Believe me." Zax gave a disapproving look and pointed towards the loud mouthed animals. "It's them I don't trust to keep their mouth's shut." He frowned. "With them around our cheerful friend Leon, the cat is pretty much out of the bag."
Cloud dropped his hand and shook his head. "I'll make sure they don't say anything. Don't worry about it, Zax. I'll just give them enough time to talk to Leon about some quick things and that's, that. Just some time to check up. They probably just want to talk about Sora anyway. I won't let you slip into the conversation." He shrugged a shoulder. "As soon as that's over we're out of here."
Zax was hesitant. He glanced at Donald and Goofy who seemed to have straightened things out between them and they stood patiently waiting for Cloud. "You promise? There and back. And you promise that you won't let Tifa side track you." He gave a weak grin. "She'll stalk you if you're not careful. She has a Cloudar, I'm sure of it."
"There and back." Cloud nodded his head, but tried not to groan to a few of the things Zax said. "If I run into Tifa I'll just tell her I'm busy. Hopefully she'll understand for once. Or maybe I can try to avoid her." He shook his head. "Probably not. At any rate, I promise everything we have to do will be quick as possible, okay?"
Zax gave a surrendering sigh. "You know I'm going to worry while you're out there on your own." He rested his hands on Cloud's shoulders while he slumped forward. "I know it's safer now, but, y'know." He lifted his head and smiled weakly. "I'm going to be going stir crazy in here. So, you better hurry."
Cloud gave a small smile at having finally won in the end and nodded his head. "Yeah, I know how you hate to sit still for more then a couple of minutes." He moved a hand up to place it on one of Zax's own, giving it a quick squeeze before he removed himself from the other's grip and turned to look at Donald and Goofy. "Alright, guys. Let's get going."
"Finally!" Donald shook his head after that one aggravated word. He moved away from Goofy and walked over to the small door which would let them out of the ship. In one quick jump, Donald leaped up to press the button on the wall which would open the door and watched as it moved aside for them, tapping a foot as he waited.
Goofy watched as Zax sighed and walked off to the back of the ship, possibly to go get more sleep. He tapped his chin as he gave something some thought. "Now what secret special mission do you think Zax is on? Especially since we can't be say'n Zax's name." So far Goofy was failing at keeping Zax's name under wraps.
Cloud rubbed his temples as he walked away from the controls and towards the door. "He just needs to stay undercover you two. It's as simple as that." He glanced at them both as he walked by them. "By the way, Goofy, keeping someone a secret means not saying their name at all. Especially as many times as you just said it." With those last few words he walked off of the ship to leave the small hanger they had landed in.
Donald nudged his partner in the side roughly. "Yeah, you heard Cloud. It doesn't work if you actually say Zax's name." He blinked as if just realizing he had said it and slapped his hands over his mouth for a few seconds. Just as quick he narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Oh forget it, just come on." With those words he followed after Cloud without waiting for Goofy.
The dog rubbed his side. "R-right! No saying Z- I mean what's-his-name's name." He quickly hurried after the other two.
With each step out of the ship, Cloud could feel his stomach drop a little more to be back at Radiant Garden with a huge secret to keep. It was a little too late to turn back though, because in just a few more paces they were outside the hanger and in the sunlight which actually took Cloud a few moments to get used to after being cramped in a ship for a long while.
In a bright flash that had Cloud jumping back out of instinct, the town's defense system switched on for only a moment to check if they were a threat, then quieted itself and disappeared back into the stones of the floor. It had a few people in the small part of the district they were standing in turning their heads, but going right back to their lives just as quick as if nothing happened. Cloud let out an annoyed sigh. "I always hated that damn thing..."
"I always found it very useful when fight'n the Heartless and Nobodies here." Goofy chuckled. "Made our job a lil easier." He lifted a hand to shade his eyes from the bright sun. "Wow. Things have sure come a long way since we've been here. Everything's all fixed up, and bustle'n with life again." He smiled. "At least things here haven't changed with the re-appearance of the Organization."
"We just have to make sure it stays that way." Donald spoke up as he looked around as well. "Although, I guess Leon and the others are doing a pretty good job of it on their own."
"Yeah, guess so." Cloud easily agreed. "Of course we should probably stop off and talk to him first, and he's probably with the others. Lovely." He rolled his eyes and continued walking, knowing the other two would follow along. His eyes darted along the small walkways every now and then, hoping that he didn't bump into anyone he didn't want to at the moment and actually having some decent luck for once.
It was after a while that the three of them ended up at the familiar house that was always occupied by at least one person that had helped in the entire fight. It was that house that Cloud hesitated in front of, not really wanting to, but finally lifting a hand to knock. He didn't at all feel like just barging in. Especially when he had left Radiant Garden in the first place. "This is going to be fun."
The door flew open, a spunky teenage girl answering. She stared up at Cloud, staring as if she weren't seeing right. "C-cloud?" She stood up on her tip toes to peer up at the man. "Cloud! Cloud Strife!" She leaned back on her heels, turning to cup a hand around her mouth to shout inside the house. "Hey guys, you'll never guess who's here! It's CLOUD!"
"Yuffie!" Cloud shouted the girl's name in annoyance. He quickly wrapped an arm around her from behind so he could move a hand over her mouth to quiet her shouts. "I don't need you to announce me to the entire house. In fact, I'm pretty sure the entire town heard you with the way you're going on."
It was a lost cause though, as several footsteps were heard coming into the front room of the house to see just what exactly the young girl had been going on about. Especially if what they heard was correct. Silence reigned over the room for a few seconds as eyes took in the fact that it really was Cloud standing in the door way with Donald and Goofy at his side, and Yuffie in a near choke hold.
After a while it was Leon that broke the silence, raising a brow at what he saw in front of them. "So, you came back. And here we all thought you went off to go brood somewhere."
Cloud forgot all about his hold on Yuffie and only narrowed his eyes on Leon. "Yeah, I feel very welcome. It's great to see you too, Leon." He finally let go of the girl after his words, remembering he had his hand over her mouth and dropped his hands back down by his sides.
Yuffie coughed a few times, wiping her mouth as she made a face. "You're just as warm and fuzzy as I remember you." She patted Cloud on the chest hard; revenge for the hold on her mouth. "We thought you forgot all about us, going off on your own little adventures- leaving us behind, and outta the fun." The girl gave a dramatic sigh as she shrugged out her hands. "You never call, you never write."
"CLOUD!" Leon was rudely shoved out of the way as a woman with long hair tied back pushed herself to the door. When she was finally face to face with Cloud, she gave him an angry glare. "There you are!" She suddenly grabbed Cloud's arm and yanked him forcefully into the house; since she half expected him to suddenly disappear as quickly as he'd came. She nearly toppled Yuffie over with the force. "You're like a ghost! You disappear just as soon as you appear!"
Cloud almost stumbled over his own feet with how hard he was yanked inside. "T-Tifa, wait a minute!" He tried to struggle to get his arm back, but the girl was pretty damn strong. "Let me go, Tifa, come on now. I just wanted some time to myself. You know me."
A red cloaked figure quickly moved aside before the woman could barrel into him with Cloud in tow, much like she had the others. Vincent watched the two for a few seconds before he glanced over at Leon who looked way beyond annoyed and past him at the two animals who were still in the doorway. "What about you two?"
Donald turned his attention away from Cloud and Tifa to look back at the others with wide eyes. "Us? Oh, well, we just came along with Cloud, tagging along with him." The entire scene had left Donald's mind in a bit of a mess at the moment to be quite honest.
"We're actually look'n for Sora." Goofy piped up. "Have you guys heard from him? We've been look'n all over the place." He blinked, realizing the strange man who talked to them. "Um. Who are you suppose to be? Ya from Halloween Town?"
Yuffie opened her mouth to give her hey say, perhaps introduce Vincent, but the comparison struck her as hilarious. She covered her mouth and tried her best to keep her laughter in.
Tifa ignored everyone, including Cloud's own protest. She kept a firm grip on the man's arm, hugging it tightly to her chest. "You've had enough time to yourself. In fact you're ebbing time to yourself. Why don't you give some of that self time to others now." She gave Cloud a stern look.
Cloud looked down at his captured hand then back up at Tifa. "Well, there is a lot going on right now, Tifa. I haven't just been thinking of myself. I've been fighting here and there too." He frowned. "I can't just drop everything and come back here to hang around."
Vincent on the other hand was unimpressed by Yuffie's amusement because of what Goofy had said. With a decided sigh he turned away from the group to go back into the other room. "Yes, very funny."
Leon seemed to be the only one that had caught onto a few of the words spoken and looked back and forth between everyone. "Wait a minute! Everyone be quiet for two seconds." He looked at Yuffie. "Or longer if possible." He then turned his eyes on Donald and Goofy. "Did you just say you were looking for Sora? How in all the worlds did you lose Sora? The kid isn't that hard to miss."
"Well, ya'see, we didn't exactly lose him. We got separated. We fell in this pool and the next thing we knew Cloud found us." Goofy made sure not to mention Zax. He tapped his lips as he gave a thoughtful sound. "We searched over the entire world, but we didn't find him there. We're not sure where he could have ended up."
Yuffie shook her head. "Unfortunately, we haven't heard anything from Sora."
"Well what about that other boy Clouds look'n for?" Goofy let his mouth get ahead of himself. Though he couldn't recall Cloud saying not to mention Ikkuris; it would be counter productive not to mention a boy he was looking for.
"What boy?" Tifa eyed Cloud, still keeping the man's arm hostage.
Cloud struggled to try and pull his arm back once more, but it was still no use. "It's nothing. Just some boy we ran into while looking for Sora. He's no one special, really." He shot a glance back at Donald and Goofy, hoping it would make them get the hint to keep their mouths shut and it certainly caused them to jump a little.
Leon had looked back at Cloud and Tifa while the others talked. Once there was silence again he shook his head before speaking. "Tifa, you should probably let Cloud's arm go before you break it. I doubt he's going to be going anywhere for the moment." After those words he focused once more on what he had been told. "I can't believe Sora is missing. This isn't good. Just one more thing to worry about."
"Hmm. You never know with Cloud. One blink and he's gone." Tifa frowned. "When will he learn that he doesn't have to fight his battles alone?"
Yuffie shrugged. "You know the tall, dark, silent types. They like to prove their masculinity by dealing with the worlds problems all on their own." She tried to help Cloud by trying to pry Tifa's arms from Cloud's. "Because getting help just isn't manly." She huffed when Tifa tried to shoo her away with a hand. "Anyway, I'm sure Sora's alright. Since when has the Keyblade Master failed us before, right Leon?"
"We've already searched about five planets already." Goofy frowned his worry a little.
Yuffie opened her mouth and then closed it. She let her hands drop from saving Cloud and glanced to Leon; that news didn't sound good to her at all.
Leon shared in the same worry the others had for the moment. It was a horrible thing to think of the worst when it came to Sora. The teen had never actually gone missing before, and for the others to have searched in such a wide spread area was something else also. Not to mention Leon had other things on his mind. "I hate to say it, but there's no telling what's happened to Sora. With the Heartless running around and then these new problems we're dealing with, we just have to hope he's okay."
Cloud had given up on getting his arm back, although he was a little grateful that Yuffie had tried to pry Tifa away. The gesture was all for nothing. Leon's words caught his attention and he looked over at the other man with narrowed eyes. "New problems? What new problems?"
Leon hesitated to speak after the question. In the end he only shot a glance between Yuffie and Tifa, before he let out a sigh and shrugged a shoulder. His eyes moved back to Cloud as he did.
"You shouldn't stay away for so long, Cloud." Vincent spoke up from the next room, having been close to the doorway. "You miss out on things every time you do."
Yuffie glanced back at Vincent before her gaze settled on Leon. She let her head fall, taking a deep breath. She let the employment of being the bearer of bad news fall upon her, since Leon wasn't going to speak up himself. With a deep breath she looked at Cloud. "You already know our little group hasn't been the only one fighting the Heartless." She tapped her fingers together. "You remember that big, flashy commercial company that came around to fight the Heartless. Shinra Inc. Well..." Yuffie chewed her lip before she continued. "They're trying to take over that responsibility completely, making our little group obsolete. They've sent their little lap dogs the Turks over to try and shut us down several times."
"What?" Cloud looked away from Yuffie and back to Leon to make sure what the girl said really was the truth. "Why the hell would they do something like that? This isn't a game. It's not some competition. If they want to help, that's fine, but trying to drive all of you out isn't going to get things done any faster." In his annoyance, Cloud looked back at Tifa and tried to pull his arm back once more. "My arm is going numb, Tifa. Let go."
"Well, in their minds we aren't doing a good enough job of protecting everyone." Leon continued on. "Especially with how things just continue to become more and more dangerous as time goes on with these damn Heartless." He waved a hand towards the front door. "They've even got some of the people in town thinking such a thing."
Donald looked back towards the door they had come through. "That's horrible. I remember when we helped restore this place." He looked back at the others and frowned. "It's hard to believe some people would lose faith in you guys so easily, but, this war has gotten a bit difficult..." He trailed off.
Tifa left go of Cloud's arm, turning away from him. "We could have really used your help, Cloud. Where have you been?" She turned to look back up at Cloud, hurt in her desperate auburn eyes.
"Well, that's not all." Yuffie continued on. "There are reasons, erm, to this." She pressed two fingers to her temple; the problems were obviously a continuous headache for her and their group. "There have been three powerful Heartless brothers terrorizing, not just other worlds, but Radiant Gardens too. We've been trying to take them down, but they're very strong and very elusive." Yuffie lowered her hand with a sigh. "Shinra managed to destroy one of the brothers. Pow!" She punched out a fist. "It won them a whole lot of points in their favour."
"This is exactly why some of the town has put their trust in them instead of us all of a sudden." Leon went on from Yuffie's explanation. "Sure, we used to hold our own against the Heartless well enough, but something as big as what's come up is entirely different and the people of Radiant Gardens are scared I suppose." He shook his head. "It's not like we haven't tried, though."
Cloud rubbed his free arm, trying to will the circulation back into it. He listened to what everyone had to say and narrowed his eyes in the end. "Tifa, I've been helping the others search for Sora. Things came up and I just needed to take care of them." Although now he wasn't sure what to do. He certainly wasn't expecting such news when he came back just to pick up supplies. He glanced back at the others to get his attention off his upset friend. "Any idea what these Heartless are after? Are they just causing the same usual mayhem as the other Heartless we see?"
Yuffie shrugged. "We don't know. I'm sure they're up to something. We just haven't figured it out yet." She crossed her arms and purposely bumped Cloud with her elbow. "It looks like we've all got plenty on our plate. When it rains, it sure pours."
"Yeah, no kidding." Cloud mumbled the words under his breath. He looked around at everyone, trying to decide on what exactly to say or do. In the end he had promised Zax that their stay wouldn't be all that long, and he did have a good enough reason as to why he couldn't stick around. He just hoped it was enough to get him by, despite the fact he really was worried about the situation. "Well, I'm sure you guys will be able to take care of it somehow. I'd stay and help if I could, but this whole ordeal with Sora has Donald and Goofy worried, so I told them I'd help them until he was found, especially since he's obviously needed."
"I'll come with you." Tifa quickly pitched in. She raised a finger to silence Cloud. "Don't argue for once. Accept the help." She gave him a firm look.
Goofy and Donald glanced at each other and wisely kept their mouths shut, staying out of it.
On the outside Cloud only stared at Tifa with a blank, almost annoyed look. On the inside he was panicking. Once Tifa made a decision it was hard to get her to change her mind unless you ran away and hid from her. It was something Cloud had learned over the past few years. This time around there was nowhere to hide and a Zax back on the ship. He was pretty much speechless.
Leon rolled his eyes only to look up at the ceiling of the house. He was used to this type of scene from the rare times he had actually seen the two interact. Tifa would be persistent and Cloud would find some way to bolt as subtly as possible. He figured he might as well save Cloud the trouble for once. "Tifa, how are you going to do that when you're supposed to be helping us? One less person in our group means a lot less help for us I hope you know and we just explained that we're not fairing very well."
"Yeah, yeah, Tifa." Yuffie patted he woman's shoulder. Yuffie easily took the hint; Cloud was radiating despair, despite his stoic expression. Her mighty ninja senses at work. "Too bad, too bad. You won't get to continuously follow Cloud like some love sick puppy." Sighed as if it were truly tragic, this earned her an angry shove from the woman.
"Cloud needs me more guys. Besides, Vincent is back." Tifa pointed at the cloaked man. "He'll fill in for me. You have plenty of people. It's been pretty quiet this last week." She looked back to Cloud, her brows furrowing.
Vincent took a step back. "I'd like to be left out of this little discussion." He held up both his hands for a moment in front of himself before he continued on. "I feel it would be much safer for me." He glanced at everyone before he dropped his hands and kept a careful eye on Cloud and Tifa.
Cloud shook his head and tried to keep his cool. "I can take care of myself, Tifa. I don't know how many times I need to prove such a thing to you." He lowered his voice, trying not to sound as stern with his words. "Besides, the others are right. Quiet or not you're still needed here. You shouldn't just let a little peace cause you to let your guard down. More people give you a better advantage."
Yuffie nodded. "Since those Heartless lost their brother, they're meaner then ever. I think this is just the quiet before the storm. They're coming up with some nasty plan. BOOM!" She suddenly threw up her arms startling Donald and Goofy. Goofy pulled down his hat further on his head.
Tifa lowered her eyes, her disappointment obvious with her worry. She didn't even glance at Cloud as she spoke. "... You're not telling me something. I know it." She hugged herself, hanging her head. "I can feel it."
Cloud shook his head at Tifa's words while he tried not to show anything in his expression. "I'm not hiding anything from you, Tifa. Why would I do such a thing? You're thinking about this way too much." He gave a sigh. "It's not that I'm hiding something. It's just...just..."
"Just the usual angst that he has to deal with on his own time." Leon spoke up for Cloud since the other man seemed to be at a loss for words at the moment. He shrugged a shoulder as if what he said was obvious. "It's the truth."
Cloud had immediately turned his attention on Leon and tried not to glare at him. "You have no room to talk. Some people just tend to handle their problems differently, but this isn't even about that." He looked back at Tifa after he rolled his eyes at Leon. He felt horrible for lying to the girl, but it was all to keep the truth about Zax hidden. "I just really want to help find Sora, especially if he can be the one to bring the peace back. He might even be able to help you guys."
"I hope so. These Turk guys, they don't play nice." Yuffie pointed a finger with a scowl. "We could use all the help we can get." She stretched out her arms to gesture to the room. "We need to expand." She cocked her head in Leon's direction, giving a cheeky grin. "We're going to need a bigger house, Leon."
"Don't remind me." Leon had to force himself not to groan at Yuffie's remark. Their current living space had started to become a little cramped. Even with just Cloud, Donald and Goofy visiting it was more then crowded where they were currently standing. "It's hard not to notice considering I live with you people."
"Well, there you go. Just another reason why I shouldn't bother staying." Cloud spoke up after Leon's misery. He looked over at Yuffie and shook his head. "And I can't imagine these guys being all that difficult. Look at everything Sora has done and then think about it again. I'm pretty sure once we find him everything will go back to normal." He hoped.
"So what are you doing standing here?" Yuffie shouted as she turned around and pushed Cloud from the side. "Go find us our Keyblade Master and send him our way!" She continued to push him towards the door. "No time to mope! Go, go, go, go!"
Tifa gave a start, not wanting Cloud to leave just yet. She'd just seen him after a good many months of not seeing him. "Hey! Now Yuffie! Don't be rude. Cloud doesn't have to go just yet!"
Cloud allowed himself to be pushed, watching Donald push Goofy out of the doorway unless they wanted to be trampled. It was Tifa's voice which caught his attention and had him looking over his shoulder back at his friend. "Actually, Tifa, I should be going." He dug his heels in the floor, stopping Yuffie's further pushing and letting out a noise as the girl nearly ran into him. He shrugged his shoulders at her before he looked back at Tifa. "I only came to pick up a few supplies and other such things. I didn't mean to stay even this long." He almost flinched, knowing those were probably the worst words to say.
Tifa did flinch, but she didn't look away from Cloud. She hugged herself a little tighter. "I... I just want you to know you're always welcome here. Even in your darkest hour, don't think that you aren't welcome." She smiled just a little. "We're all a family."
"She's right y'know.", Yuffie piped up in Tifa's favour for once. She patted Cloud's arm. "Don't be a stranger, okay." She grinned up at him.
In that instant Cloud felt guilty for the secret he was keeping from everyone, but if it really was for the best he'd continue to keep his mouth shut. "Yeah, I know all that." He spoke the words as even as he could and gave one last glance at everyone before he turned his attention on Donald and Goofy. "Come on you two. Let's get what we need and get out of here."
Donald was perfectly fine with that. He was afraid someone might try to pin Cloud down and make him stay once again. Then they would never get anything done in his eyes. He opened the door to let them out, pushing Goofy on the back to guide him out before they could be stopped.
Cloud rolled his eyes at the two, remembering that he still had to be alone with them for a little while longer to pick up some things. With a final wave to his friends he left the cramped house to follow the two, knowing Zax was more then likely going nuts by now.
-
The market area was rather busy. Even with the problems Cloud had heard about it seemed people weren't ready to crawl into hiding with just yet; they were rather used to crisis by now.
Goofy and Donald had gone off to find Cid to find gummi parts for the ship; navi gummis and other such useful items that would help them to other worlds in their search. They left Cloud to pick up what he needed, the sword, and other such items. The two animals were used to Sora taking charge of the munnies; the teen had a knack with buying just the right accessories for battle.
A gentle hand placed itself on Cloud's arm. "You seem different." The kind female voice spoke up. Not outspoken enough to be Tifa's. "Not on the outside; you look the same. But on the inside. Dare I say it, you look happy." The woman giggled quietly. "Amidst all the worry plainly on your face."
Cloud had nearly jumped at the touch, only to have his eyes settle on the one person in Radiant Gardens he had been trying to avoid more then others. "Aeris..." He hesitated after the name, not sure how to answer the woman's words. He settled on something simple, hoping it didn't give away anything. "Is that so? I haven't really noticed myself."
Aeris slipped her arms behind her back and leaned forward to peer up at Cloud as she always did. But her expression remained softly cheerful. She turned her head left and then right as if searching for something before she finally pointed. "There." Her finger landed Cloud's chest. "There it is. That's where you're smiling." Aeris leaned back as she gave a smile herself.
Cloud had watched Aeris' every movement. It was her last few actions which actually had him a little surprised, but not all too much. He knew he felt much better then he had for a long time, but he didn't think he was all that easy to read. With narrowed eyes he looked back up at Aeris and tried his best to remain neutral to the conversation, considering the reason why his mood had changed. "You can tell all this just by looking at me?"
Aeris placed her finger on her cheek. "Woman's intuition, I guess. I suppose to the untrained eye you would seem unchanged." She lowered her hand. "But I think I would say you're in a very good mood, Cloud."
"I think the others would probably disagree with you on that one." Cloud shook his head. "But, if you say I'm in a good mood then I'll take your word for it. I do feel better then I usually do." It was an understatement, but it was all he would say as far as his mood went since it was all he really could say.
Aeris tilted her head. "And you're not going to tell me why, are you." She seemed to pluck the thought straight from Cloud's head. She crossed her arms behind her back giving a soft laugh. "I didn't think so. You tend to keep the good news to yourself along with the bad."
"I have my reasons. Believe me." Cloud mumbled the last couple of words to himself, but allowed a small smirk to cross his face. If only for Aeris' sake. The girl really wasn't all that bad and was one of his closest friends. Not at all as pushy as Tifa, but still close. "Besides, I think all of you here have more things to worry about then what's going on in my life at the moment."
The woman nodded. "True, but it's something we think about all the time. It's nice to escape that for a moment and hear about something else once and a while." Aeris glanced around them. "So, what kind of shopping are you doing here?"
"Just the usual." Cloud tried to answer as casually as he could. "We were running low on supplies in the ship so we're just picking up a few things. Donald and Goofy went off to get some new parts for it from Cid and I'm just rounding up some things we'll need in general. Then we're off again."
"It's nice to see you helping someone, even if it isn't our own little group." Aeris looked up at Cloud's face. She shyly looked away and smiled. "I have missed seeing you around here. I hope you've been taking care of yourself. Since you won't let anyone else do it for you." She gave him a teasing poke at his middle.
Cloud rubbed at his stomach once Aeris pulled her hand back and tried his best to smile. It was a failed attempt and in the end he shrugged since he felt bad for such an awkward conversation with the woman on his own part despite her knowing nothing. "Yeah, I've been fine. I'm here, so I must be doing something right. Sorry I've kept away so long." It was the least he could say.
"It's alright. I'm sure you have good reasons why." Aeris knitted her fingers together. "You always do. Anyway, I don't mean to keep you. Would you like some help with your shopping?"
Cloud looked around the market district. In all honesty it really couldn't hurt to have some help. All he needed to pick up were supplies for a trip. As soon as he had to leave to pick up his sword he would easily part ways with Aeris and that would be that. "Sure, why not." He glanced back at Aeris and gave a quick nod. "Of course I'm just looking to get the usual potions, ethers and elixirs. I don't have the munny for anything special. This search has been a bit of a pain."
Aeris smiled, happy she could help. "Who are you searching for?" She paused. "You didn't lose the Keyblade Master did you?" She shrugged when Cloud stared at her in surprise. "Well, you said you're with Donald and Goofy, but you didn't mention Sora. And it's hard to over look Sora. I'd expect him to be eagerly tailing after you, talking up a storm, annoying you to no ends." She giggled. "Sorry, it wasn't woman's intuition this time."
Cloud sighed and shook his head. "Well, you're halfway right. I'm not the one that lost him. You can thank Donald and Goofy for that. Besides, I don't need Sora here to annoy me; those two are doing a fine job of it already. I actually wish Sora was here to keep them in line." He turned around to start looking around the small market, taking his time so Aeris could keep in step behind. "Right now things are looking a little hopeless."
"Well, why don't you think about what Sora would do if he were in your situation. You're with Sora's friends and you're looking for Sora." Aeris tapped her lips as she looked at the shops new and old that were set up. She tapped Cloud's arm to get his attention and pointed to a store run by a duck in a purple mask, cape and a broad rimmed hat. "That store is rather good I hear."
"I make it a habit to try and not think like Sora. Somehow I find it to be much safer for me." Cloud looked in the direction Aeris had pointed and blinked. It was a new shop, that was for sure. He had obviously been gone far longer then he thought. More and more people were building over the time he had been away. "Well, if you heard it was good then I guess I'll give it a shot." He made his way over to the small store while in the back of his mind he started to wonder if any humans would ever run the stores in Radiant Gardens.
When Cloud and Aeris stepped up to the stand there wasn't anyone to be seen. Then suddenly there was a puff of purple smoke that appeared behind the counter.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night- I am the X in the X-potion that heals the HP of Justice! I am- DARKWING DUCK!" The masked duck held his cape out dramatically waiting for the smoke to clear before he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his two new customers. "So, what can I do for you two civilians today?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry, one beautiful lady", he tilted his hat in Aeris' direction with a charming grin, "and one rather bland, normal, civilian." He just gave Cloud a bored nod.
Cloud stared at the strange duck with little more then a blank look on his face. He kept his eyes on the store owner for a few more seconds until he finally turned his eyes away, back on Aeris. "You said this store was rather good? I'm starting to doubt your judgment."
Aeris smiled with a shrug. "Yuffie told me it was rather good."
"Hey- hey! Judge not, lest ye be judged, boring sir." Darkwing glowered before he coughed into a hand regaining his composure. He stepped back and gestured with a hand to the shelves with items on them. "I promise you, I have high quality stock for a reasonable price. Just take a look for yourself."
Cloud had shot a look back at the duck for the one small remark he had made. He didn't have the time to argue though. He turned his attention away while he leaned against the counter and looked towards the items that were on the shelves. A few weapons that were useless to him. Some gems strewn about. Mostly things he wasn't all that interested in, but he could see the few reasons why Yuffie would find it rather interesting with just a simple glance. "I'll just take some simple potions, Elixirs and such, if you have those. As long as your reasonable price really is reasonable." He muttered loud enough for the duck to hear.
"'And such' coming right up!" Another duck from the back room enthusiastically shouted before Darkwing had a chance to open his bill. This duck wore an old fashion pilot's outfit, pilot goggles snuggly (perhaps too snuggly) fashioned on his head. The pilot duck grabbed a good many items from the shelf and dumped them all into a bag, which made Darkwing cringe at the sound of bottles clanking against each other.
"Launchpad be careful!" Darkwing hissed.
"Oh, yeah, sorry DW." Launchpad dusted his hands off and pulled the draw string of the bag closed. "That'll be a hundred and twelve munny." He leaned over to grin at Darkwing and winked. "My lucky number. S'how many times I crashed on my first flight."
Darkwing stared at him. He glowered, yanking down his hat over his masked face as he growled. "Elixers are worth more alone." he murmured angrily to himself. "We're going to go out of business with you 'helping'."
Cloud reached out with a sigh to grab at the bag while he dug in his belt for the munny he was using for their search. "Don't worry about it." He pulled out extra then what he was told and handed it over, giving a quiet sigh over the fact it left him nearly broke. "We better not use all of this up in one go." After those words he turned back to Aeris and shook his head. "Try not to take Yuffie's advice so much. I learned that plenty of times."
Aeris gave a soft giggle. "I didn't take her advice, you did. And they seem very nice." She patted Launchpad on the bill; the duck gave a swooning sigh and promptly fell over.
Aeris blinked but soon giggled again. She smiled at Cloud. "Well you got your items. Is there anything else you need?"
Cloud shrugged a shoulder since he was mostly hesitant to answer. He didn't want to lie, but he could get by with saying as few words as possible. "Only a few things that I left behind. Nothing major, so, it's no big deal. I'll just pick what I need up then head out."
Aeris took a few steps before turning to face Cloud, her dress fluttering with the graceful movement. "Well I guess this is goodbye then." She crossed her arms behind her back, leaning forward as she always did to see Cloud's face since he always hid his true expression by keeping his head and gaze down. "You don't need to say it; I know you want to be by yourself. And that's alright."
Cloud took a small step back since his personal space was nearly invaded. Aeris' words had him almost giving a small smile, but he kept it hidden as best he could, shaking his head instead. "I don't think I'll ever be able to hide anything from you." He swung the small bag he held between his fingers. "Thanks for understanding, though." The words were spoken quietly.
Aeris nodded with a smile. "Of course." She straightened and gave a sly look. "Although, I should warn you." She pointed across the way at the corner of the market. "You're being stalked by ninjas."
Cloud almost groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me." He raised a free hand to rub at his head, hoping it would sooth the ache there. "Maybe I really should have stayed away from here. No offense or anything." With careful movements he dropped his hand to glance back at exactly who Aeris had pointed out.
The top of a head, black hair and brown eyes could be seen below a bandana. When Yuffie realized she'd been seen when she peeked she gave a squeak and clumsily crashed back behind the shop she was hiding behind.
Aeris laughed. "It can't be helped. We're all so curious where you go, and why it keeps you away for so long. Some, more than others." With quick steps she walked over to Cloud and stood on her tippy toes to place a quick kiss to the man's cheek. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you aren't followed." Aeris stepped back a few steps, a sad smile crossed her face.
Cloud seemed surprised at the gesture. It wasn't something he had been expecting at all to be quite honest. He was speechless for a few moments before he finally allowed that one smile to slip. "Thanks, Aeris." He started to make his way away from the woman. "Don't worry about me too much. I'll be back here in no time. I did tell the others I'd bring Sora, so I suppose I have to come back." With those amused words he turned and started on his way to pick up his sword and with that they would finally be able to leave.