kawaiilover0878 on Deviantart asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Balan Wonderworld belongs to Square Enix.

A/N: This story is an AU, so please be gentle in the reviews. Thank you.

Finding The Happiness You Need

One who has seen the dangers of the world usually knows that the streets can be dangerous, but for some, the streets are the better alternative than where they are.

This was true for a young boy named Leo. He set up a mat and his music, setting down a small bucket that said 'Tips' on it. Taking a deep breath as he stood on the center of the mat, he started dancing at the music came on. Closing his blue eyes for a moment, he let the music carry him through the moves smoothly, posing in a finishing pose at the end of the song.

Clapping reached him and he looked up to see there was an audience watching him and he smiled before the music came on again and he started dancing once again, seeing people place money in the bucket, something that made him hopeful that perhaps he'd have enough to buy some food today and avoid going home completely.

His home life wasn't the best. Though he had two parents, they weren't parents to him. He was more of a problem to them than their son. On the streets, he didn't have to worry about that. He liked it in the streets better because he didn't have to worry about getting in a fight or getting hurt. He was careful about that, staying away from the areas that were marked by other homeless people or gangs.

By the afternoon, he had danced a lot and gotten enough money to at least go to the local youth facility and get cleaned up, do some laundry, and get some dinner. Grateful that today had been a good day and the people had felt generous, though he wouldn't trust anyone to help him, at least he could count on his dancing to help him raise money.

At the youth center, he paid the fee and headed in, washing up quickly to avoid attention, changing into some clean clothes before going to the laundry mat and doing a load of wash. He didn't have much that fit in his backpack he had, but at least he could have clean clothes. No one questioned him and he didn't bother anyone. After his clothes were cleaned, he headed out, going to a restaurant and getting some food to go, buying an extra meal as something told him it would be needed.

Heading out, he found a bench and ate his meal before seeing the sun was starting to set. "Guess I better find a place to sleep," he said to himself as he started walking, hoping to find a good spot before nightfall.

At an orphanage, not too far away...

Emma had tears falling from her green eyes as she was standing before the lady who ran the orphanage. "I don't know why I bother with you, Emma," the lady sneered. "All you do is cause trouble. I don't know how the former owner put up with you, seeing how many times you've been returned to this orphanage after finding a couple willing to adopt you."

The girl hung her head. The other kids had been spreading rumors about her being returned to the orphanage way too many times to count and now the lady who owned it looked ready to kick out the girl.

The truth was, Emma was a shy girl and usually hid when parents looking to adopt came by, though she had been adopted twice herself, but the first couple got tired of her after a month and the second couple had felt that after a bit, having a child wasn't worth it. So she hid away, not looking forward to staying in the orphanage, but it had been better than being adopted.

Until today.

The lady took Emma's backpack and then grabbed the girl's arm, dragging her to the doors of the orphanage and pushing her outside, throwing the bag down the steps. The girl caught her balance before she fell. "You are done here, young lady. Now leave and don't ever come back!" The lady said, shutting the door and locking it.

Tears falling faster down her face, Emma slowly moved down the steps and picked up her bag, which just continued a couple changes of clothes, a favorite book of hers, and a tiger beanie baby that her birth parents had given her before they died. Taking it out, she now hugged it close before putting it away, wondering where she was going to go.

She began walking and it wasn't long before her stomach started growling and she felt hungry, but had no money to buy food. She then sighed and turned down an alleyway, finding it empty and she found a crate to sit down on, hugging herself as she wondered what she was going to do.

She didn't see the boy behind her until he spoke up. "What are you doing here?"

She gasped and turned, seeming to sigh in relief after a bit. "I...I'm sorry," she said, grabbing her bag.

"Wait," he said, noticing that she had been crying. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head and he stepped up to her. "I'm Leo," he said, holding out his hand.

She looked up at him. "Emma," she said, shaking his hand.

"You hungry? I got some extra food today and you look like you could use it."

Emma was surprised, but nodded and sat down while he gave her the meal he had gotten. "Thank you," she said. "But what about you?"

"I ate earlier," he said. "Made enough money from my dancing to do some errands and get some food."

"You're a dancer?" She asked, her green eyes curious.

He smiled. "One of the best," he said before looking a bit saddened. "At least, the people that stop and watch me think so."

Emma smiled a little. "I wish I could do something like that, but...I'm too shy," she said. "Plus...I really don't know how to dance."

"Maybe I can teach you," Leo said before looking curious. "By the way, what are you doing out here instead of at home?"

She sighed, looking down. "I'm an orphan," she said. "And...I got kicked out of the orphanage because the other kids were saying that I had been returned to the orphanage too many times."

The boy shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said.

"What about you?" She asked softly.

"Homeless, like you," he said, not wanting to get into why as he watched her finish eating. "Well, we best get some sleep. If I'm going to teach you dancing, we need to be well rested."

She smiled and nodded before seeing that he had formed a nest with some old blankets. "It's not much, but there's room for both of us," he said.

Making sure their backpacks were nearby, they both settled down into the nest and Emma smiled. "This is actually very comfortable," she said. "Better than my old bed at the orphanage."

"Really?" He asked.

She nodded. "I slept on some crates," she said. "With just a bedsheet for nighttime."

Leo shook his head and pulled a blanket over them, one that was warm, thankfully. "Goodnight, Emma," he said gently.

"Goodnight, Leo. And thank you," she said softly.

He smiled, not feeling so alone as he settled down and both fell asleep.

Nearby, someone stepped out of the shadows. He had been watching these two and while he didn't know the whole story, he knew from listening that both didn't have a home. His shadow loomed over the kids and smiled as gold eyes regarded the two before coming to a decision.

The two children would be in for a surprise come morning.

And here is the first chapter. I think you all can guess who just found Emma and Leo. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418