Finding My Light
Chapter 6: Destiny's Victory
By: Kitty Luver
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me! Squaresoft and Disney own it!
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated for a while, but my stupid computer hasn't been working, so I'm going to have to work with Microsoft Word instead of Word Perfect on the other computer and see if my chapters upload correctly! I should update faster now, maybe around once a week hopefully! I honestly do plan to finish this story no matter what!!!
Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! I almost cried when I saw how many people actually enjoy my story!! Your comments were encouraging, and that's why I'm updating before the cable guy finishes fixing my computer! He's been here for a while, but my computer still doesn't have Internet access!!! It's very frustrating!!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'm sorry if the battle scene isn't very good! I'm not good at writing about the battles!
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Leon sighed as he exited the ship that Cid had piloted to the Coliseum, "Hurry up Yuffie!"
"Calm down! I'll be out in a minute Squall!" Yuffie called from the depths of the ship.
"It's Leon," he growled back before sighing once more and, turning to Aerith who had just jumped out, asked coldly, "How did I get into this mess again?"
Aerith just smiled her gentle smile and walked toward the gates, causing Leon to sigh a third time. As she walked and viewed the two large warrior statues, she remembered the previous day…
*FLASHBACK*
"If Aerith doesn't get back soon I'm going to starve to death!" Yuffie moaned, plopping into one of the four chairs around the table. Leon just grunted from his seat on another of the chairs, closing his eyes and retaining his emotionless appearance. Both jumped slightly as the door burst forcefully open and Aerith arrived with cheeks pink from running and breathing heavily. The slight mischievous glint in her eyes made Leon and Yuffie gulp mentally, but both just shrugged it off. Leon went back to closing his eyes emotionlessly while Yuffie bounded over to Aerith, yanking the bags out of her arms and rummaging wildly through them for snacks, Aerith laughed and proceeded to unpack the groceries while Leon continued his previous lack of actions and Yuffie munched on a bag of chips she had unearthed. Aerith broke the silence first; "I had an interesting shopping trip today."
"Really?" Yuffie said through a mouthful of her potato chips. Leon opened one eye suspiciously; he didn't know where the conversation was headed, but he figured it couldn't be good for him.
"Yes," Aerith said cheerfully, beginning to prepare dinner, "I saw a poster on my way out of the grocery store that caught my eye. There's going to be another tournament at the Coliseum tomorrow."
Leon closed his eye, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in his head.
"Really? Who's signed up?" Yuffie asked curiously. Leon wondered also. He had seen the sign earlier that sheet, and the sheet had been filled up except fro one spot. One spot…
"Oh, a bunch of Heartless, and Sora of course," Aerith said, cutting vegetables.
"That's nice," Yuffie commented without interest, trying to get all of the potato chip crumbs into her mouth.
One spot…wait! Leon's eyes flew open as he figured out what Aerith had done, just as he heard Aerith calmly say, "They were looking for someone to fill up the last position, so I signed the two of you up together. It'll be a chance for the two of you to test your training together."
"What!?" was shouted by a furious Leon and a bewildered Yuffie, who then began to cough on her chips.
"What's so wrong?" Aerith asked with genuine innocence.
Leon was about to start in about how it wasn't possible when Yuffie burst out, "I just can't believe it! This is great! I finally get to enter a tournament and show my worth!" She turned eagerly to Leon, "Isn't it exciting? We're going, right?"
All of Leon's arguments died right there; he didn't know why, but he couldn't bear to let her down. Trying to maintain part of his dignity, he muttered a, "Fine," and marched off. Behind him, he didn't see Yuffie's surprised stare and Aerith's knowing smile as she went back to preparing the dinner.
*END FLASHBACK*
Aerith's smile brightened at the memory; everything was going as she had meticulously planned. After realizing how perfect Leon and Yuffie were for each other (at least in her eyes), she had decided to play matchmaker. When she had seen the sign outside of the grocery store, she knew that it was the perfect opportunity to bring the two closer. They were off to a good start already according to what Yuffie had told Aerith about how Leon had comforted her when Aerith was missing. Aerith giggled, thinking, 'Leon may try to pretend that he doesn't care, but it's obvious that he does.'
"What's so funny?" Yuffie asked as she caught up to Aerith, Leon trailing behind.
"Nothing!" Aerith replied, and the trio continued along to the gate. There, Leon and Yuffie handed their passes over and were directed toward the arena to wait for their first match, while Aerith shuffled along with the crowds to the stands. (A/N: I wanted Aerith to be able to watch Leon and Yuffie, so I made the stands full of people unlike in the game!)
Aerith watched happily as Leon and Yuffie won all of their matches; they worked perfects as a team, covering and supporting each other always. She viewed Sora's battles with excited interest. The young Keyblade master had improved his fighting skills immensely, and she was certain that he would be a tough opponent for Leon and Yuffie. Finally, the final battle arrived, and Aerith eagerly awaited the outcome of the battle between her friends and Sora's group.
~*~ (A/N: This basically means meanwhile.)
"This is awesome!" Yuffie shouted enthusiastically as she bounced off the field ahead of Leon. "Aren't you having fun Squall?"
"It's Leon," he replied shortly without much conviction; his mind was on the upcoming fight with Sora.
"Yuffie scrunched up her face in worry, "What's wrong Leon? Thinking about our match with Sora?"
Leon met her gaze and held it. They had both witnessed Sora's fights, and neither could deny that he would be a tough opponent to beat.
"You know," Yuffie said into the silence, "it would be wonderful if he beat us. Because, it would mean that—that—"
"That he's worthy of the title of Keyblade master and of liberating all of the worlds from the threat of the Heartless," Leon finished for her.
"More or less," Yuffie said with a small smile.
Leon returned it with his own small smile, "Let's not take it easy on him though. We'll give him all we've got in order for him to prove his worth, right?"
Yuffie's smile widened, and her stomach flip-flopped at the sight of his rare smile. "Right," she replied and followed him out to the arena.
"Hey Leon! Hey Yuffie!" Sora called out when he saw the two approach. Donald and Goofy turned around and waved.
"Hey Sora," Yuffie called back cheerfully, "Don't expect us to take it easy on you just because you're a kid and our friend!"
Sora laughed, "I won't!"
"Now is the time for you to prove your worth as the Keyblade master, Sora," Leon said in a grave voice. "Are you ready?"
Sora's face turned serious and he nodded determinedly, "I'm going to beat both of you inn order to prove my worth as the Keyblade master!"
"Then let the match begin," Leon said as a reply, and the final battle began.
Yuffie and Leon both rushed at Leon, but Donald and Goofy targeted Leon and blocked his attack. Yuffie threw a few ninja stars at Sora, "Guess it's just you and me kid!" Two hit him on his chest and shoulder, he grunted and stumbled as Yuffie flipped away from him. As he advanced towards her once again, she threw another volley of starts, but he managed to deflect these, and Yuffie had to duck as one flew back towards her. Sora used that to his advantage, and managed to land a few hits on her. Yuffie recovered quickly though, and managed to back flip and cartwheel away to safety.
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While Yuffie had been battling Sora, Leon had been trying to defeat Donald and Goofy. The two had also grown considerably, and, while Leon wasn't having any particular trouble holding his own, they were keeping him on his toes. He deflected another shield attack from the dog knight while a fire attack from the duck sorcerer grazed his shoulder. He tired to manipulate the battle towards a position where he could help Yuffie who was having trouble with Sora, but she kept vaulting away to avoid Sora's attacks. Yuffie was visibly tiring, and he knew it wouldn't be long before Sora defeated her. Spurred on by some unknown emotion, Leon doubled in his efforts to help Yuffie.
~*~
Above the battle, in the stands, Aerith watched the fight with a vigilant eye. She noted the frustration and despair Leon appeared to be feeling as he kept trying to help Yuffie and she kept having to jump away. Sora's group had an effective strategy: Donald and Goofy kept Leon occupied while Sora defeated Yuffie first. That way, Sora wouldn't have to worry about Yuffie's ninja stars harming him while he fought with Leon. Aerith smiled; although she supported her friends, she secretly prayed that Sora, with the help of Donald and Goofy, would win. She knew that Leon and Yuffie were also secretly wishing for the same thing for the same reason: to be assured that Sora was strong enough to fulfill the role that destiny had presented him with. Out on the arena just then, Yuffie fell. "Yuffie!" Aerith cried out, and she struggled against the crowds to get to the arena to help her friend.
~*~
Sora had just dodged another torrent of Yuffie's ninja stars and dealt her a hard blow when Yuffie fell, her last words before she blacked out, "Just…give me…a second…"
"Yuffie!" Leon yelled, using all of his strength to force both Donald and Goofy with a powerful swipe of his Gunblade. He ran over to where Yuffie had fallen. Thankfully, she had only blacked out, and there weren't any serious injuries. Comforted, he turned to Sora and changed his sword from his regular Gunblade into a powerful and elongated sword. "Now it's my turn," he said calmly before beginning his attack.
~*~
"Please, you must let me through! My friend is hurt out there!" Aerith begged the goat-man gatekeeper.
Phil just shook his head, "I can't let you out there miss."
Aerith sighed frustrated, "Why not?! I just told you, she's injured and needs help!"
"Three words," Phil said, "Too dangerous!"
"That's two words!" she cried exasperatedly. Her hand reached for her staff; she didn't want to fight the gatekeeper, but Yuffie needed her. Someone grabbed her arms at that moment though, and stopped her from grabbing her weapon.
"I'm sorry miss, but I'm afraid that I cannot let you go out to the arena and get yourself hurt," Hercules said, holding her in a position that didn't allow her to move or fight back.
"Put me down! I need to help Yuffie!" Aerith begged.
"I'll let you go as soon as the battle's over," Hercules promised. Aerith sighed again; that would have to do. Besides, it wasn't as though she was in a position to disagree anyway.
~*~
Out on the arena, Leon had been putting up a tough fight. He kept lashing out at the trio so ferociously that it was almost impossible for them to get close enough to hit him. As a result, they used magic against him, replenishing themselves with ethers when they ran out of magic. Sora had been studying Leon's attack style; he realized that when Leon jumped to plunge his sword down at one of them, he had a rather weak defense. If he could just dodge the attack, he could get close enough to strike Leon with his Keyblade. And, because Leon was looking tired, he could probably end the fight with one attack if he made his blows count. He didn't mention his plan to Donald and Goofy for fear of losing the element of surprise, but waited for his chance to attack.
~*~
Leon was wearing down, and so he decided to end the fight as quickly as he could. He jumped up high into the air and brought his sword to point down at Sora. He gasped as Sora rolled and dodged his attack. Unable to stop his attack, his sword plunged into the ground, and he was defenseless for a few moments; however, he knew that those few moments would be all that Sora needed to defeat him. He tried to fight back, but Sora's blows knocked the rest of his energy out of him. His last words before he blacked out were, "No…I can't…lose…"
~*~
"Yuffie! Leon!" Aerith yelled as she rushed out towards her friends. True to his word, Hercules had allowed her to go out to the arena as soon as Leon had fallen. Both were near each other, as Leon had seemed to fight near her, as though to protect her after she fainted to make up for the fact that he couldn't protect her before. She quickly began to check to see if their injuries were serious and was reassured when she saw they could be easily healed with her magic.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy fidgeted behind her. "Um, will they be okay?" Sora asked.
Aerith turned and smiled at him, "They'll be fine Sora. You have proved that you are worthy of the title of Keyblade master. Now you should go; there are many worlds left that are in need of your aid."
Sora nodded firmly and turned to head off. Aerith smiled, and turned to heal Yuffie's wounds when Leon groaned and woke up, muttering Yuffie's name. Hearing him stir and say Yuffie's name, Aerith turned to him and said, "Stay still until I heal your wounds!"
Leon obeyed her and asked, "Where's Yuffie?"
Aerith quickly cast her curaga spell and answered, pleased that he was worried, "She's right next to you. She'll be fine once I cure her." Leon nodded, stood up, and watched as she cured Yuffie.
Yuffie groaned and sat up, "What happened?"
Leon closed his eyes, "We lost."
Yuffie blinked, "He beat us?"
Aerith nodded and smiled gently, "Yes. He truly is worthy of being the Keyblade master."
Yuffie grinned, "Yeah, but it's still kind of disappointing!" Aerith laughed while Leon just sighed.
"Let's go," Aerith said, "I'm hungry!" She ran off ahead of them to give them a moment alone.
Yuffie turned slowly to Leon, "Sorry I was defeated so easily. I did try my hardest, but…"
"It's okay," Leon said, slowly following behind Aerith, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you."
"Yeah, well, I guess we're even then," she said happily. "And besides," she added, "this means we still have hope! Maybe our world will be restored, and maybe Cloud and everyone else will come back to us!"
"Maybe," was all Leon said, and the two walked to the ship in a comfortable silence.
~*~
As Cid's ship took off for Traverse Town, another ship from that destination landed near by. The door rolled back to reveal Cloud Strife. He sighed; Aerith hadn't been at that Traverse Town place either. He strolled around the Coliseum, watching as people cleaned up after the tournament. He looked to see who had won, and wasn't surprised to see that Sora had. Then, two names caught his eye, and he let out an audible gasp. "Leon…Yuffie?" he muttered, checking again to make sure that his eyes were not deceiving him. They weren't. He ran into the lobby to find Hercules and Phil there, talking.
Phil turned and saw Cloud, "Hey, what do you want kid?"
Cloud looked at him desperately, "I need to know, did two people named Leon and Yuffie fight here today?"
"Yeah, so?" Phil asked, perplexed.
"What did they look like?"
"Well let's see now…the guy had long brown hair and some weird gun that he used like a sword, and the other girl dressed funny and had ninja stuff with her."
"Don't forget that other girl with them Phil," Hercules added. "The one with the long brown hair dressed in pink. She was friends with them and was trying to interfere with the fight."
"Oh yeah!" Phil said, "The one with the staff! Good thing you stopped her Herc, or that dame might've been—"
"Do you know where they came from?" Cloud asked eagerly.
"No idea kid. People ain't required to say where they come fro—hey! Where're you going kid?" Phil yelled.
Cloud didn't hear him as he ran outside. Aerith was alive! And she had been there earlier! He smile left his face at this thought though, and he slammed his head into the wall. If only he hadn't gone to that stupid Traverse Town! Then he would've seen his light! It didn't matter now though, all that mattered was finding Aerith, his beautiful light. He rushed over to sign up for the next tournament. Maybe Leon and Yuffie would do the same! As he signed his name, he though, 'Aerith, I will find you! I promise!'
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A/N: Yay! Cloud knows that Aerith's alive!!! *grins* This was a happy chapter! Small Leon/Yuffie and happy Cloud and Aerith (though for different reasons since Aerith doesn't have solid proof that Cloud's alive)!! Please review, it'll make me happy and will help me write the next chapter! And thanks to the people who reviewed last time:
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Thanks for all of your reviews!! Please everyone: review again!!! It makes me happy!!!